The room was mostly dark magic and dark-adjacent, and he'd already taken what mattered from it.
Then, behind a collapsed shelf in the far corner, a slim green volume.
He almost walked past it.
He sat down on the dusty floor and read it twice. A family called the Sathals. Three centuries back. A daughter with a blood curse - documented symptoms that matched Astoria's almost exactly, described with the clinical precision of people who'd been watching someone die slowly and writing down everything they saw.
They cured her.
Ground Ashwinder Bone, treated over six months, extract of Murtlap Blossom, cold-pressed, moonwater, and more - a carefully curated concoction.
But, most notably, in the final stage:
Phoenix tears.
Basilisk venom.
Blake stared at the page.
Phoenix tears and Basilisk venom. Two of the most powerful magical substances known. One destroys, one heals. If the curse works the way we theorised -
He stood up and went back to Daphne.
"I found something," he said.
She read through the page, her eyes widened, before looking up at him.
"So we were right - we need the phoenix tears."
"We'll arrange a trip soon," he promised. "We're going to save her - I'm certain of it."
She looked up at him, and didn't say anything for a moment.
"The other ingredients," she said. "Mother can source most of these. The Moonwater conditions are specific, but it's possible."
"Tell her everything you've got."
Greengrass nodded, still looking at the page.
Blake couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Finally, we have direction.
/
They found Sirius and Lupin in the kitchen before leaving.
"The Ministry called me in, by the way," Lupin said. "They wanted my full account of the night James and Lily were killed. Asked if I knew where Sirius was." A pause. "Dumbledore prepared me well."
"And Pettigrew?" Blake asked.
"They're looking," Sirius grumbled. He didn't sound optimistic. "Until they find Peter, I'm still the primary suspect." He shrugged. "I promised Dumbledore I'd stay put."
"It's the right call," Blake agreed.
"I know." Sirius sighed, looking at him. "Doesn't make it fun though."
They said goodbye in the hallway. Lupin squeezed his shoulder, and Sirius gave him a very enthusiastic slap on the back.
Outside, the door closed behind them. They walked for a moment without speaking.
"I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express, then?" Greengrass confirmed quietly. She wasn't fully looking at him, and Blake didn't like that.
"Yeah," he said. "I'll let you know how Monday goes."
She nodded. They reached the end of the street. She turned one way and he turned the other.
He walked home in silence, feeling unsettled all the way.
Dumbledore arrived at exactly noon on Monday, in deep blue robes that somehow weren't completely out of place in their living room. He greeted Carol with a warm handshake, and smiled at Connor and Blake.
Blake smiled back as convincingly as he could, while Connor was already sitting very upright at the table, still coming to terms with Dumbledore being in their home and trying to impress him at the same time.
Please don't f*ck up, Blake prayed.
The discussion went on for almost two hours.
"I suppose I should start from the beginning," the Headmaster said with a small smile.
He began with Grindelwald, describing the ideology, the division, the escalation, the war, everything. Then Voldemort. The blood purity doctrine, the murders, the disappearances, the fall. Dumbledore was measured and clear and grave in exactly the right proportions, and Carol listened attentively throughout, making sure she asked questions whenever she needed. He's good at this, Blake thought to himself. Even between Hogwarts teachers, Blake doubted there were many that could lie by omission to his mother so smoothly.
When he finished, she was quiet.
"Why wasn't I told any of this?" she asked, "Before I sent my sons to that school?"
"The wizarding world has not always communicated well with its Muggleborn families," Dumbledore responded, bowing his head. "That is a failure I acknowledge personally. Please, let me assure you that we are currently in the process of reforming our approach with Muggleborn families - we aim for full transparency with parents and families."
Carol looked at him directly, not buying into the expected sympathy. "Are they in danger? Right now - is there anything at the school I should know about? Or anything that has happened that I should know about?" she added on.
Blake held his breath imperceptibly.
"There is some prejudice," Dumbledore said, meeting her eyes. "As there is in any community. But your boys are safe at Hogwarts, Carol, as they have been all these years. I give you my personal assurance."
Dumbledore spoke with such conviction and gentleness that Blake almost believed it himself.
Carol's shoulders came down. "Alright," she said. "Alright."
A short while later, Dumbledore left (not before Carol insisted he stayed for lunch). Blake was sitting at his desk, thinking deeply, when Connor barged into their room, startling him.
"He's good, isn't he?" Connor said, grinning as he plopped himself down onto Blake's bed for no reason. "Dumbledore. For covering for us - I didn't know he'd be so cool about it!"
"Yeah," Blake said.
He's very good, he thought. Too good.
Dumbledore truly was a master at lying and manipulating.
"Your boys are safe at Hogwarts."
Said by a man who had, in Blake's presence, calculated that a child's suffering was an acceptable cost. Said without blinking, to a woman who believed him immediately, because he had a kind face and the manner of someone who simply wouldn't lie.
He has the diary too - there's no way he doesn't know about the Horcruxes.
Blake grimaced.
What am I going to do?
Herpo the Foul's book was hidden under a foot of dirt out in the garden, out of reach from anyone else. Blake refused to risk Carol, or even worse, Connor, finding it. Yet even now, he could feel its presence, as if it was calling to him.
A way to cheat death though. A second chance.
He sighed.
Sure would be nice.
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