After their classes were over, Meredith dragged Honey and Becky to the Quidditch pitch to spy on her lost love's old team. Meredith lay on her side on the bench, her temple resting on her fist, as she watched the Hufflepuffs practice.

"She does this as a ritual so she'll never forget the old days when she used to spy on Cedric," Becky whispered to Honey. "Poor thing." She shook her head and took out some books and a few pieces of parchment. "I always do my homework when we're up here."

Both of her friends lost in their own world, Honey took a book out of her bag and opened it. Her grandpa had given it to her as a gift. He said it was Gellert Grindelwald's personal journal. It was authentic and cost her grandpa a fortune to find. He said it would help her figure out a way to defeat Dumbledore. As she skimmed through the pages, she saw that it was an ancient and battered old copy of The Tales of Beedle the Bard with notes on every parchment space available. How this book of magical fairy tales was going to help her, she had no idea. She turned the pages to find, The Tale of the Three Brothers. Her grandpa said she should pay close attention to this story.

Honey was familiar with all of the tales. They were common knowledge among the Wizarding world. The Three Brothers was about three gifted wizards, who were travelling on a road at twilight. They reached a river too dangerous to swim and conjured a bridge. Halfway across the bridge Death appeared in a hooded cloak, blocking the path. He was angry that they didn't die from drowning in the river as many others before them had. He pretended to praise their powerful magic and cleverness and offered them prizes. After they received their prizes the brothers separated and went on their own adventure. The first two brothers met their ends because of their gifts from Death. When they died Death took them for his own. The third brother was the only one to survive to live a full and happy life. It was not until he grew old and frail did he removed his cloak and welcomed death as an old friend.

Honey read the tale from the book to refresh her memory.

Antioch Peverell was the eldest brother. He was a combative man. He asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence: a wand that must always win duels for its owner, a wand worthy of a wizard who had conquered Death! So Death crossed to an elder tree on the banks of the river, fashioned a wand from a branch that hung there, and gave it to the Antioch. A week or so later, he went into an inn and bragged to all about his invincible wand and recounted his encounter with Death. In the night, another wizard crept upon Antioch as he lay sleeping in his bed. The thief stole the wand and slit Antioch's throat with such force that he was decapitated. His rotting, naked corpse was discovered three days later by the workers of the inn and removed. No family claimed his corpse because without a head it was difficult to tell who he was. Soon, the inn had to be closed down because the stint of Antioch's corpse was so strong. Not only did it linger heavily in the room he once resided in, but it traveled to the rest of the inn and discouraged patrons.

The second brother, Cadmus Peverell, was an arrogant man. He decided that he wanted to humiliate Death by asking for the ability to resurrect the dead. So Death picked up a stone from the riverbank and gave it to the Cadmus, and told him that the stone would have the power to bring back the dead. Cadmus returned to his home and turned the stone thrice in his hand. To his amazement and his delight, the figure of the woman, Alice Groston, the woman he was intended to marry before her untimely death, appeared before him. But she was no longer beautiful as she once was. Having died many months ago and revived, her body had stopped short of decomposing and her heart began pumping life back into her. His love for her blinded him to her partial rotting form and awful smell. Alice was silent and cold, separated from him as though by a veil. She was indifferent toward him. She was angry that he had revived her for his own selfishness and how ignorant he was of the pained she had to endure by living in a decayed body. He moved them deep into the forest to hide her from the mocking of her appearance by others. While Cadmus was gone to fish for food, Alice crawled into a hearth and set herself on fire, ending her suffering. When Cadmus arrived home, he grew frantic when he could not find her. He discovered what she had done after reading a note she had left behind for him. Filled with hopeless longing for the woman he loved, he set their home on fire and allowed himself to be engulfed by the flames so he could join her.

The youngest brother, Ignotus Peverell, was the humblest and also the wisest of the brothers. He did not trust Death. So he asked for something that would enable him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And Death handed him his own Cloak of Invisibility. Death searched for Ignotus for many years, but he was never able to find him. It was only when he had attained a great age that Ignotus finally took off the Cloak of Invisibility and gave it to his son. And then he greeted Death as an old friend, and went with him gladly. As equals, they departed this life.

