– Amara Black –
I woke up because something sticky pulled unpleasantly at the inside of my thigh when I moved.
For several seconds, I stared blankly at the dark green canopy above the bed and tried to remember where I was. The room smelled of dying fire, sweat, sex, and I sensed the faint remains of the privacy charms Sirius had layered across the walls.
Then Lily shifted against my left side. Her red hair covered half my shoulder and most of one pillow. She had one arm draped across my stomach, one soft breast pressed against my ribs, and a pale leg tangled possessively through mine. Her lips were slightly parted in sleep. Faint marks from mouths and fingers decorated the visible skin of her throat and chest.
Sirius occupied my other side. He was sprawled partly on his stomach with one muscular arm thrown across my waist and his face buried against the back of Lily's neck. His black hair looked as if something had nested in it during the night. One of his legs rested over both of ours, trapping the three of us in a sweaty, naked knot at the center of the enormous bed.
The sheets beneath us were an absolute disaster. They were damp, wrinkled, sticky, and covered with enough evidence to make reconstructing the previous few hours embarrassingly easy. Several pillows had fallen onto the floor. One green curtain had been pulled halfway off the nearest bedpost. Lily's red panties hung from the corner of the wardrobe for reasons I couldn't entirely remember.
A thin blade of early sunlight had begun cutting through a gap in the window curtains.
We had probably been asleep for less than an hour.
I rested my head against the pillow and slowly absorbed the reality of what I had done.
I had fucked Lily Evans.
I had fucked Sirius Black.
Alternate versions of them, yes. Separate people with separate lives, separate histories, and none of the sins committed by the versions I knew. That distinction mattered. It did not make the situation sound any less deranged.
I turned my head and studied Lily's sleeping face. She looked peaceful. Young, brilliant, kind, and entirely unlike the bitterly compromised woman who had given birth to me in my own world. This Lily had held my hand when I was afraid. She had believed me when she had every reason to think I was insane. She had invited me into her life before she knew whether I would stay for a week or disappear tomorrow.
Then I looked toward Sirius. He was eighteen, alive, and breathing softly against Lily's shoulder. His chest rose and fell with every breath.
He wasn't my Sirius.
I understood that. Apparently, understanding something and behaving rationally about it were two completely different forms of magic.
A laugh escaped me before I could stop it. Of course I had fucked alternate versions of my mother and adoptive father. Why would I deal with my abandonment issues through quiet introspection when I could turn them into an interdimensional threesome?
I really did possess catastrophic mommy and daddy issues.
Lily stirred at the sound of my laughter but didn't awaken. She tightened her arm around my stomach and pressed closer, as though even unconscious she objected to the possibility of my escaping.
That only made me laugh again.
For one aching moment, I wished my Bellatrix were there. My Bellatrix—the woman who wore pink aprons, drew terrible pictures of her daughters, threatened Dick's spine, and had somehow learned to operate a toaster without murdering it. Bellatrix would have pulled my head against her chest, stroked my hair, and assured me that everything would be all right. She would have called me her perfect dark little star. Then she would have offered to torture anyone responsible for making me feel guilty, including me if that would somehow help.
I closed my eyes and imagined her fingers moving gently through my hair.
It would be all right. I didn't need Bellatrix to tell me that. Not this time.
At the very least, I knew I wasn't pregnant.
I could sense every magical process taking place beneath my skin, from the slow replenishment of my magical core to the accelerated repair of muscles that had been thoroughly abused during the night. If conception had occurred, I would have known immediately.
My body had accepted Sirius's seed. It had not permitted anything else to happen.
Lily was another matter.
I turned my attention toward the warm magic curled against my side. Her body did not possess my control, and my enhanced senses detected all the quiet signs of a healthy, fertile young witch whose reproductive system had recently received a considerable opportunity to perform its intended function.
If Lily didn't take the appropriate potion soon, she might receive a surprising graduation present.
My gaze moved from Lily to Sirius and back again.
A child with Lily's green eyes and Sirius's black hair.
For one deeply stupid moment, I wondered whether that would make the child this world's version of me?
I immediately shook my head. Any child they produced would be their own person. Not me. Not Heather Potter. Not a replacement for anyone. Still, the possibility of Lily and Sirius accidentally producing a black-haired, green-eyed daughter felt exactly like the kind of cosmic joke Didi would find hilarious…
Carefully, I lifted Lily's arm from my stomach. She made a soft, displeased sound and reached blindly after me.
I slipped free before she could recapture me.
Escaping Sirius required more effort. His arm tightened automatically when I moved, and I had to peel his fingers from my waist one at a time. Once free, I climbed over the edge of the bed and planted my bare feet on the floor.
My legs felt pleasantly unsteady. The sensation disappeared within seconds as my regeneration repaired the remaining strain. A normal person might have spent the morning sore after what we had done.
Being a Succubus Queen had certain advantages.
I gathered my tangled hair behind my shoulders and crossed toward the bathroom.
The adjoining washroom was smaller than the prefects' bathroom at Hogwarts but still luxurious by inn standards. White tiles covered the floor and walls. A copper showerhead extended from above a tub.
Hot water poured over my head and traveled down my body.
Once I was thoroughly cleaned up, I pushed open the door and walked naked into the bedroom with water dripping down my body.
The sun had climbed slightly higher. Lily and Sirius remained asleep in the ruined bed, neither apparently disturbed by my absence.
Three sharp knocks struck the door.
I stopped halfway across the room.
Another, more tentative knock followed.
I made no attempt to cover myself.
Water continued trailing down my breasts, stomach, thighs, and legs as I crossed the room. I released Sirius's privacy charm from the door, turned the lock, and pulled it open.
Madam Rosmerta stood in the corridor holding a large silver tray. Three plates covered the tray, each piled with eggs, sausages, bacon, fried potatoes, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, toast, and several pastries. A pot of tea occupied the center beside three cups.
Rosmerta looked at my face. Her gaze dropped. The beautiful innkeeper froze completely. A flush traveled from her generous cleavage all the way to the tips of her ears as she stared at my naked, dripping body. Her fingers tightened dangerously around the edges of the tray. Rosmerta dragged her eyes upward with visible effort. "I—I brought breakfast."
I leaned one shoulder against the doorframe, making absolutely no effort to reduce her view. "How thoughtful."
Rosmerta cleared her throat and attempted to recover her professional composure.
I smiled and accepted the tray from her. "Thank you, Rosmerta."
Rosmerta relinquished it almost too quickly. "Of course!"
I gave the innkeeper a deliberate wink. "The service here is exceptional."
Rosmerta took a step backward and nearly collided with the opposite wall. "I'm glad you enjoyed your stay…"
I closed the door before I became tempted to invite her inside.
The tray smelled wonderful. My body had burned an enormous amount of energy during the fighting and sex. The scent of bacon made my stomach tighten almost painfully.
I carried the tray toward the bed and placed it on the nearest table.
