Raylynx's POV

Jamie was playing Quidditch again. At the age where most professional Quidditch players retired, Jamie was at his peak, after years of intensive training to get back into the high level of athleticism required to play professional Quidditch. A week into summer vacation after Harry's first year at Hogwarts, I took Remus to one of Jamie's matches

I told Remus that Harry was the youngest Gryffindor Seeker in a century.

"Have you told him that you're his godmother?" Remus asked me.

I shook my head. "I meant to, but when I saw him, I realized he was just a child. He seemed so pleased to be at Hogwarts, and there was such an innocence to his happiness. As much as he might have appreciated knowing that I was his godmother and hearing about his parents, all this information would have been a heavy burden on him. So, I stayed back and I tried to watch over him."

Remus nodded. "I imagine I would be much the same way."

"Did you have any pictures of Lily and James for Hagrid's photo album?" I asked Remus.

He smiled. "Yes, I had two. The first was one where Lily was beating James over the head with a carrot for having made fun of gingers. The second was one of them sitting together in a garden. I only sent the latter."

I laughed. "A pity!"

"The former was too precious," Remus replied with a broad grin. "I had to keep it for myself. Besides, I felt some duty to portray Lily and James in the best light possible. Let Harry believe that his parents were angels."

"No," I disagreed, with a warm smile. "Harry should know that his parents fought all the time, and over the pettiest issues! After all, the beauty of James and Lily were that all their tenderness was in their arguments."

"That's true," Remus said. "They fell in love arguing with each other."

"Could you imagine if James ever tried to discipline Harry? Lily would be in the background, rolling her eyes every time because James would have broken every rule himself," I said.

"Hypocrisy at the highest degree," Remus said, with laughter in his voice. "And if Lily ever tried to discipline Harry, James would be behind her, mimicking her old prefect voice."

I grinned. "I forgot about that. Lily spent half her prefect days chasing you Marauders down, and all of her Head Girl days arguing with James."

Suddenly, the crowd roared.

"Oh Merlin!" I said, and without thinking, slapped Remus on his arm. "We should be watching the game! My brother's playing! Merlin, how could I be so disinterested? Who scored?"

"It was the opposite team," Remus pointed out, rubbing his arm where I'd hit him with a mildly amused expression on his face.

"Oh," I said, relaxing. "Oh, good. I wouldn't have wanted to see that anyway."

Remus smiled ruefully. "Is this how biased you are when you watch Gryffindor play Slytherin at Hogwarts?"

"Oh, no," I said, and beamed at him. In a devilish voice, I assured him, "I'm worse. Much worse."


Jamie was not the only one reclaiming his profession.

Sola had decided to team up with Arthur Weasley to enact the Muggle Protection Act, new legislation that prohibited act of enchanting ordinary Muggle objects with magical properties with the intent to use that object to deceive, harass, harm, or trap Muggles, as well as the possession of such objects. Searches of houses were conducted on a showing of probable cause that the owner of the house either kept or was creating such prohibited objects.

I went to the Ministry to watch the passage of the law and applauded when it was approved. I saw Lucius Malfoy in the stands with a furious expression on his face. Dolores Umbridge, who had voted against it, was also looking extremely angry, and gave my sister a most scathing look on her way out.

My sister and Mr. Weasley shook hands.

"Well, if you'd both like to come over for dinner, I'm sure Molly and I would both be delighted," Mr. Weasley said, addressing both me and my sister.

"We'd love to," Sola said, smiling. Her eyes were slightly misty, and I knew she was thinking of our parents and of how much courage it took for her to enter this realm again after such a painful exit and so many years of repression.

I took her arm and we started to walk out of the courtroom together.

But, just then, another procession was beginning to take place in the very same courtroom- the release of a prisoner.

Emmeline walked into the room, guiding the prisoner into the room. I glanced at the prisoner. His hair was wild and unkempt, but as he walked, his dirty locks swayed, I could see his face. His entire face was incredibly gaunt, unnaturally hollow in the cheeks. His eyes were flickering anxiously along the floor. Despite the nervous moment of his eyes, there was a frightening deadened aspect to his irises that with a pang of horror, I realized I recognized from Alice's eyes. His eyes flickered over my face and then slid right past me to the floor again. He moved down the aisle like a wounded dog, erratic in his steps.

