Circe was the witch daughter of the sun god, Helios, and ocean nymph, Perse. She was known to be able to transform people into animals. In Homer's Odyssey, she lived in a palace on the isolated island of Aeaea, surrounded by docile lions and wolves.
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h a n n a h
It had started pouring by the time we settled in our tent. The rain beat down mercilessly on the canvas, but thanks to my Extension Charm and Susan's foresight to even bring a tent in the first place, I would say it was not all that bad.
The interior was huge, housing a small kitchen area, a lounging space, and three beds in three corners. Comparable, or - dare I say - much better than our quarters at the Leaky Cauldron. In fact, it was so large it felt somewhat like a proper house. I stood by the entrance, hands on my hips as I glared out at the grey slate in silence.
"Hungry?" Susan called from inside.
I turned to find her bending over Draco's unmoving body, which we had laid very carefully onto the bed. His slender frame had been deceivingly heavy, and my arms still ached from heaving him around. I now wonder why we hadn't used a Levitation charm instead. Well, at least he was cleaned up, his hair restored to its shining white-gold. I shuddered slightly at the memory of all the blood, crimson as the cherries I would pick from my parents' garden as a child.
"No," I said. "But we should eat anyway. I can whip something up."
"I'll do it. It's no bother." Susan lingered for a few more moments, and I could almost see the list of healing spells scrolling through her head. Only when she was certain she had covered every one did she finally leave to prepare dinner.
I found it strange for her to offer help. Susan detested cooking and housekeeping, and I thought of going to help her, but decided against it when I realised she was obviously looking for a distraction. It was best to leave her alone when her mind was in a state.
Instead, I rounded the other corner to where the other bed was. Lorcan crouched on the floor in front of Angel, scrubbing her blood-stained arms with a wet rag. The motions bounced his curls vigorously, and his eyes were narrowed in deep concentration.
"There are cleaning charms, you know," I said, causing the both of them to look up.
He paused briefly to swipe his brow with the back of his wrist. "Think I need a break from magic for a while," he said, and he was back at it again, furiously working to clean the horrid stains. Angel remained silent and morose as she watched her skin turn pink from all the scouring.
I took in her seated figure. Her dark chocolate waves that tumbled to her ribs, slightly matted in places where it had tangled. The large splotches of blood on her dress, long-darkened by the humid air to a rusty brown. Finally, the shape of her belly, now fully rounded with the life within.
The baby was behaving well. Not once throughout the whole ordeal had Angel been nauseous or in pain. But then again, she had never been one to vocalise her difficulties. Inconveniencing others was one of her deepest, most irrational fears.
I wanted to ask her what the hell that had been. How had she done that - set Lucius on fire without a wand? By just speaking a spell? Also, what did Lucius mean when he asked Codrus to do him proud? I had spent the past half hour pondering that to no avail.
"So, are we going to talk it?" It came out harsher than I meant it to.
The words seemed to unlock some hidden emotion in her, and stress and confusion twisted her features more. "I- I don't know what happened either... I just- I was just-" Her bottom lip trembled as her mind drew a blank.
"Lorcan?"
Lorcan looked up brightly, delighted to finally be granted permission to speak. "That, my dearest, wonderful, darling Angel, was wandless magic! I can't believe you actually did it!" he blabbered. "I mean, of course, they don't use wands in other parts of the world, and we don't really need them, but-"
"Wandless magic?" I interrupted. "That wasn't just casting Lumos or a Levitation Charm, she sent him flying halfway across the bloody house before, quite literally, in-cin-erating him!"
Lorcan tossed the cloth over the side of the bucket. "And we're angry about that... why, exactly?"
"I'm not angry, but how exactly did you do that? I mean- I mean, we're barely twenty-five, for fuck's sake!"
"Plenty of people have done wandless magic," he contended, as-a-matter-of-factly. "Old Dumblykins did it all the time, Merlin rest his soul. Harry Potter and Hermione could probably do it if they tried. Hell, even you and I could, if we practiced hard enough. And in case you've forgotten, Jelly and her baby here are basically the Second Coming."
I blinked rapidly at him in disbelief. It was truly astonishing that no one else seemed the least bit concerned that our best friend had just cremated someone with her bare hands. And I wasn't even going to acknowledge that ridiculous nickname he had just come up with. "Right. Okay. I guess that's all peachy keen, then! Also did no one hear what Lucius said just before he became barbecue? 'Codrus, do us proud'? Are we going to talk about that?"