Neither of my companions moved.
I caught the edge of the remaining sheet and tore it away from both of them.
Lily curled instinctively toward Sirius, exposing her naked back and ass to the morning air. Sirius only stretched one arm across the empty space where I had been.
I planted both hands on my hips. "Wake up."
Lily buried her face more deeply against the pillow. "Nooooooo…."
Sirius made a low, exhausted noise. "I died yesterday. I deserve to sleep!"
I looked toward the plate nearest me. "...There's bacon."
Two heads immediately lifted from the pillows.
Lily's hair covered half her face. She blinked at me, then at the breakfast tray.
Sirius pushed himself onto one elbow and sniffed the air. "That is bacon."
I selected a crispy strip and held it up between two fingers. "Rosmerta brought breakfast for the heroes of Hogwarts!"
Sirius reached for it.
I pulled the bacon beyond his grasp.
Sirius narrowed his grey eyes. "Cruel."
I ate the strip while maintaining eye contact. "Too slow!"
Lily rubbed sleep from her eyes and sat upright. The movement allowed the sheet to fall from her chest. She noticed several seconds later and made a halfhearted attempt to pull it back into place.
Sirius watched her with open appreciation.
Lily caught him staring and slapped one hand over her breasts. "Stop looking."
Sirius dragged his gaze toward her face. "That seems unreasonable after last night."
Lily grabbed the nearest pillow and hit him across the face.
I carried the tray onto the bed while Sirius wrestled the pillow away from her. They abandoned the argument as soon as the food arrived.
We ended up sitting naked beneath and on top of the remaining sheets, balancing plates across our laps. Lily ate with the focused determination of someone replenishing an enormous magical and physical deficit. Sirius devoured bacon and sausages as though resurrection had left him starving.
I suspected it had. For several minutes, the only sounds came from cutlery and chewing.
Sirius eventually slowed. He looked from Lily to me while turning a strip of bacon between his fingers. His earlier confidence faded into something more uncertain. Sirius cleared his throat. "What happens now?"
Lily paused with a piece of toast halfway to her mouth.
I sipped my tea and waited.
Sirius glanced between us again. "Will you two be my girlfriends?"
Lily nearly dropped her toast. A bright blush spread across her cheeks. She looked toward Sirius, then turned to me with an expression that was equal parts uncertainty, hope, and mortification.
She did not appear opposed to the idea.
I gave Lily a gentle smile before looking back at Sirius. I slowly shook my head. "I can't be your girlfriend, Sirius."
Sirius's expression fell so quickly that guilt pinched inside me.
Lily lowered her toast. She watched me carefully, apparently remembering everything I had told her in the prefects' bathroom.
I rested my plate on the tray. "Last night wasn't a mistake."
Sirius's shoulders relaxed slightly.
I reached across and placed my hand over his. "I enjoyed myself more than I probably should have, but my home is in America. I already have a life waiting for me there."
Sirius looked down at our hands. "Oh… Right..."
I hesitated before adding the more complicated part. "I'm also already in a relationship."
Sirius went completely still. His grey eyes rose toward my face. Guilt replaced disappointment almost instantly. Sirius dragged his other hand through his tangled hair. "Shit. I didn't know!"
I leaned closer. "You couldn't have known."
Sirius looked toward Lily as though she might explain why neither of us had mentioned it before the three of us climbed into bed.
Lily shifted uncomfortably beneath his attention. She clearly knew more than he did but had no intention of revealing my secrets without permission.
Sirius grimaced. "I'm not a home-wrecker, am I?"
I released a long sigh. "My partners might not be thrilled when I tell them I slept with two other people while I am—here. But they will understand…"
Sirius blinked. "Partners?" Sirius's eyebrows rose. "As in plural?"
I reached for another piece of bacon. "That is generally what the letter S indicates."
Sirius opened his mouth, closed it, and looked toward Lily again.
Lily hid a knowing smile behind her own teacup.
Sirius pointed the bacon toward me. "How many partners do you have?"
I considered the question.
Morgana was uncomplicated only in the sense that she was unquestionably my lover. Dick, Raven, Kara, and Kori were each complicated in entirely different directions. Mazikeen had formed a demonic pact with me, and I still didn't know exactly what she intended to collect once I returned. Daphne and Astoria belonged to my coven and had made their desires increasingly clear. Bellatrix was thankfully maternal rather than romantic, while Didi's insistence that I was her future mistress remained a cosmic mystery I was not prepared to examine over breakfast.
I bit into the bacon. "The precise number depends on how strictly you define the word—relationship."
Sirius stared at me.
I lifted one shoulder. "My life is complicated..."
Sirius processed that for several seconds. A grin gradually returned to his face. "Your home life sounds fascinating."
I hid my amusement behind my cup. "Like I said—They'll understand."
I left out why they would understand.
Everyone at home knew I was a succubus. They knew exclusivity would eventually become impossible for me, even if I had demonstrated extraordinary restraint by the standards of my species. I didn't seduce everyone I met. I didn't feed indiscriminately. I didn't manipulate strangers into bed merely because I could.
Most full-blooded succubi would probably have considered my behavior offensively prudish. At least from what I had read up on them. Obviously, I'd never met another of my kind because we were almost wiped out to the last…
Sirius did not know what I was.
Lily did. Her green eyes briefly met mine over the edge of her teacup. The tiny, knowing curve of her lips confirmed that she understood precisely what I had omitted.
Sirius leaned closer and lowered his voice conspiratorially. "So you're saying nobody is going to arrive through the fireplace and curse my cock off?"
I considered Morgana's likely reaction if she could actually follow me to this reality. "I wouldn't make any absolute promises…"
Sirius instinctively covered himself with both hands.
Lily burst out laughing.
I allowed him to panic for several seconds before taking pity on him. I waved one hand dismissively. "They'll be annoyed, jealous, curious, or some combination of the three. They won't blame you."
His gaze gradually moved to Lily. Sirius's confidence returned. "What about you?"
Lily's face immediately turned pink. "What about me?"
Sirius leaned back against the headboard and offered her his most charming smile. "Would you like to be my girlfriend?"
Lily stared at him.
Sirius waited.
Lily glanced toward me again. The question in her eyes was obvious.
I placed one hand over Lily's knee and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "You don't need my permission."
Lily's expression softened. She looked back toward Sirius and examined him with exaggerated seriousness. "I might consider it…"
Sirius placed one hand over his heart. "That's not a very ringing endorsement."
Lily pointed her fork at him. "You threw yourself in front of a Killing Curse less than twelve hours ago."
Sirius nodded solemnly. "I did and it was very heroically I might add."
Lily's eyes narrowed. "You flirted with Rosmerta less than an hour afterward! Right in front of all of us I might add…"
Sirius glanced toward the closed door. "Also heroically."
Lily set down her fork before she stabbed him with it. "You are annoying and smug..."
