The epilogue picks up when season 1 of the show ended, so in a few months, when season 2 drops, it will become an AU, but right now, it's my take on what could happen next.


Sky is staring in bewilderment as the Solarian soldiers shove the handcuffed Silva into the car and drive away. Only then does he turn to Andreas, who is waiting patiently for his reaction.

"Was this really necessary?" Sky snaps at him, still unable to shake off the sight.

"Sky, I promise I'll explain everything to you. I understand what a shock this must be..."

"I know about Aster Dell," Sky cuts him sharply.

Andreas lets out a brief laugh, but there is no humour in it.

"You know his version, son. Hear mine."

"Oh?" Sky snorts, anger building up. "Maybe start with telling me where you've been for the last sixteen years. Dad," he puts as much venom as he can into this last word.

This isn't what it was supposed to be like, he thinks to himself, feeling a disturbing burning sensation under his eyelids. As a little boy, he used to imagine meeting his father countless times, but in none of these imaginary meetings did the man seem so cold and distant.

"Everything I did, I did for a cause," Andreas answers him calmly.

'One day, I hope you will see everything I did was for your benefit, Sky.' These are the words Silva said to him just a few minutes ago. Back then, Sky was annoyed by them, now, however, he can't help but notice the contrast between them and Andreas' statement. Both men are probably lying, he thinks, or at least they are both wrong. Still, it was somehow nicer to hear about being lied to for his own good than about losing to an unspecified 'case'. Sky closes his eyes and tries to count to ten, just as he's always been taught to do. Control your emotions, look at things objectively, consider all aspects before deciding on the next step. But before he reaches seven, he clenches his fists, turns on his heel, and simply walks away. Maybe it's cowardice, he thinks to himself, but who cares? There is no one left whose opinion matters — the man who tried to instill in him courage and other virtues has just been arrested for murder, and the man who has been presented as an example of them since Sky was a little boy doesn't seem worthy of it at all, at least not yet.

Someone calls him by his name, but Sky doesn't slow down. Only after a moment he realizes that it's not Andreas, but Riven. So he lets his friend catch up with him, but that doesn't mean he's going to talk.

"Happy?" he growls, casting Riven a sidelong glance.

Riven shakes his head.

"You may not believe me, but I don't wish Silva ill, I really don't. But talk to them, Sky. At least hear them out before you start judging."

Sky is tempted to say something wise about honour and betrayal, but he stops midway through the first word. Since his whole life has been a lie, apparently, maybe it's time for him to stop playing his role as well?

"Fuck off!" he snaps instead, then passes the clearly surprised Riven and walks away.

For the remainder of the day, Sky avoids company and is glad that both Riven and Andreas — he still can't think of the man as 'dad' — apparently have decided to leave him alone. The next day, unfortunately, is Monday and despite everything, Sky knows that not showing up to the first training with the new Headmaster of the Specialists isn't a good idea. Luckily though, Andreas doesn't seem to pay much attention to him — or at least the man doesn't make a show of him the way Silva did when welcoming his first year students a few months ago, and Sky is grateful for that.

From the very first minutes of the class, it becomes obvious that Andreas has a completely different approach to training than Silva. He doesn't give them too much time to warm up, and almost immediately orders them to get out the training swords — the steel ones, which differ from the real ones only in the level of sharpness. One by one, he tests the skills of each pair of students, sharply criticizing any shortcomings. That last thing appears to be not that much different from the approach of predecessor, but at some point Sky begins to notice that Andreas tends to point out the mistakes but not suggest how to correct them. It also soon becomes obvious that the man prefers a much more offensive, even brutal style of fighting, and especially the first year Specialists have some problems with meeting his expectations. Sky himself does pretty okay though — maybe because, as usual, he's paired with Riven, and their recent tensions, paradoxically, translate perfectly into the intensity of the fight. So much so that they even earn praise from their new teacher — something Sky is even less proud of than usually.

When the class ends, Andreas calls him over. Sky doesn't feel any more ready for this conversation, but he cannot refuse a direct order, so he reluctantly follows his father towards the school building. To his surprise though, Andreas doesn't go back to the topic of their relationship, or rather the lack of it. Instead, he informs Sky brusquely:

"Silva escaped the Solarians on the way to prison."

Sky gives him a surprised look.

