The Obol

There was only one thing to do. As much as she hated it, Alexandra knew she had to return the coin to Darla.

“I'm going to find Darla,” she said, walking back to the door.

“To do what?” Anna asked, alarmed.

“To find out why she's going berserk over a stupid coin,” Alexandra replied, feeling a little guilty about only telling Anna half the truth. “And to make sure she isn't whipping up some new curse.”

“I think you should just stay away from her,” Anna said.

“Relax. I'm not going to hex her,” Alexandra assured her friend, amending to herself: Unless she tries to hex me first. She looked at the bathroom door; from the other room, they could still hear Angelique sniffling and Honey griping. “Maybe you should check on Angelique,” she suggested.

Anna looked at her dubiously, but Alexandra left the room, and set off in search of Darla.

Sonja Rackham told her she'd seen Darla storming down the stairs, so Alexandra headed that way. On the ground floor, none of the students she passed had seen the other girl. Alexandra wandered around a bit, checked the nearest exits and did not find Darla outside, and scratched her head.

She noticed one of the hall monitors hanging over the entrance to another dormitory hallway, and approached it.

“This is the senior boys' dorm, young lady,” sniffed a pinch-nosed wizard with a tall, pointed hat. “And unlike some of my colleagues, I take my duties seriously! No girls are allowed past this point.”

“Have you seen another girl my age?” she asked, in a much more polite tone than she usually used when talking to the school's portraits. “She's got black hair, wavier than mine, kind of pretty –”

“I just told you...” The wizard in the portrait paused. “Would this be the girl I chased away a few nights ago, when she was looking for Mr. Manuelito?”

“It might be,” Alexandra replied slowly.

The wizard shook his head. “Shameful! Unchaperoned witches wandering around hallways after curfew, talking to boys! Why, in my day –”

“Have you seen her tonight?” Alexandra interrupted.

The painted wizard stopped talking, and looked down his nose at her irritably. “No!” he snapped. “Though Mr. Manuelito did pass by this way a few minutes ago. So perhaps where you find him, you will find her, I shudder to think. I have already informed Miss Marmsley, as I do every time I see students of the opposite sex fraternizing in the hallways without a proper chaperone, and she insists that she gives all of my reports to Dean Grimm, but you know, I don't think that woman appreciates – young lady!”

Alexandra was already walking away from the portrait, and trying to think of where John Manuelito and Darla might have gone. She went around the corner, and her eyes fell on a door to another stairwell, with stairs going both up and down.

A Mors Mortis Society meeting, she thought. Except – Maximilian had said he was studying for a Transfiguration test that night with Beatrice and Martin. Which meant either there was no Society meeting, or Maximilian had lied to her. Alexandra frowned, and looked left and right. A pair of sophomores were sitting on a bench down the hall, with books open on their laps, but Alexandra suspected they were just waiting for her to disappear so they could resume kissing. In the other direction, students walked past along the intersecting corridor every now and then, but no one was looking her way.

She walked casually over to the door, and turned her head just slightly so she could look over her shoulder at the couple behind her. They were already leaning closer towards one another, now that her back was turned. She opened the door and slipped into the stairwell with as much stealth as she could manage.

She wondered why John and Darla would be meeting in the basement alone. There was an obvious answer, of course, but she didn't like it at all. Darla had just turned thirteen, and John was a senior!

Once she was standing at the top of the stairs leading to the basement, though, she realized that she had no business following them, even if her hunch was correct. She could hardly walk up to Darla in the middle of a Mors Mortis Society meeting and return her coin. And if Darla was doing things she shouldn't be with an older boy, that wasn't Alexandra's problem.

So she told herself, as she stared at the sign indicating that the Magic Band's locker was downstairs.

Common sense (and Anna's nagging voice in her head) told her to go back to her room and find Darla later. Curiosity, a suspicion that Maximilian might have lied to her, and uneasiness about Darla and what she might be up to, impelled her onward.

Alexandra took the stairs down, and paused as she looked around the upper basement level. She saw no one, and proceeded down the next, narrower flight of stairs. She reached a door at the bottom. There was a lower level still, but it wasn't accessible from here. Had Darla and John come this way? Could she follow them without being caught?

She took out her wand, and listened at the door. There was no sound. She opened it, and froze when it made a slight creak. Still no other sounds. The stone corridor, leading to ancient, forgotten classrooms (What was ever taught down here? she wondered) or old storage closets and plumbing, was completely dark.

Alexandra took one cautious step forward, then another. Lighting her wand seemed foolhardy – anyone else would know she was coming before she even turned a corner. She was not afraid of the dark, though the thought of discovering another Boggart did send goosebumps running up and down her arms. She hoped there were no holes in the floor down here – she hadn't seen any on her previous visits. She put her hand out, and felt the rough stone wall, now even colder than it had been in the fall. In fact, it was very cold down here, and she wasn't wearing a jacket. She took a deep breath, and walked on.

