Elke was probably a nice girl, but Albus didn't like her. He knew it was wrong, but he was jealous of the intimacy between Gellert and her, the way she casually leaned her body against his, the way he put his arm around her waist. It was obvious that she'd known Gellert for much longer than Albus had, and he resented her for it.

After Gellert made the introductions, Elke spoke in English for Albus' sake, although her accent was stronger than Gellert's and her English not quite as fluent.

The three of them began walking through the forest, wands drawn and lit, Gellert in the lead. Albus' heart was still pounding from earlier, and he felt even more exposed now that there were three pairs of boots disturbing the fallen leaves, their footsteps sounding unnaturally loud in the still woods.

Apparently Albus was the only one who was concerned. Gellert was marching purposefully again, as though nothing had happened. Elke kept looking at Gellert as though she couldn't believe her eyes.

"What for are you here, Gellert?" she said. "Where have you been since after you left Durmstrang? Everyone else has given up looking for you."

"I have been busy," Gellert said. "The world will not change itself. You know I have work to do. I am staying in England, where the Deathly Hallows were last known to be."

Elke inhaled sharply. "The Heiligtümer. You found them?"

"No. But I am closer now than ever before."

Elke gave a little cry. "When the others learn of this, they will be amazed. I always knew you will find the Hallows. I always did believe."

"You need not tell the others. At this point they will only slow me down. I have Albus now, and he is ten times stronger than all of them together. If I have further uses for them, I myself will let them know. And keep your voice down. There are dark things in this wood."

"I know," said Elke. "We made them. But what for did you come back here? It is not safe. I knew you would come, I came here and looked for you every day. The others give up, but I always believe. But if you do not wish to see us, then why come back?"

"I want to show something to Albus. We are going to the cabin."

"No!" Elke exclaimed. "It is not safe!"

"No one asked you to come. If you are frightened, leave us."

"I will stay," Elke said, but she glanced nervously to her left and right, as though afraid something was watching them.

They walked on in silence for almost five minutes before the landscape began to change, the trees thinning out and the ground sloping gently downwards. Soon they emerged from the gloom under the trees and found themselves on the bank of a dirt hill. Below them was a vast tract of land several hectares in area, mostly cleared of trees, although the forest had begun creeping back around its perimeter. In the very centre of the clearing stood a few abandoned-looking buildings, surrounded by a ring of trees that looked suspiciously like a Magian holy grove, the sight of which disturbed Albus, bringing back uncomfortable memories. Beside the buildings were a few rusted old vehicles, barely visible in the pale, watery moonlight.

"What is this place?" Albus asked. "Where are we?" He didn't want to be here, especially now that one of Gellert's girlfriends was with them. He felt raw and self-conscious being around Gellert, but at the same time he was flattered that Gellert was interested in him, and curious to see what this was about.

Gellert began to descend the steep hillside, his boots slipping and sliding on the soil. Elke and Albus followed after him.

"We are in Sachsen," Gellert said as the three of them half walked, half slid downwards. "Once part of the Austrian Empire, but taken by Prussia in the war, so it is now part of the German Empire, as it should be. We are close to the border here. To the east and south is the Austrian Empire."

Elke said, "It is called as the Austro-Hungarian Empire now."

Gellert scoffed. "Those jumped-up Hungarians think they are fit to take over a German empire?"

"But Austrians are not part of Germany. Not any more."

"Austrians are Germans. They belong to the German Empire. They are merely being rebellious. We will take them soon, and then we will teach a lesson to all the filthy Hungarians and Poles and Czechs who think they can steal German land. Once all the German people are united in one nation, we will be a force as nothing the world has ever seen before."

Albus winced at Gellert's ultra-nationalistic sentiments. He hated it when Gellert spoke that way.

"This was once a military outpost," Gellert went on. "Over four thousand soldiers died here, and many peasants too."

"A military outpost? That doesn't sound safe," said Albus. "What if the soldiers see us?"

"You need not worry about the soldiers. They left a long time ago and they won't come back. People stay away from this wood."

"Why?"

"Many people died here. Now it is said this forest is haunted." Gellert made an amused sound.

