Disclaimer: I do not own any parts of the Pottermore Universe, including but not limited to: settings, characters, the mechanics of magic, etc. All of this belongs to the author of Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, and Warner Bros. respectively. Idol characters are purely fictional and have no affiliation with the actual person and/or group. Original characters will be present in the plot. 

Chaeyoung practically sprinted to Ravenclaw Tower after running into Tzuyu, ditching Dahyun along the way. She took a quick shower and changed into new, clean clothes (dumping her old ones on the floor much to her dorm-mates’ dislike), and immediately dashed all the way down to the kitchen corridor.

It was about another twenty minutes before Momo appeared with a bundle of rope and a pickaxe in hand. “Hey,” the sixth-year greeted, “hope I didn’t keep you waiting for too long.”

Chaeyoung wanted to shout at Momo that she had been waiting forever, but she held her tongue. Momo didn’t deserve to be scolded, and they had more important matters to attend to than just punctuality.

As Momo pulled open the portrait, Chaeyoung raced into the kitchens, not caring if Momo was following or not. She made a bee line over to where she last remembered the door to be, near the pantry wall of herbs and spices. Chaeyoung desperately searched for Eads’s mark but couldn’t find it. Her eyes examined over each and every brick, over and over again. Nothing.

“N-no, this can’t be right . . .” Her voice broke. She started pressing her hands all over the wall, hoping that something would trigger the door to appear.

Momo ran over to the third-year with a grave look of concern. She set the pickaxe and rope aside. “Chaeyoung, what are you doing? Is everything okay?”

“I can’t find the door! There should be a door here that leads us to the room!” the small Ravenclaw girl yelled in frustration. Chaeyoung kicked the wall in anger. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why wasn’t the mark here? Why wasn’t the door appearing? Was this some sort of trick of Eads’s?

“Maybe it’s somewhere else in the kitchen?” Momo suggested.

Chaeyoung anxiously roamed around, touching every wall surface she could find. Her fingers brushed against the stone, careful to not miss a single detail.

Again, nothing. The mark had simply vanished. The small girl slumped with her back against wall, defeated. How was she going to find Mina now?

“Chaeyoung . . . Are you okay?” Momo sank down to the floor next to the girl. Clearly Chaeyoung was not okay, but it didn’t hurt to ask.

“There has to be a way to get to the room again,” fretted Chaeyoung. “Why did it just suddenly disappear? It doesn’t make sense!” She bounced back to her feet and patted her pockets, searching for her wand. She then remembered that it was lodged in Hadubert’s head. “Damn it!” she spat as she ran her hands through her blonde hair. She abruptly seized the deserted pickaxe and swung it back, ready to destroy the wall in front of her.

“Chaeyoung,” Momo repeated calmly. The Hufflepuff stepped in before Chaeyoung could cause any damage and firmly pulled the pickaxe out of the younger girl’s grip. “You need to stop this.

“Everything is going to be all right,” continued Momo. “We’re going to find Mina and bring her back, and she’ll be okay. You’ll be okay. This will all be okay.”

“How do you know though?” croaked Chaeyoung.

“Because you don’t give up on the things that matter the most to you,” Momo simply replied. “That’s just who you are.”

The third-year exhaled deeply through her nostrils. She liked Momo. The sixth-year was up-front about her own thoughts. There was no sugarcoating or fake optimism. But she wasn’t being a bummer either. Momo was very black and white: if she said everything was going to be okay, it was because she truly believed it.

Somehow that made Chaeyoung believe it too.

“Fine, but how are we going to find Mina if we can’t access the room? We don’t know where that chasm even led to!”

The Hufflepuff sixth-year smiled sheepishly. “Honestly? I have no idea.”

Right, everything is going to be okay . . . Hopefully.

To Chaeyoung’s dismay, she and Momo didn’t make any progress that Sunday. Or Monday. Or Tuesday. It had been three full days since Mina had fallen into the pit. Now it was Wednesday, and Chaeyoung could barely touch her lunch. The small girl sat at the end of the Ravenclaw table away from her Housemates, ignoring the lively chatter as she picked at her food, trying to come up with another way to save Mina.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here? A sad, pathetic cub all by herself. Did a certain prefect already abandon you, Sonny? Realize that you weren’t worth keeping around?”

Chaeyoung flinched as she turned to see Bennett walking towards her. His weasel face was twisted in his usual scowl. There was a small splint dressed on the outside bridge of his nose, though it was still noticeably bruised and misshapen. Mina definitely broke Bennett’s nose at the Bash.

Normally, Chaeyoung would’ve remained silent and hoped that whatever harassment Bennett delivered would soon be over. She usually didn’t want to engage with him because she secretly felt that everything he said was right. But something rubbed her the wrong way when he brought up Mina’s name. Mina wasn’t like that. No, after the Bash, Chaeyoung knew that Mina was different. The older girl didn’t just stand aside and let Chaeyoung be the residential punching bag. Mina cared about the third-year. She was a prefect who bloody punched their stupid Housemate in the nose! (By far the coolest thing Chaeyoung had ever witnessed, even surpassing Jeongyeon getting in a fist fight with the old Slytherin Quidditch Captain last year.)

And Mina said that Chaeyoung had a place in Ravenclaw. As someone who didn’t think she could ever be accepted by her own House, Mina’s words really touched Chaeyoung’s heart. Of course, the third-year still had her own doubts about her placement and still thought that Gryffindor would’ve been a better fit. But maybe Ravenclaw wasn’t so bad after all.

Mina believed in her. And for Chaeyoung, it was a start. ­

“Keep Mina out of this,” Chaeyoung growled lowly.

“Stupid Myoui barged her way into this,” Bennett retorted, gesturing between himself and Chaeyoung, “in fact, she once would’ve agreed with me. Son Chaeyoung, the troublemaker. Son Chaeyoung, the nuisance. But somewhere along the way, that started being delusional, thinking that you’re actually a Ravenclaw. Tsk. I knew she was too weak at heart to be a prefect.”

Chaeyoung inhaled sharply. This boy was walking on a very thin line. “She wasn’t weak enough to break your nose,” sassed Chaeyoung.

This ticked off Bennett. He reached out and latched his palm on the crown of Chaeyoung’s head, his nails digging into her scalp. The third-year yelped in pain. She reached up, trying to pry Bennett’s grip off of her, but it only made his grip tighter. “Listen here Sonny, you may think you’re worth something here because Myoui Mina took your side, but let me tell it to you straight: you’re not. You’re pathetic and useless. All you do is run around with those foolish friends of yours and play stupid pranks. You couldn’t even keep your position on the Quidditch team – did you see how even Captain Tuan looked like he didn’t want you to stay?”

