But For a Sword (A Matou Shinji Series AU)

A Harry Potter / Fate Stay Night Story

Disclaimer: Though I wish it were otherwise, I do not own or in any way, shape or form hold a legal or moral claim to elements of either the Nasuverse, the Potterverse, or other works I may reference in the course of this story.

Summary: Sequel to But for a Stone. A year since Matou Shinji's first introduction to the Wizarding World, Hogwarts finds itself in turmoil. With the disappearance of its Headmaster during the Winter Holiday, the venerable institution has been under a great deal of scrutiny, with its poor safety record and difficulties with retaining staff not only earning them pointed questions from the Ministry, but putting their status as one of only eleven schools of magic accredited by the International Confederation of Wizards in jeopardy. And on a more personal level, Matou Shinji discovers that regardless of what happens at Hogwarts, his beloved senpai, Tsuji Miyuki, may be leaving the school due to family circumstances. In a year full of intrigue, political shenanigans, excursions – and yes, more of Quirrell's life lessons – what is a boy to do?

Chapter 9. Unspoken Truths

After the completion of the scenario and the discussion with Quirrell, the two parted ways, with Phelan being uncharacteristically quiet, perhaps from how things had gone in the Archive, perhaps from his shock that Shinji had tried to kill the Professor once, and perhaps from his annoyance that even in victory, he had lost five points.

Shinji had expected Phelan to grumble about the loss of House Points, if nothing else, given the competitive nature of the earl's son, which was why the other boy's silence weighed on him heavily. Had he failed to get a read on what the other boy was like in the year they'd known each other? Was Phelan so troubled by the…confirmation of what he'd already suspected that the boy hadn't been able to spare any energy for sniping at his…

'Actually, I'm not sure how Phelan sees me. Am I his friend? Or does he just put up with me because I'm close to his sister? …though, come to think of it, would that encourage him to put up with me or…not? Huh.'

Not that Phelan's reaction and what it meant were the only things Shinji had to worry about. There was also his new position as Team Captain for a raid on Azkaban. Now, the boy had never been the best with history or British lore, but he did remember something he'd heard from Natsumi, who had a liking for darker tidbits from the past: that those who first investigated Azkaban after it appeared refused afterwards to talk of what they had found inside, save that the least frightening part was that the place was infested with dementors.

Now, what about that statement disturbed him?

Oh yes, that the least frightening part was that the place was infested with dementors.

Knowing Professor Quirrell as he did, the thought of the nightmarish scenarios the man could – and would – come up based solely on that one line was utterly terrifying.

Still, he couldn't worry about that now, or at least not solely about that. More pressing was the fact that that Phelan had already known about his…condition. And if Phlean knew…who else among his circle of friends – who he hadn't already told – might have figured it out?

Ernie, possibly?

…maybe the Nigel guy, who seemed both smart and way too close to Miyuki-senpai?

…maybe one of the teachers besides Professor Quirrell, who for all his sadism was still respectful of his students' privacy?

Maybe Sm—nah.

Shinji snorted at the last, unbidden thought. If someone like Zacharias Smith had figured out his secret, then he might as well drop out of Hogwarts here and now, because it would have taken all of a day for the rest of the school to know.

'…but yeah, a talk might be a good idea after all. Maybe I'll write some letters and ask if the house-elves will deliver them for me, since if I use the owls, people won't get mail till breakfast, and the sooner this is handled the better.'

The boy proceeded to do so, hoping that his friends would be willing to meet him for an early breakfast in the kitchens, and was heartened to see that when the appointed hour came, everyone he'd invited had arrived, albeit with various shades of sleepiness visible on their faces.

Miyuki-senpai's appearance was immaculate as ever, of course, with the beautiful older girl looking utterly serene despite the early hour, her thermos of tea in her hand and her clothes and hair perfectly arranged. The only odd thing was that there was a black fox perched on her shoulder, and he didn't recall her having a familiar when he'd last seen her, but then she had come back from Japan, and with her beauty and skill, it wouldn't have been impossible for her to have bound a kitsune to her service.

'They're supposed to be tricksters too, so maybe this one's just been invisible this whole time?'