"I hope that if you know anything about his plans or potential hiding places, you won't keep it to yourself."

Sky's first instinct is to ask why on Earth he should help out in the hunt for his foster father, but he manages to hold back in time. As long as he doesn't know what to expect from Andreas, he'll be better off focusing on listening than talking.

Meanwhile, Andreas probably he realizes he's made a tactical mistake, because his next words sound a little softer.

"Sky, listen. I know you're loyal to him. Despite all his lies, you were close, I get it. But you can't help him by hiding his secrets. Sooner or later, he'll be captured anyway. Then, of course, he's going to get a fair trial and a chance to defend himself, but a lot depends on how much he wants to cooperate."

"With you?" Sky snorts, forgetting his previous resolution. "He's supposed to cooperate with you after you accused him of murder?"

Without a word, Andreas pulls his sweater up, revealing a rather ugly looking scar on the right side of his torso just below his ribs.

"Do you really think we accused him for no reason?"

Sky swallows loudly.

"He said you attacked first. That he wanted to warn the others, and you wouldn't let him."

"That's his version of the story," Andreas says again, but Sky can't help but notice that the man still hasn't shared his.

"If you consider him a cold-blooded murderer, then why let him raise me?" he asks instead, deciding that he is not yet ready for another Aster Dell story, not when he still hasn't dealt with the previous one.

For the first time, Andreas looks a bit unsure.

"It was fucking hard for me, too, son," he finally says in a voice that carries the most emotion Sky has heard from him yet. "And I really want to make it up to you, if you just give me a chance. Will you at least try?"

Sky hesitates for a moment. This Andreas he's just met is nothing like the one from Silva's stories, but on the other hand, Saul has been lying to him all his life, so why is Sky still instinctively taking his side? Perhaps it's all about what Silva told him not so long ago: that what's familiar seems safe to us and that's why it is so difficult to leave it behind. Silva is familiar and Andreas is the great unknown, but does that mean the man doesn't deserve at least a chance? Sky really doesn't know what to think about it and, what's worse, he realizes that this time, he has no one to help, no one to talk to, he has to make this decision all on his own.

"I'll try," he agrees reluctantly, thinking that it's not even a declaration yet, as trying does not mean succeeding after all.

Andreas doesn't mention Silva anymore. Instead, he asks Sky about school, friends, hobbies, all those ordinary little things that are a natural topic for such a conversation. So when Sky is alone again, he's finally in a slightly better mood.

The topic of Silva does come back a few days later. This time, Sky is summoned to Rosalind's office — the same that Farah Dowling has recently occupied. Sky finds it even harder to believe in the former headmistress' voluntary departure than in Silva being a murderer, and from what he has heard, most of Alfea's students share his doubts. But there is something about Rosalind that no one has dared to even mention the name of her predecessor since she came to Alfea, and there is no sign that this is going to change in the foreseeable future.

The conversation is short and to the point. The new headmistress places a familiar-looking phone in front of Sky.

"Can you unlock it?" she asks.

Sky frowns, unsure if he really wants to help. Feeling the expectant gazes of both Rosalind and Andreas on him, he finally reaches for the smartphone.

"Password?" he is surprised after a moment. "As far as I can remember, Silva never secured his phone even with a PIN. Are you sure its his?"

"He had it with him when he was arrested. Harvey says the software was magically strengthened, not by him, and that it simply cannot be unlocked without the password," Andreas explains.

It is easy for Sky to guess that if Rosalind can't break it, Headmistress Dowling had to be the one who placed the spell.

"You knew Saul Silva best," Rosalind smiles encouragingly, but Sky notices the past tense in her sentence, and coupled with the cold look in her eyes, it makes him shiver. "You'll surely figure out what password he could have used. After all, you take more after your Dad than just his looks."

Sky firmly puts the phone down on the desk.

"I have no idea, he could have used anything," he says truthfully. And I'm not a traitor, he adds in his thoughts. Besides, Andreas may be his father, but he's definitely not a dad. Not yet. But Sky doesn't dare to say it out loud.

"Try it." There's a steely gleam in Rosalind's eyes.

There is something about it that makes Sky reluctantly reach back for the device. However, this doesn't mean that he intends to cooperate. He types in his name first, then 'Toothless', knowing full well that Silva is not stupid enough to use either of them. Then he tries three random dates, suspecting that the other two won't be able to validate them anyway. Finally, he lowers the phone and makes an expression that's full of resignation.

