Ravenna listened to her classmates' conversation with half an ear.

"Surely it's not such a difficult question. We've all answered it honestly."

While her potion last night had been less disgusting - which, in all fairness, was a huge improvement - it still made her feel like she hadn't slept in a week.

"It is hard, okay? Leave me alone, El."

"But it's important! Come on, Ezra. Just tell me what you want to be. Potioneer? Historian? Herbalist? There's plenty of options."

"Nothing," Ezra grumbled.

"What do you mean, nothing?" said Ella exasperated. "Surely there's something you'd want to be! We're already in educational level five, you know, you've got to think about this. What do you want to be?"

"Without the exams, it doesn't matter what level we're in."

"Professor Trindine says the headmistress is still fighting for them, and if we don't get them this year, we'll just have them next year. Either way, our graduation is approaching." Ella sat up straight, sticking her nose in the air. As if she purposely ignored Morgan le Fay's awful situation.

"Just because she says that doesn't mean she can make it happen," said Ezra, as he played with the beans on his plate.

"Let's see, what other option do we have... Librarian? I dunno, er... Minister for Magic?"

"Nothing, Ella, dammit!" Ezra snapped. "Morgan le Fay is my home. I don't want to leave."

This finally caught Ravenna's attention. Ezra blushed and focused on wolfing down his breakfast, letting his black hair fall in front of his face. She'd never seen him so uncomfortable before.

He doesn't want to leave, she thought, feeling the pieces fit together. That made perfect sense.

Ezra had done well in level five last year. Then, towards the end of the year, all of a sudden he'd been unable to cast even the simplest spells. Even those he had already mastered. It wasn't because he couldn't do it, he just didn't want to.

"Alright, fine. Stay on as a teacher then."

Ezra froze. Bits of scrambled egg fell off his fork. He turned towards Ella. "As... a teacher?"

"Yeah." Ella shrugged. "If you want to stay here, get a job here. Just become a teacher. Fauns' retirement can't be far away. Or maybe you could ask Professor Slughorn to be a teaching assistant first."

He straightened up as he considered this. "Huh," he said. "That's not a terrible idea."

Ella smiled brightly. "All you have to do is pick a subject."

He rolled his eyes, but his lips twitched into a smile.

Ravenna's eyes rested on Willem. He hadn't said a word during his best friends' conversation. With his eyebrows knitted together, he just ate his breakfast. In fact, he'd been quiet a lot lately. More so than usual. Ever since Ezra and Ella had refused to come to the Fae's Foot Inn and meet Alois, they seemed to have drifted apart. He spent more and more time with his old classmates again.

She hadn't told him what she'd found out yet. About Alois. She didn't know how to tell him. He was so desperate to make this work, to make the wizarding world better for Morgan le Fay students. How was she supposed to shatter his rose-tinted glasses and tell him it had been too good to be true?

"Let's get to class," said Ella eventually. "Don't want to be late."

Ravenna nodded and Dan muttered something in agreement.

Just as she stood up, the hall fell silent.

"Ah, Headmistress Slughorn!"

The voice made Ravenna gulp and she dropped herself back into her seat. Eyes wide, she turned to the front of the hall, where an old man with silver hair and a beard that almost reached his knees strode inside.

"How wonderful to see you again."

The headmistress stood up, not looking particularly happy to see the visitor, despite the smile on his face and the twinkle behind his half-moon glasses. "Headmaster Dumbledore, what a surprise. Welcome to Morgan le Fay."

"Thank you, thank you." Dumbledore bowed exaggeratedly. "Always a pleasure. Could I steal a moment of your time, please?"

Headmistress Slughorn seemed to overthink his question, but decided to agree. Without another word, she led him out of the breakfast hall. As soon as the door fell shut behind them, excited whispering broke out. Down the table, the sixth levels speculated on what Dumbledore could be doing at Morgan le Fay, but Ravenna tuned it out.

"What the hell is Dumbledore doing here?" asked Ezra, his mouth hanging wide as he stared after the two school heads.