They reached the bottom of the slope. Gellert leapt the last three metres to the ground, landed lightly and walked on without missing a beat. Elke and Albus took a little longer to reach the bottom, and when they did, they hurried to catch up with Gellert.

As they headed towards the buildings, the moonlight turned their shadows into long, eerie forms that drifted over the ground. All was still and quiet as the grave. It took Albus a while to realise that, in fact, they were in a graveyard.

They were walking along a rough dirt track. To either side were fields of barren soil, with pieces of wood sticking out of them, which Albus had at first taken for fallen branches. Now he saw that the wood made crude crosses, some of which stuck up out of the ground, though most had fallen flat.

"Whose graves are these?" Albus asked.

"As I said, soldiers and peasants," Gellert replied. "Many died in the war, too many to give a proper burial for. Their bodies were simply dumped in fields like this with no identification."

"That's very sad."

"They're only Muggles."

"It's still very sad."

"I forgot your soft heart, Albus. But save your pity for the wizards that died."

"Who put the crosses here, if no one knows who died?"

"There are some Muggle villages nearby. The village folk put the crosses here because of the dead."

"That's a kind gesture."

"Yes, but it's also for self-protection."

"What do you mean?"

"The village folk believe the crosses will keep away Dark magic. Silly fools. Their Muggle god has no power here, in the heart of the wood, where the old magic lives."

Albus glanced around. "Gellert, why are we here? What could you possibly want to show me in a burial ground?"

"He who would overcome death must first study his enemy, yes? Learn its ways, its strengths and weaknesses, hold its essence in his hands…" There was a fondness in Gellert's voice when he spoke of death that Albus didn't care for.

"Study…" Abruptly, Albus came to a halt. "Now hold on just a minute, Gellert. Do you mean to say that you… study the bodies buried here?"

Gellert stopped and turned to face Albus. "Yes. Why, is there a problem?"

"But that's outrageous!" Albus exclaimed.

"Why? Are you squeamish? I thought you were interested in magical research."

"Yes, but this is wrong! It's incredibly disrespectful to the dead! Gellert, these people didn't give their consent for their bodies to be studied. They were unceremoniously thrown into these graves. It's wrong to disturb them. After everything they've been through, at least let them rest in peace."

"Why are you angry at me, Albus? It was not I who started this war, nor ordered these soldiers to fight. It was not I who killed them, nor did I dump their bodies here. The ones responsible for this waste of human life are all old or dead now. At least by using them in my studies of magic, I am making sure their lives mean something more than just being a nameless corpse rotting in a hole somewhere." Gellert's eyes bored deep into Albus'. "You say this is disrespectful, an outrage? Against whom? The dead have no feelings. Only the living can feel offence on behalf of the dead. And these bodies have lain here rotting for decades, with no one to mourn them, remember them or even know about them. When I found them they were nothing but food for worms!"

Gellert spun around and continued walking. Elke gave Albus a quick glance, a strange expression on her face, before following Gellert. Albus stood still for a few moments, pondering Gellert's words, before slowly going after the other two. He didn't want to be left alone in this place.

Soon they reached the grove encircling the abandoned buildings. The trees were very large and ghostly grey in the moonlight, stretching high into the night, their bark wrinkled and lined like old skin. Someone had cut Gellert's symbol into each of the tree trunks: the line, circle and triangle that together made a sort of eye. From each inscribed symbol a dried crust of tree sap trailed like old blood or tears, as though the trees were crying or bleeding. Albus didn't like the way the weeping eyes watched them.

"Once we go within the trees, we should be safe," Gellert said.

"Safe from what?" asked Albus.

Without replying, Gellert passed between two trees and entered the grove. Elke did the same. When Albus tried to follow after them, however, something stopped him. His legs froze and refused to carry him across the magic circle's boundary.

"The trees want a tribute," Gellert said, when he saw that Albus had stopped. "Then they will let you pass."

"What tribute?" Albus asked, though he thought he already knew.

"Blood."

Albus hesitated. "If I give my blood, that will put me in the power of whoever raised this grove. I'm not sure I should do that."

"I raised this grove. Do you not trust me?"