Chaeyoung’s jaw tightened at Bennett’s words, the vivid memory of that awful match coming back to her mind.

“No one wants you here, Son. Myoui will come back to her senses again; she’s smart. She’ll figure out that you are only a hindrance and she will leave you. Just you watch.” He sounded so sure that Chaeyoung almost believed him. Almost.

Finally, Bennett let go. Both he and Chaeyoung glared silently at each other, the latter trying to figure out if she should break his nose (again) or if she should kick him in the groin. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to do either since they were interrupted by none other than Park Jihyo.

The Gryffindor fifth-year strolled up to the Ravenclaw table in all of her glory. Her head was held high with her shoulders rolled back; her bobbed brown hair bouncing with the strut of each step, and her stern expression was reminiscent of Professor McGonagall’s infamous scowl. Jihyo was seriously intimidating though she was not that much taller than Chaeyoung. That shiny prefect badge gleamed on her robes like it was the cherry on top. Jihyo stopped in front of Chaeyoung and Bennett, unperturbed by the scene in front of her.

“Bennett,” Jihyo greeted politely though her voice was curt.

“Park,” Bennett replied back with the same tone. “Come here to fetch your little cub?”

Jihyo blatantly ignored Bennett, not even bothering to spare another glance at the boy. She faced Chaeyoung instead. “Son, we need to talk. Somewhere private.” It wasn’t an offer.

Chaeyoung gulped, but complied. There was no way she was going to refuse Park Jihyo. She got up from her seat and brushed past her Housemates. Bennett clucked his tongue disapprovingly. Chaeyoung could just imagine the traitor-related jeers going on in his head.

Once the two walked out of the Great Hall, Jihyo cornered Chaeyoung, standing much too close for comfort.

“All right, Son. Spill it. Where’s Mina?”

“W-what?”

“Mina. Where is she? She’s been missing these last few days. She hasn’t shown up to any of her classes which is so unlike her. I asked some of her roommates about her whereabouts, but they said they hadn’t seen her since the Bash.”

Chaeyoung tugged the ends of her hair lightly. “So, why are you asking me?”

“Because I heard you were the last person seen with Mina on Halloween.”

Cold sweat began to build on the back of Chaeyoung’s neck. Uh-oh. “M-Mina’s ill. Very ill. She had to be sent back home because it was so severe. Her family hopes she’ll recover soon and return back to school,” she fibbed.

“How come her roommates didn’t know anything about this?”

“It was so sudden! It happened during the Bash and um, she was quickly sent back on the Hogwarts Express the next day.”

Chaeyoung couldn’t tell if the Gryffindor prefect was buying her lie or not. The fifth-year’s expression remained blank, but her large eyes bore into Chaeyoung’s very soul. The Ravenclaw girl knew she was dead if the truth about Mina ever got to Jihyo. Probably worse than dead. Heck, Chaeyoung could picture Jihyo dancing on her freshly made grave in celebration that the small pest was gone at last. 

Chaeyoung waited with bated breath for Jihyo to say something.

“Okay.”

And that was it. That was all Jihyo said. She didn’t press with any further questions. Needless to say, Chaeyoung was quite aware that Jihyo didn’t actually believe her. Jihyo clearly knew that Chaeyoung was hiding something and this made the young girl nervous. The prefect was probably planning something. 

“Just please tell me when Mina gets back if you can,” the Gryffindor prefect said. She smiled solemnly. “I miss her.”

A huge wave of guilt washed over Chaeyoung. “Yeah . . . I miss her too.”

“Now if you remember from chapter twelve of your textbook, class . . .”

Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher, droned on about uninteresting matters as Chaeyoung counted down the minutes until she was free. Momo had stopped Chaeyoung during passing time and informed her that Fig might have a solution to their missing-door situation. The sixth-year requested Chaeyoung to meet her in the kitchen corridor again right before supper. Chaeyoung wanted to ditch class and go down instantly, but Momo told her that school was important, and she still needed to take care of her studies. Bleh. 

“All right class, that is it for today,” Professor Flitwick concluded as the clock tower chimed. He hopped off a high pile of books that allowed him to reach the classroom podium and scuttled across the floor. Chaeyoung could hardly see his balding head past all of the students sitting in front of her (not that she really cared as she chose to sit in the back). “Please remember to review this lesson’s material as there may be a quiz next week.”

As students packed their materials up and spilled out of the classroom, Professor Flitwick approached Chaeyoung before she could even make a dash for the exit. “Miss Son,” he squeaked. Great. Another person who wanted to talk. Why today of all days did people suddenly feel the need to be social? “I have been notified by Mr. Filch that you did not attend any of your detention sessions with him during the last few days.”

Chaeyoung internally groaned. Crap. She had been so absorbed with finding Mina that she completely forgot she was still punished for trying to get into Gryffindor Tower.

“I thought that two months of trophy cleaning was forgiving for your actions, but perhaps I shouldn’t have been so merciful had I known you would easily neglect your duties.”

“I’m sorry, sir,” said Chaeyoung. “I’ve just been super . . . busy.”

Professor Flitwick flared his nostrils. Chaeyoung knew she was pushing her professor’s patience. The Charms teacher was an even-tempered man; he did not yell at students when they piteously failed at a charm, he preferred rewarding students for their accomplishments rather than punish them for their mistakes, and he perhaps was one of the few teachers who tolerated Chaeyoung’s knack of mischief. But even he had a limit.

The short professor heaved a sigh, his firm gaze easing up a bit and replaced with exhaustion. “I am giving you a warning this time, Miss Son. But if I hear that you are missing anymore detentions, I’m afraid that I will bring this to the headmaster. Understand?”

Chaeyoung nodded.

“Very well, that is all. Mr. Filch expects to see you tomorrow evening. You’re lucky that today is gin-rummy night.” Professor Flitwick winked. “I am dearly looking forward to it. Oh, I do hope to get back my fuzzy knitted socks that Professor Kim won last week.”

“Er . . . right . . . thank you, sir.” Chaeyoung immediately bolted out of the classroom and burst into her dorm room within record breaking time. She hastily dumped her school supplies on her bed and changed into casual clothes – a red hoodie and jeans – before sprinting down to the kitchen corridor.

“I’M HERE!” she shouted dramatically, raising her arms out in a y-shape. Momo and Fig were already waiting for her at the kitchen entrance. “Alrighty, Fig. What do you have for us?”

The house elf reached into his teabag uniform and pulled out a silver circular object that was hanging around his neck by a chain. It looked like a pocket watch. The polished cover was blank except for the small initials F.E. engraved along the edge of the watch. Chaeyoung exchanged a confused glance with Momo.

