The day had come for Bastila. The day she and the other champions were to be told what the third task would be. Unfortunately for Bastila, she spent the entire day half-asleep. This was due, in part, to her and Daphne's trip into Diagon Alley last night. The other cause for Bastila's exhaustion, was her nightmares. They were worse now than they had ever been before. Twice last night she had woken up Daphne and the other Slytherin girls with her hysterics, and she had even caused Nyssa to come rushing into the dorm room thinking that Bastila was in some sort of danger. And Daphne wasn't much better off than Bastila when it came to her sleep, something that didn't please Severus, nor any of the other teachers until Bastila and Daphne had explained to them in each class about Bastila's night terrors.
The teachers had then been sympathetic of the two girls' troubles and been softer on them during the day's lessons. Severus had even gone so far as to forbid them from brewing their potion, saying potion making was hazardous enough even when one was fully awake, and that it would be very dangerous to allow two tired girls to attempt it. He called them up to his desk after class was over and told them they needn't worry over one missed potions lesson, and that they would receive full marks for the day.
The day went by in a blur for Bastila, and it was at dinner that she finally broke out of her stupor. Ludo Bagman entered the Great Hall and called for the Tri-Wizard champions to follow him down to the Quidditch pitch.
"Any ideas about what it is?" Cedric asked, stepping into stride with Bastila as they walked across the Hogwarts grounds.
"No idea." Bastila answered, shaking her head. "But if it's a Quidditch match I think I'll pull my hair out. I've never been on a broom before, I don't know the rules, and three out of us five champions are star Quidditch players. I'd lose the task for sure."
"That would be pretty disappointing, especially to all your fans. You've held the lead so far." Cedric said, smiling appreciatively at Bastila.
Bastila kept her eyes looking ahead as they neared the Quidditch pitch, trying not to smile. She knew Cedric was teasing her. She also knew that she didn't give a damn about her fans. The only opinions that mattered to Bastila were those that came from the people closest to her. "I guess they'd just have to learn how to live with it if I lost." She said sweetly.
The champions arrived at the Quidditch pitch to find that the goal posts had been taken down, and the stands were all moved to one side of the field. Massive hedges stretched across the pitch.
Bagman stopped and turned to face the champions with an expectant look on his face.
"What is it?" Bastila asked, her gaze sweeping over the impossibly tall hedges.
"Excellent question! What do you think it is?"
No one answered. Then-
"Maze?" Grunted Victor.
"Very good, Mister Krum! Yes! The final task will be a maze!" Bagman clapped his hands together in excitement. "The goal is a simple one. All you need to do is reach the center of the maze where you will find the Tri-Wizard Cup. The first person to touch the Cup wins!"
Bastila felt a wave of relief pass over her. After dragons, diving to the bottom of a lake, and then fighting Voldemort, getting through a maze was going to be the easiest thing she'd done all year. She wondered if there were any spells to help with navigation, and decided she'd have to look through her books as soon as she returned to the Castle to see if she could find anything.
Bagman brought Bastila's anxiety back in full when he resumed speaking. "But though the goal is simple, the journey won't be so easy! The Tri-Wizard coordinators will be placing a very wide variety of fearsome creatures throughout the maze, as well as a few magical puzzles to get through if you happen to make a wrong turn!"
It was with a heart full of renewed stress that Bastila returned to the Castle. The knowledge that she would have to get through a giant maze without any clue as to what sort of monsters or enchantments she'd be facing while she was inside it had done nothing to improve her state of mind.
"Hey. Did anyone see you up there? And are we going out tonight?" Daphne asked as Bastila came down the ladder into the trunk's apartment. "Because I was thinking we could start with my parents."
Bastila gave Daphne a long stare."First of all, no one else was in the dormitory when I opened the trunk, don't worry. Second of all, are you serious?"
"I'm dead serious. They aren't Death Eaters, but they're still sadistic evil monsters who should be put down." Daphne said, her voice burning with anger. "I know more about them than they could ever imagine. I know what they've done. All the lives they've ruined, the people they've murdered! I've wanted to make them pay for it all for so many years, and now here's my chance!" Daphne let out a breathe and tried to get herself back under control. "Nobody has ever stood up to them. That's how it is in Wizarding society. The Purebloods can do whatever they want, and everybody knows about it, but NO ONE does anything to stop it. If it's not going to be the Aurors, and it's not going to be the courts, then it's going to be me. I know you want to start with your investigation first, but...I really think we should deal with my parents as quickly as possible."
