Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, don't sue me.

Chapter Twenty Four

Friday, 10 May

Ginevra muttered under her breath as she looked at the fading burn-mark on her arm. Colin had burnt her during training on Tuesday, and since his dragon's fire was more magically potent than normal dragons, the burn had to be treated the normal way, with salve and bandages. Theo had only taken the bandage off this morning, muttering about its sorry state since Ginevra had picked at the bandage more often than not.

It had taken most of them to hold Draco back, and he still wasn't happy with Colin three days later. Ginevra sighed, stretching her arm. She winced as her shoulder cracked loudly. Orion had fixed her arm after Bane pulled it out of its socket, but it was still sore too.

Would you stop your whinging? You're human, you feel pain, and you'll heal faster than the rest of us, you non-human creature, Padma muttered in Ginevra's head.

They'd been working on talking to each other silently during nightly training as well. It was much harder to keep your thoughts restricted to only a certain number of people, and refrain from suddenly telling your enemy where you were going to attack next. Even without Luna telling them, they could tell that it was an important skill to have.

You're contradicting yourself, sister. How can she be human, and a non-human creature at the same time? Parvati asked, grinning.

Don't know the technical side of it, she just is, Padma answered with a shrug.

Ge' out of me head. Too early in th' mornin' fer this, Seamus muttered.

I agree, Ginevra murmured, rubbing her shoulder.

You can't agree with him, you've been awake for hours already! Luna said, sounding far too cheerful.

I've been thinking, Ginevra said, already able to hear the others' surprised thoughts before they directed them at her. It's time to deal with Bane. He's been in that clearing for a while now, and the forest is getting weary of him.

Do you know what you're going to do yet? Draco asked silently for everyone else's benefit, sitting up on the bed across from Ginevra's seat at the window.

No idea. Any help, Luna?

It's fuzzy. You haven't decided yet, so I can't tell what you can do, Luna replied. Who's up for breakfast?

We are! Greg and Vince called quickly.

Not so loud guys, I've got the worst hangover in the world, Blaise groaned, holding his head.

I told you not to drink that third glass. Or the fourth, or fifth. Or the seventh, Neville admonished, gently nonetheless.

He jus' cannae hold his liquor, Seamus replied smugly.

You shouldn't have encouraged him for the eighth glass, Neville muttered. I spent all night holding his head over the toilet while you were in here sleeping soundly.

It was the drink tha' knocked me out, Seamus said defensively.

Can we turn the light off now? Blaise asked, somewhat oblivious to his boyfriends' arguing.

That's the sun, Blaise, Neville said. Come on, lie back down. Sleep some more, he murmured.

"So what are we going to do to Bane?" Draco asked, redirecting Ginevra's attention.

"We are doing nothing, Draco. I am punishing Bane, you're not. You get angry enough at the mention of his name," she said, indicating to the glowing Veelan marks on his face, "and I don't want you to come if you're just going to look at him and then kill him."

"He deserves it," Draco muttered.

"That's for me to decide, isn't it?"

"I promise I won't kill him without your permission. Okay?"

Ginevra shook her head. "Just because you promise it, doesn't mean that you mean it. And don't say 'a Malfoy is true to his word' or some such bull," she added at his indignant look.

"Well, how am I supposed to show you I mean it then?"

"Apologise to Colin. He was on the enemy side, he was fighting like he was supposed to, and I'll be hurt when we go to war anyway... Apologise to Colin, he's feeling bad enough as it is," Ginevra said.

Theo! Can we get something for Blaise? He's turning green, Neville called out.

We didn't want to know that before breakfast, Neville! Padma replied.

Stop yelling, Blaise groaned.

All right, you had better be decent, Seamus. Let me in, Theodore said, knocking at the door.

I'm always decent!

I meant clothed, Theodore muttered.

"Fine, I'll apologise to Colin," Draco said, running a hand through his hair.

He stood up to get his robe, intending to put it over his pyjamas.

"You might want to get changed. He went out with his camera an hour ago," Ginevra said, looking out the window again.

"Put something on your burn, or at least move your arm out of the light, love. You're going to make it worse, leaving it in the sun like that," Draco replied, getting a shirt and pants from the cupboard.

"I know," she murmured, looking down at her skin.

She moved her arm into the shade, and looked over to Draco with a smile.

So what are we goin' ter do ter Bane? Seamus asked Ginevra, grinning.

You're not doing anything, Seamus.

Why not? The others are comin'! Why am I th' only one who cannae kick his arse?

We're not all going! Ginevra said, and was immediately met with more than one argument on that. All right, all right! We'll all go. Merlin's wand, you lot can be frustrating.

Thank you, Millicent said, not offended in the slightest. We can discuss what we're going to do to him over breakfast.

Perhaps we shouldn't eat breakfast so soon. Blaise might not feel well enough, Lettie said, frowning.

You doubt my expertise? Theo teased with a grin.

Yes! Fred and George called out. The antidote you gave to us for the draught works too well... We still want some side affects, damn your expertise Theo!

You never asked for that, you just asked for the antidote ... Sit up a bit... Not you two, I was talking to Blaise! ... If you don't drink it, you won't be able to get up for the rest of the day, Blaise. Yes, well it's not my fault you drank that entire bottle of rum, is it? Yes, blame Seamus all you like. You be quiet Seamus, or do you want to do this? Didn't think so. You know how bad alcohol is for centaurs, Blaise. All that processed stuff isn't good for anyone. Yes, even in drinking competitions. No, Seamus isn't human to be able to drink all that. Unless he's finally worked out how to turn rum into water using wandless magic.

Not even a second later, they all heard a loud yell as Seamus was hit by a spell.

"Remind me to never challenge Seamus to a drinking competition," Draco muttered.

"All right... Don't you have someone to go find?" she reminded him pointedly.

Luna, do you know where Colin is? I want to apologise to him.

Owlery roof. Be careful, Luna replied.

Where's our food?! Gregory and Vincent called out.

They act just like children, Padma muttered.

Not all the time, Gregory said smugly.

Ginevra shook her head and, with a considerable amount of concentration, started to block everyone out of her already-aching head. Leaving her room, she headed to the meeting room where Gregory and Vincent were waiting impatiently.

"You could make breakfast yourself, you know, it wouldn't kill you," Ginevra said, grinning.

"With the way they cook, it probably would kill them," Pansy muttered from behind her. "You blocked us off. You're missing a spectacular fight between Fred and George. Or Gred and Forge," she said, smirking.

"It's a bit loud for this time of the morning," Lettie murmured, yawning slightly. "Sorry I wasn't up earlier, my Lady."

"No need to apologise," Ginevra said, waving it off. "Two o'clock in the morning shouldn't legally be a time anyway."

Lettie smiled and curtsied slightly in response.

Ginevra noticed Pansy wincing, and sighed. "I'll get them to shut up," she offered, leaving the room. "Fred and George! Get out here right now, and stop arguing!" she yelled, banging on the door.

"But we stopped arguing almost three whole minutes ago!" Fred and George said, opening the door.

"Then who's arguing now?" Ginevra asked, frowning as she slowly let everyone back into her mind.

Well, it's not us, Fred and George said, shutting the door in their sister's face.

No need to be rude, Ginevra thought, listening to everyone properly.

Would you two shut up already?! Don't make me come up there! Pansy was yelling.

You shouldn't have attacked her! You knew her arm was sore from what Bane did to her! Draco was shouting at Colin.

Yes, I knew that! I already apologised, for the gods sakes! You don't think she's going to be hurt in a proper war, Draco? People are going to be spying on everyone, and they'd probably use the same information. We are training for a war, we're not training just for the fun of it! Colin replied, his voice beginning to get louder with anger.

BOTH OF YOU SHUT UP! Ginevra yelled. You were supposed to go there to apologise, not argue. Colin is right, I am fine, now apologise and leave it be! she said to Draco angrily.

There was a long moment of silence from everyone, as if they'd all held their thoughts and breaths.

Sorry, Colin, Draco said, the apology as tense as his stance. "I know you're right, I just don't like to see Ginevra hurt," he added out loud, more apologetic now.

"I know. I'd be the same if it had happened to Luna," Colin said, an ironic humour in his voice. "I have no idea how we're going to survive the war," he muttered, grinning at Draco.

"We're going to survive it wishing we could go personally kill every bastard that so much as points their wand at our women," Draco muttered, shaking his head as he headed back to the rooms.

Colin laughed heartily, hopping down from his perch on the Owlery roof and following Draco back to the rooms.

8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8

"I've go' some bad news and some worse news," Seamus muttered to Ginevra.

She frowned briefly. "What's wrong?"

"The bad news is tha' Alexander is dead," he replied. "The worse news is tha' he was murder'd."

A shocked silence went through them all. Hadn't they all wished him dead only days ago?

"I feel sick," Parvati said, rushing off to the bathroom quickly, her hand covering her mouth.

A feeling of nausea flowed through each of them as Parvati was violently sick.

"Do you know who killed him?" Ginevra asked.

"Nay, we donnae. But he was killed with knives, tha' we can tell fer sure. The wounds couldnae be healed, even with th' unicorn blood," Seamus murmured, his eyes flicking to the scars on Fred and George's faces.

Another bout of sickness hit them, this time from Colin.

"Stop that, you're making me dizzy," Pansy groaned, her face pale.

"Do you have any chocolate, Theodore?" Ginevra asked.

