May 1st - History of Magic
History of Magic was the perfect class for someone who wanted to think in peace, without being interrupted, mostly because no one was paying attention and everyone was lost in their own minds. Nephera Winchester was no exception to that rule, Professor Binns lecturing provided her with the perfect backdrop to think about the one thing that had been bothering her for months: the Horcrux.
The vial of Basilisk venom she had bought from Mystery was still safely tucked away in Sirius's bedside table, but it was completely useless unless they found someone who spoke Parseltongue, in order to activate the Horcrux so they could destroy it.
However, Parseltongue was a language spoken by very few people in history and an even smaller number of alive ones. Ironically enough, the only person she knew who spoke Parseltongue was Voldemort, although she doubted that he'd be too keen on helping them destroy a piece of his soul.
The language of snakes, she thought, Riddle did keep the Slytherin theme all throughout, she'd give him that.
One thing she couldn't understand was why those specific items? Why the Diadem and the Cup of all things? Surely, it would be easier to make a Horcrux out of a galleon or something, let it be transferred from hand to hand, it would surely be a lot harder to trace that way.
Shaking her head, she stopped her thoughts from wandering around and focused them back on the task at hand, how to destroy the one they had located. It was impossible, she realized, there was no way to do it unless they found a parseltongue.
However, if there was one thing Nephera Winchester was, it was ambitious, so the word impossible didn't really resonate well with her. She kept thinking, following different lines of thought from different directions, but she kept coming up empty.
How the fuck could they mimick a snake talking? Sure, they could try hissing at it, as James had suggested, but she doubted it would be that simple.
Then again, maybe that's what she needed, a simple solution. Too often she spiraled down, thinking of the most complex of plans and solutions, and ignored what was right in front of her.
Maybe stupid, was exactly what she needed in this case.
Parseltongue, how can one mimick parseltongue?
It was impossible for most wizards to do it accurately since the language snakes spoke was not an exact dialect-
Her eyes widened and she slapped her hand down on the table once she realized what she needed to do, "I am a genius!" she yelled, drawing the attention of everyone in the class, "Quit staring all of you, it's not like you didn't already know it,"
Professor Binns, as usual, had taken no note of the sudden outburst, and simply continued lecturing them on the witch hunts of the middle ages. Remus, who was sitting next to the girl, shot her a questioning gaze, "I know how to destroy it," she whispered, and the werewolf felt his eyes widen once he caught on to what she was saying
"How?" he asked
The girl smirked, a borderline evil glint in her eye, "Snakes," she said, and then tapped the rune of her bracelet thrice, thinking of Regulus's name 'Meet us in the Room of Requirement at midnight,' she told him, 'We're getting rid of a Horcrux,'
The boy, who was all the way down at the dungeons in his Potions Class, almost dropped the ladle he was using to stir the potion, "What the hell, Black?" asked Barty, his potions partner, "You know what this potion does if it touches our skin?"
Still slightly shocked at what Nephera had told him, the boy wasn't in any place to provide a viable excuse, "Muscle spasm," he said, "You do it, I need to stretch my arms,"
Sneaking his hands under the table, he tapped on the rune, 'What the hell are you talking about?' he asked
'I am a gift to this world,' was the only reply he received, which only left him more confused than before
The boy was simply staring ahead, not sure how to process the news. Destroying a Horcrux was no easy task, and unless Nephera had somehow managed to learn Parseltongue, which, if he was honest, did not sound impossible at all, there was no obvious way they could do it.
Still, if Nephera said she had a solution, then a solution there was, and honestly, the boy was excited to get back on top of things. It had been too silent for too long, and he was itching to be able to finally make a difference.
That was the whole reason for him switching sides anyways, be able to provide the brunette with inside information so she could work on killing the bastard. Destroying the Horcrux may not be exactly that, but it did assure that he couldn't come back if he did die.
Well, that is, if they managed to locate and kill the others. The location of Helga Hufflepuff's cup was still unknown to them, and if his guess was right, then Riddle had also made Slytherin's locket into a Horcrux or at least was in the process of doing so. As far as they knew, after tonight, it would be one down, two to go.
Not bad for a group of schoolkids, though the youngest of the Black brothers.
