Raylynx's POV
When I went to Remus' flat, I saw the eviction notice plastered to his front door.
I frowned. Raising my hand, I rapped my knuckles against his door. I heard him shifting, but the door didn't open.
"Remus," I called out.
The door remained shut.
"Remus, please?"
I heard a shuffle of feet, a deep sigh, and then Remus opened the door. He looked exhausted.
"Can I come in?" I asked politely.
"Will you stop saying my name outside my door if I let you in?" he replied, raising his eyebrow at me.
"Well, yes," I said, and stepped inside. "But I'll just say your name inside the door then, Remus."
Remus sighed at me, and shook his head at me. He was thinking about what a relief it was that Raylynx didn't pair up with Sirius and James until after Hogwarts, because Raylynx was the queen of finding loopholes. It was a good thing that she was a calm person. Had she inherited Sirius' or James' violent energy, she would have been positively malicious. But Remus didn't say any of this aloud. He fell back onto his bed and hugged his pillow to himself. Normally, he wouldn't allow himself to be so relaxed with company around, but he was so tired and besides, it was Raylynx. Surely, she wouldn't mind... He closed his eyes.
"What's going on?" I asked him. "Why is there an eviction sign on your door? I can't imagine you're throwing wild parties in here every night, or else I'll be sorely disappointed that you didn't invite me."
"It's of the same nature," Remus replied, his eyes still closed. "A noise complaint."
"Really?" I said. "Were you housing a jazz party in here? Throwing some funky moves? I know you've got that shimmy down, Remus. You can't fool me."
"If only," Remus said. "She said she heard me... howling." His eyes flashed open and I saw the old ghost appear in his eyes.
"She didn't see you, though, did she?" I asked, afraid of his answer.
To my relief, he shook his head.
"Why were you in here the night of the full moon, anyways?" I asked, confused. "Don't you normally go to the forest to transform?"
"Yes, but the rent here is rising. Some wealthy conglomerate wants to buy this land and destroy the apartment, so the landlord's been raising rent," Remus explained. "I've been working jobs overtime. That night, I took the Wolfsbane Potion, but I fell asleep before I could transform and I ended up transforming in here. She must have heard me as I was shifting."
He buried his face against his pillow. "She reported me for having an illegal pet in here, and accused me of animal cruelty."
"Isn't it ironic?" he asked me, but I could tell by the tone of his voice that he wasn't laughing. "Animal cruelty."
"Well, why don't you tell her that it was a dog that you were pet-sitting for one night?" I replied.
"A dog?" Remus repeated, lifting his head to look at me.
"Or a mad rabbit," I said, remembering what James used to say.
"I don't think a rabbit howls like that, Raylynx," Remus said weakly.
"Or if you prefer, just say you were making some fantastic love to a woman," I suggested, joking.
Remus blushed a deep red and muttered, "My neighbor knows damn well that I'm not seeing anyone."
He shook his head and, to prevent me from throwing out any more suggestions, quickly said, "Anyways, the eviction doesn't matter. This building will be gone soon, ripped up by the city."
"I can't afford another place," he said, pained.
"You can always come and live with me, Remus."
Remus avoided my gaze, looking down at his pillow. I understood, though. Remus wanted to be independent. He was tired of having to rely on others.
I sat on the edge of his narrow bed and gently put my hand on his shoulder.
"We'll figure something out," I promised. "Some way you don't have to stay with me."
"It's not that I don't appreciate it-" Remus started, but I said, "You don't have to explain, Remus. I know what it's like, wanting to be strong on your own."
I got up and said, "Go back to sleep, Remus. I'm sorry I bothered you."
I pulled the covers up over him and closed the door behind me, and after a quick glimpse in the hallway, magically locked it behind me.
As it was, an opportunity presented itself shortly thereafter.
McGonagall invited me to her summer home. I was a little surprised by her invitation, but I was never one to turn Minerva McGonagall down, so I accepted.
As she waved her wand to pour us tea, she told me, "Albus is worried about you."
Ah, Dumbledore asked her to check up on me.