Bastila went over to Daphne and sat on the bed with her, looking her in the eyes for a long time. How could Bastila refuse Daphne's desire to make her parents pay for all the horrible things they had done, and save many lives in doing so, when this whole thing was about Bastila stopping her own father's minions? She couldn't. "Okay. We'll go after them. Tonight."
"We need to kill them, Bastila." Daphne said with a steely tone in her voice.
"I know that. And we will." Said Bastila calmly. "But we need a plan first. We can't just rush over to the Greengrass Manor and trigger off any protection wards, or catch them in the middle of dinner with twenty guests."
Daphne's face softened. "We're in luck then, because I have a plan."
"You have a plan?" Bastila said skeptically.
"I have PART of a plan." Daphne admitted.
"That's awesome. With our not-really-a-plan-but-part-of-a-plan, we're guaranteed to pull this off." Bastila's voice was dripping with sarcasm.
"Help me come up with a plan then."
"Okay..." Bastila paused. "Can you draw?"
"I'm not an artist, but, sure. Why?" Daphne said, looking confused.
"I need you to draw a floor plan of the Manor for me." Bastila explained.
"I'll get right on that. As soon as you explain to me what a floor plan is."
"A floor plan. A map of the house." Bastila said patiently.
"I'll see what I can do. The Manor is pretty large."
"Thanks. This will be really helpful." Bastila smiled to herself as Daphne set about rounding up a quill, as well as several pieces of parchment.
"Eve?" Bastila said uncertainly.
The Elf apparated in front of Bastila, giving her customary bow. "What is Mistress Phoenix be needing of her Eve tonight?"
"Oh. Well I was actually just trying to figure out if you could apparate directly into the trunk's apartment. I guess you can." Bastila explained, giving Eve a bright smile.
"Eve can be doing many things Witches and Wizards cannot." Eve replied proudly, smiling back.
"That's right." Bastila said encouragingly.
"Hey Eve." Daphne greeted, sitting back down on the bed and laying out large pieces of parchment.
"Mistress Greengrass." Eve said with a bow.
"I want you to help us get in and out of Greengrass Manor." Bastila directed at the Elf, getting her attention again.
"Eve will be doing whatever Mistress wishes of Eve."
"This isn't about doing whatever I order you to do. This is about what YOU want to do. To be honest, I'd rather be your friend than your Master." Bastila said carefully. "But I'm still proud to be your Master, of course."
"This is our first mission as the Shadow Hunters." Daphne put in helpfully, looking up from the map. "My parents have hurt and killed a lot of people, Eve. We're taking them out."
"What's your opinion, Eve? Do you WANT to help us? I mean are you okay with what we're going to do?" Asked Bastila.
"Eve is happy to be helping her Mistresses stop bad Wizards and Witches!" The Elf nodded furiously, making her ears flap.
Bastila stared hard at the Elf, wondering if she was answering truthfully, or just telling Bastila what she wanted to hear. Bastila glanced at Daphne, who gave a shrug.
"That's good. I'd like you to feel free to speak whatever is on your mind. If you want to give your opinion, you can. If you want to stay quiet, you can do that too." Said Bastila, looking back at Eve. "Oh, and you don't have to bow to us if you don't want to. That probably gets pretty tiring."
The Elf smiled. "Eve is being grateful to her Mistresss. Mistress is be treating Eve like an equal!"
"Let's hatch a plan." Bastila patted the space next to her on the bed. After a moments hesitation, Eve climbed up on the bed and sat with her and Daphne.
After two hours of discussion, reciting all the spells they knew, flipping through all of Bastila's books to find others that could be useful, and pouring over Daphne's map of the Manor, as well as apparating into Diagon Alley to get some ready made Polyjuice potion, new clothes, and masks, they were ready to put the plan into action.
Bastila and Daphne drank the potions, then endured the horrible transformation pains. And then it was finished. They were now two completely random adult women in their mid-twenties, wearing clothes several sizes too small. They changed into their new clothes and donned their plain white masks.
