The Crossroads of Fate

Chapter 23: The Image of Soul

Albus was given a week by Scorpius to tell the people they specified. Albus felt lucky enough to get a compromise from Scorpius when his friend did not seem willing. Scorpius kept throwing Albus glances from across whatever room, be it class or even lunch. Even when they used their free time in the Room of Requirement, Scorpius threw Albus a few glances that actually drew unwanted attention. Aries for one was not stupid and she started throwing Albus a couple of curious glances too. Albus knew it was only a matter of time before Alexis connected the dots and asked for the truth from Albus. And when she did ask for the truth, Albus would be obliged to answer with it lest Scorpius spill the beans himself.

Albus knew he was better off revealing the truth by himself. If Scorpius did so, part of the problems Albus would be facing with people would be why he saw fit to keep this secret from all of them. In fact, he was already in hot water. Once he told Alexis, she would know that Scorpius knew. She was perceptive enough to know that this was why Scorpius threw persistent glances. She would be justifiably angry that Albus did not tell her when he knew that Scorpius was well aware of his problems, let alone Seth. She would definitely stop talking to him. He could just see her hurt, horrified expression, Alexander's triumphant expression as he finally proved that Albus could not be trusted.

Albus supposed that this was for the best. He and Alexis would indeed be separated. Albus still had to assume the worse for himself. He could no longer lead Alexis on like they were still going strong when their relationship was coming to a miserable, tragic close. As Albus lay awake at night, thinking about how he would spill the beans to her the next day, his mind played so many different scenarios. It played a scenario of Alexis just getting up and leaving, she yelled at him, in one she had hugged him as she always did and swore to help him, in another she claimed to know a Charm that would rescue him, and she lastly slapped him across the face, said it was too late to help him, and abandoned him. A part of him tried telling him that he was being irrational, that he was assuming the worse where the best was quite possible.

When Albus awoke the next day, the last day of the week Scorpius had given him, he walked out without speaking a word to him. He checked the Marauder's Map to see where she was. She was resting in the Ravenclaw Common room, seemingly beside Melvin and Alice. For half that day, he sat in the Charms classroom he frequented with Alexis once upon a happier time, staring at the map until she left the Ravenclaw Common room. Albus sure wished he had that Quill of hers. He could just order her over to where he was, better yet order her to give him a rational way out. Whenever she did leave, she would pass the room, certainly. It was too close to the Ravenclaw tower.

Soul:

The soul is the most hidden, most sacred and most sensitive part of the body. The soul can only ever be destroyed by consent of its own host and evidence suggests that even when a soul is destroyed, the magic in the air gives it the power of slow regeneration to return to whatever plane it comes from upon being whole again (frequent debate among scholars.) There is frequent debate among Dark Arts scholars of whether the human body can survive without the soul. A Kiss by a Dementor seems to leave the victim alive but expulsion by the Killing Curse does not. This led to evidence that support the claim that the Killing Curse perhaps stops the heart and brain after expelling the soul. However, there have also been cases where the Killing Curse did not kill, even after expelling the soul and until Wendell the Warped released his method, there was a general certainty that the Killing Curse was slowly being countered and would be by the time the correct counter-curse was discovered.

Those with two souls (we will not give direction as this is Dark Magic of the most advanced) can avoid death once the Curse hits as it confuses itself upon meeting two and not one soul. It is believed that soul is the method of countering the Curse as it does not stop the heart even after it fails to expel the soul. If this holds true, one soul is not enough but two are. In this case, it is suggested that it takes more advanced Dark Magic than the Unforgivable Curses themselves to counter the one Curse that cannot be blocked or countered. Very few have managed to acquire two souls to test this out as it is similar to making a Horcrux and involves taking a soul from a previous Horcrux due to bodily compatibility issues.

Those with two souls are given few ways out of their fate. Having two is known to destroy the physical body so much beyond repair that losing just one would result in death of the most painful of which only Alchemy can fix. Only one Wizard had managed to reverse the damage done on himself by means of Alchemy healing his outward physical mutations. If a soul is expelled and somehow replaced in the body, it suffers compatibility issues. Sometimes, the user survives, sometimes the user suffers physical changes that oftentimes kill them. Some believe that once a soul does escape the body and placed back in, it resets the user's lifespan so their lives may yet prove to be shorter or longer than before. It is impossible to tell when a person will die, this is unconfirmed.