I frowned and clutched Sola's arm a little harder as we walked past him.

It was only as the door of the courtroom began to close behind me that I heard the presiding judge say, "And now, as Counsel has requested- For the stated purposes of relief due to declining health and sanity, we come to the matter of the release of Audrey Vega."


It was barely daybreak and I was repeatedly pacing before Remus' front door.

I had raised my hand to rap my knuckles against his door a few times now, but my mind kept holding me back, telling me to stop, telling me to "please be rational and go home because nobody in their right mind would be up and about at this hour", "leave poor Moony alone," and "what would I say to him anyways"?

I bit my finger as I continued pacing.

Then, quicker than a snake, I reached out and gave a quick rap on his door.

I held my breath. It had been so quick and soft that it was likely he hadn't heard it and would continue on sleeping.

All right, I thought. He hasn't heard you. Come on, Raylynx, let's go.

Then, the door opened.

"Raylynx, is that you?" Remus said blearily, confused. He had clearly been asleep. His hair was all mussed up and he was wearing a raggedy t-shirt and some pajama bottoms.

"You opened the door," I croaked, my voice hoarse.

"Yes," he mumbled. He blinked, but he couldn't quite open his eyes all the way. He rubbed them tiredly. "That happens sometimes when you knock."

He looked up at me with one eye half-shut. He yawned a little and reached up to push his face out of his face, only to have it flop back in front of his eyes straightaway.

"I'm sorry. It's very early, I know," I said. "But I just realized-"

All at once, I burst into tears.

It gave Remus quite a shock.

It also surprised the hell out of me.

Embarrassed, I barreled into Remus, clutching the front of his baggy shirt and burying my face into it. Ashamed, I didn't want to look at him, and I certainly didn't want him looking at me. I was sobbing, and I didn't even know why.

Remus, finally waking up a little, awkwardly dragged me in and struggled to shut the door afterwards, as I was still clutching the front of his shirt in an iron grip. For a long moment, Remus was very flustered, wanting very much for me to let go of him but unsure as to what to do. His hands wavered in the air around me.

Finally, he managed to make me let go of him, prying his hands away from his shirt. Then, he gently but firmly pushed me down to sit on his bed and made to drag his blanket around me, but it just ended up like some strange turtle shell around me but not actually touching me and certainly not warming me. He gave up and just sat sit beside me, watching me with shocked eyes, waiting for me to find my voice. I brought my knees and wrapped my arms around my head, trying to get myself under control.

Remus had never seen me in such a state. Even when he'd been there for me when Marlene and Dorcas had passed away, I hadn't cried like this. I'd always managed to keep it together to some extent. Even if I cried, there was composure in my stance and defiance in my shoulders.

But here I was now, curled up on the edge of his bed, sobbing.

Remus carefully out to softly touch my shoulder.

He paused, unsure which shoulder to put his hand on. So, he just withdrew his hand entirely.

He coughed lightly, and sheepishly pushed his hair out of his face again.

Glancing down, he saw tear stains on the front of his shirt.

Finally, he cleared his throat again, and he said in as firm a voice as he could muster, "Raylynx, I will do anything you ask. Just tell me what's put you in such a state."

I raised my head, hurriedly wiping my eyes and sniffling.

He saw my red eyes and blotchy face and frowned, but he waited for me to speak.

"Anything?" I asked him, my voice catching on my throat. I coughed slightly. "Tell me about Sirius."

Remus' expression became complicated, the utter anguish of even thinking about Sirius and how it invoked so many memories of Lily and James and Peter warred with the desire to help me.

Finally, he said, in a carefully self-controlled and muted voice, "What do you want to know?"

"Do you think there's any hope for him?" I asked him. Even as I mopped my eyes, more tears fell.

Through the crack in Remus' curtains, an unearthly pale blue beam of sunshine fell across his room and illuminated my face, so that the tears streaking down my face were silver lines, heavy with color and very visible.

"And I don't just mean leaving Azkaban," I emphasized, thinking of Audrey. I took a deep shuddering breath and forced myself to clarify. In a thick voice, I asked Remus, "What I mean, what I'm truly asking you is: Will he ever come back to us- as himself?"

