Sirius Black's POV
Dumbledore's gaze swept over Remus and me. For a moment, I felt like just a thirteen-year-old kid again, wondering if I was about to be thrown out of Hogwarts for playing a prank on Snape.
"Given the current circumstances, I suggest that you relocate out of civilization altogether," Dumbledore spoke calmly, as though discussing the weather.
"Out of civilization altogether?" Remus croaked, amazed.
"Headmaster," I interrupted impatiently, "if anything, I'll go. Remus can stay here and continue his life in London. He'll need to see a Healer first, but - "
Dumbledore raised his hand to silence me. "It's not so drastic as you think. I was merely going to suggest that you relocate to the mountainside outside of Hogsmeade."
"Oh." I fell quiet.
"After all, isn't that where Buckbeak currently is?" Dumbledore lifted his eyebrow at me.
So he knew. He knew what I had been up to. I sighed. Of course he bloody well knew.
Dumbledore flicked his wand and Remus' foot was bound up in a split in the blink of an eye. "I'm afraid I can't mend broken bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey can, and it would be risky to ask for a Healer in Diagon Alley or St. Mungo's. I'm sorry, Mr. Lupin, but I fear you must bear the pain for now."
"Don't worry," Remus said, gingerly using the wall as support and standing up. "I'm no stranger to bearing pain."
Dumbledore looked over at me, his eyes flashing with gravity. "Sirius. I beg of you, keep your head down. The entire Wizarding community is currently hunting you. As skilled as you undoubtedly are, this has become a numbers game, dependent on luck over skill. And the chances of you being spotted are, I fear, quite high at this point."
I nodded stiffly.
"Besides," Dumbledore continued, in a quieter voice, "you have more to lose now, I would think, what with a godson who relies on you in place of a father."
I couldn't quite meet Dumbledore's eyes, but I managed to murmur, "Understood."
Harry Potter's POV
The Third Task was only three days away. The nerves were starting to tense in my stomach again. However, I had to admit, I was less nervous at the thought of facing a series of obstacles than at having to face a dragon or crack another code like the Golden Egg.
"You've gotten through obstacle courses before, remember?" Hermione told me. "Like when we went after the Sorceror's Stone."
"Yeah, but you and Ron were with me."
Hermione waved her hand in the air dismissively. "My point still stands."
"Ron figured out the Chess, and you figured out the Potions Riddle," I said stubbornly. "The only thing I did was - "
"Beat You-Know-Who," Ron finished smartly. He rolled his eyes at Hermione, clearly indicating that I was being overly dramatic.
"Yeah, well, I don't reckon Voldemort's going to be the last task here," I replied dryly.
Ron sighed. Leaning over, he flicked my forehead. "For the thousandth time, will you stop saying the name?"
Remus Lupin's POV
In the dead of night, Sirius and I journeyed up to the cave in the mountainside caverns besides Hogsmeade. Even though Sirius was the one in his dog form, I was the one panting, because of how strenuous this journey was while on crutches. Padfoot barked apologetically at me several times throughout the trip. At one point, he stopped and sat down. I could tell he was about to shift into his human self, so I poked at him with my crutch and hissed, "You can't. We're not far from Hogsmeade yet. There might be people around."
Padfoot whined, but he got up and began to lead the way again. It wasn't until we had slipped into the mouth of the cave that Padfoot transformed back into Sirius.
A little further into the cave, we found Buckbeak, who was gnawing on an old rat carcass. I grimaced, and Buckbeak gave me the stink eye, but Buckbeak neighed happily enough at seeing Sirius again.
I clenched my teeth together as I slowly settled myself down against the cavern wall. Thankfully, Dumbledore had arranged for me to see Madam Pomfrey. But I was too worn out to make the trek all the way back down the mountainside again. I decided that I would rest tonight and head down tomorrow.
Sirius settled down between me and Buckbeak. Then, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of –
"Merlin, Padfoot," I grumbled, "we don't have any food, but you have a packet of cigarettes?"
"Yep," he said casually, pushing back his hair before he lit up his cigarette. He leaned back against the cavern wall.
For a long moment, we were both silent. I was beginning to drop off to sleep, when Sirius murmured, almost begrudgingly, "I'm not trying to make a nuisance of myself, you know. I'm not trying to make things hard for you or Dumbledore."
I cracked open one eye. "What d'you mean, Pads?"
"I mean, I'm not trying to get caught, for fuck's sake."
That was when I realized what was going on – what Dumbledore had said about letting down Harry by not keeping his head down was really weighing on Sirius.
"Pads, you don't have to explain yourself," I said honestly, if not a little wryly. "You've been causing trouble for me since I first met you. You and James."
Sirius let out a short, soft laugh, but it was rather bitter. "Yeah, that's right. That's how it used to be, huh?"
I slipped down the cavern wall. My hair fell over my eyes a bit, but I was too tired to push it back. I tried to keep up the conversation, though, as I murmured, "You should be sorry to Harry. Maybe to Raylynx and Dumbledore, too. But don't say sorry to me, after all this time. I don't want an apology from you. It's been too many years for that."
I was very nearly asleep, when I heard Sirius sigh and say quietly, "You're right, Moony. Thanks."
My eyes slipped shut then, and I fell asleep, strangely warm and comfortable in that forsaken cave in the middle of nowhere – "out of civilization altogether," as Dumbledore had so aptly put it.
Because, after all, the likes of Sirius and I had never been meant to fit in well with civilization anyways. Without James, without Lily, without Harry, and without Raylynx, there was no reason for either of us to try to fit in, none at all. And though, more than anything, I wished for Sirius to move on without me, just as he wished not to burden my life, there was a strange, almost guilty, comfort in knowing that we at least still had each other in this desolate, miserable condition of being an outcast for life.
The next morning, I hobbled down the mountainside and then limped up to the Hogwarts castle.
When I arrived at the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey looked at me the exact same way she had when I was eleven years old, and I found that oddly soothing. I lay quiet and tried to stay still as she helped to Heal my leg.
After Pomfrey finished treating me, she told me, "Now, your bone is properly mended, but you're going to be sore for a while.
Coming closer, she whispered, "Count your lucky stars that you'll mend your bones before the next full moon, Mr. Lupin. That would have been painful. But you'll heal just find before then." She laid an assuring hand on my shoulder for a brief moment before she moved on to the next patient.
