Chapter 55

You could hear a pin drop in the silence as Harry, Hermione, Draco, and Ron stared down the study group as they measured each other up, preparing for battle.

Draco stared nervously at Bole, feeling the sweat in the palms of his hands as he gripped his wand tightly. He knew he was the weakest of them. Even with all the extra work he did to catch up with Hermione and Ron, it still was not enough to make up for the extra time they had to train.

'What are we supposed to do now?' Harry thought to Merlin. They were in a narrow stone hallway. There was no cover and nowhere to run.

"There's no other choice," Merlin replied grimly. "You have to fight your way out."

'There's six of them!' Harry thought back. 'We don't stand a chance.'

"Harry," Merlin said, knowing it would be difficult for him to hear. "Your friends will not survive this."

'NO!' Harry thought back stubbornly. 'I'm not going to abandon them!'

"You have to," Merlin countered. "You're the only that stands a chance of stopping the ritual," he explained. "If you try to protect them, you're just going to die here with them."

"We're giving you a chance to surrender," Ismelda said, interrupting Harry and Merlin's thoughts. "No one has to get hurt. Just drink the potion, and I promise you, you'll wake up in a couple of months, and everything will be fine."

Harry darted his eyes back and forth between Lucian and Andre. From the look in their eyes, the last thing they wanted was a peaceful surrender. "How do we know we can trust you?" Harry asked, stalling for time as he tried to figure a way out of this.

"You have our word," Ismelda said calmly, looking at Andre and Lucian pointedly. "Calm down," she hissed at them. "We are not turning this into a firefight."

Andre shook his head, "no. We're not going to let this opportunity slip through our fingers," he said, raising his wand. "Reducto," he hissed, aiming for Harry's chest.

Harry's eyes widened as Egwu's spell lit up the room, the silver light streaking towards him much faster than he expected. 'Protego Maxima,' he thought as his senses went into overdrive, giving him the sensation of time slowing down as he raised a shield at the last second.

A loud bang filled the room as Harry slid back, his shield nearly buckling after taking just one hit.

"You can take maybe another one or two spells on your shield like that before it collapses," Merlin said, alarmed by how much Egwu's power had grown since the last time Harry faced him. "You need to go now!"

'Not without my friends,' Harry thought back stubbornly. "So much for your word," Harry spat, keeping his shield up in case they sent another spell his way.

"Andre!" Ismelda shouted. "Have you lost your mind? We need to stick with the plan!"

Andre didn't bother to respond to Ismelda as he glared at Potter. "Not bad," he acknowledged. "But I doubt your shield can stand up to another hit," he said, preparing to cast another Reducto.

Harry grit his teeth, absorbing the free magic around him to power his shield, his eyes widening slightly as he felt a larger influx of magic than he expected.

"It's their stored magic," Merlin said, answering Harry's unspoken question. "If you concentrate, you should be able to feel the source."

'Not now.' Harry shook his head mentally, needing to keep all his focus on the fight.

"NO!" Ismelda shouted, grabbing Andre's wrist at the last second, re-directing his spell against the stone wall, sending chunks of stone flying in all directions.

Harry quickly extended his shield, covering his friends with it before the large chunks of debris struck them.

Ron let out the breath he was holding as Harry's shield snapped in place in around him, just before a chunk of stone struck his head. It was just like the astronomy tower all over again. Despite all the effort he put in, he still didn't stand a chance against even one of them.

"Don't do that again!" Andre warned, rounding on Ismelda. "I'm the one in charge! Not you!"

Ismelda stared at Andre in shock. She had seen him angry before, but never like this. She knew if his spell landed, it would have killed Harry outright. 'He wasn't even fighting back,' she thought, alarmed by her friend's actions.

"You've lost your mind, Andre!" Ismelda shouted back, aiming her wand at him.

"What do you think you're doing?" Andre hissed, glaring at Ismelda.

"What she has to," Talbott said, pointing his own wand at Andre as well. "You've lost control Andre."

"Traitors," Andre growled, seeing red. "Both of you are traitors!"

Beatrice and Elspeth could only stare in shock as their three strongest members held each other at wand point.

Seeing an opportunity to escape, Harry got the attention of his friends, quietly pointing to the door. If they could get through, then barricade the door behind them, it may buy them enough time to escape.

"Bombarda!" Lucian shouted, aiming his spell at Potter's feet. "Don't even think about leaving Potter," he said, keeping his eyes trained on them.

Harry cursed mentally as he saw their opportunity to escape slip through his fingers.

"See," Andre crowed, glancing between Potter and his friends. "The second you turn your back on them, they try to pull something. They're way too dangerous to keep alive!"

"Andre," Talbott said, keeping his voice measured. "None of us signed up for this. We're the good guys, remember?" He pleaded with his friend. "We don't kill people in cold blood."

