Rakepick's hand was wrapped around Artemis' throat, her fingertips pressing against either side of her neck. Her other arm had lowered, wrapping across the front of Artemis' torso, holding her back. Artemis squirmed, but Rakepick's grasp only tightened.

"Let go of her, Professor," Bill said, frowning in confusion. Rakepick chuckled, and his expression grew fearful, almost angry. "I said, let her go."

"I don't think that I shall," said Rakepick, and Bill's face hardened, his hand instinctively reaching for his wand. "Now, William, what are you going to do about it?"

Bill pointed his wand at the hand Rakepick had pressed to Artemis' throat, but as he cast a spell, Rakepick lifted her other arm and flexed her hand. Bill's spell was deflected in mid-air, and his eyes widened. Artemis blinked. Had Rakepick just cast a shield charm without a wand?

Rakepick clenched her fist and opened it again, and the others were all pushed backwards away from her and Artemis, as if they had been banished.

"Why are you doing this?" Artemis managed to say, her voice quietened by the pressure on her neck.

"Because I need you to follow my orders. Something that you are not very good at. Luckily, I won't be needing you for much longer, not once the Vault is opened and your brother has been freed."

"I don't understand."

"Of course you don't," Rakepick laughed, a short, cold laugh. "You never do understand, you just do as you please. It's immensely irritating, Miss Hexley. Your brother was always far more suited to being a Curse-Breaker. I do need one of you to open the final Vault, and I did think at first that perhaps you could be the one to do it, but... Well, seeing as Jacob is just inside that painting, it seems a shame to waste the opportunity to have the better Hexley for the task."

"I thought you wanted me to work for you," said Artemis, still confused by the Curse-Breaker's words. "We are on the same side! R is threatening both of us!"

"Oh dear, no. R hasn't been threatening me at all. Or you, in fact."

"But... but..."

"You still haven't worked it out, have you? R wasn't behind the attacks on your friends. I was," Rakepick told her. "You know, I thought your little friend Miss Khanna had given the game away. She really is very clever. It's just as well that you are not. Although, perhaps if you were, I would not have needed to fabricate those messages at all."

"Rowan was right. It was you all along!"

"Of course. I couldn't get you to respect me, so I had to make you trust me. And it worked; you believed that we had a common enemy, so you started to let me close to you. You may not be easy to control by force, Miss Hexley, but you are incredibly easy to manipulate."

"But... Why?"

"Because I needed you to open the Vault. Just as I needed Jacob, eight years ago, and shall need him again, once he's freed from the portrait inside. It really is a shame that he managed to get stuck the last time we were here."

"You were here with Jacob?"

"Indeed I was," Rakepick told her. "We managed to hold back the dragon and get inside the Vault, but once we were there, the column wouldn't open. Hexley became trapped inside, and I had no choice but to Apparate out and wait for you to come along.

"I thought that perhaps Jacob wasn't the one after all, that the cabal had chosen the wrong Hexley to open the Vaults, but no. Jacob is the one. It was Ashe who was the mistake. A life was needed, but it shouldn't have been Duncan's. It should have been yours," she clenched her fist, turned her hand over, and opened it again. In her palm lay a small silver knife. "I intend to set that right. Or rather, you will."

"What?" Artemis shook her head and struggled to get away from Rakepick. "No!"

"Oh, you shall. Remember, I know exactly how to make you do as I say," Rakepick pointed the silver knife in the direction of Merula. "Crucio."

Merula's screams of pain echoed through the gallery hall, through Artemis' head, through every fibre of her being. The pain was unbearable, and it was Merula's pain, not just her own.

"STOP!" Artemis half-shouted, half-screamed. "Make it stop!"

Rakepick lowered her hand holding the knife, and Merula collapsed on the floor. The Curse-Breaker released her grip on Artemis' neck, and pressed the silver blade into her hand.

"You can make it all stop, Artemis. And you will," she smiled at Artemis' stubborn glare, "unless you want me to use that little spell on these gentlemen."

Artemis frowned, and Rakepick raised an eyebrow, her gaze settling on Ben Copper.

"No. No, I'll do it," Artemis nodded, her fingers wrapping around the handle of the blade. She took a step away from Rakepick, her free hand reaching into her pocket.

She took a deep breath, pulled the bottle of Garrotting gas from her pocket, and in one swift motion, plunged the blade into the cork stopper. She twisted the blade and pulled it out with the cork, and threw the open bottle of Rakepick, who started to gasp, wheeze and clutch at her own throat.