"I really don't know," he says, looking directly at Andreas, considering him to be the lesser threat.

"Sky." Andreas frowns in warning, but Rosalind cuts him off with a wave of her hand.

"You see, Sky, we haven't told you this so far so as not to worry you, but Saul Silva was injured during his reckless escape. He may be seriously hurt, we don't know for sure, but what if he's bleeding out right now somewhere where no one will find him before it's too late? You want to protect him, it's very noble of you, but you don't want to have his life on your conscience, do you now?"

Sky grits his teeth, wondering if the woman is telling the truth.

"If you help us, then, yes, he will probably be imprisoned, but at least he'll be alive," Andreas chimes in.

For a moment it seems to Sky that there is a hint of falsehood in the man's voice, but the impression lasts just for a fraction of a second, and in the end he isn't sure if it was really there or not.

"The thing is, I really don't know where to look for him," he repeats insistently, and this time he looks Rosalind in the eye to prove he's telling the truth. "Silva didn't share his secrets with me. You know it. After all, I didn't even know about Aster Dell until a few days ago."

Rosalind nods thoughtfully, but her expression is unreadable.

"You will write down everything that could potentially be a password for tomorrow," she orders suddenly in a peremptory tone, leaning towards him.

Sky swallows nervously.

"Yes, ma'am," he says quietly, because what else can he do?

Of course, he is not going to obey the order with all honesty, but he will have to give her something that bears at least some signs of credibility. He just hopes that when setting the lock, Silva also thought about some protection in case someone entered a wrong password too many times. Something like spontaneous combustion or maybe spontaneous explosion, Sky thinks vengefully as he closes the door behind him.

Over the next few weeks, Andreas is trying really hard. He talks to Sky every day, asks about his day, once he even invites him over for a beer — it's probably not a very parental thing to do, but it's nice nevertheless. Sky still doesn't know what to make of the man, but at least he no longer feels the need to be constantly on guard in his company. Paradoxically, this makes him think about his foster father even more often than before. What if Rosalind was telling the truth? What if Silva has been wounded indeed and is bleeding out somewhere right now, all on his own, with Sky spending time chatting with the man who led to his arrest? But even if Sky had somehow cracked the password — which he doubts he ever will, as he has no idea what it could be — the big question is, would Saul want it?

"Still no sign of Silva?" he finally asks directly, unable to bear these thoughts any longer.

Andreas shakes his head.

"Any new ideas for the password?" he asks for the hundredth time.

"No..." Sky hesitates for a moment. "Can't you just leave him be? You have what you wanted, you have Alfea, is one man really such a threat to you?"

Andreas snorts irritably in response.

"This man is dangerous enough even on his own, and if he finds supporters…"

"Well, what then?" Sky stops in front of his father to make sure he doesn't dodge the question, then finally asks something he should have asked long time ago. "What really happened at Aster Dell?"

"How much do you already know?" Andreas answers his question with another question.

Sky is not falling for it.

"I want to hear your version. All of it, from start to finish," he says firmly.

There is a moment's pause while Andreas seems to consider his answer. Maybe he's just trying to collect his thoughts, put them together into a coherent story in his head first, but Sky finds it a bit strange. Andreas doesn't look sad or upset. He's just thinking.

"Come into my office," the man suggests finally. "We'll talk there."

When they reach the office, Andreas is still taking his time though, until Sky finally has to remind him what he's here for. The man sighs and gives him a crooked smile.

"So yes, I suppose what you heard is true. Yes, Rosalind made up the evacuation story so that the others wouldn't think of backing out. Do you know what happens to a soldier who refuses to obey an order?"

"So what, you were lying to them for their sake?" Sky snorts. "And what about Silva?"

Andreas shrugs.

"Stupid, naive Saul with his stupid noble ideals. I couldn't let him do it, Sky."

"Do what? Save these people?"

Andreas flinches but restrains himself so quickly that Sky barely notices his reaction.

"Sky, the people of Aster Dell weren't innocent civilians. They were blood witches. Do you know what it means?"

Sky isn't sure if he does, but that's not the point.

"Everyone? Even the children?"

