Ria couldn't stop glaring at the blonde boy. Half her mind was into the new Care of Magical Creatures' Professor's words, while the other half roamed through distinct realities, planning the perfect murder of Draco Malfoy.

He looked at Grubbly-Plank attentively, then gulped nervously. He took a chance to peer at Asteria, but looked back at the Professor almost just as quickly.

'An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority to terrify the students in his care with a succession of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a series of lessons that many admit to being "very frightening".'

That was what that foul excuse of a living being, Rita Skeeter, had written about him. And Hagrid had been replaced with Grubbly-Plank since then.

Yes, Hagrid was a half-giant. But he took care of his creatures like his own children and would never harm any student.

"I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a flobberworm," says Draco Malfoy, a fourth-year student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too scared to say anything."

She scowled internally. Flobberworms didn't even have teeth, for Merlin's sake. They weren't even thick enough to come up with a good complaint.

"Some more seconds and we'll see two extra holes at the side of his head." Blaise commented, making her give him a bored look. "What? You're so damn angry, I feel like my hair will burn off any second now." He added, making Theo giggle.

He quickly shut his mouth though, but Ria and Blaise were already giving him a look of disbelief. "Did you just giggle?" She asked.

Nott cleared his throat. "I don't know why you'd think that.." He replied elegantly.

Ria turned to Blaise. "Is he broken?" She asked in a whisper.

Had she mentioned how much she cringed at adults giggling?

"What do Muggles do in this situation? Do we put him in rice?" Blaise questioned back.

"Hey!" The boy in discussion scowled. "I can hear you!" He whispered.

The two looked at him in shock, then at each other. "Merlin's ball-sack! He can? How did we not think about that?" At Blaise's sarcastic question, the boy scowled again.

The two then turned towards each other, amused, and raised their hands simultaneously. But before they could high-five, the Professor scolded them for not paying attention and ordered Ria to join the girls in approaching the unicorns.

Harry's mind had often floated to various possibilities after that night. He wished he wasn't so stupid. What if he had not tried to cast the charm on her? What would that night have made him and Asteria? 

Would they be dating? He sighed. 

After that fight, he and Ron had gone out for a walk. They had heard Hagrid telling Madame Maxime that he was a half-giant; his mother being a giantess and how his father had died when he was at Hogwarts. Then he had asked Madame Maxime about his assumption of her being a half-giant, and she got offended. Of course, the two boys hadn't known, but they knew Hagrid was a good person.

And as if that wasn't enough, Harry had met Cedric the next day. The boy was boiling with anger like never before, and Harry was thankful for Cho's presence. He didn't know how Cedric had come to know about his fight with Ria (maybe Cassandra had told him), but he had threatened him to not dare and approach his sister ever again.

But even after being drenched in fury, Cedric hadn't forgotten to remind him of the clue. And the Hufflepuff's solution had made Harry think if he was being genuine, or was it just another punishment.

Was it just his way to get him embarrassed for hurting Ria?

Either way, he thought he deserved it.

"That was a really good lesson," said Hermione as they walked towards the Great Hall for lunch, bringing Harry out of his thoughts. "I didn't know half the things Professor Grubbly-Plank told us about uni—"

"Look at this!" He snarled as he shoved the Daily Prophet article about Hagrid under Hermione's nose.

Her mouth fell open as she read. "How did that horrible Skeeter woman find out? You don't think Hagrid told her?"

"No," said Harry furiously. "He never even told us, did he? I reckon she was so mad he wouldn't give her loads of horrible stuff about me, she went ferreting around to get him back."

"Maybe she heard him telling Madame Maxime at the Ball," said Hermione quietly.

"We'd have seen her in the garden!" said Ron. "Anyway, she's not supposed to come into school anymore, Hagrid said Dumbledore banned her.."

"Maybe she's got an Invisibility Cloak," said Harry, "Sort of thing she'd do, isn't it, hide in bushes listening to people."

"Like you and Ron did, you mean," said Hermione.

"We weren't trying to hear him!" said Ron indignantly. "We didn't have any choice! The stupid prat, talking about his giantess mother where anyone could have heard him!"