…or maybe it was just Selina's, since the bespectacled blonde's familiar was nowhere to be seen. Instead, the Slytherin was trailed by a black cat and a creature that seemed almost like a hare the color of fallen ash, albeit with strange patterns covering its fur and a crest of something like feathers extending from its head.

"…that's Lily's familiar, Inaba," he couldn't keep himself from remarking as the hare looked up at him with oddly intelligent red eyes. "But why is he with you?"

"I guess he heard I was going to breakfast and decided to tag along," his soul sister explained with a wry twist of her lips. "Lily and I do share a room, you know, and our familiars get along well enough that they don't mind spending time together, as opposed to just with humans."

"Huh," Shinji noted, shaking his head. "A fox and a…rabbit? Wouldn't have thought it."

Selina smiled then, the corners of her lips curving upwards just a bit at his words.

"Neither would I, but you know, stranger things have happened. Just look at the people in this room and tell me this is what a normal gathering at Hogwarts looks like," she quipped.

"…fair point," the boy conceded. "Though I think the first time we met was due to Quirrell bringing together a 'gathering of minds,' so unless you want to call the Professor abnormal, I'd say this is pretty close to what I'd usually expect."

But the bespectacled blonde only laughed.

"Matou, I respect the Professor quite a bit, but I'd probably also be the first person to say he's not quite normal compared to our other teachers," Selina commented slyly, turning as she heard footsteps bustling over. "Well, aside from Ernest here, that is."

"I'll say! Every Defense Professor Hogwarts has had for years has ended up quitting or having something terrible happen to them," Ernie broke in without preamble. "And call me Ernie, please," he added nervously. "Ernest just sounds stuffy."

"Oh, nonsense, I of course, know the importance of being Ernest."

"The…importance of being Ernest?" the blond Hufflepuff repeated doubtfully. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is that Ernest is a bold name, a proud name. A name that, fitting for a brave hero, can mean either 'serious' or 'battle to the death.'"

"I-I see," Ernie noted, his voice a bit strained. "I, uh, you don't find it too stuffy?"

"Not at all," Selina said, with a smile so warm that the poor blond Hufflepuff thought he was about to pass out, with his hands sweaty and blood rushing to his face. "It's a wonderful name."

"I…t-thank you," the boy stammered, having never heard anyone say such nice things about the name Ernest before. "I—"

But whatever he might have been about to say was lost, as a certain copper-haired Gryffindor

"Ernie's name is quite something to live up to, yes," Phelan interjected, with the boy in question looking indignant at the interruption. "But his is not the only interesting name here, is it?" he asked with what he imagined was a roguishly charming smile.

"It isn't, certainly," Selina agreed, glancing from the pureblood Hufflepuff to the earl's son. "After all, there's yours. A fitting one, given the House you joined and how you approach challenges."

"Given the house I…" Phelan echoed, before he trailed off, his eyes widening. "You know what my name means."

"I know the meanings of a great many names," the bespectacled blonde murmured. "Even yours, young wolf, as uncommon as it may be."

"…d-did you perhaps look it up after we met?" the earl's son inquired. "Or—"

Selina chuckled.

"Oh, I knew of it long before that," she answered, leaning towards him as if to share a secret. "After all, the name Faelán is not so uncommon in Faerûn, young wolf."

"It's a name I can but try to live up to," the boy murmured.

"As I believe Miss Suzuki might say, 'do or do not, there is no try,'" Selina quipped, with Phelan inclining his head to acknowledge the point. "But…shall we all get something to eat, before Matou here tells us what he called us here for? Ernest, that means you too."

"Ah – yes, of course."

Matou Shinji watched the three go to the House Elves in the coner of the room to place their orders, followed by the two familiars, feeling somewhat bemused at how easily Selina managed to maneuver both Ernie and Phelan into following her lead, given how he often found the strong-willed boys to be quite a handful.

'But then, even I can be taken off-guard at times. Especially by pretty girls,' he thought to himself, remembering an incident that had happened back in France during the summer, during one of the few outings they'd had to the French Rivera. 'Just like on the day when I learned that Lily had a familiar at all…'

Matou Shinji remembered that day well, in fact, given that that balmy summer afternoon had also been his first encounter with the lovely Fleur Delacour, whose…allure he had been quite unprepared for. He'd thought that with being around pretty girls like Amber and Natsumi would have helped, not to mention all the time he spent with senpai, but…

'Well, it is what it is.'