The entire day passed in a blur the Slytherin being too excited to pay attention to anything else other than what would be happening that night. Remus had informed James and Sirius as well, and the three boys were mildly concerned by the evil expression the girl had on her face all day long.
All three of them knew from experience that such an expression on Nephera's face meant that something big was about to happen, and they hoped that said big thing was something good, and not the opposite, "Nephie," asked James tentatively during dinner, "Are you sure you're all right? I mean, don't you want to sit and think about what we'll be doing tonight for a second? There's no need to rush it,"
"Salazar, Jay, keep talking like that and someone might think we're shagging," she mused, grabbing the bowl of pomegranate seeds and placing some on her plate
The boy shuddered at the thought, while Remus decided to take point, "What he means is that you're not usually like this," tried the werewolf, "So uh, rash?"
"I'm not being rash, Moony," replied the girl, "I'm just happy that we're finally getting somewhere with this entire business,"
"What business?" asked Peter, having just moved away from his conversation with Alice
The other four shared a look, knowing that they couldn't say anything. It's not that they didn't trust Peter, he was their best friend for Merlin's sake, but Regulus had expressively told them that he didn't want the mousy boy involved. And in this case, it was Regulus's life on the line, no one else's, "Furniture for the house," said Nephera nonchalantly, "I was thinking of buying a lamp, and the others don't think it goes with the rest of the house,"
"Oh," said Peter, not quite believing them but not wanting to push, "Well, what does it look like?"
"Tiger print," replied Sirius, "Horrendous, isn't it?"
"Godric, Neph," blanched Peter, "You've always had a good style, what on earth are you thinking?"
The girl rolled her eyes, "I suppose you're right," she said
Once more, the four teens who actually knew what was going on exchanged a glance, not liking the fact that they were lying to their friend. However, the fate of the wizarding world was hanging in the balance, quite literally, and if keeping some things from Peter was what they had to do, well, it was a small sacrifice compared to the bigger picture.
An owl flew into the Great Hall, gaining everyone's attention since the post was typically delivered during breakfast, not dinner, and everyone watched as it flew right in landed right in front of Alice. The girl, who had a rather unstable temper all day, roughly tore the letter away from the bird and opened it, scanning her eyes over the words.
Nephera recognized the owl as Frank's owl, and by the way, the pixie-haired witch was currently reading the letter, there were clearly some issues between the pair, "Ugh that wench," exclaimed the girl, gaining everyone's attention
"Who's the wench?" asked Nephera, "And do I need to dispose of someone?"
Alice frowned, looking as though she was really considering the offer for a second, "As much as I want to, I don't think having a hit ordered on my boyfriend's mother is a good idea,"
"Ah, troubles with the mother-in-law, then?" teased the Slytherin, "Oh don't look at me like that, you know you've thought about marrying him,"
The Gryffindor blushed slightly under Nephera's knowing expression, "Not if his mother has anything to do with it, she hates me,"
"So what, you don't need her to like you, you only need Frank," pointed out the brunette, "Although I don't know if I'm the best person to help with this, maybe go to Evans, she's the lovey-dovey one,"
Alice paused for a second, but then seemed to agree with Nephera, knowing that indeed, the Slytherin was not the best at relationship advice, "How do I get Frank's mum to like me?" she asked, turning to the redhead
"Just be patient," suggested Lily, "You'll learn to work with her faults, everyone has them,"
"It's true," added Marlene, "Look at me, I'm attractive as hell, but I also lack the ability to takes things seriously,"
"And I take things too seriously," continued Lily, and then all three of them turned towards Nephera
The brunette, who noticed their glances, put her glass down, "Oh, crap, this is where I'm supposed to say my bit huh?" she mumbled, "Well, I uh, oh! I have a weird ego complex, where I hate myself, but I still think I'm better than everybody else,"
Silence followed after that, with Alice cracking a smile at the statement that was so characteristic of Nephera, while the two other Gryffindor girls rolled their eyes at her words, "What?" asked the girl, "It's true,"
Dinner was over soon after that, with everyone filing back to the common rooms exhausted after the long day, "Are you at least going to tell us the plan?" asked Sirius, his voice getting lost in the chatter of the people around them
"Nope," replied the girl, popping the 'p', and then pressing a chaste kiss to his lips, "But you're so lucky to be dating me,"
With that, she ran ahead, catching up with Alice and looping her arms through the other girls'. Sirius huffed out a breath, his eyebrows furrowing, "What is it?" asked James
"Nephera," replied the raven-haired boy, "Don't you think she seems a little too excited for this?"
