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Alexandra's reason had barely survived this encounter with the Crow Avatar with her mind intact. As Lady Isobel MacDougal had explained her after the fact, in a few seconds Alexandra had seen the future. Or maybe it would be more exact to say the Potter Heiress had seen possibilities of the future. Thousands of possible paths, at the same time. And so many of them ended in bloodshed, carnage and utter ruin. Thanks to the Valar the visions had faded after several minutes. As a matter of fact they had faded so quickly that even with a good memory remembering the details were foggy and indistinct.
Only the voice had not dissipated. A voice apparently she was the sole witch to hear. "You will lead my armies to the final battle." Extremely positive message carried on black wings. But then the Goddess of Fate and Battle, also known as the Phantom Queen, had never been considered a gentle deity. The members of House MacDougal assisting to this mystical scene had seen the crow and the green flames, but no vision had been given to them. Lucky them.
When Alexandra had woken up on Sunday afternoon, it had been a weird sensation. In her mind, she was exhausted while at the same time her body and her magic felt completely re-energised. According to the few explanations Morag's parents had given her before she fell asleep again, it was a combination of the Morrigan's influence and the Samhain ritual. Participating for the first time in a ceremony of the Old Ways, her mind needed time to adapt while her magic and her flesh harmonised with each other. When she had woke up on early Monday morning, Alexandra felt...different. Her appearance was still the same, her visage maybe a bit paler and her eyes a bit more brilliant, but it was inwardly that the changes were the deepest. Well except a fading crow-shaped mark on her right shoulder. But no one could see it so it wasn't a big deal right?
Alexandra felt... freer. Free in her body. Her perception of magic had improved, her wandless magic was again answering to her commands. Before leaving MacDougal Manor, Alexandra had seen the magic bathing the manor when the sun rose over the hills of Ireland. It had been exhilarating. And privately in her mind, she admitted something in her had changed. Alexandra had seen the power and the magnificence of the Old Ways, and she would remember it until her very last breath.
Morag's parents had apparently understood it too, because she had been demanded to swear an Unbreakable Vow. If the Ministry learned from someone what had transpired at Samhain, every participant would be sentenced to a one-way ticket for Azkaban. Understandably, no one from House MacDougal wanted to take the risk. Morag had sworn the same vow after her, to protect the secret from this Samhain. All the participants, members and allies of House MacDougal, had done the same before leaving.
In some ways the following week at Hogwarts had been maddening. She couldn't explain anything to Hermione or Nigel, despite the bushy-haired Gryffindor girl being very insistent to know why she had been absent during the week-end. Nigel was taking it far more discreetly, and as he was from a relatively old pure-blood family, Alexandra believed he had a good idea of where Morag and she had gone. The second reason why this week had been discouraging was her rapid tendency to become tired. Not enough to beat two idiots who had believed she was a good target of course. Her magic was now answering like in a dream, no matter like if she used a wand or no, but Alexandra was crumbling into her bed two hours before curfew, no energy left in her. Fortunately, it was Friday evening, and she was inch by inch recovering her physical resistance.
The third problem had nothing to do with Samhain. It was the matter of the Heir of Slytherin, an issue which caused no small amount of fear in the corridors and the Common Rooms of Hogwarts. Speaking of which, here came Hermione, with poor Nigel carrying a mountain of books from the legends and myths' section.
"Still searching the Heir of Slytherin, Hermione?" Asked Morag.
"Yes, and she's using me as a mule." Complained Nigel, pushing the pile of books he was carrying on the table.
"Hermione, stop using Nigel as your mule." Ordered mockingly Alexandra, trying to find a good conclusion for her Transfiguration homework. Somehow 'why is this principle so complicated' wasn't feeling all right. Maybe-
"Can I borrow Morag instead?" Asked Hermione.
"Hey!" Exclaimed the red-haired Ravenclaw, working on her Astronomy chart.
"You don't seem to be really interested in searching for the Heir of Slytherin." Remarked the Gryffindor girl with her habitual bluntness and lack of tact.
"To be honest, I'm not." Said Alexandra.
"Why? It's..." But Morag had no intention to let her bushy-haired friend finish this sentence.
"The business of the teachers, not ours?" Proposed Morag. "It's not like there's many clues to follow, Hermione. For all we know, the whole incident is the plan of one a seventh-year Gryffindor who found a Petrifaction Spell in the Restricted Section of the library, used it against Filch and wrote a threatening message on the Wall to blame the Slytherins."
"No Gryffindor would do something like that!" Protested Hermione, ever the loyal Lion, even as two-thirds of her own House would be ready to throw her to the wolves at the first opportunity.
"Perhaps not." Replied Alexandra, who personally thought a few jackasses in the ranks of the Lions had the morals to do exactly that. "But can you say the same thing about every other House? I know I can't." Ravenclaws had a fascination for everything which explored the boundaries of magic, and sometimes cruelty able to equal the Slytherins themselves. One of Alexandra's own housemates could very well have acted on his own.