Not sure what she hoped to accomplish, she decided she wasn't going to try to find her way to the third basement level; she'd only get lost. It would be embarrassing to be found by Em again. And being caught by the Mors Mortis Society would be worse. What would Maximilian do if he had to save her again?

Assuming he would, came an unbidden thought, which she quickly dismissed. Of course he would – but he'd be furious at her, for endangering his precious 'mission.' And besides, she shouldn't be putting herself in a situation where she needed her brother to save her.

She felt her way to the end of the corridor, and stood there in pitch darkness, with her hand gripping the corner of the inner wall. Continuing onward without light would be pointless; she'd be randomly stumbling around in the dark. Finally admitting to herself that this had been a bad idea to begin with, Alexandra started to turn around to feel her way back to the stairwell up to the upper basement level, when she heard voices.

It wasn't chanting, but the voices were muffled. Alexandra tiptoed in the direction of the sound, holding one hand blindly out in front of herself. Her fingers bumped against a wooden surface: a door. She felt around for the knob, and turned it, very slowly.

When she pulled the door open, wincing a little as the old wood rasped against its frame, she felt an even colder breeze blowing past her. And the voices were echoing from below. So, she was standing at the top of yet another stairwell, and the people talking were down in the lowest basement level.

“... please!” someone pleaded. It sounded like Darla.

The response was deeper, a male voice, and more muted. Alexandra couldn't make out the words.

She couldn't hear anyone else. Was it just the two of them? Darla and (presumably) John?

Alexandra's heart was beating faster as she took one careful step forward, then another, feeling for the top of the stairs with her feet. Still in complete darkness, she crept down the stairs, all of her concentration on the steps beneath her feet, and the voices echoing from below. Darla was still pleading, but Alexandra couldn't make out the words. Was the other girl in trouble? Alexandra gripped her wand tightly.

There was a bit of illumination casting shadows at the bottom of the stairwell, from a light source further away. Alexandra squatted, and cautiously peeked her head around the corner.

She saw two figures standing in one of the lowest basement's rock-hewn corridors, perhaps ten yards away. Both had light emanating from their wands. Alexandra could see Darla's face; the other figure was a tall shadow between them, with his back to the stairwell, but Alexandra had no doubt it was John Manuelito.

“...wasting my time,” John grumbled, and started to turn around.

“There must be some other way!” Darla insisted.

John paused. “Even if I wanted to help you,” he said, “I wouldn't without knowing what you're up to.”

“Why do you care? I gave you gold!”

“And I gave you what you wanted.”

“But it's gone!” Darla sounded as if she were crying. “I have to have it!”

“Do you have more gold?”

Alexandra could see Darla forcefully shaking her head, tossing her hair side to side as she did. “I gave you everything I had,” she moaned, in a smaller voice.

“Too bad, then. Do you think there are piles of those things lying around? It was difficult enough for me to obtain one.”

“You have to get me another one!” Her voice rose almost to a screech. Then she made a strangled sound, as John moved. Alexandra couldn't quite see, but it looked as if he had grabbed her.

Darla whimpered, as John said slowly, “If it was so important to you, you wouldn't have lost it!”

Alexandra raised her wand, trying to decide whether she should do something.

“It wasn't lost, it was stolen!” Darla whined.

“Doesn't matter,” he growled. “I went to a lot of trouble to get it for you. Do you have any idea how illegal obols are? And you held onto it for less than a day. If someone else finds it, and it's traced back to either of us...”

Darla stumbled away from him, and stood there, shaking. Alexandra thought she was sobbing.

“Please,” she whispered.

John stood there for several moments. “Why?” he demanded at last. “You've never explained why you want it.”

“You didn't care, when I offered you a sackful of gold Lions!” Darla's voice was resentful, but John laughed.

“So get more gold from Daddy,” he said mockingly.

She shook her head. “I can't.” She looked up at him. “I know there are other ways to pass through to the Lands Below.”

“Not for spoiled, unlearned little girls.” John's tone was still mocking.

“I can learn.”

John made a derisive sound. Darla stepped closer to him.

“I can,” she said. “And I can do whatever I have to.” Her voice was softer now, and Alexandra could barely hear her. She leaned forward a little more, turning her head so her ear was facing the couple, trying to catch what Darla was murmuring.

“Why?” John was asking, in a lower voice. “What makes it so important...” Alexandra missed the rest, as well as Darla's response. When she turned her head again, to look at them, she saw them standing closer together. Darla was looking up at John. The uneasy feeling in Alexandra's gut was redoubled. What was Darla up to? And what were they doing now?

Darla's eyes suddenly focused past John's shoulder. At her.

Alexandra gasped, at the same time Darla did, and then she jerked back into the shadows of the stairwell.

“Someone's there!” Darla screamed. “Someone was right there!”

