Chapter I
She crossed her arms over her books as she traipsed carefully down the steps from her common room. She'd already broken one bone that year: she didn't need to break another. "C'mon, Riki! We'll be late for class if you don't move any quicker!" Ron called from the bottom of the steps. She waved her hand. "I don't want to fall today. You go on, Ron. I'll meet you there!" she called back, and continued down the steps. She heard bells begin to ring not long after he left her sight, and she sighed. Third class of the day, and she had been late to each one so far. Riki pushed the door open, and looked up into the somewhat angry face of her Potions teacher, Professor Snape. "Your late, Riki," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sorry, Professor," she said quickly, slipping into her seat between Ron and Harry. "Why are you late?" She lifted her eyes. "I didn't want to fall down the steps," she said slowly, making sure she didn't say the wrong thing. Snape sighed. "You've been tardy a lot since your fall during Quidditch last month," he said. "And I'm tired of it. If you are tardy to this class once more, you will receive detention, and lose points for Gryffindor." She lowered her head. "Yes, sir," she said, closing her eyes for a moment. A pain struck her in the forehead, causing her to become dizzy, and she hoped it would be gone when she opened her eyes again.
Lunch came slower than usual that day, and Riki dropped into her seat, placing her head in her hands. Harry leaned over a bit, and looked at her. "Riki? Are you feeling alright?" he asked. "I don't know..." she whispered, and looked up. "Why?" "My head hurt during Potions, I feel like I'm going to get hurt again, and..." She paused, and shook her head. "What?" "I don't know," she said again. Lunch appeared, and Riki lifted her fork, ending the conversation, but beginning the looks between Harry and Ron. Angelina crossed the Hall, towards Ron, Harry, and Riki, and leaned over. "Remember that we have practice after classes," she said, nodding, and walked away. Riki lifted her head, eyes slightly wide, and she felt her hand shaking against her knee. Since her fall on the last game of the previous semester, she hadn't been on her broom, and had found ways to skip practices: her headache was to bad, her stomach was pained, pretty much anything she could think of to keep her feet on the ground. Today, though, she knew she'd have to fly. They had a game on Saturday, and she had to play: there wasn't anyone to take her place. She took a deep, shaky breath, lowering head. "Riki? What's wrong?" Hermoine asked, looking up from her glass. "I don't know if I can fly today...I've been avoiding it since I fell..." she said. Lifting her eyes, she faintly smiled at her friends. "But...I will try...for the team..." she said. They nodded.
She walked out the door, slowly, trailing behind the others, wearing her practice robes, and clutching her broom tightly in her right hand. Riki's hand was shaking, and it shook the broom with it. She hadn't noticed how white her knuckles were turning from holding it so tightly. As she crossed from the door to the school towards the Quidditch field, the images of that day ran thru her mind...
She flew quickly, swiftly, with the Quaffle beneath her arm, steering her broom with her left hand. She spun around, tossing it up, and smacked it with the broom end, sending it past the Ravenclaw Keeper, into the goal. Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor stands, and she beamed. Riki had loved Quidditch since she was a child, and now that she was on the team, she did everything she could to make them proud, and to get them to win. She pulled her broom up, and looked over everyone else on her team, and the Ravenclaw team, trying to find the Seekers. Finally she spotted Harry, zooming towards the ground, arm outstretched, trying to reach the Snitch, which glinted carelessly in the faint sunlight. It was only a foot in front of him, and if only he could stretch a bit more...
