"now my thoughts so cloudy and my hearts so crowded with pain
i am so frustrated like my soul's been taken away"

Maia heard a hiss come from her own lips. She raised her hands to her face to recognize herself, but was surprised when there were no hands, not even arms to raise. She was dangerously close to the ground, as if she was lying on it. She felt another hiss come from her, and she realized she couldn't be more wrong.

She was seeing through Nagini.

Terror seized her body when she heard other people's voices, not far from where she was. Like the snake, she crawled to the door, from where she could hear them more clearly.

"Please, my Lord," her human body would have gulped if it could have: Lucius's voice was small, not much more than a sigh, almost a plea. "We didn't know," She tried to sneak the snake's eyes through the gap under the door and tried to hide her reaction.

Her father's face was the saddest image she had ever seen of him. A man always so proud and powerful was now reduced to a pale face, dark circles visible under his bloodshot eyes, a gray stubble threatening to fill his cheeks. He was seated in a stately chair, the figure of Lord Voldemort prostrate beside him, his wand slipping between his slender fingers, his red eyes fixed on the Malfoy patriarch.

"You had one job, Lucius," Voldemort muttered. "You said you had it under control, but, once again, you've failed. I was generous enough with you the first time, giving your son Draco the chance, but now it's your daughter who is troubling me."

"We didn't know, my Lord—"

A green beam shot from Voldemort's wand towards the ceiling of the room. The Dark Lord gritted his teeth, clearly angry. "Do you expect me to believe neither of you knew about your daughter's... beliefs?" He gritted his teeth, dragging the words. He started pacing around the room. "That kid was raised around you and Bellatrix, it's your responsibility to do the damage you have done by owning up to your actions," Bellatrix Lestrange stepped out of the shadows, her eyes had a tinge of madness even more accentuated than usual. "Find the kid and kill her. Let it be known that is what occurs to traitors in between my lines or even a worse fate shall come to those who betray me."

The snake, still hidden, heard a sob coming from a part of the room that it could not see. Bellatrix advanced, seemingly hesitant, her eyes wavering. "I'm sorry, Cissy. You should've sent your children to Durmstrang, just as I said when they were kids. Look at them now, attending Hogwarts, weak as never before. I really tried to educate Maia, but if she goes against the Dark Lord's wishes, she's no longer family," Maia's heart raced when she heard another sob, this time louder, coming from her mother. Bellatrix turned to Voldemort, their eyes never meeting. "The kid shall be dead tonight, my Lord."

Lucius rose from his chair, hesitant, his eyes traveling from his sister-in-law, to his wife and son, who were oblivious to the conversation but listening. "Wait, Bellatrix."

Both Lucius and Bellatrix turned, one hoping Voldemort had changed his mind, the other too obsessed with the Dark Lord to think of anything else. "Yes, my Lord?"

"If you were to find her with Harry Potter, bring them both alive to me. Now, we shall have fun with you until news arrive," his lips formed themselves into a horrid grin. "Nagini!"

The doors to the room where the snake  —Maia— was hiding opened, and a feeling of wanting to hurt them washed over her. She hissed against her wishes, glaring at her mother and brother. Narcissa was standing next to Draco, who was sitting as his father had been. His face turned into a grimace of terror when he saw that the snake had already focused on them, and they both gulped. Narcissa's grip on her son's shoulder made the snake ponder, possessed by Maia's mind.

"What's wrong, Nagini? Is something bothering you?"

Maia gasped as she surfaced, the salty water rushing into her eyes and into her mouth. She swam towards a rocky shore as fast as she could, the chill seeping into her bones, not even knowing when she had fallen into the sea.

Beside her, the Gryffindor trio also braced to surface once and for all. Hermione put the bag on the floor and pulled out clothes for Harry and Ron.

"We have to go back to Hogwarts," Harry said unbuttoning his shirt.

"What? Why?" Maia inquired, frowning.

"He knows," started the Gryffindor. "He knows we're hunting the horcruxes and that we've destroyed a handful of them. He knows we entered Bellatrix's vault and stole Hufflepuff's cup. I had this... vision in my head while we were in the water. At first I thought I saw Ravenclaw's badge, but then I remembered the diadem's already gone, so that couldn't be. And then, Ravenclaw's blue transformed into Slytherin's green. I saw your Common Room, and a snake. Then the Quidditch pitch and a broomstick on the sky, someone riding it and chasing something."

