"You were.. there?"

Asteria stared at the Sorting Hat sitting on the shelf; it nodded.

"Yes."

And for the first time, the poised, pointed hat appeared to be heaving down with some kind of sorrow.. like the dust seeped deep into its fabric was resurfacing in the form of a painful memory.

Without even meaning to, she moved some steps closer, as if it had some gravity pulling her in.

"A millennial ago..
as lores would say,
There lived four wizards of renown,
Whose names are still well known:"

It wasn't the merry, obnoxious tone the Sorting Hat always sang in, but a low, mournful one.

"Bold Gryffindor, a wandless wonder,
Fair Ravenclaw, seer of destinies,
Sweet Hufflepuff, magnesque healer,
Shrewd Slytherin, conqueror of minds."

Ria looked at Dumbledore. "They were all gifted. We were never told that." she realised.

He nodded. "It was destiny that they met.. All of them extraordinary, meant for the extraordinary."

"They shared a wish, a hope, a dream,
They hatched a daring plan
To educate young sorcerers
Thus Hogwarts School began."

"If it pains you too much.." The headmaster said to the Sorting Hat. "Just proceed with the tale."

The Sorting Hat sighed, drooping lower. "I apologise. You ask me to recite the tale once, and I act as though it is the end of the world."

"I understand." Dumbledore nodded. "You should not have to make a song out of a tragedy."

Tragedy. Ria thought. Of course.

The hat began again. "A millennial ago.. when times were dark. When blood was shed across lands, of innocent wizards and witches pursuing magic. The wise Seer Rowena came to realise that there was no way better than to build a castle to protect all those who could not themselves."

"She had a dream once.. a vision. Where a warty hog led her to a cliff by a lake." reminisced the Hat. "Although she was burdened with the knowledge that she could not do it alone, that she had to wait, she continued journey across lands till she met the rest of those who she was fated to be with."

"The rest of the founders.." Ria muttered.

"Not just them, no." The Hat quipped. "There was another one fated to be with them. One younger than them.."

"They saved him from the witch hunters.. snatched him away from the hands of Death itself, with such brilliance that even Death was impressed."

"His name was Ackerman. Azrael Ackerman."

Ria gulped. "The portrait in the Room of Artefacts."

"It is kept in his memory.. only dedicated to all his early years that he sacrificed to strengthen the school for its purpose." Dumbledore answered.

They turned to the Sorting Hat again. "They began to raise the castle from the ground.. bit after bit.. also rescuing young sorcerers from the cruel world and giving them shelter."

"And while all five worked for the school, for the sorcerers it sheltered, Ackerman was the only one not teaching." The Hat scoffed. "'I want to learn more,' he'd say; 'I wish to be as great as you four one day'."

"Ackerman believed he was extraordinary too." Dumbledore let her know. "He knew he was fated to be linked to the greatness of the school forever, so he refused to believe that he had no sort of magic like the others."

"Did he?" asked Ria. "Did he have any gift?"

And Dumbledore only looked back at the original narrator of the story.

"He studied day and night, lost in books of ancient magic to find out if he had something hidden that could be brought out. He discovered things that were worse.. corrupting."

"He found out he had the blood of Siphoners."

"Siphoners?" The girl looked at the old wizards. "What are Siphoners?"

"Siphoners are sorcerers with ancient magic.. and if you're wondering why no one knows much about them.." he trailed off. "It is because there is only one Siphoner that exists over the span of a thousand years."

He acknowledged the look of surprise on Ria's face, but didn't say much.

"Another reason is that hundreds of centuries ago, the one that possessed the power gave it up.. for themselves as well as all the others that were about to come." He sighed. "They believed the power was unnecessary.. that no sorcerer was ever in need of that power. That it was corrupting."

"What.. What could Siphoners do?" Ria wondered. 

What power did they have that there was only one in a thousand years?

"Siphoners are strong enough to take magic away from anyone or anything."

Ria's mouth was wide agape at his answer; her heart was racing again. The voices in her head were silenced, and only one word repeated in her head over and over again.

Siphoner.

"The.." she managed to find her voice. "The Circle of Runes.."

"..is inspired by the magic of a Siphoner, yes."

Ria gulped, not knowing what to say further. "We should continue.."