With a brief nod, Theodore got up and left to get his medical supply bag. He stopped to give a piece to Parvati, which she took gratefully but still looked sickened.

They all ate a small block of chocolate, and slowly, the feeling of nausea faded.

"We really have to work on this mind thing more," Millicent muttered.

The others just nodded their agreement, still reeling from the news Seamus had given them.

"Well, we might as well continue with this sort of thought and discuss what's going to happen to Bane," Ginevra said, sighing heavily.

"I say punishment by death," Draco said immediately.

"Of course you do," Pansy said, rolling her eyes at him.

"I say ye keep him in th' Forest so he's nev'r ter leave tha' clearing again," Seamus snarled.

"Oh, that sounds good. He'd go insane," Millicent said, grinning slightly.

"Do you really want an insane centaur in the forest?" Parvati asked with a sigh.

"Definitely not. Well, what else do you suggest?" Ginevra asked, looking at them in turn.

"Insane centaur outside of the forest?" Padma asked, grinning at her twin.

"No ... Insanity is not an option," Ginevra said, reminded about her own insanity after taking the Animadverto potion.

"Fine, then death it is," Draco said cheerfully.

"And I refuse to kill him," she added, glaring at Draco briefly.

"You won't have to, I will," he replied, leaning back against his chair smugly.

"Do not say that so casually, Draconius," Luna murmured, turning her white eyes to look directly at him. "There is a great difference between saying that you can take a life, and then actually performing that act in cold blood. And do not think that this death will not be done in cold blood simply because the centaur makes you angry... The blood does not boil with anger alone."

Draco just looked at Luna for a moment, then turned away, his teeth gritted.

I hate it when she makes sense so fucking cryptically, his thought echoed through loud and clear enough for everyone to hear.

Luna just chuckled, smiling as she turned her eyes away from him.

"What do you think we should do to Bane, Luna?" Millicent asked. "Taking out the death and insanity options that is," she added with a slight grin.

Break bones. Shoot with arrows. Return to the earth. Change to horse. Sell to animal breeder. Let loose in Muggle world after changing into a horse. Let loose in Muggle world without changing into a horse. Humiliate in hundreds of different ways: force to teach at Hogwarts, wear clothing, take away arrows and force him to hunt, let the animals laugh at him... The thoughts, pictures and ideas just flowed through all of them over and over, every possible future showing various outcomes for that same future.

"Enough!" Millicent yelled, her knuckles white from gripping the table so hard. "Enough, enough... Please, that's enough," she said, shuddering.

Slowly the images, words and ideas faded from their mind and Luna's sigh could be heard clearly.

"Every question, every possibility, every future... It always changes, and I always See."

"It hurt," Millicent muttered.

"It usually does," Luna agreed with a brief nod.

"What was that return to the earth one? My brain didn't catch it properly," Blaise asked, his fingers massaging his temples.

Return to the earth. Spell so his body disintegrates, soul loses its body, returns to the soul-fold-flow-life-nature-world-earth and is either sentenced or reborn.

The images this time were slower, easier to process, but Ginevra could see that there was some pain in Luna's face still, as if she was controlling the vision very deliberately.

"Don't ask. Please," Luna grounded out as the vision disappeared from their minds.

"Do you want me to get you anti-pain medication? It's only a slight numbing, but it might help," Theodore asked.

Luna shook her head, her hair flying left and right quickly in time with her motion. "No. If I take that, I won't be able to See," she replied. "Thank you anyway," Luna added with a brief smile.

"So what do you think of that earth one?" Pansy asked, looking to Ginevra.

"How difficult is it to perform?" Ginevra asked Luna, hoping her question wouldn't cause her more pain.

"No more difficult than most spells. It's in this books," Luna said, flicking her wand.

A book flew into the meeting room at a high speed. Draco's hand whipped out and he caught it a moment before it hit Luna's head.

"Thank you," she said calmly.

"What if I hadn't caught it?" Draco asked, surprised at how calm she sounded.

"Then I would have been hit on the head with a book," Luna replied, smiling at him. "Page three-hundred and twenty ... six," she said, frowning as she tried to See the page number properly. "Or five, it's a bit blurry."

"You were right, three twenty six," Draco murmured as he flipped to the page quickly.

"Repeto orbis terrarum," Pansy read over Draco's shoulder, smirking at the others.

"To return to the earth," Colin said, proud that he'd been able to translate it correctly.

"Name says it all, doesn't it?" Padma asked, smirking.

"Are you sure about this, my Lady?" Lettie asked Ginevra quietly.

"I'll decide after we've all heard what the spell entails," she replied, nodding to Draco.

"Returning a soul to the earth is a spell that is best left to the gods. Unless you are a god, I suggest you stop reading now. If you are a god, on the other hand, then you may read on."

"What is it with books and sarcasm?" Ginevra muttered as Draco continued to read the entry.

"Congratulations, you are a god. Or at least, you think you are..."

"Okay, it was funny a sentence ago, but seriously, can you skip the sarcasm now?" Millicent asked.

"This entry has been hexed so that a person must read the entire article from start to finish until the spell written has been performed," Draco kept reading.

"Great, looks like it's been decided for me," Ginevra muttered, Lettie stifling her laughter.

"We might as well head out to where Bane is then. If he has to repeat it more than twice, Draco'll be pissed," Pansy muttered, standing up.

"He already looks pissed," Gregory said, waving a hand in front of Draco's face.

Draco held the book up so he could see Gregory properly, and glared angrily, even as words continued to flow from his mouth.

"All right, let's go already. If we leave now, we'll get back before it's dark," Parvati said.

"Since when are ye scared of th' dark?" Seamus asked, frowning.

"Never mind. Can we just get going?" she asked, looking to them in turn.

Don't think about it, don't think about it, don't think about it... Parvati's thoughts seemed to scream through their minds, and even Draco paused his dictation for a moment.

"Don't think about what?" Millicent asked immediately.

"Nothing," Parvati replied quickly, but an image flashed through her mind at the same time.

"What was that thing?" Blaise asked, shuddering even though the image had only been half-formed and not at all recognisable.

"Show us again, Parvati," Luna said softly, a hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

Parvati's eyes widened slightly, but she nodded and a dark silhouette started to form in their minds slowly. Encased in shadow, not much of the feared creature could be seen. Except for the creature's ice-cold eyes. Its eyes stared deep down, through them, into them, past them. Those eyes had seen far too much.

"Stop; that's enough now, Parvati," Luna murmured, and the cold creature disappeared instantly.

Save for Draco repeating the spell again, there was silence as they all processed their own thoughts.

"What was that?" Lettie asked, Draco's voice raising as if in agreement.

"The Night Fairy," Neville answered, surprising them. "I thought she was just a legend?"

"Neville, you're a nymph. Isn't that the cat calling the cauldron black?" Theodore asked, rolling his eyes.

Ignoring him, Neville looked at Parvati, waiting for an answer.

"She's not a legend," Parvati said, shivering.

"This might be a dumb question, but who is she?" Millicent asked, looking between Parvati and Neville in confusion.

"The Night Fairy is a legend ... was a legend, I suppose," Neville said when he looked to Parvati, who simply nodded for him to continue. "She is the ruler of the shadow fairies, and controls most of the night's creatures, including the Lethifold."

"What are shadow fairies?" Lettie asked, looking confused.

"They're the darkest fairies, created from a drop of the Night Fairy's blood. They are Disorder, Havoc, Mischief, Mayhem, and Turmoil. They are all that embodies Chaos, and the Night Fairy is their creator, so you can tell how powerful she is," Neville replied. "Well, at least that's what the legend of the Night Fairy says," he added with a slight frown.

"What do you mean she was a legend? Doesn't that mean she's dead?" Theodore asked, frowning.

"Not necessarily. There are many variations of the legend's ending, some say she died, others say that she sacrificed herself and would only return with the sacrifice of another. It's all very confusing and far more detailed, but in the end, no one really knew what happened to her," Parvati said.

"And you're scared of this fairy because?" Pansy trailed off, waiting for an answer.

"She enslaved pixies to create an army, and those that tried to fight her were killed," Fred and George replied.

"An army for what?" Colin asked.

"More importantly, how do you know she's alive?" Millicent asked, her arms folded.

"Shouldn't we be going to deal with Bane? You know, before it gets dark?" Parvati asked, wringing her hands.

A nervous ripple rushed through them.

"Agreed. Bane now, questions later," Millicent muttered, shivering.

"Let's go then," Ginevra sighed, leaving the rooms before anyone could change their mind.

Draco followed her, still reading the spell in the book. The others followed quickly, spurred on by Parvati's fear.

"The spell can take anywhere between an hour and three hours to complete," Draco called loudly when they reached the Forbidden Forest.

Ginevra stopped and turned to him. "What? Why didn't you say that before we all left?"

"He can only read the spell chronologically, if he wasn't up to that part before, then he couldn't have said it," Luna answered for him.

"Once begun, the spell can not be stopped," Draco said, his head nodding slightly in agreement.

"Let's just keep going. Maybe it will only be an hour, and we'll be back before it's really dark," Padma suggested, her eyes flicking to her twin.

Parvati just nodded, but she didn't look very appeased.

Hurrying along the forest paths, Ginevra found that she kept glancing into the shadowy trees uneasily. She kept becoming more nervous and jumpy with every metre she covered, and was soon sick of feeling that way. Stopping in the middle of the path, she turned to face her friends. Their expressions were bordering on terrified. Draco's voice was nothing but a small whisper.

