Harry Potter furiously scribbled his reply on the piece of parchment. He was late; he hadn't written back to Asteria's letter for a week now, and he just hoped that she wouldn't get mad at him.

Dear Ria,

I'm sorry I haven't written back for weeks, but you know how it is with the Dursleys. It's just.. infuriating. And calling you isn't really an option. But, please keep writing.. just so I know that you're alright.

I've been trying to keep my ears on the Muggle news, but maybe Voldemort has attacked no one yet. Or that he hasn't let it leak. But it's making me lose my mind.

I don't understand why it feels so hard lately.. I'm feeling paranoid by every passing minute, and my head feels like it would explode with anger. It's like I can't understand what's going on with me, and the Dursleys make it worse. And no one's writing back to me, answering my questions properly.. it's infuriating. Even Dumbledore.. I've written to him thirteen times. He hasn't answered once.

It's been weeks and I feel like I want to yell at something until I lose my voice and take all my anger out, or maybe I just need to listen to your voice. It's been a while after all..

What was he thinking? He clucked his tongue in disappointment and hastily cut the part, realising that he'd just sound like an arsehole or make her worry.

I just miss you.. so much.

There's still a month to go.. I can't wait to see you again.

Love,
Harry.

He sighed at the letter, then looked at his snowy owl. "Hey, Hedwig.." he cooed, making her look at him. "Up for a flight?" The bird flapped her wings enthusiastically and clasped the letter with her beak, flying away from Privet Drive soon after.

The townside of Brighton had a peaceful silence spread all over the houses. If one listened carefully, they'd hear waves crashing on the shore of Brighton beach along with a small chatter of tourists. It was a comforting feeling for everyone.. everyone but one person.

Isabella Diggory could hear the lowest of noises that surrounded them because of how silent her daughter had been that summer. It was unreal for Asteria to be like that. But one could understand.

'This could change so.. so many lives.' Ria could see the sheer excitement Lagarde had by the way her handwriting appeared a little more rushed than usual. And she couldn't comprehend the kindness the young Ravenclaw had before the world clawed at her heart.

Hermione had told her about it.. about how the Circle of Runes was supposedly a failed invention of Lagarde. And of course.. Ria just had to look for it in Lagarde's journal.

'I saw it.. I saw another memory of him today. I saw how he used it.'

Another memory of who? Ria's hand was itching to turn to another page and find out who she was talking about, but the promise she had made to Sophie held her back. Right.. no peeking out of curiousity.. it's for my own sanity. If I do, I'll go down into a spiral of things.

'I know I would not be able to replicate it as it was.. And I should not either. But if I can only make it work so the Runes separate the Obscurus from the body.. it would be miraculous. So.. so many futures could be saved.'

Yes, it would, Lagarde.. Ria sighed, sort of pitifully. But you failed, didn't you? And the world probably found another thing to hate you for..

'But I need to pitch this proposition to the Ministry. They would not trust an Azrael.. I will have to do everything under their eyes, and I will. I can sacrifice that much to achieve this. I can.. so no one will have to end up like Charlie ever again.'

Ria sat up in her place. Charlie? Now who the fuck is Charlie?

She shook her head. She was straying away from the point. She needed to focus on the Circle of Runes. Ria flipped through pages, eyes skimming over words to find the result of the experiment.

Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. She slammed the journal shut with a frustrated groan. Yes, it failed, but how? What did it do instead of what it was actually made for?

The girl sighed deeply; azure blue eyes looking out at the warm, early morning sky from the window of her room and dark locks flowing gently with the breeze. She couldn't sleep half the time because of the nightmares she saw; It was all darkness, Voldemort, Cedric and his death. She gripped the railing of the window tightly, feeling her accumulated wrath rise for the umpteenth time that summer holiday.

She couldn't forget how her godfather, Wormtail, hadn't hesitated to take her cousin's life. She couldn't forget his traitorous face that gave her the desire to hunt him down and then let her anger take over. She'd watch in pure bliss and satisfaction as the Enchantress inside would do the favour for her.

Ria fiddled with the pendant around her neck, feeling the crack on its stone on the pad of her thumb. She could feel the heat surging in her body, almost as if her blood was practically boiling, begging her to scream at something until she had lost her voice. There was a loud crash and she flinched, looking at where the noise had come from.