"Ackerman felt cheated. The power abandoned by his ancestors some millennia ago, he craved to possess it again. And managed to, scouring through rituals, hiding in his chamber in the dungeon—" 

"— in front of the Slytherin common room?" she muttered with disbelief.

"You have been there." Dumbledore's tone was a bit wondrous.

"Yes.."

"That was also where you were, for six years."

Her heart was hammering now, about to burst out her chest.

But she only took another sip of water, swallowing it down along with her nerves. She wanted to stay through the entirety of this, no matter how much it ate away at her.

"We couldn't detect your presence because of Madam Lagarde's spells."

"Hmm.. right." She squeaked.

"That unfortunate day it was though that Ackerman got to test his power," said the Sorting Hat. "The day hell broke loose.. the day Gryffindor and Slytherin fought. The day the serpent left."

"Throughout the deadly duel they had, no one seemed to notice that Ackerman had victoriously taken a part of their gifts away.." There was fury in its voice now. "He felt it merge with his soul. He felt them become one with him. And he felt as though the world belonged to him."

"The pride swelled in him for years.. he gained all the knowledge about magic until he couldn't anymore.. until he knew every bit of it, every curve and crevice of it. And one day.."

"One day, the wall of safety around the castle of Hogwarts fell." The Sorting Hat cried. "Witch hunters entered."

"They tried to fight back! Send the hunters back with no injury and a loss of memory, but their magic wouldn't work!"

"They had to take arms! Fight till their last breaths— Fight until Slytherin himself showed up to fight alongside them— Fight till they watched all their children get massacred—"

She hadn't known the Hat could wail. It had huge tears streaming down from its supposed eyes.

"You should rest now.." Dumbledore said, his voice sincere. He raised a hand and swished it through the air. The Sorting Hat calmed, falling into deep slumber. "I see it got to you a little, Asteria."

She looked up at the ceiling, wanting the pooled tears to disappear. She felt angry.

"It was him, wasn't it?" She asked with a forced chuckle. "That attack. It was because of Ackerman."

"Unfortunately." he said, eyes cast down. "The little power he had first stolen from Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin.. he managed to make much more of it in the coming years."

"He was the one that had made the protective shield around Hogwarts fall. He was the one that had called the witch hunters. He was also the one that had called in Slytherin.. wanting him to be there too so he could take what rightfully belonged to him."

"Did he steal it? Their magic?" She asked, even though she knew the answer.

Dumbledore nodded. "Right after he siphoned their powers to him.. right after the tragic end of the four founders, something very unexpected happened."

"Death itself appeared in front of him.." he said with a twinkle in his eyes. "Furious."

"His betrayal to those who had saved him was the reason. Death tried to take his soul with it. And for only the second time in his life, Azrael Ackerman felt terrified."

"For he had only gotten the gift of a Seer, he saw Death coming mere seconds before. His soul slipped from his body, out of Death's grasp, and hid away somewhere."

Ria's face contorted with anger. Unfair.

Unfair. Unfair. So damn unfair. Like always.

"Have you heard of Merlin?" Dumbledore asked, but then himself answered. "Of course, you must have. He was one of the first students.. belonging to the same House as you. One of the most magnificent wizards to ever exist."

"He was devastated when he heard what had happened of Hogwarts." He strolled towards his chair, finally sitting down. "He came back to put it back together again.. to mourn.. to see if anything was left. And there was."

"There was this little girl, toddler, unconscious, in a cupboard that had never been there before." The Room of Requirements, Ria realised. "He took care of her, and when she woke up, asked for her name."

"Morrigan Ackerman was her name."

Ria scoffed. "You are joking."

All this fucking time. It was all connected.

"No one really knew of her origin, since all the wizards living in the castle had passed away."

"Why did they call her Azrael, then? Morrigan Azrael?" she asked, as if wanting to find some lie in it all. "Her name is written all over the back of Lagarde's journal— why is it?"

Dumbledore's face adorned with an expression, one that said 'you know why'. Realisation hit her like a riptide. She knew. She knew, and she should feel elated that she did, but she couldn't bring herself to.

"Azrael's soul.. it went to her."

He gave a singular nod, watching as she finally sat down. "Indeed."

"Morrigan was the first Enchantress.. all thanks to the power Ackerman had siphoned from the founders and the teachings of Merlin." He continued. "And went on to be the one of the most powerful witches Wizardkind had ever seen."