"We've got to go and see him," said Harry. "This evening, after Divination. Tell him we want him back.. you do want him back, right?" he shot at Hermione.

"I— well, I'm not going to pretend it didn't make a nice change, having a proper Care of Magical Creatures lesson for once— but of course—"

Hermione halted as Sophie walked in front of them. The two boys smiled to greet her, but the girl just acknowledged Hermione with a nod, and blushed furiously before leaving the place.

Harry and Ron turned towards Hermione, who had gone a shade of red too.

"What's up, gang?" A very joyous voice came from where Sophie had walked to. Amelia walked towards them while dragging the Hufflepuff back with a grin on her face. Anyone could notice the amount of red on her tan skin.

"Hey— Hey!" Hermione greeted back, going even redder. The boys exchanged confused looks.

"I just saw the little interaction you two had.. and I knew it was my time to shine." The Slytherin cleaned the imaginary dust off her shoulder and put her arms around the two girls.

"You see.. this is a very important stage in your life. I say there's nothing wrong with exploring.." She waved her hand gracefully into the air, staring off.

"Exploring what?" Harry asked.

"Your sexuality, of course." She answered, and Ron choked on thin air. The two girls beside her looked like they wanted the earth to swallow them whole.

"Look at me and learn.. I saw a girl at the Yule Ball. She fascinated me.. so I pulled her into the broom closet—"

"Wait— you're the one Daphne disappeared with, that night?" Another voice asked, and the group saw the Slytherin trio walking towards them.

Ria and Harry slightly froze as they saw each other. Harry quickly hid his left hand behind him. He had Asteria's ring on his pinky finger, just to make sure he wouldn't lose it.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but it felt like he had a part of her wherever he went.

Amelia gave a disappointed sigh, "Damn, I wanted it to be a surprise." She muttered. "You are no fun, Nott! If you ever wonder why Daphne ditched you for me.."

"It was because he couldn't contain his giggles.." Ria commented, making Blaise snort, and the two completed their previous high-five.

Theo rolled his eyes. "Would you just—"

"No." The two replied in sync, laughing again, while the rest of the group just stared, trying to comprehend their inside joke.

"Just stop." said Theo.

"Come on, Nott! 'Just stop'. That's the best you could do, huh?" Ria taunted, mocking him.

Theodore smirked, quietly holding her hand. "You want me to do my best?" Ria stared at him, confused.

"Hey, Sophie! Granger!" He called, and Asteria caught his intention.

Oh.. she was fucked.

She tugged at his hand, wanting to break free from his grip. But Theodore just grinned wider, holding tighter.

"Remember what Ria told you the next morning after the Ball?" The two looked at them in horror. How many people knew?

"Nott.." the girl warned. After finding no hope on his face, she turned towards Blaise. "Zabini.. Help me here."

The boy just grinned in amusement, making Ria mutter a 'traitor' under her breath.

"It was a lie." Theo completed, finally leaving Ria's hand.

"Fuck.."

"What?" The two girls asked, while Ria turned on her spot and made a run for it.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK!"

"Yeah, it was a lie." The Slytherin confirmed.

And the faces Hermione and Sophie made would've been worth a million galleons for Asteria if she didn't need to run for her life.

"ASTERIA! GET YOUR ARSE HERE, RIGHT NOW!" Sophie threatened as the two rushed behind her. Theo and Blaise broke out into laughter.

"I WAS JUST TRYING TO DEFUSE THE TENSION!"

"THIS IS NOT HOW YOU DEFUSE THE TENSION! EDWARDS, GET BACK HERE!" Hermione's voice boomed through the corridor, while the students watched the scene unlock in shock.

"So, I got excited for nothing?" Amelia questioned, looking back at the two Slytherins.

The two calmed their laughter down. "Hate to break it to you, but yes." Blaise added.

"Wait.. what just happened?" Harry asked, his expression matching Ron's; confused.

Theo and Blaise looked at each other. "Really slow, isn't he?"

"Do you think he's slow at other stuff, too?"

"But I think Ria would enjoy that kind of slow.." Amelia added to their conversation. The two gave her a disgusted look. "What? It's just a guess."

