When I woke up, most of my injuries were healed, and Quincy was holding my head while we sat before the fire within the cave. Looking at where Squeaky's body was before, I saw that it was no longer there, replaced by a mound of rocks. The wall next to it described who lay there in Quincy's handwriting... and... I didn't really want to talk about it back then, and she never pushed it, either. Instead, she helped sit up and eat sothing as we reorganized ourselves.
"The weather has cald down, but I never went out to look where we are... any idea?" She asked, finally breaking the silence.
"Not much." I shook my head, moving around a little but feeling weak and out of breath.
"You lost a lot of blood... I don't know how."
"I do..." With a sigh, I retold her everything I rembered, and Herpo told . I could see it in her eyes; she was doubtful, not of my words, but of how trustworthy he could be.
"Do you trust him?"
"I don't know. Not yet... But things do line up with what he told —especially considering the basilisk blood. Do you rember when I defeated Lucius? He flinched and paused a little for just enough for to finish him off. He did look into my eyes, and if I believe Herpo, I can see why... What if one day I woke up, looked at you, and that alone kills you? I think I would go insane..."
"It won't happen!" She answered, hugging hurriedly, making nod and promise her that it would never co to that. I wasn't lying... because I won't fall that far. I will believe in Herpo's words and take control of the blood in .
But, for that, we had to rest in the cave for days. And when I say we, it ans alone. I felt weak until my blood was replenished enough so we could begin our journey. Before we left the cave, I also added my own words to the grave of Squeaky, leaving behind a ssage that here lies the most fantastic house elf of all ti.
Getting ready, I couldn't help but sigh that we were lucky to have our holding bags tied to our waists, as most of our supplies remained intact and within reach. Pulling out our brooms, we lifted into the air, flying high to get a good look at where we were.
"We... are still in the... um... mountains," Quincy murmured as the snow-covered tops looked exactly the sa wherever I looked.
"Yeah. We are. Well... I hope we are not too far away from our previous spot, at the other end of the world."
"Probably not. If Herpo was truthful, using his 'powers,' it burned your blood. It wouldn't have been able to take us far, or that would kill you."
"Hm... Presumably..." I whispered, looking towards the horizon, watching the sun shine on us. "Maybe we can try what we originally wanted."
I didn't hesitate, picked out the Felix Felicis from my bag, and downed it in one go. At first, I felt nothing, unsure if it was working or not.
"Here, try this!" Flying next to , Quincy pulled out the map we bought, and when I took a look at it, focusing my mind on where Nurngard could be, a particular feeling hit . "What is it?" She asked, catching the change in my expression.
"I... Don't know. Sothing... hm... I just feel we should head that way. That's it."
"East?" She followed where I was pointing toward, "Sure. Let's go! A little flying will help us clear our heads... Squeaky was so proud when she brought these to us... we shouldn't waste their speed."
"Yeah... you are right... She would want us to use them to their limits. Quincy..."
"Yes?"
"I can't forgive them."
"The girls?" She asked, stretching her hand, caressing my face gently.
"No... they are fine. Victims... I am talking about the mbers of the Order. I don't care if HE or Dumbledore wins. I just want to see both of them destroyed."
"Then let's wait until one side wins... then we can strike at the other in their mont of triumph."
"Mhm... but for that, we will have to get stronger."
"Together."
"Together!" I repeated, leaning over and giving her a kiss before we sped off, pushing our Firebolts to their limits, testing out Squeaky's last 'gift' to us.
...
....
...
"What happened to make you contact again this soon, old friend?" Dumbledore asked, picking up Flal's chocolate frog card and on it, the ancient wizard looked back at him with a grievous expression.
"Fleur is dead, and I can't contact the other two."
"Oh... that is... troubling." The old leader of the Order murmured, smacking his lips, thinking. As of what... not even Flal could tell. Living for long, long years and being a genius were two different things. One could experience a lot, but reading soone's mind like Dumbledore was still just as hard for him as for anybody else.
"We have three survivors, but their ntal state is not the best."
"Three?" He asked, refocusing his blue eyes on the card, peering at Flal over his half-moon spectacles.
"Three students of mine, one of them being a refugee from England. I extracted their mories, and what I saw in them was troubling. They faced Conrad, ambushing him. They had the upper hand until he transford."
"And the roosters were useless."