"But his soul continued to linger.. take control once in a while. Wreck havoc. In fact, Morrigan looked so different when Azrael's soul took over, people began to think of them as two different people.. sisters. Twins."

"Azrael, the destroyer. Morrigan, the saviour."

"When Death found out, it cursed Azrael's soul, that it would hunt it down, and keep hunting until it finally gave up."

That was it.. the Azrael's Curse. 

"Why curse the entire bloodline, if Death only wanted Azrael's soul?" she asked.

"Because Azrael's soul keeps escaping. It still lives on." He answered. "As long as there are more of his blood, he will always have another shelter.. another body to escape to."

"Why?"

"He was waiting." Dumbledore explained. "Waiting for the next Siphoner."

"Was.."

"It has been a thousand years, Asteria. A millennial already."

Ria stared down at her nails, the cuticles around them reddened, a spot of blood at one of them. She rubbed her hands together, nodding slowly.

With a sigh, Dumbledore leaned back into his chair. He examined the girl as she stared down at her hands. Trying to keep her bottom lip from quivering.

Perhaps, if she had been told all this years ago, she would have been utterly devastated; Dumbledore thought. He disliked it.. How numb and desensitized she almost was to the information that could easily ruin someone.

"We should end our session here." He said, and she looked up almost immediately. "What do you say?" 

After what seemed like eternity, she nodded, sliding her chair back and standing up. "Good night, Professor."

"If you have any doubts, do not hesitate to let me know."

She offered him a half-smile. "Of course."

She would go back to her dorm now, write down what she had found out in her journal and go to sleep.

The world had to be ringing against her ears, judging by the way Asteria had buried her head under her pillow and laid on the sunken mattress for hours now, since the sunrise.

And yes, that meant she had skipped classes, absolutely refusing to even leave her bed. But she had a genuine reason.

Her head felt too heavy; untrustworthy to be even held up, let alone get out of her room, walk around and attend classes. She feared she might bump into and fall down to actually hit her head onto something if she tried to.

No, she hadn't had any drinks, potions, or any suspicious substances last night.. just the burden of knowledge.

She just had a massive, horrible.. probably the worst headache ever. In fact, that throbbing pain throughout her skull was the reason she had woken up in the first place.

So around the time where she was supposed to be in her second class of the day, she was sensing Madam Pomfrey's and Amelia's gaze on her instead, as she laid helplessly on her bed.

"Did you feel any of it last night?" The matron asked her.

There was an instance where Carrow had made her feel a sting, but Ria was sure it had nothing to do with the monstrosity of a headache she had now. And that was back on the first day of term.

"No."

"Did you take any Draught of Peace?" She asked again, mixing some potion in her glass, and if Ria didn't feel like death, she would've paid some attention to the ingredients or asked Madam Pomfrey herself.

"I don't have any left."

It was true. There wasn't any left that was of use to her. She had to brew a stronger batch soon.

"Any visions.. nightmares.. or unusual dreams?"

She exhaled sharply, arm still draped on her closed eyes to block out the daylight. She had the urge to look for her mother's letter, fearing it would simply vanish into thin air just like her on that unfair day, just like her in her daughter's recurring nightmares..

Fearing it would be too late, again.

"No visions.. and nothing unusual." She refused to lie for her own good for once, but still feared that the world would see how weak she really was.

'Always knew you were the self aware one, mica stea..'

The tone draped around her nickname was the most disgusting she had ever heard. She bit her own tongue to refrain herself from scowling.

"The curtains, dear.." 

A moment later, Ria heard the familiar rattle, and she took her hand off to greet the soothing dimness of the room.

"Here.." Madam Pomfrey ushered her up, holding the goblet out to her.

Ria glanced up at her before taking it. "What is it?"

And Pomfrey only blinked, knowing damn well she had regretted telling her about the Draught of Peace when she had first asked. "It's medicine. Drink up." 

Ria obeyed quietly, gulping the metallic tasting drink down as quickly as one could.

"And get some rest too. You'll feel better in about an hour." She gave her a small smile before leaving the room.

Ria fell back on her bed again, looking at Amelia now. Her face told her she'd been waiting to ask her share of questions. "Go ahead."

"How long?"

"I didn't lie to her, you know?" Ria said defensively. "I did wake up with a headache. And then you showed up to drag me to breakfast."

