The time to unfold after the battle down below transpired in a long, timeless blur.
Zander hardly recalled the chamber flooding with teachers and ghosts. Evidently, Myrtle had kept her promise to rally them all, which led to Arius and at least ten other teachers storming down into the chamber long before Rose and the others could find them. Professor Longbottom was quick to take Mary-Lynn from James's custody and escort the guilty girl away, Crowley restraining and seizing the battered and unconscious Valefor, and before long—Zander and Alice were removed from the chamber as well.
Zander knew Alice had been taken to the hospital wing, and she remained there all night. During this time—when the owls were sent to the ministry, and while the parents were all contacted—Arius stated it was important for Zander to be present in the headmaster's office, as many important things needed to be discussed.
Now, however—with Valefor on his way to Azkaban, and with Mary-Lynn on her way to a holding cell elsewhere—the adults inside the headmaster's office were still lost in a lengthy debate, which carried on for hours.
Zander was left to wait outside until it was all over.
As the sun began to rise above the castle, and as the students hustled and bustled, spreading rumors and gossip about the great event that transpired down below—Alice remained in the hospital wing, not allowed to see visitors, despite the crowd of supporters that lingered outside the door, waiting for the moment they'd be allowed in to see her.
James, Lorcan, Tobias, and Rose were all inside this crowd as well—but absent from them all was Zander, still sitting on the cold ground outside the headmaster's office, glaring straight ahead, waiting to be let inside, and replaying the wicked scenes in his mind even still.
His visage was deadpan, stony, lost to the world as he stared endlessly into nothing in particular, his arm propped on his knee, his fist opening and closing around his wand, hating everything in the world and wishing Alice never…
The door suddenly shifted, and the headmaster's office opened.
Zander turned and climbed to his feet, wandering inside and sighing as he glanced around.
On Arius's desk sat the Swords of Salazar, as well as the sorting hat, Zeus the dragon sitting on his perch and picking at his little blue wings. Arius stood there, both of his hands placed atop his cane, and Crowley, Roman, Samuel, Malachi, and even the Minister herself—Hermione—all stood idly by, each of them facing Zander and saying nothing.
Zander returned their stares, still feeling both disturbed and drained, remaining silent.
"Son," Malachi said, breaking the silence and giving him a nod. "You all right?"
Zander gulped, managing a nod as well. "Yeah."
"Good." Malachi sauntered forward, placing a hand on Zander's shoulder, giving him a shake and a proud little smirk.
Then, he marched past his son, strolling out of the office and vanishing from their presence.
Zander watched him go, then faced the others again, waiting for one of them to speak next.
Arius read his expression, making a slight arm movement—and the office doors swung shut.
There was another pause, Samuel leaned halfway-sitting on the corner of the desk, gnawing his lip and looking perturbed. Roman stood beside him with his meaty hands pocketed in a thick wool overcoat, and Hermione positioned behind the desk with folded arms and a troubled face, and Arius and Crowley exchanged grave expressions with one another, both of their eyes landing on Zander yet again.
Zander stared, his mouth drifting agape, wanting to say something—but, moments later, his gaze wandered over to the side, fixating on Samuel instead, who was staring distantly into the floor.
Rather than speaking to the teachers, Zander strode over to Samuel, inhaling deeply before he spoke to him.
"I didn't tell her…" Zander began, his voice weak with a dry, breathless rasp.
Samuel's eyes wandered up to him.
"I didn't tell her to…" Zander uttered with some difficulty, sighing and shaking his head, feeling an aggravating wave of emotions fighting to emerge all the sudden, though he forced them down. "I didn't tell her to follow me. I didn't want her to… I'm…"
He trailed off, inhaling another heavy cloud, breath shaking this time.
"I'm sorry," Zander said honestly.
Samuel gazed into him, wearing an uncharacteristically grim expression.
Then, seconds later—much to Zander's surprise—he flashed his signature smirk.
"I'm glad she did, to be honest," Samuel muttered. "Because it sounded like she showed up right when you needed her."
Zander swallowed roughly, feeling his stomach churn. He didn't disagree with Samuel—but this statement disturbed him even more.
"And that doesn't make it your fault," Samuel added, as if reading his mind, raising his brows and giving Zander a firm look. "Look—when you care about someone, that's just what you do. Period. End of story."
"Something that you and her both tend to do for each other quite often," Arius interjected, speaking softly and kindly, giving Zander a nice little smile.
"Which… might I add… is precisely what brought about the Swords of Salazar," Crowley disclosed, making a gesture toward the sparkling duel swords on the desk. "Alice's insistence on helping you saved your life… and your insistence on helping her saved hers. Not to mention, it called a founder's fortune that hasn't been seen in about a thousand years."
"It's a day full of wins, even if it doesn't seem like it now," Roman remarked.
"And my daughter will bounce right back like she always does," Samuel knew, his half-smile growing as he gave Zander a gentle nudge with his elbow. "Don' worry none."
"Although, there is… one thing," Arius added on, making a wincing sort of face and raising a finger, giving Zander a quizzical squint. "When you first pieced together what Mary-Lynn was doing… why not just come straight to us?"
Zander sighed. "Because if I had… no one would've been there to stop them, or hold them up."
Arius gave him a thoughtful look. "That was quite a risk for you."
Zander glanced down, then shrugged. "Seemed worth it."
There was a pause, everyone else trading glimpses with one another.
"Brilliant," Hermione finally spoke up, leaning against the nearest pillar, her arms crossed and her eyes trained on Zander. "The way you cracked it was quite brilliant, and sending the ghosts to call upon the teachers beforehand was very smart, too. And… you were also exceptionally brave to confront them. You would've made a fine Ravenclaw… or even Gryffindor."
