Everything was falling into place. Rhys's inability to do practical magic, his insistence that he was better at it when she wasn't around, the way his spells against her always seemed to affect him... Deciding to be friends with her was probably the worst decision Rhys ever made, at least in terms of his academics. His wand refused to behave around her, and the only class he took without her was Herbology - a wandless class. Rowena regretted every time she'd teased him about his level of magic skills, every time she said that blaming the wand was just an excuse.

But while Rhys felt relief at the explanation, and hope that he wasn't as useless at practical magic as he thought, Rowena felt despair. All three Deathly Hallows had been in their possession the whole time, although never in the same room at once. Now that she was presented with the opportunity, however, Rowena wasn't sure she wanted to become Master of Death. What if... what if it worked? What if Morgana came back to life? After the past week, Rowena wasn't sure what she would try to do, but she had a feeling that a relationship with her estranged daughter was the last thing on her mind.

The pair had sat there in silence since Rhys had said his wand was handed down to him, alternating between staring at each other and at the wand now set between them. Rowena had never really studied it before - its ornate details, the carving, the shaping of it. It was unique, certainly. If they had only had a description of it, it probably would have been obvious. But descriptions of the Elder Wand had varied. Anyone who said it was in their possession had simply described their own wand and called it the Death Stick. Now, however, there was no doubt left in her mind. What she had been looking for had been there all along.

It felt like hours since their revelation, though in reality it was probably closer to five or ten minutes. Finally, Rhys said, "Well? What now?"

Rowena pulled up her knees and rested her chin between them. "I'm not sure. I'm seventeen! I still have a year left of school. Master of Death? I'm not sure that's a load I want to carry. Especially... well, especially if it brings someone back to life."

Rhys leaned forward, awkwardly placing a hand on her shoulder. "It'll be okay. I mean, we don't even know for sure if we're right. Do you want to try it?"

She thought it over. The ring and cloak were safely upstairs, but she wanted to be certain. "Okay, but let's be clear: I am borrowing your wand for a minute. It isn't mine. You aren't giving it to me."

It took a moment for him to understand what she was implying, but he did, and nodded. "Got it." When she sat there, holding it tentatively, he said, "Well, go on then. Give it a wave!"

She pointed it at a sweet sitting on the table. "Engorgio."

The sweet had been no bigger than a Galleon to start with, but it grew with surprising speed to the size of a watermelon. Setting down the wand for a moment, she reached forward to pick it up. Its newly acquired weight made it difficult, but she finally managed and held it out toward Rhys. "Want it?"

"I'm okay, thanks. It looked more appetizing when it was smaller."

"If you insist. Reducio." The candy compliantly reverted to its original size. Rowena had never had trouble with the wand that picked her when she was eleven, but there was something so simple and easy about this wand, like it was waiting to do her bidding. Then again, it probably was. Six years of partnering Rhys for different spells, while he used a wand that remained loyal to her. No wonder Rhys was rubbish at wandwork. "Hey, Rhys?"

"Yeah, Ro?"

"I just want to apologize for all those times when I teased you about your practical magic."

"No worries. But I told you it was my wand's fault, didn't I? Could've saved you a lot of yelling if you'd just listened to me over the years."

"Perhaps. But I don't think I would have believed you. I mean, seriously. If you'd come up to me at the end of first year and said, 'Ro, I'm rubbish with this wand, but that's because it's met you and is loyal to you, even though this is the first time you've ever been around it. If we just traded wands, I would be brilliant, honest.' Would you believe it?"

Rhys laughed, grinning at her in a way that made her blush. "Absolutely not. Not even I could come up with a story that crazy."

Rowena moved closer to him on the sofa. "Hey, speaking of which, do you want to try my wand?"

"Now?"

"Why not?" She placed the wand into his hands, but had to stop herself from reacting to his touch. They weren't particularly touchy friends, content to sit near each other and spar verbally. But the chemistry in their hands just then was undeniable. When the desire to pull away subsided, it was replaced by a desire to interlace their fingers, to sit there at the fireplace holding hands. Instead, she let go of her wand and looked at her friend expectantly.

Rhys took the wand, holding it tentatively. He waved it at the ceiling and muttered something Rowena couldn't quite make out, but the blush in his cheeks was undeniable. Rowena looked up to where he was pointing, and a green plant was forming out of the ceiling, berries descending from it. It was superb magic. "Wow, Rhys. Maybe you're brilliant after all," she said, still looking up. But her humorous tone changed as she studied the plant more. "Wait is that-" She turned to look at him.

"Mistletoe, yeah."

"But why-"

"Because it gives me an excuse to do this." He moved closer to her, reaching up to wrap a hand around her neck and pull her closer. Seventeen years old and Rowena had never been kissed. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to do - open her eyes or close them? Pucker her lips or keep them natural? It was a distracting thought process, but she decided on lips natural, eyes closed, as Rhys ventured nearer. Their noses touched, gently, and on instinct she turned her head to the side. Their lips were very nearly touching when the portrait hole opened and noisy feet clambered through.

