Okay, so this is the longest chapter in this story, so far. I know it's a bit massive, but honestly I can not think of a way to cut this one in two or more.

So, here it is, in its full 'glory' (note that the term is pretty presumptuous, but never mind).

In this one, I do some character development for the Odinson twins and I'm beginning to work a little on Ewan, who's been seriously overlooked, so far. The thing is that Ewan plays a part in later years, but the trilogy of Atlantis remains focused on Ian and Kenneth. But I needed to give some space to the first years, so that you could get to know them better. Oh, yes, and Christine does get some spotlight as well.

About the Brocéliande Sanctuary... I'm proud to say I didn't get any inspiration for this except for one thing. Taliesin, as I said in earlier notes, was a name inspired by the character created by Stephen Lawhead for his "Pendragon Cycle", the father of Merlin coming from Atlantis.

And a major plotline finally gets some attention...

The Home of the Unicorn

Halloween was coming upon the school and the time for the trip to Brocéliande was closing in. Professor Dumbledore had taken the time to list the students allowed to get there himself. He had been very careful in his choices and very clear on the reasons why someone was forbidden to tag along. The last effects of the fight on the Quidditch pitch were felt when a good portion of the Slytherin students and a few vengeful Gryffindors out of seventh year were struck down from the list. It wasn't so much what they had done on the pitch that day, but more their attitude since then.

After the game had been called off, it had been replayed without an audience. Gryffindor had won by a short margin, so in all logic, it would have been the end of that. Only some Slytherin didn't like the idea of losing the Cup on their final year in school and so the spite had led to arguments, insults that had been veiled or not, and some jinxes had been used. The Gryffindor seventh year was an unruly bunch and they refused to be harassed without retaliation, so they had fought back, leading to a series of pranks and ambushes, and that was, according to Dumbledore, taking the rivalry too far. As such, he had banned most of the year from the trip.

So it left Dumbledore and Harry with a fairly manageable group, out of fifth and sixth year. The plan was for Dumbledore and Harry to tag along the visiting students to investigate the traces of the intrusion in the Sanctuary. It had been decided that Amanio would stay behind, for his safety. Wilhelm also elected to remain in the Castle, because one of the novices, Corentin Martens, had contracted a slight fever and the Initiate wanted to help Madam Pomfrey to treat him.

Alexander had decided not to join, because he trusted Albus and Harry. The two of them would be able to find any trace left, and Albus would probably think of a few things he would overlook. He had quite enough on his plate with the teaching of his new pupils.

While Ian's lessons were going smoothly, since he was progressing with Charms on a very steady rate and growing more independent every day, in the process of controlling his powers, the Odinson twins were a different matter. It wasn't that they were difficult. On the contrary, they were attentive, dedicated and very motivated. But the nature of some of their abilities simply continued to baffle Alexander.

Their general comprehension of Chaos Magic was greater than Ian's was, when he was their age. But if neither of the twins could reach Ian's potential, there was a curious phenomenon that Alexander had found only with them.

The combined power of the twins far exceeded the sum of their parts. Alexander knew for a fact that Magic was additive and that combined spells from different casters tended to reinforce each other, but he had never seen it to such a degree. Since Alexander had started to work with them, each time they did something together, the power involved outgrew what he would have thought possible. Their collaborative spells weren't only more powerful. It was like they completed each other, correcting what the other may have done wrong. It was fascinating.

Besides, there was this strange interaction between them, like some kind of permanent link between Susan and Sven. Alexander was under the impression that the two children could think of what the other was thinking. It was going beyond finishing each other's sentences. Two unrelated persons could do that, if they knew each other enough. With the twins, it wasn't an effort for them. It was as if they were finishing each other's thoughts. This wasn't Legillimency, Alexander was sure of it, having scanned for it. It was purely instinctive, a primal connection between them.

This was an amazing phenomenon, something the Sorting Hart had spotted right away by saying "Thoughts coming from this head into the other. Let me see this one…" while he was on Susan's head.

The issue was now how they could use it to their advantage. So far, the had only used it in their personal interaction. Alexander was convinced that it could be a way to alter and enhance their use of Magic.

It wasn't easy to figure out, as the Odinsons didn't feel like they were doing anything. When something has been a reflex for most of their life, it's difficult to tap into it on a conscious level. Their parents had always believed that the twins were just really close to each other. And they were so glad of this that they never questioned this ability.

The link was complex, and it was also absolute. Alexander had found that nothing could break it, neither distance, nor another spell. As a test, he had placed Susan under an isolation bubble, effectively cutting her from Magic. The spell had been used on the Seal of Chaos before his destruction and it should have made sure that Susan was in fact cut off from her brother, but it had been of no use. When he had taken Sven on the other side of the world, with a portkey, showing him the mountains of China, Susan had caught some sorts of the images in her head, memories of Sven from the trip. And the link had endured the distance.

This was an enigma. Alexander had a theory, that he shared with Professor McGonagall, during their next game of chess.

"I'm sure that the link was forged between them before they were born. They must have awakened to Chaos even sooner than I have. It is possible that they're simply born with that link."

"I don't see why it would explain the invulnerability of this link," said Minerva, a little puzzled, while taking his second pawn.

"It is a little like Lily Potter's protection of her son. This is primal Magic. Something like an essential part of their being, that is constituted of Magic. It goes so deep that no conscious Magic can come between them, for no one can act at such a level, except themselves."

"Do you think it can be useful for them?" Minerva asked.

"Well, if this link is so powerful, it's got to be more than just an unconscious bound," Alexander speculated. "If they manage to take control of the connection out of their own will, they may achieve great things together."

"That's a fascinating prospect," noted Minerva, wincing. "They have already started to make things levitate in the Gryffindor Tower. Do you want them to double the amount of chairs flipped in the air?"

"Is that so serious?" asked Alexander.

He hadn't been told that there had been any accident.

"To be honest, no," she admitted. "A few minor incidents that don't stray too much from Gryffindor standards. They are a little more erratic than you, but less than Ian, as a matter of fact."

"It's not that terrible, then," Alexander said, smiling.

"Alexander," said Minerva on a tired tone. "During his second year, Ian changed Peeves in a Crystal chandelier… I know I don't like Peeves but…"

"He turned him back to normal, didn't he? And since then, Peeves had at least learned to fear the Whole Nest," chuckled Alexander.

"Must we transfigure all of our little troubles into crystal to have peace?" asked Minerva, smiling, too.

"Of course not, though it could be a good idea," said Alexander, taking Minerva's rook. "But still, I must now try to make them develop this link to bring it at a conscious level."

"Well, I hope you'll succeed," said Minerva.

And so, along with Ian, Alexander had tried to help the twins to think of this link as something they could use at will. They were trying experiments, and for the moment, failing. And of course, regular lessons went on.

The Twins, even if their main peculiarity remained a mystery, were eager to learn and were quickly getting the hang of mastering of their Chaos Magic. If their link remained instinctive, their conscious use of Chaos spells was more and more under control.

That very evening, Alexander decided to try something, while they were discussing the fact that Chaos Magic allowed them to alter the proper use of simple spells, creating variations in the effects.

"Ian, would you mind give us an example?" Alexander asked his older pupil.

Ian nodded, extended the palm of his hand and whispered the incantation.

"Lumos," he said.

Instead of appearing at the tip of his wand, the light ball created itself in the palm of his hand, floating lightly. But it was pulsating, sending little flashes of light which weren't included in the original spell. The twins were enthusiastic and tried immediately. Soon, three lights were in the room.

"Now," said Alexander. "You will try to play with the light. This is a matter of concentration, of inner creativity, and of course, intuition."

The twins looked a little puzzled. Ian smiled reassuringly, and the light of his hand began to float in circle over his palm, and the flashes began to shift between different colours.

The twins seemed to think about it, and then, Susan looked at her brother. She extended her fingers, and her light began to rise up to the ceiling. It divided in three. Sven raised his eyebrows for a second, and then he smiled in understanding.

His own light then rose up to join his sister's. And it grew brighter, and started to shift colours as well, and to dance lightly in the room. Ian smiled widely at this performance. Alexander nodded.

"Very good," he said. "Again, you got it quick. No I want you to train with this, to try and find new expressions of your powers through these lights. You can try to use anything you can think of. Only it has to remain light. You can train whenever you have time for this. This is harmless stuff, so you can use it in front of anyone without any risk."

At the twins' expression, Alexander was quite sure that he wouldn't see them show off in front of their classmates.

"I would suggest you use that exercise as an opportunity to see how you could use your connection," said Alexander. "Try and see what you can do by combining your magic."

The twins looked pensive and nodded. Ian winked at Alexander and smiled.

"Should be interesting," he said.

Later that day, Alexander was reading in his apartment, for a change, as Phyllis had gone back to work full-time. He was thus in charge of watching over Christine most of the time, not that he minded at all. His daughter wasn't the most difficult child in the world, and these days, she mostly took naps.

So Alexander was free to study other subjects than his child's needs. He was reading some old manuscript that Remus Lupin had found during one of his trips. It was dealing with the special link that could exist between twins in the Wizarding World.