It was time to begin.
At Bastila's word, Eve Apparated the trio into the Manor.
They appeared inside a small, dimly lit room that contained several bookshelves, desks, and tables, upon which lay dozens of trinkets and jewels that exuded an unmistakably dark power.
"My father's study room." Daphne commented in a tone of disgust, in the voice of the woman who's body she had assumed.
"At least we're right where we need to be." Bastila assured, moving towards the only door in the room as quietly as possible. "Eve. You know what to do. Just wait for either Daphne and I to summon you." She said, throwing a glance at the Elf.
Eve nodded once, then disapparated.
"How long is this stuff going to be good for again?" Daphne whispered in that voice that was not her own.
"About forty five minutes. Maybe. So we better get going." Bastila replied.
One silently cast unlocking charm and two disillusionment spells later, Bastila and Daphne were out of the study and moving down the hall. They met no resistance. They heard nothing. The only light was from the moon that poured in through large windows on the left side of the hall. A short time later, they stopped upon reaching a set of stairs that led to the ground floor, and a side hallway that led deeper into the Manor.
Bastila pulled Daphne as close to her body as she could, her back against the wall. Were it any other time and place Bastila would have thought about the strangeness of feeling another woman's unfamiliar curves on her, and yet not seeing them, as if they were ghosts.
"This is it." Bastila whispered almost inaudibly in Daphne's ear, her hand gently holding the back of Daphne's head. Bastila couldn't get over how strange it felt to be someone else.
"I'll see you soon." Came Daphne's own whispered reply.
"Right back at you." Bastila felt Daphne pull away, and the warmth of her body left Bastila's.
"Don't underestimate my parents, Bas. They aren't Voldemort, but they're crafty and powerful in their own right." Daphne's voice warned.
"I won't." Bastila promised. There was the sound of light footsteps moving down the side hall, and then Bastila was alone in the silence. She took a moment to center herself and calm her mind, pushing her worry for Daphne deep down. She cast a silencing charm on herself, and then moved down the stairs.
Bastila moved through the Manor, silent and invisible. It wasn't until nearly ten minutes later that she found what she was looking for. Bastila passed through a dining room and into a short hallway. There, just as Daphne's map had shown, was a single door at the end of the hall. Bastila swiftly approached. She paused to look over her shoulder, looking back down the hall, then she pushed open the door and entered the bedroom.
Inside, Bastila found a lone woman asleep in a large bed.
Daphne's mother.
The woman wore a flowing black, regal nightgown that Bastila imagined had to have cost hundreds of Galleons. Bastila silently shut the door, locked it, and cast her strongest imperturbable charm on it. The charm made it so that the door was indestructible. Unbreakable and unyielding. Nothing could get past it, not even sound. Anyone approaching the door would be flung back so violently that their bones would break when they came to rest.
Bastila walked over to the bed, her wand held on the woman, alert for any signs of movement. But there were none. Bastila stood to the side of the bed, just staring at Daphne's mother. Bastila willed herself to cast a spell, any spell that would end the woman's life, but nothing happened. Her wand was held uselessly in her hand. She had faced a Dragon. She had faced Death Eaters. She had fought Voldemort himself and had emerged the victor of their duel.
Why, then, was Bastila seemingly incapable of casting a deadly spell on this woman who had murdered and tortured innocent people, who was just as dangerous to the world as Voldemort and his followers? Why was it so hard? Why was it so different?
Bastila stood frozen, a war raging within her heart and mind. She was barely aware that her hands were shaking, that she was shaking all over. Her thoughts were racing, her emotions were scrambled. She was a storm, a storm that only she knew of, and only she could quell. Suddenly an image rose up and swam before her eyes, as clear as day: Her mother. Jennifer Phoenix.
The chaotic storm within Bastila came to an abrupt stop.
Bastila closed her eyes, keeping the image of her mother preserved in her mind. A flash of light blasted out of the end of her wand, burning brightly against her eyelids for a full second before dying away. Her eyes opened. Daphne's mother was laying on the bed, exactly as she had been before Bastila had shut her eyes.
Bastila turned and left the room without so much as a glance back.