Stunned by the noise, Rhys and Rowena pulled apart and looked up to see who was coming in. A haggled-looking second-year was there, and Genevieve was right behind her. "Gen? What are you doing here?"

She swallowed, looking more embarrassed than Rowena had ever seen her. "Well, it's just, I was going out to the Great Hall and when I got to the entrance, I found the second-year and she was in trouble and there was this ghost-like figure that was torturing her somehow, and well... I think it was your mother."

"Shit. What are we going to do?"

Rhys looked up at her. "I think the first thing we should do is catch Genevieve up on what we've figured out."

"Oh. Right. Gen? Thank you so much for that book you shoved into my hands yesterday."

Gen blinked intently a few times, seeming unsure of what to say. "You're welcome I guess. Why?"

"We found the Elder Wand. Well, technically we didn't find it. See, it's sort of been here all along." Rowena awkwardly held up Rhys's wand.

"Isn't that-"

"My wand? Yeah, it was. Turns out there was a reason I was rubbish at practical magic. My wand was mad at me for hanging out so close to its technical owner."

"You had the Elder Wand this whole time? Wow, I mean if there was one thing I wasn't expecting-"

"Seriously," Rowena said. "But now I'm not so sure I want to unite the Hallows. You just saw my mother. Does she seem like the kind of person you want to bring back from the dead?"

Genevieve paused, looking overly serious. "No. Absolutely not."

As she came to join them on the couch in the Common Room, Rowena was distracted by the second year girl who had let Genevieve in. She turned to her and shouted, "Hey!" The girl looked up, frightened. "What's your name?"

"Emily," she said, barely loud enough to be heard.

"Come here, Emily. Can you tell me what happened?" She crept over, light on her feet like she was ready to jump at anything. Slight, perhaps still not yet at puberty, her mousy brown hair covered her face as she walked, head down, staring at her feet.

"All I wanted to do was meet Anthony for dinner."

"I believe you. I won't hurt you."

"But that thing- the scary woman in the dress? You said - you said she was your mother."

Rowena sighed. No wonder the girl had been frightened. "Yes, but she and I are nothing alike. I am trying to stop her. But in order to stop her, I need to know what she's capable of doing."

Emily sighed, looking her up and down like she was still figuring out how much to trust her. Evidently, she decided in Rowena's favor because she took a deep breath and began to speak. "Well I made it to the Entrance Hall and I went to look outside. The noise of the downpour distracted me, and I was hoping for a thunderstorm. I love watching thunderstorms. But instead I saw that lady - she didn't seem quite like a ghost, more real than anything else, but there was something strange about her, something off that I didn't quite understand. Though she seemed solid, she drifted through the doors and stared at me.

"It was weird, because she'd been standing outside in the storm, but she wasn't wet at all. I couldn't tell if she was a ghost or something different. I was frightened and I think she could tell. She asked me what I was doing all alone, and I told her I was meeting Anthony - he's a Hufflepuff, see - but she said I should know better than to be alone in a school where such scary things had taken place.

"I didn't know what she meant, so I asked her what she was talking about, what kind of scary things. But she went off about the legends of Harry Potter. Three-headed dogs in the third-floor corridor, a Basilisk in a secret room, teachers being impersonated by Azkaban prisoners, teachers who abused students. It was like she really believed them. I told her they were codswallop - my mum always told me to never believe those crazy stories, said to keep my head on straight. She was a Ravenclaw of course. Anyway, I told her they were just stories and she completely went berserk on me." She paused and shuddered, seeming like the next part was too much to talk about. Looking at Genevieve, she said, "This is about the part when you showed up. Could you please take over?"

Genevieve swallowed and sent an apologetic look to Rowena before even starting. "It was bad, Ro. I didn't realize the kinds of things ghosts or whatever she is could do. She was doing everything a live witch could, and a few things they can't, like going through walls and such. And... it might just have been my perspective, but it seemed like the weather was sort of synchronized to her. Emily suffered the Cruciatus curse, though. Multiple times. I got there in time to fight her off before anything worse happened to her, but it seemed like she was going to kill her, Rowena. I'm sorry."

Emily had gone sheet white in hearing Genevieve's recount and Rowena turned to her first. "I am so sorry this had to have happened. Are you still hungry? Do you want me to bring you some dinner?"

She shook her head. "I kind of lost my appetite."

"Me, too. And I only heard it. Rhys, do you think there's a plant or a potion that could make her feel better?"

He studied the young girl carefully and said, "Honestly, I think the best thing for her is some chocolate. I have some in my room; I'll be right back."

In his absence, Rowena turned to Genevieve. "So I was thinking this even before Emily was attacked, but now it's required. I think we need a new plan. What all do you know about the Hallows and how they might work?"

"Less than you do, I'm sure," Genevieve said. "I found them mildly interesting, of course, like anyone who reads Beedle the Bard does, but I never really researched them until I found out what was going on with you."

