9. Chapter "The dead we honor"

"Come into the candlelight.

I'm not afraid to look the dead in the face.

When they return, they have a right,

as much as other things do, to pause

and refresh themselves within our vision."

- Rainer Maria Rilke, Requiem for a friend

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The door to the cabin was slightly ajar, so she shook off the snow and walked silently through it and down the hall. Signs of destruction were apparent in the whole house, as well as outside in the niche of the mountain rock. It was cold in here, as if the lodging had been open a long time. She lifted her head and moved around, looking for before she turned toward the room at the end of the hall. She entered it and in the dim light of her wand, she could see several bodies lying on the ground. Leana closed the door behind her. The light went out and she listened to the darkness. She felt someone was missing.

Viator.

He had pushed Voldemort to the edge of the plateau, but he had not been able to defeat him. The only explanation for the strong defense that had built up here was his death. She mumbled something and the defense disappeared.

Something had happened as Nix had warned her. If only there was a sign of what had happened. Everything was so wrong. After a time her wand lit up again and she sparked the light spheres. She turned to the corpses. She owed them. It was her task.

Actually, she should recite the prayers while she did what she did, but the words got stuck. They tied up her throat and died away unheard. Although no one would behold her, her heart was aching and her stomach began to rebel. She wished that Lucius was here at least. Then everything would be easier to bear.

Loneliness.

A great loneliness washed over her. It had never been so palpable as now, with all the death in a room. It crept from behind and jumped at her. She was not even able to cry. She lifted the first body on the wooden table and took a long, narrow dagger from inside her purple cloak. She placed the knife point against the skin.

"What are you doing?"

Startled, Leana turned around, dropped the knife and pulled out her wand.

"Expelliarmus."

She gritted her teeth in anger when her wand was sent flying out of her hand to the ground.

"Get out! This is none of your business. And how the hell did you find me?"

He pointed to a small thing she hadn't paid attention to earlier. A small black ball laid down the hallway. A magical direction finder.

"He wanted someone to take care of anything that was here. It wasn't possible for him to come back. So he entrusted me with this task, but I wasn't able to get through either. Then you came and walked right through the barrier. I knew you would not leave them and I was right. You broke the defense and I could follow you. Now step aside, please."

Severus' voice was neutral as he raised his wand.

"No!"

Leana folded her arms across her chest and stared at him with pure hatred.

"I need to give an honorable burial to the bodies of those people as they deserve it. Unlike you, who would transform them into something insignificant and bury them anywhere."

"Why do you never know when it's good for you to shut your mouth? Now, get out of my way." His black eyes flashed menacingly.

As if Leana had not heard him, she turned again to the body beside her and grabbed the dagger. Suddenly she was pulled off her feet and crashed hard to the floor.

"Do what I ordered you! You're a bloody idiot if you risk your life to bury some people. They are dead! They don't care about it. Only wimps act in such a way."

Furious, he stood over her.

"Non feram, non patiar, non sinam. » In pain she managed to rise from the ground. "Every human being deserves to have his wishes respected, even if the person is dead."

Puzzled by her stubbornness, he lowered his wand. Leana took advantage of this opportunity and before he could react, she hit him against the side of the head with the hilt of the dagger. Severus fell to the ground like a cut down tree. He only dimly noticed what happened next.

"Te oro atque obsecro, Ana. Pax eorum animi."

The dagger invaded the first dead body and then just as quickly in all the others.

With a throbbing temple, Severus came slowly to his feet. He looked in horror as Leana knelt beside the last corpse and cut the heart out of the body. Then she put it like the others in a strange box. It was an octagonal and gold-colour capsule. It was lined with dark blue velvet. In each box there was a small bag and an assortment of various herbs were spread out in the room. There was also a light hint of magnolia. It was her. For a short time the mixed odour displaced the progressive decomposition. He had no strength to interrupt her. Everything she was doing seemed to be part of a ritual. Before she closed the capsules, she murmured unknown words and put a small white crystal figure in the cask cover. Then she turned again to the bodies, wrapped them in linen sheets.

"Why?"

Leana seemed to have forgotten him, because she winced.

"Our hearts should rest in a place of peace, which means a great deal to us and is most precious. It's a place that saves the salvation of the dead. The mortal remains, however, are buried close to the families. A chance to mourn and finally go on with life. So the body and the heart are separated. The heart lives on. It contains the essence of the deceased and wants to be buried in home soil. Find peace and rest. Now if you don't mind I would appreciate if you let us pass. You better go now!"

Us?

She pushed him out of her way and he saw that the bodies followed her up in the air. The vessels with the hearts were lying between the legs of each person. She walked towards the two trees that stood in the midst of the glaciers on the plateau. He wasn't sure if trees really blossomed so high in the mountains. But if not, there was so much magic in the air he wouldn't be surprised if it cause them to bloom.

The sun sank in a fall behind the horizon. It darkened slowly and Severus wanted to leave. There was nothing to do here. Leana took care of everything. Suddenly a breath whispered over his face and he felt a touch on his shoulder. So he turned around, but Leana had already reached the trees. He stepped into the same direction. Although he did not know why, he hid in the shadow of a rock. The wind played with her blond hair and now she stood still between the two huge trees. He had never seen such trees! Golden petals formed a roof and the ground was covered with golden pollen all over. If not for her hair moving in the wind, someone could think she was a statue. Only her lips were moving slightly. Her wide-open eyes were strangely numb and did not even notice anything around her. For a long time she remained in that position. A lot of leaves started to glide to the ground and rested on the mortal remains. One moment they were there, and in the next second the earth swallowed them. Only the boxes were left behind.

There was no more snow, just a bare, grey sky and a cold that seemed to reach for her. Leana didn't want to go there, to lay down the heart capsules. Not today, not tomorrow. She turned her head towards the sky and looked through a narrow gap between the treetops to the anthracite grey firmament above her that became darker every minute. Through the veil of clouds, a raven floated with broad wings.

Silence.

She sensed she would soon be overcome by fatigue. She would give anything to be able to go to sleep right now. For a long time she had hidden the emptiness and loneliness deep inside. But now she felt as if someone pulled her naked, bruised body over rocks. Suddenly she felt a violent pain in her upper body. With a cry she fell to the ground, laying there moaning. She clenched her hands into fists. It wasn't her pain. It was Lucius. What did he suffer from that hurt like hell?

Severus still smelled that odor. Magnolia. For some reason he wanted to run to Leana and help her. She was obviously in great pain, but his feet were not moving, frozen to the ground. She never would allow him to help her – not after what had happened between them both, even after what he was almost forced to do. He better start trying to forget everything that was going on here.

Slowly her pain seemed to subside and Leana straightened up. Something called as life returned in her eyes. She brushed back one of her unruly curls and grabbed the vessels. Her movements were lithe as a cat, and only now, he saw that she walked on her bare feet. Leana turned on the spot and disapparated.

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