Adrien.

The gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office didn't move at first. It just stared down at us like it already knew what we were about to do — and disapproved.

"Let me try," Katie muttered, stepping forward. She whispered the password — one we weren't supposed to know but did anyway — and the thing groaned, slid aside, and the spiral staircase began to turn.

Each step felt like a countdown.

Dumbledore was gone.

Fred and George were gone.

And Harry's face back in the Room of Requirement hadn't left any room for doubt.

Sirius was in danger.

The world was about to crack. We just had to get there first.

The door to the headmaster's office creaked open — too quiet, too empty.

Harry moved toward the fireplace without hesitation. I stayed by the door.

"We'll hold lookout," I said. "Go."

Katie grabbed my sleeve. "We're really doing this?"

I nodded silently as Katie, Sage and Maddie stood with me, just inside the door as I peeked out the doorway for the first group to go. As Ginny, the last one, disappeared, Maddie and Sage stepped forward to follow.

Katie took my hand, pulling me away from the door and before she slammed the powder down the door swung open behind us.

"Are you kidding me?" Draco's voice rang through the office like a curse. "Breaking into Dumbledore's office?"

His Prefect badge glinted. So did the hurt in his eyes.

He looked at Katie. Then at me.

And for once, I didn't snarl. I just said, "Either let us go or try to stop us."

He stared for a long, suspended second — like if he could just say the right thing, everything might stop spinning.

"Draco." Katie cooed, her voice quivering in rage as my hand tightened on hers.

Draco beamed at her, then even beamed at me, then huffed a silent sigh but said nothing.

Good.

The flames turned green as we vanished into them.

The Ministry was cold.

Sterile and buzzing with wards we weren't meant to break.

Harry led the others down the corridor to the Department of Mysteries. Katie turned to me just as I broke off in the opposite direction.

"Someone's here..." She whispered as I nodded—feeling the shift.

We followed the corridor that felt like sickness.

Rot.

We knew it even before the first word dropped from the shadows.

"If it isn't the Blackwood girls," Anselme said smoothly, stepping into view like he'd never left the nightmare. "And friends."

Maddie had her wand out in a blink. Sage mirrored her, calm as ice, deadly as frostbite.

But Katie—Katie stepped forward.

Her voice was steady. Flat. "Where is she?"

Anselme smiled. Too wide. Too cruel. "Which part?"

My hand burned from clenching too tight.

He knew.

"I'd say you look like her," he purred, eyes flicking over us, "but honestly? It's more the rage. That same helpless fury—right before she died screaming."

"Say one more word," I said, wand raised, voice low enough to shake the walls.

He turned, eyes slicing between us. "What's it like?" he asked. "Knowing you were never chosen—just created. Stitched together by bloodlines and desperation. You think Draco ever really wanted you, Katie? Or did he get what he wanted and finally tell the truth?"

That was it.

Maddie fired first.

Her spell blasted across his shoulder and scorched up the side of his jaw. He staggered, hissing as blood bloomed down his collar.

"You won't get away this time," Katie spat.

Anselme just grinned through the pain, licking blood from his lip. "Oh, sweetheart," he said silkily, "I'm not the one who's trapped."

His wand snapped toward me.

The curse exploded like a thunderclap.

My shield cracked—then shattered. I hit the stone wall with a sickening crack, ribs screaming as I crumpled to the floor.

"Adrien—!"

Katie's voice was drowned by the cacophony. Maddie and Sage stepped forward like wolves—twin hurricanes of magic and fury.

Sage shot a bolt of blue fire that Anselme barely dodged, rolling behind a half-crushed column. "You're slower than last year," she taunted, raising her wand again.

"Shame you didn't die then," Anselme snapped, blasting a curse that clipped her arm. "Always playing backup to the real blood."

"Oh," Sage drawled coldly, "I'm gonna enjoy making you eat those words."

Maddie struck next, hurling a spell that cracked the stone where he stood, driving him back. "You talk too much," she yelled. "Classic villain flaw!"

"You all have no idea what's coming," he sneered. "You think this is a fight? This is just foreplay."

