Chapter 44 Narasima

"It is time," someone said from somewhere close by. "Wake."

Halo yawned and sat up. His eyes were still closed, for he was too tired to really have any idea what was going on. He wondered sluggishly where that girl's voice was coming from, and what she was doing in his bedroom. No one was supposed to be in his bedroom; well, no one but him and Cleo anyway. Weird, thought Halo as he yawned again and rubbed his eyes. He'd just had the maddest dream ever. He and the others had gone to Azkaban prison for… something, and they had been trapped there by purple-haired Dementors. It was all jumbled up in Halos mind, but he remembered one thing clearly—it had been the most terrifying dream he'd ever had.

"It was no dream," came the same female voice, sounding slightly amused. The voice seemed vaguely familiar to Halo, but he couldn't place it. Was it one of the older students, maybe someone he had only met once or twice? Yawning a third time, Halo opened his eyes and looked around. Several things struck him all at once. First, he saw that he was lying on a hill of green grass with a cloudy blue sky above him, not in the comfortable dormitory that he shared with Cleo. Second, the terror of Azkaban came rushing back to him in a flash, and he knew the voice hadn't been lying. That had been no dream. Third, he saw that the voice belonged not to a girl but rather to a creature sitting not far from him on the grassy hill who was stretched out calmly and casually licking her front… paw.

Halo had heard the words sphinx many times in his life, but up until that moment he had never had any clear picture in his mind of what a sphinx actually looked like. He knew from stories and pictures and muggle television shows that sphinxes were famous magical creatures with the body of a lion and the head of a person. Because of that, he'd assumed that a sphinx would, you know, be about the size of a regular lion. Turns out they were bigger… much bigger. She was easily the size of a small elephant, and much to Halo's surprise she had golden feathered wings that folded neatly on her back. If she spread those wings out as wide as they would go, Halo was pretty sure they'd be as wide as dragon wings. The strangest thing, though, was not the sphinx's size or her razor sharp lion-claws the size of his hand or even the fact that she had startlingly golden wings, rather it was the fact that her face was so… human. She looked only a few years older than Halo, maybe 15 or 16 and if it weren't for the fact that she was mostly a lion Halo would have said she was pretty cute… for a girl. Her large, almond-shaped eyes were golden, and her black hair was mostly cut short, with a thin braid running down the right side of her face.

The sphinx was scary but also innocent-looking at the same time, so Halo wasn't quite sure whether to be afraid or not. As he stared at her, she stopped licking her left paw and stretched her back, purring loudly and smiling a mysterious smile that showed a pair of very sharp fangs. As if in response, the wand in Halo's pocket vibrated for a few seconds, almost like it were purring back.

Suddenly, everything made a lot more sense to Halo.

"It's you!" Halo said excitedly, "You're the one whose tooth is… er… in my wand," Halo trailed off, wondering for a second if he ought to apologize for that or not. After all, he wouldn't be thrilled if someone had taken one of his teeth and stuck it in a wand. The sphinx didn't really seem to mind, though, she just smiled and nodded.

"You may call me Narasima," said the sphinx, rising to her feet and loping over to stand right in front of him. "I am pleased to at last meet you in person." She towered over him and had really big claws that could easily tear him to bits, but he wasn't afraid of her. Rather, it felt more like he was seeing an old friend or relative or someone who he hadn't seen in ages.

"Narasima?" Halo asked, surprised. "Then that was you who spoke in my dream?"

Narasima smiled again as if amused, but Halo hadn't been trying to say anything funny. "That was also no dream, but rather a conversation that took place when you were barely conscious. When the dementors heeded the call of their island homeland and returned, they drained what was left of your strength and you collapsed. Unfortunately for you, you were leaning against the wall at the time, and when you lost consciousness you fell off the side of the tower. It is… fortunate that I arrived when I did." She grinned widely, as if she had said a clever joke. Whatever it was, Halo missed it completely. He was rather preoccupied by…

"I fell off the side of Azkaban?" Halo whispered quietly. He didn't really remember that, but his memory at the end there was a bit foggy. He remembered the dementors clearly-their dark robes that seemed to suck all the light out of the world… their rattling, hungry breath… the unbearable, inescapable cold—but everything else was jumbled and confused. He was pretty sure someone had screamed, which, if he had fallen over the side of the fortress, made a lot of sense.

"Indeed, but not to worry. I caught you before you fell very far," Narasima said, sounding quite proud of herself. "After that, I drove those vile aberrations back before they could harm anyone, collected your companions and brought you here." She gestured with her paw, and Halo saw that Cassy and Albus were laying not far away. He immediately ran over to check on them. They both seemed to be unhurt but sound asleep.

"Thanks," Halo said, although that seemed an inadequate response to someone who had literally saved his life. "Thanks so much. But, um, just one thing. Where are we, exactly, and why did you bring me here?"

