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Two weeks had passed since the coven meeting that saw Viktor effectively removed from his position, along with Agranov defecting, and becoming a protectorate of Harry’s coven.

“How’s Agranov settling in?” Harry asked curiously.

“Better than I expected,” George admitted. “She’s really good at the administrative side of the business, so it’s been less of a headache than we thought to integrate her distribution network into our business.”

“Good,” Harry smiled, glad that it was working out. “What about Krum? Any news on him?”

“Yeah,” Ron replied with a sigh. “I think we underestimated how paranoid he is.”

“Oh?” Harry asked.

“The rumor is he hired an army of mercenaries to protect him and his home,” Ron explained.

“Do you think they’ll give us any trouble?” Harry asked.

Ron nodded. “I don’t know where he got the money for it, but their reputation is well earned. They aren’t just a bunch of purebloods with too much time on their hands and delusions of grandeur. They have actual combat experience. Getting inside his home is going to be much harder than we thought.”

“All the more reason for me and Emma to come along,” Hermione interjected, no longer content with sitting on the sidelines.

“We’ve been through this before, Hermione,” Harry said. “Too much could go wrong.”

“We have our replacement wands now, Master,” Hermione argued. “And we can handle ourselves.”

“I know you can,” Harry agreed. “But Krum is unstable enough as it is. Adding you and Emma to the mix is just going to make him more unstable, and difficult to deal with. What if he grabs your or Emma and portkeys away?”

“The twins already have that covered,” Hermione replied, rounding on the twins. “You blocked the floo, portkeys, and apparition when you broke into Levski’s home. You can do the same for Krum.”

“It’s not that easy,” Fred countered. “Krum’s home is practically a fortress compared to Levski’s. George and I studied his wards for more than a week, looking for weaknesses we could exploit, but we couldn’t find anything. It’ll take us at least a month, maybe longer, to adapt the device to work on his wards.”

“Which is time we don’t have,” Ron pointed out. “Krum could make a play for the throne before that.”

“They’re right,” Luna replied, weighing in. “The attack has to happen today. You won’t get another shot at Krum if you delay the attack.”

“Hermione,” Emma said, putting a hand on Hermione’s shoulder comfortingly. “Maybe they’re right. We haven’t even used our new wands in combat yet. At this point, we’re just going to get in the way.”

“But…” Hermione trailed off, looking between Harry and Ron in dismay. “We’ve always done stuff like this together,” she said, feeling left out of the loop.

“You’ll be there with us when we go for the throne,” Harry promised Hermione. “We’ll be careful dealing with Krum. Everything will be ok.”

“…Alright,” Hermione relented, realizing she wouldn’t win this argument. “… Just… Just don’t take any risks you don’t have to.”

“We’ll be back soon,” Harry promised, placing a kiss on Hermione’s lips, then doing the same for Emma.

Hermione and Emma watched as Harry activated the portkey, whisking him, Ron, and the twins to the edge of Krum’s ward line.

***

“How are we looking?” Harry asked as Fred and George studied Krum’s wards again.

George looked at Harry in surprise. “…I can’t detect any wards.”

“What?” Ron demanded, walking over. “What do you mean?”

“The wards, they’re just gone…” George replied in confusion. “I can detect a few remnants of it, but they’ve all been torn down.”

“Torn down? How?” Harry asked, knowing how difficult and time consuming that was to do. Exploiting a weakness in the ward scheme to bypass them was one thing, but tearing them down entirely was several magnitudes harder to accomplish.

“Brute force,” Fred replied. “It consumes a lot of magic, at least ten or fifteen wizard’s worth, and there’s a good chance they’ll be magically exhausted for weeks afterwards.”

They all shared an uneasy as look as they wondered how that could have happened. It was no secret that Krum had made a lot of enemies over the years, but they didn’t think any of them were brazen enough to challenge him directly.

“What do you want to do?” Ron asked, looking at Harry.

“We can’t turn back now,” Harry said firmly. “You heard what Luna said. If we don’t go for Krum now, we’re not going to get another chance at him.”

“We’re with you, Harry,” Fred replied firmly.

