James's blood ran cold when he received the letter. It had been such a lovely day as he relaxed on the beaches of Crete with his wife, a welcome respite from months of work and rambunctious young children. Claire had been so happy too. He could tell that the past few months of being a house-wife was boring her, but she continued to insist she would be content staying at home, given his raise and the fact that Andy, the twins and little Charles were getting rowdier by the day. Her smile turned to ash, however, as he showed her the contents of the letter.

"I'm going! James, I'm going to contact the Greek Aurors immediately!" She reached for her bag and took out her wand. "We're going—"

Tears were spilling over her face; all he could do was pull her close to him. His eyes were burning as well. His son was missing and it was terrifying. All the note said was that Nigel had gone after a friend who was missing and their whole group, professors included, have been alerted.

~X~

"Tomb robbers?! Why on earth would tomb robbers kidnap a 13 year old girl?" The situation just kept getting more and more puzzling. Nothing made sense to James as a whirlwind of information swarmed through the conversation.

"They're a known gang that has both discovered and robbed multiple tombs. For artifacts, fame, money, power… you name it."

"So how long would it take to track them down now that the Aurors have figured out who they are?"

"No idea. Latest update from our Chief indicates we have not figured out where they are."

"What do you mean you guys don't know where they are?!" Claire was shouting on top of her lungs, on the verge of starting a riot in front of the Greek Aurors' office. "We've put in the alert five hours ago! Five hours!"

"Ma'am — these sorts of investigations take time—" The woman at the front desk sounded resigned and exasperated. "We are already trying our best—"

"My son could be dead right now! Dead! What will you do then?!"

"How long would it take?" James asked, shaking. Every minute, every second, his heart sunk more. He pulled his wife close to him, but he could tell his touch did not calm her. It did not calm him either. "Please, we need to know. We need to know how long it would take for our boy to be safe."

The receptionist shook her head. "I can put a word to our Chief Auror. This case is high on our priority, but there are missing pieces."

Two figures apparated outside of the lobby: a boy Nigel's age, Yiannis, from what their son had described him, and Professor Celina Warbeck, who teaches Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. They hurriedly made their way to James and his wife.

"Mr and Mrs Potter! I'm so sorry - I'm so sorry I should have stopped Nigel!" The boy came up to them, his eyes and nose all red from crying.

"Mr and Mrs Potter, I take that both of you are checking with the Auror's as well," the woman spoke grimly. "I've informed the rest and sent a letter to the British Auror Headquarters as well, given this may also be relevant."

"Ah thank goodness!" Claire exclaimed. "Surely, your dad would be able to help solve this. Of course, maybe the Greek Aurors would know more about local crime, but—"

"I'm afraid, it seems, according to what Yiannis relayed to me in detail, your son was not the main target of this potential abduction," Professor Warbeck surmised, shaking her head. "It was another girl, his friend, Dorothea Smith.'

"But why would they want to kidnap Dora?!" Claire was baffled.

Warbeck shook her head, not knowing the details either.

"Mr and Mrs Potter — also Miss Celina Warbeck and your companion — our Chief Auror is requesting a meeting right now. Please head into his office," the receptionist finally called.

~X~

He could sense both of them, his nephew and the girl beside him, who were circling a pile of ruins, befuddled and growing more agitated by the moment. The distance was still too great for him to discern the overall situation but he was rushing through space and time. It seemed they had made the choice to go after their friend who was now in the clutches of nefarious tomb robbers and cultists. Perhaps fortunately, they were not able to find the entrance and, in all likelihood, would not possess the ability to enter said lair. Still, he had a sense of foreboding, mostly because of who had been kidnapped.

Dora, Nigel's friend, was a Parseltongue. There were many infamous figures in history who possessed that ability and in Greece, in the context of rapacious tomb robbers, there could only be one reason.

The wraith of a woman beside him shook her head at the revelations and speculations he had just imparted as they finally landed atop the Acropolis. It would have been a more dramatic entrance, had both of them not made a special effort to be particularly surreptitious. "Al… if what you're saying is true… then … then this girl is probably a long lost relative of mine. I don't know. Her parent's were both muggles though, what if— "

"She's not adopted, if that's what you're thinking. But there are other explanations." He scanned their surroundings. They were so close, but Delphi wanted to know more. It was the only way, or so he thought, that he could convince her to help, to entice her curiosity. It was a calculated risk, however.

Her ghost did not reply. Briefly, Albus wondered whether she was plotting something behind his back, just as she always did when she was still alive, before that fateful night. Not that it mattered anymore, for he was mentally prepared for such things these days. She had made him inherently mistrustful and he knew he should not expect too much of others. It was a cruel lesson but a lesson nevertheless.