The vase on the dining table was now in pieces, and behind it was her mother, looking shocked. A look of guilt adorned her face. "I didn't— I'm sorry—"

"No." Isabella interrupted, shaking her head furiously. "It was me— uh— I was cleaning it. It slipped from my hand." She reasoned, then gave a hesitant smile. She waved her wand, mending the pieces back into the vase.

Ria nodded, then looked out of the window again, knowing all too well that was a lie to make her feel better.

"Have you packed your bags yet?" She nodded at the question, not moving her gaze one bit. Isabella had told her already that they were spending the rest of the holiday somewhere else.

The door of her room was knocked on, and the two looked back. A small, tired smile adorned Ria's face. "Oh! Hey, Moony."

Remus smiled through his scarred face, and took the girl into a long hug. "Hey! How're you doing?" He asked, pulling away from the hug.

Ria shrugged. "I'm— uh.. I'm fine, I guess."

"So.. what brings you here, Remus?" asked Isabella. And at her dismissive tone, her daughter threw her a look.

"I think you know the answer to that.." He answered, giving her a tight smile as he rocked back and forth on his heels and toes.

"Oh.. I didn't know you were coming for that.." Isabella returned the tight smile. "Er— Ria! Would you go see if Amos has woken up yet? He needs his morning tea." She nodded, leaving soon after.

A long silence took over them as they avoided looking at each other directly. "So.." Remus cleared his throat. "How have you been? I mean— you and Ria?" He asked.

"Could be better.." She answered honestly. "Amos's condition isn't helping. Ria flinches at the smallest of sounds, but she tries.." She sighed heavily.

He pursed his lips. "I know this isn't easy, Bella.."

"Isabella." She corrected.

"Isabella.." Remus nodded quickly, feeling irritated, but his voice didn't show. "But if you need any help— you know, Sirius and I will do anything we can.. even though things aren't the best between us."

Isabella nodded. "Thank you for that.." She said, genuinely.

"Mum?" Ria called from the doorway, taking their attention. "He's up.. I gave him his tea and breakfast, but he's still the same. Didn't talk much." She said, her tone of disappointment. Isabella frowned, but nodded slowly.

"Did you ask him if he was ready to leave?" She asked. "I told him last night, that we're living somewhere else for a while."

"Yeah.. I did. He just nodded."

Isabella's heart had another crack going through it. Why couldn't it just end? The suffering?

Remus cleared his throat. "Well.. looks like you are all ready, then. I'll come by tonight." He informed, and exchanged polite nods with Ria before walking to leave the room.

"You know, you can stay for breakfast.." said Isabella quickly, making Remus stop in his tracks. "..if you want to, I mean." she added timidly.

Ria's lips threatened to break into a smile, but she held it back. "Yeah.. you should, Remus."

His mind went blank for a while, but then he nodded. "Um— yeah, yeah sure." He answered, hoping that this would continue. Hoping that slowly.. their relationship would heal.

"Great!" Ria grinned, and her mother's heart melted as she saw the crinkles of her eyes again. She grabbed the letter from her desk and walked out of the room. "I'll go ahead and—"

"Honey, make your bed first."

Ria continued going down the stairs. "Can you, please? I'll get the breakfast served! Thanks, Mum!"

Isabella sighed with a small smile, walking towards her bed. "She just— she doesn't like making her bed.. thinks it's the most annoying task in the world."

Remus chuckled. "She is a child, after all.. can't blame her, Be— Isabella." He quickly corrected himself.

"Can I.. Can I ask you for something?" She said as her hands straightened the bedsheet, while her eyes peeked around at him.

"Yes, anything. What do you need?" He sounded almost too eager.

"I don't want anyone to talk to Ria about Daniel.. or at least about what happened." She answered, biting at her lower lip nervously. "It makes her very upset. And I'd hate to do that to her when she's already grieving about Cedric. Please?"

Remus nodded in understanding. "Don't worry.. I'll let them know."

She smiled. "Thank you."

Dear Dad,

Did the news reach you? Well I'm guessing not.. since you haven't had contact with Mum or Uncle Amos.

So.. the Triwizard Tournament happened.. Ced took part in it, Harry was forced to.. a follower of Voldemort put his name in. He had to compete.

Oh, Merlin.. I can't really explain it in the letter but.. we lost Cedric.

I knew it was going to happen. I tried to stop it. But we lost him.. I watched him die, right in front of my eyes. And I couldn't do anything.. I promise I tried to get up, I really did, but it was too late.

