"The difference between the possible and the impossible is in the determination."
Gandhi
The two wizards got up a few minutes after destroying the horcrux. They were somewhat tired, but morally, they were relieved to have killed one more part of Voldy's soul. Of course, there were still horcruxes left, but it was still a significant step forward. They had briefly tried to get this message to Minerva through the Time Jewels, but weren't quite sure if they had succeeded. They may have destroyed the horcrux, but there was still a serious problem. They were trapped by lupryadalis, elves and werewolves. The former were extremely powerful, but the other two species could kill them without much difficulty if they wanted to. They had to find a solution, and fast. Much faster than they thought.
"May I ask what you're doing?" said an icy voice from behind them.
Hermione and Remus turned around at once, waving their wands at the person standing before them. She towered over them by several heads and looked quite angry. He was a lupryadalis who particularly hated the chosen ones of Time. Like all lupryadalis he did not trust them, but he never lost an opportunity to put them down. Aegnor, since that was his name, had an even colder and more hostile expression than usual, which Hermione thought was a pure miracle. Although not really, since it was meant for them, which was not a good sign. His long red hair floated in the wind and his electric blue eyes threw lightning bolts that made him a very threatening being. They were already threatening under normal circumstances, but at this moment, his eyes were particularly frightening. Never had the wizards seen such an expression inside those blue eyes, which all lupryadalis wore with pride. Those eyes were theirs, their identity, their genetics, unique to their species.
"I repeat my question: can I know what you do?"
Still not getting an answer, the lupryadalis was about to get angry, but an elf used her magic to calm him down.
"Eressëa, Vasa, Siltiama, Astaldo, bring them to the tre të mëdha! Immediately" he ordered in an icy voice. "The others, search the area. I will come and explain the situation to them."
The two wizards were taken away by force, they were tied by magic links created by the elves. The lupryadalis had sent them to the tre të mëdha, the three leaders of the tribe. Neither Hermione nor Remus had the honor of meeting them, they hardly ever left their homes and only presided over the most important councils. They were the ones who decided everything, life in the tribe, magical protections. They carefully studied each of their people to improve themselves. If a fighter lost his strength, he was automatically transferred to a new district, and if a Mençurinë did something rash, he was moved to another district. The tre të mëdha, the three great ones in Albanian, were almost considered legends by the elves and werewolves, and even more so by the lupryadalis.
They were trying to hide their terror, but it was obvious that they were afraid. Hermione's lower lip was trembling and Remus was shivering. They were ruthlessly thrown into a small room in the central village, which seemed to serve as a prison while the tre të mëdha decided the fate of the accused. It was dark, and each could barely see the other's face. Neither of the two friends spoke, the silence was only heavier, but opening their mouths was already too difficult an effort to make. They were both lost in thought, before the council, which seemed to seal their death.
Remus did not know how long he stood there waiting for something to happen, but it seemed like forever. For the first time in many months, he had no way to escape and survive. Since the battle of Hogwarts, he had been confronted with many similar situations, but each time he had escaped. Of course, he had never been confronted with lupryadalis, but he had survived mangemorts, Voldemort, and Guardians who were no longer truly human and who had tried to kill him. It was an unprecedented and unexpected situation, but unfortunately for him, Remus hated the unexpected as well as totally improvised plans, but to improvise, one would already have to have a plan, which was far from being the case.
Lost in his thoughts, Remus didn't immediately see Hermione get up and head for the exit, which was much brighter than it had been a few minutes before.
"Rem', they're here. We have to go" she whispered hoarsely.
The wizard nodded and then stood up, following the werewolf as he showed them the way, which was not far and hard to miss. The place overlooked the central village, unlike most of the houses that were simple and modest, this place, which could almost be mistaken for a palace, was richly decorated and highlighted. It contrasted so much with the way of life of the wolves and elves that it was disturbing.
The Time chosen did not have much time to admire the palace before they were forced inside. The walls were immaculately white, almost dazzling. Only the wall to the left of the entrance broke this too white universe. It was decorated with about thirty portraits, all of them motionless. There seemed to be three columns, one representing the elves, another for the werewolves and a last one for the lupryadalis. They could not observe them in detail, but Hermione noticed that there were very few women.
The werewolf who was with them made a sign to them to wait in this place, they remained all the same under the monitoring of two elves, it was not necessary to exaggerate either, they were prisoners. He returned a few minutes later and let them enter a large room, similar to the Muggle courts. In place of the jurors, three thrones were set up, the thrones of the tre të mëdha obviously. Hermione had managed to calm the tremors that ran through her body and took the time to observe the three people before her.
On the left, stood a being with violet eyes and brown hair cut to the square, rather small, certainly not exceeding five feet. The golden crown on his head indicated to time travelers that he was a man. Unlike the average elf who wore a thin crown —gold for men and silver for women— more like a Muggle headband than a crown, the elf's crown was impressive, even more so for a person of his size.
On the right, the Time Chosen could easily recognize a werewolf. Of the tre të mëdha, he had the most scars, but still much less than Remus and Hermione. He was quite tall, his blond hair cut short. His pupils were larger than a human's but were almost indistinguishable from his black irises that shot lightning bolts. He also had a crown, also made of gold, silver being prohibited, but although he was the only werewolf to have one, it was no less imposing.