I looked away in discomfort. I knew she was studying my expression, so I tried to appear neutral, but I knew that my face was conveying anything but neutrality.
"Why is Professor Dumbledore worried about me?" I said, a little bitterly.
"He knows that it bothers you that you have to keep your distance from Harry," McGonagall replied. "But if I'm to be honest, I must say that I agree with the Headmaster on this point. The last thing the boy needs is more pressure."
"And the first thing the boy needs is protection," I retorted. "And I can give it to him. I just need to be closer to him. He has to know that he can trust me, and come to me for help."
"You must know that what happened with the Chamber of Secrets was not your fault. None of us were dreamed that Harry and Ron would go down themselves," McGonagall said, pushing the tea cup towards me.
"None of us?" I repeated. Dumbledore had guessed, and so I had, except I had realized it too late.
"If any of us had any idea of what a difficult year that would be, we would have hired a proficient Defense Against the Dark Professor, at the very least," McGonagall said disdainfully as she thought back to Lockhart.
"How is Gilderoy Lockhart?" I asked.
"Well, we don't expect he will get his Memory back," McGonagall answered tartly. "It is truly horrific, but knowing that he has purposefully done the same to many other witches and wizards, you do wonder if he got what was coming to him."
"Professor," I chided her.
"As it is, Professor Dumbledore is once again in the difficult position of procuring a Defense Against the Dark Arts position," McGonagall said. "The other Professors have begged him to find a competent Professor this time around, and it's been a real pain."
"Is the position still open?' I asked, an idea slowly coming to mind.
"I believe so," McGonagall said. She looked over at me and asked, "Have you someone in mind?"
"Yes, I do," I said. "He'll be more than proficient."
"Who are you speaking of?"
"Remus Lupin."
Once I had gotten Dumbledore's approval, I went back to Remus.
His jaw dropped when I told him what the position is.
"I'm not sure I'll be up to the task," he said nervously.
I snorted. "We had Quirrell and Lockhart. You will far exceed expectations."
He still looked worried, so I continued, "You'd exceed expectations, anyways. You were the best in our year at Defense Against the Dark Arts, and that's saying a lot, that is, when we had Lily and Dorcas."
Remus just looked at me in amazement. "Me, a Hogwarts Professor?" he said in disbelief. "Me, teaching?"
"If you'll take it," I said. "But I have to warn you, Remus, the job's surely cursed. No one's been able to stay in the position."
"A cursed job is the least of my worries," he assured me. The corner of his mouth tugged up and he said, "In fact, I think it rather suits me."
"It's be wonderful to have you at Hogwarts, Remus. Now you can take the seat by Severus instead of me," I said, beaming.
Remus looked up at me, amused and perplexed. "I thought you would be excited at the prospect of us having lunch together, but here you are, plotting as to how best to use me."
"Well, I'll be sitting on your other side, of course," I replied, and Remus' amused smirk softened into a genuine smile.
Meanwhile, outside of Hogwarts, life was still going on. My brother was getting married to Amy Bishop, and I was still going strong with Jasper.
"Do you, James Edward Kingsley, take Amy Bishop, as your wife?"
"I do."
"And do you, Amy Bishop, take James Edward Kingsley, as your husband?"
"I do."
"You may kiss the bride."
Standing with the bridesmaids, I smiled and cheered with everyone else as Jamie took Amy in his arms and kissed her passionately. Sola gripped my arm tightly beside me. I looked over into the crowd to see Jasper in the audience. He caught my eye and threw me a wink.
Later, at the reception, I went and found him sitting at one of the tables. He was chatting easily with a rather old lady who seemed very confused. Amy had been an orphan, and so none of her family members came. Jamie and Amy had managed to track down a possible relative, a possible great-aunt, to be specific, and so they had invited her. Nobody quite knew how to speak with her, but Jasper made it seem like there was nothing more natural than to have a long, flowing conversation with her.
When he saw me, he smiled and excused himself to come and talk to me.
"How do you find it so easy to speak with strangers?" I wondered.
"It's a learned trait," he promised me. He touched the ring on his hand, but I didn't notice.
"My brother wishes to meet you," I said. "Would you mind very much…?"