Honey looked at the printed date this copy was released and was not surprise that it was during the fifteen century. Over the centuries, publishers had censured the author's work. Grindelwald's copy was more graphic compared to the one her parents had read to her. The version she knew was much less violent, with certain grisly details omitted.

Reading his notes, it appeared to Honey that Grindelwald believed the tale to be true. He had devoted his life to searching for the three gifts: the Elder wand, the Resurrection Stone, and the Cloak of Invisibility. These three items were known as the Deathly Hallows. Its symbol, a triangle, with a circle inside, and a line in the middle, was peppered all over the book. It looked like a triangular eye, its pupil crossed with a vertical line. When he was raging war on the world during the nineteen forties, the Deathly Hallows was his symbol.

Honey closed the book and gently placed it in on her lap.

Watch out!

Honey stiffened as she felt a sudden chill brush her spine. Pressing the book to her chest as a shield, she glanced around. For a moment there she thought she'd heard someone say, "Watch out!"

"RUN!" Meredith shouted, grabbing Honey's right ankle and pulling. Honey, who was sitting on the stand above Meredith, fell backward and the back of her head hit the seat above her. Before she could react, Becky grabbed the collar of Honey's shirt and pulled. Honey cried out at the pain in her head and from being pulled in opposite directions. She glanced at Becky and then at Meredith, wondering what they were doing, and then turned her head and looked in front of her. That was when she saw it: a jet-black ball flying straight toward her.

Something is going to fly at you, causing death...something is going to fly at you, causing death...something is going to fly at you, causing death...

Trelawney's words echoed in the back of Honey's mind and she forced them out. She wasn't going to die. She refused! After all she'd endured she was not going to die. Not like this! NO! NO! NO! She wanted to live! She deserved to live!

Honey tried to move out of the way, but Meredith and Becky were pulling her with all their strength, effectively holding her in place. Thinking quickly, Honey kicked Meredith off her leg and pushed Becky away. "NO!" she shouted. She picked up the book and swung it like a bat. The Bludger made hard contact with the book, bounced off it, and headed back to where it had originated from. Honey's hands shook as she dropped the book. I'm not dead. She told herself.

She yelped when two pairs of arms surrounded her but relaxed a little bit when she registered that it was Becky and Meredith. She figured they'd been trying to save her by pulling her out of the Bludger's way, but instead they had ended up keeping her in its path. They'd meant well, but the direction of their escape route was uncoordinated.

"Oh my god!" Becky cried. She hugged Honey tightly, patting her back and head and causing Honey to wince at the tender spot there. "I was so scared for you."

"Are you okay?" Meredith asked, looking at Honey's face.

"I'm fine," Honey said, taking deep breaths to calm her racing heart.

"Is everyone all right?"

The three witches turned their heads and stared at the group of people in canary yellow and black uniforms. The Hufflepuff Quidditch team, holding their broomsticks at their sides, stared at them in concern.

"YOU!" Meredith accused. "You could've killed her!" She released Honey, marched angrily up to a tall blond boy with an upturned nose, and punched him in the face.

Everyone gasped, some in disapproval and some in admiration. Meredith took out her wand and was about to hex the boy when Becky suddenly screamed. All eyes turned in her direction to see her whimpering as she stared at her bloody hand. Honey grabbed Becky's hand and Meredith rushed back to them.

"Did you cut yourself?" Honey asked.

Becky cupped Honey's face with her clean hand. "No. It's you."

While in the Hospital Wing, Honey begged Madam Pomfrey and everyone else not to tell any of the teachers or her parents about her head injury. Her parents would go mad and pull her out of school, and she didn't want to leave. She most definitely wanted to stay.

Lying on the bed, Honey pulled the white sheet over her head. The sound of footsteps could be heard stomping toward her. Honey turned her head in the direction of the sound and braced herself.

"I heard a student was injured," Honey heard Umbridge voice. "A Ravenclaw was hit with a Bludger? Cracked her skull?"

"No, she fell and hit her head on the stands," Madam Pomfrey replied. The heavy curtains rustled. "She's resting. You shouldn't disturb her."

"I merely want to see who the student is."

"I can give you her name."

"Of course you will."

Honey held her breath.

"Becky Knight," Honey heard Becky say.

"Oh...hem...hem...and how did you get yourself into such a condition?" Umbridge asked.

"I was clumsy and tripped on my own foot."