I sank back against the pillows and let out a long sigh. The next full moon… When will it end? I want it to end…
My eyes slipped shut. As I began to fall asleep, my arm slipped off the side of the bed. I tiredly lifted my arm up and crossed my arms across my chest. As I did so, I felt something crinkle in the "extra-fortified" pocket that I had sewn into my jacket.
Frowning a little, and with fumbling fingers, I reached into my jacket and pulled out – my notes on the Gaunt line.
I paused, blinking awake again. Raylynx is here. I should give her my notes while I can. After all, I want to leave as quickly as I can to make sure that Sirius is all right.
I slowly sat up and carefully scanned the Hospital Wing, peeking out from behind the privacy curtain that Madam Pomfrey had put up for me.
It appeared that Madam Pomfrey had gone into her office for some reason or another. I quickly slipped out of bed, fluffed up my pillows and shoved them under the blankets, and then hobbled my way out of he hospital wing as fast as I possibly could. I knew from years of experience that it was do-or-die; as caring of a Healer that Madam Pomfrey was, she never let a patient out of her claws willingly. Though, in an ironic way, it was a mark of her incredible healing skills, that I was able to use my leg well enough to escape her in such a short time.
Raylynx Kingsley's POV
I was taking attendance and noting that Cedric was absent (as all the Champions had been called down the Quidditch field), when I spotted many of the students sitting in the back row looking over interestedly at something behind them.
Setting my attendance book down, I walked over to the back of the classroom, only to find Fred and George squatting down, whispering with their heads put together, and with Fred etching something onto the floor with his wand.
Clearing my throat, I leaned down and tapped Fred on the shoulder. "Excuse me," I said dryly. "What is going on here?"
Fred beamed at me, not even bothering to hide how pleased he was with himself. "Look, Professor, I succeeded in creating a Runic circle. You said that this is N.E.W.T.-level stuff, right?"
"Well, yes, I did say that, but…" I squinted at the Circle. "Fred, what Runes have you drawn? What is this? Attraction to… Negated…?"
"Wisdom," Fred chirped up helpfully.
Leaning back on his hands, George nodded sagely."See, the stupidest people in the room will be drawn to this circle, right? That way, we can sort ourselves out without any exams."
I blew out a short breath and pinched my nose. "No, that is not what happens," I said, trying hard to tamp down my panic.
"Well, looks like it works," Angelina said, scoffing. She nodded her head at Fred. "You're standing closest to it."
Angelina's comment wiped the smirk right off of Fred's face, leaving him gaping soundlessly at her like a goldfish.
I sighed. I was going to take points off, but…
"Can we all just please sit down?" I said, looking seriously at Fred and George. "And let's stick to the Runes we have actually learned, please."
The twins, realizing I wasn't joking, hurriedly made their way to their seats.
I took out my wand and waved it, dispelling the Runic Circle, which actually spelled "Attraction to Negated Life" instead.
I shook my head at the horrors that could have happened. For a moment, I wondered numbly whether that meant then that Fred was closest to death, rather than stupidity, but I simply shook my head once more, freeing myself of such morbid thoughts. No way, I thought to myself, Runic Circles don't work that way… do they?
It was the day before the Third Task, and I was at my desk, tiredly scrawling out a hundred different versions of incantations which might be able to break Contract Magic.
I rubbed my eyes tiredly, and I began to dip my quill in ink again - when I heard my door creak open again.
I looked up. "Oh! Remus?"
"Hello."
I stood up at once. "Is Snuffles -?"
"He's all right," Remus replied hastily. Coming up to my desk, he pulled out a piece of paper from inside his jacket and placed it gently on top of my desk.
I stared down at it. "What is this?"
"Research."
"Hm?"
"On the Gaunt lineage."
"Oh!" My eyes widened. "You were researching this entire time? I figured that you simply forgot."
Remus smiled wanly. "I'm constantly surrounded by books. It'd be quite an oversight to not make use of that."
"Are you still working at Flourish and Blott's, then?" I asked conversationally, as I picked up the piece of paper.
However, Remus was quiet for a long moment, and I stopped midway through opening up the folded parchment. Instead, I studied Remus. He doesn't look well, I observed. But it hasn't been the full moon for two weeks, and we have another two weeks until the next one.
"Remus," I said carefully, coming around the table to approach him. You can tell me anything, were the unspoken words.
Remus let out a short huff of breath. He replied, rather resignedly, "It's nothing. Anyways, now that I've delivered that, I should be on my way."
"Not that I don't appreciate it, but you came all the way up to the castle for this?" I asked, doubt etched into my voice.
"Well, no," Remus admitted. "I came to see Madam Pomfrey."
"Madam Pomfrey? Oh, Remus," I said miserably, "you're not all right, are you?"
"No, no, I'm fine," Remus insisted. "I - I did come up to give you that piece of parchment," he lied.
"Remus," I said knowingly.
But Remus continued talking, and his voice became quite soft as he suddenly fell into revealing the truth. "Actually, researching Gaunt felt like work worth honoring. It's not often that I'm asked to use my mind."
I fell silent when I realized what Remus meant. He was always given menial jobs when they weren't suited for him. He loved to discover things and teach things. It was in his nature. It explained his quiet sense of adventure and how, in truth, he was almost always the mastermind behind most of the larger-scale pranks that the Marauders used to pull off at Hogwarts.
I cautiously went up to him. I didn't quite know what to say when Remus was like this, but I did want to be there for him. I noticed that half of his buttons were unbuttoned. With a slightly puzzled smile, I reached over and began to button up his cardigan for him. However, as I finished buttoning up the last button, I thought I could detect a faint scent of cigarette smoke…
My hands tightened on Remus' cardigan. My eyes suddenly flickered up to his face. "He's not doing well, is he?"
Remus, who had been numbly watching my hands as I buttoned up his cardigan for him, blinked in surprise. "What?"
"Snuffles. He's struggling, isn't he?"
Remus' mouth fell open. "How did you know?"
My eyes flashed as I suddenly caught on. "Something did happen, didn't it? You weren't hurt by accident."
Remus became very flustered. He'd forgotten how quickly I could catch him about these things.
"Tell me," I demanded, when he didn't respond right away.
Remus' hands fluttered nervously around my shoulders for a moment before he finally grasped my shoulders in his hands. "Calm down, please," he entreated.
"I am calm. Now, tell me." I stared hard at Remus.
"All right, all right," Remus replied, caving in. "Well, he's… here."
"What?"
"Not here in the castle, but close."
"Where, exactly?"
"I shouldn't say. It isn't safe."
I frowned, but I let it go for the moment. "But why, Remus? I thought he was safe with you in London."