“Alright,” Harry replied. “We’ll go in quiet, and find out what’s going on first,” he said as they cast disillusionment charms on themselves before cautiously approaching the manor house.

George scanned their surroundings, looking for anything that seemed out of place. The courtyard was secluded, surrounded on all sides by forests. “What’s this?” he whispered, kicking a camouflage tarp on the ground.

He pulled it up carefully, expecting a trap, but what he found surprised him even more: a dead wizard. “Guys, over here,” he whispered, drawing the attention of the others.

“What is it?” Harry asked before seeing the body.

“I think it’s one of Krum’s mercenaries,” George replied.

“I think you’re right,” Ron agreed. “Krum wouldn’t have just left the body out here.”

“Bodies,” Harry corrected, looking around more closely now that he knew what to look for, and spotting at least ten other tarps in the front yard alone.

None of them needed to say it, but they were all thinking the same thing. Krum hired the best mercenaries money could buy, and whoever brought down the wards took them down with little to no effort.

“It hasn’t been long,” Fred said, studying the body. “This guy died less than an hour ago.”

“So they could still be here,” Harry realized. “Let’s go,” he ordered, understanding why Luna had been so insistent on attacking today. “We’re not the only ones looking for the throne,” he explained as they reached the front door. “Keep your eyes peeled. Whoever these guys are, they’re well trained. We need to find what they know, and who sent them.”

The others nodded as they entered the manor, noting that the fighting hadn’t just been limited to the courtyard. From all the destruction in the entryway, they could see it had continued well into the manor house as well.

After searching the ground floor, it became clear that whoever attacked Krum was on another level. There were numerous bodies littered around the house, all of them Krum’s mercenaries, and they had yet to find the bodies of even one of the attackers.

“They’re still here,” Harry whispered, getting his friend’s attention as he heard a faint noise coming from the staircase.

“I hear it too,” Ron agreed, straining his ears as he stood at the foot of the staircase, looking up. “It sounds like screaming.”

“They’re torturing Krum,” Harry realized, knowing there was only one reason for that. He shared a determined look with his friends before they crept up the stairs, careful to not make any noise.

As they got closer, the screaming got louder, with Krum begging for mercy and pleading for his life.

‘He’s going to break,’ Harry thought. He didn’t know how long they had been torturing Krum, but there was an unmistakable crack in the man’s voice as he pleaded for them to stop.

Thankfully, the attackers didn’t assign any guards to watch the door, giving them the upper hand as they carefully approached the door.

Harry peered through the crack in the door, spotting six cloaked figures standing off to the side, as another, the obvious leader of the group, stood in front of Krum.

Krum was in bad shape, bleeding from multiple wounds, and bound to a chair with thick ropes.

Harry turned his head to look at Ron and the twins, all of them sharing a grim look as they got ready to breach the door. They would have the element of surprise, but whoever these people were, they were well trained, and that advantage wouldn’t last long. They needed to make every second count.

Ron held up his hand, counting down on his fingers to coordinate the attack as they raised their wands.

When Ron dropped his last finger, Harry kicked open the door. “Bombarda!” he shouted, targeting the group of six, standing off to the side, not willing to risk harming Krum until they got what he needed from him.

“Bombarda!” Ron shouted a moment later, following Harry’s lead, targeting the same group, followed by Fred with an incendio, sending a jet of flame at them.

Harry’s spell was the first to hit, and caused the most damage, caving in one of the figure’s chest, and sending blood and bone spraying in all directions.

Ron’s spell connected next, but his target managed to turn to his side, avoiding the full brunt of the spell, but it still caused some damage to his leg, and sent him tumbling to the floor, but not out of the fight.

“Protego!” the other figures shouted, quickly raising shields that Fred’s incendio splashed harmlessly against.

“Sectumsempra!” the figure interrogating Krum said, aiming his wand at the new arrivals, his face betraying none of his emotions.

“Protego Maxima!” George shouted, scrambling back as his shield formed, just stopping the dark cutting curse from striking his head. His eyes widening as he realized just how close he came to dying.