Outside Alchemy, if the Wizard is indeed physically destroyed, he has little hope of recovery. Some theorists have said a powerful emotion, which comes from the soul such as love, can do the job but it is unconfirmed. Without such physical mutations, the Wizard is left with the option Morgan Le Fay presented in her Magical Island Nation of Avalon. Rumors were abound in Medieval times, the second occurrence of such magic, where she too possessed two souls and kept herself alive by means of her Black Orb, a known store of souls to increase power to any given thing. By the time she did battle with her old enemy Merlin, the second soul chose for itself a new host, thus killing Merlin and her in a final battle.

This gives rise to the fact that a second soul is still sentient, it requires the will of both parties, like a symbiosis. If one party decides to nullify the partnership, the original host is left for dead as it goes into another hosts' body. Means of surviving this dramatic and painful expulsion is debated as it has never happened before.

The Black Orb can give life and take life away depending on its allegiance. It was demonstrated in her notes that sacrificing a tainted, murderous soul gives the Orb the power of death and kills whoever touches it by absorbing their soul, adding to its power, adding to the power of whatever object it is connected to, and serves as a powerful defense to stop destruction. Sacrificing a pure, untainted soul that had never committed murder would give it the means of healing and life. It is said that those who use such magic might be allowed to reenter their own bodies should they still be touching the Orb and provided their hearts are still working. The Orb has also served to save the lives of those who lost their souls to Dementors as proven in the case of little Nellie Fix when Morgan herself destroyed the Dementor that took it, encased the soul, and allowed the Orb to touch the child's hand. The child's life was saved, thus giving rise to more theories regarding Dementors.

Upon a Dementor's destruction, the soul moves on to whatever plane it originally comes from (a subject frequently debated.) Soul damage can also be reversed by means of remorse. This gives rise to debate that emotion comes from the soul however this remains shaky and unconfirmed as plenty with souls have shown lack of emotion though emotion is required to suffer a split and so those with emotional troubles find it difficult to create a Horcrux. Nonetheless, barring the Killing Curse, the soul can only ever be mutated or destroyed by consent of its own host. If it is not, the host has power of reversing the damage without any effects on his or her own body. Reversing a second soul, however, has a tremendous physical effect none have dared to try since Wendell the Warped.

Albus stopped reading at that. Finally, Alexis' dot moved to the entrance and descended the winding staircase, coming nearer. Once she arrived at the corridor, Albus wiped the map blank. She would be here any second. He had to really prepare himself for the talk. How would he present it? Forewarn her, make sure she was prepared for bad news, and then build up to it, explain little by little, the same way he did to Scorpius. She believed him about the Reservation before anyone else did, she even stuck by him and defended him when he killed Hogan Ridge, was there a chance that she would stick by him now, when he was taking advantage of two souls, using the Darkest of Magic to defeat Incommodo? Only time would tell now.

"Al?" she said suddenly from the doorway. She walked in without Albus turning around. "Waiting for me?" she asked smartly. "Need something?"

"Please close the door," Albus said quietly. "We need to talk. And it's serious."

Alexis did as she was asked before sitting beside him. She started the talk of course, taking a breath as she began and meeting Albus' green eyes steadily, "So… before we get into it, how serious is this?"

"Very."

"Does it involve death?" she pressed.

"Yes."

"Does it involve you?"

"Yes," he said miserably.

"Am I about to find out what's been bothering you this entire year?"

"I never intended to keep it from you forever," Albus admitted. "But… it does take preparation. Alexis… it's bad. Very bad."

"Al, the longer you keep it, the worse it's going to seem," Alexis told him. "So, what's bothering you? Tell me, go on. We can work through it. We worked through your father being captured didn't we?"

"Yes, but"-

"And we discovered the Medieval Relics and even found them all," Alexis reminded. "Heck, we even saved my brother, we're fighting the Arsenal, and I don't think we're about to lose anymore. Things are truly looking up."

"Well, yes, but"-

"And that's not including the smaller things," Alexis said. "If we can manage fourth year, I figure we can definitely manage this. So, how're you dying?"