Riki heard a cry, and looked over her shoulder, towards the Keeper of her team, Ron. His eyes were wide, and he was pointing in front of her. "Riki!! Turn around!" At the sound of her name, she turned her head, looking around to see who called it. As she lifted her eyes, she spotted the Bludger come flying towards her, and, as a reflex, spun her broom away from it. It zoomed right past her head, and she could feel the wind rush past her head. She turned her head quickly, to make sure it stayed away from her, and, as she did so, pulled her broom at an odd angle. She felt her leg sliding, and gasped as she flew below it. People began to cry out as her hands clutched the handle. She pulled up, but couldn't get up, so she ended up hanging there, unable to move. The tears began to stream from her eyes down her cheeks, and she was afraid she was going to fall. It would be a long fall if she let go. As Angelina flew as quickly as she could to help Riki, the Bludger came flying back again, and slammed into her fingers. She screamed as her grip was lost, and she plummeted to the ground. She slammed, nearly head first, into the sand below her, and blacked out...
She had dropped to her knees on the edge of the Quidditch field, her hands over her head, not wanting to see the images anymore, not wanting to remember it. Riki began to rock back and forth, eyes squeezed tightly shut, tears streaming down her face, leaning against one of the audience stands that surrounded the team. She heard a cry from somewhere on the field, and felt on hand on her back. "Riki?" Harry asked. "Riki, what's wrong?" She shook her head. "I can't take it anymore! I don't want to see it anymore! It hurts too much to see it..." she cried, tears still falling from her eyes. Harry looked over as the rest of the Gryffindor team landed again, and ran over to her. Harry and Ron helped her off the ground, pulling her arms over their shoulders. "Come on, Riki...let's get you back inside..." She shook her head, pulling back and falling to the ground in a stumble. "If I don't do this now...you'll never be able to get me back on a broom..." she said shakily. " I just don't want to see that day anymore...I don't want to remember it..." The team looked at each other. Riki pushed herself off the ground, and shakily walked over, lifting her broom off the ground. "You sure you want to do this?" Harry asked. Angelina lifted her broom from the ground. "Yea, I mean, I'm sure I can talk to Snape and McGonagall and Dumbledore, and get them to push the match back...just enough so that you can get over your fear of flying again," she said. Riki looked up. "Really?" "Yes..." She smiled, turned, and headed back inside. "Good...I just want to go lay down now..." she muttered. Harry reached out, taking her arm, and helped her inside. Across the field, the new Slytherin Quidditch captain clapped his hands together. Turning, he looked at Draco. "Go get the team. We practice today." "Right, Josh." Draco turned away, and ran inside.
Riki laid on one of the beds in the Hospital Wing, curled up, with her eyes closed. She had been trying to fall asleep, but couldn't get the image of her fall out of her mind. Finally, she gave up, and laid there with her eyes open, staring over at the wall, right beneath a painting. Madam Pomfrey wandered in and out of the Wing, but barely said a word to her. She knew why Riki would be in there without being injured, so she didn't seem to ask much of it anymore. The door opened a little while after Riki had laid down, and Ron walked in, hands behind his back. She lifted her eyes, and faintly smiled. "Hi, Ron..." she said softly, as he sat beside her. "Hey, Riki. How are you feeling?" She shrugged. "Alright, I guess. I can't sleep...is something wrong?" she asked, pushing herself into a sitting position. "Well...yes..." "What?" He pulled his hands out, and held out a scarf. She cocked her head at an angle, confused. "What...what's this?" "Do you know whose scarf this is?" he asked. She looked at it for a moment. "Yes....Why?" Riki asked. "Whose is it?" "Seamus'..." He grabbed her hand, and charged from the Wing. She cried out, surprised, as they passed the entire Slytherin Quidditch team. "Ron!" she cried, glancing at the green blur. "Where are we going?" she cried. "Something happened to Seamus!" he called. They raced down the steps, and ended up near the basement of the school before he skidded to a halt. She lurched forward, bumping into him. "Ron, what was that? Why did you drag me all the way...down...here...Harry?" she asked. He kneeled on the floor, his hands pressed against the cold concrete, and lifted his eyes. "Who was it?" "This is Seamus'," Ron replied. "Guys? What is going on?" "We found this out here...with...this..." Ron flipped the scarf over. Riki saw the small bloodstain on it. "Oh...God...Where is he?" Harry lifted one hand, shakily, and pointed to the closed door. "In there..." "Why haven't you gone in to find him?" "I don't remember how to unlock it..." She shook her head, pulled out her wand, and raised it up. "Alohamora..." she said, waving her wand. She heard a click, and reached out, pushing against the door. A shock raced thru her whole body before she pulled back. "What happened?" Ron asked. "There's a spell on this door. No one can open it...unless they know the counterspell..." "Which is?" "I don't know the spell, so I don't know the counterspell," she said, looking at him. "So Neville is trapped in there..." "Come on..." Riki said, and took off running. Harry and Ron followed her. They raced back up the steps, and she hurried past a couple students, who paused to look at them, and shoved thru another door. "Professor McGonagall?" she called. No answer. "Professor!" she cried. No answer. Turning back, Riki sprinted towards Dumbledore's office. She slid to a stop at the eagle in the doorway, and raised her hands. "Uppe duru," she said quickly, and hopped onto the step. The eagle began to turn, and reveal more steps, taking her up them to the door at the top.