"Looks like Ferret Boy's got himself an illegitimate brother," shrugged Lorcan.
"How can you be so calm?" I squawked frantically. "You're all acting as if we didn't just almost die back there! And that- that Codrus! He's an absolute lunatic! He's going to come back for you, you know?" I stuck a finger at Angel accusatorially.
Before she could respond, Susan's head popped around the corner. "Must you be so bloody loud?" she whisper-scolded. "We have a half-dead person trying to rest back here! Anyway, dinner's ready."
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We sat at the table, stone-faced and staring at our plates. Susan had prepared quite the spread - warm bread, fresh fruits, and a bowl of stew each. Lorcan ate heartily. Susan stirred her spoon around listlessly, making a fifteenth circle. I was quietly counting them in my mind.
Angel had not even put her hands on the table. "Will Draco be alright?" she asked in a small voice. Susan stopped stirring. "Of course, love! He'll wake up soon. He just needs some rest." Then, sensing what Angel was about to ask next, added gently- "I think it's best if we don't disturb him for now."
Although crestfallen, Angel picked up her spoon and began to eat. At this, a great, secret weight lifted from my body, leaving space for my hunger to flood back in. I was suddenly ravenous. I reached for the bread. Cut off a sizeable hunk of meat. Inhaled my soup. Susan followed my cue, and we polished off everything in twenty minutes flat.
"Good with animals, putting back broken bones, and a whiz in the kitchen? Where do I subscribe to a lifetime membership?" Lorcan patted his stomach and winked at Susan, who turned a deep beetroot. I rolled my eyes.
After dinner, we settled at the hearth, preferring the carpet over the couch. The tent was closed, but the rain made the air inside cold and damp. The crackling of the flames made me think of Lucius' simmering flesh, and it seemed to have that effect on the others as well. We were all quiet, each waiting for the other to speak first. It was Lorcan who eventually shattered the glass veil.
"Right. Let's go through what we know. The prophecy says there's going to be the next great Dark Wizard or whatever, and Angel's baby will be the one to stop him, because both you and your baby have the power of the Stone and the Cloak. And, he can't just kill you 'cause the prophecy also says the baby has to breathe life, yeah?"
Angel nodded, and he went on.
"Lucius wanted all three Hallows. So he planned to steal the Elder Wand, then sacrifice the baby when it's born to harness its power through the blood ritual Serena mentioned. But as we all know, Lucius is pretty much out of the game. So that leaves Codrus, who is also Draco's brother. And he's escaped with the rest of the Death Eaters, who all heard everything, mind." He did not allow for a pause at the mention of Codrus and Draco's relationship. Like the rest, he seemed eager to gloss over the elephant in the room.
Fine, I'll bite.
"It's a little confusing, but that sounds about right," I said. "And he'll be going to steal the Wand before coming for you." We all looked at Angel pointedly.
She had been lost in a shallow daydream and startled slightly. "There's no way he'll find Dumbledore's tomb, is there? It's on Hogwarts grounds. They've placed charms over it."
"I reckon it's much easier when you've got students doing your bidding," Lorcan said with a grim smile. "There were a few of them at the Manor. And I'm quite sure there're many more who aren't insiders, but part of the army all the same."
"Amora is the one to do it," said Angel. "She told me so."
"But she wouldn't, right?" I countered. "She secretly unbound us before they Disapparated. She's your friend."
Angel considered this. "I don't know," she finally admitted. "Morie's a little... unsure."
"Well, if they aren't for us, they're against us," I declared. "Okay, so we warn Hogwarts, then the Ministry? Or the other way round?"
"Hogwarts first," said Lorcan firmly. "In fact, I don't think we should tell the Ministry at all. Codrus was working there for weeks. There's no telling who he has gotten to. Rutherford turned out to be a mole, remember? For now, we might have a bit of time. They're probably recuperating from what happened, and they have no idea where we are. Besides, if they really are sending a student, the school term only starts in two weeks."
Angel shifted uncomfortably as she listened. "After we've warned McGonagall, what then?" she asked, worry spreading across her face. "Draco and I can't hide out in the forest forever, even after our baby is born."
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. This place is Salvio Hexia-ed to Helga in high heavens," I reminded her. "That buys us loads of time to figure out how to exterminate the vermin."
"Except we're forgetting one small detail," Susan piped up, then paused, as if suddenly unsure if she wanted to continue.
