Nothing is mine.

So, it seems all the emails are still broken, so if you do want updates for my short pieces, A Taste of Ismenian Water, A Spire to the Stars, For Whom the Bell Tolls, or Smile Back, which will be coming after I've finished this story, I suspect the best going forward way is just to join the Discord (linktree is at the bottom of the page), grab the roles that get notifications for updates, and lurk there (you're all welcome to join and chat with everyone as well, but for the purposes of getting update notifications lurking will work!). That's basically the best I can do, I'm afraid, since FFN are resolutely not fixing things on their end. I do also post on Ao3, and their notifications are working last I checked, but I know not everyone likes to use that site.

A Pistachio Surprise

'Boooooored.' Bella picked up one wriggling pawn by the head and shook it. 'You're boring, tiny stabby pawn person.'

It writhed and squirmed in her grip, waving its little spear and shield.

She shook it a bit more.

Footsteps drifted down the stairs in the corner.

Who is it, Bell? Bella cocked her head, spilling her dark curls across her shoulder. People to play with, Bella.

She giggled. 'Everyone's a player, Bell. Everyone counts now.'

It's just us and Cousin Harry playing together now, Bell! Bella crushed the head of the pawn under her thumb, watching its little legs kick; its heels scored tiny scratches into the chunk of table lying on the steps beside her.

'Bella!' Astoria chimed, gliding through the door beside her sister. 'We have a task!'

'A game!' Bella jumped up. 'What's the game?'

Enni's throaty chuckle echoed through the ruined, empty hall as she prowled from the stairs. 'You'll like it, little mad one. It's a good game.'

'A good game?' Bella huffed. 'Silly Man lost. The other weird sisters lost. There's nobody fun left to play with, just itty bitty baby-bottom, and he looks so boring.'

'There's Mithras,' Daphne murmured.

'We're going to play with Mithras? Now?'

Cousin Harry is the best player, Bell! Bella giggled into her hand and waved to Chasca as she stumbled in, yawning. We'll play with all of them together, Bell. Win or die! Feel alive or lose!

'You need to go to Beauxbatons, Bella.' Astoria grinned, a bright gleam of mischief in her pale blue eyes. 'Bring Mithras back here so we can all play against him together, right, Daph?'

'When he comes, Enni, you strike as fast as you can. If you can kill him immediately, this will all be very easy.' Daphne folded her arms. 'But he will still be wary, even if it's Bella bringing him to see Grindelwald. Chasca, you keep your distance. Do whatever you must, but contain his most powerful magic.'

'I…' Chasca tugged at one of her long gold-threaded braids. 'I do not know if I can contain Inti's fire… The rest, yes, maybe, but…'

'If we see that, we all get out of there,' Daphne murmured. 'Immediately. I have seen Grindelwald use that sort of magic before; the only counter strategy we have is to avoid it to begin with.'

'Daph and I will help with containing him, Chasca,' Astoria said. 'Bella, throw whatever you want at him, but be careful not to get hit with anything that comes back. He is fast. Enni, you as well. Pick your moment, don't be reckless, and go for his head or his wand. Our best strategy against him remains the same as it always has, let him wear himself out with more powerful magic.'

'Will that work?' Chasca asked. 'He is… like Grindelwald.'

'Hopefully, but the Duforts lost to Mithras, and they… well, we would have needed a hand to beat them, wouldn't we, Enni?' Astoria snickered.

Enni bared her fangs at Astoria and hissed.

Daphne sighed. 'We will keep him contained as long as we can. Wear him down carefully, and then, if or when the risk gets too high, we will pull back and let Grindelwald finish the duel.'

'Now?' Bella bounced on her toes. 'Can we go now?'

'Bring him here,' Astoria chimed. 'We will be ready when you do.'

'Can you get to Beauxbatons?' Daphne murmured.

'The French school?' Bella scrunched her face up. 'No. We've never been there.'