"Of course not," Jasper said. "I've been wanting to meet him properly for a while now." He put his hand on the small of my back as he walked with me towards my brother and his now wife.
As Jasper and I approached them, Jamie looked at Jasper with a pleased, if not surprised, smile. Jasper was as eloquent and charming as ever in his introduction, congratulating my brother and Amy and thanking them for allowing me to bring him along as my guest. He casually mentioned a few things about Amy's great-aunt that he had picked up during their conversation, and Amy seemed relieved to have a few conversation starters in her back pocket. Then, Jamie was dragged away by our uncle.
The music started and Jasper asked me if I wanted to dance. I nodded, and I reached out my hands from a few steps back, as I expected him to hold me formally. After all, he had been raised as a pure-blood and was sure to be proficient at dancing. But he stepped close enough to wrap his arms around me. I was a little surprised when he held me so tightly. I looked up at him.
"Humor me," he said, smiling at me. "I've missed you, Raylynx."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "We've seen each other quite a few times since summer vacation started."
"Yes," he agreed. "But they've all been somewhat formal events."
He was right. Since summer break had begun, I'd met with him again, but his uncle was also there, as he wished to meet the lady whom he was carving all of these wood charms for. His uncle was around quite a bit, as they had to go over all of their findings together and put together a proposition for the discovery of a new animal. As it was all top secret, I wasn't allowed to be around when they were discussing detailed things, and so, I often stayed at a distance from them, even if we were in the same house.
Then, Jasper and I had gone together to Sola's daughter, Emily's, birthday party together.
Following that, Jasper, Remus, and I had gone together to another of Jamie's Quidditch games. Though it was a lot of fun, I once again felt awkward interacting physically with Jasper in front of Remus. Jasper didn't seem to notice and would, as usual, often pull me closer to him or plant kisses on my cheek or forehead. Remus and I were determined not to look at each other, and I felt quite guilty towards Jasper for feeling so embarrassed, but it couldn't be helped.
Finally, Jasper and I had come to tonight's wedding between Jamie and Amy. It was a lovely event, but Jasper was right when he said that we hadn't spent time together, just the two of us, for a very, very long time.
And then there was the fact that I often snuck away to Grimmauld Place.
The reason I went was, of course, to test on the Horcrux. It had been a real pain to wrest the locket back from Kreacher. He'd kept it safe all of these years, but he'd also gone mad, constantly slaving away under Walburga Black's orders and hearing her screaming about blood traitors and Mudbloods. Kreacher didn't seem to remember me. Of course, he'd never really taken to me in the first place, but he seemed to forget me completely. And when I finally managed to win the locket back from Kreacher's clutches, he'd howled so pitifully. So, after I finished testing it on a given day, I'd reluctantly given it back to him. He had, after all, kept it safe for all of these years. Over time, Kreacher seemed to trust me more, remembering me little by little, and handing over the locket when I appeared.
"But what is the Mudblood girl doing to it, to Master Regulus' locket?" he hissed, leering at me as he held out the locket to me.
"I'm going to destroy the evil without destroying the locket," I replied. I had originally planned to just destroy the locket outright, which is why I had taken the basilisk fang from the Chamber. But now, my plan had changed. I couldn't simply destroy it. Since that awful day when I'd realize that Harry was, in fact, a Horcrux, I'd thought of nothing else except whether it was possible or not to sever the piece of soul from its container. By all accounts, this was impossible. Every piece of literature (and there wasn't that much) that spoke of Horcruxes clearly stated that a Horcrux could only be destroyed if the container that it was in was destroyed beyond repair. This aligned perfectly with Harry's encounter with the diary. He had stabbed it with a basilisk fang, which carried deadly poison.
I knew that I was asking for the impossible, but I had made up my mind that whatever Dumbledore's plan, Harry was not going to die. I simply could not accept that Harry had to die for Voldemort to die. I could not accept the fact that I had to knowingly lose another loved one. Dumbledore had been right, when he'd uttered those painful words to me: To you, that boy is nothing short of an opportunity for redemption.
