Before Jasmine could say anything, Parvati leaned forward and passionately kissed Jasmine. Jasmine tried to lean back but found herself pressed against Tracey.

The surprise quickly faded away, and anger soon replaced it. She had been Daphne's slave for over a month, and they had even been on a date. Yet she wasn't told about Parvati being Daphne's slave.

Questions and paranoia grew in Jasmine the more she thought about it. Sensing something was wrong, Parvati stopped kissing her and stepped back.

Jasmine's looked over at Daphne cautiously.

Daphne watched Parvati and Jasmine make out but soon noticed that Jasmine wasn't kissing back. Daphne sat up and was about to say something before Parvati broke the kiss, stepping back and looking confused.

Daphne saw Jasmine look over at her. Her face was a mix of anger, shock and betrayal.

Daphne frowned, her chest hurting, seeing how Jasmine looked. "Girls, why don't you all get a bath," Daphne said, dismissing her other slaves.

Daphne ignored the worried looks they gave her and Jasmine before they left the room.

"What's wrong, Jasmine?" Daphne asked, sitting up.

"Was this all one big setup?" Jasmine asked, her anger palatable.

"Was what all a big setup?" Daphne asked.

"Meeting you and making me your slave?" Jasmine asked, taking deep breaths.

Daphne frowned as she thought about what her answer should be. She had done some small things to help Jasmine along in wanting to become a slave, but in truth, they were all small things.

Maybe it was time for her to be more open with Jasmine. She had shown that she could be trusted at this point.

"Come take a seat, and we will talk," Daphne said, patting the bed.

Jasmine frowned and was about to say something before Daphne cut her off. "Jasmine," Daphne said sternly.

Daphne saw that Jasmine was caught off guard by her tone before she walked over to the bed. Daphne pulled Jasmine onto the bed and sat her on her lap.

"Uncuff my arms," Jasmine said, feeling far too vulnerable for her liking.

Jasmine let out a sigh as her arms were uncuffed. "Now tell me, what has you upset," Daphne asked as she wrapped her arms around Jasmine.

"Why didn't you tell me about Parvati? Was this all some kind of plan?"

"Okay, well, let's start with if this was all kind of a plan. Once you spoke Parsletounge, I wanted to meet you. However, our meeting in the library was just luck." Daphne said.

"Why?" Jasmine asked.

"I did have plans for you; however, I haven't ever forced you to do anything. I may have guided you and given you little pushes, but that was all." Daphne said as she felt Jasmine tense up and grow weary.

"Pushes, how exactly?" Jasmine asked.

"I left that collar out for you to find. I also asked Parvati to introduce you to the BDSM lifestyle if you were open to it. Oh, and she gave you some sex dreams as well," Daphne revealed.

Jasmine turned around, glaring at Daphne. "You manipulated my mind," Jasmine asked with a hissing undertone.

There was a faint rattling in the room as Jasmine's anger started to build up to a tipping point.

"How could you! I trusted you and Parvati, and you manipulated my mind," Jasmine asked.

A shiver went down her spine as she wondered if any of her thoughts hadn't been hers and were planted.

"What are you after!" Jasmine asked angrily.

Before Daphne could answer, Jasmine jumped to her feet and stormed to the door, grabbing her invisibility clock and ducking under it.

The anger and hurt from the betrayal of two people she had trusted so much was too much, and she needed to get away.

"Wait, Jasmine, please let me explain," Jasmine heard Daphne call out as the door shut behind her.

Jasmine didn't stop and stormed out of the Slytherin dorm before her anger exploded, and she said or did something that she would regret later.


Jasmine walked into the Quidditch changing room, still angry about Daphne and Parvati. It had even affected her practice to the point that Wood had gotten annoyed at her, and it was ended early.

Jasmine stepped under the shower, hoping it would help calm her down. For a moment, memories of showering with Parvati came to mind before she pushed them away now with doubts about whether Parvati had ever actually cared for her.

"Hey there, Jasmine, everything alright?" Angelina Jonson asked as she walked into the showers.

Jasmine couldn't come up with an answer and was about to say she was fine.

"Don't say you're fine. You have never been that off before," Angelina said.

Jasmine didn't reply. She wasn't even sure how she would explain the situation to Angelina.