Artemis' friends rushed into action. Charlie and Ben ran to Merula's side, and Bill ran to Artemis', both of them hurling the combative spells Rakepick had taught them at Rakepick herself. The curses bounced off Rakepick's shield charm, but she was too busy trying and failing to breathe to retaliate. Choking and spluttering, the Curse-Breaker backed away from them.

"You can't... stop it..." she spat out between gasps. "The Vaults need... a life. They will... have a life."

There was a loud crack, and Rakepick disappeared.

"Are you okay?" Bill asked, turning to Artemis, placing his hands on her shoulders, and hurriedly looking her up and down. She nodded, and Bill frowned. "Are you sure? You're all shaky."

"I'm fine," Artemis told him. Until Bill pointed it out, she hadn't even noticed that she was shivering. "It was Merula that got really hurt, not me."

Merula was still on the floor. She was trembling more than Artemis, and her face was pale and drawn, but she appeared to be physically unharmed.

"I think you both ought to be checked over by a proper Healer, just in case," Bill said.

"And we need to tell Dumbledore about Rakepick," added Ben. He looked almost as shaken as Merula. Bill nodded and looked at the portrait door.

"I agree. The sooner we break the curse and get back to Hogwarts, the better."

"Yeah," Artemis followed Bill's gaze with her own. "I'll go in. See if Jacob really is in there."

"I'll come with you."

"I don't-"

"I'm coming with you, Artemis."

"Bill, wait," Charlie said, looking up at him from Merula's side. "Maybe you should let Artemis do this alone."

"You can't be serious."

"This is between Artemis and her brother."

"No," Bill shook his head, looking at Artemis sternly. "No, you can't go in alone. We don't know exactly what's in there."

"I'll be fine," Artemis whispered, looking from Bill to Charlie and back again. "Charlie's right. I need to do this by myself."

"I just don't want you getting into danger."

"Bit too late for that, don't you think?" Artemis muttered, rolling her eyes. The strain in Bill's face didn't ease. "I think I can handle myself for a bit. Just give me ten minutes, okay?"

"Five," Bill replied.

"Deal."

Artemis nodded at Bill, gave Charlie a grateful smile, and turned towards the open door. She put one foot up onto the gold picture frame, and stepped into the portrait.

Inside the frame, the wooden door opened into a long, dark corridor, lined with portraits. At the end of the tunnel, a gold flicker of light could be seen.

The Vault.

Artemis sped up, not bothering to look at the portraits, although it was too dark to see any details in them, anyway. The closer she drew to the Vault, the darker it grew, and by the time the corridor opened into a seven-sided room, the only light came from the gold column in the centre.  Artemis walked to it, ready to place her palm on the glowing crystal.

"Don't touch it," a voice called out from the darkness, and Artemis turned to see who had spoken.

"Jacob?"

No one was in the room, but the seven walls were lined with portraits. In one of them, something - or someone - was moving.

"Artemis?"

"Jacob, where are you?"

"Inside the portraits."

"How do I get you out?"

"Open the column," Jacob's voice instructed. "But don't touch it. Use legilimency."

Artemis nodded, and took a deep breath. Like she had with the door, she stared at the column, trying to feel for it with her mind, reaching towards it. Open... open...

The sides of the central column opened, and golden light filled the Vault, illuminating the portraits lining the seven walls, each of them depicting the same seven sided room in which Artemis stood. Each of the walls of the vaults in the portraits depicted yet more Vaults, and the walls of those Vaults were lined with even more Vaults. It was an eternity of Vaults, a dizzying thought.

But she didn't have time to think about it, because out of one of the portraits stepped a man. Messy dark hair framed his face, with hazel eyes looking at her under thick, dark eyebrows. He stared at Artemis, and she at him.

"Jacob?"

"Missy?" the man who looked like Jacob blinked, a dazed smile starting to appear on his face. "You did it. You found me."

He half-walked, half-ran to Artemis, and wrapped his arms around her. Artemis returned his embrace, her face pressed into his chest.

"I can't... It's you," Jacob pulled away from the hug and held her at arm's length. "You're all... You look so grown up. Are you sure it's really you?"

"It's me," Artemis nodded, wiping the tears off her cheeks. She frowned as she looked at the man who looked like an older version of her brother. "Is it really you? You're not a Boggart, are you?"

Jacob tilted his head to one side, his smile slipping before it had even fully formed.