Sirius's grin widened. "Yet you're considering it."
Lily opened her mouth. No immediate denial emerged.
Sirius looked unbearably pleased with himself.
I watched the two of them bicker across the tray and felt something settle between us. They could make this work. Perhaps not immediately. Perhaps not without fights, hexes, broken furniture, and enough stubbornness to grind mountains into dust. But they could build something real after I left.
Sirius turned back toward me. His expression became softer. "You'll still be here for a while, won't you?"
I looked down at my tea. I had no idea. The truth was I actually did want to find my way home as soon as possible, but there was one last thing I needed to settle up on. Voldemort had to die before I left this timeline. I wasn't going to just leave and let him kill Sirius or Lily once I was gone!
I raised my eyes toward Sirius and smiled despite my tense thoughts. "...For a little while."
Sirius's smile returned. "Then the three of us can still enjoy ourselves while you're in Britain."
Lily gave him an incredulous look. "Is that all you think about?"
Sirius glanced toward the destroyed bed, the abandoned clothing, and the three naked bodies gathered around the breakfast tray. "At the moment?"
Lily followed his gaze. Her blush returned with impressive force.
Sirius lifted one eyebrow. "Can you blame me?"
Lily attempted to look offended but couldn't entirely conceal her smile.
I leaned back against the pillows and regarded both of them. My body gave an interested little pulse at the thought of enjoying ourselves again.
I ignored it. There were limits, even for me. I clapped my hands once. "Both of you need to get cleaned up."
Sirius looked down at himself. Dried blood, sweat, and the remains of the night still marked his skin. "I've looked worse…"
Lily picked up the pillow again.
Sirius raised both hands.
Lily hurled the pillow at his face anyway.
Sirius caught it while laughing.
I climbed out of bed and began gathering my clothes from around the room. "Get cleaned up before I leave both of you here."
Lily reluctantly slid toward the edge of the mattress. "We should return before Professor McGonagall notices we never came back."
Sirius stood and stretched without the slightest modesty. "She has probably already noticed."
Lily stared at his naked body for several seconds before abruptly turning toward the bathroom. "That is not helpful."
Sirius watched her retreat, admiration openly written across his face.
I slapped the back of his head as I passed him.
Sirius rubbed the spot and looked wounded. "What was that for?"
I nodded toward the bathroom. "Staring so blatantly."
Sirius glanced pointedly down my naked body. "You stared at me!"
I stepped close, caught his chin between my fingers, and gave him a brief kiss.
Sirius leaned after me when I pulled away.
I smiled against the corner of his mouth. "The rules don't apply to me though…"
Sirius's eyes darkened. Before he could grab me, I pushed him toward the bathroom after Lily.
He went willingly.
I remained beside the ruined bed and listened as Lily protested Sirius attempting to join her beneath the shower. Sirius immediately began arguing that the room possessed only one showerhead and therefore sharing was inevitable.
By the time Lily and Sirius finished showering, the Three Broomsticks had become considerably busier.
The village remained damaged, but daylight had transformed the devastation into something almost manageable. Ministry workers repaired cobblestones and stabilized buildings. Volunteers carried supplies between the temporary healing stations. Shopkeepers stood outside broken storefronts, already arguing over materials, insurance, and whose reconstruction charms were least likely to make their walls collapse again next winter.
Magic had turned the aftermath of terrorism into an extremely noisy home-improvement project.
I descended the stairs between Lily and Sirius.
Lily had repaired and cleaned her clothes, but magic could only do so much about the faint marks scattered across her throat. She had attempted to conceal them beneath her collar. The effort might have fooled someone who wasn't actively looking.
Sirius had made no such effort. His black hair remained damp from the shower, his shirt was open at the throat, and several pink marks decorated his neck and upper chest. He moved with the loose, satisfied confidence of someone who had recently died, returned to life, and celebrated that achievement as thoroughly as humanly possible.
Most damning of all was his grin.
We found Remus, Peter, Alice, and Marlene waiting near the front entrance.
Remus and Peter stood beside a stack of borrowed coats while Alice and Marlene spoke quietly near one of the repaired windows. All four turned when they heard us approaching.
Marlene's eyes moved over Lily first. She noticed the slight stiffness in Lily's walk. Then her gaze shifted toward Sirius's neck, continued to his unbearable grin, and finally landed on me.
A slow, wicked smile appeared across Marlene's face.
Alice performed the same inspection with considerably more subtlety. The widening of her eyes ruined the effort. Her attention dropped briefly toward the hand Sirius had placed at the small of my back before flicking toward Lily's flushed cheeks.
Alice covered her mouth.
Lily stopped walking.
Marlene folded her arms and leaned one shoulder against the wall. "Good morning."
Lily's face began turning pink. "Good morning."
Alice glanced toward the upper floor and then back at the three of us. "Did everyone sleep well?"
Sirius's grin became even more insufferable. "Eventually…"
Lily elbowed him hard in the ribs.
Sirius made a wounded noise but refused to stop smiling.
Marlene nodded thoughtfully. "I'm glad the room was comfortable."
Lily narrowed her eyes. "...Don't!"
Marlene widened her eyes in exaggerated innocence. "I didn't say anything."
Alice looked at the marks on Sirius's neck. "You didn't need to."
Lily's blush intensified until even the tips of her ears turned red.
I considered telling them to mind their own business, but that would have implied embarrassment. I refused to be embarrassed by something I had thoroughly enjoyed. "The room was very comfortable."
Marlene's eyebrows climbed.
Alice choked on a laugh.
Lily covered her face with both hands. "Amara…"
Sirius placed one hand over his heart. "It was a beautiful evening of emotional healing."
Lily lowered her hands and glared at him. "You are physically incapable of shame."
Marlene looked between the three of us again. "So, are we going to discuss what happened?"
Lily stepped toward the door with determined urgency. "No."
Alice followed her, still smiling. "Not even a few minor details…?"
Lily increased her pace. "Especially not the minor details!"
Marlene fell into step beside Alice. "That sounded as if there were major details!"
Lily made a strangled sound.
Remus and Peter watched the exchange with matching expressions of confusion.
They had either failed to notice the evidence or had noticed and were too innocent to assemble it correctly. Considering the scents clinging to all three of us, Remus's failure was particularly impressive. He was a werewolf. He should have been able to determine what happened from across the village.
Perhaps he had noticed and was desperately pretending otherwise.
Either way, preserving their innocence was probably for the best.
I turned my attention toward them.
Remus looked exhausted but healthy. Faint shadows remained beneath his amber eyes, and one repaired tear ran along the shoulder of his robes. His nervous attention moved repeatedly toward Sirius, as if verifying that his friend remained alive.
Peter appeared considerably better rested. The short, plump young man had eaten enough breakfast for three people and was carrying a paper bag filled with pastries Rosmerta had apparently given him for the journey. He still looked pleased whenever someone acknowledged his role in the battle.