"We have to control our feelings properly. I can't concentrate," Ginevra said, shaking her head.

"What if she's out there?" Parvati whimpered, her eyes darting to the trees on either side of them.

Fear shivered along Ginevra's spine, and she bit her tongue to focus on something else.

"We have to control it. Breathe, like Firenze taught us. Keep it under control, or we'll never get to Bane to get back in time," she added.

Slowly, a calm yet determined feeling passed through them. Sighing in relief, Ginevra continued along the path with the others following her. Soon enough, they all heard Bane yelling in one of the clearings, his voice echoing and bouncing off the barrier holding him prisoner inside.

"I want you to all stay out here," Ginevra said, turning to look at them one at a time.

"You don't think we're actually going to stay out here, do you?" Neville asked in disbelief.

"We're coming in with you," Pansy added immediately, rolling her eyes.

Ginevra sighed heavily, knowing it would be pointless to argue further. Their determined emotions were growing with each passing second.

"All right. Just be careful, okay?" she said with a worried frown.

Indignation replaced determination instantly.

Gritting her teeth, Ginevra ignored their affronted feelings and turned back to the path.

"Ready or not, here we come," she muttered softly and walked into the clearing to finally deal with Bane.

8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8

"Ronnie-kins, dear!" Molly called as she walked onto the third floor landing in The Burrow.

From inside Ron's room, there was a loud thud and he scrambled to stand up, kicking the thick book under his bed. Moving the chair that was holding his door closed, Ron sat at his desk and pretended to be reading the Standard Book of Spells for his seventh year at Hogwarts.

He'd be going back in a week, so it would be perfectly reasonable for him to be studying, wouldn't it?

Molly opened Ron's door to find her son sitting at his desk, trying to look nonchalant, but his ears were burning red, and he was attempting to read the Standard Book of Spells upside down.

He was probably writing a letter to Hermione, Molly thought and hid a smile.

"You called me, Mum?" Ron asked, his voice a pitch higher with nerves. He coughed slightly.

"I just wanted to know what you'd like for dinner, but I can see you're busy ... studying," Molly said with another hidden smile, "so I'll let you keep reading."

"Can we have chicken? And your roast potatoes? They're the best in the world," he said, grinning.

"Oh, don't be silly, Ronnie... I'll call you when dinner's ready," Molly said, smiling brightly at him and leaving Ron's room, closing the door behind her.

Holding his breath, Ron waited until he heard his mother's footsteps fade as she went downstairs to the kitchen before letting it out in one big gush. Putting his book down and the chair back against the door, Ron dropped to his knees to find the book under his bed.

His fingers came into contact with something that was thin and dusty, and definitely not the book he'd been reading, but something compelled Ron to see what it was. Maybe it was a Cannons clipping? he thought without much hope, bringing the photo-sized square out from under his bed.

Blowing the dust off, Ron waved his hand to get rid of the dust in the air, his hand stopping halfway through the action as he saw the photo.

It was a picture of four people. He recognised one person was himself, but the other three - Fred, George, and Ginny - he only recognised because of what his parents had told him. That wasn't what had made him shocked however. With wide eyes, Ron stared at the picture of himself with his three siblings, and stared in particular at the pair of blood-red fangs that had been drawn over Ginny's mouth.

8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8

"Bane, you are to be judged and sentenced here. Before the decision is made, do you have any final words to say?" Ginevra asked formally.

It had taken them almost five minutes to subdue the centaur, and in the end it was Neville and Seamus who had been able to do it, combining both of their powers to create thick vines to wrap around the centaur's legs, body and arms to keep him from doing any more damage to the clearing or to Ginevra.

Bane remained silent, but the loathing look in his eyes was enough to say it all.

"Another paragraph, and he'll be back at the start again," Parvati murmured, looking to Draco.

Draco sighed slightly in relief, his voice sounding happier as he continued talking.

"Is everyone ready?" Ginevra asked, looking to each of them.

She wasn't sure why she asked, as she wasn't truly certain what they would do while she was doing the spell, but she wanted to make check with them anyway. After receiving positive nods, Ginevra breathed deep to ready herself and turned to face Bane, Draco's instructions floating on the wind to her.

"Returning a soul to the earth is a spell that is best left to the gods. Unless you are a god, I suggest you stop reading now. If you are a god, on the other hand, then you may read on... Congratulations, you are a god. Or at least, you think you are... There is a difference, and by the end of the spell you will see why.

"This entry has been hexed so that a person must read the entire article from start to finish until the spell written has been performed," Draco kept reading.

"Due to the way this spell can be used, it is altered for every person performing it, as well as every person reading it. Only these first few paragraphs remain the same, so the next time you go to perform this spell, do not use the same wording as it will not work. This is presuming you have survived this attempt, of course," Draco read, his head bowed as he read the words of the intricate spell carefully.

"The time taken on the spell varies, and as such, the spell can take anywhere between an hour and three hours to complete. However, you must be warned that once begun, the spell can not be stopped," Draco said.

Before his eyes, the spell began to change and the empty space below what he'd already read began to fill with paragraphs upon paragraphs of words. He took a deep breath and made sure to concentrate properly so he wouldn't say the spell wrong.

"First, cast a circle around yourself and the one who is being returned to the earth. Make sure that there are no gaps in the circle and your power is spread evenly throughout."

"The two involved in the ritual must drink from the same cup, ensuring their understanding for what is to happen. This must be done willingly, or else the spell will not work."

"Once this is done, both parties must meditate until the proper time."

"Proper time? What does he mean by that?" Millicent asked, frowning slightly.

"This time can only be decided by the two involved, and is the main reason for the varying lengths of the spell."

"The following spell will only be heard by the one performing it," Draco continued.

A whisper started to form in Ginevra's head, and she refrained from shaking her head to get the noise out.

He who has killed and sinned

Against myself and his kind,

I return you to the earth.

You are to be born again willingly,

A hope for a better life then.

As I will, so mote it be.

"This spell is different for each person or creature that it is used upon, and cannot be used more than once."

"If he who is being returned to the earth is stronger than the caster of the spell, others within the circle may lend their power for the spell to be completed. If he is too powerful, however, the spell will not be completed, and all lives will be forfeited. You have a minute to think about the consequences of this," Draco said.

His voice didn't relax, nor could he move his head to look at them. He was still under the influence of the spell, and would continue to read the words until the spell had been performed, just as it had warned at the start.

"I think we should continue," Lettie said, even though she sounded nervous. "Ronan was killed because of Bane, as well as other innocent creatures."

"He has no remorse," Parvati and Padma included, both staring at Bane in disgust.

"Do we have enough power to do the spell though?" Theodore asked, looking at each of them. "Seamus and Neville are barely holding him down, and it took us all five minutes to get Bane down in the first place."

"Exactly! Combined, we're more powerful than he is," Gregory said.

"But are we more powerful than he is when we're just human? I doubt this spell is going to take into consideration the fact that we're all part-beings, is it?" Theodore replied.

"Probably not," Ginevra said. She refrained from asking Luna, not wanting to cause her friend more pain, and also wanting to make the decision without a possible future forcing her hand. "But we can't leave Draco like this either. I'm fairly certain that the spell was created without a way to break it."

"Fifty seconds," Draco began counting slowly.

"I say we do the spell," Pansy said. "If he isn't remorseful for what he's done, then he deserves to die."

"-one, fifty-two."

"Agreed," Vincent and Gregory echoed.

"Agreed," Parvati and Padma said quickly.

"We all agree, how about that?" Millicent said, Fred and George nodding.

"Fifty five, fifty six," Draco continued.

"Do we?" Ginevra asked, looking to Colin, Blaise, Neville, Seamus and Lettie. She heard Luna sigh softly when she didn't look at her, and knew that Luna, on some level at least, agreed as well.

"If he has no remorse, then I have no pity for him," Blaise said.

Neville and Seamus met Ginevra's look and nodded their consent.

"Fifty-seven, fifty-eight."

"I agree," Lettie said, but sounded slightly ill on top of her certainty.

"So do I," Colin said, just as Draco reached 'sixty'.

"The minute is now over, and your decision must be made. First, those not casting the spell, nor having the spell cast on them, sit in a circle around the former and latter," Draco instructed.

The mood suddenly sombre, they all moved quietly to take their seats, sitting in a position that allowed them to face Ginevra and Bane.

"No unnatural things are allowed within the circle, this book being the only exception. That means that all clothing must be removed. To do so, say the words 'vestis, abeo, lux', and wait until the spell has finished before continuing." (Clothing, disappear, light.)

"That's stupid, I don't see why we have to be naked!"

"I refuse to get naked in front of you lot," Millicent muttered, reddening slightly.

"I don't want to do that," Lettie said, her entire face bright red.

"We all know why you don't want to, Mill. Part werewolf makes you hairy, doesn't it?" Vincent sneered.

There was no time to react to what happened next. Even Bane seemed surprised at it. One second, Theodore was sitting next to Millicent, trying to calm her down, and the next he was standing over Vincent who was lying on the floor motionless.

"What did you do to him?" Pansy asked in horror, staring at her boyfriend.

Vincent's body gave a slight spasm and there was more than one sigh of relief.

"Don't you ever talk about Millicent like that again!" Theodore said, a tone of pure venom laced in his voice as he glared at the other Slytherin. "He's alive, just in a lot of pain," he added to Pansy briefly.