Remus had his feet on the ground parallel to the bed and his hands were clasped together in midair as his elbows rested on his knees. Remus stared at his hands, not blinking. Then, he said in as quiet as voice as I had ever heard someone speak, "No, Raylynx, I don't." He shook his head softly, but he wasn't looking at me, just gazing down at his hands. In a near-dreamlike trance, he added, "Truthfully, it's been a long time since there's been any hope for him."

"Even without dementors, the horrors of the war have haunted us," Remus said. "With dementors forcing you to relive your worst memories and taking away any feeling of hope or happiness, it seems an impossible task, even for one as strong-willed as Sirius."

"He died in my mind a while back," Remus confessed.

Remus turned to look at me. "Is he alive for you?"

I stared at the floor for a long time, avoiding the question in my heart and in my mind.

But the answer had long been coming. Ever since I saw Harry again, Lily and James' child, the life of another generation, I simply could not deny that the passage of time was not only very real, but it demanded that the things it carried within itself also pass through some form of change.

"I'll never stop fighting for him," I finally said. "But perhaps…"

Perhaps it's too late to save what we are. Perhaps that dream that we once lived in together is already a thing of the past. I couldn't save it these past ten years. And time waits for no one.

I didn't realize that I had fallen silent and that those last thoughts had only taken place in my mind.

"Er- Care for a piece of toast?" Remus asked, a little awkwardly. "I haven't much, I'm afraid."

I smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Remus."

We ate breakfast together. Though slightly ridiculous, we were both standing, as we thought the other should have the chair. The small electric Christmas tree was still on Remus' table, though he'd pulled out the plug to save on electricity costs.

I said to Remus, "I'm sorry for shocking you like that. I'm not sure what came over me. In truth, I came over here to have a quiet conversation."

"I'd never seen you so upset before," Remus said.

"Strange, isn't it?" I replied, "I'm the happiest I've ever been."

Remus looked at me skeptically.

I laughed a little and amended, "Well, all right, no, I'm not the happiest I've ever been. But my life has healed in ways I didn't think possible."

"How have you been?" I asked Remus.

"Alright," Remus answered. "Every day's much the same with me."

"Will you stay at Hogwarts for the summer?" Remus asked me.

"No, I'm going on holiday," I told him, as I munched on my toast. "I feel I should get out of the city. I think a bit of fresh air might do some good."

"Somewhere remote?" Remus said.

"Yes, I think so."


As it turned out, it was very remote.

I had traveled to Sehtzer's village.

After writing to Sehtzer to warn him that the "shadow" would be returning to the mountains, Sehtzer had requested that I come to his village in Albania. There were ongoing projects that Sehtzer thought I could help with, and in return, I would perhaps be able to investigate and make more sense of what was occurring. I took up the offer immediately.

It was an intense route to reach Sehtzer's village. The village itself lay against the sunlit side of the Bjeshkut e Namuna Mountains, tucked away between the jagged slopes of the mountain. As Sehtzer led me through the village, I noticed that each tent (though in truth, they were far grander than tents in both structure, security, and decoration) was surrounded by multiple runic circles. Some of these circles were for protection, naturally, but others invoked hanging lamps or floating garlands of flowers that purified the air or helped a circle of vegetables to grow quickly. There was a particularly beautiful area that served as a communal marketplace and theater, as well as a large temple filled with fragrances, flowers, and rugs, and there was also a white tower that went high into the clean mountain air, where the councils and judges met to deliberate important decisions.

Passing through the village, it occurred to me, then, that with passive spell-casting, it mattered less who was magical and who was not. So-called Squibs and magical folk alike lived in these tents together. The village's council and judges were also made up of magical and semi-magical folk. Hunters tended to be magical, but very athletic semi-magical folk could also join the ranks of the esteemed hunters. While Healers and Alchemists tended to be magical folk, Potion Masters and Apothecary Owners were evenly split between magical and semi-magical folk.

"The Shadow returned to the Mountains a few days ago," Sehtzer told me grimly. "We were able to prepare ourselves, thanks to your letter warning us. But the townspeople have been worse off. Vampires having been growing stronger over the past few years. And it's almost as though the nights have been growing longer. I sense that some latent dark power is on the rise."

I started to reply. "I believe it links back to Vol-"

But Sehtzer cut me off and said shortly, "We do not use his name here."