Not one bit. But love makes fools of us all. Slowly, Albus brought his wand to the tip of his left index finger and made a small cut. He waited for a drop of blood to well up before daubing it on the nearest tree trunk. The blood shimmered on the silver bark for a moment before disappearing into the tree. As it did so, Albus felt a familiar surge of energy flowing up his arm, making his head spin. Before he realised what was happening, he was stumbling, leaning against the tree trunk for support.

"Albus!" In an instant Gellert was beside him, his right arm sliding beneath Albus', his left coming around Albus' back and across his chest, holding him steady.

"Is he all right?" Elke asked concernedly, hovering at Albus' other side. Together Gellert and Elke helped Albus through the trees and towards the front door of the nearest building.

"I'm fine," Albus said, trying to reassure himself as much as them. "I just had a bit of a funny turn, that's all. I'll catch my breath in a minute." He wasn't fine, though. Whatever that tree had done to him, it was making his head spin and his stomach churn. Shadows crept along the edge of his sight, but when he turned his head, there was nothing there. It was just like that time in the inner sanctum of the temple when he had seen that strange vision. His sight blurred, and he felt that if he didn't concentrate on the here and now he would be thrust back into another strange memory.

What's wrong with me? he wondered. What did Gellert do to me?

Dimly, he was aware of Gellert lifting his wand and murmuring some words. The door of the cabin opened, and Elke and Gellert helped him walk inside. The interior was one big room, dark but surprisingly free of dust considering how derelict the building looked from the outside. Obviously Gellert and his friends had been using the place until quite recently.

"Let him lie down in front of the fireplace," Gellert said, his voice muffled as though coming from a long way away. With a flick of his wand, he set a fire blazing in the hearth. Another flick spread warm furs on the floor before the fire.

Struggling to control his dizziness, Albus paid no attention to the cabin's contents. All he knew was that Gellert was kneeling beside him, helping him down onto the furs. As Albus lay back on the soft folds and closed his eyes, the flames sent delicious waves of warmth across his body. He realised he had been shivering. When had it gotten so cold? He opened his eyes and saw Gellert gently drawing more furs over him, covering him up to his chest.

"Thank you," Albus whispered, his teeth chattering.

Gellert removed Albus' spectacles and laid them on the floor. He brushed a few strands of auburn hair from Albus' face and laid his hand on Albus' cheek. For a moment there was an unfamiliar look in his eyes, soft and almost tender, before he stood up and moved away.

Closing his eyes again, Albus turned towards the fire and wriggled until he was comfortable under the furs. Distantly, he heard Elke and Gellert speaking. At first they were speaking in German, which he couldn't understand, but somehow the sounds twisted around and he found himself knowing the meaning of the words.

"Was ist los mit ihm?"

"Ich weiß nicht."

"He is important to you, isn't he?"

"He is very valuable."

"You care for him more than you care for us."

"Are you jealous?"

A soft laugh. "Jealous? Yes, a little. But I always knew this would happen. All you care about is power."

"That's not all I care about."

"Gellert…"

There were more noises now, quiet and intimate. Was that a kiss? The sound of hands tracing flesh, of fabric sliding against skin? Albus didn't know. He was slipping away, far away…

They were a few miles from home, deep in the forest. It was a bright spring morning and the woods were alive with colour: wildflowers growing in patches, butterflies dancing in shafts of sunlight, birds flitting through the branches high above. Annabel was tired, her little legs unused to travelling so far.

"Are we there yet?" she asked for the hundredth time, as they crossed a rapid-flowing river, deep and swift with the water of the newly melted winter glaciers. "I want my surprise now."

"Just a little further," Albus said. "You'll get your surprise, don't worry."

"But I want it now," she whined.

Why oh why wouldn't the stupid cunt leave him alone? If she would just stop being so annoying all the time, he wouldn't have to keep hurting her. She was such a tattletale, too. Every time she went crying to Papa, Albus ended up with a beating. After the last thrashing, Albus had been so angry he hadn't spoken to Anna for two weeks. Before she was born, he had been Papa's favourite. Well, this time he would show her. Today he would get his revenge.

They stopped in a quiet glade.

"Give it to me!" Annabel jumped up and down, clapping her hands together in excitement. No doubt she thought it was her lucky day. Her brother hardly ever paid attention to her, and today he had actually taken her out on a walk to give her a special surprise.