However, between the countless hours I spent at Grimmauld Place and the countless hours Jasper spent with his uncle, Godfrey, putting together the evidence of this new magical creature that should be introduced into the Ministry archives and announced to the rest of the world, Jasper and I hardly saw each other except at these formal moments.
"What about you and I go on a trip?" I asked.
"Hm," he said thoughtfully, "that sounds rather enjoyable. Where would we go to?"
"Germany, and then Poland," I said readily.
Jasper looked at me curiously. "It sounds like you have specific destinations in mind."
"Yes," I said, and smiled. "It's for business, but I was hoping you would come with me. But only if you want to, of course."
"Of course," he replied. "You know, it's been almost a year since we decided to be together, and we haven't seen nearly enough of each other, what with my running all over the globe with my uncle and your frightful year at Hogwarts."
"And to be honest," he said, and he spoke carefully and looked at me a bit cautiously, "you haven't been yourself since summer vacation started. I understand how your experiences at Hogwarts this past year might have affected you very deeply, but I noticed that you've been a bit depressed. I didn't have a chance to speak with you about it before, and I apologize for bringing it up in the middle of our dance, but I have to speak my mind because I'm worried about you. I've been worried about you."
"Something is wrong, isn't it?" Jasper said.
Until all of the Horcruxes are gone, we cannot defeat Voldemort. And Harry is a Horcrux. And despite all of my hours testing the locket, I haven't been remotely successful in being to think of a way to separate the soul from the object, once the Horcrux is made.
I tried to smile and to brush off his remarks with a shrug, but all I accomplished was having the thin strap of my bridesmaid dress slip off of my shoulder a little. Jasper gently caught it and slid it back into place. His fingers lingered on my bare shoulder for a moment, and I shivered slightly. His eyes were warm and gentle, and I found myself leaning closer to him. Just as our lips were about to touch, someone nearby us coughed.
Jasper glanced over my shoulder, half-frustrated and half-amused. "Let's take that trip," Jasper murmured in my ear. "Whatever you've planned, it doesn't matter as long as I have you to myself."
I drew back slightly and looked up at him. I smiled mischievously and raised my eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?" I asked.
His brow furrowed for a moment, and then he said, "For goodness' sake, Raylynx, what manner of thing do you have planned?"
"Duck!" I shouted.
Jasper quickly dropped behind the tower of rocks he had just peered out from. A massive fireball erupted from the darkness of the cave and shoot towards him, scorching the rocks and turning the dark grey stone into flaming red stones.
I took the opportunity to race down the hill towards the cave.
"Raylynx!" Jasper shouted at me.
"Stay there!" I yelled back. "I've got to do this on my own."
"This is madness!"
"Don't come in after me," I warned. I took a deep breath and I conjured as strong a water shield as I was capable of producing. Then, I walked straight into the cave.
Sure enough, a blast of hot fire hit me immediately.
I winced. I was not going to hold on for a very long time against dragon fire.
"Pendragon sent me!" I managed to yell. "I'm here to help you."
The dragon hesitated, her great fiery frame trembling all over with powerful physical and magical energy.
"You're a firedrake, aren't you?" I said wonderingly, trying to stare through the smoke at the dragon, but also readying my wand to put up another shield. "When King Charlemange revived the Western Roman Empire in Britain, he chose the dragon, or wyvern, as the symbol. It was because of you, wasn't it? Because you aided him…"
I fell silent as I saw an enormous shadow begin to creep out from the dark depths of the cave. Then, I saw her. Unlike Pendragon's red leathery skin or the sea serpent's white-blue scales, the firedrake had a black hide, but it was literally alike. The dragon itself burned, and great plumes of smoke flowed out of its nostrils and jaws.
"What do you want from me, human?" she growled.
"I know what bothers you!" I said, trying not to show the fear I felt as I gazed up at this magnificent creature. "I know what hunts you. The sword of King Charlemange."
The dragon snorted and a great plume of smoke barreled towards me. I raised my robe to cover my nose and mouth, but my eyes stung, and I still coughed.
"It has appeared in your lair, hasn't it? Let me help you. I can put it back into it's rightful spot," I offered.
