Alexandra and Drucilla did not walk back across the river. Instead, Drucilla took them to the park next to the submarine base. From higher ground, Alexandra looked down at the river and asked, "Are you going to conjure another fog bank?"

"At this time of day, it would look too unnatural. We're going to Apparate."

Alexandra frowned. "If we can Apparate, why didn't we do that to begin with?"

"I didn't want to alert the Aurors when we went into town," Drucilla said.

"They know when we're Apparating?" Alexandra asked. "I've heard of Anti-Apparition Wards, but I didn't know they could detect someone Apparating."

"They can't. But they can detect when I poke a hole through the Anti-Apparition Ward over the river." Drucilla wove her wand in a complicated gesture Alexandra was unfamiliar with, muttering some phrases that sounded more Greek than Latin.

"Teach me that?" Alexandra pleaded.

"When you've finished the Essential Elements series and are handling basic enchantments adequately." Drucilla stabbed her wand into the air in front of her, and Alexandra felt a burst of pressure in her ears accompanying the purple flash around Drucilla's wand.

"Fly, Charlie," Alexandra said. Charlie took off, as Drucilla took Alexandra by the arm.

They Apparated, and Alexandra felt only a moment's disorientation. They were back in front of the Whites' gabled house.

"Won't they, like, fine you or something?" Alexandra asked.

"If they can find us. Your aunt would do worse, if she found us."

"I don't really understand why," Alexandra said. "How long have you and Lucilla been avoiding the Office of Special Inquisitions?"

Drucilla gave her an odd look Alexandra couldn't decipher. "Almost two years. I am surprised Diana Grimm let you go so easily."

"I think she might not have been here… officially." Diana Grimm was always cagey and hard to read, but this visit had been more confusing than usual.

"Don't believe she's taking a personal interest in you because she's your aunt," Drucilla said. "No Special Inquisitor is anything but an instrument of the Confederation."

Lucilla came home late that night. Alexandra heard her enter as she lay in bed reading Tarsusi's Catabasis and Anabasis. With blurry eyes, she glanced at the clock and saw that it was past the Witching Hour. Lucilla and Drucilla's voices were just muffled enough that she couldn't make out what they were saying. She gestured with her wand to put out the light, and let the book slide off her stomach as she fell asleep.

The next morning, Alexandra asked at breakfast, "Have either of you ever gotten a tattoo?"

Lucilla and Drucilla looked at each other.

"No," they said together.

Drucilla went right to the point. "What were you doing in Sojourns?"

"I was just curious," Alexandra said. "The proprietor seemed to know you."

"Every witch and wizard in the city knows us," Lucilla said. "And there's a reason we live here on the other side of the river."

"Sojourns is off-limits to underage witches," Drucilla said, "as JJ should have told you."

"He did, but then I told him I was your sister, and he started talking about basilisk teeth and asked if you were cutting him out…"

"Jonah Jonas is a conniving warlock," Drucilla said. "He deals with the Dark Convention."

"So you don't do business with him?" Alexandra asked.

"You've just started learning our art," Drucilla said. "It will be a long time before you're ready to get involved in the trade. Focus on your studies and keep your nose out of our business."

Lucilla glanced at her twin. In a more conciliatory tone, she said, "JJ isn't to be trusted, Alexandra. I really want to tell you to stay away from his shop, but as we said when you arrived here, we're not interested in trying to control you. I don't blame you for venturing into Sojourns out of curiosity, but there's nothing there he can sell you legally, and you don't want anything he has to offer."

"Okay." Alexandra was not entirely convinced. She could tell by their expressions that Lucilla and Drucilla knew she wasn't convinced, but she had only walked into Sojourns out of curiosity, and she didn't know that there was anything there she actually wanted.

However, she did not miss the fact that her sisters had not actually answered her question.

Eventually, Lucilla and Drucilla let Alexandra work on something besides brooms. They started with small items, like lamps and teakettles, a pair of enchanted bedknobs, and a card box. Alexandra found even these trivial items required a great deal of research in the library, finding exactly which Charm was used to accomplish which effect.

One day she found a pair of very old-fashioned roller skates sitting on the workbench where Lucilla and Drucilla usually left things to be repaired. Alexandra puzzled over these, as she found no charms on them, and they appeared to be of Muggle manufacture. After spending an hour trying to figure out what needed to be done with them, she put them on and tried skating up and down the tiny hallway in the basement. Two of the wheels barely turned, one of the laces was broken, and the stitching was coming loose so they weren't very comfortable. Alexandra found some whale oil in the rack of Alchemical supplies she'd finally been permitted to open, and lubricated the wheels. She repaired the stitches with a Mending Charm that Granny Mahnkey had taught her, but the laces she had to weave almost by hand — there was no magical spinning wheel in the workshop.

When Lucilla and Drucilla returned that evening, Alexandra presented the skates to them, feeling defeated. "If this was a puzzle, I failed. I didn't find what I was supposed to fix."

Lucilla smiled. "But you did." She put her hand into one of the skates, like a child who'd gotten confused about which limb shoes belonged on. She slapped the wheels with her other hand, and laughed with pleasure at the sound they made spinning. "Do Muggles really travel this way? It's so… quaint!"

