The woods were dark and desolate. The sharp pointed leaves on the trees whipped at my face and arms, digging into my skin, and my feet were torn from tripping over roots and stepping through shrubbery. I was sure I was being chased. I ran and ran through the forest, frightened and cold. My belly cramped painfully. There was blood in my mouth, between my legs, soaking my white nightgown and sucking it onto my skin.

I saw a glimmer of light in front of me, my chance at a way out. I whimpered and stumbled on, my legs feeling like lead. Suddenly, the woods opened out. I was greeted by lush foliage and the bright colours of springtime. Families gathered around, sharing food, while little kids chased each other around. It was a radiant and almost unbelievable scene.

But my clothes were still wet with blood, and I didn't want to disturb the children. I turned around, needing to hide, to not let anybody see bloody hands, my bloody mouth. What had I done? What had been done to me?

An incongruous sound made me look back. The families were gone. Now, standing before me, was a cow. The creature's eyes were big and gentle, its fur white as snow. I stared at it, confused. The animal's hooves made soft thumping noises on the ground as it stepped closer to me. I slowly extended my hand. It kept moving closer until I was touching its soft and warm fur. I laughed with relief.

"Are you lost, girl? I think I am too," I whispered, touching my forehead to the animal's large one.

I felt the edges of a branding scar on the cow's neck as I petted it. It surprised me. I'd only ever heard of Muggles branding livestock — the practice was a common peasant argument for their cruelty and small-mindedness. I stepped around the cow's large, square body to better see it.

A vertical line and a circle within a triangle, burned into flesh. The Sign of the Deathly Hallows. Gellert Grindelwald's symbol. Everything around me went quiet as I stared, caught in a vacuum, unable to breathe. I squeezed my eyes shut, my jagged breath making me lightheaded.

I focused and opened my eyes again. There was no cow. I was looking back at my own dead body, my eyes milky and unfocused. My face, as I'd never seen it before… Or no, not mine, but so familiar…

The dead girl glided toward me menacingly. I scrambled back, but she didn't stop, continuing to advance even as I tripped and fell back. She pounced, and before I could hit the ground, her cold and bony fingers clamped around my wrist. A rattled, wet gasp signalled a sharp intake of air on her part.

She hissed at me through jagged, brown teeth. "See? Do you see?"

Terrified, I screamed in abject horror.

Cassandra softly closed Galena's dream journal. She'd been sitting on the edge of her friend's bed, laying next to her, reading silently, for the past few hours. Gently, she smoothed out a strand of hair from Galena's clammy forehead. Her classically beautiful face rarely looked rested these days, even in sleep.

Galena's eyelids fluttered when she suddenly took a sharp intake of breath. Her eyes snapped wide open and she blinked to focus them. As she took in her surroundings, Cassandra put on a gentle smile and a kindly expression on her face, erasing the frown that'd been there previously.

"Hey," said Galena, her voice soft and low.

"Hey yourself. Would you like some water?"

"Sure. What time is it?"

"After nine, before ten."

Galena sat up, bringing her blanket around her shoulders, and accepted the glass being handed to her. "Aren't you supposed to be in Transfiguration?"

"Durmstrang is way behind Hogwarts in Transfiguration. I already saw this material there. You needed the sleep."

"I— Well, yes, I did," said Galena, pressing her hands to her cheeks. "I do. Thank you for staying with me."

"Fidele or Tove would've if I couldn't." As a matter of fact, they'd been taking turns skipping morning classes on the days Galena managed to fall back asleep after her Merga-induced nightmares woke her up. She couldn't, most of the time.

"That's true, isn't it? Thank you, anyway. What are you reading?"

Cassandra showed Galena the book she'd set down on the nightstand next to her.

"That's my dream journal," said Galena, a line etched between her brows.

"It is," Cassandra easily admitted.

"Hmmm. You know, some people would be mad at you for doing that."

"Are you?"