"You said Regulus Black was a Seeker, right? And he was a Slytherin. Maybe You-Know-Who is remembering who stole his Slytherin locket," Ron added, quickly changing his wet sweater into a dry one.

"Or maybe he's just trying to trick you, Harry. Maybe he wants you to see things because it's easier for him to get to you in Hogwarts," Hermione tried to reasonate.

Maia was silent, changing her clothes with non-verbal spells, and her Malfoy outfit was replaced by a red T-shirt and matching mom jeans.

"You're quiet, Maia. Something wrong? "

The Slytherin sighed. "The Dark Lord knows. That I'm a traitor," she added quickly. "He's got my mother and my brother. I don't know where they are, though. I can't recognize the place," she confessed, earning sad looks from everyone. "Bellatrix and my father are coming for me. If they find me with you, we're both going to be presented to the Dark Lord. You can't go back to Hogwarts. Maybe he's really trying to play with your mind, maybe with the both of us, but even if it's a trick, I can't risk it. There isn't a horcrux left in Hogwarts, Potter."

"But what if there is?" Snapped the boy. "What if he's really let me in his mind and it's a true lead?"

None of the other three said anything more. They knew that Harry could be right, but they also knew what happened when Harry was wrong. Maia felt bad about her thoughts, but she knew she had no choice: if Voldemort really had Narcissa and Draco in his power because of her, then Harry Potter's presence at Hogwarts would cause the Dark Lord to distract his attention from the Malfoys and focus it on the boy who lived. We're going to die anyways, but they're not, Maia thought, closing her eyes tightly.

"Okay, Potter. Lead the way, then."

Despite the puzzled looks, the others nodded, and disappeared from the unknown place to appear in Hogsmeade. The atmosphere was the same as the one that prevailed in Diagon Alley: darkness, loneliness and a strange, dark presence that no one could explain. The lights in the homes remained off, the businesses closed, there was no longer a trace of all the children who used to mill around the entrance to Honeydukes.

They heard voices turning the corner and disappearing down one of the streets parallel to the one they were standing on. Maia looked up and narrowed her eyes: a poster with a large Harry Potter image, a sign that read "Undesirable #1." The blonde tore it from the wall and burned it with her wand. "We have to get out of here," warned Hermione, whose sight was fixed in the group of men traveling up and down the path.

On the count of three, the four of them ran as quietly as they could into an alley where, hopefully, they would manage to go unnoticed for a while. Hermione stepped on a branch, and the men turned in her direction. "Who's there?" They asked, their voices dark.

Maia grabbed the Gryffindor by the hand to drag her toward her hiding place, and a door opened before them. "In here, Potter."

They were in no position to refuse help, so the four, not without looking at each other, entered the home of the man before them. They didn't share words, but everyone knew instantly what the others were thinking.

"Harry, I can see you in here," Hermione pointed to a broken mirror on the wall, the missing piece coincidentally in Harry's hands.

"What are you doing? It's dangerous for you to be here."

Maia knew instantly who he was. "You're Aberforth, Dumbledore's brother."

The man looked at her. "I am," he said tersely.

Harry watched him and frowned. "It's you who I've been seeing here, on the mirror. It's you who sent Dobby."

"Where have you left him?"

"He disappeared the moment we landed in Shell Cottage," interfered Maia. "We don't know where he is."

Dumbledore's brother smacked his lips. "Shame. I liked that elf."

"Who gave that to you? The mirror."

"Mundungus Fletcher, about a year ago."

Harry clenched his jaw. "Dung had no right selling that to you. It belonged to—"

"—Sirius. Albus told me. He also told me you'd likely be hacked off if you ever found out I had it, but ask yourself: where would you be if I didn't?"

Aberforth showed up again with a large plate of food, presuming they were hungry after having followed all their adventures through the looking glass. Hermione and Ron lunged for the tray, but Maia and Harry stayed behind, the former staring in disgust at the food —she was too distraught to eat— and the other too curious about the presence of a Dumbledore brother of whom he had never heard.

"Do you hear from the others much? From the Order?" Hermione asked. Maia grimaced at the name.

"The Order is finished. You-Know-Who's won. Anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves."

Maia gulped as she stroked the bridge of her nose. It couldn't be true that they didn't have the help of anyone else.

"We need to get into Hogwarts, tonight. Dumbledore gave us a job to do." Harry kept talking.

"Did he now? Nice job? Easy?" Aberforth hummed lightly as he poured himself a glass of water.

Harry grimaced at the tone. "We've been hunting horcruxes. We think the last one is inside the castle, but we'll need your help getting in."