Harry tried to target the one bleeding out on the ground, but his allies were quick to pull him behind the safety of their shield wall. He regarded them wearily as he prepared his next spell, but whirled around quickly as he caught something out of the corner of his eye, his instincts screaming out a warning he knew better than to ignore.

“Protego Maxima!” He shouted, creating a large domed shield to protect both him and his friends. His eyes widened as an arrow slipped through before his shield fully formed, hitting Fred in his side and sending him tumbling to the ground as the rest smashed against his shield.

He grimaced as he felt more impacts on his shield, weakening it as the barrage of arrows continued, now coming from all sides as the other cloaked figures conjured their own arrows to press their attack.

“Fred!” George shouted, crouching down to check on his twin.

“I’m ok, I’m ok,” Fred replied, a grimace on his face. “The armor took most of the hit,” he said, pulling back his cloak, and showing that just the tip of the arrow had bit into his side. “I’m just glad it wasn’t poisoned,” he continued, pulling out the arrow and throwing it to the ground as he got back on his feet.

“Guys,” Harry groaned, feeling his spell weakening. “I don’t know how much longer I can keep this up,” he said as the never ending wall of arrows continued to smash against his shield. Even with the ritual, and the magic he received from Voldemort, he could feel the strain of maintaining his shield.

“Shit,” Ron muttered. Their advantage was gone only a few seconds into the fight, and to make matters worse, they were surrounded. Harry’s shield was the only thing keeping them alive, but it also prevented them from returning fire.

Ron looked around, trying to find anything they could use to turn this around. He could see Harry’s shield wavering, and knew they only had a few seconds left before it collapsed completely.

“The floor!” He said, getting an idea. “Deprimo!” He shouted, creating a large hole in the floor, and dropping them down to the first floor.

Fred was quick to react, following Ron’s lead as he cast a reparo on the ceiling, fixing the damage and stopping their attackers from following after them.

Harry scrambled to his feet. “Duro!” He shouted, putting as magic as he could into the hardening spell, stopping the soldiers from using the same trick as Ron to blast another hole.

George looked up at the ceiling, seeing the hard, stony texture that Harry’s spell had left behind. “That isn’t going to buy us much time,” he said, thinking out loud.

“No, it won’t,” Harry agreed. “But it may be enough for them to split their forces and give us a fighting chance.”

Ron nodded his head in agreement as they heard the explosions above them as the soldiers attempted to blast through, then the sound of their footsteps. He looked at the grand staircase. “Wait for it,” he said, aiming his wand.

Harry and the twins quickly aimed their wands at the staircase as well, catching onto Ron’s plan. The moment they saw the soldiers descending the stairs, they fired. “Reducto!” as all four of their spells combined into one, creating a powerful blast that ripped up the staircase, sending jagged pieces of wood flying at their attackers.

They watched as the overpowered Reducto ripped through the hastily constructed shields of the soldiers, taking two more out of the fight immediately.

“That’s three,” Harry said, counting the number of soldiers they’d killed so far.

“Four to go,” Ron finished as they quickly moved away from the rubble, looking for a better defensive position to take as the soldiers regrouped.

Harry looked up, hearing an ominous creek from the ceiling. “Move!” He shouted, shoving his friends out of the way just in time for a large iron ball to crash through the ceiling.

He looked up from the ground, coughing as dust and plaster filled the air, making out the figures of the four remaining soldiers looking down at them. His eyes widened as they each conjured another set of iron arrows and took aim.

“Impedimenta!” Harry shouted, just a moment after the soldiers released their arrows, slowing the arrows down just enough for them to scramble out of the way.

“Reducto!” Ron shouted as soon as he was clear, aiming for the head of one soldier, only for him to raise a shield to block the curse just as fast.

Harry cursed mentally, knowing they were at a disadvantage. The soldiers held the high ground, making it easier for them to target them. “Get back!” Harry shouted to his friends. They needed to draw out of the soldiers and split them up if they were going to win this fight.

Fred and George nodded, sending out a barrage of incendio’s giving them some cover as the soldiers stood safely behind their shields.

“They’re good,” George panted, stating the obvious. “They don’t fight like anyone we faced in the war.”

Harry nodded. “We don’t have much time. They’re going to come through. We need to be ready.”