Galena looked away from her. "No, I'm not. What would be the point? You've heard me scream most of it already."

Cassandra seized the chance to turn the subject to what she was most concerned with.

"Maybe I could teach you some Occlumency?" She saw the hesitancy in Galena's face and continued, "It helps with my nightmares."

"Occlumency doesn't work on Seers, Cass. Our minds are… sponges."

"You can't build a fortress out of sponges."

"No, you can't."

She considered that for a moment. "There has to be a way—"

"There isn't. I wish there was, okay? But there isn't," said Galena, her eyes welling up. "How many Seers before me do you think have tried blocking their visions? All of them, at some point or another. It's awful! All of this is so—so—awful. Merga—"

She broke into big, painful sobs, leaving Cassandra no option but to wrap her arms around her and awkwardly stroke her back while she let her fear, frustration and exhaustion out.

"I know you're in a dark place, Gal. We'll find you a way out of it. I promise."

We'll figure this out, Cassandra told herself, curled up around this tormented, wonderful sister of hers.

Hours later, she entered Ivanovich's office with Fidele, a large stack of treatises and books on ghosts and hauntings trailing behind them.

Fidele surveyed Ivanovich's collection of books and magical artefacts, admiring his art, as Cassandra set up their research area. She studied the framed meticulous charcoal drawings of desolate landscapes. Every so often, a lone bird would fly across the paper, or a cloud would move in the sky.

"Are these his?"

"I believe so. I've noticed his fingers smudged sometimes, but it could be the pipe tobacco."

"They're so detailed."

"He's very detail-oriented."

"Is it odd to have your guardian also be your teacher?"

Cassandra studied the books in front of her, eyes catching on a title. "Not really. Maybe because he's been my teacher a lot longer than he's been my guardian. My grandfather used to tutor me as well before I started at Hogwarts."

"It must've been nice to grow up surrounded by wizards like that."

"Like what?"

"Worldly. Knowledgeable. Powerful. I've only ever had my mother and her side of the family."

"And what are they like?"

Fidele hesitated, seemingly unsure how to respond. "They're… nice. Just that. Nice."

Cassandra blinked and forced a flat smile. "Yes, I suppose I won the orphan lottery."

Reading her tone, Fidele chose to let the subject go and picked up one of the books strewn across the floor. They read like that, in each other's silent company, for a long time.

"Do you have anything?" asked Cassandra, taking a moment to stretch her back.

Fidele snapped shut a copy of Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Egypt before answering her."If we still had her body, we could summon her spirit back into it in order to ask it one question. It would take a scarab, some vampire blood and a ridiculous amount of cobra venom, but I think we could do it."

"Hauling a newly dead spirit back into its body can be wildly unpredictable. There's a high chance it'd go berserk and try to kill us."

"How do you know that?"

"It's how one of my great-uncles died."

"That's actually hilarious."

Cassandra gave her a lopsided grin."You're actually a lunatic."

A long silence, and then Fidele spoke again, "Do you have anything?"

"No. Not anything that doesn't require Galena's participation."

"Cee, we can't… She's already so messed up from this whole thing."

"I don't know what else to do," said Cassandra, too tired and too raw to pretend. "It's been over a month and we've gotten nowhere. I understand your protectiveness toward her, Fi. I feel some of it myself. But you can't see her as a fragile piece of fine china. That would be doing her a disservice. She's a witch. A Seer. The reason why she's so distraught is because she's being haunted, not because she's weak."

"This would be a whole lot easier if Merga's ghost could just walk up to us and tell us what the hell she wants," snapped Fidele, toppling over a chair stacked with books with an angry kick.

She continued. "Count on that rat Karkaroff to ban all spirits from school grounds on some sort of power trip. I used to think he was so brilliant, getting rid of his opposition like that. I mean who cares what some ghosts have to say about how you do your job? I used to idolise him before you showed me…" she trailed off, but Cassandra understood she was referring to Karkaroff's trial transcripts and the truth about his relationship with her father. "If you woke up tomorrow and decided to kill me where I stand, I'd still love you for that."

