Fandom The Gathering of Death Eater Children

[Hikari Chan]

...This is the weirdest confession I have ever heard...Flynn thought, his face in a deep frown. ...Mr. Cattermole is one of my students in the Transfiguration class. I do not recognize that kind of tone in his voice. But on the other hand, I have not known him for long. I started to teach at this school since May this year. Perhaps he has a split personality...?

"Well..," Alexander was the first one to speak, first looking at Luna and then looking at everyone else. "As much as I like to punish this brazen student, there's something that does not make it up in Cattermole's confession that makes me think twice about the incident to investigate it further. I am also questioning the fact as to why he would vanish a whole dead body and leave one behind with the rest of the evidence, remain here and confess so easily. He gave us a reason just now, but why did he wait until he got an audience? The tone of his voice is too bold and cheeky, that I would not have been surprised if he had chosen to confess for everyone in Great hall. But instead, he chose to confess his crime for miss Lestrange but not telling the reason why he committed this crime until he receives such a small audience of a couple of individuals. This is a difficult question indeed, so let's discuss the smaller details that are easier to understand. Let's first discuss the vanishing spell, Evanesco. Cattermole has confessed that he has vanished the body of Goldstein and we have not been able to found the whereabouts of his body. Unfortunetaly, because the Ministry of Magic does not monitor when underaged wizards and witches perform magic while attending Hogwarts, we cannot find out if Cattermole has truly disposed of Goldstein's body with the vanishing spell. Because of such loophole, I have been thinking if we at the Ministry of Magic should start monitoring underaged students when they perform magic at Hogwarts as well. Anyway, I will discuss this matter with the entire staff later, for now, let's go back to the previous topic, the vanishing spell. The vanishing spell is one of the most complicated spells taught at Ordinary Wizarding Level in Transfiguration class. Is the Transfiguration professor present?"

"Yes, I am here, sir," Flynn raised his hand.

"Do you think a sixth-year student can vanish a human body with the vanishing spell?"

"Well, as you mentioned, the spell is the most complicated spells taught at Ordinary Wizarding Level in Transfiguration class. When the fifth year students start to work with it, they start with snails and work their way up to mice. This usually takes time due to the complicity of the spell. And the bigger the animate or inanimate object is, the more challenging it will become to make the object vanish. As for Cattermole, I do not doubt his skills in Transfiguration. I have only known him as a student since May this year because it was around that time I was hired as a professor in Transfiguration. I also have the records of students who were enrolled in Hogwarts between the years 2011 and 2018. Cattermole is an ambitious and intelligent student, and he was the only student who received an E, Exceeds Expectations, grade on the finals of Transfiguration, while the rest of the fifth years received lower, but still passing grades. The largest animated object Cattermole managed to vanish during my classes, was a rabbit. However, that was about half-year ago. I hypothesize that he has probably been practicing the vanishing spell afterward..."

"Hmm...the Ministry of Magic did not record any underaged wizard or witch performing magic during the summer holidays," Alexander commented.

"...then we can say he must have been practicing magic before leaving for summer holidays and when he returned to Hogwarts for his sixth year. The final exams were held in June and classes were resumed in September. So he must have been practicing this spell for about two to three months to the extent that he is now able to vanish a human body, not an adult though, but it is still a larger body than a fricking rabbit. So, I would like to put Cattermole on a test...," Flynn smirked, his green eye suddenly glowing of excitement. "..And that is to have him try to vanish a similar animated object. Goldstein was a fourteen-year-old boy. We have the children of those blood traitors: Potters and Weasleys, who we can use in our experiment to confirm if Cattermole can vanish a human body since some of them are around the same age as Goldstein. If Cattermole succeeds, we can always erase the memories of the remaining children so that they will not remember a missing sibling or cousin."

"That's a perfect idea!" Quinn agreed.

"And I do not oppose that idea," Alexander spoke, "however before we proceed with any experiment, there are other minor yet important things I'd like to bring up for discussion as well. I'd like to interview Cattermole's parents about his childhood in private. His parents may know him more than we do. Anything they know about him could confirm his characteristics and behavior. And I'd like to request both the Potion and Herbology professors to check if anything has been stolen from their classrooms, offices, and storage rooms. The syringe is a typical muggle item and I doubt that it is used as a tool in Potion or Herbology classes, but we can always check with the professors to confirm whether they use syringes or not. Right now I am waiting for the results of the examination of the poison. The Healing & Medicinal Magic professor together with some healers from St. Mungo's have already examined Turpin's body and confirmed that the cause of death was poison and they managed to extract the poison for further investigation. If no one here opposes, I'd suggest that we hand over the syringe with the remaining poison to the Potion professor to confirm if it is the same kind of poison that was extracted from Turpin's body or not, and what kind of poison it is. And lastly, as for that thing-" Alexander frowned as he gestured at the cellphone. He was not fond of muggle items at all and found them quite annoying. "-we all know that it does not work because there is to much magic in the air for it to work. Hence Cattermole must have manipulated it with magic to make it work to fake a call, which we need to confirm as well before handing it over to the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office at the Ministry of Magic."

"I know someone skilled with manipulations of muggle items," Elias spoke slowly. "She could probably find out if the cellphone has been bewitched or not. Or you could have the office to take care of the investigation of the cellphone right now if you are in a hurry because I am not sure if Miss Monroe is available right now after she has been at the Halloween party. She is probably resting..."

"That's fine, either way, we cannot investigate the cellphone until tomorrow morning, because no one is at the office at this hour. Well, let's summarize what we have discussed so far. One, performing an experiment where we test Cattermole's skills in Transfiguration by having him performing the vanishing spell on one of the Potters' or Weasleys' children. Two, interview Cattermole's parents. Three, the Potion and Herbology professors will check if anything has been stolen from their classrooms, offices, and storage room, and also if they use any syringes. Four, the Potion professor to investigate the remaining poison in the syringe, and five, ask Miss Monroe if she could investigate the cellphone tomorrow. It is for the best to implement such investigation before we have Cattermole judged by the court of Ministry of Magic. We can always investigate the truth behind his confession differently if anyone has other ideas."

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"Excellent." Luna nodded once to the adults in the room, respectfully thanking all of them for their advice and help on the matter with the one word and expression. "I'd also be curious to see the drawings Cattermole claims to have created. Do you still have them?" She turned to him.

Cattermole nodded once.

"Very well." Luna turned to Elias. We'll look into that. "I think it's about time we gave the other students permission to retire for the night?" Her expression asked if she was missing anything, something that they would need the students for tonight rather than tomorrow.

The final part of the pumpkin's adjustments was the floor melting away quickly from the center, similar to candle wax. Only the parts that supported the guests' tables remained. Soon, the maze soon became visible. The pumpkin resembled a colosseum now, with the seats high around the edges and the 'arena' far below. The tiles where Nova and Malice stood remained, resembling tall pillars. Nova's pillar stood in the exact center of the maze, and Malice's stood three feet to his left. Their projected voices easily reached the guests and villains.

“Every one of you is a disgusting person.” Nova looked down on the maze’s occupants far below, in the center of the maze. He addressed the guests."They're all terrible people. The scum of the Earth, I promise." He put his hands to his heart dramatically, then chuckled a bit. He looked down at the villains. "Fools."

Malice addressed the villains. “We’ve set up death traps all over the maze. All you have to do is leave the maze without climbing the walls, and you win your freedom back.” She smiled, enjoying the criminals’ confused, defiant, or frightened expressions. Most were trying to argue, bribe, or threaten their way out but their voices had been lowered magically; their words were mere mumbles to everyone else. Even if they yelled they would not be heard but they couldn't tell.

Nova addressed the guests “You’ll be betting on these criminals. There are three types of bets: ‘time,’”

“How long they will last in the maze?” Malice explained, putting a hand to her chin and looking off with a distant expression in mock contemplation.

“’cause of death’,” Nova said.

“How will they die?” Malice said, bringing both hands, palm-up, to shoulder-level.

“and ‘win’.” Nova said.

“You think that criminal has a good chance of winning?” Malice smiled confidently with a raised eyebrow. “There are one hundred ways to die inside the maze.” She grinned toothily as she made the hand sign for one-hundred in sign language.

“We'll be collecting the bets from slips of paper we'll pass out soon after the exposition. You can make as many bets on a single person as you like,” Nova explained. “But two guests cannot make the same exact bet. For example,”

“If I bet that John Doe will die by tripping into one of the acid pools,” Malice said.

“I cannot make that same bet. I can bet that John Doe will last five minutes, though.” Nova said.

“The hosts are not allowed to bet.” Malice said, more to herself than to the audience. "Oh-" she sounded as if she'd almost forgot "-if 'John Doe' happens to trip into a pool of acid at exactly five minutes in, since it's extremely rare, the winners will just have to discuss it on their own."

"Extremely rare." Nova promised.

“You will not be betting for money. If you lose a bet, you will not lose anything but the chance to punish a criminal to your heart’s content. If you win...” Malice paused, then looked at Nova.

Together they said "...your prize is to hold the criminal's life in your hands. You may do as you please 'till your heart's content."

“They’ll die quite easily on their own,” Malice said. “so we’ve given them collars to boost their strength, stamina, and immune systems for your enjoyment.”

“We also have a demon with us this time who can stop time in small places. He’ll be freezing as many criminals as he can, just before their deaths, for those of you who bet correctly.” Nova gestured to his right since Malice was on his left, and a third pillar sprouted from the ground. “I would like to introduce Vinnie Giovanni, a good friend of mine. Don’t call him ‘Vincent’, it says ‘Vinnie’ on his birth certificate.” He warned.

“Hey.” Vinnie greeted everyone at once, raising his hand and waving it once before returning it to his pocket. He spoke with an Italian accent, slouched slightly, and looked to be the type to always have his hands in his pockets if he wasn’t busy.

“If you try to leave the maze by climbing the walls, you’ll be electrically shocked to death, so play by the rules.” Nova said to the criminals as one let out a yelp, jumping back from the walls. “That’s why we made the passages so wide.” Turning back to the audience, he continued. “The music for this party will function differently. Every half hour, you will all vote on a genre of music. If any of you have a strong aversion to a particular genre, please speak up now, and it will not be played until you leave. Let’s hear any banned genres for tonight…” He looked around at the audience.

A demon girl dressed as an astronaut raised her hand while she pressed a button to open her helmet. “Waltz music, please. We had our fair share during the first party.”

“Very well.” Nova nodded, looking over to ensure that Malice was writing ‘Waltz music’ on the piece of paper she conjured.

Athena held up her hand. “Electro swing.”

“Very well.”

The Masked Man had been in a visibly better mood since the second party began. He'd fallen asleep with his head in his palms after Rosaleya had rejected him, and awoken when the room began arranging itself. Now he let out a low growl. You did that just to spite me, didn’t you? You know I love that music.

“Banshee music” A demon dressed as a cowboy said.

Rosaleya laughed. I didn’t know they made music.

“I’m curious enough to listen to that.” Jade said.

“Indian pop.” A demon in a Russian soldier costume said.

“Arabic pop.” A demon dressed as a Musketeer said.

Vinnie lit a cigarette and began smoking it as he waited for the voting to end. Wishing for special cigarettes that would never hurt me was a perfect wish.

"Russian pop." An 'American Revolution soldier' said.

"Finnish polka." A 'gypsy' said.

“American pop from the 2000’s to the current time.” Soren said.

“All Gobbledygook music.” Easton said.

Claudia laughed quietly.

“It sounds like someone put rap music in a blender.” He said quietly to Claudia as the hosts’ attention shifted to another demon.

"American rap music." The demon lady dressed as Glinda the Good Witch said regally. She'd forgotten she'd planned to say 'rap music' when Nova explained about banning music, but overhearing Easton she'd remembered.

Malice breathed a sigh of relief while she added 'American rap music' to her list.

Dante rolled his eyes. He'd taken a seat beside Celeste, regardless of whether or not August was there.

“Eurobeat.” A ' sheikh' said.

“German pop.” 'Colonel Sanders' said.

"Dubstep." A 'bunny girl' said.

"Techno music." A 'female knight' said.

"Trance music." A 'princess Tiana' said.

"Russian hardbass." An 'African king' said.

They got all the genres that I didn’t like…and a few new ones I’ve never tried before as well. Rosaleya thought. I didn’t even have to say anything. They mentioned a few that I like but hey, it's called an opinion for a reason, Dad. Ah, I'm so happy he's not here tonight. I can just imagining him naming off twenty genres and giving reasons for each one. She giggled. I was going to say American pop if Nova said something that indicated the time to ban genres was almost over, but Soren said it for me. I can bear through dubstep but I won't listen to it on purpose...probably ever.

Silence after that.

“Perhaps our human guests have a genre or sub-genre they despise? Please speak up.” Nova said kindly, looking from Melody to August with a smile.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Before we proceed with the tests, I would like to have a word with the students in the Great Hall, please. The first test will be to test the vanishing spell," Alexander spoke. "Since you suggested that idea," He looked at Flynn. "You will be responsible for bringing the oldest child of the Potters or Weasleys and clean the traces, you know what I mean, eh?"

"Of course sir,"

"And I would like both the headmaster, the deputy headmistress and the head of the houses with me in the Great Hall,"

"I believe everyone is here, the rest are already in the Great Hall..." Quinn wondered if Melody had returned from the party or not.

"I would like to ban all kinds of music but classical and opera" August replied without hesitation and took a sip of his wine.

Melody stared blankly at Nova and has gotten speechless all of sudden. She did not know so much about music to know which genre to ban, she preferred to listen to birds singing and the sound of nature, but she could not bring herself to say any word because she was feeling confused about everything. ...Am I hearing things? Or did I have too much butterbeer? Demons? Criminals? Electrothings that will shock them? ugh, are they mixing magic with muggle stuff? Merlin's beard, this does not make any sense... She turned to Reign, looking at him as if she was being lost in Sahara looking for directions.

"From this very moment, students are not allowed to walk on their own," Alexander spoke in a very grave tone as he addressed everyone in the Great Hall. "To avoid giving the professors to much work than needed, the Ministry of Magic will place guards around here so students can only walk between classrooms, the library, bathrooms, dorms, common rooms, Entrance Hall and Great Hall, the Owlery, the Quidditch ground, and the Greenhouses, meaning that you won't be allowed to go elsewhere you do not need to go. Foods and drinks and anything else that is liquid or edible will be restricted. With that being said, students are not allowed to eat outside the Great Hall or bring any liquid or edible things inside. All of you will be eating here, what the house-elves serve you, and nothing else. You will not be allowed to keep any ingredient regarding Potion, Herbology, and Cooking with Magic classes or take something with you from these classes. We will be going through your trunks tomorrow morning and confiscate anything that we find suspicious. Muggle items will be prohibited. We will help anyone with muggle items, to send these things home, tomorrow. You will only be allowed to keep your clothes, wands, books, parchments, and quills. Ingredients needed for Potion, Herbology, and Cooking with Magic classes will be provided during the classes. Inkwell will also be provided during the classes. Any trips outside Hogwarts will be prohibited. No weekend tours to Hogsmeade or anywhere else. We do not like to do this and take away the freedom you had until now. But I hope you understand that we are doing this for your safety. Today, one student was found dead and another is gone without a trace. And a third student has confessed to being the guilty one. Since this horrible incident involved students, we need to implement these restrictions while we investigate this further until this case is solved. No expectations. If any student disagrees with this, we will send him or her home. We will now escort you to your dorms, in groups, simply divided after year and house. To avoid crowding, we will escort first years first and then second years and so on."

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"I would like to ban all kinds of music but classical and opera" August replied without hesitation and took a sip of his wine.

Dante glared at August. So inconsiderate. Didn't you think of anyone else here? You couldn't just pick the one or two that annoyed you the most? Sister, you're annoyed, too, right? Huh?

Celeste's expression did not change.

Dante sulked for a moment then stood up harshly, pushing his chair back noisily with legs. He sat at Eric's table with a heavy thud, and Eric said nothing after seeing the fire in his eyes.

"Very well, then." Nova smiled, gesturing for Malice to get rid of her notes.

Malice tossed it over her shoulder, where it fell near a villain's feet. He began reading it carefully, and a bunch more crowded around him to interpret this strange clue.

Many of the demonic guests were displeased by August's words, but they neither complained nor glared. The cause of their irritation would not be able to tell without reading their auras.

Meanwhile, Reign explained. "Excluding you and Mr. Dolohov, the remaining guests are demons, a species of magical beings separate from humans. We are playing a game with black-hearted humans by mixing magical enhancements and Muggle death traps. We are betting on their deaths or their survival." His expression informed her that it was an enjoyable event. "You can spectate if you do not wish to place a bet. If this game disturbs you, we can leave." He meant that she didn't have to feel guilty about making him leave the party early, for he would gladly help her leave if it meant her comfort.

Nova continued. "Very well, now that we have our 'opera music' playing," He said in a slightly snobby voice, which earned him a wave of laughter from the crowd. Celeste laughed as well. "we will begin collecting bets. Please knock on your table twice if you want another form. Mark completed forms with an 'X' in any corner. You are allowed to place bets five minutes into the game, but not a second more. The game will begin in ten minutes' time. Begin, my friends." He tipped his top hat to the audience.

At Nova's word, one form appeared in place of every guest's plate, along with a self-inking quill:

Your name:

Prisoner's Name:

Fill in one field below:

Time Bet:
Cause of Death Bet:
Win Bet:

In the air above the labyrinth, at eye-level with most of the guests, appeared a large hologram list of the villains' names, ages, crimes, and skills. The text was in such large letters that everyone had an easy time reading them at a glance.

Rosaleya was so excited she didn't move, listening to Jade's lightning-fast debates over which villain looked more likely to do what. She filled out forms accordingly. She ended up filling out several 'time bets' and 'cause of death' bets on twelve strong or smart-looking criminals. She couldn't write out bets on any more than that in the given time.

Soren began calmly filling out several of each type of form faster than a printer, with several quick glances at the villains list. He made a different kind of bet on every villain he chose until the time ran out. He managed to bet on forty percent of the villains before the game started.

Celeste calmly began filling out a 'time bet' for an African warlord. She planned to stick to 'time' and 'cause of death' bets. Before she wrote anything more than her name and the criminal's, she glanced over at what August was doing.

Claudia and Easton tried their hand at all the 'cause of death' bets they could write, ignoring the other types.

Eric positively filled in several random 'win' bets regardless of the visible strength or intelligence of the villain.

Dante grumpily did the same. Annoying people do the most unexpected things. He thought of August.

The Masked Man stuck with 'time bets' and 'cause of death' bets in equal portions.

Athena unknowingly did the same as the Masked Man.

Alastair stuck with win and time bets.

After ten minutes we'll start the game. Malice kept thinking, feeling slightly disappointed that she couldn't bet as well.

Luna listened to the Alexander's announcement with a calm expression. She silently agreed with all of his countermeasures against another incident. The oldest Potter child isn't Albus Severus, so it's quite alright.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"So..." Melody tried to digest what Reign had explained to her, but she found it hard to grasp everything at once. "What do you mean by black-hearted humans? Are they muggles or wizards?" There was a certain look in her eyes, that anyone else would recognize in a death-eaters' look. She was not bothered by the game itself or that she was surrounded by different magical species, but she wanted to know who Reign sided in this game. ...In the eye of the Phoenix of Order and Dumbledore's Army, I have always been regarded as a criminal in the wizarding world...my crime for being a daughter and granddaughter of death eaters from the first and second wizarding wars...my crime for being able to use Herbology for Dark Arts...if Potter was able to return from the world of the deaths, he would probably punish me for what I did to Longbottom...She did not realize that her hands were shaking violently as she grabbed Reign by his sleeves. ....who are these criminals in this pit below us? I do not recognize any of them...Are they also past death eaters? But all the surviving death eaters and their children were freed when the late Dark Lord's daughter defeated Potter and his followers...I only witnessed Malfoy falling to his death that day when we were freed from our cells as soon as he opposed our savior at Azkaban...

Meanwhile August was taking a look at the form that appeared on his plate. I do not recognize any of the prisoners, none of their names that I know from the wizarding world at least...He looked up and noticing Celeste glancing at him. He responded with a smile before randomly choosing a prisoner's name and filling out the rest of the application. Cause of death: Falling into one of the deathtraps...I am not familiar with the muggle deathtraps...time bet....hmm....within a few minutes...win bet...to punish this criminal to my heart's content...I hope I filled this form correctly...we could have instead of being assigned one prisoner each to torture as we please...why setting up a mixture of magical and muggle traps...especially the muggle traps are so boring when you can have more fun with magical traps...

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"Humans." Reign repeated, in case she hadn't heard. Then he realized why she did not understand. "They are Muggles." He clarified calmly.

Celeste informed August that he had to use precise terms to fill in the fields. "For a time bet, you can say 'ten minutes'. For a 'win' bet you only need to write 'yes'. For a 'cause of death' bet you should write a specific cause, such as 'poisoned, acid pool, stabbed by another villain', et cetera." She explained. She made sure not to use a patronising voice or laugh at what he'd written.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Oh..." Melody's hands stopped shaking and the fierce glow in her eyes was gone, replaced by her usual innocent look. Suddenly she realized she was sitting on her knees on her chair and holding into Reign's sleeves. She felt very embarrassed and hoped that none of the other guests had noticed her as she let go of his sleeves and hurried to sit like a normal guest on her chair. ...Merlin's beard, how could I allow my emotions to get the best of me...but...there's still something bothering me...She thought, frowning deeply. ...I do not care about muggles but as the different magical being he is, what are his thoughts of wizards and witches? Who would he side if he had to choose between the late Dark Lord and the Phoenix of Order? She stared into the pit for several minutes, literary not noticing the form that had appeared in place of her plate, along with a self-inking quill. ...Oh! Of course...why did I not realize it sooner...Her frown changed to a smile. ...Reign must have the same mindset as the late dark lord, to get rid of annoying muggles...heh...

"Ah, I understand..." August magically erased some part of what he had written on the parchment and rewrote time bet, cause of death, and win bet. ...hmm....since muggles are so stupid...it will probably only take this muggle to slip and fall in an acid pool within five minutes...but let's not forget he is a criminal who could be too smart for muggle traps, besides he is wearing that magical collar that gives him power...so for time bet I will suggest...fifteen minutes...he will probably try any means to flee...he would only fall in the acid pool if he slipped on something slippery or if someone pushed him...I bet that he will be pushed in the acid pool by another criminal because all of them will try any means to flee and won't probably care if they pushed each other just to get through the labyrinth to find their way out...and for win bet...I will just need to write yes...

...ugh such a pain...Lily sighed inwardly...now I cannot try to poison Mr. Pyrites with my cooking attempts...and I will just have to study the recipes like reading a usual book during my free time since I will only be allowed to cook and using ingredients during classes...and I will be stuck here until Christmas. How could this even happen? Perhaps because they happened to give us a little too much freedom than usual or perhaps they were sloppy with guarding us and this school...but whatever the cause, break one rule or pose any danger and they will deprive one of all freedom. As if it is not enough to punish the student who confessed. The rest of us has to suffer as well, tsk. My father is so much stricter than the previous minister...She thought as she waited for her turn to leave the Great Hall. She could not believe that the older students who had already turned seventeen would need to be escorted to their dorms. ...And what about Pegah, she is the same age as me, yet she is allowed to freely walk around here...and that's all because of being labeled differently...I am labeled as a student while she is a teaching assistant...

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

No one but Reign noticed Melody's unusual behavior. He checked and foresaw that she'd work it out herself soon, so he didn't address it.