"Did you, now?"

"Why, yes. I fall and injure myself all the time."

Honey leaned into the hard mattress and fell asleep from the potion she had drunk.

"Marvolo is putting curses on you." She heard a voice whispering into her ear.

Honey opened her eyes. "What?"

Madam Pomfrey came to check on her. "Is something wrong?"

"I thought I heard something."

Honey touched the bandage that was wrapped around her head. It was wet. Her blood was seeping through the bandages and soaking the pillow.

"Drink this potion. It'll replenish you and stop the bleeding." Madam Pomfrey offered the cup to her.

Honey took the cup and drank the contents.

"You were asleep—you haven't moved an inch in the last four hours."

"My body does not move while I sleep." Honey said before falling back asleep.

Sometime later, Honey felt someone's gaze on her. She opened her eyes and found Evie standing at the foot of her bed.

"Sorry if I woke you," said Evie.

"Don't worry, you didn't," said Honey, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What time is it?"

"It's quite early in the morning. I—I came to see how you're doing." Evie glanced at the bandages on Honey's head. "It looks painful."

"Not really."

Evie fiddled with her hands, shifting her feet, and glanced awkwardly at random things. "S-sorry I haven't been around much. It's—I—um..."

"What's the matter, Evie?"

Evie kept her head low, her long dark bangs hiding her eyes from Honey's view. "You…you sleepwalk. I mean…you don't walk. You do these things when you sleep."

"What do I do?" Honey asked, eager to know.

"Um…It looks sorta like you're…you are…crawling but not." Evie finally admitted.

Honey didn't think she heard her right. "What was that?" she asked her to confirm.

"It's scary – not just the crawling or slithering thing you do. Your-your eyes. They change color."

"It's a medical condition I have. Sorry for bothering you. I honestly never meant to -"

"No! No! If it's a medical condition it can't be helped. Goodness, I'm sorry."

"You shouldn't apologize. I was the one who kept you awake in the night. No wonder you're always looking tired. I will do my best to not disturb you but please tell me whenever I do that." Honey told her.

"Will, um good luck with your recovery." Evie excused herself.

No long, a blond boy entered the Hospital Wing. Honey recognized him as the one Meredith punched. The large bruise on his cheek was swollen.

"Hi. I'm Zacharias Smith. I'm sorry about the, um—" he cleared his throat— "the Bludger almost hitting you."

"I accept your apology." Honey gave him a nod as if to dismiss him, but he just stood where he was.

"I feel very guilty and I want to help you."

Honey studied his face and body language. Sensing no sincerity from him, she was about to decline his offer when Evie returned with Meredith and Becky. Becky quickly grabbed Meredith's arm, holding her back.

"What are you doing here?" Meredith demanded, looking like she was about to attack Zacharias.

"If you must know, I came to apologize and see how Honey is doing."

"She's fine, no thanks to you. Now leave."

Zacharias ignored Meredith. "I want to offer you my services—walk you to class, carry your books—"

"Oh—you're offering to be her house-elf?" As soon as the words left Becky's lips Honey saw an evil glint in Meredith's eye.

"What do you say, Honey?" Meredith asked.

"No." She couldn't have him following her around the school. What if he found out about Marvolo?

Zacharias looked crestfallen but didn't give up. "I owe you a debt."

"And you paid it with your apology," Honey stated.

"That's not enough."

Seeing how stubborn he was, Honey asked her friends to leave them alone for a moment so they could talk.

"What do you want?" Honey asked him. "You're sorry. I understand, but I feel you have an ulterior motive. Tell me what it is."

Zacharias' face lost its expression of sympathy and kindness and switched to that of a calm professional. "I saw how you hit that Bludger. You have talent."

"What you saw wasn't talent. It was an accident, a natural reaction to a life-threatening situation."

"Be that as it may, you have a natural talent. You'd make a great Beater."

"I've never played."

Now that he had Honey's attention, Zacharias stepped closer. "I can teach you," he offered.

"I don't have the strength."

"I can give you strength training."

"Why would you do that?"

"You'd make an excellent addition to the team."

"Tryouts are over for Ravenclaw."

"Not for Hufflepuff."

Honey arched a brow. Was he proposing what she thought he was proposing?

"You want me on your team? As a Beater?"