G̶o̶d̶,̶ ̶I̶ ̶g̶u̶e̶s̶s̶ ̶I̶ ̶k̶n̶o̶w̶ ̶w̶h̶y̶ ̶y̶o̶u̶ ̶t̶r̶y̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶v̶o̶i̶d̶ ̶m̶e̶.̶

Uncle Amos is having it really bad. I mean.. after Aunt Kora..

Mum and I are here with him, but he's just.. not the way he used to be.

Just thought you'd like to know what happened.

Ria.

The letter was blotched with tears, but still readable. That was enough.

She handed it to Jude. "You know where to take it, don't you?" She asked, and the owl flapped its wings as it took off with the letter.

Desperate.. So damn desperate. She thought to herself. Four letters.. no reply.. Why am I writing more of them?

"Ria? Are you ready?"

"Yeah." She answered as she dragged her uncle's suitcase down the stairs. "Here."

Time had gone by rather quickly.. it was evening already. Time to leave.

"Oh.. dear, you didn't have to—"

"It's alright." She smiled at him, and he attempted to return it. "Did you eat something? You didn't have your lunch before."

He sighed. "Ria.. I'm not that hungry, dear."

She placed her hands on her hips. "How's that gonna work, Uncle?"

"Ria! Amos! We have to leave, Remus is here!"

"Mum! Can you ask him to at least eat some fruit?"

Isabella's head popped inside through the door. "Amos!" She gave him a strict look.

"Bella—"

"No! Don't 'Bella' me!" She walked inside and braced her hands on his shoulder. "I know it's hard.. I know. But you can't—"

"I'll— I'll eat once we get there." He said at once.

Isabella raised an eyebrow. "You promise?" He nodded. "Alright, then."

Once the three left the house and locked it behind them, they saw Remus again.. with four broomsticks beside him.

"We're flying there?" There was a hint of a smile on Asteria's face.

"Unfortunately.." mumbled Remus, making Bella glare at him. "What? Just because you like it doesn't mean everybody does.."

"Yeah.. right. Forgot I was talking to you." She wave her hand dismissively. "Amos.. you're flying with me."

"What?" He blinked furiously. "God, can you stop treating me like a toddler? I'm fine, Bella, I can fly on my own."

"But I—"

"Yes.. Isabella. He surely can fly on his own." Remus said as he handed him a broom. He then walked towards her. "Let him fly.. just.. stay close to him." He whispered.

She almost sighed in relief. "But what about—"

"Leave her to me. I'll take care of her, I promise. And it's not like she's irresponsible, is it?" He smiled warmly, and Isabella nodded in response.

The man then handed Ria her broom. "Asteria.. You don't have to ride alone, you know?" He asked, worried as if someone would snatch her out of thin air.

Not like he and Isabella would let anyone.. but still.

"Nah.. I'm good." At her rushed answer, Remus shook his head with a fond smile. He realised she was a bit excited to fly again.

"Ready?" The three riders nodded, staring ahead with such focus that it almost made a shiver creep down Lupin's spine. It ran in the family, perhaps.

"Ria.. stay right beside me, okay?" He asked, and the girl nodded. "Three.. Two.. One!"

And the three broomsticks zoomed into the night-sky one by one; Remus first, Ria second, Amos third and Isabella right after him. Ria bent over her broomstick slightly, speeding up and catching up with Moony.

"So, Remus!" yelled Ria. "Since all of us are here, let's discuss the real deal! Who's the better flyer?" She asked, and Remus scoffed a laugh.

"Well.." He started. "I wanna live.. So.."

"Remus!" Isabella shouted, offended. "You make it sound like I'm a psychopath!" And Remus and Ria's laughter vanished into the cloudless sky as they continued their journey.

They stopped after almost thirty minutes of flying, in front of a grim-looking house. It looked like stank badly; Ria could also swear she could hear no noises coming from the building. The lights on the street were off, pitching them into complete darkness.

"Need a Heating Charm?" Bella asked, and Ria nodded furiously. She cast one, warming her up while Remus made the brooms disappear into thin air.

"Where are we?" She whispered.

"Memorise this quickly and stay quiet, please.." He held a piece of parchment in front of her, and they could read the words clearly through the dim light of his wand.

The headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London.

It hadn't even been ten seconds when Isabella had snatched the note out of the two's hand. With a snap of her fingers, it caught fire and vanished. Ria admired her mother's wandless magic for a second.

She looked up at the building, but frowned in question. They were standing right in front of number eleven. She looked at the left; number ten, but to the right was number thirteen. Where was number twelve? Was her brain glitching?