Celeste nodded when August filled in the form correctly.

"How can we hear what they're saying if they say something else interesting but their collars are muting them?" Rosaleya asked Soren, putting an 'x' in the corner of another form and knocking twice for another.

"Recordings are available for free to all guests with full, clear audio." Soren replied. "It's also being broadcasted live on demonic cable, and recordings are available in stores. And, we'll be able to hear the most interesting dialogue since she's-" He nodded toward Malice "-controlling the collars' volume."

"Cool." Rosaleya nodded.

"How does Vinny know who bet on what? I don't think he had enough time to read all the forms...even if he had a photographic memory he wouldn't have had time to even look at every one." Rosaleya asked.

"The forms disappeared when you put an 'x' on them, and reappeared as pieces of data inside his mind." Soren replied.

"Wow...is it the quills or the paper that does that?"

"The paper. It's very popular in demonic schools, but banned during quizzes, tests, or exam time. Mother says that's because the papers are teaching you to cheat at life instead of paying attention, and father disagrees."

"I can see why." I'm on Easton's side there...why not use the papers every day? She had fun imagining what they were called instead of asking for a name. Ten seconds later she grew tired of her game and asked.

"Thought paper." Soren replied.

There were forty villains total. After writing the villains' names down on the bet forms, most demons only paid attention to the number next to the villains' name, their gender, or in some cases, their occupation. The other information was useless since they'd most likely be dead soon, and the fact that they were inside the maze meant they'd done something unforgivable.


1 - Nun, Female
2 - Priest, Male
3 - Rogue Russian Spy, Male
4 - Rogue American Spy, Male
5 - Rogue American Spy, Male
6 - Rogue British Spy, Female
7 - Yakuza Member, Female
8 - Yakuza Member, Male
9 - Yakuza Member, Male
10 - Mafia Member, Male
11 - Mafia Member, Male
12 - Mafia Member, Male
13 - Mafia Member, Male
14 - African Warlord, Male
15 - Senator, Male
16 - Congresswoman, Female
17 - Congressman, Male
18 - Slave Trader, Male
19 - Slave Trader, Male
20 - Slave Trader, Male
21 - Human Rights Activist/Slave Trader, Female
22 - Highschool Teacher, Male
23 - Bartender, Male
24 - South American Drug Cartel Leader, Male
25 - North American Drug Cartel Leader, Male
26 - Arms Dealer, Male
27 - Policeman, Male
28 - Policeman, Male
29 - Policewoman, Female
30 - FBI Agent, Male
31 - FBI Agent, Female
32 - CIA Agent, Male
33 - CIA Agent, Male
34 - Detective, Male
35 - Military General, Male
36 - Judge, Male
37 - Judge, Female
38 - Piano Teacher, Male
39 - Doctor, Male
40 - Doctor, Female

Soon after, Nova announced "Time's up." A large hologram stopwatch appeared in the air near the list of villains. "Bets can still be placed until five minutes into the game." He reminded. To the villains, he said "The game has officially begun." Now the hologram stopwatch started counting up. He took off his hat, holding it upside down as it grew to the size of a car. He tipped it over, and a shower of melee weapons and canteens fell from the inside, levitating slowly the last few feet to fall in between the villains. "For the paths to open-" he addressed the villains as his hat shrank again "ten people must die. You have ten seconds to start, or I'll help." He smiled, putting his hat back on again.

"It makes me wonder if anyone wrote 'killed by Nova' for a 'cause of death'." Jade said.

Rosaleya leaned in a bit. They'd considered a number of possible causes of death beside the traps, but Nova wasn't one of them. She'd never seen him kill someone before. She felt he was too innocent despite sometimes appearing with blood splatters or stains on his clothes when she summoned him. Her mind refused to recognize his blood-covered self and his usual self as the same person.

The African Warlord met Nova's eyes with a deadly expression.

"Wonderful." Nova smiled in approval. "Let's hear what he has to say!"

Malice adjusted his collar so everyone could hear him. It looks as if he's about to say something interesting.

"If you want to play games," The warlord remained composed as chaos broke out around him. "I will win and skin you all like my tiger rugs." Due to his determination, Rosaleya made five time bets on him, guessing that he would last until the final minutes of the game. Celeste added a win bet to the many time bets she'd already made on him. "That is my wish." He grabbed a spear in each hand and locked eyes with his first target: a male CIA agent, who was engaged in a fight with a congressman. The warlord plunged a spear into the CIA agent's chest, then plunged another into the congressman's before they had the chance to defend themselves.

"17 and 32 have joined the dead." Malice announced, gesturing to the hologram list as their names smoothly faded from neon blue to red...

17 - Congressman, Male
32 - CIA Agent, Male

She muted the warlord's collar as he yanked both spears out of the corpses and began a fight with the rogue Russian spy, who'd noisily approached him from behind armed with a chain sickle. Their fight wore on. The Russian spy was using straight forward, obvious attacks. The warlord dodged easily and went in for sneaky attacks at his critical points, most of which the spy dodged with difficulty. The warlord lost his left spear twice to the chain sickle's sharp edge, but he quickly replaced it with another; he'd somehow found time to collect some in a pile nearby just in case. Malice would continue to mute people who were fighting, and un-mute villains who were exchanging important or interesting dialogue throughout the game.

The Yakuza family was huddling together, comforting each other and promising to make it out alive. They acted like a normal family when they weren't carrying out their wicked deeds, and they would never turn on each other. 9, the father, was around fifty, with a large frame and a full head of slicked back, grey hair. Only his family got to see the kindness in his eyes, for he only looked at everyone else with disgust, rage, or lust. 7 and 8, the brother and sister, were in their mid-twenties.

33 - CIA Agent, Male

Even though this CIA agent had been announced dead, the North American drug cartel leader didn't stop punching in his skull with his brass-knuckles. With every punch, he became more unaware of his surroundings, making it easy for the human rights activist to behead him with her spartan falcata.

25 - North American Drug Cartel Leader, Male

I'm relieved that I didn't decide to allow Ms. Monroe to spectate by my side after all. He recalled when she retched at the sight of the corpse on the China Mission, or when she'd frozen up during the mission to save Nasujima's son. I'd spend the majority of the event giving her furtive glances to ensure her mental comfort. I also wouldn't want to disgust her by my undisguised excitement, nor would I want to put in the effort of concealing it. I wouldn't want Luna to enjoy this event and go out to seek more similar pleasures in watching people suffer as a result. He put a hand to his heart. Only the lady I love would enjoy such an event reminiscent of those of the Roman Colosseums.

A policeman saw the warlord as a future threat, and made to stab him from behind with a butcher knife while the warlord was dodging a particularly dangerous attack from the Russian spy. When the warlord ducked to dodge the spy's attack, the policeman ended up losing his head instead.

28 - Policeman, Male

Alastair smiled, wondering if it was his imagination that made the head look as though it was flying halfway across the room in slow motion.

The policeman's head rolled all the way to where the policewoman was fighting the female doctor. The policewoman beheaded the doctor with her naginata as she tripped on the policeman's head.

Alastair laughed, finding it hilarious that they were tripping over each other for their lives.

The general got on his knees and hooked a forearm around the policewoman's neck, breaking it with a series of rapid cracks.

29 - Policewoman, Female
40 - Doctor, Female

I've seen Asmodeus use that move, but even he performed it more efficiently. He offered to teach me but I had no interest in that method. Alastair thought.

Meanwhile, a slave trader was raising a mace to kill the nun. The nun put her hands together and looked up to the sky with closed eyes, as if her faith was a tangible shield that would save her.

Alastair watched on with a sneer, expecting her to get butchered any moment in such a position regardless of her reasons.

The two rogue American spies stuck together, fighting back to back to kill two slave traders with their spiked clubs. They'd been best friends despite all odds, and weren't going to stop now.

Let's see how long their friendship lasts in such a place. A bond of friendship starts to fray in these events. The drama is one of my favorite parts. Alastair thought.

19 - Slave Trader, Male
20 - Slave Trader, Male

Meanwhile, two mafia members, 11 and 12, were in a fight with bats. They'd been fighting right before their capture so they only continued it now, with bats instead of guns. 11, the younger one, was fast and agile but 12 had longer arms and was much stronger than him. It made 11's swings look amateurish despite their speed.

"My boys, don't fight at a time like this!" 10, their father, cried, clutching his heart as if this was his worst nightmare.

Alastair imagined that 11 and 12 must feel the same way toward each other as he did toward Cerberus. In which case, he knew 10's verbal attempts to stop them were pointless. Even if he throws himself in between them, they won't stop. They'll slice through him.

13, the eldest brother, grabbed 12's non-dominant hand, begging him to stop. 12 turned his way with unintended speed, and 13 closed his eyes just before impact...

13 - Mafia Member, Male

I didn't expect him to suddenly try to break them up. He looked like he'd chosen a passive role in the fight. I wonder what made him try to intervene? Alastair wondered.

"13 has joined the dead." Malice announced as Nova levitated patches of the maze upwards to reveal the paths.

"Ten of you have died. The paths are now open." Nova announced. He looked at the hologram timer. 00:4:55...00:4:56... "Five minutes have passed. No more bets." 00:5:01...00:5:02...

There were three paths leading out: one pointing north, one east, and one west. South of the starting point was a large cage surrounded by hedge. It was reserved for the villains who Vinny saved, until they were to be distributed to the demons who had bet correctly. All paths led around the cage, so no one would be able to access it without the use of levitation or some other type of magic.

"This is your fault, you 8@$+@rd!!!" 12 yelled at 11, continuing their fight with another swing 11 dodged.

I wonder if I would blame myself or Cerberus if 'mother' had grabbed at my arm like that with a similar result? Hmm...I would've taken responsibility. Definitely. Alastair thought. After all, to continue fighting regardless of who stands in your path is the fighter's choice. But, he realized it's also the decision of the intervenor to stand unprotected in the middle of danger.

Many villains left the maze through different paths, and some stayed to talk a bit before leaving. Nearly everyone took a canteen and at least one weapon. The bartender and the detective decided to remain in the center of the maze, separate from each other, for different reasons. The former's was to avoid even looking at what might await him outside the center, arming himself with a spear and squatting off to the side. The latter's was to wait until nearly everyone had died, then walk through the traps with ease, using their deaths as evidence to avoid their mistakes. He armed himself with several short blade weapons, to use as projectiles in case someone decided to attack him. He stood calmly with his back to the hedge, watching four pairs of villains remain at the starting point to attempt to verbally form partnerships. They were the human rights activist and the highschool teacher, the remaining slave trader and the piano teacher, the male judge and the arms dealer, the male senator and the female FBI agent.

I thought they would all run for the exits. I always forget that there are those who don't lose their logic during these events. Alastair thought, surprised that he was always surprised by villains remaining to speak and plan. His imagination always filled with images of them all running around like crazed animals as soon as the paths opened.

"Their collars will make it so that they don't need food or water while they're wearing them." Soren informed Rosaleya when he noticed her eyes lingering on the canteens. "Their mouths may get dry, or they'll get hot and sweat, so their minds will connect those sensations with feeling thirsty."

"And since they don't know they don't need water, they'll drink? But what's the point of not telling them they don't need water and just not giving them water?" Rosaleya asked.

Soren smiled. 'You'll see' his expression said.

Celeste watched as the first two villains, the nun and the priest, walked hand in hand down the north path with eyes to the sky and prayers on their lips. They didn't carry weapons, and Celeste guessed that they believed some divine force would protect them. They walked forward for ten meters without running into any traps.

The rogue British spy sprinted for the east path, choosing to take a right at the fork. The Yakuza family eventually chose the same path, slowly walking together.

Soren and Rosaleya watched as the two rogue American spies switched their spiked bats out for different weapons, and left via the west path, choosing to continue walking straight through three forks. The general chose the west path as well, turning left at the first fork.

11 - Mafia Member, Male

'Cerberus' is finally dead. Alastair thought, wondering if 12 would feel happy now. He leaned forward in his seat when 10 approached 12 with an angry lecture on his tongue. And 'father' finally decides to stop pretending to care from the comfort of his passive role? I don't think it will end well for him. I should've put time bets for the times between five and twenty minutes on 10 before the time for bets passed. Alastair sighed. I should've predicted this. How foolish of me.

The nun and priest chanted in unison "...and make straight paths for your feet, so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather be healed." They soon reached an area riddled with lava, acid, and water pools, the latter two hidden by a fabric and the former hidden by a thick layer of tungsten, both the same color as the path. Both materials were placed to give way as soon as a victim's weight was placed above them. The pools swirled like vortexes, ready to swallow up all victims without delay. The pair kept thier eyes to the sky, and they let go of each others' hands to put them together earnestly in prayer. They tread forward gingerly despite their continued verses.

But to walk forward without looking? Celeste thought sceptically. I suppose if Asmodeus promised me he had a way to spot the pools better than me...but I would have to look into his eyes first and hear him promise me. Even then...it's difficult to imagine that I would let him guide me instead of using a pole weapon to test the ground. "August, do you ever think you could trust someone so much as to walk forward with only their guidance as your defence?" She didn't move her eyes away from them as she awaited her answer, eager for the moment when they'd be proven wrong for their foolish choice.

The nun fell into a lava pool, flailing her arms until they sank out of sight.

1 - Nun, Female

The priest fell into an acid pool a second later, his hands grasping the edges of the pool so firmly that they remained there even after the rest of his body was sucked into the vortex and dissolved.

2 - Priest, Male
10 - Mafia Member, Male

Bludgeoned to death at eleven minutes. What a perfect opportunity that would've been to finally collect a prize from these events. Perhaps I'll end up winning on one of my other bets. Alastair thought hopefully, turning to watch his other bets move through the maze.

Dante and Eric watched as the Russian spy gave up and fled from the warlord via the east path, still clutching his chain sickle. When he came to a fork, he ran left.

"He could never have beaten him. 14 was too strong." Dante aimed a proud smile at Celeste, who didn't look his way. It wasn't clear whether she was intentionally ignoring him, or too interested in the game to look his way. She wouldn't ignore me on purpose. She's just having a lot of fun...next to him. Dante glared at August before returning his attention to Eric. "Celeste was right to bet on 14."

12, the only surviving mafia member within the maze, had been busy massaging his head and pacing back and forth in the maze's center. He was doing his best to comfort himself through a mental breakdown at the aftermath of his fit of rage.

The warlord set off down the north path, saw two exposed 'death pools' ahead and knew there were more in that direction. "F@(k this." He noticed that a nearby fork offered the option to continue going straight, or to the right or left. He turned right and continued walking on a trap-free path, using one of his spears to test the ground to make sure it stayed that way. He'd grabbed two extra spears just in case, tying them to his back, and attached a tanto to his belt loop. That made five weapons total.

I'm glad I decided to add a 'win' bet to my bets on the warlord. Celeste thought. He's testing the ground the same way I would in his position.

"That's a really smart way to get through the death pools." Rosaleya said in surprise. "...Isn't it?" She turned to Soren a few seconds later when he didn't answer, and followed his gaze.

The American spies were fighting each other at what appeared to be a dead end. However, the shrubbery of that 'dead end' was replaced by strong metal walls lined with more melee weapons. A single white sign hung on the wall directly opposite the entrance, but the writing was too small for the audience to read.

"I thought they were friends?" Rosaleya wondered out loud.

"Ah, you cannot see the sign, can you?" Nova said to himself, chuckling as he realized the audience couldn't read the sign. "I should've thought of that."

Reign smiled subtly. He loved how Nova often skipped over an apology when it wasn't necessary to give one.

"They've entered a room called the 'Half Can Pass'. The sign is informing them-" Nova pointed to the American spies "-that if the occupants kill half their group, they'll be granted access to the safest and easiest path of the whole maze, and it leads directly to the exit." Nova winked to the audience.

Malice smiled at his choice of words.

Vinny lit another cigarette, unamused. He watched on with a bland expression, as if none of it fazed him.

One spy took several swings at the other, before he eventually resorted to hitting him on the head with the handle of his Excalibur replica.

"They're not really fighting. They're faking so they can get through the door." Soren observed.

The one who'd taken the hit fell to the ground, still clutching his claymore.

Nova smiled, and opened the door.

The other spy walked through it, and noticed that the path offered him a choice to go right, or left. Colorful electric arrows were blinking in both directions to make them equally tempting. He got the feeling that only one was safe, and cursed the judges, since technically it had led to the safe path. He walked left, deciding to see where that path led him.

He's not going to be very lucky. Rosaleya thought. That way doesn't lead to the exit.

The spy that'd taken the hit stood quickly and ran through the door when it started closing.

Alastair, surprised that they hadn't actually turned on each other, refrained from mentally complimenting them. He figured it was only a matter of time before they actually turned on each other.

"Knew it." Soren smiled, clapping his hands together as one ran to fall into step with the other. "Nova knew too, so he opened the door because he liked how they stuck together."

"How did you know all that?" Rosaleya asked in surprise.

"That's what I would've done if I was with you." Soren replied. "It makes sense that I wouldn't be the only one to think that way."

The two spies shared a secret handshake when they reunited.

"I wish we could replicate that." Rosaleya laughed, finding it cute that they still found the time to perform their secret handshake in their current situation.

Soren wasn't listening again, and she looked over to follow his gaze like before.

The general was walking on a path that would soon lead to a room with waist-high water from wall to wall. Two sets of monkey bars twisted and turned high above the water which must've contained about two hundred electric eels.

Soren's mind raced with ideas for how he planned to pass through. Or, will he go around it?

Meanwhile, Dante and Eric watched the Russian spy run through five more meters of safe ground to find himself in an oval-shaped room with polished white marble floors. He looked around, wondering why such a pristine room stood in the midst of this chaos, and completely unaware of the traps overhead. There were fifty in all, spread evenly about the ceiling; giant painted metal structures that resembled various types of dragon heads and necks with bright, whimsical colors. Certain floor tiles connected with a head, and when a victim stepped on one a head would drop down and the 'dragon's' jaws would swing open to entrap the victim. The 'dragon' either incinerated the victim via flame torch, or liquefied it via several small rotating blades. Five steps into the room, he was entrapped by the jaws of a flame-thrower 'dragon'. He dropped his chain sickle in surprise, and it slid out of his grasp. Dante laughed as the Russian spy beat his fists against the dragon's jaws as he screamed in pain for approximately thirty seconds, the flames surrounding him and blasting out of the dragon's mouth. After three minutes, his ashes blew out of the dragon's mouth in waves, and two minutes later, the head retreated back to its place in the ceiling, leaving a fire-stain on the floor, and piles of ash.

"Well his performance went up in a blaze." Nova commented with a grin. "I suppose he wasn't well adjusted to high temperatures? Hmm...I heard Russians swim outside in the winter." And in a Russian accent, he added "I'd like to try that someday."

Rosaleya laughed at Nova's jokes.

3 - Rogue Russian Spy, Male

"3 has joined the dead." Malice announced, her face twitching at the way Nova was joking about some of the deaths. It made it difficult for her to maintain a serious persona, but she enjoyed all the same.

"We painted the dragons together." Dante said happily.

"Lovely job." Eric replied in an Alastair-like tone, genuinely appreciating the art.

"It was our idea." Dante continued proudly. "Nova and I were discussing the different traps and I was irritated that we couldn't use a real dragon in one of the rooms. Malice overheard and pointed out that the hosts' challenge was to create non-magical traps without boring the viewers..." He sighed. "Besides, Nova didn't want the garbage harming the dragons." He sneered at the spot where the Russian spy had died when he said 'garbage'. "Later on, Celeste came up with the idea of creating something similar with metal structures and flamethrowers and..." he trailed off. "...So, when it burns them it looks like it's breathing fire, and when it grinds them into liquid it looks like it's chewing them up with its jaws. A few of them just chop the victims up in even cubes." He smirked.

"How very creative." Eric replied, imitating Alastair again.

"It was Nova's idea to make the ceilings transparent for us so we could all view the rooms with traps on the ceiling." Dante added quietly. It seemed to make so much sense when Nova said it that I was immediately irritated I didn't think of it first. How could I miss such an important detail?

The warlord arrived at the 'dragon room' shortly after the Russian spy's death, noticed the ash and fire stains on the floor, and looked up. He saw the dragon heads on the ceiling, and began pondering how he would get around them.

Meanwhile, the British spy had reached a room with shallow, clear water from wall to wall, moving rapidly as if it was a dangerous river. Above it was a narrow, sturdy rope bridge that was designed to look rickety, with a few missing boards here and there, ropes that appeared to be frayed...and it swayed even though no one was touching it and there was no wind. That was due to the poles it was tied to swaying slightly via an electric mechanism.

"The bridge that looks bad, but it's actually safer than the monkey bars. That was also my idea." Dante boasted. "I thought that, since popular Muggle fiction usually features a bad bridge or two, they'd be against even trying it." He laughed.

The British spy took a deep breath, then put the edge of her foot the water. She flinched and shuddered for a split-second before managing to pull it back out; she'd received an electric shock from the water.

"Wires travel from the 'river's floor to the walls, which conceal a bunch of generators...." Dante continued explaining.

The British spy took one look at the bridge, and decided to use the monkey bars. She covered her hands with the entirety of a nearby powdered chalk bowl, and began her climb. The monkey bars started at the sides of the hedge just before the water started, then curved so the climbers would be in danger of falling in the center of the 'river'.

"...So if you fall in, you'll die." Dante smirked.

Eric nodded politely, but was secretly becoming annoyed by Dante's constant boasting and mentioning Celeste. He wished he could enjoy the event without an almost non-stop commentary. However, he knew that if he tried to relocate to another table, Dante would eventually return to Celeste's side. To spare her the annoyance, he continued to nod along to whatever Dante said. He secretly envied Rosaleya's top-tier daydreaming or ignoring abilities in times like these.

Rosaleya and Soren watched as the general's long look at the eel water came to an end. With his sledgehammer tied firmly to his back and his KA-BAR held firmly in his teeth, he began stomping through the water with his eyes set firmly on his destination. He growled through several shocks, his face contorting as he grabbed the eels that swam to the surface for air, twisting them dead with his hands and flinging them back into the water. After he reached the halfway point, his face stopped contorting and he was grinning with all his teeth instead, his growls turning into laughter. He continued walking straight through the next fork in the road.

"He reminds me of General Blue from Dragon Ball." Rosaleya laughed. "There's this one scene-"

"You've watched Dragon Ball but not Jojo?" Soren asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I gave Jojo 6 episodes. It was boring. Dragon Ball is cute." Rosaleya replied. "I like Goku and Master Roshi."

"Roshi?" Soren asked, not recognizing the name.

"You didn't watch Dragon Ball?" Rosaleya asked dramatically, raising an eyebrow imitate Soren's expression from before.

"I got bored at the tournament arc."

"What?!"

"...and, some of the monkey bars are oiled, so they might die trying to climb over." Dante said when the British spy had almost reached the end of her monkey bars. She lost her grip on an oiled bar and fell into the water right after he finished his sentence.

It removed all suspense from her death for Eric, who'd been looking forward to the uncertainty of how everyone would die. I'm babysitting the Spoiler King. He glared at Dante furtively.

Dante didn't notice, too busy admiring his work.

The British spy's body became rigid, then she quaked until she stopped moving altogether.

6 - Rogue British Spy, Female

Every few seconds, a limb would twitch, but her eyes remained unblinking...forever.

"Shocking." Nova joked.

The Yakuza family arrived just in time to see the cause of the British spy's death. The father stepped toward the water, taking a long, silent look at her corpse before closely examining the bridge. He turned to his children, informing them that it was safe.

