At Long Last

[Marisol Woods]

It had been a few days since Marisol had finally told Wyatt her secret and had since regained her best friend. Now she just needed to tell Asaiah. She felt bad that she hadn't told her other best friend about it yet but after she told Wyatt she was beginning to feel anxious about too many people knowing. First Noelle, then Wyatt, and now she had the horrible feeling that Teagan somehow knew as well, so while she definitely still wanted to tell Asaiah about it, she decided to wait a few days because she felt like she was gossiping and that could easily be spread.

But she couldn't go too long without letting the Slytherin know because he was too important to her and she felt even worse for keeping him in the dark now that Wyatt knew. So she had sent him a note to meet her outside of his common room once he had settled back in the castle after the holidays. She didn't get to give him his Christmas present before last semester had ended and she had been too preoccupied to send it to him in the mail so she had his gift with her now.

Once she reached the dungeons, the Gryffindor waited on a bench nearby the Slytherin common room and waited impatiently for Asaiah. Since her secret was halfway out between her two best friends, she was feeling happier than ever so she couldn't wait to see Asaiah. She tapped her fingers against the large box covered in wrapping paper that was in her lap as she waited for him to join her. ​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah didn't know what to think when he received Marisol's note. He figured that she was finally going to tell him about her condition, so grabbed the black journal from under his pillow before he would walk out of the common room and into the dark dungeons and smiled at his friend when he spotted her standing not far from the entrance. For a second he wondered if she had told their other best friend about it, or maybe someone else because the one person he hated in the world apparently knew about it as well from what he could gather that night at the yule ball. ''Hi,'' he said though his eyes were focused on the box covered in wrapping paper she was holding. It took him a moment to figure out that it was probably his Christmas present because he hadn't received his during the winter break. He himself had thought about not giving his best friends any presents because of how things were between them, but eventually chose to sent each of them a copy of an old detective book, his favourtie actually, in the hope that they would soon talk to one another again, as he missed spending time with them. Asaiah looked back up at Marisol after a couple of seconds, ''What up?''

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol didn't have to wait long for her friend and stood up when she saw Asaiah coming. "Hey!" she smiled once he approached. She shifted the box to one hand and gave him a quick one-armed hug before stepping back again. She felt the familiar symptoms of anxiety creep up on her for what she was about to do but she tried to squash them down. Luckily she had his gift as a distraction which she saw him eyeing. "Let's go somewhere a little more private," she said and led them away from the entrance of his common room.

She walked down the dark corridor for a long time, taking them to a more secluded corner of the dungeons because she didn't want to be overheard. This had nothing to do with his gift but she figured getting settled somewhere first would be easiest. Once she had found a private place for them she turned back around and handed him the box. It was a Broomstick Cleaning Kit. "Here, Merry Christmas," she said with a small chuckle because the holiday had already passed. "Sorry I couldn't send it to you over the holidays, I was sick," she said, feeling her heart skip a beat whenever she mentioned anything regarding her condition which was only fueled even more because she was going to tell him about it today.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah hugged his best friend back and nodded his head when she told him to go somewhere more private. He didn't say much as she led them away from the common room simply because he did not really know what to say to her other than cheap talk and since he had an idea of why she was taking him to a place where people couldn't overhear them as easily as right in front of the entrance of the common room, he decided to keep quiet until she spoke again. He just hoped that she would have the courage to tell him this time.