That day, the boy had been sitting by the sea, relaxing as he looked at the waves on a secluded beach out of sight of all. Selina and Lily had been off doing something – shopping perhaps, or maybe swimming – which gave him some time alone to think. And as he had been beginning to realize, time was his most valuable commodity, given that once a moment slipped away, it would never return, and well, it wasn't as if he could use his time productively around the two of them with the amount of skin they showed in their swimsuits – and the rather more shown off by many others on the notorious beaches of the Azure coast.

At least, in the moments he was alone by the sea, he'd been able to start sorting through all the things that had happened in the past year, from his (many) missteps to his (few) moments of triumph.

The comfort he'd felt from being so close to senpai, coupled with the guilt that he could not do anything for her, and the fear that she might soon go far away, slipping beyond his reach forever.

The embarrassment he'd suffered around Amber and Natsumi - though in its own way, it hadn't been unwelcome, even if his cheeks had grown warm, and certain parts of his anatomy had acted up without his consent due to their antics.

The terrible things Granger had done to him, and yet how he'd lost his mind when he had seen her killed in front of him.

The gossip about him in the paper, as a mysterious child of the East.

The empty glories he'd gained.

And now and again, flashes of memory that didn't quite belong – that didn't quite fit, didn't match any actions he knew he'd taken. One of the most discordant had been a half-remembered instant of him laughing savagely as he'd ripped a giant spider apart, followed by a chorus of all too human screams as some kind of ...nest? had burned in ebon flames.

Sometimes the memories that came to him had involved golden eyes, or the smell of the desert sand.

Sometimes they had Granger running for her life from him, as if in those visions, he was some sort of demon.

Granted, such things had only really come up when he was working with Selina on Occlumency, but he wanted to know just what they were. Were these…visions half-remembered dreams stirred up by her probing his mind? Or...were they more than that?

Surely...someone like him couldn't have reveled in the screams of the dying, couldn't have laughed with joy as he tore into beasts, drank their blood and devoured their still beating hearts. That would be...he couldn't be someone like that.

That…someone who did something like that would be a monster.

And…he wasn't a monster.

Miyuki-senpai had told him so. Sokaris had told him so.

So why, why did—...

But the boy's thoughts had trailed off as he'd heard a sound - a splash that seemed a bit louder than the usual lapping of the waves on the sand.

He'd looked up...and instantly, everything else faded away, except for the sight of a golden-haired goddess emerging from the waves like Aphrodite of old, her skin glistening in the sun as drops of water ran down the cloth of spun sunshine that clung tantalizingly to her curves.

Gazing at her…it had been like looking upon the sun itself, so brilliant that it nearly blinded him, with his entire body feeling hot, as if he was melting – as was only apropos for one who had been blessed with being in the presence of a star fallen from the heavens.

A moan of utter pleasure had issued from his lips, and as if she'd heard, the goddess had turned to look at him, her startled blue gaze meeting his grey.

His body...fire…painful and exquisite had burned through him, with his heart pounding in his chest as if he'd run a marathon.

She'd begun moving towards him, and with each step she'd taken, the fire inside him had blazed hotter and hotter, his sense of the world, his sense of self all being washed away as he'd been helpless to do aught but stare at her. In that moment, he would have been willing to give her anything, to lay down his name, his fortune, his very life for her, had she asked it of him…

Only…the goddess' lips had moved, yet he couldn't understand the sounds issuing from her lips, only that the melody of the unintelligible tongue enthralled him as—

Drip.

Huh? The goddess…why…had she been gesturing to her nose?

Her…nose?

Huh?

He'd brought his hand to his nose, and found the area beneath it wet, smelling like iron. Bringing his hand away, he'd seen what it was.

Blood.

But…why...? Why would he…?

And then the goddess had touched him, and everything had gone white.

…

…

…

...some time later, Matou Shinji had awakened, finding himself laying on a towel under an umbrella, with a girl quite a few years younger than him babbling something to him in French. His memory had been fuzzy, with him wondering what had...

And then she had appeared.

'The goddess…'

No…that wasn't…he'd thought she was a goddess, but…why? Why had he lost control like that?