"I hope you can still love me after what I'm about to suggest, then. Because you're not going to like it."

Cassandra stood outside Professor Krauja's office, flanked by Fidele and Tove. They didn't chat, but leaned on each other and watched the time impatiently. It was mid-afternoon, and darkness had fallen over Durmstrang long before, as it was typical in early December. They'd been waiting since lunchtime.

The door suddenly swung open, revealing the handsome professor. He smiled at his young students. "Ladies. Sorry to keep you waiting. Please come in, Frau Tiresias and I have just finished."

Once they entered his office, a small room with a large, welcoming fire, Professor Krauja motioned the three witches to sit down. Galena was there, seeming tired but serene.

"Are you gonna do it?" Tove asked abruptly as Professor Krauja settled himself behind his desk.

"Yes," he said, and the three of them exhaled in relief. "But—I want to make it clear that this is not something I'm doing lightly. Legilimency is an art, yes, but without free and informed consent from the party being Legilimised, it is also an ugly violation. It should be a criminal offence, in my opinion, but I digress."

"But you've agreed to do it," said Fidele.

"Yes, I have. Based on Professor Ivanovich's recommendation and with the okay from Frau Tiresias's parents, I have agreed to use Legilimency on her in order to communicate with the spirit of Frau Bien and try to sever this connection between them.

This was not my first, second or third chosen method of resolving this issue, but Frau Tiresias exhausted all other options this afternoon, unsuccessfully. So we'll resort to Legilimency.

"If this doesn't work, I'm recommending your family reach out to the Curse-Breakers at Gringotts for a more aggressive approach," he finished, looking kindly yet soberly at Galena, who nodded. "Any questions?"

"We should do it tomorrow night, sir," said Cassandra. "It's the last day of the balsamic phase of this Waxing moon. That would be the most favourable date to deal with an attacker in this lunar cycle."

"I am not a ritualist, and by virtue of that I haven't kept track of the lunar phases for my spellwork since my apprenticeship days, Frau Lestrange, but I believe you are correct. Tomorrow night is fine by me. However, I want to ensure you and your friends know that you don't have to participate in this process."

"Yes we do!" said Fidele crossly.

"I am fully capable—"

"We're a coven, professor. A constituted and blessed one," Tove interjected.

"Yes, I've heard that," said Professor Krauja steadily. "Still, as your teacher, I had to give the reminder. The fact that you reached out to a teacher for help with Frau Tiresias's situation instead of taking a stab at it yourselves speaks highly of your maturity. I trust you not to interfere negatively in tomorrow's proceedings."

Cassandra appreciated his straightforwardness and was glad he hadn't made a real objection to their involvement. The reason why they'd sought Professor Krauja's help was that they needed a Legilimens. He was the only one at Durmstrang with the skill level necessary whom they trusted within a hundred metres of Galena's mind. He hadn't disappointed so far. "We'll see you tomorrow, sir."

The low torchlight cast long shadows that stretched along the walls and across the ceiling of Ivanovich's office. In the centre of the room, which had been cleared of most of its furniture, Galena lay on a dark leather sofa. Her friends; Professor Ivanovich; Professor Krauja and his wife, the enigmatic Professor Lasses, stood in a loose circle surrounding her.

It had been Galena's idea to invite Professor Lasses. She knew, in the intangible and unexplainable way that she knew so many things, that her presence was needed tonight. Her friends had acquiesced without further questions.

"Are you ready, Frau Tiresias?" asked Professor Krauja.

"Galena. If we're doing this, please call me Galena, professor."

He inclined his head and said, "Very well, Galena. Are you ready, then?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good." Professor Krauja nodded to Professor Ivanovich, who handed him a glass vial of Sleeping Draught, which he held out to Galena. "Drink."

She took it off him and drank. Her eyelids fluttered shut and she sank further into the sofa, falling almost instantaneously into a deep sleep.