Albus flourished his wand and conjured two objects out of thin air: a large, heavy wooden box that fell to the ground with a thump, and a smaller black box that settled gently on top of the wooden one.

Annabel stared at them in wonder. "Are these both for me?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Yes," Albus said. "Open the smaller one first."

Hesitantly, with trembling fingers, Annabel reached out and picked up the black box. She opened it and gave a small cry of delight. Inside, nestling on a bed of soft white velvet, was a tiny pair of new fur gloves.

"Well, go on," said Albus. "Put them on."

Annabel drew the gloves on reverently. She held them up to the morning light before spinning around, her skirt fanning about her. No doubt she thought she looked like a rich lady.

"Well, how do you like them?" asked Albus.

"They are beautiful, Gellert!" she said, a huge smile lighting up her little face. "But they look so expensive. Where did you get them?"

"I made them myself."

"Made them?" Annabel asked, wrinkling her brow.

"Yes. Out of finest rabbit skin."

"Rabbit skin?"

"Oh, yes. Don't you want the second part of your surprise?" He tapped the wooden chest with his wand. With a click, the lid swung open to reveal the bodies of three dead rabbits, their eyes bulging, their skinless flesh pale pink.

Annabel screamed and backed away, her face twisted with horror. She tore the gloves from her hands and flung them to the ground.

"No," she said. "No, no, no! Those are my rabbits! Papa gave them to me!"

"What's the matter? Don't you like your surprise?" Albus laughed and laughed.

"You monster! When I tell Papa about this, he'll kill you!" Annabel turned and ran. She didn't get very far before Albus caught her and slammed her into a tree.

"No more telling Papa, understand?" Albus said. "From now on, you'll do as I say, or you'll be dead just like those rabbits."

A force crackled through the air like lightning and struck Albus, knocking him back a couple of paces. By the time his head cleared and he worked out that Annabel had hexed him, she was already running away.

He drew his wand and aimed it at her as she raced towards the river.

"Stupefy!" he shouted. A jet of red light shot from his wand and struck her squarely in the back, sending her tumbling. She fell straight into the water, disappearing beneath the surface with a splash.

"Anna!" Terrified, he raced towards the riverbank. Papa really would flay him if anything happened to her. Halfway there he slowed as a thought occurred to him, and by the time he reached the bank he had come to a stop.

He stared at the river's surface, watching the water flash with silver light as it rippled and warped. He couldn't see the bottom. Annabel still hadn't come up.

Supposing she drowned. His parents couldn't really blame him, could they? After all, it wasn't his fault if she slipped and fell into the river, was it? He could say that he tried to save her, but everyone knew how dangerous the streams got in early spring when they were swollen from melted glacier water from the mountains. The river was just too fast and too deep…

He would have to find her body. If someone else found it, they might detect the Stunning Spell.

His parents would be sad for a while, but they would get over it. After all, they still had him.

He nodded, his mind made up. He stripped off his clothes and, armed only with his wand, waded into the river.

Gellert. Gellert, come to me.

Albus opened his eyes, feeling them prickle with tears. It had been a hard week. Things hadn't turned out as he'd planned. Papa had beaten him anyway, because it had been his responsibility to make sure his sister didn't get hurt. His parents probably suspected there was more to Annabel's death than he'd told them, though they couldn't prove it.

After the funeral the house had become unbearable to live in. Papa was angrier and more violent than ever, and Mama spent all her time in bed crying, not even getting up to cook. He wished his sister was still alive.

Gellert. Gellert. Gellert.

The voice pounded in his head like drumbeats, refusing to let him sleep. At last he slipped out of bed and made his way to the glass case holding Papa's wand.

"What do you want?" he whispered.

Wield me. Use me. I can show you powers you never dreamed of.

"I don't want any of your powers. I just wish my sister was back. But no spell can bring back the dead."

Is that all? Bring back the dead? Easy.

"What?"

Oh, yes. Just pick me up and do as I say. Within me is the power of life… and of death.

"I know there are spells that can kill. But I thought no spell can restore life to the dead."

You thought wrongly. Life and death are the same thing, two sides of the same coin. What takes away with one hand can give with the other. Now, take hold of me.