"I thought it'd be gone with some sleep.." Amelia trailed off.

"I did too." She sighed then. "What do you think it could be?"

She shrugged, wanting to speak but Ria beat her to it. "I can't— I can't figure it out. It can't be Carrow, they can't give me headaches, surely. It's not my nightmares either because I get them all the time— so if it were, I would've faced this problem many times by now."

"Ria.."

"I didn't get any vision either.. or any sort of warning. I catch on pretty quickly if that happens. And it's not like I felt anything overwhelming yesterday either.. because then I would've destroyed the room and not my damn head. I even got enough sleep— oh.. do you think it's because of tha—"

"Ria! Listen to me!" She fell silent at the sudden command from Amelia.

"Are you sure it's not just.. you know, all the stress from all these past months catching up?" She justified. "It happens, right? Worries sometimes tend to take a toll on your body."

Ria paused, wondering. Oh..

The older girl sighed. "Ria.. just.. it's not necessary that things happening to you are some sort of signs, or warnings, or some mystery to solve. Maybe sometimes a headache is just.. a headache!"

Ria nodded, slowly, failing to say anything else. She stole glances as Amelia raked her hand through her hair, and she could tell the morning had stressed her out.

She had just put out kinder words instead of 'you should really stop overthinking'. And Ria didn't know if she was grateful or disappointed for that.

Maybe she needed some harsher words every now and then.

"Well.. I'll get going." said Amelia finally with a half-smile. "I have Transfiguration now. And even though, maybe your 'Minnie' would rather have me here with you, she'll feel at ease when I tell her you're good now."

She was about to turn, but looked right back with a playful smile. "You're good now, right?"

Asteria smiled, nodding confidently. "Much better, really. Maybe I'll make it to lunch break and after."

"Good! See you, then."

"See you.."

There was a silence flooding the room some moments after she heard the portrait close. The throb in her head was dull now, but it was still there.

"Accio History of Magic."

The thick book came flying to her hand, and it didn't take her long to skim through and find the envelope hidden between the pages.

Ray..

Isabella had addressed it like that because she had still been into hiding after that reckless mission of hers, the previous year.

'For my one and only.'

She shouldn't have opened that letter. Because after hearing her mother's voice again, the headache seemed better than the way her insides churned.

"Hey, love."

Warm tears filled Ria's vision. She felt she could snuggle into her voice like one could in a blanket.. like she did into her Mum's arms.

"Hey, Mum.." she whispered back, the pinch between her brows troubling her too now.

Then came a silence, and Ria almost panicked, thinking she had done something wrong since there was no way on earth her mother would torment her like that until—

"Wow.. I had so much prepared, in my head, when I first decided to send you this letter but.."

The quiver of her voice made Ria's heart drop.. and for some reason the coldness came rushing all over her.

"But I just can't get rid of the image of you sitting in front of it, listening, even though it's very very clear to you that you wouldn't forgive me even if hell froz—"

She snapped the talking letter close and shoved it back inside the book, muffling the words down to nothing.

Her mother vanishing into the veil.. the letter vanishing into ashes once it's delivered its message..

Her heart couldn't stop thumping wildly against her ribs. The ache in her skull was back to what it was, making her hold it tight in her hands as she felt hot tears stream down her face.

She wanted to those damn nightmares to stop— God! She'd beg for it if it came to it! But the letter—

Her voice.. It couldn't be the last time..

Her muscles were itchy.. her fingertips felt tingly.. her body felt as though it had been lit on fiendfyre— too restless, too jumpy, too anxious.

Azrael's soul still lingering in the wizards of his bloodline.. Death sneaking behind it, waiting for its turn..

A millennial since the last Siphoner..

Maybe she was the one shaking with distress.. Maybe it was her bed.. Maybe it was her entire room— by the sound of things breaking, but it made her shut her eyes close, dig her hands onto her scalp, fingers clutching at the hair as though she would rip them out if the madness didn't stop.

Then she felt it— a hand around her trembling frame, a body pressed to her side slowly rocking her.

"I'm here.."

And she knew whose whisper it was, but she refused to open her eyes; Scared, that if she did, she'd have to ask him to stay away from her, as he should.

Because if he didn't, she might end up hurting him too.