Theodore's wand was pointed down at Vincent, but Ginevra was positive he hadn't used it to do ... whatever he'd done to him. Vincent managed the smallest of nods, his body twitching again in pain. Theodore's glare didn't lessen, even as he knelt to touch certain parts of Vincent's body.

"You just paralysed him, didn't you? With his nerves?" Lettie said, surprised.

He nodded in response, left Vincent lying on the floor where he was, and returned to his seat beside Millicent. She smiled at him, holding his hand as he moved a bit closer to her.

"I'm sorry, Millicent," Vincent said, his throat tight.

Millicent's smile faded completely, and she didn't answer, but Ginevra thought she could see tears forming in the girl's eyes. Neither Pansy nor Gregory looked to their boyfriend.

"I still don't want to get undressed in front of you all," Padma said loudly, redirecting everyone's attention away from Millicent and Vincent.

"I don't want you to either; you're my brother's girlfriend... That's just weird," George said, his nose scrunching.

Bane looked both amused and annoyed at their arguing. It was only the vine across his mouth that stopped him from taunting them all, Ginevra was sure. But he did have good reason to be annoyed at them; all this arguing was pointless and getting them nowhere, simply delaying Bane's punishment.

Saying the spell quietly, Ginevra closed her eyes and waited for the sarcastic comments to come. While she herself was more comfortable being naked, Draco was still the only one who had seen her naked since she'd become a vampiress. Before that, it had been her mother when Ginevra was too young to bathe herself!

Not hearing any of the expected comments, she opened her eyes cautiously and looked at her friends for their reactions. They seemed surprised, and were basking in an odd red light. Glancing down at herself, Ginevra could see that a red ribbon-like light was wrapped around her body, shielding her private body parts from view. The tense atmosphere lightened to one of relief, and all around the circle, the spell was repeated. Soon, ribbon-lights covered each of them. Draco was also covered by a ribbon-light, the book making him say the spell again so it would work. His ribbon was a bright white colour, yet it seemed to be made out of feathers.

"You may now cast the circle," Draco instructed, still not looking up from the book.

Closing her eyes, Ginevra envisioned a circle surrounding them, keeping everything within and outside the circle in their proper places. Holding her wand out, she turned in an even circle, her magic roping out an invisible barrier around them. Closing the circle, she opened her eyes once more and waited for further instructions.

"When the circle is completely cast, it restricts all movements of those not reading or casting the spell. This is to prevent anyone from leaving the circle. It must also be ensured that no more enter the circle, as the spell will break and again, all lives will be forfeited for the one being returned."

"You may now drink from the same cup. Say the word 'pluvia', cup your hands and both drink from the water," Draco said. (Rain/shower.)

"Pluvia," Ginevra repeated.

The moisture in the air became thicker, making it difficult to breathe. Just when she thought she might faint from the lack of air, it suddenly started to rain. Hurrying to cup her hands, Ginevra caught the water that was falling and drank some, thankful for the liquid. Moving slowly towards Bane, she moved her hands up to his mouth. The vine around his mouth disappeared and he drank slowly, also seeming grateful for the water. At least, he didn't spit it back in her face.

"Now meditate," Draco instructed.

The surrounding atmosphere returned to normal. Ginevra slowed her breathing, her eyes never leaving Bane's. He breathed in time with her, watching her as he timed his breaths. All time lost its meaning, and the clearing fell away around them, surrounding them in both nothingness and everything all at once.

Stupid human. Mere mortal. Not worthy of being Queen. Not worthy of being Chosen by the gods. The stars are wrong, the stars lie. Stupid, mortal, not worthy. Deserves to die, then see if she is really a Chosen one of the gods.

The thoughts practically exploded in Ginevra's mind, and she took a step back at the hostility coming from Bane. As more of his thoughts (or were they memories?) bombarded her mind, Ginevra briefly wondered what he was hearing from her.

Suddenly, the past-tone of the thoughts/memories finished and Ginevra found that she was hearing the present Bane inside her mind.

Too late for remorse or repentance. I know that now, and I understand what I did was wrong. I know I should be punished, and I know I will be punished by your hand. But despite all this, I would still appreciate a silencing spell while the deed is done, Queen of All, Bane's mind murmured. A final request, if you will allow it.

Ginevra nodded, and then suddenly they were in the circle once more, her friends surrounding her and her wand in her hand. Doing the silencing spell on Bane, Ginevra stepped back and waited once more.

"Now cast the spell," Draco said.

Just as she was about to begin reciting the spell, Millicent's mind called a warning to Ginevra, showing her a tall black creature with black leathery wings moving towards the circle. If it came in now, then Ginevra wouldn't be able to complete the spell and they would die, while Bane went free. She couldn't allow that to happen.

Ginevra threw a hand out as the black creature continued to move towards the circle curiously. She could only spare the smallest amount of power and as such, it was only a tiny red ball of light that flew at the creature. Ginevra didn't have time to react when she noticed that Bexley was clinging to the ball, and turned back to Bane, the spell beginning to flow from her mouth.

Despite the small size of the ball, it still had enough force to back the creature up against the tree. The light flew into the creature's mouth and Bexley attaching himself to it's forehead. The ball stifled any screams it made as Bexley floated inside the creatures head to make its worse nightmares come true.

"He who has killed and sinned

Against myself and his kind,

I return you to the earth.

You are to be born again willingly,

A hope for a better life then.

As I will, so mote it be," Ginevra said.

Red light crept its way up her feet, her ankles, moving up her legs quickly. In mere seconds, Ginevra's entire body was encased in a bright red light. Oddly, she could still see everything in their proper colours, and not tinged in red as she thought it would be.

Suddenly, hundreds of tiny lights started appearing in the air. Ginevra frowned slightly, one of the lights appearing just in front of her face. Inside of the light was a tiny ant. Focusing on each of the lights, Ginevra felt sickened to see that each one was an ant. As they had no magical power to give, the ants were giving up their lives instead.

Looking up as more lights appeared, Ginevra saw various winged insects also encased in bright red lights. Mosquitoes, dragonflies, fireflies, ladybugs, moths; all of them were being killed.

Was she really this weak compared to Bane? She was so weak that animals had to die just so she could do a spell on him?

The red lights surrounding the animals started to change to a white-hot colour, and if they had the ability, the animals inside all would have screamed.

Suddenly, her friends began to light up as well. Slowly, from the bottom of their feet and travelling up, the red light began to encompass them all. Fear screamed from their minds, and Ginevra could see the terror in their eyes as she turned to each of them.

Draco wasn't lighting up, she noticed in surprise. Was it because he was reading the spell? Or was he more powerful than all of them combined?

Ginevra's thoughts were distracted when, in small bursts of light, the white-hot colour surrounding the animals disappeared. Before her, the lights began to transfer themselves onto Bane with each creature's sacrifice.

It happened over and over. A sudden burst of light, and as the dead animal fell to the ground, the white-hot light moved onto Bane.

The colour surrounding Ginevra began to turn white, even as the dragonflies and largest of the moths fell to the ground.

All around her, the light became hotter and whiter. It was unbearable to look at, yet she hadn't the power to look away.

Suddenly, Bane's body began to lift into the air. The bright light surrounding Ginevra grew even hotter still and she screamed as the light exploded into darkness.

Bane's lifeless body fell to the ground, and yet the spell holding them in place still didn't disappear.

"Look up," Draco read the final line of the spell.

As one, all sixteen looked up to the night sky through the opening in the forest clearing. Thousands of millions of wispy white ribbon-thread-lights were floating up into the sky, the stars shining brighter as the wispy ribbons disappeared completely.

The spell disappeared suddenly, the fifteen lights surrounding them vanishing. The moment the light had gone, clothes returned to their bodies, and each one collapsed.

Draco, the only one unaffected, finally closed the book in his hands and looked around him. Sixteen people, his fiancee included, were lying unconscious in the middle of a clearing in the Forbidden Forest, Bane was dead, as were a whole lot of insects and bugs, and Bexley was holding some sort of black fairy prisoner just at the edge of the tree line.

"How on earth am I going to get you all back?" he muttered, feeling lethargic himself. Not to mention his throat was sore from talking all this time.

"Excuse us... King of All?" a slightly nervous voice queried from the other side of the clearing.

Surprised - he hadn't heard anyone approaching the clearing - Draco looked over to see a small group of centaurs waiting. His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Had they just seen the death of their former leader, and now they wanted revenge?

"What do you want?"

Not very Kingly or diplomatic of him, but his voice was too raw to go through any pleasantries with these creatures, Draco figured.

"We would like to help you," the centaur replied, sounding a bit more confident now. "We can help you carry your friends and the Queen of All back to your residence at Hogwarts," the centaur added.

"You're a female," Draco noted in surprise.

He cringed slightly as his throat felt like knives were dragging themselves along it. He quickly did a soothing spell. It wouldn't last long, but he hoped he wouldn't have to talk long.

"Yes, King of All, I am. We all are. Women were not allowed to be part of the hunt while Bane was in charge," the centaur replied to his unasked question with a brief scowl. "We were nothing more than a hunt when mating season came, and were either brutally raped or used as target practice. We all took to hiding in the clearings each mating season so that we could not be hurt..." she muttered, too many emotions in her voice for Draco to focus on just one. "Now that Bane is dead, and the males fleeing prosecution, we would like to rectify their mistakes."

Draco shook his head. "No. You cannot rectify the mistakes of others, otherwise they will never learn their own lessons. You will be treated as your own selves, separate from the deeds that some of the male centaurs have done.

