#Artemis Hexley and the circle of Khanna

[the-al-chemist]

Any Happy Little Thought

A/N: Truthfully, Ben Copper was never my favourite of the HPHM cast. But, I can’t help but feel sorry for him — I think he has it worse than most of those kids. So, when I received @eternalchaoschocolaterain’s request below, I had to go for the most uplifting of the choices. Poor boy deserves a little happiness.

Warnings: angst, references to violence and death of a young person, memory loss, understandably poor mental health.

The day was drizzly and overcast, but the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom was bright, illuminated with a silvery-white glow, so radiant that it had to be magical.

Nearly two weeks had passed since the first meeting of the Circle of Khanna, and so far, the society had been more successful than anyone would have guessed, in spite of their differences and almost constant bickering. Bill Weasley had proved to be as effective a DADA teacher as any of the six others they’d had in as many years - in fact, he was a better teacher than most - and with his help, they had managed to fill many of the gaps they had in their patchy, disjointed curriculum.

Today, however, Bill had decided to teach them something different, something that they might not even have covered for their NEWTs: the Patronus Charm.

Ben Copper had always been good at Charms. At one point, before he had started to make friends, his Charms lessons had been the only thing he had liked about school. Even after five and a half years of education, it was still the only subject that really came easily to him.

So why, then, could he not cast this charm at all?

He knew that the Patronus Charm was exceptionally complex, famously so. It was the most difficult defensive charm known to wizardkind, with many adults unable to fully master it. Ben wasn’t expecting to be good at it immediately, but he had not expected to be quite so bad at it in comparison to his peers.

Of course, Bill had already been able to cast the spell — he wouldn’t have been teaching it to them if he couldn’t — and it had transpired that Tonks was already capable of conjuring a corporeal Patronus, one in the shape of a large rabbit or hare. At first, the others had struggled, but now many of them were also managing to produce Patronuses that were not just discs or clouds of light, but had the forms of silver-white animals: a dolphin for Penny, a peacock for Andre, a dove for Chiara. Even Barnaby, who had never gotten good grades in most of his subjects, and little Bea Haywood, who was only in her second year, were improving with every attempt they made.

Ben, however, had been trying just as hard, and yet he had barely produced even the tiniest wisp of silver from his wand. As the others continued to practise, he was growing increasingly frustrated with himself. What was he doing wrong?

“I think you might be using the wrong memory,” said Bill, who had clearly noticed that Ben was having difficulty. “It can’t just be any old thing, it has to be something really powerful, the happiest memory you have.”

The happiest memory Ben had. What was the happiest memory he had?

His mind drew a blank. It often did when he tried to remember, had done ever since his second year at Hogwarts, when he had been found trapped in the cursed ice with no recollection of how he had become so. All his memories of that day had been lost, and the more that time went on, the more he had noticed other gaps in his memory from his life before then. Perhaps his happiest memory had vanished with the rest. As for the memories he had from after that…

The cupboard in the dungeons, dank and dark, and filled with the Devil’s Snare that had wound its way around his legs. The piercing screams of his classmates each time they had encountered a Boggart, and the anxiety that tightened like a coil in his chest each time he had opened a cupboard, or turned a corner, convinced that he would be the next person to face their greatest fear. The strange feeling of déjà-vu he had gotten the first time he ever saw Patricia Rakepick, that he couldn’t explain then and still couldn’t explain now. The looks of betrayal on Artemis and Rowan’s faces when he woke up to find out that he had been threatening them without his knowledge and against his will. The great rumble of the ceiling in the Buried Vault and the scent of burnt flesh that pierced his nose once the dragon entered the room from one of the portraits. Rakepick’s wand pointed at him, the green light emanating from that wand towards his chest, Rowan appearing from the shadows and jumping in front of him, her body hitting the ground, limp and lifeless.

Ben’s hand had been raised ready to cast his spell, but now it was shaking so badly that his wand fell to the floor. His head spun as he bent down to pick it up, and it took everything he had in him just to stay standing once he had straightened himself up again.

“Sorry,” he muttered, conscious that Bill was watching him. “I, er… Yeah, I’ll have another think about what memory to use. Thank you.”

It was a lie. There was no memory Ben could use, not anymore. He waited for Bill to turn his attention to Alanza before lowering his wand and sitting down at one of the tables that had been pushed to the side of the room. He wanted to have a moment to himself, to shrink away from the thoughts that threatened to drown him: the memory of Rowan’s death, the guilt that she had sacrificed herself to save him, the idea that she shouldn’t have bothered, that he wasn’t worth saving. He was a coward. He was a Mudblood. He was useless at everything except for Charms, and apparently he wasn’t even good at that anymore.

“You alright, mate?” A voice interrupted Ben’s thoughts, and he was joined by Charlie Weasley. Charlie leant back against the table rather than sitting in one of the chairs, his eyes scanning the room. “This spell’s really hard. I can’t get the hang of it at all.”

Ben couldn’t tell if he was being genuine or just trying to make him feel better. He made a quiet humming noise instead of speaking.

”I think Jae might’ve cracked it, though. Look.”

Charlie nodded his head and raised his eyebrows, and Ben followed the direction of his eyes. Their friend Jae had his wand held aloft, his Patronus swirling in the air in front of him to take a more substantial — if small — form. It had tiny silver legs, a twitching nose, a long tail.

“It’s a rat.” Charlie half-smiled, a glint of amusement in his eyes. “Bill is not going to be happy about that…”

But Jae’s rat-Patronus disappeared almost as quickly as it had appeared, the light it had cast on Jae’s face replaced with a surprised and proud-looking smirk. Seeing them looking, Jae walked towards Ben and Charlie with a swagger in his stride that irritated Ben, but made Charlie laugh.

“Not bad, mate,” said Charlie. “You really had it that time.”

“Dunno what all the fuss is about. Piece of cake, that.”

“Got any tips for us?”

Jae seemed to consider Charlie’s question before nodding. “Yeah. Ignore what your brother says. The thing about memories is a load of crap. I tried it, and it didn’t work. Had to improvise, do my own thing, y’know?”

Ben frowned. Charms were cast with precision, everyone knew that. You couldn’t just improvise a Charm.

“And what was ‘your own thing’?” he asked, more sharply than intended.

“Well, instead of thinking about good stuff that’s already happened, I just thought about even better stuff that could happen. It works, look.” Jae cleared his throat. For a moment, he seemed to glance over his shoulder in the direction of the Hufflepuff girls, but his focus returned so quickly to his wand that it may have only been a twitch. “Expecto Patronum!”

A small burst of white light issued from Jae’s wand, and a moment later, his rat-Patronus had returned.

“Possibility, lads. That’s the secret to happiness. Why look back, when you can keep on moving onwards and upwards?”

“I guess anything’s worth a try,” Charlie said with a shrug. “Expecto Patronum!”

Another raised wand, another Patronus. Though Charlie’s was incorporeal, he had at least managed a half-decent shield, which was more than Ben had achieved. Charlie’s Patronus grew brighter as Bill did a double-take at Jae’s rat and flinched away from it.

Then, both Jae and Charlie’s eyes were on Ben. He sighed before pulling out his own wand.

Something good that might happen. Again, Ben struggled to think of something. When so much that was bad had already happened, who was to say that the future wouldn’t hold something even worse in store? He always had found the idea of the future unnerving. The future was uncertain and out of his control and an endless source of worry. Possibility had never made him happy, only anxious.

Ben shook his head. “I can’t do it,” he whispered. “I can’t think of anything that’s good right now.”

Jae and Charlie shared glances as Ben lowered his wand and his gaze.

“Wow,” said Jae. “Bit rude, don’t you think? I mean, we are literally with you right now.”

“I don’t… You know that isn’t what I meant, Jae.”

Ben looked at Charlie for back up, but Charlie did not back him up.

“Actually, I think Jae might have a point. I mean, we’ve all been through some pretty rough stuff the last couple of years, and Godric knows what else we’ll be up against with the Vaults and the Cabal…”

Jae leaned towards Charlie and muttered, “Mate, I dunno if that’s going to help.”

“All I’m saying is that we’re still here. We’re still trying.” Charlie shrugged. “The fact that we haven’t given up yet is something, right? And I guess… Well, I guess that’s all thanks to you.”

Was it thanks to Ben? Ben wasn’t sure that it was, but Jae nodded his head emphatically.

“That’s right, this was all your idea. The defence lessons, and the name. The Circle of Khanna. That was genius, that was.”

Ben had been surprised that the others had liked his idea for a name as much as they had. He wasn’t going to suggest it at first. After all, would they really want to be constantly reminded of Rowan, of the loss of Rowan? Did they need to be reminded? Ben didn’t think there would ever be a day where he didn’t think about her, about her death, the way she had laid down her life for his. He didn’t think there would ever be a night where he didn’t dream that he was back in the forest, reliving her death. That memory would stay with him forever.

But, then again, Ben knew better than anyone what it was like to forget. He knew that forgetting was far worse than remembering. And so, he had suggested the name. The Circle of Khanna. With a name like that, none of them would ever forget the reason why they had joined together, who they were doing this for.

“It is a good name,” agreed Charlie.

“It’s all good, what we are doing here.” Jae paused, his eyebrows furrowing. “You know, I don’t think I’ve ever really done anything good before.”

It was good, what they were doing — fighting, trying, working together. Rowan was gone, but they were all still here. They hadn’t given up. They hadn’t lost hope. Not yet, anyway. That was how the others were able to cast their Patronuses, Ben realised. It wasn’t because they had the happiest memories, or liked the idea of possibility; it was because they still had hope. If they could stay hopeful, then why couldn’t he? Why shouldn’t he?

He didn’t need much, just one thought. One hopeful, if not happy, thought. It could be anything. Maybe just being here was something. Here, surrounded by bright silvery light that had been created from his friends’ happiness.

“Expecto Patronum!”

This time, when Ben raised his wand and spoke the incantation, something happened. A small wisp of silver furled upwards into the air in front of him. It was only little, and it wasn’t corporeal — it wasn’t even shield-like — but it was at least something.

For now, he would take something. For now, that would do for him.

[the-al-chemist]

From The Vaults: The Hexley Saga (Not Artemis’s Version)

This list has been growing quite a bit - so here are some working titles! Submissions are still open, so if there’s anything outside what is already here you want to read, hmu.

The Mystery At Hogwarts

Not Alone At Last (Rowan’s Version)

The Secret Staircase

Little One (Bill’s Version)

The Figures In The Shadows

The Forbidden Forest

Tango for Tongues (Diego’s Version)

Fall For You (Penny’s Version)

The Portrait Of The Vault

The Chop (Tonks’s Version)

Discipline (Rakepick’s Version)

She-Bear (Rosmerta’s Version)

Afterbath (Charlie’s Version)

Return to Ithaca (Jacob’s Version)

Crossroads (Bill’s Version)

The Circle Of Khanna

Wrong, Skye (Skye’s Version)

Judas (Jacob’s Version)

Bleak Beauty (Penny’s Version)

Dos Namorados (Alanza’s Version)

Any Happy Little Thought (Ben’s Version)

Before Moonrise (Chiara’s Version)

The Return To The Riddles

She Used To Be Mine (Sara’s Version)

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Chapter 21: The Last Battle

A/N: The Circle of Khanna prepare to face the final Cursed Vault, but they aren’t the only ones wanting to get to it. Warnings: threat, violence, and a *reveal*…

The days stretched longer and longer as May drew to its close. The sun was already high in the sky when the owls arrived at the breakfast table to deliver the post on the last day of the month, one of them landing on the Hufflepuff table with a small, peculiar shaped parcel attached to its leg, which it stretched out to Artemis.

Artemis took the parcel from the bird, and opened the parcel to reveal a silver key, decorated with green-painted leaf-like tendrils that rolled down the length of the handle.

“What’s that?” asked Tonks, and both she and Penny frowned at the item over the top of their Potions revision. 

“It’s a key,” said Artemis, smiling as she read the handwritten note her great-uncle had wrapped into the parcel containing the key. “Sickleworth had it this whole time.”

“What does it unlock?”

“Well, judging by the fact that it’s decorated with Gillyweed,” Chiara looked closely at the key, “I’d assume that it unlocks something to do with water.”

“The Vault in the lake, maybe?”

“That’s what I’m hoping.” Artemis nodded. “I’ll see what Bill makes of it.”

As breakfast finished, Artemis placed the key in her pocket and loitered near the top table of the Great Hall, where Bill was mid-conversation with Hagrid the gameskeeper. When the two had finished talking and Bill left the table, she rushed to meet him.

“What do you think of this?” she asked him, holding the key out for him to inspect. Bill sighed heavily.

“Good morning, Bill, did you sleep well? Yes, I did. Thank you for asking,” he said, but he took the key from her. “What does this do?”

“I was hoping you might tell me. Rakepick sent me and Sickleworth into Filch’s office to find it back in my fourth year. She said it was important, and so I thought it might-”

“Be needed to open the final Vault? It would make sense, what with the Gillyweed.”

“That’s what Chiara said,” Artemis frowned. “I didn’t know what Gillyweed has to do with the lake-”

“It makes you breathe underwater.”

“- but Duncan said that Olivia Green found a key that she thought would open the final Vault, and it reminded me of this one.”

“Nicely remembered,” said Bill. He lowered his voice slightly. “You know, we might need this pretty soon.”

Artemis tilted her head to one side. “What do you mean?”

“Hagrid was just telling me that the Grindylows have started acting aggressively, same as they did last year. If you ask me, it won’t be long until…”

“The statue curse gets released,” Artemis finished Bill’s sentence for him, and he inclined his head, his face grim. Artemis looked at the key. “We need to get to that Vault. Tonight.”

“Tonight? Artemis, that’s… We aren’t ready, we don’t even know-”

“That’s the problem, Bill! No one knows how to open this Vault, not for certain.”

“No, but if we take a bit longer to research, then we can have a better idea of what we’re doing.”

“If we take much longer, more people will get cursed, or the Cabal might beat us to it,” Artemis argued. “We can’t risk losing out to them now just so we can spend longer reading books for clues that might not even be there. You know, the clues might even be hidden inside the Vault itself!”

Bill exhaled, his features softening as he did. “Okay, you have a point,” he told her. “A good point. But I’m just as worried about the Cabal as the Vault. Who knows what they know already? You said they have an informant in the Auror office.”

“They did have one, but not anymore. Kingsley said they caught him. Someone called Williamson, I think.”

“And did Williamson tell them anything about R after they caught him?”

“Nothing yet. Apparently he’s still pretending to know nothing about it all, even though Moody told him the information that got leaked and no one else. But at least the Aurors are all trustworthy now.” Artemis shrugged. An idea stuck her, and she turned to Bill. “What if we ask the Aurors to guard the school while we go down to the final Vault? That way, we won’t have to worry about the Cabal showing up, because the Aurors can stop them getting as far as the lake.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” said Bill, nodding slowly. “How long will it take for you to arrange that with Kingsley?”

“A day, maybe?” Artemis said. “Could be less. We might even be able to get to the Vault tonight.” Bill rolled his eyes. “What?”

“You really haven’t changed a bit, have you?” 

Bill might have been sceptical about Artemis’ desire for haste, but both Kingsley and Mad-Eye Moody had thought her idea of getting to the Vault as quickly as possible a good one. The following night, an Auror patrol was set up around the perimeter of the school grounds, and the Circle of Khanna met in the entrance hall of the castle. The doors were open as they gathered, giving them a clear view of the courtyard beyond, illuminated by the crescent moon.

“That’s everyone,” Bill told Artemis, his eyes scanning the group as if he were counting them. Artemis nodded.

“Good. That’s good,” she said. “Right, so this is it. The final Vault.” Jae wolf-whistled quietly, and Artemis rolled her eyes before continuing, “The Vault is in a cave in the middle of the lake, and we are going to need to swim there. That means you'll need this." 

She nodded to Tonks and Tulip, who began to hand out clumps of a stringy green plant to the others. 

"This is Gillyweed, Tonks and I nicked it from the greenhouses. It'll let you breathe underwater."

"What happened to the Bubblehead Charm we used last year?" asked Barnaby, holding up a piece of Gillyweed and sniffing it suspiciously.

"Nothing happened to it, it's just that we might need to keep our wands free, that's all. The Cabal might be there, we need to be ready to defend ourselves if necessary."

Penny's blue eyes widened. "I thought you said the Aurors would be here to deal with the Cabal."

"Yeah, they will. They’re all stationed around the edges of the grounds keeping watch, and they have signals and stuff set up in place if there’s any trouble. But Moody still said we need to keep our wits about us, just in case."

Tonks screwed up her face and one of her eyes doubled in size, its iris changing colour to a bright electric blue.

"Constant vigilance!" she said in a gruff voice that was impressively similar to that of Mad-Eye Moody. A few of the others laughed, but most did not. 

"I know it might be dangerous," Artemis told them. "It's okay if you've changed your minds. It's not too late to turn back."

"Like hell it isn't," muttered Merula. "Come on, let's do this."

Bill and Artemis led the Circle of Khanna out of the main doors of the castle into the darkened entrance courtyard, on the other side of which a set of steps carved into the cliffside wound down to the lakeshore below. As they walked across the courtyard, wands raised and ready, Artemis felt a hand on her right shoulder. She turned to see Charlie Weasley behind her, staring at the cloisters with his eyebrows knitted together.

"We weren't expecting anyone else, were we?" he asked, his voice low.

Artemis shook her head and followed his gaze to see that someone was standing in the cloisters, tall and cloaked in shadow. As they stepped out, the moonlight illuminated their features, their height cheekbones and silver-streaked dark hair. It took a moment for Artemis to realise that she recognised the newcomer. 

She wasn't the only one.

"Dad?" Tulip pushed past Artemis and Bill to approach the wizard in the cloisters. "What are you doing here?"

"Shacklebolt told me what your friends had planned," said Ambassador Karasu, with a dirty look in Artemis' direction. "I came here to make sure that you have nothing to do with this."

"But-"

"I don't know why Shacklebolt even agreed to this nonsense. This is not something for teenagers to be engaged in, let alone when one of those teenagers is my daughter."

"We know what we're doing, Dad," Tulip rolled her eyes.

"This is far too dangerous for you. I forbid you to have any part in it."

"I'm of age. You can't forbid me to do anything."

Tulip's words seemed to have hit a nerve with her father. He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, so fast and so forcefully that Artemis was certain his hand would leave a mark. 

"Let go of me!"

But Karasu did not let go of Tulip. Instead, he tightened his grip. Tulip winced as she tried to wriggle free, to no avail, and Artemis raised her wand, ready to take matters into her own hands. Before she had the chance to do anything, however, Barnaby Lee had already pointed his wand at the ambassador, his jaw clenched and shoulders shaking.

"Relashio!"

A flurry of purple sparks issued from Barnaby's wand and hit Karasu in the wrist. His hand jerked as if it were going into spasm, and his grip on his daughter's arm loosened. Tulip wrenched her arm away from him and rejoined her friends.

"My friends are going to the lake, and they are going to break these curses once and for all," she told her father in a voice that was laced with fury. "I am going with them, and there is nothing you can say or do to stop me, or any of us, for that matter."

As she spoke, Tulip's almond-shaped eyes were narrowed and fixed on her father, but he no longer seemed to be looking at her. Instead, his gaze had settled on the far corner of the courtyard, at the top of the cliffside steps. Frowning, Artemis turned to see what he was looking at, and her stomach lurched. 

At the top of the steps were two more people: a pot-bellied wizard with a darkened nose who Artemis immedaitely recognised as her former teacher, Professor Topsy, and a tall, grey-haired witch in purple robes who she didn’t recognise, but knew without asking who she must be. If her violet-coloured eyes hadn't given her away, the fact that Merula Snyde had tensed beside her was all the proof she needed. This had to be Madam Buckthorn, Merula's aunt, the head Healer of St Mungo's Hospital, and the Director of the Cabal.

"You tried, Karasu. Looks like your daughter is just as disobedient as my niece. You know, my dear, you should listen to your father," said Madam Buckthorn, smiling passively at Tulip. "He's right, this isn't a matter for teenagers. It's very good of you all to have helped Miss Hexley with the last few Vaults, but I must insist that we take it from here." Her eyes settled on Artemis briefly, before she turned to talk to someone behind her. "I see what you mean. She really does look like her brother. I do hope that she will not cause us as much trouble."

Artemis glared at Madam Buckthorn. "Don't you dare talk about my brother," she said, raising her wand. "If it weren't for you, he'd never have been in any trouble at all."

“Did you not learn anything from the prophecy you stole, Hexley? You and your brother have been in trouble since you were born.”

“What do you… Wait. How do you know about us stealing the prophecy?”

There was a soft laugh from behind Madam Buckthorn, who stepped aside to reveal another witch, one with dark hair and glasses that caught the silver moonlight. Artemis' heart skipped a beat. 

"Rowan?"

Of course, it wasn't Rowan. But the witch looked familiar, with her curly hair and bright green eyes. Artemis had seen her before, spoken to her, been helped by her.

Olivia Green.

"You? You're one of them?" Artemis frowned. "But you… You were Jacob's friend."

"I still am,” said Olivia. “So is the Ronde. We all wanted the same thing. We're on the same side, Artemis."

"The Ronde tried to kill me. They did kill Rowan, Duncan... After everything that’s happened, how can you be on their side?"

"The Final Vault requires a life," Olivia Green shook her head sadly, but there was no regret in her eyes. "Duncan and I both wanted to get into the Vaults with your brother. Duncan should have felt honoured to lay down his life for it. It wasn't his fault that his life wasn't the one that was needed." 

Artemis looked at her in disgust. "Your friend died, and you don't even feel sorry about it."

"I feel sorry that his death was a waste. I should've known that he wasn't the one," Olivia's green eyes narrowed. "Oh, but your brother was always so very clever..."

Beside her, Madam Buckthorn let out a noise almost like a laugh. "He still is. It's a pity that he had to go and put himself in Azkaban prison so we couldn't have him lead us to the final Vault. Although, naturally, that's what he planned all along. We needed one of you to fulfil the prophecy, and without him, we'd have no choice but to have you do it. Which meant that we'd need you alive."

"Especially after our plan with Shiratori failed," muttered Karasu. "Damn that Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Where is he?" asked Artemis, her heart sinking as she realised that if the Cabal was here, at the castle, then something must have happened to the Aurors who had planned to keep them safe. "Where is Kingsley?”

"I expect that Burke has led him and his team on somewhat of a wild ghost chase.”

“Burke? The Metamorphmagus?”

“Loken infiltrated the Auror office almost a year ago, has been passing information ever since. You know that, though,” Olivia said. “You told me about it, remember? That night you came to the Department of Mysteries.” She shook her head. “I can’t believe you trusted a stranger so easily, after ‘everything that’s happened’.”

“Now, Olivia. We should be grateful that young Artemis was so generous in giving you that information. After all, if she had not, Burke would not have been able to frame another Auror and keep Shacklebolt’s trust, which would have been a great shame. I always think it useful to have friends in high places." Madam Buckthorn nodded her head in Professor Topsy's direction. "Take Topsy for example. Or your old ally, Patricia Rakepick. Both of them were so good at making sure situations were taken care of..." She smiled as Artemis' hand tightened on the hilt of her wand. "Now, now, there's no need to fret. No harm will come to your friend Shacklebolt, or any of your friends here."

“I don’t believe you,” said Artemis, he feet shifting into a duelling position.

"You should. We aren't interested in harming others unnecessarily. The Vaults have had their life, so no more need be taken. You can thank Rakepick for that, Rakepick and your dear little friend. What was her name?"

Artemis narrowed her her eyes and pursed her lips tight together. She wouldn't allow these people to say Rowan's name. They didn't deserve it.

"Khanna," Topsy said, his words almost completely clear. "Rowan Khanna."

"Of course. Thanks to Rowan Khanna, the Vaults are yours to open, Miss Hexley. Now all you need do is lead us to them."

"I'm not leading you anywhere," Artemis growled.

"You don't have a choice," said Olivia Green. "Your brother made sure of that the moment he put himself in Azkaban, as did you, when you picked up that prophecy. You have to lead us."

"No, I don't," Artemis raised her chin and stared defiantly at Olivia. "The prophecy says I have to lead a circle. I already have one, right here. I don't need you, and I don't want you."