"..." Flal fell silent for a little while, thinking about many things, looking back at Dumbledore, who sighed with a sad smile.
"The fact that Fleur has died is already telling. She was a good seed; I am sad to hear we lost her. What happened?"
"The appearance was different. It was not a normal animagi tranformation. It was more like what a werewolf would go through. This is not normal but sothing way darker, Albus. If those two were with her, they would have won!"
"I know... I take full responsibility. I will find them. I will send Alastor to track them down and take over the search for the kids."
"..."
Hearing that Dumbledore was going to send back one of his best warriors, the most experienced of his mages, soothed Flal's mind a little. He had doubts about his old friend's plans, but this showed that Fleur's death was not sothing Dumbledore expected. In the past decade, he watched closely as a multitude of setbacks and brutal fights, the inactivity of the other Wizarding Communities turned Albus Dumbledore into more and more of a cold wizard. Soone calculative. Maybe it wasn't turning him but reverting him... He still rembered those tis when Dumbledore was still young. When he had soone he was very close with... and how that soone beca close to destroying everything the Wizarding World stood for. This Dumbledore reminded him of the young, 18-year-old version of that genius but dangerous wizard from a century ago.
"Alastor will first go to you for any information you can spare, and then he will find the two and be on the lookout for the kids."
"I will assist them. Albus, this has beco important. Sothing is off with that child; I felt it when I fought with him, too. Do you know who he reminds ?"
"I do."
"Then I don't have to tell you it is important to find him before he causes problems."
"Even if he has 10 years to grow, my old friend, he won't have enough ti to threaten our plans. I must focus on Tom and Tom only."
With that, he put the card away, remaining alone in his room, tapping his finger on the desk before him. He was no longer bothered by the news. Instead, he had two drawn images reflecting back from his glasses: A ring and a cup. Of the two, one captured his attention way more than the other: the ring with a black stone embedded into it.
"The last one..." He whispered, smiling behind his long, white beard while caressing his wand, his blue eyes turning towards the top drawer, knowing which cape was hidden inside of it.
...
....
...
"Conrad!"
"Here!" I shot out a red flare from my wand, making it easier for Quincy to find . Both of us were holding onto our brooms with dear life as we were stuck in a wild snowstorm, trying to throw us off-course and off our brooms.
"Are you sure we must go this way?!"
"I am!" I nodded and continued inching forward. She was following as closely as possible, constantly casting spells to warm herself up and prevent the broom from freezing over.
She didn't ask a second ti. I knew this was looking crazy because I led her into a death trap, but she trusted ... and followed in nonetheless. If not for the potion, I would have already turned back and gotten out of there, but I felt it... I felt it in my heart that I needed to continue this way. I just can't explain it in any better way.
The feeling beca so strong that I was pushing forward without a second thought. I was about to take a deep breath and look over my shoulder when a sudden wind jerked the broom under , pushing forward, and... there was instant peace. Quiet. Looking around, I couldn't believe my eyes. The storm was gone, and I was greeted with a tranquil, sunny image. I saw the mountains and snow below us again. Turning around, I saw the wild storm raging without a sound, only a dozen ters away, completely silent. It was as if I was in a separate world, and an invisible wall was blocking it out from where I was.
"Quincy!" I shouted, and before I could panic, I saw her being flung out of it, right towards , barely holding onto her broom.
"W-w-w-what... where?!" She gasped, needing a minute to finally calm down.
"I think... we found it." I whispered as we felt our bodies warm up in the sun's golden light.
We were, for sure, in a separate space... and not that far from us, I could see a black castle with a surprisingly high, black, almost obelisk-like tower.
"Nurngard..." Quincy whispered, following my eyes, and after exchanging a short glance, we both nodded, gradually beginning to descend.
"It is best if we approach it on foot. We don't know if there is any secondary defensive magic protecting it. It would be bad to slam into it and fall to our death."
"Yeah... that is true!" With a weak chuckle, we landed in the fresh snow, which was clean and smooth, as if nobody had touched the ground here for who knows how long. Not even animals... The reigning silence was disturbing, especially if we looked toward the silent storm. Everything was frozen... the landscape, ti, existence itself.
"Being imprisoned here... brrr! I would have gone mad quick." I shivered, reaching over and holding Quincy's hand, who quickly squeezed mine.
"If being alone, yes. But not like this. Let's go... let's see if we can get inside!"
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