Suddenly, a door appeared in between eleven and thirteen out of nowhere, and soon, another wall, a grim-looking window, and a whole nother house had appeared in front of her. She looked at the other windows, seeing if the people living there had felt something, but there was no commotion.

"Let's go."

Looking around in wonder, Ria sauntered towards the building. Moony tapped the door with his wand and it opened with a creepy creak. And Ria hoped that this wasn't the start of a horror movie.

It seemed like they had entered the house of a dying person. The smell there was.. not so pleasing. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls; the lamps had layers of dust covering them, and a webbed chandelier hung above the gloomy hallway.

"You're here already?" A surprised voice called, and Ria smiled, but soon froze in her place.

Uncle Amos doesn't know yet. Holy fuck, he's gonna freak out. What if he jumps on him? We have to tell him before a fight breaks out. Oh my—

"Yeah.. It was just the four of us, so.." said Isabella, taking her coat off and hanging it away.

Sirius nodded, and then looked at her brother. "How are you holding up, Amos?"

"Good." He nodded with a stiff smile. "It's been a while, huh, Black?"

"Sure has."

Ria blinked in confusion. What..

"Oh— forgot to tell you, honey. I told him about Sirius this afternoon." said her mother. "He was kind of shocked.. said I should've told him earlier. But I knew he'd come to terms with it."

Ria left a breath of relief. "Could've told me that. I almost spiralled into panic."

Isabella gave her an apologetic smile and then turned towards her brother. "Amos, you promised—"

"Yes, I know." He gave an exasperated sigh. "Lead the way." And Ria could see the small smile of relief in her mother's face as she led him to the kitchen.

"So.." A hand settled itself around her shoulder. "How's little star doing?" asked Sirius.

"I'm doing just fine, Padfoot." She smiled at him, and then looked at Remus. "Hey.. I wanted to talk about—"

"We have all the time in the world, Ria. " He gave her a gentle smile. "Now, go and have some sleep. You must be tired."

Ria frowned slightly. "Oh.. well, yeah. But—"

"Upstairs.. first door on your left." He ushered her towards the stairs, and Ria looked back at the supposed dining room, where she saw some people, waiting. Was it a meeting?

"Okay.."

"Just take care that you don't wake Ginny or Hermione up."

Ria had to do a double take. "What— They're here? When did they—"

"We're discussing that tomorrow. Good night." He answered, and she almost scowled at the response.

"At least can you tell me what this place is?" She asked again, a little more desperate to have at least one answer from the adults.

"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place.. The noble and most ancient house of Black." Sirius answered poisely. "But since I was disowned, and there's no one alive left in the family, technically, it's all mine. Oh, and watch out for an alive portrait and a cranky old house-elf. Good night!" He chirped, excited to have company after a long time.

All the time Ria took to reach her supposed room, she had a scowl on her face. Questions..

Questions. Questions. So many goddamn unanswered questions! 

What happened after she came out of the maze? What did Voldemort do to her? Why were they here now? Who were those people? What's the meeting about?

Ria was too impatient to live through the amount of secrecy that was being maintained around her.. and it was infuriating.

The next morning had been a pleasant surprise for Hermione and all the Weasley children present at Grimmauld Place.

The first thing Ria had received in the morning was a letter from Harry, and it did not sound good. She knew how Harry felt, and she could not wait till she met him again just so they could bitch about all the secret-keeping together.

And also, she missed him dearly.

She had written a foot long letter to him, explaining everything from last night, but Isabella had snatched it away from her, making Ria's morning bitter too.

She had also met many witches and wizards early in the morning, ranging from the ones she knew; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mad-Eye Moody (the real one), to the ones they didn't; a thief named Mundungus Fletcher, a Ministry worker named Kingsley Shacklebolt, and a Metamorphmagus witch who could change her appearance at will, named Nymphadora Tonks, who was also supposedly Sirius's cousin.

She had also met the other living creatures in the house, Buckbeak and Kreacher. It had been a pleasant surprise to meet Buckbeak; he had given an excited squeak after seeing her. And well.. Kreacher, the house-elf that served the Black House, hadn't exactly been friendly. Ron had told her that he probably followed the teachings of his mistress and Sirius's mother; Walburga Black.

Walburga Black.. she was another source of annoyance in that gloomy and filthy house, forever stuck on the wall by some permanent sticking Charm. Tonks had accidentally knocked over an umbrella stand, and the woman had woken up shouting at the top of her non-existent lungs. Sirius had cursed brutally at her before pulling the curtain over her portrait.

