Raylynx's POV

Jasper and I were both silent for a long moment.

Finally, I got up from the table. I meant to head for the cot at the far end of the tent that seemed unoccupied.

Jasper misinterpreted my movement and said, in a quick voice, "There's a fresh water spring in the back. They've built a stone bowl around the spring. You won't miss it."

"Thanks," I said immediately. Then, realizing that meant I had to go outside, I awkwardly turned and left the tent.

But the moment I left the tent, I found myself mesmerized.

Night had just begun to fall upon the village, and in the velvet blue dusk, the hanging lamps or floating garlands of flowers glowed beautifully, and fireflies flew around them, weaving in and out of the air in a strangely entrancing dance.

I made my way to the water spring at the back of the tent. Sure enough, it was surrounded by carefully constructed stone that seemed ordinary enough in the daylight, but glowed a faint blue come evening.

I washed my hands and face and cleaned up before heading back in.

Jasper was sitting at the table, carefully writing notes with a handsome eagle quill on his camouflage potion.

When I saw him sitting there, a million things flashed through my mind. But the last memory we had had together stung most. He had asked me to give him a chance to move on, by asking me to accept him, and I had refused him.

I wondered if I should speak to him or hold my tongue. I wavered a little at the doorway, but then made for the hanging cot. I started to untangle the thick ropes to open up the hanging cot, but the pattern was more confusing than I'd anticipated.

"Here." Jasper got up from the desk and approached me. He took the ropes from my hands and deftly untangled them so that the cot fell open. "I had the same struggle the first night. When Sehtzer came in the next morning, he found me straining to sleep on a very thin line of cloth."

I laughed and said, "Thank you."

He nodded and made to turn away, but I gently grasped his arm.

"How are you?" I asked. "It's been a while."

He paused and his eyes flickered down to my hand on his arm. I pulled my hand away, but I kept looking at him, hoping he would answer.

"I'm all right, Miss," he said, keeping his voice light, almost playful. "Though I must say, I didn't expect to see you again. Especially not like this."

"Yet, once again, I find you running with werewolves and vampires," he said, and his tone slipped from a light mood to a more teasing tone. "I happen to be a werewolf, so it makes sense for me to be here. But why do you keep finding your way into such missions?" Jasper asked me.

"Luck, I suppose," I said, and smiled. "How are the Kaiuses?"

"Alethea is beginning to feel the length of her years," Jasper said quietly. "But she is a brilliant and dignified woman, and I know that she is living life day by day as best as she can."

Sadness stirred in my heart. Alethea had certainly looked older when I'd last seen her, but then, she had seen many years pass before her now.

"I hope I can see her again soon," I said quietly. "I miss her. I miss the days of working together in the gardens, trying to find the right amount of lumeare for the Wolfsbane's Potion."

Jasper smiled softly, reliving the memories in his mind. "She loves the garden you gave her," he told me, "the garden of lumeare."

"She raised it into what it is. I simply found the plant," I said. "But if it brings her some measure of peace, then I couldn't be happier."

For a moment, I felt Jasper's eyes on me, and his gaze was warm.

"I'll let you sleep," Jasper said. "I'm sure you must be tired, after all of that travel."


The next morning, I woke up to sunlight filtering down in thin shafts from the spaces left between the wooden beams and the sturdy tent fabric. I sat up, then started when my cot wavered a little. I hastily steadied myself and got out more cautiously.

I saw that Jasper was still sleeping in his cot, and there were papers scattered over the table, and a small stone had been placed atop the stone container of black-red ink, made from crushed blackberries and coal, to keep it from drying out. He must have returned to his notes after I fell asleep.

I stepped out of the tent into the bright morning daylight. To my surprise, a floating flower was waiting for me. Its petals beckoned to me. I followed it and it led me down a ways until I came before a handsome-looking tent. The flower floated through the tent fabric. I waited outside, when the flap suddenly opened.

"Good. You've come." It was Sehtzer. He held open the tent flap for me and I walked through into a room covered with heavy rugs and with a strong, though not overwhelming, sense of incense wafting up in spirals towards the tent's highest point.

"You spoke of the withered tree," Sehtzer said.

"Yes."

"It has been in my dreams as well," Sehtzer told me. "Look." He pulled off his robe and took off his shirt and turned so that his back was towards me.

I gasped. "Sehtzer, your Runes…" The four Runes on his back had disappeared, consumed by black ink. The ink looked like it was spreading all over his back, and it took the shape of the withered black tree in the mountains.

"It's the tree," I said in awe.

"Yes."

"It's covering your Runes…"

"If it reaches the tattoos on my wrist, I will have failed to protect my people and will no longer be king," Sehtzer said solemnly.

"That won't happen, Sehtzer," I said, shaking my head. "We won't let it."