Ah, there it was. A flicker. Two terrified figures huddled behind a series of runes, eavesdropping on an even larger group. "I've found them," Al announced and he set off again.

~X~

Surprisingly, Nigel did not have to hold Charlotte back from charging into the group of men. "We should plan for a distraction," she whispered to him. "Then we enter through there. That's where some of them took Dora."

"But how?"

"I've brought dung bombs."

Nigel couldn't help but snort and remarked that it sounded even more stupid than just simply charging into them without a plan. A plan… why didn't they come up with a plan? "I… don't think that's going to work." Somehow, he always assumed that dangerous adventures happened to people with better organizational capabilities than this.

"It's just one suggestion. I also have this." She announced triumphantly as she took out a jar that said Pixie Dust of Mischief, another one of those products from Dad's cousin's joke shop. "It's supposed to unleash pixie dust that turns into fairies that cause chaos."

Nigel sighed. All of this sounded like a reckless foray into certain doom. He was having second thoughts about going along with this— no. No. He was afraid. His friend's life was on the line, abducted into that ominous pit. And he was letting fear get in the way of helping. "I— I—"

"Come on Nigel, Dora's life is on the line. We don't have much time. That's what she told me before I last saw her… earlier today, after you guys visited the Acropolis, she told me she thought people were following her. That's how I guessed…."

He didn't want to feel ashamed, but there he was ashamed and afraid. If Charlotte, who hardly knew Dora before their trip to Greece, was willing to help, why couldn't he? After all, he already come this far. "Okay. I'll help."

And with that Charlotte released the dung bombs and Pixie Dust of Mischief. Nigel whispered a Charm they only recently learned that caused the ground to become slippery and pointed at the group of people. All of a sudden, there was chaos, yelling, arguments… They rushed for the entrance in the midst of it all.

It wasn't exactly a cave, though there was a slight distance you would have to run before realizing that, for there was a block of wall at the end of the tunnel. The noise behind them was markedly less chaotic; the men were figuring out what was happening and were no doubt rushing behind to get them. So they kept going, running and panting at the same time, wands whipped out in case they needed to fight, but fear was catching up with him. His dad had taught him spells he needed to get out of a difficult situation — mostly the basics really, the Knockback Charm, the Blasting Curse, the Disarming Spell… It wouldn't be enough but perhaps he could hold them back just a little to buy some time for Charlotte to figure out how to get in. No. He wasn't even sure if that would work. They don't have much time left. There was only one reasonable path. They had to get in.

"No key… No passcode… No nothing… Not even a clue on how to open—" Charlotte rambled frantically as Nigel took a closer look at their surroundings.

"Lumos," he enunciated the same way they taught in class. His illuminated wand joined hers as they scanned the surroundings. There it was. The clue. A serpent coiled around the corner. Blink and you'll miss it. "Look, Charlotte!"

She bent down and gazed at it. "What does this mean?"

"How we're going to get in," Nigel said, thought not entirely sure about how to follow. "That's got to be part of the puzzle."

But there were no other pieces to this puzzle.

The others were closing in on them, more shouting and screaming. Spells flashing. Blasts of red, green, yellow...

"Well, what does it do when we touch it?" Charlotte asked while doing exactly what she asked. No response. "Perhaps we can turn it like a door knob? No. Nope. No response. Any letters? Any writing? Runes? I mean — oh… never mind. Ugh."

"I think… I think it might be…" It had to be why they took Dora. The confession she made earlier, the secret she shared. "I think you need to speak Parseltongue to it."

"Correct," a familiar voice answered in the dark, green eyes gleaming as he took off his Invisibility Cloak. "You're standing before the tomb of Herpo the Foul, the less savory counterpart of esteemed Asclepius."

"You're— you're Albus Potter!" Charlotte gasped, slightly horrified.

"Nigel, I take that you did not forewarn her of anything?"

"But you're a wanted criminal! Plus aren't you on the Ministry's watchlist of dangerous Dark Wizards? Nigel, how—"

"First of all, no such list existed at least back when I worked for the Ministry and the Aurors. Secondly, let's prioritize saving your friend, shall we, Charlotte? My nephew plays no role in whatever the hell I'm doing." Uncle Albus looked both amused and peeved, but his comments have briefly stopped Charlotte's protestations.

Sighing, he appeared to flick his wrist. A ghost materialized beside him. It was female, in her early thirties, with silvery blond hair. It hissed something that no one else in the vicinity could comprehend. Parseltongue. Then, the serpent in the corner extended itself, swirling around to mark the entrance, marking the figure of a door. It swung open. "Thanks Delphi," he appeared to whisper to the ghost.

