Chapter Eighteen: Weakness

Cold. That was the single most dominant thought upon Jayna's mind as she trudged through the snow, teeth chattering, hands stinging and numb as she balled them up inside her sleeves. The two males in front of her were focused straight ahead. The first, brown haired, pleasantly humming a tune as if immune to the winter's cold. The second, black haired, silent, with dislike already evident on his face for the former.

When the brown haired stranger came to a stop, Tom spoke up. "Well?" His eyes were focused like lasers on the other man.

The dragon tamer raised a hand. "Just a moment, lad, I can't think with you pressing down on my skull like that."

Riddle scowled, turning to glance at Jayna. In a moment his eyes had taken in her shaking form, and he was raising his wand, probably to do a warming spell. But the stranger interrupted.

"Oh, I wouldn't be using your wand in these parts," he said pleasantly. "Wizard magic isn't taken kindly to around here, unless you're familiar with the inhabitants."

The Slytherin grit his teeth. "Well what do you suggest I do then? Let her freeze to her death?"

Jayna shook her head. "He's ex-a-agerating," she insisted, "I'm n-not that c-cold."

"We'll be to the camp soon," the man assured her. "In the mean time, I would be more than willing to share my body heat," he added, a mischievous smile spreading across his face and into his warm brown eyes.

Tom snorted with derision. "I would appreciate if you could control your pathetic attempts at flirtation, Sir, as they are neither charming nor welcome."

"What is this, 'Sir'? Have we not yet been introduced?" The older of the two men asked, surprised, and apparently ignoring Tom's insult. "That will not do. What are you called, missy?"

She smiled. "J-jayna. And th-this is Tom," she said, taking a step over to the barely calm Riddle and forcing her hand into his. "You are?"

"I've been known by many a name, but I believe Marcus would be a suitable one for the occasion," he replied, shrugging.

Tom's grip tightened on the blonde's hand, possessively, as he asked, "If you are through with the pleasantries, please may we continue? Before we begin the stages of hypothermia?"

Marcus shook his head. "Ever the hurry…No one ever likes to take their time…" He turned in a semi circle before nodding. "I think it's this way," he announced, once again resuming walking.

Tom's blue eyes narrowed. "You think?"

"Oh, many roads lead to Rome, Tom," Marcus replied.

Jayna practically towed the disbelieving Slytherin along, leaving her hand in his, as he was remarkably still warm to the touch. "So w-what um…What exactly d-d-do you do, out here, in the uh…middle of the woods, M-marcus?" she asked after a few moments of awkward silence passed.

"Oh this and that….It's not really what I do that's the important thing, its what I don't do that makes me happy…" he retorted, hopping over a snow covered tree trunk. They were getting nearer to a stream, half frozen, that winded along through the nearby rocks.

Riddle let out a hiss of anger as he helped Jayna to step over a fallen tree and she shook her head. She understood Riddle's distrust of the man, but this amount of dislike already was sort of unusual. "So what don't y-you do, then?" the blonde pressed.

"I don't keep time. I don't follow rules. I don't wake at the same time, every day, and go to a job, where I'm set to do a certain number of tasks, then leave, and return home, to repeat the same thing again, the next day…I don't ever feel bored, or stuck, or tired of the grind…" Marcus shrugged once again.

"And you don't ever accomplish anything, either," Riddle muttered beneath his breathe.

"Au contraire, Tom, I have accomplished a great deal. I have befriended beasts the Ministry could only dream of taming. I have learned the history of the goblins, from one of their oldest historians," Marcus said. "The opportunities I have encountered in these woods, and in my other travels, no school or workplace could have ever offered."

"I think its m-marvelous," Jayna announced, grinning.

"I think its ridiculous. It's a cheap way to escape from responsibility, from law and order and the demands of the world," Tom argued. "If everyone behaved like you, society would fall into anarchy."

With that statement, Jayna instantly understood. Tom's dislike for Marcus stemmed from the fact that he was already shaping up to be the polar opposite of the Heir of Slytherin. Her grin fell. "Tom, that's not true-"

"No, no, it very much is true," Marcus interrupted. "As it stands, I am one of the lucky few that does get to escape…However, I'm afraid this debate will have to be cut short. The centaurs have spotted us."