And then in the middle, dominated a lupryadalis. Its two meters contrasted greatly with the meter fifty of its left neighbor that it was almost laughable. Even if they were sitting, the difference was still impressive. His red hair was really long, the two time travelers didn't really realize it since he was sitting, but it was almost reaching his knees. His electric blue eyes were icy, but he did his best to keep a neutral expression.
Hermione had to restrain herself from making a scathing remark about gender equality to the three men. Under other circumstances, she would have had no hesitation in doing so, but these three men were going to decide her hypothetical death, so she might as well not offend them any more than necessary.
"Aegnor, may I know the reason for this emergency council? In what it concerns the foreigners?" began the lupryadalis.
"Yes Lord Turuncáno. These two strangers are Remus and Hermione, respectively the new recruits of the Mençurinë and the Mbrojtës."
"Why have they not taken elven names?" asked the elf. "Everyone who enters our land renounces their past and becomes a new person. It is an ancient rule."
"I don't know, my lord" said Aegnor, embarrassed. He was very afraid of what the chief might say.
"You do not know. And why is that? Have you not asked yourself the question? All your comrades have elven names and those two can break the rule and use human names?"
"I didn't think of that my lords, I apologize. These two strangers seemed suspicious to me and I wanted to study them more closely rather than rely on the ancestral laws. This will not happen again."
"You will be punished, Aegnor. As a lupryadalis, it will be Turuncáno who, as usual, will decide your sentence. So continue on with the reason that pushed you and the others to ask for this advice."
Aegnor swallowed slowly and paused for a moment, then resumed.
"These two humans destroyed Moira's ornament last night."
Murmurs echoed through the courtroom and it was then that Hermione realized there was an audience. They had been so quiet that she hadn't noticed them. This ornament seemed to be important from their reactions.
"How did they find it? How could they destroy it?"
"For the first question, I don't know, but they destroyed it with fire."
"Fiendfyre" whispered the werewolf leader. "It's a dark magic spell" he explained to the others, most of whom didn't know wand magic, "that has the ability to destroy everything in its path. It is very difficult to master for wizards and even more so for werewolves, since the wild lupine magic mixes with the wild fiendfyre magic."
"That doesn't explain why they did it" the head elf says.
"They destroyed a relic of a noble founder, the sentence is death" the lupryadalis intervened.
No one thought to question the Time Chosen for their reasons, it was their trial, but they were not participating. The lupryadalis seemed to want them dead at all costs, the elves and werewolves were less vehement, but it was clear that some of them thought no less. It was an elf who came to their aid, and when they recognized her, they were very surprised.
"Lords, I apologize for interrupting you like this, but I have to talk to you about something very important. Like Aegnor, these two humans struck me as very strange from the moment we met. For those who did not know, it was Ñolofinwë of the Mençurinë and I who found them near our protective barriers. I was very surprised to see that they knew about lupryadalis, elves and werewolves, but being werewolves themselves, it was explained later. What I still don't understand is why come so close to our land, knowing that we lived here and that anyone who entered our territory would never leave."
"I don't see the connection Voronwë."
"You will understand Lord. When Ñolofinwë showed them around the camp, I took some of their magical essence to study it. I know this is not really our way of doing things, but my instincts told me it was the right thing to do. You can't kill them Lords, the girl has been blessed and the man being her traveling companion and friend is as untouchable as she is."
"When and by whom?"
"I don't know the exact date, but it was many years ago and it was by one of your descendants, Lord Seregon" she concluded, staring at her superior.
"Come here little one."
It took Hermione a few seconds to realize that it was her that the elf lord had called and not Voronwë. She hesitantly approached, somewhat reluctant. The elf took her by the shoulders and Hermione had to force herself not to run away. She felt far too watched and being held by the shoulders reminded her of her second visit to Malfoy Manor, which was anything but pleasant. When he finally let go of her, she ran to Remus and squeezed his arm, as if to make sure he was there with her.
"Voronwë speaks the truth, this little one is indeed blessed by my descendants."
"That's not the point. They are here to answer for their actions. Let's not forget that they destroyed the ornament of Moira."
"We know that Turuncáno. What intrigues me is why. Why did they come all this way to destroy the ornament. They are English, aren't they. Despite being werewolves, they know wizardry and carry a wand, so they must have gone to Hogwarts. Am I wrong?"
Although the question was rhetorical, Hermione couldn't help but nod, she didn't see what the werewolf was getting at.
"For those who don't know, Hogwarts is a magical school located in Scotland, where all British wizards attend. This school was founded by four people, called "the founders". Salazar Slytherin, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor, Moira's father. Several students over the centuries have wanted to show their vanity and have sought to reunite the relics of its founders. These two must not have been able to find a relic for Godric, so they fell back on his daughter."
The werewolf raised his head a little more, as if to challenge anyone to contradict him, the two wizards had to restrain themselves from doing so, his speech was completely false, they would never have willingly sought to reunite the four relics.