Charlotte watched the scene with awe before taking another look at the ghost, then at Uncle Albus, then at Nigel. "There's going to be a lot of explanations when this is done," she said, folding her arms. "Anyways, we should get going."

~X~

He cast another wandless incantation to dispel yet another curse aimed at maiming entrants to the tomb while asking Nigel and Charlotte to stand behind. They were all engulfed within a protective shield charm, customary when you're in charge of the well-being of two school children, which honestly, made everything way harder.

Then he heard Nigel yelling, "A hand! Look! It's crawling out of that pit!"

Ah shit. Inferi. How he loathed those creatures. Of course Herpo the Foul would plant them around this tomb.

Muttering a fire-summoning curse, he pointed that at the dozen of Inferi now crawling out of the pit. That set them ablaze and seemed to stop them from advancing. Then he uttered a fire containment spell to prevent it all from spiraling out of control — surely that must have been part of the trap — and urged them all to keep walking.

Words were still scant between him and Delphi and it was entirely his own choice. Whenever he did elect to speak to her, she always seemed willing to reply. But as they trudged through the tomb, it seemed they spoke even less. Not that it bothered him. He was just getting used to the idea of seeing her ghost and not reliving any murder-fantasies.

"They're not too far away," he whispered to Nigel and the girl. He could sense the others in the tomb. Traversing through various chambers and picking up their share of the loot.

"Thanks for helping, Uncle Albus," Nigel said quietly, "And also, the ghost you brought along too. We couldn't have gone this far without help."

Charlotte nodded. It seemed she was cautiously accepting the fact that he wasn't going to secretly kidnap them or anything and that he was actually here to help. He noticed she was more subdued, perhaps afraid. It made sense. He would have been the same in her position. "Couldn't have done it without you guys distracting all the tomb robbers," he remarked, "It would have been much more difficult to knock them out. Pixie dust and dung bombs, eh?"

They both snickered.

But before they could banter further, he could sense that something was amiss again, but this time, it wasn't the usual entrapments, the usual dark curses, which, though difficult, were not insurmountable. "Shut your eyes," he heard Delphi warn as he reached for his back pack and she echoed the same. They both knew what was going to happen.

A Basilisk. Of course.

~X ~

The warnings came all too suddenly as Lily patrolled the chambers of the Department of Mysteries with Neil. They were talking about some random ghost that apparently him and Morrison had struck up a bizarre acquaintance with, when they received a Patronus from their superiors.

When it carried the news that her nephew had disappeared in Greece, her heart sunk. James and Claire had always feared something like this would happen and after they figured out what almost happened in Egypt, their trepidations only escalated. It was a matter potentially involving the British Auror's because of familial connections involved and because the tomb robbing syndicate involved were also wanted individuals in Britain, having forayed into Morgana's tomb before.

"We're getting involved aren't we?" Lily asked Neil, who was technically her boss, but who she always felt comfortable chatting with.

"We're still waiting for instructions," Neil replied neutrally, "But I suspect we will. I have a bad feeling about this."

Lily stared at her boots. "I just hope my nephew is safe."

~X~

"Can we open our eyes now?" Charlotte asked as they huddled in a corner, protected by a Shield Charm his uncle had conjured.

There was a loud thud outside and that made Nigel's heart rate increase even further. "I— I—"

"It's safe now! Come along!" Albus announced as the silvery whisk around them dissipated. "Took a lot more time than I thought it would, but it's a done deal." He was covered in feathers as a piqued rooster was tottering around the floor. "Sorry, excuse me — ah — no! No, you can't just wonder off. No—" He finally petrified it, scooped it up and shrunk it so it fit into a small cage again, then placed it into his backpack. "Yeah, the most reliable way of dealing with Basilisks involves something far less glamorous than magical swords and all. But still, be careful. I suspect there may be other similar creatures around, maybe more Basilisks. So let's hurry along!"

As they followed along, wands illuminated and bracing for even more obstacles, he stole a furtive glance at Charlotte, trying to gauge if she was just as afraid as he was. They were probably in one of the most dangerous locations in Europe and had it not been for his uncle's help, who knows what could have happened? It made him slightly nervous — he almost felt like deadweight during most of their time down here. At least Charlotte had the benefit of acting decisively and coming up with the whole distraction plan at the beginning. If it were just him, none of this would have happened; he would have been so lost.