"Centaurs!" Jayna repeated, shocked. She glanced around the trees and rocks that surrounded them, but spotted nothing. Until, with a shuffling of the forest, at least a dozen half-men emerged, so tall and large that it was almost impossible to believe they had been able to hide so effectively.

Head turning, Jayna realized they were surrounded completely. The centaurs were wild, untamed looking. They had shaggy hair and unruly beards, their dark eyes fierce. They were all of darker skin tones, tan or olive, the bodies of the horses they merged with brown or black.

Its rude to stare… Look away, idiot…. Despite her best mental attempts at berating herself into looking away, or down, she couldn't help her eyes bulging out of her skull. To see a man's torso attached to the body of a horse was the most bizarre scene yet to grace her eyes.

Tom's wand was still in his pocket, Jayna realized with surprise. Though his hand hovered over it, fingers practically twitching with the urge to pull it out, he seemed to know better than give the centaurs a reason to attack.

"Ahem, Garulin?" Marcus asked, taking a step towards the largest of the bunch. "Mind pointing those arrows somewhere else,? You're going to take someone's eye out-"

"You have brought outsiders!" The centaur thundered, spit flying out from above his bristling black beard. A few of the others in his herd reared back, clapping the ground with their hooves in agreement.

"Outsiders? They are a couple teenagers, they are hardly invaders," Marcus said offhandedly, laughing. The strings on the bows seemed to tighten at the word 'invaders', however. "Er, fine, I see reasoning fails to work with you…Yet again…Garulin, they wish to speak with Kindle."

"I care nothing for what they wish! They are trespassing! This is territory of The Lost!" The furious horse man thundered on. For whatever reason, the land of the lost theme song started playing in Jayna's head, causing her to snort back laughter.

"SHE LAUGHS!" Garulin thundered in outrage. "Laughs at us! Stand aside, Marcus!" he ordered, and all around them the centaurs raised their bows, arrows quivering.

"Jayna," Tom ground out from beside her, voice strained. "For the love of Merlin, keep quiet!"

Jayna sent an apologetic glance his way. Marcus shook his head stubbornly. "No, Garulin, I am not letting you bombard visitors with arrows again! It's rude!"

Jayna's eyes widened in horror, and she and Tom exchanged glances. "AGAIN!" she mouthed silently to him. Tom's eyes left hers as he scanned the centaurs, his fingers still hovering above the wand poking out of his pocket.

The lead centaur's eyes darkened, narrowing to slits. "I do not wish for harm to come to you, Marcus, but if you do not stand aside-" he began to threaten.

The brunette man interrupted. "They want to speak with Kindle. When we arranged this…settlement, we decided that would be a wish granted to any and all. Are you going back upon the rules now?" He questioned, narrowing his own eyes suspiciously.

Jayna tried to stay quiet as Garulin seemed to contemplate that, she clenched her jaw closed to stop her teeth from chattering together noisily. Tom suddenly moved his hand from where it had been hovering, relaxing. Confused, she glanced from the Slytherin to the centaur as the latter lowered his bow.

"….No. We will not violate the rules. They will speak to Kindle," the centaur said lowly, almost sounding disappointed.

Marcus' serious face immediately faded into a smile. "Ah, finally! Sensible! Thank you, Garulin."

"But we will accompany the strangers to the encampment!" The centaur added, as though it were the last thing he had left to demand.

"Sure," Marcus waved a hand before turning to smile encouragingly at Tom and Jayna. "This way, it's only a bit farther."

Tom started walking boldly forward, following the dragon tamer as he led them along the stream curving throughout trees. Jayna, however, hesitated. The centaurs fell back slightly, but they still looked as violent and unwelcoming as ever.

"Jayna," Tom called back to her, stopping and cocking an eyebrow at her. "Are you coming?"

She nodded, finally moving forward to catch up with the Heir of Slytherin. Still uneasy, she reached out to grab his hand. Riddle laughed lowly. "Afraid, are we?" he taunted.