"They'd have blood on their hands in a few years too!" Andreas hits his fist on the table. "Sky, can't you see that at Aster Dell, we dealt with two threats in one strike, giving the seven realms over a decade of peace and prosperity?"

"But at what cost!"

"Cost? It was us, Rosalind and I, who paid the highest price!" Andreas gradually loses the perfectly studied pose Sky has seen so far. "Yet Saul had the nerve to complain about it to you? He disobeyed an order, almost killed me, and was rewarded with a nice position and you on top of that."

"Well, you obviously didn't want me, so what do you care?" Sky ironizes, also losing more and more of his composure.

Andreas leaps to his feet so abruptly he knocks over the mug standing the edge of the desk. It falls with a loud crash, breaking into a dozen of small pieces, which is probably what brings the man back to calm.

"Nobody asked for my opinion, Sky,"Andreas says hoarsely, as he collapses back into the chair.

Sky shakes his head. He wants to understand, he really tries, but it's too much…

"Son…" Andreas seems to see the boy's confusion, because his voice becomes oddly gentle again.

"Don't call me that!" Sky's still not ready to give in. "You don't deserve it, not yet."

"Sky," Andreas picks up. "We don't have to agree on everything. We can learn to respect our differences."

"For me, the lives of dozens of people are more than just differences!"

Andreas sighs irritably and leans back to rest against the back of the chair.

"Saul has made a mini-Silva out of you," he states sourly.

Sky can sense a hint of contempt in his voice.

"I don't see how it's a bad thing," he replies coldly.

The man snorts under his breath.

"Of course you don't. You're blind just like him, all you can see is this whole bunch of nonsense ideals. Honour, honesty, all that pointless heroism. Sounds nice and all, only it has nothing to do with real life, Sky. People like Saul Silva are dreamers, out of touch with reality. They're noble, I do not deny that, but they're always doomed to fail. Respect him if you want to, but don't try to be like him. Believe me, Sky, it's not worth it."

Sky is silent. He's unable to find arguments to counter Andreas' words, but that doesn't change the fact that he doesn't agree with them at all. Maybe he's a mini-Silva, he thinks to himself, but contrary to what his father suggests, it makes him proud, not ashamed. He also involuntarily recalls everything Saul has told him about Andreas. He already knows it was a pile of lies, but he's also beginning to appreciate that Silva wanted Sky to think as highly as possible about his biological father. After all, no one could have predicted Andreas would return. With his lies, Silva was trying to protect not Andreas, not even himself, but Sky — he sees it more and more clearly now. But he also knows that if he is to ever have any influence on what's going on, he must act wisely, and it won't do anyone any good if he picks arguments with Andreas now. So this one time Sky decides to lie, not for his own sake, but for Silva's. For Bloom and the other fairies, for the Specialists, for Alfea.

"All right. Thank you for being honest. I will try to understand." It doesn't sound as convincing as Sky would like it to, but apparently, it's enough because Andreas finally relaxes, opens a drawer and takes out a pack of cigarettes.

"You smoke? I shouldn't ask, you're a bit too young for that, but what the hell."

"No, thanks," Sky declines, then frowns as he recognizes a familiar phone at the bottom of the drawer.

Andreas notices his gaze and pulls the device onto the desk.

"We still have nothing," he admits. "But something just came to my mind."

Even upside down, Sky can recognize that the password Andreas is typing on the touchscreen keyboard is 'Aster Dell'. They both hold their breath for a moment when the screen goes black, and after the longest second in Sky's life, the display replaces the previously blank wallpaper with a picture of a rather gloomy-looking castle.

For a moment, Andreas's face beams, but after a second the euphoria turns to rage and the man throws the phone back on the desk with a loud curse. Intrigued, Sky pulls the device towards him and discovers that the photo of the castle is actually another lock screen. And it looks like the password may be longer this time, because the space to enter it takes up most of the display. Sky frowns. It's so unlike Silva. His foster father never even bothered to change the default wallpaper on any device he owned. And he certainly never set complicated passwords — Sky still remembers that time Riven talked him into breaking into Silva's computer to see what tests he had prepared for them. Nevertheless, Sky has no doubts that the smartphone he is holding in his hand belonged to Silva. What does all of this mean then, and was Saul trying to protect the device only from Rosalind, or from him, from Sky as well?