The bespectacled boy nodded, letting his eyes trail after his sister, "You know her, Pads, she loves it whenever she figured things out, it boosts her ego,"
Sirius nodded, but he was still unsure. It seemed like these past months, ever since she had escaped in October, she was chasing the high that came with winning. Like she wanted the adrenaline rush, relied on it to keep going, and if he was honest, he was deeply worried about that.
More than that, she had never truly talked about what happened while she was held captive, nor did she like to talk about Ellie and Tony. Of course, he understood that people coped differently with things, and he knew that if it was him in her place, he wouldn't have been all too keen to talk about it either.
That doesn't mean he wanted his witch to keep it all inside, though.
So, when he walked into the common room, only to see her sitting down with Peter and Alice, playing a game of exploding snap, he hesitated for a second before he walked up to her. Wrapping his arms around her shoulders from behind, he leaned down to look at her, "Can you come upstairs with me for a second?" he asked
Nephera turned to look at him, noting the worry in his eyes, and nodded, allowing him to lead her up the stairs and to his dorm, "You're not going to break up with me, are you?" she joked, although deep inside she was starting to get worried too
"What? No, no, of course not," rushed the boy, "But, mon coeur, I'm worried, we all are. You're a little too excited about this,"
"Well, of course, I am," she said, taking a seat on the bed next to him, "it's a step closer to winning the war, isn't it?"
He huffed, taking her hand in his and fiddling with the rings on it, "Still, all day you've practically been bouncing off the walls, it's the most excited I've seen you all month if I'm honest. And back at Easter, you saw he was there, Nephera, and you stayed,"
"And you're saying that no other sane person would do so?"
He looked up at her, smiling softly, "Not exactly the words I would use, but yes,"
She knew he was right, the high she got whenever she outsmarted Riddle was unmatched, and it was something that she had ended up actively seeking, but who could blame her?
That man had put her through hell and back, so of course, she'd be happy whenever she won against him, "You make me happy," she started, "You make me happier than anything and anyone, but, Snuffles... Riddle is smart, smarter than most, and every time I win against him, the feeling I get is- it's unmatched,"
The boy nodded, "I'm just scared you'll end up putting yourself in more danger than you need," he replied earnestly, "I know what role you're playing in this war, and how important it is, but if I'm honest, I couldn't give two shits about the outcome of the war if it meant you're safe,"
The girl knew how he felt, she wanted to protect him too, "I know," she breathed, and then shook her head, "And I'm sorry, I feel like you keep telling me to be safe and I keep shitting on that, but I get it, I really do, I just don't know if I can help it,"
Sirius knew just how hard this was for her. She was torn between doing everything she could to win and fight, and keeping her promises to him, "You trying is enough," he breathed out, kissing her cheek and smiling when he felt the corners of her lips twitching upwards, "Besides, I can't sit here and lie, and say that seeing you all criminal-mastermind and outsmarting everyone isn't hot,"
Hearing that, Nephera let out a small laugh, kissing the boy deeply, "I love you," she breathed against his lips
"Pas autant que moi, mon coeur," Not as much as I do, my heart
She smiled, burying her face in his chest as he hugged her tightly, "Just one last favor?" she spoke against his shirt
"What is it?"
The Slytherin pulled away ever-so-slightly to look at him, putting on her best puppy-eyes that she knew always worked, "If we do destroy it, I get to write flat-face a letter bragging about it,"
He smirked at her, "Deal,"
Regulus Black had finally managed to shake off Snape, Nott, and Crouch under the excuse that he needed a break from studying in order to sneak up to the Room of Requirement and wait for the others.
