"Sometimes we can choose the paths we walk. Sometimes the choices have been made for us. And sometimes there are no choices at all."

Neil Gaiman

"Përshëndetje"

The two elves stared at Hermione and Remus, looking curious. The two wizards were frozen like ice, not daring to make any movement. They didn't understand what they were saying and doubted the elves understood English.

"Ne nuk nënkuptojmë asnjë dëm" continued the elf on the right, who seemed to be the mission leader.

"I think he speaks Albanian. Are there no spells so that we can understand them?"

"Damn, unë mendoj se ata janë anglisht. Anglezët janë gjithmonë shumë kuriozë" the left elf said.

Hermione took out her wand as quietly as possible, so that the elves would not think they were attacking them, and whispered Lingua translationem Albania.

"We'll take them to village six, anyone will be able to smell them and determine if they are special."

"We are both werewolves" Hermione said in Albanian.

The two elves turned to her in surprise. They certainly didn't expect either human to speak their language, let alone take part in the conversation.

"You speak our language? That's surprising. Few strangers do. You call yourselves werewolves. Both of you."

"It's true" said Remus, who had also cast the instant translation spell on himself.

"The Lupryadalis will verify it in seconds. Do you know what lupryadalis are?"

"Yes" the two friends answered in the same calm, collected voice.

Since when are you werewolves?"

"You know our rules Ñolofinwë, you don't ask those kinds of questions until you're sure what they really are, enemy or ally, human or wolf."

"I have been one for over thirty-eight years" Remus replied, as if he had not heard the second person.

"Three years for me."

The discussion ended there, Remus and Hermione were escorted back to the village. They watched their surroundings carefully, recording any details that seemed important. The elf named Ñolofinwë, seemed to be very interested in the two arrivals, she kept glancing at them. She stared at them without restraint, curious. After a quarter of an hour's walk, they arrived in front of a dozen small round houses that formed a circle. In the center, a statue adorned the square. It was quite large and, judging by its shape, it represented a lupryadalis. At its feet was a small fire, as well as wreaths of flowers. Around the statue were wooden benches, as if the lupryadalis were having a wake where they were telling stories.

Remus was surprised to see that only the lupryadalis used this place. Where were the elves and werewolves? The second elf seemed to read his mind as he answered her silent question.

"We elves prefer to sleep in the safety of the trees."

She motioned for Hermione and Remus to look up. They were not disappointed. Ten meters above them, a second village, quite different from the first, spread out. It was very impressive. To begin with, the houses were much more numerous. There must have been about twenty of them. They were all made of wood, decorated with flowers and lights. A wooden bridge connected each of them. The houses looked magical, which was probably the case.

The elf who seemed to be leading them watched them as they looked on in wonder. She didn't trust these two humans. Their aura was very strange, she had never seen it before, not even in the strangest people she had met. There was something about their attitude that challenged her. If they knew the lupryadalis, they knew how dangerous they were. They must have also known that elves and werewolves resided there. So why would they willingly enter? They certainly knew that their camp was in the Albanian Riviera. She promised herself she would find out what they were hiding.

"If you know the Lupryadalis, you probably know the rules of our tribes. Once you pass the barrier, you can't leave. You are now one of us, until death. No treason will be accepted. If you try to escape, the Lupryadalis will hunt you down, the elves will torture you and the werewolves will finish you off. If you need me, I will be in the Luftëtar's quarters."

Despite her small size, the elf looked no less threatening. Her magic pulsed around her like a powerful aura and her violet eyes were as cold as ice. The Time Chosen were seriously starting to panic. They hadn't met the lupryadalis yet, but from what Remus knew, they were the worst, but they could hardly see how anyone could be worse than this elf. She was truly chilling. She readjusted her silver crown, glared at them and left without looking back.

Hermione and Remus had never felt so threatened since they had traveled through time. How were they going to get the horcrux back and escape this camp without being killed?

"Don't worry too much, we're not all like Voronwë" the second elf interjected. "She can be a bit cold at first. She doesn't really like strangers who come into our business. She thinks they want to steal our secrets. Which is ridiculous since anyone here can kill humans in a heartbeat, but what do you expect, her name means 'the unshakable' in the elven language, so... Come, I'll introduce you to the others. I am from the Mençurinë quarter, and this is where you will reside until the council decides what is best for you."