"Grow up Talbott," Andre glared at Talbott. "This is how things get done in the real world! You think everyone is just going to accept what Celestia has to say? NO!" He shook his head vehemently. "This world is full of the corrupt, the greedy, murderers! And guess what?" He snarled. "They want to keep the world just the way it is, so that they," He said, pointing a finger at Harry angrily. "Can hold on to their wealth and power!"

Harry glared at Andre, hating the comparisons he made to him. "That's rich, coming from you, of all people. The Egwu family, majority owners of the Daily Prophet, members of the Wizengamot for over 500 years! You're going to fight against all that systemic corruption!? You!?" He questioned sarcastically. "You and your family are the ones that want to keep everything the way it is, not me!"

"Like you're any better, Potter?" Andre asked with a cold laugh. "Remind me again how long your family has been part of the Wizengamot? It was your father, wasn't it, that tried to overthrow an election?"

"The difference between you and me," Harry said, staring down Andre. "I did what I did on my own. My family didn't open any doors for me! Everything you've ever done, it all goes back to nepotism!"

Andre's eyes widened, his face going red with fury. "REDUCTO!!"

With less than a moment to react, Harry drew in as much magic as he could manage, shunting it off to his shield, the shimmering blue turning it into deep azure just before it absorbed the impact of Andre's spell.

Harry kept his face impassive, but winced internally at the pain he felt in his arm, both from strengthening his shield and absorbing Andre's spell.

"Now is not the time to antagonize him, Harry," Merlin admonished. "Not if you want to survive this. Get your anger back under control."

Harry nodded mentally, conceding the point, but Andre had a way of getting under his skin that very few others had managed.

"Andre!" Ismelda shouted, "This is crazy! You have to stop!" She said, watching the situation spiral further and further out of control.

"I'm doing what needs to be done," Andre said adamantly, never taking his eyes off Potter. "Just get out of my way, and this will all be over soon."

"No," Talbott said, shaking his head as he moved to stand beside Ismelda. "We're not murderers."

"Get out of my way, you two," Andre said, taking his attention off Potter. "I'm not going to ask you a second time," he warned.

"Lucian, Beatrice, Elspeth," Ismelda said, looking at the three younger members. "Just like we discussed. Take them down, don't hurt them. We stick to the plan," she added, ignoring Andre's threat.

Lucian looked at Andre, firmly on his side, ready to argue against the plan.

"Lucian," Talbott said, looking meaningfully at the Slytherin. "We stick to the plan," he said, leaving no room for argument.

Lucian said nothing, looking back and forth between Andre and Talbott, before finally looking away with a sigh, knowing that he and Andre were outnumbered.

"Any ideas, Harry?" Ron whispered nervously as the third years stepped forward.

"Just one," Harry whispered back, noting that the older students were distracted, arguing amongst themselves. "Reducto!" He said, drawing in the free magic around him to power up his spell, and unleashed it on them in a wide beam, spreading out the attack to hit them all at once, and send them crashing to the floor.

He knew it wasn't enough to take them down. Spreading out the area of the attack had blunted the force of the spell, but it was enough to take them by surprise, and give him the breathing room he needed to cast his next spell.

He had only seen Merlin use it once, but had never cast it himself. He raised his hand, concentrating as he willed a wall of stone to rise from the ground, and causing the ground to shake violently as he told his friends to run.

"Get up!" Lucian said, ignoring his own injuries, his eyes widening as a wall of stone rose from the ground, grabbing Beatrice and Elspeth by the shoulder, struggling to get them up as chunks of stone rained down around them.

"What? Ughh, my head," Beatrice groaned, rubbing the top of her head, the surprise attack from Harry sending her sprawling as a piece of stone struck her head.

Lucian growled, letting go of Beatrice and Elspeth as he stumbled forward, narrowly avoiding getting knocked down by another chunk of stone. He didn't know how Potter was doing what he was doing, but he recognized the stone coming out of the ground.

The shiny black stone was uniquely resistant against spell fire, and if he trapped them behind it, it would take hours for them to blast their way out.

Harry felt a bead of sweat go down his forehead as he concentrated, willing his magic to raise the wall, noting that it had been much easier for Merlin to cast the spell than it was for him, and with Lucian slowly making his way towards them, and the others getting to their feet he knew he didn't have much time left.

"Don't get distracted!" Merlin said. "Concentrate on the wall."

Lucian looked behind him, seeing Andre back on his feet. 'He's too far away,' he thought, continuing forward, knowing that he was the only one close enough to get past the wall, but still weary of Potter's attack, worried that the ground could open up in front of him at any second.