Many cases had been seen of that, surprisingly. As Alexander had given examples of famous twins in wizarding History. So Castor and Pollux were known to have shared a very special link. And so had the Wakatabe Sisters, two Japanese witches, who, according to the legend, could speak to each other across the whole Island of Yokohama. This was not a common phenomenon, but each time it occurred, it was between twins. So Alexander's theory was that if the primal link between the Odinson twins wasn't due to their nature as Chaoticians, their gift of Chaos Magic could turn it into something unique.

Alexander was so absorbed by his reading that he didn't hear the sounds coming from Christine's bed. He missed the second warning, when she began to cry lightly.

Suddenly, Alexander's book began to float, ripped from his hands and flying across the room, to fall against the kitchen door. Puzzled, Alexander began to look around in amazement. What was going on? Alexander's eyes widened in shock when he realised that all the books in the apartment were now floating wildly around. He got to his feet quickly and read the Magic in the room.

He was in for a surprised, when he realized that the magic was coming straight from Christine's room. He rushed in there and saw that his daughter was crying loudly now. He understood that Christine was angry for being neglected. He marvelled at the power of her reaction.

"Come here, little devil," he chuckled, taking her in his arms.

He began to rock her in his arms, gently. Christine was still crying, but she began to calm down and, as soon as her wails stopped, all the books dropped back to the floor.

There was someone knocking on the door. Alexander, still comforting Christine, went to open. In the door frame, Hermione looked puzzled, her wand in her hand.

"I don't understand," she said. "The spell was coming from here."

"The spell?" said Alexander. "Did it reach your apartment?"

"My apartment? Alexander, are you kidding? It touched the whole library! Every student had the books they were working on ripped off their hands!" said Hermione.

"The library?" exclaimed Alexander.

"Why? What happened?" asked Hermione.

"Christine was upset about me reading without taking care of her," said Alexander, looking at his daughter in amazement.

Hermione threw an incredulous look at the little girl.

"You mean that she did that?" she said.

Alexander nodded. He was beginning to find the situation amusing. The thought that his daughter would turn the whole Castle upside down to get some attention from her busy parents was irresistible. He began to chuckle. Hermione looked at him, a little scandalized.

"This is not funny, Alexander," she said. "She scared everyone there."

Alexander was laughing even louder, now. Hermione looked at him, bewildered.

"Imagine what it might have been if she had been hungry," he said, between laughter.

Hermione had a twisted smile. And soon, she joined him in laughter. When Harry joined them on the door of Alexander's apartment, he found two of his best friends laughing like mad, with Christine in Alexander's arms, giggling happily, too.

"What the hex is going on here?" he asked, puzzled.

But Alexander and Hermione only doubled up in laughter.

As much as Harry and his friends had tried to make light of the incident, the effect of Christine's whim gathered some attention. The idea that a baby's cries were enough to make all the books float in the school was a huge thing to consider for both students and teachers.

Some students found this amusing. Many of them were making fun of the incident. Terry Longwand had started, with his Gryffindor friends, to build the myth of Christine, the baby who could switch the towers from a wing to another when hungry. Most of these jokes were harmless. But of course, there were always some to try and speak ill of the little girl.

Unsurprisingly, Macke was the first in line for that, his usual cronies in tow, even if Venansius was keeping his low profile. Ian was trying to shush these rumours that Christine was a freak, because he didn't want Alexander and Phyllis to suffer from it. He was pleasantly surprised to get vocal support from many students, from his own House and others'. In fact, all the prefects had agreed to shut up anyone who was trying some mean joke on the little girl. And, in a curious twist of events, one of the most virulent defender of the child was Robert Donahue.

"This is no laughing matter," the Slytherin Prefect had said, in a very public speech in the Great Hall, where all of his usual admirers and followers were listening. "This baby will be a major witch, someday. This is to be respected."

To Donahue's credit, it made complete sense. Donahue was a Slytherin. As such, as a boy with certain ambition he had respect for power. This was the reason why he had never supported Macke and his friends in their constant harassment of Alexander's Pupils.

Donahue sought to score against Gryffindor, and he never let a chance to show his superiority to Kenneth pass by. But he also never had questioned Kenneth Lionheart's power. In his view of things, Wandmasters were worthy of respect. He was only trying to get the best of him as much as possible, if only to prove his own worth. As misplaced as it was in Harry's eyes, he had to admit it made perfect sense, in the Slytherin view of life. Was it the reason Snape had developed such an animosity regarding the Marauders? As a gifted student, did he want to prove himself against the obviously clever boys?

Speaking of Snape, the teacher's reaction to Christine was variable. Snape had shown no reaction beyond asking that the girls parent take care that she didn't mess with his lab. The Divination Teachers were puzzled by the power of that Child. Firenze was impressed, and Sybill Trelawney was, predictably, completely terrified. She said this powerful child was bound to a have a terrible fate, and of course, she had predicted her death for already the fourth time. Harry wasn't so convinced of that, of course. Since he was supposed to have died already twelve times by now, according to Sybil, he didn't put too much credit in her foresight when it came to Christine Lockenburn.

Dumbledore, Flitwick, and Hermione were now fascinated by Christine's potential. They found it very impressive, and in Dumbledore's case, amusing.

"This is refreshing to see that the children here provide us some entertainment. I've been suddenly interrupted in my reading by the levitation of my copy of the Daily Prophet."

Phyllis, for her part, was appalled. Of course, she didn't care at all for what Trelawney could say about her child. She did believe in Prophecies, just not in Trelawney's. But the fact that her daughter had flown across the whole Castle had been shocking her quite strongly. Now, the idea that she had made all the books float, stopping anyone from reading was getting her on the edge of panic.

"Imagine what it will be next," she told Harry and Alexander. "What if she creates some real problem?"

"It can't be very serious," said Harry. "She only reacts on the most basic levels. The only problem is to keep her distracted from using these gifts. As soon as she will have learned to talk, Alexander will teach her how to control this. And until then, we will have to keep her busy."

Christine Lockenburn's deeds had been the most prominent event of the days leading to Halloween. No significant progress had been made in the Silver Quill challenge.

The trip was finalized and Professor Sprout and Professor Sinistra would accompany Harry and Dumbledore. Since Harry's real purpose in this trip was to investigate the attack, they needed teachers to look after the students. Julie Carteret being involved in the trip, Remus had also supplied a discrete group of his agents, to act as protection detail, out of sight, and unbeknownst to her. Harry and Dumbledore didn't wish to worry the girl any more than needed, since there was no sign that she could be in danger, these days. But one couldn't be too cautious.

The students and teachers got to Brocéliande by Portkey, on Saturday morning.

The Sanctuary as a whole expanded on miles. Three main parts existed. A vast ensemble of buildings called the Home. It included houses of varying size, in which the Masters, Initiates and Novices lived, ate and studied. There was also a vast library that was one of the largest archives in the world, when it came to History of Magic, and the Temple, which consisted in a garden, with statues and wall paintings, which served as a reminder of Merlin and the tradition the Brothers chose to live by.

And last, there was the Grove. The Grove was a part of the woods, haunted by Magic Creatures and was said to contain something called the Core. The Core was the place where Merlin had lived, according to Legend. No one was allowed in the Core except for High Initiates and Masters, and only they knew the way to get inside, as it was the most sacred place for the Order. One could walk the Grove for hours without find any trace of the Core. This was a mystery that went beyond Harry's comprehension. But still Dumbledore was taking it as true.

So the students' visit would include the Home, the Library and the Temple, with a stop in the Wizarding Town of Brocéliande itself, a little farther in the Forest. It wasn't connected to the Brotherhood in itself, but it was an interesting place. Alwena Silverleaf, the Gryffindor Prefect out of fifth year, lived there when she wasn't in Hogwarts.

Of course, Muggle knew nothing of the existence of Brocéliande as a town. All they knew was the aura of legend and mystery that hung over the forest. So it wasn't rare to see Muggles wandering in the woods, in search for some magic, exploring its mystery, or simply enjoying the beautiful sights of the woods.

To ensure the secrecy of the Sanctuary, of Brocéliande and whatever else may hide in these woods, a very delicate spell had been cast over the entire region. It was fascinating, actually. It turned anything related to magic invisible to the Muggle eye, unless this eye would know what to look for. So the Muggles that knew about the wizarding world would see the people in robes walking around as if at home. But the others wouldn't see anything else than woods all around. This was a very clever trick, in Harry's opinion, and a safe one, since nobody ever discovered the true Home of Merlin in centuries.

As the students spread around in small group in the streets of the village of Brocéliande, Harry once more marvelled at the fact that this place had avoided detection for so long. While Hogsmeade and Hogwarts were pretty easy to conceal from Muggle, since Scotland wasn't that heavily populated, the population in France and Brittany was far more concentrated, so it was no small feat.

"The wizards here have received help," Dumbledore told him.

"Is that so?" asked Harry.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "Brocéliande and its inhabitants have… let us say, ancient neighbours."

"I don't think that this knowledge is meant to be spread around," said Anselme, coldly, looking at Dumbledore with a frown.

The more he knew him, the less Harry could stand the Novice master. He was stiff, humourless and on the whole unpleasant. He wasn't without reminding Harry of Snape, but, at least, with Snape, Harry had a serious idea of why he was such a jerk. Why would Anselme be so rude to the people in Hogwarts. And if he didn't want to meet new people, why would he accompany Amanio, in the first place? Wilhelm, at least, tried to fit in nicely in the school.