Albus almost laughed. Alexis was still being positive. She knew Albus was dying. Somehow, a small bubble of hope appeared in his stomach. Maybe she would know something, or she'd know where to look at the very least. Before he told her anything, he had to begin with the truth of his feelings. "Can I start with something more positive?"

"Well, I generally like hearing the positive stuff last," Alexis said casually. "Healthier for the mind, you know. So… hit me with the worse before we start discussing something positive. And do me a favor? Before we do talk, let's cast our Patronuses. It might help lighten the mood."

They did so. Expecto Patronum, both did nonverbally and miraculously worked. The crow and the eagle flew a lap around the room before resting on the windowsill together. The room was lighter where it did not really need to be. Alexis gazed at the crow thoughtfully for a bit while Albus gazed at the eagle. That truly was Alexis all over. An eagle, flying far higher than everybody else, way too intelligent to be leveled with the other species of birds. Finally, she turned back to him expectantly.

"Alright, here goes," Albus sighed.

For Alexis to understand everything, he explained to her about Merlin's lessons. How Merlin educated Albus in his sleep. Herpo the Foul was defeated but his Horcrux remained and would seep and take over whoever touched his Scepter. He explained how it took over Morgan first, how she was taken down by Merlin, and how Herpo was left to influence Grindelwald instead. How Grindelwald refused a second soul and handed it to a young boy instead. A boy named Mortimer Ink who would die upon receiving a second soul. He explained how that boy grew nonetheless with the new soul, how the Scepter was found and taken, and how Ink influenced Tom Riddle, and finally how he became Mors Incommodo, acquired the Scepter once again, and could therefore only be defeated by someone like him. Someone with two souls.

Reducing Incommodo to something smaller than ashes was laughable. It could not be done, he explained. He explained rationally, to Alexis' nods that Incommodo would never be willing to perform Rune spells and become as strong as the weakest link. He explained to her how Incommodo getting Herpo's old body would be the worst scenario for all of them. They needed two souls. He had a bubble of hope when she nodded at his analysis, seemingly agreeing with it. Ok, so far so good, Albus thought. Now to get to the darker part. He had to explain how he was the Bane of Herpo the Foul. How it would take the Dark Arts to defeat the Dark Arts and this time, they would defeat the father of the Dark Arts.

Slowly, Albus explained it all to her once again. He did hate going through the story. The more he told it, the more he began to realize that he was really being used. The Reservation hoped to use someone like Albus against someone like Incommodo, perhaps it was Soto's idea. He was their spy in the world. He explained how the Reservation had inflicted a dangerous curse on Albus, Mark and Lily, how all had been infected with different maladies, and how Lily's was illusion attacks, Mark's was a decaying curse and Albus' was an essence of the greatest Dark Lord who ever lived. He explained how he did what he needed to at first and killed Ridge, thus splitting the part of the soul that was not his and destroying it. He explained how it later turned out that it was still there and had grown stronger independently until finally it began demanding a part of his lifespan to claim as its own.

Alexis certainly looked shocked at some parts. As Albus told her about the Reservation, she seemed regretful. She wished, as Albus partly did, that the adventure was never taken. When he told her about the real reason behind killing Ridge, at least she nodded in understanding, seeing why it did have to be done. However, when he got to the part about Voldemort demanding a life, she grew worried. He could tell a part of her was beginning to want to yell at him. He expected this but he did not stop.

Albus continued to explain his meeting with Incommodo. How he discovered that he was on the verge of betraying the DA by having a spy assassinate his father and how Albus had requested to meet him, how Albus blackmailed him into halting the betrayal and how it more or less worked but at the cost of Albus' actual life. Alexis straightened up and paid closer attention as Albus got to how he lived, nonetheless widening her eyes in true horror this time. Albus explained to her how Merlin had met him once again and told him that if he should survive, Voldemort would need to become a full fledged soul fragment. Voldemort was given five years of life. When Albus' natural lifespan would end five years early, Voldemort would take over. In return, Albus would be allowed immunity from the Killing Curse and dominance.