"Why would I be a Boggart?" he asked her.

Before Artemis could answer Jacob's question, the noise of footsteps echoing down the corridor drew their attention. A moment later, Bill stepped into the Vault, quickly followed by Charlie. Both of them blinked as they looked, wide-eyed, at the endless walls of Vaults, before their eyes settled on Jacob, who was watching them with a mistrustful expression in his hazel eyes.

"Who is this?" he muttered.

"These are my friends, Bill and Charlie," Artemis told her brother, smiling at him. "They helped me to find you."

Jacob didn't look too grateful, but he curtly nodded his head at the Weasley brothers, before turning back to Artemis

"We need to go," he said, grimly. "Back to the castle. Before the dragon comes."

"It's fine. The dragon already came, and we killed it."

"You killed the dragon?"

"Yeah. Well, technically Merula killed it, but I helped."

"Merula?" Jacob's eyebrows furrowed. "Hang on, Missy, how many people did you bring here?"

"Four. Bill, Charlie, Merula, and Ben. And Rakepick, too, but-"

"Rakepick?"

"Yeah, but she-"

"Thank Godric. Is she outside?"

"No, Jacob, she-"

"Where is she?"

"She left," Artemis said, and Jacob looked confused. "She attacked us, and then she Apparated away."

"What? No. No, you must be confused. Patricia is helping us. You've got it wrong."

"I assure you, she hasn't," said Bill, a sternness to his face and voice that Artemis couldn't remember ever being there before. "Rakepick attacked us. All of us. She wanted to kill Artemis."

"Is that true?" Jacob asked Artemis, and she nodded. His lips pursed and eyes flicked from side to side, as if he were trying to work out a puzzle. "Did she say why?"

Bill made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a tut.

"Does it matter why?" he asked. Jacob glared at him, and Artemis shook her head.

"She said one of us has to open all the Vaults but... there had to be a sacrifice," Artemis said, and Jacob's eyes grew wide. "She said you were the better person to do it, and not me-"

Jacob swore loudly, and pressed his fingers into his hair. His face had grown pale. Seeing his visible distress, Artemis tried to reassure him.

"It's fine, Jacob. We fought her, and she's gone now."

"No, it's not fine," Jacob shook his head. "I have to go."

Artemis felt her heart plummet in her chest, and a sense of helplessness took hold of her.

"What?"

"You're going to leave her?" Bill looked almost disgusted. "Again?"

"I have to. I need to find Rakepick."

"Did you not hear what she just told you? Rakepick tried to kill her."

"Because she doesn't understand. I have to make her understand."

"I don't understand," Artemis said, her heart beating wildly in her chest. This wasn't right. Jacob wasn't supposed to leave. Not again. "Make me understand!"

"I don't have time to explain it to you, Missy. Not right now, anyway. You just have to trust me," Jacob bent down and kissed Artemis on the cheek, before straightening up and looking at the exit. "Keep looking after Mum, okay?"

Jacob turned away from Artemis and entered the corridor between the Vault and the portrait gallery. Watching him walk away from her, Artemis' fearful sadness gave way to anger.

"No!" she ran down the corridor after him and grabbed his sleeve, holding him back. "No, don't you dare leave!"

"Missy, let me go."

"I won't let you leave me again."

"Please. Let go, and stop crying," Jacob pulled his arm away from her, and as she reached out again, he pushed her hand away from him. "Stop making this difficult!"

"Me? Me make this difficult? No, you know what, Jacob? This isn't difficult, what's difficult is being left all alone, and stared at and whispered about, and your friends going missing and getting hurt, and fighting ice knights and boggarts and spiders and even bloody dragons, and all the other things I've done trying to find you, but you wouldn't know about because you weren't bloody there! And now here you are, after I did those things and I've almost died getting here, and my friends have almost died trying to help me find you, and now that I've found you, you're just going to leave all over again like it all means nothing to you."

"It doesn't mean nothing to me. It means a lot to me, and I don't want to leave, but I really have to, because it's important."

"Aren't I important?"

Jacob sighed. "Missy-"

"Don't call me that. No one calls me that. You'd know that if you had been here all this time, but no you weren't because of the sodding Vaults, because you love the Cursed Vaults so bloody much-"

"I don't love the Cursed Vaults."

"You do love them. You love them so much that you let Duncan die and you left Mum and you left me, and you love them more than any of us."

"That's not true, Missy."

