Reveal Your Secrets!

"…and here's the common room, which concludes our little tour of the castle," Oleandra told the motley group of starry-eyed first-year Slytherins before her. "The password is 'Apophis,' so make sure not to forget it!"

The instant the secret word had passed Oleandra's lips, the relief sculpture of the twin serpents that guarded the secret entrance to the Slytherin common room shifted— and within seconds, the stones snakes had untangled themselves from each other and slithered apart, revealing an opening in the dungeon's damp walls.

"You're pretty good with children," Tracey cooed in Oleandra's ear, as they watched the first-years clamber through the hole in the wall in an orderly fashion. "I like that."

"I'm just doing what a proper prefect should be doing," said Oleandra with false modesty. "I just wish there had been someone like me as a prefect during our first year— I wouldn't have got lost so many times, if they'd been doing their jobs…"

A short boy hopped through the hole in the wall, and with the last of the first-years having entered the common room, silence settled over the dungeons. For a few seconds, the only sounds that could be heard were those of the crackling of flames from the wall-mounted torches, until Daphne's voice cut through the stillness.

"Well then, out with it," she said quietly. "Thanks to this little detour you've taken us on, I don't expect any more interruptions."

Save for Oleandra, Daphne, Tracey, and Mai, the rest of the Slytherins had already entered the common room and were either taking an evening bath or preparing for bed.

"My name is Mai Dulac," Mai recited rather mechanically. "I'm eleven years old, and I was born to Muggle parents in a little village in Brittany, France. My parents moved to Britain for work a few weeks ago, and shortly afterwards, I received a letter from Hogwarts…"

"That's not what I wanted to hear," said Daphne brusquely. "I want to know how you met my sister and what she was up to behind our backs, when we thought she was dead."

Tracey nodded vigorously in approval. While Oleandra's vague excuses about prophecies and following her destiny had managed to stop her from asking any more questions about that summer, it had done nothing to quell her burning curiosity!

"Very well, then," said Mai with a curt nod. "I first met Oleandra one year ago, when she burst into my house in Brittany with a sword in her hand, in the early hours of the morning."

A shocked silence fell over the dark dungeons.

"To be fair," said Oleandra weakly, "her mum and the villagers had been the ones to start it."

"Let me get this straight," said Daphne with a blank look on her face. "After the Dark Lord killed you, you came back to life and decided that the best course of action would be to go to France— and then, you waved that sword of yours in some Muggles' faces? Are you mad!?"

"They put a gun to my temple, and they shot at me," Oleandra emphasised. "Do you have any idea how scary that is?"

Tracey stared at Mai with a bemused look on her face.

"Your parents couldn't have picked a worse time to immigrate to Britain," said Tracey pityingly. "To find out that you're a Muggle-Born Witch when You-Know-Who's returned, and to Sort into Slytherin…"

There was not a doubt in Tracey's mind that her fellow Slytherins would write letters to their parents about the Mudblood filth that had Sorted into their great House. The news would naturally flow back to You-Know-Who, so it was as if Mai had a great big target painted on her back!

"Which actually brings us to the part of my tale you wished to hear," said Mai, nodding in Daphne's direction. "It wasn't a coincidence that my parents chose to move here— but if you want to hear any more, I'll have to swear you to secrecy."

"How do you mean?" asked Daphne, raising an eyebrow. "And I'm not making any Unbreakable Vows, so don't even ask."

Mai shook her head.

"No need for anything magical," she said enigmatically. "Just swear you won't tell anyone, and if I see that you're truly serious about your promise, I'll tell you what you want to hear."

Daphne and Tracey looked at each other.

"Fine, we swear we won't tell anyone about what you're about to tell us," said Daphne in exasperation. "Satisfied?"

Mai studied the two girls' faces attentively, and after a few seconds, she finally nodded— she had the same Mystic Eyes as Oleandra, so she knew they were being truthful.

"Quite," said Mai sobrely. "Very well then, the truth— my parents belong to an ancient order of knights descended from the Knights of the Round Table. Unlike the rest of Mugglekind, our village has never forgotten about magic— which is how we immediately identified your sister's true identity."

Tracey's jaw dropped open in disbelief.

"The Order's goal is to overturn the Statute of Secrecy," Mai continued. "Oleandra followed her fate and stumbled upon our village in search of her roots— and after a brief scuffle, she was inducted into our society and sworn to secrecy."

Naturally, Mai held her tongue about her and Oleandra's true natures as Greater Fairies sent from the Isle of Paradise— a secret they both intended to take to their graves.

"After centuries, the Order of the Round Table is finally ready to make its move," said Mai. "The instability caused by Voldemort's ascent marks our last chance to restore humanity's birthright to the world and reintroduce them to magic in a positive manner."

"You're mad. You're both mad," whispered Tracey, who had turned as white as a sheet. "This is madness."

"Voldemort's army of brainwashed Muggleborn— his Heliopaths— is poised to strike at the heart of Muggle society around the globe," Mai continued. "Intel suggests he intends on decapitating Muggle leadership to plunge society into chaos. His servants will burn everything in their path, methodically and systematically working their way down the chain of command."

At that point, there would be no going back to how it had been before.

Once the shock from the initial attack had passed, the Muggles would react violently against the magical threat. Things would go back to how they'd been during the Middle Ages, and humanity would go at war against itself.

Faced with legions of vengeful Muggles, Wizardkind would have to band together. Even those who advocated for peace would be forced to join the Dark Lord's side— the side of magic— to survive, and at last, Voldemort would have his dearest wish. Chaos, mayhem, cruelty, death— and for all of eternity, he would watch the suffering unfold, with his Dark Lady by his side…

"Which means it's imperative that we restore magic to the world as soon as possible," Oleandra concluded. "Before Voldemort does it for us— and convinces the Muggles that it's either them or us!"