For fifteen minutes, Albus explained the concept to her little by little. Building up to the darker areas and how he was beginning to understand that Soto had been working against Incommodo and hoped to use Albus to destroy him, knowing even the Reservation could not. Nonetheless, Albus had to be the one to do it. Merlin knew it, he knew it and it was indeed the only way. The more he had explained it to her, and the more she silently nodded, accepting what he was telling her, the surer he was. He did have to die and she knew it. Her tears were not of anger but grief. She was staring at him sadly. He knew her expressions well enough and for a final time, they shared a last understanding smile.

"Ok," she said quietly, looking very much like she was stopping herself from crying on his shoulders. She took a deep breath and exhaled it. "Before we- we talk about your- well, your, well- wow Al, you're dumb- your t-two souls, we… can- tell me the good news. Let's go positive first."

Albus nodded, staring at the eagle and the crow. The two were still perched together, still not breaking apart, even after the depression filling the air. "Alexis…" he started. "I'm going to be completely honest with you. However little you may think of this idea, however weird this may seem coming from me… I remember last year when Mark proposed to Aries, knowing full well the answer he would get. The truth is, Alexis, if- if I did not think I was living on borrowed time… I would've asked- asked you to marry me," he finished in a quieter voice to a shocked expression. He took a deep, shaky breath, wishing so much now that he was in a happier world. "You're incredible," he said. "I d-don't think anyone can appreciate how incredible you are. And if I was not dying, I-I w-would ask you… but I'm dying. I get that now," he admitted. "I can't live. That was what Apollo was talking about. I have a difficult path but if I want to beat Incommodo… it'll come at my own cost. It may not be the only way, but it's definitely the less destructive way. Less people would die."

"Don't say that, Al," Alexis said quietly, getting up with him and standing beside their Patronuses, looking out the window. "I'm not incredible and I do wish you'd stop saying that. I'm smart. But anyone can be smart if they try hard enough. I'm thoughtful, I'm analytical, I think before I say and act but that does not make me incredible. Dumbledore was incredible, Merlin was incredible, more so if he enchanted an Amulet to speak to people generations down the line, even Lord Voldemort was incredible in his own dark, twisted ways. But you- you're incredible. You managed to raise a rebellion of students, students dedicated to seeing the Minister fall, students who journeyed into the forest twice with you and it was not a golden trio, it was a group of what were first eleven students.

"And I am incredible because why? Because I keep your spirits up? Because I'm rational? That doesn't make someone incredible, it makes them thoughtful. It's something Ravenclaw demanded of her students. Everyone is incredible if they discover it for themselves. At least you know what you have to do. Not many people would accept what you are. How many people do you know would accept their own deaths just to beat an evil man they would no longer be concerned with once they do die? You're…" her eyes were teary as she said, "You're brave. Not my father, Alexander, Phoenix, or even Mark are as brave as you're being, and"-

"Brave?" Albus repeated incredulously. She thought he was brave? "I cry over your shoulders, I resign myself to death, I want to run. I want to run away and seclude myself and never look back and I'm brave? Really?"

"Al," Alexis told him bluntly. "Quit beating yourself up, ok? You've been doing that for years, since second year. We've known each other since we were twelve and yes, Al, when you quit focusing on the negative and look at the positive and the good you've done, then yes, you're brave and you're as great and incredible as others say you are. Alexander won't shut up about you when we're alone."

"Ale- really?"

"He loves you," she told him with such eagerness, he could tell she's been wanting to say this for a while. "He thinks you're incredible, that you've reached some height he could never reach because of his past condition. He'll never tell you out loud because he insists on putting up some self confident demeanor, but that's how he feels. And Lily thinks the world of you, Alpha wishes he was you, Sierra hangs out with Neil but she's looking at you, Maria has a childish crush on you, Frank feels threatened because you're everything he claims he is, Simon wishes he was a little older just to share a dormitory with you, even Seth has a degree of liking for you. People love you. And your father trusts you more than you trust him which is the saddest thing I've ever heard. And if you die, Al, it's going to be tragic not just for me, but for all of us.

"To be honest," she sighed resignedly. "I would've accepted your proposal if our times weren't so hard. But it's not over, Al, and I refuse to accept it is, we just- we need"-

"Would we really use destructive methods to beat Incommodo, just to save me?" Albus asked.