Astoria rummaged through the pockets of her white robes and produced a wooden ice cream stick, sliding her wand from her sleeve and tapping it. 'The word is the name you gave him, Bella. Say the name of this place to come back here.'

Bella snatched it. 'Let's go! Mithras!'

The hall of splintered furniture and its gaping empty windows whirled away as the portkey spat Bella out onto the cobbled square of a small ruined village with a loud crack.

She skipped forward toward the four figures upon the narrow bridge. 'Mithras!'

The portkey yanked her backwards and dropped her in the square beside the fountain.

'Stupid portkey!' Bella stuffed the ice cream stick in her pocket. 'Where's Mithras?'

The twins shook their heads at her.

'Not here,' one said.

'He doesn't like this place. He went to the Black Forest saying something about children and legacies of Rome,' the other said.

'Oh.' Bella screwed up her face. 'He's in the tower with all the leaves.'

What do we do now, Bell? She pulled the portkey back out. Tell them he's not here of course, Bella, we can't play without him.

'Nurmengard.' Bella lurched left and stumbled over a piece of broken bench.

'Is he coming?' Astoria chimed.

'He wasn't there! It was just the other four!'

Daphne poked Astoria in the side.

'Right. Right.' Astoria plucked the ice cream stick from Bella's fingers. 'Daph says we're changing plans. We shall go to France and deal with those four now first and then Mithras will come here to find us anyway.'

'And find Suleiman's blade,' Daphne murmured. 'If Mithras is coming to Nurmengard prepared, we'd better locate that and make sure he can't bring it. We can use it against him instead.'

Two games, Bell! Bella bobbed her head, beaming. First we play with them, then we get Mithras and play with everyone else. They all count, Bella.

'Chasca, you do the wards first.' Daphne's cool blue gaze swept across the group, lingering on Bella. 'Enni, go straight for the Carrow twins. They're poor duelists, so finish them fast and come back to help us with the other two. Bella, pick one of Diggory or Hardsworth, then stay out of the way.'

'Ready!' Astoria held out her hand. 'Daph, can we…?'

A long sigh escaped Daphne. 'But we're not Team Ice Cream anymore, it doesn't make sense.'

'Fine. Fine.' She flapped her arm. 'Come on then, let's go to Beauxbatons. We won a duelling championship there, remember, Daph?'

'I remember,' Daphne murmured. 'The French girl cried after we beat her, but she wasn't even the school duelling champion. The real school champion, Fleur Delacour, was suspended for cursing someone; the triwizard veela girl.'

'We'd have beaten her anyway.' Astoria grinned as they gathered around her, linking arms. 'Mithras.'

The stark, snow-swept hall swirled away and Bella appeared back on the cobbles beside the smashed fountain with a loud crack.

Chasca stuck her wand in the air, releasing a shimmering ripple of magic; it washed over the four figures on the narrow bridge as they whirled around, drawing their wands.

'Let's play!' Bella skipped forward, snatching out her wand.

Her pinks and purples hissed down the bridge, but Grant parried them away to punch deep smoking holes in the white stone. Cedric and the twins fired blues and oranges and reds past Grant.

Bella giggled, twirling through them along the narrow bridge past shattered statues and broken pieces of balustrade, swatting their colours back off the tip of her wand. 'More colours! More!' She added some bright yellows between the flicks of her wrist, sending them diving for cover. 'You're too slow!'

Enni blurred past, her broadsword flashing.

A piece of wood sprang from the air, catching the blade before Grant's neck and Cedric banished it over the edge of the bridge, ripping the weapon from Enni's hands. The twins put four bright green spells through Enni's chest, knocking her sprawling back to Bella's feet.

'Hi Enni!' Bella giggled and skipped over her. 'Bye Enni!' She switched to blues and greens, punching fist-sized holes through the wood.

Grey fog lanced past her, spraying splinters across the bridge and hammering into a bright white bubble of magic.