My eyes fell onto his back again, where the only remaining tattoo was the one of Pendragon.

"Why is the dragon unaffected?" I asked.

Sehtzer turned back to face me. "That's what I was going to ask you," he replied. "I assumed the King's Wand was sparing me, but as the wand's wielder, you would know best."

I shook my head. "I don't have it anymore."

He frowned. "What did you do with it?"

"I traded it," I said.

He blinked. "You traded the King's Wand? For what?"

"Information."

Shaking his head, he said, "What information could possibly be so important that you would trade the King's Wand for it?"

Just then, another floating flower entered the room. Sehtzer strode over to the tent flap and opened it

A moment later, Jasper entered.

"Morning, Raylynx," he greeted me.

"Good morning."

Sehtzer looked at me again and it was clear that he expected an answer to his question despite Jasper's arrival.

I sighed and replied, "I traded it for the location of Sirius Black, the night after Lily and James Potter died."

"Then, were you the one who apprehended Sirius Black?" Sehtzer asked me. "And your subsequent campaign to free him is borne out of guilt?"

I hesitated, caught off guard by Sehtzer's directness. I understood that he was a king and used to asking things straightforwardly and expecting straightforward answers, but the question he asked fazed me.

"No," Jasper answered softly, "the Ministry caught him."

Our eyes met for a second.

Sehtzer's brow furrowed, and I realized he was still thinking about the King's Wand. But I could give no answers, as I wasn't sure what Ollivander did with it, and regardless of what Olilvander did, I wasn't sure how the legendary magic of a dragon would work. I did recall what Mrs. Kaius had said to me though, the morning Snape and I had accompanied Nicolas Flamel back to England. She had said: "The Kaius family did not inherit merely the Sword; we also stand guard over the Forest where it appears. It has not reappeared since we gifted it to you. I believe it means that you still hold what power it gave you before."

Sehtzer turned to Jasper and asked, "Are the Camouflage Potions ready?"

"In theory, yes," Jasper said. "I finished the recipe yesterday."

"Have you the ingredients you need?" Sehtzer asked. "If not, please feel free to ask the villagers. I assure you that we do not have a shortage of Potions ingredients."

Jasper nodded. "I'll collect them straightaway, then," he said, and left the tent.

I turned to Sehtzer and asked, "Sehtzer, if your Runes are covered, does that mean that they no longer work?"

Sehtzer nodded. "I'm afraid so."

Then, he asked me, "What of your rune? The defensive rune I drew on your back."

"It's nearly gone," I said. "I can see a grey outline of the lotus and the rune, but that's all."

"I'll reinforce it before we leave for the tree," Sehtzer said. "Now, do you have any idea how we will find our way back to the tree?"

"I can trace it," I explained.

Sehtzer nodded. "Very well. Then, are you prepared to leave at dawn tomorrow, presuming Jasper's Potions are successful?"

"Yes."

"What do you know about the growing darkness, Sehtzer?" I asked. "When exactly did it begin to grow?"

"It grew exponentially about two years ago, and as I told you in the letter, it seemed as though there was both a shadow and sorcerer, and the darkness remained still for a year. Then, a month ago, the cloud covering the Vampires' Lair increased dramatically, in vastness and in darkness."

I nodded, for this confirmed what I had guessed- the increase of darkness correlated for Voldemort's presence here.

"Sehtzer, I'm going to lay some protective mechanisms at the boundary between the forest and the village. I assume they would not wander there anyways, but please give a warning to your people."

Sehtzer gave a curt nod. As I left him, I noticed what seemed to be a new Rune in the palm of Sehtzer's hand. I recognized the Rune immediately. It was a Fire Rune. I was curious as to why he had inscribed an elemental Rune on himself, but I decided not to question it at the moment. We were short on time.

I returned to the tent and sent Dumbledore a letter about Voldemort's presence in Albania, and then I went outside to the edge of the village, where the dark forest began.

I knelt down and brushed away some of the leaves with my hand. I touched the dirt, laying my palm flat against it. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then I drew out my wand and began to draw a Runic Circle, inscribing Fire Runes that would be triggered by movement coming from the forest and crossing the line towards the village. It was a variant of the Fire Runic Circle I had learned to draw to protect the Sorcerer's Stone.

"You always were good at those."

I looked up to see Jasper, holding Potions ingredients between his hip and arm.

"One of these fellows saved my life," he said.

I laughed. "You speak as though they were pets."

Jasper shrugged, smiling a little. "To someone as ignorant as I am, it might as well be a friendly rabbit."

I smiled.

Gazing out at the forest, Jasper asked me, "Do you really believe that You-Know-Who is behind the vampires' growing power?"

"I don't know for certain," I said truthfully. "It's just conjecture, on my part."

"You mentioned a withered tree," Jasper said. "How do you know about this tree?"

