Nightjar Ⅱ

The white stone-masked Zeus gazed at the sky in thought, before a cold, intelligent male voice said, "And what of the descendants of the Moirai?"

The hooded figures grew still recalling their vengeance upon the descendants of the Moirai for the Moirai's treachery. "Sanguis Enim Sanguis," they whispered.

"Edith Trelawny died at our hand, (by the vessel Davey Gudgeon)," they hissed. "The crone and the granddaughter, who lays with a beast still live."

 "We have more important things to do," pointedly reminded the serene young man. "There shall soon be time enough for vengeance."

"Yes," they whispered in unison.

"Then we shall send the bats into the rafters, no?" Mr. Herbert slyly said. "It will be most interesting."

"Nay, we cannot. A pity the Dementors had to be discarded once the Minister of Magic caught on," Diggle loudly sighed and tsked his tongue. "A most useful puppet which unfortunately had to be discarded since the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation had long served his purpose."

With a sly expression, Diggle humbly suggested, "Instead, might I suggest sending the bats among the dignitaries? It may prove to be advantageous to us."

"I am genuinely surprised by the sly suggestion," admitted the white stone-masked Zeus. "It is not an idea without merit."

"I would be honored if my suggestion would be considered at all," Diggle theatrically took off his cap as if in a bow, before returning the purple hat on his head.

"If put into motion, the proposal would certainly tarnish the reputation of the Ministry of Magic not to mention Dumbledore's as well," the charming young man hummed in agreement.

"A brainless dunderhead! The sheer impotency of the idea itself leaves me utterly astounded that it would even be remotely considered at all," The young man with the serene voice crisply chided in a flat tone of voice.

"The Council itself is far from weak, and Hogwarts is now guarded by that serpent. Hogwarts and the surrounding lands are within the serpent's domain, and the castle itself will obey the will of the magical guardian," the young man with the serene voice coldly reprimanded. "Under such circumstances, the bats would be toast, the moment they so much approached Hogwarts."

 "We must proceed with caution, we cannot afford another mistake," the young man with a serene voice icily continued. "I need not remind you that we have yet to recover from the disastrous decision to forcibly forge Damocles Belby into a vessel. We sacrificed 20 fragments for naught! Not to mention, the latest sacrifice of fragments to forcibly acquire our most recent vessel. We sacrificed 40 fragments, double the norm in order to bypass the restrictions at Hogwarts."

"We must concentrate on stabilizing our forces. We cannot reattempt such a feat without putting ourselves at risk of being destroyed when we merely number in the dozens," the serene male voice spoke with such direness that an unease fell upon the vessels.

The air is tense, the breeze rustles the robes of the white stone-masked Zeus. "I am certain there is a far more suitable task for the bats to fill."

"Is there?" The serene male voice openly retorted.

Nothing further was said. Under such a taut atmosphere, the vessels and imperiused puppets dispersed into the night at the signal of the white stone-masked Zeus. Within the confines of the circle of white stones, Magicae Lapis two figures remained behind. The first of the white stone-masked Zeus and the second belonged to the figure with the serene male voice that spoke in open disagreement. The second figure's face is undistinguishable as he too wears an orange stone mask like the rest of the vessels.

"You overstepped yourself, Heart" the white stone masked Zeus sneered.

The young man with a serene voice responded in open mockery, "The Head and the Heart; we are what we are, the Head and the Heart together."

"The proposal by the collective was good, and you know it, Heart," the white stone-masked Zeus hissed.

"It was undeniably not, and you cannot deny that dear Head," the young man with the serene voice retorted with a jeer. "The vampires have not moved even once despite the threatening force shown by Riddle. The coven cannot be trusted, especially Ambrogio Sangria. The coven will turn at the first opportunity."

The white stone-masked Zeus pursed his lips behind the mask in a grimace. However, he could not deny that was the case. The weakness of the collective was with each additional vessel, the collective took on the characteristics of the vessel. The vessel's internal characteristics eroded with time, but they did not have time to wait.

Seeing no argument from the Head, the young man with a serene voice calmly says, "The Ministry of Magic will soon launch the wizard link and the accompanying artifacts. Though useful to communicate, we cannot trust the Ministry of Magic will not monitor the connections."

"It is unlikely to occur."

"Yet the possibility cannot be excluded."

The white stone-masked Zeus did not deny the possibility and remained silent.

Seeing the silence of the Head, the young man with a serene voice changes the subject. "Regarding our newest vessel, the fragment within him must be put to bed."

The head of the white stone-masked Zeus snapped up. "We did not sacrifice 40 fragments for our vessel at Hogwarts to merely slumber! Need I remind you of that fact, Heart!"

"Do not act coy, Head," the young man with a serene voice snapped. "Hogwarts is changing. The new Mermish Professor will be capable of sensing us. Half-breed or not, the merfolk are particularly sensitive to our vessels."

"Not to mention that Veela chit, a quarter only, but she can't be ignored either. Even worse, the hordes of former werewolf children. Their noses are particularly keen," the serene voice young man grumbled loudly. "Then there is the half-breed bat. That one is particularly sensitive and senses the presence of the approaching giants. We were lucky no one believed him, otherwise, the attack would have been foiled in time."

The white stone-masked Zeus tilted his head to the side curiously studying the other masked figure. "You have changed, Heart. We remember a time when you held no such worries and concerns. The cost did not matter so much as the end result."

The young man with a serene voice did not respond but rather turned away and vanished with a loud pop. The white stone-masked Zeus gazed up at the sky. They are the head, but the heart is no longer with them. They need to silence their heart. But how?

With that in mind, the white stone-masked Zeus vanished leaving Magicae Lapis glistening under the moonlight. There it had stood for thousands of years and would continue for a thousand more.