"Well, then. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," I said.

"Perhaps, but the true question is: What does he want?" Sehtzer asked me. "How is he growing his power, and what are the vampires getting from this?"

He turned to me and said, "That is what I would like you to help me discover."

I nodded.

As Sehtzer led us to a small tent, he continued to speak. "In the meantime, we're also developing ways to help the villagers deal with the vampire's onslaught. I am acquainted with the Kaiuses, and they have helped me to discover a type of vaccine against vampire venom. The primary method is by creating a sort-of vaccine based on werewolf's blood."

"You know the Kaiuses?"

"Yes, although our cultures are quite different, we have long since been in touch, respectful of each other's achievements. As you can see, my people, who are a mix of magical blood and non-magical blood, often rely on Potions and Alchemy in lieu of spell-casting. It benefits us greatly to maintain a relationship with the Kaiuses. Of course, we keep them connected to agricultural developments, as well."

We had come to the tent.

"There is someone I would like you to meet," Sehtzer said. "He is the man who generously supplies us with werewolf blood in concocting a vaccine."

Sehtzer lifted the flap of the tent and motioned for me to go inside.

Even before I saw him, my feelings told me who was waiting for me.

"So we meet again, Miss."

"Mr. Riley."

He inclined his head towards me.

"You know each other," Sehtzer said, raising an eyebrow.

"We've crossed paths before, yes," Jasper replied easily.

"Not as enemies, I hope," Sehtzer said.

"No, as friends," I reassured him, with a light laugh to ease the tension.

Sehtzer nodded. He motioned for the three of us to sit at the table. Then, he unfurled a heavy roll of parchment before us.

"It's a map of the mountains," Sehtzer said. "I've drawn out every part of the Vampire's Cave that I can remember. Of course, the Vampire's Lair is far more intricate than what I've seen. It's also full of illusions."

"I remember," I said, recalling how difficulty it had been to gauge height and distance while running in the caves.

Sehtzer nodded. "What you haven't seen yet, Raylynx, is how dark the forest has become. The darkness is heavier and vaster than it has ever been before, which gives the Vampires a huge advantage. From what I can tell, sunlight cannot penetrate the darkness so far into the mountains, and so, no light reaches the caverns these days."

"Well, that certainly makes things difficult," I said, and sighed.

"Jasper has been developing camouflaging Potions that will not wear off by use of magic," Sehtzer explained. "Of course, it will still complicate things if we cannot see each other."

"But there is an even greater problem," Sehtzer said, and his expression turned grim. "We don't know what our aim is. We seek to find out more about the vampires, but we don't know what we hope to discover."

Jasper nodded and explained further to me, "It's simply too foolish a journey to venture into the caverns with no goal in mind other than to run into the thing we are trying to avoid- vampires, or worse, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"I know where we need to go," I said. "And we can get there without venturing into the Vampire's Lair."

Both men looked over at me.

"It's been haunting my dreams ever since I saw it- the withered black tree."

Sehtzer's eyes tightened. He knew what I spoke of. But he remained silent.

"A withered tree?" Jasper asked, furrowing his brow. "How will you find one tree in the entire forest?"

"It's in a clearing surrounded by the exits of the vampire caves," I explained, "And last I was here, it reeked of Dark Magic."

"I want to see if the traces of Dark Magic have grown stronger," I told them. "That may tell us how the vampires are gaining their strength."

Jasper sat back and looked over at Sehtzer. "It's certainly the best plan we've heard so far."

Sehtzer nodded. "Yes."

I looked over at him, wondering why he was suddenly so silent.

"Let us think on it," Sehtzer said. "You must be tired after your travels, Raylynx. You should rest."

He got up and slowly rolled up the map.

Then, he turned to us and said, "I would prefer it if the two of you stayed together in this tent, since the villagers are still wary of visitors. However, if it is inconvenient in any way, I will provide separate accommodations."

Jasper and I both paused.

Then, I shook my head. "I'm fine with that." I turned to Jasper and said uncertainly, "If you are?"

"Of course," Jasper replied graciously.

Sehtzer inclined his head towards us and said, "If either of you need anything, please alert me at once. Jasper knows where to find me."

With a swish of the tent flap, Sehtzer was gone.