Dumbledore's eyes snapped open.
In the next moment, he appeared in the Great Hall, Harry's screams filling his ears.
Draco, Daphne, Hermione, the otherworldly creature, Ron, and… Madam Villanelle lay around him, bruised and broken, their faces twisted with terrible expressions.
Draco instantly shot to his feet, grabbing his head with both hands as if he was doing his utmost to even think.
Dumbledore's black eyes flashed blacker.
The CRACK never finished, Draco falling to his knees as his Apparition failed.
In one glance, Lord Black Phoenix had already come up with what must have happened.
What he couldn't figure out was how.
That, too, slowly came to him as he walked toward the children.
Daphne was looking around, snapping her head left and right, her face paling with every passing second.
The same was the case for Ron and Hermione as well.
"Professor…" Daphne cried, fighting back the tears. "… Darcie… She should be here by now…"
Dumbledore closed his eyes and sighed.
So it finally happened.
That was good as well.
Sooner or later, knowing the girl, she was bound to take this step, Dumbledore had known.
Darcie might not show it, but she deeply cared for her family and friends.
If he knew that it was the Order who had kidnapped Lucius and Narcissa, then she could have figured it out as well.
Sending Snape with the warning must have made her confirm the same theory.
Dumbledore had expected that letting her know that her parents weren't in any harm would ease her.
Now, looking at Madam Villanelle, he realized that he had underestimated her… again.
"Calm down, Mr. Malfoy," Dumbledore said, doing his part. "Your sister is safe. Even the Pillars will not dare put a finger on her. Trust me."
Draco looked back at him with reddened eyes.
The boy hated him.
Dumbledore couldn't blame Draco.
It was hard to imagine that the same Pillars who had massacred hundreds mercilessly would not harm the most important witch contributing to the Mirror's War efforts.
But he couldn't tell them about Darcie's significance to the Order of Immortal Lotus.
Instead of Draco, who was suffering from a hammering headache to scream at him, Dumbledore saw Daphne and Hermione lowering their heads after exchanging a glance.
Which meant, unlike the boys, the two girls knew that Darcie was involved with something much deeper, going beyond the War.
Good.
"… I saw him, Professor," Harry bawled. "I saw him! Sirius! He's alive! … We couldn't save him! We…"
Dumbledore crouched and put a hand on the boy's shoulder.
"You have already accomplished a great feat by saving Madam Villanelle, Harry," he said. "Sirius is much more important to them. I doubt you would have been able to bring him back… without… Sigh. I asked Mr. Malfoy to trust me. I urge you to do the same. They cannot harm Sirius even if they want to. In fact, among all of us, Sirius is the safest as he is."
Harry blinked away the tears and looked into Dumbledore's eyes.
He must have seen some truth in them, for the boy nodded.
"Now, let's get Madam Villanelle to the Infirmary," Dumbledore suggested. "We also need to sort out your punishment."
The children, exhausted beyond all means after successfully carrying out a rescue mission that even adults wouldn't dare to attempt, looked toward the Headmaster with blank faces.
"Doing good doesn't wash away the mistakes," Lord Black Phoenix said, smiling. "Why do you think I sent Professor Snape to specifically warn you all against doing something like this? We cannot have soldiers running around after disobeying direct orders. Nor can we reward such an act, despite its merit. Do you understand?"
As he gave them a knowing glance, the children finally realized that… they wouldn't be leaving the Castle anytime soon again.
…
"The Room of Requirement?" Pillar Madam Villanelle raised a brow. "I am impressed."
Darcie clicked her neck. "You knew I would use it to infiltrate the Castle, didn't you?"
The half-burnt witch smirked. "What makes you think that?"
"You didn't prevent us from rescuing Mentor," Darcie replied.
Villanelle's silver-gray eyes gleamed. "As I said…" she repeated. "I am impressed."
She took Darcie toward the Great Hall, showing no hint of disarming her of her Wands.
"Your Mentor…" Villanelle said, pausing for a moment. "… is dispensable. In the overarching scheme, she doesn't matter. If she's dead, it's good. If she lives, it's inconsequential."
"Lots of words for someone who is — inconsequential," Darcie said.
Villanelle looked over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at the girl. "Careful," she warned, looking away. "I enjoy you. But do not test me."
Darcie tsked.
Then, they stopped, standing right beneath Sirius, who was levitating several feet above the ground, surrounded by a globe of whiteness.
"More than revenge," Villanelle said, "this War is about survival, Darcie. They wouldn't admit it, but each side is fighting to keep on living. Losing would mean total annihilation. The same is true for me as well, no matter my status…"
"… a General abandoned by people who have lost trust in her abilities?" Darcie quipped.
Smack!
Villanelle put away her hand, leaving fine fingerprints on Darcie's pale cheeks.
The burnt witch whipped her Wand, bringing Sirius down, the whiteness surrounding him expanding to engulf the two of them.
In the next moment, they were standing in Hogwarts' Great Hall again, but different.
"Limbo," Villanelle introduced, lifting her chin in pride. "In all the Bubble, only I have managed to bring this elusive concept to life — a way to travel between timelines using identical people; one dead, one on the verge of dying… Sirius, in this case."
"… that some way to explore your taste in men."
Silence.
Villanelle slowly turned around and faced Darcie.
She was about to say something, her right hand already lifting to give another slap.
Those words never escaped her mouth, though; nor did her hand resume its movement.
It was like, in that moment, something darker and viler than anything Pillar Villanelle had known appeared in her eyes.
It was a smile.
A hideous, sadistic grin.
Then, with her eyes flashing between green, black, and hazel…
… Darcie exploded into a mass of blackness!
*************
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