"Will the recordings have subtitles?" Rosaleya asked in response to the father's Japanese.

"Yes." Soren replied. "The updated model translates all East Asian languages for us. The next update is going to translate every language in the continent of Asia." He handed her a Shiki Agency translator.

"Cool. Thank you." Rosaleya replied, watching Soren put his on to see how it was done. She copied him, finding that it wasn't uncomfortable to wear.

"What about words with no direct English translation, or a translation that doesn't mean the same if its not in Japanese?" Jade asked.

Rosaleya repeated this.

"They stay the same." Soren replied with a shrug.

"...So, in the sentence 'I love Hizamakura', 'Hizamakura' stays 'Hizamakura'?" Rosaleya asked.

"Probably." Soren smiled, finding it funny that she chose to use that word in her example.

Celeste had already wished for the human guests at tonight's event to perceive all foreign languages as English for easier viewing. She'd originally planned to only wish for August to understand it, but figured she might as well help the other demons out as well.

The father took hold of a rope-railing on either side of the bridge, and the daughter followed closely behind for support in case he suddenly got a cramp or lost his balance. The son decided to choose another route just in case the bridge proved to be dangerous toward the middle or end like the monkey bars. He wished them good luck, and took a path that led left of the water room, to find a narrow hallway with the same water and monkey bars built above it. It stretched on, curving right without an end in sight. He turned around to walk in the opposite direction, passing the water room with a sigh of relief that his father and sister were still alright. Soon, he came to a fork in the road that offered the choice to go straight or left. The path ahead led back to the maze's starting point. To the left, the path's walls remained the same, but the ground gradually shrank to became a foot wide. The surrounding ground became so deep that anyone who fell off the path would fall to their deaths. He thought for a moment, then searched the starting point's ground for a pole. He returned to the narrow path, took a deep breath, and tread carefully, using the pole to balance like the tightrope walkers he'd read about in books.

Celeste had watched the warlord brave the entirety of the 'dragon room', using all his concentration to dodge every dragon he triggered. His movements as he held the spears resembled what Celeste imagined a traditional African tribal dance would look like. She couldn't help but feel impressed at his skills, and her joy at witnessing something so spectacular showed on her face.

"True art can be a bit dangerous sometimes." Nova commented, quoting a demonic artist famous for painting dragons by using live models. Evergarde is one of your favorite artists, dear. I couldn't help putting in a reference for you.

Malice's lips twitched again. He quoted Evergarde. I'll thank him for that later.

Rosaleya had turned away from the general to watch the warlord with wide eyes. She'd assumed he would try to find another path. Now she was considering buying a recording of this event just to watch his dance-like movements through the 'dragon room' as many times as she wished. Even Jade was cheering for him.

After the warlord passed through the room, he stood in silence, breathing heavily as he clutched his spears and taking multiple swigs from his canteens; he'd taken two.

Rosaleya focused her attention on the general again.

The general entered a round room with a dirt floor. He looked around, crouching to examine it more closely. He took the knife out of his mouth, then began digging around in the dirt with it. When he found what he was looking for, he groaned. This circle of dirt was filled with land mines. He'd make it through, but he'd have to army-crawl and dig them up one by one to avoid triggering them. Thus, he began his tedious journey through the dirt circle.

"That's how they do it in the army." Soren informed Rosaleya.

"I thought they exploded if you touched 'em." Rosaleya replied.

"No, it's only if you apply pressure to them. You're imagining stepping on them, for an example?" Soren replied.

Rosaleya nodded, feeling happy to replace incorrect knowledge her brain had stored.

After warlord had regained control of his breathing, he turned left until he reached a fork that gave him to option to go straight and left. Straight ahead lied various pit traps; he could sense their presence. He chose to go left, where more death pools awaited him. He sensed these as well, and resolved to test for them with the tip of his spears.

The male judge and the arms dealer left the starting point via the west path. They both believed they had hit it off, having much in common in terms of musical preferences, hobbies, humor, and family troubles. Soon, the reached the same 'Half Can Pass' room the two American spies had passed through. They turned to each other under the guise of continuing their interesting conversation, while simultaneously raising their weapons behind their backs in preparation for a strike.

"We're not going to get through this together, are we?" The judge asked, feigning fear.

"I guess not." The arms dealer raised his dagger to stab the judge through the chest. When the arms dealer saw blood, he turned around, expecting the door to open.

The judge raised his cane, hitting him on the back of his head. "You 8@$+@rd, I'm not dead yet!" He yelled as he kept beating him. "I thought we were going to make it through this together, huh?"

The arms dealer coughed out his last words, too weak to glare. "So...did I."

26 - Arms Dealer, Male

The judge kicked the arms dealer's head a few times before stomping on it just in case, then made for the open door. He chose the right path, leaning up against the wall in the hopes that if he managed to reach the end, he'd be allowed medical assistance. "Just a bit...more..." He repeated as his steps became more labored. He caught sight of the exit, his face brightening in relief. Soon, he was unable to take another step, collapsing with his hand reaching for the exit at the climax of the current opera song.. The life left his eyes as he held that happy expression, his hand still outstretched for the freedom that lied one foot away.

36 - Judge, Male

The human rights activist and the highschool teacher had chosen to leave the starting point shortly after the arms dealer and judge, via the west path. They had genuinely liked each others' energy, and had impressed each other with their true stories. The remaining slave trader and the piano teacher left shortly after that. They believed they had tricked the other into a temporary alliance, planning to betray the other at the first opportunity. They left via the east path.

The slave trader and piano teacher continued walking straight until they came to the 'Half Can Pass' room. It didn't take them long to choose a weapon and reveal their true intentions. The slave trader raised a sickle, and the piano teacher raised a 8@$+@rd sword with scrawny, shaky arms. In his inexperienced hands it only ended up weighting him down, and the slave trader easily reached forward and slit his throat.

38 - Piano Teacher, Male

The slave trader passed thorough as soon as the door opened, and was faced with a choice between turning left and right. He chose the right path, entering the electric water room right after the Yakuza father and daughter left it, so he gazed upon a rickety bridge and monkey bars and saw them as purposeless objects. He made the mistake of putting both feet into the water in an attempt to cross through quickly, and was electrocuted to death. He fell into the water, and in his last moments, he noticed the British spy floating beside him. He stared into her eyes until his became equally lifeless.

18 - Slave Trader, Male

The human rights activist and the teacher ended up going straight through the first fork and left at the next. They found themselves in a room with loose wooden floorboards. The highschool teacher walked forward easily, crossing one third of the room until he stepped on a loose floorboard that caved in, nearly causing him to lose his balance.

"Watch out! Up-up there!" Was all the human rights activist had the chance to say before a large boulder crashed onto the teacher's head, silencing him forever.

22 - Highschool Teacher, Male

"I'd have been able to give you a better warning than that." Soren rolled his eyes.

"I-Soren, there's a-a big rock!" Rosaleya pointed high above them. "Yeah, I'm with the her on this one. I wouldn't have been able to communicate that easily, either. I'd be too worried about you to talk properly. I'd be more likely to react magically than verbally."

"You just need practice." Soren insisted. "You'll eventually be able to talk and take magical action simultaneously. But for her, she's much older than you and she's had plenty of experience speaking to people. I think she did it on purpose."

The Yakuza son entered the room as soon as he left the narrow path, his eyes immediately drawn to the highschool teacher's corpse. He closely examining the entire room, and skirted the edges since there were less traps there. He only had to dodge two boulders, which was easy since they were much slower if one was expecting them. As soon as he reached the other side, he headed in the direction of what he hoped was his family's location.

The human rights activist skirted the edges of the room as well, and managed to get through having to dodge only one. She came across a fork in the path, and continued walking straight instead of following the Yakuza son.

The Yakuza daughter was busy staying ahead of her father, testing the ground for traps. They'd avoided three pit traps already.

"(We're going too slowly.)" The father insisted. "(You should let me go ahead and test the ground for you.)" He said lovingly, putting a hand on her spear to stop her working. "(This will take a very long time.)"

"(It's fine. We don't want to rush this. And, I'm checking for myself, too.)" The daughter insisted.

"(We know that's not true. You're athletic enough to jump out of the way when you trigger a pit trap.)"

The father and daughter stared at each other for a few seconds in silence.

Then, the daughter pulled her working hand away from his and continued testing the ground.

The father tightened his lips, staring straight ahead as he walked right past her despite her pleas. She tried to grab his arm but he was too fast for her. He took four safe steps forward, then fell into a pit trap.

"(Don't try to save me. If I survive, I survive. Go on and win with your brother.)" The father said as the ground that he'd fallen through was replaced with new ground, blanketing him in darkness.

The daughter called him while trying desperately to open that space in the floor again, but the new ground was seamless. She put her head to the ground to try listening to any replies he might be giving, but she couldn't hear anything.

The son saw her about to walk into the same pit trap and yelled her name. "(Kei! What happed?)"

Kei explained, close to tears. "(I'm going to follow him, Daichi!)"

Daichi shook his head. "(What were his last words to you?)"

Kei repeated them for Daichi, almost word-for-word.

"(The come with me. He has a way to escape, or he wants to die now. It's his choice to place us above him.)" Daichi said. In truth, he wanted to go back and try to save their father as much as Kei did.

After some hesitation, Kei made her way to Daichi, jumping to safe ground twice when the ground opened up underneath her. They continued on with Daichi gently pushing Kei's back to make her walk faster. When they reached a path Daichi hadn't already passed through, he took the lead again and held her hand, so he was gently pulling her to walk faster.

Shortly after that, their father's death was announced as Nova levitated him into the cage.

A policeman had taken the west path and taken all the left forks he needed to get to a safe path. He'd hit two dead ends, but had otherwise been walking without any problems. Suddenly, thick glass walls rose from all sides, and a glass roof slid above him, effectively trapping him in a cube-shaped cage. Water poured in from large holes in the left and right panes, filling the room so quickly he didn't have time to process what was happening. The water had reached his waist by the time he realized he'd drown soon. He began beating the glass with his weapon: a nightstick. The walls didn't yield, so he looked more closely at them in the hopes of finding another way to open them. When the water reached his neck, he pushed off the ground, floating to give himself more time; the ceiling was six feet higher than him. He caught sight of a key swirling around him, and looked around again. When he had three feet of space left between the water and ceiling, he realized there was a keyhole in the ceiling. He reached up and tried the key. It didn't work. He tried it again just in case, with no luck. With one foot of space left, he realized there were multiple keys swirling around in the water. He desperately tried multiple keys, taking a deep breath just before the entire cube filled with water to continue trying keys. There were ten keys in total, but since he kept flinging the incorrect ones back into the water he felt as though there were a hundred to try. He began to feel his lungs protesting, and tried to go even faster, which proved difficult. His oxygen was expiring quickly since he was panicking, and he felt that he had about twenty seconds left to live.

"Fool." Soren said in response to the policeman's methods. "Doesn't he realize that if he doesn't keep track of which ones he's tried he'll-"

"-I would put the wrong ones in my pocket." Rosaleya agreed. "That way I wouldn't get the mixed up with the others. He's freakin' stupid."

"I would've got them all before the water filled the room, or at least most of them." Soren added.

27 - Policeman, Male

The holes in the panes opened up and all the water drained back out. The glass walls and ceiling retreated back into the floor, and the corpse remained on the path.

The human rights activist reached a death pool area just in time to see 30's death.

30 - FBI Agent, Male

She backtracked, and tried another path. This path led to what appeared to be safe ground. It was the same area where the Yakuza father had fallen for a pit trap minutes earlier. She kept walking until the ground opened up under her and she fell into a pit full of punji sticks angled downwards. They didn't hurt her when she fell in, but if she tried to pull her entrapped legs and arm out they would tear her flesh open. The ground closed above her via an electric mechanism, and she was left to struggle in complete darkness. Her breathing became uneven, and she started panicking as she realized a familiar smell; the walls of the pit-trap were lined with poison. She'd be dead soon from the fumes. She began pulling her limbs out regardless of the pain and the damage she was taking. She didn't consider the exit being too high for her to reach.

The two American spies had finally reached the end of their chosen path. One had been lucky enough to accidentally drop his sword, and it had fallen into an acid pool. They watched it sink into the pool, sinking lower as it dissolved. In the end, they couldn't tell if it had dissolved quickly or sank out of sight, but it was terrifying either way. They shook their heads in simultaneous agreement not to even try, and backtracked to choose another path. Since they'd chosen to go left after the 'Half Can Pass' room, they chose the right path this time, and hoped that that was the correct one.

"And," Dante continued, oblivious to Eric's hands pressed to his ears. "Nova thought to place poisoned water jugs all around the 'safe areas' of the paths, so if those pieces of scum decide to get refills for their canteens..." He laughed as the male doctor drank directly from the jug mid-explanation.

39 - Doctor, Male

Vinny levitated the doctor into the cage before he drank more than a sip.

"Oh, look at that one!" Dante pointed to another person who had refilled and was about to drink in a different part of the maze.

24 - South American Drug Cartel Leader, Male

Vinny saved him as well, freezing time just before the water touched his lips.

Dante looked disappointed, until he noticed Claudia and Easton stand and embrace in celebration of their wins.

"I knew they'd get thirsty." Easton exclaimed.

"And it's a good thing we chose 'poison water' for as many as we could. Such an excellent idea, darling!" Claudia said in a sing-song voice.

The congresswoman had tired herself out by walking down every path on the east, north, and west paths. Whenever she found a trap, she'd fearfully run back to the starting point. Thus, she hadn't made any progress, and had only succeeded in drinking two canteens of water. "You-" she yelled at the mafia man, who was still pacing around "-help me through these traps! They're impossible! I can tell we're from the same country, so you should be protecting me. Do you know who I am?" She neared him with what she thought was an authoritative expression.

He was in no mood to even listen to another peep from her. "Shut up." The mafia man stopped in front of her and bludgeoned her with his bat eight times, then returned to his massaging and pacing in one fluid motion.

Malice was impressed that someone could even do all of that and make it appear to be one fluid motion.

The congresswoman fell to the ground, silently bleeding out and unable to do much more than twitch and clutch at her wounds.

The American spies stepped around the male judge's body, noticing the blood trail on the wall from the 'Half Can Pass' room to his current location.

"Good thing we didn't end up like that." One spy smiled.

"Never will." The other smirked, looking down on the corpse.

The warlord had safely worked through two paths full of death pools to find himself back at the starting point. He growled, and made for the west path this time. When he reached the 'Half Can Pass' room, he growled again, and returned to the starting point. His spears were just handles that were scarcely longer than his grip, so he flung them at the nearest wall and found replacements. He grabbed a handful of the congresswoman's hair, and proceeded to drag her back to the 'Half Can Pass' room. One foot away from the room's threshold, Malice announced her death.

16 - Congresswoman, Female

The warlord ignored this and stabbed her multiple times in her chest, abdomen and face with his spear, until he didn't think her body could look more ruined.

Nova laughed and opened the door. "I think she got the point." He joked.

The warlord passed through, stomping his way through the right path.

The American spies finally reached the exit at the north end of the maze, only to be faced with another 'Half Can Pass'.

"Now now, I let you have your fun the first time, but that won't work again." Nova addressed the American spies as if he was a mother who'd pretended not to notice her children sneaking dessert before dinner. "I admired your 8@lls, so consider it a favor in return for a good show."

Rosaleya laughed. "Nova's awesome."

Celeste smiled at Nova's choice of words.

The spies glared into Nova's kind eyes, then looked at each other, both sharing similar thoughts. One resolved to hide in the bushes outside the room while the other waited within it. They planned to kill the next two people who walked through in order to open the door.

Alastair was surprised again when they refrained from turning on each other. Of course, they could both be planning to take advantage of the distraction a third or fourth person would cause to kill the other.

21 - Female Human Rights Activist/Slave Trader, Female

The general finally reached what appeared to be the exit at the south end of the maze. It appeared to be a polished dark wooden door with a round, golden handle. He opened it, to find a wall of bricks with a sign taped at eye-level. In cartoonish bubble letters, it read: go 'up' or 'down', with arrows drawn behind the options. 'Up' meant taking the nearby set of monkey bars which curved high over the entirety of the maze to reach the true exit at the north end. 'Down' meant taking an underground tunnel which he realized was void of all light. He began his climb on the monkey bars, climbing on top of them since he considered it safer than using them normally. There were no oiled spots on this set, since the height alone was enough of a danger for the climbers.

"The sign that 35 read explains that that is a false exit." Nova smiled. "A ladder and underground tunnel lead to the true exit at the north. Both have traps, but since the tunnel has no light." He chuckled.

The female FBI agent finally gave in to the senator's requests to help him through the maze. The senator chose the route as the FBI agent chose a tai chi sword. They began down the north path, with the agent in the lead at the senator's request. They walked around a few exposed death pools, and the agent turned back to the senator to ask if he was certain he didn't want to choose another route. The senator insisted on their current path, and they continued. Suddenly, the senator fell into a water vortex, and had sunken out of sight by the time the agent turned around.

15 - Senator, Male

The agent tried to retrace her steps to see if she could help him, but she tripped into an acid pool just as his death was announced.

31 - FBI Agent, Female

Vinny sighed, and froze her. Nova levitated her out of the pool and into the cage, much to the delight of the demon lady cosplaying Glenda.

The warlord reached the north exit, to find a man half his size holding a replica of Excalibur. He laughed and advanced without hesitation, smiling as the American spy dropped his sword in fear. The warlord grabbed his throat, strangling him with one hand as he raised his body a few feet off the ground. Urine soiled the spy's pants as he choked out his friend's name.

His friend ran forward with his claymore aimed at the warlord's back, and just before impact the warlord stepped aside without moving the other spy. The spy received the full force attack from his friend, staring into his eyes with a betrayed expression until the life left them.

5 - Rogue American Spy, Male

His friend stepped back in horror, his eyes filling with tears.

So one did end up killing the other...but they didn't betray each other. Alastair thought, finally allowing himself to compliment them mentally. They did well. They didn't let anything stop their friendship. Without my powers, even I couldn't beat the warlord. He'd physically overpower me. They fought valiantly.

"You're really crying?" The warlord asked mercilessly, flinging the spy's corpse onto his friend, knocking him down.

The remaining spy tried to push the corpse off himself, but by the time he succeeded in moving it enough the warlord already had his boot poised over his head. He tried to move out of the way, but was met with a painful blow, ending in darkness.

4 - Rogue American Spy, Male

As the warlord went in for another few stomps, Nova joked "Another crushing victory for the warlord."

Rosaleya laughed. Her favorite part of this event was definitely Nova. He kept making her laugh. She hoped his comments were included in the recording.

The warlord moved to the entrance of the 'Half Can Pass' room, standing intimidatingly tall and strong for the next person. He could turn around and claim his 'win' whenever he wished, but he wanted to savor this moment by killing a few more beforehand.

"Oh man, the warlord is freakin' awesome! Inside the maze." Rosaleya corrected herself. "I'm sure he's a bad guy, though. Definitely." She assured Soren that she knew this despite her enthusiasm.

"The general was amazing this whole time!" Soren replied, not really listening. He'd watched the general climb over the entire maze without a break. "You were too busy watching the warlord."

"I was watching both." Rosaleya replied. "I just watched the warlord sixty percent more. Most of the time when one was doing something super cool the other one was walking or doing something boring, so I got most of it. I'm still going to buy a recording, though...I want to see the general in the eel water again and the warlord dance through the dragon obstacles."

"Looks like our two favorite players are coming together." Soren said, since Rosaleya still hadn't noticed it, yet. "Over there." He pointed to where the large ladder was leading the general.

Rosaleya gasped in surprise. "The ladder leads to the exit!" She exclaimed, her eyes widening as she imagined a wild 'final showdown' type battle between them.

The general slowly climbed down the last few feet of the monkey bars while watching the warlord's latest kills. The warlord met his eyes as soon as he moved to stand before the exit, and didn't look away. The general kept a five foot distance between them once his feet were back on the ground, and neither looked away for one minute of silence.

Alastair thought they'd tire each other out with a long fight, then someone else would enter and finish them off before they noticed a third person's presence.

Celeste had no idea who would win, since she believed they were equally matched in intelligence and physical strength. She hoped the warlord would surprise her with some unpredictable skill he hadn't yet displayed.

Then, the warlord nodded slowly. The general returned the nod, and they both left the maze walking side by side.

Celeste felt her eyebrows rushing to meet her hairline. "Did you expect that ending?" She asked, turning to August without changing her expression.

"What the fudge was that?" Rosaleya asked, unsure of whether she felt more amazed or disappointed. "I thought they were going to fight. Is it a guy-thing?" She turned to Soren.

"It's something some men do when they know they're equally matched or they have absolutely nothing against each other. They have a long stare-down and skip an entire conversation, then walk away without fighting." Soren explained. "Or maybe they respect each other for getting that far without letting anything stop them. That's what father said when something similar happened during an older, recorded game we were watching."

Both the warlord and general fell unconscious as soon as they stepped outside the exit's threshold. Nova smiled, levitating them into the cage.

A few minutes later, Kei and Daichi started on the safe path the two American spies had taken to the north exit. Daichi was carrying Kei on his back; her arms were loosely wrapped around his neck, and his hands supported her under her knees. Her eyes drooped so low she almost looked as if she was asleep, had there not been a stream of tears flowing from them. Daichi read the sign, tried going around the room only to realize there was no other way to the exit, and read the sign again, pondering how best to pass through the room.

37 - Judge, Female

Vinny froze the female judge from a water cube somewhere in the north half of the maze a few seconds before her death.

The detective decided that now was the optimal time to begin his journey through the maze. He ended up walking all around the maze, taking note of every footstep and dropped weapon, every corpse or blood or ash stain, or anything out of place in general. He ended up finding his findings so fascinating that he walked right past the north exit to continue searching for death clues throughout the entire maze. He pretended not to notice the last mafia member following him from what he thought was far enough of a distance to not be noticed. The detective found it amusing how his he thought he was being stealthy, so he made sure not to turn around even when the mafia man accidentally tripped and grabbed a hedge noisily to avoid falling. It was the most difficult for him to avoid laughing at his clumsiness. When he came across the corpse that'd drowned in the water cube, he examined it closely, taking a full minute out to ponder how the man had died. He looked around him, and noticed slits in the floor where the walls had appeared and retracted. He examined the corpse's canteen; empty. Finally, he pried open the man's fists, to find a key gripped tightly within his right hand. He placed the key in his pocket, and continued on. The detective eventually moved on and got trapped in a water cube himself somewhere in a nearby area. He immediately noticed the keyhole in the top of the cube, then noticed keys were swirling around in the water before it reached his knees. He placed the key he'd gotten from the corpse in his mouth, then collected all the other keys. By the time the water had reached his neck, he'd stored them in his right pocket, intending to reserve the left for incorrect keys in case more swirled in. He was a bit slow trying the keys, only testing five before the water completely filled the cube. He tried one more, and felt his lungs protesting. He detached the straw that came at the side of every canteen, and pushed it through the keyhole, taking a few moments out to breathe.

That's why there are straws at the sides of the canteens. Someone finally noticed. Alastair thought, feeling hopeful. The detective was the last surviving villain he'd bet on.

"Wow, I didn't even think of that!" Rosaleya exclaimed.

"And he's staying calm." Soren nodded in approval. "If you're panicking you can't hold your breath for as long as you would if you were calm."

"I've heard about that one from-nevermind." Rosaleya laughed. I can't say that I got it from a children's story.