Dumbledore was unperturbed by Anselme's remark, though.

"Oh, do not worry, Hector," he said. "I have been invited a few times in the Courts, and to simply tell Harry about them won't allow him to find them."

"The Courts?" said Harry, weighing the implication of this specific word. "You mean there is an Elvish Court in Brocéliande?"

Dumbledore nodded.

"Indeed," he said. "They value their privacy, as you can imagine, so they extended it to the wizards living around. If one adds the protections the Brotherhood placed on the forest, as well, it makes this Village one of the most secret places in the world."

"The fact that someone tried to break in is all the more concerning, then," said Harry.

"Right you are," said Dumbledore. "Hector, if you would be so kind to show me to the way to the Library. There are a few things I need to check. Harry, if you would monitor the visit, I think we will have more time to investigate the attempted intrusion when the students will be in the Temple."

Harry nodded and the headmaster strode away with Anselme.

Harry turned to the students, who were making their way into the town. They had formed groups, mostly following the House repartition, even if some Ravenclaws mixed up with Gryffindors, or Hufflepuffs. Harry noticed that, though they had been sorted in Ravenclaw, Alan Colville and Jeremy Wats were leading a group of Slytherin students, among which Donahue, the only exception being Julie, from Gryffindor. Harry paid special attention to them, because of Julie's presence and he had the feeling that Colville and Wats were in their natural element, with the Slytherins. They looked like a group of aristocrats, walking just like they owned the place.

The visit of the Temple was planned for the afternoon, and until then, the students would be set free in the village, just like in Hogsmeade.

The visit of the Temple would be more organized, in order not to bother the Brotherhood.

I wonder why I even bother, thought Ian, bitterly.

He was bent on some old parchment, in the middle of the library. This may be the week end, but he had some homework to do for Snape. He could see the Potions Master looking straight at his class, with something close to a sadistic smile when he had given them this essay to hand down on Tuesday.

"Your older friends being allowed to wander off in the woods doesn't mean that you are to be exempted from work," he had said.

The class had the brains not to try and discuss his instruction, if only to avoid him adding to the pile.

So here he was, trying to sort out the components of an amnesia potion, and he was having quite a hard time of it. And no sign of providential help in the horizon, since Kieran was busy, not with Homework, but with this project she had with Kenneth. Ian being a fervent supporter of putting Donahue back in his place, he wasn't complaining. As long as she would be busy, that would mean she was making progress.

But still, he missed her, right now, bent over his Potions essay. Actually, potions had nothing to do with it. He did miss her, period.

Terry, Edwin and the others were off to Hogsmeade, and Gina and Joel were probably hidden somewhere, snogging the hex out of each other. In this particular moment where no one could distract him, Ian was free to reflect on the fact that he truly missed Kieran's company. It wasn't just the way she would joke about their friends' antics, or laugh about the frenzy about the Ball. No, in fact, now that she had less time to spend with him, due to her new studies with Flitwick, Ian realised how much he liked being around Kieran.

Granted, she was his best friend, so he had better value her company, but recently, his impressions had been different, confusing him to no end. Before, he would have been glad to see her, look forward to sharing a joke and a laugh with her, or the like. But, now, he almost craved her company, wondering what she was doing when she wasn't around. This felt different from the way he had felt about her so far. He had always cared for her. He trusted her implicitly, but this was different.

Unable to make sense of it, Ian sighed deeply and tried to focus again on his essay.

"Hey, Ian," said a voice, which tried not to rise too loud. "Don't tell me you have homework on the Halloween week end!"

Ian raised his eyes from his parchment, and saw his younger brother and a blond first year walking toward him, and taking a seat beside him. Ewan was grinning broadly.

"Sadly, I have," said Ian. "Snape decided to ruin it for us, and I fell a little behind."

"Pity," said the blond one. "Ewan wanted to offer a trip on the grounds."

"Have you met Chris Wagner?" asked Ewan.

"Well, now I have," said Ian, shaking hands with his brother's friend.

Ian was glad to see Ewan adjusting so well in the school.

"Shame on you, big brother," said Ewan. "You're too busy studying, or taking care of the Odinson twins to have some time for your little brother."

He was frowning half-seriously. Ian chuckled. It was true, that, to his shame, Ian had slightly overlooked Ewan's first steps in Hogwarts. But it also was because Ewan was an easy going boy, who had no trouble in finding friends. And, no mistake, he had found some, here. Terry had told him that Ewan was quickly growing into a leader in the first year. Sven and Susan had told him they liked spending time with him. And Alexander had told him that he was giving satisfactory results in his studies. So, without any reason to worry, Ian had maybe spent a little less time with him than he should have. Well, now was as good a time as any to correct that.

"Will you make all the books in the castle fly, so I pay attention to you?" he asked, with a wry grin.

"I wish I could," said Ewan, with a feint sigh, before to grin. "That was actually fun, you know. I was in the library and when the book flew off my hands, I decided the signs were against me, so I packed my things and pushed homework to a later time."

"As if you need such excuses to procrastinate," said Chris, with an amused shrug.

"I'm hurt, Chris," said Ewan, smiling. "See, Ian, Hogwarts changes people. When I first met him, before the sorting, Chris was a shy little boy. And now, look at him, openly mocking me, without a care of the consequences."

"I'm shivering," said Chris, with a serene smile.

Ian chuckled. It seemed that the two were getting along quite well.

"So, what are you working on?" asked Chris, looking at Ian's pile of parchment.

"Amnesia Potion," said Ian, groaning. "This is definitely not my best subject. I only miss two components, but I don't seem to be able to find them, and Snape will maul me if I don't."

"Can I have a look?" asked Chris.

Ian raised his eyebrows.

"Well, be my guest," he said. "But, not to be rude, you're in first year, so…"

Doubtfully, he still handed him out the essay.

"Oh, don't get too hasty, Ian," said Ewan. "Chris is actually pretty scary in Potions."

"Well, I'm a disaster at everything anything else," said Chris, without raising his eyes from the parchment. "So I guess it compensates."

"Snape would worship the ground he's walking on, if he wasn't in Gryffindor," joked Ewan.

"Really?" said Ian, impressed.

"My Dad is a Potion Master," explained Chris. "A very good one. He's working abroad, back in his home country. I was sent to Hogwarts because the schooling is better here, but I could have studied there."

"That country being…?" asked Ian.

"Austria. My grandfather was a refugee from the war with Grindelwald," said Chris, still reading. "There, your two components. The Asmodia root, and the Arcuria powder. But you used the complex version of the potion. Those last two are only used to make sure the potion is temporary on a very short time and to ensure that the subject doesn't forget how to breathe, which happens very rarely."

Astonished, Ian started to write notes. Kieran had told him that the potion had twelve components. Trust her to go to the most complex solution. With Chris' explanations, he had completed his two rolls of parchment within minutes.

"Wow," he said, putting his quill down. "What are you doing in first year?"

"As I said, I'm only good at that," said Chris. "The rest of my subjects are dreadful."

"He's not that bad," said Ewan. "Well, he's not a Ravenclaw, but he manages."

"Thanks, Ewan," said Chris, smiling.

"Well, I owe you one, Mr Wagner," said Ian. "What can I do for you?"

"I told Chris about Mum's cookies," said Ewan, with a smile. "Do you have any left?"

Ian rolled his eyes, and then sighed in defeat.

"Yes, I have," he said. "You win. Follow me."

"Will you let us in the Nest?" asked Ewan.

"In your dreams, little brother," said Ian. "Why, is there a pretty girl in Ravenclaw first year?"

"Ewan is busy enough with the girls in our house," joked Chris. "They all seem to think he's the one they need to toy with."

"Shut up," said Ewan on a funeral tone.

Laughing, they headed out of the Library. Ian got quickly back in the Nest, grabbed the cookies he had left from his Mum's last parcel, and brought them down. He gave two to Chris, in spite of Ewan's protest.

"Hey, did you help me for the Potions Essay?" Ian said.

"No," admitted Ewan.

"Well, no double cookie for you."

Ewan groaned. Then they settled, not for a ground trip, since it started to rain, but in the deserted Great hall, for a game of Wizard Chess. Ewan tried to cheat, as usual, but Chris still beat him quite easily. And Ian succeeded in beating Chris by an inch. To mention Ian's victory over his brother would simply ruin Ewan's pride once and for all.

The afternoon started very well. Ian got to know better what was appearing more and more like Ewan's best school friend. The blond boy was really funny, and there was something about him that was really intriguing.

He looked really mature for his age. Maybe Ian was right by asking what he was doing in first year. He seemed really advanced, for an eleven year old boy.

The students were now spread across the Temple. The Temple was just like a garden, in the middle of the woods. Statues were decorating it. And some pieces of wall were erected, but no real buildings, save for the ones of the Home, in the distance. The Temple wasn't a place of study or daily life. It was meant for contemplation, the entire decoration a reminder of history and wisdom. There were many benches, which faced mosaics and wall painting, among columns and small bridges over ponds.

"We come here to meditate and think back of what we learn," said Thierry, to Kenneth and his friends. "We'll head back to the Home later so you can see where we live and study."

He was guiding them in the incredible place that was the Temple. Along with the Gryffindors, some Ravenclaws were listening to him. Kenneth noticed Eamon Clark and Gillian Crawley among them.