“Any ideas?” Ron asked, watching the hole in the ceiling carefully.

“We can’t fight them like this,” Harry shook his head. “They’re too well organized.”

“Why haven’t they come down yet?” Fred asked, wondering why they weren’t pressing their advantage.

Before any of them could answer, there was another explosion from the ceiling, raining down, wood and plaster all over them as the four soldiers appeared in front of them, wands at the ready.

With a silent flick of their wrists, their wands lit up, as whips of fire extended from their wands.

“Protego Maxima!” Harry shouted, raising a shield just in time to catch the flame whips. He grimaced as they continued to attack his shield, weakening it even faster than they did with the arrows.

Ron exhaled sharply as the soldiers continued their attack. They were backed into a corner with nowhere else to retreat to, and Harry’s shield wouldn’t last much longer against their combined attack.

“Guys,” Harry groaned. “I’ve got an idea… but I can’t do it while I have the shield up. You’re going to have to take over.”

“We got you, Harry,” Ron replied, trusting his friend. “Protego Maxima!” He shouted, creating a shield just behind Harry’s. Fred and George quickly joined in, casting their own protego’s, strengthening Ron’s shield.

Even combined, their shield was still weaker than Harry’s, but they hoped it would buy him enough time to do what he needed.

Harry dropped his shield, breathing hard. He could already see the strain on his friend’s faces, and knew he only had a few seconds at most before their shield failed.

He dug deep, pouring all his magic into one spell, “accio.” Feeling a bead of sweat roll down his forehead, he snaked his spell through the gaps in his friend’s shields, watching as the iron ball slowly rose into the air and inched towards them.

‘Faster,’ Harry thought, pouring more of his magic into the spell as the ball picked up speed. He would only have one chance at this. At the last moment, he flicked his wrist to the right, sending the ball in a vicious arc as it slammed into the backs of the soldiers, catching them by surprise, and bowling them over.

Ron and the twin were quick to take advantage, raining Reducto’s downed on the downed soldiers, leaving nothing to chance.

Harry watched grimly as blood sprayed everywhere, hearing their bones crack, but surprisingly, the soldiers didn’t scream out in pain even once.

Ron and the twins finally let up on the spells, watching the soldiers wearily for any signs of movement.

“Check them,” Harry instructed, still recovering from the large amount of magic he’s expended.

“Homenum Revelio,” George said, casting the spell on the bodies. “Their dead,” he said, letting out a relieved breath.

Harry nodded, crouching down in front of one of them and pulling back their hood. “Who the hell are these guys?” He wondered out loud, staring at the heavily scared face of one of them.

“No idea,” Ron said, crouching down beside him as he pulled back the hood of another one, noting that he had the same series of scars along his face as well. “It looks like these were done with a ritual knife.”

Harry nodded, noting the milky white eyes of another one. “Look at this,” he said, noticing black ink underneath his collar. He ripped open the dead wizard’s cloak, revealing an intricate set of runes tattooed to his skin.

“That’s not the half of it,” Fred replied. “Someone cut this one’s tongue out.”

Harry stared at the dead wizards, unsure of what to make of it. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

“These runes,” George added, looking at them carefully. “It looks like a variation of the slave bonding ritual, but I can’t make heads or tails of more than half these rune sequences.”

“…Leave them,” Harry decided, standing up. “We came here for Krum. Let’s deal with him before any more of these guys show up.”

“Good idea,” Ron agreed, getting to his feet as well.

***

Victor looked up, a relieved look on his face as he saw Potter and the rest of his coven walk through the door, believing he was saved. “Thank you,” he said. “If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I would be a dead man.”

Harry regarded Victor for a moment. He could tell he was in rough shape, but there was nothing life threatening. “I’m glad we got here in time,” he said, moving to stand in front of Krum.

“Yes, please untie me, my friend,” Viktor asked. “I don’t know if there’s more of them. It’s no longer safe to remain here.”

“Yes,” Harry agreed. “Probably not. Did they find the journal?” He asked.

“.. The journal?” Viktor asked, his eyes widening as he realized Potter wasn’t here to help him at all. “What journal?” He said, trying to bluff. “I don’t know anything about any journal, but if you untie me, I can help you search for it.”