"Comment ça va?" she'd asked, looking at him with concern, with the sheer force of her presence making parts of him…wake up, with the rest of him trembled, just a breath away from ecstasy.

"Je...je ne...je ne parle pas français," the boy had managed to stammer, with the goddess blinking and taking a step back, as the boy felt like he could breathe again.

"'re you o-kay?" she'd asked, in English this time.

"I...who are you?"

"Ah, je suis...I am Fleur Delacour," she'd replied, only that hadn't been very useful, as he'd had no idea who Fleur Delacour was. Obviously, his ignorance must have been evident to one of her enlightened status, so she continued. "Ah, je suis désolé. I am…I study at Beauxbatons. You...how you say…collapsed. I carried you."

"C-carried me?" the boy had echoed dumbly, trying (and not succeeding terribly well) to keep himself from feeling a sense of exultation that the goddess had deigned to take him into her arms. Though, as he'd looked over her form, not knowing where was really safe to look, he'd noticed that she didn't seem to be the strongest person, with her body slim as it was.

"Um…you…ma…wand?" he'd managed to say after a bit.

"Oui. Mobilicorpus," she'd replied with a gentle smile as she'd handed him his...wand.

"Ah, right...you're a witch," he'd realized, though a moment later, he'd berated himself – for hadn't she already said she went to Beauxbatons?

"Oui, c'est vrai," she confirmed with a dip of her head. "You...'Ogwarts ou Mahoutokoro?"

"Hogwarts, normally," Shinji had responded, finding himself on more familiar ground. "But I am at Beauxbatons for the summer."

"Ah, l'École d'été...how you say..." she trailed off. "Ah, summer school?"

"Um, you could say that."

"Vous etes...you are lost? You were…alone," Fleur had noted.

"I was...thinking," Shinji found himself saying. "On the beach. About a lot of things. I don't remember what now. I..." He'd blinked. "I must have fallen asleep. I thought I saw a goddess," he whispered.

Fleur sighed.

"My soeur...my sister Gabrielle will return you to your fellows. Can you walk?"

She'd gestured for him to try and stand, at least, and not wanting to refuse a request from his godde—wait. Not wanting to seem weak, the boy had done so, and had gingerly managed to get to his feet.

"...I think I'll manage," he'd said with what little dignity he managed to retain. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this. Thank you for helping me."

The part-Veela had said nothing, only gesturing for him to follow her sister, which Shinji did without complaint. He'd caused enough trouble for everyone, after all – there was no reason to make things worse.

Oddly enough – or perhaps not so oddly, given that Lily had attended Beauxbatons for a year prior to this – when the young girl had returned him to the area where his peers had arranged to meet up after their activities, Lily de Lune had seemed to recognize the little girl.

Or at least, so it had seemed, as Lily had struck up a conversation about Fleur and how she is doing - in French, of course, which the boy could not follow.

"...you know each other?" Shinji had asked after Gabrielle had returned to her sister, rather more taken aback than he should have been, all things considered.

"It's a small world," Lily had responded with a very Gallic shrug, the effortless grace of which was all the more striking as he knew she wasn't French to begin with. "Her sister, Fleur, is very well known at Beauxbatons – and their family graciously hosted me for Christmas this year. What 'appened to you, that you were brought back by another?"

"Ah," Shinji had noted eloquently, before giving the gist of what had happened – that he had been thinking, and then perhaps because of the sun, had fallen asleep or collapsed or some such. He'd omitted any mention of a goddess of course, given that he didn't think such would cause Selina to regard him well, given the reaction he'd gotten from Fleur...

"Given what happened, I would feel better if you joined Selina and I as we wandered about," the young woman had said. "We thought to do some shopping at one of the nearby villages, and to speak with each other about our familiars, if you were curious."

"Familiars?" Shinji had repeated. "I...I don't think…I didn't know you had one."

"Ah, true," Lily had murmured. "Show yourself, Inaba."

The creature had proceeded to do so, with Shinji being rather startled as an odd hare with a crest of feathers shimmered into view with a strange cry.

"I found him in the mountains. He was hurt, and I nursed him to health. He's been with me ever since, even if he's shy around strangers."

Shinji couldn't help but be fascinated, as he'd never seen a creature quite like the feathered hare

"What is he?"