Ñolofinwë told them that the lupryadalis, elves and werewolves all worked together, although the lupryadalis led the majority of the operations. They were the most powerful and impulsive. They hated all humans, wizards and muggles alike, who could live happily without worrying about others. Most wizards didn't even know they existed. Unlike werewolves, who also hated wizarding society for making them outcasts, monsters, the lupryadalis also hated muggles. Indeed, being very tall, they attracted attention, their red hair and their electric blue eyes had already earned their ancestors insults, even condemnations to the stake. Magic protected them, but they rarely used wands like wizards. Some of them died in this way, as magic could not help them every time. They lived in seclusion and without the elves who helped them channel their magic and impulsiveness, the Earth would have disappeared centuries ago. The elves had lost count of the number of times they had to stop them from wiping out the entire planet.

The elf explained to them that their city was divided into several quarters and that they were divided according to their abilities. She, for example, was in the Mençurinë quarter, the quarter of the wise. Voronwë was in the Luftëtar quarter, the quarter of the most valiant fighters.

Several days went by as the Time Chosen roamed the area, proving themselves to others. Not surprisingly, the lupryadalis were the most suspicious. Some were more than a little hostile. They had found no trace of the horcrux, the magic was too abundant, too powerful, and the quarters they had visited did not contain the horcrux, or at least they had not seen it. They were trying to be as discreet as possible, they didn't want anyone to suspect anything. Despite all this, Remus was still wondering the same thing. How were they going to get out of this hellhole? Not that he hated this place, he liked it a lot, but he would like it a lot better if he knew he wasn't trapped there for life. Hermione didn't seem to care that much. She wanted to get the horcrux back first and improvise afterwards, but she didn't know that much about lupryadalis, elves and werewolves. They would never let them go.

The two Time Chosen were together for the first time at the central district, where the leaders of the community lived. Remus enjoyed seeing that not only the lupryadalis ruled, but also the elves and werewolves. It was strange for him to see his fellow creatures in such important positions on an equal footing. Magical creatures were undoubtedly much more tolerant than wizards, or even humans in general. Never since he had arrived in Albania had Remus seen a being put down by its nature. The lupryadalis, although they were the most powerful, treated everyone equally. This was certainly due to the fact that he had a werewolf parent and an elf parent, but there was no hierarchy of power or nature. Elves and wolves being two species bullied by wizards didn't repeat their mistakes and treat the other species like plague simply because they were different.

Remus had thought long and hard about how the three species worked and had come to the conclusion that maybe he wasn't just another wizard, he was a werewolf. Of course, he already knew that, he had known his nature since he was five years old, but here werewolves seemed to be a species apart. They seemed to be proud of not being fully human, proud of being werewolves. The chosen one of Time had not dared to ask them about this, it was a very personal reflection and he did not want to share it with strangers, no matter how similar these people were to him. Remus had been very shocked when he had learned in Defense Against the Forces of Evil class from one of his incompetent teachers in second or third year that werewolves had to report to the Department of Control and Regulation of Magical Creatures. He wasn't an animal, nor was he a goblin or a house elf. Today he still found it revolting, it allowed the Ministry to keep track of werewolves to make sure they weren't being used and infecting 'normal' wizards, but slowly the association of magical creature and werewolf was creeping into his mind, and strangely it didn't bother him as much as it used to.

The Chosen Ones weren't at the main ward for no reason, it was their dispatch ceremony, or so it was translated for them. They looked nostalgic when they heard the name, but asked the werewolves to explain what it was rather than get lost in painful memories.

The three species were divided according to their ability into sections that corresponded to them. The two elves who had brought them were respectively in the Mençurinë quarter, the quarter of the wise, and the Luftëtar quarter, the quarter of the warriors. As the only two new people joining the tribe, the ceremony went quickly. Remus was assigned to the Mençurinë quarter, as was Ñolofinwë, while Hermione, to her disappointment, was assigned to the Mbrojtës quarter, the protectors' quarter. She would have preferred to be with the warriors, but as Remus had pointed out to her, she was not as good as the elves or the Lupryadalis.