Harry stepped backwards, keeping his hand raised as he continued to pour his magic into the spell. He could see Lucian getting closer as the stone continued to rise, but also felt himself getting cut off from the magic of the chamber, taking more out of him to continue the spell.

"It's the obsidian," Merlin explained. "It's naturally resistant to magic, and blocking your access to the free magic inside the chamber."

Lucian pushed himself forward, squeezing himself between a gap between the stone walls and the obsidian. He raised his wand. "Immobulus," he said, hoping to freeze Potter in place and cut off his spell.

Harry quickly rolled out of the way, dodging to the right as the spell passed over his head, missing him by just a couple of inches.

He looked back up at Lucian, seeing the blood oozing from his temple and how he was favoring his right leg. Normally it would give him the advantage, but considering how strong Lucian was after the rituals, and how he was now effectively cut off from the stored magic of the chamber, it wasn't as clear cut as he would like.

"It's over Potter! Give it up," Lucian warned. "It won't be long before the others get through your little wall," he bluffed. "And then I won't be so generous."

"He's lying," Merlin supplied. "The gap isn't big enough for any of them to fit through anymore. It'll be at least an hour before they blast their way through."

"Bombarda!" Harry shouted, sending the explosive spell at Lucian, hoping to catch him by surprise.

"Protego!" Lucian said, still breathing hard, but easily able to block the spell.

Harry took a chance, glancing behind him, and hoping his friends had made their escape, only to duck quickly and weave to the left as he felt Lucian's spell coming, even before he heard the words.

"Incarcerous," Lucian said, sending a set of conjured ropes at Harry, only for his spell to miss at the last second. He growled in frustration, not knowing if it was luck or skill that allowed Potter to evade him.

"Don't do that!" Merlin admonished. "You need to concentrate on the fight, or you'll end up dead."

'My friends,' Harry thought back quickly. 'Are they ok? I didn't see them.'

"They're fine," Merlin replied. "They're waiting on the other side of the door."

'What?' Harry thought back. 'I told them to run!'

"They didn't want to leave without you. Now concentrate on the fight!" Merlin replied.

"Protego!" Harry shouted, raising his shield just in time to catch a Bombarda from Lucian, but it still sent him staggering back.

"Give it up, Potter," Lucian said, stalking forward confidently. "Don't make me lose my patience. You won't like it when I stop holding back."

Harry cursed mentally as he realized Lucian was right. There was no cover anywhere, and without a large enough source of magic to draw from, he couldn't match the power of Lucian's spells either.

"Not a chance!" Harry said, getting back up as he came up with a risky plan. "Look at yourself, Lucian!" he taunted. "You can barely stand. I don't have to overpower you. I can just wait for you to fall over!"

"Really?" Lucian growled, seeing red. "Let's find out then," he said, raising his wand again. "Bombarda!" He shouted, putting his full strength into the spell.

"Protego!" Harry shouted, raising another shield, but manipulating the dome so that it curved outward, jumping into the air at the same moment the spell struck his shield.

Instead of absorbing the spell like normal, the power of the explosion pushed against the shield, sending Harry sailing backwards and through the door, giving him some much needed breathing room.

"Avis!" He shouted, even before he landed, slamming the door shut before casting every locking spell he knew of on it.

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed as Ron and Draco hurriedly pulled him to his feet.

"I told you three to run," Harry said with a groan, already feeling the effects of using so much magic, along with his hard landing.

"Not without you," Hermione said firmly, just as they heard a loud bang coming from the other side of the door, hearing the unmistakable groan of mental bending and tearing.

"Damn," Harry cursed, hoping that the locking charm would have bought them some time, but from the looks of things, Lucian wasn't even bothering with it, focusing instead on blasting the door off its hinges.

"Let's go!" Draco said, pointing down the hallway.

"We're not going to make it out that way," Harry said, shaking his head, just as a large indent formed in the door. "We've got a few minutes at most before he's through, maybe less," he said, racking his brain, trying to think of a way out of this.

"Blasting Curses?" Ron asked, remembering his idea from earlier as he pointed up.

Harry and the other looked up at the jagged stone above them. 'There's a chance,' he thought, 'provided we're not too far underground.'

"Do it," Merlin replied, knowing it was their only chance.

"Alright," Harry said, looking up, "bombarda's on three."

Harry's friends nodded, aiming their wands up, letting loose a trio of Bombarda's, making sure they were out of the way as chunks of rock fell from the ceiling.

Harry looked back at the door as the banging continued, the heavy iron doors straining against Lucian's attack. "Again," Harry said, knowing they didn't have much time left.

Another trio of Bombarda's later, a small opening formed, just enough for one of them to fit through at a time.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Harry said, lifting Hermione into the air first, guiding her to the opening in the ceiling.