Yet she leaned into him a little, trusting him blindly like she always did, letting him lead her from chaos to rest.

A gentle hand reached up to her face, brushed away the stray hair as well as some tears, before pulling her head on his shoulder.

"Breathe with me, okay? Whenever you're ready.."

She only managed a tiny nod, sniffling the rest of her sobs down the best she could as he gently helped her down from her frenzy.

It took them some minutes before she was quiet again, still leaning into him, still rocking back and forth with him, still clinging onto the fabric of his jumper.. still with her eyes closed so she couldn't face the fact that she had failed yet again.

Failed to control herself.. her emotions.. her Obscurus..

"D'you need anything?" He asked softly, as if she'd break if he spoke anymore loudly.

An escape. Freedom. Relief.

For Death to finally take Azrael Ackerman's soul.

She shook her head. "Only rest.. for a little while." She answered.

"Hmm.. okay."

She held back from shuddering when she felt warmth on her cheek.. the pad of his thumb wiping away signs of tears. The pine scent wasn't as strong as it was in the Potions class. It was milder— soothing even. 

A thought prodded at her, pushing and dodging from her hesitations to fall out of her mouth. "Were you outside all this time?"

There was silence, and she felt anxious that she had asked the wrong thing. But truth or lie, his answer came anyway. "Just since I saw Pomfrey leave."

Ria gave a singular nod, pulling her blanket closer when she couldn't feel his weight beside her anymore. She turned to the other side, halting when she heard the creak of her door. Would she really fall asleep?

"Harry?" The creak stopped.

"Yeah?"

The blanket bunched into her fist. Her other hand holding onto his star-engraved ring. Stay.

"Thank you." She said.

A moment later, the door continued its creak. "It's no problem," and then closed with a small thud.

When she opened her eyes again, she stared at the wall in front. She remembered the previous night again— the story she heard, how deprived of sensation she felt after that. 

She felt that again. She felt drained again. And she wondered if something had gone wrong inside her brain.

She lied there for seconds, minutes, maybe hours— not keeping track, wanting to fall asleep. She couldn't.

Maybe she should brew the Draught of Peace again. That could help her sleep.

Ria left her bed, pulling her hair back and out of her face. With a tiny stumble, she knelt down to pull the trunk from under her bed.

Fred and George had gifted her a portable, easy-to-use stove and cauldron last Christmas because she had helped them with some of their products that needed brewing.

She followed the usual recipe, only adding more of powdered moonstone, stewed mandrake, and the littlest more bit of hellebore since she didn't want to accidentally poison herself. She let it boil for a bit more time too, making the potion thicker than it usually turned out to be.

She cleaned up her room while the potion cooled down. The wait for it felt even longer than anything else, somehow. This new version of the potion felt weird going down her throat, but the familiar peace soon overcame the emotional numbness.

And the next thing she remembered was falling into her undone bed and getting beneath the blanket, feeling the mattress sink under her weight as she let herself succumb to slumber.

It was already dusk by the time all the tiredness left her. Ria opened her eyes, still down on her bed, watching as the orange and pink of the sky painted her room in saccharine hues.

Her chest felt heavy, but only because of Cassie, who'd been curled up in a ball and settled herself there.

Her eyes wandered towards the new bottle of potion that sat on the table besides her bed.

The Draught was brewed successfully, just like she wanted. It was stronger now, more effective. So it also needed to be used with more care, not as often as it was used before.

She could do it.

Ria sat up in her bed, careful not to wake her sleepy cat, and almost immediately regretted before finding out her head didn't hurt anymore.

"Thank, Merlin." she muttered, trying to rub sleep from her eyes. "No, actually. Fuck Merlin for taking Morrigan in and not leaving her to fucking die."

She was about to climb off her bed when faint murmurs outside her door made her reconsider. She pulled a hoodie over her head, tidying her hair quickly before leaving her room.

McGonagall turned to her almost immediately, halting her anxious stroll. And there on the couch of Ria's common room sat Dumbledore, a book in his hand that sat on the desk since the middle of fifth year because Ria was taking forever to finish it. Too many Shakespeare references that she couldn't keep up with.

"Ah.. good evening, Asteria." He mused with a smile once he noticed her. "I hope you slept well."

She nodded. "I did." Her eyes then darted down the book in his hand. "I see you're enjoying the novel."

