Chapter 30

ELIZABETH WHITE

"So, did you talk with your father?" questioned her friend as she sat down for breakfast. Elizabeth recalled the visuals from the horrid meeting she had had with her father, disappointment, and anger rising up in her heart as she remembered his callous words. She looked up to see the concerned face of Amy piling up eggs in her plate and gave her a small nod.

"Yes, we met in Hogsmeade yesterday," she confirmed, making Amy stop and lean forward as she asked for an elaboration.

"So, did he finally see the stupidity of his proposition? Were you able to knock some sense in him?" Amy asked, and Elizabeth could only shake her head. Amy uttered some profane words that Elizabeth chose to ignore and then turned to face her.

"Gods! It seems he is completely gone off the rocker! So, what's the plan now?" her friend inquired genuinely, and Elizabeth looked to her side at the empty seat usually occupied by her friend. A friend who would be busy preparing for the second task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament right now.

"I haven't had the time to think of any solution, though I plan to tell Edward about it after the task tomorrow," she replied, and Amy nodded and reached forward to squeeze her hand reassuringly.

"Don't worry too much. We will find a solution to your little problem." Amy smiled and felt lucky to have such friends.

"So, do you have any idea about the second task? Have you asked Edward about his preparation?" Amy asked about the tournament, and Elizabeth could only shake her head. Unlike the first task, she had no knowledge about the second task. Though, she did remember Edward mentioning that he had figured out the clue from the egg a couple of weeks ago.

"I don't know about the task, but Edward did mention that he had figured out the clue from the golden egg a couple of weeks ago," Amy nodded as she heard those words.

"I should have expected that. Well, not much time is left. We will find out about it tomorrow," Amy added as she forked down a piece of the egg.

"Miss White. Miss White," Elizabeth was broken out of the stance as she heard her name getting called out. Startled, she followed the voice and found Professor McGonagall standing there with a small smile on her face.

Embarrassed, Elizabeth immediately stood up.

"I am sorry, Professor, my mind was occupied elsewhere," the transfiguration waved away her apology with a smile and spoke up.

"Of it's quite all right, dear! I just needed to talk to you for a bit," the professor began making her perk up.

"Of course, professor," but the professor simply shook her head and continued speaking.

"Not here, dear. Would you please follow me to the Headmaster's office," Elizabeth frowned as she nodded her head. Her mind raced as she thought up the reasons for this. Her mind came up blank.

"Is everything all right, professor?" Elizabeth questioned, and the aged witch simply gave her a nod with a smile.

"Ohh, it's nothing. Don't worry." And then, with a small nod to Amy, Elizabeth picked up her bag and began to follow the Deputy Headmistress out of the Hall, her mind still racing as she tried to think up possible reasons for this.

In the Headmaster's office, she finds out that she isn't the only student to be called up and is joined by the fourth-year Hermione Granger and a small blonde bundle that looks eerily similar to Edward's girlfriend.

Well, this seemed interesting.

0000

APOLLINE DELACOUR

Apolline watcher, her husband, is sitting at the table going through a bunch of documents with a frown on his face. She had an inkling of an idea about his early excursion yet had refrained herself from asking about it. But her patience had run thin as he had not yet mentioned even a single thing to her.

So she made her way to the table and simply took the seat right by him, removing the document from his hand.

"I think that is quite enough," she began lightly as he turned to face her, his features softening as he saw her. He took off his glasses and relaxed his shoulder.

"So, will you tell me how your meeting with Edward went? You have constantly been looking over these pages since you came back?" she got to the point without any dilly-dallying and immediately saw his face get a complicated look.

"Hmmm, it's nothing. I am just confirming my suspicion," and his words made her frown.

"I thought we talked about it. You are being overly cynical," she finished with a laugh, and Sebastien simply gave her hand a squeeze.

"Maybe, but things in Britain feel off to me. It feels like a powder keg about to go off, and for some reason, I think Edward stands at the center of it," and Apolline could only defer to him. Sebastien was a seasoned politician who prided themselves in feeling the nation's pulse, and for him to say those things would not be baseless.

"Perhaps you are right, but Britain does not matter. We will be going back to France in a couple of months, and Edward plans to move there as well," she began. Sebastien simply leaned back slightly and simply raised a brow.

"You seem awfully defensive of him," he questioned teasingly, and Apolline knew that she seemed to be defensive of the orphan boy.