"And I would be greatly appreciative if you did help me return my friends to Hogwarts. I will carry Ginevra myself," he added.

A muffled scream came from nearby, and Bexley popped out of the black creature's head for a moment.

"What would you have me do with this one, Draco?" Bexley asked.

"It can come with us. We'll find out what it wants, and what it actually is, when Ginevra and the others wake up," Draco replied, moving to pick Ginevra up carefully.

Bexley gave a slight nod and flew out of the creature's head, Draco silently stunning it with Ginevra's wand as Bexley returned to his place inside Ginevra.

A small herd of centaurs moved into the clearing, picking up the humans with the utmost care. Another centaur picked up the black creature, and they started along the path.

"What is your name, centaur?" Draco asked, looking at her.

"My name is Elin, King of All," she replied.

"My name is Draco, not King of All."

Elin nodded slightly. "Yes, Draco."

They were silent as they made their way through the forest. Creatures came to either side of the path to see the King and Queen as they passed, but not one dared to step on the path. Draco was glad, as it meant he had time to think properly. His eyes had been on the book the entire time the spell had taken place, so he only had snapshots of what had happened through the others' eyes.

"Excuse me, Draco?" Elin asked after some time.

"Yes, Elin?" he replied, immediately wanting to curse. He'd forgotten about his sore throat.

He stopped for a moment, closing his eyes as he gripped his wand and Ginevra at the same time, saying the throat soothing spell once more.

"What did you mean that only some of the men did those deeds? Were some faithful to yourself and the Queen of All?" she asked.

"Her name is Ginevra," Draco replied, looking down at her for a moment. "So far as we know, only one was faithful. At least, only one who was faithful was also brave enough to forfeit his life in order to try and warn Ginevra about the danger she was in."

"May we ask the name of that centaur?" Elin asked, her voice tight.

"Ronan," Draco answered. He jumped slightly as an unexpected cry came from one of the centaurs behind him. He turned to see tears running down Elin's face and dripping onto Neville.

"Ronan was my son."

"I am sorry for your loss," Draco said quietly.

Elin nodded briefly, and continued to walk along the path to Hogwarts.

8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8

Saturday, May 11

Ginevra opened her eyes to find herself back in her rooms. Blinking twice, not quite sure if she was imagining things, she frowned and sat up.

Where was Bane? Where were her friends? Where was the forest?

"Draco?" she called, her voice cracking. She hadn't had anything to eat or drink - sharing the rainwater with Bane didn't count as any substantial fluids - and hadn't even had a Drink yesterday, so she was dehydrated and hungry with red eyes.

Draco appeared in the room suddenly, and if it wasn't for the click of the door closing, Ginevra would have thought he'd Apparated.

"How are you feeling, love?" he asked, walking over as he drew a sharp nail along his wrist, cutting the skin open.

The sweet smell of his blood filled her senses, and Ginevra didn't even bother to answer, instead latching her mouth to the blood that was flowing freely.

As Draco's blood coursed through her veins, she relaxed slowly, his blood nourishing her.

"Much better," Ginevra finally answered as she pulled away from his wrist reluctantly.

She smiled at him with blood-red lips and brown eyes.

"Good to know. Everyone's still unconscious and will be for a while yet," Draco murmured, licking her lips as he put his hands on her hips.

"Good to know," she mimicked with a grin, biting his lower lip.

With a soft chuckle, Draco pulled Ginevra's hips so she was pressed flush up against him. He kissed her hungrily, biting her tongue as she tried to take over his mouth. Blood filled his mouth and he swallowed eagerly, the blood as nourishing for him as it was for her.

In her rush to remove Draco's pants and boxers, Ginevra scraped his thighs so hard that lines of blood followed. The blood trickled down onto her fingers and she pulled away from Draco's mouth to lick her fingers. Seeing the blood spilling down her fiancŽ's legs, she smirked broadly. Getting off the bed, she turned to push Draco back onto the mattress.

He moved up onto his elbows to look down at her as she traced patterns on his stomach with her light fingers, her tongue moving along each trail of blood slowly. Draco held back a groan as her red hair spilled over his thighs, Ginevra's tongue flitting to his cock.

"Ginevra," he groaned as she licked him, his hips bucking.

She grinned, taking him in her mouth, and listening as he moaned her name again, his fingers threading through her hair.

"Ginevra, up," Draco said, tugging her hair slightly.

Caressing his thighs, Ginevra ignored him for the moment. She would move up to him when she was ready...

Draco moved so he was lying back on the mattress again, and closed his eyes as Ginevra worked her tongue, lips and teeth on him. Her nails dug into his thighs, drawing blood. He hissed in a combination of pain and pleasure, Ginevra's nails scraping their way up to his stomach. Draco's stomach clenched and his cock throbbed in response.

"Fuck," he hissed, his fingers tightening in her hair as he sat up again.

He could feel Ginevra smirking around him - cheeky wench - and held back another moan as her tongue swirled around his cock as she pulled away gently.

Before Draco could even say her name, Ginevra had already started to lick the blood she'd drawn from the half-crescent marks on his thighs. Licking slowly, she looked up at Draco to see that his grey eyes were dark and practically closed in pleasure.

"Want more?" Ginevra asked, moving back to take her shirt off.

"More," Draco agreed, breathless.

He tugged Ginevra up to him again, and this time she complied, straddling his lap and kissing him hungrily. Draco wrapped his arms around her waist, moving so he was nestled between her legs comfortably. With a slight grin, Ginevra bit Draco's lip and ground her hips against his erection. Draco groaned huskily, one of his hands moving to caress her breast.

"Want blood," he murmured against Ginevra's lips, licking her bottom lip as his fangs lengthened slightly.

"Take it," she replied, arching her back to press her breast into his hand.

Draco lowered his head to her exposed throat, his other hand holding her head gently. Instead of biting the skin as he wanted, he kissed Ginevra's throat, collarbone, right above her breast, before finally sinking his fangs into her breast.

At the same moment, Ginevra lowered herself completely onto his hard cock, immediately tightening around him as she came.

Draco licked and sucked her breast long after the blood stopped flowing, his mouth hot around her pert nipple. Ginevra bit his neck as her orgasm faded, sucking hungrily as his blood filled her mouth.

His hands on her waist once more, Draco held on tightly as he thrust up into her faster. Ginevra matched his rhythm and pace in seconds, her breasts rubbing against his chest.

"Faster," she murmured, her voice a chant as he complied.

Love Gin. Need more, want more. Want everything. More, faster, faster. Fuck she sounds so hot. Harder, don't hurt. Careful. Let her come again. Good feeling. Love her, want all of her. More. Keep wings in, don't come yet. Hold back. No, faster, harder. Oh gods', Gin.

Draco's thoughts and feelings were tumbling through her head even faster than they were moving. Ginevra had no idea if she could hear what she was thinking and feeling, but she didn't truly care at the moment, her body too full of emotions to allow too much thought. At his last thought, Draco lost control of his emotions and came hard inside her, spurring on her second orgasm.

Lying against his sweaty chest, Ginevra listened to their erratically beating hearts as their orgasms faded. Cradling her in his arms, Draco lay back on the bed, kissing her lips gently.

A sudden feeling of exhaustion swept over them, and Ginevra yawned slightly, cuddling up to Draco properly. He stroked her hair, his fingers lingering along her spine as his own eyes closed slowly. The sheet moved up to cover their naked bodies, and they slept in each others' arms.

8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8

All seventeen sat around the table later that night, the black creature that Bexley had caught in the Forbidden Forest sitting on the middle of the table to face all of them. Parvati whimpered every time the creature turned it's black eyes towards her. Padma didn't whimper as her twin did, but her fists tightened and her heart raced as the creature looked at her.

"What is your name?" Ginevra asked, holding back her own shiver as the creature's black eyes were turned to her.

"Niryalhetinalorx. For the gods' sakes, just call me Niryal," the creature added when they all looked perplexed.

"This may be a stupid question, but what are you?" Millicent asked curiously, looking at the creature's wings.

"The Night Fairy," Parvati hissed.

The creature turned to Parvati, seeming surprised, then its eyes flashed purple and Parvati fell off her seat.

"Parvati!" George cried, moving off his seat to her instantly. "What did you do to her?" he hissed, glaring at the creature angrily.

Ignoring his question, the creature turned away from Parvati.

"Are you the Night Fairy?" Pansy asked curiously.

"Of course I bloody well am," Niryal replied, giving the sense of rolling her eyes.

"I like her already; sounds just like my damn aunt," Dodger chuckled from under the table.

"Shut up, you filthy rat. You and your kind had a lot outside my bloody nest! I was happily sleeping 'til you lot came along," Niryal said, glaring down at the table, seemingly through it and down at Dodger.

"You know Aunt Bell then?" Dodger asked, not scared by the Night Fairy's reaction.

"She was fucking delicious," Niryal replied with an evil chuckle.

Dodger just laughed. He stopped laughing suddenly as a bright flash of blue light came from the twins' direction.

"What did you do to Parvati?" George hissed, his skin an electric blue as he turned pixie.

"Answer him," Neville said, glaring at the creature.

He didn't care that the Night Fairy was a tale whispered at night to scare young nymphs, or that he'd been scared of the thought of this creature only the day before. The vine tattoos on his arms started creeping down his arms in response to his anger. Pixies were distant cousins to nymphs, but even if they weren't, Neville couldn't stand seeing his friends hurt for no reason.