Hermione let out a surprised yelp as she floated into the air, glancing worriedly at the iron door. She could see more dents forming with each one of Lucian's attacks.

When she reached the top, she scrambled through the hole before peering down, keeping her wand at the ready.

"Alright Ron, you're next," Harry said, casting the spell again, and levitated him up through the hole.

"You go next Harry," Draco said. "I'll levitate you up. It's my fault we're in this mess in the first place," he said, kicking himself for not realizing the study group had manipulated him.

"We can talk about that later," Harry replied, levitating Draco up before he had a chance to react.

"Alright Harry, your turn," Hermione said. "Wingardium Leviosa," she said, lifting Harry up towards them.

Harry stared at the door, knowing that it wouldn't be long before Lucian was through. Just as he scrambled through the hole, he watched as the door burst open, flying off its hinges, and landing with a loud crash in the corridor as Lucian stepped through.

Lucian looked around as the dust cleared. 'Where are they?' He thought, knowing they couldn't have gone far. Then he looked up, surprised to see a shaft of light, his eyes meeting Potter's as he stared up at him.

Harry's eyes widened as Lucian raised his wand, feeling the amount of power he was putting behind his spell. "Get back!" He shouted a warning to his friends as they all scrambled back, just in time to avoid the Reducto curse Lucian sent at them.

Ron stared in shock at the giant hole Bole's attack left in the ground, just a few feet from where they had been standing. "We have to get out of here!" he said, looking towards the castle.

"Wait," Harry said, quickly casting an invisibility spell on each of them. "That'll keep you hidden from him. Get back to the castle, some place public. Lucian won't attack you if there's witnesses."

"What about you?" Draco demanded, noticing that Harry had neglected to cast the invisibility spell on himself.

"I'm the distraction," Harry explained. "He knows we're going to make a break for the castle. I'll slow him down as much as I can. Don't stop running until you get there."

"We're not leaving without you!" Hermione replied stubbornly.

"GO!" Harry shouted, "we don't have much time before he get's up here."

"We have to go, Hermione," Draco said, putting his hand on Hermione's shoulder. "We're only going to get in the way if we stay behind," he explained, knowing that sticking around would only distract Harry.

"He's right," Ron agreed, seeing Hermione about to protest. "Lucian's going to target us to split Harry's focus," he said, remembering how the study group had used the same tactic after they broke into Ravenclaw tower.

Hermione looked at her friends, her heart breaking at the thought of leaving Harry behind while they escaped.

"We don't have time for this," Draco said, losing patience as he grabbed Hermione's hand, dragging her towards the forest.

Harry watched his friends disappeared behind the trees, but kept one eye on the hole. 'What's taking him so long?' He thought, surprised that Bole was having trouble levitating himself up.

"It's not as easy for him," Merlin explained. "Levitation is delicate work, and after all the rituals he's done, his control is shot."

Harry nodded, preparing himself to face down Lucian.

"I hope you have a plan," Merlin warned. "Even with his lack of control, he's still extremely dangerous."

'I do,' Harry thought back, 'but you're not going to like it.'

"You can't be serious," Merlin said after reading Harry's thoughts.

'Do you have a better idea?' Harry thought back, just before Lucian burst through the hole, sending dirt spraying in all directions as he stalked forward.

Harry kept his eyes trained on Lucian, seeing that he was still bleeding from his forehead and was now limping.

"Potter!" Lucian roared. "I don't care what the others say anymore. You're dead!"

Harry stared back at Lucian, looking far more calm than he felt as he waited for the Slytherin to make the first move, concentrating fully on the battle, knowing that a single misstep on his part would cost him his life.

"Diffindo!" Lucian said, whipping his wand around, and sending a cutting curse barreling towards Potter.

Harry watched the spell fly towards him, tracking its path as he focused his perception on Lucian, his mind going into overdrive, making Lucian and everything around them feel as if it was moving in slow motion.

He cocked his shoulder back, allowing the spell to miss him by less than an inch before he sprinted forward.

Lucian looked at Harry, his eyes widening in surprise as his spell missed, then smiled inwardly as Potter charged at him like a common muggle, instead of using his wand like a proper wizard. "Diffindo!" He said, aiming for Potter's chest.

Harry ducked, turning it into a roll as the spell sailed over his head, springing back to his feet as he continued to sprint forward.

Lucian's eyes widened as Potter evaded his spell a second time, quickly reevaluating, as he could no longer dismiss his near miss as a fluke. "Diffindo! Diffindo!" He shouted, aiming to cut off Potter's arms at the shoulder. 'Let's see you dodge this time,' he thought darkly.

Harry kept his focus on the spells, tracking their trajectory as he jumped into the air, turning sideways as the spells passed over his chest and under his back, millimeters from cutting into his skin.

