I decided to stay in the little inn, first of all because it was a very charming place that filled with friendly people every evening, and secondly because the old innkeeper seemed to fancy me, which meant that I got mostly all I needed for free. However the same was true for almost every business in town. From the remarks and congratulations of the inhabitants I gathered that the pixies had had become a downright infestation in the course of the last months. Apparently nobody had been able to catch them or chase them away. Over time the little devils had stolen many sheep and even dogs, destroyed parts of roofs and had even tried to abduct little children on several occasions. This had lead to less people leaving their houses after sundown, when the beasts were most active, and had nearly ruined Dáirínes tavern. Now the whole town greeted me as their hero and savior, which I found hard to deal with but, of course, I dutifully accepted my role as their new celebrity.

There were yet two other reasons that made me stay, and they came in the form of a woman and a riddle. It was the evening after my arrival. I had just come back from a walk around the town and sat down at the bar, when Dáiríne greeted me with a jar of honey wine and a "Hello there, young man. You look a lot fresher than yesterday". It seemed like she gave me a wink every time she ended a sentence. I thanked her with a wide smile which made her blush to a deep pink. "You must know, you saved my business. I am so very sorry that I was so unfriendly when I first saw you yesterday", she said very quietly, her cheeks turning an even deeper shade of red. It seemed to me as if she was not the person to apologize very often. I assured her that it was alright and that I had found her remarks very funny. As a reaction she let out a shrill giggle and whirled around, pretending to suddenly be very busy with her box of cash. Slightly irritated I began to look around. With a grin I noticed that Dáiríne had hung up one of the pixies as a trophy on the wall behind the bar. The blue creature was still paralyzed, however it's eyes seemed to follow me angrily. Amused I wondered what the old woman had done with the other pixies. Maybe, I thought, it would be a good idea to get friendly with some residents that were not absolutely crazy after me.

To my right, three men and a woman were apparently playing a drinking game which involved a pack of cards and a magic bowl in the middle. The bowl seemed to randomly spit out and swallow cards. Right behind me a group of youngsters, definitely younger than myself, were loudly singing "The ballad of Jean and John and the Fairy queen" while emptying one shot of something green and slimy after another. Uninterested by such shallow amusement, my view wandered towards the table to my left, hidden in the corner of the tavern, where it got stuck. A beautiful young woman with pale skin and long black hair, dressed in a thin grey gown and an even thinner jacked had caught my eyes, and I couldn't break away from her sight. Her eyes were blue like morning skies and her lips thick and pale. Her hair was long and silky, her hands so delicate and thin, her nails long and brittle. She had a faint mark of red in her eyes, as though she had just cried. Next to her the vultures had already gathered upon sniffing a chance to get an easy girl. Three young men sat around her in a circle, trying to impress her with drunken stories of heroic doings and ridiculous lies, moving closer and closer to her. One was fat and hairy and looked a bit like a mountaintroll, the second was small and ugly with a crooked nose and a crooked back, and the third looked the most normal, however he definitely wasn't a beauty. She hardly looked at them, pressing herself into the corner as if she wanted to get away as far as possible from those drunken lunatics.

After a moment I could not stand the sight anymore. I have always had a little heroic part in me and that showed itself now. I strode to the table and dropped both my hands onto it, right in the middle of the small crowd. With a dangerous grin but calmly I said, "I think the lady wants to be left alone. If you want, you can play a game with me instead. I would suggest a little dueling game. You know, just for fun", as I took my wand out of my pocket and placed it demonstratively slow on the table. The three lads exchanged a look. From the look of them I assumed that they were already in their twenties, but they seemed to know that they would stand no chance against me. After a moment one of them, the ugliest and smallest, said slowly while getting out of his seat, "No thank you. We don't want no trouble 'ere. Actually we got to go now, 'm I right, Neil? Flinn?". The others agreed, as it seemed, gratefully, and then hurried out of the tavern. The girl in grey gave me a short look, then dropped her eyes to the table. In a thin, high voice she said "Thank you". A little confused I said "No problem", then, gentleman as I am, I took a bow before her and went back to my barstool where half a jar of wine was still waiting for me.

It was just moments after that I saw a movement right next to me. I raised my eyes and looked right in the eyes of the black-haired girl. Causing nearly no sound at all she had taken the barstool right to my left. I had to use up all my willpower to stop staring into her eyes. It was like drowning in a mountainlake. Never in my life had I seen such a beauty. "My name is Áine. I am a stranger here as well. It was nice of you to protect me before", she said in the same thin, quiet voice as before. "Why certainly! It is every honourable man's duty to protect a lady in need"; I answered with a smile. She looked up and smiled back at me. She asked me where I was from and what I was doing here, and I told her about Hogwarts (which strangely she did not seem to know) and my plans to travel. When I asked her the same question she told me that she came from a far place which I would not know, and that she was here to visit family. We talked until nearly all the guests had left the tavern, although it was mostly me who talked and mostly her who listened. She was very shy but very friendly. Suddenly I realized that we were alone in the inn. Even Dáiríne had already left (maybe, I thought, because I hadn't paid much attention to her this evening). The clock on the wall said it was already two in the morning. "I think we should leave. My room is here. Do you have a far way home?"; I asked Áine. With a blush she answered that she would have to walk very far, and that she was scared to walk the way alone at night. I proposed that I would bring her home. However she replied: "I would rather not walk the whole way home. I am very tired and a bit drunk from the wine. Can I maybe sleep in your room?". Of course I said yes and like a gentleman I escorted her up the stairs and into my room.

I got woken up hours later by a howling sound right below my window. Looking next to me I realized that Áine had left. I was worried, but after all, she was a grown woman. I expected she had gone home after all. Another long howling sound. It sounded a bit like a wolf, but higher, sadder of some sort. Alarmed I jumped out of bed, opened the window and stuck my head outside. It was pitch black. All the lights around the house seemed to have gone out. Whatever it was gave out another terrifying howl, and it came right from beneath my window. I dashed to my nightstand to fetch my wand, whispered "Lumos" and sprinted back to the open window. However when I stuck my wand outside to search the ground, there was nothing but grass. "Ignis fatuus", I breathed, which made a ball of light shoot out of my wand, illuminating the area of the street that had been bathed in darkness before. The whole street was deserted. Not even a bat was flying around, let alone anything that could have made this sound. Disappointed I decided to ask Dáiríne the next day, for I assumed that she was sleeping in the house as well. Feeling a little powerless I closed the window and crawled back into bed. Despite everything I fell asleep very soon.