"Look, anything you say stays between us," Angelina said encouragingly.

Jasmine looked around, making sure that no one was able to overhear them before unburdening herself to Angelina.

"Hmm, that's tricky. Did Daphne tell you why she went to such lengths?" Angelina asked.

"I stormed out before she could. I was just so angry and hurt."

"Maybe you should find out why. Don't get me wrong; what they did was wrong, but she seemed to care for you. Otherwise, why bother helping you with spells? Why offer advice about OWLs. Maybe Daphne had a good reason from their view."

"How can I trust them again, though?" Jasmine asked.

"Like I said, it really depends on why they did what they did. If you can forgive them and if they are truly remorseful about what they did."

"I don't know," Jasmine said quietly.

"That's why you need to talk this out. Then you will know," Angelina said, patting Jasmine's shoulder.


"Okay, what is the problem?" Hermione asked as they walked out of their 2nd class of the day.

"Nothing is wrong?" Jasmine lied.

"Yes, there is. Since the end of Christmas break, you have been taking lessons and studying more seriously. Today in Transfiguration and Charms, you haven't paid attention at all," Hermione said.

"I don't want to talk about it," Jasmine relented.

Hermione frowned but relented, knowing that Jasmine wouldn't talk if she didn't want to. Thankfully, Ron just looked between them and decided not to get involved.

So far, they had not had a lesson with Slytherin, but Jasmine knew that would change after lunch. They had a History of Magic, which they shared with the Slytherin.

Jasmine was tempted to skip the class. It wouldn't be a big loss as the last two lessons had been the same lesson. But Jasmine knew she wouldn't, as it just felt too cowardly for her to actually do.

"Maybe we should go to the library and pick up some books to read during the history of magic?" Hermione suggested.

Jasmine let out a gasp. "Hermione, not paying attention during class?" Jasmine said, scandalised.

"Har har. The class may as well be self-study. All I have learned is that Wizard and Goblins hate each other."

"I didn't need a lesson to tell you that," Ron said with a shrug.

"We have yet to have a single lesson on the school's founders. So I don't see why we can't use that time much more productively,"

Jasmine leaned over to Ron. "What you think, Polyjuice or some kind of doppelganger?"

"I can hear you, you know."

"Must be she kept the cat-like hearing," Ron whispered back.

Hermione let out a huff. "Let's see who is going to check your homework," Hermione said before turning to walk to the library.

"Hey, let's not do anything too drastic," Ron said as they caught up to Hermione.

"We were just joking. I'm sure you didn't keep any cat features," Jasmine said with a bearly concealed smile.

"Just go find a book," Hermione said.

Jasmine smiled, glad that Hermione wasn't really angry about her teasing. Jasmine looked around and went towards the transfiguration section for 1st to 3rd years.

Although her mind was mostly on her relationship with Daphne, that didn't mean she hadn't been vaguely paying attention. Today's lesson was about turning one metal into another building of what they learned in the first year.

When they had turned wood into metal. Even when she hadn't really been paying attention, Jasmine found the lesson quite interesting and decided a book on the subject would tide her over History of Magic.

Professor McGonagall had demonstrated going from wood to iron to copper and then to silver. Before telling everyone that each step is harder than the one before, but by the end of the OWLs, they are expected to be able to transfigure something into copper.

Jasmine walked around the corner of the bookshelves, looking for an interesting book on the subject before she stopped. A foot away from her, Tracey stood looking at her.

Jasmine swallowed nervously.

"Can we walk privately?" Tracey asked before Jasmine could talk or avoid her.

"Please," Tracey said, seeing Jasmine's face.

Her talk with Angelina popped into her mind, and she found herself nodding to Tracey.

"Can we talk now?"

"Let me go tell Hermione and Ron that I will be late for dinner," Jasmine said.

"Okay, I will wait here,"

Jasmine turned around and started looking for Hermione and Ron and made a mental note to look up charms that could help.

Thankfully, Ron's protests at reading in a lesson where he could relax made him easy to find.

"I have to go back to the dorm. I will catch you in the great hall," Jasmine said.

"You want us to come with you?" Hermione offered.

