It was a feeling unlike Rose had ever known. Her muscles felt both stiff and incredibly relaxed. It was as if fog had swamped her vision, but she didn't care, because there was just an overwhelming feeling of happiness.

There was a faint tickling in the back of her mind, something objecting as she sat against a large tree. There was nothing wrong with the action, of course. She wanted it. Of course she did.

"Stay there for a minute, would you?" said Herbert casually. "I really need to sort this out. Hrmm... I suppose this will do quite nicely."

The fog lingering over Rose's mind was actually quite comforting. She had been stressed recently about... about something that had seemed so important at the time, but now she couldn't even quite remember what it had been. Now, she finally got to relax.

"We shouldn't stay here for much longer," said Herbert with a frown. "Giovanni might return with another dragon, and wouldn't that just wreck things entirely?"

Agree.

"Yes, it would," said Rose automatically.

"Off we go, then. Get on Contessa. Now."

Rose popped off the ground, staggering as she balanced the weight of her Seer's kit. Contessa, somehow knowing what was going to happen, knelt so Rose could mount up.

Jump.

Bending her knees, Rose sprung up onto Contessa's back. It was an impossibly high jump, but that didn't matter to her. She had made it, as she had been commanded to.

Herbert reached into his pocket and took out a small velvet bag. From it, he took a clump of maroon herbs and pop up in his mouth. Hegolith.

They had been wrong. Mindel and Riss hadn't been talking about Louis. It was not Louis feeding hegolith to the dragons. It was Herbert. Rose was able to understand all of these things, but they didn't really matter to her. They seemed like they should matter...but they did not.

Herbert took another pinch of hegolith and held it out for Contessa. The dragon stuck out her long tongue and licked up the herb.

Hold on tight.

Rose wrapped her arms around Contessa's neck, steadying herself as Herbert climbed onto Contessa's back.

"Ready?" he asked, clearly not expecting an answer. "Let's get moving."

It was Rose's first time on a dragon without a saddle or reins. She clung to Contessa's neck desperately as her wings began to flap. They rose into the air slowly, and Rose couldn't help but let out a small squeal.

Silence! Her inner voice snapped, and Rose obeyed.

The ride was absolutely terrifying. Each time Contessa beat her wings, Rose slipped backwards another inch. She was convinced that when they began the descent, she was sure to topple off.

On some unspoken signal, Contessa turned and began to circle over a clearing in the woods. Slowly, her wing beats became less and less frequent. They began to land.

Landing had always been Rose's least favorite part of riding. Not only was it lamentable due to the ride being over, but it always scared her, even when in a saddle.

Once Contessa's paws were all on solid ground, Rose itched to get down from the dragons back. However, she found she could not move a muscle. She was frozen.

Herbert hopped down, landing easily on his feet. Popping another clump of hegolith into his mouth, he waved for Rose to join him.

Come.

Rose slid off Contessa's back and landed directly in front of Herbert, who grinned.

"So much easier than I expected," he said. "I was told that your mind was strong. Apparently, the Adderhead was... mistaken."

What's in the wizarding world was an Adderhead? Rose wanted to ask, but she found that her mouth was still bound by Herbert's wishes.

"He was not mistaken on one matter, though," continued Herbert, beginning to pace. "I was warned that you would be a pest, but I had no idea that one little witch could be so annoying!"

He continued pacing for moment, then was struck with an idea.

Give me your wand.

Rose drew her wand out of her pocket and held it out for Herbert to take. After all, he has asked politely. Or hadn't he asked at all?

Herbert took the wand and snapped in half.

"My wand!" cried Rose.

"There," sneered Herbert, "now you won't be such a nuisance." He flicked his wand in her direction, and it felt like a wall of icy wind hit her.

The fog over her vision shattered. She remained frozen, unsure of what to do next. The locket still blazed on her chest – all of Rose's sensations had returned to her at once. But Herbert knew that without her wand, she was essentially defenseless, and she knew it too.

"You cause quite a mess for me this year," he said. "Ever since you were selected for the bloody exhibition, you've been... meddling."

Herbert took more hegolith from his pocket and began to chew it. Rose wondered what effect it would have on him, to consume so much of it in such a short period of time. It didn't appear to be calming him down, as it did with Louis.