The door opened, and she looked in at Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. They looked up, surprised. "Professor McGonagall, Headmaster Dumbledore, we have a problem..." she said. Her hands had begun to shake, and Harry and Ron came racing in after her. "What's wrong?" McGonagall asked. "Seamus, Professor...he's..." She held out the scarf, and said, "Harry and Ron said he was locked in a room in the basement. Alohamora unlocks it, but I don't know the spell placed on the door otherwise, so I cannot counter it..."
Riki, Harry, and Ron, led Dumbledore and McGonagall to the basement. Riki had to explain everything to the teachers, and turned around, pointing to the door. McGonagall reached out, and barely touched the door before pulling her hand back. "I don't know this spell...how about you, Albus?" she asked, looking up at Dumbledore. He touched the door, and shook his head. "I'm not sure... We will do everything we can to get Seamus out of there...and to find out how he got in there..." he said. They turned, and headed up the steps. Riki turned to the door. "Seamus!" she called. "I'm not sure if you can hear me, but if you can, listen! We are going to do what we can to get you out of there!" she cried, and turned away, leaving the basement with Ron and Harry.
Riki walked outside not too long after the first years were getting comfortable in their common rooms. She headed across the grounds to the Quidditch field, with her broom clutched tightly in her hand. Harry jogged up to her, not noticing the broom. "Hey, Riki, listen. Hermoine wants to know if you can help her help Ron and Neville with their homework..." "Sorry, can't..." She took a deep breath, and stopped. Harry's eyes fell to the broom as she mounted it. "Riki? What are you doing?" "I have to do this, Harry. Or else I'm never going to be able to play Quidditch again..." He shook his head. "Last time you said that, and then cowered out when Angelina said she could get the game moved back..." She ignored him, climbed onto her broom, and kicked off, eyes closed.
She ran thru the halls, laughing, clicking her feet together a little as she ran. Harry scooped her broom up off the floor, and ran after her. She burst into the common room, and a couple students looked up from the couch, including Hermoine and Ron. "What's going on?" Ron asked, standing. "I did it, guys! I flew!" she cried, laughing. They hugged her, laughing, and cheered. "Congratulations, Riki!"
She headed down the steps, books in her arms, and heard a scream behind her. Spinning around, her books feel to the ground and she took off running, to find out where it came from. "Hello?" she called. Another scream. She followed it to the basement, and though she saw the door in the basement open, she didn't make it in time to enter before it slammed shut and locked. "Who is in there?" she cried, coming close. Another outcry, and she lowered her head, spotting something shine on the floor. Reaching down, she picked it up as someone ran down the steps. "Riki?" She turned, and saw Harry and Professor McGonagall behind her. "It's Neville's Remembrall..." she said softly, holding out. "It's claimed another child. They have returned..." McGonagall whispered. "Who has?" Riki asked. McGonagall looked up. "Etalia, Amelie, Fiona, and Wilia." "Who are they?" "The four Goddesses of Element Magic: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water..."
