"Good night, Wanderer," Oleandra said softly, as the dream dissolved into nothingness and the frayed edges of reality bled back into view. "It was nice knowing you, while it lasted."
Wanderer might never have been a real person— born, as he was, from the suppression of Odin's true memories— but he had travelled with Oleandra for months, as a companion and a friend. Their relationship might have been founded on a lie, yet everything they'd endured together had felt real enough. For all the misery he had unwittingly wrought, Oleandra felt as though he still deserved a final goodbye.
Daphne groaned, holding her head. Malfoy, meanwhile, examined his hands with great interest.
"Daphne!" Oleandra cried, rushing to her sister. "Are you all right?"
In a twist of fate, the Horcrux's encroaching presence in Daphne's soul had shielded her from possession by the Aesir god to whom she was most compatible. There could be only one true master of her body— and the Horcrux's insidious magic had corrupted and silenced the star runes etched upon her soul, preventing another soul from taking root.
Daphne raised her wand.
Being attacked by her own sister was the last thing Oleandra had expected. Her arms snapped to her sides, her legs locked together, and her body went rigid. Having missed most of the school year, she'd had little experience facing opponents who used silent magic…
"You even reacted to that?" said Daphne dully, eyeing Oleandra's left hand, whose index, middle and ring fingers were extended. "Well, I suppose that's fine…"
Oleandra shot her sister an accusing glare. She'd managed to throw up Elhaz's sign at the last second before the invisible spell struck, so it hadn't fully taken hold. She could already wiggle her toes, and the stiffness in her limbs was fading fast.
Daphne turned to Dumbledore. In the brief moment the star ritual had unfolded, he had taken a few steps back towards the ramparts. Now he stood on the parapets, a seven-hundred-foot drop looming behind him.
"I'll spare you the trouble of dirtying your hands, Miss Greengrass," he said, a note of infinite sadness in his voice. "I'll do it myself. And to anyone who might be concerned… remember the plan."
Before anyone could react, he let himself fall backwards from the battlements, plummeting to his certain doom. The madman would rather kill himself than allow his own murder to taint one of his students' souls!
Unbeknownst to all but Dumbledore, Harry Potter was there too— lying frozen beneath his Invisibility Cloak, having himself a little rest on the cold stone floor under the stars. If Daphne had spoken the Tears of Ra's trigger word, he would have perished from the poison in his bloodstream alongside Dumbledore, without anyone being the wiser.
"NO!" cried Oleandra, breaking free of the magical bind. Her hand shot to her wand holster. "Accio Elder Wand!"
The spell fizzled out.
Oleandra dashed to the ledge and swan-dived after the falling Dumbledore. She didn't know what would become of the Elder Wand's power if its master died without being murdered, but she wasn't willing to take the risk of letting it lose its magic. With so little time, she had no choice but to use the Killing Curse.
Oleandra took careful aim at Dumbledore's falling figure as she flew after him.
"A—"
"None of that!" Daphne shouted as she rammed into Oleandra in midair, misinterpreting Oleandra's incantation for the Summoning Charm.
The two sisters grappled as they tumbled head over heels through the air. The ground rushed up to meet them, but just before impact, they broke apart, pulling up hard— while below, Dumbledore's body struck the unforgiving earth with a sickening crunch.
"Why, Daphne?!" Oleandra screamed, swallowing her shock at her sister's sudden ability to fly. "Why?!"
"Our minds connected back then," replied Daphne venomously, tapping her temple. "I saw everything."
Oleandra felt as if the blood in her veins had turned to ice.
"You're not really my sister, are you?" Daphne continued, her voice turning icy. "You're just like them. An immortal monster who stole my real sister's body. You must have had quite the laugh, playing house and pretending to be our family all these years, haven't you?"
"I am your real sister," Oleandra quavered, her eyes misting over. "I'm still the same Oleandra you've always known. That's never changed."
Oleandra's worst fears had finally realised themselves. Her secret had been exposed, and in the worst manner possible.
"No, you're definitely no sister of mine," Daphne said dully. "Besides, I had to kill the old man. It was kill or be killed— he would have arranged my death sooner or later."
Oleandra's eyes widened. Daphne was lying!
Daphne cast a quick glance around her. One by one, the castle's lights were coming on. Hogwarts was waking up, and despite her newfound skills, she was far from eager to face all the other teachers at once.
"This is goodbye, Oleandra," said Daphne. "Don't try and follow me."
With those parting words, she turned around and flew away, but Oleandra made no move to give chase. As much as she hated herself for it, she needed to retrieve the Elder Wand from Dumbledore's body to see if its ownership had reset. She landed beside him, but a quick search of his robes showed his pockets were empty.
Oleandra's gaze snapped upwards. The wand had to be up there.
Once again, she took to the skies, and landed on the battlements within seconds. Oleandra's heart leapt into her throat— Malfoy was inspecting the Elder Wand with keen interest, turning it over carefully in his hands.
"Hand it over," said Oleandra menacingly. "You don't stand a chance against me, Malfoy."
"Malfoy? Was that this vessel's name?" he replied, casually twirling the wand between his fingers. "Certainly, you can have it back. I've no use for this stick."
He flicked the Elder Wand at Oleandra, who nimbly caught it in midair.
"Who are you?" asked Oleandra warily.
Whoever was standing in front of her was not Malfoy, however much he looked like him. But if that was the case… then what had happened to Tracey!?