"Is someone going to explain or not?" Harry asked again, a little louder this time.

"Basically, Sophie and Granger ended up in Ria's dorm after some arseholes broke their hearts—" And Ron knew just who Theodore was referring to.

"The next morning, they asked Ria, why were they in the same bed? And she convinced the two that they had slept with each other." She added, taking the Gryffindors by surprise.

"So that's why they blushed every time they saw each other?" Ron hummed in understanding. Though.. one thing didn't make sense.

"I wonder how it works.. two girls.." He wondered, and the group went awkward.

Amelia chuckled. "It's just kissing—"

"Really?"

"—with your lower lips."

"Lower lips?" Ron asked, pinching his lower lip between his fingers.

She shook her head, the smile on her face not fading. "Lower lips."

And Ron's eyes widened in realisation. "You did not need to put that image in my head."

Ria had never thought she would regret making fun of Theodore Nott one day. He was the person she knew would never snitch on her, but he did. Though she didn't regret whatever she had told Sophie and Hermione. Their faces, after hearing those words, had been priceless.

The girl hadn't faced the two since the truth was out. She was afraid.. so afraid that she had even skipped lunch and dinner. It was now past curfew, and words could not explain how hungry she was.

Asteria sneaked out of the kitchen quietly, her wand and the Marauder's map in one hand, a basket with sufficient food hung on her arm while she munched on a banana. Knowing Ziggy from the kitchens had really been an advantage.

On her way back, her eyes furrowed in confusion as she saw a familiar name on the Map, roaming in the restricted section of the library.

What could he be doing in the library this late? She thought and made her way towards him.

Louis quietly closed the door of the library behind him, making sure no one had heard. He sighed in relief and turned around.

"Hey!" An excited whisper almost scared the life out of him. Ria secured her hand under the books he was carrying before they could fall. His face relaxed after seeing her, and he breathed out.

"Godric! Ria, you scared me!" He whispered, keeping his hand on his chest. "What are you doing here, this late?" He asked.

"I can ask you the same question.." She shrugged, eyeing the books in his hands.

"Oh.. remember I told you that the lost, mysterious part of History fascinates me?" He asked. Ria stared at him for a good second, not at all remembering such words from him. She was pretty sure he had never told her that.

Though she nodded. "Oh— Oh, yeah, I do."

"Good! See, I had been planning to break in for many days, and today I had the perfect opportunity— Wait— not here.. Can we go somewhere else? I'll be in deep shit if I get caught."

She nodded at his request. "Where, then?"

"The Astronomy Tower?" He asked, and Ria bit her lower lip.

"Er— how about the Gryffindor common room? It's safer.." She suggested, and Louis agreed.

The Gryffindor common room was surprisingly empty when they had entered. Ria reckoned Louis had left the dorm taking advantage of this.

The two sat in front of the fireplace. Ria dug into her food basket and pulled out an apple. She offered it to the boy, who was skimming through one of the books. He smiled and accepted the apple.

"So..?"

Louis kept one of the open books in front of her and moved a little closer. "You know about 'Herpo, the foul' right?" Ria nodded, biting into her chicken. "Almost all of the wizardkind does.. but why? What made him so remarkable?" The girl stared in confusion at the question.

"He was deeply into Dark Arts. People say he had found out a way to split his soul into parts and hide it into objects that could contain the dark magic." Louis explained, and Asteria could see the genuine excitement on his face.

"That's.. dark." She commented.

"That's not it.. he created dark enchantments that only the one who cast them could bear. Others who pass through will be put through their worst memories or created scenarios which would destroy them and eventually take their life." 

Ria blinked at him. This weird interest of his was making her a little worried now.

"Ria.." chuckled Louis. "Don't worry. My interest is like some Muggles being interested in Horror, that's it." He reassured her, almost as if he could read her mind.

She chuckled in relief and nodded. "It's fine, then."

Louis smiled and opened another book. "By the way, did you know Merlin wasn't just famous because he was the only wizard in King Arthur's court?" Ria raised an eyebrow.

"He is said to defeat and kill one of the most powerful wizards of his time.. allegedly his own teacher.." He whispered, and her mouth fell open in surprise.