Remus pulled out his wand. He magicked the door shut and put a Muffling Charm on it. Only then did he confess, "The Aurors came after us. They came to my flat in the dead of night. And they very nearly caught us."
"What!" I gasped.
"But we're all right. We're fine."
"Except that Snuffles is smoking again, and you can barely walk!" I crossed my arms nervously and looked up at him. "How could this have happened? I thought we were being careful. I thought… I thought…"
Remus looked at me with somber eyes, as if I were missing something obvious.
"What?" I said uncertainly.
Remus sighed heavily.
"Remus?" I spoke his name anxiously, as I stepped closer to him. "What is it?"
"It's him, Raylynx. Jasper Riley. He's a hell of an Auror, and he's very good at staying on Sirius' tail."
I blinked. Then, I sank down on top of the nearest desk. Oh no, this is all my fault, isn't it? I realized, It's become personal for Jasper.
"Should I go speak with him?" I wondered, my head dropping a little in shame.
"No," Remus replied firmly. "That would only confirm his suspicions. We just re-located to escape him. You would only be tipping Jasper off somehow by going to see him again."
"That's true," I admitted. "But how did you escape?"
"Ollivander helped us to hide. Then, Dumbledore came and Apparated us to the outskirts of… well, where we are."
I lifted my head again. "Ollivander helped you?"
Remus recounted the tale of how Ollivander had stepped in to help them at the last moment. I listened to him speak in silence, and I didn't realize the tears that were slowly filling my eyes until Remus touched my shoulder and whispered worriedly, "Raylynx? What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong," I said quietly, reaching up to wipe my eyes. "I'm just relieved that you and Snuffles are safe."
I didn't realize how much Ollivander was on my side, I thought to myself. Merlin, I owe him so much.
"Speaking of Snuffles, I should head back soon," Remus said. "But, before I go, I wanted to ask – how's Harry? The last task is tomorrow, isn't it? How is he holding up?"
"He's doing better, actually. I think his confidence is up after the Second Task," I told him. "But I'm worried, Remus. Not because of the Tasks, but because Crouch died on Hogwarts grounds, and Harry was with him just a few minutes before."
Remus' eyes suddenly tightened, and his brow clouded over. "Speaking of Crouch, I don't know who killed him, but just before he died, I ended up at the Crouch mansion and I found traces of Dark Magic. The mansion was completely torn-apart, as though a huge, desperate fight had broken out. The whole scene still haunts me. It reminds me of how the Shrieking Shack used to look after my transformations, and it reminds me of how the houses that had the Dark Marks cast over them used to look when we entered." Remus swallowed hard. "Then, I received your shocking letter, saying that Crouch was dead. I couldn't believe it."
I slowly shook my head. "Me neither."
"What about you?" Remus inquired. "Do you have any thoughts about who was behind Crouch's death?"
"It's hard to say, since Crouch had so many enemies on both sides," I answered. "But if there was use of Dark Magic, then it suggests that it was the Death Eaters, right?"
"Yes, that's what worries me, too. After Peter's escape last year, I can't help but think that this is connected with the Death Eaters, or with Voldemort himself," Remus agreed in a tense whisper.
I shivered.
"Wasn't Crouch's son a Death Eater?" Remus asked me thoughtfully. "I seem to remember that you helped to catch him."
"Yes, he was sent to Azkaban with the Lestranges," I confirmed. "But he died shortly after he entered Azkaban – Ow!" A ringing pain suddenly shot through my head, as I tried to recall Barty Crouch Jr.'s face.
"Raylynx!" Remus reached out to me.
"I'm okay," I quickly reassured him. "You should go, Remus. You shouldn't leave Snuffles alone for too long."
Remus still watched me for a moment. Finally, when he thought I seemed all right, he said, "All right, I'll be off. Oh, but here's a token of good luck to Harry from Snuffles." Remus fumbled in his jacket for a moment before he handed me another piece of paper, this time bearing a muddy pawprint.
"Thanks, I'll make sure Harry gets this," I said warmly, as I took it and tucked it away safely inside of my cloak.
I walked Remus to the door of the classroom. As he stopped to open the door, I looked up at him for a moment. Remus, who always tried his best never to take any charity, has now become the one holding us all together. I don't know what Sirius and I would do without him.
I mused aloud, "You've become so dependable, Remus."
"Hm?" Remus looked down at me, blinking confusedly.
"Never mind," I said softly. I gave him a smile and waved as he left.
However, the smile faded from my face as the dull throbbing in my head continued to bother me. Why does trying to remember Barty Crouch Jr.'s face hurt my head so much? Does this have something to do with losing my memory?
I started to put my head in my hands, when I realized I was still holding onto Remus' notes. I opened the piece of parchment. It read:
The House of Gaunt: A pureblood family, one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Famously obsessed with the grandeur they ascribed to their own blood purity and wealth, they are famous for spending all their fortune on outlandish parties and for keeping their bloodline pure, to the point that they continuously married their cousins. By the 1900s, the Gaunt family was forced to relocate to a small village in northern England called Little Hangleton.
Little Hangleton? Why does that sound so familiar? Little Hangle-
"Ow!" I cried out. The paper slipped from my hands, as I fell forward, falling onto my hands and knees as a bolt of pain ripped through my head.
Little Hangleton… Little Hangleton… the Gaunt family… Barty Crouch, Jr.… My head was spinning in a painful vortex. I could feel my mind reaching for something within myself – something that had once existed, but was no longer there…
Through the jumble of half-remembered words and images crashing inside my mind, I heard the Sphynx's voice, smooth and deep and steady, sound out: "Dream more. That's how you remember. That's how you come home to yourself."
"Kingsley? Kingsley!" A hand grabbed me and yanked me up. "What's wrong with you!? The hell are you doing on the floor?"
"Huh?" I woke up from my strange trance, only to find Mad-Eye Moody holding me up.
Moody shook me roughly. "Get your bearings together!" he shouted at me.
"Right, sorry," I said, startled awake. I stood up on my own. Almost at once, the dull, throbbing headache started up again. I put my hand up against my forehead.
"What happened to you?"
"I slipped and fell," I mumbled, not really thinking about what I was saying to Moody. Instead, my mind continued to swirl with those strange phrases: Little Hangleton… the Gaunt family… Barty Crouch, Jr.…
"Hey." Moody snapped his fingers in front of my face. "Was that Lupin going down the staircase? Did he just visit you?"