Albus reached into the box and picked up his father's wand. It felt more comfortable in his grip this time.

Good. Listen well. First we need the body.

Under the light of a crescent moon, the churchyard was dark and still. With a wave of the wand, Albus raised the soil from the grave, uncovering the coffin. The magic seemed to come more easily, the new wand in his hand eager to do his bidding. He opened the coffin with a slashing motion, revealing Annabel's corpse, bloated from water, white and lifeless in the moonlight. The stench was so bad he choked.

Good. Take it into the woods.

"Mobilicorpus." With his sister's body drifting in the air behind him like a grotesque balloon, he hurried through the woods until he reached a grove of holy trees. Setting her down on the roots of the biggest tree, he stood back.

"Now what?" he asked.

Now we need the sacrifice.

"Sacrifice? What sacrifice?"

Do you want the gods to resurrect this girl? Then you must pay them their due. The first law of magic is that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. If you want them to give you a life, you must pay them a life in exchange.

"I don't understand."

Is there anyone you wish to kill?

Albus hesitated. "Yes. My father."

Bring him here.

Back to the house they trekked under the knife-shaped moon. Anticipation was building in Albus' gut. He slid into his parents' bedroom, where his father lay snoring and stinking of beer, and raised his wand, prepared to cast the Killing Curse.

No! Not the Killing Curse. He must die under the tree. Use the Imperius Curse.

Albus did as he was told, careful not to wake his mother. He forced his father out of the house and into the forest, enjoying the feeling of having power over the tyrant. This was easy, so easy. Why hadn't he done this years ago, why had he put up with his father for so long?

They reached the grove. Following the wand's instructions, Albus bound his father to the tree and began the incantations. At the height of the spell, he used the wand to slit his father's throat. Crimson blood bubbled from the gash in his neck and watered the roots of the tree, as the wind whispered accusingly through the leaves and the cold killing moon watched remorselessly.

It is done. They have accepted your offering. Go to her.

Annabel's little body was white and shrivelled by the tree's roots, like a rotten fruit. Albus knelt beside it.

"Anna?" he whispered.

She stirred. Slowly, glacially, she rose, pulling herself into a sitting position. Her head turned. Her eyes focused on him.

Albus gasped, drew back. Whatever was looking at him from those milky, blank eye sockets, it wasn't his sister. He swallowed.

"Anna? Are you all right? Speak to me."

Anna's lips moved. A voice like rustling leaves issued from her mouth, so soft Albus had to strain to hear it.

"Hungry," she said. "Hungry. Hungry." Her white, dead hands closed around his throat. He struggled to break free but her grip was impossibly strong, crushing his windpipe, choking the life out of him. The dead, rotten stench of her filled his nostrils, made his stomach heave. He could see worms moving under her skin. She dragged him closer to her lips, her mouth opening…

Fire. A blaze of heat and light blossomed around him, and suddenly he was free, on his hands and knees, gasping for air. His throat felt raw and each breath hurt. Raising his head, he saw that Annabel, or the thing that used to be Annabel, was cowering against the tree trunk, away from the flames. The trees were whipping their branches back and forth in protest, as though angered by the presence of fire.

It was the wand in his hand. It had saved him by casting a spell.

Be careful. The dead feed on the living.

"What's wrong with her? Why did she attack me?"

You brought her back, but not all of her. She is half dead now, and she must eat life in order to sustain herself.

"That's sick!"

Is it? You eat dead plants and animals to feed yourself, do you not? The living feed on the dead, and the dead feed on the living. It is all part of the balance. You fear it now, but in time you will learn to understand it, and use it for your own purposes.

"What am I supposed to do with her?"

Whatever you please. Command her. She will obey you.

"But she attacked me."

She only attacked because she was hungry. Feed her. Then she will be obedient.

"And what am I supposed to feed her?"

Flesh. Preferably while it is still alive. But dead meat will do, if it died only recently. We have some with us here.

At last Albus understood. Raising the wand, he said, "Diffindo!"

The rope was severed, and Papa's body fell to the ground.

"Dinnertime, Annabel," he said. She seemed to understand, shuffling towards the corpse. When she fell to her hands and knees and lowered her mouth to the body, Albus had to look away…

Albus opened his eyes and found himself staring into the flames. The fire was right beside him, burning low, but despite its closeness he was shivering, covered in sweat. What had he been dreaming about? There was something important, something about death and fire.