"I don't care," Alexis said fiercely. "Look, I'm not sitting by and watching you die, I'm not. It may make me a terrible soldier but I was never a soldier anyway but watching you die would make me a terrible friend. A terrible person. How do you think I could live with that? No, I'm doing what I can. If you die, at least I can say I tried but"- she stopped herself and looked away. He knew she was hiding her tears. Albus was lost. How could he talk to her? She was silent.

"We need to talk to Maria," she said finally.

"Mari"-

"Wait here, I'm getting her," Alexis said abruptly and she left, Albus rooted to the spot in confusion.

Half an hour later and she returned and the two of them walked in silence to the Room of Requirement. Albus was still not sure that everything would turn out ok but at least it could be talked about. At least if it would not turn out ok, the pressure would be off and Albus could go in peace knowing he did everything in his power to make things right. He was there in the bungalow, the portrait down and the Room blocked off with Albus, Alexis, Scorpius, Maria and Seth sitting alone in it. Alexis had explained the whole story to them. Albus had to appreciate that she did not make it look like his fault at all. In fact, if anything, it looked more like Albus was a victim of unfortunate circumstances and happened to have the means to destroy Incommodo.

What surprised Albus were the reactions he received. Maria looked at Albus hungrily like he had something she wanted, Scorpius fiddled with his own pale fingers, and Seth was looking disinterestedly from Albus to Alexis to Maria and to Albus again. What was he doing there? He knew, but he wasn't helping. Seth was just there. Albus knew he had thoughts but he certainly was not sharing them and might not share them unless they somehow gained his interest.

"Ok… so you want me to save Al's soul?" Maria asked. It struck Albus how very young Maria was. It seemed to occur to her too because she added, "You do know I'm twelve, right?"

"Are we basically agreeing that using a Partnership Rune wouldn't work," Scorpius asked.

"Incommodo wouldn't do that because he doesn't need one," Scorpius said factually. "But…"

"If he did need one…" Maria began but did not finish.

"And we certainly can't destroy him," Scorpius asked. "Someone powerful enough could do it. Using all the Relics against him."

"If Incommodo has two souls powering him and a scepter, I'm not sure even they will work," Seth said pointedly. "The Scepter is a really powerful object. And if he comes as Herpo, we can't do it. He's a Parselmouth, he could make the Staff meaningless and sense the cloak a mile away. I can't see him going down to them unless he's significant weakened beforehand."

"What if we used the Quill?" Maria asked Alexis. "Dictated that Incommodo draws a Partnership Rune on someone."

Alexis looked at him thoughtfully. Albus liked that look. Alexis was thinking very carefully. "Well… it would need to be reasonable. Incommodo would need a reasonable excuse to do something like that. Incommodo weakening himself is unreasonable." Alexis still fell deep into thought while Maria was recalling something to herself. She seemed to have an idea but she wasn't sharing it with them, and it made Albus uncomfortable.

"My mother was an Alchemist," she recalled. "Why doesn't Al just allow the Dark Lord to fester. He gave him the final five years of his life. Make sure they never come. Make a Philosopher's Stone and be done with it. He'd live forever and Voldemort's soul would slowly die out of disuse."

Everyone stared at her like she said something completely ridiculous. Albus was turning it down anyway but Alexis shrugged it off as Dark Magic.

"The process of making a Stone is too drastic, too dangerous, and too luck-based," Seth waved off.

"So, take Liquid Luck!" she said insistently.

"It takes over seven days, half a month really, and Liquid Luck only lasts one day," Scorpius shot down. "More quantities would poison you. You'd die on the second day."

"If you want to take the Elixir, do it on your own time when you become an Alchemist," Seth told her.

"I will, but Al"-

"We're not asking Al to test something so dangerous and Dark," Alexis told her. "And quit chasing after immortality yourself or you'll become the same as Herpo, Voldemort and Grindelwald."

"Or Nicolas Flamel," Maria said proudly. "Fine. You don't want to take the obvious…"

"You're Dark, you know that?" Seth told her.

"Oh, because you can talk," she said sarcastically.