"DON'T CALL ME MISSY!" Artemis screamed at Jacob, who blinked as if in shock. She breathed, and glared at him, her red hot rage subsiding to a cool, simmering fury. "Some brother you are. I wish you weren't my brother at all, I wish Bill was my brother and not you. He's a better brother than you've ever been, and he loves me more than you ever have."

"He doesn't."

"He does. It's not like it's hard. You don't love me at all. And I don't love you, either."

"Don't say that."

"Why not? It's true."

"It's not true, you're just saying it because you're angry. You don't mean-"

"I do mean it! I love lots of people, like Rowan and Penny and Tonks, and Bill and Charlie and Ben, and  I even love bloody Merula more than I love you!"

Jacob grabbed Artemis by the shoulders and shook her.

"Don't say that," he growled. "You can't ever say that again, do you understand?"

Artemis couldn't think of any more words to express how she felt, but she couldn't let go. Instead, she did the first thing she could think of, and spat in her brother's face. He winced, and let go of her to wipe his cheek, softening a little.

"Listen, Missy-"

"Stop-"

"Artemis, sorry! Artemis, I know you're angry," Jacob sighed, and reached out to touch her hair. She pushed his hand away. "I'd love to stay and explain all this to you - and one day I will, I promise - but right now, I have to go and fix this before something bad happens. I'm sorry. I love you."

"Well, I don't."

"Please don't say that, Artemis, for Merlin's sake. You really mustn't say that."

With that, Jacob left Artemis to watch him walk away from her again, stepping out of the portrait into the gallery and disappearing entirely with a loud crack. Artemis used the heel of her hand to push yet another tear from her cheek. She was alone again, except she wasn't really, because Ben and Merula were still in the gallery, and Bill and Charlie were still inside the Vault. Being sad wasn't going to do her any good, so she took a deep shaky breath, and returned to the Vault.

"I'm fine," she said, seeing the concerned looks on Bill and Charlie's faces. "We need to get back to the castle. You can Apparate us all out of here, can't you, Bill?"

"I'm not sure," Bill frowned. "I can only take one person at a time, and I don't know where we are right now. I might not be able to Apparate back once I leave."

"You could take the portrait with you, maybe? Use it as a Portkey to get back here."

"It might work, but it's a big risk if it doesn't. What if they can only be used once?"

"There's another portrait inside that column," Charlie said, and Bill and Artemis stared at him. He shrugged. "What? Looking at the walls was making me feel dizzy so I looked inside the column instead."

Artemis climbed up onto the dais of the column, and saw a small gold picture frame. Looking at the painting inside, she nodded.

"Get the others in here," she said. "I think this portrait will take us back to the castle."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because that's what it's a painting of."

Charlie ran out to the portrait gallery, and returned with Ben and Merula, who still looked pale and very shaken. Artemis offered her a small smile, which Merula didn't return, and all five of them climbed up onto the dais.

"All of us at once, okay? One, two, three..."

Five hands grabbed hold of the picture frame, and everything began to spin.

It was Bill's idea to go straight to Professor Dumbledore as soon as they arrived back at the castle, the portrait having taken them to the lakeshore.

Not knowing the password to get to the Headmaster's office, they had first approached Professor McGonagall, who escorted them through the gargoyle corridor and past the golden Griffin to find Dumbledore. Artemis wasn't sure who was more surprised to see the five of them in their office: Professor McGonagall, in her tartan dressing gown, or the headmaster, clad in violet pyjamas. The five Curse-Breakers wasted no time in telling the professors about the evening's events.

"The portrait was a Portkey-"

"Rakepick - she betrayed us!"

"- and we were in a gallery, and one of the portraits went to the Cursed Vault, and-"

"It was terrifying. There was a dragon!"

"She used the Cruciatus Curse on Merula and-"

"A Hungarian Horntail."

"- I used Legilimency to open it and the Curse is broken, and Jacob was there, but he's gone now."

"Who cares what kind of dragon it was, Weasley?"

"- threatened to kill Artemis."

"Shut up, Merula."

"She's dangerous, Professor!"

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows and blinked several times, turning to Professor Dumbledore, who was listening quietly, a serene expression on his face.

"Do you understand the meaning of this, Dumbledore?"

"For the most part, I dare say that I do, my dear Professor McGonagall," Dumbledore nodded. "Although, it is a disappointment to me that Professor Rakepick appears to have proved so untrustworthy. Perhaps you would be able to set the proper defences in motion, should she attempt to return to the castle?"