Alexandra turned and ran up the stairs, only stumbling once despite the darkness. She hit the door at the top and opened it, as she heard footsteps at the bottom of the stairwell.

Light flared from John's wand, behind her, so she said, “Lumos!” and used the illumination from her own wand to light her path as she dashed back up the corridor towards the next set of stairs.

“Quick!” he heard John bellowing, much too close behind her.

She almost made it to the door leading to the stairs up to the main basement, when her knees suddenly went spongy and soft, and she tumbled forward. She barely got her hands up in time to avoid hitting the ground face-first, and the stone floor scraped against her palms. She rolled over and pointed her wand, but John said, “Feordupois!” Alexandra's arm collapsed, and the back of her head hit the floor. Even her fingers were suddenly too heavy to lift. She couldn't move, and was helpless as John closed the distance between them with three more strides, and looked down at her, smirking.

Darla caught up a moment later, and stood behind John, staring at Alexandra breathlessly.

“What do you think you're doing?” John asked.

Alexandra glared at him, and didn't answer.

The senior pointed his wand at her. She felt a cold sweat break out, and suppressed a shiver.

“No big brother to save you this time,” John taunted.

“If you do anything to me, he'll kill you,” Alexandra said.

The older boy laughed. “Think so?” The laughter faded, and he frowned again. “Why were you spying on us?”

Alexandra's eyes were fixed on the point of his wand. “I saw Darla going downstairs with you,” she answered. “I was curious. I didn't think there was a Mors Mortis Society meeting tonight.”

Darla gasped in outrage, while John scowled.

“How much did you hear?” he demanded.

“Nothing. You were talking too low, and Darla was mumbling, except when she screamed about something being stolen.” Alexandra hoped she sounded convincing.

John shook his head. “I don't believe you.”

Alexandra tried not to flinch when he crouched and held his wand over her. She tried to control her breathing, and stay calm, but she knew that John and Darla could both see her eyes getting wide, and her chest rising and falling more quickly. She grunted as she tried to lift herself off the ground, but John's spell held her as immobile as if he were sitting on top of her.

“Let me do it,” said Darla.

John paused, and looked over his shoulder at the other girl. Darla's expression was cold, and her eyes looked dark and pupilless in the harsh shadows cast by the light at the end of her wand.

“You don't think I can really learn Dark Arts,” said Darla. “You don't think I'm serious, even after everything I did to prove myself. I'll show you.”

John stared at her for a moment, then stood up.

“Wait,” he said, and muttered another spell. Then he turned to Alexandra and smiled. “The elves aren't going to hear you now. Neither will anyone else.” He nodded to Darla. “Go ahead.” He looked skeptical. Alexandra felt like she was going to be sick.

Darla's hand shook a little as she held out her wand.

“Darla,” Alexandra whispered.

Darla swallowed, and said, “Crucio.”

Alexandra cried out, as the first jolt of pain went through her. She clenched her teeth together, determined not to cry or whimper – and that's when she realized that the pain was almost bearable.

It hurt. It was like pins and needles prickling her all over, and it triggered memories of the first time she'd been tortured. Those memories sent spasms through her body, and filled her with nausea. But after the initial shock, Darla's Cruciatus Curse was merely unpleasant, compared to the agony that John had inflicted on her.

Not wanting either of them to realize this, however, she screamed, and squirmed as much as she was able to, with that magical weight holding her down. She cried out several more times for good measure, before John shouted, “What did you overhear?”

“Nothing!” she screamed. “Only what I told you!”

John let her squirm for a few seconds longer, then gestured at Darla, and the other girl lowered her wand. The hot prickly sensation faded, and Alexandra took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

“Do you want me to Crucio her some more?” Darla asked. Alexandra's eyes popped open.

John looked amused. “No.” He crouched next to Alexandra again, studying her. Alexandra glared at him hatefully.

“I hope you do tell your half-brother,” he said quietly, in a mocking voice. “I'd like to find out where his loyalties lie.” He fingered his wand. “He has quite a temper, your brother. I'll have to make sure I'm ready for him.”

“He'll kick your ass!” Alexandra spat.

John laughed softly. “Really? We'll see.” He stood again. “Coming?” He was addressing Darla now.

Darla looked down at Alexandra. “What about her?” She licked her lips. “She could tell on us.”

“If she were going to tell Dean Grimm about the Mors Mortis Society, I think she would have done it already. No, it's just her brother we have to worry about.” John's expression was malevolent. He reached a hand out, and cupped Darla's chin. “You surprise me,” he murmured, sounding bemused.

Darla didn't move. John dropped his hand. “She'll break free of the Deadweight Spell eventually,” he told her. “Before she starves to death, anyway. Probably before anyone comes looking for her.” He looked at the two girls, and shrugged. Apparently unconcerned about whether Darla followed him or not, he pushed open the door by Alexandra's head, and they both listened as he walked upstairs. His steps echoed and faded.

