End of Year Two

As the night wore on, exhaustion reared its ugly head. I didn't want to leave this collection of books. When I suggested that I should take some of the books with me, the Bronze Eagle gave me a look that indicated that I had spoken blasphemy.

Hovering over the ancient grimoires like a mother hen protecting her helpless chicks, the Statue exclaimed, "No, absolutely not! These books are not allowed to leave the sanctum."

"Why not? I'll bring them back." I promised.

The Bronze Eagle somehow puffed up its feathers and slammed its claw down firmly, and replied, "No, if these books left the sanctum, there is too great of a chance that others may get a hold of her work. Master Rowena's knowledge is for her heirs only."

"I suppose that means a copy is out of the question?" I asked half-hardheartedly.

The Eagle shot me a grumpy look and compromised, "You can make copies of the other heir's work."

Sensing that I had pushed as much as I could for the time, I decided to stop bothering the large Bronze Eagle Statue that could crush me with one claw.

I ended up calling it a night. I would have plenty of time over the next five years to study. I wasn't even planning on letting the summer break stop me. What is the point of having a secret passage into the castle if I don't utilize its full potential?

Over the summer, I would have to dodge house elves, ghosts, and any of the staff who sticks around during the break. I should probably look into the Disillusionment Charm if I'm going to be sneaking around Hogwarts. We can't all be like Harry Potter and have an invisibility cloak, which makes sneaking around a breeze.

The next day, I tracked down the rest of my friends in the great hall during breakfast. It was good to see their faces. Even though it had only been less than two weeks, it felt like we hadn't seen each other in ages.

I noticed that Cedric shooting questioning glances where my worst injuries used to be.

Answering his unspoken question, I said, "Everything is back to normal. There is no lasting damage."

Alicia numbed Cedric's elbow, "I told you, as long as dark magic isn't involved, healers can take care of almost everything."

Cedric grumbled, "I know, but you didn't see how bad it was."

Not wanting to dwell on my injuries, I asked Cedric, "So, what happened when you left? Did you have any trouble getting help?"

Cedric snorted, "You could say that."

Eager to know what happened after he left for help, I gave Cedric my full attention.

A wronged look appeared on Cedric's face, and he pointed his finger accusingly at me, "Next time, put a damn broomstick in your bag. Learning to use a flying sword on the go slowed me down. If it weren't for the sticking charms on the sword, I would have fallen off a dozen times."

A sheepish look appeared on my face, I held up a hand in surrender, "I know, I know. I've already rectified the problem."

Getting back to his story, Cedric went on, "Well, after a few uncontrollable loops, I finally got the hang of the flying sword and started looking for civilization."

Cedric looked at me and asked, "Do you remember the creature from the cave?"

I rubbed the tender scar on my shoulder, "Of course, it's kind of hard to forget."

"Well, on a hunch, I decided to backtrack our trail through the forest. I wanted to make sure the creature didn't follow and put you at risk."

Curious, I asked, "Did it follow us?"

Cedric nodded and explained, "I discovered it following our trail through the woods, so I tried to annoy it and get it to follow me."

Part of me wondered if I should tell Cedric how incredibly lucky he was to be alive. He didn't know it, but that creature was a Nundu, it's deadliness was on par with dragons. The only thing that probably saved him was being in the sky.

"At first, it tried to ignore me, but after a few annoying hexes and curses, the creature was enraged and chased after me."

Anna and Alicia were both nodding along as if they had heard this story before. "How did you lose the creature?" I asked.

Cedric shrugged, "After chasing me for a few hours, I guess we ran into a different magical creature's territory. The last thing I saw was them tearing each other apart. Once I was certain that neither creature posed a threat to you, I left the area looking for civilization."

I smiled in amusement. It seemed as though Cedric saved me twice. I would have been in no condition to fight off a Nundu. Had it found our campground, I would have been killed.

"It took me the rest of the day to find a decent-sized town. By the time I got there, it was nearly midnight. Not wanting to be seen by the muggles, I landed on the roof of the tallest building," Cedric explained.

I did the mental math in my head. I had been by myself for the better part of three days. If Cedric found a town in one day, what took home so long to return with help.

"From the amount of time it took you to show up with help, I'm assuming something went wrong," I said.

Cedric's face darkened with annoyance, "I knew that the town was big enough that it would be monitored. I figured that if I started casting magic, it would draw the attention of the Meritocracy of Sorcery. It took a few dozen spells and about twenty minutes before a guardian of the Meritocracy showed up. Needless to say, he wasn't happy to find a foreign teenage wizard breaking the Statute of Secrecy. Before I could get two words out, he hit me with a spell, and the next thing I knew, it was the afternoon of the following day."