I smiled warmly at both of them. "You two look well rested."
Peter straightened immediately.
Remus pushed a hand through his light brown hair. "I wouldn't go that far."
I allowed my gaze to move between them. "You were both very heroic last night!"
Peter's cheeks turned red. Remus's reaction was quieter but no less obvious. A flush spread across his face, and he abruptly became interested in fastening the top button of his coat.
Peter clutched the pastry bag against his stomach. "We did what we could."
I stepped closer to him. "You stayed and fought when you were frightened. That's what courage is."
Peter looked as though I had handed him an Order of Merlin.
Remus offered me a shy smile. "You were considerably more heroic."
I shook my head. "I was angry and extremely difficult to kill. That isn't the same thing."
Sirius draped one arm across Remus's shoulders. "Don't argue with the beautiful witch praising you, Moony. Accept the compliment before she changes her mind!"
Remus glanced toward Sirius's neck. His eyes paused over one of the marks. Remus's expression changed. Apparently, the nervous werewolf was not completely oblivious after all. A blush surged across his face, and he immediately looked away from Sirius, Lily, and me.
Peter remained blissfully unaware.
Marlene caught Remus's reaction and grinned.
Remus gave her a pleading look.
Marlene mercifully remained silent.
We left the Three Broomsticks shortly afterward.
Villagers continued waving or calling out as we passed.
Sirius responded to every greeting as though returning from a victorious military campaign. Peter ducked his head shyly. Remus looked ready to vanish beneath his coat. Alice and Marlene waved back with increasing confidence.
Lily kept close to me. Her fingers brushed mine several times before she finally took my hand.
I looked down at our joined hands but said nothing.
The entrance to the secret passage was concealed behind a magical panel inside the cellar of an abandoned shop near the edge of Hogsmeade. Sirius tapped a sequence of bricks with his wand. The wall shuddered and folded inward, revealing a narrow stone tunnel descending into darkness.
The wall sealed after Peter entered last.
Lily walked beside me whenever the tunnel was wide enough. Sirius stayed close to my other side.
Marlene and Alice occasionally exchanged meaningful looks behind us. Remus kept his gaze fixed forward. Peter ate two pastries during the walk and somehow got crumbs inside his robes.
The journey back to Hogwarts took nearly 20 minutes. We eventually emerged behind a tapestry. The castle felt strangely peaceful after Hogsmeade. Sunlight poured through tall windows. Suits of armor stood undamaged in their alcoves. Portraits whispered among themselves as we passed.
The peace did not extend to the gossip. Every portrait we encountered already knew about the attack. Several congratulated us. Others demanded descriptions of Voldemort. A portrait of a seventeenth-century duelist insisted he could have defeated the entire Death Eater force single-handedly if anyone had possessed the foresight to carry his frame into battle!
By the time we reached the Gryffindor corridor, I understood that the whole castle had probably heard at least six conflicting versions of the story.
The Fat Lady waited inside her frame with both hands pressed dramatically over her heart. Her painted eyes widened when she saw Sirius. "You're alive!"
Sirius spread his arms. "Reports of my death were entirely accurate but ultimately premature."
The Fat Lady blinked at him.
Lily rubbed her forehead. "Please don't encourage him…"
The Fat Lady turned her attention toward me. "They're all waiting for you."
I looked toward the portrait hole. "Who is all?"
The Fat Lady smiled knowingly. "Gryffindor!"
Sirius supplied the password, and the portrait swung open.
We climbed through one at a time.
The Gryffindor common room exploded. Every student inside surged to their feet. Cheers filled the circular chamber with enough force to rattle the windows. Dozens of hands began applauding. Someone on the upper balcony released a burst of red-and-gold sparks that formed a roaring lion above the room.
I stopped just beyond the portrait hole.
The common room was packed. Students filled every chair, sofa, staircase, and section of floor. Several wore pajamas beneath their robes. Younger students had apparently been waiting since breakfast, while older Gryffindors crowded around the fireplace and windows.
A banner hung above the mantelpiece.
The uneven golden letters read: HEROES OF HOGSMEADE
Peter nearly walked into my back. His eyes widened as he took in the crowd. "They're cheering for us…?"
Remus looked toward the portrait hole as if considering retreat.
Sirius stepped forward and raised both hands.
The applause became louder.
Lily leaned toward me. "This is going to be unbearable…"
I watched Sirius bow to the room. "It already is."
The younger students rushed us before we reached the nearest sofa.
A small boy who looked no older than twelve stopped in front of Sirius. His eyes were enormous behind round spectacles.
The boy clutched the front of his robes. "Did you really fight Death Eaters?"
Sirius rested one hand against his hip. "Damn right we did!"
A tiny girl with braided hair crowded beside the boy. "Were they scary?"
Sirius scoffed theatrically. "Not particularly."
Remus gave him a tired look. "You died."
Sirius pointed toward himself. "Temporarily."
Several students gasped.
A third-year boy stared at Sirius with open awe. "What did dying feel like?"
Sirius considered the question with exaggerated seriousness. "Cold, dark, and tragically lacking in attractive company!"
Lily folded her arms. "You were dead for less than a minute."
Sirius looked toward her. "It was a very lonely minute…"
The braided girl turned toward me. "Did you really bring him back?"
Dozens of nearby conversations quieted.
The attention shifted toward me.
I fought the instinct to step backward. I still didn't understand what I had done well enough to explain it. I had reached across the threshold, seized Sirius's soul, and refused to let death keep him. The magic had obeyed because Didi had embedded the Resurrection Stone inside me. That explanation would create several questions I had no intention of answering.
I gave the girl a small nod.
The girl stared at me. "How?"
I looked toward Sirius. He remained alive, warm, and insufferably smug.
I returned my attention to the girl. "I asked…um… Lady Death… nicely…?" Did this world have its own Lady Death? Had she been watching me this whole time? I had no idea…
The girl frowned as she attempted to determine whether I was serious.
Sirius stepped forward before anyone could press me. "Amara did considerably more than that!"
I narrowed my eyes at him.
Sirius either failed to notice or chose to ignore the warning. He swept one arm toward me. "SHE FOUGHT YOU-KNOW-WHO HIMSELF!"
The room went silent.
A fourth-year witch near the fireplace leaned forward. "In a duel?"
Sirius nodded enthusiastically. "Side by side with Dumbledore!"
The younger students stared at me with renewed awe.
I shifted uncomfortably. "Dumbledore did most of the technical work."
Sirius shook his head. "Amara hit the Dark Lord hard enough to burn a hole through his chest! She beat the Dark Lord!"
The silence lasted one heartbeat. Then the common room erupted again.
Students cheered loud enough to make the lion-shaped sparks above the fireplace roar. Several began chanting my name. The braided girl jumped up and down. Someone shoved a cup of pumpkin juice into Peter's hands while another student pulled Remus toward the center of the room.
Sirius grinned at me.
