The Last Horcrux

On the Rooftop

Dudley, Gavin and Biscuit wandered the white chalk pathways of the Night Circus. It was a lovely, enchanting place but Dudley felt impatient. All the paths wound around in ever more confusing circles, all the black and white tents looked the same. The haunting circus music seemed weird and vaguely creepy.

Biscuit was excited. He strained on the black and white leash, his nose held high, sniffing the rich aromas of the place eagerly. Gavin was eyeing the food stands with a hungry look on his face. None of it really appealed to Dudley. The rich smells only added to the anxious nausea at the pit of his stomach. But he stopped to buy Gavin some caramel popcorn and a bag of chocolate mice.

They paused in their wanderings to watch a shadow puppet show. Gavin was entranced by the shadows of the black filigree cutouts dancing across the white screen. He laughed at the funny bits and watched wide eyed at the scary parts but Dudley looked about, restless, not sure where to go next. Where in all this mess could they be hiding Draco?

After the puppet show they meandered through some of the tents. They got lost in the cloud maze for a while, watched a show in the fire eaters tent, strolled through a garden made of ice and snow. It was beautiful, but there was no sign of Draco.

When they got out of the Ice Garden the crowds seemed to be thinning. It must be very late. Gavin yawned and rubbed his eyes and even Biscuit seemed to be dragging, The electric lights buzzed overhead. They didn't seem quite as bright and cheerful as before.

"Let's go in here," said Gavin, dragging him toward a tent labeled Menagerie.

But the tent was closed. A thin silvery rope was strung across the entrance. Closed for Cleaning said the sign in white spiky letters on a black background.

"That's odd," said Dudley. It was the first thing they had seen that looked even slightly irregular or out of place. "Let's go round back and have a look."

********

Amanda ate half a sandwich although she wasn't very hungry. She curled up in one of the blankets. It was warm and soft. She didn't think that she would sleep, but she did. She was woken by Riot's hand on her shoulder, rousing her from fuzzy dreams.

"Amanda," he whispered. "Look at zis."

She made her way over to the side of the tent. The others were on their stomachs, peering under the canvas. She wriggled in next to Tori. Riot lay down beside her and lifted a flap of the tent wall.

They were looking into a much larger tent that was attached to theirs. The smell of animals was stronger. Amanda saw the glint of metal bars - cages, she realized. She heard the rustling of many furry bodies, the short, sharp squawk of a bird of some kind. They were looking into the menagerie.

"There," Riot whispered, pointing.

A blue glow came from a corner of the large tent. In its light, Amanda saw a dark figure, hunched over something that shone luminous and white. It was a large animal of some kind, lying on the ground. Above it the dark figure knelt, its head bent, as if it were - feeding. But that couldn't be right. There was a puddle of luminescent blue liquid spreading onto the floor of the tent, dripping from the creature's body. It covered the dark figure's hands, turning them blue as they clutched at the animal's flank.

Another person entered the tent. Riot clutched her arm. "It's the snake charmer! " he hissed into her ear.

"Bella," the snake charmer said. "My love." He stood beside her and watched. "I see that you are feeding, preparing yourself for events to come. That is good."

The dark figure looked up, and Amanda recognized her. It was the snake woman, the one who had attacked them. Her face was smeared with the glowing blue liquid. Amanda got a better look at the white object lying on the ground. White shimmering fur, skinny white legs with hooves splayed on the ground. A golden mane, a long white horn. It was a unicorn and it was dead. The blue liquid spreading in a pool on the ground was its blood. She felt Riot tense beside her.