Professors McGonagall and Sprout patrolled the corridors together, trying to document the appearance of new runes and prevent students from approaching them.

Professor Flitwick had developed a charm to temporarily cover the runes with a magical veil, but it was not a perfect solution, since after a few hours the spell had to be renewed. And because of that, Hogwarts now looked like the infirmary, with all the walls covered in magical fabrics.

"Do you think the Lady was serious? When she said she would search through the entire country," Sprout asked, refreshing one of the spells.

"I don't know."

"Sinistra thinks she and Severus work together. She has seen them talking in secret, and this morning the ghosts saw her leaving the dungeons, trying to hide where she came from."

"I guess they are spying on each other. Only Merlin knows what they're up to."

"Do you think they are lying to us? What if Vaitiare is right?"

"I'm not inclined to defend Severus, Pomona, you know this very well, but I can't imagine him kidnapping students," she reprimanded her, looking at her colleague over her glasses. But before Sprout could reply, she was interrupted by a scream coming from the girls' restroom.

"Help! Help!"

The professors ran in and saw Lavender desperately trying to open the door to one of the cubicles.

"Miss Brown, what is happening?"

"Professor McGonagall, it's Parvatil. She is being attacked by the runes and cannot get out."

There was a strange light glowing under the door. McGonagall waved her wand, muttering an incantation, but the door resisted. Frowning and rolling up her sleeves, the professor repeated her incantation, with more force, and finally the door disintegrated.

However, there was no longer a trace of Parvatil, and on one of the walls, the last light of the magical oval disappeared.

ooo

Summer had come to an end, and with it, the holidays. Severus returned to Hogwarts, and for the first time, he wished he didn't.

He had spent the last few weeks with Hellen, and what had started as a simple physical attraction seemed to have turned into something more.

In some way that he didn't understand, he missed her, even though there was nothing to justify it. He wasn't looking for her anymore, and he didn't have to worry about brewing healing potions for her either. In theory, he could allow himself to forget about her, perhaps preserving the memory of their most intimate moments for his personal pleasure.

And yet, he couldn't forget her.

Confused, he hoped that the passing of the days and weeks would make him forget that feeling. It wasn't normal for him to obsess like that.

He felt like he was betraying the memory of his first love. He had promised himself that there would be no one like Lily, that no other woman would take her place. But the passage of time and routine only made the memories of the moments lived with Hellen become more precious, and the desire to see her again stronger.

If it had only been about physical desire, he would have understood it, after all, Hellen was a very attractive woman who knew what she wanted, both in her daily life and in bed. The problem was that instead of remembering her kisses and caresses, what he missed most was her smile, the sound of her voice, and the conversations they shared at dusk.

After weeks of fighting that feeling of emptiness, he decided to write her a letter. It was short and concise, but he asked about her and offered the chance to stay in touch.

He sent it by muggle post, so as not to draw attention to himself, and then he was overcome with nerves.

A part of him told him that Hellen most likely wouldn't respond, since contacting him would only put her in danger.

Days passed by with no news from Hellen, and Severus convinced himself that he had acted foolishly, exposing himself in this way.

Bitterly, he decided that he should forget her. He would never think about her again.

ooo

The atmosphere in the professors' room was more tense than ever.

"The students are accompanied everywhere, but it is not enough to keep them safe. They are not even safe in the toilets," Sprout protested, after explaining Parvatil's disappearance.

"How long will it take for them to start disappearing from the bedrooms?" professor Vector asked.

The professors' alarmed looks expressed how scared they felt. It was becoming increasingly difficult to control the appearance of the runes and their effects.

"We will have to send the students home," Flitwick said out loud what everyone feared.

"Closing Hogwarts won't solve the problem," Dumbledore argued. "Disappearances spread throughout the country."

"Parents think their children will be safer in their homes," McGonagall had several letters from concerned parents in her hands. Dumbledore contemplated the situation, silent and thoughtful, before looking at the Lady.

"No news about the snakes?"

"Not yet. I have extended the search outside of England. I'm looking for them too, but I suspect they must be hidden in a place protected from magic."

McGonagall glared at her.

"Wasn't your power so great? This should not be a problem for you," the Lady stared back, amazed at the boldness of her words, but she responded calmly, looking into her eyes.

"There are powers in this world that are stronger than me. Which doesn't mean I'm going to give up."

McGonagall didn't respond, perhaps because of the warning nudge she received from Sprout. However, even she had to admit that the Lady seemed exhausted. Her posture was no longer as stiff and proud as it had been a few weeks before, and her eyes were surrounded by deep circles.

"Do you still maintain that lord Voldemort has nothing to do with it?" Dumbledore insisted, ignoring Snape's angry look.

"The Dark Lord has also ordered an investigation. Amycus Carrow 's actions have made him think that there may be several death eaters acting on their own."

"Don't you agree with that?"

She hesitated before answering. Her eyes flitted briefly to Snape, before she decided to speak.

"I don't believe the runes are originated by a human being," she confessed, and murmurs of disbelief rose around the table. "There is something about them of a supernatural nature. The way they act is very different from the magic created by a wizard or a witch."