"I do not trust you. You are lying to steal my treasure!" the dragon roared.
I hurriedly put up another water shield as a fresh wave of flame crashed over me. I flicked my wand to the side, and the shield fell sideways, taking the fire down with it.
"I swear to you that I have only come for the sword! I promise, in the name of my protector, Pendragon, that I have only come for the sword."
The firedrake hissed, and a thin stream of flame narrowly missed me.
Finally, the firedrake said, "Fine. It is in my tail."
I frowned. "What?"
"It is lodged in my tail."
"Did you… sit on it?" I wondered.
The dragon roared and I covered my ears, for the sound was so loud that I forgot I was at great risk of having my front burnt off.
In a huff, the dragon explained, "A mysterious traveler came and stabbed me in my sleep. It was a lady with flowing silver hair."
Could it be the Queen of Sirens? Is she trying to sabotage my plan, and Pendragon's desires?
"I can take it out. Just stay still," I said.
I carefully stepped my way around this massive dragon, taking care not to let the flame smoldering on its skin touch me. Its tail flickered when I approached her, and I winced as a fresh burn seared across my shoulder.
Outside of the cave, I could hear Jasper shouting my name. I knew I had to hurry, or else he would come in after me. I reached forward, grasped the sword in the dragon's tail, and pulled as hard as I could. The dragon let out a loud bellow and instinctively swung its tail. I felt the sword slide out of the dragon's flesh and suddenly, I was flying through the air. I missed the wall by an inch, and flew backwards out of the cave's opening.
"Arresto momentum!" Jasper yelled, as he saw me unceremoniously hurled out of the cave. I stopped just before I hit the rocky ground and fell gently.
Jasper raced down towards me and helped me up.
"Let's get out of here," I said, quite winded.
The dragon roared, reverting back to its highly territorial nature. I knew that the longer we were there, the more suspicious it would become about some underhanded plot to steal its mountains of treasure.
Jasper and I made our way behind some boulders.
"What are you holding?" Jasper asked me, staring down at the sword.
"We've got to get out of here," I repeated. "Hold onto me now."
I stowed the sword away into my cloak and held out my hand. He grasped it and I Apparated us out of there.
We landed at the bottom of a quiet hill. Above us, the remains of an old castle loomed down on us.
"Where are we?" Jasper asked, looking amazed.
"The old castle of King Charlemange," I answered. "Come with me." I took his hand and we made our way up the hill together.
It took a while for all of the tourists to leave. Jasper was very puzzled, but he didn't say anything as I held him close to me and waited for the crowds to disappear.
As evening faded into sundown, a soft mist began to rain down on us. Even though I had my own cloak, Jasper wrapped his around me and kept me close to him. Finally, it was quiet.
"Will you keep watch for me?" I whispered.
Jasper nodded.
I stepped out into the center of the castle yard. There was that glass cabinet on the old rock. I peered down to see the inscription "Joyeuse: King Charlemange's Sword". So, they had replaced it with a fake rather than admit the loss of such an important historical artifact. I pressed my hands against the glass and focused all of my energy on getting the real sword through the glass. I felt a golden glimmer deep within my chest spread to my fingers, and then, when I opened my eyes, I saw that the real sword had made it through the glass. For a moment, it sat atop the fake sword, before it slowly sank down to replace it. I breathed out a sigh of relief.
"Raylynx," Jasper called softly.
I looked back to see the Muggle security guard coming up towards us. He shouted at us in German. I looked at Jasper, nonplussed.
"He's suggesting that we leave," Jasper said.
"You speak German?" I said, cocking my head to the side to look at him.
"A bit. Now, come on, let's go."
The security guard yelled again.
"Are you sure he's suggesting?" I said.
"Er- that may be putting it kindly," Jasper replied.
We quickly trotted our way down the hill. The security guard closed the gate after us, muttering to himself.
Then, Jasper stopped in his tracks. He whirled around so suddenly that I nearly ran into him. He swiftly step sided me and walked up to the security guard. I heard him mutter something.
The security guard seemed taken aback. But a moment later, he looked at me and gruntled something that seemed apologetic.