No. Don't put yourself down like this. Something dad would have said. Dad was a boisterous and overconfident man but he had a point. Now was not the time for talking himself down, for cowardice and self-pity. What would dad have done? Well, realistically, he would probably have feuded with Uncle Albus since dad doesn't have a particularly good view of that man — but asides from that, well, certainly not wallowing in self-doubt, which would not help anyone.

"Would we get in trouble?" Charlotte whispered to him as Uncle Albus blasted aside a stone golem that suddenly lunged at them.

He found himself snorting. "Oh I don't know, sneaking out late at night and potentially getting the local Aurors involved I'd wager … yes?" Plus they were in the company of an international criminal that was at least as notorious as Dora's kidnappers.

"I'm sorry for asking dumb questions… of course." It was odd that she seemed rather… deflated as well?

~X~

"The cave," Neil surmised as their surrounding Aurors also nodded, "They must be in the cave." All signs of the scene before them pointed to a scuffle, chaos, perhaps internal disputes over the spoilages, as members of the gang were sprawled over the floor, unconscious and injured, some grievously so. "Looks like there was a fight. Some really nasty spells used."

They were all on high alert, Lily had her wand drawn while Morrison looked especially tense. This would be Tobias' first mission after his recuperation. Another group set about examining the cave, where some of the unconscious bodies appeared to be headed. Head Auror Potter took great care - in spite of the personal emotional toll involved - of selecting the team for this case. Lily for her experience with healing, Morrison for his ability in solving puzzles and photographic memory and a whole team of specialized trackers and experts in Ancient Runes. (Neil had no idea why he was selected for this emergency, nor Tobias, in all fairness, but they were outliers. Perhaps his slight competence in Occlumency and Tobias's capacity to transform into a dragon could help with whatever eldritch abomination the Ancient Greek Dark Wizards cook up.)

"They're headed inside!" Gerold, one of their trackers, shouted from the entrance.

Sighing, Neil gave the signal for the rest to follow.

~X~

He saw her before he saw everyone else. Bound by bright tight coils, she stared at the scene before her, averting her gaze from her kidnappers. She must have been afraid, for he was too, though her eyes betrayed no emotion. In a way, he admired how subdued she was.

Uncle Albus held up his hand before Charlotte wanted to rush towards her. Neil took that as a signal that they should stay put for the moment.

They're on high alert now, but they're opening another vault. It could potentially unleash something harmful.

Nigel shot an alarmed glance at his uncle.

I know you both want to save her; that'll be our first priority. When the vault opens and they're distracted, we'll descend on them.

They both nodded. Nigel still could not figure out how his uncle was communicating with them and according to some spurious discussion in Defense Against the Dark Arts spurred by Conrad, this was technically impossible, but he was glad for the stealth it afforded to them.

Nigel? Head to your friend. The spell to reverse the binding is Liberatus Maximus.

He gave a tacit nod.

Charlotte?

She turned to him.

Dung bombs.

They grinned.

~X~

It was progressing rather well, Charlotte's dung bombs had, again, worked their magic. (His cousins' joke shops created wonders.) As per Delphi theorized, there was some contraption hidden amidst the vaults that threw everyone off guard. He did not have time to think about it as he fired three successive stunners that knocked their spells attaching the children off course, blocked a bright blue stream of spells and conjured a web of electric light that halted their movements, causing them to twitch uncontrollably.

Knowing this won't last forever, he flicked his wand — a tedious affair - to cast a series of Disarming Spells.

"I'm sure swathes of criminals are sighing with relief that you are no longer an Auror," Delphi quipped as he took the last wand, a backup of a backup, from the pockets of one of the tomb-robbers.

He ignored her.

Nearby, Nigel had finally figured out the spell to unbound Dora and she hugged him in relief as she was finally freed. Charlotte joined in the hug too, seeming rather pleased of herself. "I know you guys would come. I… I knew…." It seems she was holding in her fear, co-operating with her kidnappers to avoid being hurt, a shrewd move, but now she was letting it all go. He could tell she was on the verge of sobbing.

But, much to his dismay, there were other matters to turn to. The treasure - if indeed one could call that - on the vault beckoned one towards it, a small hour-glass adorned with rubies and emeralds, a serpent coiling over its frame. Its eyes glimmered and he resisted the urge to grab it. No, it was no time-turner and, in any case, nothing would work for him anyway. It—

"It's a nice ring isn't it?" Delphi's ghost whispered by his side rather tenderly. "I never—"

"What ring?" Al interrupted her, confused. "I only see an ancient Time Turner."

"Strange, I only see a ring… The one you gave me…" Her voice seemed to choke and he would have attempted to process this fact if it weren't for their jarring perceptions of the treasure. Something was wrong.