He rolled over to face the room and slipped on his glasses. In the dim, ruddy glow of the hearth he could see a pile of furs spread out against the far wall. It took a while to work out what he was seeing: Gellert and Elke lying in the furs, their bodies tangled together.

His face burning, he turned back to face the hearth and curled into a ball. How lucky Elke was, that stupid cow. He would give anything to be in her place, to be lying beside Gellert, his head resting on Gellert's chest, Gellert's strong arms around him holding him close, Gellert's hot breath on his neck. How sweet, how wonderful that would be. He wondered what Gellert looked like naked. Beautiful, probably.

Albus pulled the blanket over his head, sealing himself in darkness, and closed his eyes. Why couldn't Gellert love him? Why did his heart have to endure this torment? He couldn't take it.

He imagined Gellert touching Elke, kissing her, smiling at her, looking at her with his eyes full of gentleness, and the thought made him so angry he wanted to smash something into pieces. It should be him with Gellert. Why did Gellert love these silly harlots?

Desperate to drive the images out of his head, he focused on the dream he had just had, trying to recall the details. There had been darkness and moonlight, a little girl and a horrible smell. Oh, gods, that smell was disgusting. Sick, putrid and foul, that stench of rot and decay had invaded the nostrils and assaulted the brain. Albus shuddered just to think about it.

Hold on. Was he imagining it, or…? Albus pulled the blanket from his head, inhaled deeply and coughed. No, the smell really was in the room, right then and there, but worse, a hundred times worse than in his dream. How could that be?

Bang!

Something struck the door of the cabin with the force of a battering ram, making the walls tremble. Dazed, Albus sat up and stared around the room. Elke and Gellert were doing the same.

"Gellert?" said Albus. "What was that?"

Bang. Bang. Bang.

A series of heavy, rhythmic poundings shook the door, showing no sign of letting up.

"Die Toten!" shrieked Elke. She leapt out of bed, naked, and struggled to pull on her robe.

"Gellert!" Albus cried, panicked. "What's going on? Tell me!"

Gellert's hair was all tousled from sleep, but he didn't appear to be worried in the least. On the contrary, he was grinning broadly.

"My little pets," he said. "They are upset with me because I left without feeding them." He threw an excited look at Elke. "But how did they get through the grove? They must have broken through the enchantments. You see, they are learning! They are becoming more intelligent!"

"Gellert!" Elke screamed. "We must leave now!"

Albus struggled to his feet and drew his wand. He didn't know what was coming, but he had a very bad feeling about it.

Crash. The door collapsed inwards, its wood splintering as it fell to the ground. In the doorway stood three figures silhouetted against the moonlight. Slowly, they shambled into the darkened interior of the cabin.

"Lumos Maxima!" Albus cried. Intense light blossomed from the tip of his wand and filled the room with blinding radiance.

The three figures were wearing half-rotted military uniforms. Their skin was ghostly pale, infested with worms, and in some places had decayed to expose the muscles and bones lying beneath. Their eyes were blank and milky, animated with an unholy light. They reeked of corruption. They were unmistakeably dead, yet they were walking.

Inferi.

The walking dead split up, one each heading for Gellert, Elke and Albus. As they moved away from the doorway, Albus caught a glimpse of more movement outside.

There are more of them out there, waiting to catch us if we try to escape, he realised.

"Albus!" Elke came to Albus' side, her wand held steady before her. "You must leave now! You can't Disapparate inside the cabin. Break down the wall and go. Incendio!"

One of the Inferi became a walking torch, a column of orange-yellow flame, but it still kept coming towards them. So did the other two.

"I don't understand!" exclaimed Albus. "They're supposed to be repelled by heat and light! Impedimenta!"

The burning Inferius and the one heading for Albus stopped moving. The third was almost on top of Elke.

"Impedimenta!" she cried, immobilising it. "Albus, you must leave!"

Albus glanced at Gellert where he sat among the furs looking ridiculously amused, as though this was all a show put on for his entertainment.

"What about Gellert?" he said.