"Shut up," She shot back, though her hand tightened its grip on his, confirming to him that she was indeed scared.

As they moved along the stream, the air around them gradually lost its chill. And slowly, the settlement revealed itself to them. Tents, makeshift huts, and a few more permanent buildings became visible amongst the now sparse trees. Jayna stared at the people, and creatures, that populated the area.

"We have arrived," Marcus said to them, grinning as he came to a stop. "The Lost make their home here."

She felt Tom's hand go slack in hers as he surveyed the camp, his face blank. She couldn't tell whether he was unimpressed or interested, his face had become stony and unreadable. Jayna let his hand drop as he took a step forward, calculating eyes sweeping the wizards and magical creatures that were gradually becoming aware of the two teenager's presence.

The air had become warm, almost as if a bubble of heat surrounded the camp. For the first time since they had left Diagon Alley Jayna felt Sorcio stirring in her bag. The centaurs fell farther back, most of them blending back into the forest from which they had come. Only Garulin stayed, vigilant eyes on Tom.

The nearest hut held a fire in front of it. Several small, hobbled creatures sat around it, black, beady eyes darting over to the tall Slytherin. Behind them, a skeletal thestral was tethered to the ground. It laid, chest slowly rising and falling underneath prominent ribs, occasionally its black tail would flick over the pale green skin.

Several wizards and witches had emerged from the largest building in the clearing, a hut of some kind. Three started to approach, one an elderly man, a younger man, and a woman. Jayna tried to focus on them but her attention was drawn instead to a man who had appeared next to Marcus.

The man had slicked back, dirtied blonde hair. His skin was ridiculously pale, so much so that it almost matched the snow about them and in comparison made Tom look like he was tanned. He wore old styled clothing, even Jayna could notice it was out of place in the forties. But all that was not the most startling thing about the man. He had red eyes.

"Visitors?" He asked Marcus, the demonic eyes amused.

Marcus stiffened immediately. "Yes, they are guests. And should be treated as such, Kiryk."

The blonde, Kiryk, grinning, revealing two long, pointed teeth, as he turned to Jayna. "Of course, Marcus. It is my pleasure to welcome such young, beautiful guests," he said soothingly.

His smiled roved from Jayna, to Tom, and turned hungry. Oh….my. was all Jayna could think. A real life vampire. And he certainly was not as pretty as Edward Cullen. He doesn't even sparkle. His skin looked dead, clammy, in fact. And he was well scarred.

He took a step forward, holding out a hand to Tom. "It is a pleasure to meet you, such a young….Handsome man," He said slyly.

Jayna's mouth fell open. There was no mistaking the hungry look on Kiryk's face as he marveled over Tom, eyes roving up and down the tall Slytherin's form. It was a hungry, desiring look… He's mine. You can't eat him, Jayna mentally vowed.

Tom failed to take the vampire's hand. A look of disgust came over his refined face. "I wish I could say the same," he said distastefully.

Kiryk looked insulted. "What a rude youth you have brought to me, Marcus!" he exclaimed, indignant.

"I haven't brought them to you, Kiryk, they have come to speak to Kindle," Marcus corrected, face growing nervous as he started shifting his weight from one foot to the other.

"Kindle? What business do they have with our leader?" The group of two wizards and one witch had arrived before them, and now the old man demanded an explanation.

"That is for him to know. My business is with him, solely," Tom ground out, beginning to look offended.

Jayna got a really bad feeling already. The graying wizard looked offended too. "Tom, we could just tell them, they might know something about what we're looking for," She told the Slytherin reasonably. His blue eyes were focused onto the older wizard, his face set like cold steel into a scowl. He didn't even seem to hear her. Oh for heavens sakes, can't you play nice…

"We only came because we need help, you see," she began to speak to the small group, focusing on the brunette woman because she appeared the least irritated. "We need this key of sorts-"

"Jayna. Enough," Tom ground out. "We do not know if they can even help us. They probably do not know anything."