Thierry was quite confident in what he was saying, and so his description of the life in here was very detailed and really fascinating. They passed before a huge painting of a man dressed in odd robes. They looked like out of the middle age, but there was a strange quality about them. The man looked very proud and had something of a bird of prey in the features of his face. He was holding a staff and a sword.

"Wow, who is this guy?" asked Kalindra, impressed by the precision of the painting, which looked, in spite of its details, quite old.

"This is said to be Taliesin's portrait," said Thierry. "Of course, nothing is sure about this. The Temple had been emptied several times, and we lost some of our own stories. There was a great master of our Order who reunited us at some point in History. His name was Syrion, and his actions led to the Brotherhood taking the shape it has today. Some claim this is his portrait, but the more likely theory is that this is Taliesin's. The age of the painting would fit, too. It's one of the oldest paintings of the Temple."

"So who was Taliesin?" asked Kenneth, looking at the painting.

"Merlin's Father," said Thierry.

"Really?" said Mandy. "He looks like some Prince out of a fairy tale."

"He was, in fact, a prince in exile," said Thierry. "The Taliesin dynasty was the seventh to rule over the City of Atlantis. It surrendered power to the Torkal line, after the reign of Taliesin the fifth."

"Why would they surrender power?" asked Janet Spencer, a Slytherin girl who was walking with them.

"Because it was exhausting," said Thierry. "Old King Taliesin died at the age of Two Hundred and seventy three. Legend says that nobody lived that long in the whole world. The Taliesin family was done with power, unwilling to bear its burden. They passed it on to the best support they had, the Torkal Family. They were right. The Torkal dynasty was one of the most enlightened line or rulers the city has ever known. But when a Dynasty ended, the heirs of the bloodline retaine d a potential claim to the Throne. So Taliesin the Sixth had to take the crown six centuries later, when Torkal the Fifth died without any heir. Then he once more passed on the crown to a faithful supporter named Antheni, who started another line."

"The last dynasty before Venius, then?" asked Kenneth.

"Yes," said Thierry, nodding at him to congratulate him on his knowledge. "During the reign of Venius, the Taliesin Prince of that time had sensed that something dark and terrible was about to happen. There was a long tradition of Seers in the dynasty. He tried to warn Venius, but for some reason, he wasn't heeded. He took his people and left the Island, followed by other Houses who trusted him. I think that it's the only reason anyone survived the Sinking."

"The Sinking?" repeated Mandy.

Thierry nodded.

"The War that led to Atlantis' fall deep in the ocean," he said. "Taliesin and his kind settled in Europe and had children. They weren't seeking power, but they wanted safety. They built a Fortress, whose whereabouts still remain unknown, even to us. The tradition to name the main heir to the line Taliesin continued beyond the fall of Atlantis, from the one who led the people away from the Island to the man in the painting. The last Taliesin was a wizard with a thirst for peace, but he was constantly dragged back into a life of violence and war. At some point, he settled in these woods, where he met a Muggle woman. They fell in love and she gave birth to a son. The woman died early and Taliesin survived her only long enough to educate his son in his Legacy. He chose to break tradition and send his son to be educated not with his line, but with Nimue, on the Island of Britain. She was an Atlantean Lady, whose origin was a mystery. It is said that she was immortal, or that she was a Spirit. She would take care of his education. He also chose not to name his son Taliesin, but picked a name his wife loved: Merlin. After a farewell to his father, Merlin set off for Britain and Taliesin disappeared. Some say he went back to his Fortress, to die among his kin. Some say he just dissolved into thin air. Most of it is uncertain. Merlin was very secret on his birth."

"Are you related to him?" asked Mandy. "I mean Merlin."

"No," said Thierry, smiling. "I was raised by the brotherhood, in the forest. I was an orphan found by the Brothers."

"Are there women to help raise the children?" asked Will. "You don't seem to have many of those, here."

"Well, you met Raphaëlla and Morag, didn't you?" said Thierry. "The Brotherhood includes Sisters, of course. Our Masters in the Home are mostly men, but that's pure chance. Master Walter is the High Master of the Order, and he succeeded a woman named Enya. She was one of the greatest leaders our Order has ever known."

"So you guys can marry?" asked Mandy.

Then she realised what she had said, and blushed slightly. Thierry smiled.

"Of course," said Thierry. "Many brothers of the Order are married, in fact. Most of those serving in the Sanctuary aren't, though. But it's more because of the isolation of the place than by any rule or distinct choice."

"So no link to Merlin?" said Rob. "Too bad. It would have been fun to have two lords of Atlantis in the school."

"Two?" said Thierry, puzzled. "Who are you talking about?"

"Julie," said Jennifer.

"What? Is this some private joke, or something?" asked the young man, turning to everyone.

"No," said Kenneth, seriously. "Julie's blood comes from a line of Kings of Atlantis."

"Kings?" repeated Thierry. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, he is," said Kalindra. "She got into a world of trouble because of it."

"Amazing," noted Thierry, looking troubled. "I will have to tell Master Amanio."

"I think Walter didn't omit anything in his report," said Dumbledore, as he and Harry were walking through the woods, along the protective barrier that enclosed the Sanctuary.

Harry nodded. It was as they had been told. Except for the damage in the shield, near the place where the body of Brother Kenton had been found, there was no trace of anything on the barrier. It was undisturbed. The way it had been breached was still a mystery, though.

Emerging from the woods, they caught a glimpse of the cemetery of the Order. There, standing out from the others, was the fresh grave of the man who had died to warn the Sanctuary of the attack.

On his way to investigate, Harry had seen Thierry, Werner Heinzbrück and Raphaëlla Di Angelo sneak in the graveyard to kneel before the tomb. Then they had discretely joined their friends to continue the visit. The Masters of the Order had demanded from their disciples that they wouldn't spill the news of the attack among the students.

Harry was quite sure that Ian already knew this. Ian always knew those kinds of things. But he was smart enough not to spread those rumours in the Castle. So nobody in the student body knew about this. At least nobody who couldn't be trusted with a secret.

Harry thought that Kenneth suspected something, but, again, Kenneth was trustworthy and knew when to hold his tongue.

The barrier hadn't revealed anything to them. The attackers had been swift, and had let no trace whatsoever. This was frustrating. Was there any way to find out who was behind the attack? Without a clear suspect, Amanio couldn't figure what they were after? The Master didn't seem to be at ease enough to reveal what he knew.

How were they supposed to protect the Brothers if they didn't know from what?

Dumbledore headed back to the barrier, so that he could use his own magic to repair the protection spell. He had helped Walter to reinforce it, years ago, so he was familiar with it. Harry waited for him, at the edge of the woods.

He was still lost in his thoughts, so he almost missed the move in the trees. He got his hand on his wand at once. He saw the face of a man, in the shade of the woods. The face was smiling mysteriously, and it was familiar. A round face, with curly hair, hidden under a blue cloak and hood… Harry recognized the eyes of the man at once. As soon as he moved to meet him, though, the man stepped back in the shadows of the trees and was gone.

"Wait a second, Entwistle!" shouted Harry, rushing after him.

He ran through the woods, catching a glimpse of the robes of Ariel Entwistle, who was fleeing through the forest. Harry suddenly emerged in a clearing of the forest, just to see the form of Ariel fade from sight.

"Not again!" he said, groaning. "What do these guys do except playing with us?"

But he had his answer. Whichever side the Entwistle twins were on, in the conflict against the Warlocks of Atlantis, the presence of the twins on the place of the attack was enough to prove that Atlantis was involved, in one way or another.

Harry walked to join Dumbledore.

"Something the matter, Harry?" asked the old wizard, as he added the finishing touches to the spell he was repairing. "I heard your voice in the woods."

'Ariel Entwistle was here," said Harry.

That caught Dumbledore's attention.

"I see," he said. "That would mean that we are quite familiar with the enemy, after all."

Harry nodded sombrely.

"If the Warlocks are involved, I'd suggest you check out on Miss Carteret, Harry," said Dumbledore. "I'm almost done, here. The place will be restored to its state before the attack, but the threat remains, it seems. Julie should be safe inside the barrier. Once I'm finished, I'll head back to England to put the Order of the Phoenix on alert."

Harry nodded once more, decidedly, this time, and headed back out of the woods to find the students, and, more exactly, Julie.

He found her in the group led by Alan Colville. She looked at ease, as Colville was explaining the meaning of the writings on the walls to his classmates. Julie and Robert Donahue were walking together. Harry wondered what a nice girl like Julie was doing with an arrogant peacock like Donahue. He clearly was not the right kind of guy for her.

What are you meddling in, Potter? he chastised himself, before he joined the group, to listen to Colville's description of the writings.

The visit had been going on for a while, now, and the Gryffindors found out that Thierry knew his subject as well as a professional guide would.

"So, what about these statues?" asked Mandy, pointing to a large circle of stone figures on their left.

"The greatest wizards of the brotherhood," said Thierry. "Let me do the introductions."

They all headed to the circle. But someone patted Kenneth on the shoulder from behind. Kenneth turned to find himself facing Gillian Crawley. She was smiling a little shyly. Kalindra threw him an interrogative look and coughed to catch his attention.

"I'll be there in a minute," he told her.

She nodded with a little knowing smile. She then joined the group and Kenneth turned back to Gillian.