"Ah," said Madam Buckthorn. "That complicates things."

Artemis shrugged. "Not really. It's simple. I lead my friends to the Cursed Vault, we open it, and you lot bugger off. Pretty easy to understand."

"I do understand, Miss Hexley, but what you don't understand is that my previous comment about not needing to hurt any of your friends was based on the assumption that they would not get in our way. You will lead the Cabal to the Vault, and not your little friends, or there will be a conflict, which we will win."

"We'll see about that," said a voice - Merula's voice - from beside Artemis. She was staring at  her aunt with open revulsion, her hand trembling slightly as she gripped her wand with white knuckles. "Confringo!"

A jet of bright orange light burst out of Merula's wand and soared through the air in the direction of Madam Buckthorn. It looked like the curse might hit her, but she raised her hand and waved it once, deflecting the light before it could do any damage. But Merula had cast the first curse, and now more were following, as one by one, the CIrcle of Khanna turned their wands on the Cabal. 

Battle had commenced. Tulip's father was duelling against the combined forces of his own daughter, Barnaby, Tonks, and Andre. Madam Buckthorn was up against Merula, Talbott, Ismelda, Jae, and Chiara. Topsy was fighting Ben, Liz, Diego, and Badeea; whilst Artemis joined Bill, Charlie, and Penny as they fought against Olivia Green. 

The Circle of Khanna outnumbered the Ronde in terms of numbers, but each member of the Circle only had one wand, and just as Rakepick had known how to cast spells without one, so too did the rest of the Cabal. Despite seeming to have the advantage, the Circle found themselves having to fight tooth and nail to keep up  with the force of the spells the Cabal were throwing their way.

With Olivia not using a wand to cast her spells, Artemis was finding it hard to predict which spells her opponent would use, and at whom. It was making it harder to counter every move, and her companions did not have the advantage of her Legilimency.

As Artemis dodged a spell issued from Olivia’s wand, Charlie pulled Penny out of the way of a sudden explosion caused by the snapping of Olivia’s fingers. Olivia’s lips curved into a smile that was more like a snarl, and she cast another curse with her wand in Charlie's direction.

Bill quickly cast a shield charm to protect his brother, exposing the side of his torso as he leapt to Charlie's defence. Olivia's free hand reached out and she clenched her fist, and Bill let out a cry of pain, his own hand reaching for his ribcage. Her nostrils flaring, Artemis volleyed her own curse in Olivia's direction, but Olivia pushed her hand forward, palm first, and the light from Artemis' wand stopped in mid-air and changed direction so that it shot straight back at her.

"Protego!" 

A deep, rumbling shout echoed across the courtyard, and black wizard in deep purple robes entered the fray, his wand arching gracefully through the air, leaving a shield of silver behind it. Kingsley's shield charm hung in the air in front of Artemis, bursting into fractals as Artemis' returned curse hit it in the centre. 

The Circle of Khanna’s luck had changed; they had reinforcements. From the cliff steps, more Aurors were appearing: Moody, Scrimgeour, Proudfoot and Savage, and Dawlish, his arm no longer in a bandage. And from the castle, too, more adults were joining the scene: Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Snape, and Sprout; Hagrid and Professor Kettleburn; and Madams Pomfrey and Hooch were all running out from the entrance hall. 

The courtyard was no longer in shadow, instead it was alight with the flashes and beams of spells and curses as the Circle of Khanna, the teachers, and the Aurors combined forces to battle the Cabal. 

Kingsley shot another spell in Olivia's direction before pulling Artemis into the cloisters.

"What took you so long?" Artemis asked him, and he shook his head.

"We were each watching an entrance of the castle," he told her. "A distress signal went up, so we followed the call, but it was a false alarm. When we saw the flashes from up here, we realised it wasn’t a false alarm at all, but a distraction.”

"That’s because you never really caught the informant. It was Burke, the Metamorphmagus," Artemis said. "He's been in disguise as one of the Aurors all along. He's here."

Kingsley frowned and looked out of the cloisters at the battle that was still going strong in the courtyard. His eyes scanned the scene, before settling in the far corner.

"Dawlish," he muttered. "Of course."

Artemis looked out and saw that Kingley was right. Dawlish had disappeared from the scene, and in his place was a wizard with dark cropped hair and a sardonic looking expression, currently mid-duel with Tonks. 

"What do you think he’s done with the real-"

"I dread to think," said Kingsley, his eyes still on the scene. "Can they all do wandless magic?"

"Yeah."

"Then we'll need all the fighters we can spare."

"We've all been practising duelling. We can all stay and fight," said Artemis, but as the words came out of her mouth, she realised that they weren’t true. “Except… Well, we still need to get to the Vault. That’s why we’re all here.”

Kingsley frowned. “How many people do you need to take with you?”

“I’m not sure.”

“In which case, Tiny, I want you to forget about this fight. You have your own to deal with. Run, take as many of your friends as you can without drawing too much attention to yourself, and get down to that lakeshore."

"But-"

"The rest of us can deal with the Cabal, you have to be the one to open the Cursed Vaults. Go. Run."

Artemis took a deep breath and wrapped her arms around Kingsley's waist before nodding her head and springing into action. She jumped out of the cloisters and weaved her way through the fighters, dodging and ducking and deflecting curses as she went, wondering how many of her friends she could pull away from the battle without either alerting the Cabal to their absence or giving them an advantage in the fight. 

In the end, she managed to get eight members of the Circle of Khanna to follow her away from the courtyard and down the winding cliff path stairs: Bill, Penny, Tonks, Charlie, Ben, Merula, Barnaby, and Tulip.

“Where are we going?” Penny asked breathlessly, as Artemis led the group down towards the lakeshore.

“To the Vault,” replied Artemis. "We have to get to that Vault and finish this. Now."

"What about the others?"

"Kingsley said more fighters were needed and that we couldn't draw too much attention to ourselves. This is the only way.”

“But-”

“Hexley is right,” Merula said. “We’ve come this far. We can’t let them win. The Cabal or the Cursed Vaults.”

They reached the bottom of the cliffs, and paused on the pebbled shore of the Black Lake. The atmosphere far quieter than it had been in the courtyard, though the noise of the fight could still be heard in the distance, and the night sky was still lit up with curses which from here looked almost like the fireworks that had been set off the night Jacob had left home, all those years ago. Artemis took a deep breath of the cool night air.

"They'll be okay," said Bill, smiling weakly at Artemis. "I taught them well last year." 

Despite his comment actually reassuring her, Artemis rolled her eyes at him. She looked back at the lake. The surface of the water was completely still, as if no horrors lay in its depths. But they did, she knew that better than anyone.

Artemis reached into her pocket and pulled out a sprig of Gillyweed, and the others followed suit. Tonks made eye contact with her and grinned.

"Bottoms up, right?"

[the-al-chemist]

The Hexley Saga - Author’s Notes

And just like that, it’s over. 2 years, 7 novels, 117 chapters and over 500,000 words later, the Hexley Saga has come to its conclusion. I’ve probably written enough, but before I officially call it quits on the series, there are some things I want to say, and some people I want to thank.

It’s hard to know what to write here, because I was not expecting to have to write this. The very name “The Saga” was a facetious nod to how out of control my little practice exercise had become by the time I came around to publishing the first instalment. I had thought that I would write it until I felt confident in my own style and then move on. I did not start out thinking that I would adapt the entire game, and the fact that I have done so (and have been the first to do so) is thanks to several people.

Firstly and foremostly, I need to thank two people outside the fandom bubble. So, I’d like to thank my Year 3 teacher Mr Randall, who taught me joined up handwriting, let me read Harry Potter books in his lessons, and once made me promise to remember him when I published my first ever novel. Thanks and love also go to my friend Naomi, the first person outside of the HPHM community to have read and supported the Hexley Saga, who gave me her frank opinions on the story as someone who had no idea of the plot and characters other than reading my writing, and even went so far as to take it with her to read on her honeymoon.

They say it takes a village to raise a child. I don’t have children (this series has been my baby) but I can vouch that writing a half-a-million word novel adaptation of a mobile game does take more than a little outside help. So, I need to thank Erin @thatravenpuffwitch, JD @that-scouse-wizard, and Flare @flareshogwarts for allowing me to borrow their characters for cameos (and Erin for her Wattpad cover designs); my favourite poet E.M.G. Somerwill for assisting me with writing a full poem in rhyming French; Kate @kc-and-co for helping me see past the statistics to get into the head of Murphy McNully; and Val @whatwouldvalerydo for reassuring me whilst I was writing some of the harder parts of Circle of Khanna.

No one has helped me more in writing this series, however, than my dearest Anni @lifeofkaze. As well as lending me her darling LizzieJameson and assisting in translating Orion Amari’s dialogue, Anni has been my sounding post for ideas, the person I go to when I need to puzzle something out, and the one who has held my hand through and checked over the scenes I was most unsure of and intimidated by. She has also been my biggest cheerleader, my emotional support, trusted confidante (she has known all the plot twists for months!), and - most importantly - my friend. I honestly don’t know what I would do without her, and I am so glad to have her in my life.

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who has joined me and Artemis on this journey together. So many people have been reading and supporting this story that I can’t list all of them, but if you’re still here reading this now, then this dedication goes to you. I still don’t know exactly what I expected when I first decided to publish Artemis Hexley and the Mystery at Hogwarts back in the first few months of 2021. I obviously hoped that people would read and enjoy it, but I have been blown away by how many people have developed a love for and been genuinely touched by Artemis and her story. Thank you. Really, thank you. I honestly don’t know if I would have gotten to this point if it weren’t for each and every single one of you.

But, reached this point I have, and that point is this: the end of the Hexley Saga. However, as Dumbledore said in the final chapter: “A circle has many endings. In fact, it has a multitude of endings, an infinite number of them, but each of those endings is also a beginning.”

I wanted to gain confidence in order to start writing my own original fiction, and I fully intend on doing so, but Artemis has been my constant companion for the last two years, and she isn’t ready to let go of me just yet. Both she and I have stories to be told, and though I cannot promise when we will be ready to tell them, I can tell you that we will. One day.

So really, this isn’t the end, and nor is it goodbye. It’s just

For Now, With Love,

Al and Artemis

Artworks in the edits above by: @thatravenpuffwitch @slytherindisaster @ag907 @flareshogwarts @usernoneexistent @cursebreakerfarrier @cursedcrusaders @kc-and-co @pathofstars @gaygryffindorgal @deafeningwizardsquare @alstroemerian-witch

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Chapter 25: In the Beginning

A/N: it’s a funny title for the last chapter of a half a million word-long series, but I hope you’ll see my logic by the end. The end. Wow, it feels weird to say that. There’ll be an epilogue, but the bulk of Artemis’ story ends… here. And what a journey it’s been. Featured characters include Ellie Hopper @thatravenpuffwitch and David Willows & Amelia Booth @that-scouse-wizard. Warnings: mentions of violence, death and betrayal, an incredibly nostalgic and somewhat bittersweet ending. I cried writing the last few paragraphs, and you might just cry reading them. Sorry.

News always spread quickly around Hogwarts, and it did not take long for the school to begin whispering about Artemis Hexley and her friends’ heroic defeat of the cabal and destruction of the infamous Cursed Vaults. With each passing day, the rumours and stories grew increasingly far-fetched, and by the time the school gossipmongers had moved on to the latest scandal - namely, Slytherin winning the Quidditch Cup after they cheated their way to victory over Gryffindor in the final match of the year, much to the obvious chagrin of Professor McGonagall - Artemis was surprised that anyone even believed in the Cursed Vaults or the Circle of Khanna anymore.

Not that she really cared, of course. She and the other seventh years had bigger things to worry about: their N.E.W.T. exams. Having spent the majority of her final term breaking curses, Artemis had not put as much effort into her revision as she should have. She had attempted to study as hard as she could in the few weeks that followed the night she had destroyed the Cursed Vaults and preceded the exams, but she had found it harder to focus on the N.E.W.T.s than she had the O.W.L.s. She was not sure whether that was because the subject material was more complex this time, because she no longer had Rowan there to motivate her with revision timetables and long library sessions, or because she was still unsettled by what she had discovered in Dumbledore’s pensieve. Probably, it was a combination of everything.

Still, she had managed to struggle through her written exams and, as always, she fared far better in the practicals. She could only hope that she had done enough to get the grades she needed to get onto the Curse-Breaker training scheme at Gringotts. 

Merula Snyde had also applied for the programme, however, she didn’t seem concerned about her exam results at all.

“They won’t care about grades,” she told Artemis as they left their final, abysmally difficult Ancient Runes exam. “Not when I’ve already given them something better.”

Artemis frowned. “What?”

“Let’s just say I managed to get a pretty convincing letter of recommendation for my application,” Merula said, her eyebrows raised. “After all, I know someone whose opinion on Curse-Breakers gets taken very seriously.”

“Who, Bill?”

“No, dungbrain. I mean Madam Rakepick, obviously.”

“There is nothing obvious about that,” replied Artemis. “How did you even-”

“I wrote to her in Azkaban. They are allowed to receive letters, you know.” Artemis didn’t know, but she nodded anyway, and Merula continued, “I told her that after the Buried Vault and what she did to Khanna, she owed that much. And seeing as she took the three of us on as apprentices and got Bill a place, it was only fair that she do the same for us, too.”

Artemis blinked. “Us?”

“Yeah, I told her to write a letter for you as well. She sent me back one for each of us, basically saying that they’d be idiots not to take us on, and I forwarded them on to Gringotts. Why are you looking at me like that?”

“I just don’t remember the last time you did anything this nice for me, Merula,” Artemis replied. “Actually, I don’t remember you ever doing anything this nice for me.”

Merula rolled her eyes. “Don’t get used to it.”

“You mean, you don’t want us to be work friends as well as school friends?”

“We’re not friends at all, Hexley. I barely tolerate you.”

Artemis laughed out loud, and as she walked away, she could’ve sworn she saw Merula smirking to herself. 

On the last day of term, the final years were asked to meet with their Heads of Houses. When the Hufflepuffs arrived at the greenhouses, Professor Sprout was already there, smiling at all of them with a look of mingled sadness and joy in her eyes.

“Thank you for taking time out of your last day to sit and listen to me,” she said. “There are a few things I wanted to say to you, and I’m not sure that there will be time before the leaving ceremony tomorrow morning. I expect that you will want to spend that time with your peers and with your families, and not your head of house.

“However, as your head of house, I do want to spend a little time with you. I remember your first night at the castle, when you all were first sorted into Hufflepuff. You were all so nervous and you looked so small under that hat, and now, look at you all. All grown up and ready to leave.”

“To be fair, Professor, some of us still would look small under that hat,” said Tonks, and Artemis stuck her tongue out at her.

“Hufflepuff house has always valued hard work, patience, dedication, fairness, loyalty, and kindness,” Sprout continued. “Now, I know what some say about our house, and those of us who are sorted into it. I believe the word ‘duffers’ gets thrown about fairly often, and I suppose that next to the bravery of Gryffindor, the wisdom of Ravenclaw, and the ambition of Slytherin, our house does seem a little bit humble in comparison. But, what those people fail to understand is how there is brave you must be to truly care for others, how hard work requires ambition, and how treating others fairly is always the wisest choice. Our values are nothing to be sniffed at. You’ve done a great job at upholding them whilst you’ve been here, and I do hope you’ll continue to uphold them after you leave. Remember, there is strength in being kind.

“Now, obviously, there is one less person here than there should have been. I don’t want to linger too much on sad events when you’ve all achieved so much to be happy about, but I’d like us to take just a few moments to remember Rowan.” Professor Sprout paused, placed one green-fingered hand over the other, and bowed her head. Several others followed suit, including Artemis. After almost a minute, Professor Sprout spoke again, “I think Rowan would be as proud of you as I am. And I am so very, very proud of you. I’m sorry to see you go, but I can’t wait to see how you’ll continue to make me proud in the years to come.” She smiled and wiped a single tear from her cheek. “I’ll let you all get on. Murphy, Diego, Artemis. A word, please.”

“Did we do something wrong, Professor?”

“Not at all, I just need to take back your prefects’ badges and Captain’s armband,” she told them. Diego unpinned his badge and gave it to her. Artemis waited until he had gone to do the same. Professor Sprout squeezed her hand as she pressed the badge into her green palm. “And you thought you wouldn’t make a good prefect.”

Frowning, Artemis’ nose wrinkled. “Did I make a good prefect?”

“You made an interesting one, I’ll give you that,” Sprout chuckled. “But overall, I think you did a good job. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Professor Sprout. For everything.”

“You’re welcome, Artemis. Now, have you sent off all your invitations for the ceremony tomorrow?”

Artemis shook her head. The following morning, the final years would take part in the annual leavers’ ceremony before returning home, and they had each been given a set of invitations to send to their families. Artemis had already posted invitations to her great-aunt and uncle, along with the newspaper clipping detailing the results of the magizoological photography competition she had entered earlier in the year, but had yet to send out the other two.

One she had thrown into the bin, having decided that her mother probably wouldn’t want to come, and not being certain that she wanted her to come, either. The final invitation was meant for Jacob, but she still didn’t know when he would be released from Azkaban. She had kept hold of it in the hope that he would be allowed out in time to attend, but it was looking less likely by the hour, despite several written requests to Kingsley Shacklebolt that he try to hurry the process along a bit.

“There’s still a little time,” Professor Sprout told her gently before she let go of her hand. “Murphy, your armband?”

Murphy handed it to her. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?” 

For the first time in seven years, Murphy had nothing to say. He simply shrugged his shoulders, a look of glum resentment on his face. Professor Sprout sighed and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Murphy, when I said just now that I’m proud of you all and your achievements, I don’t just mean the big wins. You were faced with an opponent that was not playing fair, and you chose to stick to your principles rather than stoop to their level. As far as I’m concerned, that was a great achievement in its own right. Besides, Quidditch shouldn’t just be about winning. It should be about being part of a team and having fun with your peers. And you know, even though you’re adults now, it’s okay for you to do things you enjoy just for the fun of them.”

Artemis’ eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

“I almost forgot!” she blurted out. “Murphy, I’ve got an idea. Can you get the Quidditch team together? Tell them to meet on the pitch right after lunch. I’ll make sure Andre and Charlie know to come, too.”

And so, with Penny’s help spreading the word, several assorted members of the Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Gryffindor Quidditch teams and the entire Circle of Khanna met on the pitch, ready to play one final game while they still could.

“But there’s too many of us,” said Andre, frowning at all the people who had gathered around to join.

“So? We can have more Chasers and Beaters, or we’ll just swap players in and out as we go.”

“That’s actually against the rules,” Murphy told her. “You’re only allowed to substitute players after the beginning of the match if the game goes on for more than-”

“Sod the rules. This is just for fun. Anyone who wants to play can play. Who’s in?”

In the end, they managed to sort out two teams of nine players, made up of students from all four houses, with both Murphy and Lee Jordan sharing the commentary. 

It was chaos. With more players on the pitch (many of whom did not usually play Quidditch), two commentators, and no team robes to distinguish who was who, Artemis found it hard to follow what was actually going on, even from the vantage point she was using in order to look out for the golden snitch. 

"Egwu saves, but Diego Caplan picks it up on the rebound," announced Lee Jordan. "From what I hear, this is something of a speciality for Caplan, who-" 

"Caplan passes to Hopper," Murphy interrupted him wearily, "who flies back to the scoring zone. Hopper has a remarkable shooting record in the past, so Egwu will have his work cut out for him. But what's this? One of the Weasleys-"

"I think it's Fred. Could also be George."

"It's a fifty percent chance either way. Weasley aims a Bludger at Hopper, but it looks like... Yes, Bludger is deflected by Lee. Excellent defence from newcomer Lee there, leaving Hopper free to shoot. She shoots, and she scores!"

"Ten points to... Which team is that?"

It was not Artemis' team that had scored, but she applauded anyway as Ellie Hopper flew away from the goalposts and smiled at Barnaby, who blushed and dropped his Beater's bat. 

On the other side of the pitch, Artemis thought she could see a flash of something gold, so she flew closer to investigate. She wasn't the only one. Charlie Weasley must have seen the same thing, for he flew in the same direction. 

"You saw it too, then?" he asked her, his eyes scanning the pitch.

"Dunno what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't."

Artemis stopped feigning ignorance and grinned before squinting to try and see the snitch, to no avail.

"I think it's gone," she said, frowning.

"I think you're right," replied Charlie, but he kept looking for a few more seconds before shrugging and turning to her. "What's the score?" 

"You're asking the wrong person. I think my team is winning, though."

"For now, maybe. Ow! That's a foul, you know."

Of course, Artemis did know, but she didn't care. She laughed and zoomed away from Charlie, leaving him to rub his upper arm where she had just flown into him sideways. She took both hands from her broomstick and held her arms wide as she accelerated, raising her face to the sunlight and feeling the breeze filter through her outstretched fingers. She was going to miss this feeling.

The sound of applause from down below drew her attention back to the game, and she saw that Beatrice Haywood had managed to score a goal for her own team. She clapped her hands, and scanned the pitch once more for the Snitch.

And she saw it.

There, near the other team's goalposts, the tiny golden ball was flitting around the hoops, weaving its way between them. Artemis put her hands back on the broom and accelerated towards it, the wind whipping her face and hair as she flew faster and faster through the air. She was focussing so hard on the Snitch that she almost didn't notice Charlie in her peripheral vision, but she just about managed to catch a glimpse of his distinctive red hair. She pushed further forward, descending into a dive as the Golden Snitch spiralled down the length of the middle goalpost. 

Having nearly reached the ground, the Snitch shot out across the middle of the pitch, flying so low to the ground that it was almost touching the grass. Artemis pulled out of the dive and swerved to follow it, and so did Charlie. 

Her broom was the better model, more suited to sharp turns than Charlie's, but he was the more skilled flier. He turned with pinpoint precision, and accelerated after the ball. Artemis flattened herself so low to her broom that her chin almost touched the handle, willing it to fly faster, but Charlie was gaining speed, and now they were neck and neck, and the Snitch was so close, so very close.

Artemis reached out her hand to catch it, but it ducked under her hand and dodged sideways, closer to Charlie. In desperation, she slammed her hand down, hard. She did so with such speed and force that she forgot to brake and her broom slipped out from beneath her, but she didn't care. Beneath her right palm, the Snitch's left wing was trapped and pinned to the ground. Unfortunately, however, the other wing was also trapped by another hand. As she had fallen from her broom, Charlie had jumped from his own, and had also managed to trap the Snitch by holding it down to the ground.

“Now what?”

The other players flew down and dismounted their broomsticks. 

"Well, I think the fairest thing to do would be to see who touched it first," said Penny. "After all, don't Snitches have flesh memories?"

"They do, but this one is second-hand. It'll say I caught it, regardless of who did this time."

"So, what do we do?"

Charlie turned to Artemis. "Tie?"

That was good enough for her. "Tie."

Murphy and Lee Jordan called out the final scores, but Artemis was no longer listening at all. Not just because she didn't mind about winning or losing, but because from under the stands, she could see someone emerging who looked incredibly familiar, even from the distance.

"Hey, Hexley, isn't that..."

"It's my brother," she said. "It's Jacob."

She waved the others ahead and walked across the pitch towards her brother, who began to clap his hands as she approached him. 

"Not bad," he grinned. "You're a decent flier."

Artemis shrugged. "I was just taught well."

"Humble, too. No wonder the hat put you in Hufflepuff," Jacob looked across at Artemis' friends, many of whom were surreptitiously watching the pair of them. "Want to get out of here?"

Together, Artemis and Jacob made their way through the grounds to the covered bridge, which gave them a clear view over the Forbidden Forest in one direction and the Black Lake in the other. Jacob looked out at both as if he'd never seen them before.

"I don't think I'll ever get over these views," he said. "Although any view is an improvement on what I've been staring at for the last ten months."

Artemis looked at her brother properly. He was paler than he used to be, his robes hung from his body as if they were too big for him, and his cheekbones were more pronounced than ever. His eyes had dark circles beneath them, and his smile didn't quite reach them. 

"I'm sorry I didn't write to you. I would’ve done, but I didn't know they let you send letters to Azkaban," she told him. "When did they let you go?" 

