Chapter 1
01
Ramos woke up in darkness, struggling to support himself, and found that he was back in the tower. He had no idea who had moved him in with the floating spell. Torres was asleep next to him, his brow furrowed and his body leaning sideways as if he was ready to stand up and fly over to Ramos the next moment.
He stood up and moved his limbs lightly, it was fine, the bones were still intact, it just felt like he'd been hit back and forth by a dozen Bludgers, there wasn't a spot on his whole body that didn't hurt. Ramos made a face in the darkness, not really wanting to wake Torres, and moved himself as gingerly as he could from the bed to the window on the other side of the tower, feeling the lingering smell of rust on every breath he took in the process. It made him want to vomit even more.
Ramos looked out the window, the moonlight was bright enough that he could see the shimmering light reflecting off the lake below. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it looked like tomorrow was going to be a beautiful day. And such fine weather was not common in the Scottish winter. The bitter air rushed towards him with the rawness of the holly and earth, lifting Ramos' spirits.
He shook his head and propped his hands on the window sill, looking at the Quidditch pitch in the distance. Then Ramos thought of Piqué again: Piqué was in for a real treat this time.
In this morning, everything was running as normal. The Death Eaters still inhabited the corners of Hogwarts like maggots. Ramos ate his breakfast, next to Torres and Cassie, who were also eating with their heads down, and the once noisy auditorium was replaced by silence. For a long time, he hadn't dared to imagine that Hogwarts would become this quiet. But the truth was, no one wanted to draw attention to themselves under the gaze of the disgustingly slimy eyes on the stage.
They finished their meal hastily and headed for the conservatory with their bags, and halfway down the corridor they met Piqué and his group of student inspectors joining them from another corridor, about half a dozen of them, all Slytherin students, and Ramos noticed that the one standing next to him was Mbappe from the Quidditch team, a few years younger than them.
The otherwise scattered students in the corridor stopped silently to wait for them to go first, and Ramos saw Hedgepige's Maisie and a Ravenclaw blonde girl also standing behind a pair of bronze armour. So Ramos shrugged off the book bag he held in his hand and continued on his way.
Torres briefly pulled on his arm, but he easily broke free. He moved forward, bumping his shoulder first into Mbappe, who was following at the end of the group, and then continuing on as the other man stared in amazement and anger. One, two, ...... and finally he slammed hard into Piqué. Ramos reckoned it shouldn't have been a light blow, as Pique was shoved against the wall of the corridor, and the other man's book bag hit the pair of armour with a loud clunk.
"Sese didn't mean to do that." He looked wide-eyed at the group of inspectors, who had pulled out their wands and were mumbling something that Ramos guessed was probably cursing him.
"Ramos, you're a gutless coward." Quickly adjusting his posture, Piqué held his head high and pulled at the corners of his mouth in a very contrived way, looking at him from above with those blue eyes, "I'll teach you how to obey the rules of Hogwarts."
"Are you talking about the rules of the Death Eaters? This sese does not know." Ramos replied, staring intently at Piqué as well.
Ramos wouldn't have missed the wand that Piqué already had in his hand, but he wasn't afraid, sese had his wand in his hand as well. Even without the wand, sese could still beat Piqué down.
"That's enough, all of you, get your asses in here for class." A middle-aged man in a grey wizard's robe stepped out from the side of the corridor, cup of tea in hand. Ramos recognised it as Mourinho, who taught the ancient Ruinian language.
Ramos bristled and put away his wand, but neither Piqué nor the students of the Inspectorate moved.
"Mr. Piqué." Mourinho frowned at the other man as the other students in the corridor began to whisper.
It took a few seconds before Piqué reluctantly put away his wand and turned around and walked the other way. The other members of the inspectorate followed in a panic, with Mbappe giving Messi a hard bump halfway down the hall.
The furore soon died down and the students went off in twos and threes to their different classrooms, Torres looking disapprovingly at Ramos as he tugged him towards the greenhouse, "Why are you messing with that nutter again?"
"He messed with sese first." Ramos looked at his friend with a rather innocent expression, "Piqué just looked like he wanted to pick a fight with me."