The older man looked like he had enough of Riddle's attitude. "Who do you think you are, boy! Come to our territory and insult us-"

"I am terribly sorry, is this your territory? I didn't see a sign," Riddle retorted. Jayna grimaced. Her sarcasm was really starting to wear off on Tom and this was a very inopportune time for it.

"You must be from the cities and towns! Only they would produce such arrogance and rudeness!" The man roared.

"Yes, I am from the city. As opposed to your shack in the middle of the woods," Tom drawled, unperturbed. "It has so much more class," he added in an acid tongue.

"What has gotten in to you!" Jayna hissed towards him, eyes wide in disbelief.

"Why, I'll teach you a lesson!" The old man drew his wand, but the Slytherin already had his out by the time the older wizard lifted his. Tom's face came alight at the threat, a twisted smile crossing his face, his eyes burning with excitement. Jayna swallowed hard, taking a step back from the heir of Slytherin that now looked half mad with anticipation at the prospect of a duel.

The older wizard gave a giant wave of his wand and a powerful looking beam of pure magic shot through the air, leaving ripples in its wake. Tom easily deflected the spell headed towards him before snarling, a fierce, confident grin crossing his face. "You do not want to start a fight you will lose. Lower your wand!" He demanded.

The man looked insulted. "Lose? To a child? Ha!" He sent another powerful looking jet of red towards Tom, who dodged it once again. Only this time, the Slytherin fired a spell back. His opponent managed to reflect the spell at the last minute, however, it sent the blast of energy straight at Jayna.

Her eyes widened for a moment, hand shooting up to her hair to where her wand was currently stuck through her tangled bun of hair. Shit. She had time for a single thought before the shockwave hit her, throwing her upwards through a shower of dirt and snow. She rose to a good height, screaming all the way, before the ground came back up to meet her.

THWACK! Her head bounced up off from the rock it had landed on.

A wave of intense pain washed over her, but then receded as quickly as it had come. Jayna held her eyes clenched for several moments, waiting for the pain to return, but it did not. Hesitantly, she peeked through her eyelashes. Then she groaned. Not again…Hell.

She found herself back at King's Cross Station. Yet again there was a single lantern nearby, lighting up the cavernous space. Rows and rows of chairs stretched into the distance. Jayna sat up, her hand absentmindedly searching the back of her head for a bump. Her eyes, meanwhile, scanned the train station, narrowed, until she found him.

He peered at her from under a chair, still small, still in pain. But he didn't look as monstrous. He wasn't crying, for once. Just terrified looking. His blue eyes dug into hers, a small pale hand reaching out from under the chair. Did I die…? She wondered. After all, the King's Cross version of Dumbledore, or the otherworldly ruler of limbo, or whatever he was, had told her this place was where death and life met.

Some mumbo jumbo about all the realities merging into one….

"No, you did not die, Jayna." Her head snapped around. Dumbledore was standing there, but he didn't look the same. His eyes were not sparkling.

"I'm just knocked out?" She asked.

"I wouldn't know why you chose to come here," he replied carefully, taking a step closer to her. His eyes, however, jumped across her face and beyond Jayna, staring where the creature that was a semi human Tom Riddle cowered.

"I never choose to come here," Jayna shot back indignantly. "Okay, well maybe once… But I need answers sometimes. There isn't really a guidebook for this sort of thing."

"Are you sure? You do not seem much like the studious type, Jayna." It could have been her imagination, but Dumbledore seemed much more sarcastic and bitter than he usually did.

She sighed. "Whatever. He looks different. I must have made progress?"

The old wizard's eyes finally turned to hers once more. His face was cold, set into stone like Riddle's, as he slowly shook his head once. "No progress? At all!" Jayna shouted, shocked. She jumped to her feet. "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Your time is running out. You have the pieces, Jayna. You fail to put them together," Dumbledore ground out.

"What pieces? What are you talking about? Can't you just make sense for once!" Jayna shrieked back, frustrated to a whole new level.

"You took on this challenge-" he began to chastise her, but she wasn't going to stand for it.

The blonde Ravenclaw interrupted him. "YES! I took on this challenge! Because everyone else has already failed it! You failed it too, Dumbledore! Or whatever you are! If you're so powerful why couldn't you save him? Why did you just let him die, alone, and terrible? He didn't need to die like that!"