"Not a clue... It's a bit dodgy, isn't it?" said Ella.

Ravenna took a quick look around the hall, but none of the teachers sat close to them. Most had already gone to their classrooms seeing as classes would start in a minute. Which meant that they could talk freely.

"The head of Hogwarts does not visit Morgan le Fay without reason," Ravenna muttered. Does he know? She cast a glance at Dan, who looked just as troubled.

"What's got you two all worked up?" Ezra narrowed his eyes. "Do you know something?"

"No!" Ravenna exclaimed, but at the same time Dan said, "Maybe..."

Dan shrugged guiltily. "We should tell them. Especially Willem."

"What?" The younger boy looked up, his book bag slipping from his grasp. "What does this have to do with me?"

"Not you, but..." Ravenna hesitated, but her best friend nodded encouragingly at her. "I think it has something to do with Alois."

"Alois?" said Ella. "You mean the bloke you met in Dawnwich?"

"Yeah, him. I think he knows that he..." Ravenna faltered and sighed, turning to Willem. "I'm fairly certain Alois is a Death Eater."

Willem's face paled. He opened his mouth, but only a desperate squeaking noise came out.

Ezra looked just as stunned. "You're kidding! You guys got tangled up with a Death Eater?"

"Shush!" Ravenna hissed. Fear washed over her as she glanced across the hall. If Dumbledore found out... "Do you want the entire school to know? Besides, it wasn't on purpose... I only found out the other day."

"That can't be right!" Willem squealed. "He's no Death Eater. He wants to help us!"

"He wants to make a change, but apparently he d-doesn't mind using violence to get the job done," said Dan.

"That's... No!" Willem sputtered. "He never said anything about that."

"I saw his tattoo, Willem," said Ravenna. "He's got a Dark Mark tattooed on his arm. That snake, it's very specific. He wouldn't have that on his arm if he wasn't one of them."

"But... He..." Willem stumbled over his words, trying to make sense of it. "He said he was going to help us..."

"D'you think you guys are in trouble then?" Ella cast worried eyes at the breakfast hall entrance, where the two school heads had disappeared.

That was exactly what Ravenna thought. Those Death Eaters, they'd attacked people in the name of their Dark Lord. Killed people. Dumbledore was known for helping out the Ministry with their fight against Lord Voldemort and his followers, and if the Ministry knew Morgan le Fay students were involved with these Death Eaters, they'd be in serious trouble. Perhaps even arrested, and put on trial.

Would Morgan le Fay kick them out if they were convicted of being in league with Death Eaters? Her hand automatically sought out Dan's for comfort. He squeezed softly, but the drumming of her heart didn't slow.

"I don't know. But why else would he come all the way down here?" Ravenna muttered.

"The timing..." Dan added. "It's too much of a coincidence."

"Merlin's pants." Willem groaned and lay his head on his arms. "He's come to get us, hasn't he? He's come to arrest us! I can't go to Azkaban! I'd never survive prison."

"Just tell him the truth," Ella interrupted him.

"What?"

"You only recently found out he's a Death Eater. You've not done anything wrong, you've just trusted the wrong guy. That's not a crime. It's not as if you were there for the Dawnwich attack."

"You weren't, were you?" Ezra asked suddenly.

"Of course not!" Ravenna exclaimed.

"Alright, just checking," said Ezra, putting his hands up.

"Then you'll be fine." Ella smiled, patting a faint-looking Willem on his shoulder.

Ravenna let out a shaky breath. Perhaps Ella was right. They hadn't done anything wrong yet. Meeting with someone wasn't a crime, even if that person was a Death Eater. The worst Dumbledore could do at this point was give them a stern warning.

"If we don't want to look too suspicious, we'd better get to class," said Dan, giving the girl a grateful smile.

Either way, the old man's presence here at Morgan le Fay made the hairs on her arms stand on end. She hoped he'd leave soon, and that he'd never come back.