"For he was as clever as the devil, and twice as beautiful."

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l o r c a n

"What? Another one?"

"Yep," Caspian popped the last syllable as we stepped out of Honeydukes. "The stairs to the Slytherin dungeons are way too steep and slippery. Little Billy didn't stand a chance."

"He's not so little anymore. He's eighteen," I said. Caspian unwrapped his Cauldron Cake and sank his teeth into it. "He'll always be Little Billy, whether he likes it or not. Want some?"

I ignored his offer. "He's the fifth one in two weeks."

"Balls to be them, I guess," he shrugged loosely. "So close to N.E.W.T.s, too. It's in, like, three days."

The early June air was heavy and hot, with only a light breeze to bring down the temperature. We started down the street towards Dervish and Banges, Caspian's favourite shop and the second stop in our weekly Hogsmeade route. Next would be Scrivenshaft's to replace the quills he had burned through this week, then The Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer before heading back.

"Don't you think it's all a little strange?" I asked. "Billy's the best in Defense out of all the Seventh Years."

"So?"

"Alice Briarwood, the Gryffindor girl who severed her arm last week. She was the best in Potions. Rosie Wilson, measles. She was best in Charms, wasn't she? Bea Roberts, broken arm. Arithmancy. Thomas O'Sullivan, throwing up for weeks. Top in History of Magic."

"Ooh-hoo-hoo. Bea Roberts is something else. Tits galore!" He took another large bite of the cake. "Oh, speaking of tits, I was thinking of asking Jamie Lynch out next weekend. You know Jamie Lynch from Hufflepuff. Anyway, she's already said yes, so I guess what I'm saying is that I won't be gracing you with my presence next weekend. Sorry."

His attempt at making his shit-eating grin seem apologetic infuriated me even more. "You're not listening to me!" I moaned in exasperation, which instigated a breath of amused laughter from him. "I am! Alice, Rosie, Bea, James."

"Thomas."

"Same thing. Why's it got your knickers in a knot, anyway? They're Seventh Years, it doesn't concern us. We're only taking our N.E.W.T.s next year, remember?"

I could tell Caspian was beginning to tire of this conversation, but his nonchalance about everything was disconcerting, to say the least. And it wasn't just him, either. None of the professors seemed to realise there was something fishy going on.

The large, swinging sign of Dervish and Banges came into view. The shop was the first one of the block and next to a little alleyway. I saw my chance. Just as Caspian was reaching for the door, I grabbed his arm, twisted it behind his back, and dragged him away from the main street.

"Ow- what the fuck, mate!" he exclaimed loudly, like a full idiot.

I threw him against the wall with considerable force. "It's that Head Boy," I hissed, still holding his arm in a deadlock. Caspian stared at me for a few seconds before his face contorted in confusion. "The fuck are you on about?"

"The Head Boy, from Slytherin!" I shook him firmly. "Blue eyes? Hair fairer than your white arse? You can't miss him, he's the bloody Head Boy!"

"Oh, yeah, what was his name? Fucken' Cormac or something-"

"Codrus," I said. "Codrus Armstrong."

"Right! Yeah, I know him. Creepy lookin' fecker, isn't he!" Caspian began to snigger but I rattled him again. "Shut up. Look, he's the one hurting the students."

"Huh?"

I wanted to throttle his neck. "Remember the Incident of the Missing Pets?"

"Mate, that was way back when we were First Years. What does that have to do-"

"That was him as well."

Caspian's long lashes fluttered as he searched my face for the punchline. "Why would he do that? I mean, he's a class A-hole, but don't you think you're getting a little ahead of yourself here? Which sky did you even pluck this ridiculous conclusion from?"

I glanced around to make sure we were alone. "Fifteen of our pets went missing, Cas. Fifteen. Only to turn up one by one, dissected with their guts spilling out! We thought it was a creature or- or some sort of disease. They didn't let us go outdoors for a week until they sorted it, remember?"

Caspian furrowed his brows. "There was nothing to sort, though. They never found anything."

"Yes! Yes, that's exactly it, isn't it?" I exclaimed in triumph. "Now, why do you think that is?" I released my hold on him, and he groaned childishly, flicking his wrists to get the blood flowing again. But I could tell he was thinking.

It might take a little effort sometimes, but Caspian Quinn could never resist a good riddle. It was second-nature for him to absorb problems and regurgitate solutions. If there were no problems, he would create one just to solve it. And he was starting to see that this was a problem worth his time.

"Because it wasn't a creature," he said slowly, his pupils darting back and worth as his brain worked. "The cuts were too clean. A beast would have torn them apart. But the carcasses had everything intact except their innards."

Bingo.

