Chapter 439 - Third Task Ⅴ (1/2)

Rowan had teleported as far as she could in the marsh, when the death surge hit her. Luckily, she'd picked a sturdy tree root nock in which to curl up in, when the usual tremors began. Sadly, already resigned to said side-effects she merely clenched her teeth and shut her eyes as she channeled the incoming magic being poured through her body. The enlarged vessels inside her body somehow manage to cope with the sudden influx of magic and did their best to absorb the turbulent pouring in magic into her body.

The minutes slowly seem to pass by and until at long last the waves of magic finish pouring in. Gasping Rowan tiredly lay there and tentatively opened her mind mapscape. Nothing much had changed beyond that she could now jump to any previous location that she had visited. Well, at that least solved some of her future problems, but she would definitely need to do some traveling over the summer if at all possible.

However, at the same time Rowan also felt there was something wrong with her body. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it was there and present in the corner of her magic like a cancerous thing. It was as though her body and magic had reached their utmost limit and any further absorption would come with disastrous consequences. Like drinking poison to become immune to poisons, but still even a single extra drop of poison could destroy everything that had been so fiercely worked for. It was like there was a taint to her magic that had not been there before.

The sound of crunching footsteps in the nearby marshes caused Rowan to cease her train of thoughts. She instantly freezes and stills her own breath as best as she can. She was still in the process of recovering, and she couldn't use her wand yet nor much less teleport away. Feeling weak and rather vulnerable she remained completely and utterly still as she waited for the Death Eaters to pass.

The footsteps instead begin to sound closer and closer until they're standing right next to her. From beneath the tree roots, Rowan can peek up and sees pairs of dark robes with boots. A familiar voice causes her to freeze as she hears, S.R. Wilkes say, ”Do you think a swamp creature got her, Lestrange? I doubt she could get very far in this mist especially in an unknown bog.”

”I don't know,” Rodolphus's cool voice replied. ”But she is a Prince and therefore is not to be underestimated.”

”There is nothing that interesting about her,” Wilkes snorted. ”At least not that I have ever found.”

”Mmm, you are a most fascinating piece of puzzle, Wilkes,” Rodolphus mused out loud.

”And why is that, Lestrange? Is it my youth or is my lack of emotions towards a former classmate?”

”Neither.”

”Then what?”

”At times I think I can still see the true Wilkes, a youth, eager to please, bewildered at the choices he has made,” Rodolphus slowly said. ”And then we have you, the cold calculating Wilkes. If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that you were two different people.”

Wilkes snorts and says, ”I'm merely very good at wearing different masks, Lestrange.”

”Mm, perchance,” Rodolphus muttered. ”But that does not explain your own skill level. That is not something one just picks up at Hogwarts.”

”Is that a threat, Lestrange?”

”No, merely an astute observation, Wilkes.”

”Then keep your eyes to yourself, Lestrange. We wouldn't want a repeat of your brother, now, would we?”

There is a heavy feeling in the air as Rodolphus says, ”And what is that supposed to mean, Wilkes? My brother is dead.”

”My point exactly,” Wilkes airily replied. ”Had he been cleverer, he'd have dodged or taken a human shield.”

”I see, I thought you meant something else,” Rodolphus lied. ”Let's split up, I'll go this way, and you press onward that way.”

Wilkes snorts and says, ”Fine then.” Without turning around, he hears Lestrange walk away. Wilkes remain standing there for a minute, when he hears footsteps approach him from behind. ”Lestrange?” Wilkes asked without turning back.

Rodolphus did not answer pointing a crooked, thin, unfamiliar elm wand at the back of Wilkes. A wordless Severing Charm is cast, Wilkes suddenly clutches at his neck to only find his throat had been slit from end to end.