"It's a theory to keep in mind," Dumbledore nodded thoughtfully. "But we must persevere in finding the students, before it is too late."

"The new location charm is almost ready," Flitwick noted. "It should be more effective than the previous one."

"Maybe we can use a Medium," Sinistra suggested, but Sprout looked at her scared.

"They're not dead yet!"

"Just in case–"

"There is also the option of entering the oval opened by the runes, to see where it leads," the Lady's words left them silent again, despite how weak her voice sounded. Everyone looked at her, stupefied.

"My lady, don't you remember what happened when you touched that rune?" Snape tried to sound calm, but Dumbledore did not miss the slight nervousness in his voice.

"The other time I struggled to free myself, and that's why it attacked me," she stared at him calmly, maintaining her composure. "If I let myself go, there wouldn't be any problem. I could reach the same place where the girls are."

"And what if it's not that way?"

"Then, we will rule out that hypothesis."

Snape scrunched up his face, fighting not to retort. Only Dumbledore knew his secret, and he didn't want to arouse more suspicion from the other professors by fighting with her in public.

"It won't work," again, everyone remembered Narcissa's presence, in her secluded corner.

"Explain yourself," the Lady ordered.

"The only people who have disappeared are young underage girls. When I approached the portal, it closed. It trapped you, but it didn't drag you into it. We know that the students have fought to avoid being abducted, so it doesn't seem like the magic affects the oval. It is possible that it simply does not accept the presence of a grown woman."

"That doesn't help us much," McGonagall muttered.

"On the contrary, I think Narcissa has revealed an important detail. The victims follow a very specific pattern," Dumbledore stroked his beard with his blackened hand. He looked at Snape, questioningly, and he frowned thoughtfully.

"There are certain... spells and rituals that are empowered by human blood," he ventured. "As often happens, the... youth of the victims plays a fundamental role in the result," Mcgonagall wrinkled her nose in disgust, but Flitwick nodded vigorously.

"I agree with Severus. It is very clear that the culprit wants to use the girls for a very particular purpose."

"Like what?" Sprout asked, horrified. "What could be obtained from those girls?"

"Youth and beauty," Narcissa said out loud what everyone was thinking. A chill ran through those present.

And then, the Lady, after looking around the room, asked the question that no one dared to ask.

"Where is Vaitiare?"

ooo

One day, when he least expected it, Severus found the house-elf Win waiting inside his bedroom.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed, closing the door hastily and looking around, as if he feared that the aurors were going to jump on him. "Has anyone seen you?"

"No one looks at house-elves, Mr. Snape," Win handed him an envelope. "Win has agreed to give this to Mr. Snape, much to her chagrin."

Ignoring the elf's words, Severus snatched the envelope from her hands and opened it anxiously. He read quickly, barely understanding the few words written on the paper.

Hellen thanked him for his message but considered it too dangerous to make contact with him.

Stunned, Severus looked at the back of the note, trying to find something else. To his disappointment, he didn't.

"This is all?" he snorted and Win shrugged.

Severus crumpled the note and threw it on the floor in anger. He cursed himself for being such an idiot. How had he allowed himself to let his guard down like that?

What did he expect to receive from her? They had only slept together for a couple of weeks, it was nothing she hadn't done before with any of those muggles hanging around the beach. Why did he expect it to be different with him?

"What are you still doing here?" he growled, realizing that the elf was still looking at him. "You can go back the way you came."

But Win did not obey him. She wrinkled her nose and wiggled her ears, thinking carefully about what she was going to say.

"Mr. Snape must know that the miss is afraid."

"She has already made it very clear."

"Mr. Snape doesn't understand. The miss is afraid of falling in love with Mr. Snape," Win looked at him without blinking, trying to make him understand. "The miss fears that if she continues talking to Mr. Snape, she will end up feeling something that binds her to him. In fact... it may already be too late for the miss," the elf looked at her feet, without wanting to say anything else.

Severus looked at her curiously, despite himself.

"Why do you say that?"

"When Mr. Snape left, the miss spent several days crying. The miss hides from Win, but Win knows. The miss had never done that for the other boys. It was very hard for the miss to receive Mr. Snape's note, the miss did not know how to respond. Win thinks that miss doesn't want to get her hopes up."

Severus looked at the crumpled paper, not knowing what to say, and noticing how the anger evaporated, replaced by uncertainty. Was she afraid of falling in love? With him? He definitely hadn't expected that development of events.

"If I contact her... Won't she ignore me?" he asked, hesitantly, still looking at the crumpled piece of paper.

"With what objective? Win doesn't want the miss to get hurt."

"I don't want to hurt her," he murmured. He realized he meant it, he didn't want to play with her feelings like that. Win flicked her ears, appraising him.

"When Mr. Snape makes up his mind, he should call Win. Win will do everything possible to reach him discreetly."

ooo

The members of Dumbledore's Army were gathered in the Room of Requirement.

The room had conjured up a variety of seating, since they weren't practicing spells that day and the students were arguing about the runes and the missing girls.

"There are at least six who have been kidnapped: Ginny, Parvatil, Hannah's sister, the Ravenclaw girl, the Slytherin girl and the two Hufflepuffs," Harry summarized. "They are students from all the houses."