Darla knelt next to Alexandra, who still couldn't move, other than to twitch or turn her head slightly.

“Who's the nosy, busybody sneak now?” Darla sneered.

“This is the only way you could ever beat me,” Alexandra sneered back. “With someone else holding me down for you. Wow, you're a really dangerous witch!”

“And you're a really stupid witch.” Darla pointed her wand directly at Alexandra's nose. “I know I wasn't hurting you that badly.” She spoke in a softer, more ominous tone. “Nice acting.”

Alexandra stared at her.

“Would you like to find out how badly I can hurt you?” Darla whispered, still pointing her wand.

The two of them stared at each other for several long moments. Finally, Alexandra licked her lips, and rasped, “Darla...”

She saw the other girl's eyes gleam triumphantly. Darla waited expectantly, for her captive to beg or plead, but Alexandra just asked, “Why? Why are you doing this?”

Darla regarded her helpless classmate silently. Alexandra was still very conscious of the other girl's wand, poised threateningly over her nose, but she kept her eyes focused on Darla's face, as she continued. “Dark Arts, older boys... all of this, it's crazy! Look at what you've done to Angelique, and she's your best friend! Don't you think you're taking jealousy too far?”

Darla's eyes flashed. “Jealousy?” she hissed. “Oh, right, you think this is all because I'm jealous of you? Of course, everything is about you! The whole wizarding world revolves around Alexandra Quick!”

“I didn't say that!' Alexandra snapped.

“You,” said Darla contemptuously, “are an ignorant little brat even your crazy failed Dark Lord father didn't want anything to do with! That's why he dumped you with Muggles and left you there! The only reason anyone thinks you're something special is because of him! But look at you! Not so special now, are you, you... you... Mudblood!”

Alexandra's mouth fell open. She stared at Darla, as shock and anger drained the blood from her face more quickly than fear had. “I didn't know you were such a –”

“You don't know anything!” Darla spat. She pressed the tip of her wand against Alexandra's forehead, and Alexandra couldn't help shuddering. “Except that I really can hurt you, if I want to.”

The two of them stared at each other for several seconds. Alexandra's expression became hard and angry; Darla's was cold and spiteful. Then Darla rose to her feet.

“Stay away from me, Alex. Just leave me alone, don't talk to me, and don't open your big mouth about any of this.”

Alexandra's eyes blazed. She wanted to snarl something back – threats, defiance, promises of vengeance – but she knew something was wrong with Darla. Maybe she really was crazy.

Darla tossed her head, and with one last haughty look, she followed John up the stairs, leaving Alexandra alone. Her wand had stopped glowing, so it became pitch black again after Darla left, and she was increasingly aware of the cold, too, as it began seeping into her bones. And still she couldn't move.

She didn't know how long she lay there. It might have been a few minutes, or hours. Several times she was tempted to scream for help, hoping John's muffling spell had worn off, but her pride had been horribly wounded already, and the thought of Em or another house-elf finding her like this, pinned helplessly against the floor by magic, was almost enough to bring tears to her eyes. She thought about Darla, as she squirmed and fought against the magic holding her down, and her rage grew. She would teach Darla a lesson! When she got free, she was going to find Darla and make her shiver in fear! Darla should know better than to think she could get away with this!

But by the time she finally was able to sit up – with great effort, as if there were still leaden weights attached to her arms and legs – Alexandra's fury had drained away from her, leaving only confusion and weariness behind. She was shivering with cold. Her teeth were chattering. Her body ached. It took a while longer before she could stand, and take one ponderous step after another up the stairs.

“It's past lights out, Miss Quick,” said the warlock hanging at the entrance to Delta Delta Kappa Tau hall, as Alexandra shuffled past underneath him. It was just her luck that for once, he wasn't sleeping. She hadn't even thought about using a Freeze-Frame Spell.

“I know,” she mumbled, not caring if he reported her. She opened the door to her room, and not surprisingly, found Anna still awake, and Charlie hopping about nervously, rather than sleeping inside the bird cage as usual at this hour.

The raven squawked: “Alexandra!” Anna jumped to her feet.

“I was worried about you!” Anna scolded. “I was just about to go looking for Max,” she added, with a distasteful look.

“Don't have a cow, Anna,” Alexandra sighed. “Did Darla come back?”

Anna nodded. “It's been quiet. Angelique doesn't know what her problem is, but she's worried about Darla. And...” Anna lowered her voice to a whisper. “She's scared of her, too.”

“Anna,” said Alexandra seriously. She sat down next to her roommate. “Stay away from Darla. She's lost it. She really has.”

“What do you mean?” Anna's brow wrinkled with concern. “This is about the Mors Mortis Society, isn't it?”

“Kind of.” Alexandra shook her head. “I don't know what her problem is either, but I know she's gone way too far.” She bit her lip, while her gaze focused on somewhere past the wall. Anna stared at her.