Asaiah smiled as she handed him the present she was holding and put the journal down on the ground because he was sure that she would look into it if he'd give it to her to hold for him whilst he was unpacking his Christmas present. The third year started tearing the wrapping paper off and smiled brightly at the Broomstick Cleaning Kit in his hands. He was happy that she had given him this because the one he had gotten from his parents last Christmas was almost empty. ''Thanks,'' he said when he looked back up at his friend, ignoring the comment about her being sick because he knew that already. ''Did you like my gift?'' Asaiah then asked, because he wasn't even sure if she would like a detective book.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol hadn't even noticed how uncharacteristically quiet Asaiah had been the entire time they walked through the dungeons because she had been so focused on finding a private spot for them. It was only when she finally gave him his gift that she realized he had a journal with him, which he put down instead of handing over to her. Her eyes darted back up to him and smiled as he thanked her for the gift, shrugging in a 'no problem' kind of way. Marisol nodded her head when he asked about the gift he got her. "Yup, I already finished it!" she said happily, "It was a good book, thank you, Asaiah." There had not been much to do around the castle over the holidays so his gift had been a perfect way to keep her entertained during quiet nights especially during full moon time. "What's that?" she pointed at the book by his feet. "Another gift?" she wondered innocently, and bent down to reach for it.​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah was happy to hear that she thought it was a good book because it was his favourite. His father used to read it to him before bedtime so it meant a lot to him. He smiled when Marisol thanked him and then looked down when she pointed at the little black book on the ground. Asaiah didn't know what to do when she bent down to reach for his journal, so did the only thing he could think of at that moment. He put his feet on the book so she couldn't pick it up and then reached for it himself. ''No. No, that's not for you.'' the Slytherin said, relieved that he got it just before she could even pick it off of the ground. ''It's my journal.'' he told his friend because he knew that she was going to start asking questions about it any second now. Asaiah did not want to tell her what was written in the journal just yet so quickly said, ''Why are we here again?'' in the hope that she would forget about the book.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol snapped her hand back as soon as Asaiah stepped over the book to prevent her from grabbing it. She stood up again and looked at him with furrowed brows and asked, "What's gotten into you?" Panic rose inside Marisol as she wondered whether Asaiah knew of her secret, if Teagan had told him or something, because he was acting weird today. What if she was wrong and he really didn't accept her as a werewolf? But she tried to quell those fears as soon as he told her it was his journal. Marisol eyed him for a moment but gave him the benefit of the doubt. "Fine, I won't read your diary," she joked lightly to try and ease the tension, mostly calm herself down. As soon as he asked what they were here for Marisol took a deep breath. "Let's sit down," she suggested as she led them to a bench against the wall and sat down. She looked around them to make sure no one was around and said, "Do you remember that time I told you that I was dating Cato?"
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[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah knew that what he did was considered weird but thought that if Marisol would read his journal that she'd be mad with him for keeping it a secret from her that he knew about her condition since December last year. ''Nothing has gotten into me,'' he answered when she looked back up at him. He wondered whether or not bringing the journal with him was a good idea after all, as he didn't want her to be discouraged from telling him the long awaited truth. ''It is not a diary.'' Asaiah replied while shaking his head and chuckling. If it was then he'd need a second book because he had plenty to write about these days. He nodded and sat down beside his best friend on the bench, putting the items in his hands down next to him on the ground. As Asaiah turned back to Marisol he said, ''I do. What about that?'' though he had already figured that out as well, especially since she'd been talking about Octavian nonstop the morning after the Yule Ball before they said goodbye to each other.

 

[Marisol Woods]

After the humiliating misunderstanding with Wyatt when she had first tried to tell him her secret, Marisol made sure to be more careful with her choice of words this time. She nodded when Asaiah recalled the time and then said, "I had been trying to tell you this big secret I had, but that wasn't it. I got scared and made up some lie about a stupid boyfriend because I panicked." She hadn't explained all this to Wyatt even though it was this lie that snowballed into their huge fight. "Cato was nice enough to help me out of a sticky situation I put myself in but we never dated," she explained quickly, beginning to ramble as she usually did when she was nervous or stalling. She had liked the older Gryffindor but then Octavian had entered the picture.

But all of that seemed irrelevant now and she was impatient to get to the truth already as it had been kept from her best friend long enough. "Asaiah we're best friends right?" she asked anxiously, but didn't bother to wait for his reply as now she felt her adrenaline pumping. "I lied because I was scared of losing you," she confessed, though she was still scared for the same reason now. "I was really trying to tell you...that I'm a werewolf," she breathed out and looked around to make sure they were still alone. "Every month for a week or two I get really sick and then I transform into a monster," she explained in a rush. The teenager had not made eye contact with Asaiah the entire time she spoke until now. "Whatever you do, please don't tell anyone." It was the only thing she could ask of anyone she told her secret to, just in case they didn't accept her.​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah waited for Marisol to explain to him why her pretend boyfriend was being mentioned in this conversation and smiled a little when she finally told him that that relationship was a lie. He had figured that it was a lie afterwards when he was thinking back to the moment when she told him about the older Gryffindor boy back at the pub, as she had been acting strangely right before telling him. And then there was Octavian, who was being mentioned more often in their conversations. ''I know,'' he said, ''And to be honest, I'm happy that Cato is not your real boyfriend,'' he admitted, looking at her with a gin. ''At least I know that I can handle Octavian,'' Asaiah commented with a playful wink.