She crossed her arms over her books as she traipsed carefully down the steps from her common room. She'd already broken one bone that year: she didn't need to break another. "C'mon, Riki! We'll be late for class if you don't move any quicker!" Ron called from the bottom of the steps. She waved her hand. "I don't want to fall today. You go on, Ron. I'll meet you there!" she called back, and continued down the steps. She heard bells begin to ring not long after he left her sight, and she sighed. Third class of the day, and she had been late to each one so far. Riki pushed the door open, and looked up into the somewhat angry face of her Potions teacher, Professor Snape. "Your late, Riki," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Sorry, Professor," she said quickly, slipping into her seat between Ron and Harry. "Why are you late?" She lifted her eyes. "I didn't want to fall down the steps," she said slowly, making sure she didn't say the wrong thing. Snape sighed. "You've been tardy a lot since your fall during Quidditch last month," he said. "And I'm tired of it. If you are tardy to this class once more, you will receive detention, and lose points for Gryffindor." She lowered her head. "Yes, sir," she said, closing her eyes for a moment. A pain struck her in the forehead, causing her to become dizzy, and she hoped it would be gone when she opened her eyes again.
Lunch came slower than usual that day, and Riki dropped into her seat, placing her head in her hands. Harry leaned over a bit, and looked at her. "Riki? Are you feeling alright?" he asked. "I don't know..." she whispered, and looked up. "Why?" "My head hurt during Potions, I feel like I'm going to get hurt again, and..." She paused, and shook her head. "What?" "I don't know," she said again. Lunch appeared, and Riki lifted her fork, ending the conversation, but beginning the looks between Harry and Ron. Angelina crossed the Hall, towards Ron, Harry, and Riki, and leaned over. "Remember that we have practice after classes," she said, nodding, and walked away. Riki lifted her head, eyes slightly wide, and she felt her hand shaking against her knee. Since her fall on the last game of the previous semester, she hadn't been on her broom, and had found ways to skip practices: her headache was to bad, her stomach was pained, pretty much anything she could think of to keep her feet on the ground. Today, though, she knew she'd have to fly. They had a game on Saturday, and she had to play: there wasn't anyone to take her place. She took a deep, shaky breath, lowering head. "Riki? What's wrong?" Hermoine asked, looking up from her glass. "I don't know if I can fly today...I've been avoiding it since I fell..." she said. Lifting her eyes, she faintly smiled at her friends. "But...I will try...for the team..." she said. They nodded.
She walked out the door, slowly, trailing behind the others, wearing her practice robes, and clutching her broom tightly in her right hand. Riki's hand was shaking, and it shook the broom with it. She hadn't noticed how white her knuckles were turning from holding it so tightly. As she crossed from the door to the school towards the Quidditch field, the images of that day ran thru her mind...
She flew quickly, swiftly, with the Quaffle beneath her arm, steering her broom with her left hand. She spun around, tossing it up, and smacked it with the broom end, sending it past the Ravenclaw Keeper, into the goal. Cheers erupted from the Gryffindor stands, and she beamed. Riki had loved Quidditch since she was a child, and now that she was on the team, she did everything she could to make them proud, and to get them to win. She pulled her broom up, and looked over everyone else on her team, and the Ravenclaw team, trying to find the Seekers. Finally she spotted Harry, zooming towards the ground, arm outstretched, trying to reach the Snitch, which glinted carelessly in the faint sunlight. It was only a foot in front of him, and if only he could stretch a bit more...