They were only a few feet apart now, and Harry knew he had to press his advantage. Using some wandless magic, he kept himself in the air, and increased his speed, aiming his knee at Lucian's face, using hardening for good measure as he smashed into his nose, sending both of them tumbling to the ground as he made impact.

"Shit!" Lucian cursed, clutching his nose as blood poured from it. "You broke my damn nose!" He shouted, staggering to his feet.

Harry scrambled to his feet, knowing that getting in this close to Lucian was dangerous for him, making it much more difficult for him to dodge his spells.

"Episkey," Lucian said with a groan, casting a minor healing charm on his nose before he turned to glare at Potter, ready to cast another spell. "Nowhere to run to this time, Potter," he gloated, knowing that at this range he couldn't miss.

Harry surged forward again, using the military tactics Ben drilled into him as Lucian aimed his wand at him. He used his forearm to slam Lucian's wand arm to the side, leaving him wide open for a right jab.

He heard a crunch as he broke Lucian's nose for a second time, sending the third year sprawling to the ground, screaming in pain as he clutched his nose.

Lucian looked up at Potter, feeling afraid for the first time in the fight. He outmatched Potter magically, which should have ended the fight even before it began, but he just didn't know how to counter his dirty muggle fighting tactics, and how hard he managed to hit.

"Fight me like a wizard!" He demanded, getting back to his feet, blood pouring from his freshly broken nose.

"Drop your wand and walk away, Bole," Harry said, keeping his eyes trained on the older student.

"Or what?" Lucian demanded. "You surprised me, that's all," he bluffed. "I'm not going to let you get in another lucky hit."

"You have a chance to end this, Harry," Merlin advised. "They need him to perform the ritual. Kill him," he said grimly.

Harry mentally shook his head, recoiling at the idea. He had never killed anyone before, and didn't intend to start now.

"Harry," Merlin warned. "This isn't a game. We can't let Morgan escape. You need to end this now before it gets a whole lot worse."

'There has to be another way,' Harry thought back stubbornly.

"There isn't," Merlin replied, "You're not going to get a better opportunity that this. You need to take it."

Lucian looked at Potter, seeing the distraction in his eyes, and used it to his advantage. "Diffindo!" He shouted, sending a blasting curse at Potter, confident that at this range he wouldn't be able to dodge.

Harry's eyes widened as he felt the surge of magic moving down Lucian's arm and into his wand. Before he even knew what spell it was, he was moving, throwing himself to the right.

His distraction cost him. The spell grazed his arm, leaving behind a deep cut in his forearm.

He landed on the ground hard, cursing himself for loosing focus, as he scrambled backwards, avoiding Lucian's follow up Reducto by only a few inches, as he saw the deep gouge it left behind in the dirt.

"Reducto! Reducto! Reducto!" Lucian said, a growing smirk on his face as the battle shifted in his favor, noting that Potter was nowhere near as graceful as he was before, now favoring his wounded arm.

Harry dodged and rolled left and right, desperately trying to put some distance between himself and Lucian's never-ending barrage of curses, struggling to find the equilibrium he needed to perceive where Lucian's next spell would land.

'Got you now, Potter,' Lucian thought maliciously, putting more and more power behind his spells as he got closer to landing a hit on the first year. 'It's just a matter of time.'

A stray blast to the ground in front of Harry caught him unexpectedly, sending him flying backwards and hitting the ground hard. He groaned, forcing himself up onto his hands and knees, knowing he had to keep moving, his control slipping even further as his injuries continued to mount.

Lucian laughed darkly, sauntering towards the downed Potter, his confidence at an all-time high as he watched him struggle to his knees. "You're outclassed Potter, you always were," he said, standing in front of him, wand aimed at his forehead.

Harry looked up at Lucian grimly, saying nothing, as he focused on bringing himself back into equilibrium, knowing that it was his only chance to survive this.

"What? Nothing to say now, Potter?" Lucian taunted. "That's alright, maybe your friends will have more to say when I catch up with them. They can't have gotten far. I think I'll start with the mudblood," he said, seeing the glare on Potter's face. "Then I'll go after the blood traitors next. See you in hell, Potter," he said, preparing to cast the spell to end his life.

Harry surged up, smashing the crown of his head against Lucian's chin, taking him by completely by surprise. He wrenched the wand out of the Slytherin's hand as Lucian stumbled backwards, falling to the ground. Glaring at Bole, Harry snapped the Slytherin's wand with a loud crack.

Lucian looked up at Harry, still loopy from the hit to find their positions reversed, and Potter's wand now leveled at his forehead. He glanced down, seeing the broken remains of his wand, and gulped visibly, knowing that he was in trouble now.

"You're not going to lay a finger on my friends," Harry growled angrily. "We're going to stop you," he promised.