Gellert laughed. "You two are being so mean to my pets. They just want to play with us. Can't you make friends with them?"

What was the matter with Gellert? Was he drunk, or mad?

"Don't worry on Gellert!" Elke shouted. "Caring about him will only get you killed! I will make sure he is safe, now go!"

Albus saw that Elke was right. He needed to get out of here. Gellert could look after himself. Couldn't he?

"Reducto!" Albus turned, blasted open the wall behind him and ran out into the night. He had barely gotten a few metres before he collided with something heavy, something that stank of decay and seized him in a grip as icy and hard as death.

Oh, gods. They surrounded the cabin.

He struggled, tried to pull away, but the Inferius' grip was too strong. It hung onto him, its hands tight on his throat and wrist, choking him, cutting off blood flow, numbing his arm so he couldn't lift his wand. With a sudden jerking motion, it bent Albus' arm and he felt his bones snap.

"Ahh!" he screamed.

Disapparate! No! I'll bring it back to Godric's Hollow!

With a low growl, the Inferius opened its dead mouth and sank its teeth deep into Albus' shoulder, tearing at his flesh.

"Ahh!" Albus screamed. "No, no! God, get off me!" He struggled harder than ever, but he couldn't pull away. There was so much pain. Everything was spinning, dissolving into darkness…

"Incendio!"

Albus was dimly aware of the Inferius falling away. He saw flashes of Elke, spinning and lashing out with her wand, sending out bursts of flame, harrying the Inferi as they surrounded her.

"Go, Albus!" she shouted. "Disapparate now!"

"What about… Gellert…" he muttered dazedly.

"Forget about him! He will wait until they are on top of him, and then he will fight! He only feels alive when he's near to die! I will go back for him! Now leave him to me! Go, go!"

"Thank you… Elke…" Tiredly, he focused his mind on the image of his front door. Home. Godric's Hollow.

Everything went dark for a second, the blackness compressing him from all sides. Then he was home, on the doorstep of his house in broad daylight. He collapsed to the ground, dizzy and faint, bleeding from the mess where his shoulder had been, his broken arm on fire. His stomach lurched and he retched, throwing up nothing but bile, before laying his head down and closing his eyes.

That was how Aberforth and Ariana found him, half an hour later.

The Inferi poured into the cabin. Gellert hurled them back with sweeps of his wand, laughing, but each time he drove them away, more came to take their place. Elke fought her way over to him, limping, bruised and bloodied from attacks she had sustained.

"Come on, Gellert! Let's go!" she begged.

"Why? The fun's just beginning!"

"Please! I don't want you to get hurt!"

Gellert sighed. "Oh, if you insist, Elke. Lead the way."

Elke could hardly believe her ears. Gellert was finally listening to sense! It was a miracle. Almost sobbing with relief, Elke turned and redoubled her efforts with the Incendio charm, carving a path through the oncoming Inferi, allowing her to escape through the breach Albus had made in the wall. She slipped out into the moonlight, Gellert following right behind her.

Turning, she said, "Now! Disapparate!"

"Wait." Gellert shot the wand out of her hand with a Disarming Charm.

"What are you doing?"

Gellert's hard blue gaze pierced through her, fixing her in place. "Who told the Headmaster about my experiments?"

"What? I…" She stared back, uncomprehending. Gellert couldn't really be asking about this now, could he?

"You heard me. Who told the Headmaster about my experiments?"

"Gellert, there's no time! The Dead will be on us in any second."

He raised his wand, and a ring of fire twice their height erupted around them, encircling them.

"Now we have time. We won't leave until I have an answer."

Elke stared hopelessly into Gellert's eyes. "I… all right, fine, do you want the truth? I told the Headmaster." She saw the fury flashing in Gellert's eyes, and added, "It wasn't just me, the others were scared too! They saw how you were changing, how you were getting out of hand. At first it was fun, but then you started doing all this Dark stuff. We never wanted to kill anyone. Please, Gellert. Please understand. I was only thinking of you. I didn't want you to get hurt."

Gellert nodded. He stepped forward and embraced Elke, wrapping her tightly in his arms.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"For what?"

"I can't stand a traitor."

The ring of fire died. Gellert spun Elke around and launched her back into the cabin. She was thrown to the floor, defenceless without her wand.