"Hi," he said, feeling a little ridiculous.

"Hi," Gillian answered, on the same tone.

She was clearly uncomfortable, now. They walked until they reached the edge of the woods. They entered a nice clearing with a fountain in its centre. The place was beautiful. And Kenneth couldn't help but think that it was, for lack of better terms, romantic. The light in the water springing from the fountain, the shadows of the trees, and the whole atmosphere gave the impression that they were back in the days of Merlin, and that Morgana LeFey could walk out of the woods to join them any minute now. It was a nice place. And Gillian just fit in the scenery perfectly, her hazel eyes fixed on him with her shy little smile across her face.

"There is something I wanted to ask you," said Gillian, still nervous.

"Go on," he said, trying to smile reassuringly.

It didn't seem to work too well, as Gillian seemed terrified of speaking.

"Erm… you may find me a little bold," she finally went on, her voice going weak. "I know we don't know each other very well, but I wondered if you had any plans for the Ball."

"The Yule Ball?" asked Kenneth, and cursed himself mentally for that stupid reply.

"Do we have another Ball?" asked Gillian, smiling.

Now that she had spoken first, she seemed to get back her confidence, just as Kenneth was losing his. He knew far too well where this conversation was heading. She wasn't asking this out of pure curiosity. But he tried to smile at his own reaction, and that seemed to reinforce her assurance.

"Well… actually," he began.

He saw suddenly that disappointment was now showing on her face. He realised that he was beginning the perfect sentence to push her away politely.

"It's okay, you know, if you already have…" she said, before he could humiliate her.

But he didn't want to.

"No! No, I don't have any plan for the Ball," he said. "It's just that I'm not even sure to … attend it, in fact."

"Oh!" exclaimed Gillian, relief passing on her face like sunrise. "That would be a shame! I wonder if I could make you change your mind and go with me."

Then she froze, realizing that she had it all out, and blushed furiously. She shook her head in annoyance at herself and regained her calm, looking at him expectantly.

Kenneth tried to figure himself at the Ball. And having Gillian at his side was making the prospect look more attractive by the second.

He smiled back to her, and she seemed to relax.

"Sure," he said. "That would be nice."

"That's great," said Gillian, smiling brightly, now.

They looked at each other for a long time, and suddenly started to laugh.

"It seems awfully ridiculous," said Gillian. "It looks like I've asked you to marry me or something."

"Weird, isn't it?" said Kenneth.

She nodded, still grinning.

"Alright," she said. "So, it's a yes, then. Now, I will all make them jealous."

"Jealous?"

"Oh, guys can get so thick, sometimes," said Gillian, chuckling. "You will tell me that you don't know you're one of the best catches of the school for the Ball? Every girl in the Nest was waiting to see if you were going with someone."

"Were they?" said Kenneth, sceptical.

"Oh, come on, Kenneth!" said Gillian, clearly laughing, now. "You won't tell me I'm the only one who asked you for the Yule Ball!"

"But you are," said Kenneth, sincerely.

"No way!" she said, earnestly surprised. "Well, either I'm the boldest or the luckiest. Pick one."

"Wait for the Ball to call yourself lucky," said Kenneth. "I dance like a duck with a cold."

"Then you're in luck, little duck," said Gillian, her eyes, glittering with amusement. "I happen to be a good dancer, no boasting. I took lessons. So I'll compensate."

"Yeah, good luck with that," said Kenneth, with a mischievous grin.

Gillian laughed again and soon, Kenneth couldn't help but join her.

"What about taking a look at these statues?" she said, nodding in the direction of the group.

Kenneth nodded and offered her his arm theatrically.

"Oh what a gentleman you are, Master Lionheart!" she marvelled, before to grab it with a feint giggle.

"It's all in the genes," said Kenneth with a half-smile.

"Jeans?"

"No… Genes. It's in the family's blood," précised Kenneth. "Muggles call that genetics."

"Wow! That's a strange word, isn't it?" said Gillian.

"Don't tell me about it," said Kenneth. "I've got to try and understand Rob each time he mentions his Play Station, and his highest scores at Tekken 3 Plus Alpha Version 2.0 E.E.E."

"E.E.E?" repeated Gillian, puzzled.

"Enhanced Enlarged Extended," said Kenneth. "The previous version was something like Version 2.0 Over Mega Melee."

"That's it. You speak Chinese to me, right now," said Gillian.

"No, I speak Muggle," said Kenneth with a grin. "I don't understand it better than Chinese, though. The only thing I understood, when staying at Rob's house were the Muggle Movies, but only the ones speaking of anything but their world. I understood Star Wars, I understood the Lord of the Rings, but I tried to understand the Matrix… no way. And the end sucked, honestly."

"Wow, I can show off even more," said Gillian, on an exaggerated marvelling tone. "I have a bilingual expert as a partner for the Ball. He speaks so mysteriously, it has to be a very secret knowledge."

Kenneth burst into laughing at that. And they joined Kenneth's friend, as Thierry was explaining the statues to everyone.

Kalindra was sending strange looks in his direction, when they joined the group. Kenneth raised his eyebrows and Kalindra succeeded in snatching him away from Gillian, as the group was moving for the next section of the statue circle.

"So, what's going on?" she asked.

"She asked me for the Ball," said Kenneth, simply.

"What? She really asked you for the Ball?" she exclaimed, the end of her sentence suddenly hushed up as she realised that many ears were around.

"Is that so surprising?" asked Kenneth, smiling.

"No! Of course, not! It's just… well… I didn't thought you would follow my advice after all," said Kalindra.

"Well, it's just a Ball, Gillian is nice, and she's funny, too, so I guess I had no reason to turn her down," said Kenneth.

"Right," said Kalindra. "No reason at all. Well, that's cool. Glad to know you'll be around for the Ball."

"Thanks," said Kenneth.

"Would you look at that thing?" exclaimed suddenly the voice of Mandy.

Kenneth and Kalindra turned to see her pointing at the edge of the woods, in the direction Thierry had said to be the Grove's. Everyone fell silent at the sight before them.

A majestic Unicorn was trotting out of the woods, straight at them. There was something mesmerizing about the way the creature moved. It was both graceful and powerful. The beast was pure white, its immaculate coat sending strange reflections in the sunlight, like a pearl. Its horn stood high and proud as it was advancing on the students.

Everyone was astonished except for Thierry, who smiled as if nothing was out of the ordinary. The Unicorn stopped right in front of him, neighing lightly.

Thierry made a step forward and bowed before the wonderful creature. The Unicorn stepped ahead and stuck suddenly its nose in Thierry's neck, who chuckled, at that.

"Oui, tu m'as manqué aussi, Ivoire,(*)" he said, caressing the long muzzle of the Unicorn.

"Am I dreaming or is this Unicorn touching a guy?" said Mandy, at a total loss.

"That's impossible," said Eamon Clark. "Unicorns usually dread the male."

"Do you know that Unicorn, Thierry?" asked Jennifer.

"This is Ivoire," said Thierry, still caressing the magical beast. "She's a friend of mine."

"A friend?" said Professor Potter, joining them. "You have friends among Unicorns?"

"I wouldn't say that," said Thierry. "I've known Ivoire since she was a colt. I met her in the Grove. Since then, we see each other from time to time. The rest of the herd is more defiant with humans."

"That's fascinating," said Julie, from behind the teacher, as the group led by Colville was joining them.

Kenneth could tell by Colville's look that he didn't like this friendship at all. Thierry didn't pay any attention to him, still busy caressing Ivoire, with a curious tenderness in the eye. Kalindra and Kenneth exchanged a long look. Thierry was really full of surprise. Being friend with a Unicorn wasn't the most common thing in the world.

Suddenly, the Unicorn turned his head straight in Kenneth's direction. It seemed to him that she was looking right into his eyes, right into his soul. He tried to hold this gaze without blinking, as Hagrid had told him, when trying to gain a High Creature's trust.

The Unicorn walked a little away from Thierry and headed straight for Kenneth. He was a little puzzled, and intimidated at the same time. Ivoire stopped right in front of him. Professor Potter was astonished.

"Don't make any sudden move, Mr Lionheart," he said, very softly. "You don't want to scare her away."

Thierry walked to join Kenneth.

"Ivoire, voici Kenneth,(**)" he said to the animal.

Ivoire looked at Kenneth for a long moment, and then she bowed her head deeply, as if she was saluting him. Kenneth was now completely lost. What did it mean? Thierry looked surprised for a moment, but then he smiled, as if he remembered something. He acted as if it made perfect sense.

"She recognized what you are," he said.

"What I am?"

"A Wandmaster," said Thierry. "Unicorns respect them, you see."

"Really?" said Kenneth. "Well, I'm honoured."

"This is incredible," said Mandy.

"Now, you can touch her," said Thierry. "She won't mind. But only you."

"Wow," whispered Will, behind the Novice.

Kenneth extended his hand carefully to the head of the Unicorn, and began to stroke it lightly. This was the softest thing he had touched in his whole life. He met the eye of the creature again, and, as he plunged deep inside her stare, he saw knowledge and wisdom that went beyond imagination. It wasn't a mere Beast. He understood it better than in any of Hagrid's lessons, although the Half Giant paid a huge respect to Unicorns. By looking straight into the eye of the Unicorn, he saw, and he knew what kind of Wonders this being could see in its life.