"No, it's okay. I took a book out a few days ago, and Madam Pince won't let me take another out till I bring it back,"

"Okay, see you at the great hall," Ron said.

"Make sure you don't eat all the food," Jasmine joked. Even with Ron's eating habits, she had yet to see the serving plates become empty.

Jasmine quickly walked back to where Tracey was waiting for her and felt relieved to see that she was still waiting. Jasmine looked around, half expecting to see Daphne standing waiting.

"It's just us," Tracey said.

"Just us?" Jasmine asked.

"I thought we could have a private talk. Let's find an empty classroom," Tracey said.

"Do we have time for me to get a book?" Jasmine asked, anxious about the talk Tracey wanted.

"I guess we have a few minutes," Tracey said, pursing her lips.

"Help me look for a book on transfiguring metals," Jasmine said as she started looking at the titles of the books.

"Here, this is on about turning metals into other metals," Tracey said, holding out a book.

Jasmine took the book and flicked through some of the pages. It had the normal stuff but also talked about other metals. Happy with the contents Jasmine made towards one of the checking-out podiums.

"Now you have your book; we can talk, right?" Tracey asked.

"Yes, let me find us somewhere," Jasmine said as she pulled out the Marauder's map.

With the help of the map, Jasmine was able to find them somewhere quiet to talk with no one around.

Closing the door, Jasmine added a locking charm and turned around to face Tracey, "So?" she asked awkwardly.

Tracey bit her lip for a moment. Looking around, she added a few more charms to the door. "Privacy charms so people can't listen in," Tracey explained.

"Look, I know you are angry about some of Daphne's actions. And you have every right to be so, but just hear me out, okay,"

Jasmine motioned for Tracey to continue, not trusting her voice to be as firm as she would like.

"Do you remember meeting Astoria?" Tracey asked.

Jasmine was taken a little off guard by the question but nodded anyway.

"Well, she is very ill. Actually, all of the Greengrass family technically are."

Jasmine frowned. She remembered that Astoria did look very pale to the point of being sickly. But Daphne didn't look ill.

"Daphne said she was ill as a kid a lot," Jasmine replied.

"Did she say she was better? Noble families are quite good at being vague," Tracey said.

Jasmine tried her best to think back but couldn't be sure if Daphne had said if Astoria had gotten better or not.

"What does this have to do with her messing with my mind with those sex dreams," Jasmine asked, annoyed, feeling as if they were talking about two different things.

"The Greengrass family has a blood curse on them. That is what Astoria is suffering from. However, they have found a ritual that can be used to break blood curses." Tracey explained.

"Okay, let's say I believe you and can trust what you are saying. How does that involve me and what she had Parvati do?

"The blood curse kills the person who has it by their 30th birthday," Tracey retorted, catching Jasmine off guard.

"So you say, how do I know that Daphne didn't just send you?" Jasmine asked back.

Tracey looked at Jasmine before sarcastically asking. "Yeah, right and make you even more angry at her? She wouldn't risk that I came here by my own free will to take the first step to try and make this right."

"You still haven't given me a reason to trust anything you have said," Jasmine said suspiciously.

"I can't make you believe me. Daphne could, and I am sure will, show you the ritual, and you can look up Daphne's ancestors, and you will see that every few generations, someone dies on their 30th birthday. It's not really a secret about their blood curse."

"I will," Jasmine said.

"You haven't had any of those dreams in a long time either. It was a mistake made out of worry for her sister, one that she deeply regrets." Tracey said.

"What's so special about this ritual?" Jasmine asked.

"It's very demanding. Most importantly, it needs someone who speaks Parseltongue, which is hard to find if you're from England. Also, it needs to be done on a 7th generation of the family. So if they don't do it now, they will need to wait until the 28th generation, and who knows if Parsletounge will still be around then."

Jasmine pursed her lips. If everything that Tracey had said was true, then Jasmine would find it very hard to be angry at Daphne. She didn't know all the requirements for the ritual yet.

However, just needing someone to speak Parseltongue made the ritual very problematic. Ever since she found out about being able to speak Parseltongue, she had researched everything that she could about it.

As far as she found, only two families could speak it, the Slytherin family and the Gaunt Family. That was it in England, and its capabilities were not documented at all other than being considered dark and able to control snakes.