“Really?” Harry asked, cocking his head. “Allaric’s journal? The one those soldiers were looking for? You have no idea where it is?”

The forced smiled and confused look dropped from Viktor’s face as his eyes hardened. “I will tell you nothing.”

“Viktor,” Harry said, shaking his head. “You don’t have to say a thing. Legilimens,” he said, entering Viktor’s mind as searched for the information he was looking for. It wasn’t difficult. Viktor had been so focused on getting stronger he had neglected his occlumency training.

His mental shields were rudimentary at best for someone like him, and with the techniques he had taken from Voldemort, it was child’s play to get past Viktor’s defenses. ‘Got it,’ he thought triumphantly.

“Did you get it?” Ron asked.

Harry tilted his head towards Viktor’s self portrait, not saying a word.

“Seriously?” Ron snorted, looking between the portrait and Krum. “Why didn’t you just put up a sign telling everyone where it is?” He asked.

Viktor glared, trying to look menacing, but it was difficult when he was tied to a chair covered in cuts and bruises.

“Well… it sort of worked,” Fred replied. “The soldiers skipped over it when they searched the room, at least.”

“Yeah, only because the didn’t think anyone would be that vain,” George replied with a guffaw.

Fred went to the wall, pushing aside the portrait to find an iron safe etched with runes. “This won’t take long,” he said, pulling out a gold ring and holding it to the door of the safe. A moment later, they heard a set of clicks before the door swung open.

“Got it,” Fred said, holding the leather-bound journal.

“Let me take a look,” Harry said, opening it and flipping through the pages. It was just like Luna described, all the clues and places Allaric had been. “This is it.”

“What do you know about these guys?” Harry asked, turning to face Krum.

“You think I know?” Krum asked, shaking his head. “The cut through my wards like they weren’t even there. We didn’t even have time to prepare before they were on us.”

Harry nodded along. Everything Krum said matched up with what they found out as well. “They were here for the journal. How did they find about it?”

“Probably the same way as you,” Krum replied angrily.

“That’s unlikely,” Harry replied. Luna was the one that told him, and he doubted she was careless enough to let it slip to anyone else.

“Hang on,” Fred said. “There might still be one of them alive. I’ll go check.”

“I’ll come with you,” George replied, not wanting to take any risks.

“You need to let me go, Potter. Whoever sent them here will send others. We can’t be here when they arrive,” Viktor said.

“We?” Harry asked with an amused snort. “Let’s get one thing clear, Viktor. There is no we.”

“You don’t have a choice,” Viktor pointed out. “If you don’t let me go, whoever hired them will pick up where they left off, and they’ll find out you have the journal now.”

“I suppose we could just kill you,” Ron offered, dryly. “That will tie things up nice and neat.”

“No,” Viktor said with a dark chuckle. “You may have killed before, but I’ll bet you’ve never left anyone behind to be tortured and killed. You don’t have the stomach for that kind of work, trust me.”

‘If only you knew,’ Harry thought darkly.

“You’re going to have to hurry,” George said, dragging a soldier into the room. “He could bleed out any second.”

“Right,” Harry nodded, delving into the soldier’s mind. He could immediately tell the difference between the soldier’s mind and a normal person. It was, in a word, broken, just a mass of tangled memories and untold damage, making it clear that whatever was done to the man went far beyond the physical damage to their bodies.

His memories were nothing but fragments, just enough understanding to know what he was doing, but not why. He searched for what felt like hours, piecing the memories together, his eyes widening as he finally gleaned enough memories to see who sent them.

“What is it?” Ron asked, seeing the shocked look on Harry’s face.

“The Triumvirate,” Harry replied. “They’re the ones that sent them after the journal.”

“Shit,” Fred replied, his one word summing up how all of them felt in a single syllable.

“Let me go!” Viktor shouted, straining against the ropes in panic as he saw the scarred visage of the soldier, and realized he was in far more danger than he first thought.

Harry glanced over at Viktor, understanding his panic. On the two occasions he had seen the triumvirate, he could practically feel the waves of magic coming off of them. He doubted he would even last a few seconds against one of them, let alone all three.