"You know," he said angrily, "I reckon you're the reason that it hasn't been working. My plan. The hegolith. Those bloody dragons..."

Contessa looked around the clearing lazily, then sat. She began to watch Herbert, her large eyes following his footsteps as he paced.

"It was simple enough," he continued harshly. "All we had to do was get the stupid dragons to eat some of the damn hegolith and it would work, right? Just like that. Except it didn't. It didn't work!"

He punctuated his frustration by kicking a tree. His pacing continued, but he seems to be growing more aggravated than ever.

Rose struggled to put all of the pieces together. What had she done to anger Herbert? How had she interfered with his plans?

"Then your blasted uncle appeared," sneers Herbert. "They start watching the dragons more closely, it becomes even harder to feed them. Because of you, I was relegated to the middle of the night, creeping past the Italians standing guard."

Rose chanced a question. "To do what?"

"To feed them, you stupid little girl!" snapped Herbert. "How else do you think we were going to control them? They're dragons. Unaltered, they're not exactly open to magical influence. But with the hegolith..."

Rose remembered her readings on hegolith. Its effect on magical creatures had not yet been discovered, though some believe it to open the minds of the creatures to magical influence.

"But it didn't work," she said tentatively.

"Obviously it didn't work," said Herbert. "And it's all your fault."

He narrowed his eyes angrily. Rose watched, frozen, as he drew his wand.

"You've been nothing but a pest all year," he growled. "The Adderhead said not to hurt you, but I'm sure he'd understand... under the circumstances..."

"Wait!" cried Rose. "I can - I can help! With the dragons!" The idea had come to her suddenly, abruptly. But just possibly, it just might work.

Herbert paused, obviously interested. "You're bluffing," he said, not lowering his wand.

"I am not," said Rose, trying to sound confident. "You said you wanted to magical influence the dragons, right?"

Herbert sneered but nodded.

"Well, I know how to do it. My Uncle Charlie showed me."

She had no plan, no idea of what she would do next. Her only goal was to buy herself some more time, any reason for Herbert not to hurt her.

Did she have anything in her Seer's pack that could help her? She struggled to remember what Professor Trelawney had helped her pack. Crystal ball... cup for tea... phoenix feather...

"Alright," snapped Herbert, reaching into his pocket for more hegolith. "Give it a try. Don't even think about making a run for it, though."

She wouldn't dream of it. Without her wand, she had no way to fight Herbert- not that she could beat him even if she was armed. He was older and certainly vastly more experienced.

She took slow, calculated steps to Contessa, who lifted her head lazily. Her brilliant emerald eyes looked at Rose questioningly. Why wasn't she getting ready to ride?

Rose search through her memory. Was there something in there about influencing magical creatures? Nothing came to mind when she thought about it.

"Zlo," she muttered. It was the Russian word for evil, one of the words she remembered from her time with Dmitri.

Now was not the time to think about how much she missed Dmitri. It would only cause her pain, and she desperately needed to concentrate. She searched her memory for other phrases she had picked up from her year with him.

"Zlo," she repeated, letting her eyes bore into Contessa's. "Zlo… vrana…."

It was the Russian word for raven, and the nickname Rafael had given his younger brother.

"Vrana… zlo… Trijuska…."

Rose didn't understand what happened at first. One moment she was staring into Contessa the eyes; the next, she was inches away from Herbert's red face.

"Did you think you could trick me?" he screamed, his words slamming into Rose. "How dare you bring up Trijuska? How do you know about that? Answer me!"

He jammed his wand under Roses jawbone.

"What?" she stammered. "I didn't - I don't -"

"You lie!" hollered Herbert. "If the Adderhead knew- such disrespect- you don't even -"

His face was growing redder by the moment. His breath reeked of what could only be hegolith, and his tongue was stained burgundy. His beady eyes seemed ready to bulge out of his skull.

"I—I don't know what you're -"

"Don't lie to me!"

Rose took a sharp breath. The tip of Herbert's wand had grown dangerously hot.

"You have mentioned the Trijuska ," he said darkly. "No one must know... surely the Adderhead would agree... you can't be let go after this..."

Rose felt panic well up inside her chest. The tip of Herbert's wand had grown hotter still and was searing the skin right under her jaw. She knew what was about to come, and she had no time to prepare herself for it.

"Ava—"

And the whole world went black.