"It's just that I saw him interact with him, Fleur. I could see it in his eyes, his devotion to her, his care for her. On the other hand, it has been years since I saw such a genuine smile on Fleur's face."

And perhaps it was the maternal aspect in her that became slightly protective of the orphan boy. The boy had grown up without any parental figure and had yet grown up to be a splendid person all on his own, so she wanted to give him a chance. Give her daughter's happiness a chance.

Sebastien sighed, making her, his shoulders sagging, revealing the vulnerability he very rarely showed.

"I can understand what you are saying. Yet my heart worried for Fleur, I don't want her to get caught up in anything dangerous," Apolline knew how much he worried. Yes, his way of showing it may be a bit overhanded, but she never doubted that Sebastien cared for Fleur and Gabrielle.

"I think we must just come to terms with the fact that our daughter has grown up and can take care of herself. Moreover, she will always have Edward looking out for her. He won't let anything happen to her," she added, and Sebastien gained a small smile on his lips.

"He better not," Sebastien spoke up threateningly, making her laugh.

"So, have you cleared up your tomorrow? It's the second task of the tournament. Fleur would be happy to see you there," and Sebastien simply nodded as he rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah, I did clear it up. It has been some time since I saw Fleur perform at a competition," and she could feel the hint of regret in his voice. Sebastien always had been busy with some governmental duties during Fleur's dueling competitions and had only ever visited once or twice. Something that had added to the already present communication gap between him and Fleur.

0000

SIRIUS BLACK

Sirius sat contemplatively in the library at Grimmauld Place. A thick ragged book decorated ornately with silver and emerald stones was in front of him. This was the family grimoire, the book that contained an amalgamation of his family's efforts over centuries in developing spells and magics.

A young Sirius had never understood the importance of this, but the Sirius of today was different from the young teen who hated his family because of his mother's cruelty.

"Are you sure about what you saw?" he asked the witch sitting in front of him, and every time he looked at her, he did a double take, for the witch's features were quite similar to her elder sister, Bellatrix, but the different shade of hair always calmed his nerves.

Andy gave him a small nod, and if one were to look carefully, there was a hint of a small smile on her lips.

"Yes, I am sure. She touched the grimoire, and it didn't burn him. This is a confirmation. She is regulus's daughter," Sirius nodded as he remembered the young Hermione's enthusiasm for seeing the library. If anything, Harry's description of the girl's obsession with books was an understatement.

Sirius felt a pang of regret for his brother, who never got to see his daughter, yet he steeled his heart. Sirius would not mess this up. He would do right by regulus's daughter. It was the least he could do.

"Well, this is just another confirmation. Dumbledore has also given me some details about this. I plan to visit her parents in a couple of days, I would like you to accompany me," he asked her cousin, and Andy simply nodded.

"I will be there. Do they know that she isn't their daughter," Sirius remembered what Dumbledore had told him about her family.

"We are not sure, but they are related to her mother so it's a high chance that they may be aware of the truth," and Sirius passed her file from the drawer that Dumbledore had given him. Andromeda opened it and began to skim over it.

"Josephine Presley, I remember her," she spoke up and Sirius berated himself for not asking Andy about her earlier.

"Do you remember her?" he asked wanting to know a bit more about his brother's lover. And Andromeda nodded.

"I did know her a bit. She was my junior by about four years. She was quite a sweet girl, a bit shy but a brilliant witch," Sirius scoffed. Regulus had also been a brilliant student and wizard.

"Well, along with Regulus, at least now we know where she gets her smart from," he joked.

"Of course, it's not like you had any to give either way," she remarked sarcastically, making him shake her head as he laughed.

Well, he did have to visit Hogwarts tomorrow. It was the second task, and Dumbledore had given him permission to visit. Perhaps, he could greet her and Harry again.

0000

In a dark village, a small decrypt shack was surrounded by a dozen or so shadowy figures. All of them wearing black robes and white masks shaped in the form of a skull. They were anxious as they fiddled around, waiting for their master.

There was a graveyard extending in front of the building with many graves, but in a small clearing in front of the graves was a trident stuck to the ground with runes circled around it.

Suddenly the door to the building creaked open to reveal another shadowy figure coming out of the building, its face hidden by a veil as it almost floated out.

And as soon as it opened its mouth, the dozen or so men all kneeled on the ground with their faces lowered.

'It is time for me to rise once more'

0000

BOOOM! The Game is on! But what is the game? You will have to wait to find out!