“He’s right, we can’t let them get their hands on Krum,” Ron pointed out.

“Letting him go isn’t an option,” Harry denied. “It’s only a matter of time before the triumvirate finds him, and figures out we have the journal now.”

“Well.. We could,” Ron suggested, running a finger along his neck.

Harry looked into the panicked face of Krum as he realized he wasn’t out of the woods just yet.

“Tempting,” Harry replied, thinking about all the trouble Krum had caused. “But with Viktor dead, they would no someone else is involved.”

“Not to rush you or anything, but we’re been here too long already,” George interrupted. “You need to decide what you want to do with him now.”

“Legilimens,” Harry said, getting an idea as he dived back into Viktor’s mind, searching for and systematically destroying every memory Krum had about the throne, Allaric, and the journal, along with instilling a pathological fear of the triumvirate into his mind.

After his work was done, he withdrew from Krum’s mind before casting one last spell. “Stupefy.”

“I’ve erased all his memories of the throne,” Harry explained to his friends. “We need to send Krum somewhere the triumvirate won’t think to look for him.”

“I’ve got just the thing,” Fred smiled, pulling out a portkey and fiddling with it. “There, I’ve set it to take him to the States. He should be able to blend in fairly well with them.”

Fred placed the portkey in Krum’s pocked and watched as he disappeared with a soft pop. “They’re still going to find him. He’s got maybe a week at most.”

“And it’ll take another week for them to piece together the memories I erased. It’ll have to be enough time to give us a head start on the throne,” Harry added.

“Then we’re done?” Ron asked, eager to leave.

“Yeah,” Harry nodded.

“Wait!” George said, walking to a pile of rubble on the floor. “I think theirs someone here,” he said, moving the rubble out of the way.

“That’s Krum’s slave,” Harry said, looking over George’s shoulder, only for his jaw to drop open as George turned her over, and he recognized the face he was looking at. “…Tonks.”

“She went missing almost two years ago,” Ron said, in shock. “I thought she was dead. How could she have ended up with Krum?”

“Let’s find out,” Harry said, aiming his wand at Tonks. “Enervate,” he said, only to frown when the spell didn’t work. “Something’s wrong,” he said. “That should have worked.”

“Maybe she’s hurt,” George said, looking over Tonks for any injuries, but not finding any.

“Legilimens,” Harry said, entering Tonks mind, hoping to find what was wrong with her that way.

When he entered Tonk’s mind, he was met with an even bigger shock. Her memories were just gone. There weren’t even remnants left. He looked into the empty void, searching desperately for something, anything, that he could latch onto. It was difficult, but with even with a fragment of a memory to work with, it was possible to rebuild her memories, but there was just nothing.

“What did you find?” Ron asked after Harry ended his spell.

“Nothing,” Harry replied. “I don’t know how, but there’s nothing left of her mind… it’s just gone.”

“.. How is that possible?” Fred asked.

“I have no idea,” Harry replied. “I didn’t think Krum was capable of something like this.”

“But we saw her, with Krum at the conclave,” Ron said. “Why would he bother erasing her memories now?”

“…He didn’t know who was attacking him,” Harry realized. “Who knows how much of what Krum’s been up to she overheard. He couldn’t risk her falling into their hands, and having them pick through all her memories and find out about the throne, and how close he was.”

“What do we do with her?” Ron asked. “We can’t just leave her like this.”

“We’ll take her,” George offered. “We can at least make her comfortable.”

Harry nodded, not having any better ideas. “…Alright. Do what you can for her,” he said as George gathered her up in his arms.

---

“Luna? What are you doing here?” Harry asked after returning to the island.

“She said she had something to talk to you about, master,” Hermione explained.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you right away, Hermione,” Luna apologized. “I had to be sure Harry found the journal first.”

“We found it,” Harry confirmed, “and a lot more we weren’t expecting. Did you know about Tonks, Luna?”

“Tonks?” Emma asked, wondering who they were talking about.

“She was a friend of ours,” Hermione explained. “She went missing a few years ago. Did you find her?” she asked, looking at Harry hopefully.