The Unicorn walked a little closer and touched his chest with her nose. She neighed softly, and then did the same with Thierry, before to turn away. She started trotting and disappeared in the woods. They heard her neigh in the distance. The groups, still under the charm of her appearance, started to spread again in the woods.

Thierry turned to Kenneth, and offered him his hand. Kenneth was surprised, but the novice seemed to believe it was important. He took his hand and Thierry shook it.

"You're really something, Kenneth Lionheart," he said. "Apart from me, you're the first Ivoire has ever allowed to touch her. I'm officially impressed."

"Well, don't get comfortable with that," said Kenneth. "Even Unicorns can lack judgement."

"Unfortunately for your modesty, my friend, I'm afraid they don't," said Thierry, smiling.

"And another reason to show off at the Ball," said Gillian, smiling broadly.

She winked at Kenneth, who shook his head in despair.

"I'm surrounded by nutters," he said.

"Don't tell us it's news to you, is it?" said Gillian, laughing.

Kenneth caught a glimpse of Julie's face. She was looking at him, eyes widened. She seemed to be completely stunned by what had just happened. She was looking straight at him, her face torn between wonder and terror. Kenneth was beginning to think something was wrong. He was this close to go talk to her. But the moment was broken when both Gillian and Donahue claimed Kenneth's and Julie's attention.

Moments later, Thierry had resumed his speech on the statues. And Kenneth was left to wonder at this day. Things were getting a little out of hand. He now had a partner for the Ball, and a Unicorn had just stopped to speak to him, in a way.

Some days are better than others, he thought.

Alexander had learned his lesson and he and Phyllis were now taking more time for Christine. One of the new traditions with his daughter was now to go for a walk on the grounds. Alexander would walk with her daughter, carefully strapped in a baby chair which was floating in the air at his side. From time to time, Christine would point to something with a very decided look on her face, and would say "Adah!" on the same decided tone.

Alexander was amused by this habit she had, now. The object of her attention could be a tentacle of the giant squid floating at the surface of the lake, or a move in the edge of the woods, or even students themselves, as they were sometimes walking around the grounds.

This was the end of the afternoon and dark was beginning to fall on the school. Only a few students remained on the grounds. Most of the four years were in Hogsmeade, along with the students that weren't allowed in Brocéliande.

But some lingered outside, as the weather was quite nice for the end of October.

Alexander sat on a bench that had been settled by the lake shore. He put the baby chair on his right and kissed his daughter on her forehead, making her giggle. She pointed at him and said "adah!" with pure joy in her voice.

Alexander smiled. Christine had a good nature. Apparently, Lily Weasley was a little more capricious, and of course, both her parents blamed the other for her stubbornness.

"Adah!" said Christine, pointing to a couple of people who were walking toward him.

Alexander followed her finger and recognized the Odinson twins, who joined him with a smile.

"Good evening, Professor," said Susan, politely. "Is this your daughter?"

"Yes," said Alexander. "This is Christine. Christine, say hello to Susan and Sven."

"Adah!" said Christine, smiling.

"She's cute," said Susan, sitting next to the baby chair and looking at the baby with bright eyes.

"Most of the time," said Alexander, nodding. "But when she's bored she can get quite complicated to handle."

"She was the one who made the books float, wasn't she?" asked Susan.

"Yes," said Alexander. "You were touched by that?"

"Susan was in the library," said Sven, smiling. "Her copy of Hogwarts, a History reached the ceiling."

Alexander winced.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"That was fun," said Susan, reassuringly.

"Adah!" exclaimed Christine, as if to claim attention to her.

She was apparently aware that they were talking about her. Alexander wondered what her view of the world could be. He had no clear memory of this period of his childhood were all he could say was "Egah", according to his mother.

Susan exchanged a look with her brother, before to kneel in the grass, in front of Christine's chair. She smiled and opened her palm, where a little spark of light appeared, floating lightly like a snow flake. The light was a clear blue.

Christine's eyes grew wider. She pointed at the light, with marvelled look on her most expressive face. She tried to touch it. Susan brought her hand forward, and the light went closer to the baby. Christine finally touched the little light. It suddenly exploded in six other small lights!

They began to run in circle in Susan's palm, making Christine giggle. One of the lights left Susan's hand and came dancing near Christine's nose. The baby was dazzled, laughing and moving her arms joyfully.

The light suddenly floated away and flew over the lake, growing brighter and brighter. Susan exchanged one look with her brother, and the lights of her hand shot to join the one glowing over the water.

And they divided again, and started to move in a great circle over the surface of the Lake, dividing again and again. The surface of the lake acted as a mirror, casting a bright reflection that was getting clearer in the darkening evening. Alexander watched in awe at the demonstration of the Lumos Spell that he had studied with the twins.

Another look between the twins, and Sven raised his hands. Some of the light sparks started to fly up and down, creating a huge column of whirling light over the lake. Each time one light met another they were exploding, creating more and more sparks.

Christine was close to applause, as close as a baby that young could be. Alexander noticed that many students were now getting out of the Castle, to see what was going on over the lake. Sven and Susan didn't seem to care about that. Susan began to swing her hand in cadence, and the lights that were still circling at the foot of the column began to form light ribbons, that were flying almost randomly, changing in colour with each rotation. Some of the lights broke away form the majestic dance over the lake to come and surround the bench. Christine was under the charm, now, laughing endlessly. Alexander was smiling broadly.

Sven suddenly narrowed his eyes and sound began to rise from the light; like aerial notes echoing. The waves of the lake began to go in circle from the foot of the column, reflecting the light in large rings. Each time a ring was forming, a new note was rising, like rising along a scale.

Alexander then noticed other silhouettes at the edge of the woods. To see Hagrid was usually easy, as his size and stature was side enough to be seen from very far. But this time, it was obviously eclipsed by the silhouette of Grawp, his "little" brother. The Mountain Giant was sitting at the border of the trees, with a light in his eyes that was the same as Christine it seemed. He was smiling broadly, like a child.

The giant was now tolerated in the Forbidden Forest, both by Centaurs and the Ministry of Magic. Grawp had learned to behave, even if it was delicate to handle his education. Hagrid had still succeeded in teaching not to tear the whole place apart in case he was not happy. Grawp had even learned some new words.

When he spoke, his booming voice was a little lost in the sound of Music.

"CUTIE LIGHTS, HAGGAR!" he said.

"Yep, Grawpie," said Hagrid. "That's pretty nice, I can tell yeh!"

Christine agreed with that by a triumphant "adah!"

Susan and Sven nodded at the same time and all the light suddenly sped up to the sky and exploded like a gigantic fireworks, only without any sound, sending little sparks floating everywhere. The music ended, its echo fading away, as the sparks were reaching the ground. One student poked it with his finger, and it exploded in smaller sparks before to fade away. Each time one was touching the ground or the surface of the lake, it exploded the same way.

One faded on Christine's nose, tickling her into giggles. She was now fully content, and she yawned a little.

"That was quite the exercise," said Alexander. "I guess you mastered the Lumos Spell quite easily."

"Thank you," said Susan, genuinely smiling at the compliment.

"No, thank you," said Alexander. "This time, she'll go straight to bed, I'm sure," he said, nodding toward his daughter, who was yawning even wider, now.

He started to levitate the chair to the Castle. The students started the applause as the twins passed by them. They blushed a little, but smiled.

Alexander was still impressed by the quickness of their mastering of this spell. Of course it was simple, but they had given it such a refinement that it was really impressive. And of course, their link had increased in its power, since the decisions of changing the spell had flowed through each of them through it. Knowing what the other had in mind was one thing. Changing the course of one spell was something conscious, and Alexander was sure that Susan had corrected some of Sven's mistakes and the reverse was also true.

Each generation of student was bound to surprise him. Ian, who was well on his way of becoming more powerful than him, and now the twins, who were staring to use their gifts artistically at the age of eleven... And of course, his own daughter, able to float from one end of this Castle to the other and to bewitch all the books of the place before her first year of life.

What now? he thought, echoing the thought he had when McGonagall had announced him that Ian was an Chaotician.

The older students came back home at nightfall, all by portkey. Harry counted them all carefully, making sure that every student had gotten back to the Castle.

After the students had all gone back to their Common rooms, Harry had met with Alexander and Hermione, who had told him about the events of the day, and especially about the lightshow the Odinson Twins had given the school. Harry was fascinated by the idea.

On their part, Professor McGonagall and Flitwick had been most eager to learn what he had seen in Brocéliande. The appearance of Ariel Entwistle was putting the whole story under a new light. Now, the link with the Warlocks was clear, as the twins seemed linked to anything those zealots were doing. So the attackers had a pretty good chance of being Warlocks.

Something else impressed the two House heads. Kenneth's encounter with the Unicorn was not to be taken lightly. If a magical creature's actions carried deeper meaning, it would be Unicorns. They were still a mystery, both form this world and yet otherworldly. Dumbledore seemed to be pleased by the idea, and Minerva was clearly proud that two of her students were judged trustworthy by a Unicorn. Hagrid became really eager to gather the impressions of Kenneth about this story. But Harry convinced him to wait for his next lesson to do that.

Later in the evening, Ginny showed up from work. Harry was waiting for her in their apartment and greeted her by a kiss.