"Kind of," Alexandra said, "but mostly just for recreation, and those are, like, really old. I had a pair when I was little that were newer than those."

Lucilla put the skate down next to its mate. "Well, these aren't magical. I found them in a shop in town and I thought they were adorable."

Alexandra said, "You're having me mend skates? Might as well teach me cobbling."

Drucilla, who had also been smiling with her sister, abruptly turned cold. "Don't be vulgar."

"What?" Alexandra was confused by her abrupt change in mood.

"I told you, we do not employ house elves," Drucilla said angrily. "And we do not employ their crafts."

Alexandra shook her head. "I don't… Look, I'm still learning this stuff. What's the big deal with cobbling?"

Lucilla sighed. "I'm sorry, we do forget sometimes that you did not grow up in the wizarding world. Cobbling is reserved for elves."

Alexandra gestured at the skates. "Is what I just did considered cobbling?"

"I mean magical cobbling. I would never have given you magical skates, if such things exist, to repair. Only elves do that."

"What's so special about footwear that only elves can enchant them?"

"It's not that wizards can't enchant footwear. But it's just not done."

"Like a taboo?" Alexandra asked.

"Something like that. An elf who sees magical shoes made by someone other than an elf will be very offended. And they can tell, somehow."

Alexandra frowned. "Since when do wizards care about offending elves? I mean, most wizards don't seem to."

"That is true," Drucilla said. "But it has something to do with the Compact between elves and wizards. When they were bound in servitude to our kind, we made certain agreements that even wizards violate at their peril."

"Like not enchanting boots?" Alexandra found this baffling.

Drucilla sighed. "It was a very long time ago, and frankly, I think we should break that terrible Compact anyway. But yes, we don't enchant boots. Anyone who wants magical boots repaired should find an elf to do it, and they needn't darken our doorstep."

"Sounds like you agree with ASPEW." Alexandra had been introduced to the American Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare by David in sixth grade.

"I suppose I do," Drucilla said. "They're quite popular here in New England."

"But," Alexandra said, "I have two pairs of magical boots. Does that mean they were both enchanted by elves?"

"Almost certainly," Lucilla said. "Unless they were enchanted by Dark wizards."

"Um," Alexandra said.

Lucilla raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I got one pair from a hag, and it was… kind of smuggled by the Dark Convention? I mean, I don't know where they came from originally and I've worn them around elves before, so they must be kosher."

"I don't know what that means, but let us see them," Drucilla said.

Alexandra brought her two pairs of magical boots downstairs — the waterproof JROC boots that had been a gift from Beatrice Hawthorne, and the Seven-League Boots she'd taken from the hag in the Goody Pruett warehouse. Lucilla and Drucilla passed them back and forth. Examining the first, Lucilla said, "Basic Waterproofing Charm… these boots were probably made in one of those awful elf workshops."

"Elf workshops?" Alexandra looked at the boots she'd once been so proud of. "Why are elf workshops awful?"

"What sort of working conditions do you suppose elves without a wizarding home live under?" Lucilla asked. "Abolishing those workshops is one of ASPEW's chief goals."

"I thought they wanted to abolish all elf servitude."

"They do," Drucilla said, as she began examining the Seven-League Boots. "But it's much harder to argue for freeing family elves, who frequently are treated well and don't want to be freed." She glanced up from the boots to catch Alexandra's eyes. "Like the ones who live with Thalia and Julia."

Alexandra's mouth tightened. She had been thinking about the Kings' house-elves. "Julia and Ms. King do treat their elves well…"

"I know, and I won't speak ill of them, nor do I wish to offend them," Drucilla said. "But you know that so long as some families keep house-elves, they will all remain in servitude. We can't make only the unkind masters free their elves."

Alexandra wanted to object, but she realized uncomfortably that Drucilla might be right. David had made similar points, less gently. "So you are with ASPEW."

"We probably would be, if they'd have us." Lucilla smiled wryly. "But even do-gooders who care about elfish welfare won't be seen with the likes of us, and it would hardly help their cause to have daughters of the Enemy of the Confederation speaking on their behalf. But I confess I have sent them anonymous donations from time to time — oh my." She cut off the discussion of ASPEW as she ran her fingers along the seams of the Seven-League Boots, held its soles over her wand, and closed her eyes.

"What?" Alexandra asked, afraid Lucilla would tell her elves had died to make these boots or something.

"The enchantment on these boots is… unusual. Definitely of elven make, and not from a workshop." Lucilla lifted the boots off her bench and set them on the ground. She slid her feet out of her work shoes and into the boots. "Look how they fit my feet as perfectly as they fit yours." She took one foot out of a boot, and Drucilla put her foot in.

"I told you, originally a hag was wearing them," Alexandra said. "But I already knew they were magical. I practically ran across a whole Territory in them."

Lucilla regarded Alexandra with an inscrutable expression. "I think you can do much more than that. You've been using these as Seven-Step Boots, which is what most so-called Seven-League Boots really are. They let you travel seven steps with each step taken. Useful, but not actually that impressive compared to the Seven-League Boots of legend."