"You see, ladies and gentlemen, we wouldn't make a trap you couldn't escape non-magically." Nova put a hand to his heart innocently, but his expression was remorselessly mischevious.

The key to buying more time was so tricky. Malice thought in approval of Nova's straw idea.

Rosaleya smiled.

The detective held the straw in his mouth as he returned to trying keys. He found the correct one after trying five more, and the ceiling retracted immediately. He regained control of his breathing as the water drained out, and made sure his feet touched the ground as soon as he was able. When the walls retracted into the ground, he was able to continue his journey through the maze. He smiled, proud of himself for using everything he had to get through the maze without any problems.

Eventually, the detective arrived at the north 'Half Can Pass', and stood to wait for his pursuer. He had his weapon at the ready: a garrote wire, and stood just beside the pile of fabrics near the entrance to ambush the mafia boy.

Right as his pursuer entered the room, the detective realized only too late that he himself was the one who'd stepped into an ambush. The Yakuza siblings stood from either side of the entrance, and the fabrics that'd been concealing them fluttered to the ground as they went in for their attacks. Kei jumped out from behind the detective and slit his throat with a switch knife, then continued stabbing him in the back repeatedly when he fell forward. Daichi jumped out and stabbed the mafia man in the neck four times until he was on the ground. Then, he, pushed him over so he was lying on his back, sliced open his abdomen, and wrapped the detective's neck in his intestines to make sure he never stood again.

12 - Mafia Member, Male
34 - Detective, Male

"(I think he's dead.)" Daichi smiled to Kei.

"(Me, too.)" Kei nodded to the detective's corpse, raising the knife high above her head to stab him one last time and leave the knife where it ended up: up his rectum.

"Woooooooooow." Rosaleya was unable to stop her mouth from hanging open, so she covered it with her hand. "I wouldn't have thought to take the covers from the water vortexes to ambush someone. They ambushed the ambush!"

"Ambush-ception." Soren smiled.

The Masked Man had enjoyed Rosaleya's reactions throughout the entire event. He regretted that he couldn't watch it by her side, but he knew that there would be more events like this in the future.

Daichi held out his hand to help Kei up, and then they walked through the now open door together, discussing how they'd hurt the judges for everything they'd done. They stepped over the threshold with their eyes focused on the stairs that led to the venue's higher floors, and were suddenly sitting at their father's favorite yakiniku restaurant. Their mother was going on and on about how her latest Korean drama's final episode couldn't air yet because the lead actor got a fever.

"(Give me a notice when you start feeling unwell! He collapsed on the set with skin as hot as fire!)" She sighed. "(We don't have any replacements.)"

Kei and Daichi looked at each other in confusion for a moment.

"(And what's that on your hands? Were you trying to eat with your hands again? You're so cute, Daichi!)" Their mother smiled to him.

Daichi looked down at his hands, expecting to see the mafia man's blood still covering them, but he only found grease, as if he had been eating meat with his hands seconds before like usual.

"(You don't have to be embarrassed, Kei.)". Their mother addressed her with another smile. "(You can eat with your hands, too. That reminds me, has Arata told either of you that he's going to be late today? He's never late for this dinner.)" She gestured to the delicious food covering their table: a splended assortment of grilled meats and vegetables. "(Hmm? Is something wrong?)".

Kei excused herself to go to the bathroom when her eyes started tearing up. Hearing her mother mention her father so casualy hurt.

Daichi explained that the scent of the grilling onions were too much for her eyes at the moment.

"(I hope Arata will be here soon. I want to see the fireworks all together tonight. Don't worry, I won't let him delay it for one more day. It happens tonight or I'll withhold my love for an entire month.)".

Daichi excused himself as well. He entered the female bathrooms to see Kei hunched over the sinks, bawling.

"(Don't.)" She waved her hand at him to get out. "(There's someone here.)" She pointed with her foot to the stall behind her, to her right.

Daichi banged on the door. "(Get out or I'll kill your mother!)" He yelled.

The lock clicked, and the woman inside ran out without even washing her hands or unhook her purse from the hook behind the door.

Daichi grabbed the purse and threw it at her before she left the hallway leading from the bathrooms to the main dining area, and she yelped when it hit her. He turned back to Kei and put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. "(We'll find who did this.)" His sadistic expression explained that they'd do everything they wanted to harm them and their loved ones once they did. "(But not tonight.)"

Once Kei had calmed down and washed her face, they made for their mother's table again. They stopped in their tracks when they saw the man sitting beside her, laughing along to one of her jokes. Kei started crying again.

"(Kei, what's wrong?)" Their mother stood to approach Kei gently, ready to listen despite her confused expression.

Daichi walked toward the man to confirm it wasn't an illusion. "Otosan, sono kao o moichido tsukuru. (Father, make that face again.)" He pressed his lips tightly together and filled his cheeks with air.

Arata made the same face, his eyes communicating to Daichi that he hadn't forgotten whatd' just transpired.

Daichi put his hands on either one of his father's cheeks, and pressed inwards. All the air from his father's cheeks left his lips in a single burst, creating a funny high-pitched squeak. Daichi smiled and took his seat opposite his father with a serious nod, which Arata returned.

"And a shocking decision on Mrs. Sterling's part to choose to return 9 to his post-event location. How strange." Nova shrugged. "May I ask, on behalf of the audience, what inspired such an unexpected decision? I myself have a soft spot for criminals who respect their loved ones despite their misdeeds...most of the time." Nova winked.

"No, that wasn't my motivation." Mrs. Sterling, dressed as a bunny girl with waist-length light brown hair, thought for a moment. "I thought it would be more interesting to let them all reunite, and see them again soon at the next event."

"What if one of them dies due to a...work-related incident?" Nova grinned at the wording.

"I'm gambling; the odds aren't all in my favor." Mrs. Sterling replied. "But it would be spectacular if they wasted all their time trying to track us down until they end up there again-" she gestured to the maze "-soon."

"Their reactions would be hilarious, I imagine." Nova replied. "Well, then, would anyone else like to return their winnings to their post-event locations? I'll give you all a minute to think about it."

The hologram timer went from 2:18:03 to 00:00:01, and began counting up again.

"How does that work?' Rosaleya asked Soren. "What happens when you 'put them back'?"

"Vinny uses time-travel to put them back a few minutes before they were captured." Soren replied. "As far as I know, this is the fifth time that anyone's ever done that. The last time I know of was also by Jenny Sterling."

"Do you know her?" Rosaleya asked, since Nova hadn't announced her full name.

"She's the neighbor I told you about. The one-"

"-one that doesn't like sweets." Rosaleya and Soren said together.

There were six villains within the cage: 14, 24, 31, 35, 37, 39. 14, the warlord, belonged to Celeste due to a 'win' bet she'd placed on him in the last five minutes open for placing bets. 24, the South American drug cartel leader, and 39, the male doctor, belonged to Claudia and Easton due to their 'Cause of Death' bets for 'poisoned water'. 31 belonged to the demon lady cosplaying Glenda from The Wizard of Oz. 35 belonged to Dante and Eric due to a 'win' bet they'd placed him. 37 belonged to a demon cosplaying a sheikh. 9 had belonged to Mrs. Sterling, who had chosen to release him in the hopes of a later payoff.

"And what to do about you, young man?" Nova addressed the bartender. "It doesn't count as winning if you don't pass through an exit. If you don't do something...well, I'm afraid I'll have to count your static stance as a 'surrender'. " He grinned, then spoke in a sing-song voice. "And everyone knows what happens to those who surrender!"

Rosaleya tapped on Soren's shoulder when Nova didn't explain. "What-"

"-the hosts get to keep the ones who surrender." Soren informed. "I think they should be let go, because technically they didn't die or win, so it's not covered in the bets."

Celeste watched eagerly for the bartender to reply, but he continued to ignore Nova. I won't tell August what happens so he can have a bit of fun guessing about it. If he asks, of course I'll explain.

"I think the hosts should get to keep them. If it was as easy as staying put, wouldn't everyone do it?" Rosaleya asked.

"No, because only a few people at most would think to stay put. The hosts didn't state that it was a way to win, and even you and I didn't think to stay at the starting point. I think it's unfair."

"Why, they're bad guys." Rosaleya said.

"You still have to be fair." Soren replied.

"They're bad guys." Jade said. "What're they going to go do with the 'fairness' you give them? More bad stuff!"

"Okay, I see your point." Rosaleya lied to Soren, then silently agreed with Jade.

Soren clenched his teeth; he only knew that she'd lied to him because of his power, but he said nothing. He'd have to find a way to explain it to her properly later, perhaps with a strong example. For now, he'd have to pretend that she didn't lie to him about understanding.

"You have one minute. You may demonstrate that you are not surrendering by leaving the starting point or explaining that you're doing some sort of planning within your mind." Nova said to the bartender. "Ooooone...two, three, fooooooooooooour..." He found it more fun to sing the words along to the current opera song than let the hologram stopwatch do its job.

"Ms. Envy?" The sheikh approached Celeste politely, standing three feet away from her table. He spoke humbly, as if he was honored she didn't immediately banish him from her sight. "May I donate my winnings to you? I think you would have a better use for my prize than I." He bowed, awaiting her reply.

Celeste thought for a moment. "...I will give it to the king whose prescence graces my table." She gestured grandly to August. "If that idea satisfies you, be my guest. Otherwise, you know how I handle unsolicited gifts."

"Of course. I would be honored to gift it to your...human." The sheikh stood straight, speaking to Celeste as if August was not in the room. He didn't even look his way. "Shall I handle it with the host?"

"Yes." Celeste replied before coldly turning away to pointedly give all her attention to August. She spoke to him without any regard for whether the 'sheikh' was out of sight or not. "He keeps trying to give me gifts. I think he wants to date me." She joked, as if it wasn't obvious. "Anyone who is foolish enough to give me unsolicited gifts gets them slashed or burnt or ruined in some way, and strewn all over their doorsteps." She smiled. "I want to make sure that I'm not giving them the wrong impression." Her smile widened, exposing her pristine white teeth.

"Fifty niiiiine, sixty!-" Nova finished, levitating the bartender into the cage. "-I reserve the bartender for myseeeeeelf!" He sang the final notes of the song with the intended lyrics.

Vinny shrugged, not having any desire for him anyway.

Malice seemed a bit disappointed that she hadn't reserved him first, but seeing as Nova had done the majority of the work for tonight's event, she felt that it was fair for him to do so.

"Aaaaaaaaallright!" Nova pumped his fists happily. "Now," He turned serious again "for tonight's winners, I'll be handling deliveries myself. I'd like a show of hands for everyone who would prefer to collect their prizes directly from the cage!" He looked around at all the winners, his eyes travelling back and forth until they rested on a winner who raised their hand.

 

[Hikari Chan]

Lily looked up, feeling slightly surprised when she felt someone tapping on her shoulder.

”Hey, what are you spacing out for?” Pegah looked down at her, before taking a seat beside her.

”Oh it’s nothing. I was just brooding over this weird situation that has affected us negatively,” Lily replied.

”Is everything okay? It’s not like you to brood over things.”

”Well, I just…I was not expecting this to happen at all. A random student killing two other students.”

”Yes, it feels so random and unexpected. It would have been a different case, had it been a Slytherin killing other students from other houses. But since Lord Voldemort’s followers are the ones in the power now, I would rather expect the opponent to attack to try to get back at us. But in this weird case, none of the Slytherins were involved.”

”Whatever, this whole fricking thing has now deprived me of my freedom. I do not know how I am going to hold up until Christmas.”

”Do not worry, I and Persephone will entertain you so time will pass faster than the blink of the eye.” Pegah laughed.

”As always. But I will miss the fun with feeding my failed cooking attempts to Flynn Pyrites!”

”Merlin’s beard. Are you still holding a grudge to him? Just leave him alone, or I will take it as you secretly like him,” Pegah giggled.

”Shut up! I don’t.”

”Sure. Holding a grudge for so long, you sure are so irreconcilable.”

”Anyway,” Lily shrugged, changing the subject. ”What is it taking the professors so long to escort us to our dorms? I am losing my patience!”

”It is because the professors have been given strict orders to escort the students divided in years and house, and two of the professors are still at the party, which is also slowing the process down a bit. It’s one of the Dolohovs and Wilkes. Only Wilkes and Gibbon can access the Hufflepuff’s common room and dorms, and since Wilkes has not returned from the party yet, it leaves Gibbon alone. So it is going a bit slower for her escorting the Hufflepuffers. They cannot have others unrelated to access any house, let’s say Muliciber entering Hufflepuff’s common room, or the students won’t be happy about it. It’s already enough with the fact the majority of the staff are past Slytherins. This just applies to the professors of course, which leaves the headmaster and headmistress free to enter any of the houses, but they cannot leave the Great Hall for some reason-”

”So what? Salazar Slytherin was one of the founders of this school, so what if his house controlled the entire school?”

”Because that will turn three houses against one. Merlin’s beard, Lily, I thought you were smarter than this. Anyway, you will soon be able to leave the Great Hall. Slytherins are the next after Ravenclaws. As soon as all Hufflepuffers have been escorted to their house, Ravenclaws will be the next and they will be faster since they have three professors who can take care of them. You won’t be waiting so long, since there are more professors related to Slytherin in comparison to the other houses. Gryffindors are the last ones to leave Great Hall.”

”So you are telling me that they are escorting one house at a time? And each house divided in their years…like first years, second years…and so on?”

”Yes, that’s what I said in the beginning. Are you even listening to me?”

”Of course, I am listening, but you are being unclear to me!”

”Sure, unless if you are half-focusing on what I am telling you because of thinking of someone special, hehe. Tell me, did you enjoy dancing with him?”

”Well, I enjoyed dancing with him, but it’s not like what you think. I mean we just become acquaintances with each other…and he is a friendly person.”

”Then why are you still holding your grudge against him?”

”Grudge? Are we even talking about the same person? Did you not see who I danced with most of the time?”

”I was too occupied to notice your partner. I thought you danced with Flynn.”

”Merlin’s hairy beard. I…well Persephone set me up with him and I did not realize that I shared one dance with him until after we parted. I did not recognize him in his weird costume. ” And I cannot believe that I enjoyed dancing with him, believing that he was someone else…ugh…”So, tell me, why are they escorting one year of one house at a time?” Lily asked to change the subject as she did not wish to talk about her encounter with Flynn at the party.

”I think that they do not want to cause any turmoil.” Pegah shrugged. ”Since a lot is going on at the moment, with the minister and officials and guards, and the family members of the murdered and vanished boys, being here. And the culprit is still here under the personnel's surveillance. So…” Pegah’s serious look changed to a teasing one. ”…tell me more about your dance with Flynn…” She winked.

”Don’t you have anything better to do?” Lily was feeling annoyed. She had had already enough dealing with miss Taylor who had mistaken her as a rival.

”That’s a good question. It depends on who it is and if their guidance can be of any use to give me clues about the road ahead. And if that person can assure me of being trustworthy.”

…Merlin’s beard…most of the traps aren’t magical and are something these fools should be able to overcome, what if they had been chased by real dragons….or let’s make it easier for them since they are just muggles, and let’s have them chased by werewolves, vampires, or red caps. Yes, red caps would have caused such chaos among these muggles…August could not help but laugh out loud as he imagined the muggles being chased by red caps in the maze. He laughed even harder as he imagined how the nun and the priest would act if they were being chased by red caps who would beat the crap out of them as soon as they caught up. August soon calmed down when the event went on and reached its climax at where the general and African warlord met and he was excited about how the fight between them would unfold. He almost dropped his jaw when he saw a totally different outcome.

"Did you expect that ending?" Celeste asked, turning to August without changing her expression.

-No, not at all! I was expecting them to fight each other.” …How boring, it would have been fun to cast the imperious spell on them and order them to duel each other…but I am not allowed to interfere with the game in this maze. What a pity…well let’s see how this even will end like…I should have placed my bet on the African warlord, had I known a little more about him. As a wizard, I am superior to the muggles. It’s hard to measure the strength between muggles when all they have are muggle weapons. With just Aveda Kedavra, the African warlord would be killed like a fly and he is being so arrogant thinking that he will be able to skin us alive…pft…

When the game ended, August was not surprised that he had not won. He already knew when the game had been going on for a bit, that he had lost his bet. He was feeling very happy that Celeste had won and did not care if he lost himself. It had been entertaining to watch the game, hence he did not regret staying with Celeste for this. He was about to congratulate her when he noticed a guest, dressed in an odd costume with long robes, approaching them, and addressing Celeste as Ms. Envy.

Oh my, first prince and now king. She is being so cute. I cannot feel more than honored to receive such noble titles by her. But why is that man being so rude….’your human’?…he probably cannot see the difference between a wizard and a muggle…

”I see…so this is not the first time he is trying to gift you…well, it is very generous of you to give one of your gifts to me. I cannot thank you enough," he flashed one of his heart-melting smiles and kissed the top of her hand. "...so when these muggles become our properties, it means we can do whatever we like with them..like torture them as we please..?” He smiled wickedly, already knowing the answer.

Melody felt slightly confused and wondered how the winnings were determined. …Did I miss something at the start of the event…and why didn’t Reign win a price?… She had been hoping to torture at least one or two of the prisoners. During the event, rather than focusing on it, she had daydreamed about what she could have done with them, imagining herself, in her wildest fantasies, conjuring her vines and catching one of them in her trap and stretching their limbs until they burst, the blood splattering like raindrops over the maze, then catching another one in a strangling trap until her victim turned blue and black, and another one whom she would feed thorned vines and tear up the victim’s abdomen and intestines. She was feeling disappointed that the event had ended and that she had not fully enjoyed it. It had been boring just to watch the victims to either kill each other with muggle weapons or fall in the muggle traps, hence why she had not focused on the event but rather daydreamed about what she could have done to the prisoners. She glanced curiously at Reign as she wondered if he had found the torture show exciting or not.

Flynn escorted the last group of Gryffindors to their common room, giving each one of them a cup of hot and soothing chocolate dripping with sleep potion, which he had prepared earlier. It had been an easy task since he had not needed to create any potion but to get some by Mulciber and just add it to the hot chocolate, that he already had in store. That was the main reason why the escorted the students divided into their years per house at a time. It was all to buy the staff time, to put the Gryffindors into a deep sleep, so they could easily take the oldest Potter to their test subject. Not only the Gryffindors but also the other houses were given hot chocolate. When the last student had fallen asleep, Persephone altered their memories only to the extent to make them forget about a certain student called James Sirius Potter, while Flynn made sure to dispose of all of his belongings, making it look that the oldest Potter never existed. When the Pyrites siblings were done, the latter brought the sleeping James Sirius Potter to the room where Cattermole was held captive. Flynn took a different route, a deserted corridor that was currently unguarded and that none would use, instead of the usual way to the Great Hall from where the side room also could be accessed.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

”I cannot thank you enough," August flashed one of his heart-melting smiles and kissed the top of her hand. "...so when these muggles become our properties, it means we can do whatever we like with them..like torture them as we please..?” He smiled wickedly, already knowing the answer.

Celeste's equally wicked smile answered for her. "I was wondering if you wanted to stay the night at my place and torture them together in the morning?" Her expression informed him that she wasn't insinuating anything by the words 'stay the night', she merely meant sleeping under the same roof. "I'm excited to show you my home. I wonder if you'll like it." The last test for tonight requires him to remain by my side. I can't let him leave me, yet.

Reign had already foreseen how the event would play out, so he wandered freely in his thoughts. When Melody turned to him, he felt she'd been doing the same. He stood, offering his hand to her in a nonverbal agreement that it was their time to leave the party. There were nights when he founds these events entertaining, and nights when he wandered in his thoughts.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"...Well..." August seemed to ponder about Celeste's request for a moment before answering her truthfully. He found her invite so sudden and it had taken him by surprise. ...that was quite bold of her...I hope she has a guest room ready for me then because I would never share a bed with a woman before marriage no matter how close we are... "...I would love to see your home, stay over at your place for the night, but I have not prepared anything for a sleepover at your place. If I had only known before this party, I would have prepared my night robes, my usual daily attire, and other necessities. I am free tomorrow and I do not teach any class until after the lunch hour on Mondays, though may I propose a suggestion, please. I just need to fetch a small suitcase with the things I need for staying over the night at your place. I won't take so long, since I will only be packing a few clothes and necessities. And in return, I wish to invite you to my place another weekend."

Melody felt so stuffed of being indoors for so long, that she was feeling relieved to leave the place. The night's cool breeze was refreshing, and with the starry night above and matching attires, the night felt so magical that she hardly felt any sleepiness and wished to take a walk with Reign before parting with him.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Reign walked alongside Melody for a while in silence, enjoying the change of scenery. He planned to walk without a destination in mind through this countryside, until Melody seemed sleepy. Then he'd offer to escort her back to the castle via portal.

"There were no ghouls this time?" Rosaleya asked.

"They took their winnings 'to go'." Soren replied, finding it funny that Rosaleya hadn't considered that as the reason she hadn't seen any 'ghouls' eating here. "Out of consideration for the human guests."

"And in return, I wish to invite you to my place another weekend."

"I'd be honored." Celeste briefly imagined what his house would be like for the fiftieth time. "So, a portal back to your house?" She offered. "I'll come back here until you're ready. Tell me how long you think you'll need to pack." And I'll come back when you're ready. I don't want to wait around and do nothing while you prepare yourself. There'd be no reason to waste time, and that might make you feel rushed as well. If he passes tonight's test...I truly would be honored to visit his home. She stood, listening to his reply as they left the pumpkin together.

Her reply to his was interrupted by Malice and Dante blocking the exit.

Malice politely curtsied to August before turning to Celeste "Before you go-" she grinned "-we need you to place your bet."

"Oh, I almost forgot." Celeste laughed.

"I'm betting The Muppet Show's opening theme." Dante replied, speaking directly to Celeste and completely ignoring August.

"We usually bet on which song Nova will sing when he's drunk at a party." Celeste explained to August with a wide smile, her mind racing through the songs Nova had previously sung and the ones he was most likely to sing. She knew better than to ask Malice, since she usually kept it a secret so she wouldn't be embarrassed if she lost the bet. To prove that she didn't simply cheat and say 'that's what I thought' when Nova started singing, she wrote it down on a piece of paper and gave it to Asmodeus. Post-party, in times Malice claimed she'd won, the other demons in their group of friends would check with Asmodeus to confirm. The winner got to decide what they'd all do together when they hung out at their next demons-only fun session.

"Damien's betting 'Like a Surgeon', Eric's betting 'the Rye or the Kaiser," Damien listed "Claudia's betting Ozzy's 'I am Santa Claus', Easton's betting 'She's a Lady', Rosaleya and Soren haven't bet, yet-"

"-I'll ask them after you-" Malice replied.

"-and that leaves you. Asmodeus and Diana aren't betting this time." Dante finished.

"Well..." Celeste put a finger to her chin, jokingly imitating Nova since everyone knew she usually chose her bet well before every event. "...I choose 'Pure Imagination'."

"Risky...he hasn't sang that one before." Dante shook his head. "Maybe you should pick anoth-"

"-it's fine." Malice interrupted. "Good luck." She stepped out of Celeste and August's way, pulling Dante away as well before he tried to talk to Celeste any more.

"Thank you." Celeste replied. She turned back to August. "What was I saying? I'm sure I was saying something..." She tried to remember what it was. The distraction had made her forget where they were in the conversation.

"What song do you think Nova will sing?" Malice asked Rosaleya.

Dante had left to speak with Vinny on his way out. Vinny needed to get some sleep or he'd never be able to get through his work tomorrow.