Isabella had scoffed in annoyance. "Godric! How did you survive sixteen years here?!" Her question had made Walburga snarl an angry 'freak!' from behind the curtain.

"Three weeks?" asked Asteria, looking at Hermione, Ginny and Ron in disbelief. "You've been here for three weeks? Why did no one tell us, then?"

"Well—" Ginny started. "Dumbledore made us swear not to tell you or Harry." They sat at the dining table, having tea and snacks in the afternoon.

Ria stared at all of them ridiculously, and they held their breaths, expecting her to burst out of anger any second. It was becoming harder to consume her anger. "Why?" Her voice was calmer than they had expected.

"We— We don't know.." answered Hermione.

"Then who the bloody hell knows?!" Her quiet demeanour finally broke.

"Watch your language, young lady!" Mrs. Weasley ordered sternly from the other end of the table, where the adults were talking in whispers.

"How do you expect me to do that—" She growled, but then paused and sucked a deep breath in. "How?" Her voice was calmer. "I've been kept hidden away from secrets for a month now.. and I'm not patient enough to wait for another while." She warned the table quietly, her gaze roaming around and locking on Remus and her mother.

Remus placed his teacup down and cleared his throat. "What do you want to know?"

"Remus." Isabella muttered seriously.

Ria took another deep breath, softening her voice. "You might be my mother, but you have no right to hide such things from me—"

"Asteria, that's no way of talking to your mother." It was supposed to be a warning, but Sirius made it sound softer.

"It could've cost me my life." She stated, throwing the guilt-trapping card into their faces. "What do you think, Sirius? Would you rather have me safe by just spitting out what it is or have me dead instead—"

"Asteria!" warned Isabella, her tone low. "It hasn't been that long.. at least let us think for a good while before letting you know."

"And what about all those years, Mum?" She started losing it. "Weren't they enough for you to decide if I should be informed about certain things in my life?!" She slammed her fist on the table, making the plates clutter on the table.

"I didn't know you were an Enchantress! I didn't know that you were involved so deeply in the first wizarding war that you were literally playing a double agent! I didn't know you were James and Sirius's best friend! I didn't know Aunt Kora had been murdered the night James and Lily were too! I didn't know I had any other family besides you and Dad! I didn't know we were living where we weren't to exist! I didn't know I was witch! I didn't know one goddamn thing until someone else told them to me—"

"I—" Isabella had no words to spare. "I didn't— I tried—"

"Don't give me an excuse now! You had fourteen years, Mum!" She yelled, her chair sliding back as she stood up. And it all happened in one instance; there were more unpleasant screeches from the chairs, along with some gasps. Her stern gaze loosened, and she took her eyes off her mother, looking around.

"Don't you dare point your wands at my daughter!"

The three Aurors were on their feet, wands pointed at her. At Isabella's threat, they looked at each other before slowly lowering their wands. She slowly looked at the others too. All of them stared at her.. like they feared her.

Ria closed her glowing bright eyes in mild irritation and craned her neck, tilting her head to a side and trying to soothe the itch with her hand. And Isabella's eyebrows furrowed, noticing something dark on her neck.

Asteria looked back at her, and she could see the reflection of a faint glow dimming into darkness of her eyes. Her eyes went wide, and she took a step back, coming back to reality.

"Ria.." Her mother whispered gently, but she rushed out of the room. "Ria!" She called out, following her.

They all stayed in silence, too shaken to even move. Molly glared at Moody, since he was the first to get up. "What were you thinking? Raising your wands at her like that?!" She asked incredulously. "She's just a girl!"

"It— It was just on instinct." explained Tonks, feeling genuinely bad for the girl. "We're sorry, Molly."

"I don't mean to be rude, but if there's someone you need to apologise to.. it's Ria." said Ron defensively. Tonks nodded, then glanced at Remus, who just shook his head in disappointment and got up.

"Care to join me, Sirius?" He nodded, getting up too.

"For?" He asked as the two began heading towards where the mother-daughter had run to.

Ria bust open the door of her room, panting hard. She gulped anxiously, but her throat felt dryer than a desert.

'Trouble.. Trouble.. Trouble.. Quite trouble you can cause, can't you?' the words rang in her ears, and she didn't know what exactly they meant. 'I wonder what monster's hiding inside you..'

She felt a shiver creep down her spine. "Shut up.."

'What?' The voice chuckled. 'I thought you'd like to know the truth.'