Maria sighed in disappointment and the bungalow went quiet again. Eyes were still on Maria. She did not seem willing to give up on suggesting things but she still considered something thoughtfully. Albus was not sure she could help if all she thought of was immortality though. And Dark Magic? Albus did not know much about Alchemy and the only reason Scorpius or Seth knew was because they either read something on it recently or it was an aspect of Dark Magic they were actually familiar with. Was the Philosopher's Stone really Dark Magic? "Ok… the Orb can do it," Maria said. "Al just- transfers Voldemort's soul into that instead."

"It would power the ship up," Seth said lazily.

"Then we sacrifice a single, pure soul to undo the many dark souls," she said. "The shields go away and we can fight back."

"Isn't it morally questionable to sacrifice one life to save another?" Albus asked her.

"I'm not sacrificing anything to save you," Maria told him venomously. "I'm empowering the shields. We'll get rid of them another way."

"I have a better idea," Seth told her. "Have Al put Voldemort's soul in, and then destroy the Orb. No shields, no"-

"You can't," she said simply.

"Well, then I will"-

"No, you can't," she emphasized. "One it has souls inside it, it cannot be destroyed. They act as its shield. Try if you want, it won't work. The only way you're undoing the damage is if you sacrifice a single pure soul. One. That's all it takes. What do you care? Use random kid number one, use Melvin."

Seth and Maria stared at each other for a bit. Albus could see it was pretty easy to save him, but Seth and Maria seemed to be having strange looks. Finally, Seth nodded, "Well, that's one way."

"No," Alexis refused.

"We were going to sacrifice a soul anyway because changing the Orb's allegiance means weakening the Reservation's Ship. So, it has to be done either way. If you want to beat the Reservation."

"But we're dealing with Incommodo right now"-

"Fact is," Seth told Alexis bluntly. "We're facing both of them. You can't beat them both and hope to stay away from sacrifice and Dark Magic, and maybe Al does have to die."

"Before we go… I think we can get Incommodo to do a Rune," Maria said. "And we can beat him and the Reservation and maybe save Al."

"Well, I'm all ears so shoot," Albus said.

Scorpius, who Albus expected to speak long before this, reminded them, "Sorrow said the Rune of Partnership is as strong as its weakest link. Al dying would kill him, but Al would die in it. People in partnership share the same power and fate as long as that rune is drawn on them."

Maria looked at Scorpius and then at Albus, "Well, the thing is, there's one person who is as strong as he is defensively and if push comes to shove in a soul battle, offensively too. That's Al. And the Rune's magic goes right to the soul, that's why it can't be broken. Voldemort was more powerful. He's the most powerful Dark Wizard who ever lived and the only reason we fear Herpo is because of that Scepter otherwise we could take him. Al has Voldemort's soul and therefore his power. If Incommodo made a Rune of Partnership with Al, they'd share enormous power together. And Incommodo would do that because he wants more power, and with a healthy young partner like Al, it makes Incommodo better equipped and he'd have Voldemort's power level. He'd want that. But if Al… if Al died, then so would he."

"Either way, somebody dies," Albus sighed. "We're not saving me, are we?"

"Well, we can save your soul, but not your life," Seth said, without meeting his eyes.

"If you trusted me," Maria said quietly. "Would you let me test something?"

"Like…"

"I might be able to save Al and beat Incommodo and the Reservation in one," she told Alexis. "But… I'm not sure. You'll just- have to trust me. Trust me knowing that if- if I fail, Al will die."

The bungalow was silent as Maria said those words. Then, "I just need to know who I sacrifice to the Orb."

"We're not doing it like that," Albus said immediately. "I'm not sacrificing someone to save myself. I'm not."

"It's to beat the Reservation too, Al, don't flatter yourself," Maria snapped. "If we're going to win this war, this has to happen. That's why it's here, that's why we went for it. What else do you expect?"

"Destroy the Orb," Albus proposed. "I'm sorry, as much as I'd like to live, it's not being done at someone else's expense." Scorpius sighed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. Even Seth looked borderline annoyed. "We'll destroy the Orb and finish the Reservation. We'll steal the Scepter and finish Herpo the old-fashioned way. You just want to protect the Orb to save your own Relic!"

"I don't care about the Orb," Maria told him. "You can't destroy it!"