“Headmaster Park was disposing this a few years back,” said Fig, “but Fig thought it was so pretty that Headmaster Park decided to gift this to Fig instead. He said he was taking care of it for a friend, but that friend was probably never coming back.”

“What is it?” asked Chaeyoung. Fig flipped open the cover. It turned out that the device wasn’t a clock, but a strange compass. The face was compromised of a deep blueish-black background, lined with silver gridlines and fuzzy dots scattered everywhere. Stemming from the center were four needles, all of varying sizes and colors, each one point in a different direction. Two metal rings circumscribed the compass. The outermost hummed softly as it spun slowly in a counter-clockwise motion. The inner ring was decorated with numbers and tick marks as well as the four cardinal directions, north, east, south, and west.

“This is an ostendometer. It will help us find Miss Mina,” explained Fig. “It is enchanted with a Homonculous Charm which helps track a person’s whereabouts. The gadget may look complex, but it is actually quite simple. One only has to the question.”

Fig handed the ostendometer over to Chaeyoung, winding up the knob at the top. “Where is Myoui Mina?” asked Chaeyoung, not even hesitating once the device reached her warm hands. The circular plates froze for a second and then all of the sudden, the needles spun around in a frenzy. One of the needles – a long red one – stopped and pointed to a nearby wall, quivering as if it was saying Mina is this way! You must go this way!

Chaeyoung took a step forward to follow the compass, but stopped. “Ummmm . . . how are we supposed to go through a wall?”

Momo and Fig both shrugged.

Scratching her head, Chaeyoung wished they still had Momo’s pickaxe from earlier. Or maybe Momo’s wand could work. But just as Chaeyoung was about to ask Momo for her wand, her right wrist began to tingle. She gasped at the sight of Eads’s mark: it was faintly glowing a bright red. Tentatively, Chaeyoung reached out her hand and pressed it against the cold stone wall.

The tingling sensation soon became painful, and Eads’s mark now burned on her wrist. Chaeyoung yelped as the wall sank in, revealing a tunnel much like how there was a hidden room in the kitchens. 

“What the –” Momo and Fig stared at Chaeyoung, stunned.

“Nice,” Chaeyoung said, impressed. “Shall we get going then?” She gestured to the tunnel, the ominous black cavity ready to swallow anything – or anyone – that came close.

Fig moved toward the tunnel, but Momo hesitated. Her eyes were wide with fright. The sight reminded Chaeyoung of when she first learned that Mina was scared of the dark.

“Momo, is everything okay?” asked Chaeyoung.

“O-of course . . . I’m completely fine . . .” Momo faltered. It didn’t take a genius to sense that Momo did not want to venture into the tunnel at all.

“It’s all right if you stay here,” said Chaeyoung. “Mina is my responsibility, anyway. I’m the reason why she fell in the first place.”

Uncertainty pooled in Momo’s eyes. Chaeyoung wondered if Jeongyeon had taken the sixth-year aside and asked for Momo to babysit her as well. “Are you sure? I . . . I really do want to help you, but . . . dark tunnels aren’t really my thing.”

“It’s okay, I understand. I won’t force you to do anything you’re uncomfortable with.”

It took a few more minutes of persuading until Momo relented at last. “T-thank you. Here, take my wand then since you mentioned you lost yours.” She handed over her wand to Chaeyoung; the third-year inspected it curiously and weighed it in her hand. It felt kind of funny holding someone else’s wand. “Go get her, Chaeyoung,” Momo added quietly.

Chaeyoung nodded and gave her friend a pat on the back. She clenched Momo’s wand securely and turned to Fig, “Ready?”

“Lead the way, Miss Chaeyoung.”

Chaeyoung took one last look at Momo before taking a deep breath. “We’re coming for you, Mina,” whispered Chaeyoung as she and Fig took a step into darkness.

Despite having Momo’s wand on a full brightness spell, it was terribly difficult to see anything in the tunnel. With each step Chaeyoung took, she wasn’t entirely positive that there was solid ground beneath her foot. Fig did not seem to mind the darkness and just hummed happily next to Chaeyoung.

“So, how exactly does this compass-thingy work?” Chaeyoung asked, taking a look at the ostendometer for the hundredth time. Thankfully, it was glow-in-the-dark. Every part of the face was radiantly lit and easy to read. Whoever had created the ostendometer was considerate that the device could be used in any situation.

“The red needle points you in the direction of the person or place you wish to be taken to, and the blue needle indicates the user’s relative position. See how it shifts whenever you change your body direction?” Fig took the compass from Chaeyoung’s hands and showed her as he turned left and right, the blue needle doing the exact same. “This yellow needle specifies our proximity to Miss Mina – it follows the numbers along the inner ring, giving us an approximate distance from our designation.”

“And the weird green spinny-needle?”

“That one tells you if there are any bodies within a certain radius of you – if it stays in a single place for a long time that means the presence is getting closer.”

“That’s cool. What happens if there are a lot of bodies coming closer to you at the same time?”

“An excellent question! Fig honestly has no idea. Fig does not use the ostendometer often as he does not have a reason to do so.”

“Ah . . .”

Chaeyoung and Fig continued, a silence enveloping them as the tip of Momo’s wand blazed fervently in the dense tunnel of black. Fig checked the ostendometer every now and then, directing Chaeyoung which path to take, ensuring the young girl that they were indeed getting closer to Mina. Chaeyoung – still not fully understanding how the gadget worked – could only take the house elf’s word for it.

Suddenly Fig stopped, his large bat-like ears twitching. “Wait, Miss Chaeyoung, do you hear that?”

The third-year cupped a hand over her ear and listened carefully. “I don’t hear anything.”

“There’s something, miss . . . it’s coming towards us . . .” The elf’s head tipped to one side, a single ear raised on alert. Chaeyoung in her breath as she heard a faint shuffle in the distance.

“Who goes there?” Chaeyoung called out boldly.

“C-Chaeyoung . . .?”

Chaeyoung froze. She knew that voice. “Mina,” she murmured. “Mina,” she repeated, this time louder so the prefect could hear her. “It’s me, Chaeyoung! Fig and I are here for you!”

There was a muffled gasp buried in the dark, and the sound of uneven footsteps quickened. Before Chaeyoung could react, a pair of arms seized her, pulling the small girl into a tight embrace – almost causing the two of them to fall over.

“Whoa there,” Chaeyoung said as she stabilized both herself and the Ravenclaw prefect. Mina took a step back, though her hands were still placed on Chaeyoung’s shoulders for balance.