"But... what makes you so sure it's him?"

"Because I inspected them," I stated proudly.

"You mean the carcasses?"

"Yes."

"Ugh." He made a face. "And?"

"And there was a strand of white-blond hair on each one of them," I gloated in feverish excitement. "No one in the entire school has the same hair colour as him. You know, come to think of it, he almost looks like that one Death Eater, the one who claimed he was controlled by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

"Lucius Malfoy?"

"Whatever. Anyway, the point is, it's him, alright. Doing all of this. Why do you think all the dead animals turned up in the busiest places of the castle? The courtyards. The Quidditch pitch. The Gryffindor common room entrance."

He rubbed his chin between his thumb and pointer. "Because he wants people to see."

I smiled wryly. "Because he wants people to see. He left them there on purpose, because he knew no one would find out it was him. He liked that he was hiding in plain sight. He was mocking us. All of us."

"And now you think he's getting the Seventh Years bunked off to the infirmary so they can't sit for the exams," added Caspian. "He'll graduate as best student in his year!" He beginning to smile now. I did not. He thought he had solved the riddle, but it was the right answer to the wrong question. This only explained the means to a desired end. It did not answer the most important question.

"But why?"

There we go.

"That's exactly what I'm going to find out," I said.

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My investigation never got anywhere. All the Sixth Years were struggling to turn in the last of our homework before the end of the term, and backlogs of essays prevented me from having time to think about the Hogwarts Ripper. That was, until the N.E.W.T. results were released two weeks later.

The top achievers were usually posted up on the noticeboard for everyone to see. And there, in black ink, was written very plainly:

N.E.W.T. Top Scorers

1. Isadora Selwyn (Slytherin)

2. Codrus Armstrong (Slytherin)

3. Gabriella de Vere (Hufflepuff)

4. Harry Higgins (Ravenclaw)

5. Tilly Abernathy (Ravenclaw)

"Looks like demon Head Boy's hard work didn't pay off, eh?" Caspian remarked casually before turning his attention elsewhere. I continued to stare at the notice.

Second place. Bested by fellow Slytherin Isadora Selwyn. I couldn't help but think how those other Seventh Years had gotten hurt for nothing.

But he and Isadora were best friends, so I reckoned he mustn't have taken the blow too hard. Then again, no one really knew the true nature of their relationship. One would find them strutting about the school with their noses in the air, knocking into kids, stealing from them, or gaslighting them when they cried. When reported, they would feign innocence in front of the professors, who were usually inclined to believe a prefect over a misbehaving First Year.

The duo, together with another boy, Hugo Batts, were almost never seen without each other - because was it really an evil school clique if they did not come in threes?

The trio were all equally pompous and ill-natured, but ever since Codrus was elected Head Boy, they seemed to have renewed their sense of purpose, and that was to make every other student's life hell on earth.

Unfortunately, they were whip-smart as much as they were fiendish. They never seemed to study, preferring to hide behind walls, lying in wait for an unsuspecting victim; or skive off classes to Godric-knew-where. Yet, they still somehow managed to ace every essay and test given to them.

But perhaps the cherry on top of the foul, putrid cake was that they were devastatingly beautiful. Codrus was a boy of towering stature and shock-blue eyes that hypnotised you to do his bidding. Isadora's doll-like face was the envy of all the girls, and her pert nose, rosebud lips, and long, dark hair brought all the boys to their knees. Hugo had a swagger that oozed confidence, hazel eyes that glowed like fiery jewels against his deep skin, and a jawline cut to the gods.

They were gods.

Rumour had it that Codrus and Isadora were actually seeing each other on the down-low. They had been caught snogging in the common rooms a few times, and some even claimed to have seen them doing less chaste things in the Prefects' Bathroom.

In some ways, I could see them all being true. Codrus and Isadora never made any public display of affection, but I caught their shared looks, noted the way Codrus' hand kept bumping into hers as they marched the halls with Hugo. They were not good people, but people in love all the same.

They were also the type of people who saw what they wanted and took it, whether you granted them permission or not. A power couple. They ruled the entire student body of Hogwarts, and were expected to graduate top of their form before going on to achieve great things in the Wizarding World. It was just simply what people like Codrus and Isadora were meant to do.

It was their destiny.

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The day after the N.E.W.T results had been posted, Caspian and I stood by our beds, packed and ready to leave for the holidays. Just then, there came a sudden and loud commotion from the Ravenclaw common area downstairs. Doors banged, exclamations of surprise, and the urgent pattering of feet. We hurried down only to see students flying out the door in a mad rush.

"Oi! What's going on?" Caspian called to a young girl just as she was about to follow the others out.