"I've been here before," I confirmed, answering the implied question.

Jasper nodded. He shifted his posture, hoisting the plants he was holding higher up against his torso. As he did, the opening in his robes deepened and I saw a flash of gold shine briefly on a chain around his neck. So, he still wore his wedding ring in memory of his previous wife.

I wanted to ask Jasper if he had managed to move on since we last spoke. I wanted to ask if he'd found someone now, and if he'd healed and rebuilt his life.

But I didn't know how to ask, and in truth, I was scared of the answer.

What if he had managed to catch up with the times? What if he had a wife, and a family, and was happy now?

In contrast to that, my stubbornness in refusing to accept reality, coupled with my newfound acceptance that Sirius was never truly coming back to me, stung with a sharp pain deep inside my chest, and a deep flood of embarrassment wanted to burst forth in my heart.

I therefore found myself unable to ask Jasper what I really wanted to know. Instead, I motioned to the ingredients piled up against him and asked him, "Do you need help bringing those back?"

Jasper shook his head. "Have you spoken to Sehtzer?" he asked me.

"Yes, Sehtzer means to leave tomorrow at daybreak," I told him.

"I figured," Jasper replied. "Well, I better get to work on this potion, then."

"I'll see you after I finish these Circles," I said.


After a few hours' work, I went back up to the village. I washed away the direct from my hands, arms, and face, and then entered the tent.

As soon as I stepped inside, I heard the bubbling sound of a potion heating in a cauldron and I could see spirals of smoke puffing from whatever concoction Jasper had made.

Not wanting to disturb Jasper, I quietly made my way to my cot and pulled it so that I could sit on it and watch him.

He gave no indication that he noticed me until he finally poured the Potion into ten separate vials and capped all except one.

"Wish me luck," he said, picking it up and putting it to his mouth.

I watched him anxiously as he drank it.

Then, he slowly began to fade out of existence.

"Jasper!" I said, jumping up from my cot.

There was nothing but silence, and Jasper's body was completely gone.

"Jasper?" I said worriedly. "Jasper?"

Suddenly, I felt two arms grab me from behind.

I shouted and pitched forward, but he held me there, laughing.

"Fantastic!" he said, carefully letting me go. "It's worked better than I dared to hope."

Jasper only appeared about fifteen minutes later, sitting at the table, with one leg crossed over the other.

I hurried over to him and touched his shoulder, to make sure he was solid.

Jasper looked up at me, surprised. Of course, he had felt no different than just a moment ago. But I felt a wave of relief wash over me when he reacted to my touch.

He saw my eyes clear and my brow relax.

"You don't need to worry about me, darling," Jasper said. "I'm fine. You just couldn't see me for a little while."

"I know," I replied. I started to move my hand away, but he suddenly grasped my hand in his.

My heart leapt into my throat as he held my hand in his for a moment before letting go.

For a moment, neither of us said anything.

Then, he said, "I should tell Sehtzer the good news. Would you care to come with me?"

I nodded, and we left together for Sehtzer's tent.


"Excellent work," Sehtzer said, when Jasper told him that the Camouflage Potion was successful.

"It was thanks to your people's knowledge of plants," Jasper replied. "It would have taken me months to solve the issue of interactive ingredients without their help."

Sehtzer inclined his head, accepting the compliment. "We will leave at dawn. And Raylynx, please stay behind- I must re-draw your Rune."

Jasper left the tent and I stripped off my shirt and sat with my back facing Sehtzer.

"It may sting," Sehtzer said. "Drawing a new Rune is painless, but reviving an old one is uncomfortable. However, the Rune will keep its memories and protect you better for it."

I nodded.


Sehtzer was right. When I returned to Jasper's tent, it felt like my back was burning slightly.

As we had an early start tomorrow, Jasper and I tried to sleep immediately after dinner. But I tossed and turned in my cot. I thought I was being discreet, but Jasper's voice, slightly tired, sounded out from his cot.

"Are you all right over there?"

Embarrassed, I whispered, "Yes, sorry." I tried to lay still.

A moment later, Jasper sighed and said, "To be honest, it's a bit too early for me to fall asleep, too."

I heard him get up from his cot and I sat up in mine.

Jasper pulled a robe around himself and held mine up and offered it to me.

I got up and took it from him. "Where are we going?" I asked.

"Just outside our front door," he said, smiling. He held open the tent flap for me, and I stepped through.

Once again, the beauty of the lush green falling into darkness and the magnificence of a village, illuminated by its own magical lights in this sultry dusk took my breath away.

Jasper joined me and sat down on the thin slab of stone placed in front of our tent.

"It's a brilliant sight, isn't it?" he said.

"Yes," I replied, "it's as though magic rises from the earth the same as water and trees."