"He probably didn't even look at you ......" Torres was tempted to hold his forehead, but it was better to hurry to class as he pulled Sergio along and ran through one corridor and staircase after another, causing the painted noblewomen to let out a disgruntled whisper.
"Piqué doesn't put up with anyone when he becomes inspector. Don't you see how he and Leo don't even talk when they see each other. He don't have the time to bother with you."
Leo had played well with Pique in previous years and had been heard to spend summers at each other's homes, which Torres was aware of.
"You have to trust sese," Ramos said to Torres, word for word, as he turned his head and stopped in his tracks.
For a moment no one spoke. The cold winter breeze blew through and Torres cringed for a moment, then paused and said, "I know."
"Sese love you the most!" Ramos laughed and went to hug his friend, then was kicked mercilessly away. The two men continued to run forward.
--
After class, Ramos was still packing up bags of fertilizer with Torres when he noticed a few Slytherin girls leaving the classroom in a hurry, bringing out a fragrant breeze.
"What are they rushing off to?" Ramos asked his best friend, and the other shook his head, he had no idea.
"You guys forgot there's a winter ball today."
On the side Modric shook his head and looked at them with a mixed expression, "Yeah, who remembers the Winter Ball these days. I'm not going to go to it."
"Oh..." Ramos and Torres made a sound of recognition, day after day they had long since forgotten about the ball they had mentioned earlier.
"It's mostly the picketers and a few other Slytherins who still attend the ball." Modric yarded the bag of fertilizer in his hand and turned to them, "I advise you not to go either."
Modric was a Ravenclaw seeker who had lost to Gryffindor last season. He was a likeable little boy.
"We weren't planning on going." Torres smiled, "Thank you anyway."
He reached out and patted Modric on the shoulder, then left the conservatory with Ramos.
The prom ...... Ramos thought of fourth year, the winter ball littered with mistletoe decorations sprinkled with icing, hot eggnog in triangular glasses, thumb-sized fairies fluttering their transparent wings and flying over the auditorium, the air echoing with lazy jazzy slow sway. Torres and himself were both drunk, both giggling and sitting on the floor against the wall next to Cristiano, who was also sitting on the floor with a drink. Casillas, who had not yet become president of the student council, was incredibly handsome in a white dressing gown. He came towards them and held out his hand inviting Ramos to dance......
-
Ramos didn't say anything the whole way, making Torres a little skittish. He wasn't sure if the other man was irritated by the dance, because he was a little irritated himself. The mere thought of those muggle-born classmates who were still nowhere to be found made Torres want to do something to those shady-eyed Death Eaters that he would regret.
"Are you okay?" Torres asked, as they sat at the table eating lunch, Cassie having gone off somewhere. The auditorium was more or less alive now that the stage was free of the disgusting stalkers, and many students were talking softly to each other.
"Sese is fine." Ramos gave Torres a pat on the back with his free hand, "sese isn't going to prom either."
"So what are you going to do tonight?" Torres instantly raised his guard, it was hard not to remember what Ramos had done in the past two years, including but not limited to turning the Death Eater Carlo siblings' exclusive custom-made inspector's public board into a swarm of slimy slugs at the opening ceremony, several of which landed on the heads and in the hats of the two Death Eater siblings.
"Join you in the common room to read and finish the History of Magic paper that's been dragging on for three weeks." Ramos was really planning on finding Cassie and the three of them spending an evening in the common room together. It was a rare day when there was no class and no need to see Piqué's tiresome face for the second time.
"Ohhh." Torres replied, and inwardly sighed with relief as he looked at Ramos, who had regained his spoon beside him and was feasting on his lamb pie. Yes, it had been a long time since they had simply sat in front of the fireplace in the lounge and chatted. God knows how long it had been.
-
The afternoon really was as Ramos had said, and they returned to the lounge to read and chat. Cassie was busy attending to the business of the student president and only showed up hastily before disappearing again. The lounge was packed with students, the weather outside was overcast and the wind was blowing with snowflakes, beating against the windows at every turn. Students without classes almost always chose to stay in the tower rather than go to the library or stay in the auditorium, and the air was filled with the sweet smell of baking biscuits. Ramos and Torres occupied a table away from the fireplace, where it was relatively quiet, and at the next table sat Reus and Lewan, two men buried in reading the Daily Prophet.