I winced in sympathy, and I said, "It probably didn't help that you couldn't speak the same language."

Cedric scowled, "You could say that. The same Guardian tried to interrogate me when I woke up. It finally dawned on him that I didn't speak Chinese and he would need a translator. Even after the translator got there, the Guardian assumed I was making up the story about my injured friend so I wouldn't get in trouble for underage magic and breaking the statute. No matter what I said, the Guardian didn't believe me."

"So, how did you finally convince him?" I asked.

Cedric shook his head and explained, "I wasn't ever able to convince the Guardian. I guess he thought if I stewed in my cell for the night, I would crack and tell him the truth in the morning. Thankfully, the next morning I guess the interpreter mentioned what I had said the previous day to someone who wasn't as thick-headed. It didn't take long for me to repeat my story, and for them to summon a healer."

Cedric shot me an embarrassed look, " It took me the entire day to track down our campground. When I left you, I didn't fly in an exact line, plus when I got the creature to follow me, I guess I flew all over the place. It made finding you difficult."

I waved away his concern and made a mental note that I need to teach all my friends my seeking spell.

Across from us, Anna's eyes blazed in anger, "How dare the Guardian not take you seriously. Alex could have died, and it would have been his fault."

Cedric smirked, "When Healer Chen saw that Alex was minutes from death and learned that they could have been there a day or two earlier, she let him have it. I can still picture her waving her wand at the Guardian in anger and threatening to sanction him with the Meritocracy."

Alicia cut in knowingly, "Healers are a highly-respected profession, and they take their oaths seriously. My parents probably would have cursed him in anger if they were there."

A look of satisfaction appeared on Cedric's face, "Well, It only got worse when they discovered I was the son of a Ministry of Magic official, then they learned how connected Alex's family was. I'm pretty sure that guy's career is over."

A small part of me wanted to feel bad for the guy, but his delay nearly cost me my life. According to Healer Chen, had it been another thirty minutes, I wouldn't have made it.

Anna made her feelings on the matter quite clear when she fiercely said, "Good, it's the least he deserves."

She turned to me and lowered her tone and darkly said, "Speaking of punishments. Cedric told us that you guys think Michael probably was responsible. Is that why he didn't show up after the break?"

Seeing how there were too many nosy students nearby, I nodded for them to follow me to find a quieter place.

I found an empty classroom on the second floor, and after ushering everyone inside, I closed the heavy oak door behind me.

I turned to Cedric. Since he was nearly killed as well, I figured he deserved the truth. "It wasn't Michael," I whispered.

He froze and intensely studied my face, "Are you sure? We ran into him a few minutes before we were forcibly teleported. When you didn't show up, we were planning on teaching Michael a lesson he would never forget. But, he didn't show, and we didn't know what to think."

I wasn't sure how much I should tell them about my uncle. They knew from my hints that he dabbled in smuggling. But, they weren't really aware of the full extent of his organization in the underworld. Every piece of information I told them would bind them tighter to my family's struggle.

I sighed in defeat, as much as I wanted to protect my friends from being exposed to the darkness of the Whithorn family. Since I was involved, they were determined to be included as well. What did I ever do to make such amazing friends?

Not wanting to keep them in the dark, I started explaining my uncle's organization. When I finished, I could tell my friends had different feelings on the matter.

I think Cedric was the most surprised, he had spent a lot of time around Uncle John and never seen anything more than a goofy uncle with some eccentric traits. I understood where he was coming from. The first time I saw Uncle John get serious. It was like seeing a whole new person for the first time.

Anna had a different reaction. She just looked impressed upon hearing about the deep undercurrents Uncle John hid from the world. I think she was tempted to ask him for pointers on sneakiness, given that they're both Slytherins, no surprise there.

"He really is a pirate," Alicia murmured in awe. "My parents insisted that he was, but I didn't believe them."

I tried not to roll my eyes. Nothing would please Uncle John more than being referred to as a pirate. Over the years, he had been adding more and more pirate knickknacks to his outfits. I have a bet with dad that within three years, he is going to show up one day with a parrot on his shoulder.

Wanting to get back on track, I said, "Anyways, he was able to confirm that it wasn't Michael. Apparently, it was his father, Delvin."

I could tell they were all a little confused about why Delvin would target me. I explained, "Do you guys remember the cursed mask I slipped on Michael last year. Well, apparently, when Michael freaked out at one of Delvin's dinner parties. He was embarrassed and wanted revenge."

