An ill-fated Encounter - Parting Ways!

"Augureys are stupid," Madam Villanelle declared. "But you are right. They are indeed quieter than others. Let's go. I think I know where its nest is."

The witches left the dense patch of jungle and fairies' colony and flew towards a rather steeper cliff.

This cliff was covered in green, but sharp rocks were jutting out of the vertical wall here and there as well.

Madam Villanelle brought the brooms to a stop at the top of the cliff.

It was then Darcie heard the rumbles.

Darcie let the incomplete Firebolt go and walked towards the cliff's edge on the other side. Her eyes widened instantaneously.

It was a vast valley, vaster than imagination, and guarded by two more cliffs from left and right.

These two cliffs kept widening outwards, but even then Darcie could neither see the end of the rocky walls nor of the valley.

Yet, it wasn't the valley or the incomprehensible scale of the cliffs that had made her widen her eyes.

It was the blackness of the distant sky.

The entire horizon was drowned in black ink, and they could see occasional green and white flashes there, followed by gurgling rumbles.

How big was this thunderstorm? Darcie couldn't help but ask herself, astonished beyond astonishment.

Madam Villanelle came to a stop near Darcie. "The Valley of Endless Rumbles!"

"A fitting name," Darcie nodded. "May I know the reason for this odd environment, mentor?"

Madam Villanelle took a deep breath.

"I have never visited that place, to be honest," she said, smiling ruefully. "But my other self had told me that this entire valley beyond this cliff is the nest of an old… Thunderbird King."

Darcie drew a frigid breath.

Thunderbirds were no less magical and powerful than a Phoenix, their temper even strange and erratic.

A Thunderbird King was the leader of its flock, the mightiest of all, and some tales claimed that it could challenge even adult dragons… and win.

No wonder the Auguries cried here all the time.

It was a valley of endless rain, lightning, and storms.

Darcie looked down, then. The ground, squeezed between the distant valley and the cliff, was still comparatively peaceful.

She saw hordes of Unicorns, running through the grassy lands and disappearing into the forests like white ghostly blurs.

Beyond them, there were several Hippogriffs, flying and crying along with distant thunder.

"Don't worry," Madam Villanelle told Darcie. "We would not need to go beyond this cliff. Come with me. The Augury's nest must be over the cliff's side toward the tower."

Darcie gave a last look to the bolts of lightning, blackness, and rumbles, and turned around.

As they approached the other side of the cliff, Madam Villanelle told her more about the Thunderbirds.

This cliff they were on right now was running from east to west and was north to the tower.

The thunderstorm was even further north to this cliff, with an incomprehensible long valley between them.

The cliff's slope towards the tower's side wasn't as steep as the one on the valley's side, but it still wasn't something the witches could just tread on.

Both of the witches peeked over the edge and noticed a nest inside a crack in the rocks.

The Augury was perched there with two hatchlings, and another adult Augury was making a round overhead, searching for prey.

"Umu," Darcie nodded. "I think it's the one, mentor."

Madam Villanelle had interacted little with Darcie.

But then again, Darcie interacted little with everyone.

Still, the time spent with the young Malfoy was enough for the older witch to know that it wasn't like Darcie thought it was the one, but more like she hoped it would be the one.

Meow!

This sudden noise startled both witches.

Darcie looked to her left, just above the nest, and found a purple-colored kitten, with spotted fur, large ears, and a lightly plumed tail, akin to that of a lion's.

"It's a Kneazle," Darcie whispered to her mentor. "It's going for the chicks!"

No! How could this be?! What if one of the chicks was fated with her?!!! Questions popped into her mind instantly, making her eyes flutter.

Kneazles had a top level of intelligence and an uncanny ability to detect suspicious and untrustworthy people.

They made excellent pets, but pure-bred Kneazles were hard to find, even in the grand magical world.

This particular kitten looked purer than any Kneazle breed Darcie had seen in the Magical Menagerie.

There was one, named Crookshanks, in the shop, she remembered. An orange-colored old half-kneazle.

Suddenly, something happened that none of the two witches would have foreseen.

Just as the adult Augury flew off the nest, joining its partner in the hunt, the young Kneazle pounced on the baby Auguries.

However, one of the kitten's paws got stuck into a vine, and its pouncing posture got broken.

One second, it was standing with a solid footing. In the next, it was already falling.

…

"No!" Darcie's shriek pierced the air, startling all the Auguries and making them cry along with her.

Even before Madam Villanelle could do something, Darcie stepped back to the broom, which was only a few feet away from her, and threw herself off the cliff.

Air whistled in her ears, but it was the pitiful growls of the Kneazle that made her push the broom beyond its capabilities.

The drop was high, giving Darcie a chance to save the kitten, but the cliff's wall was full of vines and branches that jutted out like thorns.

One of such branches hacked at the kitten, making it let out a painful growl.

It did break its fall, though.

Darcie had never flown so fast in her entire life, but she couldn't have cared less.

The incomplete Firebolt trembled as she saw the ground enlarging beyond the kitten.

And just when the kitten was about to kiss the rocky patch, Darcie's outstretched fingers wrapped themselves around its tiny body.

The broom spun at its position, making an instant 90-degree turn.

The twigs at its end brushed the ground, but the danger had passed.

Sweating and huffing, Darcie stirred the broom back to the top and landed near her mentor.

"Darcie!" Madam Villanelle came rushing toward her, her face full of fear and distress. "Are you OK? You? How can you be so reckless? What if something had happened to you? You could've… Sigh!"

Darcie didn't know what to say.

The kitten was still in her hands, and despite its smooth purple fur, she was feeling a moist sensation in her palms.

Darcie loosened her grip and turned over her palm. It was glistening red.

"It's bleeding!" Darcie squeaked, her face paling as she saw the kitten.

Even Madam Villanelle had gone quiet seeing so much blood.

She took the kitten off Darcie's hands and put it on the ground.

The older witch cast several spells, bringing a stop to the bleeding, but she kept becoming quieter.

"It needs Skele-Gro," Madam Villanelle said, sighing at last.

Otherwise, it wouldn't survive. This, she left unsaid.

"Let's go," Madam Villanelle said, shaking her head. "We will come back after you've grown up a bit.

"After becoming a Hogwarts student, perhaps. It's clear that the Augury's chicks aren't fated with you. Such an ill thing wouldn't have happened, otherwise."

Darcie didn't move, though.

"No."

Darcie's voice was defiant, the one that naturally comes to those who have struggled their way up.

"I don't want to give up so easily, mentor," she said, her tone composed, her eyes almost moist. "Please."

Madam Villanelle was taken aback. She didn't know that Darcie had this side to her as well.

But she could understand her thoughts. How vile a blow it would be to her self-esteem if Darcie didn't try her best today? Madam Villanelle knew the answer to that, too.

"Your mother's so going to kill me!" the older witch rubbed her head exasperatedly.

In her hands, the kitten growled in pain. Madam Villanelle sighed once again.

She cast a protection charm around Darcie, creating an invisible spherical shield. "Don't go out of it. I will let the minister know that our return is delayed until the evening. Then I will come back. OK?"

Darcie smiled and nodded.

Madam Villanelle gave a last assuring look to Darcie, made sure that the protection charm was working, and then hurried off on the incomplete Firebolt.

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