“What's going on, Alex?” Anna shook her head. “You need to go to the Dean.”

“And be a snitch?”

“This isn't about a few jinxes. If Darla's in trouble –”

“Darla can go to hell!” Alexandra snarled, with unexpected raw fury. She blinked rapidly, while Anna shrank away from her, eyes wide – and, for a moment, fearful.

Alexandra took a deep breath, and put a hand over Anna's. “I'm sorry, Anna.”

“What's going on?” Anna repeated softly. “What happened?”

Alexandra didn't want to lie to her friend. But she also couldn't tell her the truth. Not all of it. She looked at Anna, and whispered, “Max is involved.”

Anna's eyes widened even further. “With the Mors Mortis Society?”

Alexandra nodded, while silently hoping that Max wouldn't kill her.

“Alex –”

“He's not Dark, Anna. It's complicated. This is the second time I've told you more than I was supposed to. I don't want to get him in trouble.” She took a deep breath. “You have to trust me, like I'm trusting you. Please. I don't want to be caught between my brother and my best friend.”

Anna's expression softened. She looked torn, too.

“Do you trust him?” she asked quietly.

Alexandra nodded slowly.

Anna sighed, and shook her head. “All right, Alex.” She didn't look happy, but Alexandra threw her arms around the smaller girl, and gave her a hug. Anna hugged her back.

“Why can't you ever have a normal semester?”

Alexandra laughed softly.

She was no longer smiling when she crawled into bed, though. Her sleep was plagued with bad dreams – images of John, and Darla, holding wands over her, while she was tied down with hundreds of tiny ropes, like in a cartoon she'd once seen of Gulliver's Travels. She woke up several times in the night, stifling cries so she wouldn't wake Anna or Charlie.

The third time, she thought she heard a sound in the next room, and she pressed her ear to the wall. On the other side, someone in Darla and Angelique's room was also moaning in her sleep. Alexandra knew Darla's bed was closer to the wall, and the moans sounded close.

She wondered what Darla was having nightmares about, and then her heart hardened, as she rubbed her eyes. Darla had given her nightmares. Darla had tried to break her.

For Anna and Maximilian's sake, Alexandra wasn't going to retaliate. But she wouldn't forget. Darla really had gone too far, and this time Alexandra meant it. Darla Dearborn could go to hell for all she cared. And if Darla touched her or her friends again, there would be hell to pay.

Maximilian found her in the library the next day, while she was looking up 'obol.' She only had half an hour to spend in the library before she had to go serve detention – the Delta Delta Kappa Tau hall monitor had, in fact, reported her being out after curfew, and her name was on the seventh grade bulletin board the next morning. She got lectured by Dean Black, and had to make up a story about sneaking out on a dare. Dean Black didn't question this; her “troublesome” reputation actually helped her for once.

Then, of course, she was lectured that afternoon by Ms. Shirtliffe, who reminded her that JROC mages were expected to follow school rules and stay out of trouble, and that any more detentions might get her kicked out. This, Alexandra almost found amusing, since she'd spent the previous semester wanting nothing more than to be kicked out of JROC.

She thought that was what Maximilian was going to talk about, but his face was much too somber for another lecture about uniforms and being out after curfew, and before either of them said a word, he cast his Muffliato charm.

She closed the encyclopedia in front of her, and regarded her brother with a neutral expression.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” he asked.

“That depends. What have you heard?” she replied.

His eyes narrowed. “I spoke to John Manuelito.”

She felt herself tensing slightly, but kept her voice steady. “And?”

He sighed. “Do we have to play this game, Alex?”

“What did he tell you?” she asked seriously.

Maximilian's expression was grim. “He told me that you were spying on him and Darla Dearborn. You followed them into the basements, and he caught you trying to eavesdrop on them.”

Alexandra's throat felt a little dry. “And what else did he tell you?”

Maximilian regarded her silently for several seconds.

“He said I should talk to you. It was actually more of a threat,” he replied at last.

When Alexandra didn't say anything, he leaned forward, and spoke in a quiet voice. “I'm not going to threaten you, Alexandra. But I want to know what happened. I want to know why you did that. Are you trying to get yourself into trouble, just to prove you don't have to listen to me?”

“No!” she snapped. Then she looked around and lowered her voice. “I wanted to know why Darla was going down there with John. She's been acting really weird.”

“You were worried about your friend?” Maximilian asked skeptically.

Alexandra looked away. “She's not my friend... anymore.” When she looked back at Maximilian, he was just watching her silently.

“Okay, it was stupid,” she admitted.

The corner of his mouth twitched, but there was no humor in his voice. “Is that all? Are you saying John caught you and told you to broom, and that was it?”

From his expression, Alexandra was pretty sure Maximilian knew that wasn't it.