In the dim wand light, Chaeyoung studied her Housemate closely, drinking in Mina’s presence after a three-day disappearance. Mina looked terrible. The prefect was dead exhausted: she was covered in dirt and grime, her figure was discolored, and her pretty red dress was in rags. Chaeyoung noticed that Mina was barefoot, and her ankle was bandaged in red cloth. Mina coughed.

“Chaeyoung,” Mina said, her voice raspy and weak, “what are you doing here?”

The third-year gave a small laugh. “Rescuing you, duh. Did you really think I would just abandon you?”

“What about the quest? The dragon?”

“I guess saving you came first.” Chaeyoung reached for one of Mina’s hands and held it in her own; even with the dozens of scratches and cuts, somehow Mina’s skin was still very soft. Carefully, she caressed her thumb over the mark on Mina’s wrist. It was swollen and a dark crimson red. Hm. Odd. “But don’t worry,” Chaeyoung added quickly, “Jeongyeon and Dahyun are working hard on the third clue so we didn’t totally jump ship.”

Mina let out a sigh of relief as if the number one thing she had been worrying about was finding the heirloom instead of falling down a giant pit.

Chaeyoung gazed back at her Housemate with dozens of questions pressing the back of . She wanted to know what happened after the prefect fell. Where was Hadubert? Did he attack her again? Where did Mina land? How was she able to survive for three days? Did Chaeyoung’s wand work okay? How did she end up in the tunnel? Did it mysteriously appear for her like it did for Chaeyoung? Did her own mark burn when it happened?

The fifth-year seemed to sense Chaeyoung’s bubbling inquiries and shook her head. Later, her eyes read. They would explain their stories to each other at another time.

Suddenly, Mina was seized by a coughing fit. Her body folded over. Her thin pale arms wrapped around her stomach as she heaved and wheezed like she was about to hack up a lung.

“M-Mina!” Chaeyoung exclaimed, watching in horror as specks of blood splattered the floor.

“Miss Chaeyoung, I think it would be in our best interest to get Miss Mina to the infirmary as soon as possible,” Fig advised. He fidgeted nervously.

Chaeyoung nodded. She placed her hands on Mina’s shoulders – they were absolutely freezing – and she could feel the prefect trembling underneath her touch. In one swift smooth motion, Chaeyoung took off her hoodie and handed it over to Mina. “Wear this. It will keep you warm,” she said.

“Thank you,” Mina murmured, standing up right again. The prefect pulled on the hoodie, but struggled as her arms flailed around helplessly and her head still covered by the soft fabric. Chaeyoung chuckled in amusement as Mina floundered around, finally helping her Housemate out.

“There you are,” Chaeyoung teased as Mina’s head popped out from the top of the hoodie. Mina blew a few strands of hair from her face, pouting like a child. Chaeyoung couldn’t help but grin fondly at the sight before her. “Cute,” she blurted out.

A bashful smile flickered across Mina’s lips.

“Miss Chaeyoung, Miss Mina, the walls are whispering,” interrupted Fig, startling the two girls. “Fig gets a bad feeling from this tunnel. Fig thinks we must leave promptly.”

Mina’s face turned paler which Chaeyoung didn’t think was physically possible. The prefect looked like she was going to faint at any moment.

“Mina, are you okay?” Chaeyoung asked, apprehensively.

The fifth-year shook her head. “Fig is right, we need to get out of here.” Mina took a hasty step forward when her right ankle suddenly buckled underneath her. Fortunately, Chaeyoung was able to catch her before she hit the floor. Mina whimpered and uncharacteristically placed her head on Chaeyoung’s shoulder, hugging the small girl in a full embrace.

“Mina, your injury is really bad. We shouldn’t rush things,” said Chaeyoung.

“B-but . . .”

Chaeyoung shushed Mina and started to rub small circles on the prefect’s back to soothe her. “We’ll get out of here, don’t worry. I got you. It’s going to be okay – I promise I won’t let go.”

Both Chaeyoung and Mina shared a look as the familiar words lingered in the air.

“You promise you actually won’t let go this time?” Mina asked, narrowing her eyes playfully. (Chaeyoung hoped it was in a playful manner.)

Chaeyoung smiled widely. She s her left arm around Mina’s waist, drawing her in closer to make sure that the prefect didn’t put too much weight on her bad ankle. “Promise.”

Slowly but surely, Chaeyoung helped Mina make it out of the tunnel as Fig took the lead with the ostendometer. No one said anything along the way, the only sound was the pitter-patter of their steps and the steady breaths in sync. Chaeyoung didn’t think there was much more to say though. At least, not at that particular moment. All that mattered right now was that Mina was safe and found.

Holding Mina and watching the prefect hobble about (which was quite endearing and somehow Mina still looked bloody elegant doing so), Chaeyoung felt a pang of guilt again. This was her fault. Mina didn’t want to be part of the dragon-deal, didn’t want to go around searching for clues and solving riddles, and definitely did not want to be attacked by a giant hairy spider. But despite being thrown into the chaos, Mina had held her ground. She didn’t back down, she didn’t run away, she didn’t ditch Chaeyoung or tell a teacher. Mina had pulled through for Chaeyoung.

Chaeyoung gazed at Mina and a new rush of determination surged through her body. Momo was right. Everything would be okay. They would get through this. They would get through the tunnel, the riddles, the quest – the whole dragon deal – and they would do it together.

/ / /

Dahyun’s eyes were just about ready to fall out of her head. It had been days, and she and Jeongyeon had gotten nowhere with the riddle. Every second of free time they could snag, the two girls stared at an elaborate chart that Jeongyeon made; it was filled with all of their brainstorming ideas, threads of red string connecting one thought to another, x’s and o’s were all over the board, and arrows pointed in every and any direction. The board could’ve been mistaken for Jeongyeon’s Quidditch plays and made about as little sense to Dahyun. But she had to give credit to the Gryffindor Captain for her hard work.

“Okay, let’s go over what we already know,” said Jeongyeon for the umpteenth time.

Dahyun rolled her eyes; it was like this every single time they met up. “What’s the point? We’ve been over this so many times and nothing has clicked.”

“Do you have a better idea?” Dahyun didn’t respond. “Thought so. Look, I know we haven’t made much progress, but I’m sure we’ll think of something. We’re smart too.”

Jeongyeon went on to reiterate the points of the riddles. “The first stanza is a set of instructions that tells us that if we only get one chance to solve the clue and put in it the cylindrical contraption; if the answer is incorrect, whatever is inside will disappear. The second stanza is the one we need to figure out. So the question is what has five letters, three lives, and no body?” Jeongyeon paused. “A virus maybe?”