"Some variety of magical rabbit, I think," Lily had replied. "Sadly, magical creatures were never my strong point."

"What was then?"

"Defense," the girl had answered. "Grandfather insisted, after all."

"Ah," the boy had uttered, taking a moment to process that. "So why Inaba? Are you familiar with the tale?"

Lily had smiled mischievously at his query.

"Which tale do you mean? That of Onamuchi or that of Amaterasu seeking a new palace?" the blonde had shot back, with Shinji blinking in shock, as he really hadn't expected a foreigner – much less one part of the insular magical world of practitioners of witchcraft – to know the legends of his homeland. "Yes, I know of them. I like tales about rabbits, you see."

"Oh?" Shinji had inquired. "And why is that?"

"Because I like stories about the moon. Self-evident, yes?" Lily had quipped, with Shinji's mouth making an O of realization as he remembered both her true name, and the translation of her alias.

"...heh, I suppose so, Miss Spencer-Moon," the boy had replied. "Sorry I didn't realize that sooner. But perhaps I simply was too fascinated with...moons to be looking for deeper meanings," he'd said slyly.

The girl merely laughed and patted him on the cheek.

"You should be careful, Matou," she murmured, the faintest hint of a smirk on her lips. "The more you say such pretty lies, the more others might begin to believe them. Worse, you might begin to believe them too. Such is the fate of all too many pretty liars who speak such flowered words."

Shinji had swallowed, almost flinching from the sudden too-intimate contact from the admittedly pretty girl.

"I...sorry," he'd demurred, his face flushing red almost as he'd been burned.

"Don't be. You don't really know me, so I can't really blame you for your missteps. Not really. No more than those who see me in school or know only one of my many names," the girl had replied distantly. "People place such meaning in names, and yet what's in a name? Would a rose by any other name not smell as sweet?"

"...and who is speaking of flowers now?" Shinji had shot back, though he knew it was a weak riposte. "That's...that's from a play, right?"

"Yes. One of the great tragedies, in fact," had been Lily's response. "And what is your answer to my question?"

"That people care less about a thing in and of themselves than the meanings they give them?" he'd hazarded, with the girl smiling as he said this.

"Just so," Lily had murmured. "Humans are inveterate liars, you know, lying to others with every other breath, and to themselves with every other thought. And the worst thing is, sometimes their lies even become the truth. The mask becomes the face. The image the reality."

"...even for you?" the boy had inquired, genuinely curious, if taken aback by this unexpected line of conversation.

"Especially for me," had been her answer, as she patted him on the cheek again. "So, Matou, be careful with your pretty words around this pretty liar."

"...pretty liar?"

"Well, I am pretty, wouldn't you say?" she'd asked demurely, looking at him through her eyelashes.

Shinji'd swallowed.

"I, uh..." he'd floundered, struggling for words, as no one had been quite this...direct with him. Or he was very susceptible to this type of thing, maybe. Who knew?

"Well," Lily had whispered after a moment, smirking at how his tongue was truly tied. "I suppose the lack of an answer is an answer all in itself."

She'd let her fingers brush the back of his hand for just a moment, before turning away, as much a mystery to him as before they'd talked.

Back in the present, everyone had finally gotten something to eat, had found themselves seats, and were now looking expectantly to the boy to see why he'd asked for all of them so early in the morning.

No reason to back out now then, he supposed.

"I suppose you're all wondering why I've called you here this morning," Shinji began.

"Is this about you being an animagus, and being uh…excited about Miss Delacour riding you bareback?" Ernie interrupted, with the Japanese boy fixing him with a baleful stare for bringing up that particular subject. "W-what?" the blond Hufflepuff huffed. "It was all over the paper."

"…no, it's not about that," Shinji replied, taking a deep breath and counting to twenty in an attempt to keep himself from exploding. He was already on edge from this whole situation and not knowing what everyone else knew – it wouldn't do for him to make things worse. "It's about…something else."

"You mean what happened yesterday?" Phelan spoke up, with Shinji both wincing inside at the boy's directness, but at the same time, silently thankful that the earl's son hadn't gone into more detail. Apparently, there were hidden depths to Phelan Noel – though he supposed that in hindsight, that was obvious. If Phelan was as much of a…Phelan as he made himself out to be, he'd probably have long been dead.