Jasper smiled and responded, "Despite our shared penchant for running straight into danger, I think that we are more likely to appreciate peace than the average person."

"I imagine anyone who went through a war appreciates peace," I said.

"Yes, but you fought in the war," Jasper countered, in a gentle voice. Then, in a thoughtful tone, he said, "I'd have thought you would crave a peaceful life by now."

"I do," I said truthfully. "But you and I both know that the peace is thin and ready to shatter. Why else would we be here?"

Jasper nodded slowly, accepting my answer.

"Jasper, I know you came here because of Alethea. But what about the Ministry?"

Jasper's eyes darkened, and he looked away from me before replying, "Umbridge discovered that I was a werewolf," he replied. "When Gregory stood up for me, she sacked him, too, for assigning me missions unofficially." His jaw became taut with anger.

It took me a moment to form a response as a flash of anger passed through me as well. Umbridge, that unforgivable hag.

"I'm sorry," I finally said.

"Don't be," Jasper replied. "I knew the day was coming."

I paused, taken aback by how calm he was. But this was Jasper- always gentlemanly, always rational.

"You always were so accepting of change," I said. "I've always admired that about you, but I'm not sure how you do it."

Jasper sighed quietly. "You shouldn't admire it. It hasn't done me much good."

In a cautious voice, I said, "The last time we spoke, you and I had decided to go our separate ways. You were wiser and chose to move forward with your life."

"Yes. I tried to," Jasper said, but then he slowly shook his head and continued, "But life, it seems, wishes for me to stay where I am."

I looked at him, a little confused.

"And how did choosing to believe in the past work out for you?" Jasper asked.

I shook my head and said, "As you see."

"I saw the article on your handiwork at the Ministry last Christmas," Jasper said. "I've never seen someone with so much grit. I'd have thought you'd given up by now."

I faltered a little at this.

He noticed immediately. "Raylynx?" he asked.

"I… I have," I said finally. "That is to say, I'll never stop fighting for Sirius. But I don't believe he'll come back anymore."

Jasper seemed surprised, but then his eyes flooded with sympathy. He then confessed, "Despite what I said to you when we last parted, I haven't moved on. I tried to re-start my life and to believe that things would start to fall into place again, but it's hard to get back time that's already gone by. And now- six years since we parted, and for all of my talk, I've not gotten a step further to actually living my life."

"But you tried," I said. "Perhaps you have changed. You just don't see it yet."

Jasper's expression was more than a little skeptical.

"I have seen it," I told him. "I've seen it in my siblings. My sister went from being a Wizengamot member to losing her magic altogether when my parents were murdered to now slowly getting her life back. She just passed her first piece of legislation to protect Muggle-borns. My brother was an incredible Quidditch player, but he was targeted by Death Eaters and couldn't walk after he was attacked. But he trained for years, and he's back on the Quidditch Pitch again, playing as the most successful player despite his age."

Jasper's expression softened into a gentle smile. "So you've seen proof of miracles," he said, and there was a sadness in his voice. "I haven't witnessed it yet. Since my wife passed, I have only seen those around me suffer slowly and quietly. More than once, people suffered to protect me."

It was the first time Jasper had ever mentioned his wife to me.

"But," Jasper continued, meeting my eyes, "if you say that there's a chance for true progress, then I'll believe it."

Jasper was gracious- whether he truly believed in what I said or not, he spoke to confirm my experiences, and to reinforce my hopes, even though his experiences had been vastly different.

"Thank you," I said, "for your kindness. I thought that perhaps, given how we parted, you would be unhappy to see me."

"Not at all," Jasper said. "I've thought about you often since, and I hoped that our paths would cross again someday."

"So did I, but I didn't think they would," I replied. "Because you had chosen to move on, and I knew you were right."

"Well, now I think that you were," Jasper said, "So, could we meet halfway?"

I tried to smile back at him, but my smile was uncertain.

"That expression of yours," Jasper said, now amused, "hasn't changed, though."

He was, of course, referring to all the times I hadn't been able to make up my mind about wanting to go on a date with him or not. I subtly tried to change the flow of conversation.

"I didn't sleep very well the night before our mission, either," I admitted to Jasper, referring to our mission together in Albania as Ministry spies.

"You were a good partner," Jasper said, remembering. "I'm not sure anyone else could have gotten us out of that traitor's hideout."

"We're lucky to be here," I agreed.

"I never thought I'd see you again, much less in Albania again," Jasper said, looking out at the beautiful expanse of glowing lights before us.

We fell into silence for a moment.

The indigo dusk had deepened into true night.

"We should sleep," he said.

"Yes," I agreed. Thankfully, I managed to actually fall asleep, despite the re-traced Rune on my back, the fears of what tomorrow might bring, and my uncertain heart whispering for me to move on with my life, despite the fact that I still believed and still loved Sirius.