"Soon, we will arrive; we should start getting ready."


    "Um." I nodded, climbing off the bed and starting to dress up.


    In the past few days, as we traveled in silence, I had a lot of time to think. Although I still didn''t know what to do next, we had a goal. Get to Switzerland, to the Gringotts that my father mentioned. After that? We will see. Coming out of our cabin, Victor asked nothing, nor what our plans were or where we would go. Both of us knew why. He intended to return to the Order, and if he didn''t know something, they couldn''t extract it from him, no matter what.


    "I hope one day I can repay this." I said when the ship emerged from the depths, only a few kilometers off the shores of mainland Europe.


    "Maybe we meet, maybe we not. Take care. Both you."


    "What about me?" Professor Lockhart asked, finally recovering his humorous side, receiving a nod from Victor.


    It was no time for long farewells, so we simply mounted our brooms, took off from the ship, and disappeared in the night. I looked back only once, seeing the ship go under the waves before we were flying in the cold, windy twilight.


    "Well, this is a goodbye for us too, huh?" Lockhart shrugged after ten minutes of flying as we noticed the shoreline and the lights coming from the muggle cities.


    "Take care, Professor... and thank you for everything."


    "Nah, it should be me, thanking you, young Conrad. Quincy. Both of you, be careful and avoid using magic in the muggles'' world! It is the easiest way to draw attention to yourselves."


    "We will do so and... goodbye, Professor."


    We said it simultaneously before we split up, and soon, only the two of us remained, flying silently. Of course, we intended to fly only some of the way to Switzerland; going all the way would be too easy for other wizards to notice. The moment we were adequately far away into the land, we touched down and entered the first city we came across.


    "How weird." Quincy whispered, holding my hand as we walked the empty streets. It was deep into the night, so it looked pretty abandoned. The streets were lit by their electric lamps, but their light differed from what we were used to.


    "It is... weird. One would easily mistake it for magic. But floating candles and chandeliers are more homey, in my opinion. I don''t like the muggle''s unnatural light. Its color just doesn''t match."


    "Where to now?"


    "Well, I know very little about their lives, but I do know that they are using something called a bus to get around. It''s the same as the car my father operated to get us off the train and back to the estate. Only, a bus is bigger and can carry a lot of people."


    "Oh, I know which vehicle you mean! Those big ones, the types that are colored red back home! I sometimes saw them when we left our home while I still lived with my grandmother. I saw multiple muggles get onto it."


    "Yeah, that''s it. We will get onto one that takes us to our destination. Then, we will have to learn to apparate somehow. It would help our travels immensely."


    "Hvad laver to sm? blomster her, midt om natten?[modern_footnote]What are two little flowers doing here, in the dead of night?[/modern_footnote]"


    I didn''t know the language, nor was I interested in what the words meant. The moment I heard it, turning towards the source, I saw multiple men appearing, heading directly toward us. The light in their eyes was enough to make me move and not ask any questions.


    "That was quick." Quincy murmured, putting away her wand a step behind me, watching the green light dissipate and turning away from the dead muggles. She kept holding my hand, squeezing it gently. "You have become faster!"


    "I need to keep improving." I whispered, smiling at her weakly, "I will have to be strong so my father won''t be angry that I refuse his wishes."


    "So we are fighting back. Mhm! I also thought of the same!" She hugged me, kissing my lisp gently, "Don''t worry, I am with you! No matter what!"


    "I know... let''s go... Before someone comes and discovers them!"


    ...


    ....


    ......


    "My Lord... we raided the home of the Anguines. I am personally investigating their belongings while the others are currently interrogating the wife of the traitor!"Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "She will be of no use..." A weak, dreadful voice whispered, sounding like a snake''s hiss, coming from a dark orb, which was swirling with unnatural magic. Just a simple look at it and Bellatrix felt like throwing up, yet she thought she was used to interacting with the vilest magic of wizard-kind. Apparently not. "No matter, torture her until she breaks. I want the kids found... bring them to me alive. Understood?"


    "Yes... My Lord. About the rumors..."


    "That I''m dead?" Voldemort cackled, sounding like an ancient book''s pages being flipped rapidly, "I will be back in seven days. Prepare a meeting within the Ministry for it. I will make a public appearance! Killing me? I defeated death! I am unkillable!"


    "Of course, My Lord! Of course!"


    "But before that, publish the two traitors and their faces in the Daily Prophet. I want them to place wanted posters everywhere. EVERYWHERE! No matter their background, anyone who finds them will be heavily rewarded. Anyone giving a tip to us that leads to them will get rewarded just the same. I want them found, and SOON! If you want to impress me, find them before I return and use my mark to do so..."


    "We will do as you wish, My Lord! I will see to it personally! They can''t hide forever!"