"Late last night."

"But Dumbledore asked them to release you weeks ago!"

"Yes, but because lying in a court of magical law is also a crime, I had to finish a shorter sentence before I could leave," Jacob explained. "So last night it was. Didn't want to be alone, so I stayed at Newt and Tina's. I came here as soon as they stopped telling me about your photo competition. Uncle Newt is incredibly pleased that you are the second-best magizoological photographer in the country. He's had the article framed and everything."

"He has?"

"Twice. Apparently one of the Crups ate the first frame."

A small laugh escaped Artemis' mouth, and the fine lines in the corners of Jacob's eyes deepened as his smile widened. 

"Did they tell you about the leaving ceremony tomorrow?" she asked, and he nodded. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her last invitation. "Do you want to come?"

"Definitely. I think I've missed enough already," Jacob said. He took the invitation from her and wrapped his arms around her. "It seems very strange to think of you being old enough to leave Hogwarts."

"Yeah."

"What are you going to do next?"

"What I'm good at," said Artemis. "Curse-breaking. I've applied for the training position at Gringotts." She frowned. "What will you do? Where will you go?"

"I want to solve mysteries. The mysteries." For the first time since Artemis could remember, Jacob's eyes brightened. Not understanding his meaning, her eyebrows furrowed deeper, and he explained, "Mysteries that have been around for so long that people have forgotten they ever even existed. Like the Chamber of Secrets or the Fountain of Fair Fortune."

"Those are just stories. They're not real."

"Muggles believe that Merlin is just a story. We were told that the Cursed Vaults weren't real. They are, they've just been talked about so much that people have stopped believing in them. In every legend there's an element of truth, and so I want to find out exactly how much truth there is in everything we now consider to be a legend. As for where that will take me, I don't know."

Artemis swallowed. "So, you'll leave? And I won't know where you'll be going or when you'll be back?"

"Or you could come with me."

"You really mean it? You and me, going around the world, and working together?"

"Why not? Between us, we managed to do the impossible with the Vaults. What's to stop us from doing more impossible things?"

Artemis could scarcely believe her ears. This was everything she had ever wanted to hear, everything she had longed for in all those years of searching and missing her brother. And yet... 

Perhaps it was just that it felt too good to be true, or perhaps it was because she already felt homesick for Hogwarts, or because so much had changed, but she felt suddenly apprehensive. It was as if she were being pulled in two different directions, and she didn't know which way she should go. So, instead of agreeing, she asked:

"What about Gringotts?"

"You don't have to go to Gringotts. I doubt you'd like it, anyway. They have a lot of rules their curse-breakers have to follow, and there's a lot of studying and paperwork you'd have-"

"You don't know that," Artemis said. "You've never worked for Gringotts."

"Patricia used to talk about it."

"Patricia? Oh, Madam Rakepick," Artemis nodded, and gave a little shudder. "It's so strange hearing you call her that, thinking how you were friends, after everything she did." Jacob made a humming noise, and Artemis continued, "Did you know Merula wrote to her about Gringotts and asked her to write us both recommendations?"

"No."

"Yeah. She actually did it as well. Wrote the letters."

"Makes sense," said Jacob. Artemis stared at him incredulously. "She saw something of herself in you. I think she was quite fond of you."

"Yeah, she seemed really fond all those times she tried to murder me."

"She was fond of you, but she cared about the Vaults more."

"Like Dad?"

She hadn't meant to say it. She had been so happy to see Jacob that she hadn't wanted to bring up everything she had seen in Dumbledore's Pensieve the night she destroyed the final Vault. She didn't want to feel angry at Jacob, not after he had just spent months and months in Azkaban to keep her safe, without her even writing him a letter.

"You know about Dad?" Jacob asked, his body stiffening.

"Yeah. Dumbledore told me-"

"He shouldn't have done that."

"- and Ma gave me back my memories." Jacob didn't respond, so Artemis elaborated. "You know, the ones you stole from me."

"Look, you don't…” Jacob sighed. “You were six years old, Artemis. You were confused and scared, and it was better that you didn't remember what happened. You were better off without those memories."

"I don't care. They were mine. You had no right to-"

"Actually, Artemis, I did have the right. After Dad died, I was left in charge of everything, including you."

Artemis glowered at him. "This is the part where you're supposed to apologise."

"I'm not going to apologise to you for doing the right thing," Jacob told her. "You might not like it, but I did it to protect you. Every single thing I have done has been to protect you, and some of it might not have been to your liking. Some of it wasn't to my liking either, but I did it anyway, because there is nothing - nothing - that I wouldn't do to keep you safe."

He stopped talking and turned his face away from her to look out over the grounds. Artemis frowned. His words echoed in her ears, reminding her of something someone else had told her, not too long ago. Duncan Ashe.

She bit her lower lip before asking in a quiet voice: "Like betray someone to R, you mean?"

"What are you talking about?"

Jacob asked the question in a level voice and with only a moment’s hesitation, but in that split second before he spoke, what little colour her had left in his cheeks drained from them entirely, and even in profile Artemis could see that his eyes had widened, just a fraction.

"I'm talking about Duncan," she told him, and he exhaled. "He thought that you betrayed him, had chosen him to die over me. He said that you'd told him yourself, and I thought he had just gotten the wrong end of the wand, but..." Artemis shook her head. She had just seen the truth on Jacob’s face. "You did, didn't you? You deliberately made it seem like he was the person you cared about more than anything or anyone else, just so that the Cabal wouldn't come after me."

Slowly, Jacob nodded his head. "It was the only way, so I... That I will apologise for."

The look in his eyes was one of genuine guilt. And something else, Artemis realised, as he looked at her properly. She narrowed her eyes at him and he looked away again. As he did, she realised what it was. 

Relief.

"What else?" she asked him, her blood running cold as she did so. She wasn't sure whether she really wanted to know the answer, but she still repeated her question. "What else did you do?"

Jacob said nothing, just continued to look out at the grounds. There were tears in his eyes. Something in the front of his neck moved up and down. Artemis followed his gaze and saw that it was focused on the Forbidden Forest. She closed her eyes. 

"The letter," she murmured. "The one Corey found. The handwriting, it... I thought it looked funny. Different. I assumed it had been written in a rush, but..." 

She opened her eyes, but she was still unable to see the forest. Even Jacob was blurry through her tears as she looked at him and asked him:

"Was it you? Jacob, did you send that letter to Rowan?"

"Artemis..."

"You did. You sent it. All this time I thought it was my fault, and all of this time... It was you." Artemis' sense of cold dread was draining from her. She was growing hot all over, almost burning with rage. "You plotted it, all of it. You and Patricia. You're the reason Rowan was there in that forest that night, and you're the reason she..."

Jacob looked her in the eye and told her: "I'm sorry."

"Would you do it again?" 

Artemis' question hung in the air, unanswered.

"Then you're not sorry," she said, half-spitting the words at him. "And I don't have to forgive you."

"I didn't ask you to forgive me."

"Good, because I don't, and I never will. I'll never forgive you." Jacob closed his eyes, but Artemis' stayed open, staring at him in contempt. "You know what? You should just leave and not tell me where you're going or when you'll be coming back. I don't even care anymore. And I'll be having this." She snatched her invitation from his hands so furiously that it was a miracle it didn't rip in half. "I don't want you at the ceremony. I don't want you anywhere near me or my friends. Here, you can have this back instead."

Her fingers trembled as she removed the watch Jacob had given her for safekeeping all those years ago, making her fumble as she undid the clasp. Jacob watched her with his eyes wide.

"I don't want it," he said gently.

"Neither do I. I don't want any part of you."

Finally she managed to take the watch off. She threw it at Jacob's feet, not even caring if it broke, and glared at him, daring him to contradict her.

"You'll always have a part of me, Artemis. Like it or not, I'll always be your brother."

"I already have a brother. His name is Bill."

She had nothing left to say, so she turned tail and ran away, down the covered bridge, out past the stone circle, and through the grounds, her heart pounding and aching and breaking. 

Nearing the owlery, she stopped and half-threw herself down under the red-berried tree outside. Her head on her hands and her elbows on her knees, she let out a strangled scream, not caring if she startled the group of Thestrals that were grazing on the grass behind her. 

Her whole life, everything she ever had been, had been defined by the Cursed Vaults. And now, the Vaults were gone and she was leaving Hogwarts, and she wasn't Jacob's younger sister anymore, nor was she the Cursed Vault girl, or even the Hufflepuff prefect or Seeker. She was just... Well, she didn't really know who she was without all that. So, what was she supposed to do now?

She unfolded herself from the ball she had curled herself into and looked up at the branches above her, adorned with red berries and green leaves. The last two times she had come here had been on New Year's Eve - Rowan's birthday - and the tree had been almost bare. Now, it was full of life, but it would be bare again by December. That was just how things went. They kept going on. And so would she. 

She looked down at her hands, still clutching the invitation to the leaving ceremony that had been meant for Jacob, and an idea came to her. She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the invitation in her hand, duplicating it wordlessly, and  carried the invitations up to the owlery. As she stood in the doorway watching two owls fly away from her, one due south and the other in the direction of the village, she wondered why it had taken her so long to send them, and hoped that she hadn't left it too late to do so.

The clock tower bell chimed seven times, and she returned back to the castle, her home for one last night, where the end of term feast would soon be beginning.

The sun rose early the morning that Artemis awoke in her dormitory for the final time, and so did she and her friends. With seven years’ worth of textbooks, clothes, assorted knick-knacks, and a single bat having having found a home in the room, sorting everything out had proved to be somewhat of a challenge, and they still had the last few items to pack before they could attend the leaving ceremony.

“Whose scrunchies are all these?” Chiara asked, holding up five hair bands for the other girls to claim. “And that scarf isn’t mine, either.”

She pointed to a striped cardigan that was draped over the end of her bed. Fergus lay belly up beneath it, batting the pom-pom tassels with his forepaws. Artemis stopped unpinning the photos from behind her headboard to look at it, her chest tightening as she did so.

“It’s Rowan’s,” she said. “She bought it in Diagon Alley the day we first met.”

“Do you want to keep it?”

“I… Not if anyone else wants it.”

“Nah, you take it,” said Tonks. “You were there when she bought it. She was your friend from the beginning.”

Penny, whose face had been pink and eyes dewy since the night before, promptly burst into tears. Artemis let go of the scarf.

“You can have it if you like, Penny. I don’t mind.”

But Penny dismissed her offer with a shake of her head.

“It’s not the scarf, I just…” she sniffed and looked around the dormitory. “It’s just that we’re really leaving, and we won’t come back in September and all be here together. I just… I can’t believe it’s all ending. It feels so… so…”

Artemis swallowed hard as Penny’s voice tailed off. She understood all the feelings her friend was struggling to put into words.

“We were always going to leave eventually,” said Chiara. She put down her packing and walked over to hug Penny. “And it’s not like we’ll never see each other again.”

Penny wiped away her tears and nodded. “Well, yes, okay. But you have to promise, all of you, that we will all stay friends, no matter what happens. We will write to each other, and we will make sure that we meet up whenever we can, and you’ll all come and visit me in Paris.”

“Eh,” Tonks shrugged. “I’m probably just going to find some new friends. Honestly, I’ve spent the last seven years waiting to get rid of you.”

She winked at Artemis, who tried to keep a straight face as she told Penny: “Yeah, about Paris… I think I might be busy that week, actually.”

Penny reached into her trunk, pulled out her favourite slippers, and threw one at each of them.

“You’re both horrible!” she shouted, but she was at least laughing now.

The girls’ laughter carried with them as they left the Hufflepuff common room one last time and made their way up to the Great Hall, where the professors, all dressed in formal robes and ornate hats, were gathered with their families. Floating trays of sparkling liquid in tall glasses drifted between the guests, the benches had been arranged in rows facing the top table, and stacks of black pointed hats had been placed on the daïs. 

Penny was quick to find her family and drag them over to greet Chiara’s parents, and Tonks made her way over to where her mother and father were chatting with two older witches who each had an arm around Tulip Karasu. Artemis went to greet her own guests, pleased to see that all four of her invitees were in attendance; not just her great-aunt and uncle, but Madam Rosmerta and Kingsley Shacklebolt as well. She hugged each of them in turn.

“I thought you might not be able to make it,” she said to Ros and Kingsley. “I left it so late to send the invitations.”

“I wouldn’t have expected anything else from you, Tiny,” replied Kingsley, with a deep chuckle. Madam Rosmerta squeezed Artemis’ shoulder.

“You know I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Now, where’s your camera?”

Rosmerta wasn’t the only adult wanting to take photos. Once she and Artemis’ friends’ family members were satisfied that they had enough photos of the graduating students, Professor McGonagall tapped her glass with a spoon, and the guests took to their seats. She held out a scroll of parchment, and told the students:

“When I call your name, you will come to the daïs, and have a hat placed on your head before you sit down. Ali, Badeea!”

One by one, each of the students approached the daïs and had Professor Dumbledore shake their hand and put one of the smart black pointed hats placed on their head, while the rest of the hall applauded gently. Once Talbott Winger’s hand had been shaken and a hat placed on his tawny-haired head, McGonagall rolled up her scroll, and Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat.

“And so, that’s that,” he said, his blue eyes twinkling behind his gold-rimmed glasses. “Every year we greet a new set of students and say goodbye to another, and it appears that we have come full circle, once again. This is always a bittersweet moment as educators. Even our more stoic members of staff” - Artemis could have sworn that he glanced at Professor Snape - “have forged strong bonds with the young people sitting before me today, and we will miss you all sorely, just as I flatter myself to think that you will miss us in return.

“For the last seven years, Hogwarts has been a place of safety - by and large - and a home away from home for you. I understand how unsettling it can feel to leave, to be sent out into the world and all the uncertainty that it holds. I can tell you all I like that Hogwarts will always be your home, but as true as that is, I fear that it will be little reassurance to you. So, instead, let me say this:

“You may have heard it said that circle has no ending. This is true, however, it is also true that a circle has many endings. In fact, it has a multitude of endings, an infinite number of them, but,” Dumbledore paused, his lips twitching slightly, “each of those endings is also a beginning. And so, while this may feel like the end, it is not. It is merely the beginning.

“In that spirit, it is time for you all to return to the place where you began, ready to end this journey and begin a new one, wherever it may take you.”

The doors to the Great Hall swung open, and Professor McGonagall led the final years out into the entrance courtyard, where Hagrid was waiting for them, with tears in his eyes and Fergus the cat in his arms.

“I reckon ‘e was worried yeh were goin’ ter leave withou’ ‘im,” he whispered to Artemis, who grinned and let Fergus climb onto her shoulders.

“I could never do that.”

She stayed near the front of the procession of students, teachers, and guests that followed Hagrid down the cliff path to the Black Lake, where the boats were ready and waiting on the shore.

“Four to a boa’!”

As Penny and Chiara climbed into a boat with Jae and Ben, Artemis and Fergus climbed into an adjacent one with Tonks and Charlie, Hagrid steadying the boat as they climbed in. 

“We’re missing a fourth person,” said Tonks, her pink eyebrows furrowing. “Should we ask-”

“No,” Artemis shook her head and pulled the pom-pom-tasselled scarf from her cloak pocket and placed it on the bench next to her. “This seat is taken.”

She avoided looking either Tonks or Charlie in the eye by watching others as they began to float away in nearby boats. Murphy McNully had joined Andre, Tulip, and Badeea in one, while the Slytherins - Merula, Ismelda, Ben, and Liz - were in another. Diego and Corey were sharing a third with Talbott and Victor Ketsueki, who raised his eyebrows at Artemis. She rolled her eyes at him but smiled to herself once she’d looked away, back at the shore where the guests had gathered with the teachers.

Bill Weasley waved to her with the arm that wasn’t wrapped around his mother’s shoulders as she cried into a handkerchief, and Kingsley nodded to her before conjuring another handkerchief and passing it to little Beatrice Haywood, who had been using her sleeve to wipe her tears from her face. Madam Rosmerta was smiling, and two Crups were yapping at her Aunt and Uncle’s feet. Professor Dumbledore bowed his head to her, and the clock tower bell chimed ten times. 

The sun was not yet high in the sky, but its beams burst through the scattered clouds of the midsummer morning, illuminating the castle and basking it in a soft golden glow. Artemis smiled to herself. 

This was how she wanted to remember Hogwarts: golden, glorious, and finally at peace, for however long that peace would last. She kept her eyes on the castle that had been her home as the little wooden boats carried her and friends away towards their yet unknown futures, across the still and slightly glittering waters of the lake that no longer held a Cursed Vault.

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Chapter 16: Nothing to Fear

A/N: With the Cursed Vaults active once more, Dumbledore enlists the help of a professional, and Artemis has a nasty re-encounter in the library… Warnings: threat, peril, mild horror.

Having volunteered in the Hospital Wing for over a year and a half, Chiara Lobosca was now relatively proficient when it came to healing spells. However, after seeing the state of Ben Copper when the Curse-Breakers returned from the Vault of Ice, she quickly decided that his injuries were beyond her abilities. She, Jae, and Diego took him straight to the Hospital  Wing, leaving Artemis, Andre, and Merula to hide the evidence of their adventure.

“I don’t really get why you’re bothering with this,” Merula muttered, as Artemis caused the secret staircase and icy footprints on the floor to disappear with a few waves of her wand. “Madam Pomfrey isn’t an idiot. She’s going to take one look at Copper and know exactly what we’ve been up to.”

“She won’t,” replied Artemis, though in truth she wasn’t sure. Would Madam Pomfrey be able determine what had happened to Ben from looking at his injuries? Would she be able to treat them without knowing what had caused them?

Thankfully, though Ben had been admitted to the Hospital for a few weeks, it was likely that he would only be left with a few nasty scars, and her friends’ quick thinking had managed to prevent Madam Pomfrey’s suspicions being raised.

“She thinks that he had a spell backfire whilst practising duelling,” Chiara said at the Circle of Khanna’s next meeting. “They all lost a few house points, but it was probably better than if we’d told her how it really happened.”

Artemis nodded. “Good thinking, Chiara.”

“Well, it was Jae’s idea.”

Jae’s cheeks turned pink at Chiara’s words, and Artemis could have sworn that she saw Chiara’s small smile widen slightly. 

With the first of the Cursed Vaults now having been opened, it wouldn’t be long until the second released its curse upon the school. Surely enough, at the start of May, Penny Haywood arrived late for lunch with her face flushed and eyes lit up with news.

“Well,” she said breathlessly, before her bottom had even touched her seat. “I was just speaking to Cressida Ruddy, and she said that one of the second year Gryffindors had a Boggart appear in their cauldron in the middle of their Potions class. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“I think,” said a deep, drawling voice from behind Artemis and Penny, and they both turned to see Professor Snape the potionsmaster standing behind them, “that we all have our suspicions as to what that means.” He looked pointedly at Artemis who glared back at him. “As much as both you and I would like to hear Miss Hexley’s take on the matter, it would seem that we are not the only ones. Headmaster’s office, Hexley. Immediately.”

Artemis just about managed to stop herself from sighing as she took a final bite of her sandwich and slung her rucksack over one shoulder, before rising to her feet and walking out of the Great Hall in the direction of the grand staircase, already certain of what it was that Professor Dumbledore wanted to talk to her about, and why. 

Clearly, Professor Snape had not long left Dumbledore’s office, for the griffin gargoyle that guarded its entrance was already stood to the side, leaving the ascending spiral staircase behind it unobstructed. At the top of the stairs, the door to the office was closed. Hoping that Dumbledore might not hear her and that she might be spared from answering any incriminating questions, Artemis knocked as softly as she could.

“Please, do enter, Miss Hexley,” Professor Dumbledore’s voice called out from the other side of the door. Clearly, she had not knocked softly enough. She entered the office to find him standing next to an open cupboard containing a stone dish of silvery liquid. “You have an exceptionally - and dare I say, uncharacteristically - genteel manner of knocking. It is fortunate that I was not so deep in thought that I failed to hear it.” 

Dumbledore’s eyes twinkled, and Artemis shrugged her shoulders in lieu of giving a response.

“Snape said you wanted to see me, sir.”

“Professor Snape” - Dumbledore placed the slightest emphasis on the word ‘professor’ - “was in here mere minutes ago with reports of a Boggart materialising in his classroom this morning. I thought that I would take the liberty of asking him to send you here so that you may offer an explanation for this situation.”

“I don’t have an explanation,” Artemis lied. 

“Ah, so I must be incorrect in my thinking that the appearance of this Boggart is probably connected to Mr Copper’s peculiar injury and the meeting that you and your friends held in the Hog’s Head at the start of the Easter holidays.”

“You know about that?”

“I happen to be familiar with the barman.” Dumbledore smiled serenely, but his gaze was penetrating, and Artemis found herself regretting not having insisted that Professor Snape teach her Occlumency two years previously. “I am relieved to hear that this string of events is likely to be coincidental, Miss Hexley. Were they not, I would be suspicious that you and your friends might be embroiled in the Cursed Vaults again. After you managed to seal the Sunken Vault last summer, such a venture would be an incredibly dangerous one to re-embark upon, would it not?”

“It would, yeah,” said Artemis, making a conscious effort not to blink as Dumbledore continued to stare at her. Eventually, he bowed his head and turned to look into his dish of Pensieve. 

“Miss Hexley, you need not lie to me. You are not in trouble.”

“I’m not?”

“No, my dear girl. Naturally, I can understand why the as-yet unsolved riddle of the Cursed Vaults might prove as tempting a challenge for you as it has for countless others over the centuries,” he said, gazing into the silver liquid. Artemis craned her neck to see what he could see, but to no avail. “As your Headmaster, I must dissuade you from getting involved again.”

Artemis frowned. “But?”

“But as an old man who was once a young person, I know that my doing so will bear little to change your mind if it has already been made up. Particularly if the Vault of Ice has been opened, and the curse from the Vault of Fear been released, as I presume it has. If that truly is the case, the Vault of Fear will need to be either sealed or opened to stop the Boggarts. The former will be less risky, of course, as opening the Vault will cause the subsequent, more dangerous curses to be released, but will prevent the final Vault from being opened and ending the whole sorry mess, once and for all. Such is the conundrum.”

“I’m confused, Professor,” Artemis said. “Do you want me to open all the Cursed Vaults, or not?”

“I wish for someone to open all the Vaults,” Dumbledore told her. “Which is why I have written to Gringotts Bank and asked them if one of their Curse-Breakers might be spared in order to help with the task.”

“Because that worked out so well last time,” muttered Artemis, and to her surprise, Dumbledore began to chuckle. 

“Miss Hexley, you need not fear. After all, I sincerely doubt that the issues we had with Patricia Rakepick will present themselves where William Weasley is involved.”

To Artemis’ delight, Bill Weasley arrived from Egypt the following evening, appearing between Hagrid and Professor Sikander at the top table at dinnertime. Artemis waited impatiently for a chance to speak to him as she and her friends ate their meals, and the moment she saw that Bill had finished his own, she rushed up to the daïs to talk to him.

“So, it’s true? You’re really Dumbledore’s new Curse-Breaker?”

Bill paused his conversation with Professor Sikander to grin wryly at Artemis.

“It would appear that way, wouldn’t it?” he replied. He cast a glance back at Sikander. “Though maybe now isn’t the time, Artemis. I’m just in the middle of-”

“Ah, never mind me,” said Professor Sikander, dismissing Bill’s display of good manners with a wave of his hand. “You two look like you’ve got more important things to talk about.”

Bill tilted his head to one side. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. If you like, I can explain more about electricity to you another time.”

“Please do, my dad wouldn’t forgive me if I passed up that opportunity.”

With Professor Sikander’s blessing, Bill and Artemis stepped away from the teachers’ table, walked through the Great Hall, and out into the entrance courtyard outside.

“How long are you back for?” Artemis asked him, as soon as she was certain that none of the teachers could hear them.

“Until this business with the Cursed Vaults is over, one way or another. Gringotts have loaned me to here indefinitely; apparently Dumbledore asked for me personally.”

Artemis’ nose wrinkled in confusion. “He did?”

