"Would you look at that! The Walden MacNair thread just undid itself all the way to the present line!"

"If you'd been paying attention, Lachesis, you'd note that you were trying to weave it with the Rodolphus Lestrange thread, which, incidentally, is part of the Azkaban grouping."

"Bother. This new pattern gives me a headache."

"I say it's time to mess with the mortals' brains again. Take our mind off things."

"Atropos, please tell me you're not coming up with another self-fulfilling prophecy. The last one you came up with is causing us all this aggravation in the first place."

"Don't worry, it'll be inevitable. I'm as sick of it as you are."

"I love this bit. What about?"

"Oh, I think I can wager a guess. This section here involves nearly everyone involved in Atropos's last gambit, and then some. You really should spend more time at the tapestry, Clotho."

"It's not my fault spinning is a touch more time-consuming than measuring and cutting."

"We're not starting this discussion again. We're still calling him the Dark Lord, right, Atropos?"

"Yes, it always adds the right foreboding touch to make everyone think we're on the side of evil."

"Foreboding, foreboding, always foreboding! Can't we campaign for animal rights or something?"

"Actually, Clotho, that could work –"

"How nonthreatening can a prophecy about the rebirth of darkness –"

"Hush, Atropos. That could work. There are two shape-shifters in prominent positions…"

"Hmm, let me have a look. Oooh, this one has been a pet for a while! A bit extreme, maybe, but it is animal rights. How about something like, 'A servant of the Dark Lord's, after spilling much blood, shall break the chains of domestication'?"

"No, no, no. We need to create some ambiguity between the two shape-shifters, or it'll be self-refuting. I put a lot of work into this pattern, you know."

"Quite an ugly pattern."

"It's this or give evil a clear field in the future, and I know which one you would prefer, Little Miss Layabout."

"I've been spinning."

(Long silence.)

"Here, I've got a draft. How do you like it?"

"Hmm, 'his servant has been chained these twelve years' is a bit subtle for my taste. I don't think any witnesses will notice."

"Look, Clotho, the overall message messes with the mortals more than your little campaign can ever aspire to. Lachesis, just add in a bit about just how dark times are going to be, and I think we're good."

"Excellent. Who'll be our medium?"

"The only one remotely close to the action is –"

"Ugh. Sibyll Trelawney. Are you sure this won't warp anything?"

"The Albus Dumbledore thread is diverted from the path thus indicated. At that stage, it still holds up."

"Good. And our witness?"

"See the complicated-yet-tiny knots just past the present line? Those are final exams. We can, in essence, choose whatever witness we want, and for maximum effect…"

"Right, then. It's a wrap."

"Better luck next time, Clotho."