"Ew." Sage and Maddie recoiled in sync.

And then—

"Anselme, language—they're young ladies!" a voice purred from the far side of the room. "Katie Blackwood, Well, well."

Everything froze, including Anselme, as all eyes followed the voice.

Bellatrix Lestrange.

She drifted from the shadows like a predator, eyes locked on Katie like she was prey worth savoring.

"Can't stay long, love," she cooed. "I've got someone else to carve up tonight—but I had to see for myself. Between the whispers and the way my Malfoy spoke about you—the rumors are true!"

She tilted her head, that rabid grin blooming. "You've got her eyes," she said. "And her temper. Shame really, Alice never lived long enough to teach you real loyalty."

Katie's voice was low, seething. "Alice? You knew her?"

"Yes dear—in fact, I killed her," Bellatrix said, almost lovingly.

Time cracked open. Katie's wand trembled in her grip—not from fear. From fury.

"Alice?" Maddie echoed, eyes narrowing. "You mean her mother?"

Sage's wand twitched toward Anselme. "Wait, where's Laura?"

But Bellatrix was gone in a swirl of smoke—vanished before Katie could take a step.

Katie surged forward, breath ragged, but stopped cold when I groaned behind her.

I staggered to my feet, head slick with something wet. I didn't look at my hand—I didn't need to. I wiped it off on my jeans and stepped beside her.

"We do this together," I muttered, throat raw, vision spinning—but rage was clearer than pain.

And then—

Another figure stepped into the light.

Long coat. Silver hair. A voice like poison dipped in silk.

"Katie..." I whispered, something splintering in my chest.

She felt it too. Her spine went rigid.

Maddie and Sage froze.

"Oh girls," he said smoothly, eyes glittering like shattered glass. "Funny how every time you disobey, your families bleeds."

My chest went cold.

"Freakin' introductions are taking too long," Sage growled, aiming another spell at Anselme.

"Oh, I'm riveted," Maddie said, not lowering her wand. "Creepy cult reunion and death threats? Must be Tuesday."

The man's eyes landed on Katie. Bored. But underneath... something else.

"I wonder which one it'll be this time," he said.

Katie stared. Her wand lowered slightly. Her face went pale—ice and ash.

"D—Denzel," she breathed. "You're..."

He smiled faintly. "Ah. So you do remember me."

Katie didn't move. Didn't blink.

I felt it in my bones—the horror locking her in place.

Her father.

The shadow she never thought she'd see again.

"Family reunion," Anselme sneered, launching a jagged curse toward Sage. "Shame it'll end the same way the last one did."

Sage met it with a shield charm, teeth bared. The spell glanced off—but the second hit low, a slicing hex tearing across her ribs.

She gasped, stumbling sideways—but didn't fall.

Didn't quit.

"You alright?" I shouted, but there wasn't time for answers—not when Anselme was already moving, stalking forward like a wolf who'd scented blood. His eyes locked on Sage—hungry, cold. Ready to finish what he started.

I felt it again. The pulse under my skin.

Hot. Wild. Rising. Something inside me cracked.

Snapped.

"Katie..." I said quietly.

She didn't look at me, but her chin dipped—just barely.

She understood.

I exhaled, turning.

My eyes locked with Maddie across the chaos. A silent signal passed between us. I jerked my head toward Katie, and Maddie nodded instantly, circling closer to her without a word.

I moved.

Stepped forward.

Slipped into the space between Anselme and Sage, who was still clutching her side, blood blooming through her shirt, but wand steady.

"Adrien," Sage muttered, breath ragged.

"I got you," I said.

"You sure? He's got murder eyes."

"I've got murder hands."

She snorted, even as she winced.

"But Adrien, you're bleeding..."

I ignored her, and the pain and focused on him.

Anselme tilted his head at me, expression bleeding smugness. "You think you're stronger than her?"

"No," I said, stepping forward, eyes burning. "Just meaner."

He slashed his wand—fast, brutal.

I dropped low, a spell grazing my shoulder as I rolled forward and came up wandless but crackling with energy.

And for the first time—

Anselme flinched.