Thump! Dahyun banged her head against the table. Ugh. Her brain felt like it was going to explode.

“Jeongyeon! Dubu!” A wild Chaeyoung appeared with frazzled hair and wide-eyes, panting heavily like she just ran around the castle five times (knowing Chaeyoung, she probably could too). “M-Mina! Found! Found her we . . . I mean her we found . . . damnit . . . WE FOUND HER! We found Mina!”

“Whoa, kid! Slow down – and don’t swear,” said Jeongyeon. The older girl ushered Chaeyoung to a seat. “You found Mina?”

Chaeyoung nodded so fast, Dahyun thought her head was going to snap off. “Yes! Fig and I did!” The third-year zipped off into a speedy recounting of the rescue-mission: how Fig had some weird compass-thingy to guide them through a secret passageway hidden in the castle and they stumbled upon a lost Mina looking like the walking dead. “Mina is fine. Momo is with her in the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey is tending to her ankle,” finished Chaeyoung, catching her breath.

“Really? You took her to the hospital wing?” Jeongyeon raised an eyebrow.

“We didn’t really have a choice, she needed professional care. Madam Pomfrey just took one look at me and I think she came up with her own conclusions – she didn’t ask what happened.”

Understandable. Dahyun knew, at this point, whenever she or Chaeyoung were involved with anything that resulted in someone taking a trip to the hospital wing, the school nurse knew better than to question it.

“Well, it’s a relief that you were able to find Mina,” Dahyun commented. Now their hearts could ease up a little bit. “I wish we could give you some good news too, Chaeng. But Jeongyeon and I haven’t made any progress on the riddle.”

“Can I see it?” Jeongyeon passed the parchment over to Chaeyoung. The third-year placed her elbows on the table, hands pressed against her cheeks as she stared attentively at the third clue. Her lips moved in a fast whisper, mumbling the lines out loud to herself, and every now and then Chaeyoung would scrunch her nose in frustration.

Dahyun and Jeongyeon waited for their friend, but it seemed like Chaeyoung was taking for-bloody-ever.

“Chaeyoung, maybe we –”

“Water.”

“What?”

“The answer. It’s water.”

Dahyun glanced at Jeongyeon. No way. It couldn’t be that simple. “A-are you sure?”

“Yeah. Can’t you see?” Dahyun squinted at the parchment, examining the riddle one more time. Chaeyoung was right. How could she and Jeongyeon been so dense? Three lives? Obviously about the three phases water exists in. Falling free from Heaven’s hand? Rain! Duh. And hello, the riddle had the bloody word dammed in it. (Not the one for condemnation.)

Both Dahyun and Jeongyeon stared at Chaeyoung in amazement. The fiery light in Chaeyoung’s eyes burned passionately, and it reminded Dahyun back when her best friend was first so excited to get a dragon. Oh, how times have changed. Dahyun laughed silently to herself. Mina really brought out a new side to Chaeyoung.

“C’mon, Jeongyeon! Put the answer in the cylinder-thingy! It’s five letters – it works,” urged Chaeyoung.

The Gryffindor Captain slowly nodded. Her hands carefully turned each disc to the correct letter; a tiny click could be heard once each one was in place. W-A-T-E-R. As the final disc was set in place, one end of the device popped open. The Gryffindor Captain pulled out a thin, clear metal tube; tucked neatly inside it was a thinly rolled sheet of parchment. Dahyun and Chaeyoung leaned in as Jeongyeon removed it with gentle hands.

“What is it? What is it?”

“Is it the next clue?”

Before Jeongyeon could respond, Chaeyoung rudely snatched the parchment out of Jeongyeon’s hands, examining it for herself. Her face immediately puckered in puzzlement as her eyes roamed the aged, yellow paper.

“Kid, I know you’re eager about all of this, but let’s act like a team here,” chided Jeongyeon.

Chaeyoung pouted and held out the parchment so both Dahyun and Jeongyeon could take a look too. In delicately written penmanship, there were a list of items and a set instructions scrawled at the bottom. There was no indication to what the list was specifically for, but from the looks of it, Dahyun suspected it was a potion recipe.

Jeongyeon seemed to be thinking the same thing. “This is referring to the beginning of clue number three,” stated Jeongyeon, plucking the paper from Chaeyoung’s grip. “I recognize bilberries. They’re typically used to aid or enhance a person’s eyesight, specifically night vision – muggles have used them too. A secret that unveils the hidden to be seen? This is definitely a recipe for a visibility potion.”

“There’s something on the back too,” mentioned Dahyun.

Jeongyeon flipped the paper around. “It’s the next riddle,” she gasped.

See the domed stars beyond my glass eye

Jupiter soars with his wings out wide

Chart the tail under the moon’s full face

Midnight reveals the bu ried key in its place

“Argh. This is never-ending,” complained Dahyun, wanting to bang her head against the table again. She was sick and tired of all of these riddles. When would it all be over? “Since when does Jupiter have wings?”

“We can solve it though! We just solved the other one! We’re on a roll!” said Chaeyoung, jumping out of her seat. “Let’s go tell Mina the good news. I’m sure she’d want to know that we’re onto the next clue.”

But Jeongyeon held a hand up. “Wait, kid. It’s late and we still have classes tomorrow. Plus, Mina definitely needs to rest.”

Dahyun expected Chaeyoung to stomp her foot or throw some sort of immature tantrum, but the third-year only nodded. “Yeah . . . yeah, you’re right. Mina needs to rest.” She looked at Dahyun and Jeongyeon with wide child-like eyes and added, “But tomorrow, yeah? We can pick this up again tomorrow?”

Jeongyeon ruffled Chaeyoung’s blonde hair with a soft smile. “Of course. Now, get to bed.”

/ / /

“Excuse me . . . sorry . . . pardon . . .” Tzuyu scooted past several students in the narrow aisle, trying to get to the open seat in the Quidditch stands. She joined the rest the Slytherin team in a sea of black and yellow. The atmosphere was already high on anticipation, Hufflepuff students screaming out chants as they waved around flags.

It was another Quidditch Saturday. The November air was chill but not unbearable. A gentle breeze swept across the pitch and Tzuyu was glad that she brought her green and silver scarf with her. Jungkook had requested that the entire Slytherin team to spectate the Quidditch match as a means to scout the other Houses and their styles of play. Even though Tzuyu was technically still prohibited from playing, Jungkook insisted that the third-year watch the game with everyone because “no teammate should be left behind.”

“Remember, our key goals are figuring out ways to handle Hufflepuff’s Beaters and sizing up how that Bennett bloke is as Ravenclaw’s new Seeker . . . Well, I guess he isn’t new-new, but it’s been a while since he played that position. We’ll need to see if he’s a threat or not – I can’t imagine that he’s better than Son though,” Jungkook informed his teammates.