It was much easier than he thought, outsmarting the other Death Eaters at Hogwarts. Nott had been keeping to himself ever since Avery, Mulciber, and Lestrange got expelled and were in the run, Snape was never really around anyway, choosing the solitude of his dorm in comparison to the common room, and Crouch was such a fanatic that the idea of someone betraying Voldemort wouldn't even cross his mind.
Relocating the Horcrux wasn't easy, Nott had hidden it in a version of the Room of Requirement that was filled with clutter to the very top, and summoning wouldn't work, so he had to look for it the muggle way.
That's why he had decided to go up to the Room at around eleven, as opposed to midnight, and a few minor injuries later, he had finally managed to locate it.
Wishing for a table and a few armchairs, the room provided as usual, and he collapsed on one of them, drinking from his flask while he kept his eyes on the box with the diadem in it.
He felt bad destroying the crown itself, it was known to grant unlimited knowledge to whoever wore it, and it was a historical artifact that deserved better than to be snapped in half by a group of teenagers.
He heard the door open, and he unwillingly grabbed his wand and pointed it towards the direction of the sound, relaxing once he saw the three Gryffindors and the girl pull the cloak from over them, I still can't believe you have an invisibility cloak," he muttered
"Pretty cool isn't it?" asked James, "Now, care you tell us what the grand plan is, Nephera?"
"And are we even sure it'll work?" continued Remus
The girl glared at the two boys, "It will work, because I thought of it," snapping her fingers, a pair of thick gloves wrapped around Regulus's hands
"What's this?"
"Gloves to catch the snake," announced the brunette, smirking, "See, I was thinking, how do we find a wizard who can speak parseltongue, since there are so few, right? But then I thought of it and-"
"There's no need for a wizard if we just conjure up a snake!" exclaimed Sirius, "Merlin you really are a genius,"
The other three boys smiled and laughed once they heard that, realizing that the one thing they had been working on for the past months was finally solved.
They were destroying a piece of Voldemort's soul, and now everyone in that room understood why Nephera was so excited to outsmart him again, the feeling they had coursing through their veins truly was unmatched.
"So we're doing this?" said James excitedly, "We're really doing this?"
The girl nodded, pulling out the vial of Basilisk venom and a dagger from her bag, "Why do you have a dagger?" asked Remus
"Why wouldn't I have a dagger?" countered Nephera, opening the venom, "I'll dip the knife in the venom, Remus, you open the chest with the diadem inside, James, you conjure the snake and Regulus you catch it,"
"And what am I doing?" asked Sirius
Raking her eyes over everyone, she took in a deep breath, "You're there to take over in case I can't stab it. Information on Horcruxes is scarce, so we should just go ahead and assume that it'll try to fight back somehow,"
"Alright, faster we start, faster we finish," announced Regulus, standing up
The excitement was slowly being replaced by fear as they all realized that it would be more dangerous than they thought it would be. Remus opened the top of the box, peering inside to ensure that the diadem was still there.
Sure enough, it was resting easy between the wooden walls of the chest, and all five of them felt uneasy looking at it, "He's right," said James, "Let's get this over with as fast as possible,"
Pointing his wand towards a spot on the ground, the bespectacled boy yelled out, "Serpensortia!" and a huge black snake came out of his wand, Regulus quickly catching its tail and holding it away from everyone, "Am I do it correctly?" yelled the younger boy, "Is this right? I don't know what I'm doing?"
"Shut it Reg," ordered Nephera, gripping the dagger dipped in Basilisk venom tightly
Her plan was indeed correct, for the second the Horcrux heard the snake hissing, the gem on top started glowing, "Nephera, stab it!" yelled Remus, jumping out of the way as the snake lunged for him mid-air
"I think the Horcrux is telling it to attack us!" said Sirius, "Nephera, kill it,"
But the Slytherin could not stab the diadem, for she was too busy looking at it. The blue gen on top was glowing, almost pulsating, and the Slytherin cocked her head to the side, stepping closer, "What are you doing?" asked James
"I think it's doing something," she whispered, eyes wide in awe
Regulus was struggling to keep the snake in check, wrapping an arm around its head as well as its tail to keep it from wiggling in mid-air and trying to attack them. Thankfully, Remus came to the rescue and shot a stunning spell at the snake, making it fall limp on the ground, "Love, give me the dagger," said Sirius, trying to adhere to her orders and stab the diadem himself
The girl only swayed away from him, keeping her eyes on the diadem. The next thing everyone knew, there was a black light coming from the Horcrux, swirling in the air and slowly forming into two people, Ellie and Tony.