“If I tell you what happened, you have to promise not to have a cow.”

He scowled. “Have a...? Would you stop using Muggle slang?”

“See? You're already losing your temper.”

Maximilian closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He opened them again. “I will not... have a cow,” he said slowly.

Hesitantly, Alexandra told her brother about following John and Darla down to the lowest basement level – and though she did not tell him that she herself possessed the 'obol' Darla had lost, she saw Maximilian's eyes go wide when she mentioned Darla's plea, and he got a very odd look when she mentioned the Lands Below.

“John doesn't know I heard all that,” Alexandra concluded. “I lied to him.”

“I see.” Maximilian was still being very calm and attentive. “And he just took your word for it? When he caught you?”

She took a breath. “This is the part where you have to promise not to have a cow.”

“I already promised!” he snapped.

She looked at him steadily, and his eyes dropped. “Sorry,” he gritted. “Go ahead.”

It was more difficult than she expected, to talk about being pinned to the floor by the Deadweight Spell, and then Crucioed by Darla. She kept her voice even, watching Maximilian warily. His eyes flashed and his expression darkened, and she saw him clenching his fists hard enough to turn his knuckles white, but he didn't move.

“It wasn't that bad,” she mumbled. “Darla's weak. She's too incompetent to do a real Cruciatus Curse.”

“Are you sure?” Maximilian murmured. He shook his head slowly, and stared at the table for a long time.

“Max?” Alexandra asked at last. He didn't respond immediately, and then he looked up at her.

“All right.” He exhaled slowly.

“All right what?” she asked, confused.

“It's over.” His voice was heavy. He looked utterly dejected. “I will go to Dean Grimm. I'll tell her everything I know. I won't let this go on.”

Alexandra stared at him. “What will happen?”

“John, and Darla, and everyone else in the Mors Mortis Society, will be expelled, I assume. Hopefully I won't be expelled along with them, assuming someone in the Office of Special Inquisitions confirms that I wasn't just a Dark Arts student myself.” He shrugged. “They won't be happy that I failed to accomplish what they wanted, so who knows?” At Alexandra's startled look, he added quickly, “Don't worry about that, Alexandra.”

“So your mission, you're just going to give up on it?”

“I promised I would never let anything like this happen to you again.” Maximilian shook his head. “I can't do it. I thought I could, but all I've done is cob things up and let you get hurt, when I'm not hurting you myself.”

Alexandra stared at her brother, sitting there in his uniform looking as if all the pride and arrogance had been crushed out of him. There was only a look of failure in his eyes now. Suddenly he really was just a teenage boy, trying so very hard to be a man.

“Max,” she said softly. He blinked and didn't look at her. Slowly, she reached across the table and took his hand, and he finally glanced at her.

“You didn't let me get hurt. It was my own fault. I shouldn't have followed John and Darla.”

“It doesn't matter. I made you a promise. And with those two out of here, you won't be in danger any more. Protecting you is more important than my stupid mission, and don't roll your eyes at me!”

She stopped rolling her eyes, with an effort. But she felt a surge of warmth for her brother.

“What about you?” she asked quietly. “Aren't you the one in danger, if you stay? John thinks you're too soft, because of me.”

He shook his head. “It doesn't matter, I told you. I'm going to end this –”

“Don't.”

He stopped, and looked at her.

“If this is really, really important to you,” she said, “then don't quit because of me. I'll be all right, honest. I promise not to get in trouble with the Society any more.” And as Maximilian stared at her, she whispered, “You can tell John you threatened to Crucio me if I do anything like that again. Heck, you can tell him you did Crucio me. That should convince him where your loyalties lie.”

“Where my loyalties lie?” he repeated, shaking his head. “Alexandra...”

“I don't want you to give up because of me. Not if it's really important to you.”

She squeezed his hand, and very slowly, he placed his other hand over hers.

“Are you sure?” he whispered, in a thick voice.

She nodded. Then added, in a very serious tone: “If you don't succeed, how am I ever going to get a decent marriage proposal?”

He blinked at her, squinted at her deadpan expression, and then made a choking noise, trying not to burst out laughing. He rose to his feet, looked around, and then leaned across the table, to give her a kiss on the forehead.

“Jerk,” he murmured.

She gave him a wry smile.

“Dueling practice this weekend?”

She grinned. “Yes!”

As he let go of her hand, she said, “Max?”

“Yes?”

“What's an obol? And what are the Lands Below?”

His smile faded. “Nothing you need to worry about, Alex.”

“Let me help you, Max,” she pleaded earnestly.

He sighed. “Didn't you just promise you'd stay out of trouble?”

She looked down. His expression softened, and he ran a hand over her hair. “It's all shadows and cobwebs, Alex. Fables that John probably used to con Darla out of her savings.”

“Okay,” she muttered.

He squeezed her shoulder. “Don't be late for your detention.”