"Fuck!" She cursed, massaging her head.

"Ria.."

"I'm sorry.." she breathed out, not really meeting her mother's eyes. Could she.. Could she really cause trouble? What if she hurts someone? 

"I'm so sorry. I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know what came over me—"

Isabella said nothing, instead she just walked towards her and took her into a tight embrace. Ria squirmed slightly, wanting to get out of the comforting grip that always managed to make her melt.

Sometimes she hated that her mother knew her so well.

"Come on, sweetheart!" Her mother sighed. "I know you love my hugs."

Ria gave in and hugged her back. "I'm so sorry.."

She shook her head. "No.. I am sorry." Her mother confessed. "I know how frustrating it could be, and I still kept things hidden from you.. I made you react that way."

A knock interrupted her, and they turned to see Moony and Padfoot standing in the doorway. "I was wondering if you two were up for a long talk?"

The four were back in the dining room, alone, and they had told her about many things; including some of their time in Hogwarts, with the original Order of the Phoenix which was a society formed by Dumbledore to fight Voldemort.

Then she had been told about her Godmother Marlene McKinnon, and another friend of her mother, Alice Fortescue, who happened to be Neville's mother. Those two, along with Lily Evans had been Isabella's roommates in school. Ria also came to learn about Marlene and her family's death, and about the horrifying condition of Neville's parents. 

She could see the grief in their eyes as they talked about their friends, but she had no words to comfort them.

Asteria and Isabella sat beside each other at the dining table, with Remus and Sirius across them. He had also told her about the topics they had discussed after leaving Harry and Asteria alone in the hospital wing. Apparently, there was one more thing she didn't know about the Circle of Runes.

But now that Remus had explained it to her, Ria stared down at the table, overwhelmed by all the information. "So— So this 'Circle of Runes' thing has happened before?" She asked in disbelief and fear, staring at the three adults, who nodded. "Who.. Who was it?"

Bella cleared her throat awkwardly. "Me."

Ria stared at her mother, wanting an explanation. "During the first war, all of us; Moody, Kingsley, the Marauders, some of our other friends, Amos, Kora, Daniel.. and other people Dumbledore trusted were working against Voldemort, Lagarde and their death-eaters."

"As we know, Lagarde was a genius.. an inventor, a bloody brilliant one that is." Isabella continued with a frustrated hiss. "But even geniuses go through trail and error.."

"Her invention deviated from its original goal.." She said. "When it was first tested on an obscurial.. it took the magic from the boy, completely. And transferred it to the body of an old man. Neither survived."

"What?"

She nodded. "The damage an obscurus does to the body of a child is so severe.. the only thing that keeps it safe and heals it every time is the magic the child contains. Take away both of them and the damage still remains. It's fatal." She reminisced those words.

"And.. And the man?" Ria asked.

"Every wizard is born with the amount of magic that he is supposed to have." said Isabella. "Going beyond that is either Dark Arts.. or death. The body cannot take more than it can contain."

She sighed. "Some people say this was the real purpose of the circle of Runes, and that maybe she was faking the 'obscurus' thing to stay out of suspicion." Isabella mused in. "But we don't know yet.."

"So, what happened when they tried the process on you?" inquired Ria, but then she remembered something. "Wait, is this why you aren't able to use your—"

"No— That's not the reason.." Ray said truthfully. "Whatever I said about not being able to use my wandless Enchantress magic because of losing control is true."

"When I was nineteen, your father and I had already been living together with Amos, Kora and Cedric. And— um— we had a fight, one day—" she began stumbling over her words, while Moony went unreasonably quiet.

He had been there to witness whatever that had happened.

Ria frowned. If they were already having so many fights, they shouldn't have married each other. She thought.

"And I was all alone by myself— somewhere I don't remember—" she said, remembering well she had been at a pub, drinking her misery away. "And the death-eaters attacked me."

"They weren't alone.. Lagarde was with them." Ria grew concerned. "Usually my powers warned me.. but I was distressed at the time."

"More like wasted.." Remus muttered under his breath.

"Someone stunned me. I still remember them clearly; Lagarde, Mulciber, Rookwood, and uh— Godric, I don't wanna remember her— Selwyn." She said anyway. "Jade Selwyn."

"Worst thing was.. during school days, she was one of the seniors that defended me. We were friends." Isabella blinked in thought. "Or maybe— I thought we were friends. Because it turned out that she was just fascinated.. that I was an Enchantress. She wanted to use me, I figured that out when I was playing the double-agent."