The two teams came out on the field, and all of the Hufflepuff students shouted loudly, stomping their feet and calling out each Hufflepuff player’s name. The Slytherin Quidditch team glanced around in awe. Who knew that Hufflepuff could be so wild?

Drawing her attention back to the teams down below, Tzuyu held her binoculars up and skimmed over the players mounted on their brooms. She spotted one particular sixth-year at the far end of the stadium. Sana’s mouth was set in a tight line and her honey-brown eyes were hungry for victory. The girl’s demeanor was very different from how she usually acted – even during the Slytherin versus Hufflepuff match, Sana had been playful – however right now, the Beater looked ruthless.

The referee for the match was Professor Lee; she blew her whistle, and the teams took off. Ravenclaw was looking to redeem themselves after their loss a few weeks back. They snatched the Quaffle from the toss-up and rushed it up the flanks, only to immediately lose it to Hufflepuff. Within seconds, one of the Hufflepuff Chasers scored the first points of the game.

Sana zoomed around the pitch, slugging the Bludgers at Ravenclaw with ferocious power. Tzuyu wasn’t entirely sure why the sixth-year was playing so aggressively – it was quite terrifying, really. She watched as Sana whacked a black ball straight at Tuan who narrowly missed the hit, but lost the Quaffle in the process.

Tzuyu turned to Jungkook sitting beside her. “Why is Sana so fired up today?”

Jungkook threw Tzuyu a puzzled look. “What do you mean? Minatozaki is always like this – her skill is amazing! Maybe our Beaters can pick up on some of her technique . . .”

As Sana blocked the Bludger from hitting one of her teammates, Tzuyu furrowed her brow, dubious at her Captain’s words. She didn’t recall Sana being this forceful during their match a few weeks ago.

The game continued with Hufflepuff taking the lead. Ravenclaw was frustrated that they were trailing behind, their teamwork spiraling and plays becoming more and more reckless. Their concentration was disrupted. Tzuyu’s thoughts drifted to Chaeyoung and what the small girl would do if she were playing. She probably would’ve been unbothered by the score and remained focus on finding the Snitch. When Chaeyoung truly set her mind on something, she was relentless.

However, Ravenclaw’s new Seeker – Benny or whatever – seemed to be pissed off at his team’s current standings, and instead of looking for the Snitch, he was yelling his head off at Professor Lee for her “unfair” calls and “obvious lack of knowledge of the game.” The rest of the Ravenclaw players shied away like they didn’t want to be associated with their Seeker at all. What an embarrassment.

“What the hell was Tuan thinking? Replacing Son with this git?” Jungkook grumbled as the red-headed boy started criticizing Professor Lee’s decision on a foul against his team. “He’s a shoddy Seeker, if you ask me. Totally not worth it.”

Tzuyu silently concurred: what was the Captain of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team thinking? Bias aside, Chaeyoung was a very good Seeker and she was one of the youngest members on the team which meant she still had a lot of untapped potential. The small girl worked hard when it came to the sport; she and Tzuyu would sometimes use their free time to secretly train together, and Tzuyu saw how Chaeyoung always strived to improve.

“At least we know that Ravenclaw is no longer a threat,” remarked Jennie, “should make it easier to snatch the Cup from them this year.” The rest of the Slytherin team nodded in agreement.

It was about another fifteen minutes and then the game ended. Surprisingly, the Ravenclaw Seeker caught the Snitch (though it was mostly by luck because it had flown near him whilst the Hufflepuff Seeker was at the other end of the Pitch). But despite Bennett’s catch, Ravenclaw trailed too far behind in points to beat Hufflepuff’s score. It was their second loss of the season.

Serves them right, Tzuyu thought bitterly, still furious at the House’s decision to boot her friend. The image of Chaeyoung’s devastated face from last week passed through her mind. It hurt seeing her best friend like that.

Chaeyoung and Dahyun were some of the closest and most important people to Tzuyu. They were the sisters that she never had, but always wanted. Although the two were troublemakers and maybe weren’t the best influences, their bright imaginative personalities brought a lot of color to Tzuyu’s dull academic life. The three girls had always been by each other’s side for the past two years. It felt weird being apart from Chaeyoung and Dahyun for just a few weeks. Empty.

But now it seemed like neither Chaeyoung nor Dahyun wanted anything to do with her. Why?

Tzuyu rest her head on her hand with a heavy sigh as the Hufflepuff crowd cheered noisily at their House’s win. Sana circled around the pitch in a victory lap, waving to all of her Housemates warmly. Tzuyu watched intently as the sixth-year thanked everyone for coming to support Hufflepuff; she had never seen anyone thank the spectators.

Sana looked towards Tzuyu’s section and waved excitedly. For a brief moment, Tzuyu met eyes with Sana and though it could’ve been her imagination, she swore Sana winked at her.

However, Tzuyu wasn’t the only one who thought that the wink was directed to her. Everyone else in Tzuyu’s vicinity thought the wink was for them. Soon her entire section exploded with screams and shouts.

“OHMYGOODNESS! MINATOZAKI JUST WINKED AT ME!”

“NO, SHE DIDN’T, YOU DUFUS! IT WAS FOR ME!”

“OBVIOUSLY, IT WAS FOR ME! THAT’S WHY SHE SAID HI TO ME EARLIER THIS MORNING IN THE HALLWAY!”

“MINATOZAKI WOULD NEVER GO FOR YOU!”

“THINK AGAIN, DUMMY!”

Tzuyu glanced around her, bewildered. She never realized that Sana was so . . . popular.

Jennie rolled her eyes and leaned in, chuckling. “Can you believe all of these idiots? And to think they’re her Housemates. Minatozaki always acts like this – the waving, the hair tosses, the winks, the smiles – it’s all just a show. She loves the attention. It’s a game for her.”

Tzuyu frowned. Was Jennie telling the truth? Sana didn’t seem like someone who openly sought attention; Tzuyu wasn’t the best at reading people, but she always thought that the sixth-year was genuine, not flirtatious.

But Jennie was her teammate. She wouldn’t lie. And Jennie knew Sana better than Tzuyu since they were in the same year.

“Be careful around Minatozaki. You never know what’s up her sleeve,” warned Jennie. “You’re younger so you might not have heard the rumors, but Sana could charm her way out of detention with Professor McGonagall if she wanted to. People say she can hypnotize others to get what she wants. With her beauty and honey-slick tongue, I wouldn’t get too close if I were you.”

