It had been days since Willem's disappearance. Perhaps even a week. Ravenna couldn't be sure; the days all blended into one another now.

It felt as if the whole school held their breath, waiting for an answer. Waiting was all they could do.

As soon as they'd realised Willem was missing, Ella and Ezra had informed Slughorn. She, in turn, had asked the Ministry for help in finding him, and the very next day she had also reached out to Dumbledore. Everyone was looking for him. But sitting there, in the common room, waiting for news, felt terrible.

"There's got to be something we can do!" Ravenna exclaimed for the umpteenth time.

"There isn't, Ravenna, we've talked about this," said Dan. "Everyone's looking for him. We just have to be p-patient."

"We can't just sit here..." She put her head in her hands and groaned.

"D'you guys think he's still alive?" Ella's voice was barely more than a whisper, yet each word dug deep into Ravenna's heart.

It was Ella who had taken Willem's disappearance the hardest. She'd been crying a lot. On the first day after he went missing, which happened to be Christmas day, she'd walked around the school at least five times, as if she thought he was just around the corner.

Morgan le Fay barely celebrated Christmas this year. They had their annual feast, but this year, rather than a proper celebration, it was just... dinner. With extra food.

"Of course he is," said Ezra gruffly. "He'd better be. He owes me a bag of chocolate frogs when I get a higher grade on Transfiguration at the end of the year." He smiled at the memory of them making that bet, but it faded again quickly.

"Yeah," said Dan. "Willem is clever. Whatever he got himself into, he'll find a way to stay alive until the aurors find him. What did you say the muggle word for auror was again? Plo... Pol..."

"Police," Ella answered half-heartedly. Normally, she would've jumped at the opportunity to launch into a whole lecture on muggles, since her classmates were so clueless on the subject, which was probably what Dan was going for. But today, she stayed silent, staring down into her empty tea mug that she'd been holding on to all day.

Ravenna wracked her brain trying to come up with a hopeful response, to cheer up Ella just like the other had tried to. Of course Willem is still alive. He can't be dead, because... Because...

Because what, though?

None of them had any idea where he'd gone. Last they'd seen him, he'd been in the school with no reason to leave. Had he left voluntarily, or had someone snatched him? Or, Ravenna couldn't help but think, had he been attacked, just like her father, because of her? Alois had said his Lord wanted her power. Was this simply his way of showing her he was serious?

"I think I'm going to bed," Ella muttered eventually. Without waiting for a response, she stood up and left the common room.

The others soon followed her example.

Ravenna spent the night tossing and turning, checking the time every other hour or so. At seven in the morning she was sick of it and left her room for breakfast. There were only a handful of people scattered about the three tables when she entered the breakfast hall. Professor Fauns had just finished eating and left the hall, nodding at her as they passed each other.

Ravenna took her usual spot at the end of the right table. While all the seats around her were vacant, none felt as empty as Willem's. She had barely ladled some scrambled eggs onto her plate when two owls flew in through the round, open window. One of them bent off towards a boy on the middle table, while the other landed beside her own plate.

"Thanks, buddy," she muttered as she untied the envelope from the snowy owl's leg. It hooted and flew off before she could offer it some water or a snack.

Her name was written on the front of the envelope in small, messy handwriting. Her first thought was that it was probably her dad's, but he'd already sent her a letter, along with a new book on magical creatures, for Christmas. He wouldn't write to her again so quickly, unless something was wrong.

Merlin's beard, she hoped that wasn't the case. She had enough to deal with right now.

She folded it open and glanced at the name underneath.

Willem.

Her jaw dropped. For a moment all she could do was stare at the name. Perhaps she'd read it wrong. Perhaps her eyes were deceiving her. Or her mind was playing tricks. But no, it really said Willem.

Dear Ravenna,

I realise now that I'm writing this that I've disappeared on you. I hope I haven't worried you all too much. If I have, please let the others know I'm sorry, and I'm doing fine.

Better than fine, actually. I got the opportunity I've been waiting for. Our mutual friend and his comrades accepted me into their group, and I've been working on the cause ever since. I'm finally making a change, Ravenna. A real change. I can't say too much in this letter, of course, but we're making some serious progress. Even better, I'm leaning loads from them. I've been training non-stop and I already feel so much more powerful.

So far I'm the only one who has been accepted, but they're planning on bringing in more of us soon. In fact, I'm writing to you because they decided to accept you next. How amazing is that? Can you imagine, we'll be fighting for a better wizarding world side by side soon.

This is your chance, Ravenna. Ever since that Ministry twat took our future away from us, we've been looking for a way to get it back. This is our chance. My new friends need you. I know you don't fully agree with their methods, but if you join us now, you'll have a say in things. If you join us now, we can finally change the world together.