"Unless Incommodo, with all that power, did it himself with the Scepter," Seth suggested. "That would do it."

A sudden idea occurred to Albus, an idea to defeat Incommodo, the Reservation and even his own soul. Just not his life. He needed a talk with Seth. "In the meantime, Al and I need to talk," Seth said neutrally. "So go with Aries, research, and come back. Al and I will be gone by then."

Albus looked at Seth curiously. It was like he read his mind. What did he want this time? Albus stared over him over Alexis' shoulder as she gave him a tight hug. He could feel her grief. It had looked like they might save Albus but he wasn't living at someone else's expense. He couldn't. Not unless there really was no other way to beat the Reservation. And he did try to convince himself there was. The Relics existed for a reason, the ship was destroyed without touching the Orb, and Dubium was beaten without the Relics. The only problem was it was never done all at once as it had to be. Never at the same time.

As they watched the small number go, Scorpius shooting Albus one last nod before leaving through the portrait, Seth turned to Albus. "Still have my ring?"

"Erm… well…"

"N-Neil is borrowing it," Albus said honestly, knowing Seth might see a lie in seconds.

"You gave it to Nott," Seth said impassively. "That was nice of you, Al. It wasn't even yours to give. Well, get it back. I'd like it back, now. The war is ending and I'd prefer I have it during the battle. So…"

"I'll give it back," Albus said. "But I need a big, big favor from you. I have an idea to beat Incommodo without any strings attached. No destructive battle. No risking Aries, Hogwarts, or anything. It'll just end."

"Ok, shoot," Seth said, folding his arms.

Albus opened his mouth. He knew he was betraying Scorpius and Alexis. They wanted to save him. Under Albus' idea, his soul would be saved but not his life. His life would die. He knew now, more than ever, what role Merlin expected him to play. Albus' fate was death and in the end, he would understand fully what was meant to happen.

"It'll stop Incommodo if worse comes to worse, it'll weaken the Reservation, but it'll also get rid of Voldemort," Albus said. "Then I'll die in peace. What happens is… we convince Incommodo to perform the Rune of Partnership with me. Maybe let him think I've decided to join him or something but the fact is he needs it. We'll use Alexis' quill to get him to see that. Afterwards, in secret, I put Voldemort's soul in the Orb and we hand it to Incommodo for him to destroy it. One it's gone, it's your job."

"Ok…" Seth could see where it was going.

"If someone killed me there, we'd both die," Albus said quietly.

Seth looked up thoughtfully, "Ok… so I'm guessing you've given up on life."

Albus looked down. He thought of Alexis, Mark, Scorpius, and all his friends. His father, the Guard, everyone. He knew what he was leaving behind, but he also knew that he would save the world a great deal of destruction. "Yes…" he said quietly. "I have."

Seth had a strange look on his face. Albus could not see what was meant by it but Seth seemed curious or questioning, a sort of look that suggested Seth had not given up on Albus and was wondering why Albus himself did.

"You know, there's an Alchemical concoction to stop death in its tracks," Seth muttered. "Maria told me. But, you would need someone with elemental control. That's Dark Magic, messing with the elements. You're defying nature, deciding it. And you'll need someone like me who knows that sort of magic or you won't get anywhere."

"Is- is something- is it considered Dark Magic if you use it to save someone's life?"

"Saving their life with no artificially made body," Seth emphasized. "No eternal life, no eternal riches, nothing. Just saving his life. I don't know. To be honest. The Alchemical concoction Herpo invented so long ago was borderline Dark Magic. Before he went mad. All it did was block the Killing Curse and the only dark aspect of it was that one of its ingredients requires a heartstring. The rest were perfectly natural elemental ingredients."

The bungalow was silent. There was a piece of information never spoken of before. "Herpo went mad?"

"His fear of death was so drastic, it drove him mad," Seth said. "By the time he finally managed to create a Horcrux, he was already off the deep end and he declared war on just about everyone. That's why it's considered Dark Magic to mess with the elements, with nature, with anything… because when you do, it drives you to do things you normally would never do. It's an area of Dark Magic I usually avoid." Seth looked at Albus uneasily. "This doesn't guarantee anything. You're using an ancient, incomplete theory to try saving yourself. Your heart and brain would continue working but it would be like a Deentor sucked your soul out. Not sure if you could recover from that."