Lucian nodded his head slowly, now fearing for his life.

"Leave," Harry hissed. "Leave the school, leave Britain, and never come back. That's the only warning you're going to get."

"This is a mistake, Harry," Merlin warned. "He's not going to stop, not until he's dead, or he gets what he wants. You know that."

'I'm not going to kill him,' Harry thought back. 'We'll find another way.'

"There is no other way!" Merlin snapped. "He's a zealot. There's no convincing people like him that what they're doing is wrong. Believe me, I know," he said, remembering what he had to do to stop Morgan the first time.

'…I'm not you, Merlin,' Harry thought back, finding himself at odds with his teacher. 'I can't just leave my friends to die,' he thought, remembering what Merlin had told him to do in the tunnel. 'And I'm not a killer either.'

"Your friends won't be able to help you," Merlin said. "At best they're going to get in the way, at worst they're going to be used against you. The only one you can truly believe in is yourself."

'I'm not discussing this anymore,' Harry thought adamantly. 'I'll find another way.'

"Everything you've done, every time you've faced them, it's all come down to luck," Merlin replied, knowing that his student needed to learn this lesson. "And luck runs out."

Harry turned on his heel, not replying to Merlin's warning as he walked towards the castle, but only made it a few dozen steps before his eyes widened in surprise. He spun around, feeling a surge of magic coming from Lucian, knowing he was preparing to cast a spell.

"Stupefy!" Three voices rang out as matching jets of red light slammed into Lucian's back, knocking him unconscious.

Harry looked across the clearing and into the forest, seeing Hermione, Draco, and Ron, wands in hand.

"I told you to run," Harry said tiredly as they walked up to him, not sure if he should be upset with them for putting themselves in danger, or grateful to them for stepping in when they did.

"Good thing we didn't," Ron said, picking up Lucian's spare wand and snapping it as well.

"What should we do with him?" Draco asked, looking at Bole's crumpled form.

"I don't know," Harry admitted with a sigh, knowing that snapping his wand was a temporary measure at best, and Bole would have a replacement wand before the end of the night.

"They wanted to douse us with the Draught of Living Death," Hermione said with a shiver before her eyes light up, getting an idea. She marched up to Lucian and searched his robes. "Got it!" She said triumphantly, pulling out a potion vial.

"The draught," Harry realized, staring at the deep purple-colored potion.

Hermione nodded, uncorking the vial. "Everything they said about the antidote is true. If we use it on him, they won't be able to wake him until early summer, when the ingredients for the counter potion are ready."

"Do it," Harry instructed. He knew it wasn't a long-term solution, but it would at least force them to push back the date of the ritual, hopefully giving them enough time to find a real solution to their problem.

"Ok," Hermione said, putting a few drops of the potion on Lucian's tongue.

"Is that going to be enough?" Ron asked skeptically. "Maybe you should give him a little extra, just in case."

"No," Hermione shook her head. "I've read about it. Too much of the potion could be fatal."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Draco asked.

"We can't kill him!" Hermione said, aghast.

"Why not?" Draco asked. "They were more than willing to do the same to us."

"It wouldn't solve anything," Harry jumped in. "We'll slow them down, but they'll just find a replacement for him, and do the ritual anyway."

Draco nodded, seeing Harry's point, but he still didn't like the idea. "Lucian's my house mate, so is Ismelda," he pointed out. "What's to stop them from trying the same thing again, and planting more false memories in my head to trick us?" He asked, glaring hatefully at Lucian.

"You're not going back to the Slytherin common room," Harry replied. "It's way too dangerous now."

"Where am I supposed to stay?" Draco asked. "It's not like I can bunk with you two," he said, looking at Harry and Ron.

"The room of requirement," Harry said. "You'll be safe there."

"That's the same room we use for training," Ron pointed out. "What's stopping them from going there and offing Draco?"

"You'll be safe Draco," Harry promised as they made their way back to the castle. "I'll show you."

***

"I still don't get it," Draco said, looking around the room of requirement. "They have to know about this place, and how to get in."

"You're looking at it the wrong way," Harry explained. "This isn't just one room than anyone can access, its multiple rooms, maybe even infinite rooms, and if you ask for a room that will keep you safe from the study group, they'll never be able to find you."

Draco looked at the room in a new light, seeing the possibilities, as a bedroom appeared, matching the one he had at home.

"What are we going to do?" Hermione asked. "They know who we are now. What's stopping them from attacking us again?"

"They're not going to attack us in front of witnesses," Ron chipped in. "That's why they tricked us into finding the ritual chamber in the first place."

"That might change after they find out what we did to Bole," Draco pointed out.