Or at least a very distorted version of them.
Sirius knew where this was going, and he knew that whatever sick image the Horcrux was about to display, it would be targeted towards Nephera specifically, so he all but tackled her to the ground, grabbing the dagger from her hand before Horcrux-Ellie could open her mouth and start talking.
Running forwards, he saw the image change, and from their two friends, it took the form of Nephera herself. The Gryffindor paused for a moment but did not allow himself to pay attention to whatever trick the diadem was playing now, as he brought the knife down and stabbed it right on the middle gem.
There was a loud screech, and the gem burst into tiny pieces, a sudden silence enveloping the room, "Is it done?" asked Remus, his voice hoarse
Regulus took a step forward and looked inside the box, and sure enough, the diadem was resting in two pieces inside, "It's done," he breathed, running a hand through his hair, "We did it, Nephera- Nephera?"
The brunette Slytherin was still sitting on the floor, staring at the box. Sirius moved in front of her, snapping his fingers in front of her face, "You alright, love?"
This seemed to snap the girl out of gaze, as she looked up and locked eyes with her wizard, "Yes, I'm fine," she breathed, smiling widely, "We did it!"
The group of five teens started cheering and laughing loudly, looking at the broken pieces of the diadem in surprise. James actually took out a small bottle of firewhiskey he had in his robes' pocket, "Drinks!" he announced, Sirius and Remus cheering loudly once more
Regulus, though, was more concerned with Nephera. She shouldn't have reacted the way she did with the Horcrux, mainly because she was the only one that froze during the process of destroying it. He knew why that was, but he did not want to face that reality, "Nephera," he whispered, tugging her arm to pull her away from the group of cheering Gryffindors, "You know why that happened, don't you?"
The two Slytherins locked eyes and the brunette nodded ever so slightly, "Crap," muttered the boy, "You know the effect Dark Magic has on someone, how often do you use it?"
"Enough for this," muttered the girl, pulling up her sleeve to show the darkening veins running up her arm. The effect subsided after a few minutes, but it was enough to worry both of them
The thing with Dark Magic was that although powerful, it always came with a price. When someone used it once or twice, that price was minuscule, so small it couldn't be detected. Extended use of it, however, had a negative impact on someone's body and soul, an impact which obviously had reached Nephera.
The thing was, that this impact wasn't necessarily dangerous in the physical sense. It bore no threat towards her life, nor did make her weak or anything, quite the opposite, actually. It made her more powerful, Dark Magic was slowly merging with her soul, and such power could be life-threatening if one became addicted to it.
"There are remedies," said the younger boy hurriedly, "Ailani-"
"I know, it's not yet, it can be fixed," interrupted Nephera, "I'll write her a letter tomorrow,"
Noticing the hesitation in her voice, Regulus decided to push, "Do you want to stop it?"
"No," she replied earnestly, "The promise of even more power is... It's good, but I've made a promise to Sirius, one that I've broken too many times,"
"Should we tell them now?"
She smiled as she turned her gaze back to the three cheering and celebrating boys, "I'll tell them tomorrow," she said, and then continued, louder, "Now, I think I have a letter to write!"
The room provided her with parchment and a quill, as she fell down on one of the armchairs, Sirius pulling her closer towards him and pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, "When are you sending it?" asked Remus, swaying slightly as he was already tipsy
"I'll give it to Nott in a week or something," she replied, taking the bottle and drinking a generous sip of the alcohol, "Wouldn't want them connecting this one's absence with what we've done,"
"And I'll be sure to act extra blood-supremacy and shit to throw off suspicion," added the younger Slytherin, smirking, and everyone laughed
---
May 10th - Undisclosed Location
Tom Riddle was holding yet another one of his meetings with his inner circle, this time discussing new laws that he wanted to integrate in the Wizengamot, when a black owl flew into the room, landing right in front of him. There were two letters attached, one of them with Theodore Nott's easily recognizable handwriting, and the other had no name on it, "Your son knows better than to send letters, Nott," he said, tearing the letter off the owl's foot
"I do apologize, my Lord," said Nott Sr
Riddle ignored him, opening the letter, his eyes widening once he read it.