Jasper stepped away and took my arm and holding me tight to him, we walked away.
"What was that about?" I asked.
"He called you something not so nice, and I wouldn't have it," Jasper muttered.
I gazed at him, thoroughly charmed with his gentleman-like protection of my dignity (even though, due to my ignorance with the German language, I hadn't even known my dignity was being threatened whatsoever).
"Shall we stay at an inn?" Jasper asked me.
I nodded. "There's one at the very bottom of this road. We can stay the night there."
"And tomorrow, we're off to Poland to see Alethea," Jasper stated.
"Yes."
We reached the inn quickly, and we paid for a room. Jasper and I took separate showers. I felt myself starting to drift off as I waited for him to finish showering so I could go in and dry my hair. I nodded off slightly in the chair. Then, I heard the bathroom door open, and Jasper walked out in a fresh shirt and comfortable pants. He was rubbing his hair dry with a towel.
"Asleep?" he said knowingly.
"No," I said, and then yawned loudly despite myself.
Jasper smiled. "Hurry and dry your hair."
"I think I'll let it dry on it's own," I mumbled, and tripped forward, transferring myself from the chair onto the bed.
Jasper sat beside me on the bed. "Any chance you can explain what we're doing?" he asked me. "I don't mind running around with you on secret adventures all day, but the lack of explanation makes me uptight."
"I can't explain it to you, Jasper," I replied regretfully. "I'm sorry. I know it's frustrating."
"Because you don't trust me?"
"No, because I physically can't tell you," I said, looking up at him.
Jasper looked down at me and raised his eyebrow. "Raylynx, what in the world were you doing before you met me? You're involved in some truly clandestine affairs."
"Not by choice, I promise you," I said sourly.
"And yet, here we are," he teased me.
I sat up and looked directly into his eyes. "I'm sorry, Jasper. I was hoping that would be more of a fun adventure for you- to see dragons and all, but I realize that it's just frustrating for you."
"No, I do genuinely enjoy the dragons and mission bit," Jasper said. "I miss being on missions for the Ministry. I wager that being an undercover agent rather suited me."
"It did," I agreed.
"I simply don't understand what you were caught up in," Jasper said again. "What could possibly physically forbid you from speaking about something?"
"I don't know exactly myself. Old magic?" I guessed.
Jasper sighed and leaned back against the headrest. "Well," he said, "if anyone were to find out how to access old magic, it would be you."
"What is that supposed to mean?" I asked, peering into his face. "Are you saying I use magic like an old lady?"
Jasper smiled a little. "It's a compliment, darling. You use magic in a different way than I normally see. Runic Circles and all that. It's not a surprise to me if you managed to unlock a different kind of magic altogether."
I shook my head. "I think you overestimate me. It's not my magic. I'm just bound by it."
"And what goes it give you? What do you gain from it?" Jasper asked me seriously.
"Power," I replied softly.
"Power," he repeated. "But not to kill."
I frowned slightly. "How do you know that?"
"Because I saw you," Jasper replied. "I saw you standing in the middle of the collapsed columns, with your wand pointed straight at Bellatrix Lestrange…"
My chest tightened just hearing him say those words.
"And you didn't kill her," he said softly. "You had every opportunity and every reason to kill her and you refused to."
"Don't remind me," I said bitterly, turning away from him. "I don't need you to remind me how much of a coward I am."
"Cowardice? You think that's cowardice?" Jasper asked me.
"Of course it is. I wanted to kill her, but I couldn't," I said, staring down miserably at my hands. "Something held me back."
"That something is what made me respect you and admire you," Jasper confessed. "You could have all the power in the world, and you'd still be concerned about whether you were using it the right way."
I turned my head, looking over my shoulder back at him. "You don't believe that," I said softly.
He leaned forward and said, "I do."
Then, our lips touched. It was a long kiss, and soft, as it always was with Jasper.
We broke apart, and he gave me a shy, almost hesitating smile. I closed my eyes as he gently kissed my forehead and cheeks and then my eyelids. I loved the feeling, as though a butterfly had landed on my eyes, but my eyelids were so heavy, and I was so exhausted.