Ramos took notes with a quill as he read the goblin's journey, while Torres worked on his Potions report. Every now and then the two men looked up and chatted about the recent situation in Spain, and fortunately, although the school was closed, they could both confirm that their families on the far continent were safe and sound.
Time passed quickly, and by four o'clock it was dark. Students came downstairs to prepare for dinner, and a very few couples left the common room in matching dress robes, amidst slightly shy smiles from the girls. This was in preparation for the Winter Ball.
More Gryffindors were still in civilian clothes or robes, coming downstairs with tired faces. Ramos noticed that the fat lady was also consistently sickly and breathless every time she opened the door. He told Torres what he had found and was met with a look of "you just know".
-
The auditorium was full of students, and the default dinner before the winter ball required full attendance. Ramos pulled Torres into a seat next to Cassie, opposite Cristiano and Pepe, who were also dressed in civilian clothes.
The long table was covered with an elegant moon white tablecloth, and a floral menu written on parchment was placed on a silver tray in front of each person, tied with a grey ribbon into a long tube. Ramos made a face and Chris, opposite, laughed silently.
They were late to the party, and the only people in the teachers' gallery were the disgusting Death Eaters, each dressed in black dress robes with disgustingly intricate lace and lace. As if you weren't villains enough, Ramos thought. The rest of the teachers were not sure if they had been sent away (which happened from time to time).
Ramos finished his dinner in a daze, and despite having his favourite seafood risotto today, he felt like he was eating nothing.
Ten minutes later, everyone's plates were silver and white again.
Alektor Carlo rang the bell and stood up with a smile on his face to gaze at the students. Ramos noticed that the other woman wore on her head an exaggerated bowler hat with a huge brim as if from the Middle Ages, embroidered with a skull image in silver thread. It was a thin woman who looked as if she was about to be swallowed up by the hat. Ramos smiled a little, and next to him Torres gave him a very disapproving look.
"Very good, very good." Carlo said, her voice shrill, "I've noticed that you're all more disciplined than you were at the beginning of the school year."
There was a silence, only a giggle came from the shadows standing off to one side, and everyone turned their heads to look, only to find that Piqué had appeared there at some point with the students from the Inspectorate, the giggles coming from a few of them. Piqué was dressed in a silk robe, aqua blue, which matched his eyes unusually well.
There were more people around Piqué now than there had been during the day. No wonder the Slytherin table was empty, Ramos thought.
Ignoring the small commotion brought on by the pickets, Carlo continued where she left off, "The Winter Ball, how wonderful." She smiled a little, as if trying to make herself appear easy-going, but no doubt in vain.
"And yet," Carlo's tone changed and his voice became sharper, "some of you, have been trying to destroy the environment we have worked so hard to create. To undermine the reign of the Dark Lord."
She looked around the room, a number of students lowered their heads, but more chose to hold them high and meet Carlo's gaze.
Amicus Carlo stood up too, he was unusually tall, like a tower standing behind his sister.
"Look what I've found!" Carlo beckoned, gesturing for Piqué.
Piqué ran up to the stage and handed Carlo something.
"I'm sure many of you recognise what this is." Carlo looked up, the corners of his mouth lifting in an exaggerated fashion, with that smile of ambition on his face.
There was a brief cacophony of noise from the stage, then a return to calm.
Ramos looked at Carlo, who was holding a gold galleon. It wasn't an ordinary galleon, however, the image on it was more like ...... more like a few numbers and lines of letters outlined in fluorescent light. He turned his head to look at Torres, and the other man's eyes were equally puzzled.
"Now, so as not to ruin the Winter Ball, will this organisation - the inventor of this lovely coin - please come forward." Carlo's gaze swept over every student underneath, "Let's have closure."
No one spoke up, and Ramos glanced, seemingly unintentionally, at Cassie next to him. The other man was calm.