"Hmm? I don't understand. Is there a karaoke section to this party?" Rosaleya asked.

Soren explained to her.

"Oh...uhm...We'll be leaving soon, actually, so-"

"Even if you leave the party, we'll tell you what he sang." Malice promised.

"What's Nova like when he's drunk?" Maybe I should stay later and see for myself it it's too funny.

"Like regular Nova, but with more singing." Malice replied.

"That's..." Soren thought about it for a moment. "...accurate." Soren confirmed.

"What songs has he sung before?" Rosaleya asked.

"That's cheating." Malice smiled. "Novices to this game aren't allowed to know, and wishing is against the rules."

"How did you know I was thinking-"

"-because I asked that when I first started playing." Malice replied.

"Okay...can I have a few minutes to think about it?"

"Of course." Malice replied.

"When does the betting window close?"

Malice looked over at Nova, who hadn't had a single drink yet. "Five minutes."

"Thanks." Rosaleya put her hands over her eyes as Malice walked away. Jade put his hands over her ears. "Just gimme a few minutes." She said to Soren.

Athena walked by to say goodbye, but Soren gestured that she shouldn't bother Rosaleya. "She's thinking." He whispered to her as they hugged goodbye.

"That hard? About what?" Athena asked, speaking quietly.

"The 'Drunk Nova' bet."

"Ooohhh." Athena nodded. "Too bad." She tapped Rosaleya on the shoulder as soon as she left Soren's hug. "Catch ya later." Athena smiled, hugging Rosaleya as soon as she lowered her hands.

When Athena left, Rosaleya returned to her thinking. She went through a bunch of songs in her head, but eventually came up with nothing. A minute later, she opened her eyes and Jade removed his hands.

Somehow, Malice was already there as if she'd expected her to be ready now.

"I don't have anything. I won't bet this time. Can you still tell me?"

"Just ask Asmodeus who won." Malice replied. "Au revoir." She curtsied to Rosaleya, then walked to the drinks table. She picked up a strawberry daiquiri, then approached Nova. "Here you go." She smiled.

"Oh, it's the little temptress." Nova laughed, taking the drink.

"I'll bring you a different drink every time." Malice smiled.

"Excellent." Nova nodded in approval, taking a sip before returning to his conversation with Mrs. Sterling.

Malice walked away with a wide grin.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"There's no need for a portal, but thank you for the offering. You may wait here, as I return with my suitcase. I won't take long-"

...Why the bloody hell, are they blocking the doorway...? August thought annoyingly. He briefly heard Celeste's explanation, but he did not care the slightest about a silly betting game and wondered how much of his time they were going to waste discussing what songs the drunken host would sing. He gave Malice a thankful glance for pulling Dante away when Celeste had finally placed her bet. Even if the distraction had only taken a brief minute, Celeste seemed to have forgotten what she had been saying before being interrupted and hence August thought she had probably forgotten what he said.

"Please wait here until I return. I'll be back in less than an hour!" He squeezed her hand gently before letting go and apparating away in the dark night.

"So you have finally decided to return. I thought you were not going to return before the dawn..." was Quinn's only greeting to August when he appeared by the gates. He was not only surprised to see her, but also surprised to see the guards. "Are they still at the party?" She asked before he had a chance to reply. "...Miss Lovett, Mr. Dantes, and Mr. McCunnen..." She then specified.

"Probably, why don't you send Mulciber for them or just wait for them until they return? They are not my students to take care of." August shrugged. "By the way, what's going on with all these guards here all of sudden? As far as I can recall, we have never been guarding the gates before..."

"It's a long story, if you are not in a hurry, I could fill you in," She spoke to his back as he walked past.

"Make it short," He turned around to face her.

"A student murdering two other students..."

"And you have to gather the entire force from the Ministry of Magic for just that?" He sneered.

"And you think it's just simple as that? You have not heard the confession of the convicted student. You all left Hogwarts for a stupid dress-up party, leaving a few staff patrolling the place." She spoke with such passion, not caring to suppress her anger.

"Well, blame the d*** headmaster for giving the students more freedom than they deserve and allowing outsiders to enter our wizarding school. If I had been in his place, I would have expelled
the three particular students, who you are waiting for to return, along with miss Fairbrook for all trouble they have caused."

Quinn swallowed bitterly as averted her gaze and avoided eye-contact with August, who just turned around and walked away. She did not like hearing him curse Elias and she could not help but hate herself for being unable to say anything to defend Elias and for finding herself partly agreeing with August. ...As much as I hate to admit it, he is right...we gave the students too much freedom than they deserved and we did not punish the troublemakers good enough...anyway, what's done cannot be undone. All we can do is try to solve this case, prevent repeating the same mistakes, and protect the students and this school...

While she was waiting for miss Lovett, Mr. Dantes, and Mr. McCunnen to return, she was surprised to see August exiting the gates all of sudden. She noticed the suitcase in his hand but did not bother to stop him. ...Well, we can always find a replacement if he has decided to quit...She thought bitterly.

"I hope I did not keep you waiting for too long!" August smiled, feeling totally carefree as if nothing unusual had happened at Hogwarts at all. He had only taken less than an hour to return to where he had left Celeste waiting, approximately about forty-five minutes, just as he had promised.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"Please wait here until I return. I'll be back in less than an hour!" He squeezed her hand gently before letting go and apparating away in the dark night.

"Alright." Celeste managed to reply before he slipped away. She made for the drinks table, selecting her favorite drink.

"So you've never read the book? How come?" Rosaleya asked as they made their way to Claudia and Easton's table to say goodbye.

"I didn't know there was one." Soren replied. "I thought Miyazaki wrote Howl's Moving Castle completely from his own imagination. Do you have a copy?"

"No...I read...I 'listened' to the audiobook. It was this sweet British lady narrating...she did the best voices I've ever heard for a free audiobook. This one time I tried to listen to one of Makishima's favorite books online, but the reader's voice was so depressing it kept making me sleepy. You can bet that I read that book as soon as I learned how to make wishes." She smiled. "It was a very interesting book, too. Howl's Moving Castle was more like a super sweet dessert...I would 'eat' a chapter before bed and it would let me have the sweetest dreams. 1984 was like an appetizer with exotic spices. It was new and interesting but I was hungry afterwards."

Soren smiled "The way you describe things...It makes me want to pinch your cheeks."

"You can if you want." Rosaleya said seriously.

"I'll pinch them off." Soren smiled wider.

Rosaleya cupped her cheeks as if she was protecting them. "Nooo!" She joked. "Goodnight." She said to Claudia.

"Goodnight, dear." Claudia replied with a sweet smile.

They all exchanged goodbyes, then Soren and Rosaleya made their way towards the exit.

"I'm leaving the car here for Mom and Dad." Soren explained as he opened a portal, holding it open for her.

"Okay. Where are we going?" She asked as she walked through.

"Our home." Soren replied, looking up at the grand castle towering over them.

"This is your home?" Jade asked in disbelief.

"Now that the 'Opera Man'-" Nova said in a jokingly snobby voice "-has left, let's have a show of hands for our non-banned genres, shall we?"

The pumpkin began slowly reversing its transformation, returning to its 'ballroom mode'.

The majority vote ended up being 'Disco', followed closely by 'Hard Rock'.

"Just like old times?" Easton smiled, standing and kissing Claudia's hand.

"We'll dance until sunrise." Claudia smiled, standing as well.

Easton carried her over to the dance floor, and they began dancing to the disco music together.

At 'Glenda's' request, Nova began dancing the hustle with her. He accepted a lemon daiquiri from Malice before beginning a second dance with 'Glenda'.

Athena and the Masked Man were surprised to see Soren joining them as they walked the short way from their portals to the Hogwarts gates.

"I thought you were going home with Rosaleya tonight?" She asked.

"I'm feeling tired." Soren replied.

Oh...I see what happened. Athena nodded. I hope you have a good night, then.

The Masked Man stopped, grabbed him by the collar and looked into his eyes.

Soren only smiled weakly in confusion.

The Masked Man let go and they continued walking toward the gates. By the time the Masked Man had figured it out, they were already standing in front of the professor. This Soren was a fake.

"It's like a fairy tale castle." Rosaleya breathed, looking up at the picturesque medieval fairy tale castle. "You just opened a portal to a museum or tourist attraction somewhere, right?" She demanded jokingly. "Don't joke about this." She turned serious despite her grin; she felt serious but her mouth seemed to find his prank funny. "Please just tell me? I'm not joking, I'm serious."

Soren laughed at her contradictions. "This is really my house. I'll prove it to you with a tour. " He squatted in front of her. "Come on. I'll give you a ride."

"...I don't want to break your back." Rosaleya replied.

"I'm two hundred pounds. You're, what, a hundred?-"

"-A hundred and three-" Rosaleya corrected.

"-I'm basically twice your weight-I can bench more than that." He rolled his eyes. "Hop on-"

"-I've already got one." Rosaleya replied. "But I'll admit...I never thought of using Jade like this." She said.

Jade was giving her a piggy back ride instead, supporting the area under her knees with his hands as she loosely looped her arms around his neck.

"Onward." Rosaleya said seriously.

Soren rose with a shrug, then walked inside. The drawbridge magically lowered for them, giving them a safe path across the moat. The front doors magically opened for them.

The entrance hall had a high, grand ceiling with rainbow crystal chandeliers and Christmas lights hung on the crown moulding. Stairs led right and left, and a large archway opposite the door with sliding glass doors led to a large backyard where the courtyard would've been.

"That way." Rosaleya pointed forwards, choosing to explore the backyard.

Outside, a huge, heart-shaped pool had five differently colored and structured water slides leading into it. The triangular tip of the heart was a large jacuzzi. Two white gazebos with pink rose vines winding around the pillars stood to the far right and left of the backyard. Thick, soft, neatly-trimmed grass covered the ground. Jagged, slate tiles formed pathways from one entrance to another, and to each tower. Along the courtyard's perimeter was a line of tiki torches spaced six feet apart, giving the whole scene a warm glow.

"Is this a hotel?" Rosaleya asked. It didn't seem like a tourist attraction or museum would look like this.

"Mixing modern inventions with medieval architecture is something demons do well." Jade pointed out. "Who knows how long they've been doing it for?"

"Or is it a demon museum?" Rosaleya asked, agreeing with Jade.

"To both...where's the front desk?" Soren smirked. "Stop playing around. You know what this is. Just believe it already."

"Where's your room?"

"Inside, take the left staircase-" he gestured behind them, to the entrance hall "-or across the backyard to the north-west tower. There are six: mine-" he pointed to the north-west tower "-mother's-" he pointed to the one behind his "-father's-" he pointed to the one across from Claudia's "-and Athena's." he pointed to the one across from his. "Those two-" he gestured to one tower with each hand; the towers behind them, on either side of the entrance hall "-are guest towers. Each tower functions like an apartment, with hallways connecting them all, and the main stuff over there." he pointed across the courtyard to an archway with a set of sliding glass doors identical to the ones they'd walked through "Kitchen, library, stuff like that. Athena says you can stay in her room while you're here. The guest towers aren't occupied right now, so it's a suggestion." Soren said in reply to her thought.

I guess they aren't occupied, then. Rosaleya thought. As much as she wanted to roll around in this luscious grass, she needed to see a personalized space to make her mind believe that this place was actually someone's home. Too good to be true....who lives in a hotel that happens to look like the literal home of my dreams? But I guess, compared to Nova's home, this could be considered normal.

Jade made for Soren's tower, and Rosaleya twisted the handle of the oval shaped door. Inside was a large, round living room with another door on the east wall of the room. Rosaleya knew right away that that door led to the room above. She busied herself absorbing every detail of the living room, and Jade spun slowly to assist her. Then, he walked around as close to the walls as possible to let her view everything closer. After Soren had closed the door, he took a seat on the couch and continued with a crossword puzzle he'd left out. He ended up with his hand frozen in mid air, the pencil tip an inch above the paper, watching her reactions instead.

The entire north wall was made of glass, revealing a lovely view of the moon shining over the moat. Magic blinds lifted and lowered at the touch of a button on the wall. Otherwise, the room didn't have any other traces of magic. The couches, ottoman, walls, and concrete floor were stark white like some sci-fi film. A 30-inch diameter cone pendant light in the center of the room supplied light so bright it hurt Rosaleya's eyes to look directly at the cone. The only black items were the seventy-inch plasma screen television, the PS4 and controllers, and his laptop. The cherry wood television console and writing desk were both glossy and spotless. Rosaleya had imagined Soren to be the type of person who'd prefer dimmer switches, but he had simple on and off switches. There was a control panel with a lock on it and a clear plastic cover.

"It's so...clean." Rosaleya said in surprise. "Secretly...I imagined you to be the messy type."

"Like your Dad?" Soren raised an eyebrow. The eyebrow seemed to scorn her for even imagining it. "A bit of OCD is healthy. Besides...you're thinking of Athena's room."

"Oh." Rosaleya said quietly. "Okay...can we go upstairs now?" She pointed to the door.

"Sure." Soren replied, holding the next door open.

From where Rosaleya stood, the stairs looked narrow. It turned out to be much wider once you stepped onto it, with walls on either side instead of railings. The staircase round up, turning a left a bit. Rosaleya imagined that the stairs were winding around the outside of the tower, hence the ceiling and walls surrounding them. The ceiling and walls got a bit higher around the fortieth step, until they merged with the bedroom at the fiftieth step.

Jade spun slowly in the center at first, then walked around the edges again. Here, everything was stark white except for the items on his desk, and the lighting was the same as downstairs. Rosaleya noticed there were no windows, just white walls and and air conditioning vents. His desk was near the west wall, covered in his double-monitor gaming pc, headset, mouse, and microphone, and a bunch of demonic packaged ramen, chips, and desserts.

"Mother puts things like that for me sometimes. My desk's usually neater." Soren said, putting the snacks away in a small white cabinet under his desk.

A bookshelf contained a bunch of pc and PS4 games, anime dvds, light novels, and manga. Rosaleya wasn't aware of the secret reverse side of the bookshelf, which contained plethora of HD hentai dvds, manga, and R18 figures.

In the bathroom, his white shower curtain had a life-sized print of Rick Sanchez doing his 'peace among worlds' pose. His bathroom wall tiles were stark white, and the large rectangular window arched outwards for a spaceship aesthetic. A three-dimensional floor painting of a bridge crossing over an animated outer space spiced up the otherwise plain white floor. The lighting was provided through pendant lights resembling the solar system. A large, deep bathtub stood near the window. One body wash, shampoo, and a bar of soap stood on nearby shelves. He kept his manual and electric toothbrushes at the opposite side of the bathroom, atop a medicine cabinet.

"Can I see Athena's room now?" Rosaleya asked.

"Cross the hall-" Soren pointed to a door on the east side of the room. "-and you'll be there. Do as much exploring as you want. Anything locked means it's private, so don't worry. I'm going to bed." He yawned. He knew it would be much better if he washed up before bed. It was very tempting to skip it, so he wanted to start now.

"Bye." Rosaleya said, and Jade marched out of the room at top speed.

"I guess he was just too tired to show us much more. It was really weird how everything was so...white, though, right?" Jade said.

"Yeah. There weren't even any windows in his room. That's really weird. I know there was a bathroom window but..." She shrugged. "...I don't know how he can feel tired right now...this place is awesome." She looked around at the hallway; it had a sturdy roof, and a waist-high balustrade on either side. On the left was a clear view of the backyard. The night air blew in, leading Rosaleya to wonder how cold the hallway felt in the winter. Maybe it magically transforms into a closed hallway instead of an outdoor one? In the middle of the hallway, a door gave the option to stop and go left. Soon, Jade was twisting the handle of Athena's door at the end of the hallway. A note on the door said 'no outdoor shoes inside'. Rosaleya took off her shoes and carried them with her.

Athena’s bed was a large, comfy bright red hammock. A note on it said:

It throws you off suddenly to take up. It's better than an alarm clock!

Athena's floor was completely covered by a wild mess of legos, wooden and magnetic building blocks, anime music and drama cds, plushies, and pc and PS4 games. Her manga and light novels were stacked haphazardly on a bookshelf near her desk, and a few figures were leaning against each other or lying down on the highest shelf, even if they were meant to stand straight. Three inches above the mess, semi-transparent pink foam tatami mats created a maneuverable floor. They had edges that connected like puzzle pieces. Beaded curtains separated the room into two halves, with walnut-sized beads shaped like human skulls. Exactly half of her bedroom walls were window panes. The skylights and wall-windows connected to make the room look much larger than it was, and give a lovely view of the bustling demonic city three streets down. The other half of her room was made up of walls a shade directly between pink and white, and decorated with a bunch of anime posters. A note on the wall explained that she'd wished for one poster from each anime she liked, in high quality and with tons of bright colors. Athena's favorite characters from each anime were all eating their favorite foods, and in fun places like a cafe or the beach. In some posters, characters were gender-swapped. Rosaleya didn't recognize three sets of characters from the posters. They were the ones from Hazbin Hotel, The Owl House, and Happy Tree Friends; cartoons which Rosaleya hadn't watched. Nearly every poster was three-dimensional and moving slightly so as not to be too distracting. Multicolored Chinese paper lanterns hung along the non-window walls, giving that half a warm, glowing feeling. Athena's desk had the same gaming equipment as his, and her desk was walnut wood. Chill lofi played at a background-music volume. Rosaleya slid down Jade's back and lied down on the mats very close to the window, wanting to enjoy the view for a moment before rising again to wash up. A note crinkled quietly under her leg, and Jade slid it out from under her to read:

I fall asleep on the floor a lot. The mats have a cushioning charm, so it's soft. Try it.

Rosaleya noticed that Athena's tower had a balcony with walnut hardwood flooring. On it, a bright purple pop up tent was set up. Further down, Rosaleya could see the edge of an infinity pool. This is so...perfect. She fell asleep.

"How do you fall asleep so fast?" He huffed, shaking her roughly. "Wash up! You'll get cavities." He stood her up when she tried to go back to sleep again.

"Thanks." Rosaleya shook her head quickly to wake up. She opened Athena's closet, and found another note attached to the leftmost light grey hanging fabric laundry basket:

I hate folding clothes, so I just stuff the clean ones in and use a de-wrinkling spell when I want to use them. From right to left, the baskets are: formal, casual, casual, cosplay, dirty, and too small. You'll probably be able to fit these. Once the dirty one is half-full, I do laundry. Don't let it get full. These come to life and vomit dirty clothes all over the room if they get too full. Then they chase you and swallow you until you agree to do laundry. It's to remind kids not to skip laundry days. Worked for me. Soren broke all of his because he wrestled them to death. He filled them up all at once one day on purpose. It was pretty funny, actually.

Rosaleya looked closely at the full baskets. I guess they know the difference between dirty and clean clothes. She put her hand in the basket and pulled out the first two items she found: a pair of fuzzy pajama bottoms that were covered with Kirbys, and a plain grey t-shirt. She shrugged, hung them on the towel rack in the bathroom, and started washing up.

Athena's bathroom had tiled walls and a floor. The wall tiles started off as the same pink shade as her bedroom at the top, then faded to baby blue near the floor. The floor was baby blue. Her bathtub had no shower curtain. Her towels were lilac. In the day time, the bathroom light came from the half of the bathroom that was made of skylights. In the evenings, the lighting came from diamond shaped recessed lights in the non-window half. A line of smaller recessed lights running along the edges of the room were tinted purple, and could be turned on and off separately from the main bathroom lights. Packets of color shampoo in Athena's most recent colors, hair conditioner, and one non-scented body wash stood in a neat row on the shelf near the bath tub. Three bottles of bubble bath were on the shelf below that. One was light purple with a galactic design on the label, labeled 'Galaxy'. The second was baby pink with a desserts design on the label, labeled 'Sweet Dreams'. The third was a light blue with a white label, labeled 'Non-scented'. A note near the bottles read:

Athena doesn't like scented things in the bathroom. The scented bubble baths are for you; I bought two I think you might enjoy. When your stay here is over, you may take them with you, as Athena has no use for them.

~Claudia McCunnen

"Tomorrow." Jade insisted.

When Rosaleya left the bathroom, she barely noticed that the pants were two inches too short. A sign on a line of seven dimmer switches caught her attention.

Jade stood in front of it in an attempt to block her path. "Just go to bed. You need your sleep."

"I'll just read it and go to bed." Rosaleya replied.

Jade moved out of the way, knowing it would take longer for Rosaleya to try going around him than to read the letter.

The note read:

These are the room's Design Controls. Every room in this house has one. From left to right, their functions are:

Area: What are is affected. Floor, ceiling, walls, windows, furniture, everything, etc.
Color 1: Basic colors
Color 2: All variations and shades of that color.
Texture: Wood, marble, concrete, grass, glass, etc.
Temperature
Weather Effects: Sprinkle, light rain, heavy rain, snow, warm wind, cold wind, etc.
Sounds: Nature sounds, rain on the roof, birds chirping, strong wind, crickets, cicadas, traffic, etc.

You can mess with my room all you want because I've got this theme saved under 'Athena'. I made it a non-deletable theme, so don't worry, you can't accidentally delete it. If you don't like what you made or need more help, talk to the panel. Address it as 'Mr. Design Control'.

Rosaleya opened her mouth to try it with a giggle, but Jade interrupted her.

"-We'll try this tomorrow, and do more exploring." Jade promised, picking her up and lying her on the hammock, which was somehow even comfier than the floor. "Ssh! Get to sleep." He insisted when she tried to address the panel anyway.

Rosaleya fell asleep in a few seconds, and Jade slept in the starfish position nearby.

Nova downed a mango daiquiri, then continued dancing with Celeste.

"I've got to go." Celeste hugged Nova, who insisted on kissing her forehead before she left. At the thirty minute mark, she left to stand near where August had left her.

"I hope I did not keep you waiting for too long!" August smiled.

"Not at all." She smiled to August. She opened a portal in front of them, and they stepped through.

They appeared on a grassy hill. In the distance, a demonic residential area with wide cobbled streets was visible. The streets were lined with tiki torches leading to different houses. Like in the demon realm, each house was unique and quite unlike the other.

"Our house is up on the hill. I hope you don't mind a short walk?" She smiled jokingly, nodding to a nearby hill. "Dante won't be coming home tonight." She added positively. She thought that he might want to know where on Earth he was, so she explained. "...This is a demon city in Rome." She didn't explain anything about the demonic cities around the world, since all the information was already written in the scroll she'd given him.

Suddenly, the area around them went dark, as if nature had cut the power. Everything was pitch black, without even a star in the sky. And then, they both lost consciousness.

August awoke to the uncomfortable sensation of being drenched with a bucket of bone-chilling water.

"Ah, you're awake." Asmodeus smiled sadistically. "Good. You'll tell me if you have anything to do with this one?" He nodded in disgust towards Celeste, who was attempting to discreetly release herself from her bonds. Asmodeus was dressed in an all-black pinstripe suit, with the blazer hanging on a plastic chair nearby and his sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Both Celeste and August were bound tightly to separate chairs, feet away from each other. Their things were spread about the floor, including anything that'd' been in their pockets. They were all in a room lined with slimy dark brown tiles which smelled strongly of sulfur, and with no ventilation besides the thin gap under the heavy metal door; the only exit.

"I told you already I just met him yesterday!" Celeste insisted. "He has nothing to do with me. You have no reason to punish him."

Asmodeus held up the scroll Celeste had given to August. He held it so close to the latter's face he would've gone cross-eyed trying to focus on it. "You were caught accepting human lives at an illegal betting event. Were you forced into accepting them?" He glared at August.

