The Eye of the Storm

It was a small, round room with a tiny, barred window. The only furniture was her bed, a wardrobe, a table, and a chair. Everything was vintage, elaborate, the bed was made up with expensive, crisp linens. The walls were bare — no pictures, no photos, no shelves even. As they explained to her — it was for her own safety. Therefore, the books rested on the table. The room was always very neat and tidy: house-elves cleaned it every day and also brought her the trays with food — delicious ones. She was never starved, and, surprisingly, her jailers had cared enough to ask her about her taste preferences. She hadn’t had her wand for a long time now, but her fingers still remembered their touch to its warm shaft. She lay on the bed and stared at the whitewashed ceiling. So many years had passed but she still could call to mind its every crack, every roughness… Moments of her feverish deliberation and, what felt like a million times, turning over the escape plans in her mind was being punctuated by periods of total apathy and indifference. It hadn’t always been like this, though. At first, she had thought it had to be that way and it was her fate she could only come to terms with. Then, when the first fear had faded away, she started asking questions — they were ignored. She had tried to resist — the threats started. When threats no longer scared her — the torture started. After her few attempts to escape, they began to give her the intoxicating potions. Then they switched to the Imperius Curse. But here’s the problem — if you have enough will, you could learn to resist the Imperius Curse… And when her consciousness would come back to her, her delirious brain began to look for the way out of the trap she got caught in. And the only thing capable of getting her out of this state was the click of a door lock…

***

Elissa shuddered heavily and opened her eyes. Above her head, there was only a dirty ceiling of her hotel room somewhere in the South of Portugal. It was perfectly quiet but, outside, there were already the familiar sounds of the town slowly waking up. At least it was calm around her. No others’ footsteps, no sound of a key turning, no doorknob being pushed… Merlin, even though so much time had passed, so many things had happened since then, despite the fact that she no longer was that frightened girl — still, there was, and had been, no sound more terrifying and disgusting in her life than a hateful screech of the door unlocking! Exhaling forcefully, she tried to push those memories away to the back of her mind, to lock them until the next night. There was no sense in lying down here, pitying herself and overthinking about the same thing once again. This had all been in the past. She was free for a long time now. Albeit on the run — she was still free. And she should focus exactly on the thing the guys suggested — on their totally crazy plan for her to become free completely. For all of them to. After taking a shower and washing her hair, Elissa put on fresh jeans and a T-shirt, tied up her long jet-black hair into a ponytail, and sat down on a chair by the wall — just like the one that was in Alex and Benji’s room where they all had had a discussion yesterday. Heh, indeed, that was the main advantage of being the only woman in the group of five men — she always got her own room, without any roommates. And that was just in time: she needed to consider all the opportunities calmly and rationally. She needed to dismiss poor ones and keep promising. And finally choose the only true way which would lead them to victory. Still, she didn’t come up with anything good. Yes, the Heart — Elissa checked the chain with the pendant on her neck absent-mindedly — was the source of the unique magical energy capable of doing real wonders in healing even by the wizards’ standards. And it was such a powerful source that special search spells were able to detect its emanations at truly vast distances. That was why her and her friends’ life was a series of chases and fights for years now — they were always traced by this very magical radiation of the Heart, and it seemed actually impossible to put it away or hide it somehow — if such powerful concealing charms existed at all, no one in their team had ever heard about it, even though both Matteo and Troy were specialists in everything about the realm of disguise. And since it was impossible to simply hide that magical radiation, they could choose another way — to conceal it with even more powerful magic radiation. Until yesterday, she thought it would require a little shop of magical antiquities, never considering that the source of the magic radiation they needed didn’t have to be an… inanimate object. That is, the idea the guys planted was quite realistic and, technically, it could truly work. The aura of a mighty wizard could hide the Heart’s power which would give them all time for catching their breath and considering concrete steps to ending their enemies once and for all. Yet, all these adventurers — both Alex and Matteo and even always so sensible and rational Carter — for some reason, completely didn’t take into account a third party which actually was a cornerstone of this whole venture. That is, speaking directly to the point, — this very wizard they couldn’t do without. Because, were it she, Elissa, herself, in that wizard’s place, for example, she would definitely send to hell such a dubious group if they suddenly showed up at her door and started to make some strange demands or requests. It didn’t even matter which wizard — whether it was Dumbledore or Grindelwald or Lord Voldemort. Oh no, pardon, He Who Must Not Be Named. Though, there was no point in succumbing to the endless doubts they wouldn’t be able to resolve anyway. Carter was right — this story dragged on too long and their enemies began to act way more cunningly and logically. If Istvan and de Coligny could go on her trail so easily, how much would she and the guys manage to live, how many fights would they win, how many times would they be able to escape happily? Sooner or later their luck would run out and someone would die. And what if the Heart would fall into vampires’ hands? It was better not to think about it at all — because, that way, even a hereditary prophet could never tell what a bloody apocalypse would begin in the world… So, she had to take a risk. And since she decided to agree to that madness, she should get to know the central figures of the upcoming venture better before she would make the final conclusions. Elissa leaned back in her chair and drew the Great Wizards of the Twentieth Century book, confiscated from Alex before bed, to herself. As she flipped through the crumpled pages she opened the chapter on Grindelwald and plunged into reading.