The vigil went on in a friendly manner, the Lupryadalis seemed to be a little less defensive and magic was crackling everywhere, as if to show agreement and happiness. Many objects were flying through the trees and Hermione honestly thought that even after discovering it more than thirteen years ago, magic would never stop surprising her.

To end the evening, the tribe took the chosen ones to the Wall of the Forgotten, a wall that listed all the deeds that werewolves or elves had done, but which had been stolen by the wizards. As Hermione looked at the wall in awe, Remus felt a chill run through him. There was something strange in the air. He hadn't felt this energy in several months, his face broke down when he saw the object that emanated this force. Hermione only noticed that something was wrong when Remus began to shake with his whole being. Some people began to notice as well.

"Rem', are you okay?"

Hermione walked over to him and forced him to sit on the floor. She leaned over him and Remus whispered in her ear so faintly that if she hadn't been a werewolf, she wouldn't have been able to understand what her friend had said.

"I found the horcrux."

Hermione tensed imperceptibly and had to use all her control to keep a straight face. She knew she couldn't question Remus any further, she had heard what her friend had told her, only because she had overdeveloped hearing thanks to the wolf in her, but since most of the people around her had the same hearing as her, she had to be discreet. She suspected that at least one person had to speak English, and she didn't want their search to be overheard.

"I think he's mostly tired. I'll drive him back to his new neighborhood and a good night's sleep will do him a world of good."

She helped her friend up and led him to the Mençurinë quarter, she knew that Remus had shaken as much to call her out, but she knew her friend and suspected that he was seriously distressed. How could he not? It was impossible to escape the Lupryadalis. They combined with the magic of the elves, they could be sure that they would die if by some miracle they managed to escape. She walked slowly back to her own neighborhood, and took a detour to the Wall of the Forgotten. It was truly fascinating to see all the creations the wizards had made for themselves, but this time she wasn't there for that. She opened her eyes and her magic, but felt nothing in particular. She would have to talk to Remus to find out exactly what horcrux it was and come up with a plan.

Several days had passed, Remus anguished over his impending death and the failure of their mission while Hermione thought of a way to retrieve the horcrux, destroy it, and escape this place. They had just met again for a night mission, guarding the western part of the village. Their companions seemed to trust them enough to let the two newbies guard part of their territory alone. After all, Hermione and Remus hadn't let on that they were planning an escape. Fate seemed to be on their side for once, as the Wall of the Forgotten was in the far northwestern part of the territory, but it was still in their guard zone. They had gone there without a sound, fearing to be watched, until Hermione, not wanting to go any further, asked the questions that tormented her.

"What was the horcrux you found? When I came back, I didn't feel any familiar magic and I didn't see the cup or the locket."

"That's because it's neither. And you don't know lupine magic like I do, so you couldn't have felt it."

"Which horcrux is it, then?"

"One we don't know. The Gryffindor ornament."

"The Gryffindor ornament" she wondered. "I've never heard of it."

"That's normal, his sword is much more famous, but only a true Gryffindor can find it and use it, far from Voldy. The Gryffindor ornament is actually the ornament of Godric's daughter, Moira Gryffindor."

"How do you know all this? I've searched for stories about the founders and never found anything. Already we learn that there is a fifth, but on top of that Voldy has turned a new object that no one knows about!"

"Bathilda Tourdesac lives in Godric's Hollow, she was a friend of James' parents. I've had the opportunity to attend a few dinners with her and she is far more exciting than Binns when it comes to telling the past."

"The one time I saw her, she was possessed by the snake Hermione shuddered." It's crazy though, He was so obsessed with the founders and his ancestor that he went after the heritage of his ancestor's enemy's daughter."

"This is still the Gryffindor legacy, even though few people know about it."

They arrived at the Wall of the Forgotten and Hermione looked around. She looked around, trying to make out as much as possible in the dark night, but with only her wand illuminating the forest with a lumos, and not wanting to be spotted too much, the task was difficult.

"Try to feel it with magic."