While privately Andreas is quite bearable, Andreas the teacher quickly gains the hatred of most, if not all, Specialists, and Sky can perfectly see why. Patience is clearly not one of his father's virtues, and the more impatient Andreas becomes, the worse he treats the poor unfortunate soul who cannot deliver what is required of them at the moment. More than one student has already gone through the hell of practicing the same sequence over and over again, sometimes even for a whole night, until Andreas was satisfied with their progress. What's even worse, the new headmaster has come to the conclusion that the higher the risk, the better the students' motivation, so now everyone, regardless of their level of experience, trains with the use of sharp weapons. In addition to that, Andreas has paired freshmen with the senior students, and Sky initially even applauded the idea, knowing full well that two inexperienced first years with sharp swords were a tragedy waiting to happen. Now, however, he's beginning to doubt this strategy more and more, just like he doubts the rest of his father's decisions. And watching Dane struggling in an unequal fight against Riven, he wonders once again how he can gently suggest to Andreas that the man's teaching methods are neither the best, nor the safest — although Sky suspects that his father is already aware of the latter.

"And you died again, Dane. Bloody focus!"

Dane is already bleeding from a broken lip and a small cut on his forearm, but Andreas doesn't seem too concerned.

"Come on, pick up your fucking sword. You will keep picking it up until you finally make proper use of it. Even if we have to be here til morning!"

"Hey, it's not my fault Dane can't beat two blades," Riven rebels, but he still obediently shifts into position, waiting for his friend's new attack.

Dane is visibly getting tired. He's taking his time at first, until a sharp shout from Andreas finally pushes him to move forward. Determined to obey the teacher, the boy attacks too quickly, exposing his left side. Riven mercifully doesn't take advantage of his mistake, which earns them both another round of swearing from Andreas.

"Maybe I'll put one aside for now?" Riven suggests, watching Dane pant.

"No. We won't teach him anything by going easy on him."

Sky clenches his fists and wonders again if he should intervene or not yet. He doesn't want to bring Andreas' wrath on his friends, additionally irritating the already furious man, but this fight has long ceased to bear the hallmarks of a fair lesson. Sky remembers well when he started learning to fight against an opponent armed with twin blades. It wasn't easy, despite the fact that Silva very patiently showed him all the ropes and explained all the potential traps. Dane, it seems, has been thrown in at the deep end just after watching two or three fights between Riven and Sky and one short presentation from Andreas.

Dane is too exhausted to even try rebelling, or maybe he's just too proud or simply too scared of Andreas. because he's still desperately trying against all odds. Prompted by Andreas, at Dane's next mistake Riven strikes back. At the same moment, Dane loses his balance, and this time only Riven's quick reaction as he retracts his blade at the last moment saves the younger Specialist from basically impaling himself on one of his opponent's swords. Dane drops to one knee, lets his sword fall to the ground again, and instinctively grips his stomach where the tip of Riven's blade cut through his T-shirt.

"Stop being a baby and pick up that sword," Andreas growls, walking over and grabbing Dane's collar to pull the boy to his feet.

Riven mutters something that even at this distance seems like a swearword, takes another step back and turns his head away. As Sky catches his gaze, he is shocked by the helplessness in Riven's eyes.

"Stop it!" he yells with all his might.

In a few strides, he catches up with his father and squeezes between him and Dane, forcing Andreas to let go of the boy's collar. Out of the corner of his eye, he notices that the gazes of all the students around are on him, but he doesn't care. In fact, he's even glad.

"Sky!" Andreas's voice trembles with fury, and Sky knows that if any other student had done something similar, the man would probably have hit him by now.

"No, Andreas," he snaps, emphasizing the last word. "What, can't I call you by your first name?" Sky's tone is dripping with venom now. "You know, Andreas, respect must be earned first. And you will certainly not earn it by bullying and endangering your students. And let me tell you one more thing, Andreas. Mr. Silva was a much better teacher, man and father than you will ever be!"

Someone puts a hand on his shoulder and Sky's first instinct to strike back, but then he notices it's just Riven and that his friend seems to be trying to calm him down. Andreas is still staring at him speechless, and finally Sky realizes that since he has already said what he had to say, the best option is to just evacuate.