"Didn't you hear?" she gasped breathlessly. "It's Isadora Selwyn!"

Sure, there had always been gossip. But Isadora had never called attention quite like this before, especially from us Ravenclaws, who normally did not care for school drama. The girl sounded almost... concerned. Caspian and I exchanged a worried glance, the both of us recalling our expired conversation two weeks ago. We followed them without another word.

A large crowd of students across all years and Houses had gathered at the bottom of the Astronomy Tower. The younger ones gave way to us seniors readily, and we managed to jostle our way right up to the front.

Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Snape were standing around a spot on the ground while Flitwick and Sprout held the clamouring crowd back as best they could. Caspian and I were straining on tiptoes when a shifting gap in between the professors' long cloaks revealed what they had been trying to conceal.

On the ground lay Isadora Selwyn. Dead.

Her body was mangled, folded at an unnatural angle. And there was blood. A lot of it. Her eyes were open and staring lifelessly at the sky. Her limbs were splayed out in an even pattern, as if someone had arranged them that way.

I felt like I was going to vomit. Caspian gripped my elbow, but I yanked it away. She fell, they were saying. Must've tripped on something and sent herself over the railings. The noises muddled, and I backed out from the crowd.

Isadora Selwyn did not fall. She was pushed. I knew it in my heart of hearts. And I knew who had done it. I swivelled around on my feet, scanning the grounds wildly. And then my searching gaze landed on him.

He was seated on the balustrades that enclosed the Astronomy Tower courtyard, his body stretched out lazily. One leg was propped up, the other he left to hang down, swinging it gently.

Codrus Armstrong was unbothered. Cool. Collected. Blasé.

The shadows obscured half his face, making his eyes glow an eerie sapphire. They were watching me with an expression not unlike a wolf eyeing its prey.

Snape straightened up to his full height and turned to address the students in his stoic, jilted manner. "I want each and every single one of you back to your common rooms. Immediately."

The crowd began to stream around me, but I stood staring at Codrus, transfixed. He stared back. The left corner of his mouth pulled up ever so slightly. And then he winked at me.

My heart fell out of tempo with my ragged breathing, and a sweaty chill crept over my skin. He knew I knew. And he knew nobody would ever believe me because Isadora Selwyn was his best friend and secret lover and there was no proof he had pushed her two hundred metres to her death.

Caspian found me and brought us out of the courtyard. We did not head back to the common rooms, but we did fall back closer to the main castle. Everyone had already dispersed into their cliques, each whispering hard amongst themselves.

Jamie Lynch caught up with us. "Awful, isn't it!" she fretted from under Caspian's arm. "They're saying she fell, right over the balcony. Godric knows what she was doing up there by herself!"

"She was alone?" I tried my best to sound casual. "Where were Codrus and Hugo?"

Jamie shook her head. "No idea. Oh, poor Codrus. Did you know he and Isadora were secretly in love? He must be gutted! Just as they were about to graduate together, too. What with Isadora's scholarship and all."

"What scholarship?"

She looked at me curiously. "Didn't you know? The top scorer for N.E.W.T.s gets a scholarship to intern for the Minister of Magic!"

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h a n n a h

"Okay, so the man's a right nutter. It was already obvious at the Manor."

"No- no, see, that's exactly what I'm trying to say," said Lorcan. "He's not a nutter. He's perfectly sane. And he's intelligent. He'll do anything to get what he wants, and he won't stop. And when he's gotten it, he'll move on to the next best thing. That's what makes him more dangerous than we think. If he's willing to hurt people like that for something as petty as getting top marks, what do you think he'd be willing to do now?"

"We've stopped Voldemort once and we can stop him again," I insisted stubbornly. "We have Harry Potter. He's literally the most powerful wizard we have now. Well, one of the most powerful. If there's going to be a battle, we'll win it."

"Yes, that's my point exactly, darling." Lorcan patted me on the knee affectionately. "Let's try not to let it get to that."

I understood. Codrus was a cyclone, a black hole, eating anything and everything in his way. And as he gets bigger and stronger, he will only want more and more. At first, he had only really been interested in Angel. But with the new revelation that he is also in line for world domination, he now had another goal, a better one. Become the most powerful wizard there was. And when that has been achieved, what was next? Complete and utter decimation of the Muggle population. Enslaving of the half-bloods. A new regime.

We could not allow a war to happen, because we might not be lucky enough to win this time.

The truth of the matter was staring us plainly in the face: we already possessed two pieces of the coveted Triangle. Codrus had none.

And so began the race for the Elder Wand.

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A/N: SURPRISE LORCAN CHAPTER!!! How are we liking it? I don't plan to make this regular, but I might add one or two more in if it fits the story :)