He shook his head. "We're seeing different things. Archaic spells are at work. I…Dora?" He turned his attention to the girl, still recovering with her friends. "I'm sorry to bother Dora, but what did they make you say — what words did you utter to open the vault?"

A strange hissing noise came out of her mouth. Sighing, he sought to clarify, "English please. I mean, whatever the English translation of what you just said."

"Show me my heart's greatest desire," Delphi's voice rang again.

Taking in those words, he fell into contemplation. It was indeed something of a trap. It had to be. It was enchanted to tempt forayers of the tomb towards it and—

"Shit," he found himself saying aloud. "Well we don't know what it is. We know it's definitely trying to manipulate us into taking it. Why don't we do the responsible thing and just leave?"

"Uncle Albus, is there something wro— Oh wow, wait — why is the newest Nimbus 3000 broom there— what the—"

"Nope. Everyone stay away from that vault." He found himself blocking the way, folding his arms, trying to appear responsible. "We have to leave. I don't know what thing that is, but —"

He felt his Locket ring in again, it's cold metal vibrating across his flesh. Not now! He sought to chastise it. It seemed rather upset that he wasn't willing to engage with it. They needed to leave as soon as possible. Of course, there was still the issue of several apprehended tomb-robbers but their survival was of no importance to him so technically he could simply abscond with everyone else. Then again, there—

No. It couldn't be. Somehow, today, he had the worst luck in the world. "Aurors," he announced, "There are Aurors in this tomb. More specifically" — he shut his eyes, confirming his premonitions —"British Aurors."

Lily. Out of all the people that was sent over here. It had to be her.

His Locket was still palpitating. Stop it. I'm trying to concentrate.

You know what's in the vault. Surely, it looks… alive… almost…

I'm not interested.

But you are. It's a very specific enchantment. I am. And we are one and the same.

Okay. Whatever. I am a little… No. It can't be. Herpo the Foul has only made one of them.

That historians know of.

But why encase it here. Why pretend to be dead?

Anyone's guess…

Also, why should I care? After all, I am thoroughly disinterested in the secrets of immortality and afterlife.

But you do want to know how to fix… us.

And why would that help?

No clue.

See?

I'm not saying you should fall into its temptation and get it. I'm saying that thing in there is probably a Horcrux and it's been magicked with a powerful enchantment that would be very hard to break.

"Talking to yourself are we?" Delphi seemed both concerned and amused.

"Something like that," Al replied to her and the rest. "That thing there… It's well… Better avoided."

Perhaps there was a small enchantment he could cast to temporarily subdue its powers as they made their way out of this tomb while simultaneously avoiding the Aurors, which included one sister that he very much did not want to encounter. Or perhaps he could simply escape himself once he was sure they would be safe in the Aurors' hands, even though that seemed rather immoral. Anyhow, it made sense for him to head towards the exit at the very least.

"Uncle Albus! Fire!" Nigel pointed out, alarmed, as they were suddenly surrounded by a blazing inferno. Alive, hungry, the flames flickered, almost as if licking their lips.

"Stand back!" He ordered. It was encircling them and blocking off their path to the exit.

Fiendfyre.

Sighing, he began the mutterings of the counter-curse as silvery whisps formed around his wand, coalescing into droplets, streams, until he was finally ready to unleash them back onto the fire.

"Woah…" He heard Dora and Charlotte gasp.

The, by now, large silvery cascades of streams flowing from his wand was successfully subduing the Fiendfyre, nullifying it and transforming it to smoke whenever they made contact.

"Do you really think I would let you leave so easily?" A voice, hissing emanated from the vault. It was heavily accented.

"You can let me leave," he said as he turned around to face it again, continuing to conjure silvery whisps even as the fire was gone. It had other protective properties, as the years made him discover. "Or, I can destroy you and spare future tomb-foragers the nuisance."

It seemed affronted. "You dare? You dare insult me?!"

Without awaiting for any further response, he quickly summoned a blazing inferno of his own and directed it towards the vault. Jet black flames, spiraled towards the hourglass - which was beginning to twitch - as the silvery whisps formed a protective wall around them. When it made contact, the illusion broke. There was nothing there… no treasure nor trinket to one's heart's desire or whatever you were meant to say to activate it. His flames burnt it to a crisp, but there was little comfort in that.

His spiraled again. That voice. It was definitely the presence of a Horcrux. But if it wasn't whatever lay in the vault, then it had to be somewhere else, something else…

Merlin's beard. The horror dawned on him. He had misjudged, to a terrible cost.

This entire tomb. It was the Horcrux.

A/N: Albus messed up badly and the clash is coming...