Riki heard a cry, and looked over her shoulder, towards the Keeper of her team, Ron. His eyes were wide, and he was pointing in front of her. "Riki!! Turn around!" At the sound of her name, she turned her head, looking around to see who called it. As she lifted her eyes, she spotted the Bludger come flying towards her, and, as a reflex, spun her broom away from it. It zoomed right past her head, and she could feel the wind rush past her head. She turned her head quickly, to make sure it stayed away from her, and, as she did so, pulled her broom at an odd angle. She felt her leg sliding, and gasped as she flew below it. People began to cry out as her hands clutched the handle. She pulled up, but couldn't get up, so she ended up hanging there, unable to move. The tears began to stream from her eyes down her cheeks, and she was afraid she was going to fall. It would be a long fall if she let go. As Angelina flew as quickly as she could to help Riki, the Bludger came flying back again, and slammed into her fingers. She screamed as her grip was lost, and she plummeted to the ground. She slammed, nearly head first, into the sand below her, and blacked out...
She had dropped to her knees on the edge of the Quidditch field, her hands over her head, not wanting to see the images anymore, not wanting to remember it. Riki began to rock back and forth, eyes squeezed tightly shut, tears streaming down her face, leaning against one of the audience stands that surrounded the team. She heard a cry from somewhere on the field, and felt on hand on her back. "Riki?" Harry asked. "Riki, what's wrong?" She shook her head. "I can't take it anymore! I don't want to see it anymore! It hurts too much to see it..." she cried, tears still falling from her eyes. Harry looked over as the rest of the Gryffindor team landed again, and ran over to her. Harry and Ron helped her off the ground, pulling her arms over their shoulders. "Come on, Riki...let's get you back inside..." She shook her head, pulling back and falling to the ground in a stumble. "If I don't do this now...you'll never be able to get me back on a broom..." she said shakily. " I just don't want to see that day anymore...I don't want to remember it..." The team looked at each other. Riki pushed herself off the ground, and shakily walked over, lifting her broom off the ground. "You sure you want to do this?" Harry asked. Angelina lifted her broom from the ground. "Yea, I mean, I'm sure I can talk to Snape and McGonagall and Dumbledore, and get them to push the match back...just enough so that you can get over your fear of flying again," she said. Riki looked up. "Really?" "Yes..." She smiled, turned, and headed back inside. "Good...I just want to go lay down now..." she muttered. Harry reached out, taking her arm, and helped her inside. Across the field, the new Slytherin Quidditch captain clapped his hands together. Turning, he looked at Draco. "Go get the team. We practice today." "Right, Josh." Draco turned away, and ran inside.
Riki laid on one of the beds in the Hospital Wing, curled up, with her eyes closed. She had been trying to fall asleep, but couldn't get the image of her fall out of her mind. Finally, she gave up, and laid there with her eyes open, staring over at the wall, right beneath a painting. Madam Pomfrey wandered in and out of the Wing, but barely said a word to her. She knew why Riki would be in there without being injured, so she didn't seem to ask much of it anymore. The door opened a little while after Riki had laid down, and Ron walked in, hands behind his back. She lifted her eyes, and faintly smiled. "Hi, Ron..." she said softly, as he sat beside her. "Hey, Riki. How are you feeling?" She shrugged. "Alright, I guess. I can't sleep...is something wrong?" she asked, pushing herself into a sitting position. "Well...yes..." "What?" He pulled his hands out, and held out a scarf. She cocked her head at an angle, confused. "What...what's this?" "Do you know whose scarf this is?" he asked. She looked at it for a moment. "Yes....Why?" Riki asked. "Whose is it?" "Seamus'..." He grabbed her hand, and charged from the Wing. She cried out, surprised, as they passed the entire Slytherin Quidditch team. "Ron!" she cried, glancing at the green blur. "Where are we going?" she cried. "Something happened to Seamus!" he called. They raced down the steps, and ended up near the basement of the school before he skidded to a halt. She lurched forward, bumping into him. "Ron, what was that? Why did you drag me all the way...down...here...Harry?" she asked. He kneeled on the floor, his hands pressed against the cold concrete, and lifted his eyes. "Who was it?" "This is Seamus'," Ron replied. "Guys? What is going on?" "We found this out here...with...this..." Ron flipped the scarf over. Riki saw the small bloodstain on it. "Oh...God...Where is he?" Harry lifted one hand, shakily, and pointed to the closed door. "In there..." "Why haven't you gone in to find him?" "I don't remember how to unlock it..." She shook her head, pulled out her wand, and raised it up. "Alohamora..." she said, waving her wand. She heard a click, and reached out, pushing against the door. A shock raced thru her whole body before she pulled back. "What happened?" Ron asked. "There's a spell on this door. No one can open it...unless they know the counterspell..." "Which is?" "I don't know the spell, so I don't know the counterspell," she said, looking at him. "So Neville is trapped in there..." "Come on..." Riki said, and took off running. Harry and Ron followed her. They raced back up the steps, and she hurried past a couple students, who paused to look at them, and shoved thru another door. "Professor McGonagall?" she called. No answer. "Professor!" she cried. No answer. Turning back, Riki sprinted towards Dumbledore's office. She slid to a stop at the eagle in the doorway, and raised her hands. "Uppe duru," she said quickly, and hopped onto the step. The eagle began to turn, and reveal more steps, taking her up them to the door at the top.