"That's the problem, I can't feel anything. I've always been pretty sensitive with magic, even more so since we've been here, and I can't feel anything. I don't know what's happening to me."

"I think it's because you're anxious. You're not channeling your magic anymore, you're locking it away. It's preventing you from fully experiencing other forms of magic and since you're in a new environment, two magics you've never experienced before, it's not really helping."

Hermione tried to focus on her magic, but to no avail, it was as if she was stuck. The witch knew that lately her magic had been acting up and was more than a little temperamental, but the more she tried to tame it, the more it rebelled.

"Don't think of magic as something compact inside your heart, but feel it deep inside you, from the root to the tip of your hair, inside each of your billions of cells. The magic is part of you, part of your whole body."

Hermione listened to Remus carefully, like a student listening to her teacher teach her something particularly interesting. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Unexpectedly, she received an impressive wave of magic and took a few steps forward in shock. She had never felt anything like it. She turned to Remus, who had a smile on his face.

"What was that? And what is around us?"

The chosen ones were surrounded by a bright halo, which seemed to contain all the colors of the world.

"This is what I want you to do. I send you waves of pure magic."

At Hermione's questioning look and anticipating her questions, the wizard continued.

"I'm not telling you anything new if I tell you that there are several forms of magic. Pure magic, as the name suggests, is a form of magic that does not alter magic, does not control it. It has nothing to do with the accidental magic that you did before you entered Hogwarts, it is the essence of magic, which is not restricted by any spell. You have to have a lot of control over yourself to be able to send out waves of magic like that. But I know you can do it and it will help you find the ornament and bring it to us."

Hermione practiced for over half an hour before she was able to send out sparks of pure magic and it took another three quarters of an hour before she was able to send out waves of magic and locate the ornament. Carefully, she moved it along the few dozen meters between the jewel and herself. Remus had tried to help her, but it was very important that the witch get there by herself. So the wizard waited and waited, without Hermione seeing him, of course.

When she finally managed to bring the ornament in front of her, she was overwhelmed by the beauty of the object. It had undoubtedly been made by goblins so that it emanated such an aura.

"Why is our destiny always tied to jewels? It's true. The Jewels of Time, the Ravenclaw Diadem, the Slytherin locket, the Gaunt ring and now the Gryffindor ornament!"

Without answering her, Remus took the sparkling ruby and gold ornament and looked around intently. He inspected it from every angle, sensing dark magic, but in a different form, as if elven and lupine magic were influencing the horcrux.

"We need to destroy it as soon as possible" Hermione said, and Remus agreed immediately.

They walked away from the Wall of the Forgotten and headed to the far west of the land. When they got there, they dropped the horcrux on the ground without much thought and Remus threw the fire-derivative. Strangely, Remus did not feel the horcrux hit him and weaken him. He could see it struggling, but it didn't seem to be able to send him images of Dora, Teddy, or the marauders. A dark aura had taken over the ornament, somewhat similar to the one that surrounded Hermione during her very large seizures, but it was as if he was witnessing the destruction of the horcrux, without being the actor. When it was completely destroyed, he stopped his spell and collapsed to the ground, the fiendfyre always required a great deal of magical ability, which was not really a problem for the chosen ones of Time, but also a great deal of concentration and self control. Hermione approached the jewel and picked it up. It had lost much of its beauty, as had the other objects that held a part of the Dark Lord's soul. Every ruby was nicked or broken, the gold was much less shiny, they could never put it back where it was and pretend it never happened.

But he had destroyed one more horcrux. The diadem, the diary, the Gaunt ring, and now the ornament were all gone. Only the cup, the locket, and Voldemort's body shell remained, and they would be able to get through it.

The two wizards sighed, exhausted from all the emotions they had had during this last day, but they had no idea that the day was still very far from over and that they were clearly not at the end of their surprises.

I don't speak albanian so it may contain some error.

Translation :

Përshëndetje : Hello

Ne nuk nënkuptojmë asnjë dëm : We mean you no harm.

Damn, unë mendoj se ata janë anglisht. Anglezët janë gjithmonë shumë kuriozë : Shit, they're English. They're always snooping around, the English.

The lupryadalis are my exclusive property.