"He didn't accept any, just me, I swear-"

"-That's enough from you." Asmodeus turned to her coldly, injecting something into her arm via syringe. A few seconds later she fell unconscious. He returned to August soon after. "Demonic laws might condone your actions, but angelic laws don't. If you tell me that you have nothing to do with her, or that she forced you into attending the event with her, you may leave. Who knows...she could've planted that scroll on you like she did with the last one. It wouldn't surprise me. You're free to speak your part." He removed August's gag, then sat down on a plastic chair across from him. "In case you truly aren't familiar with our laws-" he interrupted before August could speak a word "-they forbid the trading, gambling, selling, or gifting of human lives. As angels, we judge those actions as immoral and hence they deserve punishment. For each human life you toyed with, you will permanently lose a limb via a cursed blade. It will never be healed unless you use angelic magic, and no angels will come to your aid. If you insist the blame is all on Ms. Envy-" Asmodeus gestured harshly to Celeste "-she will lose two limbs instead of one, and you will leave unharmed."

 

[Hikari Chan]

"You are finally here!" Quinn was feeling relief when she saw the three remaining students returning from the Halloween party. "However, I cannot allow you to enter the castle just yet." She took out her wand and sent a quick Patronus message to Mulciber. Her Patronus was an English Shepherd, giving a beautiful silvery shine as it flew towards the direction of the castle in the dark night. "You have to wait until your head of the house is here since he is the one being responsible for you. It's unfortunate that things are a bit unusual at the castle at the moment. Professor Mulciber will be here shortly and fill you in with the details."

It took a while until light crunching footsteps could be heard in the distance and soon Mulciber appeared closer to the gates.
"Now that all students have been gathered, I believe I can leave my post," Quinn nodded towards him. "Even if the guards switch for their different shifts, they are still aware of who Wilkes and Dolohov are, hence I do not need to be here waiting for their return. And as for you three," She turned towards Soren, Athena, and the masked student. "Mulciber will be taking you to your dorms soon...and you-" She tapped with her wand on Mulciber's shoulder. "Make sure you explain the new rules for them, thoroughly, even if you have to repeat yourself," She gave him the look that said that he had to be extra clear with miss Lovett, who seemed to like to find loopholes in every bloody rule. Quinn did not desire to tell about the rules herself, since she did not have any patience with troublesome students like miss Lovett.
"Of course. Well, after you..." Mulciber gestured for them to walk ahead while he kept two steps behind them. "We'll have a nice talk in my office before I let you go to your dorms," He told them as soon as they entered the Entrance hall. Quinn walked away to another direction and did not look their way. The sound of her clicking heels against the stone floor, slowly faded into the distance as she walked past the guards and vanished into a corridor, taking another route towards a backdoor of the Great Hall. Guards were positioned everywhere at every door and entrance. Mulciber did not smile, neither did he look angry. It was impossible to tell what he had in mind as he kept a blank and cold expression. There was no trace of the incident that had taken place at Hogwarts as the deceased student had been taken away for burial and the affected family members had left the castle.

"Please make yourself comfortable," Mulciber gestured towards three chairs in front of his desk in his office, waiting for Athena, Soren, and the masked student to take their seats before he positioned himself in front of them. There were four cups of steaming hot beverage. Hot chocolate for the three students and coffee for the professor. Mulciber took a sip of his coffee before he started to speak.
"Unfortunetaly, I have some bad news and it may affect you in one or another way. Due to a recent incident happening this evening, where a very brazen student decided to murder two other fellow students, we have done many sudden changes to the school rules. I will now carefully explain every change of rule and if anyone of you has any question you may ask after I have finished speaking. First of all, students will not be allowed to leave Hogwarts under any circumstance as long as they are enrolled in the classes. With this, your rights to visiting Hogsmeade or other places on the weekends have been revoked. Students may only leave at the end of this semester to visit family members for the winter holidays. When the time comes, anyone who wishes to leave for the holidays will only be allowed to travel home and then return when the next semester starts, with the Hogwarts Express. Other transportation will be strictly prohibited. Second, as long as you are enrolled as students here, every ounce of your magical activity will be monitored by the Ministry of Magic, whenever you are at Hogwarts or outside. Before, the Ministry of Magic used to only monitor underaged students when they weren't at Hogwarts. The difference now is that they will be monitoring all students, whether they are underaged or off age, and including their magical activity at Hogwarts and not just outside the school area. Some places here have been locked and are now guarded as well, meaning that you can only go to and move between the bathrooms, classrooms, library, dorms, common rooms, greenhouses, the Owlery, and the Quidditch Area. Further on, the next rule concerns food and drinks. You may only eat and drink what appears on the tables in the Great Hall. In other words, only what the house-elves here prepare in the kitchen. The food and drinks come directly from the kitchen below and we have placed guards by its entrance. You are not allowed to bring or take out anything edible or drinkable from the Great Hall. If you wonder about the hot chocolate," He nodded towards the cups. "It was prepared by the staff and I added a few drops of sleeping draught to it. We gave it to every student and they were aware of the potion we have added to it. Just so you can sleep in peace tonight. Anyway, besides the restrictions of foods and drinks, you are also not allowed to take anything with you from the Potions or Cooking with Magic class, nor are you allowed to bring anything else besides your books, quills, inkwell, and parchments. Earlier we had a discussion about whether students should be allowed to keep their own inkwells or not and we came to the conclusion that it would be tedious for the staff to provide inkwells all the time, since students may need inkwells outside the classes as well. Anyway, this leads to the final change of rule, namely, you will only be allowed to keep your necessary toiletries, clothes, study books, and other items required for the classes, quills, inkwell, and parchments, brooms, and your wands as well. So, tomorrow we are going to go through all your trunks and belongings. Any liquids, whether they are drinks, potions, perfume, you name it, and anything edible, you will have to send it home. We will also go through your muggle items if you have any and help you to send them home as well. Why these restrictions and new rules, you may ask. The culprit has stolen items from some of the professors' offices and inventories and visited wizarding and muggle stores outside Hogwarts during the weekends, to get the items he needed for murdering two other students. The majority of the students were furious at this news earlier this evening, so I won't be surprised if you are feeling very disappointed. You probably wonder why you have to suffer at the cost of the student who committed a crime today. We are not doing this to make you suffer. On the contrary, we are doing this to protect you, because we are suspecting that we have only caught a scapegoat while the real culprit is hiding. Any questions so far or do you wish to retire for tonight?"

"You bloody lunatic, are you delusional or what?" August sneered with a mocking voice, as soon as the gag had been removed from his mouth. "The scroll you are holding in your hand only holds information about different magical beings, so-called demons, and their realm. More like a story narrated in the form of questions and answers, if I may specify. And I, as a wizard, I do not give a f**** about the d***** laws you fools have set. I only follow and abide by the wizarding laws and respect the muggle laws as it suits me. As for whatever imaginary laws, an imposter like you make up, I flush them through the drain. If I want to have my fun to do whatever I like with a d**** muggle or blood traitor, that has never been and is none of your bloody business. Potter and his d*** followers are long gone. Together with the daughter of the late dark lord, we attacked, captured, and imprisoned those blood traitors whom we later tortured to take our revenge. The blood traitors where her property after capturing them and she rewarded us with these blood traitors for being her loyal followers and we did as we pleased with our gifts during her torture party. This happened about half a year ago, long before I met Ms. Envy. And now because I simply was having fun watching bloody muggles making fool of themselves in their own kind of traps and also got the chance to keep one of the imprisoned muggles to toy around with as I please, you finally woke up from your long beauty sleep and remembered some imaginary laws and decided to punish me. Well, let me tell you something, you moonstruck freak! I did not only meet Ms. Envy yesterday. I met her long before the recent event took place and we have been seeing each other since then. If you rascal are still sane to understand what I am telling you, then I can assure you that she has not influenced me nor did she force me to join the recent party, hence joining the latest party was entirely my choice. Speaking of which...," August spoke with such calm and cold blood as if being tied up, drenched in ice-cold water, and being locked up in a small room with such a horrendous smell, was nothing at all. For him, the current situation was not worse than being locked up at Azkaban and the ice-cold water had rather made him alert than uncomfortable. Before he said anything more, he evaporated in smoke to free himself from being tied to the plastic chair. "...talk about the loopholes you have in your ****hole for prison. Plastic chairs, syringe, and now you are going to try to chop off my limbs with a blade, like an amateur wizard who didn't finish school and can hardly use magic...who are you kidding? I bet that cursed blade of yours is just a silly muggle toy smeared with puke..." His sarcastic laugh could be heard as he, still in his smoke form, picked up his wand from the floor. He blasted one curse after another at the man who had claimed to be an angel and also aimed at the metallic door. Noticing that the metallic door won't budge, he grabbed Celeste and imagined some grassy field in his head.

In the process of escaping quickly, August had acted rashly. The horrible pain in his left arm and shoulder left him winded. It was the first time in his life that he got splinched while using apparition. Luckily it had been his left arm taking the blow of the splinching since he was right-handed and needed to use his wand to untie Celeste from the chair and also cast a protective spell to avoid a second ambush. He did not recognize his surroundings. He had ended up in some kind of garden with a grassy field, various kinds of trees, and other decorations. Where the bloody hell are we? He thought annoyingly as he looked around, trying to ignore the pain in his left arm and shoulder.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Athena, Fake Soren, and The Masked Man all listened without expressions while the professor explained. The Masked Man sat with his legs crossed confidently. Athena tapped her heels rhythmically, enjoying the sound of them against the flooring as she listened. Fake Soren drank his cup of hot chocolate as soon as he saw it, and his eyes started drooping towards the end of the explanation. He yawned a few times as he listened.

The Masked Man's aura was intensely irritated and angry as he listened to the new rules. His anger turned to pure rage when the professor finished with...

"...On the contrary, we are doing this to protect you, because we are suspecting that we have only caught a scapegoat while the real culprit is hiding."

He was grateful for the mask, since it hid his glare, furrowed brow, and tightened jaw.

Athena yawned out of pure boredom, not bothering to cover her mouth like Fake Soren. She was secretly extremely joyful at the Masked Man's fail, and her aura reflected that. She felt certain that her aura was adding to the Masked Man's anger, and that made her even more happy.

"Any questions so far or do you wish to retire for tonight?"

"Yes." Athena replied through another yawn. "I have two. First, can I skip the cocoa? I'm so tired I'll sleep straight through anyways, but I don't like artificial sedatives. Second, does pornography have to be sent back too? I kinda want that, even if it is a Muggle item. They're not textbooks, but, y'know..." She shrugged, not caring what she sounded like to the professor. Who cares if I like dirty manga? It's a human desire so he should totally get it. Can't they make an exception for that? I get sending my laptop back, but the manga? Lemme keep that.

"Okay." She replied. I don't really care anyway. I'm not an animal that can't go without it for a few weeks. "Can I-" she yawned, covering her mouth this time so as to not test her luck too much "-get to bed now?"

"And I, as a wizard, I do not give a f**** about the d***** laws you fools have set. "

It was becoming extremely difficult for Celeste not to make any facial expressions. She began wondering if it would've been better for her to actually have been asleep.

"I only follow and abide by the wizarding laws and respect the muggle laws as it suits me."

Asmodeus's expression didn't change as August continued. This was the first time anyone had talked back during the test besides a whimpering promise that it was all Celeste's fault.

Celeste only grew more and more surprised at August's bravery.

"If you rascal are still sane to understand what I am telling you, then I can assure you that she has not influenced me nor did she force me to join the recent party, hence joining the latest party was entirely my choice."

Celeste had to hold back a gasp.

"I bet that cursed blade of yours is just a silly muggle toy smeared with puke..."

Asmodeus allowed August to arm himself, and deflected August's attack, making a great effort to have it appear as though he found it difficult. He planned to let him escape now, but didn't signal for Damien to change the illusion of a solid, closed door.

Asmodeus watched with a smile as August took Celeste to safety. "Damien, rid us of the illusions."

Damien did so, and all four of them: Asmodeus, Diana, Dante, and Damien, were all looking around at the former's wild garden once more. Before, the latter three had been invisible via Damien's illusions, observing the test.

"Did you see that?" Asmodeus asked Dante.

"Yes." Dante replied reluctantly.

"Diana-" Asmodeus turned to her "-show me August and Celeste."

"Of course." Diana used her index fingers and thumbs to form a circle with her hands. When the circle's inner rim glowed blue, she closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them. Her irises glowed, and they sent beams of light through her hands' circle like a projector. In front of her, she projected the miniature scene of August and Celeste in a garden in Hell, with every object in the scene outlined in the same glowing blue as her eyes.

Celeste lied on the ground, still faking unconsciousness. Beautiful scenes of their future together flashed through her mind. Her heart beat fast, and her hands itched to embrace him. This was the first 'prince' who had ever passed all the tests. This was the first 'prince' who she wanted to kiss. This was the first 'prince' who she wanted to spend an eternity with. She could barely contain all the stupendous emotions going on inside her heart.

"When you find the man who you want to spend eternity with, bring him to me. I will test him." Asmodeus explained. "If he makes the right choice, he is a man worthy of your love." Asmodeus said.

"And when you find a man who passes the test, you are not allowed to speak a word to him until I've explained everything. You see, he may not be as understanding after such an extreme test. However, I do not care if he hates me for it. Whatever I have to do to ensure that my precious treasure is in worthy hands." Asmodeus smiled gently, running his fingers through her hair. He kissed her forehead. His treasure was only sixteen and she was asking about things like an eternal partner. "I wish to explain everything to him, with a clear explanation that I insisted on the test, and that it was not your idea."

"But shouldn't be understand?" Celeste asked.

"He may, and he may not. But I don't want you to take the blame for my decision."

"But I'm agreeing to it-"

"it's fine." Asmodeus promised. "Just allow me to explain it to him."

"Diana, expand it, please." Asmodeus said.

Diana moved her hands' circle closer to herself, expanding the scene.

"Full size, please." Asmodeus said. "Then minimize gradually."

Diana pulled the circle to her chest, and all of Hell showed. She gradually moved the circle away from herself until Asmodeus stopped her.

"That's perfect. I see it now." Asmodeus said, turning away from Diana. "That is all I'll be needing for now. Do as you wish." He told the others, disappearing in a large ball of flames as he turned away.

"He should be ruling Hell." Dante sighed.

"He's more like the humans' description of The Prince of Darkness than anyone else I know." Damien agreed.

Diana lowered her hands, breaking the circle. The projection and light beams disappeared in an instant, and the glow in her eyes faded shortly after that.

Asmodeus froze August when he appeared before him in a ball of flame, in case he reacted too soon and tried to escape again. He took August's hand, and turned away, the ball of flames surrounding both of them. They arrived in Asmodeus's study, and he placed August just in front of a chair so he could sit down when he unfroze him. Asmodeus sat down behind his desk, and began his explanation in a soft yet solemn tone. "I am the one who Celeste calls her Master, or her teacher. Allow me to explain what just happened without interruption. Everything you just experienced when you left the party was an illusion created to test you. The syringe I gave Celeste during the test was merely a vitamin shot. Besides the fact that the last man to undergo the test completely abandoned Celeste...and the man before that and before that, everything I told you was a lie. Now, before I release you from this bind, I urge you to imagine yourself as the 'master' of this precious lady. I had to confirm that the one she loved would be worthy of that love. Every man before you has failed this test, so of course I'm overjoyed on her behalf. This test was entirely my idea and I've been insisting on it for years, so do not blame Celeste. My sole purpose in raising her was to ensure that she had a good life, and if a 'prince' was what she desired, I needed to make sure he was not truly a beast. I care not if you despise me for it, my children are always my priority." Asmodeus unfroze August, and did not speak another word.

Celeste ran in before either of them moved, standing in between August and Asmodeus, facing the former in case he intended on getting even with the latter. She seemed to think August might pounce if she wasn't there. She was torn between embracing August and remaining where she was. She had no idea how this would end. She'd never gotten this far...past all the tests.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"As you wish. I won't force you to drink it. But you should know that we do not use anything artificial as muggles do, but only genuine ingredients, whether it is food, drinks, or potions. As for the new rules, they were set by the Minister of Magic earlier this evening and can be subject to change after I and the rest of the professors have discussed them thoroughly tomorrow."

"Okay." She replied. "Can I-" she yawned, covering her mouth. "-get to bed now?"

Before Mulciber replied, there was a light knock on the door that had been left half-open. "Excuse me, I hope I am not disturbing?" Faeryn was standing in the doorway.

"It's fine. I am already done and Mr. McCunnen looks ready to hit the bed, so you may escort him to his dorm. And you two, miss Lovett and Mr. Dantes, may come with me. I am going to escort you to your dorms now. You may take your cups with you if you have not finished your drinks, leave them in the common room or your dorms and the house-elves will take care of your cups later..."

The pain in his left arm and shoulder was unbearable. August was trying to ignore the pain and keep a straight posture, sweating heavily his efforts. Parts of his suit and sleeve had turned darker in color due to being sogged in blood. Thin streams of blood and sweat were trickling down his left hand, dripping from his fingertips and soiling the floor in Asmodeus' study.
"I cannot think straight..." August put his right hand on Celeste's shoulder to gently push her away so that he could look at her master while speaking to him. "...but I understand your reasons. Any father would do anything to ensure his child's happiness...." ...Merlin's beard...that was one hell of a bloody test...and I cannot believe I splinched during an apparition...how could I be so careless...what if this has been a real enemy of mine? I was astonished when he turned up all of sudden...
"...I wish to return...to Hogwarts, please...a portal outside the gates would do..."

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"Okay." Athena replied, quietly following the professor back to the Slytherin dorms.

"...and in this costume, I'll dance with my beloved at least once." The Masked Man had just finished boasting about the plans he had for tonight. "...Why are you smiling? You're usually full of snide remarks and jokes. Why are you just smiling?" He demanded. He clearly expected her to be full of sarcastic remarks so it would be extra fun to prove her wrong. "Did you erase her memory of me again?"

Why would I do that? She dislikes you now, so erasing her memories would actually give you a fresh start. "You planned a lot. You took your time with every detail." Athena smiled, patting him on the shoulder. On the inside she was laughing. You missed so, so many. "Good luck." Her smile was as fishy as her costume, but it didn't contain an ounce of sarcasm. She could tell this confused the Masked Man, and although he said nothing, it deeply bothered him. She knew that now, from the time he 'forgot' the syringe in the bathroom to the moment he realized his plans had failed him, he'd be fighting a losing battle. A battle against those words repeating inside his head, attempting to push them into the back of his mind and trap them there.

I could've turned him in before he even started. But I knew it would make me feel even better...and make him so much angrier...if he was the cause of his own downfall. Athena thought as she updated Soren and Rosaleya on the incident through her pager. Pranks are all I need to make my time here fun and to entertain myself, but believe me, I won't be pranking anyone until these restrictions are lifted. I'm not stupid like you. I'm 'trapped' in here for a few weeks tops, with my love... She thought of Stephan's adorable face for a few moments. She sent the message to Soren, then sent a short one to Rosaleya telling her to ask Soren about the text she'd sent. She couldn't be bothered to send the same message twice since there was no 'forward' or 'copy' option. She erased any private or sensitive messages from her pager, and made sure to triple-check the search history on her laptop. Then, she lied down on her back, staring at the ceiling with a wide grin. Her thoughts had returned to the Masked Man. ...Now, the thought of any other demon feeling this happy will set him off. All I have to do is walk past him with an undisguised, happy aura...and he'll lose it without having any outlets. Athena slept so peacefully that night.

All my planning failed me...I might as well be sitting in my own court hearing. I can't visit Hell because I'll have no Seven Deadly Sins potion. And I can't see Rosaleya. The Masked Man clenched his fists the moment he returned to the boys' dorms. The thought of even locking eyes with the fake Rosaleya made him cringe. That night, he didn't sleep a wink. He was too busy tossing and turning in anger, or otherwise desperately paging Rosaleya. He begged fate for just one sentence back from her...just one reply...just one word before his pager was most likely taken away. She was either ignoring him, or in a deep sleep under the same roof as Soren. The other boys would wake up to see The Masked Man's bed torn apart, sheets strewn across the bedposts and surrounding floor and feathers from his pillow sprinkled heavily over the whole mess. Bits of his hair could be found near where his head usually rested on the bed, giving anyone who examined the mess the feeling that he'd been pulling his hair out in the night. He'd finally fallen asleep on the floor on top of the biggest pile of feathers; the one under his bed. The top of his head poked out from under the bed. He held his extension close, his fingers resting deep in her eye sockets.

"I cannot think straight..." August put his right hand on Celeste's shoulder to gently push her away so that he could look at her master while speaking to him.

Celeste stood back at once, carefully observing August's expressions.

"Any father would do anything to ensure his child's happiness..."

Asmodeus nodded. Beyond his solemn expression, he was truly surprised that August was so understanding. He wished to speak with him more at a later time.

Celeste was torn between her overwhelming joy and her guilt for making August suffer.

"...I wish to return...to Hogwarts, please...a portal outside the gates would do..."

"Of course." Asmodeus looked to Celeste, who nodded.

"Drink this and you will be able to return home." Celeste said, placing an open bottle of Seven Deadly Sins in August's hand. "We're in a different realm right now so this is the only way to travel between them." She hoped that he could process what she was saying enough to understand that it was safe to drink and necessary for him to return home. She'd flavored it like sweetened blackberry tea when she'd prepared it.

 

[Hikari Chan]

August did not think twice before drinking from the bottle Celeste gave him. He tried not to grimace due to the too sweet blackberry tea. ...Merlin's beard, how much sugar did she add to this...Was his last thought before he fell asleep.

Melody bid Reign goodnight. She was glad that she had taken a walk after the party. The night walk in the quiet countryside had been more satisfying than watching muggles trying to escape a labyrinth full of traps. She waved at Reign with a soft smile before she apparated away. Her first thought upon returning was to go to bed. She did not seem to react at the guards and thought the headmaster must have placed them there since most of the staff had left Hogwarts to join the Halloween party. But she was deprived of her sleep as soon as she read the note which Quinn had attached at the door of her office. Melody read the note a second time, her hands still trembling. She would not be able to fall asleep before checking her office, bedroom, and the greenhouses. Nothing had been stolen from her office or bedroom. But some it seemed as if a mischievous student has entered some of her greenhouses and picked from some plants. ...who dare steal from me...only someone with a deathwish...I am going to strangle the thief with my vines...She was not stupid and could immediately know if someone else has touched her plants. She quickly made a list of the plants that had been bothered.

Knotgrass
Fluxweed
Daisy roots
Shrivelfigs

....hmm...I cannot think of anything where all these four ingredients are used together. I better show this for Quinn. According to her letter, the culprit has confessed everything, so I will know soon how he has used these four ingredients...

Melody secured everything, making sure that none would be able to enter her office or the greenhouses whenever she was absent.

There was a hard knock on Adela's door, waking her up from her daydreaming state. She hurried to put on her cloak above her night robe, wondering who was pouncing at her door. Even if her night robe were long and covered well enough, she was not comfortable to show herself in a thin and red silky fabric. She was more annoyed than surprised to see a flustered and a pale Alexis and a calm and cold Andrew outside her office.

...ugh...is it August again, sending these two to get me to his office to lecture me as usual..."

"What the bloody hell do you want at this hour? Banging on my door like a giant. Can I not have my rest for Merlin's sake-" She was about to slam the door shut right at their faces but was dragged out by Alexis by force.