    "Tell Severus that he should investigate the students the kid was friendly with. Use any method, but get me information and make him prepare the castle to be adequate for my arrival."


    "My Lord?"


    "After I return, I will take up residence in Hogwarts and take over as its Headmaster. Dumbledore and his precious Order have returned... They will not give up Hogwarts and will try to retake it. A final battle for it is inevitable; I will welcome the fight with open arms. I will be there and ready... whichever of us wins will rule the world, simple as that!"


    ...


    ....


    ......


    "We have made contact with our sleeper cells. I have to admit that Angus''s works were impeccable. All those half-blood or muggle-born witches and wizards whom he supposedly dealt with are ready to join us. I kinda feel bad that we are using his work after his death." Moody murmured, shaking his head before swinging his flask and taking a big gulp from it.


    "It was inevitable." Dumbledore hummed, sitting in a big chair, watching the orange flames dance in their hidden headquarters''s fireplace. "Are they informed to keep a lookout for the two kids?"


    "Yes. We sent out a message to tell us if they found them. We notified everybody to be careful as they could be dangerous, so only try capturing them with ample preparation. They may be kids, but they are good. I want to teach them personally."


    "Maybe even too dangerous. Did we make contact with Krum yet?"


    "Just an hour ago. He is heading to our base in France. Should I go and bring him here?"


    "Mhm. Please do so, Alastor. I have some questions for him personally." Dumbledore nodded, finally drawing his eye away from the fire, standing up and walking towards the window with hands behind his back. "The search for the kids will mostly fall onto the shoulders of Flamel and the rest who returned to the mainland."


    "I don''t get why we made the chosen one travel to France when we just returned."


    "It will do good for Neville to attend a proper magic school for a few years. Now, he can learn about his true potential and see the world for what it is. He already has an attachment to it, so he can start developing the drive to save it... Also, there is a muggle saying. Never keep all your eggs in the same basket. The prophecy is already in motion and will play out as it should. It said that he would be the one to deal with the Dark Lord, and if we try to do it instead, we are bound to fail. So... our job is simple. Find the remaining Horcruxes and deal with those. Tom will be young Neville''s job."


    "Hogwash... but if you say so, I will believe it."


    "That is all I ask from you, my old friend."


    ...


    ....


    ......


    "Did you get it?" I whispered when Quincy got back to me, showing me two tickets.


    "Yep! Charming a muggle and making her buy it for us was a good idea! We just need to find the station it leaves from and board it!"


    With a giggle, she was proud of her achievement while I kept a lookout so we wouldn''t be discovered using magic. After repeating what I did in school and enchanting a little book, we finally had some translation in place. It took us a whole day to uncover where we were, where to go next, and how money worked in this muggle country.


    "I can''t believe they could get this far without any magic. It is way too easy to manipulate them..." I whispered as we walked. Just this morning, we realized our clothes were way too suspicious-looking, so we entered a massive building filled with shops. Charming them made it easy for both of us to pick out fitting garments and leave unhindered. Right now, I was wearing jeans, a shirt, and a thick coat, while Quincy sported warm leggings, a skirt, and a blouse hidden below a puffy jacket.


    "Yeah, but there are way too many of them!" She added while holding my hand, passing by many others, heading towards station 12. "Anyway, the bus will go from the 12th and take us close to their border. From there, we must pass into the other country and look up another transport towards down south!"


    "We will fly." I said, tapping the two brooms hanging from my shoulder as they were wrapped up, looking like luggage. "We will do it in the night, keep low, and try to avoid places where muggles live. We will use their public transport throughout the day until we get to Switzerland."


    When we got to the spot, we only had to wait for around half an hour before the bus pulled up and we boarded it. With a quick, hidden wave of my wand, no muggle found it suspicious that we were traveling alone and we could remain unbothered by sitting at the back.


    "It won''t be a short distance..." I whispered as both of us were watching a map we swiped from one of the shops. "I can''t get how they can live like this, taking days to get from one place to another!"


    "Well, it is nice... feels like an adventure!" She added with a smile, leaning against me while looking up and out the window, watching the changing scenery. Although it was cloudy and could rain any time, it was... different. It was unlike the views I was used to. If not for how we left, I may truly enjoy this slight change of pace.


    "Adventure... huh? Well, we can look at it like that. Especially because what waits for us at the end is gold."


    "Did you think about what you want to do after it?"


    "Not yet. I... I don''t want to think about it... I don''t really want to think yet..."


    "Um, I get it. Then don''t. Just focusing on the now is enough. We will get it done, step by step!"


    "Yeah, that does sound good... Then the problems also don''t look too big that way... They remain small enough so I can feel that we can deal with them."