"I want to see that this ritual exists," Jasmine said.

"You can ask Daphne for it. It's not like I carry it around with me. I just expected you to ignore me when I asked for this talk,"

Jasmine looked down at her watch and felt another rush of anger at the entire situation. However, she also saw they had been talking for nearly 20 minutes.

She would have to hurry up if she wanted anything to eat for lunch.

Tracey let out a sigh. "Look, I don't want one stupid mistake to be the reason why you and Daphne break up. I know you enjoyed spending time with us and, most likely, your relationship with Daphne."

Jasmine fidgeted at what Tracey said, even though Daphne had done something that had broken her trust.

Jasmine couldn't help but remember how happy she felt sneaking out at night to meet up with her. Or how her collar made her feel safe and warm. And thinking back on the dreams, did they really have that much effect on her.

After all, she had stolen the first collar and worn it to sleep before the dreams had even happened.

"Just give her a chance to make amends and show that she is sorry. That's all I am asking," Tracey said

"One chance, that's it, and that's only after I have checked some of the things that you have told me," Jasmine said after a moment.

Tracey nodded before she took the privacy charms off the door. Jasmine pulled out her map and checked to make sure that no one was waiting on the other side. Seeing that it was clear, Jasmine removed the locking charm and left with Tracey feeling a little awkward.

"See you tonight then," Tracey said as she turned down a corridor.

Jasmine was a little confused before she realised that Tracey was worried that Jasmine wouldn't want to be seen together. Jasmine pushed that out of her mind as she thought about ways of finding out if what Tracey had told her was right.

As she walked into the Great Hall, Jasmine's eyes looked up and down the Gryffindor table as she thought about who would be likely to help her. But no one jumped out to her as she hadn't ever bothered to ask if they were purebloods or not.

Then, her eyes fell on Neville Longbottom. She knew he was pureblood, and his grandmother seemed to be quite nosey. She made a note to talk to him after classes had finished and somewhere that they wouldn't be overheard.

"Hey, what took you so long?" Ron asked as Jasmine took a seat next to Hermione.

She had learned not to sit next to Ron as he was quite a messy eater.

"I have a lot of books. I had to find the right one," Jasmine replied as she started to serve herself. Jasmine grabbed a few of the remaining lamb chops and vegetables and added some mint sauce.

"What book did you get?" Hermione asked.

"It's about turning metals from one to another. It covers what McGonagall showed, as well as other metals. Like Lead or Tin."

"Hmm, I hadn't ever thought about other metals," Hermione said.

"Well, we need a philosopher's stone to make gold. I hope in later years, McGonagall will explain why we can't make gold. But what about things like Mercury or Platinum,"

"We could ask her next lesson?" Hermione suggested.

"I doubt she would tell us. We are still turning wood into iron and will start on copper near the end of the year. She would say we need to focus on our current skill level."

Hermione let out a huff but knew that Jasmine was right. After all, Hermione had asked about how to become an Animagus in the first year, and McGonagall had just said it was beyond her skill level.

The ringing of a glass being tapped rang through the Great Hall, and everyone felt quiet as they looked up at the head table at the far end of the Great Hall.

Dumbledore stood up and made his way to a podium.

"I have an announcement to make. Thanks to the diligent work of Madam Sprout, the Mandrakes have fully grown into adults and are ready to be made into potions.

"Professor Snape will make the potions tonight after class, and everyone who was petrified will return to normal for tomorrow morning."

The hall broke into a low rumble as everyone started talking happily to each other about the friends or housemates finally being cured.

"I am glad they won't have missed too much of the school year," Hermione said.

Jasmine looked over at Ginny, wondering how she was taking the news. Thankfully, she looked relieved at the news.

Jasmine found her eyes looking over towards the Slytherin table as she remembered that it was due to Daphne that Ginny got help in time, and the attacks were stopped.

With the announcement given, Dumbledore returned to the head table.

"Well, finally, some good news," Hermione said.

"Didn't the killing of the monster count as good news?" Ron asked.

"Yes, of course, but I doubt the friends of the people attacked cared if the monster was alive or dead while their friends were still petrified."

"Well, at least they will be fine. It's a shame the potion can't be stocked," Jasmine said as she finished her lunch.