"The way you handled that Bludger...you almost hit me. Did you know that?" A smile crossed his lips. "If we could hone your skills—"

"Give me time to think about it. I'll give you an answer soon, but not now."

Accepting Honey's consideration, Zacharias wished her well and left.

Madam Pomfrey came to remove the bandages and examine the gash. The stitches were doing their job, but there was a bit of blood seeping out at some corners. Madam Pomfrey put a clean, fresh bandage on and told Honey to come back at the end of the day so she could examine it again and make sure it was healing properly. She discharged Honey with an order to return to the hospital wing if she experienced any signs of fatigue or tiredness during class. Honey agreed.

She placed her black pointed hat on her head, neatly covering the bandage, being careful not to irritate the tender spot. Her friends met up with her as she crossed the threshold and began questioning her about Zacharias. Honey told them that he'd offered to give her some Quidditch lessons, but she hadn't agreed to it yet.

Although Evie had brought Honey's bag for class, Honey excused herself to go to her room and told her friends to meet her later in the Great Hall. She had to tell her grandpa where she'd been last night. He might visit his other portraits at the house and her parents would be suspicious and come to Hogwarts and find out where she was.

"Where have you been?" he demanded as soon as he saw her.

"I was spying on Dumbledore," Honey lied. She didn't want him to worry and wanted to please him.

"Oh, all right. So what have you learned?"

"Nothing, for now, but I've found out about his routine and I'll start from there."

"Good, good, very good. I always knew you had it in you," he said, as proud of her as if she had accomplished some great feat.

"Why do you want him dead? Please tell me, Grandpa. I need to know the reason."

Instead of ignoring her like he usually did, he looked as if he was actually considering answering.

"He was lovers with your great aunt, my sister. He discarded her after falling in love with his best friend, Gellert Grindelwald. My sister was heart was broken. She fell into a deep depression. Could no longer use her magic. She died during childbirth. The child was his."

Honey felt her blood to boil. The emotion of anger she felt was far more intense compared to anything she had ever known. It was an all-consuming sensation that cried out for blood to be spilled. Her rage was like a living being with its hands wrapped around her heart and throat, squeezing. The curious thing was she had felt this way before. It was familiar.

Now that her grandfather had revealed the truth to her, Honey gave him her word that she'd make Dumbledore pay for what he'd done to her family. If only he had told her about it from the beginning she wouldn't have wasted so much time. With her mind set on her headmaster's destruction, she wasn't paying attention and crashed into someone, falling to the stone floor. This just wasn't her week, was it? First the Bludger and now this!

"Are you okay?" someone asked.

"Fine," said Honey, taking the person's hand as he helped her up. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention."

The boy laughed. "Me, either."

Honey dusted herself off and looked at the boy she had bumped into. He was wearing a red and gold Gryffindor uniform and had a head of flaming-red hair and abundant freckles. Standing right next to him was another boy who looked identical to him. Honey wondered if she'd fallen and hit her head again since she appeared to be seeing double.

"I'm Fred, by the way," one of them said.

"I'm George," said the other.

"I'm Honey."

"Sweet name," they said in unison and laughed.

"I need to lie down," said Honey, feeling a wave of nausea wash over her. She was acquainted enough with this sensation to know what she had to do to temporarily relieve it. She needed something cold to hold onto to numb the burning sting on her skin. She leaned her back against the cold stone wall and slowly slid down until her bottom touched the cold floor.

"Are you all right?" the twins asked.

Honey touched the one on her left. "Are you real?"

"Yes."

She touched the other one. "Are you?"

"Yes."

"What about them?" She pointed to the crowd of students walking past them as if they hadn't noticed her on the floor.

Fred and George Weasley glanced at one another and then at the little blonde Ravenclaw sitting on the floor. There was no one in the corridor except the three of them. "No," they said.

"Oh. I must be hallucinating again," she stated in an eerily calm tone. "Please take me to Madam Pomfrey."

Both of them took her arms and helped her stand up. Her blue eyes gazed at the floor for a moment with a curious expression and then she turned to them. "If you please, can one of you carry me? I don't think I can walk in this state."

When Fred picked Honey up her hat accidentally fell off, revealing the bloody bandage underneath. George picked up the hat and then saw her head. "Fred, what did you do to her?" he said accusingly, digging into his pockets for something as they ran to the Hospital Wing.