"Well, I couldn't help but find the title intriguing." He looked at the front cover. "Thought I might give it a try."

She shrugged. "You can borrow it for a while. Do let me know if you like it." She then finally looked back at Minerva. "Hello to you too."

A sense of relief had washed over her: Ria could see the change in her expression. "How have you been?"

She shrugged. "Fine." she answered. "The headache's gone."

But McGonagall only shook her head. "After yesterday.. how have you been?"

After yesterday.. Ria thought. After knowing the history of Azraels, she means.

She only shrugged with a forced, humourless chuckle. "Doesn't change the answer much, surprisingly."

Minerva exchanged a glance with Dumbledore before looking at the girl again. "Are you sure?"

Ria paused to think. It wasn't like the story made any difference. She already knew about the fate of Azraels. "Yes.."

"Yes?" It was the Professor's turn to force a chuckle, but instead of humourless, it sounded defeated.

Fine.. A fit of anger or tears would told McGonagall that Asteria was fine. Not this. 

But before she could speak again, Dumbledore had beat her to it. "Charlie was Madam Lagarde's older brother." He watched Ria's face soften with realisation. "Charles Lagarde."

"She wrote about him in her journal." She breathed out, sitting down on the chair in front of her desk.

"He was only a year older than her." He let her know, keeping the book in his hand aside.

"Even though the reputation of Azraels stayed on the negative side, there were still of your kind that believed they were better. That Death itself feared them and their forefather, Azrael Ackerman."

Ria almost scoffed. Of course. There is always at least one like that.

"Their parents were one of those supremacist. And they believed— as Charles was the older one— that he would foresee the coming of the next Siphoner."

Ria cocked an eyebrow in question. "As the older brother?"

He nodded. "When we say bloodline of Azraels, we mean it. There are no branches to it; only a line." He said. "When an Azrael births more than one child, the first child inherits the soul of Ackerman. The rest usually end up without magic."

"There is actually a beautiful story to that too." He stroke his long beard with a smile. "When Morrigan was alive.. she had a certain affinity towards Phoenixes."

"When her second child turned out to be without magic and thought it was unfair, she promised both her children and all their generations that a Phoenix would appear to them in times of dire need."

"That's why Phoenixes tend to help Azraels." Ria concluded with a nod, wanting him to continue with Charles's story already.

"Charles Lagarde was an exception." It seemed like he had read her mind. "Even though he was older, and was a wizard, Azrael's soul went to Katherine instead."

There was silence for a moment because Ria seemed to be contemplating something. "And the reason.. I'm assuming no one knows."

As expected, he shook his head. "Lagarde's parents worked hard, wanting to see any sign of Azrael's magical ability in Charles while completely avoiding Katherine, thinking she was a Squib. That was probably why Charles developed an Obscurus."

"What about the mark of Azrael?" She asked. "Did no one notice it?"

"Do you know when a human is officially considered as a wizard?"

"When they first show signs of magic?"

He nodded. "The Azrael's mark is something like that. It starts showing slowly, when magic first starts to exhibit."

"I think I have not yet mentioned how close the Lagarde siblings were, have I?" She shook her head. "Charles was the one to witness her first sign of magic. He was the one to notice her mark. It was similar to your mother's. On the side of her neck."

"And Charles did the most noble thing." He sighed. "He told her to grow out her hair and keep it hidden. While he faked a mark on his forearm, where it was most noticeable."

Her hand ghosted above her other one.. first over her own mark, and then her wrist where Cedric's bracelet once rested.

She had told him to run. She had told him to get Harry and himself out of the graveyard.

"I'm not leaving you alone." He had shouted at her.. for the first and last time perhaps.

Maybe she was a bit like Lagarde.

"He died when he was only sixteen." Dumbledore smiled sadly. "However the Lagardes were.. from what Katherine told me— she loved her brother dearly. And he had cared for her more than their parents ever had."

"Love.. Perhaps that was the reason why she tried to find a temporary cure for all Obscurials alike.. so no one would end up like her brother. Also why she took her own parents' lives while only being a teenager."

A shiver creeped down her spine as she saw the look on Dumbledore's face. Took their lives..

"When the final outburst of Charles's Obscurus occured, the authorities from the Ministry reached there an hour or two later. They found Katherine covered in blood and unconscious in the living room with the corpses of her parents."