"What do the Seven-League Boots of legend do?" Alexandra asked.

"What the name implies. Travel seven leagues with each step."

"Right… how far is a league, anyway?"

Drucilla rolled her eyes. "There are some significant gaps in your education, Alexandra. It's a basic Arithmantic unit, for Merlin's sake!"

"Um, well, Arithmancy was never my best subject." Alexandra tried to recollect. "Okay, I remember… it's how far a man can walk in an hour, except there are different ways of measuring that because, you know, everyone has different leg lengths, and men and women walk at different paces and of course the original measurement was based on how far a man can walk, and it's like really vague and you have to calculate all these imprecise variables and that's why I hated Arithmancy…" Her voice trailed off under Drucilla's judgmental stare.

"If I am not mistaken, these are true Seven-League Boots," Lucilla said, after Alexandra fell silent. "The craftsmanship is characteristic of Old World elfish make, and the enchantments upon it are far more potent than some seven-step trifle. You may have never unlocked their true power, because it simply didn't occur to you to try."

"Seven hours journey in one step?" Alexandra considered that. "That would be… really, really fast."

"Indeed. That's why Seven-League Boots are considered legendary, and some doubt any still exist. I've never actually seen a real pair." Lucilla turned Alexandra's boots over and over in her hands. "What a remarkable find. And you just happened to find a hag wearing them? How exactly did you convince her to part with them?"

"That's kind of a long story."

Lucilla set the boots down. "Do you have somewhere else to be, apprentice?"

Alexandra sighed. Over the next hour, as Lucilla and Drucilla continued to study her boots, Alexandra told them about the Regal Royalties Sweets and Confections warehouse, the Dark Convention's smuggling operation, and her encounter with Martha, including the hag's untimely end.

When she was done, Lucilla and Drucilla were silent long enough that Alexandra grew uneasy. They had stopped examining her boots, and seemed to be examining her.

"We've heard tales of your exploits, of course, from Valeria, and Julia," Lucilla said. "And even Father has mentioned your… predilection for trouble."

"He has?" Alexandra said with surprise. Drucilla gave Lucilla a warning look that Alexandra didn't miss.

"We thought perhaps they were exaggerating," Lucilla said, a little too quickly. "Although after you told us about Eerie Island I suppose we should have known better. Stars Above, Alexandra, your feats are on their way to becoming legendary."

They didn't know the half of it, Alexandra thought, but said nothing.

"I do find it very interesting that these boots just happened to fall into your hands," Drucilla said.

"You aren't going to take them away from me, are you?" Alexandra asked.

The twins looked almost offended. "Of course not. They're yours," said Lucilla.

Drucilla pushed them across the bench to her. "But it is interesting. The Dark Convention somehow acquired a pair of genuine Seven-League Boots, sent them to an abandoned warehouse in Central Territory, where a hag happened to appropriate them, undoubtedly having as little idea as you did of their true nature, and then you ended up taking them from her."

Alexandra shrugged. "Stranger things have happened to me. Do you think someone planned for me to get them? 'Cause that would be a pretty elaborate plan."

Drucilla shrugged. "I doubt it. Even Father can't manipulate events with that much precision."

"Can't he?" murmured Lucilla, and Drucilla glared at her again.

"I think we should accelerate your studies a bit," said Lucilla. She smiled, a little sadly. "We do enjoy having you here, but you're not going to be content to settle down and be an Artificer, are you?"

Alexandra smiled back. "Maybe when I'm older?" If I get older. "Honestly, I've never thought about a career, or you know, what I'm going to do when I grow up. But I have things I need to do before then, and one of them is going to the Junior Wizarding Decathlon this summer."

"Right," Lucilla said. "You never have explained exactly why that is so important to you. And I don't think it's because you fancy winning the Gringott Grail."

"Gringott Grail?" Alexandra asked.

"The prize for winning the Junior Wizarding Decathlon," Drucilla said.

"Which you are so intent on participating in," Lucilla said dryly.

"Okay, I remember. It's some kind of goblin cup. No, I don't really care about the prize. But I do have to go, and I can't tell you why."

"You mean you won't tell us why," Lucilla said.

"Because you're secretive and untrusting," Drucilla said, "and perversely protective. You think keeping your secrets is for our benefit. I think Julia is well used to this treatment."

"Valeria certainly experienced it," Lucilla said.

"And your friends as well," said Drucilla.

Alexandra shrank a little. "It's not that I don't trust you," she said. "But some things can't be talked about."

Lucilla and Drucilla stared at her for several long moments. Then Lucilla said, "Father made you his Secret-Keeper when you were an infant, to protect the Thorn Circle. That was a terrible burden to put on a babe."

"It's not like I could object," Alexandra said. "I don't even remember it."

"Obviously not," Lucilla said. "But I think it left more of a mark on you than either of you knows. You are a keeper of secrets to this day, Alexandra."

Alexandra folded her arms. Then she said, "Wait a minute. How do you know about me being a Secret-Keeper?" She stared at her older sisters. "Did he tell you?"

Lucilla and Drucilla looked at each other, and back at her.

"He didn't have to," Lucilla said.

"We were there," said Drucilla.