I leaned toward him. "You're enjoying this far too much…"
Sirius raised his voice over the cheering. "I'm merely ensuring history remembers the truth."
I looked toward the banner. "History is going to develop a drinking problem."
Heavy footsteps struck the staircase above us.
The sound cut through the celebration.
A figure came stomping down from the boys' dormitory.
James Potter appeared at the curve of the stairs wearing wrinkled clothes from the previous night. His black hair stuck out in every direction. A dark bruise covered one side of his face.
His expression contained nothing but fury. James saw me. His eyes moved toward the silver fabric protruding from the pocket of my repaired robes. His face turned crimson. James ripped his wand from his sleeve and pointed it directly at my chest. "YOU FUCKING BITCH!"
The cheering stopped instantly. The common room became so quiet that I could hear the fire snapping beneath the mantelpiece.
My right forearm tingled as the wand tattoo beneath my skin responded to the threat. I could have summoned the Stick of Lust and Death before James finished blinking.
I didn't.
Sirius stepped in front of me. His earlier amusement vanished. He glared at his best friend with a severity I had not yet seen on his young face. Sirius spread his arms slightly, placing himself between James's wand and me. "What the hell is wrong with you?"
James descended the remaining stairs. His wand remained trained in my direction. "Get out of the way!"
Sirius held his ground. "Lower your wand!"
James's eyes flashed. "She attacked me!"
Lily moved to my side. "What are you talking about?"
James jabbed one finger toward my pocket. "That bitch knocked me out last night. I can literally see my Invisibility Cloak hanging out of her pocket!"
Every pair of eyes in the common room moved toward the silver fabric.
I looked down. The cloak had been too large to fit completely inside my pocket. I had kept it there rather than placing it inside my inventory because I intended to return it to James as soon as I saw him.
That intention rapidly withered.
I didn't need it. I still resented returning anything to a James Potter who greeted me by aiming a wand and calling me a bitch.
For several seconds, I considered keeping it purely out of spite.
Then I reached into my pocket.
Sirius glanced back at the movement, but he didn't step aside.
I pulled out the cloak.
James's face twisted with vindication.
I tossed the cloak toward him. "Here."
James caught it awkwardly against his chest.
Several students stepped backward as the fabric billowed around him.
I folded my arms beneath my breasts. "I was planning to return your family heirloom before you opened your mouth."
James clutched the cloak protectively. "You stole it!"
Sirius rounded on him. "She didn't steal anything!"
James looked toward Sirius. "THEN HOW DID SHE GET IT?"
Sirius pointed toward the bruise on James's face. "Snivellus was obviously the one who stunned you! We met him last night, the cowardly little shit."
James froze.
Sirius's voice hardened. "That slimy little snake stole your Cloak and followed us through the passage. He tried to ambush Amara before the attack began."
James looked from Sirius to me. "You're lying!"
Remus stepped forward from the crowd. "He isn't! That's what happened, James."
Peter nodded rapidly beside him. "Snape had the Cloak but Amara was able to sense him and caught him."
Alice crossed her arms. "We all saw him wearing it."
Marlene's mouth twisted with disgust. "He tried to steal something from Amara and admitted he was working for Voldemort."
James gripped his wand more tightly. For one moment, uncertainty passed across his face. Then his attention shifted away from the Cloak.
He looked at Sirius. Sirius's shirt remained open at the throat. The marks on his neck were clearly visible. James's gaze moved to Lily. Her carefully raised collar had shifted during the walk, revealing several similar marks along the pale skin beneath her jaw.
Finally, he looked at me.
Sirius was still standing protectively in front of me. Lily remained close enough that our arms touched. My hand rested lightly against the middle of Sirius's back.
James understood. The uncertainty disappeared. His face became even redder than before!
James lowered his wand from me and pointed it toward Lily. "Did you cheat on me with my best mate, you bitch?"
The common room inhaled as one organism.
I closed my eyes for half a second. So much for discretion, not that I really cared all that much. By lunchtime, the entire castle would know precisely what the three of us had done.
Lily stared at James as if he had started speaking Gobbledegook. Her shock lasted only a moment. Then fury ignited across her face.
Lily stepped away from me and moved around Sirius. Her hand closed around her wand, although she did not draw it. Lily's voice shook with rage. "...Cheat on you?"
James lifted his chin. "You know exactly what I mean!"
Lily advanced another step. "I have never been in a relationship with you!"
James flinched as though she had slapped him.
Lily pointed one finger directly at his chest. "I have never kissed you. I have never dated you. I have never agreed to become your girlfriend! Who I sleep with is none of your business."
Marlene grinned without the slightest shame.
Alice covered her face.
Peter's mouth fell open. Apparently, he was no longer oblivious.
Remus closed his eyes and looked as though he wanted the floor to swallow him.
Sirius stared at Lily. His expression contained surprise, pride, attraction, and a trace of concern over whether James might actually explode.
James looked at me next. Hatred filled his hazel eyes.
I met his stare without moving.
This James had not abandoned me in an orphanage. He had not allowed Dumbledore to bind my magic. He had not tortured me, stolen Sirius's estate, or attempted to sell me as breeding stock.
I had tried to remember that. He was not my father. He was merely an entitled, jealous eighteen-year-old who thought Lily's choices belonged to him. That was still more than enough to make me dislike him.
James turned toward Sirius. "You knew how I felt about her."
Sirius's jaw clenched before he took a calming breath. "She isn't your girl, Prongs. She is mine…"
James recoiled from the familiar nickname as if it had become an insult. His eyes moved toward Remus and Peter. Remus stood near Sirius, his expression troubled but resolute. Peter remained beside Remus, clutching his forgotten bag of pastries while looking increasingly frightened.
James's breathing became ragged. He looked at the four boys who were supposed to be inseparable and apparently found enemies everywhere. James pulled the Invisibility Cloak tightly against his chest. "I don't have any best mates anymore!"
Sirius's anger briefly cracked. Pain flashed across his face before pride smothered it.
Remus went very still.
Peter looked as though someone had kicked him in the stomach.
James turned away from them. He marched toward the staircase, shouldering through the watching students hard enough to knock a younger boy aside. The crowd parted before him. James reached the stairs and looked back once. His gaze settled on Lily, then Sirius, then me. Whatever he saw only made his expression darker. James tightened his grip on the Cloak and stomped upstairs.
A dormitory door slammed hard enough to shake dust from the ceiling.
And then the silence was broken by a fourth year boy. "Fuck that guy! Tell us more about Amara kicking Voldemort's ass!"
The tension in the common room dissolved.
Sirius still looked pained, but let out a chuckle and started to brag on my behalf once again.
An hour later, the celebration in Gryffindor Tower still showed no signs of dying.
Sirius had reached the part of his story where Bellatrix's curse had supposedly crossed half the village, curved around three buildings, and struck him only because he had heroically thrown himself in front of twelve terrified first-years. The number of Death Eaters Peter claimed to have defeated had risen from two to seven. Marlene had started accepting bets on how many times Sirius's version of events would change before lunch.