She nodded, and Maximilian gave her a warm smile, before he left the library.

Big, fat, jerk, she thought, but not without affection.

She hadn't really expected him to tell her anything. Well, she wouldn't get into trouble just researching stuff in the library. She was pretty sure if she showed Maximilian the obol, he'd take it away from her. So she'd keep it out of Darla's hands, and figure out what it was, and then turn it over to him when it could help him impress the stupid Wizard Justice Department. She was going to help him whether he wanted her to or not.

Although Alexandra quickly determined that an obol was an ancient Greek coin, the pictures she found in the encyclopedia were nothing more than photographs taken from a Muggle museum, and looked nothing like the coin Charlie had stolen. Over the next week, she searched volumes about ancient magical talismans and wizarding currency, and found only a few more references to ancient myths. Apparently, the Greeks had believed that obols were used to pay the ferryman who took dead souls across the River Styx to Hades. That made her think of the cave in the basement, where the Mors Mortis Society had summoned some kind of spirit.

Looking up 'Lands Below' was also frustrating. The two citations she found in the Charmbridge library's magical Card Catalog referred to books that were – to Alexandra's complete non-surprise – off-limits to students without a teacher's permission slip.

Why do they give us a library if everything interesting is kept in books we aren't allowed to check out? she thought irritably.

She knew what the next step was, but she put it off, feeling guilty about once more beseeching Bran and Poe to help her circumvent the rules.

In the meantime, if relations between Alexandra and Darla had been chilly before, they were now blisteringly cold. They did not speak to each other, they sat at opposite ends of the table in the cafeteria (when Darla wasn't sitting with John, or other older members of the Mors Mortis Society), and they avoided each other in class. But when they did pass each other in the hallways, or have to confront one another in their shared bathroom, Alexandra always made sure to look Darla directly in the eye. And though Darla maintained a haughty expression, she was always the one who looked away first.

Anna was concerned. Angelique was subdued. Alexandra occasionally asked Darla's roommate if everything was all right, and Angelique insisted that Darla had apologized for throwing a temper tantrum over her missing coin.

“Can't y'all just make peace?” she pleaded.

“No,” Alexandra replied coldly, ignoring Angelique's dejected look.

She didn't ask Maximilian how things had gone with John. Since no one got expelled, and neither she nor any of her friends were cursed, she assumed that John was satisfied that she had been put in her place. The thought galled her, but for Maximilian's sake, she endured the occasional malicious leers that Mors Mortis Society members cast in her direction.

The following weekend, though, Maximilian made a point of teaching her the Deadweight Spell, and its counterspell.

Halfway through March, she gave in to curiosity and frustration, and sought out the library elves. Mrs. Minder was used to Alexandra visiting Bran and Poe, and showed her to the small room in the back where they were cataloging a pile of new books.

“Miss Quick!” Bran exclaimed.

“Miss Alex!” Poe cried, making a squeeing noise.

“Just Alex!” she protested, giving them both hugs. They beamed so to see her, Alexandra's mood instantly lightened. She sat down with them and asked what they were doing, and listened politely as they explained the proper procedures for cataloging, indexing, stamping, and covering new library books.

Then they paused, and looked at her expectantly. She shifted in her seat, and cleared her throat.

“We knows when Alex is wanting something,” said Bran.

“She sits very patient,” agreed Poe sagely.

Alexandra winced. “I do visit 'cause I like you guys, you know.”

“We knows,” said Poe. The elves actually looked amused.

“We likes Alex, too,” said Bran.

“Alex is very young,” added Poe, and Bran nodded.

Alexandra wasn't sure what that meant. She wondered how old the elves were. Then, she reached into her pocket and pulled out the obol. “I was hoping you could help me figure out what this is. I've been trying to find a book about the Lands Below –”

She was completely unprepared for the elves' reaction. They both stared at the coin with enormous, bulging eyes, and sucked in wheezing breaths as their wrinkled little faces went pale and ashen.

“Oh nooooooo,” moaned Poe.

“Nononononono!” wailed Bran.

“What?” Alex asked.

“Don't do it, Alex! Please don't do it!” Bran begged.

Poe seemed to be gnashing his teeth. “Alex should not go there! We doesn't want to send her there!”

“Don't make us!” Bran quavered.

“Send me where? I don't want to go anywhere! Calm down!” She looked nervously at the door, afraid that Mrs. Minder might hear the elves' cries and enter. “Just tell me what this is.”

The two elves looked at each other, and blinked together. They looked back at her, and then, fearfully, at the coin in her hand.

“It's a bad thing,” said Poe.

“If Alex doesn't know what it is, she doesn't need it,” insisted Bran.

“Let us fetch Mrs. Minder,” Poe begged. “She will take it from you.”

Alexandra closed her fingers over the obol. “No!” she said. “I want to know what it is!” She glared at them. “You wouldn't really tell on me, would you?”