'Go!' Grant growled, grabbing his wand in both hands and backstepping toward the edge; damp patches soaked through his robes beneath the finger-length splinters bristling from his left arm. 'We need to get off the end of the bridge and out from under the wards, I'll keep shielding us and come down last.'

Cedric retreated, conjuring a long thick black rope and pinning it to the floor with a dozen sticking charms. 'Go—' he waved the twins toward it '—you two run for the edge of the wards and get out. Don't wait for us.'

'Daph,' Astoria chimed as the twins vanished off the edge. 'Time for us to… split?'

Daphne sighed. 'Bella, take care of Hardsworth.'

The grey fog swept back, coiling around Chasca and Enni.

Cedric grabbed hold of the rope. 'I'll cover you from below, Grant.' He dropped over the edge.

With a loud crack, the rest of the Walküren vanished.

Grant's shield wavered out. 'Right—' he tugged the splinters from his arm and chucked them over the edge '—we need to get out, Bella.'

Bella cocked her head. 'Out?' She peered past him.

Cedric and the twins sprinted from the swaying rope, slipping and sliding down the scree slope as colours flashed past them.

They're trying to get away, Bell!

'Yes.' Grant flexed his arm with a low hiss. 'Out. Did Mithras give you a portkey? They only take one and I only have one.'

'No. No stupid portkeys. No running. No more boring hide and seek.' She giggled. 'We're going to play!'

Grant froze, his eyes flicking to her wand. 'This isn't a game.'

'It is!' Bella laughed, raising her wand. 'It's all games! And everyone counts now! First you and then them and then… Grindelwald!'

'Fuck.' Grant dug out a thin silver coin with a bridge upon it. 'I guess I'll just have to go through you then. One is better odds than five.'

She beamed. 'Win or die.'

He set his jaw, slashing his wand in both hands and firing bright red spells down the bridge. Bella swatted them away, smashing the remaining statues off the edge one by one.

He's slow, Bell! So slow! So boring! A whisper of fire flashed through her veins and a faint ripple swept the dust and chips of stone from the bridge. Beat him quick, Bella. Then we can find a better game.

'Ardens flagello,' she sang, sweeping a rush of bright pink fire across the bridge.

Grant swore, scrambling over the broken balustrade and leaping off the edge; he smacked into the scree with a dull crunch, rolling away down the hill and stumbling to his feet, staggering away after Cedric and the twins.

Bella skipped to the edge. 'Time to fly, Bell,' she whispered.

Time to fly, Bella.

She shrank, small dark feathers sprouting from her skin, and leapt, spiralling around Bell as they fluttered from the bridge and swooped after Grant, alighting behind him and shifting back.

He twisted around, raising his wand.

Bella slashed him to ribbons with a bright yellow spell and watched him sag into a heap of spreading red. 'We win.' She bent and plucked the thin silver coin out of the mess. 'We get the portkey!'

Better get the rest, Bell! She bounded down the slope toward the flash of spells and a swirl of grey fog. Or they won't count, Bella.

The twins spun in the air, cocooned in a web of golden thread a few metres from the shimmer of wards.

'Diggory got away,' Daphne murmured.

'You should let us go,' Flora said, slashing her wand at the threads. 'Mithras is stronger than Grindelwald. Younger. Now everything's in place, he's the better choice for the Greater Good.'

'Nobody beats Grindelold.' Astoria snickered. 'Mithras is powerful and the planning's all done now, but Grindelwald is Grindelwald.'

'He's the one that makes it all work,' Daphne said. 'If he dies, it was all just a waste and the magical world will go back to tearing itself apart instead of rebuilding itself.'

Hestia balled her fist around her wand. 'I knew we shouldn't trust you two.'

A little snigger escaped Astoria. 'Sorry, it's nothing personal. It's just… part of the plan, you know. Things have to happen and they won't happen if someone like Mithras interferes and makes a mess of things. Daph doesn't like messy, do you, Daph?'

'Fuck you, then,' Hestia spat. 'Flora… I'm sorry.'