The door opened, and she looked in at Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall. They looked up, surprised. "Professor McGonagall, Headmaster Dumbledore, we have a problem..." she said. Her hands had begun to shake, and Harry and Ron came racing in after her. "What's wrong?" McGonagall asked. "Seamus, Professor...he's..." She held out the scarf, and said, "Harry and Ron said he was locked in a room in the basement. Alohamora unlocks it, but I don't know the spell placed on the door otherwise, so I cannot counter it..."
Riki, Harry, and Ron, led Dumbledore and McGonagall to the basement. Riki had to explain everything to the teachers, and turned around, pointing to the door. McGonagall reached out, and barely touched the door before pulling her hand back. "I don't know this spell...how about you, Albus?" she asked, looking up at Dumbledore. He touched the door, and shook his head. "I'm not sure... We will do everything we can to get Seamus out of there...and to find out how he got in there..." he said. They turned, and headed up the steps. Riki turned to the door. "Seamus!" she called. "I'm not sure if you can hear me, but if you can, listen! We are going to do what we can to get you out of there!" she cried, and turned away, leaving the basement with Ron and Harry.
Riki walked outside not too long after the first years were getting comfortable in their common rooms. She headed across the grounds to the Quidditch field, with her broom clutched tightly in her hand. Harry jogged up to her, not noticing the broom. "Hey, Riki, listen. Hermoine wants to know if you can help her help Ron and Neville with their homework..." "Sorry, can't..." She took a deep breath, and stopped. Harry's eyes fell to the broom as she mounted it. "Riki? What are you doing?" "I have to do this, Harry. Or else I'm never going to be able to play Quidditch again..." He shook his head. "Last time you said that, and then cowered out when Angelina said she could get the game moved back..." She ignored him, climbed onto her broom, and kicked off, eyes closed.
She ran thru the halls, laughing, clicking her feet together a little as she ran. Harry scooped her broom up off the floor, and ran after her. She burst into the common room, and a couple students looked up from the couch, including Hermoine and Ron. "What's going on?" Ron asked, standing. "I did it, guys! I flew!" she cried, laughing. They hugged her, laughing, and cheered. "Congratulations, Riki!"
She headed down the steps, books in her arms, and heard a scream behind her. Spinning around, her books feel to the ground and she took off running, to find out where it came from. "Hello?" she called. Another scream. She followed it to the basement, and though she saw the door in the basement open, she didn't make it in time to enter before it slammed shut and locked. "Who is in there?" she cried, coming close. Another outcry, and she lowered her head, spotting something shine on the floor. Reaching down, she picked it up as someone ran down the steps. "Riki?" She turned, and saw Harry and Professor McGonagall behind her. "It's Neville's Remembrall..." she said softly, holding out. "It's claimed another child. They have returned..." McGonagall whispered. "Who has?" Riki asked. McGonagall looked up. "Etalia, Amelie, Fiona, and Wilia." "Who are they?" "The four Goddesses of Element Magic: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water..."