I would just like to thank the love of my life and my husband, hogwartshoodlum, and my best friend, Amblurance, and all of you readers, especially those of you who took the time to review. There's one more chapter after this one, and then I'll start posting the sequel. Enjoy.
Mira was exhausted. She wasn't usually one for exercise, preferring to disassociate herself from food rather than tax herself physically, and she slowed her run to a trot as she entered the Forest.
"Slow down thar, don' want to be runnin' off on yer own now, do yer?" A deep voice said from behind her.
Mira turned around, staring straight into Hagrid's crossbow. "Not now, Hagrid, I'm busy." She said coldly, turning back to the Forest.
"Runnin' off isn' goin' ter fix things. Dumbledore be wantin' you to get back up to the safety of the castle, who knows what could be lurkin' about the Forest this late at night."
Mira rolled her eyes and impatiently turned back to Hagrid. "I know you know what's going on, Hagrid, so please let me be! If Draco wants me to what I just said I'd do, I'm going to need some time alone, I'm going to need some answers. There's only one way to find our the truth."
Hagrid sighed, but lowered his crossbow. "Fine. I understand, better than you think. But the Forest isn't safe, not this late."
Mira ignored Hagrid, and resumed her walk into the dark trees. Only moments late, huge thundering footsteps were rambling after her. "You need to go inter the forest, fine. But yer not goin' alone, not whiles I'm here." Hagrid said heavily.
"Fine, Hagrid. But I'm warning you, this isn't going to be pretty." If what Dumbledore had told her was true, that she was a descendant of the Shrezden, of Leah and Onawa, and that the true power to fight evil was within her own blood, she would have to die. But she wasn't going to die a fool, or needlessly. She hadn't taken her own life yet, because of the hope of a life with Draco, and she wasn't going to will that away. Draco had fooled Voldemort this long, who was to say he couldn't keep it up forever?
Mira stopped at a small clearing, the moon shining down through the open tops of the trees.
"This will suffice." Mira said, waving her wand, and a long stone bench appeared, large enough for Hagrid. Another wave, and an altar was placed just in front of the bench.
"This is a charm known as the Horkuli. Few students know about it, only those taking advanced NEWT Charms would, and as you were expelled before even your OWLs, I trust you've never heard of it." Mira said to Hagrid.
Hagrid nodded, sitting down on the bench and setting his crossbow on his lap.
Mira looked around the clearing, and found a tree with huge, tear shaped leaves, and pulled one off the branch, placing it on the altar. "It's a charm for the truth, a charm that will tell me everything I need to know. If in fact my blood is that of the Shrezden, the charm will work. If it doesn't, well, then we don't really have much to worry about, at least for now. Sure you can handle this?" She asked Hagrid, who silently nodded, gripping his crossbow tightly.
Mira took a deep breath, then sat cross-legged on the ground in front of the altar, opposite Hagrid. She pulled her hair from her face, so that it hung down her back, and tipped her neck back so her eyes were towards the black, star-strewn sky.
"Arubai silenkio, dient serentep keryt." Mira said, her voice ringing out clear through the silent night.
The leaf on the altar began to shake, as though a breeze had ran through the clearing. "Sultyan brackio adien!" She said, louder, urgently. A small, blue glow had appeared under the vibrating leaf, as though the foliage were concealing a candle.
Mira tipped her head forward, and stretched her arm out over the glowing leaf, and with her other hand, reached inside her shirt and gripped the razor she had kept with her. She placed it over the wrist of her other arm, and quickly cut downward. Hagrid made noise of protest, but Mira ignored him, and held her arm steady so the dripping blood would land on the leaf. A blazing white light suddenly appeared, like a giant flash of lightning, and went as quickly as it had come. Above the leaf, there sat a tiny cloud of fog, swirling around in one place, as though trapped by a container.
"Blood given, Nature taken, reveal the secrets of the ages." Mira said, after a second of hesitant fear, pressing her bleeding wrist into her leg. The swirling fog pulled together, as though by a magnet, and formed a jet black skull, with a snake protruding from its open mouth.
Hagrid gasped and stood up, but still Mira ignored him.
"Blood given, Nature taken, secrets revealed, give me the future." Mira recited, her green eyes locked on the Dark Mark in front of her.
The Dark Mark disappeared, the fog turning into a gold lightning shape for a split second, then dissolving into an eye, the most brilliant jade color Mira only saw when she looked into the mirror. "Blood given, Nature taken, secrets revealed, future given, show me the path." Mira said. Hagrid had sat down again, and out of the corner of her eye Mira could see he was entranced by the fog.
The fog now depicted a wand that turned into a lifeless body with flowing black hair behind the limp head. The body twisted, like passing clouds, then formed a vial, containing a maroon potion.
The vial became the Dark Mark, and the fog formed scarlet flames around it.
"Finite." Mira said loudly, and another blinding light flashed around them. The leaf lay still on the stone altar, and Mira stood up as the clearing was silent once more.
Hagrid also stood, and Mira waved her wand, the bench and the altar disappearing. "What in the ruddy hell was that?" Hagrid said quietly.
Mira closed her eyes, then opened them, feeling more exhausted than she had ever felt in her entire life. "In brief, that Dumbledore was right…if the wizarding world is going to be saved, then Potter must do it…but I must give first."
Hagrid nodded slowly. "Give yer loyalty?" He asked, looking at her.
Mira shook her head, licking her lips. "My life." She whispered hoarsely.
Hagrid made a noise deep in his throat, but said nothing.
The language that Mira speaks at the beginning of the ritual is called Shradonian, it was used by the Shrezden in ancient times.
NOW understand this--I made up the Shrezden. They are entirely of my own creation.