“Even offered to pay for Gringotts to hire a replacement while I’m gone as well as my wage. Sounds like he’s desperate to get the Vaults sorted. I’m not surprised, seeing as the curses have come back already,” he sighed, and looked out in the direction of the Black Lake. “Artemis, are you sure that you and your brother sealed that Vault properly last year?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, in which case it might be that someone has tampered with the Vaults again, and that’s what’s caused…” Bill’s voice tailed off as his eyes settled on Artemis. “Oh, no. You didn’t. Did you?”

“Look, what you need to know-”

“For Godric’s sake, Artemis! Did you not-”

“- is that I had to get involved in the Vaults again.”

“- think about how dangerous that might be?” Bill sighed. “Okay. Why did you have to meddle?”

“Because of the prophecy.”

“Prophecy? What prophecy?”

“The one me and Charlie stole from the Department of Mysteries.”

“You and Charlie what?” 

“We broke in to the Department of Mysteries and stole a prophecy,” Artemis repeated, and Bill placed his hands to his head and raised his face skywards. “It said about the Cursed Vaults, and how the person to open them would do it whilst leading the ‘Ronde’. At first we thought it was R, but it means circle. Circle, Bill. That means us, all of us, the Circle of Khanna.” He lowered his gaze again, and she told him earnestly, “This is our chance to stop R from ever getting to the Vaults or hurting anyone ever again.”

Bill visibly softened. 

“Does Dumbledore know?” he asked.

“I dunno. Maybe. I told him it wasn’t us, but he didn’t believe me. Do you think that’s why he hired you specifically? So that he could get someone to help me?”

“Potentially. It would seem so, but then why would he want someone to help you do it and not do it themselves? Unless he knows about the prophecy, of course.”

“How would he? Only us and the Cabal know.”

“He had Rakepick working for him. Maybe she let something slip,” said Bill, frowning deeply. “Or…”

As Bill’s voice tailed off, Artemis raised her eyebrows. “Or?”

“Or your brother.”

“Jacob wouldn’t have known about the prophecy. He wasn’t a part of-”

“Artemis, he admitted to working with R in front of the entire Wizengamot,” Bill said. Artemis narrowed her eyes, her temper rapidly rising. Bill seemed to notice her anger, because he sighed again. “Look, I’m not saying that he’s a bad person. Just hear me out, okay? What if he also found out about  this prophecy, and he thought that there was no choice either? It would explain how he got tied up in all of this, and why he did some of the things he did.”

Artemis considered it for a moment, before nodding her head. She couldn’t help but admit that Bill’s logic made a lot of sense.

“Maybe,” she shrugged. “I guess with him still in Azkaban we can’t really ask him. Or Rakepick, for that matter.”

“No. Which is almost a shame, because I’m sure that they’d have some information that might be useful for opening all the Vaults. We could use it to make a plan.”

“We’ve already got a plan,” Artemis told Bill. “We’ve split into teams to train for each Vault, and Corey Hayden is helping by translating all the rest of Jacob’s notes that Rowan started doing. We’ve actually got it all covered, except for the final vault, because that’s the one no one knows how to get into.”

“What are you saying, little one? You don’t need me anymore?” Bill grinned. “Tell you what, I’ll help Corey with the research. I’m technically staff, now, so that gives us access to the Restricted Section, which we’ve not had in the past.”

“And knowing Rowan, those will have been the only books in the library she didn’t read,” said Artemis, with a quiet laugh. “Are you sure you don’t mind? I would have thought you’d want to do actual curse-breaking, not reading and researching.”

“Reading and researching is an important part of curse-breaking. Besides, the final Vault is the one we really need to open, and the one we know the least about. The more people we have looking into it, the better,” Bill paused, and raised his eyebrows. “Though talking of the library,  I do think that I should come with you to the next Vault.”

“We don’t need that many people to deal with Boggarts, Bill.”

“I know. But it would be a shame not to complete the set, wouldn’t it?”

The addition of Bill to the group engaged in tackling the Vault of Fear meant that the first obstacle to the Vault was completely removed, a fact that not everyone was thrilled about.

“I still reckon we could’ve gotten her out of the way with a prank anyway,” Tonks whispered to Tulip, as they walked through the restricted section. “Just for fun as much as anything else.”

Bill laughed out loud. “Sorry I ruined your day out, Tonks.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It’ll be good to have more people against these Boggarts to confuse them. Means they won’t know which fear to pick and will get confused. Makes them less scary, doesn’t it?”

“And anyway,” Tulip said in a low voice, “we can save the Weapon of Mass Distraction for some other time.”

She and Tonks shared devious looks, and Artemis saw a look of mild concern cross Bill’s face. Behind her, Ismelda just glowered at the bookshelves.

“So where’s this Cursed Vault, then?” she asked, as if she would much rather be spending time with Boggarts than with Tonks and Tulip.

Artemis nodded her head in the direction of a bookshelf in the right hand corner of the Restricted Section, which although it looked no different to the others, she knew was not truly a bookshelf at all. As she had done four years previously, she walked across to the shelf, pulled an old leather book out of her robes, and placed it into a gap in the books. There was a loud clank, and the fake bookshelf split down the middle, forming an entrance to a dark, tunnel-like corridor. 

“Still wicked,” Tonks breathed, as Bill stepped forward to admire the hidden entrance. Though Ismelda kept her lips pursed, Artemis could have sworn she saw a flicker of admiration in her green eyes. 

The group made their way down the corridor with their five wands raised, the light coming from them the only lights at all in the darkness. Artemis felt someone tremble behind her, though she wasn’t certain who. 

The tunnel led down to an ancient looking wooden door, inscribed with runes. Artemis raised her wand to unlock the door, but stopped as Bill leaned over her shoulder to read the inscriptions.

“Interesting,” he murmured. “Did you translate these last time you were here?”

“No, why? What do they say?”

“That if you seek great power, you must first overcome your greatest weakness, and be prepared to do it alone, without your greatest companion and helpmate.”

“But we managed it last time all together.” 

“I know, that’s why it’s interesting.”

“So what?” Artemis asked. “You think I should go it alone this time?”

“Not a chance,” said Bill. “I’ve waited four years to see what’s behind this door, I’m not turning back now.”

Artemis grinned, and used her wand to unlock the wooden door. She pushed it open to reveal the Vault of Fear, where the centre of the chamber dimly illuminated by the cool glow of its central column, though the walls were still cloaked in shadow.

There was something else cloaked inside the Vault, however: a person. Or, more likely, a Boggart. Artemis steeled herself, readying herself for the moment the figure turned and revealed its face to be that of either herself, her brother, or Lord Voldemort. But, as the person in the cloak let out a quiet but harsh sounding chuckle, Artemis felt her blood run cold. She recognised that laugh. No, it couldn’t be…

“Rakepick?” she whispered, and the cloaked figure lowered its hood to reveal a head of bright red hair before slowly turning around to reveal Rakepick’s face. Artemis’ eyes widened. “No. No, that’s impossible, you’re in Azkaban. You can’t be…”

But Rakepick was not in Azkaban, she was here, in the Vault of Fear, with Artemis and her friends, who - she realised with a jolt - were now in danger again. Because of her. Her heart started to race, and Rakepick’s lips twisted into a crooked smirk.

“Miss Hexley,” she said, her voice echoing in Artemis’ ears. “What fortunate timing.”

Despite her mouth feeling drier than she knew was possible, Artemis managed to find her voice.

“Everyone, run!” she called to the others, as loudly as she could. Rakepick raised her wand, and so too did Artemis. “Protego!”

Her shield charm proved unnecessary, for Rakepick did not cast a spell at her. Perhaps she was biding her time, or perhaps it was because of the second person approaching from behind her, lowering his hood to reveal his dark hair and hazel eyes.

“Patricia, don’t do this,” said Jacob, and Rakepick smirked again. “I’ll do anything. Anything.”

“Jacob, how did you… Why…”

“Some things are unavoidable,” Madam Rakepick said, ignoring Artemis’ words as she advanced towards her. “Some things are greater than any of us, more powerful, and more important.”

“I betrayed my friend Duncan Ashe to further my own ambitions.” Now Jacob was also advancing towards Artemis. She shook her head.

“No, that’s not true,” she told him. “Jacob, you don’t mean that. Why are you saying that?”

“His death wasn’t an accident, it was orchestrated by the Cabal, and my involvement proved my loyalty to them and my dedication to their cause.”

“No,” Artemis couldn’t stop shaking her head. “No, no. That’s not right, it’s not…”

“Rowan Khanna paid that price. She made the ultimate sacrifice. You can condemn my actions, but I stand by them. What I did was necessary.”

“She’s the one to do it, Patricia.”

At Jacob’s words, both Rakepick and Jacob’s faces began to shift, and their bodies shrunk down so that Artemis was staring eye-to-eye at two doubles of herself. Both Artemises opened their mouths and spoke in perfect unison:

“It was all my fault.”

“NO!” 

“Artemis.” A hand settled on her forearm, and she turned to see Tulip Karasu standing next to her. Tulip squeezed gently. “They’re not real. They’re just Boggarts.”

Artemis blinked back tears, and looked again at the two versions of herself before nodding. The Boggart-Artemises began to shift their features again, but only one returned to looking like Jacob Hexley. The other grew taller and slimmer, and though he had high cheekbones and dark hair, his was neat as a pin and lined with streaks of silver, and his eyes were not hazel but dark and almond-shaped, like Tulip’s own. Beside her, Artemis felt Tulip stiffen.

“Why could you not be the child I wanted?” asked the Boggart who looked identical to ambassador Karasu. “Why do you have to be such a disappointment?” 

Tulip’s face fell, and though Artemis wanted to comfort her, she couldn’t, because next to Boggart-Karasu, Boggart-Jacob’s face was shifting again, back to Rakepick’s, and she was powerless to do anything. 

Something was moving in the shadows around them, which seemed to be growing thicker and darker by the second. Artemis could hear it, whatever it was, growling and prowling, but every time she pointed her wand towards the noise, it seemed to move to the other side of the chamber. Soon, there were noises coming from all seven walls. These noises were different, however, the footsteps lighter and quicker, and the animalistic noises higher pitched.

Bill Weasley ran towards the centre of the chamber, his wand raised, shining a light at the walls. His face was pale and grim looking. The scampering and squeaking grew louder, until suddenly, a horde of rats began to flood the chamber, running in towards the middle of the room where they stood from all directions, the floor so full of them that Artemis dared not move her feet for stepping on one. One started to climb up Bill’s leg, and a second soon joined it. From the look on his face, Artemis thought that he might faint clean away. 

“They’re Boggarts,” she shouted, trying to convince herself as much as Bill. “They can’t hurt you, they’re just Boggarts. Think of something funny! Tonks, tell a joke. Tonks?”

She turned to look at Tonks, hoping that she at least would be able to make light of the situation, but Tonks clearly unable to do so. She was standing stock still, not even aware of the rats climbing over her feet, staring at another Boggart, one with features that were instantly recognisable as those of Tonks herself. 

But this was not Tonks as Artemis knew her. Gone was her wicked grin, the mischievous look in her eyes, the pink flush to her cheeks. Boggart-Tonks’ skin was pale and sallow looking, her hair lank and mousey, and when she screwed up her face, her features remained the same: plain, dull, and devoid of humour or colour. 

“I thought,” said Ismelda, the only one now paying attention to the ominous growling shadow still prowling around the edges of the Vault, “that bringing more people was supposed to confuse  Boggarts, not make more of them appear.”

“Welcome to the Cursed Vaults,” Artemis muttered in response. She gritted her teeth and raised her wand at her own Boggart, whose face now looked identical to that of Jacob, desperately trying to think of anything that might be funny about this situation. “Riddikulus!”

Boggart-Jacob’s body grew taller, and his hair longer, lightening and rusting as it did. The Boggart’s facial features became identical to those of Bill, and when it opened its mouth, it spoke with Bill’s voice:

“I’m not scared of them, I’m repulsed by them,” said Boggart-Bill, and hearing his own voice echo across the Vault, the real Bill looked up and at him. “Artemis, I swear to Merlin, if you bring that rat anywhere near me…”

In spite of everything, Artemis giggled, and Boggart-Bill disappeared with a loud popping noise. The real Bill sighed and shook his head, but the colour had returned to his cheeks. He raised his own wand once more, and called out the same incantation as Artemis.

“Riddikulus!”

A set of bagpipes appeared in mid-air and began to play themselves, and as they did, the rats stopped scampering and climbing about Bill’s feet. Instead, they each rose up onto their hindquarters and began to dance their way away from the curse-breakers and towards the pipes, and once there, gavotted and jigged merrily beneath the floating instrument. As the bagpipes changed their tune to one originally performed by the Weird Sisters, the rats stopped country dancing, and started to bang their heads as if they were at a rock concert.

That seemed to get even Tonks’ attention, for she stopped staring at her own Boggart, and instead turned to look at Bill’s. At the sight of the head-banging rats, she let out a loud, cackling laugh, and not only the rats and bagpipes, but her own Boggart and Tulip’s also popped and disappeared.

Artemis raised her eyebrows at Bill. “I thought you weren’t scared of rats.”

“I thought you didn’t find me funny,” he replied, and both of them grinned. “Well, that was horrible. Shall we-”

A deep, rumbling growl echoed around the chamber, so loud that it made even Artemis jump. Ismelda’s usually pale face fell and turned a deathly white.

“Ismelda,” whispered Artemis, as a second growl came out of the darkness. “What form does your Boggart take, exactly?”

But Ismelda was clearly too frightened to speak, and Artemis could hardly blame her, because the shadows around them were swirling, and that bloodcurdling growl kept coming, and there were heavy footsteps growing louder and closer, from all directions and yet no direction, all at once.

In her peripheral vision, Artemis thought she could see the outline of a creature, but a second later, she could hear its growl coming from behind her. As she turned to look, she could have sworn that she saw a pair of glowing red eyes in another location entirely.

“Ismelda, what-”

That growl, once more, and louder than ever. The darkness shrunk inwards, and from out of it stepped a black beast, with its fur on end, sharp white fangs bared, and hackles raised. It was no creature Artemis had ever seen or even heard of before, even in all her years of living with her Magizoologist uncle; not quite wolf or dog-like, but not quite like a panther or bear either, but something that seemed to combine all of them, with glowing red eyes and impossibly large paws, it must have been a creature that had stepped straight out of Ismelda’s mind and into the shadows, which it almost looked to be made up of.

“It’s a Boggart, Ismelda. Cast the spell!”

Ismelda did not cast the spell, or even move a muscle. The shadow-beast turned it’s red eyes to her and licked its teeth. There was blood on the underside of its tongue. Ismelda trembled.

“Now, Ismelda!”

It was too late. The beast pressed back onto its haunches and pounced, flying through the air at Ismelda, knocking her off her feet and landing on her chest, its enormous paws pressing on her shoulders, rendering her unable to move her arm to cast any spell at all.

“Help me!” she cried, and the beast gnashed its great teeth. “Please, do something!”

Tulip raised her wand and pointed it at the beast. “Riddikulus!”

The creature began to shrink in size and grow fatter and rounder until it was the same shape as a large coconut. Its dark fur lightened until it was a middling brown, with a single streak of orange just over its forehead, framing eyes that were no longer blood red but vivid violet.

“Is it just me,” said Bill, his head tilted, “or does that Puffskein look a lot like a small, hairy Merula Snyde?”

Boggart-Puffskein-Merula looked up at Bill and bared her tiny teeth at him, letting out a high-pitched disgruntled growl. Artemis couldn’t help but laugh at the sound, and as she did, the Boggart disappeared.

“That wasn’t funny,” said Ismelda, climbing to her feet as the others caught Artemis’ giggles and struggled to stop laughing.

“No,” Tonks was almost crying with laughter now. “No, that was terrifying.”

Ismelda’s lips twitched, and a few seconds later even she was struggling not to laugh. Still grinning herself, Artemis joined Bill by the central column of the Vault, where he was examining the runes inscribed on the base.

“You have to sacrifice your magic?” he said, frowning deeply. Artemis held up the broken pieces of her brother’s old wand to show him, and he nodded as if realising something. “Without your greatest helpmate. That’s it. Your wand.”

“Well, this one is my brother’s old one. I left the one Rakepick broke at Ollivander’s,” Artemis shrugged. “But it’ll do. It worked last time, anyway.”

She pressed the wand pieces to the glowing crystal of the column, which sprang open. The light inside pierced her eyes, and the world grew hazy around her. Before her stood a cloaked figure, silent and still. She raised her wand, ready to duel, but the figure made no attempt at an attack. Instead, it held a wand up between a single forefinger and thumb, as if examining it closely. Artemis frowned. She recognised that wand. It was hers, her first wand, the one Rakepick had broken, now fixed and whole once more.

“That’s mine!” she told the figure, but they did not reply. Instead, they pocketed the wand and bowed their head at Artemis before turning and walking away into the hazy light. 

“Are you okay, Artemis?”

Artemis blinked. The haze had gone, and she was back in the Vault, standing on her two feet as she had been before. There wasn’t a scratch on her.

“Yeah, I… I’m fine. What happened?”

“You did that weird floating thing you did last time we were in here,” said Tonks. “But last time you fell down from the air, this time the light went really bright, and you sort of just lowered back down to the ground slowly.”

She demonstrated with her hand, moving it gently downwards like leaf falling in the autumn. Artemis frowned, but nodded.

“Because of my wand,” she whispered. Seeing the others’ confused faces, she explained further: “Last time I used my brother’s broken wand, and the figure in my vision got angry and attacked. This time, they were holding my wand - my old wand - and they were happy. They let me go.” Something niggled at her, and she shook her head. “We’re done here. We should leave.”

“Already? But we’ve been having so much fun!”

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Chapter 15: The First Test

A/N: Artemis takes her first exam of her final year and faces an old foe… Warnings: peril, violence, threat, danger…

The Easter holidays were almost over, but whilst the majority of the students had been enjoying the break, the final years had all been hard at work, using the extra free time to study for their N.E.W.T.s. With the extra preparations that they were making ready to return to the Cursed Vaults, the members of Circle of Khanna had been working harder than anyone. 

Diego had been helping Ben, Jae, Andre, and Merula practise duelling and fire-making spells every morning and evening on the training grounds; and Tulip, Tonks, and Ismelda had been practising the Boggart-Banishing spell until they were blue in the face. Meanwhile, Charlie and Talbott had been poring over the map of the Forbidden Forest, whilst Barnaby and Liz got to grips with the spider-repelling charm and Chiara made notes on everything she could during her shifts in the Hospital Wing. Badeea had spent hours studying the portrait that Bea Haywood had been trapped inside for the majority of her first year at school, and Penny had been finding ways to help everyone, from brewing fire-protection potions to researching antivenom and handing out sweets when she thought someone was in need of something to perk them up.

Artemis also found herself trying her hardest to multitask. Being the somewhat-reluctant leader of the group, and the only member who had actually been to every single one of the Cursed Vaults during her time at Hogwarts, she would be returning to all of them. That meant she had no choice but to prepare herself for everything, as well as finding the time to revise for her exams.

At least one exam would soon be over and done with, and that was her Apparition test. The exam was to take place in mid-April, at the end of the twelve-week course and on the final day of the Easter break. 

“You’ll be alright,” said Tonks, as Artemis rose up from the lunch table, ready to leave for the exam. “Just don’t do what Charlie did. Oh, and try not to splinch yourself.”

“Great,” Artemis said. Tonks shrugged and returned to the list of possible distractions she and Tulip were considering to use on Madam Pince. Tulip looked up from the list, an earnest expression on her face.

“And just remember, the final ‘D’ stands for deliberation, not defecation,” she said knowledgeably.

“Who did that in their Apparation exam?”

“No one, as far as I’m aware. But you really don’t want to be the first person to make that mistake.”

Artemis laughed as she walked away from a smirking Tulip and cackling Tonks, and stepped out into the entrance hall of the castle, where the students who were taking the exam were gathered, all looking slightly nervous. 

They were to be examined one at a time, with Wilkie Twycross calling out their names once it was their turn. Being one of the oldest to take the test, Artemis’ was the second name called, with only Corey Hayden taking a turn before her. She followed Wilkie out to the courtyard outside - where she was informed that the anti-Disapparition charms had been lifted for the purpose of the exam - and dutifully listed the three Ds of Apparition and Disapparition, before he gave her a piece of paper with her destination written on it:

Hogsmeade Train Station, Platform One.

“Are you familiar with this location?” asked Wilkie Twycross, already sounding as if he were bored of the afternoon’s proceedings. Artemis nodded her head. “Good. Remember, any splinching - however minor - will cause you to fail. Off you go.”

Artemis took a deep breath. Not splinching herself meant focusing hard on not just her destination, but the act of Apparating itself. She thought about her destination, determinedly putting her memories of Rowan aside as she pictured in her mind’s eye the station platform with its clock on the wall that always read ten past ten, turned deliberately on the spot, vanishing herself and re-conjuring herself to find herself…

On the platform, directly beneath the frozen clock. She smiled to herself, and heard a single pair of hands clapping behind her. She turned around and saw that the person applauding her was Basil from the Portkey Office.

“Nicely done, Miss Hexley,” said Basil. “Second one of the day, and no obvious splinching. Can you remove your boots so I can check that you still have all your toes? Lovely.”

Having proved to Basil that all ten of her toes were still firmly attached to her feet, Artemis took the signed test certificate from him and left the station to allow the next student to take their turn at Apparating. On the road outside, she had expected to see a Thestral drawn carriage, but instead, she just found Corey Hayden, also clutching a signed certificate.

“You passed, too?” he asked, looking at her hands, and Artemis nodded in response.

“Yeah. Are we meant to Apparate back, do you think?”

“What?”

“There’s no carriages…”

“Didn’t Basil tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“It’s tradition for everyone taking the exam to go and get a drink at the Three Broomsticks after,” said Corey, nodding his head in the direction of the village. “I just didn’t want to go by myself. We can walk there together if you like?”

“I’d love to, but I’m supposed to be meeting Jae and Ben to go over some duelling spells with them,” Artemis told him, and he tilted his head to one side, frowning slightly.

“They’ve been practising duelling spells a lot lately, haven’t they?”

Artemis tried to think of an excuse, but quickly decided against it, feeling guilty all of a sudden. She knew that Corey had cared for Rowan just as much as her other friends, probably more so than some of them. The only reason he hadn’t been a member of the Circle of Khanna from the beginning was because her had spent half of sixth year as a statue, thanks to the curse of the Sunken Vault. She should have asked him if he wanted to be included when she first reformed the Circle. 

And so, instead of making something up about Defence Against the Dark Arts revision, she told Corey the truth about the Circle of Khanna and their plan to put and end to the Cursed Vaults, once and for all.

“How about it, then?” she asked him. “Do you want to join us?”

Corey’s frown deepened. “I’m not sure.”

“That’s fine. You don’t have to help if you don’t want to.”

“I do want to help. I just don’t see what help I could be. I’m no good at duelling or anything adventurous like that. I’m more… Well, I just like to read, really. That’s all I’m good at.”

“You know, that’s what Rowan used to say,” Artemis smiled as much to herself as to Corey. “But she was the best help anyone ever could be. She did so much reading to find out information, and translated a load of my brother’s notes from these runic codes he’d invented. I’d never have managed to get as far as a single Vault without her. We’d all still be sitting in ice if it weren’t for Rowan.” She paused, before confessing, “You know, part of me worries that maybe we won’t manage it without her this time around.”

“Well, maybe I could do her job for her,” said Corey, his blue eyes wistful-looking. “I’m not bad at taking notes or finding information. If you’ve got Rowan’s old research, I could definitely try to pick up where she left off.”

“You’re sure?”

“Positive. It’ll make me feel… closer to her, I suppose. I’ll like that.”

“Yeah,” Artemis nodded. “And it will be really helpful for us, too. Especially with the last Vault, because no one’s ever managed to open it before. We’ll need all the clues we can get.”

“Like Conebush and Persimmons.”

“Who?”

“The detectives!”

The two of them made their way back up to the castle, Corey telling Artemis about his favourite books the whole way. The excitement in his voice as he did so reminded her of Rowan, and that reassured her, and she felt her doubts start to melt away, just a little.

She wasn’t the only one to be encouraged by the idea of Corey researching the final Vault. 

