Thanks for the reviews, Weasleytwinslover87, JulesDragonlady, and LizziePixie-Aiko! :D

Chapter 41 will be out right away, and maybe chapter 42 if I'm feeling generous. If not, then it'll definitely be out tomorrow. :]

If I have any readers in the London area, STAY SAFE!

Reviews are nice…

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THIS, EXCEPT FOR ANY CHARACTERS YOU DON'T RECOGNIZE. JK ROWLING IS JESUS!

CHAPTER 40

"We should leave." Hisoka whispered to Albus. "We need to get the boys back…"

Albus nodded. "Let me take them to the fireplace, I need to have a few words with them before I send them back."

Hisoka nodded, approaching Audrey and Airleas as Albus approached the three boys.

"Follow me." He said, they obeyed.

Once they had reached the top floor, Ivan's study, which now felt eerie, Albus paused in front of the fireplace.

"I am sending you back…but I wish to discuss a few things with you all at first."

They nodded, Albus was about to speak but they all turned their heads noticing something in the dark corner moving. There was a tiny burst of light, and then nothing.

Karl shone is wand over it, curious. It was a cello…Ivan's cello.

On the back, was a large Dalio family crest with names all around it. Where the little burst of light was, four letters shone clearly, as though it had just been carved.

Ivan.

The cello moved past Karl and floated out of the room, Albus could only assume it was going to float downstairs to the family member next in line. Isaac.

He turned back to the boys and spoke softly but with great seriousness. "What you have seen tonight, whatever information you may have obtained, it must be kept silent. I know that you all know about Ms. Dalio's abilities, but it was meant to be a secret for her safety as well as her family's. I don't know how this tragic incident occurred tonight, and I don't think Ms. Dalio will be right for quite some time because of it. As her friends, I must urge you to not only keep quiet about this, but to make sure Ms. Dalio is not alone in the hallways, or anywhere else outside of her common room. I have a feeling there was someone inside the school involved."

"There was, sir." Sven spoke up. The other boys looked shocked and perplexed. "I saw Igor Karkaroff lurking around Audrey and Karl's table earlier tonight, he bewitched her handbag, at the time I didn't know it was hers until I saw her approaching it."

Albus nodded. "We will investigate further when we return to the school, I must inform Olympe about Hans and Petro."

A few tears escaped Karl and Sven's eyes, two friends, gone in an instant.

As they returned to the Headmaster's familiar office, Minerva was waiting for them.

"Albus, what has happened?" She asked, nervous. "Where is Ms. Dalio? Where are the boys?"

"It was a rather awful ambush, Minerva." Albus said gravely. "Ms. Dalio is safe, Hans and Petro were murdered upon arrival at St. Aleksander's palace."

"Oh dear…" Minerva wiped a few stray tears. "What will we tell the students?"

"We will tell them the truth, Minerva." Albus replied. "The wizarding world is on the brink of war, we cannot shelter them."

The boys made their way from the office, down the dark corridors.

"I'm going to slit his throat." Severus hissed in the silence.
"It's not worth it, Severus." said Sven. "He's too powerful, he's always been."
"He's not worth ruining your life and going to Azkaban for." said Karl.
"He's right." Sirius agreed.

It was such an odd time for all of us. I was very tense with Snape and Karl, and for once, we were civil. I think it was what we had just witnessed.

Severus bid them a good night and set off to the dungeons, muttering about how he'd make sure Karkaroff got what was coming to him.

They walked to the Gryffindor common room in silence, as they walked in Sven was ambushed into a hug by Chantal.

"Dear Merlin, I was so worried. Where were you? What has happened?" Chantal asked, looking at them.

Behind her, on the couches and arm chairs was Lily, Marlene, James, Remus, Peter, Alice, Frank, Maksim, Dmitri, Veronique, Marie, and Aimee. Sarah and Henri had been snuck in once again. They all wore their pajamas, and judging by their faces they had been waiting up all night nervous.

Sven literally broke down, and it made me really respect him. Karl and I had both held back our emotions. The thing about Sven Beria is that he was incredibly honest, which is something I am sure Audrey valued in him greatly as one of her best friends. Yes, Audrey had just witnessed her entire family die before her eyes, but these people were close to Sven as well. I thought about that, I couldn't imagine what would happen if all of the people in that very room that night had died. What an empty world it would be.

Sven was speaking quickly in Russian and crying, Chantal pulled him close. Maksim and Dmitri took turns translating Sven's frantic tale. Everyone listened to them with rapt attention, the normal laughter that was always present with James wasn't there. Lily shook with stifled sobs, Marlene buried her head in Remus' neck. Remus was rigid and worried, Peter looked frightened. Chantal, Marie, Veronique, Aimee, and Henri couldn't keep it together after hearing of Hans and Petro.

"I can't believe it…" James whispered, when everything was quiet.

"How is Audrey?" Chantal asked, nervous. When it took more than a second for anyone to answer she panicked.

"Oh merlin, not her too! Please tell me it is not my friend too?"

"Audrey's alive." Sven said. "But she's…"

"She's not alright, obviously." Sirius finished, looking at the floor. Karl nodded in agreement.

"When will she be back?" Marlene's voice broke slightly, she had been unusually silent this entire time.

"I don't know." Karl shrugged. "She was with her parents when we all left."

"Funerary arrangements." Chantal said quietly. Everyone else nodded. She excused herself from the couches and walked over to the fireplace on the opposite wall, everyone watched her in silence, not sure what to say or what she was of the sudden, a sea of black hair emerged from the fire, and the head of a banshee was staring back at all of them.

"Chantal? What is it? It's quite late you know…" She said, a hand appeared, and she rubbed one of her eyes.

"Teagan, Audrey's family is dead."

"The whole?" Teagan's eyes widened.

"The grandparents, the aunts and uncles, the cousins…all of them. Dead."

"Merlin's beard." Teagan shook her head, a few tears barely visible in the fireplace. "It was a set up wasn't it?"

Chantal shook her head sadly.

"I hate humans." Teagan said in a sad voice. "The prejudiced kind I mean." She added, noticing the humans behind Chantal.

"We get it, don't worry." said James.
"And we hate humans too, sometimes." Dmitri added.

Everyone in the room resituated around the fireplace, listening and talking with Teagan for a while.

"When d'you think she'll be back?" Chantal asked.

"Tonight." replied Teagan. "They wouldn't let her stay there after all of that had happened. I'm going to go and send an owl to Darcy, I'm sure she'll want to come to the funerals."

"How will you get here?" asked Lily.
"I'm already in the United Kingdom." Teagan replied. "I can't disclose where our school is, obviously. But the real question is how I will get to Russia, the funerals will obviously be there."

"That's true." James agreed. "…How will you get to Russia then?"

"Apparition." Teagan shrugged.

"But if you're our age, you can't." said Marlene, confused.

"It's not illegal for banshees to apparate. I've been doing it since I could walk. There are far too many of us on the planet for the magical law enforcement to regulate." Teagan said casually. "I'll see you all soon, I suppose. Good night."