"Please come with us, it's urgent," Alexis pleaded.

"Do you always have to plead like that?" Andrew commented with a disgusted tone.

"She would never come if I told her the truth-"

"You have no reason to lie to her, moron."

"You know that I am present, so why are you referring to me as a third person," Adela glared, feeling very irritated. "Ugh, I know August want to lecture me as usual, I can go to his office on my own. No need to drag me all the way" She yanked her hand free from his grip.

"Hold on a second-" Andrew took hold of her hand wrist to stop her from running away. "August isn't at his office, but at the hospital wing...and we are not going to lecture you or something..."

"So? Did he break all his two hundred and six bones or what?"

"Merlin's beard...I just want to ask you to be by his side this evening. Just this evening."

"Why do I have to? I am not obligated to take care of him when he is being sick..." She was reluctant to see August in the hospital wing and cursed herself for not being bold enough to just turn on her heels and walk away. ...But if I keep running away, they will take me for a coward and probably bother me even more than this. "Alright, fine, I will comfort him if that's what he wishes," She slammed the door to her office shut before Alexis got the chance to beg her one more time.

"Uh..." Alexis wanted to explain August's situation for Adela, but he did not manage to get a word out of his mouth until they reached the hospital wing. "He...he splashed..." Was all he could say, not realizing his mistake until Andrew corrected him: "He splinched."

August, who was fast asleep, was bandaged from every fingertip of his left hand up to his left shoulder.

"He was feeling confused when he appeared by the gates. We still do not know what happened to him and we were unable to question him since he was not in his right state of mind.
I believe it will give him some peace of mind if he wakes up to a familiar face," Andrew explained.

"I do not think he will be so happy to see me. Why isn't his sweetheart by his side?" Adela asked with a mocking tone, crossing her arms.

"Visitors are not allowed to enter Hogwarts, not even passing through the gates, after the Cattermole incident. I and Alexis have other plans,
so we could not think of anyone more suitable than you to take care of him."

"Mr. Dantes and miss Lovett did not drink their hot chocolate. The latter one underestimates us and thinks we use muggle ingredients such as artificial sedatives. And she and Mr. McCunnen looked like plain dead fish with a glassy look in their eyes, as neither of the incident or the change of the rules bothered them," Mulciber reported to Elias who had gathered with some of the professors in the staff room to speak in privacy since they did not wish for Cattermole to hear their conversation. Elias had even turned the staff room soundproof because he did not trust any of the students. "I wish I could have seen Mr. Dantes' face. I do not understand his reason for hiding it."

"Well, she must have grown up in the muggle world," Elias shrugged, ignoring Mulciber's last comment. "And I won't be surprised if the rest of them also have their homes and family members in the muggle world. Garnett's father, for instance, works as a doctor at a muggle hospital. He told me that personally and even begged me to get enrolled here at the same as he continued with his job as a doctor."

"That must be a sick joke..." Persephone commented with a laugh.

"I am not joking, would you like me to share my memory with you?"

"No, I am all good. I believe you. Speaking of which, some may be good at hiding their expressions and feelings. However, I could easily resolve this issue by doing some mind-reading-"

"No, please, Persephone, I absolutely forbid you to do that. You are only allowed to perform legilimency on Cattermole, because he was the one who confessed. We have to respect other students' privacy. Besides, the Ministry of magic is monitoring them now, so there's no need to resort to the mind-reading method. I understand you do not like Dantes, Fairbrook, Lovett, or McCunnen. They might be good at hiding their feelings, but I rather believe that none of them cares. All they care about is causing trouble here, which they gladly did from the beginning of this semester. I also do not like them. Each day I have been and I am still waiting for an opportunity to expel them. According to the school records, McCunnen took pre exams and enrolled here just like the Fairbrook, Garnett, Lovett, and Dantes, but never caused any trouble or did anything close to what Travers told me about before we took over Hogwarts. I guess he did not show his true colors until the others enrolled here. I am surprised that he willingly drank his cup of hot chocolate without protesting or questioning us, giving his true character. But for now, we do not need to worry about these troublemakers. This incident gave us a good reason to revoke their freedom, but of course, it came with a price. I just have a theory that Dantes, Fairbrook, Lovett, and McCunnen are being rebellious to the reason for siding with Potter and his friends. They enrolled as soon as they got the chance after we took over this school, just to cause us trouble. None of Potter's friends or followers would resort to murdering two innocent students and or harm any innocent muggles. We have a bigger fish to catch here. The one who committed the crime probably has one goal in mind, to overthrow us and make the rest of the wizarding world to hate us." ...I bet it's someone similar to Luna's mother...trying to target us with such cheap methods...That would only make sense and I do doubt that Zabini or Rosier would have opposed my theory had they been here today. I bet that Monroe will fully agree with me if I explain everything for her tomorrow... "If you have followed the Quibbler and Daily Prophet these past months, you know what I am talking about. Hence I believe this incident is connected to the mysterious deaths of those innocent muggles. Anyway, how's Dolohov doing?"

"We have patched him up. Carrow did a good job on her part, healing him. He is sleeping peacefully right now."

"Did he not tell you where he was going with a small suitcase at night?" Elias asked Quinn.

"No, he just walked past without speaking a word."

"Fine, we will question him tomorrow. Is everything ready for our first test?"

"Yes. I have brought the oldest Potter, he is deep asleep and won't wake up until morning should Cattermole fail to vanish him." Flynn replied. "Cattermole is blindfolded and magically bound to his chair. I have temporarily confiscated his wand and will give it to him when it's time to perform the test. So, shall we get started?" He was feeling impatient now and had been waiting for several hours for starting with the first experiment. He almost wanted to groan aloud when Melody burst through the door to the staff room.

"I am so sorry," She apologized to Elias, bowing in remorse. "Here's a list of what has been stolen from the greenhouses." She held out a piece of parchment, still bowing.

"Merlin's beard, how can you be so clumsy? Not locking the greenhouses? Do you also leave your office unlocked?" Persephone commented dryly. She was about to continue lecturing Melody when Elias stopped her.

"Persephone, please. It's not miss Wilkes' fault. Even if she had used protective spells to avoid anyone breaking into the greenhouses, the culprit would still have gotten the ingredients from elsewhere. In his confession, Cattermole mentioned that he had stolen some ingredients from Ivan's storage room and some other from the greenhouses. Ivan confirmed that nothing has been stolen from his office or storage room, but after a closer investigation of the orange poison, he found out that it was a failed attempt of the shrinking solution or rather an incorrect brewing of the potion. Hence, it means that Cattermole has gotten part of the ingredients from elsewhere. By the way, miss Wilkes, do you use any syringes in Herbology classes?"

Melody shook her head, looking oddly at Elias. ...why on earth would I use muggle tools when there are special tools for Herbology that can be bought in Diagon Alley...

"Well, you got a point. But I still do not understand why the culprit would go so far as to incorrectly brewing a potion to create a poison, while he instead could have used Belladonna, for instance. Let's say by pressing the juice of its berries."

"To probably get us on the wrong track while investigating this case or perhaps thinking that the students may be aware of different available poisons and might find out that it's the juice of Belladonna. No one would relate something orange to poison at once. Brewing some harmless potion incorrectly to turn it to poison can be a way to mask the poison to fool the victim..." Mulciber replied this time, taking the piece of parchment which Melody had been holding out for Elias to take. "If brewed correctly, the shrinking solution will have an acid green color, while brewed incorrectly, it will instead have an orange color. The following ingredients are daisy roots, Abyssinian shrivelfigs, caterpillars, rat spleen, and leech juice. So it makes sense that he stole daisy roots and shrivelfigs from the greenhouses, but why knotgrass and fluxweed?"

"That's a good question, I'd like to look further into that matter. Though, first of all, let's deal with our experiment, and then we can think about what to do next," Elias suggested to Flynn's relief.
The latter one was feeling so eager and impatient to start the experiment with the vanishing spell. Transfiguration was his favorite subject after all. They left the staff room together while Melody decided to retire for tonight and left, while the others returned to the room where Cattermole was held captive. Elias nodded towards Flynn, giving him the sign that he could start.

"I have planned this carefully, but I still want to ask every one of you to stay at the wall behind Cattermole. Have your wands ready in case something goes wrong, because I need to release him for this experiment," Flynn explained and removed the cloth that had been covering James Sirius Potter, laying on the floor, fast asleep. Flynn placed Cattermole's wand in front of his feet on the floor and then walked behind him to release him from his bond and remove his blindfold. With the imperius curse he ordered Cattermole to use the vanishing spell on James Sirius Potter and then throw away his wand. There was no light as Cattermole performed the transfiguration spell correctly and to everyone's astonishment, the oldest Potter child was gone. He had vanished into the thin air. Cattermole threw away his wand at Flynn's command since he was still under the influence of the imperius curse. It bought Flynn some time to magically bind him to his chair and take away his wand.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Reign bid Melody goodbye in Chinese, and admired the night sky until she was out of sight. Then, he jumped away.

Crystal and Luna remained quiet during Cattermole's test. The latter was so satisfied with the way Elias was handling everything that she didn't feel she needed to add anything. The former was secretly thinking more about what to eat for a late dinner, mentally asking her stomach to be patient with her.

"Diana, show me every dormitory bedroom and every bathroom in Hogwarts on November 3rd, at fifteen-thirty, UK time." Asmodeus said. "Censor nudity." He added when she hesitated slightly.

Diana used her power to project the scene for him.

"Speed the replay time to one minute per second."

Diana did so, and the scenes sped by.

Asmodeus barely blinked as he watched intently. The bathrooms and bedrooms shouldn't be censored. He would've taken advantage of that. "Rewind ten seconds, and play it at .75 speed."

Diana did so.

Reign had been quietly watching on a cushion placed in mid-air, his legs criss-crossed.

"There it is." Asmodeus clapped his hands together once. "Stop the playback." He leaned in, his lip curling in disgust. "Don't move." He paused briefly. "Replay that part until I tell you to stop. Malice-" he turned to her, tossing her his pager "-send him an invite."

Malice sent a text to the Masked Man, knowing that when Asmodeus got excited he didn't have the patience to type on his pager.

The Masked Man groaned loudly when he felt his pager vibrating in his pocket. He sat up suddenly, hopeful that Rosaleya had replied before he'd have to hide his pager away for a while. His face fell when he saw the message was from Asmodeus. He tightened his jaw, and read it, staring at the words in anger for a minute before shoving the pager back into his pocket. He scrambled out from under the bed and downed the last bit of his Seven Deadly Sins vial; he'd needed to restock soon, but how there would be no need. He went back to his space under his bed, and closed his eyes with a growl.

"It's rare that you wish to see me." The Masked Man said, immediately tightening his lips the moment he finished speaking.

"Mask off, boy." Asmodeus said in a voice that made the Masked Man feel small. "I won't even look at you until you show some respect." Asmodeus stared at the ceiling.

The Masked Man slid off his mask, and bowed to Asmodeus. How could I forget?

"Is this you?" Asmodeus asked with gesture towards Diana's repeating projection. He raised his eyebrows with a subtle smile, like he'd just won a game.

"It is." The Masked Man said, keeping his head bowed. If he didn't, he might've shown Asmodeus new levels of disrespect. "You've won our bet. You won. You won." He growled. He finally looked into Asmodeus's eyes. "Would you like me to repeat it again?"

"Yes." Asmodeus replied. "But first lower yourself to the level of your intelligence."

The Masked Man got onto his hands and knees, staring into the polished wooden floors again. "You've won. I will do as you ask until-" he repeated the terms of their bet "-I have been found out, or until you reveal the truth to them. I will find no loopholes in your orders, I will neither complain nor glare nor gesture in any rude manner..." He sighed deeply. "I will even try not to abuse you in my thoughts."

"Excellent, and the last part?" Malice grinned, her eyes just as sadistic as every other time.

Asmodeus smiled to her, letting her know that she hadn't angered him by joining the conversation, but that he wished her to continue acting as an observer.

Malice nodded to him, and stepped back until she was next to Reign, near the wall behind Asmodeus's study.

Asmodeus leaned forward slightly in his chair, resting his elbows on his desk with his hands steepled under his chin.

"I will answer to the name 'fool'." The Masked Man said quietly. His eyes flitted from Asmodeus to the floor again. He's still waiting. He read my lips but I know he didn't hear me.

"Say it...proudly." Asmodeus smiled wider.

The Masked Man stood tall, put his hand to his chest, and spoke it loud and clear as if he was announcing something that should make him feel proud. "I will answer to the name 'fool', for that is a title worthy of me!"

"Excellent. Goodbye." Asmodeus stood from his desk, and left the study, walking past the Masked Man without looking at him, as if he was just an ant on the ground. "An ant commands more respect than you." He said just before he stepped over the threshold. Malice and Reign followed close behind, the former skipping happily to rub the Masked Man's situation in, the latter hovering out calmly on his cushion.

As soon as they left, the Masked Man's knees buckled. He remained on the floor for a few moments, his legs folded uncomfortably underneath him, staring at his reflection in the floor. He felt like his will to move had left with Asmodeus. He hated how small he felt when he interacted with him. He knew that he wouldn't find any messages from Rosaleya when he returned. He knew that Athena's face would be as smug as Malice's every time he looked at her. He knew that the professors were very likely to find his pager no matter where he hid it. And he knew that his mother would give him an 'I told you so' look only slightly less painful than Asmodeus's. He breathed in the scent of cigars and Baileys, the scent of wood and old and new books, the scent of fresh air that blew in from the open window.

"So sometimes, when it's hard for me to move, I remember that nothing lasts forever. Not the good things..." Rosaleya shrugged, wishing they did. "...but not the bad things, either." She finished positively.

The Masked Man closed his eyes, and fell asleep. He awoke back under his Hogwarts bed again, and the moment his eyes snapped open, they met a professor's. For a moment his mind jumped to yesterday's victims, but then his heart eased a bit when he noticed that the focus was on the mess he'd created in the room. He was tempted to close his eyes and pretend to be asleep, but he resisted, remaining where he was for a few moments.

"Divorce!" Claudia sang.

"Divorce!" Easton sang.

"We're getting a divorce!" They cheerfully sang in sync.

Easton dipped Claudia like they were still dancing, and picked her up again, carrying her to her tower. "You were excellent, my darling." He sang happily.

"So were you. We fooled everyone." Claudia sang proudly.

Together, they sang:

"You're an amazing woman." Easton sang.
"You're an amazing man." Claudia sang with a wink.

"And we love each other sooooooo. Let's go." They finished, and Easton closed the bedroom door behind them.

Two thousand wine bottles full of blood awaited a certain vampire at Markus Scarrs Indelible Tattoos. An attached note read:

Mr. D'Arcy,

I remembered there being far less blood in my storage space,
until I collected them all to bring here.
A few friends also had some to spare bottles from their work.
You may expect consistent semi-annual deliveries unless
you express otherwise.

~ Celeste Dantes

Athena's hammock suddenly threw her off, and Jade caught her perfectly, carrying her bridal-style. "Goooooooood morning." He smiled.

"Good mooooorning." Rosaleya yawned.

"We have more exploring to do! I walked around the entire house so I can help you not get lost, but the layout is very easy to figure out." Jade smiled, setting Rosaleya down on her feet. "Soren is still asleep, and Claudia and Easton are in their bedroom...ehem." He coughed pointedly.

"Okay." Rosaleya nodded, focusing on a mental image of Soren sleeping to avoid picturing the latter part of the sentence. Soren was sleeping in the starfish position. Shiro walked onto his pillow and began licking his cheek to wake him up. Soren accidentally knocked him off the bed in an attempt to move him away. Shiro landed on all fours, perfectly elegant, and said "I was only trying to help." in a snobby voice. Rosaleya giggled, preparing to wash up.

Rosaleya rested her head on the edge of Athena's bathtub. The 'Galaxy' bath bubbles turned out to smell nice, and one third of the bubbles were vividly colored plants, stars, and spaceships. They floated a few inches above the water, glowing wonderfully, and the spaceships slowly flew from one side of the tub to another. Rosaleya tried popping one spaceship bubble by poking it, but it remained intact. She tried a bunch of things, and ended up finding that the only way to pop the bubble was to smash it with both hands, like she was clapping. The bathtub was so much deeper and wider than the one in Leigh's bathroom; the only bathtub in their house. It was so small that she had to hug her knees to fit in it, and the water only came up to her rib-cage before it would spill over the sides. Here, she'd sink to the bottom if she didn't pay attention. And the view of the demonic city from the windows was just as lovely in the mornings as it was at night. "I always wanted a view from our house." She said to Jade.

Jade was standing against the bathroom wall opposite Rosaleya, looking out at the view as well.

They chatted lightly throughout her bath. Near the end, he left to pick out some clothes for her. She usually took a bath, then a shower afterwards. For some reason, she felt that a bath was more recreational and only a shower could make her feel clean. She pulled the plug out of the bathtub, and watched it drain out. She loved the little tornado the water formed during the last moments of draining. While she lathered shampoo into her hair, she suddenly remembered something she used to do in the bath as a child. She shaped her hair into a mohawk with a giggle. She poked her head out of the bathtub to look into the mirror, and laughed at her reflection. It's still funny. I forgot I used to do that when I was younger. Unless I'm in a rush, I'll start doing that every time now. She rinsed the shampoo out, keeping her head under the water extra long to make sure there would be no soap there when she opened her eyes.

When the got out of the shower, Rosaleya checked her pager, which she'd left on 'silent'. She raised her eyebrows, finding Athena's message buried under a bunch of the Masked Man's. She read Athena's. "Remind me when Soren wakes up." She told Jade.

"Alright." Jade nodded.

Rosaleya was half tempted to delete all of the Masked Man's messages without reading them, but she decided that laughing at them later would definitely be more fun. "Now...."

"...more exploring!" Jade and Rosaleya said together.

Athena dreamed that she was standing on a huge clear glass platform in the middle of the sky, dressed as Chun Li from Street Fighter. She was punching and kicking something that closely resembled the Masked Man in shape and appearance; only the texture resembled a punching bag. Rosaleya and Soren were cheering for her after every special attack, and with every cheer the punching bag shrank slightly. Athena finished off the book-sized punching bag with Chin Li's hurricane kick and then a Hadouken. The balloon-sized 'Masked Man' flew away, making the same high pitched squeaking noise as a normal balloon when deflating. It fluttered down, all the way to the ground far beneath the platform.

 

[Hikari Chan]

Aislinn woke up to the tapping sound on her window. She sat up in her bed, feeling very refreshed and alert. ...it feels as I have never drunk anything at the party last night...Did Alastair make me drink the sleeping draught? I cannot remember what happened after we started to drink together or how many goblets of firewhiskey I had...and it's still dark...what time is it?... She thought as she hurried over to the window to check the annoying tapping sound. It was a tawny owl, bringing her an envelope that had the familiar sealed stamp of Hogwarts. She slammed the window shut as soon as she had snatched the envelope, almost frightening the owl. It was ice-cold in the morning. She nearly ran to the bed and crawled under the cover, shivering. At the same time, her eyes fell on the clock at the opposite wall in front of her. ...Merlin's beard...it's only six o'clock in the morning...no wonder why it's still dark outside...I wish I could go back to sleep, but I feel too refreshed to fall asleep for a bit...Whenever I have been at a party, I always sleep in the next day, because I never leave the party until sometime around or past midnight...Did we leave too early last night...and if we did, then why? This never happened at the summer feast...however, this time Alastair was the host yet he did not tell me at which hour he would end the party...and I have an odd feeling about it...I could always ask Raven about what happened last night since I know she probably changed my clothes. Alastair would never touch me and the one time we shared bed we slept beside each other like siblings. Anyway, let's see what this letter is about...Aislinn snuck out her hand and grabbed her wand on the bedside table. She lit a fire in the fireplace and ripped the envelope open.

I will keep this very short and hope this letter will reach you very soon.
We are going to have a meeting and you are expected to attend.
I cannot reveal anything more than this in fear that someone might steal this letter.
Our meeting place will be at Hogwarts.
Just give your name to the guards and you will be allowed to enter.

....Huh? Aislinn wrinkled her nose at the message. ...Who would send me such a letter without writing his or her name at the end of it...She thought, already knowing the answer to her question since she recognized Elias' handwriting. ...Why did he not just use his bloody emerald, that would have been much safer than trying to send an owl if there's an enemy out there. But of all places, why are we meeting at Hogwarts. We used to meet here at Luna's manor whenever we needed to discuss and plan something. Perhaps of convenience, since most of the team members are professors at Hogwarts. Merlin, don't tell me that jerk Robert will be there as well...I do not have the pleasure to see him...but that's not much I can do about it...he is part of the team...and when duty calls, we all have to gather whether I like it or not...anyway, let's get ready...Before Aislinn went to the bathroom, she sent a Patronus message to Elias, to let him know that she was on her way and that he better have some fancy breakfast for her ready upon her arrival. It did not cross her that she could use her emerald since she hardly used it. It was not until she had finished brushing her teeth that she remembered the emerald attached to her wand ...Hmm...let's see... She opened her closet wide open to get a good view of her clothes. She took out a pair of black trousers and a black dress shirt with frill details at the collar. To this, she put on a short black wool jacket with decorative silver hook buttons. She did not know what to do with her hair and quickly braided everything along with her bangs into a side braid. Her look was completed with a pair of high-heeled boots that reached above her knees, a rounded cloak, a pair of leather gloves, and a hat, everything in black as well. She hesitated for a moment and then took off both her hat and gloves to add some light make-up: thin winged eyeliner and nude lipstick. ...Whether if Alastair will be there or not, I am going to see him afterward anyway...

When August opened his eyes, he did not know where he was at first. He remembered that he had returned to Hogwarts' gates late last night, that his pain had been eased and that Mulciber gave him something to drink. He sat up with a straight back and looked around in confusion until he noticed someone he least expected sitting on a chair beside his bed.

"Would you like some water?" Adela asked dryly, holding up a goblet and a jug in her hands. She had black circles under her eyes because she had not slept well during the night.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here," August exclaimed, nearly jumping off the bed. "Don't tell me you were watching me sleep? That's d*** creepy. Get out!"

"You ungrateful b******" Adela screamed and emptied the jug of ice-cold water on his head. She threw both the jug and the goblet on the floor with such force, making such a loud noise that could wake up the entire school.

August screamed in return, this time he was very bothered to be drenched in ice-cold water.

"I cannot believe that two professors were having a pillow fight in the hospital wing," Elias spoke with a tired voice, looking from August to Adela.

"She drenched me in ice-cold water for nothing!" August snapped.

"You deserved it!" Adela retorted. "I was being nice to you by being by your side the entire night because you had hurt yourself and all I did was offering you to drink some water when you woke up.
And you thank me by telling me to get out?"

"I did not ask you to be there with me-"

"Enough with your bickering! Keep your foolish sibling fight outside of this school!" Elias scolded them with a cold and calm voice, yet his face was red of anger. "You are lucky that we discovered you two before the students saw or heard of anything of what happened and that there was no student in the hospital wing. I am going to deduct half of your next month's salary because of unprofessional behavior. And now I would like to speak to Mr. Dolohov in private regarding another matter." The tone in his voice suggested that Adela should leave without questioning him. If it had not been for the salary deduction, she would have slammed the door behind her on her way out from the headmaster's office. But she did not desire another salary deduction and only dared to scowl at her brother before leaving.

"Very well....may you explain about your special adventure after the party last night?" Elias did not spare a second and went straight on the next subject, already knowing the few details which Quinn had told him about.