"Get Dane out of here," he orders Riven, not caring if his friend gets irritated by his commanding tone. Then, taking advantage of the fact that Andreas has apparently still not decided yet how to punish him for his outburst, he simply walks off.

He slows down only after he turns the corner of the school building. He exhales heavily and runs his fingers through his hair when the full awareness of what he has just done dawns on him. But he also realizes with surprise that he said exactly what he feels. And that he probably should have realized it a long time ago.

He hears footsteps behind him and straightens up hurriedly, ready for the next fight, but to his surprise, he recognizes the approaching person to be Terra Harvey.

"Oh, Sky." She shakes her head disapprovingly. "A Gryffindor to the bone, as always, while this situation calls for a more Slytherin approach."

Sky laughs briefly, though without conviction.

"Oh? To be honest, I've been feeling more like a Hufflepuff lately."

"Hey, I'm a Hufflepuff and I'm proud of it," Terra huffs at him.

However, her warm smile tells him that she is joking, and Sky finally forces himself to relax and reciprocate the smile. He recalls how close they were as children, when they both used to obsess over 'Harry Potter', taking online Sorting Hat quizzes or playing Quidditch, for which they came up with their own rules to reflect the lack of actual flying. Then, as they started to grow up, their paths somehow parted, with Terra focusing on learning to use her powers, and him concentrating on training with Silva and other Specialists. However, Sky is relieved to realize that in Terra's company, he can still relax and just be himself. He hasn't allowed himself to do so for such a long time... Silva is gone, with Riven they barely talk to each other any more, Stella is keeping her distance, which Sky understands and respects, knowing that in the long run it's better for both of them, and Bloom... Well, there's no denying that they are drawn to each other, but the return of Rosalind has greatly complicated the already difficult relationship, especially since the current headmistress of Alfea chose Bloom as her pet. And even if Bloom has never asked for it — and Sky knows she hasn't, he can see her guilt, no matter how hard Bloom tries to hide it and soldier on — the distrust that had arisen between them before has only deepened in these past few weeks. Besides, the fact that Sky's father has returned — Rosalind's right-hand man and the person who raised Beatrix — doesn't make things any easier for them either.

"How are the others?" asks Sky suddenly, surprising both Terra and himself.

The girl smirks at him.

"By others you mean Bloom, don't you? Or would you like to hear about Aisha's new skills or how Musa's doing after breaking up with Sam?"

"I didn't know they broke up." Sky's at least trying to keep up appearances, but Terra doesn't fall for it anyway.

"Well, Bloom then. She hates what Rosalind is trying to do with her. She's supposed to be teaching her fire magic, but Bloom really feels as if Rosalind was just trying to make a useful weapon out of her. Which she probably is actually doing, let's be true." Terra glances over her shoulder to make sure no one is listening, then adds, "You know, we've been considering simply running away. This is not our Alfea anymore, I'm sure you can see it too. We don't want to be soldiers nor pawns in someone else's game. Only where would we go? Rosalind would definitely be looking for Bloom, we'd need a really good plan and a true leader. I thought maybe Dad, but he's too scared. He's already lost Mom, Mr. Silva and Mrs. Dowling, now he's only got us, and we think Rosalind must have threatened to do something to us, because Dad is absolutely terrified to oppose her, it seems."

Terra is talking too much, as usual, thinks Sky, and he smiles involuntarily when he realizes how much he has missed it.

"Don't do anything stupid," he warns, however, when the girl finishes.

Terra frowns.

"No, I mean it," Sky adds hastily. "What you say makes a lot of sense, really. But we need a plan. A really good plan, like you've said."

"We?" Terra beams at him.

Sky snorts softly in response.

"What? You didn't think I'd let you fairies go to war without a Specialist, did you?"

When Sky returns to his room, Riven is seated on the couch and he seems to be waiting for him. Sky frowns. For the past few weeks, both of them have been successfully adhering to the new unwritten rule that had each of them sticking to their respective part of the suite.

"How's Dane?" Sky asks hesitantly, taking off his jacket.

Riven shrugs.

"He'll live. Andreas was so mad at you he forgot about us. You showed real balls today!" He sounds almost impressed.

"Praise from Riven? Wow, I have to mark the date in my calendar or something," Sky taunts him out of habit.