My Lord,
I was unsure whether to send this to you or not, but I am afraid that Winchester insisted. She said that it is not cursed, and I would've checked had she not charmed it so it can only be opened by you.
T. Nott
The Dark Lord did not like the sound of that at all. He knew the letter wasn't cursed, Nephera wasn't so stupid so as to try it, but typically when the Winchester girl got involved, things tended to go sideways for him. Ignoring the questioning looks from everyone at the table, he reached for the second envelope, practically tearing the parchment in half as he tried to open it.
Did you really think you could hide a Horcrux in Hogwarts and I wouldn't find it? I'll admit, destroying was a bitch, smart idea, the parseltongue and the visions that came out of it, but you're going to have to try harder than that next time.
I won't bother signing this, there's no doubt you already know who I am
Ps. I hope the nose is doing better- or, well, the lack thereof
Tom was angrier than he had ever been before as he crumbled up the paper and lit it on fire, watching the words disappear. There were too many unanswered questions, how did she know about the diadem? How did she figure out it was a Horcrux? How did she know where it was hidden?
And most of all, how the fuck was she always ten steps ahead of him?
"Why is Nephera Winchester still alive?" he seethed, "Why the fresh hell is she still breathing?"
Lucius leaned forward, "Did something happen-"
"The only thing that's happened, Malfoy, is that this one girl is singlehandedly becoming a bigger problem than the entire Auror office and Dumbledore combined! I want her dead,"
The Horcruxes were plan B for him, they always had been. In case he ever died, they were a way to bring him back to life to finish his mission and take over the wizarding world. So the fact that one of them was gone- The fact that it was Winchester that had destroyed it...
It just meant that he'd have to apply more measures of protection for the other ones.
Over at the wizarding school, the atmosphere in the marauders' dorm was no better, mostly because Nephera's anger leveled that of Voldemort's since she had four very overprotective marauders babying her for the past week.
The Slytherin had kept her word, and she had told the four Gryffindors about the effect Dark Magic had on her body, as well as the fact that it was treatable. The very next day, they had apparated to Knockturn Alley, where Ailani had taken care of the problem expertly, as well as loaded Nephera with rings and necklaces containing crystals to clear her aura.
One would think that since the girl was cured, it would be the end of it, but no. For the past week, she was confined in Sirius's bed, not being allowed to lift as much as a finger, "Jay, please, I can go to the Great Hall for dinner,"
"No you cannot," replied the boy, "You had Dark Magic seeping into your soul- literally, you should be at St. Mungo's,"
Nephera huffed out a breath, "For the twentieth time, Ailani fixed me!"
"Still doesn't mean you should be tiring yourself out," came the voice of Sirius, "You're lucky we don't go to Minnie,"
"Moony, help me out here," she tried, looking at the werewolf
But she got no help from him, "Not now, I'm working on your potions essay-"
"My Potions essay!" yelled the brunette, sitting up on the bed only to be pushed back by Sirius, "I can do my own homework! For the love of Salazar, I'm not dying,"
It was then that Peter walked into the dorm, "No, but you were on the way to dying," he said, handing her a steaming hot cup of tea, "Drink this, it should give you your strength back,"
"My strength never left!" shouted Nephera
Yet, she couldn't help but feel warm inside at the sight of the four rowdy boys caring over her, "Sirius, no! I am not laying down anymore, I've been on this bed for a week!", even though they annoyed her from time to time
A/N
5.1k words
alright, i know the thing about the influence Dark Magic has on Nephera is kind of confusing, so I'll explain it
a while back, I saw a comment asking whether or not all the dark magic she was doing affected her, and i realized that it should've, and it made sense for it to affect her
i also wanted to include it because i feel like it shows her growth as a person, the way she sacrificed the extra power because of her promise to Sirius, when in the past she's broken similar promises for the sake of more power
i really hope i did this chapter justice lmao it's been a long time coming
don't forget to comment and vote!
xx