"So, in response, he tried to kill you via a portkey to a magical beast?" Alicia asked incredulously.

I shook my head in denial, "No, from what my Uncle could ascertain, Delvin had no clue what was on the other side."

Scowling, Anna vengefully countered, "That doesn't excuse what he did. He needs to pay for almost killing you two. Even if it was by accident."

I shrugged helplessly, "I'm not saying it does. But, we can't count on the government. They've bought the elf story, hook, line, and sinker."

"So, he just gets away with nearly killing us." Cedric bitterly remarked.

I shook my head and firmly vowed, "No, he doesn't get to walk away from this like it never happened."

My friends all looked at me. Channeling my inner Slytherin that the sorting hat claimed I had, I coldly remarked, "Due to his father's protection, we can't touch Delvin personally. But, who says that we can't hurt him without touching him. We're going after the thing he loves most in the world."

Seeing all the confusion, I clarified, "His business, the Nimbus Broom Racing Company. It's time for my family to reclaim what is ours."

Cedric considered my plan for a moment before reluctantly nodding. I understood what he was thinking. I wanted nothing more to tear Delvin apart for what he did. But, we had to be smart about this. Otherwise, this could get bloody fast, and I wasn't willing to risk sacrificing a member of my family for revenge.

Anna surprised me when she helpfully chimed in, "Your family should talk with my mum. She went to some muggle school called Oxford. I guess she is a Doctor of Business Management or something like that."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. Usually, Anna avoids talking about her mum at all costs. It was heartening to see that slowly changing.

Interrupting my musing, Alicia innocently asked, "I thought that Doctors were muggle healers that cut people open. Why does a business need a doctor?" A worried look appeared on her face, "Can a business get sick?"

Hearing the serious tone that Alica used with that question made me nearly collapse with laughter.

Anna's face burned red in embarrassment, "I don't know. All I know is it takes a lot to run one of the largest and most successful apothecaries in the world. She has a lot of experience competing with other businesses."

Soon, we had to leave for class. The Professors were giving excessive amounts of homework on top of reviewing what we had learned over the year.

I wasn't worried about the end of year exams. I was nearly finished with my fourth-year studies. Now that I wasn't consumed with Occlumency, I could help my friends study.

Now that we were near the end of our second year at school, everyone's magical talents were becoming clearer to behold.

Anna and Alicia were neck and neck in a lot of subjects. Their main difference was Charms and Transfiguration. Anna did well with Charms but struggled with Transfiguration. Whereas Alicia was the opposite, she was doing good in Transfiguration but had to work harder in Charms.

Neither of them was a big fan of potions and were in the middle of the pack. Both were near the top in Defense against the Dark Arts. Although, this year, I think Anna had the advantage over Alicia there, due to all her dueling practice.

Cedric, on the other hand, was proving why the Goblet of Fire selected him for the Tri-wizard tournament. He had quietly become one of the best students in the year. While I couldn't say that he was the best student in any subject, he was near the very top in all his classes. Most witches and wizards had a subject or two that they struggled in. If Cedric kept this up, he would be a well-rounded wizard.

His real competition for the most well-rounded student was Jessica. The main difference between those two was that Jessica was better with studying and got better grades on the homework. But Cedric proved to be better with the practical magical side of things.

What was amusing was that Jessica was so focused on trying to pass me, she didn't realize that Cedric had already passed her. I didn't have the heart to tell her the truth, and being who he was, neither would Cedric. I only hoped Anna didn't put the pieces together, because I'm sure she would rub Jessica's nose in it.

The last month passed by quickly, and soon the exams were over. On the last night before we left, I received a surprise when we had the end-of-term feast. Ravenclaw won the House Cup. According to what I remember and my journal, Slytherin was supposed to have won the previous six years before Harry started school.

Even though I have tried to keep my impact as low as possible, the ripples of my actions affecting the timeline were starting to show slowly. I need to make sure the next two years stay as closely as possible to what I know. That way, I can predict what will happen in Harry's third and fourth years and implement my future plans.

The next day, we boarded the Hogwarts express. It was strange. I kept expecting Michael to show up. Snapping at one another had almost become a tradition. Thankfully, it was a smooth ride home. Jessica and Anna didn't snipe at each other. While I couldn't say they were friends, the cold shoulder they used against one another was far more pleasant than the bickering.

When we rolled into the station, I felt a moment of bitter-sweetness. I had survived my second year and was back home with my family for a few months. I couldn't wait to see what this next year would throw at me. No matter what it was, I was determined to come out on top.