Scarlet spent an entire day poring over the report Alexis had left behind. That blonde girl had departed with a dreamy expression, clearly still lost in the thrill of watching Scarlet’s impromptu cospy performance.

  Scarlet, however, had more serious matters to consider: 7 Horcruxes.

  1 on Harry’s scar, which she needs to deal with carefully. It might be useful as a tracker to find the others, so for now, it would stay where it was.

  1 on Rowena Ravencw's Diadem, already eliminated.

  1 on a diary, currently in the possession of Lucius Malfoy. He was set to subtly slip it into Ginny Weasley’s belongings during her school supplies shopping trip before the next term started.

  Scarlet wondered whether she should intervene by offering Ginny a stack of fancy notebooks in exchange for the diary...or, it would be more efficient to arrange a business meeting with the Malfoys and simply steal it.

  She put the thought aside for now and continued down the list.

  1 on Sazar Slytherin's Locket, currently in the care of Kreacher, the Bck family’s house-elf. It was a keepsake from Regulus Bck, who had stolen it from a cave, a pce notoriously difficult to reach. The cave held a ke, and on an isnd in its centre stood a stone basin filled with a potion concealing the locket. The potion couldn’t be removed by normal means - it had to be drunk to access the Horcrux. The ke itself was filled with Inferi, reanimated corpses controlled by dark magic, lying in wait beneath the water for anyone who disturbed the Horcrux.

  Scarlet tapped her fingers lightly on the desk as her eyes lingered on those words. Necromancy was a magic the Queen loathed, as it robbed people of their right to die in peace. Scarlet suspected that the souls of the victims were trapped in their twisted corpses. As the Queen’s priestess, it was her duty to set them free. She decided this would be her mission during the summer holiday, her Easter break was already dedicated to the ritual for Neville’s parents.

  As for the locket, she could ask Sirius Bck for it before setting out for the cave. Perhaps she could bring Kreacher along as a guide, since he knew the way.

  1 on Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, currently locked away in Beltrix Lestrange’s vault. Breaking into the vault seemed impossible. Maybe Professor Dumbledore would have a solution for retrieving it?

  1 on Marvolo Gaunt's Ring, a gold ring with a bck stone that had once belonged to the dark wizard’s maternal grandfather. Scarlet had no idea where the ruins of the Gaunt family shack were, and Alexis couldn’t remember the location either. However, according to Alexis, Professor Dumbledore knows about the dark wizard’s past as Tom Riddle, so the old wizard would likely be able to track it down. No worries there.

  That left just one more.

  Nagini, the dark wizard’s pet snake, had been made a Horcrux after he escaped from Quirrell’s head and regained a body with Peter Pettigrew’s help. However, with Pettigrew now in Azkaban and the fragment in Quirrell already eliminated, there was no longer a Horcrux on Nagini.

  2 down, 5 to go.

  Scarlet leaned back in her chair, her mind churning. Now, how am I going to expin all of this to Professor Dumbledore? And more importantly, how could I convince him that I am fully capable of hunting down the remaining Horcruxes?

  She couldn’t cim to be a Seer. She already carried too many roles on her shoulders, and if she were in the headmaster’s shoes, it would look highly suspicious...Okay, Alexis would be the Seer. Scarlet made the happy decision, and her proposal-writing went so smoothly that she skipped her night training and finished it the same day.

  Finally, she colpsed onto her bed, filled with hope that Professor Dumbledore would grant her permission soon.

  However, when Alexis heard the pn the next day, she looked shocked and nervous.

  They were sitting beside the ke. The cold had started to ease, with snow beginning to melt, and students were scattered around, enjoying the day. Scarlet and Alexis sat under a tree, appearing to have a picnic. Many students waved to Scarlet from afar, but none approached, assuming she was scribbling away working on her novel. In fact, almost half of Hogwarts was eagerly awaiting her next book, and they were delighted to see her hard at work. Some even thought she was getting inspiration from the new transfer girl.

  Alexis kept her voice low, despite the distance between them and everyone else. “But I’m not a Seer! He’ll totally figure it out the moment he sees me.”

  “He won’t. Seers are rare.”

  “But Sybill Trewney is like, a legit Seer! Just look at her, and then look at me. Of course, he’ll know I’m not one!”

  “There’s no rule saying a Seer has to look like Professor Trewney. Besides, your ‘gift’ is far more extraordinary than the average Seer,” Scarlet whispered. “You’re a Seer who dreamt about a boy, and you saw his future in the form of books and films. You’ve been having these dreams for years, which led you to transfer here because the dreams disturbed you so much.”

  Alexis gasped as Scarlet continued, “You were so scared, and that’s why you’ve been acting strangely since you arrived at Hogwarts. And you got even more nervous when you realised things weren’t exactly as you’d dreamt, for example, the much more handsome version of Professor Snape.” Scarlet winked.

  Alexis’s face flushed with embarrassment, but Scarlet pressed on, “Eventually, you had a mental breakdown. You didn’t know what to do, so you sought me out. I’ll take you to Professor Dumbledore, where you’ll reveal your Seer ability by sharing things only he would know.”

  Scarlet stopped scribbling for a moment, not writing but sketching the view of the ke. “There’s a good chance he’ll believe you. Of course, I can’t guarantee it 100%. After all, we’re both underage, and if he’s responsible, he’ll try to keep us out of danger. Well, except for Harry, of course, because he’s the protagonist.”

  Alexis looked Scarlet up and down, as if seeing her in a new light. “That’s like, such an impressively detailed and believable story. No wonder you’re a novelist.”

  “I’m fttered,” Scarlet grinned. “So, what say you?”

  “Count me in. But I’ll need some time to, like, mentally prepare,” Alexis sighed, “I’m about to present myself to the mastermind of like, half the fanfics I’ve read. You can’t bme me for being totally chicken.”

  “He’s a kind and funny old man, though not that funny when we’re alone for...obvious reasons. What makes you think he’s threatening?” Scarlet asked, her curiously piqued.

  “Not me, but those fanfic authors,” Alexis shrugged. “Some of them bme him for all the crazy stuff Harry went through. Others hold him responsible for like, a ton of the deaths. And some are just grossed out by how he maniputes Harry’s trust, thinking he seems all nice on the outside but is totally cold on the inside – like how he even pnned Harry death and his own just to take down his opponent. I don’t like the sad, angsty fanfics, though. I always look for the funny and happy ones, so I’m not entirely sure why they portray him like that...These are just my guesses.”

  “And I’m still totally convinced we’re in some kind of fanfic universe!” Alexis whispered. “Who knows if this version of Dumbledore isn’t the same kind of mastermind that I’ve read about.”

  “Well, from what I’ve seen so far, he’s reliable,” Scarlet reassured her.

  “Okay, sensei, I’m trusting you in this,” Alexis said, grabbing Scarlet’s arm dramatically. “And I’m so counting on you if anything goes wrong.”

  Scarlet rolled her eyes and shot back, “Just shut up.”

  Qiya