“It’s really not a bad idea at all,” said Ben, as he, Jae, Artemis made their way back through the castle after another hour of duelling practice. “The Sunken Vault is the one we need to prepare for the most. Imagine doing all of this all over again, only to get the end and realise that we still don’t know anything about how to open the last one.”

“How about this?” Jae said. “We go in the the first Vault sooner, break that Curse, then that frees up all of us to research this last Vault doesn’t it?”

“Yeah, but once we start messing with the Vaults, we have to get through them as quickly as possible. Once we break the ice curse, we’ll move straight onto the next one, and go on from there.”

“Why, though?”

“Well, as soon as we go in and break the curse in the Vault of Ice, that’ll release the next curse.” 

“I know that,” Jae nodded. “What I don’t get is why that’s a problem. The next curse is just Boggarts, right? I mean, they’re scary, but they can’t actually hurt anyone.”

“True,” Artemis looked at Ben. “What do you think?”

“I think Jae’s right.”

Jae looked genuinely surprised. “You do?”

“I’d rather be surrounded by Boggarts for the rest of the year than… Yes. Jae’s right. As long as the others agree, I say we go.”

“When?”

“Tonight.” Ben’s face was pale, but determined. He glanced at a nearby suit of armour and shuddered slightly, adding, “Before I can change my mind.”

While Ben’s resolve was still intact, they headed directly for the Great Hall, where they found Merula, Andre, and Diego, and quickly explained their idea.

“Do you really think we’re all ready?” Andre asked, his carefully-shaped eyebrows knitting together.

“Well, I don’t know about you, Egwu, but I am. I’m the most powerful witch at-”

“Of course you are, Merula, darling. How I could I possibly forget?”

“As an experienced duellist,” said Diego, making Artemis roll her eyes involuntarily, “I think that you’ve all really improved in the last week or so. You might not be perfect just yet, but you’re probably good enough.”

“Great,” Artemis muttered. “Really encouraging.”

“Thank you.”

“So, is that settled? Are you all happy now that Diego thinks we are ‘probably’ good enough?”

“Probably works for me,” said Jae, as the others all hummed their agreement. He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of the Hufflepuff table, where Chiara was sitting with an open Astronomy textbook, and shrugged. “But maybe we ought to bring a Healer with us, just in case?”

The six Curse-Breakers and one Healer met on the Grand Staircase after hours, all of them dosed up with Penny’s fire protection potions and sweltering in their warm clothes. With Artemis having paid Fred and George Weasley a Sickle each to keep Filch and Mrs Norris well out of their way, they found that their path to the fifth floor was completely unobstructed.

Artemis had not been to the easternmost corridor since her second year, and the last time she had been there, it had been covered in ice. The air was significantly less cold this time, and she wasn’t sure if it was just an illusion, but it felt like the ceiling of the corridor was less imposingly high than it had been five years previously. There was still a hole in the wall halfway down the corridor, however, from the time in her first year when Ben had blown up a locked door to allow Artemis, Rowan, and Merula to escape from a room full of cursed ice. It was through this hole and into this room that Artemis led her friends, and once they were all inside, she pointed her wand at the back wall.

“Revelio.”

The wall shimmered slightly, the way a mirage might, before disappearing to reveal an ascending set of stone steps in its place. The temperature in the room plummeted.

“Whoa,” whispered Jae, stepping past Artemis to peer up the stairs. “Does that lead up to…”

“The Vault, yeah,” Artemis kept her wand raised. “When we get up there, there’ll be a corridor with a door at the end of it. We need to hit the door with curses.”

“Sounds easy enough.”

“It does, but the door fights back. If it hits you, you’ll be stuck in ice. Last time, it was my job to free anyone who did. I can do that again.”

“How long do we need to attack it for?”

“As long as it takes,” Artemis said grimly. “I think all of us hitting it at once did the trick before.”

“Like with the dragon,” whispered Ben.

“Yeah, just like that. Only this one makes ice, not fire. Oh, and once we’re done with the door, that’s when we’ll have to start on the Ice Knight. He’s even harder than the door, because he has a sword that can cast spells and a shield that reflects your own curses back at you. If you can get his shield off him, you’re good. Right? Everyone happy?”

The noises the others made did not indicate happiness, exactly, but they all nodded their heads, so Artemis stepped onto the bottom step of the secret staircase.

“I’ll be just down here if anyone gets hurt,” Chiara called after them. “Good luck.”

The rest of the group followed Artemis up the stairs. With every step they ascended, it grew colder around them. By the time they reached the top, Artemis wasn’t sure if they were trembling because of the temperature or fear. If it were the latter, she couldn’t blame them for it. By now, she might have been used to the sinister atmosphere that seemed to radiate from the Cursed Vaults, but looking again at the armour-lined corridor that led down to the storm-grey doors that formed the entrance to the Vault of Ice, even she couldn’t help but give an involuntary shudder.

“Okay,” she said as they approached the door, desperately trying to remember exactly how she and Bill had succeeded in tackling it before. “Spread out, and start to fire spells. Ready, go!”

The Curse-Breakers leapt into action, each casting spells at the door, which retaliated by emitting its own icy jets of light. As her peers stood stock still, each concentrating on aiming their spells with force, Artemis remained on the move, racing the bolts of ice as they shot at her friends, just as she had the last time she came.

But last time, she had been part of a team of four, and now she was in a team of six. Though the door was having to work almost twice as hard to fight against them, Artemis was also having to work harder to defend against it. And in spite of the physical fitness she had gained from years of flying and Quidditch practice, she was starting to tire. 

“Artemis, you need to swap with me,” said Diego, after she nearly didn’t make it in time to stop a jet of bright white ice from hitting Andre square in the chest.

“I’m fine,” she snarled back, narrowly dodging a bolt that the door had aimed at her, and hurling a reductor curse back at the door to prove her point. “I don’t need-”

“I know you think that I’m an arrogant arse, Artemis, but I mean it. You’re getting slower and clumsy. Swap out.”

“No!”

“Okay then,�� Diego stepped away from his position. “Then you’ll have to let me join you.”

Artemis didn’t want Diego to join her, and she was too proud to admit it, but having Diego to help defend the others as the battled against the door made her task a lot easier. Not being as tired as she was, Diego was equally fast, and infinitely more graceful, moving around the spells and the ones casting them as if it were a sort of dance. 

“I think it’s working,” said Jae. “Do you think if we all to hit it now, all at-”

“Jae, move!”

Whilst Artemis and Diego were busy defending Merula and Andre respectively, another icy bolt fired out of the door at lightning speed, aiming straight for him. Jae’s eyes widened as it drew closer, but he did not move, just stayed stock still, as if he were already frozen on the spot. A split second later, he really was. 

“Jae!” Artemis made to run to him, but Merula grabbed her arm with the hand that wasn’t holding the wand.

“The door first, Hexley,” she growled. “One good hit, and then the door will be finished, and we can save him without any of the rest of us getting frozen.”

Merula was right, and so Artemis shouted out:

“Everyone at once! Three, two, one, FIRE!”

Five curses hit the door in perfect unison, and the door, defeated at last, swung open with an almighty creak and crash. Artemis and Andre ran straight to Jae, whose teeth were chattering and skin had a bluish tinge to it.

“Okay, we’re going to get you out of there. Just hold still so I don’t burn you.”

“Or your clothes,” Andre added. “Though, honestly, that hoodie could do with-”

“Not the time or place, Andre.”

Together, they used the fire-making spell on the ice surrounding Jae, the flames licking and melting it away until he was free - weak and cold, but physically unharmed.

“I’m okay,” he said, through trembling blue lips. “I can keep going.”

“Are you sure?” Andre’s dark eyes were filled with doubt and concern. “Chiara’s just down those stairs, I can take you to her.”

Jae looked tempted, but he shook his head.

“No. I want to keep going. I want to fight.”

Andre sighed, and under his breath, Artemis heard him mutter a word that sounded suspiciously like “Gryffindors”. She turned around, and looked at the others.

“No one else need to go back?” she asked. None of them indicated that they did. Somewhat begrudgingly, she told Diego, “Um, thanks for your help. You did really well back there.”

“Yes, I know.” 

Diego shook his hair back away from his face, and a not insignificant amount of Artemis’ newfound appreciation for him disappeared. She walked away from him and towards Ben, who was stood staring at the open door with a peculiar expression on his face. 

“Ben, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

It was a moment before Ben jolted as if he had just realised that she had spoken, and replied, “Sorry, I’m… This all seems familiar.”

“Is it your memory coming back, do you think?”

“No, but I’ve seen this place before. When-”

But Ben was unable to tell Artemis when had seen the door to the Ice Vault previously, because the rest of his sentence was drowned out by the sound of clanking armour and thudding footprints coming from inside the Vault itself.

“Is that-”

“The Ice Knight!”

In the now open doorway, the figure of the Ice Knight appeared, sword and shield already raised. Before any of them had the chance to move against it, it pointed its sword at Ben, who was blown backwards down the corridor by a silver jet of light. Merula and Andre quickly suffered the same fate.

“Protego!” Artemis shouted, just as another spell from the Kinght’s sword threatened to blow her away as well. She shouted to Jae and Diego from behind her own shield charm. “The shield! Summon his shield!”

Perhaps she hadn’t shouted loudly enough, because when Diego raised his wand, he did not cast the summoning charm at all, but instead attempted to stun the Ice Knight, who raised his shield to deflect the spell. The beam of bright red light Diego had sent towards the Knight was sent straight back at him, and he fell to the ground, unconscious.

The Ice Knight turned its head towards Jae, who already had his wand pointed directly at the shield. Through his still-chattering teeth, he uttered a single word:

“Accio.”

The shield flew from the Ice Knight’s armoured hand, just as another jet of silver emitted from his sword. Both shield and curse soared through the air towards Jae, who raised his hand to grab the shield, and though his fingers closed around the metal, he did not move his arm quickly enough to use it effectively. The silver light hit him in the side of his ribcage below his still raised arm, and both Jae and the shield were blown backwards down the corridor.

Alone, Artemis faced the Ice Knight for the second time in her life. But this time, she was more tired from the preceding battle, and when she cast a glance over her shoulder, the shield was out of sight. But she was not a little girl anymore; she had more knowledge and more skill and had faced more challenges than she had before. She was not going to admit defeat just yet.

More desperately and dangerously than ever before, Artemis began to fight, dodging and deflecting both the spells of the Ice Knight and her own that were ricocheting off his armour. The Ice Knight was attempting to make her retreat away, she could tell, and it was working. But, she realised with a jolt, that could work in her favour, because the further down the corridor he forced her, the closer she was getting to the shield.

She permitted herself to take her eyes off the Ice Knight to look in Jae’s direction, but the shield was no longer in his hand. Then where was it? She couldn’t afford to spend any more time looking, she needed to keep watching the Knight. She turned back to it, only to find that its sword was raised and pointing directly at her. 

“Protego!” 

She cast the shield charm once more,  and in the corner of her eye, she saw the Ice Knight’s shield, moving towards her as someone emerged from the darkness with it in their hand, holding it in front of their sandy-haired head.

Ben Copper ran straight down the middle of the corridor, straight at the Ice Knight, using the Knight’s own shield to protect him from the silver curses being thrown at him. He was close enough now to cast his own spells back, but he didn’t. Instead, he kept running, charging at the Ice Knight, until he crashed right into it.

There was a deafening clash of metal on metal as the Ice Knight’s shield hit its breastplate, the impact of the collision finally stopping Ben in his tracks. The Knight raised his sword again, but Ben had already raised his wand, and was aiming it directly at the helmet grille.

“INCENDIO!”

The flames that emerged from the tip of Ben’s wand went straight into the helmet of the Knight, and the grille from the inside. Despite the flames, the Ice Knight seemed to freeze momentarily, before falling forward, and landing directly on top of Ben.

Artemis lunged forward to free her friend, and she wasn’t the only one; Merula and Andre were climbing to their feet and running to her. Between the three of them, they pulled the suit of armour up and away from Ben, who lay motionless on the floor. There was a large hole in the front of his jumper, through which she could see an area of wounded skin.

“Is he…” Artemis’ voice caught in her throat, and she scarcely dared to breathe as Merula’s fingers went to Ben’s wrist.

“He’s alive,” said Merula, removing her hand. She frowned at the wound on Ben’s chest, which was badly blistered as if burnt. “What caused that?”

“I dunno. The suit of armour, maybe? He set it on fire, maybe it was so hot that-”

“No,” Andre bent down by the fallen Ice Knight’s sword and carefully plucked something fibrous from the end of it. “See these? They’re exactly the same colour and shade as that jumper.” He looked from from the sword to the wound and shuddered. “That burn is from the ice, not the heat.”

“We’ll take him to Chiara,” said Artemis, swallowing hard.

“Don’t you think you’re forgetting something, Hexley? After all, we came here to open the Vault, didn’t we?”

“But he’s hurt!”

“Yeah, but he got hurt trying to get into that Vault,” Merula reasoned. “I’m just saying, I’d be really annoyed if you didn’t at least let me go inside before taking me to get kissed better, or whatever Jae hopes Chiara’s planning on doing when we get back down there.”

“Fine,” Artemis sighed. “You two go and wake up the others.” She pointed her wand at Ben and whispered, “Rennervate.”

Ben’s eyelids twitched and he began to stir, mumbling to himself incoherently. When he opened his eyes fully, he blinked several times before looking at Artemis.

“You’re awake,” she whispered, and he frowned as if confused. “It’s okay, Ben. Do you remember what just happened?”

“I remember everything.”

“Good, do-”

“Everything,” Ben repeated, and Artemis’ eyes widened as she realised what he meant. “I think I remembered it before now, when we were in there, but I didn’t remember having forgotten it to remember.”

“What?”

“There. There. It was so dark, and so scary. And I saw him. In the Room of Lost Things. He was using a cupboard,” Ben’s voice was weak and shaky, and his eyes unfocused as he spoke. “I was hiding and he found me. He made me come here. There was the ice, and the door, but I wasn’t scared. It felt… almost nice. Like I was in a dream, same as that time shemade me. You know. The red cloak.”

Artemis frowned. “Ben, you’re not making any sense. Do you mean when Rakepick put you under the Imperius Curse?”

“Yes. That’s what he did, then he made me forget. He got burned in the end though, didn’t he?”

“Didn’t who? Who is he, Ben?”

But Ben  said nothing, just raised his hand to the burn on his own chest and screwed up his face in pain. Artemis sighed. Somehow, she didn’t think that she would get more sense from him.

Andre and Diego returned from further up the corridor and helped lift Ben up, and half-carried him into the Cursed Vault. Jae, Artemis, and Merula followed behind, Jae still shivering and Merula limping slightly. 

The Vault itself was unchanged, as if time stood still within its seven frost-covered walls. Artemis walked straight through it to the glowing central column, bracing herself as she placed her hand against the cool crystal. The column opened. Nothing was inside it this time, as Artemis had half-expected. After all, she already had her brother’s broken wand to use in the next Vault. But as she stepped away, she found herself frowning.

“What’s wrong, Artemis?”

“It’s nothing. Just stupid,” she said with a wry smile. “Before, when I went to the Vaults, I used to hear my brother talking to me. I didn’t realise back then it was Legilimency, and that he was doing it through where he was stuck in the Buried Vault, of course, but it always made me feel… like I was closer to him, because I was helping to free him.” She shook her head. “And now he’s still trapped and I’m still missing him. Now that I’m back here, it’s like nothing has changed, but also everything has changed. I dunno, it’s a weird feeling.”

“Yeah, whatever,” said Merula, rolling her violet-coloured eyes. “Come on, Hexley. You’ve broken the curse, now let’s get Copper to the hospital before he loses consciousness again.”

Ben did look very pale, and there wasn’t much point in hanging around any longer, so Artemis nodded. She walked back down the corridor alongside Andre and Diego, who were still supporting the weight of an increasingly nonsensical Ben.

“I always was the only one in my family who could see ghosts,” he was saying, his voice growing weaker again. “Before I knew about Hogwarts, I thought maybe it was because I was going to be a ghost one day. I think that’s why I was so scared of everything, maybe. I always thought I was I was going to die. In the Forest that night, and before, when we went to the Vault. That’s when I wrote you the letter, Artemis.”

“The letter?” Artemis wrinkled her nose. “You never wrote me a letter, Ben.”

“It got lost. But I did write it, I had to write it, just in case,” Ben’s eyes were starting to close now, and his body was being completely held up by Diego and Andre as they descended the stone staircase. “I was trying to be brave. Then, and now. I was brave, wasn’t I?”

“You were really brave, Ben,” Artemis told him, completely honestly. “You always have been.”

Ben’s eyes remained closed, but the smile appearing on his lips showed that he had heard Artemis’ words, before his head dropped and he fell unconscious once more.

[the-al-chemist]

14, 18, and 35 for fanfiction asks!

Thank you so much for asking!

What is your favorite location and position to write in?

It depends how I’m feeling. However, if the weather is good enough, I love writing outside. Something about the fresh air helps me, I’m not sure why. If that’s not possible, by a window is good, or sometimes tucked up in bed surrounded by fairy lights (especially if inspiration strikes in the middle of the night).

Do you enjoy research?  Which fic of yours required the most research?

Again, it depends on the topic. In general, yes I love research, even if it does leave me with a very questionable internet search history (“what’s the quickest and most visually dramatic way to kill a man?”, for example). The story that required the most research was Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna, for which I had to spend a lot of time researching grief and PTSD in adolescents.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve posted?

This is like asking me who my favourite child is. Umm… maybe Dragon Heartstring? Otherwise, Much Ado About Bluffing.

[the-al-chemist]

Dragonssssss!

Wing, teeth and (for the queen of dialogue) fire 💛💛

Thanks for asking sweetcheeks 💛

Wing: share a snippet that you daydreamed about before writing it (or a snippet that you were really looking forward to writing.)

The one that really comes to mind is the epilogue of The Hexley Saga. I knew exactly what I wanted from the epilogue from the moment I wrote the prologue, exactly 2 years ago today!

From my newer stuff, probably this scene, in which Artemis reacquires her burgundy notebook:

“Me? Not Bill? He’s your brother.”

“You’re my best friend,” said Charlie. “And they were yours to begin with. You were going to use one of them.” Artemis swallowed, her shoulders tensing, and Charlie immediately backtracked. “I get it if that’s too weird for you. You were going to use them with Rowan, and I’m not Rowan, I know. If it feels like you shouldn’t use them to write to someone else, it’s fine, I can give it to Bill. Or you can have both of them back to keep, if you like.”

He tried to keep the hope out of his face as Artemis fanned the blank pages in silence. Eventually, after what seemed like an age, she said:

“Will it make you feel less lonely, writing to me?”

“Yeah.” Charlie shrugged. “I never feel lonely when I’m with you.”

Teeth: share a snippet that was difficult for you to nail down/required a lot of revisions.

The whole of The Circle of Khanna was difficult to get right, and took a whole lot of work and research to get right. I think that all hinges on this chapter, which was the one I put off for the longest time.

My newer stuff hasn’t gone through much reworking yet, because most of the WIPs are at the first draft stage. The Hinny WIP has gone through some serious revisions, but you’ve already read that one!!!

Fire: share a snippet with some dialogue you’d like to show off.

This chapter from The Portrait of the Vault has some of my funniest dialogue ever. However, this snippet from the upcoming arc of Beginning of a Symphony also makes me very happy:

“Stop laughing, Ethel!”

“I cannot,” Ethel wheezed. “I cannot stop. Oh, Jimmy. I did not realise you held such strong feelings for Alan.”

“I can see for why you would,” said Selene. “He is a very fine ferret.”

“A beautiful ferret, or so I’ve heard it said.”

“Indeed, I believe I have heard that said, too.”

“Unfortunately, Jim, Alan shan’t be accompanying you to the ball. He prefers to form attachments with his own species. I’d strongly suggest that you do the same,” Ethel told him.

[the-al-chemist]

One week…

If I’m remembering your publishing date correctly lol

It was only right that I make a year 6 cover to match the others. Hope you like it! 🧡🌻

Omg.

Omg.

Look what @thatravenpuffwitch did 🥺🥺🥺

Erin, I love this so much! Your edits are so beautiful and I’m so happy and grateful that you decided to make yourself my official cover designer 😍😂 THANK YOU 💛✨🌻

And YES, you got the publication date right! There’s ONE MORE WEEK to go until The Saga Continues… (Godric help us)

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna

(Part 6 of The Hexley Saga)

Eight years after his disappearance, Jacob Hexley has been found and lost once more. Reeling from her brother's second abandonment and her mentor Patricia Rakepick's betrayal, Artemis Hexley prepares to enter her sixth year at Hogwarts.

But Artemis is not the only one still dealing with the aftermath of the events of her fifth year. With her friends struggling, Rakepick on the loose, and one more Cursed Vault yet to find, this might well be Artemis' most challenging year yet...

Chapter 1: The Garden Party

Chapter 2: Homegoing

Chapter 3: Times, They Are A-Changing

Chapter 4: The Lost Boys

Chapter 5: Needing Space

Chapter 6: The Seeker and the Statue

Chapter 7: The Lady by the Lake

Chapter 8: Darkness Falls

Chapter 9: What Comes Next

Chapter 10: A Room at the Inn

Chapter 11: Back to Life

Chapter 12: Alanza Alves

Chapter 13: Lonely Hearts

Chapter 14: Reflection

Chapter 15: The Creature in the Moonlight

Chapter 16: Wolfsbane

Chapter 17: Telling the Truth

Chapter 18: Infinite, Unbroken, Forever

Chapter 19: Lyre, Lyre

Chapter 20: The Sunken Vault

Chapter 21: Amends

Notes and resources about some of the more difficult subject matter is available here.

[the-al-chemist]

Playlist: The Hexley Saga Years 6-7

Track listing:

Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna

Edge of Seventeen - Stevie Nicks

Homeward Bound - Simon and Garfunkel

Changes - David Bowie

Hammer to Fall - Queen

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John

Brothers in Arms - Dire Straights

Cry Little Sister - Gerard McMann

Yesterday - The Beatles

Who Wants to Live Forever? - Queen

River - Joni Mitchell

Let It Be - The Beatles

Comfortably Numb - Pink Floyd

Nothing Compares 2 U - Sinead O’Connor

Rio - Duran Duran

Heartache Tonight - The Eagles

How Soon Is Now? - The Smiths

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door - Bob Dylan

Landslide - Fleetwood Mac

Smile - Nat King Cole

Hounds of Love - Kate Bush

Sisters of the Moon - Fleetwood Mac

With A Little Help From My Friends - The Beatles

Children of the Revolution - Marc Bolan and T. Rex

Little Lies - Fleetwood Mac

Song to the Siren - Mortal Coil

The Sound of Silence - Simon and Garfunkel

You’ll Never Walk Alone - Gerry and the Pacemakers

Artemis Hexley and the Return to the Riddles

Every Breath You Take - The Police

9 to 5 - Dolly Parton

Cloudbusting - Kate Bush

Sara - Fleetwood Mac

I’m Still Standing - Elton John

Black Velvet - Alannah Myles

Merry Christmas Darling - The Carpenters

Candle in the Wind - Elton John

Free Fallin’ - Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers

Oh Daddy - Fleetwood Mac

Ça Plane Pour Moi - Plastic Bertrand

We Didn’t Start the Fire - Billy Joel

Hold the Line - Toto

Gold Dust Woman - Fleetwood Mac

Wild Horses - The Rolling Stones

In the Air Tonight - Phil Collins

Bridge Over Troubled Water - Simon and Garfunkel

You’ve Got The Love - The Source

Don’t You Forget About Me - Simple Minds

Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God) - Kate Bush

Heroes - David Bowie

Freedom! ‘90 - George Michael

God Only Knows - The Beach Boys

Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - Baz Luhrmann

[the-al-chemist]

Happy FFWF!! 💓💓

So i was wondering what inspired you to start the Artemis quote series ?

Also can we get some spoilers for year 6 🙈🙈I'm too excited for it

Thanks for the ask, little one! 💛

First question is easy to answer - I was watching a stand up comedy show on TV, and the comedian (Joe Lycett - he’s hilarious) was talking about how “inspirational quotes” annoy him, so he had made an Instagram account solely to make up and post really bad ones. They were funny, so I thought I’d give it a go with one-liners from some of my stories.