"That's not a job my brother's given you. It's a suicide mission. Do yourself please, boy, go home. Live a little longer."

"Dumbledore trusted us to see this through," Maia, weary, broke into the conversation, tapping the wood of the table.

Her late headmaster's brother turned to her with defiant eyes. He might know her last name, but he didn't care in the least.

"What makes you think you can trust him? What makes you think you can believe anything my brother told you? In all the time you knew him, did he ever mention my name? Did he ever mention hers?" Dumbledore nodded at a painting, where a young woman was moving slightly.

"Why should he—"

"—Keep secrets? You tell me."

"I trusted him." The Gryffindor boy spoke at last, his voice small.

"That's a boy's answer. A boy who goes chasing horcruxes on the word of a man who wouldn't even tell him where to start. You're lying! Not just to me, that doesn't matter. To yourself as well. That's what a fool does. You don't strike me as a fool, Harry Potter. So I'll ask you again. There must be a reason."

As Dumbledore and Harry had a conversation that seemed to go nowhere, the other three watched, intently. For a moment Maia could swear that she had seen Harry's eyes water, she didn't know if it was because of Aberforth's resemblance to the late Headmaster or because of the situation they were experiencing.

"I'm not interested in what happened between you and your brother. I don't care that you've given up. I trusted the man I knew. And we need to get into the castle tonight."

The old man gave Harry a sad but lasting look. Then with a nod: "You know what to do," Aberforth whispered to the painting, defeated.

The girl in the painting returned his assent and was lost in the landscape of the drawing. The four of them stared at the painting with caution but infinite admiration; they had never seen anything like that at Hogwarts.

"This is your sister, right? Ariana."

Aberforth gave them one last look. "My brother sacrificed a lot of things in his way to power. Ariana was one of them. She was devoted to him, and he gave her everything, but time. Do what you have to do."

That was the last Maia saw of old Aberforth. They noticed that Ariana was returning along the rocky path marked in the drawing, and a figure taller than her was following her closely. "Who's that?"

"Neville?" All four said in unison, incredulous.

The fourth Gryffindor in the room seemed stunned, his eyes wide, when he saw the presence of the Slytherin. However, he came out of his lethargy with a big smile despite looking bloody.

"Maia! Merlin's beard," Neville engulfed her in an unexpected hug —unexpected to all four of them. "Everyone thought you were dead."

"Dead? Why?"

Neville helped everyone up the gap as he spoke. "When we came back to Hogwarts after Easter holidays, you didn't. Your friend Eden came to me explaining everything that had gone down —he said Daphne told him, who was told by Pansy, who was told by your brother— in the Malfoy Manor, saying you got stabbed or some crazy thing like that."

Maia giggled as she lifted her shirt, showing Neville her scar.

"So it was true? Cool! —Cooler than Harry's. Anyway, the word of you being a traitor was out, but as you didn't return to Hogwarts or let anybody know about your whereabouts, everybody here assumed you were dead. Believe me, after everyone found out about you being on our side, your popularity raised to Harry Potter levels. "

Maia chuckled lightly. "And what about the Carrows?"

"The Carrows?" Harry chimed in, his pace racing like his heart.

"It's the Carrows here who you have to watch out for, not Snape —rarely here, really. Brother and sister, Death Eaters. They like to show who's on charge, they teach Muggle Studies and Dark Arts —just Dark Arts—, but their specialty is torturing students. I got this," he touched his cheek, a big cut shining, "because today's lesson was using the Cruciatus Curse, on first years. I refused."

"That's totally barbaric," Hermione said, her face distorted in a grimace.

"Hogwarts has changed," Neville looked at Maia, who pursed her lips. "It's good to have you back, really," Neville pushed open a door at the end of the tunnel, and they could finally feel the warmth and light emanating from the castle. "Look who I've brought!"

Maia couldn't believe what was in front of her. Dozens of students crouched behind the protection provided by the Room of Requirement, beds, sofas, armchairs and even the occasional hammock leaning on two nearby columns. Their bleak faces, stained with blood and dirt, hopeless eyes, which lit up when they saw Harry Potter in front of them. It was Harry Potter, Merlin! If he was here, it was because he came to save them, to defeat Voldemort once and for all.

Those were such sad times that any symbol meant for them the beginning of the revolution. Perhaps many before they hadn't believed that Harry Potter was the one chosen to kill the Dark Lord, but now it was seen from another perspective. After months of being hunted, frightened and tortured by Lord Voldemort's minions, they considered the Gryffindor to be hope, it was light, it was victory, the peace they had longed for.

