Madam Villanelle's secret and Tutelary Dieties

Darcie couldn't speak, blink, think, or sense anything when she heard what her mentor had called the black cloak wrapped around her body.

The corner of her eyes had gone red as if they were bleeding, and even a hint of blood could be seen clung to her teeth. All because of the internal injuries she had suffered, perhaps?

Then what about the absolute rigidness of her body, and the cloudy blur blinding her sight?

One could even say that for a mere fraction of a second, Darcie Malfoy had lost her life, becoming a puppet.

It lasted for this tiniest fraction, though.

An ethereal burst of profound will erupted within her.

In the next moment, Darcie's face regained color, and her eyes, though filled with terror, also brimmed with life, and her senses returned, along with her thinking capabilities. Whatever had caused her momentary listlessness must have dealt with by that sheer will, somehow.

But it only seemed like a temporary measure. If she were to suffer such a shock again, then who knew she would regain her composure or not?

Madam Villanelle couldn't see these changes in Darcie, her eyes failing to leave the sight of Lethifold. Not even the young Malfoy was aware of these changes about her.

Full of dread and absolute horror, Darcie looked at the cloak from the corner of her eyes. What she had taken as a light flutter because of the icy wind now felt like faint breathing to her. The entire cloak was stirring, ballooning, and deflating by the faintest amount that was almost impossible to be noticed. Not to mention, Darcie felt like it was crawling over her naked skin, as though a piece of silk was brushing her constantly.

Darcie Malfoy was truly terrified now. Even with her magical powers and brilliant capabilities, not for one moment, she dared to think that she could put up a fight against this magical creature.

Lethifold!

This name itself was the primal fear for many. This creature was second only to the vilest and evilest creatures known to the wizardkind that crawled the earth, the Dementors.

One consumed flesh, and the other devoured souls.

An even more horrifying thing was that there was little to no information known about Lethifolds. Where they had originated from, what was their anatomy, what were their powers, did they have distinct sex, and the most asked question, how intelligent were they?

The more Darcie thought, the more she shuddered.

However, even then, her heart was strangely becoming calmer with time. No matter how terrified she was now, Darcie felt a soothing cold seeping into her through the cloak.

The feeling in the deepest parts of her heart — Nothing would go wrong as long as she was with it — just didn't go away.

At this moment, Darcie realized something. What the entire wizardkind truly feared wasn't the magical creature, Lethifold, but what it represented.

The Unknown!

This realization brought such joy and calmness to her that Darcie felt all the tiredness vanishing from her body.

"I… I feel good," Darcie blurted absentmindedly, shocking Madam Villanelle, whose wand was pointed at the black cloak. Hearing her own words made Darcie fluster, but she didn't take them back.

She did feel good, better than ever.

Over their heads, the countless rumbles shook the sky, and the many-colored flashes of bolts of lightning lit up their surroundings, now and then.

No matter what, Madam Villanelle's silver-gray pupils never left Darcie. "Tell me…" she forced out, her eyes hard, her face harder beside. "Tell me everything. How did you come to have these creatures, Darcie? And don't lie. I want the absolute truth of it, OK?"

Darcie nodded, not planning to hide anything already.

She did lie, though. A bit.

As the Valley of Endless Rumbles rumbled endlessly, Darcie told about her getting captured by a young Thunderbird, at which Madam Villanelle's face paled. Then she told the older witch how she had used the Shrinking Potion to free herself, and by sheer happenstance, fell near the young Nundu.

As Madam Villanelle heard that, her dark skin almost became white, losing the barest hint of blood in concern.

It was here Darcie adjusted her encounter a little, deviating from the actual happenings.

Her ability to use Wandless Magic couldn't be hidden anymore, or there was no chance a little girl of her age could have survived hours in the valley. So Darcie let Madam Villanelle know that out of fear she had conjured ropes binding the young Nundu's mouth. She blamed it all on her instincts.

Instincts, by nature, were dubious.

Then Darcie told her how the potion's effect had worn off, letting her regain her original size.

When Madam Villanelle heard how Darcie had punched the cub, flattening it into the ground and making it lose consciousness, the corners of her lips twitched ruefully for the first time.