"No, really. I've always known this school was fucked up, but only now do I see how much." Despite his usual mocking tone, Riven seems surprisingly serious. "Silva was okay, you know, everyone thinks so."

"Where does this sudden change come from?" Sky snorts in response. "I thought you were the new headmasters' pets. You know, Beatrix and her lapdogs."

"You saw yourself how the new headmasters treat their pets," Riven answers sourly. "Anyway, I have nothing to do with Beatrix anymore. And I've learned a bit of empathy lately, too."

"You and empathy? The world's turned upside down," Sky mocks him, but he still takes two cans of Coke from the refrigerator, grabs a bag of potato chips, brings it all to the table, and collapses onto the couch next to Riven.

Without a word, his friend moves the magazines and dirty dishes that litter the table away to make room for the food. Neither of them mentions the recent events anymore. Instead, they start a casual chat about everyday topics, and soon Sky begins to gradually relax. He's not sure if he can trust Riven again, and he certainly isn't going to tell him his secrets. But he has to admit it's nice to again have a buddy to talk to about trivial things, forgetting about reality at least for a while.

Later, while in bed, Sky looks back at everything that happened that day and begins to come to the conclusion that after all theses weeks of uncertainty and confusion, he finally knows what to do.

The next day is Saturday, and training is compulsory only for those Specialists who have earned punishment during the past week. Sky knows the only reason he isn't in that group is because yesterday he managed to escape quickly enough that the shocked Andreas didn't have the time to react yet. He suspects that some sort of guilt or responsibility has so far made his father treat him a little better than the other Alfeans, but he knows this time he went too far. So he decides not to wait. He spends most of the day planning, and in the early evening, when he is sure that the punitive training is over, he goes to Andreas' office before the man can summon him himself.

At the door, he takes several deep breaths, glances at his watch, then gathers up the courage and knocks. Andreas opens almost immediately.

"Ah, Sky," he says nonchalantly, letting his son inside.

Sky walks in hesitantly and looks around the office as if he saw it for the first time. There is a beer bottle already open on the desk, and next to it Sky spots the well-familiar phone that used to belong to Silva. This means that Andreas has been trying to crack the password again, and this combined with alcohol means he probably is not in the best mood. Still, Sky is determined to go through with what he's intended to do.

"I came to apologize," he says quickly. "For yesterday. I overreacted because Dane and Riven are my friends. But I had no right to question your authority. I'm sorry."

Andreas frowns.

"Question my authority?" he repeats in a mocking tone. "From what I remember, you went much further than that."

"I know, and I'm sorry," Sky repeats stubbornly. "I was angry and I wanted to get back you."

Andreas opens his mouth, ready for another reprimand, when suddenly there is a loud bang somewhere outside the window.

"What the…?"

The first noise is followed by another one, even louder, and everything seems to be coming from the direction of the Stone Circle. Moments later, Andreas' phone rings, the man answers, turns pale, repeats "yes" a few times, then glances at Sky.

"We'll talk about it later."

Sky nods and follows his father through the door. They are already in the corridor, when he stops suddenly.

"Sorry, I left my jacket inside. I'll catch up with you."

Andreas dismissively waves his hand, not even paying attention to his words, and hurries away. Sky returns to the office, closes the door behind him, and opens the drawer where his father put Silva's smartphone just a moment ago. He grabs it and runs out of the school building in the opposite direction than the still perfectly audible commotion.

Knowing he has at least a few minutes of advantage, he crouches in the darkness behind the nearest corner, takes Silva's phone out from his pocket and eyes the soaring towers of Hogwarts on the lock screen with a determined look. If he got it wrong, it's been all for nothing... He closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them and quickly types in the familiar, but long unheard sentence: 'I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.' He squeezes his eyes shut again, and when he opens them and glances back at the phone, he lets out a long breath of relief. It's finally unlocked.

He quickly browses through the apps. Messages are empty, and so are the calendar and the notes. Finally he opens the photo gallery where he finds a single picture. It is a map of Solaria, not even a very precise one, with a dozen or so places marked, each with a name known to him from the 'Harry Potter' books. Alfea is of course 'Hogwarts'. The town labeled as 'Hogsmeade' initially seams unfamiliar, only after a while does Sky remember that it's the place with the pub where they once stopped during a short trip, and this is where Silva bought him his first a beer ever. Intrigued, he keeps reading the labels. There is no time to consider each location, but a moment later Sky knows that he has found what he was looking for: 'the Room of Requirement'. In fact, he doesn't even remember if they have ever talked about this particular part of the books. But it's the only name on the map that refers to a room at Hogwarts, not an entire building or town, and if Silva left that clue with Sky in mind — which this Harry Potter theme seems to imply — then he must have predicted that Sky would want to find him. And where to look if not in a place that promises to give everyone what they need the most at the given moment?