"I just checked out her soul. Geez, you're all acting like I fried her freaking brains out! She'll wake up, so calm the hell down already," Niryal muttered.

"You checked out her soul?" George asked, his pixie form fading with the increase of his frustration.

"I just fucking said that, didn't I? Idiot," she grumbled. "Sure you're not a bloody parrot, pixie?" Niryal sneered.

George glared at the Night Fairy again, turning to Parvati when she stirred behind him.

"Leave them alone," Neville said, still angry as indicated by the vines that were now covering his hands.

"Yes, Master," Niryal replied, sounding both disappointed and reluctant.

"Oh, got yourself the other kind of Night Fairy, eh Nev?" Dodger sneered.

"Say anything else and I'll use you for Quidditch practice," Blaise said, glaring at the Jarvey.

Dodger shut up immediately, and hurried from the meeting room as fast as he could.

"What do you mean Master?" Neville asked in surprise.

"You summoned me, I came, and now you are my Master and I am your servant. I thought it was bloody simple enough to understand," she said, shaking her head at him.

"I summoned you?! How on earth did I do that?" Neville asked, the tattoos retreating back to their place on his biceps.

"You didn't read the bloody spell before you did it? Have an idiot for a master, great," she muttered sarcastically.

"What spell?" Neville ground out.

"Call my name once, I shall not answer,

Summon me twice, I shall not answer,

Summon me thrice, I shall not answer,

Summon me a fourth, I shall not answer,

But call me a fifth and I shall answer to my new Master," Niryal recited.

"How original," Seamus said, rolling his eyes.

"I didn't call you though," Neville said, scratching his head slightly in confusion.

"You said Night Fairy five times in a row without anyone else bloody saying it in between! Do you know how freaking rare it is for that to happen in conversation? Very bloody rare, let me tell you!" she said. "So now, I am your servant, you are my Master, until the end of time or until your death. About another hundred damn years before I'm free," Niryal moaned.

"I'm hoping to live a bit longer than that," Neville said, grinning slightly.

"Mortal or wizard, you don't live any freaking longer than one-twenty. Then I can go back to bloody sleep. Reckon that Jarvey can get his family to move away from my freaking nest? I want a solid millennia before I have to get up again, for fuck's sakes," she grumbled.

"I'm neither mortal nor a wizard, Niryal," Neville informed the Night Fairy, showing her his nymph side.

"Aww, fuck."

8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8

"So, what does it mean now that I'm your Master?" Neville asked with a slight frown when the Night Fairy had stopped cursing.

"Complete fucking control over me, that's what," she muttered sourly.

"That means he controls everything you control too, doesn't it?" Padma asked suddenly, Parvati looking hopeful.

Niryal just nodded.

"Which means I can make sure you don't capture pixies again and try to use them for a war?" Neville asked, realising what their hope meant.

"Yes," she spat.

"Good. You can relax now," Neville said to the four twins, grinning.

"How is he supposed to control you? It's not like you can follow him everywhere he goes just waiting for something to happen," Millicent said.

"My Master," Niryal said as if the word was the most toxic thing in the world, "can choose to put me inside some bloody thing which he always carries with him, or I can go inside him until I'm fucking needed," she grumbled.

"I don't like the tone she's using while talking about you, lover," Blaise murmured, glaring at the black creature.

"Get the fuck over it, you bastard," Niryal replied.

"Don't talk ter him like that, ye overgrown Doxy!" Seamus snarled angrily.

"Look at that bloody temper! Why couldn't it have been him instead of the freaking wimpy nymph?" she muttered, ignoring Seamus' actual words.

There was a short hollow laugh from Neville, drawing the Night Fairy's attention.

"You think I'm weak, but you should reserve your judgement until later tonight, Niryal. You will see what I can do when we train," Neville said, a glint in his eye that made the creature shiver slightly.

8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8

"All right, who's choosing the teams tonight?" Ginevra asked as they headed up to the Room of Requirement.

Niryal was trailing behind them, hissing whenever a portrait looked at her for too long. It was so late in the night that not even Filch was out patrolling for wandering students.

"I want everyone to go against me," Neville said before anyone else could reply.

"Yeah right, Neville. You're not having sixteen people fight against you!" Pansy said, shaking her head.

"Not even Death Eaters fight in larger numbers," Parvati pointed out.

"Yes, but we won't always be fighting Death Eaters, will we? And the only reason they fight in smaller numbers is so that they're not all discovered together. If Harry doesn't beat Voldemort, then they'll have no problem fighting in larger groups... I want all of you to fight against me," he repeated, his tone leaving no room for argument.

"I say we fight him," Colin said suddenly, surprising everyone. "What? He's right, for one. And secondly, I want to see what he thinks he can do against all of us," he added, grinning.

Gregory chuckled, clapping Colin on the back. "You're thinking like a Slytherin," he said, grinning back at him. "I don't know if that's a good thing or not."

"Neither do I," Colin replied, his grin broadening.

"Oh, fine. I'll fight you then, Neville," Pansy said, shaking her head as she sighed in defeat.

The others all agreed in turn, and Neville was silent for the rest of the way.

"Everyone ready?" Draco called out a few minutes after they'd arrived in the Room.

Receiving positive responses from everyone, the Room decided that was good enough and the lights went out immediately.

A thud was heard from within the group and Pansy hissed in pain as someone fell on her foot. Crouching down, she listened out carefully as she tried to feel who the person was. Touching their face, she frowned slightly. Gregory had short hair like that, and higher cheekbones like that too. How was it possible that Neville had taken him out so easily in the dark?!

Keeping low to the ground, Pansy moved away from the others silently, trying to get her eyes to adjust. She was used to being in the dark while in the depths of the lake, so she was sure she'd be able to see soon enough. Hearing something nearby, Pansy immediately stopped, holding her breath. She could hear something ... growing? What on earth was Neville doing?

Whatever was growing stopped nearby, but she held back her sigh of relief and continued to move away from Neville silently.

It seemed like the thud of a body was nothing but a warning: I can see where you are, and I can take you down before you'll even find me... Ginevra shivered slightly. Thinking a spell, her feet raised from the floor and she walked in the air silently. Changing her eyes to that of a cat, it still took Ginevra a moment to find out where Neville was. He wasn't even standing or holding his wand, she noted in surprise.

Neville sent the Stunning spell towards the group the moment the lights went off. By the thud, he knew he'd hit someone, and knew they'd immediately start moving the moment they realised it too. Sitting on the ground cross-legged, he placed his wand on his lap and closed his eyes. Placing his hands on the floor on either side of himself, Neville began to concentrate. As he did so, plants and vines began to grow slowly. They started to inch their way down towards his friends, sensing their life forces.

His friends would worry about the plants and probably try to attack them, but the plants weren't designed to fight back and they'd soon give up, thinking it was nothing more than a trick. Well, the trick would soon be on them, he thought with a brief smile. Opening his eyes slowly, Neville took hold of his wand and stood once more, following the trails his plants had left him.

Millicent bit back a growl as she swiped a paw at the plant moving towards her. It didn't fight against her: no poison shot out, no vines tried to wrap around her body, nothing. Wary, and anything but relieved, Millicent sniffed slightly. Neville was coming this way! Leaping away to get further into the dark, she dropped her body low to the ground to listen. The plant was still following her! Jumping on top of the vine, Millicent cut it with her claws and ran again.

With a grin that was invisible in the darkness, Neville continued to follow Millicent. Moments later, her howl was echoing through the Room.

Shuddering as he heard Millicent howling in pain, Vincent gritted his teeth and shot a spell at the vine following him. It retreated slightly when he shot a Stunning spell at it. With a small grin, Vincent turned and Stunned the plant over and over again. He was so busy keeping the plant at bay that he didn't hear the person approaching who had sent the very plant.

His eyes narrowing slightly when he saw what Vincent was doing, Neville shot a Petrificus Totalus spell at him quickly, not wanting the plant to suffer any more. The withering plant sprang back to life as Neville neared it, and he almost sighed in relief. Content that it was alive again, Neville left to follow another one of the vines' shoots.

Parvati and Padma walked along the ground carefully, listening carefully and trying to figure out where Neville was. They couldn't hear the others fighting him, but that didn't mean they hadn't fought him already and had already lost against him!

We should be able to hear his thoughts if he's nearby, Parvati thought to her twin.

I don't think he'd leave himself open like that; Neville's smarter than that, Padma replied.

Thank you for thinking so highly of me. And so loudly, Neville said with the briefest of smirks, Stunning both of them.

Fred and George didn't move. They didn't even dare breath too loudly. In the Room around them, they'd heard more than the original thud. And yet, no one was even putting up a fight! No sounds of spells were coming from anyone, and they both wondered what Neville was doing. They'd already seen the vines he'd sent for them, but the plant had just sat in front of them, seeming to wait for something. Or someone...

Fred tapped George's arm briefly, indicating for him to move a few steps away. He wanted to see what the vine did. Keeping his eyes trained on the vines in front of him, George moved to the side silently. One of the vines moved after him, and George quickly looked up to his twin. Neville would follow the vine directly to them! Fred moved so he was next to George again, the other vine following his movements now. They both held their wands at the ready, using their Cloaking devices in their pockets to shield themselves from any oncoming spells.