"Uh, yeah, I s'pse so," I said, blinking furiously as I tried not to get lost in my own head.
"Is that so? I've a few words to share with him." I missed the cruel smirk spreading over Moody's scarred face, as, without another word, he turned and left my classroom, leaving me still dazed and confused, leaning on my desk for support.
It was the night before the Third Task. Harry had just left my office, now happily carrying the small piece of parchment with Sirius' pawprint on it as his good-luck token. I tried to appear optimistic, for Harry's sake. However, as soon as Harry had left my office, I had lapsed back into my never-ending quest to sort out the mysteries surrounding us. Staring at the Goblet of Fire, which I had placed on the desk in front of me, I felt, for some reason, as though my headaches were connected to breaking the Goblet of Fire. There was no logical reason to think such a thing. But after what the Sphynx had told me, about my mind not being fully mine, I began to feel that the first step towards breaking the Goblet of Fire was to heal myself.
"Dream more…" I muttered to myself, thinking hard. Then, I scoffed. "Easy for her to say, she's a Sphynx, after all. But I'm just human."
I paced back and forth in my classroom. Quincy, who I had brought here in his tank, cocked his head at me curiously. Then, he gave his head a little shake, as watching me made him feel dizzy. Eventually, he turned his back on me, and with a flick of his tiny tail, he disappeared back into his flaming log.
I sighed. I was running out of ideas, and worse – out of time. Finally, I drew my wand anyways and I began to inscribe Runes on the floor using light.
Not knowing else to write, I traced the Runes for "Dreams" and "Remembrance" over and over again in an infinity sign. Once the symbol was complete, it laid itself down on the floor, where it disappeared, but the edges of the symbol made the floor appear as though it was shivering…
I hesitated. It's risky to step into an infinite sign. I could be stuck in there for literally an eternity.
But I have to try, I resolved. The Sphynx is right: I've lost something inside of myself. I'm not sure exactly what, but it feels important to reclaim it. And if I really have to heal myself, then invoking Runic magic at a superficial level won't work. I wish Sehtzer were here. I would ask him to draw these Runes on my body, but he's far away, and I don't know anyone else who knows Runic Magic.
I slowly reached up my back. I hope the Protection Rune is still there. It's the only hope I have of getting out of this alive. I took a deep breath. Then, I slowly stepped into the infinity symbol of linked Runic signs.
As soon as my feet crossed the line into the symbolic circle invisibly etched onto the floor, my vision spun. I fell, crumpling onto the floor in a dazed heap. My world became caught up in a whirlwind of white mist – opaque, spinning, frantic – I've been here before, I realized, even as my mind was dizzy with confusion, for all sense of direction was now lost from spinning in this white mist.
Suddenly out of the white mist bloomed a dark, decaying, ivy-covered mansion.
I know this place, I thought suddenly. It's the Riddle House.
Something caught my eye in one of the windows – a scarlet flicker of open flame…
But I thought I remembered someone telling me, "Nobody uses that house. Nobody lives in it."
And then it all came screaming back to me:
"Petrificus Totalus!"
Dragged into the house and across a cold, stone floor and up the staircases…
A room at the end of the hallway, which was the room where the light was coming from…
"And what'sss thisss?"
The turning of a chair, and in that chair, a pile of clothes, and in that pile of clothes –
Him. Lord Voldemort.
Not a human, if ever he had been a man, but still, alive and terrifying…
Standing on one side of the chair was Peter Pettigrew, crouching besides his master and looking at me with such fear in his eyes. And on the other side – Barty Crouch Jr.!
"Shall we see if your mind is any less worthless?"
A terrible, inhumanly strong snake forced its way into the confines of my mind, pushing aside my mental defenses as if they were mere curtain of smoke…
"Your filthy Mudblood parents dying in total ignorance of magic. They died like mindless cattle, didn't they?"
"Your emotions for Sirius Black are disgusting. And your care for that revolting, tamed werewolf is equally abhorrent."
"And what's this? Oh, but this is interesting. You doubt Dumbledore, do you?"
"The TriWizard Tournament will take place at Hogwarts this year. What's that Dumbledore has hired an old, trusted friend to resume the Defense Against the Dark Arts post this year – Alastor Moody."
Then, Voldemort's red eyes flashed menancingly. "At last – a way inside of Hogwarts?"
My own eyes flashed open. For a moment, all I could comprehend was the sound of my own heartbeat, racing fit to burst, and the mindless wind whirling around in my own head. Then, it hit me. As reality filtered its way back into my mind, as I realized, with utter horror, the answer that had literally been staring me straight in the face the entire time: Barty Crouch Jr. is posing as Mad-Eye Moody.
The clock indicated that it was five in the morning on June 24th, the day of the final TriWizard Task. The Task would begin in three hours. But I didn't spare a single glance as the clock as I raced out of the room and down the stairs, hurrying as fast as I possibly could to finally confront Barty Crouch Jr.
Sirius Black's POV
As the first morning light dawned outside of the cave, I paced back and forth inside the cave. Remus still isn't back. Why isn't he back? He's been gone for two whole days. Is it because Madam Pomfrey's holding him hostage?
I let out a heavy sigh. I can't stand this.
Behind me, Buckbeak chomped on another rat.
I looked over my shoulder at Buckbeak. "You're worried, too, aren't you?"
Buckbeak neighed ambigiously at me.
Dumbledore's words rang out in my head: "I beg of you, keep your head down."
A growl of frustration erupted from my chest, brutish enough that even Buckbeak reared in fright. "I can't just sit still," I groaned. "This is killing me. This is – What if something's happening to Remus or Raylynx or Harry right now? And I'm just sitting around in a goddamned cave!"
I abruptly headed towards the cave entrance.
Behind me, Buckbeak let out a sharp yelp, as though in warning.
"Sorry, Buckbeak. But I can't just wait around," I muttered. Transforming into Padfoot, I lithely leapt forward into the morning sun and began to run towards Hogwarts.
Harry Potter's POV
Cedric, Fleur, Viktor, and I walked onto the Quidditch field, which was now holding a vast maze. Students were roaring from the stands, and they held up and waved all sorts of flags and posters, so that the brilliant colors of the signs flashed in the air.
Just then, Bagman entered the stadium. He waved jubilantly to the crowd. "Ladies and gentlemen! The third and final task of the Triwizard Tournament is about to begin! Let me remind you how the contestants currently stand – in first place, Mr. Diggory and Mr. Potter! In second place, Mr. Krum! And in third place, Ms. Delacour!"