"I shall see to it immediately," McGonagall nodded. "Mr Weasley, kindly escort your brother and Mr Copper back to Gryffindor Tower, and I shall see that Miss Hexley and Miss Snyde find their way back to the dungeons safely."

"I don't think that will be necessary, Minerva," Dumbledore smiled. "Miss Snyde should be taken to the Hospital Wing. Madam Pomfrey is already tending to the young Miss Haywood, who was taken there a short while ago. These young gentlemen can see to it that she gets there on their way back to their dormitories." His gaze settled on Artemis, and he added, "I have matters that I wish to discuss with Miss Hexley. Alone."

With the last word, he looked pointedly at Bill, who had already opened his mouth to protest. Bill sighed, but nodded his assent, and the others left the Headmaster's office. Professor Dumbledore bowed his head at Artemis, and sat down at his desk.

"You have had an eventful evening, by all accounts," he said, and gestured at the seat opposite him. "Why don't you sit down and tell me about it, now that others aren't here to interrupt?"

Artemis did as Dumbledore suggested, and went back over what had happened in the Buried Vault, from the Portkey, to the dragon and the Legilimency door, finishing with Rakepick's betrayal and Jacob's abandonment.

"I owe you an apology, Miss Hexley," said Dumbledore, with a sigh, once she had finished her tale. "I did not believe Professor Rakepick to be capable of such treachery. I am sorry for placing you and your peers in danger. May I ask exactly what she said when she threatened you? I am intrigued to know the reasons behind her actions."

"She told me that she wanted me or Jacob to open the Cursed Vaults, but she wanted Jacob because he was a better Curse-Breaker than me. Because he's the clever one," Artemis told the Headmaster. "Now that Jacob's free, she doesn't need me anymore, so she wanted to use me as a sacrifice to open the Vault, because the Vaults need a sacrifice for them to be opened. But I managed to open it anyway, so maybe she was wrong, or maybe killing the dragon was enough of a sacrifice for them to open. I don't know."

"And did you tell your brother about this?"

"Yeah. He just said that Rakepick isn't on the bad side, that she just had the wrong idea and didn't understand, and then he left to find her."

"That must have been upsetting for you," Dumbledore said quietly. Artemis shrugged. "What did you say to Jacob? I would be surprised if a spirited young lady such as yourself hadn't reacted in some way."

"I might have overreacted if anything," Artemis admitted, and Dumbledore inclined his head, a knowing smile on his face. "I told him that he wasn't a good brother, and that I didn't love him anymore. He didn't like me saying that at all."

"Understandably so," Dumbledore said, standing up and walking over to one of the tall cabinets that lined the walls of his office. "But your reaction was understandable, too. After all, we all say things that we don't mean when we are hurt and angry."

"I dunno, Professor," Artemis said, guiltily. "I think part of me did mean it. I mean, I haven't seen Jacob for half my life, and so much has changed since he left. The first time he left, I mean. I'm not the same as I was then, and he's not... Well, after all the things I've found out about him this year, I'm not sure if he's the same person that I remember, either."

The headmaster said nothing, but from the look on his face, Artemis could tell that he was deep in thought. He opened a door of one of the cabinets, from which a pale blue light radiated. Artemis squinted and leaned in her seat to see what was glowing inside. The light seemed to be emitting from a wide, shallow dish inside the cabinet. Before she got to see what was inside the dish, Dumbledore placed the tip of his wand to his forehead, and as he moved it away again, a silvery blue wispy material followed his wand into the dish.

"Pensieve," he explained, seeing the questioning expression on Artemis' face. "It's invaluable when you have as many thoughts as I do. Helps you to look back over the things you have seen, and to organise your thoughts and memories. A very useful tool."

"I don't think I have enough thoughts for it to be that useful, Sir," Artemis said, and Dumbledore chuckled. "Professor, does your Pensieve mean you understand all of this?"

"I may have an inkling. Or an inkling of an inkling, you might say."

"I don't want to be rude, Professor, but that's not helpful. After everything that's happened, I want to know about this. I need to know."

"What is it that you'd like to know?"

"Everything," Artemis said, definitely. "About the Vaults, and Jacob, and Rakepick, and the Cabal, and Duncan. I want to know everything."

Dumbledore sighed heavily, and made his way back to his desk, sitting opposite Artemis once more.