"He made his own path, he will always make his own path-" Dumbledore spoke up, voice lower than usual, but eyes still cold and calm.

"Then why send me there! How can you expect me to do something you can't even do? I thought I had to show him love, and trust? I've tried! Is he just lying when he looks at me? When he speaks to me? Or has he felt it too?" Jayna's eyes suddenly welled up with tears as she realized just how much doubt she had in Riddle. The girl was placing so much on his shoulders, her entire life in his hands. The lives of everyone in that world placed upon an assumption that he wasn't just manipulating her, too.

Was she stupid? I can't take much more of this…

"You are the only one who can do this… It has already been decided," was the only cryptic answer Dumbledore gave.

"Who decided?" She shot back, dragging a hand roughly across her eyes as the tears began to overflow, dripping down pale cheeks.

"I do not know," he said softly.

"LIAR! You must know! There must be a reason! I can't believe in a world where I can supposedly make a difference, when you're telling me things have already been decided!" Jayna yelled at him. She saw a slight frown cross his features, which only served to anger her more. "Is this demon even real? Or is the demon just Tom?" She asked pathetically, not bothering to wipe away the new wave of tears dampening her cheeks.

"What does your heart tell you?" Dumbledore's voice took on a kind tone for the first time in their entire conversation.

"Since when is my heart right? Maybe I'm the only one who can do this because I'm the only one stupid enough for it…" The blonde mumbled lowly.

"Your heart has always been right. If you let it lead you, you will not stray," Dumbledore said kindly. "But Jayna, you must put the pieces together…"

"What pieces?" She asked, confused, but Dumbledore was gone. She was still stuck in the train station, however. "Dumbledore?" she called out, voice annoyed.

The single lantern's light flickered as if it had been blasted with wind. The weaker flame cast dancing shadows now across the tile, the distant corners of the room cast into complete darkness. Jayna shivered suddenly, violently. She rubbed her hands over her arms.

"Dumbledore?" the scared blonde called out once more, her voice weaker now, and trembling. Somehow the whole place had gone freezing cold.

She backed up, hesitantly, closer to the light. Her hazel eyes darted about, looking for where the tortured child of Tom Riddle hid, but he too had vanished. I want to go home… She winced her eyes shut… I want to go home….

"But where is home now?" A voice called from the shadows. Jayna realized the shadows were moving in no random way. They were alive, like they had been that night in the chamber of secrets. The darkness seethed and frothed, and Jayna imagined it made up of thousands upon thousands of black rats, all swarming over themselves.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She screamed back suddenly.

A cruel voice laughed. "We can't now. You're ours now," the shadows called back, dodging out at her feet, licking at the toes of her shoes.

Her hands searched everywhere for her wand, but she couldn't find it. The shadows were laughing at her, she realized, and suddenly her own voice could be heard in their depths. "You were never content, Jayna…Or should we say Erin," her own voice said to her, disembodied amongst the shadows, its tone cruel and teasing. Jayna had never heard her voice sound that way before. It was distinctly hers, but almost inhuman.

Jayna froze, eyes wide open and prickling, burning with tears. That had been her name before, she realized. Back in her old life, before she'd closed the final Harry Potter book and wished to change Tom Riddle's fate.

"Erin. Just a normal muggle name. Then you came here, and you invented this story…. You could have stayed there, where you were safe," her own voice chastised her.

She dropped to her knees, eyes glaring fiercely into the shadows. "I know," she said, voice quivering.

"But you had to interfere with our plans. WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?" Her furious, indignant voice screamed into Jayna's ears, piercing her eardrums like ice picks.

The lantern gave a feeble flicker of light as another blast of freezing cold air washed over it. Then it blinked out, and Jayna was pitched into darkness. She stayed still, breathing heavily. She tried to quiet herself, but each breath came wheezing in and out desperately.

"I'm the girl whose going to beat you…" she mumbled softly to herself.