He was about to answer his best friend's question when she told him that she was scared of losing him and that she had decided to lie because of that. ''Mari, you-.'' but he was cut off by her finally telling him the truth. He went quiet for a moment to let Marisol say what she wanted to say to him, and then said, ''I know that you're a werewolf,'' in a hushed voice in case someone was listening in on their conversation after all. He was not sure if he was supposed to explain to his friend how he knew, so continued on, ''I have known it since December actually.'' If it wasn't for the lesson on werewolves in professor Styx's class, Asaiah might not have connected the dots at all. The Slytherin reached for the little book next to him on the ground and held it out to his best friend since he was certain that she wanted a better explanation. ''And don't worry about me telling your secret to others because I won't.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol was surprised to hear that Asaiah had known her relationship with the older Gryffindor was fake, but then again with the way she was not at all subtle about the way she felt for Octavian, it was not hard to guess that she hadn't felt the same way about Cato. She laughed at Asaiah's comment about handling Octavian and said, "Hmm I'm not sure about that, he's pretty strong." She laughed again but appreciated the sentiment behind Asaiah wanting to protect her from any boys potentially hurting her. Knowing he was protective of her as his best friend had made her all the more anxious to tell him the truth but she finally had. "I know I should've - wait what?" she stopped short when he revealed he knew already. Marisol barely breathed as she looked up at him. "You know? - I - H-how?" she asked incredulously. Marisol's heart pounded against her chest as she realized that Asaiah had known for two months now and had not treated her any differently so far.

The latina watched as he reached for the small book he had brought with her and handed it over. She was puzzled for a moment because he had been so adamant against letting her see it earlier, but now that he handed it over she saw the invitation to look through it. Marisol's mouth dropped open slightly as she saw the first few pages as Asaiah had been documenting every time he noticed she got sick. She turned the pages slowly as she read each entry but it wasn't long before she couldn't read the writing anymore because her vision was blurry with tears. When she got to the page with their DADA notes, and Asaiah's added comments, especially No cure for lycanthrophy. They haven't met Asaiah Ichabod Murphy yet, I will find a cure, she looked up at him with watery eyes, letting out a relieved laugh. Marisol didn't say anything as she rushed forward to wrap her arms around him in a tight hug. "I love you," she breathed into his shoulder, still hugging him tightly before she finally let him go.

She quickly wiped her face in case any stray tears had escaped and looked down at his journal and laughed again. "I can't believe you figured it out," she said, impressed. She had wondered whether her friends would have figured it out on their own after all these years. Of course Asaiah was observant enough to have remembered all the small details of their friendship that when listed together the way he had, made the answer so painfully obvious. She looked up at him with an apologetic smile and said, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." She sighed and said, "Like I said, I was scared of losing you. I was new to the wizarding world when I got bitten, and I realized stuff like having 'pure' blood matters to wizards. My condition is like a disease," she said bitterly. She knew Asaiah was not one of those wizards who cared about blood status, but since she had not come to terms with her condition she had rationalized every possible excuse to deny the truth to them all. "But thank you so much for keeping my secret until I was ready to tell you," she said with a smile.
​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah watched as she went to look through the pages of his journal. He wondered if she was even able to read most of it as his handwriting was not good at all, but as she continued to look through the journal the thought was replaced by another one that made him regret showing it to her. What if she would be mad at him for keeping tabs on her for a year just to find out about her secret? Of course the Slytherin hoped that Marisol would know that he only did it because he wanted to figure out what was wrong with his best friend because in his perspective then it was weird that she was sick every month. He hadn't told anyone about what he was doing, not even Wyatt, because he wanted to be sure that there was something going on with his friend before even asking his other friend if he had noticed anything about her. Asaiah noticed the tears in her eyes whilst she was reading the pages and almost got tears in his eyes himself. He smiled when she did, feeling relieved that she wasn't upset or anything, and hugged her back tightly. Marisol meant a lot to him. She was one of the first friends he had made in their first year, and they had pretty much been best friends ever since helped her out in the library. ''I love you too,'' Asaiah said before she let go of him.