***

Three days passed by quickly and uneventfully. She went out to Lisbon in the wizards’ quarter once where, in the bookstore, she bought a few more books about the most important people of this century. The quarter itself was bustling and noisy — everyone’s attention was on the World Quidditch Cup which was just over two weeks away. The selection of books, though, turned out to be extremely meagre: it was not so easy to find books in English in Lisbon. She read the obtained literature in the hotel’s backyard then, settling down under the spreading sycamore. In the morning, the tables were set for the guests here — noisy, garrulous tourists, each with a camera on their neck and a travel guide under their arm, even at breakfast. However, in the afternoon, there was almost no one to be seen in the backyard so Elissa could read and think quietly, using a Muggle-Repelling Charm just in case. August made Portugal exhausted with heat, the sun’s scorching rays in the afternoon baked the air, her head, and the cobbled streets mercilessly but it was getting slightly better in the shadow of trees. The rhododendrons and rosemary bloomed their last to full flower, and in the evening, while the southern twilight approached rapidly, the scent of flowers was especially drugging. Every day, their whole group had lunch together in the cafe across the street. They talked on side topics, without making any plans or even wondering which city or country they would go to next: well aware of her habits, the guys didn’t return to the most burning issue, knowing that Elissa should just be left alone for some time and given the chance to consider everything calmly so that later she would suggest an already completed action plan. Their company didn’t arouse the locals’ interest: over the years, Elissa and her companions had explored the Muggle world well to blend in with the crowd and act naturally, so they easily passed for another group of travellers. The rest of each day she was left to herself, except she visited Lisbon with Matteo who spoke Portuguese fluently. During their travels, Elissa had gotten pretty good at communicating in many European languages but Portuguese was the one staying somewhere aside. The clock on the town hall in the city centre struck four, and she started, caught off guard. Wow, how fast time went… For the last… yes, three hours already, she had been just sitting in the wicker chair and thinking, thinking, not noticing anything around. She should go for a walk, stretch her legs… There was peace and quiet in the hotel, and the whole city, indeed, fell into a drowsy trance at that hour — there still was an afternoon siesta after all. The lobby was hot and almost deserted — only Troy, who avoided going outside under the scorching sun, sat on the couch, reading through today’s Muggle newspapers. ‘I need more information,’ Elissa said in Hungarian as she came closer. Troy was the only one in their group who knew Hungarian and the only one with whom she could sometimes speak in her native language. ‘Since two of our three wizards are from the same country, we should go there. The sooner, the better.’ As always, Troy didn’t use words if it wasn’t necessary so he just nodded silently. From the service corridor, the hotel owner appeared, smiled affably at the guests and started rummaging in the desk. Thanks to the Memory Charm the Muggle was certain that he had a group of American tourists hitchhiking settling in his hotel… Troy wasn’t the most talkative interlocutor so Elissa was about to step towards the street door to walk a bit more when Troy suddenly took by her arm. Instantly knowing something happened, she turned around as naturally as possible, thoroughly controlling each of her facial muscles. Troy was smiling friendly — and that was much more of an alarming sign that something was wrong than if he would draw out his wand and start throwing spells. With no less enthusiasm than his, Elissa smiled back and squeezed his cold hand. ‘What’s the matter? ’ she asked cheerfully, still in Hungarian. ‘His wrist. De Colignys’ Mark,’ Troy answered gently as he began to stroke her hand. ‘It wasn’t there yesterday.’ From the outside, it looked like two old friends flirting — his intonations and facial expression were flawless, and Elissa knew she was making the same impression as well. In response, she laughed sonorously and Troy stood up, wrapped his arm around her waist cheekily and pulled her towards the hallway, his hand constantly tending to slide down even more. At last, Elissa sent the Muggle a slightly shy smile, earning an approving exclamation in Portuguese from him — certainly some obscenity. The moment the hotel door closed behind them, Troy immediately took his hand off her and charmed the door from eavesdropping. ‘I haven’t noticed anything,’ she said. ‘The Muggle reached into the cupboard for the keys and a sleeve of his shirt slipped down slightly. Apparently, the vampires found us last night by morning — otherwise, they would have attacked already. They have a few more hours before sunset and the hotel owner was clearly told just to observe us.’ She winced. De Colignys’ Mark was a special sign of vampires from this exact French clan, the enslavement sign. It allowed distinguishing de Colignys’ servants — the lowest in their social hierarchy. When such Mark was printed on a person, they were turned into a slave. Moreover, for the time being, that person didn’t notice anything and lived his normal life — and then, by the master’s order, the servant’s consciousness turned off and they just did everything they were told. It was possible to remove the Mark, and she and her friends had done it more than once, though the process was… quite painful. ‘Vampires can watch his memory but you and I didn’t tell anything important, I suppose… Including the place we’re going to,’ Elissa muttered, deep in her thoughts. She wasn’t afraid, merely coldly concentrated. ‘Do you know where the others are? ’ Troy nodded. While talking, they simultaneously levitated Troy and Carter’s things into bags and backpacks. The Greatest Wizards book was sent there as well — the last thing they needed was forgetting and leaving it here to plant a reason for reflection for the vampires. Thankfully, there were not so many things to pack — they never unpacked their belongings completely just in case of spontaneous fleeing. ‘Find them, I’ll take our things from the rooms. Meet on the square near the church in ten minutes. Can you arrange an Apparition for us to the place we need? With several transfers? ’ ‘Don’t worry,’ Troy put on his backpack, picked up Carter’s bag but then hesitated. ‘What’s with the hotel owner? Shall we interrogate him? Or remove the Mark? ’ ‘No,’ Elissa shook her head as she performed a Disillusionment Charm on herself. ‘He probably doesn’t remember a thing. The Muggle is no more than eyes and ears for them, with no self-consciousness. We won’t get anything useful out of him, only waste our time.’ Without another word, Troy disappeared. Elissa followed him — not outside, though, but towards their rooms. In less than ten minutes she Apparated to a small green square with several bags, her friends already waiting for her there. ‘It’s not too late to change your mind and stay here,’ Alex suggested briskly, squinting at the bright sun. Elissa handed out their luggage to everyone. ‘We’re running away without a good fight — what’s that, gentlemen? Are we getting old? ’ ‘We’re not running away, we’re tactically retreating,’ Carter corrected, liking everything to be accurate. His forehead glistened with sweat, and in fact, if looking closely, Troy was equipped the best in their company: he had managed to put on sunglasses and a baseball cap. ‘By the way, it’s telling that this time, de Colignys went even to the very South of Southern Europe after us. Sun isn’t quite these guys’ favourite thing…’ ‘Which is exactly why I think we should stay here and give them hell. Just for the future, as a warning for the others,’ Benji grumbled. Troy gave him a pointed glare but didn’t say a thing. ‘I bet there’s a mere handful of vampires. anyway,’ Matteo shrugged. ‘They’ll simply zombify some humans and send their lower servants after us. Are you going to kill ordinary Muggles who don’t even know what they’re doing? ’ ‘Leaving,’ giving Benji no chance to answer, Elissa commanded the moment they stood in their usual order. ‘You can finish your talk later.’ This time, Troy gave them a way too long and hard tour, making Elissa barely stand on her feet, and, by the greenish look on Alex and Carter’s faces, along with Matteo holding his stomach, she presumed this was quite an unforgettable journey for them, too. Apparitions went on one by one, landscapes changed as if it was an intricate, colourful kaleidoscope, and finally, Troy reached into the pocket of his windbreaker and took out a Muggle ballpoint pen which turned out to be a Portkey. After the last transfer, the temperature around them dropped drastically, a hot day changing by a dank dampness, and the sun hid behind a thick veil of clouds, so they could tell they definitely moved somewhere far to the North from Portugal. Elissa looked at stolid Troy incredulously. It appeared a certain someone had foreseen her final decision and purposely prepared for this case since he had made a Portkey… ‘Oh merda!’ heat-loving Matteo groaned, not ready for such a twist of fate. ‘You just want me dead, admit it! ’ ‘I feel sick,’ Alex added, slightly swaying. ‘Troy, let me guess, you threw us right into Canada? Or is it Greenland? ’ ‘Enough whining, you little princesses,’ Benji snorted contemptuously. He looked the most, indecently well than all of them, so Alex asked innocently: ‘Is it some special wolf genes or what? ’ Benji chose to ignore this question. While they bickered, Elissa breathed in and out deeply and studiously, coping with her sickness, and at that moment, she even liked this cold, moist air and coolness — finally, after scorching heat — even though the weather clearly hinted it was time for her to take her cloak out of her bag. ‘Welcome to Dover,’ Troy’s emotionless voice reached her ears. ‘The country of steaks… Even better,’ Matteo grumbled, making Alex, offended, immediately say: ‘Look who’s talking, you pasta-man! This, for the record, is my historical homeland! ’ ‘Oh, really? ’ Carter wondered, and Alex twitched his shoulder hostilely, definitely regretting he brought it up. ‘Well, it’s where I was born. Fawleys are one of the oldest pureblood British families, in case you didn’t know. It was later when the dear father and mother sent me across the ocean…’ Since everyone in their group already knew each other’s weak and sore points for a long time, Carter didn’t insist on developing the topic and Elissa nodded at Troy, ‘Do you have some accommodation in mind? ’

***

After another final Apparition (this time it was from Dover to Bristol), the guys barely stood on their feet, and Elissa herself was fairly swaying from side to side as well, so when they made it to a little Muggle hotel she merely sent them all to lie and rest for some time. It was only in the evening after Alex, sent to the shop, coming back with two bags of food and them having a bite when Elissa decided it was time to get to the point. But the one who ‘opened’ the discussion was Carter — noticing her absent-minded look, he spoke first. ‘We’ve made off decently far and now have three weeks before they will find us again.’ Elissa started, coming back to reality, and rose to her feet as if she was going to speak at the gathering. It was easier for her to think straight that way. ‘Yes. I’ve thought through everything you’ve told me and decided that it makes sense. That’s exactly what we’ll do.’ Matteo grinned approvingly, an unnatural smile glued to Alex’s lips but there was no reaction from the rest of them — whether everyone had such iron nerves or they learned her so well that they didn’t need any explanations to know what she would do… ‘I’ve read everything I could find about these three wizards and I can only rely on this scant knowledge and my intuition, so if someone has anything else on his mind — share, be my guest. Albus Dumbledore was the first I crossed off the list, even though he is the only Light wizard of these three and gives the impression of the most positive hero.’ Not even the slightest bit surprised, Carter nodded while Matteo tossed the last one of French fries into his mouth and asked tauntingly, ‘A personal prejudice? ’ ‘Not just that,’ having been ready for this question, Elissa shook her head. ‘Yes, I’m sick of his mere resemblance to my… well, you got it. But the thing is also that… As I’ve just said, Dumbledore gives the impression of the most positive one. But still, the goblin knows what’s actually going on in his head. The author of the book touts his brilliance and intelligence and writes that Dumbledore was already offered the position of the Minister of Magic twice but he rejected it. He chose the Headmaster’s chair at Hogwarts instead.’ ‘Perhaps not all the great wizards strive for world domination? ’ Matteo suggested mischievously, apparently taking her words for a joke. ‘Perhaps. Moreover — I’m not saying anything bad about Dumbledore, he could be the noblest and the most wonderful person in the world. But this “could” is precisely what bothers me — because we have no idea what kind of a man he is, what values he has or what he wants from life. I’m not going to rely on ‘‘maybe’’ — ‘‘maybe we’re lucky enough and Dumbledore’ll turn out to be a good man.’’ No, paradoxically, the Dark wizards seemed to be the safer option for me. By ‘‘safer’’ I mean they are quite straightforward — both Grindelwald and Lord Voldemort wanted to seize power and clear the world of the ones who they believed were not worthy to have their place in it. The moral and ideological aspect of their campaigns is another matter, but their plans, goals and interests are pretty clear. And so, it’ll be easier for me to deal with one of these two. For I’ll know what I could expect from them.’ Not expecting such a weird conclusion, Alex briefly lost touch with reality, though an almost elusive hint of a smile flashed on Troy’s lips. ‘Now raises a merely practical question — how shall we get close to the Dark wizard we need? Since we’ve decided to hide the Heart, and for quite a while, we can’t just ‘‘settle in next door to Nurmengard’’. Grindelwald weakened a long time ago, imprisoned, and Lord Voldemort, if books are telling the truth, lost most of his power, and both of them are useless for us while being in that condition. So we have to return a former strength to one of them. And that’s where it gets complicated.’ Matteo exchanged looks with Benji and shrugged indifferently, ‘Why exactly? It’s not a problem for us to organise some escape from the prison. I’m not saying it’ll be easy but if we’ll find out the layout of the castle, the number of guards, the routine… However, I’ll not say anything about bringing the body back to a wizard after his disembodiment, it’s not in my line…’ ‘That’s not what I’m talking about,’ Elissa shook her head. ‘We’ll consider the technical aspect later. But how are you suggesting for me to explain to this wizard why he suddenly got so lucky that such a noble we came to him, ready to provide all possible support and assistance? We’ll say that stars aligned? What do the dear gentlemen think? ’ Still, the dear gentlemen seemed absolutely unimpressed by her question. No, she definitely should change something about her attitude, because the company knew her so well that they no longer fell for her provocation and tricky questions. Carter even propped his head and chuckled bluntly, ‘Just tell us what you’ve come up with.’ Elissa paused for a moment, imagining what a flurry of indignation and objections her next words would cause, and then she declared: ‘I’m going to participate in this on my own.’ There was an uproar. As Elissa waited patiently for a storm of protest and argument to be over when everyone started talking and shouting over each other while sharing their opinions, she glanced at Troy — he was the only one remaining silent. She felt slightly better. ‘You’ve completely lost your mind, girl, I tell you that! ’ Carter exclaimed, agitated. ‘And you know what? I didn’t get you out of that crypt for you to go and kill yourself now! ’ ‘If we go together, we’ll kill ourselves anyway,’ Elissa smiled at him softly, perfectly aware that Carter’s feelings for her were like those of a father. ‘Or rather, we’ll reveal ourselves and our whole venture will go down the drain. And that way, what was the point of returning the power to the most famous Dark wizard of our century? No, Carter, since the only reason why we conceive this whole thing is to hide the Heart, I must go alone. One new face appearing around the Dark wizard won’t be suspicious. An appearance of a crowd of six people certainly will, though. When Istvan and de Colignys realise the Heart is gone they’ll definitely begin to scour even more. And then they may easily get on our trail.’ ‘They’ll be looking for us two times harder, anyway, as soon as they realise their search spells are no longer able to find the Heart. And if they find out that a dangerous Dark wizard has his power back, there is quite a chance they’ll find the connections between these two things…’ this sound remark suddenly was made by Benji who actually liked fights more than brainstorms. Elissa whipped around towards him. ‘Yes, exactly. And so, while I’ll be communicating with the Dark wizard, you’re going to go to the mainland again and lead the chase away as far as possible. To throw them off our trail, confuse them. Troy still has some reserves of Polyjuice Potion and I’ll give you my hair. You’ll be able to convince the vampires and Istvan that we’re still running from country to country. And the fact their search spells don’t work — well, anything can happen. Maybe we just found reliable Concealing Charms…’ ‘It’ll take more than a month,’ Alex pointed out, frowning, and she nodded. ‘To make them believe the return of the Dark wizard has nothing to do with you because you roamed around the cities with us all this time…’ ‘No less than half a year, I suppose. But we have no choice. It’s the only way to make our whole plan about the Dark wizard work and conceal the Heart safely. And once you confuse them completely and lead them away, you’ll come back to me. And then we’ll be thinking about how to get rid of both Istvan and de Colignys vampires once and for all.’ ‘You’re not staying here alone,’ Carter said categorically, crossing his arms as if he really was a parent told by a sixteen-year-old daughter that she wanted to get a tattoo. At the sight of him she could tell right away he, with his stubbornness, wasn’t going to give in. ‘I’m not,’ Elissa sighed. ‘Troy isn’t going with you. You can’t travel all together anyway, you’ll set off in pairs — it’s better to convince our enemies that our company split up. Let them wonder in which group the real Elissa is hiding. Troy’s staying here, I have a job for him. Does that suit you? ’ For a while, Carter glared at her with a heavy, gloomy stare but, finally, nodded reluctantly. ‘And how are you planning to introduce yourself to this Dark wizard? You’ll tell him you’re completely imbued with his ideas and ready to serve him faithfully? Or that you admire his wizarding skills and so you ask to be his apprentice? ’ A heavy sigh left Elissa’s mouth and she started to fumble with her long ponytail unconsciously. ‘That is precisely where the shakiest part of our plan begins,’ she admitted reluctantly. ‘First of all, I don’t think I can play a loyal, fanatical supporter. I don’t hate Muggles, here’s the thing! And I hardly can pretend to be a Muggle-hater and kill people by some third party’s order. When it’s a battle — okay; but when there’s no reason to, just for their existence… No, thank you. I still have my principles. To ask him for an apprenticeship seems to be an option but a wizard who lost his power must have enough problems without that. I can imagine where he’ll send me after this request…’ Matteo chuckled, as it seemed, compassionately. The rest said nothing. ‘The next trouble is a story. Of course, we can make up anything, our imagination is enough for a number of volumes of fictional biography but the Dark wizard isn’t an idiot to not understand I’m lying right in his face! ’ ‘But what if we’ll get lucky and he’ll turn out to be an idiot? ’ — Matteo suggested hopefully — it appeared he was trying to joke and clear the air slightly but Elissa didn’t support him. ‘Idiots don’t get the title of the most dangerous Dark sorcerer of the century,’ she said, thinking. ‘No, I’m going to deal with a rather smart, dangerous and cunning man who must have excellent judgement on people. An obvious deception will be revealed swiftly.’ ‘But you’re a great Occlumens,’ Benji said. She shook her head, though. ‘It’s not enough. There’s still an attitude, a manner of speaking, holding yourself… I know how to pretend, sure,’ she corrected herself quickly as she caught Alex’s amused gaze. ‘If I didn’t I would still be under lock and key in the… Carter, what did you call it? ‘‘In the crypt’’? Right, it is so. But Istvan isn’t the most famous Dark wizard of the century. It was possible to fool him. Grindelwald or Lord Voldemort are out of our league, though.’ ‘Then tell him the truth.’ This innocent comment of Matteo caused Elissa’s too strong reaction — even she was detachedly surprised at what was going on with her. In an instant, she tensed and froze, her fingers involuntarily reaching for her wand. From the outside, it looked as though she was a furious cat that had just been stepped on. ‘The truth?! ’ she hissed angrily. ‘And what truth are you suggesting to tell? About the Heart?’ ‘Perchè no?’ ‘Matteo, I’ve already encountered a stranger finding out about the Heart once, and we’re still dealing with the consequences of it, running around the world! And you offer to tell the man who is more dangerous than anyone we have faced before?! Do you have any idea what’ll happen then?’ ‘I do,’ Matteo agreed, her anger somehow had no impact on him. ‘But don’t you think it might be a solution? Can you imagine what’ll happen if the most dangerous wizard of the century finds out about the Heart and decides to get his hands on it, but here Istvan and Sebastian de Coligny come, craving to obtain the Heart for years? We’ll simply play off all three groups against each other and watch these ragni eating one another! And then we’ll finish off those who left. Sounds like a plan to me!’ Elissa stared at him in utter amazement, the others’ reaction was much alike. Yes, she always knew, of course, that Matteo was capable of the boldest and the most unexpected decisions — after all, in their entire group, it was he who was known for the fact that he managed to rob the Italian Department of Mysteries single-handedly. But such an insane plan… Even Alex’s idea of returning the Dark wizard his former strength became quite normal now. ‘That’s… a thought,’ Carter finally said, intrigued. ‘Well, I mean, we’ll sure have to mull this over really meticulously, so that we’ll not lose our own heads in the process, but the idea… The idea is good!’ Troy remained nonchalant, as usual, but Benji, however, suddenly interrupted them. Quietly but still validly, he said, ‘The idea might be good but it won’t work. If you’re expecting to fuck over the most powerful wizard of the century you should beware that he eventually might fuck over you all himself.’ Alex, not keen on such kind of expressions, grimaced with disgust, and Elissa crossed her arms. ‘I agree with Benji. The risk is too big. I am one thing — because of the Heart, I won’t get killed, you five will surely end up dead, though.’ ‘You won’t get killed but be locked up till the end of your days. A great alternative,’ Carter grumbled. ‘Then you should compromise. Don’t spill it all as it is but tell the half-truth,’ Troy suddenly said in an expressionless voice, making everyone stare at him at once. Though, he looked only at Elissa. ‘Especially since you can’t make up a completely new identity and pass for another person, for the local. First, he’ll immediately understand that you are a foreigner — you speak English fluently but the accent in your speech is clearly audible. And your appearance…’ ‘What about it? ’ Elissa asked a bit more sharply than she intended to. The topic of her own appearance always was painful to her. ‘You should use it as an advantage,’ Troy simply said. ‘Don’t tell the full truth. Where you can keep quiet — keep quiet. People are inclined to fill in the blanks themselves, finding their own explanations and reasons, and don’t actually like analysing — it’s in their nature. Give the Dark wizard the simplest and banalest story which is more or less close to the truth. It won’t take much more than that — all that the most dangerous sorcerer of the century who’s going to seize power needs is your loyalty and willingness to follow orders. He doesn’t care at all what you feel or what you actually worry about — he has enough other concerns and things to do.’ Slowly, she nodded, once again wondering how Troy could so easily and logically formulate things which seemed hard and intractable just a minute ago. ‘I know what I’ll tell him. How I’ll explain my arrival.’ Turning her head, Elissa was surprised to find out that it had become completely dark outside. Through the ajar window, the cold air broke, and it seemed to be raining again outdoors. ‘I think we still haven’t decided on the most important thing,’ Carter drawled suddenly. And, as Elissa looked at him, puzzled, he let out a demonstrative sigh. ‘To whom exactly are we’re eventually going to return the power? Grindelwald or Lord Voldemort?’ She smiled slightly, even though, if you think of it, there was nothing rather funny about the situation. ‘I couldn’t decide. Given all we know about Grindelwald’s acts from the history lessons, I’d say he can be no question. He’s a real monster. On the other hand… Things are rather ambiguous with Lord Voldemort there, too. Gellert Grindelwald has some biography while we know nothing at all about Lord Voldemort. Who he is, where he came from or at least what his real name is… I doubt his mom and dad gave him that name, right…? A powerful wizard with a group of like-minded people just appeared twenty years ago and started to conquer Britain — that’s all! So I’m trying to understand — who’s worse? Which evil is lesser? A known beast, who’s worse than anything, or a dark horse…?’ The others kept silent. Surprisingly, Matteo smiled brightly — against his swarthy complexion and his black hair, his white smile was especially blinding — and reached into his pocket. ‘So let’s use our favourite method, shall we?’ Seeing a Czech koruna in his hand — before Portugal, they used to hide in Prague — Elissa didn’t object, though she crossed her arms, frowning. ‘It may be your favourite method, but I still prefer to think things through beforehand!’ ‘And we all highly appreciate that about you, darling!’ Matteo lifted the coin up. ‘An obverse means we choose Grindelwald, a reverse means we look for Lord Voldemort. All agreed?’ Elissa shrugged, but she still felt some pang in her heart as she watched Matteo taking the coin in his dominant, left hand. Alex, instantly losing his carelessly relaxed look, eyed the coin with a tense, pointed stare and seemed almost praying to himself — was it for the final result to be Grindelwald? Someone touched her shoulder — turning her head, Elissa saw Benji who stood up from the chair. He looked at Matteo, but his odd smile was addressed precisely to Elissa. ‘So, do you have a feeling this choice is going to determine your entire fate?’ he asked quietly. This was so consonant with her own senses that Elissa shuddered but quickly shook her head. ‘I don’t believe in fate. I believe only in calculation and the fact that we are the architects of our own happiness.’ The coin gleamed in the air and Matteo caught it, showing an embossed lion to them all after that. Alex turned deathly pale. ‘Lord Voldemort, then,’ Matteo stated. ‘When do we start?’