I heard Jasper laugh lightly, a little exasperated. "If you fall asleep when I'm kissing you, what does that say about me?" he teased, gently pulling me into his arms and tugging the covers over us. "Do I kiss like an old man?" he mused.
I smiled, and I opened my eyes one last time to see him, once again with his hair soft and just starting to dry into its natural state. I realized the last time I'd slept by him was when we had been together in the tent in the Albanian village. I managed to lift my hand and place it over his heart and the soft rhythm of his heartbeat helped me to fall asleep.
The next day, we hastened to the Kaius household.
"Welcome," Abe said, bowing at the front door. "Lady Kaius is here, as is the young lord and lady."
In a gentle voice, Jasper asked Abe, "How is she, Abe?"
"Lady Kaius is not well," Abe, the butler, informed us. He looked grave. "She is currently in bed, as she finds it difficult to walk for too long."
I felt heartbroken at the news, and I could see Jasper's shoulders slump down.
Jared and Alexia stepped out of Mrs. Kaius' room to greet us.
"She just fell asleep," Jared said, as Alexia hugged me.
Jasper nodded. "All right, we'll have to greet her later, then."
Jasper put his hand on Jared's shoulder and looked into his face. "Are you all right, Jared?"
Jared looked down, and I could see his eyes fill with tears. But he took a deep breath and nodded. "I'm all right. Thank you, Jasper."
"Raylynx, how are you?" Alexia asked me. "It's been a while since we saw you. Jasper told us last time you were that you're now a Hogwarts Professor."
"Yes, I teach Ancient Runes," I said. "That's why I wasn't able to come over last time. I wish I had."
"Don't worry," Jared replied warmly. "She'll be up tomorrow morning."
Abe stepped up behind us and said politely, "There's two rooms ready for you, Mr. Riley and Ms. Kingsley. It's on the third floor of the Phoenix Wing."
"Thank you very much," Jasper said. "We can find our way, I'm sure."
Jasper turned back to Jared and Alexia, but I followed Abe out and called his name softly. "Abe, may I talk to you for a second?"
Abe turned around. "Of course, miss. How may I be of help?"
"I was wondering if you were familiar with any tales of dragons or serpents nearby," I said.
Abe looked at me curiously. "I'm not familiar with any such tales, no, at least not in this area."
"Nothing?" I said, frowning.
"Well, no tales of any legendary dragons or such, no. You would have to travel to the next mountain range," Abe said. "But Lady Kaius has made something of a pet of a silver serpent that has waded into the lakes extending from the garden house."
I raised my eyebrows. "Where?" I asked. "Which garden house?"
Abe smiled. "The garden house with the lumeare, of course."
That night, after Jasper had fallen asleep (he'd come over to my room despite Abe giving us individual rooms), I slipped out of bed and exited the house. I headed towards the row of greenhouses and slipped inside the house of lumeare. Again, I was struck by the astounding beauty of the glowing white plants and the dancing fireflies.
But I noticed something that I had not noticed before, and that was that the path through the lumeare stretched beyond the softly swaying flowers. I gripped my wand and followed the path into the darkness. I gasped softly when I realized that the greenhouse housed the shores of a small pool, and its glass exterior had been magically enchanted to build a fourth wall and actually stopped just as it met the water, therefore connecting the pool to the greater lake beyond.
I stepped off the path and onto the shores. Then, I bent down and cautiously touched the surface of the water. For a moment, there was only stillness, but then the surface of the water seemed to shiver ever so slightly. I immediately stepped back and raised my wand. A soft cry, which sounded like a mix between a hiss and a bark sounded out. A shimmering silver animal, which seemed to be a cross between a whiskered serpent and a kelpie water spirit broke the surface of the water. I slowly bent down again and sitting on the shore, I reached out my hand.
"Do you recognize me?" I wondered aloud. "Can you sense Pendragon's magic in me?"
The serpent nodded its head.
"I'm come for the Sword of Damocles," I said. "I wish to put it back in its rightful place."