Ria pursed her lips, trying to divert the topic. "What happened after you faced them?"

"Then the circle of Runes started working.. it began to extract magic out of me." Ria's breath hitched, making her mother give a small chuckle. "Well, do you remember what we told you about practising magic?"

"The more you practise or use your magic, the more it binds itself to you?" She asked, and her mother nodded.

"They did manage to take some magic, but not all of it, of course. The part of magic that slipped away from me was the one that I hadn't used as much as the others.. the one that I didn't have much control over. The mind manipulation part."

She took a long pause, feeling that the information was a little burdensome. She was thankful something had broken the connection between her and the Dark Lord before he would have her powers, or he would've been too strong since she had basically no control over anything.

"They managed to take only that.. since Daniel and Remus interrupted their ritual. So.. I only ended up losing that part of me."

"To Lagarde?" asked Ria, and Isabella shook her head.

"To Selwyn probably.." Remus answered.

"But I doubt she was the one who got my powers." The woman answered.

Sirius raised an eyebrow at her. "Then who else? Remus and Daniel saw the magic go to her."

Isabella shook her head. "She never used it."

"Because she never mastered it." said Remus, inspecting her closely. "Because she.. uh.."

"Because she was killed?" she said with ease. "She had two years or more.. she could've mastered it. Voldemort would've asked her to." She shook her head. "She didn't have it."

"..then who do you think got it?" Ria asked, her voice timid.

Isabella looked at Remus and Sirius. "If I remember well.. she was pregnant." she bit the inside of her cheek in thought. "She married Amycus Carrow, right after passing out from Hogwarts and dedicated her life to the Dark Lord—"

"Woah, woah, Bella—" Remus ignored the glare she threw at him. "Maybe she just didn't choose to use it just yet. We don't know that— we don't know if the child was the one who—"

"She could've escaped, Remus!" She said with a hint of desperation. "That night— if she had my powers, she could've fooled the one who killed her and easily escaped! She didn't! They found her body! And Dumbledore also confirmed that she couldn't use it!"

There was a pause between the two adults. "What?"

"Yeah! He confronted her once. He said he could use Legilimency on her. Guess what that means?"

Sirius and Remus spared a glance at one another before nodding. While Ria had her lips pursed in a line as she looked at the three. I am so confused right now..

Sirius seemed to catch the confused look on her face. "You see.. Legilimency and Occlumency are two sides of the same coin. They are similar, but mind manipulation from an Enchantress is much more advanced."

"Like?"

"Like.. uh.." He trailed off, trying to remember everything Ray had taught the Marauders. "Enchantresses have this natural shield around their mind.. only a better witch of her kind can manipulate her. Legilimens and Occlumens can't alter or hide their thoughts.. and are far weaker than them."

Ria blinked in wonder. Yeah, no shit Voldemort wanted Enchantress powers. They were desirable. "It can't be that much.. There has to be a limit, right?"

"Of course, there is.. Everything has a limit or a drawback." This time, Isabella was the one to speak. "You see.. Enchantresses can't create like Legilimens. They cannot create emotions.. or thoughts. They can only manipulate what already exists. For example.. A person that has only love for someone can't be changed. But.. if there is even a tinge of dislike.. Enchantresses can fuel the fire until it grows in burning hatred."

'Knowing everything, but doing nothing.. that was what you were trying to prevent, weren't you?'

'You could've tried harder.'

Asteria was suddenly remembering it all now..

"Have you told her about enchanting?"

"Yeah.. I'm getting there. You see, Enchantresses got their name from this special magic trick they're able to do.. it's called 'Enchanting'." said Isabella.

"Here.. they can blank someone out for a while, have them be practically unconscious but only listen to what they say. And it's not really hard to learn.. works all the time, all they have to do is just catch someone off-guard.. when they're least expecting it." She explained. 

"The person doesn't even know that they're being enchanted, so they can't stop them. And if they do something after being enchanted, they think they're doing it on their own will when they're really not. They're just doing what the Enchantress convinced them to do. It is kind of like the Imperius Curse, but it's not a spell.. and you can't avoid it if it's done perfectly. Terrifying, really.."

Ria's heartbeat quickened. All the words came rushing to her..

'They won't listen to you.'

'You saw a Seer, a Saviour.. And all they saw was a poor, naive, helpless girl.'

'You are so much more than that, Asteria.'

'You need to do it yourself.'

'You won't fail.. I believe in you."