The crowd erupted into cheers. If I squinted, I could just make out Ron and Hermione waving frantically at me. I tried to swallow down my nerves as I waved back.
I thought of the last piece of advice Professor Kingsley had given me, which had been to teach me a spell that directed me North. She had placed my wand on my stretched-out hand, and she had whispered, "Deferre centrum." The wand had spun around in my hand to point North. "Before you step into the maze, try to figure out which side of the maze you're at," Professor Kingsley had told me. "Then you'll know which direction you need to be headed." I had nodded, quite relieved with knowing this trick, as I could now be sure that I at least wouldn't be an idiot, just going around in circles in the maze. Even now, knowing I had this trick in my pocket helped me to stay calm.
"The first contestants have the privilege of entering the maze first. Now, remember, first one to touch the TriWizard Cup, wins!" Bagman shouted. "On my whistle – three, two, one!" He let out a hard burst of air into the whistle, and the shrill "fweeett!" sounded out.
Taking a deep breath, I gripped my wand in my hand and stepped forward, into the maze.
As soon as I entered the maze, the hedges closed behind me, and the sound of the crowd disappeared instantly. I rushed forward, and for a long while, I didn't come across anything. The silence and darkness of the passageways were quite eerie in themselves, but then, the air felt several degrees colder, and a rattling sound filled the air. With dread flooding my veins, I realized, It's a dementor.
I turned around to see the dark, hooded figure gliding towards me. It stretched out its rotting hands…
Closing my eyes, I thought of the small piece of parchment bearing Sirius' pawprint in my jeans pocket, and I felt heartened. "Expecto Patronum!"
A silver stag erupted from the end of my wand and galloped toward the dementor, which tripped over the hem of its robes.
I paused. What? Dementors don't trip. Oh, wait, hang on! It's a boggart!
"Riddikulus!" I cried out, brandishing my wand at the 'dementor' again.
There was a loud crack! and the boggart exploded in a wisp of smoke.
I pressed forward, relieved to have solved one obstacle successfully. However, I had only gone a short distance, when I saw an odd golden mist floating ahead of him. What on earth is this?
"Reducio!" I shouted, hoping to blast the mist out of the way. But, of course, the spell merely shot right through the mist. I considered doubling back, but I knew that going through the mist was the quickest way of reaching the center of the maze, where the Cup was. Finally, I reached out and tentatively put my hand in the mist.
The second my hand entered the mist, the world turned upside down. I gave a startled shout, as I found myself hanging from the ground, with my feet kicking over empty air, with all of the endless sky hanging below me. My glasses nearly slipped from my face. I reached up with my wand hand and managed to push them back into place without losing my grip on my wand.
Think, I told myself, trying to remain calm. How do I get out of this situation? What would Professor Kingsley do? But nothing I had studied had prepared me for this.
Finally, out of sheer desperation, I tried to move one foot forward. I trembled as I wrenched my foot off the ground, because it felt as though I was going to tumble into the dark universe just waiting below me.
To my surprise and utter relief, the world righted itself. I fell forward onto the grass, panting as the adrenaline rushed through my system. That was the most terrifying step I think I've ever taken in my life, I thought. I'm worn-out from just that. Merlin.
Still, I knew I had to keep going. I pushed myself off of the ground, and I kept going forward, though with less confidence now.
Just then, a loud scream shattered the silence. I whirled around.
"Fleur?" I shouted, for that was who I thought had screamed.
There was no reply.
"Fleur!?" I shouted louder.
Still, nothing.
I frowned. I hope she's all right. I started to double back, to try to reach her, only to find that the maze had shifted and the way back had been shut and become a solid wall.
Well, the other Professors are monitoring the maze. She can't be in too much trouble, right? I thought.
I felt uneasy, but at that point, there was nothing for it except to keep going forward.
Still, I couldn't help thinking, well, that's one Champion down. A thill of anticipation ran through me, as I thought, for the first time I'd ever been put into this tournament, that I might actually win. I imagined how proud of me everyone would be: Hermione and Ron, Hagrid, Sirius, Remus, and Professor Kingsley, and Dumbledore…
I found myself running faster and faster, increasingly spurred on by the tantalizing image of winning. I turned a corner, running as hard as I could until –
"Not so fast."
"Oof." I let out a grunt, as I felt a heavy paw smush right into my face.
The paw disappeared, and I looked up, only to find a sphynx sitting before me. My mouth fell open as I took in the sight of this creature, who had the body of an over-large lion: great clawed paws and a long yellowish tail ending in a brown tuft, but the head of a woman. She had an elegant jawline, and long, almond-shaped eyes that seemed to glitter as she observed me.
"You are very near your goal," the sphynx informed me. Her voice was deep and enchanting. Nonetheless, there was an intimidating purr in there that I did not like. "The quickest way is past me."
"So… So will you move, please?" I asked weakly.
The sphynx smiled the slightest bit. "No."
"Then…?"
"You must answer my riddle. Answer on your first guess - I let you pass. Answer wrongly - I attack. Remain silent - I will let you walk away from me unscathed."
My heart dropped. "I'm no good at this," I murmured, more to myself. "Professor Kingsley and Hermione tried to help me, but I've never really managed to solve their puzzles."
The sphnyx's tail lifted and swayed in the air behind her. "Did you say, 'Professor Kingsley?' So, you are her – What did she call you… Her godson?"
"Huh?" I blinked in surprise. "Yeah, I – I am. But how did you know that?"
The sphynx shook her head at me. "Never mind. Anyways, please decide: Would you like to hear the riddle?"
"If I don't answer, I can walk away unscathed, right?" I confirmed.
The sphynx nodded.
"Okay," I agreed, though I felt hopeless. "Let's hear it."
The sphynx nodded again, pleased at my choice. Then, sitting upright, she recited beautifully:
"First think of the person who lives in disguise,
Who deals in secrets and tells naught but lies.
Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,
The middle of middle and end of the end?
And finally give me the sound often heard
During the search for a hard-to-find word.
Now string them together, and answer me this,
Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"
My immediate instinct was to throw my hands up and walk away. But Professor Kingsley's voice sounded out in my head, Whenever you're faced with a riddle, the first thing you have to do is to not panic. Don't build in a false time pressure when there is none.
I took a deep breath. "Could I have it again? More slowly, please?"
The sphynx nodded and repeated her poem.