The blonde felt smooth scales sliding across her knees. The snake they must belong to felt massive, heavy. She could hear it hiss in the darkness. "I'm the girl whose going to beat you," she repeated, louder now, her voice gaining strength.

"Jayna?"

She gasped. Tom's voice sounded like it was right in her ear. She wanted so badly for him to be next to her. She reached a hand out in the pitch black. "Tom?"

"Jayna. Wake up," he ordered, voice slightly worried.

A flash of yellow blinded her and when she could see again, she saw the tangled canopy of treetops above her, snow decorating them here and there.

Jayna shot straight up from where she had been laying down, her forehead crashing into someone else's. She didn't make a noise, her hand flew to her forehead, then wound around the back of her head where her blonde hair was sticky with something.

"Damn it!" Tom swore, his own hand flying to his forehead as he winced his eyes closed. "I should have known better than to lean over her…"

"Are you all right, child?"

Jayna stared straight forward. The three older looking people were kneeled around her, along with Marcus. Behind them Garulin was watching suspiciously, along with several small cloaked creatures.

The brunette woman was the one who had spoken to her. Jayna tried to muster a small smile but failed. "Yes, I'm okay…"

"You took a pretty bad knock on the head," Marcus put in, frowning. "I've got something for it, wait here and I'll fetch it," he said, rising to his feet and disappearing into the village.

"You look half scared to death," the woman murmured sympathetically. Tom's blue eyes were scanning her face, digging, but Jayna didn't meet them. She couldn't explain to him now what she had been dreaming, or hallucinating. Not in front of these people. They might realize I'm crazy… That thought earned a sarcastic smile on her face.

"Yes, bad dream. I'm fine. Must have just been out for a few minutes?" She asked, confused. Tom heaved a sigh.

"Yes. I'm s….I'm sor….I'm sorry," he finally spat out, as though the apology had gotten choked up in his throat. "That was my spell that hit you. Sorry."

Before Jayna could tell him it was okay, the brunette woman scoffed. "I don't know who I am more disappointed in. You, newcomer, or you, Aldred!" she turned on the older man who had dueled Tom. He lowered his head in embarrassment.

"He's a rude thing…" the man muttered defensively.

"You behaved like a petulant child! No wonder our reputation is so horrid, Aldred. Trying to curse visitors," the woman berated him.

Jayna blinked. "Tom, you weren't exactly polite either…." she added. The Slytherin narrowed his eyes at her, face set in stubbornness.

"If you're angling for another apology, Barrows, you can forget about it," he said sourly. "I would like my wand back, as well," he added, looking expectantly at the woman.

It was then Jayna realized the older woman was holding three wands, apparently she had confiscated both Tom's and Aldred's. She tisked. "Not until you tell me what you want from me, visitor," she said seriously.

Jayna blinked. So this was Kindle. The woman was the leader of the group. And Tom has been assuming it had to be a man! She could have laughed, it was so typical of him. Tom actually looked taken aback.

"You are Kindle?" Riddle asked in disbelief.

She nodded. "Yes. I am. You said something about a key?"

Tom sighed, his eyes showing turmoil. He seemed to mentally debate before announcing, "Yes, Jayna mentioned a key. A cipher, really. But I would prefer for our conversation to be private," he sent a distasteful glance at Aldred.

"Very well. Leave us," Kindle shooed her hand at her two male companions. Both looked affronted.

"With all due respect-" the younger one who had remained quiet until now started to protest.

"My patience is wearing thin," the woman sighed. "Leave, please."

Both men walked away, grumbling, towards Garulin the centaur and the little creatures who were babbling amongst themselves. They joined the conversation.

Kindle turned expectantly back to Jayna and Tom. Tom started to explain, and Jayna half listened as she tried to ignore the pounding in her skull. She had the mother of all headaches.

"We were told to come here, and that you would have the cipher we need to open Salazar Slytherin's journal. His journal entails his dealings with a supernatural entity that is currently locked inside Hogwarts Castle," Tom said quickly, his voice low as his eyes darted past Kindle to where the other inhabitants of the Lost village tried to overhear.

Kindle rocked back on her heels, looking surprised. "The key to his journal? You're the two who were supposed to come with Dumbledore!" she asked, astonished.