"What are you all doing here?" People wanted to know.

"How can we help you?"

Harry bit his lip, not wanting to sound insensitive. "We're here because Dumbledore left us a mission. We think we can end it tonight."

Everyone looked at each other, excited, even some cheer was heard. "Well, tell us. We'll help."

"I —I can't. Dumbledore said it was only us who could know."

"But Harry, we've been here for months. We've been through their tormenting and their tortures. Just tell us what you're after and we'll help."

Ron stepped forward and put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "We don't have to do this alone anymore, mate."

Harry nodded, somewhat more convinced. "We think we're looking for something Slytherin related. Maybe a Quidditch Cup, or something related to a snake. Anybody?"

It almost seemed comical. No one was wearing Slytherin uniforms, and the only Slytherin person in the room was Maia, who, in the first place, didn't even think there was a Slytherin horcrux missing. The locket had already been destroyed, what were they missing? Perhaps she had made the mistake of thinking that Nagini was one of Voldemort's horcruxes when it really wasn't. But was Tom Riddle stupid enough to make two Slytherin horcruxes? Maia really doubted it.

Her theories didn't add up, there was something wrong. Why had Harry seen the hallucinations with Slytherin, while she had seen how he proceeded to torture her family?

Because it was exactly what Voldemort wanted them to see.

He knew that Maia was close enough to her family to drop everything and save them, but she also knew that Harry was stubborn enough to want to find another supposed horcrux.

Everything ended up making sense right then. Neither of the two visions had been real.

So what was the reality? Maia was no longer sure.

She felt her breathing quicken, her vision blur, her hands begin to shake, control slipping from her body. She stepped back, and collided with Weasley, who was speaking to her —she could see his lips move — but could not hear him.

"Hey, hey. What's going on, what's happening?"

"It's a trap. Harry, it's a trap," Maia kept repeating. "We shouldn't have come here."

"What are you talking about? Why do you say that?"

"Because it's obvious! We've been so stupid, so naive. If we're connected to him, why did we see different things? Because they weren't happening at the time. If they were, we both would've seen the same."

"He put them there, in our minds? He wanted us to see exactly that," the boy whispered at the realization. "But why did I see a snake, or a Quidditch field?"

"When you had hallucinations, have you ever been a snake? Because I have, and that's what happened to me back at the beach. I was his snake, and I was about to see how he tortured my mother and brother. That's how we got to see each other months ago, when you were in the forest. Because we —the snake, you and me— are the only things connected to him which can live no matter if he's here or not. We're living creatures, we have a mind and a soul, we're not Slytherin's locket, or Ravenclaw's diadem. If you can see through me, or I can see through you, and we both can see through the snake, that means it is connected to him, too. Which lead us to think it is the horcrux left."

"Okay, then the thing about the snake was right. He told us that without wanting to. What about the Quidditch field?"

Maia was really surprised by the realization. Voldemort was extremely intelligent.

"Don't you get it? A snake represents Slytherin, and... well, I was a chaser for the Slytherin team. I'm the part of him you saw in your vision, Harry. I'm Slytherin's horcrux he never wanted to make."

The Gryffindor trio looked at her, stunned. "But, but how? He doesn't know you're a horcrux? Then why has he shown me those images? It doesn't make sense."

"Because he knows I'm a traitor. You've seen what I can do, he doesn't want me alive because I, along with you, the kid from the prophecy, could take him down. He probably thought if you came to Hogwarts and dragged me here, he would have us in the same place, at the same time."

"Easier to get rid of," Harry finished for her.

"Part of his powers are within me. He knows I would've figured it out one way or another, because he would have. He's shown you what represents my person because you're the Gryffindor of us, you're the impulsive one, who acts before thinking, and he's proven himself right. You thought there was another horcrux and fell right into his plan. And I was the Slytherin of us, resourceful, always thinking there's any other explanation to things. The possibilities are infinite, but everything leads to the same thing."

"We both must die tonight."

hey!! how are you? i hope you're all well given the situation. i'm not one to leave notes under a chapter, but i just wanted to let you know a new idea has come to me about another ginny story, and i've already updated a bit about the plot, maybe you'd like to give it a try!

anyways, i hope you're enjoying this one. i reckon there's only a few chapters left, so i'll do my best to end it in a way to live up to expectations! if there's anything you'd like to say or ask about the plot, i'll see you in the comments section! big love to all of you!