'Though whatever issues he causes, he's loads better than Zacharias Smith.'

"What happened yesterday?" Ernie echoed, seemingly puzzled. "You mean during your challenge with Quirrell? But why—"

"Phelan had apparently already guessed something about me…I didn't think he would," Shinji said in a roundabout manner. "And then I…confirmed it."

"Oh," Ernie nodded sagely. "So he told you he suspected you were an Obscurial, huh? About time, I guess."

Shinji gaped as he just stared at Ernie, his mouth working up and down as he tried to process what the other boy had just said.

"Huh…?" he asked intelligently. "I uh…did you know too?"

"Know?" Ernie repeated. "No, I didn't know. I guessed though."

"…how…?"

"Give me some credit, Matou," the blond Hufflepuff responded. "I may not be quite as good with theory as you are, but I did my summer reading, and Obscurials were certainly covered in the books on Grindelwald. Some of us didn't have the luxury of enjoying France, or a vacation in Japan, and had to either study or…do some so-called training."

Ernie shot a withering look at Phelan, whose expression was one of a complete innocent, though no one who knew the earl's son bought the act for a moment.

"…and you don't care that…that I'm…monstrous?" Shinji asked, his voice almost a whisper, "that if I lose control…"

Flashes of memory came to him then, of carnage and butchery on a scale the boy had never experienced – and of him reveling in the destruction he caused.

"Matou-kun."

It was Senpai who broke him out of his dark thoughts, and as he looked up, he found his breath taken away by the intensity in her amber-eyed gaze.

"Y-yes, Miyuki-senpai?"

"Not once did you hurt me, even when you lost control," the raven-haired beauty murmured, though her voice was pitched that all could hear. "Yourself – yes, but the Matou-kun I know would never hurt a friend."

"I…" the boy looked down. "I…I almost killed Granger though. Last year, I went to Ravenclaw Tower, and when she interrupted my talk with Sokaris, I got so angry that I…I almost…"

He trailed off, shaking his hands.

"But you didn't, did you?" Amber spoke up. "Even when facing someone you hated, someone who hurt you so much, you held back."

"…that…that was because of Sokaris, because she talked me down," the boy admitted. "If she hadn't been there, I…"

His hands would already be stained.

"You would have done terrible things to her?" Ernie asked. "I mean, if you're telling us you're not very likeable when you're angry, well…it's not like we didn't know that already."

"What?"

"I mean, you remember what you did to Smith, right?"

"What I did to…?" What had he done again? "Remind me?"

"…you kneed the wanker, knocked him to the ground and blasted his crotch, leaving him crying on the floor of the Common Room after he insulted me – and Nats, and Sokaris," Ernie mused aloud. "But you didn't…turn into a demon or something."

"…I was tempted," Shinji admitted, a pained expression coming to his face as he remembered the incident. Smith and his…gang…had been blocking the way out, and they'd insulted his friends, insulted the people who had accepted him. "If they'd pushed me…"

"You would have controlled yourself," Natsumi spoke up. "Well, you might have cursed them and left them broken on the ground like Smith, but you wouldn't have just killed them."

"H-how can you be so sure?" the boy asked. "I…I was angry, so angry…I might have…"

"But you wouldn't, because you're a better person than that," Selina interrupted, with the bespectacled blonde's voice calming him slightly. "If you weren't, would you have worked so hard to learn to control that dark gift this summer? Would you have revealed yourself to Phelan to save his life – in a simulation no less?"

"I…"

"You may have a monstrous part of you, but you are no monster, Matou Shinji," the Slytherin concluded, with the others nodding. "I've seen your thoughts, you know. Your memories. Your feelings. And you are no monster. You're not cruel, or hateful – not really. You just…you feel strongly about things and react accordingly."

"…you would know, I guess," Shinji murmured. "I…I just find it hard to believe that sometimes, given..."

Given the flashes of recollection, and how, if his memories were accurate, he had once given in so completely that he had destroyed everything around him, killing and killing, and killing until there was nothing left.

"Phelan, do you think Matou is a monster?" Selina asked, with the earl's son stiffening.

"…a monster wouldn't have saved me," Phelan answered.

"A monster wouldn't have been so worried about me when I found him amidst ruins," Natsumi said quietly.