The pit of Tzuyu’s stomach dropped. Charm? Hypnotize? Suddenly Tzuyu reflected on her newly (and abruptly) blossomed friendship with the sixth-year. Maybe she jumped in too fast. Had she been played for a fool trusting Sana? The third-year drummed her fingers on her thigh. Now that she thought about it, why was Sana so eager to help her with Gucci? It didn’t add up.

“But it doesn’t matter anyway,” said Jennie, oblivious to Tzuyu’s internal crisis. “Because you don’t really interact with Minatozaki at all. Just make sure that when you return to the pitch, she doesn’t get to your head the next time we play Hufflepuff.”

Tzuyu chose not to respond.

The Saturday afternoon was quiet. The morning hype was over and most of students returned to the castle to carry with their day, but Tzuyu opted for something else.

Tzuyu inhaled a cool breath of air, closing her eyes as she leaned back against the glass window, watching the sunlight catch the dust motes in the air. The greenhouse was quiet and empty – just the way she liked it.

After the third-year shared her secret with Sana, the two started looking for alternative places to keep Gucci – somewhere that wasn’t a dark and creepy room. It took them about week or so before Sana found some abandoned greenhouses hidden behind the castle near the Forbidden Forest. According to Sana, the newer greenhouses were fancier with the latest magi-technology so no one had used these ones in decades. Even Professor Sprout had forgotten about them.

Though the wooden framework was a bit weathered and the windows were in desperate need of a good clean, the old greenhouses weren’t in terrible condition. Tzuyu thought they would suffice as Gucci’s new home for now – though when winter came around, she’d probably have to go real estate searching again. Gucci seemed to enjoy his new place very much. Tzuyu and Sana had settled Gucci in the house closest to the castle, placing his bed and litter box in the far corner along with a couple of toys that Sana had bought from some pet catalogue. There were leftover plants all over the greenhouse. They had taken over with their arms stretched out wide, crawling up the walls like they were pulling the whole greenhouse into a tight embrace. Sana assured Tzuyu that none of the plants were aggressive or dangerous.

“Hey,” Sana greeted as she entered the greenhouse with Gucci in her arms. She was dressed in a light blue sweater with jeans, and her hair was pulled into a French braid. The sixth-year had just taken the dog out on his walk though by the looks of it he had given up halfway through. Gucci nuzzled his face into Sana’s chest, his tongue poking out and his eyes in the shape of crescent moons. He was utterly content.

“Hey,” Tzuyu replied. She reached out as Sana tried to hand her Gucci, but the dog didn’t want to leave the coziness of Sana’s hold. “Keep him, he’s really warmed up to you.”

Sana smiled apologetically. “I suppose so.” She sat down next to Tzuyu, Gucci still in her arms like a baby. He wagged his tail happily as Sana rubbed his tummy, soon drifting off into a peaceful slumber. 

“Congratulations on your win,” said Tzuyu. “Um . . . you did very well.”

“Oh right, I saw you in the stands with the rest of the Slytherin team. Did you get down all of our plays? Figure out all of our secrets? Determine how to beat us in the next rematch?”

“Er, uh . . . I dunno . . . maybe . . .?”

“I’m just teasing you,” Sana said lightly. She playfully elbowed Tzuyu, but the third-year merely sighed. After what she heard from Jennie, she didn’t know if she liked Sana joking with her. What was Sana trying to do?

“Something is on your mind,” Sana stated after a moment of consideration. She said it with a natural casualness. No hesitation to ask. “Do you want to talk about it, Tzuyu?”

The Slytherin girl idly drew circles in the dirt ground, prolonging her answer as much as she could. “I . . . I ran into Dahyun and Chaeyoung last week,” she said at last, “and something felt off about them.” She didn’t know why she brought her friends up instead of actually admitting what was on her mind.

“Off?”

“Cold,” Tzuyu amended. “Distant. Like they were hiding something.” Her brow creased at the unfriendly memory. “Chaeyoung was perhaps as she always is – off in her own world – but Dahyun was unusually surly.”

“Dahyunnie? My Dahyunnie?” Sana sounded skeptical. Her face was baffled, as if she couldn’t picture the pale girl even hurting a fly, much less one of her best friends.

Tzuyu averted her gaze, unable to look Sana in the eye. How could she explain it? It was weird. Dahyun wasn’t like her usual self. The girl was moody and terse nowadays. Even at the Halloween Bash, Dahyun wasn’t acting like the Dahyun Tzuyu knew.

Sana reached out and grasped Tzuyu’s hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. “If you want, I can talk to Dahyunnie about it. Maybe she’s just stressed with school.”

Tzuyu doubted that was the case, but she appreciated the sixth-year’s gesture.

“There’s something else though.” Sana drew her face in closer, making Tzuyu blush. Her careful, observant eyes entranced Tzuyu.

“I . . . I heard . . . some talk about you after the match . . . that you had a . . . reputation.” The words unexpectedly slipped right off of Tzuyu’s tongue. Shocked, she brushed her fingertips against . She hadn’t intended to tell Sana.

“Ah,” Sana said, her voice becoming surprisingly small. “That.”

“That?” Tzuyu echoed.

Sana smiled, but it wasn’t like her normal smile – the one that Tzuyu liked – this one had a hint of sadness and hurt. “Tell me, Tzuyu, what exactly have you heard about me?”

“Mainly good things,” the third-year said quickly, hoping that she didn’t offend Sana. “You know, Dahyun always talks about how great of a friend you are, and the Slytherin Quidditch team gushes over your Beater skills. Nayeon says really nice things about you too – except when you steal her snacks.”

“You wouldn’t have brought this up, Tzuyu, if this hadn’t been bothering you,” interrupted Sana softly.

Tzuyu froze. Is that why she brought this up? Did these rumors bother her? The third-year opened to object, but was quickly silenced by Sana. The Hufflepuff placed a slender finger to Tzuyu’s lips.

“It’s okay, Tzuyu. You can tell me the truth.”

“Um . . .”

Well, here goes nothing. Tzuyu repeated the same gossip that Jennie had told her earlier that day. Although it was the first time Tzuyu heard the slander, it clearly wasn’t Sana’s. Much to the Slytherin’s disappointment, the sad smile on Sana’s face never disappeared. The sixth-year pursed her lips and nodded slowly to each and every word that Tzuyu said. She didn’t look surprised at all, more like she dreaded that this moment had finally come.

When Tzuyu finished, she swiftly said, “But those are all rumors, right? You don’t – you don’t actually . . . hypnotize people . . . do you?”

Sana humorlessly chuckled. “I try not to.”

“What?”