"A person in disguise… An imposter? Or a spy?" I wondered aloud, with my face scrunched up in confusion. "Middle of middle… No idea what that means." I sighed. "What was next? Er, the sound sound often heard during the search for a hard-to-find word… Well, er – oh, er! That's a sound!"
The sphynx smiled at me.
"And this is all supposed to add up to a creature I wouldn't want to kiss," I repeated, thinking hard. "Imposter…er…? No, that makes no sense. Spy… er… Spy – Spider!" The light bulb went off in my head. "It's a spider!"
The sphynx nodded. "That is correct." She got up and moved to the side of the passageway, to let me pass.
Amazed at my own luck, I said, "Wow, thanks!"
The sphynx smiled mysteriously as I passed her by. She remarked quietly, "You don't look like her at all."
Bewildered, I said, "Huh?"
The sphynx laughed lightly. "Now you look a little more like her. Well, never mind. You should be on your way." Reaching out with her powerful paw, she gave me a gentle push on my back to hurry me along.
I ran into an adjoining passageway. To make sure that I was going the right way, I placed my wand on the center of my palm. "Deferre centrum." My wand pointed me to nearly straight ahead.
That's a good sign, I thought, relieved. I'm going in the right direction. I carried forward, following a curve in the pathway when I overheard a tumult of shotus burst forth.
"Crucio!"
"Stupefy!"
"Cru - !"
"What are you doing? What the hell d'you think you're doing?"
"Crucio!"
"Ahhhhhh!"
I sprinted up the path, towards the voices, one of which I already recognized as Cedric's.
I burst onto the scene. To my shock, I found Viktor standing over Cedric, with Cedric jerking around uncontrollably on the ground, obviously in terrible pain.
I raised my wand and yelled, "Stupefy!"My spell caught Viktor square in the back. Viktor collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Cedric lay on the floor, panting. I raced over to him.
"Cedric! Are you all right?"
"H-Harry," Cedric choked out.
I held out my hand. He took it, and I pulled him up.
"Thanks," Cedric breathed out. He reached up and brushed his hair, now sweaty at the ends, out of his face.
"No problem. But what happened?"
"I can't believe it," Cedric said, and his face contorted with anger as he remembered what had happened. "Viktor crept up behind me. By the time I had turned around, he already had his wand on me."
"Do you think…?" A deep sense of unease ran through me as I voiced my worry, "Do you think Viktor got Fleur before?"
Cedric's eyes flashed. "You heard her screams, too?"
I nodded slowly.
"I don't know," Cedric said miserably. "I tried to find my way to her, to help her. But I couldn't seem to reach her."
"Same." I looked down at Viktor. "Well, we should probably send up red sparks, right? To let the Professors know to come get him."
"He doesn't deserve the help." Cedric stared furiously at Viktor, who was still unconscious on the ground. But after a moment, Cedric held up his wand and he muttered, "Periculum." A shower of red sparks exploded in the air.
"Well, I sp'se we better go on," Cedric murmured.
"Hm? Oh, yeah."
We both paused, as for a moment, we had forgotten that we were competing against each other.
However, almost as soon as Cedric had spoken those words, we both felt a gust of wind coming from the north of us. Immediately, we both knew that the wind was guiding us to where the TriWizard Cup was. The momentary camaraderie between us snapped. Before we knew it, we were both racing as fast as we could towards the Cup. Vines burst out of the ground, attacking our legs and separating us – but both of us could see the TriWizard Cup now gleaming on a plinth, a mere hundred yards away.
Unfortunately, Cedric was a faster runner than me. His legs were longer, and he was quite athletic. My hopes of winning faded away as the distance between us grew and grew…
Then, I saw one of Hagrid's enormous Blast-Ended Skrewts jump out of the maze. It raced towards Cedric, but Cedric was so focused on the Cup that he didn't notice the Skrewt barreling towards him, chasing him from just behind him.
"Cedric!" I yelled instinctively. "On your left!"
Cedric looked around just in time to hurl himself out of the way, as the Skrewt brought down a giant tail that left a deep gash in the earth.
"Stupefy!" I yelled. But the spell merely glanced off of the Skrewt's armor-like shell. Worse still, the Skrewt let out an angry hiss and then turned on me.
"Stupefy!" Cedric shouted. However, his Stunner, too, just bounced off of the Skrewt.
The Skrewt charged forward. With a yell, I jumped out of the way.
The Skrewt immeidately came for me again. This time, though I dodged the fireball it released, the burst of bright fire blinded me for a moment. As I blinked furiously to get my sight back, I heard Cedric shout, "Harry! Move!"
I took a leap of faith and jumped to the left, but it was the wrong move.
"Ah!" I gasped in pain as I felt the Skrewt's pincer sink into my leg.
"Harry!" Cedric shouted again, panicking.
Then, both Cedric and I bellowed together, "Stupefy!"
It was a lucky shot, as both of our Stunners managed to hit the fleshy part of the Skrewt on the underside of its neck, right as the Skrewt reared its head to finish my off. With a pitiful whine, the Skrewt keeled over, unconscious.
"Are you all okay?" Cedric raced over to me.
I winced as I tried to stand up. Flashes of pain were running up and down my leg. Not only did the huge gash itself sting, but I was sure the Skrewt's pincer had some sort-of burning poison in it.
Cedric groaned when he saw the injury on my leg. "That looks bad."
"I'm fine," I said, trying to sound dismissive. "It's not as bad as it looks."
It's worse, I thought in my head. Much worse.
"Thanks," Cedric said, not quite meeting my eyes.
"No worries," I replied, equally awkwardly.
"Well…" Cedric looked over at the Cup, which was only a few feet away from us now.
"Go on," I said, a little sullenly. "I can't outrun you anymore, if I ever could."
Cedric frowned. He glanced back at me, then at the Cup, then at me again. Then, in a low voice, he told me, "Take it, Harry."
"What?" I said. I can't have heard him correctly.
"Take it. It's yours," Cedric repeated.
"But you were faster. You were clearly going to win," I protested.
"You saved me twice," Cedric pointed out. His gaze was determined as he stared at me.
He really means for me to have it, I realized, awed. It was a grand act of sportsmanship, and Cedric was right, I had saved him twice. But still, something about it annoyed me. Somehow, knowing that Cedric was a stand-up guy added to the pain of losing – not only the TriWizard Cup, but also in asking Cho out, and being seen as the true Hogwarts Champion…
"That's not how it's supposed to work," I said, trying to hide the bitterness in my voice. "The one who reaches the cup first gets the points. That's you. I'm telling you, I'm not going to win any races on this leg."