He sniffed, and chuckled at the girl's comment. It had taken him a year to find out about Marisol's condition and had thought about quitting multiple times because he was afraid that he was imagining things at some point. But now that she finally told him, Asaiah was glad that he hadn't stopped looking into, as he got used of the idea of his best friend being part werewolf after a month or so. He listened as she told him that she was scared of losing him because of her condition and shook his head in disappointment. ''You've been my best friend since the day we met, silly,'' the Slytherin said whilst looking up at Marisol with smile on his face, ''We might not always agree on stuff, but I would never leave you because of this.'' He was looking in her eyes while talking, ''I would only leave you behind if you're supporting the Falcons instead of the Macaws,'' Asaiah said jokingly and gave her a playful wink.

 

[Marisol Woods]

Marisol gave Asaiah a watery smile as she sniffled once more and laughed at his response, nodding in agreement. Asaiah had been her first friend at Hogwarts which she appreciated but even more than that was how easy it had been to befriend him. They had gone from acquaintances to best friends without question and she knew now that nothing would ever change that.

Marisol laughed at his comment about the Falcons and the Macaws. "No way, Jose!" she said laughing. "I'll always support the Macaws no matter what! she said defiantly. Since Asaiah had been the first one to teach her anything about Quidditch, he had also told her about his favorite team, the Moutohora Macaws. Therefore she would always be partial to that team. If someone else had beaten Asaiah to the punch and taught her about Quidditch, her favorite team would probably be that of the person who'd explained the sport to her. But she was happy being a Macaws fan and liked to believe that if she'd figured Quidditch out on her own then she would've become a fan of theirs anyway. She found it funny that when she told both of her best friends about her lycanthropy, the only thing they questioned was her loyalty to Quidditch. Priorities, she thought in her head, mentally rolling her eyes at the two boys.

Marisol's laughter died down a little and looked over at Asaiah. "So, even though it seems like you've got it all figured out," she gestured to his journal, "are there any questions you've got?" She decided from now on she wouldn't keep anything from him, and knowing how curious of a person Asaiah was, she was giving him the opportunity to ask all the questions he might have for her regarding being a werewolf.​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

He laughed softly at his best friend's answer and was happy to hear that she would support the Macaws instead, even though it shouldn't really matter which team she'd cheer for at all. He had been a Moutohora Macaws fan for as long as he could remember, and would always support them, even without his brother in the team. Like his brother when he was younger, Asaiah dreamed of playing for the Macaws, preferably in his favourite position. ''You should tell Wyatt that,'' the Slytherin said jokingly. He liked the rivalry between them, as both of them supported to very different teams. It'd been something they often joked about which he didn't mind at all.

It was true that Asaiah had figured most of it out, but he indeed had some questions that he wanted to be answered because he'd been thinking about them ever since he figured out about her, but the Slytherin didn't know if she wanted to answer them, as they were perhaps a little too personal, but seeing that now would probably be the only chance he would get for his questions to be answered, he decided to ask them anyway, ''I have some,'' he said, looking back at his best friend, ''You don't have to answer two of them if you're not comfortable with them, but there's one question that I need you to answer,'' the Slytherin said while putting the journal down again. ''First one is did it hurt? Second one is does it hurt transforming? Third one is how in Merlin's name did Teagan figure it out?'' he asked, almost speaking through gritted teeth as he asked his last question. He absolutely hated the girl so when she hinted a plant that was used in a potion made for werewolves, Asaiah had to held back the urge not to punch her in the face for even mentioned it in public.

I'm tired but still wanted to reply. next one'll be better

 

[Marisol Woods]

[No worries, it's fine!]