"Look, forget about all that," Albus told him sadly. He almost wanted to cry. "Living like that would only make it worse. But no one would kill me anyway, Seth. Except you. So, will you do it?"

"For free?"

"For free…" Albus said.

One of these days, you'll genuinely ask for me to kill you. And I will oblige without remorse.

Albus was worried about him back then. Even then, Albus was worried about Seth but he guessed he'd have to die without knowing his endpoint. He too had a crossroads to stand before. In the end, he too would live or die by his own choice as Albus did. And Albus was not picking death out of self destruction, but because he refused to live on somebody else's expense. Who would sacrifice themselves to the Orb? What untainted soul? Neil? Maria? Sierra? Whose life would he be living on? No. Albus could not. And if anyone's soul was sacrificed, he would free it. The Orb's destruction would see to that. And that meant that in the end, Albus would indeed die.

"Ok, no, I'm no doing it," Seth said quiety.

"We both know I'm pretty much dead," Albus reasoned. "It's my soul or my life. And we both know that Voldemort can't be gotten rid of easily. Once we've gotten rid of it, Incommodo takes the shields down and then he dies… by your hand basically." Seth folded his arms and regarded Albus but did not show a hint of surprise, happiness, sadness or any emotion. He just stared and Albus went on, "Even Aries wouldn't kill me. But you would. Kill me. I die. Incommodo dies. Game over."

"You… want me to kill you…"

"When it's the right time, yes," Albus told him frankly. "You're the only one in the Guard who'd be willing to do it. Don't tell anyone. Maria will keep arguing for me to use the Orb but we know that the Reservation can be beaten in other ways."

"Barely," Seth agreed. "Phoenix had a lucky Shield-breaker Charm," Seth told him. "And they sent a damaging piece of magic only he could do. That was why Dubium was so weak. He won't let that happen again and I'll be surprised if the shields aren't more powerful. The West End battle showed that."

"The point is, there're other ways," Albus told him. "We're not sacrificing someone to that infernal Orb except me, and only to get rid of Voldemort and Incommodo and the Reservation all at once."

"There is a way to save you, Al," Seth said. "The same way you tried before. Voldemort's soul is even now too weak to manage if it's split again. It would destroy itself. If you kill someone using that bit of power in yourself, anyone, you'd be free. And we kill Incommodo with the Relics, the Reservation with the Relics, and you live."

"If last time is anything to go by, only temporarily," Albus refused.

"And… so what? The war is over, you're in charge," Seth pictured. "Every year, you off a criminal. Someone we all know deserves it. It'll keep it at bay for good and you'll be alive."

"Seth… I'm not doing it," Albus told him. "You may not have a problem with these things but I do and I'm not betraying my morals."

"Ok, then here's another option," Seth said. "Your soul is split, right, cause you killed Ridge. Create a Horcrux and encase Voldemort inside it and destroy it. You're still whole."

"But my mind and physical appearance…"

"Sacrifices."

"No!"

"Then, you'll die," Seth told him. "You'll most likely die. You're really ready for that?" when Albus nodded, Seth sighed, "Alright, suppose I agree. Your father imprisons me for life?"

"No," Albus said. "He won't I'll- I'll leave him a message explaining things. Maybe in Phoenix's old Pensieve. So he'll know the truth. And since this takes place after our meeting with Alexis and the others, they can vouch for you. I already told Scorpius as much anyway."

"Ok, Al. I'll kill you."

The Astronomy Tower…

"You have the power to destroy the Reservation," Maria explained quietly. She was a little afraid speaking to him but she swallowed her fear. "I just need an assurance. When I give you the Orb, you destroy it. That way, the shields will weaken."

"My Scepter alone is not powerful enough to destroy those shields," Incommodo said wispily.

"That s why you would gain more power," she said hopefully. "Make headway with Potter already. Draw the Rune of Partnership on him, that sort of power goes directly to the soul and your powers would combine. Herpo, Ink and Voldemort together with the Soulless Scepter would do it. You're more powerful that way. And then imprison him. Imprison him for life, bang, leverage over the DA when you betray them. Bang, you win the war."