Cedric shook his head.
"Stop being noble." The irritation started to bleed into my voice. "Just take it, then we can get out of here."
"No," Cedric responded steadfastly. "You deserve it, Harry."
"C'mon! Just take the Cup!" I shouted, now outright annoyed. I was having to lean onto the hedge to stay upright; my leg was hurting so badly.
"I can't do that, Harry," Cedric said solemnly. "It wouldn't be right."
I sighed in exasperation. Pig-headed, I thought. But then, another option slowly dawned on me. "Wait, Cedric… Both of us."
"What?" Cedric frowned, confused.
"We'll take it at the same time," I explained. "We'll tie for it."
Cedric blinked. "A tie…? Are you sure?"
"Yeah," I said, without hesitation. "It's still a Hogwarts victory."
Cedric thought it through for a moment longer. Then, his face split into a grin. "You're on!"
Cedric walked over to me and he offered me his shoulder. "Come on."
I grinned back at him, and I leaned on his shoulder to limp forward.
"On three," I said. "One…
"Two," Cedric counted with me.
"Three!"
We both reached out at the exact same time – our hands touched the Cup – and then – whoosh.
A great wind gathered us up. Colors swirled around us both and the ground below our feet fell away…
Finally, I thought, with great relief. It's over. It's all over.
Raylynx Kingsley's POV
I knocked on Moody's door. It opened a moment later. I stared at Moody's scarred face, the face of a man I thought I knew so well…
"Lass? Why aren't you down at the Third Task?"
"Why aren't you?" I shot back.
"I already did my part."
"You did?" I stepped into the room and shut the door behind me. Holding my wand behind my back, I silently locked the door and silenced the room with nonverbal magic. It wouldn't do to have a student get caught up in the fight that was about to happen. "And when you say you did your part – do you mean for Dumbledore, or for your true master, Voldemort?"
Moody slowly turned around to face me. "What?" His tongue snaked out of his mouth for a split second.
I smiled coldly. "It's been a while, hasn't it, Barty?"
Barty snapped. In a flash, his wand was pointed at my face. "Avada Kedavra!"
My own wand already lifted as well, I snarled out, "Stupefy!"
The two jets of light collided in the air. The resulting force caused all of the lamps in the room to shatter. Glass rained down and cut both our faces, but neither of us dared to take our eyes off each other for even a second.
"Incarcerous!" Barty spat.
"Sectis!" My spell not only cut through the net coming at me, but it cut Barty in the shoulder. He howled in pain, as blood gushed out of his shoulder.
"Stupefy!" I yelled, thinking I could end this fight right now – Except, no, I had been too eager.
With a loud, hateful growl, Barty swept his wand in front of him. All of the Dark Foe glasses rose from the shelves and came racing at my face.
I ducked them in time, but Barty took that opportunity to yell, "Crucio!"
"Protego Maximus!" I shouted, and I threw up a Shield that successfully deflected Barty's Curse. Then, with a silent flick on my wand, I managed to reanimate the ropes on the floor (the same ones I had cut from when Barty conjured up a net to throw at me) and I magicked them to bind Barty's feet together.
Barty stumbled backwards, until he was up against the bookcase. Enraged at being bested, Barty tried one last time to yell, ""Avada Ke - "
"Stupefy!"
Barty managed to change course; instead of completing his Killing Curse, he managed to put up a Shield. Only, the Shield had barely formed when my Stunner broke through it, and hit Barty in the chest.
Barty groaned. His Shield had prevented my Stunner from taking full effect, but it was enough to subdue him.
I yelled out triumphantly, "It's over, Crouch!"
Barty lifted his head and he sneered at me. "Hardly. You know who I've got in that trunk behind you?"
Sure that Barty only intended to distract me, I hissed at him, "I don't care." I raised my wand again, intending to end this once and for all, "Stupe -!"
Barty laughed hollowly, as he informed me, "Your friend, the werewolf – Remus Lupin."
Horrified, I stuttered to a stop.
Remus Lupin's POV
"Boy… Wake up. Boy."
Someone was shaking me awake.
A soft whimper left my lips, because I was in so much pain… So much pain…
"AARGH!"
"Stupefy!"
"Crucio!"
"Protego Maximus!"
"Avada Ke - "
"Stupefy!"
I blearily opened my eyes. Everything was totally dark at first. But gradually, spots of light came into my vision. Then –
"Moody?" I whispered, in a cracked voice.
"Yeah," the man before me replied gruffly. "It's me, the real Moody."
Above us, a rather familiar voice yelled out triumphantly, almost savagely, "It's over, Crouch!"
"Raylynx," I whispered, identifying her voice at once.
"Yeah, she's fighting Barty Crouch Jr.," Alastor confirmed.
"Crouch Jr.? I thought Crouch Jr. was dead," I replied, frowning deeply.
Alastor grimly shook his head. "We all thought that, but it's not true. He's the one that's captured me and is now posing as me."
Just then, Barty Crouch Jr.'s voice could be heard overhead. "Hardly. You know who I've got in that trunk behind you?"
"I don't care," Raylynx replied. "Stupe -!"
"Your friend, the werewolf – Remus Lupin."
I started when I heard my name. But Alastor put a firm hand on my shoulder and shook his head at me. "No, boy, don't make it worse," he whispered gruffly.
Above us, Raylynx's voice cut out in a loud gasp. "W-What?"
"I captured him, that day he came to visit you. I went after him and ambushed him." A cruel, harsh laugh filled the air. "He thought I was Mad-Eye, so when I told him you'd sent me after him, the idiot believed me and followed me, never realizing who I was."
"I don't believe you!"
"You don't? Then, take a look yourself. Alohomora!"
Somewhere far above us, a door creaked open.
"Don't you dare move," Raylynx warned Crouch. Then, she walked backwards, until she came to the trunk. She peeked down. In a hushed cry, she recognized me. "Remus. And who - ? Alastor?"
"Raylynx!" I called hoarsely. "Get out of here!"
"That's right," Barty sneered at me. "It's the werewolf and the madman. So, what's it going to be – my life or theirs?"
Raylynx Kingsley's POV
The moment I saw Remus and Alastor down there, my heart leapt into my throat because I knew I had lost. Still, I tried to make my voice strong as I lifted my chin and spoke defiantly to Barty, "You may have them locked up, but you can't hurt them."
Barty laughed scathingly. "Think again. The trunk is lined with twenty glasses of Mortis Fumos – Death Fumes. It's a poison that turns into smoke as soon as it touches the air. It'll kill the people who inhale it in a matter of hours, and even eat up their corpses in a single day."