I used the distraction to escape upstairs.
I didn't remain in the girls' dormitory for long. My repaired robes no longer carried blood or soot, but I could still feelhow they had felt plastered against my skin. I wanted them off me.
Lily had followed me upstairs long enough to dig through her trunk. She produced a clean white shirt and a charcoal skirt before returning to prevent Sirius from convincing the younger students that he had personally dueled Voldemort while dead.
Lily held the clothes against my body and frowned at the obvious difference between our figures. "The shirt might be a little tight."
I looked down at my breasts and then back at her considerably more modest chest. "A little?"
Lily's cheeks colored as she thrust the clothes into my hands. "It's the largest one I own."
The shirt technically fit. The buttons closed, though the upper three looked as if they were negotiating surrender. I eventually reopened the top two before one of them launched itself across the room and blinded somebody. The resulting neckline exposed enough cleavage to provide Nyx with his preferred hiding place.
The skirt presented the opposite problem. Lily was almost as tall as I was, but her hips and ass were narrower. The fabric stretched tightly over both and ended several inches higher on my thighs than it ever had on her.
I studied myself in the mirror. The outfit was not exactly appropriate for a student visiting a professor.
It would do.
I stored my old robes inside my inventory, ran my fingers through my long black hair, and left the castle.
The walk across the grounds gave me time to think.
The grounds were peaceful despite what had happened in Hogsmeade. Morning sunlight glittered across the lake. A light breeze moved through the grass, carrying the scents of damp earth, distant pine, and smoke from Hagrid's chimney. Students watched me from the castle windows as I crossed the grounds. Several waved.
I pretended not to notice.
Hagrid's hut stood at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Thin grey smoke curled from its chimney, and the curtains had been pulled open to admit the sunlight. I climbed the stone steps and knocked.
Heavy footsteps crossed the floor inside.
Hagrid opened the door. The half-giant filled nearly the entire doorway. His wild black hair looked even more disordered than usual, and his beard contained several crumbs from breakfast. Nyx sat proudly on his left shoulder, tiny claws tangled securely in the thick fabric of Hagrid's coat.
The little dark phoenix looked perfectly comfortable there. His entirely black eyes brightened the instant he saw me.
Nyx released an excited chirp!
I smiled and held out both hands. "Hello, baby."
Nyx spread his tiny wings.
Hagrid lifted one enormous hand to steady him before he could launch himself face-first from Hagrid's shoulder. Sadness softened the half-giant's dark eyes as he looked between us.
Hagrid gently scratched beneath Nyx's beak. "Knew yeh'd be coming back for him..."
Nyx leaned shamelessly into the scratching.
Hagrid's mouth pulled downward beneath his beard. "He's been a good boy. Didn't set fire ter anything important. Slept most o' the night right beside me."
I stepped closer and stroked one finger over Nyx's breast. "That is unusually responsible behavior for anyone related to me."
Nyx chirped as if accepting the compliment.
Hagrid reluctantly lowered his shoulder.
Nyx hopped into my waiting hands, remained there for less than a second, and then launched himself toward my chest. He disappeared through the open space at the front of Lily's shirt and settled comfortably between my breasts.
Warm shadow-fire tickled my skin.
Nyx's small head emerged above the strained buttons. He looked exceptionally pleased with himself.
Hagrid watched him settle and released a miserable sigh. "Likes it warm, he does."
I cupped one hand protectively beneath the small weight inside my shirt. "He has excellent taste."
Hagrid's attention drifted toward the empty enclosure beside his hut. Grief dimmed his expression again.
My amusement faded.
I reached up and squeezed Hagrid's forearm. My hand looked absurdly small against him. "Thank you for looking after Nyx."
Hagrid nodded without looking away from the enclosure. "Was no trouble."
I followed his gaze and felt another pinch of guilt. "I'm sorry about your rooster."
Hagrid swallowed visibly beneath his beard. "He was a brave bird."
I gave the empty enclosure a solemn nod. "He was a heroic chicken."
Hagrid's eyes became suspiciously wet.
I inclined my head respectfully.
Hagrid wiped one sleeve across his eyes and sniffed. "Did he—did he do what yeh needed him ter do?"
I remembered the basilisk forcing its eyes shut as the amplified crow echoed through the Chamber. I remembered the enormous serpent thrashing in pain, its armored body crashing through pillars. I remembered the rooster disappearing beneath sixty feet of furious snake.
I rested my palm over Nyx's warm body. "He saved both my and Dumbledore's lives and made it possible to kill the basilisk. Hogwarts would still have a sixty-foot murder snake beneath it without him."
Pride fought with grief across Hagrid's face.
I left Hagrid's hut and headed back toward the castle.
The Great Hall was still filled with students when I arrived. I didn't enter. I merely leaned through the open doorway and surveyed the four House tables.
Everywhere I looked, students were gossiping about Hogsmeade. Hands flew through the air as people reenacted duels they had only heard about. One Hufflepuff appeared to believe I had transformed into a dragon. A group of Ravenclaws were arguing over the theoretical magical requirements for reversing the Killing Curse. Several Gryffindors had Sirius trapped at the center of an admiring crowd while he encouraged every inaccurate version of events.
Lily sat near him with Marlene and Alice. She noticed me peering through the doorway and smiled.
I returned the smile before looking toward the staff table.
Dumbledore's chair was empty.
McGonagall was present, drinking tea with the rigid posture of a woman who had already heard seven impossible stories before breakfast and intended to punish anyone responsible for an eighth. Her eyes found me at the doorway.
I withdrew my head before she could summon me.
Dumbledore's office was my next destination.
The castle seemed unusually cooperative. Staircases moved into place before I reached them. A suit of armor pointed me down a corridor when I took a wrong turn. Even the portraits offered directions without demanding the full story of the battle in exchange.
Eventually, I reached the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the Headmaster's office.
I stopped in front of it.
I had no idea what password Dumbledore was currently using. I considered trying lemon drops, sherbet lemons, woolen socks, or insufferable optimism.
The gargoyle stepped aside before I selected one.
I looked at the opening behind it. "That was suspiciously convenient."
The gargoyle remained stone-faced.
I stepped onto the moving staircase and allowed it to carry me upward.
Dumbledore's office door opened before I knocked.
I entered—and stopped.
Severus Snape stood in front of Dumbledore's desk. The bruising around Snape's nose had deepened since I punched him at the Three Broomsticks. His sallow face looked even paler than usual. His greasy black hair hung around it like dirty curtains, partially concealing the furious expression in his dark eyes.
My right forearm tingled. The ankh-shaped wand tattoo beneath my skin responded to my anger, ready to become the Stick of Lust and Death the instant I called it.
Nyx felt my sudden tension. His little head emerged farther from my cleavage, and purple-black tiny sparks of flame gathered along his wings.