As for the second question, it’s a little harder to answer. As always, Y6 of the Saga will be an adaptation of the corresponding year of HPHM gameplay. I use the word “adaptation” because although I base the stories on the game plot, I alter a lot of details to make it a cohesive story.

Year six is probably the year that has been most altered from its original form so far, especially the second half of it. To give the story room to breathe, I have had to cut/move some plot points. A lot of year six gameplay you won’t be seeing at all, and some has been moved to the draft for year seven.

As always, I’ve tried to thread in some sidequests (or at least nods to them). In year 6, there are references to the Adventures in Curse-Breaking, Lone Wolf, Gift of Gratitude, Valentine’s Ball, and - completely accidentally, as these scenes were both written before the sidequests dropped - Burrow Party and Mirror of Erised.

Other than that you will just have to wait and see…

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna

Chapter 20: The Sunken Vault

A/N: it’s time to face the final Cursed Vault, but is Artemis really ready for what’s inside? Warnings: scenes of violence and trauma, flashbacks, mild horror, mentions of murder.

Mr Maestro was as good as his word. On the final day of the month, after the summer term had already started and Bill had set off to Uganda on his expedition with Gringotts, Artemis received a heavy parcel in the morning post.

“Early birthday present?” asked Tonks.

“In a way,” Artemis replied, able to feel the frame of the lyre through the packaging. “We need to have a meeting with the rest of the Circle of Khanna. Penny, do you reckon you could let everyone know to meet at lunchtime?”

When it came to spreading news, no one was better than Penny Haywood. By lunchtime, the whole of the Circle of Khanna knew to meet at the lakeshore.

“We’ve got the lyre fixed,” Artemis told them. “We can go to the final Vault now. Not right now, Barnaby,” she added, and Barnaby stopped removing his shoes. “I mean later.”

“Later today?”

“Yeah, we could,” Artemis nodded, gnawing at her lower lip as she looked across the lake, in the direction of Hogsmeade station. “So, I know Bill isn’t going to be able to come with us, but I’ve spoken to my brother and he’s offered to help. He’s worried about how safe this is going to be, especially with so many of us going. He wanted it to be just him and me, but-”

“Typical,” muttered Merula, glaring at Artemis.

“I’m sorry?”

“I said that this is just typical,” Merula repeated. “You get all of us involved and then go ditch us to do your own thing as soon as your brother is involved.”

“Actually, that wasn’t what I was going to suggest at all,” said Artemis. “I actually told Jacob that you should come to the Vault, Merula. Rakepick trained you up just as much as she did me.”

Merula’s violet eyes widened. “You did?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah. Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. I mean, I did want all of you to come, but Jacob said that we shouldn’t draw too much attention to ourselves, and he’s got a point.”

“In case Rakepick is still about?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s not just her. The dementors are still around, the Aurors are looking for him as well as Rakepick, and Dumbledore has told us to leave the Vaults alone. Now that term’s started again, it’s going to look suspicious, all of us diving into the lake, especially with my brother as well.”

“So, what are you suggesting?”

“Some of us need to stay behind to either distract the teachers or keep watch.”

“Tonks and I can set up some distractions,” said Tulip, smirking to herself. “I’ve already got a couple of ideas.”

“Anything I can help with?” Jae asked.

“Almost certainly.”

“Well, that’s that settled,” Artemis nodded. “Anyone else got a preference?”

“I don’t mind keeping watch,” offered Badeea. “There’s an excellent view of the lakeshore from Ravenclaw tower. Andre, Talbott, you could stay with me?” 

“I’ll keep watch, but I’d rather do it from the air,” Talbott said quietly. “Alone.”

“Me, Liz, Ismelda, Charlie, and Alanza can stay behind to deal with the Grindylows,” said Barnaby. “And if there’s any trouble with any baddies or anything, Diego and I can fight them, too.”

“That’s… um… great, Barnaby. Thanks.”

“Chiara and I will stay behind at the Hospital Wing in case anyone gets hurt and needs healing,” Penny suggested, looking at Barnaby out of the corner of her eyes. “I’m rather good at Wiggenweld potions, if I do say so myself.”

“And it means we can keep an eye on the statue curse victims. If they get back to normal, we’ll know you’ve managed it.”

“Good point,” Artemis nodded at Chiara before turning to the remaining member of the group. “That just leaves you, Ben. What do you fancy doing?”

Ben frowned silently, his eyes fixed on the silt at his feet. Eventually, he looked up. When he did, he looked straight at Artemis.

“I want to go to the Cursed Vault,” he said, and Artemis blinked. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Ben nodded. “It seems right to go. The first time we found anything to do with the Vaults, it was you and me and Rowan. It was the three of us in the beginning, and now we are ending the Curses once and for all, I… I want to be there to do it. Actually there. For Rowan.”

Artemis swallowed and gave Ben a small smile. She looked around the Circle of Khanna, before fixing her eyes on the still surface of the Black Lake.

“For Rowan.”

With the lyre fixed and a plan in place, everything was ready. As night began to fall over the Hogwarts grounds, the Circle of Khanna took to their positions. Standing on the lakeshore with Ben and Merula, Artemis fired red sparks into the dusky air. 

She shivered as she waited for Jacob, though the evening was not cold. What if he didn’t show up? What if he had been hurt, or captured, or had changed his mind? What if he let her down again? The few minutes following her signal seemed to last an age, and the longer she waited, the more she found herself pushing back her sense of panic. He would be there. He had promised that he would be there.

Jacob kept his promise. Just as Artemis was considering going down the secret passageway to find him herself, he emerged from the boathouse with his head lowered and his hood up, his wand tightly clutched in his hand. 

“Three of you?” he asked, frowning at Ben and Merula, the latter of whom glowered at him. He glanced at Artemis before nodding his head. “Okay then. No time like the present. Let’s return this lyre.”

"We need to find Alanza first, she’s the one who can speak-”

“I can negotiate with the merpeople,” said Jacob, and he smirked at the confused look on Artemis’ face. “What? You really think I never bothered to teach myself a little Mermish?”

He winked and Artemis rolled her eyes as she followed him to the jetty, Merula and Ben in tow. One by one, they cast the bubblehead charm and jumped into the water. Beneath the surface, the water was just as murky as it had been earlier that month.

“Where did you meet the merfolk before?”

“Near here,” said Artemis, her voice muffled in spite of how loudly she was trying to speak. “We went that way, and then they just turned up.”

“Then let’s go that way.”

They walked along the bed of the lake, further into the deep water than they had been when the merpeople had found them before. They must have reached a settlement of sorts, presumably where the merfolk lived, for they started to see signs of habitation: huts made of driftwood, tools lain on the floor, rocks carved into statues, and strings of shells and pebbles hanging like garlands.

“It’s a village,” said Ben. “Are you sure we’re allowed to be here?”

Either Jacob hadn’t heard Ben or was ignoring him, for he was already starting to call out in Mermish. Though Artemis couldn’t understand his words, she could hear them clearly, and so must have the merfolk, for several mermen and mermaids emerged from the huts. As a few of them picked up their weapons, Jacob spoke hurriedly, and gestured to the lyre that Artemis was holding in her arms. After a brief exchange of words and an ever briefer flurry of activity, a younger-looking merman was sent away, only to return a few moments later with the merman who had given them the lyre. 

The merman eyed Jacob sceptically, and held out one hand to Artemis without saying a word.  She handed him the instrument, and he examined it closely before calling to two of his peers and giving them instructions.

“We need to follow them,” said Jacob, nodding at the two merfolk. “They will take us to the Vault.”

“How do you say thank you in Mermish?” Artemis asked, and once Jacob had said the phrase she repeated it slowly and carefully to the Merchief, who inclined his head and waved her on her way.

Artemis, Jacob, Merula, and Ben travelled a long distance through the water, or at least it felt that way. The two merpeople who had been tasked with guiding them to the Cursed Vault were powerful swimmers, and it was tiring trying - and failing - to match their pace. When they eventually slowed down,  Artemis assumed that the merpeople had realised that the humans were struggling to follow them, but instead they turned to Jacob and spoke to him, gesturing into the distance.

“What’s the matter? What’s going on?” 

“They won’t go any further. They’re too afraid.”

The merpeople did look skittish, their grey skin paler than when they had set off and a tremor to their voices that hadn’t been present back at the village. Artemis sighed.

“So now what?” she asked, and Jacob nodded in the direction in which the merfolk had been gesturing. 

“We have to go that way. They said we are looking for a cave.”

“Did they say what the cave looks like?”

“No. Only that it feels evil,” said Jacob, his face grim in the greenish glow of the water. “Sounds like it’s the right place, anyway.”

Artemis thanked their guides, who swam away even faster than they had been swimming before, leaving a rush of small silver bubbles in their wake. The curse-breakers went ahead without them, following their instructions until the outline of something tall could be seen through the dark, dirty water ahead.

“Is that-”

“The cave? It must be.”

As they approached it, the shape became clearer. It was a tall pile of stones, extending from a deep ravine in the floor of the lake towards the surface, towering over the completely still inky water around it.

“Is it just me,” said Ben, “or is the water cleaner here?”

“It’s because there’s nothing living here,” Merula replied, looking around at the now crystal-clear water. “Nothing alive wants to be near that Vault.”

“What do you think is inside?”

Ben’s question went unanswered, neither Artemis nor Merula able to think what might provoke such a strong reaction, or such a feeling of intense evil. Beatrice Haywood’s words echoed through Artemis’ mind as she looked towards the rocks. 

That’s the worst one of all of them… Every time I try to swim away, it’s like I’m being pulled back down…

There was an opening within the rock formation, and they swam in, finding themselves in a wide cave, which had yet another opening to a smaller, darker cave. Stepping inside, Artemis saw that the walls were dripping, and water was pooling at her feet.

“Hang on,” she said, surprised at how loud her voice sounded. “We aren’t underwater anymore!”

She removed her Bubblehead charm and took a deep breath, feeling the stagnant, clammy air enter her lungs. 

“How does that work?” Ben asked, following suit. “We are still underwater, why-”

“It’s magic, Copper, you moron.”

Artemis shrugged apologetically at Ben and followed Merula to another gap in the rock formation. She lit her wand and shone it inside, revealing yet another smaller cave.

“How long does this go on for, do you think?” she murmured, knowing fully well that the only way to find out would be to keep moving through the rocks, deeper into the system of caves.

The four of them did just that, following the path through the enchanted rocks, through the caves which got smaller and smaller, until they reached a dead end.

“This must be it,” said Artemis, and Jacob nodded. He stepped back, and gestured for Artemis to take the lead. She raised her wand. “Revelio!”

She had expected another opening to form in the rocks, or for a door to appear, like in the previous Cursed Vaults. What she hadn’t expected was the rumbling of the ground and the walls of the cave, for the whole space around her to shift, for the rocks to move so that they formed seven walls, or for a glowing golden column to rise from the centre. They had not just found the opening to the Cursed Vault, they were already inside it.

“But there’s nothing guarding it,” whispered Artemis, more to herself than anyone else. She frowned. The relative ease with which they had reached the vault made her feel uneasy. “It should be fighting back.”

“Try and open it,” said Jacob, also looking somewhat sceptical. Artemis stepped forward to touch the column, and he grabbed her wrist, pulling her back forcefully. “Legilimency first!”

Artemis nodded, and wriggled free of Jacob’s grip, which had been so tight that it had left pink marks. She stared at the glowing crystal, willing it to open… 

But it did not. She shrugged. “Looks like I’m just going to have to touch it, doesn’t it?”

“No, Artemis, wait-”

Jacob fell silent the second Artemis’ palm made contact with the cool surface of the column, which immediately stopped glowing. Without the glow of the column, the Vault was pitch black. Artemis frowned and waved her hand in front of her face. She could not see it.

“Jacob?” She called out, but there was no response. “Merula? Ben?”

Silence. Silence and darkness. She shuddered, suddenly feeling more afraid and hopeless than she had ever felt in her life, surrounded only by the endless expanse of nothingness. 

Then, she heard a voice. She stepped towards the sound, straining to see who was there.

“Jacob?”

It was Jacob, but he was taller than before and younger looking, too. When he knelt down, his eyes were level with hers. 

“I’ll be back at Christmas,” he told her, and she felt a tear running down her cheek. “And I’ll write to you every week until then, I promise.”

“Why can’t I come with you?” Artemis found herself asking, her voice more childlike than usual. “I want to go, too.”

“You will one day, Missy,” said Jacob, wiping her cheek and ruffling her hair. “Take care of mum for me whilst I’m gone.” 

He stepped away from her, and a hand on her shoulder stopped her from following him. There was the sound of a whistle, and the smell of smoke, the gentle chugging sound of a train… As the sound faded and Jacob disappeared, Artemis saw a stone archway standing on a daïs in front of her. Before she could stop them, her feet were carrying her towards it.

“ARTEMIS, NO!”

A woman’s voice, and a familiar one at that. She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around, but no one was there. She was all alone, surrounded by doors. She reached up to open one, but it was locked. Her heart started beating fast, there were shouts and crashes behind her, and she was scared. She stepped backwards and the doors began to spin around her, so fast she felt dizzy, and she screwed her eyes shut. When she opened them again, the doors had gone. 

Her mother stood in front of her, her face pale and eyes puffy. Jacob was beside her, a grim expression on his face. They both looked young, though Jacob was not as young as he had been before, when the train had been there. She frowned, and her mother nodded her head, tears welling in her eyes. 

“Ma?” she asked, and Sara Hexley closed her eyes. “Jacob?”

Jacob pointed his wand at her, and the darkness returned. In the distance, fireworks were bursting in the sky. Artemis lowered her gaze, and saw Jacob on the street outside her house. He raised a hand to her and walked away to the end of the street, disappearing between the flashes of two fireworks. She was alone, and she was crying, and a blackbird was flying, flying away from her… And her mother wouldn’t hug her, or even look at her, and Reggie the Muggle was packing up his boat, and she felt abandoned all over again. The darkness settled over her once more, and something grabbed her ankle.

“Rowan, it’s got me!” she shouted, desperately trying to fight against the thick vines that were reaching out from the darkness and grabbing her, trapping her, ensnaring her…

Suddenly she was free, but when she looked down, Fergus’ tiny body was limp in her arms. She looked up, and Rowan was hit by a bolt of ice. Artemis ran to her, but she disappeared. Instead, there was a Boggart advancing on her, its face shifting between Jacob’s and her own as it moved closer through the darkness. It’s features changed again, and it was Fenrir Greyback. A red cloak appeared over it, and it raised its wand. Charlie fell to the ground, and so did Rowan. Artemis looked back and the cloak was lifted to reveal Ben Copper’s face. She shook her head, and Rowan was in Ben’s place.

“Your friends are already a part of this,” said Rowan, her eyes glazed and voice monotonous. “Before the end of this year, one of them has to die.”

A jet of red light hit Rowan in the chest and Artemis turned to see Rakepick sitting calmly at her desk, her wand pointed at Artemis. There was another flash of light and Artemis watched her wand split apart in her hands. She snapped her head back up to Rakepick, who was now on her feet.

“Crucio.”

A man writhed on the floor in front of Artemis, and so did Merula, both of them were in pain, so much pain, and they were screaming, and so was Artemis, as Jacob walked away from her again, and Bill sailed away across the lake on a boat with his friends.

“I’m not Bill,” said a voice behind her - Charlie’s voice.

“I wish you were,” Artemis said, but she didn’t mean to say it, she didn’t mean it at all, but she had said it, and now Charlie was hurt and he was walking  away from her, too.

She went to run after him, but everything went dark again. That horrible feeling of unending despair had taken over her once more. She was in the forest, and it was cold. A dementor floated in front of her, and try as she might, she could not cast her patronus. 

But someone else could. Rakepick. She raised her wand and pointed it at Ben, but Rowan jumped out from the trees and they both fell, and Artemis ran towards them, and Rowan was in her arms and she was gone, gone, gone…

A hand took hold of Artemis’ own, and Rowan really was gone, and so was the forest. Artemis was in the Cursed Vault, which was no longer quite so dark. She looked down at her hand and up at the person who was holding it.

“Come on, Hexley,” said Merula, pulling her across to where Ben Copper was stumbling around as if he were blind, shaking and crying silently. 

Merula placed her other hand into Ben’s and though he continued to shake, he blinked at his surroundings, clearly able to see them.

“What… What was that?” he asked, a distinct tremor in his voice.

“That was the Vault fighting back.”

Artemis took a deep shaky breath and looked for Jacob. He had his hands placed to his head and was murmuring to himself under his breath.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” he whispered into his palms. Artemis reached out and took one of his hands in hers, and as she did, he blinked. “Artemis?”

“We need to get out of here,” said Artemis, looking at the column with contempt. “This place, it’s… We can’t stay here.”

Jacob frowned and nodded. He raised his wand and pointed it at the wall that had previously been the opening in the rock formation. 

“Bombarda!” 

The wall exploded, with pieces of rock flying out into the cave outside the Vault. Back in the cave, Merula quickly let go of Artemis and Ben’s hands.

“Well?” Artemis asked them. “Do you still… Has it stopped?”

Merula nodded, and Artemis let go of Jacob’s hand. The visions from inside the Vault did not return, but she still felt shaken. 

“That was awful,” said Ben. “Did the rest of you see that? All the worst things that have ever happened to you?” Artemis nodded, and he frowned at the Vault. “Did you feel it, too? Like you’d never feel anything good again?”

“I felt it,” Artemis told him, before turning to look at Jacob. “We need to break the curse. How do we do it?”

“I don’t know.”

Merula blinked at Jacob. “You don’t know?”

“No,” replied Jacob, simply.

“But you’re the one with all that research! You spent all those years studying the Vaults. You spent years inside one of the Vaults. How can you not know?”

“It’s not like I could go to the library when I was stuck in there, is it?” Jacob snapped at Merula, and her violet eyes widened. He immediately softened. “Sorry. But there is a reason that I don’t know. No one does, that’s the issue. No one has broken this Vault before, if they had…”

“Then the Cursed Vaults wouldn’t still be here,” Artemis finished her brother’s sentence for him. “So, what do we do? We’ve got to try something.”

“We’ll need to go back inside,” said Jacob, frowning at the glowing column. “It would be worth you trying Legilimency again. If not, there might be a clue inside the Vault itself. Worst case scenario, we can seal it.”

“Seal it?”

“Close it.”

“We all know what sealing means,” Merula muttered. “But last time we had to open it up. How is doing the opposite going to help?”

“It will stop the curse’s effect. It’s what Patricia did after I got stuck last time. It was too late for me, but… The problem is, it means that the curse won’t be properly broken. You won’t have any more statues, but I don’t know about the people who are already statues.”

“Okay, that’s fine,” said Artemis. “We can stop more people getting hurt, look into how to get past this curse, and come back another day to save everyone else.”

But Jacob shook his head.

“It’s not that simple,” he told her. “The Vaults are sequential. If you fail to open one and seal it instead, you have to start over. That’s why I left the trail for you to follow, I couldn’t get you to free me from the Buried Vault without opening the others first.”

“But even if we do have to open them all, it will still buy us some time to find out how to break it properly.”

From the other side of the cave came a low chuckle, one that sounded familiar in Artemis’ ears and made her blood run cold. She wasn’t the only one to react. Merula’s face paled, Ben looked nauseated, and Jacob grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her back behind him.

“I think it is obvious how to break the curse,” said Patricia Rakepick, stepping across the cave towards them, her eyes on Jacob, who tightened his grip on Artemis’ arm. “You can’t protect her forever, Jacob.”

“No,” Jacob said, a note of fear in his voice. “You promised not to hurt her. You promised that-”

“I promised that I would try it your way,” Rakepick told him. “You have tried it your way. Now, we go back to my plan. To R’s plan.”

“We can try again. She can try again. She can do it, she’s the one to do it.”

“Clearly not.”

“Patricia, please don’t do this. I’ll do anything.”

Jacob’s voice was almost cracking with emotion. Rakepick sighed deeply, and a flicker of something softer than disappointment entered her usually callous eyes.

“How many more people would you have die for this, Hexley?” she asked him.

“None,” replied Jacob, shaking his head “No more. And not her. Not Artemis, please. She can do it, trust me.”

Rakepick laughed, a harsh sound. “Oh, Jacob. I don’t think there’s a single person alive or dead who trusts you anymore.”

She raised her wand, and Jacob drew his, stepping in front of Artemis to shield her. But before either of them had the chance to cast the first spell, there was a shout from across the cave.

“INCARCERUS!”

With a flash of light, Merula had pointed her wand at Madam Rakepick and conjured a thick rope that coiled around her chest, binding her arms to her sides.

“Bet you wish you’d never taught us that spell, Professor,” Merula sneered, lowering her wand slowly and staring at Rakepick with look of mingled disgust and fury. Rakepick cocked a sardonic eyebrow.

“Well,” she said quietly, a smirk playing on her lips. “Looks like you can fly after all, little bird.”

Merula blinked. “What?”

But before Rakepick could answer, Ben pointed his wand at her, and silently issued a red flash of light that hit her square in the chest and knocked her unconscious. Artemis and Merula stared at him.

“She can use wandless magic, remember?” he said. “We don’t want her doing what she did in the Vault last year.” 

“Good thinking,” Artemis nodded, her front teeth grazing her lower lip. “Right. We don’t have much time, so we’re just going to have to seal the Vault and hope for the best. We have to take Rakepick to the Aurors. She deserves to go to prison for what she did to Rowan.”

“She deserves worse than that,” Merula muttered, her eyebrows still furrowed deeply. “We should kill her.”

“Merula!”

“She would have done the same to you, Hexley.”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t make it right,” Artemis said, and she turned to Jacob. “Does it?”

“No, it doesn’t,” her brother agreed with a sigh. “Besides, she knows so much about the Cursed Vaults. More than almost anyone. We can’t let that knowledge go to waste, especially if you want to seal the Vault and try again another time.”

“I do.”

“Then we can’t kill her,” Jacob said, simply. He raised his eyebrows slightly. “But we could… No.”

“What?”

“Well, we could shut her in the Vault before we seal it.”

“In there?” Artemis frowned and looked at the Vault. “But, those visions…”

“It will keep her alive and on hand to break the final curse,” Jacob reasoned. “She might be more amenable to the idea of helping us after a stint in that place.”

“Or she might be even more unhinged than she is already!”

“Patricia is a lot of things, Artemis. Unhinged isn’t one of them.”

“I think it’s a great idea, personally,” said Merula. “No less than she deserves.”

“No. No one deserves that. Not even Rakepick,” Artemis said, decisively. “We do what Ben says. We give her to the Aurors. And we seal the Vault. If everyone that’s been a statue comes back to life, brilliant. If not, we can visit Rakepick in Azkaban prison and ask her how to break the curse properly another time.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Now, let’s seal this thing and get back to the shore.”

When they returned to the shore, a still bound and unconscious Rakepick in tow, they found a larger welcome party than they had expected gathered by the water’s edge: the entire Circle of Khanna, Professors Dumbledore and Snape, and a handful of witches and wizards in Aurors’ uniforms, one of whom Artemis recognised as Mad-Eye Moody, the Auror who had interviewed her in the Hospital Wing in December. As Artemis, Jacob, Merula, and Ben emerged from the water, his  magical blue eye fixed on Rakepick, and he strode over to meet them.

“So, these teenagers are telling the truth,” he said gruffly, casting a look over his shoulder at the Circle of Khanna. “Patricia Rakepick really did enter the lake this evening. Though it looks like we weren’t really needed to apprehend the criminal after all. Stunning charm?” he asked, looking between Artemis, Merula and Ben as Jacob lowered his gaze to the floor, his dark hair casting a shadow over half of his face. When the other three nodded, Moody looked mildly impressed. “Good work, Miss Hexley.”

“Oh no,” said Artemis. “It was all Merula and Ben, really.”

But Moody did not seem to care who had truly caught Rakepick, for he did not say another word before he pointed his wand at her, and she awoke looking mildly dazed.