Sage unleashed a wave of silver fire beside me, catching the edge of his cloak and igniting it. He roared, yanking it off just in time to duck another blast of heat from my outstretched hand.

On the other side of the room, Maddie had joined Katie—circling the man cloaked in silver.

Denzel Vexley.

It wasn't just his magic that silenced the room.

It was his face.

Katie had stopped cold, wand half-raised, her entire body trembling—not from fear.

From recognition. From blood.

Her voice was barely a whisper. "That's him." as if it made it more real.

Maddie glanced sideways, confused. "Who?"

Katie didn't blink. Her wand didn't lower. But her voice cracked when she spoke again.

"My father."

Vexley smiled, slow and wicked. "Hello, Katherine."

The name hit like a curse.

Katie didn't speak. Couldn't. She just stared—frozen and burning all at once.

Maddie stepped slightly in front of her, eyes narrowing. "Well, he's charming," she muttered. "Ten points from Worst Dad of the Century."

Vexley tilted his head. "You must be the reckless one. Zabini's pet project."

"Hardly," Maddie smirked, tightening her grip on her wand, "You must be the absentee one," Maddie snapped. "Tell me—do you haunt every family reunion or just the ones where you're not invited?"

He barely had time to move before she launched her spell—fire cracking through the air.

But he was faster.

With a flick of his wand, he caught her mid-air like a ragdoll and hurled her across the room. She slammed into Sage—both of them crashing to the floor with a thud that turned my stomach.

Now, neither of them were moving.

"MADDIE!" I shouted, fury snapping up my spine. "Sage..." I gasped, trying to catch my breath between the adrenaline and rage.

Anselme turned, grinning.

"Should've stayed hidden, little Blackwood."

That was it. That was enough.

The magic surged up again—hot and ruthless. I didn't stop it this time.

I threw my hand forward.

Anselme was lifted off the ground like gravity forgot how to work—slammed back into a stone pillar so hard the entire wall cracked. He dropped with a gasp, groaning on the floor.

Across the chamber, Vexley turned, sensing the rupture of power—and this time, his gaze narrowed.

He felt it. He knew.

I stepped over Anselme's crumpled form, chest heaving, ribs aching.

But I walked—straight to Katie.

She was shaking.

Silent.

Her wand trembled in her fingers.

I grabbed her arm, grounding her. "Hey," I said, rough and low. "Snap out of it."

She blinked. A single tear slipped down her cheek.

But then—her jaw locked. Her spine straightened.

The rage took over.

Together, we turned.

Across the room, Sage was pushing herself to her feet, Maddie groaning beside her but alive.

Anselme stirred, but didn't rise.

And Vexley? Vexley was waiting. Smiling.

But we weren't the same girls we were before.

Katie raised her wand.

So did I.

Side by side, breathless, furious, bruised—but unbroken.

Across the chamber, Denzel Vexley regarded us like a pair of chess pieces he'd grown bored of. He twirled his wand lazily between his fingers.

"I'd say I'm impressed," he said mildly. "But I taught you better than this."

Katie didn't respond. Her jaw was clenched so tight, she might've shattered her teeth.

Behind us, Anselme stirred, dragging himself up with a snarl, blood streaking his temple, hatred glowing in his eyes.

Sage groaned somewhere to our right. Maddie was still down, sprawled beside her—alive, but not moving fast enough.

I took a half-step closer to Katie. Whispered, "We don't have long."

She nodded. "Then let's make it count."

And we did.

Together, we fired.

Twin blasts—white-hot and furious—slammed toward Vexley.

He didn't dodge.

He absorbed.

His wand flared like lightning, sucking the energy into itself, and he smiled.

"Predictable," he murmured.

Then he struck. A single wordless spell.

It didn't come in a straight line. It swelled—a wave of pressure and fire that roared toward us like a collapsing star.

"NO—" I barely managed to throw up a shield before it hit.

The impact shattered my barrier on contact.

I went flying.

The air left my lungs as I hit the ground—hard.

My vision flashed white, and the pain from the earlier blow—slamming into that damn wall—spiked like a blade behind my eyes. It pulsed down the back of my skull, hot and nauseating, blurring the edges of everything.