"Well..." August shrugged. "...my date asked me to stay over at her place after the party..." ...let him think whatever he wants to think... "...so I passed by Hogwarts to fetch a small suitcase with a few necessities. And when we arrived at her place, her father surprised me. First I had no idea who he was and I thought he was trying to hurt us. That's the main reason why I splinched by accident because I was trying to escape with her. It turned out that he was putting me on a trial to test me if I was a man worthy of his daughter. That's all." ...I managed to tell the truth without revealing anything sensitive about Celeste...well almost...he is not her real father but he treats her as if she is his real daughter...
"I can share my memories with you if you'd like to-" August offered.

"There's no need," Elias declined with a firm voice. "I believe you..."

"So where are the rest of the team?" Aislinn asked gleefully before taking a bite of her breakfast which consisted of pancakes, sausages, and fried eggs. She had arrived just at the time to hear the screams from the hospital wing and was curious about what it was all about. She did not get the chance to find out what the fuss was about since she had been escorted to the staff room as soon as she had entered the Entrance Hall.

"They will be here later. You will have a job to take care of very soon. You will be inspecting every muggle item the students own," Elias explained.

Aislinn nearly choked on her orange juice. "What the bloody hell..."

"Just inspect if any of their muggle items are magically manipulated," He raised his eyebrows and looked at her as if she was an expert with inspecting muggle gadgets.
"If you can magically manipulate a muggle gadget," He referred to her laptop. "then you must be able to detect any magic in something manipulated, am I right?"

"That's two different things. Isn't there already a division in the Ministry of Magic, specialized for inspecting muggle items?"

"There is, but the Ministry employees are not part of our team."

"I would like to have a word with you in my office..." Mulciber looked down at the masked student who was laying under his bed. "...after you have tidied up, not only your place but also all the boys' dorms. I have ordered all of the boys to leave their dorms. Tidying all the boys' dorms is part of your detention for making such a disgusting mess here. You have to tidy up without the use of magic. Do not forget that you are being monitored now. When you are done, bring your trunk with all your belongings down to the Entrance Hall for inspection. The rest of the students have already brought their trunks with their belongings for inspection. You may then go for breakfast in the Great Hall and I will meet you in my office afterward."

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

"Fine." The Masked Man replied quietly, crawling out from under the bed to look around at the mess. The recent incidents had left him with nothing but sadness and fatigue. His eyes stung with weariness, and his eyelids kept fighting to shut again as he tidied the room. He nearly used magic twice due to forgetting he was being monitored, and he would've used it if not for his extension's reminders. He hid his pager in the best place he could think of: he taped it under one of the tanks that never leaked in one of the less-frequented boys' bathrooms. He wanted to stay there and keep reloading the 'received messages' screen, but he knew Rosaleya wouldn't be replying any time soon. He washed his face while he was there, and dressed in his uniform; he wasn't in the mood to shower or brush his teeth. Then, he dragged his trunk down from the dorms through the shortest route he could think of, knowing full well that he never kept contraband in his trunk. He didn't see a reason to double check. He dragged his feet to the Great Hall, and he knew that the combination of droopy eyelids and slouching would tell Athena everything she wanted to know. But there was no help for his physical state this morning.

Athena smiled and waved to him in the Great Hall. She'd slid her pager into her pocket, knowing full well that the only magical thing about it was that it resembled a cute charm when shrunk, and was fully functional when enlargened. There was nothing fishy about it unless she used magic to change its size, and since she thought that hiding it would bite her in the behind if it was discovered, she chose to keep it on her person and answer honestly about it when the time came. It was the only thing she truly wished to keep through this investigation. All her other personal possessions could be sent home for all she cared. Good morning, idiot! Athena thought happily, noticing his physical state. She'd also heard two students snickering about his mess rather loudly. You really did sleep well! Wait until they find the surprise in your trunk. She soon returned to cringing at the bland blueberry muffin, bacon, eggs, and toast that comprised her breakfast this morning. Right after the Masked Man had bragged to her about his plans, she'd asked Asmodeus for advice.

"He will most likely fail with such foolishly ambitious plans. I like how you remained calm in your reply to him." Asmodeus nodded in approval. "It would be best for you to move any you don't want seen or confiscated to a more private place, in case they decide to investigate his sloppy work. They may also go on lockdown, so make sure you have everything you need to last until the end of the school year, in the most extreme scenario. Monitoring in bathrooms and bedrooms may also be implemented. Finally, prepare to store sensitive memories away as well in case they decide to interrogate students via mind reading, whether secretly or publicly."

"I'll do that." Athena nodded, with the thought in mind to go one step further and help her friends out as well in terms of trunk items. Brother, Rosaleya, and Stephan...especially since the first two might not come home. "Thank you." She said, downing the remainder of her ginger tea in one last gulp.

When she'd returned to the Human Realm, she'd cleared out everyone's sensitive items, all before she even left for the party. Athena, Soren, and Rosaleya had their laptop, rings, and the former two had their demonic headphones, among other things. Stephan had been the only one to keep only the necessities in his trunk, so there was nothing to secure there. Via portal, Athena put all of Rosaleya's items in a guest room at the McCunnen's house along with a note to explain, and put all of Soren's things in his room, arranging his snacks nicely on his desk. Then, she'd taken a portal to her apartment, and put all of her own sensitive things in her bedroom there. Before she'd left her apartment, she'd sat down on her bed and read a text from Soren explaining that he'd be using a double for himself as well in order to remain with Rosaleya in case the lockdown actually happened. He'd offered to prepare one for Athena as well, but she'd declined. After Soren confirmed that he'd received her reply, she was off to finish her preparations for the Halloween Party; the normal things like her costume, and hair.

The Masked Man took a seat as far away from Athena as he could, and looked down at the breakfast feast. He sighed, and peeled a hard boiled egg before eating it whole. He did this a few more times, eating five eggs in total, then figured that that was good enough.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Good morning everyone," Elias called the students' attention as soon as everyone had gathered in the Great Hall. "I am not going to bother you with overly long talk, but just explain a few things. Each of you will receive a scroll of the new school rules very soon. The scrolls will appear in front of you as soon as I finish. Students, divided by their respective year, will be called out to the Entrance Hall, and therefore you cannot leave the Great Hall anytime after finishing your meal but wait for your turn." He had barely finished his words when Quinn slightly opened the doors to the Great Hall. She waited for a couple of minutes before calling out the first years.

During the first and second round of check-up, Aislinn was literary relaxing, since the first and second years only had school supplies and clothes. It went really quickly to investigate the belongings of the first and second years since they had not been allowed to go to Hogsmeade before the incident and also were too young to be shopping for school supplies alone before the school start. Most of the third years had other items, besides the school supplies, which they had bought in Hogsmeade, typically prank items and sweets, and a few of them carried on muggle items. It was mundane items, such as a poster of the muggle sport, football and there was a peculiar girl who had brought all her barbie dolls. The light, shiny, and screaming color of the dolls' dresses hurt Aislinn's eyes. She tried to keep a straight face when Faeryn had a long yet calm talk with great patience with the girl to make her send all her dolls home.

"...Do not worry, our owl posts never lost their ways. I can assure you of that and it's not much left of this semester until you can go home for the winter holidays..." Aislinn heard Faeryn speaking.

None of the third years had magically manipulated their muggle items, but they had to send everything home while all prank items and potions were confiscated. As for anything edible, which were found to be safe, such as sweets and other kinds of foods, the students could choose to throw them away, eat them up at once which no one did because they had just eaten breakfast, or send the food home. Most students chose the first option in which Avery took advantage of the situation and decided to eat the sweets himself, while a few students chose to send their sweets home. Mulciber gave him a long look, wondering what Avery was doing in the Entrance Hall since he was not part of the investigation team. The team was only made up of some professors, Quinn who was responsible for calling out the students, divided in their years, to the Entrance Hall, Mulciber who investigated potions, other liquids, and foods, Faeryn who investigated if unknown items contained any cursers and Endewyne together with Flynn were doing a more close check up on the students, to see if they wore anything on them, such as hidden prank items or sweets deep in their pockets. Endewyne took care of the female students while Flynn took care of the male students. Blake kept an eye on the confiscated items while the Carrows helped the students to send some of their items home with owls. Aislinn was the only one who was not a professor but had a job to investigate if any muggle item was manipulated with magic. Avery had invited himself to the investigation with the excuse that if they needed an extra hand but he was just being useless and unproductive as he only ate the foods and sweets they students had chosen to throw away instead of sending them home. Elias had only prohibited Persephone to be part of the investigation team or to try to peek inside the Entrance Hall during the investigation in fear that she would not be able to resist her temptation of trying to read the students' minds.

"Oh, may I have Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, please?" Aislinn asked Avery after the third years left and the fourth years had entered the Entrance Hall.

"Of course, you may have all the packages!" Avery was surprised that Aislinn had asked him to give her the most disgusting thing to eat. She, on the contrary to Avery, was smart enough to know which flavored bean to eat to avoid the disgusting ones. She had also many years of eating experience with Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. None of them cared if the other professors gave them disapproving looks for taking advantage of the situation by freeloading on foods and sweets which students had chosen to throw away.

The investigation became more interesting the moment Aislinn found magically manipulated muggle items among some of the sixth years. The muggle items were typically muggle portable mobile phones which three Gryffindor male students, apparently being best friends as well, had bought and manipulated it with magic to make them function at Hogwarts. Aislinn neutralized the magically manipulated phones without destroying their original functions and returned them to their original states, which made them totally useless at Hogwarts' grounds but still functional at muggle places. It came with a great cost though, everything such as pictures, saved numbers, and notes were erased. The boys were devasted and the situation angered them much more than the news of receiving detention by Quinn for manipulating muggle items with magic. They had to clean the entire Great Hall and Entrance Hall without the use of magic after the investigation.

"We'll be confiscating these potions!" Mulciber grabbed all the ten bottles of holiday cheer potion from Soren's trunk while Faeryn went through Soren's journals, novels, and books.

"Isn't literature by non-wizards and half-breeds prohibited?" She asked Quinn.

"It is..." Quinn said thoughtfully. "That rule does not specify what kind of literature..." She browsed through Soren's novels and different books with a frown. She had not seen other students bringing other kinds of books than the required study books before. ...this is something we should have checked at the start of the semester...how could we miss this? Perhaps he brought them during his short trips on the weekends... "Mr. McCunnen, you have to send home all of these books and for detention, you will be polishing all the candelabras in the castle, without the use of magic," Quinn announced as she gestured towards the four novels, six comic books, the advanced textbooks, and the two recipe books. "You may only keep your Hogwarts textbooks and other necessities for classes and your journals."

"Does he really need to so many quills?" Aislinn asked as Flynn searched through Soren's pockets and clothes. Earlier he had found another student trying to hide small prank items in his shoes and made sure that he searched through the male students properly.

"There's no limit on the number of quills. Still, I have never come across students with 30 quills each," Quinn shrugged. "If that makes him feel safe having so many extra quills, it's fine anyway. Well,
I think we are done with the sixth years, aren't we?"

A mountain of confiscated items covered the entire rectangular table which Blake was watching. "May we get rid of these first before we check the seventh years?" She asked with a tired voice.

"Of course, we'll-" Quinn began but was interrupted by Avery's outburst: "I'll take care of all the sweets and foods left. May I also have the holiday cheer potion, pretty please?!

"Absolutely not!" Mulciber was on his edge to snap at him but kept a professional tone. "You can keep all the sweets in the world for all I care. As the potions professor, I am responsible for any potions we find in their trunks and thus I will take care of them."

"That leaves the prank items..." Blake said. It was clear in the tone of her voice that she would gladly avoid the prank items.

"Let's sell them to Zonko's Joke Shop," Avery suggested, but everyone gave him the look that told him to just keep quiet because his suggestion was so half-witted.

"I will take care of the prank items," Faeryn volunteered.

"Are you sure about this?" Endewyne asked.

"Yes. It's like taking care of cursed items. Prank items are just a piece of cake for me."

"Seventh years and the extra-circular students, please" Quinn finally called out the last remaining students in the Great Hall.

...Ah...finally...that was a close call. I am fed up with being kept inside the Great Hall lately these days. I almost wanted to scream right now...Lily was happy to finally being able to leave the Great Hall. She had read the new rules several times that she already knew them by heart. ...No trips during the weekends, not even to Hogsmeade...Anything that has nothing to do with the studies and muggle items have to be sent home. No keeping anything edible or liquids. I am only allowed to eat and drink what they give us in the Great Hall. Absolutely no taking anything edible or liquid to or from Potions, Herbology, Cooking with Magic, and Great Hall...I won't be able to give my failed cooking attempts to professor Flynn anymore and I have to be without my fashion magazines, perfume, makeup, nail polish, and the beautiful shades Luna gifted me, for a couple of months...

"You may keep your toiletries and cosmetics," Mulciber said to Lily's surprise.

"Oh..."

"May I?" Quinn browsed through Lily's fashion magazines. "Ah, since these are from the wizarding world, you may keep them as well."

"You do not have any muggle items, do you?" Aislinn asked but did not expect the astonished Lily to answer. "How boring!" Aislinn commented. The professors gave her an odd look as
if they could not tell if she was joking or if she was being serious.

"You two are free to leave," Quinn nodded towards Lily and Stephan. It had been quick to check through Stephan trunk. Quinn had been so surprised to find a trunk with content as simple as Stephan's.
Because he did not have any prank items or manipulated items or anything else that was prohibited, she awarded him 50 house points. Lily had not been awarded anything because of her shady shades. On the other hand, she was allowed to keep the shades, because it was a magical item from the wizarding world. It could not be detected as a prank item or something cursed or manipulated and thus it was deemed as safe.

"Let's see what you got here..." Endewyne searched through Athena's pockets. She found the pager charm. It was not cursed hence she found it safe, but since it looked like a muggle item that was manipulated with magic to be able to function at Hogwarts, Aislinn neutralized it and thus resulting in erasing all the messages, which were left unchecked.

"You may keep all your items, but you have to send this muggle item," Quinn gestured at the pager "along with your eight comic books and three novels home.

"Merlin's beard, forty prank items?!" Faeryn was shocked when she went through the masked student's trunk. "I am confiscating all of these. As for detention-"

"I will be taking care of that please," Mulciber intervened, meaning that he would issue the detention to the masked student. "I will have a word with you in my office after we are done here,"
Mulciber told the masked student without mentioning anything about detention yet it was clear in the tone of this voice that he would give him a handful of detentions.

"Does he not carry on a muggle item like this?" Endewyne asked Flynn after he had searched through the masked student's clothes. She held up another pager that had been found on Rosaleya.
The pager had already been neutralized from any possible magic. Flynn shook his head. "No...but he has something else..." He drew out the smartphone with his wand without touching it.
Aislinn investigated it as usual and neutralized it from magic, literary erasing the picture of the two children on the screen.

"You have to send this muggle item," Mulciber gestured at the smartphone. "Along with your sixteen books and four magazines home," Then he bent down and said in a low voice, only for the masked student to hear. "Usually some of us allow dirty magazines, however, this is part of your detention; you won't be allowed to keep any dirty magazine as long as you are enrolled here..."

"Miss Lovett you will be helping Mr. McCunnen polishing all the candelabras in the castle. Without magic! And miss Fairbook..."

"She will be disemboweling a barrel full of horned toads," Mulciber issued a detention for Rosaleya before Quinn had a chance to finish her sentence. She did not mind as she was running out of ideas.

 

[Junko Natsumizaka]

Fake Soren accepted the punishment, not feeling especially angry about it. "Alright." He nodded with a neutral expression.

"How boring!" Aislinn commented.

Crystal laughed openly. She'd been bored in other areas of the hall but Aislynn's antics were making her laugh, so she'd decided to remain by her side during this search. Once or twice, she'd held out her hand when they were deciding about what to do with extra candy, taking some for herself as well. If they're doing it and they're not getting in trouble then that's some free candy for me! She thought happily.

Stephan was visibly surprised when he was awarded fifty house points.

"You two are free to leave," Quinn nodded towards Lily and Stephan.

"Thank you." Stephan replied, with raised eyebrows. 50 house points for nothing? That's surprisingly lucky today. A day starting out with this much luck has got to be a good day...He thought hopefully. ...But then again, what does luck have to do with it?

"You may keep all your items, but you have to send this muggle item," Quinn gestured at the pager "along with your eight comic books and three novels home."

Athena nodded. Only a few weeks. With Stephan here and all of the information given to Soren, I won't miss the pager. I won't be here long without it anyway. She thought of how much time was left until winter break. Now I see there was no reason for me to erase all of the private or sensitive messages beforehand, but it made me feel safe during this search.

The Masked Man stared up at the ceiling with droopy eyes, wishing he could go back to sleep and have a good dream. It would be the perfect escape. Better yet, ditch this place and go beg her to spend time with me. She wouldn't turn that down, would she? Or I could make another deal for her to owe me a favor. Whatever I need to do-

"Merlin's beard, forty prank items?!" Faeryn was shocked when she went through the masked student's trunk. "I am confiscating all of these. As for detention-"

The Masked Man looked in the professor's direction, preparing to laugh at whatever fool had left forty prank items in their trunk without any effort to hide them.

"I am confiscating all of these. As for detention-"

"-I've been framed." The Masked Man replied calmly, in a confident tone. He knew who had done this since there was only one person he knew who would have the guts to overdo something to this extend. Only you would choose a number near fifty. Fifty! 'How can I plead my case with nearly fifty items and no evidence?' is what you want me to think. You're forgetting I have money. He imagined bribing whoever would be giving him his punishment to look the other way and 'believe' him about being framed.

"I will have a word with you in my office after we are done here."

"Of course." The Masked Man replied respectfully. 'Surely he will give me a fair hearing?' you'll want me to think. Surely-nothing sure about it. He snorted.

Athena smiled. 'I have one copy. It'll be fine.' How wrong you are.

"Miss Lovett you will be helping Mr. McCunnen polishing all the candelabras in the castle."

"Okay." Athena grinned. You didn't say 'without magic'. Iiidiot.

"Without magic!"

"Fine." Athena replied sulkily. "Good job catching that." She admitted. Polishing candlesticks?! Seriously? What a waste of my frickin' time. For reading a few frickin' books? It's not like they're talking about making Horcruxes or anything, but I guess you guys wouldn't mind that, would you? Athena thought sarcastically. She planned to head over to her detention as soon as possible to avoid procrastinating. Wait a second...they just finished going through his things. I was watching! I didn't see them go through his pager! I wonder where he put his? He wouldn't let it get taken away so easily. Not his only connection to his...'beloved'. He's doing such a terrible job at befriending her that she probably wouldn't text him back anyway. But how hilarious would it be if he returned to his hiding place and found it missing? Utter despair. For him, checking too frequently only to find nothing is far less painful than not knowing. She wanted to grin so badly, but she forced herself to cough a bit instead while she focused on thinking of something that wasn't funny. He's the type to be all careful, but he'll get cocky after the first few checks. Something serious...hmm...She pictured her parents' funeral, open casket, with both of their corpses side by side and holding hands, their expressions so peaceful, their eyes never to open again. I don't feel like laughing now. Her mental image dissipated. Wait a second. She pictured it again. Are those...white roses? Why did I pick white roses this time? She shrugged, making the image disappear again. I thought I agreed that white orchids were better last time. Whatever.

"And miss Fairbook..."

"Hmm?" Fake Rosaleya pretended to snap out of a daydream and pay attention. She'd been paying attention the entire time and just pretending not to with a distant look in her eyes.

"She will be disemboweling a barrel full of horned toads," Mulciber said.

Fake Rosaleya approached Mulciber. "Thank you!" She replied in a quiet voice, her expression 'overflowing with joy'. She loves gore and stuff, right? She'd enjoy this. "I've always wanted to try that. That's an awesome excuse! Thank you for the 'detention'!" She smiled, bowing her head in thanks. I have gloves and a mask. It'll be easy. "Can I do as many as I want?" She was completely serious. I think I nailed it.

Luna was mostly quiet besides her unusually cold greeting to Elias that morning. She mostly observed in the Great Hall, ruminating on her failure. ...I'm so frustrated with myself. I've let this happen, and if you hadn't taken charge of things last night I would've surely failed. She thought to Elias. A culprit who isn't the culprit, the entire school on lockdown, and the students' privacy being publicly invaded. What can I think to make myself feel better, if this is what my takeover has become? Utter failure. I still have Elias's love...that is a good thing...She thought suddenly. ...Perhaps I can...no, I will definitely speak with him about this once this search is over. I'll enter his office on the premise of returning the book I'd planned to last night, but I was having such a lovely time lost in that dreamish dance that I forgot. Perfect. Her self doubt was mixed with a bit of hope now, since she felt that talking with Elias would leave her feeling better about the situation soon.

 

[Hikari Chan]

"Do you have a lot of homework?" Lily asked Stephan on their way to their common room. "I only have Cooking with Magic and it's a pity I cannot do anything else besides reading and studying recipes outside the classroom," She sighed. "But I would probably learn better that way, as I need to read a lot before trying to experiment. By the way..." She stopped in her tracks, giving a prideful look and an arrogant vibe. "That was awesome," She smirked. "You earned us house points today, keep it up and we will win the House Cup at the end of this year," Her eyes glinted with such prideful excitement as he continued to walk towards the Slytherin's common room.

"You will get paid for your contribution to the investigation at the end of this month," Elias informed Aislinn whilst giving her the look that she could leave the castle.

"Who's paying and how much will I get?" She asked, still chewing on a candy.

"The ministry will be paying you since you temporarily got the same job as those who are employed at The Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office division of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic," He was almost losing his patience, but managed to maintain a calm and professional posture as the headmaster of Hogwarts.

"But how much is it?" Aislinn was still as persistent as ever and Elias wondered for a second if she was testing his patience.

"I have no idea," He replied honestly. "You will get the same payment as the staff employed in that division I mentioned. So if they get about, for example, thirty-five gallons per hour, you will get the same-"

"So that's thirty-five multiply the five-six hours I have been here," She interrupted him. "Merlin's beard, I have missed lunchtime!" She exclaimed when she noticed the time.

...you are still thinking about lunch after you had all these sweets...He thought for himself and was about to invite her to have a late lunch just to keep a polite demeanor. To his relief, she excused herself and bid farewell.

The whole incident and the enforcement of the new rules and regulations had given Elias a headache that he desired to retire to his office. Since it was Sunday and there were no classes, he took advantage of the situation to shut himself behind the doors of his office. He hoped that none of the professors or any ministry officials or students, especially his sister, would disturb him. The only person he would not mind was Luna. It was as if he expected her to enter the office at any moment.

"It has come to my attention that you have been drinking something straight from a potion bottle last night," was the first thing Mulciber said as soon as the masked student had taken a seat in front of him in his office. "Explain yourself," He demanded.

...hmm...it is always the sleeping draught that helps one to sleep peacefully...though he drank a potion to treat his headache...last night might have been too stressful because of the weird incident,
that it probably took a toll on him...

"I understand. Last night must have been very stressful, mustn't it?" Mulciber spoke thoughtfully, giving Mr. Dantes a very long look as if he was looking through him before continuing: "...very well...you mentioned that you were being framed with those forty prank items found in your trunk today," Mulciber had not missed when Mr. Dantes had defended himself with a calm and confident tone. "I would like a hearing from you on this matter as I believe you are innocent. You have never been a troublemaker hence I was quite surprised finding out that you have caused such a mess in the dorm.
With your excellent study result and spectacular artworks, you are not the kind of pupil who would prank others, are you? Why did we have to find forty prank items in your trunk today?"