"She's going to be fine, right? When she wakes up, this whole thing will be over," said Fidele.

Cassandra squeezed her hand reassuringly. "That's the plan."

They waited. Before long, Galena's body started twitching and jerking, as if caught in the grip of some unseen creature.

Professor Krauja nodded at them and raised his wand. "Legilimens!"

Cassandra stiffened. She was glad Galena was asleep for this. As a child, she'd had to practise resisting the Legilimency Spell again and again during Occlumency lessons. She'd cried and begged her grandfather to spare her from it every day for a year. Every single day, he'd send her back her tutor's way, eyes puffy and nose full of snot, until she finally learned to seal her mind completely. The skill had likely saved her life last year when one of the Dark Lord's Horcruxes had tried repeatedly to influence and possess her.

She watched Professor Krauja for a long moment, studying the minutiae of his facial expressions as he took in Galena's thoughts and feelings. The room was suspended in a sepulchral silence so tense that she was startled when he spoke.

"I understand you're suffering, Frau Bien. But you're causing Galena suffering as well. Why don't you show me? Show me what you want her to see. And then you'll move on. I'll help you move on."

Beside her, she could feel Fidele getting agitated.

Professor Krauja finally turned away to give Galena some relief.

"She wants to take us somewhere. A place in the forest. There's something there we need to see."

"Do you have a good mental image of it?" Professor Lasses asked. "We can go once morning breaks."

He tried, then gave a frustrated sigh. "There are images, but they're not fully formed. It's all very abstract. Most of what I'm getting are Merga Bien's feelings and Galena's reaction to them."

"We could let her lead us there now," said Fidele. She was biting her lower lip nervously. "It's what we did last time, and it worked."

Tove and Cassandra shared a look of surprise at her practicality.

"She's not weak," Fidele insisted, almost defensively. Cassandra felt something warm bloom in her chest, realising she was quoting their conversation.

"No, she's not. She's being haunted. And the best thing for her is to solve this tonight."

"I agree," said Ivanovich. "We're in six. That's two people to mind the girl, and four to handle whatever we find in the forest. You can put her under a Somnambulist Charm, Liutauras, and we'll move her that way."

"That's a charm primarily used to transport the seriously deranged," clarified Professor Krauja. "No risk to your friend."

"All right then. Liutauras, you're in charge of the girl. Rosier, I've seen you in my Kampfmagieclasses; I know you can hold your own. Stay with them and watch his rear. Birgitta and Cassandra, you're with me in the front. Skau, stay in the middle and keep your wand in your sleeve. I don't want you hitting any of us by accident."

"I'm not that bad," Tove muttered.

"I disagree. I've also seen you in my Kampfmagie classes."

There were no students roaming the halls when they left the castle, long after lights out. Outside, the December darkness was so deep, it was as if they were walking through a dark tunnel that ended in the real world, where everything else lived. Their breaths came out in frosty puffs, visible under the soft light at the tip of their wands, and the crunch of their boots as they trudged through the snow accompanied the sounds of nocturnal creatures.

Professor Krauja halted, pointing ahead. "It's in that direction."

The others followed his gaze, but it was hard to see anything further than a couple of steps.

"We're heading towards the Frozen Lake," said Ivanovich.

They drew closer and circled around the dark expanse of shimmering ice. It was Professor Lasses who found it — a rocky outcropping jutting up at the east end of the lake, with a small opening that seemed to lead downward.

"I think there's a cave under here, but it's blocked."

"We could blast it," suggested Ivanovich.

"No," said Professor Krauja. "There's—here." He pressed his hand flat against a particular spot rock. It's a blood toll."

"How boorish", Professor Lasses said in a monotone voice, then cut her forearm open before the rest of them could even blink.

"Birgitta—" her husband said sharply.

She rolled her eyes, moving to let her blood drip over the stone. "I'm fine. It's better than standing here in the cold."