It was Seregon who gave them the floor, he still seemed intrigued by them, but less vehement than the other two.
"You're right, we both went to Hogwarts, but we never tried to collect a relic belonging to each founder, otherwise why destroy them? Someone did it long before us, and we have to undo his work. This man, if we can call him that, has pushed the limits of dark magic and is now immortal. A part of his soul was hidden in the ornament and only the fiendfyre was able to destroy that soul. The person who did this, Tom Riddle, perhaps you know him as Voldemort, destroyed thousands of families, killed, tortured, raped thousands of people. He took away our friends and family. We must destroy him" Remus concluded.
"They speak the truth, Lords."
"But we will not let them go" said the leader of the lupryadalis.
"I have a question, you mentioned the soul of this Riddle. What exactly is it and how does it affect us?"
"To create a horcrux, that's the name of this thing, you have to commit a cold-blooded murder, because a murder tears the soul apart, then there is a whole ritual that I don't know the details of. If the body is destroyed, the being has a half-life but can be reborn" Remus explained.
"As for the effects, Voldemort managed to possess a friend of mine through a diary, during the year, she had big blanks, she could not remember what she had done a few hours before, if Harry had not destroyed the diary, she would have died and Voldemort would have come back to life, aged seventeen. She was lucky, she was not affected afterwards. Another horcrux, a ring, killed our headmaster."
"Is Dumbledore dead?"
Hermione and Remus looked at each other and exchanged a panicked look. It wasn't expected that either of them knew Dumbledore.
"Not exactly. Not here."
"Can you be more clear?"
"These are the Time Chosen, Lords."
The Time chosen in question turned in one block to Voronwë, who was staring at the tre të mëdha.
"They do not have Her marks."
With a wave of her hand, the protections surrounding the Jewels of Time fell away and Hermione's ring once again adorned her finger, while Remus' necklace was clearly visible on her chest.
"It was written into their magical essence."
"This is a game changer. What time are you from?"
"2002" they answered in one voice.
"Voronwë, why are you only now telling us about your findings? It would have been better if a revelation of this magnitude had been known earlier."
"Their magical essence is very complex. I had to ask for help from several people before I could study everything, and with a revelation of this magnitude, I preferred to recalculate everything a second time, for fear of making a mistake, and the results arrived shortly before the council, so I could not share them with you."
"Well, we have to decide on the sentence."
"Turucáno, there can be no sentence. They are the Time Chosen. They are the protégés of Hel Hogwarts. They were blessed by one of my descendants, who is not even born yet. We cannot hold them prisoner."
"It would be against our laws. And when we talk about Hel Hogwarts, we talk about the Damned Spouses, and I don't want to see those two insufferable people who think they are above everyone else. They have a mission to destroy this horcrux, and if one of his objects managed to kill Albus Dumbledore, I doubt that keeping them on this planet is a good idea."
"He's still a wizard. But I don't care, although I don't agree, but my two colleagues have decided otherwise. I ask that you make a magical oath. No one must find us. Our secrets are ancestral."
"We understand completely. I, Remus John Lupin, swear on my magic never to reveal the secrets and whereabouts of these elves, werewolves and lupryadalis."
Hermione imitated him, trembling.
"If this ever gets out, I swear we will hunt you down. The lupryadalis must continue to inspire terror."
"Of course, Lord Turucáno."
"We'll keep Moira's ornament."
The two sorcerers would have liked to keep it, to symbolize their further victory over Voldy, but under the circumstances, they did not try to negotiate.
"And don't expect us to help you on your quest."
"That had not occurred to us."
The council of the tre të mëdha ended and they were led back to the border by Voronwë and Ñolofinwë, the two elves who had allowed them into their territory. After a brief farewell, Remus had them transported to Tirana, the capital of the country.
"Can you believe we managed to survive the lupryadalis? It was impossible."
"There are many things we've done lately that were impossible, Remus."
"Yes, but you haven't lived in a pack, you don't realize how much fear they inspire in werewolves who aren't part of their tribe."
"One more horcrux destroyed! Do you mind creating the portkey right now, I really want to go home."
Remus complied and the two friends took it together before landing, a second later, in their garden. The guards let them through without a problem and they slowly opened the door, not knowing if anyone was there. They walked into the kitchen and saw Frank and Alice sitting in a chair, looking very depressed. Alice was crying and her husband was trying to comfort her.
Before they could figure out what was going on, they found themselves with two wand to their throats.
"What was bothering me so much before my wedding, the day you told us you and Helena were leaving" Alice asked in a cold voice.
"You were afraid your friends would die. You've already lost Mary and Dorcas, you're afraid Lily will die too, and even though Helena is cold, you consider her your friend."
Trembling, Alice lowered her wand and Frank followed suit, though still wary. She ran into their arms, sobbing.
"I missed you guys! We needed you here so badly! What took you so long."
"Alice, don't, don't tell me we've lost someone again?"
Frank's silence and Alice's sobbing caused both faces to break down. Hermione couldn't speak a word and it was Remus who asked the fateful question.
"Who died, Alice?"
The lupryadalis are my exclusive property.
I hope you liked the chapter!