Dumbledore sat behind his desk. He looked tired but otherwise unharmed. His silver hair and beard had been washed, his robes were clean, and a replacement hat sat slightly crooked on his head. Fawkes rested on a golden perch nearby, watching Nyx with bright interest.
Dumbledore smiled when he saw me. "Amara. It is good to see you!"
I kept my eyes on Snape. "Why is he standing in your office instead of sitting in a cell beneath Azkaban?"
Snape's lip curled. Snape turned fully toward me, hatred twisting his narrow face. "You filthy—"
His insult ended in a strangled wheeze!
Snape grabbed his chest with both hands. His back bent violently as though an invisible chain had tightened around his heart. He staggered sideways, caught the edge of Dumbledore's desk, and struggled for breath.
I blinked.
Snape attempted to straighten. His mouth opened toward me again. Nothing emerged except a choked gasp. Pain contorted his face. Sweat appeared along his forehead, and his fingers dug into the front of his robes.
I looked from Snape to Dumbledore. "What did you do to him?"
Dumbledore folded his hands upon the desk. "Mr. Snape has made several terrible and profoundly foolish choices."
Snape glared at Dumbledore but remained incapable of standing upright.
Dumbledore's expression grew grave. "He placed his trust in a man who regards loyalty only as something to exploit. He attacked another student, attempted murder through poison, stole a valuable family heirloom, and willingly served Voldemort."
I looked down at Snape. "You forgot the part where he collected Lily's hair and used it to track her around the castle!"
Dumbledore's eyes sharpened behind his spectacles.
Snape went very still.
Dumbledore slowly turned his attention toward him. "That detail had not yet been mentioned..."
I watched panic briefly replace hatred in Snape's eyes.
Dumbledore regarded Snape for several uncomfortable seconds before returning his gaze to me. Dumbledore released a weary breath. "Despite everything Mr. Snape has done, I continue to believe in the possibility of second chances."
I glanced toward Snape's unrepentant face. "Second chances generally come after remorse. He looks sorry he failed."
Dumbledore's blue eyes remained steady. "Remorse sometimes grows from consequence rather than preceding it."
I looked down at Snape. "So what consequence did you choose?"
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair. "Mr. Snape was given a choice. I could surrender him to Alastor and the Ministry, where he would almost certainly spend the remainder of his life in Azkaban, or he could take an Unbreakable Vow."
I raised one eyebrow. "That explains the choking…?"
Dumbledore nodded once. "The Vow binds Mr. Snape to serve as my agent against Voldemort. He will report everything he learns, follow my instructions concerning his role, and make no attempt to subvert the purpose of his service."
Snape finally managed to draw a shallow breath. He remained hunched beside the desk, one hand pressed against his chest.
Dumbledore looked directly at him before continuing. "I also required Mr. Snape to vow that he would never again speak to, contact, or deliberately approach either you or Lily Evans for the remainder of his life."
I looked at Snape with renewed interest. "He can't speak to us?"
Dumbledore inclined his head. "The magic interprets deliberate attempts at communication as the beginning of a violation. It warns him through increasing pain. If he persists far enough to complete the violation, the consequences will become considerably more permanent."
I smiled.
Snape's eyes promised murder.
I stepped directly in front of him.
Snape attempted to straighten, but another spasm of pain forced him back against the desk. He couldn't insult me. He couldn't threaten me. He couldn't spit out whatever obsessive justification he had constructed for poisoning a complete stranger because Lily had held my hand.
I tilted my head and studied him. "That is a good start."
Dumbledore's eyebrows rose. "A start?"
I kept my attention on Snape. "He attempted to murder me during breakfast yesterday. Then he followed me beneath an Invisibility Cloak and tried to steal a private gift Lily made specifically for me!" My mind touched my inventory. Lily's silver-and-green locket remained safely stored inside it. Nothing in this world could reach the object without going through me first. I had no intention of wearing it openly again until the castle's collection of obsessive boys stopped trying to steal it!
Snape's eyes dropped briefly toward the neckline of my shirt as if searching for the locket.
I caught the movement. I leaned closer until Snape was forced to look directly at me. "The locket is somewhere you will never find it."
Snape's jaw tightened.
I gave him a pleasant smile. "If you ever discover a way around that Vow and approach Lily again, speaking will be the least of your problems."
Dumbledore cleared his throat behind us.
I stepped away from Snape and approached the desk.
Nyx climbed higher inside my shirt until his entire head and upper body protruded from the neckline. Fawkes released a soft musical trill from his perch. Nyx answered with a considerably less elegant chirp.
Dumbledore's tired expression softened as he watched the two phoenixes. "I see your familiar has returned."
I stroked Nyx's head with one finger. "Hagrid took excellent care of him."
Dumbledore smiled faintly. "Hagrid has always possessed a gift for caring for creatures others find frightening."
I planted both palms against the edge of Dumbledore's desk. "Hagrid's rooster deserves his plaque."
Dumbledore blinked. "His plaque?"
I reminded him with a patient look. "The heroic rooster who died helping us kill the basilisk. You promised Hagrid that Hogwarts would honor him with a commemorative plaque and a flattering portrait."
Dumbledore eventually sighed. "...I will speak with Professor Kettleburn about arranging an appropriate memorial."
I nodded with a smirk—because it was funny.
Snape shifted behind me.
I felt his interest sharpening despite the pain and humiliation. He was listening to every word. His eyes moved between Dumbledore and me with the intense concentration of someone gathering information he had no right to possess.
I returned my attention to the real reason I had come. I tapped one fingernail against the desk. "I'm not certain how long you'll need your new spy."
Dumbledore's expression became more cautious. "Why is that?"
I straightened. "Because I'm going to hunt Voldemort down and kill him myself."
Silence settled across the office.
Fawkes tucked his head beneath one wing.
Nyx chirped approvingly from inside my shirt.
Dumbledore looked at me for several long seconds. "Voldemort will not be easy to find, and even less easy to kill."
I shrugged. "I hurt him really badly last night, and that was just the prelude…"
Snape moved again. His dark eyes had become intensely alert. Mentioning Voldemort's death interested him.
Apparently, none of those consequences had taught him when to stop listening.
I glanced toward him. "Before we discuss killing Voldemort, I want you to show me the other thing we talked about yesterday."
Dumbledore followed my gaze and noticed Snape's interest. Dumbledore's face settled into quiet authority. "Mr. Snape, you may leave."
Snape straightened as much as his aching chest permitted. His eyes remained fixed on me.
Dumbledore's voice became firmer. "Now."
Snape turned toward the Headmaster as though intending to protest.
Dumbledore held up one hand. "That was not a request."
Snape's face tightened. He swept toward the door, robes billowing dramatically behind him. The effect would have been more impressive if he hadn't needed to clutch his chest and breathe through his teeth with every step.