It worked. The large blood-soaked rock disappeared, leaving in its stead a yawning mouth in the earth that seemed to go on forever.

"If we jump in there, are we gonna die?" Tove asked Professor Kraujas.

He looked at Galena in search of an answer, then said, "I don't think so."

"Good enough for me," said Tove, her eyes glinting with a fierce sense of determination, and jumped.

"Frau Skau!" Professor Krauja exclaimed as they heard Tove's fading squeal followed by a muffled Aj!

"I'm fine! I conjured a mattress!" Tove's echoey voice replied.

Ivanovich huffed. "She could use some of that boldness in my class. The rest of you, go. I'll stay here and guard the entrance. You," he said, looking at Cassandra. "Be careful."

The descent was made one by one, with the exception of Professor Lasses, who brought an unconscious yet cooperative Galena in her arms.

The cavern was large and empty, with walls that rose high into the darkness and a ceiling that was lost in shadow. The air was cold and damp, heavy with the scent of earth and stone.

"Hello?" Cassandra called out. The sound seemed to go on forever, bouncing off the walls and returning to her in a distorted echo. But there was no answer, no indication that anything else was there with them.

"I don't know what I was expecting, but this is kind of disappointing," said Tove. She was twisting her body around, trying to get a look at her backside. "I think I ripped my pants, too."

Professor Krauja cleared his throat. "I'm sure you'll be able to mend them later. But there's something here we're meant to find."

"Says the ghost," Fidele countered, with an almost imperceptible scoff. "This place seems clean."

"Too clean," said Professor Lasses, observing the jagged walls closely. "The ceiling should be covered in icicles, from the lake water dripping in here. There should be a solid layer of ice over the walls as well, but they're still wet. It's been Scourgified."

Why would anyone clean up a cave? Cassandra looked around, searching for something—anything. She ignored the tendrils of fear in the back of her head that wanted her to think of another cave, where a Basilisk loomed and Cedric lay half-dead on the ground.

But Professor Lasses was undeterred. "They must've kept her here," she concluded. "Whoever killed Bien, this had to be where they had her."

Tove, who'd been walking around the cave aimlessly, stopped in her tracks. "Lovely."

"Do you think that's why she wants us here? Like we don't have anything better to do? People die every day, Merga!" Fidele finally snapped. "We don't want to fucking play fucking Auror for you!"

"Wait," Cassandra said, lifting her foot and noticing something protruding out of the uneven ground. "There's something here."

She crouched down and dug around the spot. The cold soil made her fingers go stiff and ache, but a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach kept her going. There was something terrible enough in there to stop a spirit from crossing into the afterlife.

Her hair was plastered to her forehead and her arms were covered in sweat and moist, black dirt by the time she finally managed to get the box out. It was rectangular, made of rough wood, and no bigger than a bandbox.

"Maybe I should—"

"I'll open it," Cassandra said, not registering who'd spoken. She thumbed the tin lock and whispered, "Alohomora".

She opened it carefully, as one would a present, and then stopped cold. The sound of her heartbeat thumped in her ears as she stared at the box's content. It was as though the air had been snatched right out of her throat.

As tenderly as Mimi had surely done with her once, she picked up the small, frozen body, and cradled it in her arms.

"It's a baby," she whispered, absorbing the devastating brunt of that truth.

"Merga," said Professor Krauja, his voice crumpling. "It's her child."

*Restless Dead: Encounters Between the Living and the Dead in Ancient Greece is a real book by Sarah Iles Johnston. I wanted to add in the scarab detail, so I switched it to Egypt.

**The Somnambulist Charm is how Sirius transports an unconscious Snape in the first draft of the HP:PoA movie script. I thought it would be a fun little callback to use it here.

***The scene of them entering the cave is also a callback to the original books.

***Aj!: Swedish for Ouch!

Me, posting on schedule? I'm surprised too! If you care to, leave a review. They're very motivating and make me happy. The next update is already done and will be posted on the 17th. See you next time, b xx