"You're lying," I said, but my voice was far weaker this time.
Barty laughed again. "You think so? You think I wouldn't dare to kill two men when I've killed my own father? The only reason I've been keeping Moody alive is because I need his hair for the Polyjuice Potion. The only reason I kept Remus Lupin alive is for this moment – to defeat you. But now that you've lost, and that stupid Potter boy is inching ever closer to his fate, I don't need to hide myself anymore and I certainly don't need to keep around a disgusting werewolf anymore."
"Raylynx!" A hoarse shout came from the trunk. "Save Harry!"
I stepped closer to the trunk.
That was the moment Barty screamed viciously, "Incarcerous!" This time, Barty successfully trapped me in his conjured net. I fell to the ground, defeated and wandless.
"You silly Mudblood," Barty said, magicking his legs free and leaping forward towards me. He glared down at me with a sick, savage smile on his face.
Something about the violence and perverseness activated a rage deep inside of me, and as the curse "Sectis" sprang to mind, to my astonishment, a deep gash appeared on Barty's face.
Barty's eyes widened, as he realized that I had performed wandless and nonverbal magic on him. But then, his eyes narrowed and a much more tense grin, demented and fierce, appeared on his face. "Oho, wandless magic from a Mudblood? Isn't that unexpected? But you've lost, you filthy bitch."
Barty proceeded to kick me hard enough to crack a rib.
I shouted in pain, as a sharp pain ripped through my stomach, followed by a horrible sense of nausea.
A pained cry came from the trunk. "No! Raylynx!"
Barty then intentionally pressed his foot against my rib and then slowly put his weight onto his foot, shoving his heel against my cracked rib, worsening the crack slowly and making me feel every bit of pain possible. My shouts lengthened into screams.
"There you go," Barty hissed. "That's what you're supposed to sound like."
"Stop it!" Remus cried out desperately.
Barty snickered at me as I thrashed under his foot. "Yes, that's right. I figure since you're a Mudblood, you'd appreciate some non-magical punishment. You prefer this, don't you? It's what you grew up knowing. And it's all you should ever know." He ground his heel deep into my side.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Raylynx!" Remus screamed.
Remus must be trying to escape, for I heard footsteps coming from the trunk, as I had fallen down beside it, but the footsteps sounded so far away that they actually echoed – or was it just me losing consciousness?
Barty finally lifted his foot. The relief from the absence of pressure I felt was so incredible, I almost felt happy in that moment.
But then, Barty whispered gleefully, 'Nighty night" and he proceeded to bring his foot back down – on my head.
Bartemius Crouch Jr.'s POV
I stared at Raylynx Kingsley, the most pathetic Mudblood I had ever known, with a trickle of blood running down her temple, and a spot of crimson blood slowly blooming between her lips. I felt a savage desire to take advantage of her. But I knew that time was running out. If my calculations were correct, Potter was already at the graveyard. It was time to make short work of the Mudblood, the broken Auror, and the werewolf, before others began to catch on as to what was happening.
I shut and locked the trunk again to ensure that Lupin and Moody would not escape. Then, after checking that the coast was clear, I dragged Raylynx, who was unconscious, into the hallway. I stuffed her into a nearby broom closet. With a low chuckle, I slammed shut the door and magically locked it and Silenced it. I would come back and check in on her in a few hours. I almost hoped she would survive, just so I could come back and have my way with her before I killed her once and for all.
As I walked back to my office, I couldn't help but laugh at the fact that my obvious trick had managed to best Raylynx Kingsley. She actually thought it was a choice – that her sacrifice would save Lupin and Moody. What a fool. There was never a choice.
I entered my office, pointed my wand at the trunk, and uttered, "Expulso." Inside of the closed and locked trunk, twenty vials of poisonous gas shattered open, immediately filling up the trunk and suffocating the occupants within.
Meanwhile, the Dark Mark branded on the inside of my arm burned, and I grinned as I realized that Harry Potter had finally landed in the graveyard of Little Hangleton, where the Dark Lord was so very close to rising once more.
to astingiel: Hello, hello! It's always so lovely to hear from you. Thank you so much for sticking around and continuing to read my story! Aw, yeah, Dorcas was one of the most noble characters, I always thought, so I tried to write out a death that paid homage to not only her intelligence and skills as a witch, but to the deep sense of justice and nobility that I imagine she had. Her legacy lives on, though, in her little brother Seth, who is now a father to a little girl who has inherited Dorcas' spunk, and of course, in the Wolfsbane Potion, which helps to alleviate the pain of so many. Also, I think Raylynx thinks of Dorcas all the time, wishing that she could go to her dear friend to ask for advice and also to just joke around with. For example, with the Horcruxes issue that is haunting Raylynx, I think that even though Raylynx feels she can't tell Sirius, she would have told Dorcas. (And I personally feel that Dorcas and Raylynx had an under-developed friendship that would grown even stronger over the years. It's really sad to think about...) Anyways, I hope that you're doing really well, astingiel! Thanks again for leaving a message. 3
to LizzieHeartsfan3: Hi, love! I'm so happy to hear that you liked the last chapter. I am always so in awe of how well you catch all of the characters' relationships and so grateful that you enjoy them! As with everyone else, I really hope that Jasper comes off as his own person in this story. No one is just a love interest; everyone has their own motivations, and I feel that Jasper's motivations are particularly strong because of his personality. He is naturally a sharp-minded and very active person, so he's a natural fit for an Auror. Then, in this case, where it's not just about the mission, but he actually has a personal stake in the outcome, too (in catching Sirius), I feel like he's on his most heightened game, if that makes sense. More generally, I'm always fascinated with how circumstances align and re-align people: Sometimes your rival becomes the person you trust most, or your former partner becomes the person you most deeply betrayed, or your old mentor is suddenly the person who is your obstacle. Because we often can't imagine our relationships shifting until they do, and then it usually speaks volumes about a person's principles or beliefs when you see how they react. Ollivander is one of the most enchanting characters for me, for sure. Not to give too much away, but in some form or another, the relationship between Ollivander and Raylynx will continue on for the rest of the story, though it's rarely a direct connection. They have that special bond where they see the fundamental mechanisms of the world so similarly that ultimately, they can't fully resent or begrudge each other, even if they want to. Thank you again for your kind comment, and for motivating me to continue thinking and writing about each character, even the ones that seem less relevant initially. :)
