Chapter 180 - Muffliato (2/2)

Rowan gently took the wand before pointing at the room. ”Muffliato!” Before handing the wand back to the staring figure of Alphard Black and Alastor Moody.

”And just what does that do?” Alastor Moody asked with a thick bur in his voice. Unlike before, there was another cut across the bridge of his nose now. His once wavy brown hair now had traces of silver having been cut below his ears. And though presentably dressed for the funeral to be held later that afternoon, his collar was open for the time being.

”My brother invented it, just this last year,” Rowan honestly replied. ”It makes it impossible for the conversation to heard by creating a buzzing in the listener's ears.”

”But he'd only been a second year!” Alastor said in blatant astonishment.

Rowan shrugs and says, ”He's quite literally brilliant. And he was tired of his two annoying roommates listening in on his and Terry's conversation. But feel free to use it, I do believe it will be quite handy in the field for the two of you.”

”Yes, that is most certainly a handy spell as you so kindly put it,” Alphard said with a tinge of a smile on his face. ”And how did you know that using our wands would not gain you a missive from the Ministry for using magic during the summer?”

Rowan innocently smiles as she takes a seat before them. ”Even I know that all students' wands have a trace on them. But an Auror's or an unspeakable? Now, that would be rather foolish on the Ministries part given the type of positions both of you hold.”

”True enough,” Alphard croaked as he tiredly leaned back in his seat to rest. ”Shall we get onto business then? It's been some time since we've last met.”

Rowan nods her head as Alastor roughly barks, ”Did you know that Vinovich was going to die?”

Rowan makes a tired face as she says, ”No, but I suspected that it would come to pass.”

A mix of emotions flash over Alastor's face as he says, ”And what is that supposed to mean.” Alphard makes a wry face at Alastor's tone of voice but doesn't interrupt.

”In all that I've seen not a single one of us appears at the end,” Rowan rather plainly stated. ”If that is any indication of the future, it is that all of us will most likely die with Alastor outlasting most of us.” Which was the frank truth, the only one for certain to survive the first wizarding war was Alastor Moody.

There is a long bout of silence as Alastor croaks, ”Then are we doomed to fail?”

”Not necessarily,” Alphard interjected. ”We've changed enough of the future already that some of us may even survive until the end.”

”That is a rather distant possibility,” Rowan drily admitted.

Alphard's eyes flicker over the figure of Rowan that was taller than before. There were slight traces of lack of sleep under her eyes. But more importantly, a gravity that had not been present. And a most frightening of a certain detachment that only appeared after one's first kill.

”You've been prepared to die all along,” Alphard finally remarked as Alastor let out a breath he had been holding.

Rowan turned to glance at the bookcase behind him rather than meet his piercing gray eyes. ”The likelihood of my surviving until the end is rather unlikely,” Rowan candidly stated.

”And I can certainly hope that will not be the case. However, at the rate things are progressing thatdoes not seem to be the case,” Rowan admitted as the room falls into a heavy silence as Alastor turns to face the fireplace.