Shaken Resolve

"Oh, it's you again. Are you trying to beat the record of most times hospitalised in a year?" asked Madam Pomfrey, eyeing Oleandra. "So, what's the matter this time?"

"I started feeling unwell in Alchemy class," said Oleandra reluctantly. "Professor Dumbledore had Hermione escort me to the Hospital Wing to have me looked at."

Madam Pomfrey then asked Oleandra to describe her symptoms, pausing occasionally to scribble notes on her medical chart. She then asked a few more questions, like what Oleandra believed had triggered her symptoms, how and when it had all started, and so on and so forth.

"Well, it seems to me like you've got what the Muggles would call a panic attack," said Madam Pomfrey at last. "I've had many students come to me with the exact same symptoms you're describing, during the end-of-year exam period."

"Are you sure I wasn't cursed or poisoned, or something along those lines?" said Oleandra in disbelief. "I've been through much worse before, and I've never had this problem before."

Madam Pomfrey gave Oleandra a pitying look.

"No student should ever have to endure as much as you children have, which is a failure on our part, as educators," she said softly. "It's only natural that you would experience an attack like you just had— not that you should take it as a sign of weakness on your part, on the contrary."

Oleandra looked at the Healer glumly.

Madam Pomfrey had no idea what she was going through, but neither could Oleandra tell her what truly ailed her. There was only one single person on this planet who could possibly understand her predicament or help her overcome it, and it was a fellow Great Fairy— the one who had set this entire mess into motion in the first place.

"Here, this will soothe your nerves," said Madam Pomfrey, Conjuring a silver goblet and filling it with a green-coloured potion. "A few ounces of Calming Draught, freshly brewed by Professor Slughorn. Feel free to stay as long as you like— I'll be in my office, so just give me a shout if you need anything. All right, dear?"

Madam Pomfrey set the goblet on Oleandra's bedside table and returned to her office, closing the door behind her. With a resigned sigh, Oleandra drained the goblet of its contents, shivering slightly as the peppermint-flavoured potion went down her throat. It felt cool and prickly at the same time in a pleasant way.

Oleandra checked her watch.

Professor Dumbledore's class was only an hour long. She still had half an hour to herself before Tracey and her sister came to check in on her, so she decided to make herself comfortable in her hospital bed and take the rare opportunity to think.

That is, until an unexpected visitor came to see her.

"Sorry, I couldn't bring you any get-well flowers at such short notice," said Mai Dulac, taking a seat at the foot of Oleandra's bed, "but I thought you'd might like to see a friendly face."

"How did you know I was here?" Oleandra asked suspiciously.

"You're quite famous, you know?" answered Mai, shrugging. "Word tends to spread when the Ministry's saviour leaves in the middle of class for the Hospital Wing."

Oleandra knew very well what it felt like to have total strangers recognise her. After all, she had once been the Slytherin Quidditch team's ace Seeker, a Triwizard Champion, and she was also known to have faced the Dark Lord more than once and lived to tell the tale…

"Penny for your thoughts?" Mai asked gently.

Oleandra was embroiled in many intrigues and secrets that weighed heavily on her heart, but even though she loved Daphne, Astoria and Tracey with all her heart, there was still one secret she couldn't possibly tell them: that she was actually a Greater Fairy, who had reincarnated as a human to accomplish an impossible mission.

"I don't know how this is possible," said Oleandra slowly, "but even though Viviane's shadow was obliterated, I sometimes see her memories."

"What triggered it this time?" asked Mai. "Oh, and Morganna just told me she might know something that might help with that— remind me to tell you, once you're done with your story.

Oleandra felt as if a heavy weight was being lifted from her shoulders— it felt good to finally have someone like her to confide in.

"Remember when I asked you about the Elder Wand's whereabouts, two summers ago?" said Oleandra, closing her eyes to picture Viviane's tomb. "It turns out it had been in Professor Dumbledore's possession, all this time— I'd never seen it before, because he'd always use wandless magic in public…"

He'd only taken out his wand to perform Alchemy, a discipline of magic so complex even he couldn't have managed it wandlessly.

"Morganna told me how she murdered Viviane with the Elder Wand," said Mai empathetically. "I can't imagine what it must have felt like to relive the memory of your own death firsthand— that is what happened to you when you saw the wand, isn't it?"

Oleandra nodded— and then it hit her like a sack of bricks.

She had vowed to restore Avalon, no matter the cost. This required fulfilling an ancient prophecy's terms, implying she needed to find some way to resurrect the legendary King Arthur so that he may finally save Britain.

The only solution Viviane had found to achieve this was to master Death, which required her to assemble all three of the Deathly Hallows. She already knew that Harry's cloak was THE Cloak of Invisibility of the Peverell Brothers' tale, and she also knew the Resurrection Stone was bound to show up sooner or later, as Merlin had implied that all three Hallows wouldn't be too far from one another… which left only the Elder Wand.

Oleandra had always known that winning the Elder Wand's allegiance would be the greatest hurdle, as she wasn't a killer. The legends were clear on the subject: to become the wand's true master, she would have to murder its previous owner in cold blood… who just happened to be Dumbledore, of all people.

Professor Dumbledore— the most respected and accomplished Wizard in the world, the only person capable of holding the Dark Lord at bay and keeping Hogwarts safe. To kill him would turn the Wizarding World against her and pave the way to the Dark Lord's ascension, as he was the only man Voldemort had ever feared…

…and yet, bound by an unbreakable vow of her own making, Oleandra had no choice but to challenge Dumbledore to a fight to the death and rightfully win his wand. It didn't necessarily have to happen now, but she would eventually have to try, even if it meant throwing away everything she had ever cared about.

That's why I predicted my own death at the end of the school year, Oleandra suddenly realised. If I fail to kill Dumbledore, I'm dead. And if I should live…

THE DARK LADY WILL RISE... WHEN THE VEIL BETWEEN WORLDS GROWS THIN AND THE STARS ALIGN… SHE IS ALREADY AMONGST US… ABOMINATION AGAINST NATURE, BEARING A WAND OF YEW… MADE MONSTER BY HER PEERS, THE CHOSEN ONE SHALL IN TURN CHOOSE HER AS HIS FINAL FOE. ALLIES SHALL TURN AGAINST EACH OTHER… SIBLINGS SHALL FIGHT TO THE DEATH… THE DEAD SHALL TREAD THE LAND ONCE MORE. FOR AS LONG AS THE DARK LADY YET LIVES, THE DARK LORD SHALL ENDURE. ONLY THE CHOSEN ONE MAY CHOOSE…

PARADISE ON EARTH AWAITS...

ONLY THE CHOSEN ONE MAY CHOOSE…

…

Almost imperceptibly, the corners of Mai's lips curled upwards…