"I wish you were there with us," he told her, when he had told her about his day in Brocéliande. "All thoughts of Warlocks aside, this place is wonderful. I'll have to see with Walter if I couldn't take you there."

"Really?" said Ginny.

"Well, I was a little distracted by my investigations, but this place is really fascinating, and some parts are really romantic, too. I'm sure that visiting it with you would be great."

"Romantic, huh?" said Ginny, smiling. "Who are you and what have you done to Harry Potter? Since when do you care about romantic places?"

"I'm not that basic, Ginny," said Harry in protest.

"No you're not," said Ginny, leaning in for another kiss. "But you're so much fun to tease."

"Evil witch," said Harry, kissing her neck and making her giggle. "What about your day?"

"I wish it would be as fascinating," moaned Ginny. "I'm bored to death. The only pieces I get these days are comments on the Wizengamot's proceedings, but seriously, in October, it's just going through the motions. This was really close to Hell."

"Wow," said Harry. "My condolences for that."

"Well, at least, I have this new project to cover," said Ginny. "Dad had plans for a new Law. It's a really exciting project. They aim at easing the situation of Muggles who are aware of our World's existence. That would allow the Muggle parents of Hogwarts' students on Platform Nine and three Quarters, for example. So far they aren't allowed on it. You see, things like that. The public backlash promises to be interesting."

"Good for you," said Harry. "Still, that law is a great idea. Too many wizards become estranged from their families, because they feel pushed aside by our world."

He thought of Hermione's parents, who had some difficulties to admit that Hermione's life would be among Wizards. Now things were going along just fine, especially thanks to the Weasleys, who had been so welcoming to Ron's parents-in-law. The Grangers were enjoying their stays in the Burrow, and Mrs Granger was now converted to the Owl Post service.

And he thought of Petunia Dursley, his mother's sister, who would have turned a complete different person if the Wizarding world had been more attractive and welcoming to her, even if she was a Muggle. Harry tried to imagine his life at Petunia's House, had she been welcome in the Wizarding World, more accepted because her sister was a witch. Maybe she wouldn't have turned so spiteful against Magic, after all. Harry imagined another Petunia, married to a wizard she would have met thanks to Lily. And Harry's life would have been quite different, under his Mother's blood protection AND in his own World.

Too late to change the past, he told himself.

Ginny went on with the telling of her day at work. She was interrupted by the arrival of an Owl, which landed on Hedwig's perch with a whistle of relief. Hedwig welcomed him with a warm hoot. Harry got the letter from the Owl, and the bird flew back in the twilight.

He opened it and read on the way to the Great Hall. It was very short and it was from Neville.

Dear Harry,

I know you'll spend Christmas in Hogwarts, as usual, with Ron and Ginny's family, but I would like to invite you to a reunion I give for my parents, for New Year's Eve. They want to catch up things they have missed. And of course to see old and new faces. So I decided to invite all my dearest friends to join the party. Some of my parents' friends will be there, from Hogwarts years and the Order days.

I hope you and Ginny can make it there, Harry. Mum is really eager to see you again and Dad speaks a lot about you.

Send me your answer as soon as you can.

Neville

Harry smiled. That was a great idea. When he brought it up at the dinner, with Ginny, Hermione, and Ron, the response was unanimous..

"That would be great," said Ginny.

"We got one from Neville, too," said Ron. "That's a really good idea. I would be pleased to meet Neville's parents now that they're cured."

"They do need friendly faces around them," said Hermione.

"It's more than that, Hermione," said Ron. "The Longbottoms… they are legends, these folks. The agents of the Order, the way they speak of them. I think Frank and Alice are the textbook example of the perfect Auror. To meet them would be an honour."

Hermione was properly impressed by Ron's serious tone.

"So we're all in?" asked Harry.

"Absolutely," said Ginny, nodding. "I guess our New Year's Eve is planned, then."

"I guess so," said Ron. "Plus, I heard that the Longbottom Family is a funny bunch. Should be interesting to see."

Now, that sounded more like Ron.

"You're the expert in funny families, mate," said Harry, chuckling.

"Harry Potter, don't you dare speak ill of my Family-in-law," said Hermione, on a feint offended tone.

"Thanks, Honey," said Ron, feigning sadness. "Maybe he will listen to you, since he doesn't care for my feelings."

Harry only grinned widely to his two best friends.

"Not funny, Potter," said Ginny. "There's no way to upset you anymore."

"You have too sweet an influence on me, dear," said Harry, taking her hand and kissing it.

Ginny smiled.

"What can I answer to that, honestly?" she asked, taking Hermione as a witness.

"Nothing, I'm afraid," admitted Hermione. "He's become too good at that."

"I've had the best teacher," he told her, winking.

Hermione stuck out her tongue at him.

Kenneth was eating quietly, still looking over the events of the day. From the Ravenclaw table, he caught a look from Gillian, who smiled at him. He smiled back.

"So, I heard you've touched a Unicorn?" asked Terry Longwand.

Kenneth snapped out of his reverie and turned to the fourth year.

"Yes," he told him. "Imagine that, the purest creature on earth coming straight at me. I wonder what she had drunk."

"Something really strong," said Mandy, teasing him playfully.

"Too strong for humans," added Fields, from his right.

"I guess even Grawp couldn't have stood it. To think honestly that Kenneth was something worthy shows some serious brain damage," said Kalindra.

"Well, she's been mad for quite a long time, then," said Thierry, smiling. "Since she's my friend..."

"Being your friend only shows she has a good taste," said Mandy, on a dismissive tone, which made everyone chuckle.

Kenneth shot her a curious look, though. Despite the teasing in her voice, Kenneth felt, in a way, that she had meant what she had just said. A crazy idea just formed in his mind and he started to look at Mandy in a different way. And he noticed that she was throwing discreet looks at Thierry from time to time. The thought amused him.

The Feast ended, and students started to leave the Great Hall. Kenneth and his friends stayed behind, so they would avoid the crowd. They stayed at their seats, chatting friendly. Among the various subjects, the question of the Ball was starting to come up more often, and Kenneth realised that the idea was more pleasant to him, now that he was going to attend it with Gillian.

Somebody tapped him on the shoulder. He turned and found himself facing Kieran. She was smiling broadly.

"I heard you had a very busy day," she said.

"Yes, you could say that," said Kenneth, grinning. "What can I do for you?"

"It's about our little project," said Kieran.

Kenneth rose from his seat and followed her.

"I'm basically done with the elements of the spell, now," said Kieran. "But I'll need you for the practical tests. I can't try and cast the spell on my own, or else I wouldn't know if it works. So can you meet me tomorrow? We will work on that."

"Sure," he said. "Whenever you want."

"Good," said Kieran. "You realise that you will make me a true Spell Writer if it works?"

"Well, I won't mind if helping me helps you, too," said Kenneth.

"And I don't mind helping you kicking Donahue's arse," said Kieran.

"Language, Miss McDougall," mocked Kenneth, laughing at the nickname.

"Well, what can I say? Terry and Ian are rubbing off me, I guess," she said, shrugging.

"I'll agree about Terry," said Kenneth. "You definitely sounded like a Gryffindor, right now. Don't let McGonagall hear you, or she'll try to steal you from Flitwick."

When Professor McGonagall walked out of the great hall, Julie hurried after her.

"Professor?" she called.

"Yes, Miss Carteret?" said the Gryffindor head of house, turning to her.

Julie hesitated for a second. Was it a good idea to come to the teacher? She considered what had happened today. This was way too clear to dismiss it. The vision… The Unicorn, the way it came into view, the way it bowed to him, it all had unfolded before her eyes, so clearly, down to the tiniest detail, expect for one.

Why would Kenneth be a Knight, in that vision? Because this was clear for her, now. The knight in her earlier dream was Kenneth. There was no doubt about it. Was it because he was a Wandmaster? Did her mind just assimilate him to a Knight? She couldn't make sense of it on her own. Besides, since this dream had been proved to be right, did it mean all of her visions were true as well?

She resolved to ask for help, this time.

"When I was in Brocéliande, something happened," she said.

"Any trouble?" asked McGonagall, if only a little more tensely.

"Not… exactly," said Julie. "I… during last year and since the beginning of term, I have been having dreams."

"Yes, Professor Dumbledore mentioned those," said McGonagall, with sympathy in her tone, now. "They are about the warlocks, aren't they?"

"Mostly," said Julie, sombrely. "But they sometimes show me something else, and… and today, one of them became true before my eyes."

"Precisely?" asked McGonagall, growing more serious, in a second.

"Yes," said Julie. "I'm sure you heard of Kenneth's encounter with the Unicorn."

"I did, yes," said McGonagall, encouraging her to go on.

"I saw that, days ago, right after the fight on the Quidditch pitch," explained Julie. "I didn't recognize Kenneth in the dream, but all the rest… the Unicorn, bowing to someone… it was all there. It can't be a coincidence, can it?"

"I have learned through my years that there is rarely such thing as a coincidence, Miss Carteret," she said. "And you say you're having other dreams?"

"They're not all that clear," said Julie. "But… I think if I could make sense of them…"

"I see," said the Gryffindor Head. "I'll bring this up to Professor Dumbledore. We will see what we must do about this development. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Miss Carteret. It is a relief to see students actually sharing their troubles with the teaching staff."