“Patricia Rakepick, my name is Alastor Moody. I am placing you under arrest - once again -  for your involvement with the criminal organisation ‘R’, and for the murder of Rowan Khanna. You will be sent to Azkaban prison until the time comes for you to be trialled by the Wizengamot for your crimes, and if found guilty, you shall remain in Azkaban for the entirety of your sentence.”

He held on to one of Rakepick’s bound arms and escorted her back across the shore to the rest of the Aurors. As he walked away, Artemis felt a hand on her upper arm.

“Artemis, look at me,” said Jacob, and she did. He bent down slightly so that his eyes were level with hers. “You trust me, don’t you? No matter what happens, or what anyone says?”

Artemis frowned, but nodded her head. “Why?”

Jacob did not reply, but he kissed Artemis on the top of her head and squeezed her upper arms before straightening up and following Mad Eye Moody, taking large strides in an attempt to catch up with the Auror.

“Wait!” Jacob called out, and when Moody stopped and turned around, he threw his wand down at his feet and held his hands up at the level of his shoulders. “My name is Jacob Odysseus Hexley. I was also involved with the criminal organisation ‘R’, and I was responsible for the death of Duncan Ashe in 1981.”

“No,” Artemis said, and realising she had said the word out loud, she repeated it, louder this time. “NO!”

But neither Jacob nor Moody, nor any of the other Aurors paid her any attention. Jacob was bound  and escorted away, leaving Artemis to watch, powerless, as her brother left her once more.

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna

Chapter 18: Infinite, Unbroken, Forever

A/N: A circle of friends is formed. Warnings: discussions of grief and loss, naughty acronyms. Special mentions to @thatravenpuffwitch @lifeofkaze @that-scouse-wizard @samshogwarts and @cursebreakerfarrier for helping to come up with ideas for the gang’s patronuses.

The Easter holidays had arrived, but neither Artemis nor any of her friends were returning home for the break. Now that the final Cursed Vault had become active once more, they were planning on using the holidays to prepare themselves to break the curse. Artemis watched the Thestrals pull the carriages away towards Hogsmeade station before walking up to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, which had been left vacant, the professor having left the castle for the holidays.

It was here that her friends met, all of them arriving one by one, with the exception of Chiara, who had volunteered to take extra shifts in the Hospital Wing until Madam Buckthorn, the Matron of St Mungo’s Hospital, found a replacement for Madam Pomfrey. 

Once everyone else had gathered, Tulip summoned over a blackboard and piece of chalk and stood behind Artemis, who was facing the rest of the group. 

“What’s the chalk for?” Artemis asked, looking back at her over her shoulder.

“It’s a meeting. I’m taking minutes,” Tulip said, already drawing a crude caricature of a wizard in the bottom left corner of the board. “It’s a visual aid for when we are brainstorming ideas.”

“Right. What do we need to brainstorm, exactly?”

“You know, what we want to achieve, how we’re going to achieve it.  What we’re going to call ourselves.”

“Won’t we just call each other by our names?”

“Not each other, I mean as a group,” Tulip looked up from her drawing, which was looking more and more Snape-like by the second. “What’s the point in forming a secret society if we don’t even get a name?”

“I mean, this isn’t really a secret society,” Artemis said, and Tulip frowned.

“Well, it should be. We’re up against this cabal, and they’re a secret society. We’re just making things even.”

Artemis considered it for a moment, before turning to the others. “Fine. Anyone got any bright ideas for a name?”

“Oh,” Penny raised her hand. “How about the Curse Club?”

“Sounds like we are making curses, not breaking them,” muttered Merula. “Besides, it’s hardly very original, is it?”

“Well, have you got any better ideas?”

“How about Shut Up Haywood? How is that for an idea?”

“Merula, be nice. We are here to break curses together, not fight each other,” Artemis told her. She called over her shoulder to Tulip. “Don’t write that one down.”

“Too late, I already have.”

“Never mind then,” Artemis shrugged apologetically at Penny. “Any advances on Curse Club? Yes, Ismelda?”

“Death to Rakepick.” 

“Oh. Um, well, that’s… original, I guess.”

“I’ve got it,” said Tonks. “What about Together In Total Solidarity?”

Behind Artemis, Tulip began to snigger, and Artemis turned to look at what she was doing. Seeing the large capital letters that had been written on the board, Artemis rolled her eyes.

“Tonks! Take this seriously.”

“That could work, too. Taking It Totally Seriously,” Tonks grinned, and Artemis scowled at her. “Or, how about Witches Against Nasty-”

“Can anyone else think of something? Anything?”

“I’ve got an idea,” said Ben, frowning deeply. “I don’t think it’s that good, though.”

“I’m sure it won’t be worse than what we have already.”

“Okay. Well, what about the Circle of Khanna?”

The room fell quiet, not even the sound of Tulip’s chalk on the blackboard interrupting the hush. 

“The Circle of Khanna,” Merula repeated slowly, as if she were tasting the words as she spoke them. “You know, I actually don’t hate it.”

“I like that mentions Rowan,” said Badeea, as Tulip started to write on the board once more. “And I like the idea of a circle. A perfect circle is infinite, unbroken, forever…”

“Like friendship should be,” whispered Penny, her eyes filling with tears. Artemis gave Charlie in the seat next to Penny a pointed look, and he patted her on the forearm, somewhat awkwardly.

“All in favour of the Circle of Khanna, raise your hand.”

Fifteen hands, including Artemis’ own, rose into the air. Only one remained on a desk.

“I just think we could make it a little better,” said Tonks.

“We are not adding another word that begins with a C,” Artemis told her, and Tonks sighed loudly before raising her own hand. Artemis turned to Tulip, who was already underlining the name Circle of Khanna on the board. “So that’s that settled. We are now the Circle of Khanna.” 

Artemis found herself smiling at the name as she spoke it. Somehow, it made it feel like Rowan was still included, and it reminded her who they were there for.

“Rowan was always telling me how I needed to think about things before I did them, to be ready and not go charging straight into stuff. And she always helped me with that. Whenever I did anything dangerous, she always used to say that she didn’t like it, but she was going to make sure whatever it was I was doing, it would be done properly,” she told them, now smiling fondly at the memory of Rowan’s cross and anxious face. “I think she would be tutting at us for going back to the Vaults, but at least if we are going to do it, we can do it in a way she would have been happy with. She had goals, and she had plans on how she was going to achieve them. She worked hard, she prepared and researched and-”

“So, what are our goals, Hexley?” Merula interrupted her.

“Well, that’s not just up to me, is it? What do you lot all want?” When no one said anything, Artemis sighed. “Fine, I’ll go first. I want to make sure that Rowan’s death wasn’t in vain, and I want to break the statue curse.”

“I want to break all the curses for good,” said Ben.

“I want us to get there before Rakepick and the rest of the Cabal does.” 

“Maybe we could find out some more about the Cabal, that might help, too.”

“I want to get revenge on Rakepick for what she did to Rowan,” Merula told them, and Ismelda nodded emphatically in agreement.

Behind Artemis, Tulip called out, “I’m going to write ‘justice’ rather than ‘revenge’. Revenge sounds… kind of murder-y.”

“And?” Merula shrugged.

“Well, personally, I would just like to make sure that we are all safe,” said Penny. “Us and the rest of the school. I know that dealing with the Cursed Vaults and dealing with Rakepick and the Cabal is important, but we don’t know how long that will take. We need to learn how to defend ourselves.”

“And we need to learn how to fight properly, too,” Diego nodded, and Artemis had to stop herself from scowling at him. “Defence is all well and good, but when you’re up against an opponent like Rakepick… I can teach you all to duel, if you like.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Artemis told him, rolling her eyes.

“Well, you’ll need someone to be an instructor.”

“Yeah, but we already have someone to do that. Someone who actually knows what they’re doing when it comes to duelling and breaking curses.”

“Oh, really? Are you going to be teaching us all this, then?”

“No. He is.”

Artemis looked beyond Diego to the back of the classroom, to the door that led out into the corridor. She smiled as she made eye contact with the wizard leaning against the doorframe, dressed in a dark collared shirt and dragonhide boots, with long red hair pulled back into a ponytail. As the group turned to look at him, a smirk began to play on his handsome face.

“Okay, gang,” said Bill Weasley, stepping into the classroom and rolling up his sleeves. “Let’s get to work, shall we?”

Bill had agreed to spend each and every afternoon over the Easter holidays helping Artemis and her friends; teaching them about the basics of curse-breaking, practising duelling and defensive spells, and helping them to plan their approach to dealing with the final Cursed Vault.

“Thanks again for this,” Artemis told him as she helped him to pack away the training dummies a few days later. “You really didn’t have to, I know it’s meant to be your holiday as well as ours.”

“Technically, I’m on study leave,” Bill replied. “If anything, this is good revision for me.”

“I can’t believe you still have to study and take exams. I’d have thought that you would just be allowed to start straight away.”

“Artemis, have you learnt nothing in all these years? You have to practise and prepare for this kind of stuff. That’s the whole point of me being here, isn’t it?”

“I guess,” Artemis shrugged. “I’m just glad that you’re here.”

“I was hardly going to leave you in the lurch after what happened to Rowan. Especially now that you’re planning on returning to the final Vault. Wouldn’t want to miss that.”

“So, you’ll help break the curse?” 

“Yeah, of course. As good as you all are, I think having a Curse-Breaker with you - a professional Curse-Breaker - would be beneficial. Just means we have to get you all ready before I go off on placement again,” grinning, Bill nudge Artemis with his elbow. “This is all provided that you haven’t outgrown me now that you’re almost of age yourself.”

“I could never outgrow you.”

“That is true, you could barely outgrow an elf.”

Artemis pushed Bill and he laughed, retaliating by putting her in a headlock and ruffling her hair as she attempted to kick him in the shin. Eventually, he let her go, still laughing as he summoned his jacket from the back of a chair.

“I’d better be getting back to my actual studying,” he told Artemis. As he got to the door, he turned back and his smile became less mocking and more kind. “It’s good to have you back, little one.”

Artemis wrinkled her nose. “I never went anywhere.”

“You know what I mean. You’re looking more like yourself again.”

“Am I?”

“Yeah. Maybe not quite the same as you used to, but a bloody sight better than you did the last time I saw you. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”

Barely had Bill left the classroom before there was a quiet knock on the doorframe. Artemis turned to see who was there, and found herself looking straight at Chiara Lobosca. 

“I’m sorry, Chiara. We’ve already finished for the day,” she told her. “Really, it’s a shame. It would have been nice to have had you here.”

“Thank you. I’m sorry I haven’t been at any of the meetings so far.”

That was true. The Circle of Khanna had been meeting daily for four days now, and Chiara had yet to attend a single meeting; even at the first one, which Artemis had expected her to arrive late for, she had been absent for the entire duration.

“That’s okay. I know you’re helping out in the Hospital Wing, and that you must be really busy. I just meant that everyone would have liked it if you had been able to join in.”

“This is actually why I came to talk to you,” Chiara said, closing the door behind her. “I don’t think they would.”

“What do you mean? Of course they would!”

“No, Artemis, they wouldn’t. Not if they knew… Well, you know,” Chiara pursed her lips, her eyes drifting across the classroom to a poster about lycanthropy that had been stuck to one of the walls. 

“I’m sure none of them would mind,” Artemis said, knowing as soon as she said the words that they might not be true. Penny still was terrified of werewolves, and she did not know how Penny would react to Chiara’s secret. “And you don’t have to tell them.”

“I feel guilty not telling them, though. It’s like you said last week when you told us all about the Cursed Vaults and what happened to Rowan. People deserve to know the truth. How can I join this group you’ve put together, be friends with them, and let them trust me, when deep down I know that I’m lying to them?”

“Okay,” Artemis nodded. “So, why don’t you tell them, and then if they don’t-”

“It’s not that simple, though, is it?” Said Chiara, smiling sadly. “You know how much stigma there is about this. Remember Professor Lee? He was in charge of the Werewolf Capture Unit. There’s a whole unit in the Ministry of Magic that is dedicated to capturing people like me, like we’re…” Chiara shook her head. “You know why I have a room to myself.”

“So that you can take your potions in peace. And so you can’t accidentally hurt someone when you transform.”

“I wish. It’s so that no one has to know that I’m a werewolf. There are people who would try and get me kicked out of school if they found out the truth about me.”

“Well, they’re stupid and wrong,” Artemis said. “And besides, they’d never get their way.”

“They might. People like me lose their jobs all the time when their employers find out about them being werewolves. That’s how Lupin ended up in Hogsmeade, he had just been fired and he was desperate,” Chiara’s pale face was flushed with anguish. “I want to be a Healer, Artemis. It’s what I’m passionate about and it’s what I am good at. But if it becomes common knowledge that I’m… what I am…”

“Then you might not be able to be a Healer?”

“No one is going to want a werewolf looking after them when they are sick.”

“Well, they should,” said Artemis. Chiara shook her head. “I mean it. You’re a brilliant Healer.”

“I’m not a Healer, Healers go through training and-”

“Yeah, and you’re brilliant even without that. When I was in the Hospital Wing before Christmas… You were the only thing that wasn’t completely horrible about it, actually. I can’t imagine anyone being a better Healer than you, not ever.”

Chiara closed her eyes, a tear running down her cheek. Artemis swallowed.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“You didn’t,” Chiara rubbed a tear away. “I’m just… I wish I didn’t have to go through life lying to everyone about who I am.”

“You don’t.”

“Not everyone is accepting, Artemis.”

“I know, but that’s not what I mean,” Artemis told her. “I just mean that… Yes, you’re a werewolf, but that isn’t who you are. It’s what you are, and even then it’s only a part of what you are, like… I don’t know, how many brothers and sisters you have, or whether you’re allergic to anything. It’s not lying to not tell people about that, why would it be lying not to tell them about this, either?” When Chiara didn’t reply, Artemis sighed, “You said last week that you regretted not spending time with Rowan when she was alive, not getting to know her because you were too busy putting a distance between yourself and people. If you keep doing that, you’re only going to regret missing out on spending time with more people who would probably really like you, if you’d only give them a chance to get to know you - actually you the person, not a werewolf - because they would.”

“You really think so?”

“I know so,” said Artemis, smiling mischievously. “Especially Jae Kim.”

“Jae Kim?”

“Yeah. You must have seen him watching you dance at the Valentine’s Day ball.”

“As if,” Chiara laughed, despite still looking tearful. “You really were tipsy that evening.”

“Tipsy, but not blind,” Artemis said, with a little giggle. “Come on. Join us. You know you want to.”

Chiara breathed. “Are you sure?”

“Positive. I lost one of my oldest friends this year. I’m not going to lose a new one as well.”

Artemis held out her arms, and Chiara hesitated before hugging her. At first she was tense, as if she were not used to being hugged, but then she exhaled, and her body seemed to relax.

“Artemis,” she said, lifting her chin from Artemis’ shoulder.

“Hm?”

“Does that blackboard really say what I think it says?”

“Yeah. Don’t ask.”

With Chiara Lobosca now officially a member, the Circle of Khanna was complete. Or at least, Artemis had assumed it to be so until one afternoon near the end of the Easter holidays, when there was another newcomer in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.

“Artemis will say that it’s okay,” said Beatrice Haywood, looking expectantly at Artemis as she walked into the classroom. 

“Uh, say what is okay?”

“Beatrice wants to join the Circle of Khanna,” Bill explained, looking between Beatrice and Penny, whose lips were pursed and arms crossed.

“But she is too young!” Penny said tersely.

“No, I’m not. You were all breaking curses when you were in second year.”

Artemis looked at Penny. “I mean, she has a point.”

“That was before we understood how dangerous this was,” Penny sighed, and Artemis looked between her and Beatrice. “Artemis, you can’t be considering this. She is twelve!” 

“And a half,” added Beatrice. Beside her, Bill chuckled.

“I’ve got an idea,” he said, sitting on the desk behind him so that he no longer towered over the small girl. “Beatrice, your sister is right. You can’t join the group. This is too dangerous for you to get involved in.”

“But-”

“But,” Bill raised his eyebrows and smiled, “we are also learning some self defence spells. Maybe you could join in for that bit. You could be an… associate member.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, it’s like a guest. A special guest who is invited to join in for special occasions, even though they aren’t usually involved. How about that?”

Beatrice frowned before nodding her head and going to sit on a desk near Jae Kim. Penny watched her before looking across at Bill.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Artemis tapped her foot through the pause in which neither Bill nor Penny spoke. When she could bear the awkwardness no longer, she cleared her throat.

“So…”

“Yes. Sorry.” Bill jumped up onto his feet as Penny stepped backwards and away from him. He raised his voice so that everyone could hear him, “Artemis, do we have any updates on the Cursed Vault?”

“Yeah, I think so,” Artemis nodded. “So, Talbott was able to get a bird’s eye view… I mean, a view from above the lake.” As she corrected herself, she saw Talbott sigh quietly and roll his eyes. “Anyway, the water is really still in the middle where the water is deepest. It’s only in the shallows where the Grindylows are that things look kind of angry.”

“Does that mean that the Vault isn’t in the very deep part of the lake, or just that only the Grindylows are affected by it?”

“It doesn’t mean either of those things,” said Talbott quietly. “They don’t call it the Black Lake for nothing. I only saw the surface, I don’t know what is going on underneath.”

“So we know nothing new, then?” asked Merula, her eyebrows raised.

“Not exactly,” Talbott looked out of the window. “Dumbledore’s banned the dementors from going near the areas where students are, but there’s still the odd one around. They’re spread out around the perimeters of the grounds. There are two or three on the other side of the lake.”

“That’s concerning,” said Bill, frowning deeply. “We don’t want to attract their attention.”

Artemis shrugged. “They’re all the way over on the other side of the lake. What are they going to do? Swim to the Vault to stop us?”

“No, but if they think that what we are doing is suspicious, they might well break Dumbledore’s rules. I’m sure they’d be allowed on the grounds properly if there was a genuine reason for them to be there. We don’t want to give them that reason.”

“So, what do you think we should do?”

“I think we should learn to protect ourselves against them, just in case,” Bill nodded his head. “Right, chaps. Who wants to learn how to conjure a Patronus?”

He raised his wand and called out the incantation, and conjured a large silvery white creature, one with large paws, a long tail, and a thick mane of fur. 

“It’s a lion!” Bea Haywood’s eyes lit up at the sight of it. “Are we all going to get one?”

“Hopefully, but they won’t all be lions. And they’re not easy, so some of you might not be able to make actual animals, but let’s give it a go.”

Bill enlisted the help of Tonks to help teach the group the Patronus charm, and soon the Circle of Khanna were having the best meeting they had ever had, surrounded by a menagerie of silvery-white animals: Bill’s lion, Tonks’ jack rabbit, Merula’s blackbird, Jae’s fox, and Tulip’s rat. 

“They’re rather delightful, aren’t they?” Penny giggled, watching her dolphin patronus swim through the air around her, spinning and frolicking as it went. “I never thought that anything to do with Defence Against the Dark Arts could be so pretty!”

Artemis smiled, and looked around the room at the other patronuses. A bear was bumbling around Barnaby, a peacock strutting next to Andre, a bushbaby curled up close around Liz Tuttle’s neck, and a dove flitting though the air above Chiara’s head. Even little Bea Haywood had managed to conjure the tiniest of patronuses, a bumblebee that only managed to buzz around for a second before disappearing as Beatrice gasped at it. 

But when Artemis attempted to conjure her own patronus, she found herself unable to do so. Instead of her familiar lithe cheetah, the only patronus she could produce was a silver shield that shimmered in the air in front of her before disappearing. It was an improvement on the last time she had attempted the spell, the same night that she had left the mirror in the Room of Requirement, but she had not expected to find casting the spell so difficult even now. 

Disappointed in herself and her feeble excuse for a patronus, she lowered her wand. As she did, Badeea raised her own and conjured yet another silver-white animal, a giraffe that moved through the classroom slowly and gracefully, its doe-like eyes watchful and intelligent-looking. Artemis stared at the giraffe patronus for a minute, before slipping out into the corridor to sit on the staircase alone, listening to the distant gasps and giggles of her friends from a distance.

“Wotcher,” said a voice, and Artemis turned around to see Tonks standing behind her, her hair the exact same shade of silver as the patronuses themselves. Artemis shuffled sideways, and Tonks sat beside her on the step. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, really,” Artemis told her, and Tonks raised one eyebrow in response. “I just couldn’t conjure a patronus, that’s all.”

“But you did, I watched you do it.”

“Not a proper one, though.”

“Oh, yeah,” Tonks nodded. “But you know, corporeal patronuses - you know, ones with an animal form - are really hard to produce. Loads of witches and wizards can’t do it, not everyone in there has managed it, even. Charlie is finding it really tricky, and so are Ben, Alanza, Talbott, Ismelda, Diego…”

“I know, but this is the first time they’ve tried. I used to be able to do it properly. I had a cheetah. I don’t know why I don’t anymore, why I can’t do it like I used to,” Artemis brought her legs into her chest and rested her chin on her knees. “It feels like I’m kind of broken.”

“Nah, you’re not. It’s actually really normal for this kind of thing to happen.”

“It is?”

“Oh, yeah. Big changes and shocks and stuff can massively affect patronuses. Some people who can produce them stop being able to, and some people who couldn’t before suddenly find that they can.”

“So, what you’re saying is that I’ll never be able to cast a patronus ever again?” Artemis frowned. That didn’t make her feel better at all.

“That’s not what I said at all,” Tonks shook her head. “I mean, you might not, but that’s not the end of the world. It might be that you end up having a completely new patronus.”

“As in a different animal?”

“Yeah. They can change, sometimes.”

Artemis blinked. “But I don’t want it to change. I like my cheetah.”

“I know you do,” Tonks shrugged, then tilted her head. “Hey. Did you ever choose a name for it?”

“My patronus? No,” Artemis sighed. “And now it’s either gone for good or it’s going to be completely new patronus, so I never will.”

“You don’t know that for sure.”

“But-”

“Ugh, I’m so bad at this kind of thing,” muttered Tonks. “Look, I’m not going to lie to you. You might not ever get your cheetah patronus back, but it’s just a patronus. There are worse things to lose than that.” She winced slightly, and added, “Sorry.”

“It’s fine. I know what you mean. And you’re right, we know that more than anyone,” Artemis smiled sadly. “I just feel like part of me is missing without Rowan here, and I don’t know how much of that is me missing her, and how much is… I know that what happened has changed everything, and it’s changed me, too, but I’d just like to know that I’ve still got most of me left as it was.”

Tonks said nothing for almost a minute. When she finally spoke, she said:

“Okay, so a hag, a goblin, and a house elf walk into a bar.”

Artemis stared at her blankly. “What?”

“I dunno. You’re sad, so I thought you might like to hear a joke to cheer you up. I told you I’m no good at this,” Tonks sighed, before raising a single eyebrow at Artemis. “You sure you still don’t want that snog?”

In spite of everything, Artemis laughed, and so did Tonks.

“Come on,” she said, standing up and pulling Artemis to her feet. “You’re never going to know if you’ll be able to get your cheetah back if you don’t even try.”

Still grinning, Artemis nodded and followed Tonks back into the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, still illuminated by the soft silver glow of her friends’ patronus charms.

[the-al-chemist]

Artemis Hexley and the Circle of Khanna

Chapter 14: Reflection

A/N: When Artemis hits rock bottom, she makes a surprising discovery in the Room of Requirement. But is that really what she needs? Extended notes are available here. Warnings: discussion of death and survivor’s guilt. Description of panic attack and grief. Angst, hurt comfort.

The Valentine’s Ball left many students nursing sore heads and bruised hearts the following day. Penny, Tonks, and Artemis were all taciturn over breakfast the following morning, only Alanza wanting to engage in lively discussion, raving about her enjoyment of the previous night.

“It all was so wonderful,” she told the girls, her voice so loud it made Artemis’ head hurt. “I loved the candles and the hearts, they made the Great Hall very pretty. Oh, but the dancing, and the music. The last song especially was very beautiful and romantic.”

She hummed the tune to herself, and Artemis glowered at her silently, hoping that Alanza would soon get the idea that no one was in the mood for loud voices or humming. But Alanza continued on, as if she hadn’t noticed the look on Artemis’ face at all.

“I loved everything about the ball,” she sighed. “I just hope that Charlie will want to go out with me again. I had lots of fun with him, and he did look so handsome in his dress robes. I think that he thinks the same abut me, so he very likely will want to go out with me again, don’t you think?”