Suddenly, the two vines sprang to life, wrapping themselves around the twins. The Cloaking devices were powerless against plant life, and both twins were soon covered by the plants. Their shock created a fault in their Cloaking devices, and Neville Stunned them mere seconds later.

Pansy tried to escape the vine that was following her. She silently sent a spell at it, a rope pinning the vine down. The plant struggled in its binds, and while it did so, Pansy flipped backwards to land behind the vine. She hurried away from it quickly, using a silent cooling spell on herself. The vine was following her, and she didn't know if it recognised her body heat or something else entirely, but it was worth a try.

Seamus sent the vine in the opposite direction to him, using more power than he would have thought he needed. Neville kept growing in strength and soon, not even his Protector powers would be able to match his.

Och, I need ter go back ter the Forest ter train, Seamus thought to himself as the plant slowly started to creep its way back to him. Hunter wasn't much use in this situation either, but they were both profoundly glad that Neville was on their side. Most of the time, at least, Hunter thought with a brief grin as he surveyed their surroundings.

Using even more power this time, Seamus sent the vine away from him, and before it could turn around again, he ran.

Taking care to not even place her feet on the ground firmly, Lettie kept her eyes wide open and her wand at the ready as she ran along the floor quickly and as silently as possible. She wasn't a mythical being with amazing powers like the rest of her - friends? Is that what they were? she wondered in surprise. She certainly considered them to be her friends, but Lettie had no idea if they felt the same way. Tripping over a large rope-like thing on the floor was enough to get her to focuse on the task at hand again, and she hoped that her fall hadn't been so loud as to draw Neville's attention.

She wasn't special like the rest of them, and after seeing everything they all dealt with on a daily basis - the hunger cravings for things that weren't food, the pressure to do everything right because everyone was watching and waiting for every single mistake, the time they couldn't spend with each other because something else needed their attention - Lettie was usually glad she was just a witch and nothing more. But now, as she was being hunted by one of the creatures she called 'friend' Lettie couldn't help but think that now would be as nice a time as ever to suddenly develop some extraordinary power. Nothing magical happened, and while she was both glad and disappointed at the same time, Lettie hadn't truly expected it to anyway. She had already had her chance at power, and had - thankfully - failed miserably.

Concentrate, she demanded of herself, and looked around the room quickly. That rope-thing she'd tripped over moments ago was actually a plant, and ... was it following her?! Moving slightly, Lettie determined that it was, and she shivered. That had to mean Neville was nearby. She wondered what would happen if she just tried to nudge the vine away. The vine probably wouldn't like it, she thought, and neither would Neville. But she was fighting against them so maybe it didn't matter? Sending an Expelliarmus spell at the vine, Lettie was pleased to see it fly in the opposite direction.

The moment Gregory fell to the ground, Stunned, Colin turned into a dragon and flew up into the air. He knew that Neville had only hit one of them as a fluke, but he didn't want to be the second one down and make it more than luck. Colin watched as Neville sent his vines out to find everyone, wondering if the plants could make their way as high into the air as he was. He kept an eye on the vines, even as Neville left his sitting position and started to Stun his way through the group.

Suddenly, a vine shot into the air directly at him. Swerving to get away from the plant, Colin raked his claws at it. He couldn't risk blowing fire and giving away his position. The plant shredded under his sharp claws, yet it still continued to grow and follow him through the air. Getting fed up quickly, Colin decided to risk it and blew a stream of fire at the vine. It shrivelled and died with something akin to a screech. Was it a Devil's Snare plant? he thought, watching as the plant landed with a thud on the floor. He stayed in the same position for too long, and seconds later, Colin was falling to the ground as well, Stunned by Neville.

Luna sat on the floor serenely. She didn't move, even when the vine slithered right up next to her. There was no point trying to run away from the plant, and it would be too difficult to fight the plant itself. It would be easier, however, if she fought Neville himself. If she could get him to forget he had control over the vine, she might be able to get him down long enough to get the plants under control. And so, Luna simply continued to wait quietly for her turn to fight.

Blaise crept along the floor, missing the stability of his four hooves. He could fight better as a centaur, but by changing into one the noise of his hooves would give away his position. He could hear a plant slithering nearby, and immediately crouched to the ground, waiting for his eyes to adjust so he could see exactly what the plant was. Maybe if he knew what it was, he would be able to fight it off.

The plant moved closer and Blaise stretched out his hand slowly. letting it come closer still. When the leaves were running beneath his fingers, Blaise frowned as he tried to identify the plant from touch alone. It was difficult and took some time, but he was just grateful he'd actually listened all those times Neville talked about plants. It was a Devil's Snare vine, which meant the only way to get rid of the plant was to also give away his position.

He's thinking like a Slytherin, he thought to himself with a smile. Bastard, Blaise thought fondly. He would wait for Neville to come to him, and then they would see who would win.

Theodore let the mist flow around him, obscuring him from vision. He silently worked a spell into the watery mist; it would make whoever came close enough to him suddenly realise they needed to go somewhere else and the mist was nothing more than mist. It was the same sort of spell the Ministry used on Muggles during the Quidditch World Cup. His concentration faltered as he heard something slither along the ground. It didn't sound like an animal, even snakes sounded different to this, and he hurried to finish the spell into the mist. The slithering sound continued, and Theodore frowned. Since Neville was against them, it was most likely a plant of some sort. He had no idea if the spell worked on plants. Well, he'd find out soon enough, Theodore figured, waiting inside the mist.

Draco lay on the floor next to Gregory's fallen body. The others had all run mere seconds after Gregory had been Stunned, but Draco didn't think that was the best course of action. Neville was far too good at sensing things that the others didn't even notice. Luna could tell someone through their aura, and Neville seemed to have that same ability - or something very like it. Draco slowed his breathing, his eyes closed as his pulse slowed. He heard a plant stop nearby, creeping closer towards him and Gregory. Holding his breath now, Draco listened intently as the vine came closer still. Just as his chest felt like it was going to burst - he did have to breathe sometime, after all - the vine moved away and continued to creep along the floor. Draco let his breath out very slowly, listening to make sure the vine didn't come back.

Pansy shivered as the cooling spell continued to make her body colder and colder with every passing minute. She spelled her jaw shut so her teeth wouldn't start chattering and give away her position. The only good thing about the spell was that it seemed to have tricked the vine into thinking (was it even possible for a vine to think?) that she wasn't there. Her pulse became slower and slower as she slowed down, her body too cold to move. She heard footsteps approaching quietly, and adrenaline would have flowed through her body if she wasn't so damned cold.

Great, she was trying to escape Neville and instead she was so frozen she'd practically given herself to him on a silver fucking platter, Pansy thought sourly. She began to undo the spell slowly, hoping that whoever was getting closer to her wasn't Neville. Seconds later, Pansy was Stunned and lying on the ground, her body shaking as her cooling spell continued to freeze her body, the reverse spell not completed.

Neville stood over Pansy, frowning slightly. He could see that her body was blue, even in the dark Room. Her removed her cooling spell and put his own heating spell on her gently, so as not to send her body into shock. His Stunning spell wouldn't wear off until he found the others, or they gave up. He stayed with her a few moments longer to make sure that she wouldn't get hypothermia. He couldn't leave the warming spell on her for too long either, since he didn't know how long it would take for the others to be found and defeated. If he simply left the spell on her, then her body temperature would just continue to escalate and she would probably end up with a fever.

The vine wrapped around Pansy's body gently to try and keep the warmth closer to her body, and Neville took the spell off carefully. Crouching down, Neville touched a hand to the vine to instruct it to get him if something went wrong. The vine wriggled slightly, large leaves growing to add extra warmth.

Seamus hurried along the floor, his ears becoming so sensitive that every breath he took started to sound like a vine following him. He stopped quickly, trying to listen past his adrenaline-pumped pulse. There were no sounds following him, and Seamus took a few steps, trying to see if the plant was just moving at the same time. Even though he still didn't hear anything, Seamus didn't allow relief to overcome him. His grip tightened on his wand, and he continued to walk along the floor quietly. Despite hearing it before seeing it, Seamus still didn't have time to turn, and the vine wrapped itself around him quickly, tightening his arms against his body so he couldn't use his wand. A growl began to form in his throat, and Seamus' body started to glow silver. The vine struggled as the light brightened, but soon exploded into ash. Seamus was Stunned a moment later.

Seeing a bright light seemingly explode from further down the room, Lettie paused to see what would happen. She wasn't overly surprised when Seamus fell to the ground moments after the plant had exploded, but didn't focus on it for too long. Instead, she used the quickly fading light to see where the Stunning spell had come from and where Neville was. Spotting him only a few metres away, Lettie blanched when she saw that he was looking around for everyone else as well. Thinking silently, she quickly clouded herself so he wouldn't see her and held her breath, watching to see if he'd noticed her before the spell was done. Neville's eyes seemed to slide over her, but Lettie didn't feel as relieved as she should. Following his gaze, Lettie saw Ginevra hovering in the air. Stepping forward, Lettie stopped just as suddenly as she'd started. She could almost hear Ginevra's thoughts telling her not to move. Not yet...

Neville Stunned Seamus and quickly used the light to see where everyone was. Blaise was to the left of him, a mist hiding Theodore was to the right, and Luna was sitting calmly on the floor as if she was waiting for him. He couldn't see Ginevra, Draco or Lettie, and the last one was surprising as well as frustrating. A vine moved towards Neville, relating information to him quickly. With a grin, Neville looked up into the air and saw Ginevra standing in the air, watching him. A movement to his left redirected his attention for a moment, but he couldn't see anything there. Ginevra flew towards him suddenly, and Neville quickly shot a spell at her as his vine flew up into the air behind her.

