"Where the hell are you?!"


    It was already night, and the forest looked like a battlefield. I was in my basilisk''s form, rooting up trees and turning the earth over, but nothing... She was not here. I followed her scent right until the point where I lost it completely. Somebody can''t just disappear like that! Not possible!


    "What happened....?" I asked without getting any answers, returning to human form, standing there in the dark, surrounded by multiple corpses of spiders, torn to shred.


    I had to calm down... I needed a cold, collected head to gather information... come on, Conrad! Focus! With a few slaps, I forced myself to take another look around and recall every detail I encountered while coming here.


    Quincy''s scent was weak... extremely weak. It didn''t make sense, but there was a possibility that she was making sure she wouldn''t be followed, so she masked it. The second option was the same as what my gut told me to be right... was that someone came along and wiped all the clues away! As to who? I could only think about the other champions.


    Still... I knew Quincy. So well, even with their handiwork, I identified her trail... But right at the spider''s nest, it totally went dark. Even I couldn''t pick it up from here on, and I was left alone... clueless. The only positive thing was I didn''t smell blood, only my own scent. Probably from one of the scratches my body had and started bleeding...


    "Quincy... Why didn''t I come with you?" I grunted, feeling so intense pain in my chest that I started swaying, forced to lean on one of the trees. My spine was tingling, my head was throbbing, and I wanted to find the one who did this, strangle him... or her to the death!


    ...


    ....


    ......


    "What are you doing in front of my office this late... and why is everything covered in mud?"


    "Quincy is gone..." I answered with a hollow voice, looking up at Severus Snape, who came down from his office, and the only light shining on us came from the tip of his wand. This time, there was no second, snarky comment but a simple spell that cleaned me up, and with a turn, he headed back to the tower, inviting me over without any words. I was standing here for two hours now, waiting for him to come down as the gargoyle refused to let me in, no matter what I tried.


    "Explain." He commanded in a serious tone as he closed the door behind us when I stepped through it. I watched him cast a spell, probably to cut the room off from all possible spying charms. It took me only a few minutes to retell everything while he crossed his arms, towering over me, looking down, deep into my eyes. Was he... using occlumency? I didn''t know, but I met his gaze while retelling the events, sharing nothing but the truth.


    "I know no more... after finding nothing, I came back."


    "The probability that she is dead is low but not zero." I don''t know what kind of answer I wanted to hear... but it was not this. "You say you ran into one of the Beauxbatons''s champions? Did you kill her?"


    "No. I would have mentioned it otherwise."


    "Why not?"


    "I..."


    "It is your mission, no?" He pressed on, maintaining her ever so calm, even tone.


    "What use does it have if I just killed one of them like this?"


    "And now, instead of your wand finding its mark, another successfully eliminated a competition... The most genius thing about it is that this move took not only one Hogwarts champion out of the picture... It also significantly compromised you. This can''t be a coincidence."


    "..."


    "Go back and wait. There is a high chance you will hear from her, and they will use her against you. When you know which group did it, inform me."Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    "And what will you do in the meantime?" I asked, raising my voice, which in turn made Severus Snape raise one of his eyebrows, answering me coldly.


    "I am your Headmaster and a peer in the Death Eaters. I have no obligation to answer any of your questions, Anguine."


    "It is obvious that it was the Beauxbatons! Dumbledore is hiding behind them, no? Who else would do something like this?! Durmstrang?! Aren''t they allies to us?!"


    "First, your voice. Keep it up, and I will make you unable to speak for the rest of the semester. Second, it is Karkaroff who is on our side. Until he says so, the competition is an open game for all. They are still your enemies just as much as the Beauxbatons. And lastly... If you suspect them, go and ask them in person."


    "I may just do that!" I scoffed, feeling my anger bubbling to the surface, and left without saying goodbye. My target? Their transformed carriage!