“I dunno,” Artemis muttered, still glaring at her. “He’s only over there. Go and ask him and then you can stop going on about it.”

Alanza blinked, looking almost hurt for a moment, but then she smiled brightly and trotted over to the Gryffindor table. Across the table from Artemis, Penny was looking at her with pursed lips.

“What?” Artemis asked.

“Well, that was hardly very kind, was it?” Penny told her. “She was just trying to make conversation.”

“Yeah, well. I’ve got a headache.”

“Perhaps you shouldn’t have had so much to drink, then.”

Artemis frowned. There was a tenseness to Penny’s voice and a look of disdain in her blue eyes that made her feel as if she were being judged.

“What now?”

“Nothing, Artemis. I didn’t say anything.”

“No, but you obviously want to say something,” Artemis said as Penny sighed again. “You might as well come out with it, mightn’t you?”

“Oh, very well then,” Penny folded her arms across her chest. “I just think you’ve been behaving very unfairly, that’s all.”

“How have I been unfair? I didn’t want to have to look after Alanza in the first place!”

“Even so, you shouldn’t be so rude to her all the time. She’s quite sweet actually,” Penny told her. “And besides, I’m not only talking about Alanza. Poor Barnaby was really upset after what you did last night.”

“I just kissed him!”

“Yes, you did. After you told him last summer that you just wanted to be his friend, and then less than an hour later you snogged Diego, who you don’t even like. What was Barnaby supposed to think about that?”

“That I wasn’t thinking straight, obviously!”

“Well, he was quite upset by it.”

“Why?”

“Because,” Penny tutted, “he’s supposed to be our friend-”

“I’m supposed to be your friend!”

“- and he really liked you, much more than you liked him, and he managed to get over you, and now you’ve gone and confused him!”

“Lots of things confuse him!” Artemis rolled her eyes and returned the look of judgemental disappointment on Penny’s face with a fierce glare. Next to her, Tonks had looked up from her breakfast to stare at Artemis, her chestnut eyebrows furrowed deeply. Artemis turned on her. “Don’t tell me you think I’m an awful person now, too.”

“No,” Tonks muttered. “I do think you’re acting like a bit of a prat, though.”

“Oh, great. Thanks for that.”

“Well, the three of us were meant to be going to the dance together and you sacked us off to stick your tongue down Diego’s throat.”

“I just…” Artemis was starting to feel nauseated, her palms were sweating and pulse was racing. “I didn’t mean to, I just wasn’t thinking properly because of Jae’s moonshine and because I felt… I just wanted to…”

“Look, Artemis,” Penny said quietly. “We know you’re sad about Rowan and you miss her. We miss her too, but-”

“But nothing!” her temper rapidly rising, Artemis snapped at Penny. “There is no ‘but’ to that! How dare you even-”

“Penny’s not trying to upset you, Artemis,” Tonks shook her head. “We are just saying it because we are worried about you. Because we are your friends.”

“Yeah, you’re really acting like my friends right now.”

“Oh, no. Don’t be-”

“Be what? Unkind? Unfair? A prat? I thought I already was all those things,” Artemis snarled, and got up from the table. She stormed away and out of the Great Hall, balling up her fists and letting out a strangled noise in the entrance hall outside, much to the alarm of a passing group of first years. 

She felt even more alone than she had standing on the dance floor the night before, and angry, too. Penny and Tonks were supposed to be her friends, more so than Barnaby’s and definitely more than Alanza’s. Why were they turning on her now of all times, when she was already missing Rowan? She turned back to look into the Great Hall, and saw that Penny and Tonks were now talking quietly amongst themselves, while Alanza sat next to Charlie, waving her hands animatedly in front of her as she spoke to him. Artemis half-expected him to look up, catch her eye, and pull a face, but instead, he looked directly at Alanza and chuckled. He was laughing with her, not at her.

Artemis turned away and walked down the corridor, her sense of injustice and impotence growing, gnawing at her and making her heart race and her blood run cold. She didn’t know what to do, and she had no one to tell her what to do. Penny and Tonks didn’t want to be her friends anymore, Charlie would rather spend time with Alanza, Bill was in Egypt, and Rowan was… 

She really was lost, she realised, and so when she started walking, her legs carried her to the place where all the lost things went. As she walked into the Come-and-Go Room, she caught sight of the three sided vanishing cabinet in the corner of the room, and her heart lifted slightly. With all that had happened, she had not thought to reach out to Jacob. No doubt he would have heard and left a message for her here. He was probably wondering why she hadn’t replied. He was probably worried about her.

But when she opened the cabinet, she found that it was empty. Jacob hadn’t left her anything, not a message, not a black quill, not… anything at all. After all she had been through because of him, after Rowan… 

Every single negative emotion that Artemis had been trying her hardest not to feel ever since that night in the forest was starting to swell in her, building up and ready to crash over her. Desperately, she gritted her teeth, and pushed them down, but she could not get rid of them completely. Instead, she could feel them twisting around tightening into a thick sprung coil her abdomen. And as she opened her eyes to look at the vanishing cabinet once more, the coil sprang loose. 

That bloody cabinet, she thought, her hand reaching for her wand, shaking with rage. If she hadn’t found that message in there, she would never have gone to the forest that night, and Rowan would not have followed her. If she and Rowan had never found that first black quill inside, all the way back in second year, they would never have found the first Cursed Vault, would never have gone inside and started breaking the curses. She should have stayed away from the Vaults, and she should never, never have opened that bloody cabinet. 

“Bombarda!” she shouted, pointing her wand at it. “Incendio! Deprimo! Reducto! BOMBARDA!”

She cast a flurry of spells at the vanishing cabinet, the most destructive spells she could think of. With each one her voice grew louder, her wand movements faster, herself more desperate, until she could continue no more. Exhausted, her face flushed and breath ragged, she backed away from the cabinet and slumped down against a shelf behind her, screaming silently into her hands until she could not even do that.

Artemis had been trying not to cry ever since she had returned from the forest that night, and now, at the very moment she welcomed the release of her own tears, they wouldn’t come. She felt drained, tired, cast adrift. She missed Rowan, she missed her life the way it had been before Rowan died, and she wished that she could do something, anything, to bring her back. But of course, she knew as well as anyone that wishing had never done anyone any good. Wishing couldn’t change anything.

Or could it? Artemis lifted her head and uncurled herself from the tight ball she had folded herself into, an idea striking her. The Come-and-Go Room had other names, and took different forms. Hadn’t Bill once called it the Room of Requirement? If the room could give her what she needed, and what she needed was for Rowan to come back to her, then maybe the room could make it happen.

It was worth a try at least, so Artemis stood up and left the Room of Lost Things. Once the door had disappeared in the wall, she began to pace in front of it.

I need a way to see Rowan… I need you to show me Rowan… I need to be with Rowan…

She wasn’t sure if she had been expecting it to work or not, but after a few moments of pacing, the door in the wall reappeared once more. Artemis stood in front of it, barely daring to breathe as she placed her hand on the handle, pulled it down, and pushed the door ajar.

“Rowan?”

Inside, the Come-and-Go Room was dark and quiet, vast and empty, except for a tall structure in the centre covered by a white sheet. But where was Rowan?

“Are you there, Ro?” Artemis called out, treading slowly across the flagstone floor, the sound of her footsteps echoing quietly. No reply came. Artemis frowned. Why had the room brought her here?

She was closer to the covered object in the middle of the room, and as she approached it, she could swear that it was almost calling to her, drawing her closer to it. She stared at it, and reached up to touch the fabric covering it, and pulled it off to the ground, revealing…

A mirror. A full length mirror, with clawed feet and an ornate gold frame inscribed with words in a foreign language that Artemis did not recognise: 

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi. 

But it was not the words or the gold frame or the clawed feet that caught Artemis’ attention. It was her reflection in the glass, or rather, not her reflection at all, for the face looking back at her was not her own. 

It was Rowan’s.

Artemis stared at Rowan in the mirror, scarcely able to believe her own eyes. She tilted her head to the right. Rowan tilted hers to her left. She tilted her head to the left, and Rowan tilted hers the other way as well. Slowly, Artemis raised her right hand, and Rowan mirrored the movement, until Artemis’ hand was placed flat against the glass, her palm against Rowan’s palm, though all she could feel was the cool, smooth surface of the mirror.

“Rowan?” Artemis raised her eyebrows and the corners of her lips began to curve upwards. Rowan smiled back at her. “Is that really you?”

Rowan nodded, and Artemis found that she was nodding back to her, both of their smiles widening. Artemis placed her left hand to the mirror too, so that she and Rowan each had both of their hands placed against together, separated only by the pane of glass between them.

“I’ve missed you so much, Ro,” Artemis told her best friend. “You wouldn’t believe how much I’ve missed you. Have you missed me?” Rowan said nothing, but she nodded her head. So did Artemis. “Good. Well, not good. I don’t like the idea of you feeling the way I’ve felt the last two months, but… Well, you know what I mean. You always know what I mean, don’t you? That’s why we’re best friends, because we understand each other. It’s been like I’m half of a whole without you.”

Rowan looked at Artemis with a deeply sad sympathy in her doe-like brown eyes. Artemis stopped feeling sorry for herself - after all, she and Rowan were together now - and Rowan started to look happier again. Artemis smiled as she told Rowan everything that she had missed while she had been gone, about Charlie getting injured by the Chimaera, about Christmas at the Three Broomsticks, about Alanza and the Valentine’s Day Ball, and how Penny and Tonks were angry with her. She didn’t know quite how long she was there for, but when her attention was drawn away from Rowan by the sound of Peeves the Poltergeist singing rude limericks in the corridor outside, she realised that the sky outside was starting to darken. She waited until Peeves had gone before turning back to Rowan.

“I’m going to have to go now. People will wonder where I’ve gone. They might come looking for me. But I’ll come back.”

Reluctantly, she pulled herself away from Rowan and walked back across the empty room to the main doors. Before she left the Room of Requirement, she turned back and told Rowan again:

“I promise you I’ll come back.” 

In the last two weeks of February, the winter frosts finally eased, allowing the third Quidditch match of the season to take place without Artemis either playing or watching, though the news of Hufflepuff’s triumph over Slytherin did not pass her by. She was not the only one missing out on Quidditch; Charlie Weasley was forbade from playing with his own team in the first weekend of March by Madam Pomfrey. However, Gryffindor’s loss to Ravenclaw did not serve to dampen his spirits: he and Alanza having now officially become a couple following their date at the Valentine’s Day Ball, and giving Artemis yet another reason to resent the new girl.

The aftermath of the ball’s events was still affecting Artemis’ day-to-day life: Barnaby was once more avoiding her, Liz Tuttle was constantly throwing dirty looks her way, along with several girls in her year who had at some point or other had the misfortune to date Diego Caplan, and even Penny and Tonks were still being more distant with her than they usually would be. This bothered Artemis a lot less than she thought it would, but then, she no longer felt lonely or lost, not now that she had a way of being with Rowan again. 

Artemis hadn’t told anyone about the mirror in the Come-and-Go Room, but since she had found it, she had been spending more and more time sitting in front of it, talking to Rowan, or even just looking at her. The last few visits, Artemis had taken to bringing Rowan’s books from the shelves of the dormitory up to the seventh floor of the castle, where she would sit cross-legged on the floor in front of the mirror, reading out loud to her silent, smiling best friend. Sometimes this would go on for hours, with Artemis missing dinner most nights to stay with Rowan. She had even started getting up early in the mornings to see Rowan before classes, and had been late for several lessons since she had discovered the mirror. She didn’t care. When she was with Rowan, she felt calm. It was as if everything that had happened in the past few months was just a dream, and it was just her and Rowan, together again.

“‘I’m afraid I can’t explain myself, because I’m not myself, you see’,” Artemis read aloud, having gone up to the seventh floor one lunchtime in the second week of March. She paused, looking at the illustration on the page of the small blue book she held in her hand. “You know, reading this reminds me of the time Ben was missing, and we snuck into the Slytherin common room using the Shrinking Charm. You remember that, don’t you?”

She looked up from the book at where Rowan sat opposite her within the gold frame, expecting her to smile and nod in reply, but Rowan wasn’t looking at her. Behind her silver glasses, her eyes were fixed on the door.

“Is someone coming?” Artemis asked, and Rowan shook her head. “No? Then why -” 

Artemis turned her head towards the door, and stopped speaking immediately when she saw what Rowan was looking at. Or, rather, who Rowan was looking at.

“Charlie, what are you doing here?” 

“Looking for you,” said Charlie. He was leaning in the doorway, staring at Artemis with his red eyebrows knitted together and a wary look in his eyes. “You didn’t turn up for Charms or Care of Magical Creatures, so I tried to find you.”

“How long have you been standing there?”

“Long enough,” he said, and he tilted his head slightly, still staring at Artemis. “Who are you talking to?”

Artemis swallowed, and looked at Rowan from the side of her eyes. Rowan blinked. The two of them stood up.

“Do you promise not to tell anyone? Not even Bill or Alanza?” 

“I promise.”

“Okay,” said Artemis, and she gestured towards the mirror. “Come and look.”

Charlie breathed deeply, and walked over to her. She stepped sideways slightly, so that there was room for him to stand next to her in front of the mirror. 

“Aright, I’m looking,” said Charlie. “What am I looking at, exactly?”

“What do you mean? She’s-” Artemis looked up at Charlie’s face. He looked a bit confused, but not amazed, or even surprised. She frowned. “You don’t see her, do you?”

“See her? See... Rowan?” Charlie’s eyebrows raised momentarily, before furrowing again as Artemis nodded. He looked at her, at the mirror, and then back at her again. “No, Artemis. I don’t.”

“But she’s right there, she’s looking right at you.”

“I don’t see her. I’m sorry,” Charlie shook his head. “Is this where you’ve been disappearing to the last few weeks? All those times you’ve missed breakfast, or been late for lessons?”

Artemis glanced at Rowan. They’d been caught out. She nodded, unable to look Charlie in the eye. She heard Charlie swear under his breath.

“I think we should go,” he said, softly.

“You can if you like,” Artemis replied, still looking at Rowan. “I want to stay here a bit longer.”

“I really don’t think that’s-”

“I really don’t care what you think.”

Charlie took a step forward, placing himself between Artemis and the mirror. Rowan looked at Artemis over his shoulder.

“Artemis, look at me,” said Charlie, his voice firmer than before. “Stop looking at... her. Look at me.”

Artemis looked up at him. His face was serious, earnest. He leant in towards her slightly, so that his eyes were level with hers.

“This isn’t right,” he told her. “You, coming here, it’s not good for you.”

“Yes, it is.”

“No, it’s not. If you really thought that it was, you wouldn’t have kept it a secret,” Charlie shrugged. For some reason, that annoyed Artemis. “You’d have told-”

“Told who, Charlie? Penny and Tonks are too busy making potions and they think I’m a prat, and Bill’s not even in the country, and I barely recognise Ben anymore, and-”

“You could have told me.”

“Yeah, right,” Artemis scoffed at him. “When am I meant to tell you anything anymore? You never want to see me.”

“That’s not true at all.”

“It’s completely true, Charlie. You only ever want to spend time with Alanza.”

“That’s...” Charlie sighed, and ran one hand through his hair, pausing at the nape of his neck and scratching nervously. “Artemis, you wanted me to spend time with Alanza.”

“I wanted you to keep her out of my way. I didn’t want you to get off with her,” said Artemis, “and I definitely didn’t want you to ignore me whenever you’re with her.”

“I don’t ignore you, it’s just very hard to hold a conversation with both of you at the same time when you’re so intent on making her feel unwelcome.”

“She is unwelcome.”

“Artemis...”

“She is sleeping in Rowan’s bed, Charlie.”

There was a moment of complete silence, and Artemis glared at Charlie, who looked down at his feet and nodded slowly.

“Oh,” he said.

“Is that all you have to say?” Artemis snapped, and Charlie shrugged his infuriating shrug again. Artemis narrowed her eyes at him. “She is sleeping in Rowan’s bed, and every morning when I wake up I look over and I think that it’s Rowan, back in her bed, and every morning it isn’t Rowan, it’s her.”

“I didn’t realise that,” said Charlie, gently. “Artemis, look, I know-”

“No, Charlie, you don’t know,” Artemis said, her voice rising. “You don’t know anything. How could you? You’ve never lost anyone. You’ve never had anyone leave you, or die, or kill your best friend. You don’t even have a best friend, you just have a brother, well, good for you, your brother cares about you, and your mum cares about you, and you have so many people around you that you want to be alone, and you’re going to bloody leave too, as soon as you get the chance.”

“That’s not fair at all.”

“NOTHING ABOUT THIS IS FAIR!” Artemis shouted. “If things were fair Rowan would be standing here, and not me. She was the clever one, she was the thoughtful one, she was the one with plans and people who loved her and wanted her to come home. And now she’s never going to go home again, or see her family, or do any of the things she wanted to do, or anything because she’s...” Artemis took a shaky breath. Charlie didn’t move an inch. “She’s dead, and it’s all my fault, and I thought she was gone for good, but now she’s here, and I can make it right, I can make it up to her if I just come back here and be with her-”

“That’s not her, Artemis. It’s just-”

“It is not just a mirror! It’s Rowan!”

“No, it’s a reflection of Rowan, and it’s bad for you,” said Charlie. His voice was calm, but it didn’t make Artemis feel calmer. If anything, it made her feel even angrier. “You need to leave the mirror alone, and you need to stop pointing your wand at me.”

Artemis hadn’t even realised that she was pointing her wand at Charlie, but she didn’t lower it.

“You need to stop telling me what to do,” she told him. “You need to leave me and Rowan alone.”

“I’m not doing that,” Charlie said, very quietly, his eyes flicking from Artemis’ face to her wand and back. “Please, just put your wand down, and listen to-”

“I’m done listening to you,” Artemis growled, stepping towards Charlie and holding her wand in a combative position. “Go away, Charlie, or I’ll-”

“Expelliarmus!”

Artemis’ wand flew from her hand towards Charlie, and he caught it in his left hand. Her eyes grew dark.

“Give that back.”

“No.”

“Give me back my wand.”

“No.”

“Charlie, I swear to Merlin...”

“I’ll give you back your wand when you stop being like this,” 

“I’m not being like anything, I just want to be with Rowan.” 

“That is not Rowan.”

“Get out of my way!”

But Charlie would not give Artemis back her wand, and nor would he get out of her way. He stood stock still between her and the mirror, not reacting even when she shoved him gently, and again, harder. Nor did he relent when she balled her hands up into fists and pummelled them against his chest, screaming wordlessly until her breath caught in her throat and a great tremor shook all the way through her and her knees felt like they might give way and she couldn’t breathe and… and…

Just as she felt like the world was slipping away from her, Charlie wrapped his arms around her body and pulled her in towards him, holding her tightly against his body. Her eyes were closed, and her face was damp, and her whole body was shaking, but Charlie did not let her go, even as she struggled against him, still weakly trying to hit. His grip tightened and as the fight drained out of her, she broke down with great racking sobs, crying desperately into the wool of his jumper as he held on, steadfast and stoic, the movements of his chest guiding her own weak breaths.

As she felt the storm inside her subside, the pressure with which Charlie held her against him began to ease, and she was back there, in the Room of Requirement, its high ceiling above her head, and the flagstone floor beneath her feet. 

The room was silent, eerily so.

“I miss her so much,” she whispered, eventually.

“I know you do.”

“And now she’s here, and I know you think it’s just a mirror, but it’s not. Just because you can’t see it, that doesn’t mean it’s not real. I’m not seeing things, and I’m not lying.”

“I believe you,” Charlie smiled sadly. “You can see her and I can’t. But think about it, this is the Room of Requirement, right? Maybe the mirror is just showing you what you need to see.”

Artemis frowned, saying nothing.

“Maybe,” continued Charlie, “the mirror is showing you Rowan so that you can say goodbye.”

“I can’t do that.”

“You can.”

“No,” Artemis shook her head. “I can’t just leave her here. She’s my best friend.”

“And you’re hers. Think about it. If things were the other way around, would you want Rowan to stay stuck in here day after day? Would you want to keep her trapped like this?”

“No.”

“So, what makes you think she would want the same thing for you?” Charlie shrugged, and Artemis found herself unable to answer his question. “You can do it. If anyone can do it, it’s you.”

“I don’t even know who I am anymore,” Artemis admitted, blinking back a fresh round of tears. Charlie smiled.

“You’re Artemis Hexley. Who do you think you are?” he said, and as Artemis’ lips twitched, he let go of her, and held out her wand. “Here. I’ll wait outside for you.”

Artemis took back her wand, and Charlie moved out of her way. In the mirror, Rowan was still smiling, though there were tears in her eyes.

“Is it true, Rowan?” Artemis asked her, having heard the door shut behind her. “Do you really want me to leave you here?”

Rowan’s smile didn’t slip as she slowly nodded her head.

“You don’t mind?”

This time, a shake of Rowan’s head. Artemis stepped closer to the mirror.

“Well, just because I’m leaving, that doesn’t mean that I don’t care. You’ll still be my best friend, always, and I’ll be yours, right?” 

In response to Artemis’ question, Rowan nodded again, and the two of them placed their palms against the glass. 

“I am so sorry about everything. I should never have… I feel like this is all my fault.” 

Another shake of the head. 

“No, it is. But I hope that you can forgive me, one day.”

The look in Rowan’s eyes was all the answer that Artemis needed.

“Yeah, fine. You already do,” Artemis smiled as Rowan nodded her head once more. “I love you.”

Artemis pressed her forehead against the cool glass of the mirror, and so too did Rowan. When she spoke at last, her breath fogged up the glass between them:

“Goodbye, Rowan.”

With the last shred of resolve she had, she stepped away from the mirror, turned around, and left the Room of Requirement without looking back. Outside, just as he had said he would be, Charlie was waiting for her. As she shut the door behind her, they made eye contact and walked away down the corridor without saying a word. When they reached the stone bridge, stepping outside to feel the cool night air and the moonlight on their faces, Artemis paused, looking out over the Black Lake. 

“You alright?” asked Charlie, and Artemis hummed in response. “Yeah, wrong choice of word. Sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” Artemis said. “I’ve been so horrible to everyone. Alanza and Barnaby-”

“They’ll come around.”

“- and you.”

“I’ve already come around.”

“I shouldn’t have shouted at you like that. I didn’t mean what I said, I just was hurting and I… I’m sorry,” Artemis sighed. “Thank you for not leaving me.”

“You’re welcome. Come on, I’ll walk you back to your Common Room.”

Artemis shook her head. “No. I’d like to stay out here for a moment before I go back.”

“Do you want me to stay with you?” Charlie offered, and when Artemis shook her head again, he frowned. “You sure?”

“I won’t go back there, I promise.”

“I know you won’t.”

“Goodnight, Charlie.”

Charlie smiled and looked as if he was about to turn away, but he paused, and told her: “It’s not true, you know, what you said. I do actually have a best friend.”

“Yeah, I know. I forgot about Jae because I was angry.”

“Jae’s not my best friend, Artemis. You are,” Charlie said, simply. Artemis bit her lip and frowned, and he shook his head. “It’s alright. I know I’m not Rowan. I’m not trying to be Rowan, it’s just… Well, it’s just how it is. Anyway. Goodnight.”

With that, he cleared his throat, and walked away. Artemis turned her face from him, a strange kind of calm washing over her as she watched the way the moonlight reflected on the gentle ripples of the lake below. She pulled out her wand, and tried to think of something happy.

“Expecto patronum.”

A tiny wisp of silver issued from her wand, the same shade of light as the full moon looking down at her. She shivered slightly, feeling as if the moon wasn’t the only one watching, and then she noticed a shape at the edge of the lake. She squinted, and saw that the shape was that of a wolf, bathing in the moonlight on the lakeshore. But the moment she locked eyes on the creature, it turned tail and ran away, presumably running home to its den, where its family would be waiting for it. Back in the Hufflepuff dormitory, Penny and Tonks would be waiting for her, and Artemis realised suddenly how much she missed them.

And so, she turned away from the Black Lake, and went back inside the castle that, despite everything, was still her home.