Ginevra saw Lettie cloud herself, and quickly looked to see if Neville had seen her. Judging by the frown on his face, she guessed not. Then Neville looked up at her, and Ginevra sensed Lettie take a step towards them. Wait, she willed her silently. Not yet... She flew at Neville, deflecting his spell, and spinning in the air to throw a spell at the oncoming vine. It dropped to the ground, withering quickly. While Ginevra was distracted by the squealing sound the vine had made when she'd hexed it, Neville sent another spell at her. A wispy barrier suddenly formed around her and Ginevra thanked Bexley silently, then frowned when she realised that the Boggart wasn't in her. Looking to where Lettie had been only a moment before, Ginevra saw a faint outline of her companion due to their connection, and could see that Lettie was pointing her wand at her.

Neville was put out that his spell hadn't worked, and sent another spell at Ginevra. Frowning when her barrier didn't disappear, he realised that it wasn't Ginevra's barrier. That meant it was either Draco or Lettie. Shooting another spell at Ginevra, the barrier lit up, as did the flow of magic that had created it. His eyes adjusted and he followed the greenish light to see it coming from nothing. That nothing had to be one of them, and the moment he took them out, then he could Stun Ginevra. That would only leave four more to defeat. Not even a second after seeing the spell, Neville sent a Stunning spell to where the spell had been coming from, hearing a thud a moment later, and turned back to Stun the now-unprotected Ginevra. She didn't have a chance to react, and was falling to the ground a second later.

Theodore waited patiently. He could hear the others fighting now, and yet the Room continued to stay dark, so he knew that they were all losing. He hoped that they were okay and didn't need urgent attention, but Theodore had to believe that Neville wouldn't injure them that severely and leave them to die all to win a game! His thoughts stopped abruptly as he realised it was getting harder to breathe. He felt the mist around him getting thicker. His throat tightened as the cloud blocked his airway. He hurried to make it disappear, just to be able to breathe properly again. Theodore barely got a breath in when he was Stunned by Neville.

Blaise heard Neville approaching, and immediately put up a barrier around himself. He strengthened it slightly so the vine wouldn't be able to enter either. The barrier's one downfall was that he couldn't send any spells out of it, they would just bounce around inside and end up hitting him instead. It would wear off eventually, but it would take hours, sometimes even days, to do so. Blaise wasn't sure if his lover had enough patience to wait for the barrier to wear off. As Neville threw a fire spell at Blaise, he figured that no, Neville didn't have that much patience. The barrier started to heat up and it got very hot very quickly. To lose the barrier now meant to be vulnerable, but to leave it up possibly meant to be roasted alive. Neither one was a good option. But being vulnerable and alive was far better than exposed and dead, Blaise figured and quickly took the spell off. Before he even had time to drop to the ground or think a spell, the vine shot out and wrapped itself around him, immobilising him effectively.

Luna could see flashes of light behind her eyelids, but didn't move from her position. Moving now would force Neville to Stun her a whole two minutes early, and she at least wanted to put up a fight during those two minutes before she lost. She was sure that if the others knew that she knew she was about to fight a losing fight, they would wonder why she even bothered. Luna didn't want everything to be predetermined in her life, just because she could See. It would be too easy - and ultimately too hard - to just go along with the easiest option she Saw. By following her Sight all the time, nothing would be a mystery or a surprise, and there was always a chance that the easiest option was the least likely to happen. If there were only ten possible outcomes for the fight that was about to occur, and she only had a chance of winning one of those ten fights, then Luna would still fight. She had to believe that there was at least a chance to change the things she Saw and not everything was predetermined. Ironic, considering Cassandra was currently housed in her body, but Luna would continue to fight until the end.

Her two minutes were almost up, she realised as Neville's footsteps started towards her. Standing firmly, Luna checked for Neville's aura to ensure she was at least facing the right way. If she wasn't, it would be embarrassing to say the least. She dodged the first Stunning spell Neville sent towards her, and sent her own in return. Neville didn't have to dodge her spell, as Luna hadn't sent it at him, rather at the vine that was coiling behind him, ready to strike at Neville's command. The vine went limp and Luna turned to send a spell at Neville. He was too quick for her; by the time she'd turned, Neville had already moved positions and sent another Stunning spell at her. Luna cried out as she fell face first towards the ground. Neville caught her quickly so she wouldn't be injured and gently lowered her to the floor before standing and looking around for Draco.

Draco saw light flashing from behind his closed eyes, but didn't open them. He continued to concentrate on his slow breathing, hoping that he wouldn't be noticed in the fading light. There were no approaching footsteps, so he figured that he would be safe for the moment. He heard Luna call out as she was hexed, and it took a lot of his willpower to not move. It was one of the very few sounds he'd heard since Gregory was first hexed, and Draco was surprised at how restless his mind was at the lack of noise from everyone. Footsteps sounded, closer now, and Draco held his breath once more, hoping that Neville wouldn't see him yet.

Stepping carefully and as quietly as possible, Neville looked everywhere for any sort of movement. His final vine slid along the ground, as anxious to find Draco as he himself was. He went to move past Gregory, and just as he was about to bypass his Stunned friend completely, Neville was surprised to notice that something next to Gregory's Stunned form was breathing. Small shallow breaths, but it was movement nonetheless, and more specifically, a movement that someone Stunned couldn't make. A slow smirk began to form on Neville's face, and he continued to walk past Gregory as if nothing was amiss.

If Draco hadn't been listening to Neville walking for so long, he wouldn't have heard the pause of hesitation in his step. The moment the hesitation was made, Draco knew that he'd been discovered. He didn't move yet, just in case he was wrong. Neville continued to walk past, but there was a slight spring in his step. When he'd gone past completely, Draco opened his eyes and stood up quickly. Ignoring the resulting head-spin, he sent a hex towards Neville. A vine wrapped itself around Draco's ankles, knocking him to the floor. The vine twisted its way up his body in a matter of seconds, leaving Draco completely helpless. Yet, Draco still smiled smugly when he heard Neville tap dancing.

The Room began to filter light through again. Neville's tap dancing faded as the room brightened considerably, and with small pops, the Stunning spells left each of them suddenly.

Vines unwrapped themselves at Neville's silent command, and he immediately went over to Pansy to check if she was okay. Her skin wasn't as blue as it had been, but it still wasn't as healthy as it could be.

"Theodore," Neville called.

The large-leafed vine appeared again, wrapping around Pansy once more to keep her warm until Theodore arrived. A minute later, Theodore was beside them and checking Pansy over for hypothermia when the vine disappeared. Not even a minute later, everyone was crowded around them, looking at Pansy in concern.

"She's all right, thanks to your vine. If that hadn't been keeping her body warmth in, it wouldn't have been good," Theodore muttered. He used a few heating spells on Pansy, medical spells that slowly heated the body and then faded as the human body returned to its natural temperature.

Relieved, Neville left them and went over to the Night Fairy who was hovering nearby. "What did you think?" he asked, curious for her opinion.

"I'm fucking impressed," Niryal said with a smirk. "I thought you'd be down in a few bloody minutes," she admitted.

"I can hold my own better than that," Neville replied.

"I bloody well know that now," she muttered sarcastically.

"Now that's over, I say we kick your arse," Padma said cheerfully, her expression turning fierce as she kicked at Neville's head.

8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8----8

Ginevra called goodnight to everyone, her body feeling weary from the fight. She'd fought against Draco and Seamus, and while she was pleased with the marks she'd given them, Ginevra wasn't as happy at the ones she'd received from them.

Going to her room, Ginevra closed the door and stripped quickly. Covering her body in an arnica cream to stop the bruising, she then added a healing spell from head to toe. Her muscles loosened, knots of tension worked their way out of her body, and with a sigh of relief, Ginevra put her pyjamas on and climbed into bed to sleep.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ginevra cursed under her breath, her entire body aching. The spells Theodore had used on her weren't working, and even the Muggle methods of healing were ineffective. He'd done his best, and she was sure that if not for Theodore's quick thinking, she'd be dead by now. But that didn't lessen the pain she was currently feeling.

They all knew she couldn't go to a doctor, Muggle or wizard. She was wanted on both sides of the barrier, and in more than one country as well. To just stroll into a hospital was practically the same as signing herself into Azkaban. So for now, she would just continue to grit her teeth and concentrate on something else as the poison flowed through her body.

"Come on, love. We're almost there. Neville will be able to help," Draco murmured, his words encouraging her to continue moving.

Ginevra nodded briefly, biting her tongue to stop from crying out as the fiery sensation moved down her legs. She only managed a few steps before the pain became too much and her legs buckled beneath her.

Gregory hurried to catch her before she hit the ground, and she thanked him weakly as she closed her eyes. The blackness was tempting, lulling her to sleep.

"Ginevra, wake up! You can't fall asleep," Draco said, and it was only the worry in his voice that had her struggling to open her eyes once more. "Run with her, Greg. You'll get there before we will at this rate," she heard Draco murmur to him.

Nodding his scarred face once, Gregory took off quickly.

Draco watched after them with a sad expression on his face. He cradled his broken arm and followed the path Gregory was making through the forest, the ten others silent as they walked with him.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(a/n: end of the twenty-fourth chapter. Thank you for reading, I hope you enjoyed it!)