Tom grimaced as though he had been expecting this. "Yes, but he left us… We haven't an idea where he's gone to, and this is too important to wait," Riddle said urgently.

Kindle furrowed her brow for a moment. "Wait. Have you heard it then? The news?"

Jayna somehow doubted that people living in the middle of the woods of eastern Europe, or wherever they were, would have more knowledge of the news than her. But then again she never did keep up with things.

Riddle narrowed his eyes, an expression Jayna had now come to associate with curiosity. "News?" he asked, an eyebrow arching high.

"Yes," Kindle said excitedly, now leaning closer. "It's a rumor still but… We've heard that Dumbledore defeated Grindelwald."

Tom actually let out a low noise that could have been a gasp if Jayna didn't know him better. She, however, failed to look surprised. "Well of course he defeated Grindelwald," she said plainly. Tom sent a look her way that plainly told her to shut up and not mention any knowledge she might have of the future.

Kindle's mouth fell open before she stuttered, "W-Well of course, we all had the most confidence in Dumbledore, but…There has never been such a wizard as Grindelwald."

"He has mastered much dark magic," Tom put in, and Jayna hoped it was not envy that she heard coloring his voice. She sent a suspicious glance towards the Slytherin, but his face was blank.

"Yes. And so many muggles have died on his account… If the news is true, then this is a great day," Kindle said, smiling weakly.

"But it is not so great for us. We still have our home, our school, closed down, plagued by a demon. And you hold the key to it's defeat," Tom reminded the witch slowly.

"Yes," Kindle admitted. She reached into her robe, and from it, pulled a chunky circular pendant that hung on a thin leather cord about her neck. The pendant was a dull gold, several marks embedded into its surface and colored black with age.

"But Dumbledore's instructions were for me to wait for him, and him alone," Kindle said urgently, tucking the cipher right back away. "You were not meant to do this without him."

"I understand that," Tom said lowly. He leaned forward, fixing his icy blue stare onto the older witch. Jayna saw the woman's brown eyes get locked in, and wondered if she felt the dizzying sensation Jayna often felt when Tom's gaze dug into hers.

"But this is most important. Who knows where Dumbledore is, or if he is well enough to come here," Tom said. "It would be better to let us handle it then burden Professor Dumbledore further, after what must have been a tiring battle."

Kindle nodded slowly but still didn't look convinced. "But can you do it alone? You look to barely be adults," she said, voice worried.

"I am the Heir to Slytherin. Only I can do this task," Tom said confidently. Jayna flinched. Any small doubt she had was suddenly magnified tenfold by the eagerness in Riddle's voice, and Dumbledore's ominous words from earlier echoed about the space that was her mind.

Kindle looked on the verge of speaking when Marcus returned, a small vial of dark blue liquid in his hand.

"Here it is," he said triumphantly, holding it out to Jayna. "I misplaced it, sorry it took so long…"

Jayna hesitantly took the small tube, holding it up to look at the liquid which seemed to still be bubbling in the container. She sent a glance towards Kindle.

"Go on, child. Marcus is our best potions master," the witch said encouragingly. "It will help with that crack in your skull…"

Jayna flinched, remember the tangled sticky locks of hair, her head pounding away still like her skull was filled with hammers. Then she unscrewed the vial and tilted her head back, pouring the potion down her throat. It was freezing like ice, stinging her tongue and throat. But then instantly her headache dulled and her mind seemed to clear.

"Better?" Marcus asked with a knowing grin.

"Much. Thank you," Jayna said, returning it with a small grateful smile. She handed the vial back.

"Kindle, Garulin wants to talk to you about what to do with the rogues…If the rumors are true, I mean," Marcus said, his face suddenly turning serious. "He told me to mention it…"

Kindle frowned. At the interested look on Tom's face she explained briefly, "There are rogue centaurs not far from here. They are, or were, loyal to Grindelwald." She sighed before looking up at the young man that had led Jayna and Tom to the campground. "You will have to excuse me, visitors, I have another matter to take care of…"

"But the cipher-" Tom immediately interrupted.