"I think Wyatt knows where my loyalties lie," Marisol laughed. She made no secret to hide what her favorite team was by wearing the Macaws scarf that Asaiah had given her even when Wyatt told her they sucked. Marisol smiled and nodded in waiting, willing to hear Asaiah's questions. Now that she had told Wyatt about her affliction it definitely made telling Asaiah much easier so she was open to questions. She nodded her head solemnly, "Yeah it hurt a lot. Most people don't survive attacks," she answered, knowing Muggles especially died because they didn't have the magic in their blood to combat the disease. It was lucky she was magic enough to survive it. "Look," she said, looking around quickly to make sure they were still alone before pulling up her shirt halfway to reveal the clear bitemark on the side of her abdomen. "I swear sometimes this scar hurts more the closer it gets to a full moon," she admitted. "Transformations always hurt. It's like feeling your bones break and bend in angles they shouldn't bend every single time," she explained grimacing a little in remembrance. It was a pity that the Wolfsbane potion didn't help with pain.

"I have more scars," she said quietly, pulling her shirt back down and slowly taking off her cardigan to reveal her shoulder through the sleeveless shirt she was wearing. You could see claw marks running from the base of her neck and down her shoulder and back. She never wore sleeveless shirts unless she had something over it to hide her scars. She pulled her cardigan back on and looked down at her hands quickly, seeing the small scars she had given herself while human but closed her palms. She had only shown him the scars from the night of her attack but there were more she had given herself during transformations and even while human but there was so much to explain she didn't even know where to begin.

She sighed when he brought up Teagan, since that meant her suspicions about the Ravenclaw knowing were probably true if he had come to the same conclusion too. It was weird to know that Asaiah had definitely known about her condition since the Yule Ball and still remained her friend. "Ugh I really don't know how she knows," Marisol scowled. "But I'm scared that she'll tell everyone," she confessed. Marisol liked to act tough and would especially love to terrorize Teagan, but if the Ravenclaw knew this secret about her it would be hell for Marisol. "I...sorta...did tell someone about it before and she's a Ravenclaw," the latina confessed, feeling guilty that someone else had technically known before him and Wyatt. "So I'm wondering if maybe this girl told Teagan...but I don't think she would!" she added quickly. Noelle did not seem like the type to go around telling people's secrets, especially after Marisol asked her not to. "I guess I could ask her if she said anything," she sighed; though even if she had what were the chances that Noelle would admit to it?​

 

[Asaiah Murphy]

Asaiah listened attentively as she began to answer his questions. He was glad that she didn't think of them as too personal because he had been dying to know ever since he found it. He looked down when she pulled up her shirt and moved his head a little closer to inspect the bitemark better before looking back up at his best friend again. ''Jesus Christ, Mari.'' he said, as she continued to answer his questions. If he had known that transforming into a werewolf felt like breaking and bending your bones then he would have never told her that the creatures were cool at all, because being a one sounded awful. ''There must be something we can do to ease the pain, right?'' Asaiah asked, hoping that there was some sort of potion or plant that would do just that. ''And if so, how do we get some of it?'' Knowing that his best friend would go through excruciating pain every full moon, the boy swore to himself that he would help her in any way he possibly could. ''I'm going to find you the cure to Lycanthropy, I promise.'' He was sure that there would be something about a cure in the history books the school had in the library so decided to go to the library as soon as she would go back to the common room to start looking for it.

He noticed his best friend looking down at her hands and followed with his eyes. He looked at her hands, slightly confused as to why she was looking down at them until he saw small scars on the inside of Marisol's palms. Asaiah grabbed the hand closest to him and opened it so he could have a better look at it. His eyes spread wide and he looked back up once again. ''You did this to yourself?'' he asked, concern growing over his voice. As the Slytherin looked back down at her hands, he realised that he would never be able to understand the pain she went through the night she got bitten by the werewolf, and the nights when she would transform, ''Please tell me that there is something I can do other than looking for a cure?'' the boy said, though it sounded more like a demand than a question. He took a deep breath before turning his head towards his best friend again. ''At least now I know what you meant by..'' Asaiah didn't not want to remind her about what she said so instead said, ''Whatever you said in the forest back then.'' He deciced that this would be the last time he'd ever mention what happened in the Forbidden Forest in their first year because there would be no need to talk about it ever again now that he knew.