"Likewise, really. Although my dad read the stories to me a lot growing up. What I'm most curious about is whether the Elder Wand would be enough to beat her. It seems she has somehow grown stronger, more... human isn't the right word. Real, maybe? Anyway, I'm scared what will happen if we just let her be. I wonder if being Master of Death wouldn't give me the opportunity to destroy her rather than bring her back."

"What were you saying?" Rhys said as he came back downstairs with a bar of chocolate. "Something about using the wand to destroy Morgana?" He gave the chocolate to Emily, patting her shoulder, before settling comfortably into an armchair.

"Yeah. I know Morgana said that being Master of Death lets you bring one person back from the dead, but I'm not sure she was telling the truth. What if, instead, it gives me the ability to destroy her? From what I can tell, she is coming back to the world some without my help. Getting more solid. I think we need a change of plan."

"But how can we attack her? It seems she appears randomly, right?"

"I have only summoned her with the Resurrection Stone one time - I bet you if I turn it over again she will have to come to where I am."

The four of them sat in silence for a moment, Emily heartily eating the chocolate bar, the others mulling over the change in events. Finally, Genevieve spoke. "I think you're right. Doing that is probably your only chance to get her where you need her. But you should wait until you're ready, until we have a plan and the three of us are together. It should be easier to take her down that way, three against one."

Rowena nodded. "Okay, let's keep thinking tomorrow. For now, I would love to be able to do something else. Maybe get some studying done?"

A few hours later, the Common Room had cleared out; only Rhys and Rowena were still awake and working. After the chocolate, Emily's color was returning to her skin, and she excused herself for bed the moment it seemed reasonable. Rowena was able to get some homework done, but she remained distracted by the prospect of what lay in front of her. In some ways, her new task made her more apprehensive than the original. The moment beneath Rhys's conjured mistletoe stayed in the back of Rowena's mind the whole time, but Rhys didn't bring it up and she wasn't keen to, either. Someday when something less exciting was happening around them, she had feelings she needed to sort out. But for now, they could wait.

Closing her book for Ancient Runes, she said, "I think this is about all I can take for the night. See you in the morning?"

"Sure thing, Ro. I think I'm going to work for a little while more. Haven't had much of a chance to do homework lately, after all." He gave her a weak smile.

"Okay. Work hard. Sleep well." She went upstairs to her room, changed into a long white nightgown, and crawled into bed. The last few weeks had been absolutely exhausting to her, and she hadn't managed a decent night's sleep since the night her mother first appeared. This night was, at first, no different. She ran back through Emily's story of what had happened to her, remembering that it was claiming Harry Potter was a myth that set her mother on Emily to begin with.

Why was it so important to her that Harry had actually lived? Surely, Rowena believed it herself, but it seemed inconsequential. It had been a thousand years. The stories about Harry's school years were great lessons to learn from - stories that taught important values. Those were the things her own father emphasized when reading from Beedle to her. Apparently, for her mother, it was a topic that took her out of her mind. Rowena mulled over different possibilities for why that could be, until she settled on one she deemed most likely.

Morgana never loved her father. She must have married him for his black hair and Invisibility Cloak, for thinking she could somehow be a part of the legend. But even then, Rowena couldn't wrap her mind around it. Had Morgana really built her life so thoroughly on the legend, stories, history - whatever - of Harry Potter to the point where a child not believing her would cause her to go mad? There must be something else to it.

But Rowena never got to what that something else could be before she fell asleep.

"Wake up, Rowena." The voice was curt and no-nonsense, pulling her quickly out of her dreams. Morgana was there, keeping quiet enough that the other people in her room couldn't hear her, but she found herself sitting up and looking into her mother's eyes, obediently pulling back the covers. "Follow me. Bring the stone."

Rowena was in a trance, unaware of what she was doing, she grabbed both the stone and the Invisibility Cloak from the trunk at the end of her bed, then pattered after Morgana, unblinking. Her clumsy steps into the Common Room woke up Rhys, who had fallen asleep at the table b the fire. "Ro! What are you doing, Ro?"

"Be quiet, you insolent boy," Morgana said, while Rowena stared forward, seeming to pay him no attention. But an object fell from her arms, and Morgana didn't seem to notice.

"What did you do to her?"

"That is none of your business." She turned and soon the pair had left the room.

Rhys ran over to where the object had fallen and picked it up. Relieved, he wrapped Rowena's Cloak around his shoulders and went out into the hallway to follow them. It almost seemed like Rowena had dropped it on purpose, but that couldn't be. She was very clearly hypnotized - or worse, under the Imperio curse.

He followed as silently as he could, wand at the ready, as the ghost-like figures made their way through the school and out onto the grounds. The storm was over, but the ground was still soggy beneath his feet, and he knew his footsteps were probably going to be visible. He did his best to step in Rowena's wake, not letting down his guard or his pace until they were deep into the forest and Morgana had stopped.

"Rowena, wake up."

Her eyes closed momentarily, then opened wide and a look of shock spread across her face. "How did I get here?"