Zander eyed her, then nodded sideways, making another mild shrug. "Nah. Too many rules."
Samuel breathed out a faint little laugh.
"And… you will be happy to know that our lovely minister here has taken Mary-Lynn in for questioning, and taken her parents into custody," Arius informed. "Valefor is off to Azkaban, and that… I believe… has made Hogwarts fairly safe again. The only issue that remains… is…"
The headmaster sauntered around his desk, lifting the swords up and making the sunlight from the windows cast a beaming glare off each one.
"What… do we do," Arius uttered, "with these?"
Zander stared at them, Samuel and Roman trading looks and Crowley raising his brows.
"Now, don't get me wrong… I quite like them, and I think they'd look nice posted up in here," Arius added, waving one of them around as he spoke. "But, seeing as how Hogwarts is the first place any dark wizards would look for these particularly special artifacts… I'd say they need to go to a place that is far more obscure."
Zander and Roman both looked to Samuel, Crowley squinting at him.
Samuel blinked, glancing between all of them. "What…?"
"The carnival," Roman said. "Nobody's gonna look for 'em there."
Samuel's eyes narrowed. "Ah… well, y'know, I imagined they oughta belong to Zander, since he's the only person alive who's ever been able to call 'em before…"
"Ah-huh… and… remind me, Samuel," Roman said, giving him a curt look. "Where does Zander live now?"
Samuel's mouth opened, making an investigative face and eyeing Zander. "Well… that's rather up to him, innit?"
Zander gave them a double-take. "What—you think I'm going home to my father? Ha. No. I'll take the carnival, thanks."
Crowley scoffed out a laugh.
"Carnival it is," Arius concluded, placing the swords down. "Just so long as our carnie vagabond can ensure their safety and protection."
"Naturally," Samuel nodded, glimpsing over at Roman. "I've got a right tough bastard of an auror popping in and out all the time as it is. I reckon the swords oughta be just fine there."
There was another pause in the air, Zander's gaze venturing back over to Hermione.
"Minister," he said. "Am I in trouble?"
Everyone turned to Hermione, as they were all evidently eager to hear her answer.
Hermione opened her mouth to reply, sighing and straightening up.
"Well," she said. "You haven't broken any laws, have you?"
Zander hesitated, thinking back to when he'd nearly lost himself in the chamber—when he almost casted an illegal curse on Valefor. But, in the end, his friends arrived just in time to snap him back into reality, and he didn't choose to follow through.
"No," he said honestly.
"Then…" Hermione mumbled, turning her gaze to Arius. "It's up to your headmaster."
When all eyes landed on Arius, he blinked and choked out a laugh.
"Oh, what—are you kidding? No. Of course not," Arius snickered, patting the swords loudly atop his desk. "Look at this. He pulled off a bloomin' miracle right here, and he saved lives here in Hogwarts. That type of thing ought to be rewarded, not punished."
Samuel, Roman, and Crowley all smirked and chuckled, Hermione hanging her head and shaking it, failing to hide an amused half-smile.
"And… come to think of it… I have just the reward in mind," Arius said knowingly, holding up a finger and flashing a grin. "But… it's a surprise. You can't know what it is yet. You won't be using it anytime soon… but it'll be a prize for you and Alice both, Zander. Something I think you'll value very much when we all make our trip to America."
"Aye… blimey… that's just around the corner now, innit?" Samuel uttered, stroking along his chin. "School year's nearly over…"
"Yes… and if you'd like to be present during the Triwizard Tournament, then you might want to book your stay in the Ivory Estate now," Arius advised him. "Seeing as how you're a parent, I imagine you'll want to be there."
"Oh, aye, definitely," Samuel affirmed. "Booked my suite a month ago."
"What's the Ivory Estate?" Zander asked.
"Well… imagine Manhattan, but for wizards," Arius replied. "Imagine if Diagon Alley was American, and positively enormous. That's where the Ivory Estate is. It's where traveling wizards stay when they pop off to Boston for an extended period of time. That whole area is called the American Aisle… which is essentially like a magical Manhattan. Full of nice little shops, too. I like a nice little shop."
"Um… professor," Hermione muttered, slowly raising a finger and motioning to Zeus. "You do know it's still illegal to have a dragon on the grounds, right?"
Everyone fell silent for a second.
Arius gaped at her, glimpsing over at Zeus, then back. "I… have a permit for that."
Zeus suddenly coughed out a blast of fire, making Arius reel back and swat rapidly at the air. Crowley and Samuel both laughed.
Zander smirked, gazing down at the floor, his smile beginning to fade.
"Sir," he said, looking to Arius. "Could I go now…?"
Arius smiled and nodded. "Yes… you may. Though, do be careful, because as I've heard it, the news of yours and Alice's transgressions have traveled across the school already… and I imagine you'll have to fight through a little fan club in order to go and pay her a visit."
Zander nodded mildly, sighing and hesitating.
"Zander," Arius said intently. "Go spend time with your friends, and enjoy what little is left of the school year. This is the last of the time you'll spend living in Hogwarts, and you really should cherish that while you can."
Zander nodded again, giving each of them a glance and a wave before he turned away, strolling out of the office and disappearing from their sight.
Once he was gone, another silence overtook the atmosphere, this one tenser than before.
Arius released a heavy cloud of breath, seeming suddenly less whimsical now, staring down at the swords with a deep, thoughtful look about him.
"We all know what this means," he said, raising his head and looking between Crowley, Roman, and Samuel. "Extra security… extra precautions… and whatever aurors we can spare, from home and America alike. America is where the greatest stronghold of Xyler supporters are… and the Triwizard Tournament might be dangerous for everyone come the next school year."