Asaiah waited patiently for his best friend to answer his third question because in some sorts it was the most important one of the three. If Teagan really did know about Marisol's condition then they had to make sure that she would never tell anyone about it, even if it meant that they would have to hurt the Ravenclaw girl in order for her to shut up about it and never mention it again. ''We have to do something about that,'' he said, whilst trying to come up with a plan that would make sure Teagan would keep quiet. He suddenly remembered one of the plans on the adventure list they had made back in their first year and while still trying to think of a better idea a grin appeared on his face, ''We should confront her when we sneak into the Ravenclaw common room, or maybe make sure that she won't tell anyone about it.'' he told his friend. His head instantly turned to his friend when she told him that she'd told someone else about it too. ''Excuse me?'' Asaiah commented rather confused. He figured that she would have told Wyatt about her condition too, but someone else? ''You don't think she would, mhm? Mari, what do we know about Ravenclaw so far? Oh yeah I know, that we can't trust them because they're evil little shitheads - except for Zara of course, she's nice.'' the boy added quickly because he didn't think of his girlfriend like that.

 

[Marisol Woods]

As much as she felt embarrassed about her scars and it wasn't exactly a pleasant subject to talk about, it felt extremely liberating for Marisol to be able to share this much of herself to her best friend. She shook her head sadly and said, "There's really nothing we can do about pain while I'm transforming, only some type of PepperUp potion to ease the aches and soreness the mornings after," she shrugged. A common misconception that people had were that a full moon was only one night a week, but full moons tended to last 2 or 3 days a month so Marisol had to endure that three nights a week, plus the mornings after.

Marisol bit her lip when Asaiah took her hand and examined the scars on her palm. "It's not as bad as it seems," she said quickly. "Transformations are rough," she said guiltily as the only acceptable answer. "But these I accidentally gave myself while I was human. Apparently any scratches from werewolves, even while human, are a lot worse and more permanent than normal scars. So...you better not make me mad," she joked to lighten the mood even if she hated the idea of hurting her friends because of her condition. She smiled sadly at Asaiah when he said he would find her the cure because she knew there wasn't one. That was why she hated magic when she first came to Hogwarts, because it seemed pointless. The wizarding world acted as if magic was the answer to everyone's problems, but it couldn't help Mari. But she didn't want to discourage Asaiah so she bit her tongue and instead reached out to ruffle his hair affectionately. If anyone could try and come close, it would be him.

One thing she hated was feeling pitied now that he knew how rough she had it. She didn't want Asaiah to have to tip-toe around her now or treat her like something delicate because she wasn't. Marisol simply nodded in recollection of the time she thought she was going to be attacked by Professor Summers and decided to tell Asaiah how she felt. "Yeah I had just been bitten and the memory was still fresh in my mind so it scared me, but please promise me you won't look at me with those sad eyes anymore because I can't take it Asaiah," Marisol pleaded with him, nudging him a little. "I am still me and I can still keep up with you and Wyatt so don't be afraid to act normally okay?" She grinned as soon as he brought up one of the ideas on their bucket list and chuckled. This was something she definitely wanted to talk about instead. "I would love to sneak into Teagan's room!" she said with a devious look on her face. "Can you imagine the look on her face if she finds out we were in her room and she won't even know how we did it! We should leave some sort of sign that we were in there so she knows not to mess with us!" Marisol said excitedly. "And if she does tell, we'll sneak into her room at night and cut off all her stupid hair," she said firmly, which seemed like a good plan to get her back.

Marisol expected Asaiah to get upset over her telling someone else but she rolled her eyes slightly at his response. She was about to tell him how Noelle had accidentally found out and Marisol had just confirmed it, so he wouldn't have to feel betrayed that someone else knew before him and Wyatt. But she got distracted at his comments on Ravenclaws. "Just because Teagan is the spawn of Satan doesn't mean all Ravenclaws are like that," she protested. "You see, you're already making excuses for Zara but she doesn't even like Quidditch! That's weird and unusual, so she's just as untrustworthy!" she reasoned, laughing a little despite trying to make a point. Asaiah's girlfriend had been nice and all, but not liking Quidditch was just weird. As far as she knew, there was nothing weird about Noelle to be concerned about. "My friend on the other hand is nothing like Teagan and Zara! She's super sweet and nice and she would never tell anyone," Marisol defended Noelle.
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