"A monster wouldn't have held himself back from hurting someone who angered him," Miyuki-senpai added. "From doing terrible things to them, using every ounce of power one had."

"If you can't believe that about yourself, perhaps you should believe us – because we believe in you," Selina summed up. "Fair enough?"

The room was silent for a minute – two minutes, five, before Shinji finally spoke.

"…fair," the boy spoke. "It's a bit ironic. I called you all here because I was worried about what everyone knew – but you all knew all along. And you all have more faith in me than I do in myself."

"That is what friends are for, Matou," Selina mused. "Though if you'd like, we could make a pact of it."

"A pact?"

"A blood pact, in which you swear that you will restrain yourself to the best of your abilities, and that if necessary, one of us will stop you from going too far," the bespectacled Slytherin noted, with Shinji blinking.

"…you would do that…for me?" he asked, touched by the sincerity in her words. "I…I'm grateful, but you don't need to go that far. I…will keep working my self-control. And I won't be a monster. Not to all of you."

"Then your word is enough," Selina agreed. "So, let's move onto something else, shall we?"

"Like what?" Ernie questioned, curious as to what Selina had in mind.

"Well, like this whole business about assembling teams to raid Azkaban," the young adventuress noted. "You know, the isle that was said to be unassailable?"

"The one where the least frightening part about it was that the place was infested with dementors?" Natsumi inquired, with Phelan frowning at this, apparently heard that part. "Do you know anything about the upcoming challenge? I'm wasn't picked as a Team Captain, since Granger died fighting a combat form and we had to turn back."

"I don't know much either," Phelan contributed, "and Matou and I are both team captains. I just know we have to choose teams, but what we'll be facing…I don't know."

"Maybe it will put us in the role of dark wizards trying to free their fellows from Azkaban during…You-Know-Who's reign," Ernie suggested, with the others turning to look at him. "That would be one possibility I can see anyway. What about you, Selina?"

"Maybe this will be an Azkaban that has been taken over by dark wizards and turned into a fortress, with us playing the role of Reclaimers in trying to take it back," the Slytherin suggested. "What do you think, Matou?"

Shinji wrinkled his nose.

"It's probably going to involve those…inferi again," the boy muttered. "If Quirrell took the trouble to make them for the Archive challenge, he'll probably have them here, too."

"If he's going to pull from older scenarios, do you think we'll be approaching by brooms?" Phelan questioned. "Or do you think we'll just appear on the island somewhere?"

"If its an island…we might even be approaching by sea," Natsumi noted with a frown. "But I don't know anything about how to control a boat, do you?"

One by one, the table collectively shook their heads. It would be like Quirrell to throw them into a situation they were entirely unused to, come to think of it

The chestnut-haired girl glanced over at Tsuji Miyuki, who was the oldest of the people in the room, and who she considered the wisest of them all. "What about you, Miss Miyuki-senpai? Do you have any idea of what awaits?"

In response, the raven-haired girl took a sip of tea.

"Do you recall how Azkaban was first discovered?" she asked instead of answering.

"The island just appeared one day in the 15th Century," Ernie supplied, proving that he, unlike certain parties in the room, had not fallen asleep in history during his first year. "When the concealment charms on it failed…after the the dark wizard who had called it home…died."

"Do you remember what happened to the people the Wizards' Council sent to investigate?"

"They…" Ernie began, only to pale. "Oh no."

"What?" Shinji asked.

"Oh no, oh no…he would do that, wouldn't it?" the blond Hufflepuff muttered to himself. "That…it makes sense. Too much sense."

"What makes sense?" Phelan asked, the gears visibly turning in his mind as he replayed the conversation in his head. "Wait…you don't mean…" He glanced at Tsuji Miyuki. "If the raid is set in the 15th Century, do you think he's going to keep us from using anything invented after that?"

"Most likely," the older girl responded serenely as she took a sip of tea. "It would fit with what I have observed of his character."

"So that's…no Lumos huh?" Ernie noted, frowning. "That wasn't invented till later on."

"Neither were Alohomora or Wingardium Leviosa," Selina chimed in, as the second years looked at each other, shaking their heads. "Or watches, for that matter."

"Wait…really?" Natsumi questioned. "No watches?"

