It felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders; it seems Professor Moody had been right about making amends. Oleandra could already feel the colour return to the world; the Everlasting decorative icicles were gleaming in the fairy lights once again and the other Christmas decorations were taking a life of their own— that's what they had been enchanted to do, after all!
Now, all she needed to do was make up with her sister and rake Draco over hot coals, and all would be well. Oleandra quickly rejoined the group of Slytherins who had left without her to return to the common room and found Tracey; but there was no sign of her sister anywhere.
"Tracey," said Oleandra. "Have you seen Daphne anywhere?"
"Well, look at you," said Tracey, cracking a sly smile upon seeing her friend. "Not moping any more?"
Oleandra simply shook her head.
"She's been going off somewhere after class, lately," said Tracey, finally answering the question. "Haven't a clue where to, though."
"Thanks, Trace," said Oleandra. Now, she only needed to speak to Draco.
Oleandra moved up the small crowd of Slytherins and tapped Draco on the shoulder.
"Draco, I need a word, now," said Oleandra. "Alone," she added, seeing Pansy about to explode.
"I thought I made it clear that Draco and I were going to the ball together," said Pansy, fuming with anger. "Find your own man, you b—"
"Pansy," said Draco. "I'll talk to whoever I want."
Pansy's mouth clamped shut, and she glowered at Oleandra with quiet fury.
"It'll only take a moment, Pansy dear," Oleandra told Pansy patronisingly. "Don't worry— I'll return Draco to you in one piece."
Oleandra took Draco around a corner, out of earshot of the other Slytherins, and turned to face him, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Have you opened the Gate?" said Oleandra, going straight to the point.
"How'd you figure it out?" Draco said, gaping at her.
"How long ago?" Oleandra asked. "How many times?"
"Late September?" answered Draco, frowning slightly as he tried to remember. "Or was it early October?"
This was bad. There was no telling how deeply the Dusk-Elves could have infiltrated the castle with so much time; it had been nearly three months, if Draco was telling the truth.
"How many times?" Oleandra repeated.
"Just the one!" said Draco defensively. "What's with the inquisition, anyway? Why do you want to know?"
"Draco," hissed Oleandra, "we agreed that we'd only return together once we were truly ready; and as a group! Why'd you go off on your own?"
"Father told me that if I felt confident, I could try my hand at returning behind your back," said Draco, his voice gradually rising. "He told me to make the most out of your gift just in case, because he had a feeling you hadn't told me everything! Well, was he wrong?"
"I…" Oleandra began, but the rest of the words wouldn't come out. The truth was, even she could sometimes feel a sinister presence beyond the stars. And engraving runes upon the soul might seem benign at first, but the more Oleandra learned about magic at Hogwarts, the more it seemed like tampering with the soul in any way was taboo.
The way star magic worked was like so: Oleandra acted as a beacon for the power of the stars; by calling upon the runes, moulding their shapes and synchronizing with the stars, she could draw upon their power. When people she was close with emulated her actions; effectively synchronizing themselves with Oleandra, they too would receive the magic of the stars, eventually engraving the twenty-four runes on their souls.
A certain poem had been graven into Oleandra's mind the day she had received her magic from the stars; a constant reminder to never overreach unless one had the determination to take hold of their fate, their Wyrd, and to follow through with their path to the very end, no matter where it took them, no matter how many regrets they accumulated along the way.
Do you know how to carve? Do you know how to read?
Do you know how to tint runes? Do you know how to suffer?
Do you know how to ask? Do you know how to offer?
Do you know how to sacrifice? Do you know how to slaughter?
Better not to ask than to sacrifice too much
For a gift is always rewarded
And a boon always demands a return
Better not to offer than have to slay too many
Oleandra's relationship with her magic and her friends was based on Gebu, the rune of the Gift and the final rune Odala, the rune of Inheritance. A gift was a reciprocal affair; if one gifted, then one received back. Oleandra shared her magic with the others of her group, and in return received their experience.
The more she thought about it, the more it looked like a pyramid scheme. Except, Oleandra was becoming more and more certain that she wasn't the one at the top of the pyramid. Someone must have set up this inheritance, and all signs pointed to the Wizards of old known as the Aesir, treated as gods by Muggles.
Oleandra already knew that death wasn't the end for those who wielded runes; they must somehow still be around; this she knew. But there was no such thing as a free lunch in this world. Most importantly, what would they ask in return for granting Oleandra such extraordinary powers…?
"Nidavellir is filled with threats beyond our knowledge," growled Oleandra, ignoring Draco's question. "What gave you the confidence to return there by yourself, without us?"
Draco's eyes shifted away from her; but somehow, Oleandra already knew. She had given the Starshower Club the homework of creating a new constellation spell based on rune magic, but in truth, creating a new spell was a daunting task; she really hadn't been expecting much out of Draco and Tracey. She was already lucky to have completed half of a spell herself and Daphne's extremely simplified spell based on the Pleiades. But somehow, Draco had done it by himself.
"You…" said Oleandra in stupefaction. "You actually did it?"
Draco recoiled away from Oleandra and pointed at her, finger trembling.
"You looked inside my mind?" hissed Draco. "You— you had no right! I should have known better— Father was right about you all along!"
"Draco, wait!" Oleandra called after him as he was storming off. She needed to tell him about the Dusk-Elves infiltrating the castle!
"THURSAZ!" yelled Draco, spinning on the spot to face her.
Oleandra just barely managed to block the invisible strike, but the resulting force still made her fall on her behind. She just sat there, stunned, as the feedback from the magic connecting her to Draco continued entering her mind.
In exchange for granting him rune magic, Oleandra had received his experience with the complete spell he had devised: Laukaz, Ingwaz, Naudhiz, Dagaz, Wunjo, Odala, Raidhu, Mannaz. The Sigil of the Lindworm, based on the Constellation of the Dragon, Draco!