"I fell," Honey answered, looking paler by the minute.

"Come on, George," said Fred. "We need to hurry before she bleeds to death."

"One minute. I think I can find something to—" George was cut off when Honey grabbed his collar, pulling him to her. Fred stopped running before he could fall and drop her at her sudden movement.

"Be careful! You almost stepped on him!"

"What? Who?" Fred and George looked down and saw a blue tie on the floor.

"That's mine," said Honey. George knelt to pick it up but Honey stopped him. "Leave it. I'll come back for it later."

Fred and George didn't argue. She needed medical attention as soon as possible. When they reached the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey took Honey from Fred's arms. There was no hesitation in her part. It was as if she had been waiting for Honey to come, or she had sized up the situation and knew what to do.

Fred and George stood outside the curtain, waiting patiently to find out if Honey was all right. It was obvious that she was injured already, and having bumped into Fred had caused her condition to worsen.

"Fred and George, was it?" they heard Honey say from behind the curtain after Madam Pomfrey left to gather supplies. The twins pulled the curtains aside and stuck their heads in. Honey lay on the bed, her hands resting at her sides. She gestured for them to come closer.

"Are there only the two of you here with me?"

"Yes," they said.

"Is there something on my hand?"

Fred and George looked at her hand. "No," they answered, curious as to why she was asking them such questions.

"Thank you," Honey said to the two disfigured Trolls who were standing beside her bed. They had flaming-red hair, large marble eyes, and lopsided lips. She glanced at the numerous snakes slithering over her body, the muddy bed she was lying on, and the large black beetles crawling on the floor. "For helping me know."

As Marvolo muttered the incantation, he felt movement on his leg. He looked down and saw William, who had somehow increased in size, slithering up his leg and coming to lie on his chest. He tried to kick the snake off him but was restricted by the chains that bound him. William reared up the anterior portion of his body, extending his neck and spreading his hood.

"Get off me, you foul creature!" Marvolo demanded.

"You hurt my mistress!" William hissed, showing his fangs and hissing loudly.

After Honey recovered from her sickness she went to see Marvolo. In the Chamber, she observed what William had done to him. The left side of his neck was red and swollen, and the flesh around the bite was purple. He was twitching and coughing, choking on his own spit. He was acting as if he was going to die. But Honey knew better. He was fine. Luckily for him, she milked William's venom every week. It made his venom less lethal, although it was still painful. Very painful.

"It seems you have many tricks. Nice little curse you put on me. I thought I was going mad for a while. Seeing things that weren't there...like back at St. Mungos." Honey leaned closer, their noses almost touching. Her voice was now hard, devoid of emotions. "All those years have taught me to be patient and observant. That was all I ever could do. Lay there and observe everyone." She closed her eyes as she reminisced, and then opened them. "I tried my best to be nice to you, but you won't behave, will you?"

She took out a vial from her pocket and removed the cork. She covered his nose, forcing his mouth open, and poured down the liquid. He struggled against his restraints but it was no use. Soon, he was unconscious.

As weeks went by, class flew by without further incident, which Honey fully enjoyed. One day she took out the cards and played with them for fun. She received a new card. It had twin jokers wearing red and white, standing back to back. They were laughing and juggling books with each other. The second card was Death. The third was a group of Thestrals tearing the flesh off a carcass. The last was a graveyard on a moonlit night with dark clouds slowly gliding over the tombstones.

Honey took the cards with her to Divination and asked Professor Trelawney to interpret them. One by one, Trelawney examined each of the cards carefully, from the new twin jokers to the graveyard. She wanted to wait for Trelawney to make her predictions.

"You're making new friends." Trelawney said, tapping the card with the twin jokers. "Energetic group...they're good for you."

Honey looked at the twins on the card. There was nothing that appeared threatening about them. They did seem like they were having fun. Twins...the realization came to Honey almost too late. Twins. Fred and George. They were twins just like on the card. They must be the new friends the card was predicting. Honey knew it could have been a coincidence about the card and the twins, but it was a bit strange.

"You're being watched." Trelawney pointed at Death.

"Is it threatening?" Honey asked.

"Hard to tell, his eyes aren't open."

"What do you mean? His eyes are—" Honey looked at the card and found that Death's eyes were indeed closed.