Sky smiles warmly, imagining Silva preparing this whole puzzle. Then he locks the phone again, makes sure the lock is still working the way it did before, and slips the device into his pocket.

Terra, Bloom and the rest of the conspirators are waiting at the prearranged place.

"Well done," Sky praises them, squeezing Bloom's hand.

"We've gathered everyone who can be trusted," Stella informs him. "We can go."

"First, we need to be sure that no one is guarding the Barrier." Sky squints as he searches the darkness for Musa's face. After he notices her, he squints even more, surprised, as he recognizes the familiar figure lurking behind her.

"Yes, I can't believe I'm here either," Riven says jokingly, for which he immediately receives a solid punch in the ribs from his companion.

"Riven is is on our side," Musa declares with such conviction that even if he didn't want to, Sky would have to believe her.

Then he recalls his friend's words about learning empathy and suddenly he realizes what they meant. Somewhere behind them someone, probably Sam, makes a soft snort, but Sky knows they don't have any more time to waste.

"Lead on," he tells the mind fairy.

"Will you tell us where exactly we're going?" Aisha asks, but only after they are at least a mile away from the Barrier.

Sky's tightens his grip on Silva's phone in his pocket and once again thinks about what will happen if he's wrong. Either way, there's no going back.

"We're looking for the Room of Requirement." He smiles slightly.

"Yeah, and I'm the Tooth Fairy," Aisha mocks.

"No, my dear, you are one hundred percent Hermione." Bloom bursts out laughing, which is so infectious that Sky can't help but laugh as well.

They spend the next day walking through the woods, trying to cover their tracks (Terra's earth fairy powers come in handy here) and changing direction a few times in case they are being followed. Sky, however, hopes that with all the confusion, it wasn't until this morning when Rosalind and Andreas finally realized that a few students are missing. Thus he assumes that they might still have a bit of an advantage over their pursuers. He also hopes Professor Harvey has found and understood the coded message left to him by Terra and will at least try to delay the chase. And that he will take care of Toothless for Sky too...

As another night falls and there is still no sign of a chase, Sky decides to abandon caution and lead his little group straight to their destination, which is already close.

The old shed hidden in the middle of the forest looks really inconspicuous — which makes it a perfect place to hide. The fairies don't detect any traps, which might seem a bit surprising, but on the other hand, Sky doesn't know how much time Silva has had to prepare his defenses. After all, very little time passed between Rosalind's return and his arrest, and it could have been difficult for him to bring here a fairy who'd cast some protective spells for him. Assuming, that is, that Silva really is here. So Sky decides to take a risk and come closer, giving Musa the opportunity to see if she can sense anyone inside. What he doesn't predict is that a group of teenagers, even if they try very hard to be quiet, is bound to make some noise, and Silva has always been alert to the point of exaggeration (Sky sometimes jokingly called it his 'military paranoia'). So before Musa has a chance to warn them, a single arrow lodges in the tree just above Sky's head. He has no doubt that this was a warning.

"Don't shoot!" Terra calls out in a squeaky voice somewhere behind him.

"Show yourself!" Silva's tense order comes not from the shed at all, but from somewhere in the woods, from a direction Sky can't identify.

"It's me, it's Sky!" he shouts hurriedly, glancing around.

Moments later, a familiar silhouette emerges from the bushes to Sky's right. Silva turns on the flashlight to make sure it's not a trap. He has his sword drawn in his other hand, but he lowers it hastily when he notices Sky. There is disbelief on his face.

Sky feels immense relief. Silva looks tired, seems to have lost some weight, but he's moving with his usual agility, so apparently the dramatic visions Rosalind and Andreas presented Sky with had as little truth in them as all their words. Sky can't help it, he's grinning like a madman now.

"It's me," he repeats. "And I've brought you Dumbledore's Army. It's great to see you, Dad!"