"I guess let's head to class, and we can get a desk at the back," Hermione said, standing up.


"So, how's the book? You haven't put it down since the last lesson?" Hermione asked.

"It's interesting. I wish I had the skill to try them out."

"Such as?" Hermoine asked.

"For the most part, it seems the density of the material you are trying to transfigure plays a large impact in how hard it is to do so."

"That would explain why you can't turn things into gold then, right?" Hermione said.

"Maybe, but there are many other metals that are dense, but I haven't seen any mention of them."

"I don't know, then maybe it has some special properties. A bit like food. If you have a bit, you can make more with magic, but you can't just create it out of thin air."

As Jasmine thought about what Hermione said, the door to the common room swung open, and Professor McGonagall walked in. Everyone seemed quite surprised to see her.

Jasmine included she didn't think she had seen McGonagall in the common room at all in her two years at Hogwarts.

"Miss Potter, a word, please?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"We can alibi, her professor," Fred and George said quickly.

"Hey, I haven't done anything," Jasmine protested.

"Of course, as we were with you, so you couldn't have done it."

"You two are terrible alibi's. People would more likely believe I did something if you were my alibi."

"Oh, Jasmine, you wound us," Fred or George said dramatically.

Jasmine could see many people in the common room roll their eyes at the twin's performance.

"She doesn't need an alibi. Miss Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked again.

"Err, sure," Jasmine asked, getting up and placing her book on a table.

"After you," Professor McGonagall said, shooting the twins another look. "I know you two are responsible for the dung bombs,"

Jasmine was sure they had done something today that they would get in trouble for.

"What's this about?" Jasmine asked once they were out of the dorm.

"The headmaster wants to talk about several things. About the chamber as well as where you are living over the summer,"

"I am living with Sirius, aren't I?" Jasmine asked confused.

"As far as I know. Ready to go?"

"Sure."

Jasmine could feel her heart beating in her chest as she started to think the worst. Maybe the Ministry had decided that Sirius wasn't fit to be her guardian.

Thankfully, it didn't take long to get to the headmaster's tower. The gargoyle that she had seen the first time had already risen to reveal the stairs.

Professor McGonagall knocked on the door, and it silently swung open. Professor McGonagall and Jasmine stepped inside. Jasmine found herself looking around the crowded office again.

There was always something new that would catch her eye every time she visited. The only thing that put her off was the large amount of portraits.

She would just find being watched all the time very uncomfortable. At least they were all facing outwards and towards the door. There was an old-looking cupboard sitting in the corner with a gold and glass case holding something shimmering.

"Headmaster," Jasmine said in greeting.

"Ah, Jasmine, sorry to interrupt your evening, but we have a few things to discuss."

"I was just reading a book on Transfiguration,"

"Ah, I remember teaching Transfiguration," Dumbledore said wistfully.

"Anyway, the Ministry was dragging its heels when it came to the Basilisk. You may not know, but if you kill a magical creature, you have the right of conquest, meaning you get the body.

"There were lots of people trying to claim the body, and I won't go into it. In the end, I managed to get you 40% of the corpse. The school got 20%, and the Ministry got the rest." Dumbledore explained.

"Oh, err, what do I do with 40% of a giant snake?" Jasmine asked, confused as to why she would even want it.

"You can make spell-resistant cloaks from the skin as well as gloves. In fact, Basilisk hide gloves would be much better than dragon hide gloves."

"Err, I am not really sure how to do that or who to ask."

"Well, I have already had it skinned for you, and that hide is now in your vault for you to use as you please. As for the meat, it doesn't have much value to wizards, but the goblins bought it at a fair price. It added an extra eight-thousand five-hundred Galleons to your vault."

"Err, okay, I will have to see what I can get with the hide. Glove's boots and cloaks sound like good options," Jasmine said, a little unsure if snake skin would suit her.

"Now, moving on to the core part of the meeting. Where you will live."

"I am living with Sirius, surely?" Jasmine asked, slightly confused.

"That is the plan; however, I would like you to spend two weeks with your aunt and uncle," Dumbledore said, making Jasmine frown.

"Why?" Jasmine asked, confused.