Julie had a wince. To think that Professor McGonagall had to cope with generations of people like Harry Potter, Alexander Lockenburn and Ian Malcolm, all too headstrong as students to stop and warn the grown-ups of what they're about to do… That had to be testing.

"So it is confirmed, then," said Albus, meditatively.

"Confirmed?" asked Minerva, surprised by his lack of surprise.

They had reconvened in Dumbledore's office. After the end of dinner, Minerva had caught up with Dumbledore, Alexander and Harry, who had been discussing their findings in Brocéliande. The four of them had climbed up to the security of the Headmaster's office, far even from Ian's prying ears.

And Alexander felt that Albus wasn't all that surprised, indeed.

"When Miss Carteret told me about those dreams, I felt that there was a possibility, there," said Dumbledore. "She told me she has dreamt of herself as a child, but also as a grown woman. That would indicate the talent of a true Seer."

Harry had a wince.

"Does that mean she'll have to spend more time with Trelawney?" he asked. "No disrespect to her, Sir, but I doubt she can teach her anything useful."

"Speaking of experience, Harry?" asked Alexander, with a smile.

"Yep," said Harry.

"While I loathe to speak ill of my colleagues and I disapprove of said colleagues to act out of student grudges," said Minerva, with a stern look at both Harry and Alexander, who were careful enough to look sheepish, "but I must agree that Sybill is hardly qualified to deal with a real gift of Sight."

"More seriously, didn't she have at least a real prophecy to her credit?" asked Alexander.

"Two, actually," said Harry, darkly. "Still, I doubt she'll be able to teach Julie anything useful."

"Indeed not," said Albus, with a sigh, but it was followed by a smile as he turned to Minerva. "I will need your help on this, Minerva."

Minerva nodded in understanding.

"I will write to her immediately, Professor," she said.

"'Her'?" said Harry.

"A friend of mine, who has all the skills needed to deal with such a situation," said Dumbledore. "Oh, Minerva, in your letter, do tell Desideria that I would be ready to fully hire her, if that is needed."

"I doubt Sybill will like the notion," she noted.

"I do not think so, either," admitted Dumbledore. "But on this case, I need an expertise that I know I can trust."

Ian waited a little for Kieran at the exit of the Great Hall. She was talking with Kenneth. Given the sparkling in her eyes, she had to have discovered something really important. So Ian was waiting at the door. And he saw a group of first years getting away from the Hall. Gryffindors, mostly. Ian grinned at the Odinson twins and his brother, who were chatting excitedly about what had happened between Kenneth and the Unicorn. They passed in front of him with a nod and a wink from Ewan.

Suddenly, after a few moments, there was some commotion in the distance. And Ian heard the too familiar voice of Macke echoing under the Ceiling.

"What is your problem? Are you blind or stupid?"

Ian walked toward the voice to see what was going on.

"You pushed him!" echoed the voice of Ewan.

"Am I speaking to you, Malcolm?" said Macke.

He turned back to the first year he was talking to. It was a Hufflepuff, who was looking quite terrified, now, surrounded by three Slytherin, all bigger than him.

"Well, aren't you going to apologize?" said Macke, silkily, with enough menace in his voice to make the student go pale as death.

Ian decided this was enough. He stepped between the two of them.

"Beat it, Macke," he said.

"Oh, look at that," said Macke, on a mocking tone. "The freak to the rescue."

"Don't you dare talk to my brother like that!" exclaimed Ewan angrily.

"Or what, Malcolm?" laughed Macke. "You will try to jinx me with your little wand. Make me levitate, perhaps?"

"Ewan doesn't need his wand to kick your butt, Macke," said Ian, coolly, with a little smile across his face.

"Oh, really?" said Macke. "I'd like to see that."

"Be careful what you wish for," said Ian.

Macke only laughed, but Ewan stepped between his brother and the Slytherin. He had eyes that Ian had seen often, hard as stone. In this state, Ewan wasn't afraid of anything. He suddenly grabbed Macke's collar, and pulled him down to his face. Macke fought the grip but there was no way he could get free.

His Slytherin friends wanted to interfere, but a cold look from Ian was enough dissuasion to remind them they had an appointment on the other side of the school.

Ewan shook Macke slightly.

"Don't you believe you can scare me, Macke," said Ewan. "You may be a big boy, but you're not that powerful than I can't kick your arse. So get that through your head: we don't fear you."

He pushed Macke away, and the Slytherin fell on the ground. Macke, with a venomous look, reached for his wand, in his robes, but Ewan had already his in hand, and he was pointing it at him.

"Come on, Macke, I'd really enjoy that," he said.

Macke's hand got away from his robes.

"You won't have your big brother in reinforcement all the time," he said.

"I don't need his help," said Ewan.

"But if anything happens to Ewan," said Ian, casually, "I'll know where to look. So be careful, Timothy."

Macke got angrily on his feet and strode away. Ewan turned to his brother and grinned. They slapped hands, under the cheers of the Gryffindors.

"Nice move, Ewan," said his brother. "I'm proud of you. You can handle the big bad Mackes."

They laughed at that. All around them, Ian could see that the first years had been impressed by Ewan's bravery. And so had he. Really, he did belong in Gryffindor.

Ewan was unable to sleep. He was way too excited after his short bout with Macke. It had been a real thrill to stand up to him, almost without any support. Ewan was sure that Ian would have protected him from serious harm, but he was also sure he had meant the part when he had said that his brother didn't need him.

This feat had been a great triumph in the Gryffindor Common Room. Ewan had been welcomed as a hero by his Housemates. Terry had come to congratulate him warmly.

"Good to see that the Malcolm Family provides us with people ready to kick some Slytherin's butt," he had said. "I don't remember your brother doing this in first year."

"Hey," said one of Terry's friends. "Ian isn't in Gryffindor. That's why. The older brother may shatter walls, but this one has is a Lion!"

This had pleased Ewan more than anything. Ewan really liked his brother. But he had to admit that having an Chaotician, disciple to the Entropist, in the family was a little difficult. How can you prove yourself to anyone, when your brother can fly and blow up walls in the blink of an eye?

Now, the Gryffindor Tower considered Ewan as an individual. And that was something really important to him.

So he had, right now, the head full of images, remembering anything from the welcome he had received at his entry in the Common Room, escorted proudly by the Odinson Twins, Chris Wagner, and the rest of the year. No way would he sleep that way.

He got up, as he needed to go to the Bathroom. He walked down the stairs and reached the Common Room. He walked groggily through the portrait hole, yawning. Good, he thought. I'm getting tired, so I will go to sleep soon.

He reached the corridor where the bathroom was. Students were of course, allowed to walk out of the Tower, when they needed to get to the bathroom. It was only when they got to a farther area that they risked trouble at each turn of the corridors.

So Ewan wasn't really paying attention to what was going on around him, and had no warning at all of what happened next.

While walking through the door of the boy's bathroom, he tripped suddenly on something and, being sleepy, couldn't prevent himself from falling hard on the tiled floor of the room. He had the reflexes to put his hand before him while falling and only this saved his jaw from being broken against the ground.

Ewan shook his head, fighting the dizziness from the shock. What had happened? He could taste the blood in his mouth. With the shock he had hurt his lip. He wiped the blood from it and turned to see what was in the way. If that was a joke, it was in the worst taste ever.

Maybe a Slytherin had set up some booby trap for the Gryffindor's bathroom.

In the dark, Ewan couldn't see a thing. He got on his feet and waved his hand over the torch. It was usually lighting up with movement near itself. But right now, it wasn't working. That was weird. Ewan touched the stone of the brasero, and the spell, as if waken up by Ewan's presence, suddenly started itself, forcing Ewan to withdraw his hand in a hurry.

And he suddenly saw what he had tripped on. His eyes widened in horror.

It was a young boy, laying on his back, unconscious. Ewan rushed to him and checked on him, now clearly under panic. He knew him. He was in second year. His name was Ichabod Lightbrown.

"Somebody help!" he shouted as loudly as he could.

His shout must have raised attention, as many sounds suddenly started in the corridors. The Painting were waking up suddenly. Some were leaving their frames in complete confusion.

"Oh my Goodness!" exclaimed a voice from above Ewan.

The young boy raised his eyes and gave a start. It was Nearly-Headless-Nick.

"What happened in here?" asked the ghost, even paler than usual.

"I don't know," said Ewan. "I just tripped on him. Go get help! Quickly!"

"What is going on here?" said the stern voice of Professor McGonagall.

She was running, in a dressing gown, her wand in her hand. She saw Ewan, kneeling in front of the passed out student, and went as white as Nick. She waved her wand and sent a spark flying in the corridors, as a warning signal.

"What happened?" she asked, while kneeling next to Ewan.

"I was going out for the bathroom, and I tripped on him," said Ewan. "I don't know what he's doing here."

"Have you done anything, Mr Malcolm?" asked McGonagall, very seriously.

Ewan suddenly realised he had to look very suspicious now.

"NO!" he said in protest. "Of course not! I just found him!"

"We'll see this, Ewan," said McGonagall. "I trust your honesty, but this is too serious. A student has been attacked, and there will be an inquiry."

"Attacked?" said Ewan, thunderstruck.

"Yes, he's been hit by a charm," said the Head of Gryffindor. "And the responsible for this must be taken. Quickly."

DUN DUN DUUUUUNNN! :)