The office door opened. Snape paused at the threshold and looked back at me. His mouth opened. Pain struck him before he could produce a sound. Snape doubled over, caught himself against the doorframe, and released a strangled wheeze.
I smiled sweetly and waved.
Snape glared at me with enough hatred to curdle milk before stumbling into the corridor.
The door closed behind him.
Dumbledore remained silent until Snape's footsteps had faded down the moving staircase. He drew his wand and cast several privacy charms across the walls and door.
Dumbledore's fingers drummed once against his desk. "When you refer to the other thing, I assume you mean the reservoir of ancient magic you believe lies somewhere beneath Hogwarts…"
I felt anticipation coil through me.
…Dumbledore rose from behind his desk and collected his wand. The exhaustion in his face remained, but curiosity had already begun pushing it aside. "Then I believe it is time I showed you one of Hogwarts's oldest secrets."
I stepped away from the desk and adjusted the front of Lily's dangerously tight shirt. "You say that as if we didn't uncover an entire underground basilisk complex yesterday."
Dumbledore's eyes briefly twinkled. "Hogwarts possesses a great many oldest secrets."
I followed him out of the office.
The moving staircase carried us back toward the gargoyle. From there, Dumbledore led me through a succession of corridors and descending staircases. We passed the Great Hall, continued below the entrance level, and traveled into sections of the castle I had not yet visited.
The stone changed as we descended. The familiar pale blocks of the upper castle gave way to older, darker masonry. Some of the walls bore chisel marks beneath centuries of smoothing charms. Others had been constructed from enormous stones fitted together without visible mortar.
The air cooled. Moisture gathered along the lowest walls, and the distant groan of pipes occasionally moved through the silence.
Dumbledore continued downward without hesitation.
I glanced at another staircase disappearing below us. "How far beneath Hogwarts does this place go?"
Dumbledore rested one hand lightly against the railing as we descended. "That question has troubled many Headmasters."
I looked over the edge into the darkness below. "You don't know?"
Dumbledore considered his response. "I know considerably more than I did when I accepted the position."
I waited for him to continue.
Dumbledore's mouth curved beneath his beard. "And considerably less than I believed I would know by now."
That sounded about right.
The castle had existed for nearly a thousand years. Every generation had apparently added another hidden laboratory, cursed room, private passage, underground monster enclosure, or repository of forbidden power without leaving a useful map for the next person.
Hogwarts was less a school and more a collection of magical catastrophes stacked on top of one another beneath four decorative towers.
We eventually reached the lowest basement level. There were no classrooms here. Only a narrow passage stretched ahead, illuminated by widely spaced torches that ignited as Dumbledore approached.
The corridor ended at a blank stone wall.
Dumbledore stopped in front of it.
I stared at the stone. Something moved across its surface. The distortion was subtle enough that ordinary eyes might have dismissed it as torchlight. Silver-blue ripples passed through the stone in slow, overlapping waves. Runes appeared beneath the surface for fractions of a second before sinking back into the wall. They were older than any form of written magic I recognized.
My own magic leaned toward it.
I stepped closer. Nyx's head emerged from my cleavage, his black eyes fixing on the same point. "Is this sealed with ancient magic?"
Dumbledore turned toward me. For several seconds, he looked from my face to the apparently blank wall. "You can see it?"
I raised one hand and traced the air several inches from the stone. The magic beneath the surface reacted to the movement, bending toward my fingertips. "It's difficult not to. The entire wall is rippling."
Dumbledore stared at me with an expression I was gradually learning to recognize.
It was the look he wore whenever I casually revealed something that should have been impossible.
Dumbledore approached the wall and placed his palm against its center. "There are witches and wizards capable of interacting with ancient magic. They are exceptionally rare. Rarer still are those who perceive it without specialized training or an artifact to guide them."
I glanced toward him. "You knew the wall was here."
Dumbledore inclined his head. "Knowledge and sight are not always the same thing."
The ancient magic beneath the stone curled around his hand, but it did not reach toward him the way it had reached toward me.
Dumbledore looked at the silver-blue ripples only I could apparently see. Regret softened his expression. "It is a shame you belong to another reality, Amara."
The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard.
I lowered my hand. "Why?"
Dumbledore studied me instead of the wall. "Because Hogwarts will require another Headmistress one day. I would have liked to see what you might become with the castle itself guiding your education."
I stared at him.
Dumbledore's eyes warmed behind his spectacles. "A witch capable of seeing ancient magic, confronting the darkest parts of this school, and questioning every answer presented to her would be a formidable guardian of Hogwarts."
Heat crept unexpectedly into my cheeks. I folded my arms, partly to disguise the reaction and partly to prevent Nyx from climbing any farther out of my shirt. "You've known me for three days."
Dumbledore's smile deepened. "In those three days, you have uncovered and destroyed one of Voldemort's Horcruxes, helped me kill a basilisk, fought beside my students, driven Voldemort from Hogsmeade, and reversed a Killing Curse." Dumbledore released a quiet laugh. "Had circumstances been different, I would have been honored to make you my apprentice."
My blush became considerably worse.
Praise usually made me suspicious. Kindness came with strings. Acceptance hid a knife behind its back. Every authority figure who had shown an interest in Heather Potter had wanted something from her or had been preparing to explain why she deserved less than everyone else.
I searched Dumbledore's expression for the hook.
There wasn't one. He wasn't flattering me so I would trust him. He wasn't trying to make me dependent upon him. He looked genuinely disappointed that he would never have the opportunity to teach me.
Something inside me loosened. For the first time since arriving in this reality, I stopped looking at him and seeing the man who had bound my mind, suppressed my magic, and condemned me to eighteen years of misery.
For one fragile moment, he was simply Albus Dumbledore. A tired old professor who would have liked to teach me.
I allowed my arms to fall to my sides. I gave him a small, unguarded smile. "I think I would have liked that..."
Dumbledore's expression softened.
Dumbledore turned back toward the wall. He moved his wand through a complicated pattern and pressed its tip against a point where several invisible currents intersected.
The wall shuddered.
Stone folded inward without breaking. Blocks flowed around one another like water, creating an archway where none had existed before.
Dumbledore stepped through first.
I followed him. The passage beyond the wall sloped downward in a long spiral. Ancient metal strips had been embedded in the floor and walls, conducting streams of pale light deeper beneath the castle. The farther we descended, the more visible the magic became.
It moved beneath my feet in rivers.
Gold, silver, blue, violet, and black currents crossed one another without mixing. Some flowed calmly. Others twisted like living things trapped beneath the stone. They responded to my presence, brightening as I passed.
Nyx chirped from inside my shirt.
I stroked his head with one finger. "I see it too."
Dumbledore glanced back at us, but he did not interrupt.
The spiral passage eventually opened onto a balcony overlooking an enormous subterranean chamber.
I stopped at the threshold.
The Final Repository made the Chamber of Secrets look like a neglected cellar.