The sixth-year shifted her position, leaning her back against the glass wall. Sana sat very still, her gaze lingered in the distance and her breathing was slow and steady. The chiseled profile reminded Tzuyu of those marble statues that Chaeyoung sometimes showed her pictures of from various muggle art museums – the sharpness and angularity of Sana’s face made Tzuyu catch her breath. She never would admit this out loud, but Sana looked really pretty at that moment.

“It’s not actual hypnosis,” Sana clarified, though it sounded as if Tzuyu wasn’t the only one she was trying to convince, but also herself. “It’s more like . . . how should I say this?” She paused for a very long time. “What do you know about the veela, Tzuyu?” she asked at last.

Tzuyu tilted her head. “Not much. I know they have a reputation for luring in men – and some women – with their enchanting beauty and dancing.”

“That’s right . . . people who fall under their spell often do not eat, drink, or sleep for days, dying in the end . . . it’s quite terrible, really. Many may think that it is a blessing to be a veela, but it is not. The veela are tricksters; they deceive humans into forgetting their own lives and have no remorse about it.”

“Okay, but . . .” Tzuyu didn’t understand why Sana would suddenly start talking about the veela unless . . . slowly, she put two-and-two together. “You’re a veela,” the third-year gasped.

“Not a full-blooded one, but yes, veela blood does run through my veins. My great-grandmother was one,” Sana replied with so much shame in her voice. “Already people see me as a flirt, desperately vying for attention; an innate consequence of some genetic coding I cannot control. But there are some things that I do have power over.”

“And ‘hypnotizing’ people is one of them,” Tzuyu croaked. She felt sick. Suddenly everything she thought she knew about Sana shattered. She trusted Sana! It was possible the Hufflepuff girl may have tricked her ever since Tzuyu was confined in the hospital wing. Tzuyu stood up with her jaw clenched. “You lied to me.” She couldn’t keep the tremor out of her voice or the tears welling in her eyes. “You d-deceived me . . . and I . . . I told you about Gucci and . . . you . . .”

“Tzuyu, it’s not like that! I didn’t – I didn’t use my powers on you. I try not to use them on anyone ever; I cannot bear my own blood! I already feel like a monster, I do not wish to make anyone else believe that I am one,” Sana cried out. She clasped her hands together in a plea.

But Tzuyu remained unconvinced. What if Sana was using her charm on the Slytherin girl at this very moment? “I don’t know Sana. I . . . this is a lot to take in.”

“Please Tzuyu. I need you to trust me.” Sana was sobbing. It pained Tzuyu to see the sixth-year in anguish. Gucci seemed to sense Sana’s sorrow and woke up from his nap with alarm. He let out a whimper. Tzuyu watched as her dog reached up to Sana’s tear stained cheek in an attempt to comfort the girl. Gucci did not mind that Sana had a mystical-hypnotic power.

As Tzuyu’s anger and shock subsided, her mind began to process everything with composure. She was hurt, yes, but so was Sana. Maybe even more than Tzuyu. There was so much self-contempt buried within the Hufflepuff girl, Tzuyu’s instincts told her that she shouldn’t abandon Sana but rather reach out to her. Besides, Sana hadn’t exactly done anything awful – even if she did ‘hypnotize’ Tzuyu. All she really did was help the third-year out with Gucci. And if Gucci trusted Sana then the sixth-year couldn’t be that bad. (Plus, Tzuyu may or may not have wanted her friendship with Sana to end so suddenly. She had acquired a particular fondness for the older girl.)

“I trust you, Sana,” said Tzuyu. “You’ve been here for me and Gucci, and I will be here for you.”

Sana cried out in joy and threw her arms around the Slytherin. Gucci wiggled free before being trapped between the two girls, yipping happily as if he had understood everything going on. “Thank you, Tzuyu,” Sana blubbered. “You have no idea how much this means to me.”

It was several more minutes until Sana let go. Afterwards, she proposed an idea. “If you ever feel unsure if I am being honest or if I am tricking you, ask me.”

“That’s it?” That sounded far too simplistic.

Sana nodded. “I will tell you the truth – my truth. You know the phrase cross my heart and hope to die? It’s used to attest to the truth.” Sana held up her right hand like she was taking an oath. “I, Minatozaki Sana, solemnly swear that I will never trick or lie to Chou Tzuyu. I will always be honest and never ever use my veela powers on her. Truth.” She finished by making an x over her heart with her left index finger.

Tzuyu let out a giggle at Sana’s effort. It seemed like Sana was being genuine. “You are pretty persuasive, Minatozaki,” she said, recalling Sana’s words from weeks earlier, the day that the sixth-year helped Tzuyu break out of the hospital wing. The day that Tzuyu revealed her secret. The day that Tzuyu decided she would trust Sana with all her heart.

She decided right then and there that she would keep that trust with Sana. Even if Sana had veela blood in her. The girl was trying, really trying. 

“Oh, and Tzuyu?”

“Yes?”

“No one must know that I have veela blood – only Momo knows . . . and you.”

Tzuyu wanted Sana to elaborate, but kept mum. Sana did not look like she wanted to give any specific details as to why she couldn’t reveal she was part veela.

So, Tzuyu just nodded. “I won’t tell anyone,” she vowed. She raised her right hand and made an x across her heart with her left just like Sana had done moments before. “Truth.”

And then, finally, Tzuyu got to see that happy, bright smile of Sana’s that she liked so much.

A/n: FINALLY. IT'S FINALLY POSTED. There was so much in this: Mina is safe, we're onto the next riddle, and we learn more about Sana! There was also a lot of fluff because I think it's about time that something good happens to the girls. Right?

I am soooooo sorry for the long wait. It's been a minute, hasn't it. I know it takes forever for me to update, but I swear I'm always working on the story in some way whether it's writing, editing, plotting, or researching. It definitely sits on my mind every single day. I already have the next two chapters halfway written and drafting for Chapter 19 has already begun. I really want finish Part I before or by December's new moon (2019.12.26). Please take mind though that I do have limited free time and life can sometimes be a drag. 

Anyway, I want to say that you all are the absolute best readers ever. Your patience amazes me and I really am thankful that you all stick around. I definitely appreciate all of the support and sharing of the story! Hopefully it is all worth it. There's a lot to look forward to so don't get too comfortable. I do want to give a special shoutout to Una_99 for dealing with my dramatic and teasing all of the time on twitter and for also giving me soft inspirational poking - or whatever you call it. You're a winner. But really, you haven't seen what's gonna come yet :) 

P.S. Thank you to everyone who has messaged me on twitter - I love connecting with other people who will gush about Twice (and other stuff) with me. Y'all are the real MVPs. Cheers.