"And Hermione and Lavender are in the infirmary," Angelina reminded them. She and the other girls were especially nervous. It was no secret who the runes' favorite victims were.

"This is You-Know-Who's doing," Ernie insisted. "It has to be, that Lady is helping him."

There were murmurs of agreement among the others.

"What do you think?" Ron asked him. Harry hesitated, in those moments, he missed Hermione's logic.

"I don't think she's involved. If so, she wouldn't have asked me for help."

"But it might be a trick to get you to trust her," Dean argued. "We all know that Amycus Carrow tried to kidnap that second-year girl."

"And now he is punished for it. Ron and I witnessed him been tortured in the infirmary," Harry looked around. "Look, I don't know how to explain it, but strangely enough, I don't think Voldemort is behind all this."

"How can you be so sure?" Justin looked at him suspiciously. Beside him, Alicia and Kate nodded their heads.

"Because I heard the snakes," Harry snapped, more abruptly than he intended. "They're looking for the girls, why would they, if Voldemort or the Lady knew where they are?"

The others did not dare to reply, but they shifted uncomfortably. No one liked to remember that Harry had the ability to talk to snakes.

Ron intervened, trying to return to the topic that had brought them together that day.

"Even so, we still have the presence of the Carrows at Hogwarts."

"Alecto is especially violent," said Alicia. "You should hear how she talks about muggles in class."

"Could we do something against her?" Ron suggested, to the agreement of the others. "It doesn't seem like the Lady has much love for them, she almost seems annoyed with their presence. We might even do her a favor."

Harry knew that Hermione would have objected to the idea. But Hermione was unconscious on a stretcher in the infirmary, and it was unknown if she would wake up again.

"We should be more careful than last time," he said cautiously, looking around. "We cannot resort to firecrackers again."

"What if we use the power of the runes?" everyone turned to look at Luna. The girl was lying on a sofa, looking absently at the ceiling lights. "We could make her accidentally trip over them."

"Merlín, Luna, sometimes you're really scary," Ron commented, breaking the tension of the moment. Harry thought about the idea, aware of the others' stares.

"It could work. But we must make it look like a real accident."

ooo

Silence had taken over the room of the Department of Mysteries. Despite the dangerous situation, exhaustion had taken its toll on the girls, and most of them slept, accommodated as best they could on the hard stone floor.

Ginny also tried to sleep, but the sound of sobs prevented her from doing so.

"It's the girl from before."

Indeed, the young witch who had suddenly performed magic was alone, with her back leaning against a column, crying while hugging her stuffed seal.

The other girls shunned her, scared of her, and Ginny had heard how they insulted her, blaming her for their classmate's disappearance. Feeling pity and compassion, Ginny crawled to her side.

"Don't cry. It's okay. Those silly girls don't deserve you to think about them," she consoled her. "I'm Ginny, what's your name?"

"Eily," the girl looked at her pitifully with her blue eyes brimming with tears.

"Do you want to sit with me?" Ginny pointed to the secluded corner where she had taken refuge earlier along with the other Hogwarts students.

The girl wiped her face with her shirt sleeve, nodded and followed her.

"What a beautiful stuffed animal, what's his name?"

"It's Mr. Seal, my dad gave him to me," the girl hugged the stuffed animal as if it were an extension of her father. Ginny couldn't help but feel sorry for her, and smiled kindly, trying to give a sense of confidence.

"Ask her about her magic."

"Patience, Hermione, she's very scared."

"We do not have much time."

Ginny snorted but continued smiling. At least the girl was no longer crying.

"How old are you, Eily?"

"Five."

"And do you already know how to do magic? It's impressive," Ginny smiled, encouraging her.

"Mom says I shouldn't do it in front of others, but dad says I can use it to defend myself."

"Do you know how to defend yourself?"

"I know how to do this," Eily let go of her stuffed animal, crossed her arms, holding her elbows with her hands, and closed her eyes. Instantly, a kind of bluish bubble surrounded her.

"It's a protective shield." Hermione was amazed.

"Aren't you too young to know how to do that?"

"She can do advanced magic without a wand!"

"Dad says I should learn. When I'm older he'll teach me to do more things."

"Your father seems like a very special person, what is his name?"

"I can't say it, it's a secret," the girl recited, as if she had repeated the phrase ad nauseam, to memorize it.

"She must be related to some auror," Hermione guessed.

Their attention was drawn to one of the captors, who was walking among the girls, a scroll in his hand. He seemed to count, and from time to time, he would point something out. As he passed in front of them, he noticed the small blue sphere surrounding Eily.

Ginny tensed, ready to pounce on him if he came too close, but he just smirked, jotting something down on the parchment, before walking away.

"I want to go home. I miss mom and dad," Eily stopped invoking the shield and hugged her stuffed seal again, shrinking sadly into herself.

"We'll be leaving soon, you'll see," Ginny pulled her close, hugging her. "Surely your dad is looking for us and will find us soon. We will be safe."

The girl snuggled against her, closing her eyes, and Ginny wished with all her might that her words would come true. She didn't want to think about what would happen if no one could locate them.