"Those, like spring-powered clocks, only came about in the 16th century," Selina pointed out helpfully. "So, we wouldn't have those."

"Guh," Phelan grunted. "Would we even have brooms if we go that far back?"

"Yes," Ernie supplied, hesitating. "They'd be a lot worse than even what we had in the Defense of Hos though." He paused. "No Cushioning Charms. Very slow. Poor handling in the wind or at great heights. Worse than that though…I don't think the Extension Charm was invented yet, so no convenient bag that can fit anything and weigh like nothing."

"…tell me Mopsus was around back then," Natsumi interjected, looking pained as one hand going to the silver cylinder on her hip.

"It was," Tsuji Miyuki confirmed. "But Felix Felicis was not."

"Huh…" Shinji noted. "Wonder if Mopsus is about to be in high demand, then."

"Huh? Why?" Phelan asked. "I mean, moving things with your mind is nice and all, but…"

"If first years can't use most of the spells they learned, then wouldn't they be almost useless to have on a team unless you gave them Mopsus?" Shinji pointed out. "I mean, they're small, so you can't have them carry heavy things, or fight hand to hand, so…"

"…you might be right," Phelan admitted. "But who would choose a first year for their team when they can pick others? Seventh years, maybe."

"Well, that's the other thing," Selina voiced. "We don't even know how many people we'll get to pick, or who we get to pick from."

"You're not wrong," Amber agreed. "I guess we have to wait till the Professor tells us more before we come to any decisions. I'm happy to join any of your teams though, if you want."

"Likewise," Shinji added. "Who knows, maybe we can all be on a team together?"

"I'll drink to that!" Ernie toasted, raising his glass of pumpkin juice high. "To Victory!"

"To victory!"

As it turned out, information was not long in coming, given that each team captain received an information packet at breakfast, detailing their roles, responsibilities, and privileges, laying out the setting of the raid, the basic objectives one could expect, and limits on team composition.

It seemed that the captains had been split into three groupings – Rookies, OWLS, and NEWTS – depending on their year in Hogwarts. First year were classified as Rookies, Second through Fifth years as OWLs, and Sixth and Seventh Years as NEWTs, with captains being forbidden from recruiting people from a higher grouping.

That was, a NEWT Captain could recruit any student at Hogwarts to join their team, while an OWL captain was limited to First through Fifth years, and Rookies could only recruit other First years.

As for how many people they could recruit, this was determined by a point system, where Rookies had 5 points to spend, OWLs had 10 points, and NEWTs had 15, with each prospective recruit being worth a certain number of points, depending their year in school and whether they were a team captain.

That was, a first year was worth one point, a second year was worth 2 points, a third year was worth 3 points and so on, with the cost of a recruit being increased by one point if they were a team Captain of OWL rank or lower, and 2 points if they were a captain of NEWT rank.

This rather starkly limited how large a team could be, unless one was a NEWT student who wanted to recruit 15 first years (and no one really wanted to do that, since raw numbers were probably of limited use – plus each student who 'died' in the course of the raid would reduce the total points the team earned from the raid by a flat 10%).

As for the setting, well…it was as Tsuji Miyuki had guessed, with students being placed in the role of the original team of investigators sent to investigate the sudden appearance of Azkaban in the North Sea during the 15th Century, long before the rise of the International Confederation of Wizards, the Statute of Secrecy, or the Ministry of Magic, with spells, items, and potions being restricted to what was available for use at the time.

Amusingly, this meant that use of the Unforgivable Curses was fully permitted, while something as simple as the wand-lighting charm was not.

'Well, if I have to pick a team, I guess I'll pick people I know can be useful,' Shinji thought to himself, deciding that Miyuki-senpai would of course be on his team, with Amber, Natsumi, and Kaede rounding things out. 'Maybe they all picked up some things in Mahoutokoro that could be useful for some of the objectives of the raid.'

Though as he moved onto the sheet with the many possible objectives his team could tackle, his expression grew tight and pinched as his eyes noted the objective with the highest point reward and his entire body froze.

'What…? What is Quirrell even…no. No, no, no – I'm not doing that objective even if it would guarantee me the top prize if we beat it somehow. That's – that's not even just insane. That's suicide.'

The objective in question? Defeat the "Apostle of Death."