'I'm not,' Flora whispered. 'We did nothing wrong. We never did anything wrong. And they killed our friends and our family and they fed them all to the dementors, and now it's our turn.' Her voice trembled. 'But it's different this time. Mithras promised.'

'Enni,' Astoria chimed. 'If Hestia doesn't answer our questions, drink her sister dry.'

Chasca turned a little green. 'Can she not?'

Enni bared her engraved fangs and stabbed her broad blade into the ground. 'I can and I will, little Chasca. I worked up a thirst chasing these two down so fast. Your wards were too close to the village.'

'Where did Diggory go, Hestia?' Daphne murmured. 'Where's Mithras?'

'Don't say anything, Hestia,' Flora snapped. 'Fuck them.'

'But…' Hestia strained against her bonds.

'Fuck. Them,' Flora hissed. 'Every spell counts. Every sacrifice. They're going to kill us anyway.' A defiant little fire burnt in her pale green eyes. 'That's what always happens. But not for long. Mithras will change it.'

Bella bounced closer down the slope. 'We know this game! We're good at this one!'

Daphne and Astoria exchanged a glance. 'We need to know where Mithras is, where Diggory went, how to get there, and where Suleiman's blade is, Bella. And we need to know now, before he warns Mithras.'

Chasca's golden threads fell away and Enni snatched the twins' wands from their hands.

Bella nodded. 'It's easy! You just have to want to win!'

And we hate losing, Bell! We want to feel alive! She bobbed her head. And not bored, Bella. Not bored or lonely or sad anymore.

'Crucio!' she sang.

A crackling beam of red hit Flora in the chest; she flopped and writhed on the stones like a landed fish on the rocks, beating her fists against the ground and kicking her heels, screaming and shrieking until her throat tore and her cries turned to hoarse raw rasping whistling.

'Stop,' Hestia begged. 'I'll tell you. I'll tell you. I'll tell you everything you want, but please, Bella, stop hurting her! Just kill us.'

'Already?' Bella screwed her face up as she lowered her wand. 'But we only did it for a few moments!'

Flora whimpered and curled up into a ball, shaking like a leaf.

'Where did Diggory go?' Daphne asked. 'Where is Mithras now?'

'A safe place,' Hestia blurted. 'The coin portkey takes us there. The word is Cesare. That's all I know about that. Mithras arranged it. He said he was going to the Black Forest, but I don't know why or where.'

'And Suleiman's sword?' Astoria chimed. 'That enchanted blade could be a problem.'

'He put it in the mirror in his tent above the Nymphaeon,' Hestia said. 'I don't know how to get it out. We did it with our wands, but we just looked into the mirror and then they were in our hands again.'

A tendril of grey fog lanced from Daphne's sleeve and speared Flora through the ribs. 'It's such a waste,' Daphne murmured.

'No it's not,' Hestia spat. 'But you won't see the sun rise. Mithras will slaughter you all first.' A strange little smile spread across her lips. 'Fucking Amelia Bones took everything else away from us already, and now we're dead too, but he'll make it worth it. We died fighting for it. You'll die in despair, like all our parents did, so fuck you. We'll be waiting on the other side.'

Astoria's pale blue eyes narrowed and mist flashed from her sleeve, smashing Hestia's head into the stones, cracking it like an egg.

Enni snatched her sword from the ground. 'What now?'

'We move fast,' Daphne murmured. 'Mithras could be back any moment.'

'Right. Right.' Astoria flapped an arm at the bodies. 'Get their portkeys, Enni. First we'll go to what's left of Constantinople and get that sword, just in case. And then Daph and I will go get Diggory.'

'Just you?' Bella huffed. 'Awwww.'

'We're the best pairing.' Astoria snickered. 'Mint and pistachio.'

Enni rummaged through the twins' pockets and produced two identical slim silver coins. 'Found them.'

Daphne poked Astoria in the hip.

'I know, Daph.' Astoria reached out and took them, grey fog pouring from her sleeves and curling around their waists. 'Hold on, we're going to hop across to what's left of the Nymphaeon and see about this sword.'