The serpent rose into the water and circled my hand without ever touching it, and then dropped back into the water with a small splash.
I gasped softly as the sword appeared in my hand, shimmering in the moonlight.
The serpent gazed up at me from the waters with knowing eyes, and hissed, "Beware the witch." Then, with a bright flash of scales, it turned back into the deep waters. I saw a glimmer of silver in the dark waters as it whisked itself out of the greenhouse waters and into the deeper lake waters beyond.
How is Pendragon's magic still with me when I gave up the King's Wand? And what is the enchantress up to now?
Early the next morning, before even Abe was up, I stepped out into the fog and made my way into the forest that lay just before the house. I pointed my wand at the ground and another silver line appeared, but this time I wasn't tracing Dark Magic, but Old Magic. The line led me to a clearing that opened up suddenly. There was a magnificent stone in the center, with an ancient Rune hewed into its center. I walked towards it and slowly drew out the sword from my cloak.
Suddenly, I heard the sound of hooves beating the ground. I turned around as a unicorn gracefully traipsed into the clearing. He galloped up to me. I stared at him, in awe, and couldn't help but smile in wonderment. So, he was the Kaius' guardian of the forest. The unicorn nodded his proud head towards the stone. His silver mane glistened in the misty morning light.
I came to the center of the clearing. Grasping the sword of Damocles tightly with both hands, I firmly pushed it back into the stone. The unicorn threw its head back and neighed. The forest seemed to shiver, and just then, the sun broke over the horizon and turned everything in the forest into gold. I reached my hand out towards the unicorn, and he let me rest my hand on his neck for a brief moment before galloping off. I knew that I also had to get back to the Kaius' manor before anyone recognized my absence.
But Jasper was already up. He'd showered and dressed, and was now sitting on the front porch, gazing out at the sunrise. When he saw me coming, he smiled a little wryly.
"You went off on an adventure without me," he said accusingly, standing up.
I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms around him. He paused, sensing my sadness.
"What is it?" he asked, worried, as his arms responded in kind.
"So many choices," I said quietly, breathing out. "Everything's such high stakes and I've no sense of what's right or wrong. But I can't stand still, either."
"I know," Jasper replied softly. "But what can we do, except try our best? After all, it's the life that came to us."
A few minutes later, Abe came out to announce that breakfast was ready. Jared, Alexia, Jasper and I all ate together, and then we headed up to Mrs. Kaius' room together.
Jared went inside first. Then, he came back out and said, "Raylynx, she's awake, if you'd like to see her."
Jared and I both slipped inside Mrs. Kaius' room. The window curtains had been drawn back to let in the early morning light and air. Mrs. Kaius was propped up in her bed, but she looked unwell.
When she saw me, she smiled at me, and gestured for me to come over.
"Mrs. Kaius," I said. I walked over to her. "I've missed you so. And I think you should know that I-"
"I know," Mrs. Kaius told me, gently cutting me off. She gazed into my eyes and said kindly, "Thank you, my child. First, the lumeare, and now the sword."
"You already know?" I said, surprised. "You know that I returned the sword?"
"Oh yes, I felt it. You've returned it to the clearing. The Sword of Damocles is with its original family, as it should be," she responded. "And now it will be looked after by Jared."
She reached out to touch Jared's face, and she whispered, "Now I am complete."
Alethea Kaius' funeral procession was not grand (per her request), but the sheer number of people who came to pay their respects was overwhelming. I saw Nicolas and Perenelle Flamel towards the front of the crowd. Jasper and I stayed in the back, heads bowed in silence and in mourning.
Her wreath was one of lumeare mixed with other beautiful and illuminating potions ingredients. After everybody left except for a few close friends and family members, Jared and Alexia placed the wreath in the lake and we watched it float away. I thought I could make a silver glimmer just beside it, swimming under the water with it, guiding it to the world beyond.
The feeling of loss and of emptiness stayed with Jasper and me even as we traveled back to London. Alethea Kaius had been such a force for good. Even within just my smaller circle of acquaintances, she had helped Alexia, Nicolas, Jasper, Sehtzer, and myself at the most important junctures of our lives.