The next encounter was even more bizarre, to say the least.

The young Malfoy had been running naked in this abysmal forest until now. This mere thought was enough to make Madam Villanelle sweat and feel remorse out of concern.

Then Darcie told her how she just happened to see the black cloak floating over the stream, and how she snatched it out, draping it over her body. She even took extra care to mention that she had felt nothing weird or threatening, either, but only the calmest piece and soothing cold.

When Darcie finished her account, it was also then that Madam Villanelle regained her composure. There was still a touch of fear on her face, but it bordered more on complication.

"I know I can't keep them, mentor," Darcie said innocently. "I will let them go now."

"No!"

Madam Villanelle's sudden shout jolted Darcie. These were Lethifold and Nundu they were talking about, the darkest creatures on the earth, and not something anyone could keep around themselves just because they wished to.

Darcie wanted to put her doubt into words, but time and place weren't in their favor.

ROAR! ROAR!!!

These roars shook the world, and even the endless rumbles felt insignificant compared to them. In Darcie's embrace, the young Nundu's eyelids trembled.

Out of nowhere, a giant Nundu came lunging out of the forest, some dozen feet behind Darcie. A smaller, but fiercer, Nundu growled at Madam Villanelle from several feet away, the incomplete Firebolt hovering midair between the creature and the witch.

But the magical creature was closer to it.

It was a pair of male and female Nundus, the cub's parents, and if Darcie wasn't mistaken, the male seemed to be the leader of the leap. These creatures' movements were so silent that before their roars the two witches had gotten no hint of their arrival or even presence.

The two beasts snarled under their throats, their thorny manes puffing out with every breath.

If there was some intelligence in those blood-red eyes, it seemed to have vanished with the disappearance of their cubs.

"Darcie! To me!" Madam Villanelle shouted, forgetting Lethifold's matter altogether. She, perhaps, didn't know if this creature was a blessing for Darcie or not, but the two Nundus represented certain death for them.

Darcie scuttled back to her mentor one step at a time, and the black cloak on her shoulders almost fluttered in response.

The two beasts snapped their jaws at them as they prowled toward their prey.

'Howsoever will they survive now?' Darice thought, her heart restless. The young Nundu was a different matter, she knew. Even if her magic hadn't worked against it, the power behind the blows had been enough to make it lose consciousness. Nothing of that sort was possible with these massive horrors, though.

Not to mention, they couldn't apparate here.

In fear, Darcie looked up at her mentor and got shocked when she saw the confidence on her face.

Yes! Madam Villanelle was a reincarnated biblical witch. How could she be ordinary? Her very existence was a horde of secrets, knowledge, and power.

The two Nundus opened their jaws, brandishing their razor-sharp fangs, and were about to let out the most lethal breath known to the wizardkind, when Madam Villanelle flicked her wand and cast a spell.

Darcie's eyes widened as she saw a massive book with an ancient cover taking shape over Madam Villanelle's head. The book's cover was thick and black, and when it opened, a black mist surfaced out like the thinnest fog. The most fascinating thing about this fog was that it kept taking the shape of countless magical creatures as if they were ghosts.

Only when the shock of this discovery calmed down did Darcie's gaze fall on the book's name.

'This?!!' Darcie inadvertently shuddered as if a blow had been dealt to her consciousness, making it crack. 'The third part of the Daemonologie, In Forme of a Dialogue?!!'

Yes, this was exactly that. The part of the legendary book that contained secrets of innumerable magical creatures, demons, and devils.

No wonder Madam Villanelle had such an uncanny way with the magical creatures. No wonder her mentor had taken such a keen interest in teaching Darcie about this Book, and its three parts.

And no wonder Madam Villanelle had smiled knowingly at her when Darcie mentioned if the older witch had too searched for the second part before.

Of course, she had. This book, this grimoire, was proof of that.

Roar! Cry!!

This roar and cry had felt to come from very far to Darcie. But, in the next moment, two creatures jumped out from the book and lunged at the two adult Nundus.

One of the two creatures was a 10 ft dragon, and the other was an even larger griffin, and both of them were shrouded in a black fog, their appearance almost transparent.

Darcie's mouth hung open at the sight.