"Oh, just spit it out, Suze!" I snapped. This was not the time to be withholding thoughts or information.
"Well... remember what Lucius said?" she began, careful to avoid Angel's eyes. "The prophecy was given to the Malfoy family. So... why are we assuming it's Codrus?"
"What do you mean?"
"Lucius has two sons."
"Are you implying Draco is the next Dark Lord?" Angel's demand cut through the air, sharp and fast like whistling arrow.
This was not the elephant in the room I had intended to address.
In fact, I had not thought about this elephant at all.
"No," said Susan calmly. "I'm asking - how do we know for sure which one is meant to take his place?"
The more I rolled Susan's question over in my mind, the more it started to make sense. How could we be sure? Anyone in that accursed family had an equal chance of fulfilling that part of the prophecy, did they not? Even The Boy Who Had No Choice, though this suggestion did not exactly sit well with my dinner.
You would never get me to say it out loud, but I would be remiss not to admit that I was beginning to grow rather fond of that blond boy; even if he was a little broody and thick-headed at times.
Angel straightened away from our huddle. "I hope you know what you're saying, Susan. He's my husband, in case you've forgotten." Her voice was dangerously low, and there was a visible red glow of anger around her - or perhaps it was just the fire. Beside me, I could feel Lorcan tense up at Angel's intentional use of Susan's name.
Susan met Angel's corrosive glare straight on. "I haven't," she replied tonelessly. It was a heavy insinuation she was making, but a justified one all the same, and deep down, Angel must have known that too.
This elephant was starting to feel like an Erumpent.
When it was clear Susan was not going to retract her statement, Angel got up in a huff, declining Lorcan's help with a commanding palm. Susan sprang up to go after her, but was tugged back down by Lorcan. "Leave her. She'll come around eventually."
"What makes you think so?"
"Because Angel is smart enough to concede when someone else is right. And you are right. If what Lucius said is true, that the prophecy was given to the Malfoy family and not just him, who's to say it's not-" He jerked a thumb in Draco's direction discreetly.
Susan groaned and pulled at her face. "I bet she hates my guts now."
"Bet she does." I agreed, earning a dirty look from her. "Thanks for backing me up, by the way!" she chided sarcastically. "You were a real help!"
"Okay, let's not get catty," Lorcan drew us back into our discussion. "We need to figure out what to do and who does what. It going to be just the three of us now. We can't risk Angel or Draco leaving this tent, at least for now."
Susan and I muttered our agreements.
"My sense is that while they're definitely looking for us, the Wand is much easier to get and it'll be their priority. If they're sending Amora or one of the Hogwarts students to get it, we have to warn McGonagall. Only McGonagall. If this is anything like the last war, we don't know if any of the professors have been turned as well."
"I'll stay here with Angel and Draco. You guys go," I suggested.
"No," Lorcan interjected quickly. "Two of us would attract too much attention at the school. Only one of us should go. Susan, do you want to? Hogwarts is a safer bet than being out here right now."
Susan's eyes grew wide, but our skirmish at the Manor seemed to have instilled within her a newfound sense of courage. Her mouth formed a thin line as she nodded.
"Remember, whatever we do now is only going to be temporary. Codrus isn't going down without a fight," Lorcan affirmed gravely. "He'll get that Wand eventually."
"You think so?" I breathed.
"I know so."
"But it's nothing we haven't seen before. We'll take him down," I said, beating my first into my palm. "Him and his army of rats."
Lorcan sighed, as if I were a five-year-old insisting my imaginary friend was real. "I don't think it's that simple, Han."
"Alright, explain to me, then, Mr. I'm-Smarter-Than-All-Of-You!" I demanded, my patience fast depleting. "Why isn't it that simple?"
"Because-"
"Because the way I see it, it's pretty fucking simple. Bad guy wants power. Bad guy tries to take something that gives him power. Good guys stop him. Bad guy dead."
"Because-"
"I just don't understand why everything has to be so complicated-"
"BECAUSE I KNOW HIM!" thundered Lorcan.
Susan and I were stunned silent. My mouth could only spit out a single word: "What?"
Lorcan closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, releasing the air through his mouth. "I knew him back when I was in Hogwarts," he said. "It began with the pets. It all began with the fucking pets."
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A/N: I have a little surprise for you guys hehe! If you listen to music while reading, try the song at the top of the next chapter while reading it! I think it fits so well with its eerie and unsettling tones 😈