"Some part of your mother's protections require you to spend some time near her blood-related family. As you saw in the first year, how strong those protections are."

"How long are we talking?" Jasmine asked.

"Two weeks should be more than enough," Dumbledore said after thinking for a moment.

Jasmine weighed up the pros and cons in her mind. She didn't like her aunt or uncle, but she was sure the loss of her mother's protection would be much more significant than two weeks of putting up with the Dursleys.

"Two weeks, and then I live with Sirius?" Jasmine asked.

"Yes, he has started to get the Potter manor fixed up and should be more than ready by summer."

"Yes. The black family home is full of cursed items and holds many bad memories for Sirius. As for his flat, it is much too small for both of you."

"Okay, was that everything, headmaster?"

"Yes, that was everything. Make sure to hurry back to the dorm. You wouldn't want to be out after curfew."

"Of course," Jasmine said, holding a smile off her face. "Good night, Headmaster, Professor McGonagall."


"So what did Professor McGonagall want?" Hermoine asked the moment that she got back into the common room.

Seeing Ron looking at her, Jasmine decided not to mention the money, knowing it would make Ron feel jealous. "She was making sure I was okay staying with Sirius over the summer."

"Will you be?" Hermione asked.

"Of course, and I can have you both come over to visit."

"Sounds like fun. Do you know where the house is?" Ron asked.

"Nope, but im sure we can use the Floo," Jasmine said with a shrug.

"Seems most people have headed off to bed?" Jasmine asked.

"They were worried that Professor McGonagall would come back with you and see them in the common room so late," Hermione explained.

"Well, we should head up then," Jasmine said reluctantly, not looking forward to seeing Parvati.

Hermione clearly heard her reluctance and gave her a confused look but didn't say anything.

"Okay, I guess I will see you both in the morning. I am glad the week is nearly over," Ron said, getting up and walking over to the boy's dorm staircase.

"See you in the morning," Jasmine said as she grabbed the book she had put down.

Thankfully, the dorm was already empty, and it looked like both Lavender and Parvati had already gone to bed. It saved her a very awkward meeting with Parvati.

So far, Jasmine had avoided bumping into Parvati, something that she knew couldn't last forever, but she didn't know how to face the other girl.

Jasmine crawled into her bed to wait a while before she would sneak out. As she sat and read her book, Jasmine heard someone walk in from the showers, and Jasmine tensed up.

She held her breath as she listened before she heard a sorrowful sigh and heard them climb into bed. Jasmine let out the breath she was holding before she realised that one of her hands had grabbed the collar around her neck.

She had forgotten that she hadn't even taken it off. Reaching around the back of her neck, Jasmine fiddled with the buckle before she managed to get it undone and was able to take the collar off.

It was still as pretty as the first time that Jasmine had seen it when Daphne had brought it. The deep red colour that turned almost black in places still looked beautiful to Jasmine.

Jasmine was about to slip the collar back on before she paused and placed it on the bed. Instead, she decided to wait till after she had met Daphne then, she would know if she was going to be putting this collar back on.

After waiting for a while for the room to fall silent, Jasmine pulled the covers to her bed back and grabbed the Marauder's Map to check if the coast was clear.

Seeing that Gryffindor's common room was empty, Jasmine donned her invisibility cloak and set off. Thankfully, the trip down to the dungeons was easy, and she didn't have to hide from any staff or the head boy or girl.

Thought that could be due to the fact that the two on patrol were getting very close to each other in a classroom.

Jasmine spoke the password to the private entrance of the girl's Slytherin dorms and made her way down the stairs, keeping her eyes open and her wand in hand.

Thankfully, the hallway was as quiet as the grave. A moment later, Jasmine stood outside Daphne's door and hesitated as she was about to knock.

Gathering her bravery, she knocked on the door, which swung up. Tracey stood to the side, giving Jasmine the ability to enter the room. Once inside, she pulled down her hood.

"Hey," Tracey said, holding out her hand for a Jasmine's cloak.

Jasmine passed it over before she looked over to the bed where Daphne was sitting. Daphne looked a little nervous for the first time that Jasmine could ever remember.

"Hey," Jasmine said, a little awkward.

"Hey, you want a seat?" Daphne offered.