Come to Dawnwich on New Year's Eve at ten o'clock. Outside the Fae's Foot. My comrades will await you there. Let's start the new year properly.

See you soon,

Willem

Ravenna jumped up from her seat, ignoring the tea she spilled all over the table, and ran for the exit. She needed to show this letter to her friends. No... to Slughorn first! The aurors needed to know Willem had joined the Death Eaters – and that they'd be in Dawnwich tonight. Maybe they could get Willem back. Maybe they could –

"Oof!"

Pain stabbed up through her arm when she collided with someone and landed on the floor. "Ouch..." She rubbed over the sore spot on her elbow, but it didn't seem to be bleeding.

"Sorry about that," said the young man in front of her. She'd seen him before. He had gone up to level seven this year.

"It's fine." She scrambled to her feet and snatched up the letter.

Ravenna was already sprinting off, when the man shouted, "Hey, wait! You lost something!" She turned to see him holding up the envelope – except it wasn't just the envelope. A second piece of parchment hung out of it. It must've gotten loose during her fall.

"Thanks," she muttered, accepting the letter. As the seventh level continued on his way, Ravenna folded it open.

It was much shorter than Willem's letter had been. It simply said: Be there, and don't tell anyone, or he dies.

Don't tell anyone, the letter had said. Don't tell anyone, or he dies. Ravenna had hidden the letter in her pocket while she tried to figure out what she was meant to be doing, but it had burned against her leg all day.

Her friends didn't seem to notice her discomfort, mainly because Ella was still upset and the boys were focused on cheering her up. Ravenna watched them quietly. What would they do if she showed them the letter?

They'd want to tell Slughorn, most likely. They'd let the authorities fix things.

But if they did that, Willem would die.

The Ministry could send a team or aurors to Dawnwich tonight, sure. They'd be able to arrest a couple of Death Eaters. But Willem wouldn't be among them, Ravenna was certain of that. Which meant they'd be trading Willem's life for the capture of a few Death Eaters. It wasn't worth it.

Unfortunately, the only other option was to keep quiet. To go to Dawnwich alone tonight and do whatever the Death Eaters told her to do, until she could find a way to free Willem. Not exactly a fool-proof plan...

As ten o'clock neared, her doubt only increased. Surely she couldn't take all those Death Eaters on her own. Hadn't Alois said the Dark Lord had set his sights on her? She definitely couldn't take him on her own. She needed help. She needed a plan. Right now, she had nothing.

She looked up and glanced around the common room. There were a dozen people scattered about the room, but level five class had a table in the corner for themselves. Ella sat in her chair with her legs up and her head rested on her knees. Both Ezra and Dan kept shooting glances at her. It seemed they had run out of ideas to try and cheer her up, though.

"I'm off," said Ella eventually. "See you guys in the morning."

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna head to bed too," Ezra muttered.

Dan agreed, leaving Ravenna alone at the table. The letter felt like lead in her pocket.

She stared at the door her friends exited even minutes after they'd left. What do I do? she couldn't stop thinking. What do I do? What in Merlin's name am I going to do?

Without making a conscious decision, she stood up and left the common room, sauntering towards the dorms. Perhaps she should tell Dan. Sure, they still hadn't exactly made up, but with everything that had happened, their fight seemed futile. Maybe her best friend had some insight she hadn't considered. Maybe he could think of something clever.

Then again, she thought as she walked through the halls towards the main entrance of Morgan le Fay, wouldn't Dan be particularly adamant that they ask for help? And that would only put Willem in danger...

As she walked around the corner towards the dorms, she noticed a figure standing in the shadows on the path. No, not one figure – two. Embracing.

She froze, before inching back around the corner and leaning her back against the wall. She'd stared at her best friend so often, she'd recognise him anywhere; the curve of his back, his hair falling slightly over his ears, even the way his toes pointed in different directions when he stood still.

And it wasn't hard to miss the girl he was holding so tightly; Ella.

Ravenna closed her eyes. He's just making her feel better, she told herself. She's probably crying again.

Yet whatever she told herself, it was hard to ignore the stab deep inside her heart.

Letter or not, she wasn't going to walk into that. Even facing a hundred Death Eaters alone seemed easier all of a sudden.

Besides, she considered as she threw one last glance around the corner, perhaps it was better this way. If she left now, none of the people she loved would be in danger anymore. Nobody would miss her; her friends would have each other, and her dad would be rid of the biggest problem he'd ever had to deal with. In fact, all of Morgan le Fay would be safer without her and her rampant magic.

Yes, it was better this way.

Ravenna took a deep breath and straightened her robes. She would just go. She'd do what the Death Eaters said, and she'd free Willem. Whatever it took.