"Gellert!" she screamed.

The Inferi closed on her. Two of them grabbed her legs, two others her arms.

"Gellert! Help! Help me!"

Gellert watched pitilessly, his eyes hard and unfeeling as two sapphires.

The Inferi sank their teeth into her, tearing chunks of flesh out of her arms and legs. Her cries turned into shrieks of pain, incoherent moans. Blood splattered the floor as the Dark creatures eagerly devoured the living flesh and blood their master had given them. Abruptly her cries stopped as her bones snapped, the arms and legs torn off her torso and gnawed by ravenous mouths. Her abdomen was split open and her entrails ripped apart and swallowed.

Gellert watched until all traces of Elke were gone.

"There you are, my little pets," he said. "Don't say I never feed you."

He Disapparated silently as a shadow.

Author's Note:

Hi everyone. The bad news is that future updates will be significantly slower. This is due to a number of factors.

I have been exhausted and stressed out lately. My GP has recently put me on some antidepressant medication which may have side effects. I have been struggling with some personal problems as well as depression and anxiety. I started writing this story for fun, to relax during exams. I didn't have an elaborate plot planned, I just wrote whatever I felt like. For that reason the story is a bit disjointed and may suffer from serious creative flaws. Now I'm finding it hard to work out in exactly which direction to take the plot. It will end up somewhere, but if it turns out to be less than good, I apologise in advance. Please bear with me.

For those who left reviews to let me know that you liked it, thank you. You're the reason I'm still putting effort into writing this. Looking back on the story, I can see that there is some value in it, but I wouldn't have gotten this far if you hadn't encouraged me. I tend to get depressed and delete my own writing unless people stop me from being too self-critical.

KnightKat: I see what you mean now. It would be nice to publish a book, and these days it's quite easy to self-publish, although it costs money. So it would have to be an original story rather than a fanfic then, as I couldn't charge for a fanfic. I have a lot of crazy ideas for original fiction, though, so thanks for the suggestion.

Lemon Wedges: Thanks for your review. I really appreciate that you told me exactly what you liked in the story. Re: the sex scene, well, it's not the sex itself that makes me uncomfortable. This is probably way too much info, but I quite like sex scenes when I'm in the right mood. I just haven't had much practice writing them, so I don't know how to do them skilfully and tastefully. I'm sorry if the scene was over the top for you, but I wanted it to be rough and raw and in-your-face and overwhelming, because that's how I imagine Gellert.

Em: Hi Em (I know it's just an alias ;) ) Thanks a lot for your review, it's probably the kindest thing a stranger on the internet has written to me. It means a lot to me that you would take the time to write about your depression, which is a painful and personal subject. I will try to be strong, and it will be easier with people like you calling me special, brilliant and talented ;). You were seriously depressed for a year? I'm really sorry, but it sounds you are stronger than I am, because you're moving on. I've been struggling with it for about five years now, ever since I left high school. I had a pretty rough time being a gay male. People picked on me because they didn't like who I was and the colour of my skin.

I'm glad I left school, but there are still many challenges and I feel overwhelmed sometimes. I do tend to get lost in my stories, because when I write I feel in control. In the real world, I have no control, and people treat me like crap... But I'm trying to go out in the real world and make friends again. I'm trying to exercise and eat healthy and monitor my feelings. It's not easy though, especially because I'm still in the closet. My family comes from a conservative background and I don't want them to know until I'm financially independent. I was supposed to have my degree and a decent job by now, but I keep failing at uni because I'm too depressed and anxious to study. It's a vicious cycle. Luckily this year I passed two of my units and I will try harder next year. But I don't want to ramble on and burden you with all my problems. Listen to me, I sound like Albus in his letter to Elphias in the first chapter of my story. Actually, I think I wrote this story because Albus is a bit like me, and Gellert is a bit like a boy I knew in high school... we all fall in love with dickheads sometimes.

I just realised that I hate Gellert. I didn't mean to make him this unpleasant. I seriously considered rewriting the story to make him less unlikeable, but now I think I'll see how it goes. I just feel sorry for Albus. I don't want him to end up with Gellert any more. I did in the beginning, but now my Gellert is too nasty. Bah.