This vacuum lasted for a few moments, and no one spoke.
"I already know the purpose of this group. If you still want to know, I just got a list of all the members of this group." Carlo frowned as she spoke faster and looked a little impatient. The two Lestrange men sitting next to her also stood up and looked at the students with a grim gaze.
"Will the organisers please come forward and we will not pursue the rest of the students." Carlo gave another smile, "This is a mercy from the Dark Lord."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a laugh came from the bottom.
"Who? Who is it?" Carlo questioned in a loud voice as she turned back into the hysterical Death Eater.
"Get the man out of here!" Lestrange stood up and roared at the pickets.
-
Before the pickets could come forward, Ramos had stepped forward alone. He looked up at the grim-faced Carlo siblings, "Aren't you looking for the organisers?"
He looked around, the pickets had gathered around him, Piqué closest to him, wand in hand. Torres was staring at himself with unblinking eyes, his face pale. Also looking at himself were almost all the students in the auditorium, except for Cassie. Cassie was still looking ahead without a glance.
"It's sese made gold coins." Ramos stood in the empty space in front of the four long tables, thinking that this was where he had put on the Sorting Hat many years ago.
"Sergio Ramos." Carlo shouted out his name, "I should have thought it was you!"
She had raised her wand.
"How do you prove it?"
Ramos froze, not expecting the person who asked the question to be Piqué, who was standing not far from him.
"How do you prove you're the organiser?" Piqué asked again. He was pale and looked like the kind of handsome vampire that would appear in a movie.
"Gold coins get hot when you make contact." Ramos bristled. It was like he was back to fighting with Piqué in Defense Against the Dark Arts.
"That's him!" Alektor Caro said sternly, "I'm going to make him punished."
"That can't be ...... him," Piqué said with a contemptuous glance at Ramos and turned to the Carlo siblings, "Ramos doesn't have a brain like that."
"It was me," Ramos quirked his head to look at Piqué, the other man's robe was simply bright and shiny, so he looked away again, "I've admitted it."
It had to be admitted that Piqué was right about one thing about him: it was true that he hadn't made that gold coin. But the previous summer, he had spied who was making as well as using that gold coin.
Ramos looked provocatively at Carlo, "Now let's see if you gutless bastards dare to catch me."
"Yes, yes!" Alektor Caro laughed as she turned into that oily lunatic again, "Let's make this the opening of the ball."
She raised her wand and the next second Ramos felt a ball of fire explode from his body, his skin crumbling inch by inch, his bones crushed - he had never realised he had so many bones in him. It hurt so much that his eyes went black, so he started banging his head on the floor, hoping he would pass out. Ramos' whole body was screaming with pain, only pain, pure pain ...... for who knows how long.
When he regained his senses, he realised he was on the floor, shaking all over. Ramos couldn't remember if he had screamed out, he hoped not. But his hair became damp and he didn't know if it was sweat or the physical tears that dripped into it.
For a long time, he just breathed and couldn't do anything else. Then he looked up, and in the corner of his eye he saw Piqué a little closer to him, with that funny look on his face that Ramos had never seen before. Ha ha, really everyone should see that. Ramos thought.
He pulled hard at the corners of his mouth and smiled at the Death Eaters on stage, "sese happy for your stupidity."
Ramos looked at the exasperated Death Eaters on the stage and everything became a blur and slow as he watched a wand being aimed at him and then there was pain, more pain, enough pain to destroy everything. Such violent pain but long and constant, as if to crush Ramos' body. He began to plead, plead for who knows who, to make this endless pain stop. His mind was stirred by the sharp bayonet and he opened his eyes, a crystal blue before him.
The pain gradually stopped and Ramos slowly found his breath. Now he found himself lying on his back with Piqué, who was leaning down to look at him, in front of him and his own vomit beside him, and he began to be glad that he hadn't eaten anything during the night that would make the current image even more ugly.
Ramos had no idea how much time had just passed, as it wasn't long before he opened his eyes and lost consciousness completely again. The last moment of consciousness was met by a clear blue ocean.