"..and what happened to the child?" Her voice was a mere whisper that made them all look at her with concern. "To Carrow's child?"

"We.. We don't actually know."

She looked at her mother. "Nothing?" she asked. "Not even Dumbledore? Sure, he must know something. He always does.. the greatest sorcerer of all time."

Remus looked at her, unsure. "We don't know that either."

She chuckled in disbelief. "Come on, Remus! Mum said he confirmed that Jade didn't have that power? Who else does that leave? You're telling me he chose to ignore investigating? Now that's just bad leadership in my opinion—"

"Ria.." Remus gently cut her off. "Maybe he does know.. Maybe he's keeping it for the right time—"

"And what's the right time? When I get enchanted again?!" Her question left the three in shock. "Yes! Maybe I was enchanted! Who knows?! You just said I wouldn't remember if I were— But it would make sense, wouldn't it? What's the other explanation for what I did?!"

"And gosh! Enough with that reason already!" Ria interrupted Remus from saying something. "Dumbledore told you this! Dumbledore told you that! Dumbledore's probably doing it for a good reason! Just because he has saved people once doesn't mean you have to completely rely on him! He's human, he has made mistakes and he can make mistakes again!"

"You know what.. I had my doubts about Moody even since he took our first class.. And I also told Dumbledore about this! Did he do anything about it? No! Greatest sorcerer of all time? Shouldn't he know Moody was fake since he had known him for what.. almost 20 years by then?"

"Let me remind you if Barty Crouch Jr. would've been caught earlier.. All this wouldn't have happened and maybe Cedric— he would've been alive! And what did Dumbledore do about this? He only apologised to me for my loss and for not believing my doubts.." Ria took another shaky breath in and calmed herself down as her body began heating up uncomfortably.

"What if we lost another one on Dumbledore's command, some day?" She asked. "What will he do? He'll just come, apologise, say that it was for the greater good and continue with the fight. And apparently that fixes everything, doesn't it?" She laughed sarcastically. "And then he'll continue with all the bloody secret-keeping again.. just like you!"

"Asteria.." sighed Remus. "We have read Harry's letters too, and we know how—"

"You don't know, Remus!" She interjected. "You didn't see Lord Voldemort resurrect! I didn't see either because I couldn't! I was too weak! But he saw it!"

"Ria—"

"He saw the man that has been haunting his nightmares rise from the dead! The news that I was in the maze too hasn't gone out of Hogwarts, I don't know how! But you know what's the consequence? He'll have to face all the backlash alone!"

"We know that—"

"No, you don't!" She interrupted again. "You don't know how desperate one could feel! Harry has written to Dumbledore thirteen times. But he hasn't replied once—"

She paused abruptly, noticing that neither were paying attention to her anymore. Their eyes were somewhere behind her, on the door. The three stood up, and Ria turned around, only to see the man himself standing there.

But her stern gaze didn't falter. She didn't regret her words, not one bit.

"I apologise for intruding and breaking the conversation.. but we have another guest," said Albus, and Fred came beside him, looking severely distressed.

"It's— It's Amelia." Ria went blank at his words for a quiet second, and then leapt up from her seat.

The two rushed up the stairs, where all the children stood waiting outside the door.

"Ria!" Hermione croaked out, already in tears. "Amelia— she's— it's bad.." She took her into a side hug.

Why is she here? How is she here? What happened—

"She came just some time ago, with McGonagall and Dumbledore." Ron answered worriedly. "She didn't look good. We thought it would be better to get her help first, then inform you four."

"Mum and McGonagall are inside with her.. they're healing her." George said, seeming lost.

"What happened?" asked Ria, looking up at the Headmaster.

"Miss. Henry apparated to us, asking for help.. asking us to take her to you, Miss Edwards." Ria gulped at his words. "But before we could treat her, her father and some of his partners found out. We had to find somewhere safer."

Kingsley Shacklebolt entered the scene soon, looking a little worried with Remus, Sirius and Isabella trailing behind him. "We have bad news."

As if the day hadn't been bad enough already..

A white bird fluttered towards them and perked up on Asteria's shoulder. "Hedwig?" She took the letter from her beak.

Dear Ria,

You didn't answer my letter.. Is everything alright?

Also, I've been attacked by Dementors and supposedly expelled from Hogwarts for protecting myself with the Patronus charm.

Harry.

And that was the moment Asteria Edwards's emotional burnout made her run to her room to finally take the Peace of Draught after trying to resist for weeks.

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