"Damn.. Merlin." She whispered.

"Ah— yes! I found it, finally." He said victoriously. "This tale was the only reason I took the risk, tonight."

"A— A tale?" She asked. "Where did you hear it from?"

"It's a pretty famous one, actually. Forbidden to talk about.. but famous." He answered. "In fact, it's passed down from generations to generations in the Wizarding World.. when children reach the right age."

Forbidden, huh.. Ria thought, chewing on her food. Then there's no chance I'm gonna hear it from Mum.

"Well.. what's it about?" She asked, curious.

Louis sighed. "Uh.. I don't know, if it's exactly like the story that's being passed down in wizarding families.. but let's see what the book says.."

Ria looked down at the text, and her head almost dizzied out. "Salazar.. are those Ancient Runes? I don't know shit about them."

"No worries, m'lady." He said. "I'll translate them for you." She smiled at his grandeur.

Bonheur read the text for some good minutes, and Ria couldn't help but gently smile at the way he was so focused.

"Okay.. so.. Over a thousand years ago.. There lived two sisters.. twins to be exact. And they were known to be two of the mightiest witches that ever lived. But both of them.. had quite opposite complexes.."

"The hero and the villain?" She asked, making him nod. "Classic fairy tale, am I right?"

He chuckled, agreeing with another nod. "Right.. There was Morrigan; the nice, kind one, that tried to stop the destruction her sister Azrael caused."

Ria's smile disappeared. "Wait— what did you say their names were?"

"Morrigan and Azrael."

And for a brief second, her mind flashed an image of the back of Katherine Lagarde's journal.. filled and inked with the name Morrigan Azrael.

"Well.. what else does it say about them?" She asked subtly, trying to not appear overly curious.

"Azrael's terror wasn't just limited to one world. She tormented everyone.. Wizards and Muggles. It didn't matter to her. But every time, Morrigan would come over and save them from her." He explained. "They looked really alike.. being twins. But one look at the face, and people were able to tell Morrigan apart from Azrael. They trusted Morrigan with their lives."

"And then?" She asked almost too quickly. "Sorry, it's just interesting."

Louis smiled. "Well.. one day, Morrigan had enough. She had seen Azrael do enough. So she.. she killed her." He sighed. "Apparently killing her sister hurt her so much that she was never seen by anyone.. Not even by her own family.. Oh— that reminds me—"

"Her family.. Morrigan only had her sister's family. No one else." said Louis, closing the book. "And Azrael's bloodline exists even today. They're called by their ancestor's name.. Azraels. People tend to usually avoid tham.. and fear them."

Ria tilted her head in confusion. "Why? Because of what their ancestor did a millennial ago?" She chuckled in sarcasm. "Lord.. that would be ridiculous."

"Yeah.. but that's not the reason." He clarified. "They're feared because they are cursed by Death itself. The entity Death.. It cursed them as a punishment, for the unforgivable sins that Azrael committed. And they would keep suffering until their bloodline ends."

Ria hissed. "Cruel." She said. "But— But it's still not clear. Death cursed the Azraels with what?"

Louis shrugged. "There are many versions of the story. Some say Death took a large part of their magic from them.. so that they didn't have the same magical abilities as Morrigan and Azrael.. They say Death will return the magic when it feels right to."

"Some say they are cursed with bad luck and suffering. Some say they are cursed with a short life.. they die very young, usually." He shrugged. "But we'll never really know, you know?"

"So.. if they're that talked about, they must still exist, right?" She asked.

"My guess.. Hardly." He answered, truthfully. "When You-Know-Who rose in power, the first thing he did was hunt the Azraels down and kill them. Because if their magic returned all of a sudden.. then.."

"They'd be a threat to him." She nodded in understanding. "But there must be a chance that some went into hiding. I mean.. Sure, they're cursed by Death and everything, but they'd want to survive, right?"

A small smile dawned on Louis's lips. "As much as I wouldn't want to break your hopeful heart.. there was only one known survivor left."

And for some reason.. one name left her lips. "Katherine Lagarde."

"You've heard this story, haven't you?" He asked with a small chuckle.