Jasmine nodded, walked over to the bed, and sat on the edge of the bed. She noticed that Daphne looked at her neck and seemed upset not seeing her collar there but hid it a moment later.

"I am sorry it was wrong of me to have Parvati use magic on you without your knowledge," Daphne said once Jasmine had gotten comfortable.

"No, you shouldn't have. So this blood curse?" Jasmine asked.

"It's a long story. I would get comfortable."

"Well, the story starts in ancient Greece. That is where my family originates from. Back then, many people worshipped gods, including wizards. Most worshipped Hecate, the Goddess of boundaries, transitions, crossroads, magic, the New Moon, necromancy, and ghosts.

"However, my family was and still is a massive grower of potion ingredients, and so we also worshipped Demeter, the goddess of the harvest," Daphne explained.

"Okay, and you were cursed by one of these gods?" Jasmine asked, sounding slightly sceptical.

"No, of course not. Demeter had a daughter called Persephone, the Goddess of spring. Now, it's said that Hades, the god of the underworld, kidnapped Persephone.

"Not that started a fight between the worshippers of Demeter and Hades. My family was one of the core believers of Demeter, and some of the wizards that followed Hades placed the blood curse on my family."

"Okay, and you have found a way to break it?" Jasmine asked.

"Well, sort off. The ritual was used to cure a blood curse, but it was different to the one that my family suffers from."

Jasmine frowned. "How do you know that it will work then?"

"I don't, and most of my family and the previous generations who found it aren't sure it will work either. But people who get the blood curse are dying younger and younger."

"Tracey said the ritual was very demanding?" Jasmine probed.

"It is. It needs to be done on a 7th generation, and me and Astoria are the 21st generation. It needs 7 participants to act as the anchors. You need the blood of a non-cursed family member, which I fulfil.

"It has to be done on a third-quarter moon. The cursed person must be on a 7th birthday, so for Astoria, that will probably be her 21st or 28th. The runes need to be drawn in unicorn blood from a unicorn that died naturally, and lastly, the incantation is done in Parsletounge." Daphne explained.

"That's a lot of things to get right..." Jasmine said as she went through all the steps.

"Ya, I know," Daphne said, sounding glum.

"Well, we have some right. The right generation, cursed free blood, im sure we can get unicorn blood and 7 people to help, so it's just the moon and the actual indication..." Jasmine said, trailing off as she realised where she came into the ritual.

"We? Does that mean you will help?" Daphne said as she leaned closer to Jasmine.

Jasmine looked at Daphne before she slowly nodded. Seeing Daphne's face light up, she held up one finger. "For the record, I would have helped if just have asked me."

Jasmine's hand reached into her pocket, retrieving the deep red snakeskin collar, a symbol of their journey.

She looked up at Daphne and continued. "You hurt me, and I trusted you. And that isn't even bring up Parvati, who I can't even look at. I have no idea how I am going to deal with that," Jasmine said as her face fell.

"I.. am. I'm sorry, really," Daphne started before Jasmine shook her head and stopped her.

"I want to trust you again," Jasmine said, looking down at the collar. "For the first time in a long time, I felt cared for and had someone to guide me in this confusing world.

"Promise me, Daphne, to never attempt to tamper with my emotions, thoughts and mind like that again. Can you? Honestly, promise me something like that?" Jasmine asked.

"I promise, Jasmine," Daphne's voice was gentle and sincere. In an impulsive surge of emotion, Daphne closed the gap between them, enfolding Jasmine in an embrace.

"How about I teach you Occlumency?" Daphne suggested.

"Occlumency?" Jasmine's asked with her brow furrowed.

"It's the magical art of fortifying your mind against intrusion," Daphne explained, her tone soft and gentle.

"There's magic that can do that?" Jasmine's disbelief was evident in her voice.

"Yes, it's called legilimency though not a lot of people know it."

"But some people do?" Jasmine asked fearfully.

She couldn't think of anything worse than having someone inside her mind with direct access to her thoughts and memories as well as her fears.

"Dumbledore does, Voldemort does," Daphne said, sending a shiver down Jasmine's spine.

"You can teach me how to protect my mind?" Jasmine asked.

"Of course I will," Daphne said, pushing Jasmine into the bed.