I couldn't ignore it anymore.

I tried to move—barely managed to breathe.

Smoke exploded into the chamber—choking, blinding, thick. It filled my mouth, my nose, my lungs. Every gasp clawed like sandpaper.

"Katie—!" I croaked, but even that came out cracked and weak.

A hand clamped around my wrist—Katie's.

"Up," she rasped, dragging me with strength she didn't have to spare.

We staggered to our feet, swaying. My knees buckled, but I caught myself on instinct, blinking furiously against the sting in my eyes. Blood—or sweat—ran down my temple. Maybe both.

I frowned at Katie limping, "You alright?"

"I'll be fine," she dismissed. "We gotta move!"

Across the room, Sage was pushing herself upright with one arm, her other wrapped around her ribs. Maddie rolled over with a groan, barely conscious.

"Can you move?" Katie shouted.

Sage's voice came hoarse and defiant. "I'm offended you asked—but also no."

"Get up anyway," I snapped, stumbling toward them with everything I had left.

The smoke kept pouring in, curling like a living thing—thick, greedy, swallowing the torchlight, crawling into every breath.

There was no time for pride. No time for pain. We didn't need to say it aloud.

We knew. We'd lost. This wasn't a fight. It was a warning.

And if we didn't leave now, it'd become a massacre.

"I got Maddie," Sage wheezed, looping her friend's arm around her shoulders, teeth gritted against the weight.

Katie grabbed my hand again—tight, grounding. "Go. Now."

We ran.

My legs barely moved beneath me, heavy and numb. Every step sent a fresh wave of pain through my skull, down my spine. But I didn't stop.

Smoke howled behind us, swallowing spells and screams.

Anselme's voice rang out, shrieking something unintelligible.

Vexley didn't speak.

He didn't need to. Because this wasn't a pursuit.

This was them letting us go. Letting us run.

So we would know next time—they could've ended it.

And chose not to.

Stone walls blurred past as we sprinted down the corridor, every sound muffled by blood pounding in my ears. My vision kept dipping, black curling at the corners, but I held onto Katie's hand like it was the only thing keeping me upright.

Then—

Light.

Not moonlight. Not safety.

Too bright. Too clean.

Marble floors. Cold air. Open space.

We stumbled forward—

And burst straight into the main level of the Ministry of Magic.

The air shifted—sharp, electric.

And suddenly, all eyes were on us.

Gasps broke like thunderclaps.

"WHAT THE—?!"

"STAND BACK—!"

Half a dozen wands rose instantly—until Hermione's voice cut through the chaos.

"WAIT—WAIT—IT'S THEM! It's them!"

Katie didn't stop. She half-dragged me into the middle of the atrium before finally collapsing to her knees, shoulders heaving.

I dropped beside her, ribs screaming, vision strobing.

My blood turned to ice.

A raw howl of wind erupted from the far end of the atrium.

And there he was.

Harry.

Collapsed on the floor, arched backward, mouth open in a silent scream as pure energy cracked through the space around him. Papers whipped through the air. Light pulsed from his chest like a second heartbeat, warping shadows on the walls.

He wasn't conscious.

But he wasn't asleep.

He was surging.

"No—" Katie staggered forward. "What happened to him?!"

"Where's Sirius?" I huffed, weakly not removing my eyes from Harry. Alas, my voice was too low to be heard, but my mind was going a million miles a minute.

"We don't know," Hermione said, panic and exhaustion layered in every syllable. "It started just before you got here. He collapsed and then—this. It's like something set him off."

Ginny stood frozen, wand raised but trembling. "We tried to stop it. Nothing works. It's like—like he's fighting something inside him."

Ron's jaw clenched. "He said he felt something earlier. Like a pull."

And then—

"Go to him..." whispered a familiar voice in my ear. My eyes slowly rose from the chaos and attempted to find someone around me, but there was no source of the voice.

I struggled to my feet and then—

"DON'T TOUCH HIM!" Lupin's voice cut through the chaos, steady and grim as he stepped out from behind a row of statues.