They looked at each other uncertainly.

“Children should not have such things,” said Poe.

“Is it Dark magic?” Alexandra asked.

The elves paused.

“Not... exactly,” replied Bran.

She leaned forward. “If you tell anyone I have it, I'll just hide it,” she threatened stubbornly. The two elves' ears drooped. A little guiltily, she opened her hand again, and watched as the two elves stared at it and shuddered. “What is it?” she demanded.

“It is an obol, Miss Alex,” replied Bran.

“Yeah, I know that already. What's the big deal about it? It's an old coin. Does it really take you across the River Styx?”

The elves blinked again.

“The River Styx?” Bran repeated.

“That is just a myth,” Poe informed her.

“So you don't put it under a corpse's tongue?”

Both elves' faces wrinkled up into expressions of disgust. “No, Miss Alex!”

“It is not for passage to the Lands Beyond,” murmured Bran, shivering.

Alexandra tilted her head. “Okay... I've heard of the Lands Beyond, and the Lands Below. What's the difference?”

Bran and Poe looked at her unhappily. “These is not fit subjects for young students.”

“Right, it's much better for everyone but me to know about this stuff!” Alexandra retorted. “You know that if you don't help me, I'll find out on my own eventually.”

Bran's tiny shoulders slumped. Poe moaned, and clutched his head. For a moment, Alexandra feared the elf was about to “punish” himself, the way they did when they'd violated the librarian's orders, but he just shook his head side to side and then sat back down on his three-legged stool.

“Miss Alex is going to get herself into trouble, we knows it,” he moaned miserably.

“I'm not!” she insisted. She shook her head. “You know, there are always things going on at Charmbridge, with students knowing things they're not supposed to know, and doing things they're not supposed to do. And sometimes, we can't even trust the adults.”

Bran and Poe frowned unhappily at that, but they knew what had happened to her last year, with Mr. Journey.

“It would be better if Alex trusts someone,” Bran told her.

“I am,” she replied earnestly. “I'm trusting you.”

The elves could only stare at her, and then, with a sigh, Poe pleaded, “Please promise you will not give that coin to any elf, Alex.”

“Why not? Does it free you?” She grimaced, as the two elves winced at the dreaded f-word, but they shook their heads.

“No,” Poe replied. “It is very much the opposite. We must accept it as payment from any who gives it to us, because we is not free.”

She looked down at the obol in her hand. “I don't understand.”

“By ancient compact,” Bran explained, “it is we elves who is appointed to stand between the world of wizards, and the Lands Below.” His voice was deep and solemn, his words more formal than Alexandra was used to hearing from elves. “Elves is forbidden to take anyone between, and elves is forbidden to cross ourselves.”

“It is said, long, long ago, we could go between freely,” Poe murmured, and then Bran shushed him, and shook his head. “But the Lands Below is not a place anyone wants to go, Alex,” he continued, in a hushed voice. “The Lands Below is dangerous and wild. It is not a place for humans, not wizards or Muggles.”

Alexandra was listening breathlessly, and then she looked at the obol again, and said, “Someone must want to go.”

Bran and Poe were silent at that. Finally, Poe spoke again. “Obols is the fare that elves must accept, and if you gives it to an elf...” Then Poe's voice cracked, and both elves' eyes filled with tears.

“Please don't, Alex!” Bran pleaded.

“I won't,” she assured him quickly. “I told you, I don't want to go anywhere. I just want to know what this is. And why someone else would want to go there. What's this ancient compact? And where do obols come from, and why are they used as fare? Obols are supposed to be Greek, but this doesn't look Greek to me. And...” Her voice trailed off, as Bran and Poe both looked terribly saddened and fearful.

“We knows legends,” said Bran. “And we knows the magic that binds us.”

“But we cannot answer all these questions,” Poe said mournfully. “Alex will have to look elsewhere for answers.”

“But we wish she wouldn't,” Bran added.

Alexandra stared at her two elf friends for several moments. She wondered if they did know more, but she couldn't bring herself to push them further. She sighed.

“Will Alex please give the obol to a grown-up?” Poe pleaded.

“I'll think about it,” she muttered guiltily. And, taking a deep breath, she pressed on. “One more question, and a request.”

The elves looked at each other, and back at her, and waited apprehensively.

“The Lands Below and the Lands Beyond... are they the same?” she asked.

Both elves looked startled. Bran shook his head. “No, Alex,” he replied slowly.

“The Lands Below is dangerous and wild,” Poe said, “but it is possible to return from there.”

“But from the Lands Beyond...” Bran's voice was almost a whisper. “Never.”

Alexandra swallowed, and nodded. Then she told them, “There's a book called The Forbidden Book of Forbidden Places, but the Card Catalog won't tell me where it is.”

“That's because it is forbidden, Alex,” Bran replied.

“Right.” She nodded. “That brings me to my request.”