Madam Villanelle had no intention to marvel at the upcoming carnage, however. With a flick of her wand, the incomplete Firebolt rushed towards them, and with an apprehensive but bold move, the older witch grabbed Darcie's shoulder and made her sit behind her.

In the next moment, they were already flying, the wind slapping against their faces with a grudge of its own.

As they whistled their way out of the valley and crossed the cliff, Darcie noticed that the black cloak was not fluttering as expected of it. It was wrapped gently around her, but with a firm grip, keeping contact with her skin.

The young Nundu, though, needed another drowsing spell.

Even when they had left the dangerous area, Madam Villanelle didn't lower the broom's speed and seemed bent on reaching the cobbled path as soon as possible.

After an hour of flight, the two witches landed on the path, where Sir Loras was waiting for them.

"We will talk later, Sir Loras," Madam Villanelle snapped, making the smile on Sir Loras' face vanish.

To Darcie's utter surprise, the wizard only showed a dense change in his emotions to young Nundu's presence. But he didn't even seem to give the black cloak another glance.

"Let's go," Madam Villanelle said. "I am scared to death imagining your injuries. You need medical attention, and you need it now. I am even more scared thinking of Narcissa. We are so in trouble, young lady."

Darcie listlessly fluttered behind her mentor, her head surging with wave after wave of shocking questions.

"Yes, it's the third part," Madam Villanelle said, realizing the distance to the Portkey was too great for the silence to last till then. "It contains the deepest secrets of magical creatures and their behaviors. But, in the end, it's the wizard who matters, not the knowledge itself. Do you know to whom this part belonged before me?"

Darcie shook her head, her gaze innocent.

"Newt Scamander."

'What?!' Darcie's eyebrows raised at the answer.

"The same famed Magizoologist and the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them," Madam Villanelle continued, with her wand still out for any unforeseen event. "He learned from it, but never relied on it. I have nothing but respect for such a wizard who can let go of the temptation of raw power like him."

Darcie didn't know what to say.

As they kept hurrying, leaving Sir Loras rooted to his place, Darcie saw a blue-yellow glint off in the distance. The Portkey was but a few hundred meters far from them.

It was then Madam Villanelle suddenly stopped. "Why did you go towards the Valley of Endless Rumbles, Darcie?" she asked, not unkindly.

Darcie felt confused, and then realized she had forgotten to mention the most crucial part. "I didn't go toward the valley, mentor," she explained, looking up. "I saw a Golden Snidget on the tower's side of the cliff. I only meant to capture it. I… I am sorry."

"Golden Snidget?!" Madam Villanelle raised an eyebrow. And then such a fit of anger flashed across her face like the one Darcie had never seen before. "Humph!"

This anger, however, wasn't directed at Darcie. Madam Villanelle patted Darcie's head affectionately and said, "We can't leave the island before you name these two."

"I am allowed to keep them?!" Darcie seemed enthralled.

It was the Lethifold and Nundu they were talking about, the darkest and vicious of their kind.

What more reason one needed to part the little girl from them, fearing the commotion and massacre they could cause in the outside world? Could Darcie even hold them back? Even if she was the prospective candidate for Indigo Seat, was she that brilliant to keep them in check?

"Sigh!" Madam Villanelle's sigh was full of exasperation. "It's not like you are allowed, Darcie. But you must keep them with you. There's no other way."

Darcie, though extremely tired and injured, sensed something was wrong with her mentor's tone. "Why?"

Madam Villanelle's gaze softened as she looked at Darcie. "Do you know why Avalon is such a special place, Darcie?" she asked softly. "Even before the Arthurian times, it had existed, housing uncountable creatures. But… these creatures don't exactly come under the definition of magical creatures."

Something shuddered in the depths of Darcie's mind. "I don't understand, mentor," she said, frowning a bit.

Madam Villanelle sighed. "They are magical creatures… and they are not as well."

Then it came to Darcie like an unsung song. Her mouth was open, and her eyes were giving out the most poisonous glint. "Wait a minute!" she cried involuntarily. "Are they…"

Madam Villanelle nodded. "All these creatures…" she whispered, looking at the vast fields, "… are Tutelary Deities."

And a word exploded in Darcie's mind.

Familiars!