The scree slopes lurched, the tops of dark towers blurring by until Bella dropped to her knees on warm bronze before a handful of tents.

'We're alone,' Enni whispered. 'The only hearts I can hear are ours and the scent of Mithras is old and faded. He hasn't been back here since the battle of Beauxbatons.'

'The middle tent,' Daphne murmured, sweeping the flap aside with a tendril of grey fog.

Black silk fluttered over Cousin Harry's tall mirror.

Astoria yanked it off and froze. 'Daph?' she whispered. 'Do you see…?'

Daphne stared into the shining silver. 'Home.' A note of longing crept into her voice. 'All my books and the music player and the flowers, back before they took it all away.'

'No, not that. Our parents.' Astoria stared into the glass with a gleam of hunger in her pale blue eyes. 'All my friends. I miss them, Daph. I really miss them. You said it would stop, but it never stops.' She reached out one hand.

Daphne caught her wrist. 'Don't touch it, Tori. It's dangerous.' She dragged her eyes away. 'Enni, cover the mirror up.'

They can't get it out, Bell. Bella smiled into her hand. Cousin Harry is the best player, Bella, he was always going to beat them.

Enni threw the silk back over the gleaming glass. 'What about the sword?'

Astoria stared into the thin dark silk. 'Is it in the mirror? That's what she said. Maybe we should look again, Daph? Just once?'

'No,' Daphne murmured. 'The Mirror of Erised is too dangerous. Hestia tried to trick us.'

Astoria's lips twisted.

Daphne poked her in the hip. 'Tori…'

'Right, right,' Astoria whispered. 'I know. It's too late, it's impossible, but it was nice to see them again.'

'Go back to Nurmengard.' Daphne turned away from the veiled mirror. 'Rest, but stay vigilant and stay together. We will deal with Diggory and return soon.'

'Enni.' Chasca held out her arm. 'Come on. I'll take you back and find you a nice coffin to nap in.'

Enni flashed her a grin as the two of them vanished.

Daphne folded her arms. 'Bella…'

'We're going!' Bella sang, disapparating with a giggle.

Going to find Cousin Harry, Bell! She apparated across Eastern Europe to Nurmengard, catching a flash of Enni and Chasca in the snow-swept hall, and southwest to the tower in the Dark Forest.

Cousin Harry sat in the centre of the bare stone floor, swirling rays of golden light shining through the glowing embers of his amber mask as he stared at the crimson rose cupped in his hands. 'Bella, you're not meant to be coming to see me. They need to think you're one of them.'

'It's time!' She bounced on her toes. 'We got Grant and the two sisters. They lost! And now Daphne and Astoria have gone after Cedric in the safe place and we should get them in the second game!'

He rose to his feet. 'Grant and the Carrows are dead?'

Bella bobbed her head. 'They lost. But they all count, don't they?'

'They do,' Cousin Harry murmured. 'But… I wanted them to see the sun rise. I think it would be nicer that way, to see it and then disappear. To know for certain…' His wand slid from his sleeve into his hand. 'The Greengrasses betrayed us? It was them?'

'And us!' Bella giggled. 'We got Grant—' she swished her wand back and forth with one hand, and grabbed the coin from her pocket '—and we have his portkey!'

He spun his wand in his fingers, showering the stone floor in silver sparks. 'I'm done here. There are no more dementors, no more dreamless, despairing legacies of Rome.'

The wand stilled and his knuckles paled around the slim length of dark wood.

'And if they betrayed me, then it's me or them, and I'm more useful to the Greater Good than they are.' Cousin Harry dipped a hand into his robes and produced a slim silver coin of his own. 'I owe them a surprise—' faint dry humour coloured his tone, but the bright golden rays in the mask shone fierce and hot as the blazing summer sun '—a pistachio surprise.'

AN: The aforementioned linktree, now a bit more than just self-promo.

linktr . ee / mjbradley