Harry nodded his head, thinking about both Egwu and Bole's reactions. "The ritual has had some pretty harsh side effects," he explained. "It seems like it's hit Bole and Egwu the hardest so far."

"That's true," Hermione agreed. "You saw the rest of them. They didn't want to kill us. Maybe we can talk the rest of them out of this."

"It's not going to work," Harry said, shaking his head. "What's happening to Bole and Egwu is going to happen to them as well. It might take a little longer, but the result will be the same."

"… So what if they decide to stop being so cautious?" Draco asked. "What if they attack us directly?"

"It's almost certain they will," Merlin pointed out. "You should have killed Bole when you had the chance," he admonished.

'And what would their reaction have been if I killed Bole?' Harry thought back, still at odds with Merlin. 'They wouldn't back off. If anything, it would push them to attack us even more.'

"We don't go anywhere alone anymore," Harry said. "We stick together, and we watch out for each other."

Hermione, Draco and Ron nodded, seeing no other options.

"We were lucky the obsidian was in the chamber," Hermione said. "I read about it a while ago. It's naturally resistant to magic. Without it, they would have blasted through your wall, Harry."

"It wasn't luck, more of an educated guess," Harry explained.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked, curiously.

"It's really hard to hide away that amount of magic," Harry explained. "It's probably why the founders built the chamber where they did. They knew the natural deposits of obsidian would hide the chamber and make it difficult for anyone to detect it."

"What was that spell you used, Harry?" Hermione questioned. "To create the wall, I've never heard of something like that before."

"It doesn't actually have a name," Harry admitted. "But it predates wands."

"That's right," Hermione agreed, thinking back to when Harry cast the spell. "You didn't even draw your wand. I didn't think that was possible."

"A lot of the spells we use now can actually be performed without a wand," Harry explained. "Our wands just make it easier to refine and focus our magic."

"So that's another spell you're going to teach us, right?" Ron asked eagerly, imagining himself using it during a duel.

"Eventually," Harry agreed. "You'll need a solid understanding of the basics first, though."

Ron nodded, finding another reason to keep up his practice.

"You alright Draco?" Harry asked, noticing how quiet the Slytherin was.

"…They manipulated my memories," Draco said, looking away, embarrassed by how easily he had been manipulated. "I couldn't even tell I was acting any differently. Why didn't I notice?"

"Draco, you know that none of us blame you for this, right?" Harry asked, concerned for his friend.

"That's right," Hermione added, also concerned. "You said it yourself. They manipulated you."

"You don't understand," Draco replied. "My father trained me in occlumency, specifically for this kind of situation. I may not have been able to stop them, but I should have at least been able to notice what they did."

"These aren't normal school children," Harry explained. "They can put a lot more magic behind their mental attacks, and are skilled enough with legilimency to hide their tracks," he said, remembering when Andre tried to erase his own memories.

"What if they're still manipulating me?" Draco asked. "How would I even know? What if I lead you into another trap?"

"There's a way we can check," Harry offered. "If you trust me, I can enter your mind and find out what they've done."

Draco stared at Harry, not liking the idea of his mind being invaded a second time. "Will you see all my memories?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "What they did will be in your memories over the last few days. It won't be anything long term," he assured him.

"…Alright, let's do it," Draco agreed.

"Legilimens," Harry said, entering Draco's mind. Unlike him, Draco didn't have any mental constructs, so it was relatively easy to find the memories the study group had hidden away in Draco's subconscious, and bring them back to his conscious mind.

"I remember," Draco said after Harry ended the spell. "They interrogated me, forced me to admit that it was us, even the instructions they gave me to find the chamber."

"They're getting arrogant," Ron noticed. "They didn't even consider the possibility we would escape, did they?"

"No," Draco shook his head. "Those must be the side effects you mentioned, right?"

"…Not directly," Harry replied. "All that extra magic flowing through their bodies it makes everything easier for them. Spells that would take weeks for them to learn, they can pull off after just a couple of tries. They let it go to their heads."

"We can't count on them making that same mistake again," Ron pointed out. "After today, they're not going to underestimate us again."

"He's right," Merlin agreed. "Most of your success has come down to you escaping before they found out who you are, and now they know."

***

Andre sent a glare at his friends as they sat across from each other in the library. It had taken them almost three hours to break down the wall Potter created, and worst of all, they didn't even know how he managed it. None of the counter spells they tried had any effect on it.

Ismelda walked in to the library and sat down with a tired sigh. The day had gone nowhere close to what they expected.

"Well?" Andre demanded, wanting to know about Lucian's condition.

"Madam Pomfrey examined him," Ismelda explained. "They used the Draught of Living Death on him."

"Damn it," Andre said, slamming his fist on the table. "I knew something like this was going to happen. We can't pull off the ritual without him!"