“You could say that,” Harry replied, glaring at Luna. “Or what was left of her.”

“Left of her?” Hermione asked, her eyes widening. “Is she dead?”

“She might as well be,” Harry replied, shaking her head. “Her mind is gone. It’s completely erased.”

“The Metamorphmagus!” Hermione said, putting the pieces together. “She’s been Viktor’s slave all this time?”

“Yes,” Harry said, narrowing his eyes at Luna. “And you knew, all this time, and you didn’t say a thing. We could have rescued her!” He accused.

“No, you couldn’t have.” Luna said, shaking her head sadly. “Believe me, I’ve tried. I’ve sifted through hundreds of different timelines, but none of it ever changes what happens to her.”

“What are you talking about?” Harry demanded.

“Tonks tried to find out what happened to the missing witches for months, but every time she got close, the investigation was shut down. She rightly suspected the Aurors were involved and kept investigating in secret. She eventually found out about the covens and wanted to go undercover. Tonks placed her trust in someone she shouldn’t have, and was betrayed.”

“Who?” Harry demanded, thinking about what he would do when he found the person responsible.

“It doesn’t matter,” Luna shook her head. “They’re already dead. He bragged about having a Metamorphmagus for a slave, and Krum caught wind of it. He challenged him to a duel for ownership of Tonks and won.”

“Why didn’t you tell me any of this sooner?” Harry demanded.

“Because you would have killed him on site, and then the triumvirate would have killed you in retaliation,” Luna explained.

“She’s really gone?” Hermione asked, distraught. “There’s no way to bring her back?”

“No,” Luna shook her head sadly.

“I’ll go find Krum,” Harry said, going to the fireplace. “He can’t have gotten far.”

“You can’t go after him now,” Luna explained.

“What? Why?” Harry demanded.

“The triumvirate are searching for him, and if you look for him now, they’re going to know you’re involved,” Luna explained.

“You seem to have all the answers, Luna,” Emma pointed out. “What are we supposed to do now?”

“You need to solve the clues that Krum wasn’t able to, and get to the throne before the triumvirate does,” Luna explained.

“You told us Krum was going to destroy the world if he got to the throne,” Harry remembered. “But he didn’t. Was all this a lie?”

“No Harry,” Luna replied. “It was one of the possible futures we avoided, thanks to you.”

“What’s going to happen if the triumvirate gets to the throne first?” Hermione asked.

“They subjugate both the muggle and magical world,” Luna answered. “And things will be far worse than they are now. They won’t bother maintaining the illusion of freedom they allow most people to have. We will all be their slaves, both muggle and magical alike.”

“What do they even want, the throne?” Harry asked. “They already have more power and influence than any dark lord in history.”

“They’ve been around for a very long time,” Luna explained. “All the stories about the triumvirate willingly stepping down, and allowing others to take their place are just that, stories.”

“They’ve learned to extend their lives well past even the normal life span of our kind, but they’re reaching the limits of even that. For them, this is a case of survival. Within the next twenty years, they will all be dead, and they know the throne will allow them to live on indefinitely.”

“You said the previous king died,” Emma remembered. “If he could live forever, why wouldn’t he choose to do that? Why would he step down?”

“We weren’t meant to live forever, Emma,” Luna explained. “After some time, the king understood that, too. He watched as his children grew old, died, and eventually turn to dust, the same thing happening to his grandchildren, over and over again while he didn’t age a single day.”

“Couldn’t he have kept them alive too?” Emma asked.

“Where would that end?” Luna asked. “His grand children? His great grandchildren? What about their friends, their spouses? Soon it would become unsustainable.”

“How are we supposed to solve these clues when even Krum, with all his resources, couldn’t?” Harry asked.

“I believe the three of you have a connection to the throne,” Luna explained. “I’m not sure what it is exactly. The king hid many of the secrets of the throne, even from seers, but I believe when the time is right, the location will reveal itself to you.”

“That’s it?” Harry asked. “We don’t have anything else to go on?”

“No, that’s it,” Luna replied. “The rest is up to the three of you,” Luna said as she made her way to the fireplace. “Good luck,” she said.