"She was brought up in the Ministry. Headmaster Dippet and I were asked to be there too, since she was only a teenager who had never gotten any education about her magic."

"I wonder what went through her mind, then, but she confessed to us that she was an Azrael. That she came from an Azrael family that had been into hiding."

"We soon found out that not everyone is as kind as your grandparents.. the Diggorys." There was disappointment in his tone. "We could not find a wizard family that would take her in. So the only option we saw fit was an orphanage."

"I think you could take a guess at who she met in the orphanage."

It wasn't even surprising anymore. That's what knowing the ending of a story does to you.

"Tom Riddle."

"Indeed."

After a long minute, Ria looked at Minerva, who still looked surprised at the fact that she had taken it so calmly.

"Can you please stop looking at me like that?" She asked.

But the professor was only more outraged. "Am I not allowed to be concerned now?"

Ria sighed, closing her eyes. "I didn't say that—"

"Yesterday, I come to know that this man—" she pointed at Dumbledore "— has already told you everything about Azraels. I came to see you but Trelawney told me you were asleep."

"Then this morning— I find out from Miss. Henry that you have a headache and can't even move out of bed." She bellowed. "I could not feel at ease for the rest of the day until I was informed that you felt okay and fell asleep again. And this is how I get treated? As if I am the one overreacting?"

Ria scrunched her forehead, stressing. "When did we say that?"

But Minerva only stared at her for a good second before storming out of the dorm entirely, leaving Ria with the bridge of her nose pinched between her fingers.

"It was I that sent your mother as a double-agent in between the ranks of Voldemort. While Lagarde, who knew of her daughter, was right there too." said Dumbledore watching the portrait of Cassandra before turning back to her. "Minerva was just as enraged at that time. Both at me, as well as Isabella."

She forced out a snicker. "Does she think you'll send me on some mission too?"

"It might just be that she has lost a daughter, and does not wish to lose another." said Dumbledore softly.

Ria felt guilt eat at her almost immediately. Her shoulders slumped in defeat. She examined the mark on her hand as if it were some interesting piece of art. Right.. she was supposed to die.

But can I really do anything about it? Even if I tried?

"Asteria." He dragged her out of her thoughts almost immediately. "Do you remember how we ended our conversation, last night?"

She looked up at him, half-anxious, half-curious. "I think so." She had never found words so jarring and haunting.

"It has been a thousand years, Asteria. A millennial already."

"Do you think the next Siphoner is close?" She tried to beat around the bush. Or maybe it was denial.

But Dumbledore did not hesitate. "I think I am sitting in her presence."

She blinked, shaking her head gently. "You don't know that."

"You woke up without the Mandrake Potion when you were petrified by the basilisk, Asteria." He reminded her. "There was a possibility your eyes glowed Azrael's gold before you woke up. Perhaps you siphoned some magic to restore yourself."

She stiffened. Cassie had woken up. She had strolled to the outer room, looking for her owner. So Ria picked her up, petting her fondly as she tried to find a response.

"But I am a Seer." She said, surprised she could hear herself through the loud thumping in her ears.

"So was Madam Lagarde, who you were with for six years." He reminded her. "She did something.. possibly got angry at something you did that made you suppress your magic and develop an Obscurus. Perhaps.. something like siphoning magic from her."

"Right!" She replied almost immediately, staring blankly into space. "Right.."

The tranquility in the room was hard to bear. She wondered if he could hear her racing heartbeat across the room. Maybe he could.. and then he'd feel guilty for making her worry so much.

But knowing Albus Dumbledore, he wouldn't.

With a slight groan, he stood up. "That was all I wanted to talk about. I should leave now."

He reached for the novel he had found interesting, but Ria stopped him. "No, I've changed my mind. You can't borrow it anymore."

"Oh.. well then." He walked to her desk and and kept it exactly where he had found it.

Before he could walk out of the portrait though, Ria's curiosity killed her again. "What do you think Azrael's soul will do once it gets to the next Siphoner?"

He turned back. "I do not believe his soul is trying to do anything."

She tilted her head in question. "Then why is he keeping it alive?"

"It is more likely he is waiting for someone to restore his soul to the fullest. Being in a Siphoner's body would only be like a present." He answered.

"After all, who wouldn't want a Jack that could own all the trades as well as be their master?"

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