"Closed, yes, he's sleeping."

"But his eyes were open."

Trelawney stared at Honey through her large glasses. "What did they look like?"

"Hollowed, pale, and exhausted."

Trelawney turned to the card and looked it over. "He's tired. Sleeping. You're safe for now." Her gaze moved to the next card. "You've seen death? Whose?"

"My own. In the…six years ago. I witnessed my own death."

"How?"

"My reflection. I saw my reflection. While I died."

Trelawney was speechless for a moment and then moved to the next card, the graveyard on a moonlit night. It was as if she was uncomfortable talking to Honey about her experience.

"Your tombstone has carvings of hands on it." Trelawney pointed to the largest tombstone in the card. "Hands symbolize departure, leaving."

Honey looked at the card. There were seven tombstones in total—no. Honey looked again. There were eight tombstones; one was hidden among the others. How odd that she'd never noticed that last tomb and the hands before. Trelawney probably had no trouble seeing them because she had help from her glasses.

"These hands are clasped."

"Does it mean anything?"

Trelawney pointed at the tombstones. "See these here? The right hand has cuffs. It means it's a man's hand. His fingers overlap the other hand. The left hand is open. Clasped hands are symbols of farewell or last goodbye. The person who died first holds the other's hand, guiding the other to beyond."

"Is someone waiting for me? In...in the afterlife?" asked Honey.

Trelawney looked downed at the card. Suddenly she jumped off her chair and took a step back as if something had startled her. "Where did you find these cards?" she demanded.

"I found them." said Honey, amused by professor's nervous behavior.

"Where?"

"What startled you? You jumped back suddenly. Why?" Honey asked her in return.

"He gave you the cards," Trelawney whispered in a manner as if she was afraid someone would hear her. She pointed toward the table with the cards. "He wanted you to have them."

"Who?"

"Him."

Honey looked at the table. "You said I'm being watched. Is he watching us? Is he watching us right now?" She went to the table and picked up the card and found that Death's eyes were closed. As students entered the room, Honey put the cards away.

A few weeks later, Honey said goodnight to her friends after she made sure they were doing well with their homework. Afterward, she had to meet with Zacharias for her Quidditch lessons. In the beginning Meredith had questioned Zacharias' abilities, but she quit complaining when Honey assured her that they were only flying lessons and nothing more.

During the early stage of Honey's Quidditch training she had met with many difficulties, but as weeks passed she was getting better and better. The muscles on her arms flexed as her grip tightened around the broom handle when she flew. It amazed Honey that she had muscles beneath her skin and that they were hard and lean. Before, all she'd felt was skin and bones. It was all thanks to the strict diet of protein and vegetables that Zacharias had made her follow. She supposed her previous routine hadn't shown the same results because her Healers had given her the simplest one they had. They were afraid she was too fragile to handle vigorous activities. Zacharias was different. He didn't know of her earlier condition and pushed her to her limits.

"Heads up!" Zacharias said as he threw the Quaffle to her.

Honey caught it and threw it back to him. They were in mid-air, on their brooms. Since Honey didn't have a broom, Zacharias let her borrow one from the shed where extra ones were stored. She was also wearing a uniform and special gear that had been left by past players. There was an odd stain on them, but she didn't mind it very much.

The next time Zacharias threw the Quaffle he didn't give her a warning. Honey reached her hands out to catch it, but a miscalculation caused it to slip past her fingers. Without another thought she grabbed her broom handle and dived downward, following it. As Honey increased her speed, she felt the pressure of the cold wind battling against her. The goggles over her eyes protected her vision and allowed her to see where the Quaffle was. She scooped it up and threw it to Zacharias. Directing the broom handle upward, she attempted to fly back to her spot.

"Let me see you..."

There it was again. That voice. It was the same one she'd heard when she was on the stands. It was familiar, so familiar, yet she still couldn't place it.

"Just once..."

Honey glanced left and right. Where was that voice coming from?

"Your face..."

Honey's blurry surroundings began to clear. She was outdoors, in front of a manor and a well-manicured lawn. She turned around and saw a village at the bottom of the hill she was standing on. She turned back and looked at the manor. It was large compared to the buildings below, with lights beaming through the windows. Her heart raced as she clenched the wand in her hand, and she walked toward the back entrance.