"You are welcome to stay the night here, where you will be safe. We will discuss the matter of what to do with this key in the morning. Hopefully Dumbledore will have joined us by then," Kindle said firmly, standing. She left Tom and Jayna sitting alone.

It was several hours later, and night had already set on the camp of the Lost. Jayna sat alone a dozen or so feet from a huge fire that had been lit in the center of the village. A bit farther away she could make out Tom, who was actually talking politely with Aldred. Both men had been given their wands back, but now neither drew them.

He must want something from him…Jayna thought suspiciously. That was the only reason Tom would make nice with someone he had such a disagreement with. Wrinkling her mouth to the side, she recalled some of the great disagreements she had personally had with Tom Riddle. What does he want from me? she wondered, paranoid.

Her hands were forming permanent fists by her side. Sorcio slithered away from the campfire, towards the long blades of grass that beckoned beyond a fallen log. His golden eyes flashed in the light. "Be careful, Sorcio. Go too far and it'll get cold again. And something might eat you," she called to the snake.

She heard a derisive snort and realized it was Kiryk, seated on the opposite side of the fire from her. Even though he had apparently been listening to her, his red eyes were focused determinedly on Tom.

Jayna gulped, one of her hands moving up to her throat. It had become a nervous habit for the blonde to play with the rose on the necklace Helena Ravenclaw had given her. She toyed with the small flower, its silky petals feeling real to the touch.

"What have you got there?" Kiryk's eyes suddenly snapped from Riddle's tall, lean body to Jayna's neck.

She swallowed hard again. "Just a necklace…"

The dirtied blonde vampire was sitting one second and standing the next. He strode around the fire. Jayna furrowed her brow, her free hand jumping to where her wand lay next to her.

Kiryk kneeled before her, cocking his head to the side like he was puzzled. "That…is a very curious piece of jewelry you wear, Ravenclaw."

"How did you know I'm in Ravenclaw house?" Jayna asked stupidly. The vampire's bright red eyes rose to hers. She shivered when she saw even the whites of them were red too, glistening like they were made of blood. She tightened her hand around her wand to reassure herself.

"Because…It belonged to the Lady Ravenclaw," he said slowly. "Funny, I remember it being on her when she was buried…"

Jayna's eyes widened to perfect circles. But Kiryk waved a hand dismissively at his own memory, before standing. "I have too many years to keep track of. Perhaps my mind is playing tricks on me yet again," he said, smiling so just the points of his two fangs showed. There was something leering in that smile, and secretive. Jayna got the distinct feeling he knew his memory to be correct.

The vampire drifted away, and Jayna dropped her gaze to the fire.

What puzzle pieces, Dumbledore? She really felt like she was losing it. She slumped lower down, laying on the blanket beneath her.

I have to let my heart lead me…But my heart is not even sure… She watched Riddle through half closed eyes, feeling a surge of love for him but also the cold edge of fear in her heart. Fear that he wasn't any different, that he was still hurtling down a path of destruction. So what happens if you've got a bipolar heart, Dumblydore?

The tired blonde closed her eyes, willing sleep to come, but it was as if her mind had become a television set and some pesky jerk was flipping the channels. Images flashed through her head, one after another. Just as she would focus on one it was replaced by another.

Sorcio as she had found him, curled under a bookshelf. A page of an old book, a drawing of a small snake curled beneath a man's chair. Helena Ravenclaw's dead black eyes behind ringlets of black hair. The cottage in the woods, with the two roses preserved in time. The shadow figure from the chamber of secrets, the one that had called itself Tom and Lord Voldemort.

Jayna felt like everything was slipping between her fingers, like she was trying desperately to hold onto sand. But tightening her grip only made more of it pour from her hands. She couldn't put the pieces together, she didn't know what Dumbledore had meant. All she knew was that she was quickly approaching the end of the story, whatever that may be. And she couldn't walk away now. Jayna was too committed to Tom. Screw love. Why does that have to be my…

She sat straight up. Jayna stared into the fire as she realized she shared only one thing with Lord Voldemort. And that was a weakness.