"No. No, it was just a wild guess." She said, shaking her head.

It just made sense that Katherine had ragefully scribbled her ancestors' name at the back of her journal. She must've been frustrated, trying to claw a way out of the Azrael's curse.

"And.. it made sense that You-Know-Who would spare her life and try to take advantage of her being an Azrael. Who knows? Maybe he was hoping that Death would return Lagarde's magic?"

"Hmm.." He nodded. "Maybe."

"We'll never know."

As soon as Ria walked out of the Gryffindor dorm and covered some distance, her hand dipped into the pocket of her robe and brought out the journal that she had been itching to reach towards during that little History session with Louis.

She leaned against a nearby wall and with a 'Lumos', she skipped to the last page of the journal. She examined it again. 

'Morrigan Azrael' scribbled in ink.. neat and tidy at the beginning.. and rushed, blotchy and messy by the end.

Lagarde was definitely frustrated by the curse.. by Azrael. Thought Ria. Merlin, she must've been so angry.. taking the punishment when she had done nothing wrong, before she joined forces with You-Know-Who.

A distant thud startled her, and she quickly placed the journal back where it was. Another thud made her walk towards the direction, and as she slowly made her way there, a small smirk dawned on her lips.

A broom cupboard. She stopped right in front of it and gripped the handle. Time to get someone busted.

She didn't check the Marauder's Map to keep the element of surprise. But as she opened the door, she wished she had.

Her hand shot up right away to shut her eyes. She spun in her place, thanking the heavens that the couple weren't at it while she exposed them.

"MY VIRGIN EYES!" Ria whisper-yelled.

"What are you doing here?!" Her cousin's voice asked, his tone the same as hers, while his face had gone red.

"I was hungry! Not in your context though! The real one!" She responded, finally facing him. Cho was at a level of embarrassment that she refused to step in front of Ria. She was still in the cupboard.

"And I assume you were at your 'Prefect duties'?" She accused, half-joking.

Cedric rubbed the back of his neck while his cousin breathed out. That was the second time she had walked in on them snogging. "Cho.. I— I'll see you tomorrow?" He asked. The Ravenclaw hesitantly nodded and walked away without another glance at the two.

"Oh Lord, have mercy.."

"Do you know what time it is?" He asked, and she nodded.

"I— I couldn't sleep." She answered, then extended the food basket towards him. "Blueberries?" Cedric shook his head. He would never admit it out loud to her, but she worried him too much, sometimes.

"Have you figured out the clue about the second task?" She asked, casually leaning against the cupboard. He nodded. "Are you prepared?"

This time, he shrugged. "I have a plan, though."

Her eyebrows furrowed in worry at his response. "Ced—"

"Hey.." he cut her off. "It's January.. the task is on the 24th of the next month. I'll be well prepared by then. Don't worry yourself too much." He assured, making her smile in relief.

Though her smile faded away pretty quickly. Ria hadn't thought about what Harry had done yet. She even resisted asking Ron and Hermione about him. She just didn't want to get anyone's hopes up about whatever that was going on between her and Harry.

"Thinking about him, are we?" asked Cedric, raising an eyebrow. She shook her head almost too quickly, making him chuckle. "I know you pretty well, couz."

Ria shrugged. "It's the first time I haven't talked to him in so long. It just.. doesn't feel right. And then again, he's been put in this huge mess of a tournament—"

"I have given Harry a hint. Let's see what he makes out of it."

She squinted her eyes at him. "I thought someone was going to drown him and feed him to the giant squid?" Ria taunted.

Cedric rolled his eyes. "Come on! He deserved that lecture after everything he said to you.." He defended himself, making her chuckle. "But I owed him that hint, since he helped me out with the dragons."

Ria nodded, then sighed out. She hadn't really realised how much she missed him.

"Listen, Ria. If you really want to help him, I'm not stopping you. It's your choice, okay?" said Cedric. "All I ask is.. just let me know if he says something like that again." He requested, making her nod again.

What was she going to do? She had to help him, no matter how much of an arsehole he was.. No matter how much of a dumbass he was..

He was her dumbass after all.. she couldn't leave him like that.

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