"I'm afraid that as knowledgeable as I am - if I do say so myself - there are certain things pertaining to the Cursed Vaults that remain a mystery, even to me," he told her. "However, you are right. You have been through a lot, and you deserve to know. So, I shall tell you all I can.

"The Cursed Vaults have existed for centuries, and ever since their creation, there have been many rumours about what lies inside them, how they will be opened, and who shall be the one to do this. There have been theories, and prophecies, and I myself don't know what is or isn't true. The ones who know the most are the group that call themselves 'R'. They have been operating, largely in secret, since the early nineteenth century, and they have more knowledge about the Vaults than anyone.

"My knowledge of 'R' - or the Cabal, as they are otherwise known - is limited. Largely, it is based on knowledge I have gained from your brother, Patricia Rakepick, and a couple of close contacts of mine in the Auror office who were actively involved in the case after your brother's disappearance. What I do know is that the Cabal are obsessed with finding the Vaults, obtaining the power within, and using it for their own benefit."

"But what is this power in the Vaults? Why is it so important?"

"I do not know for certain, but I have my own theories, as I am sure you suspect," Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled. "Both your brother and Rakepick were interested in opening the Vaults for the same reason as I would like to see them open: to prevent the power from falling into the wrong hands."

"I'd say that Rakepick's hands would be the wrong ones," Artemis muttered. Dumbledore inclined his head.

"I have known Patricia since she was eleven years old. She always was a courageous and determined young girl. Not the sort to let anything stand in her way, and with a tendency towards ruthlessness. Nevertheless, she wanted the Vaults opened for the right reasons. That being said, I underestimated the lengths she would go to in order to achieve that. I should not have placed such great faith in her," he said. Artemis frowned.

"Is that why Jacob went to find her? Because he thinks that she's still on the right side?"

"I expect so."

"But how can he think that? I'm his sister, and she tried to kill me. He shouldn't be going after her at all, should he?"

"Miss Hexley, there is no doubt in my mind that your brother has your best interests at heart. If he followed Rakepick out of that Vault, it will have been in order to keep you safe," Dumbledore said, his face gentle and stern, all at once.

"Maybe," Artemis sighed. "It's just after hearing what happened with him and Duncan, I don't know anymore. Duncan said that he betrayed him to R, and then tonight, he just left to chase after Rakepick..."

"What happened to Duncan Ashe was wholly unfortunate, but I dare say that Duncan's bitterness has caused him to assign more blame to Jacob than what is rightfully owed to him. I understand how you could consider your brother's actions tonight as another betrayal, but he is still your brother. You should not be resentful of him."

"But-"

"Jacob's involvement with the Vaults has hardened him," said Dumbledore, a resigned sadness in his blue eyes. "Do not let yourself be hardened by it, also. It takes a lot of bravery to love and trust those who have hurt us, Miss Hexley, and a lot of kindness, too. These are admirable qualities, and ones that you have in abundance. Do not lose them for anger's sake."

Artemis nodded. She thought she understood what Dumbledore was telling her, but there was still so much more she wanted to know, that she still didn't understand. She looked the headmaster in the eye, and watched him sceptically.

"What else do you know?" she asked him, her eyes narrowing. "I can tell there's more that you aren't telling me."

"I think," Dumbledore said, and Artemis felt herself being pushed out of his mind, "that we have discussed enough for one evening."

"No. You told me you'd tell me everything-"

"Everything that I could, not everything that I know," Dumbledore smiled, and Artemis glared at him.

"That's the same thing."

"Unfortunately, in this case, it is not. There are things that are not my place to tell you."

"Whose place is it to tell me?"

"Your brother's. Now that he is freed, there is no reason for him not to tell you himself in due time."

Dumbledore's tone of voice made it clear that there was no point arguing. Artemis scowled, but didn't protest further. She had one more question left to ask, anyway.

"Professor, now that Jacob is free, what happens about the rest of the Vaults? There are more, aren't there?"

"There is one more Vault remaining, yes," Dumbledore inclined his head. "I expect it shall be a matter of your brother attempting to open it before R get there first."

"Not me, then?"

Professor Dumbledore fixed Artemis with a strange expression.

"I think that this is another matter for you to discuss with Jacob," he said. "For now, I would concentrate on your friends. This evening has been taxing on all of you, in many ways. You have always had their support, and now it is time for you to give them yours. Goodnight, Miss Hexley."

Artemis was dismissed. Her head still swimming, she left Dumbledore alone in his office, still illuminated by the silvery blue glow of the Pensieve.