    It took me only a few minutes to get there, my wand flashing in my hand with green lights, reflecting my honest desire. Their carriage was transformed into a miniature castle, like one in any muggle amusement park... but an actual dragon guarded this one. Two, in fact. The one in the back only raised its head, looking at me, then went back to sleep, feeling unbothered, but the second one? That was much more lively as it stood up, growling like a dog, which was greeted by my killing curse.


    I think it felt the intention as it shielded its head with its wings, its scales scattering the spell, resulting in a jade-green light show. I wasn''t surprised; I knew that the dragons'' hides were resistant to magic, and if I wanted to kill the beast, I would have to be at the level of the Dark Lord. I didn''t care; I had to let out some steam, and this varmint was perfect for it!


    I rapidly fired off multiple spells, Avada Kedavra, Frigus Ignis, Stupefy, Confringo, Bombarda, and Glacius; every spell that came to mind was fired off, some even multiple times as it looked like fireworks were going off constantly. Even though I couldn''t truly injure the beast, it was forced to take on the spells, shielding its body in frustration while the other dragon sat up, watching with curious eyes. With a sidelong glance, I could have sworn it was laughing at his partner.


    "ENOUGH!"


    A long shout echoed, and I knew Nicolas Flamel came out of the carriage, holding his own wand, dispelling some of the spells bouncing everywhere from the dragon''s hide. My body was already in motion, obeying my first thought without me confirming it was what I wanted to do. With just a flick, a green jet was heading directly at him from the top of my wand. My aim was flawless... it would have hit Flamel perfectly in the chest, but he was fast. He countered with his own spell, and it collided with my killing curse mid-air, causing a massive explosion.


    "You dare?" Was the second sentence he uttered, and I felt time slow down to a crawl. All my senses were whining at me, wailing into my ears, but the old man was fast. I was hit with a spell straight on, sending me flying backward and landing hard on my back.


    Even though I was feeling pain rushing through my limbs, my ears were ringing, and I felt exhausted; I still stood up and, without any words, attacked. Fuck. Them. I think it surprised the ancient bastard, too, because he deflected two spells before gaining the upper hand and sending me into the air again, crashing down even harder. I heard a crack, and I lost all feeling in my right arm. Fuck it. Holding my wand in my left, I stood back up and took aim, sending blue flames forward just to have him dispel them quickly, and I found myself in the air again. This time, I wasn''t falling; he was holding me up high.


    "Stop your madness, child!"


    "You took her away... I will kill you for it..." I groaned, just noticing that a mouthful of blood was welling up in my mouth, spitting it out while I sent a spell forth. It was the same moment when I felt gravity return and fall from the sky. I saw the Beauxbatons''s students watching from the door, from small windows, like little elves, and I could also see people coming out of the castle... but then a loud crack sent pain into my brain, and everything went dark.


    ...


    ....


    ......


    "I think this is enough."


    "I will have to get some pretty solid reasons for what happened right now, Severus Snape!" Nicolas Flamel demanded, watching the Headmaster of Hogwarts, who appeared as a black shadow, streaking through the sky, blocking the last attack of his and saving the boy''s life.


    "Our second champion disappeared while they were solving the first task. He believes it was your handiwork. This is the only explanation you will ever receive."


    "..."


    "..."


    The two parties stood there, unmoving, but Severus''s eyes flashed as he scanned the reactions of the students visible in the windows and at the door. With a wave of his wand, he made Conrad float up a little and carried him away, leaving the Beuxbatons behind and the two dragons who were ready to rampage, but their collars somehow held them back, making them unable to go wild.


    Many didn''t know that the two Headmasters communicated silently, simply by reading the others'' eyes, concluding that neither of them knew about what happened to Quincy... but both of them suspected who may be the ones who could have done something. For now, Flamel''s anger was placated quickly, no longer pursuing the matter; instead, his eyes traveled towards the two of his champions, and after meeting with the eyes of Fleur, he understood everything...