"I know," Ismelda replied, letting some of her own frustration slip through. The entire time they were trapped inside the ritual chamber, they had to put up with Andre's ranting, and it had only got worse after they found Lucian.

"You're the ones with all the ideas," Andre said, rounding on Ismelda and Talbott. "What are we supposed to do now, huh? What are we supposed to tell the Alumni? What about Celestia? How are we supposed to free her now?"

"How were we supposed to know Potter was capable of that?" Talbott asked, losing his patience as well.

"Because he's been doing it from the very beginning!" Andre thundered. "He infiltrated our group, found out all our plans, and has been running circles around you lot!"

"You know what?" Talbott said, glaring back at Andre. "I'm getting real tired of you laying the blame on us! Remind us again, who was the one that wanted to recruit Potter in the first place?!"

"That's different," Andre growled. "On paper, he was the perfect candidate, and I didn't see any of you objecting then either," he said, pointing his finger accusingly at them.

Beatrice and Elspeth locked eyes, feeling the tension in the room as the senior members traded barbs and accusations. Neither one of them wanted to speak and draw the ire of either of them.

"How about the fact that you changed the plan without telling any of us?" Ismelda said, pointing the finger back at Andre. "You gave Potter the opening he needed to escape when you did that! If you had just stuck with the plan Potter, and his friends would be in the hospital wing instead of Lucian!"

"Your plan was juvenile," Andre dismissed. "The only way to stop Potter is to put him down permanently."

"That's ridiculous," Talbott dismissed. "Against all of us? He's just a first year."

"A first year that's consistently held his own against us," Andre reminded them. "He took down Elspeth after he stole the ritual book, and now Lucian."

Ismelda sighed, rubbing his face. "This is getting us nowhere. We can spend the whole night pointing fingers, but it isn't going to solve our problems."

"You're right about that, at least," Andre said, unable to help himself as he made one last dig.

"That isn't helping, Andre," Talbott said, feeling just as tired of all of this as Ismelda.

"No!" Andre said, slapping his hand down on the table as he remembered what Potter had revealed in the chamber. "What isn't helping is the fact that you wrote a diary about all of this, one that Potter evidently found, and you conveniently forgot to mention."

Talbott felt his face flush at the reminder. "I'm sorry," he admitted. "I never intended for anyone to find it."

"Well, they did," Ismelda said, agreeing on at least this much with Andre, but without the same venom. "Why didn't you tell any of us it went missing?"

"I looked for it," Talbott admitted quietly, "but I couldn't find it. I thought it was destroyed in the fight, but I guess I was wrong."

"Why did you write everything down in the first place?" Beatrice asked, speaking up. "You had to know it was a huge risk."

"I started it when I was first recruited," Talbott revealed. "When I joined the study group, it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. At the time I didn't think I would have the honor of opening the portal, but I thought that if I could at least document our time preparing for the ritual, it would at least be something, that our contributions wouldn't be forgotten."

Ismelda sighed, looking down at the table. She could see where Talbott was coming from, and at times even felt the way he did, that they would never get the recognition they deserved for their contributions.

Andre looked away, some of his own anger and frustration dissipating after Talbott's admission. "It still doesn't fix our problem. We had to tell the Alumni what happened, all of it."

"What do you think they'll do?" Elspeth asked in a quiet voice, remembering the dressing down Lord Niven had given each of them before.

"Lord Niven spoke to me privately," Andre said, revealing some of the pressure he had been under the last few weeks. "They're not happy with how we've been handling things… how I have been handling things," he said, correcting himself. "They're looking into alternatives to rescuing Celestia."

"Alternatives that don't include us?" Ismelda asked.

Andre nodded his head. "I don't know how far along they are on it, or if it's even feasible, but they've lost faith in us, and after what happened today, I can't blame them," he admitted.

"They can't do that," Beatrice said in turmoil, "not after everything we've done, everything we've sacrificed," she said, remembering how painful their recovery was after the last ritual.

"We can't hide what happened to Lucian," Andre pointed out. "It's only a matter of time before they find out."

Morgan watched the study group, keeping her presence hidden, a look of fury etched on her face. 'What have these fools done now?' she thought to herself. All her carefully laid plans were falling apart around her. The last thing she needed was her Acolytes looking into the ritual, or the Darkhold, and piecing together her true plans. It infuriated her that her options were so limited.

She could see the fractures forming between them, and with the loss of one more caster, it put her in a dangerous position. She could feel Chthlon stirring from his slumber even now, and didn't even want to think about what he would do if he learned of her presence in his realm.

She knew she would have to take a drastic step to get things back on track, but it was risky. She looked at Egwu, thinking about the few interactions she'd had with the child. His devotion to her was near absolute. A dark smile worked its way onto her face as she realized the solution to her current problem.