Narasima smiled a big, mysterious smile and simply said, "Truly you have a knack for foolish questions. This was the next place you needed to be, so I brought you here. It is as simple as that."

"S-sure," Halo mumbled, not really sure what to make of that answer. He looked around and saw that the flat, grassy hilltop they were on was surrounded on almost every side by green-capped mountains. A valley full of little hills and lake spread out before him, smaller than the lake beside Hogwarts. It was beautiful and all, but it was totally unfamiliar and seemed to be in the middle of nowhere. Halo couldn't really see how this was the next place they needed to be at all.

"Er, I didn't know you had wings," Halo said lamely before he could stop himself. Narasima laughed softly and Halo looked around for a hole that he could crawl into in shame and never come out of again. There didn't seem to be any of those around, though.

"Some of our kind are smaller and do not have wings. They are called the lesser sphinxes, and they are more widely known among your kind." Narasima explained patiently. "I am what is called a greater sphinx."

Halo nodded silently, knowing that if he opened his mouth he'd likely say something else dumb. An awkward silence fell for a while, but Narasima didn't really seem to mind. She just started licking her paws again. Halo decided to see if he could wake up Albus and his sister, but even when he shook them several times they remained fast asleep.

"They will not wake yet," Narasima said calmly, watching him with her cat-like golden eyes. "My magic is keeping them asleep."

"Why?" Halo asked, suddenly suspicious. Narasima definitely seemed familiar and trustworthy, but in the stories only bad guys used their magic to make people sleep.

"They have been through much and will need their rest," Narasima said simply as if it were obvious, "and I wanted a chance to talk with you… alone."

"Really?" Halo asked, surprised. "What for?"

He knew immediately that Narasima considered that another foolish question. She frowned, narrowing her golden eyes and began to pace back and forth.

"N-not that I don't want to talk to you, of course," Halo said hastily. Narasima ignored him, continuing to pace back and forth.

"There are things you should know," Narasima said mysteriously. Halo had no idea what she meant, but he nodded anyways. He didn't want Narasima to think he was stupid or anything. After all, he wasn't very likely to find another sphinx friend.

"The sphinxes are an ancient and powerful race, blessed with immense magical knowledge and prophetic wisdom," Narasima stated proudly, still pacing back and forth. Halo thought she sounded a little too proud of herself, but he kept that thought to himself. "Our lesser kinfolk are formidable in their own right, but we greater sphinxes are amongst the most powerful and long-lived magical creatures in the world. But, because of that, we are few in number. Many years ago we numbered in the thousands, but now we number barely more than a hundred."

"A hundred!" Halo exclaimed.

"Indeed," Narasima said, "and I am the youngest."

"The youngest… in the whole world?"

"I just said that," said Narasima impatiently. "I am only seventy-three years old; barely more than a child by our standards."

"O-only?" Halo echoed faintly.

"Seventy years ago my baby teeth were given to the wizards, as is customary for all baby sphinxes. Although our teeth are always made into wands to honour our ancient contract with your kind, wands with sphinx teeth at our core rarely ever choose a wizard partner. In fact, you are the first wizard to be chosen by a sphinx-cored wand in quite some time."

"Why me? Why did the wand choose me?" Halo wondered aloud. An awful lot of strange things seem to be happening to him, but he had no idea why. It wasn't like he was anyone special. He was just Harry Wiggins from South London. This kind of stuff was supposed to happen to more famous people, wasn't it?

"I do not know," Narasima admitted, and Halo could tell she hated saying it. Most likely, a sphinx not knowing the answer to a question was probably horribly embarrassing. Narasima scowled and continued on quickly, saying "After the wand created from my magical essence chose you, I could not just sit by and let you die, whatever the elders might say."

"Die!?" Halo said loudly. Narasima immediately looked guilty, as if she'd said more than she'd meant to. But then again, maybe it wasn't all that surprising. He had, after all, been attacked by dementors and fallen off the side of Azkaban. For whatever reason though, it just hadn't hit him how close he'd come to dying until she mentioned it directly.

"I did not mean to say that," Narasima muttered. "Perhaps I should not have said anything at all. It is against our most ancient laws to reveal the future to others. We are not supposed to interfere, either. I will be in very serious trouble when I return to the others."

"I-I'm sorry," Halo stammered lamely. He wasn't actually sorry that she had saved his life of course, he just hated that she was in trouble because of him.

"Do not be," said Narasima. "It was my gift to you, which you will one day repay."

"I will?"

Narasima just smiled her mysterious smile and stood up, stretching her back and unfurling her golden wings.

"You're not just leaving… are you?" Halo asked desperately.

"You must find your own way back to your school," Narasima said, sounding quite unconcerned. "I have done all I can; any more would risk the wrath of the elders. We will meet again, Halo Wiggins."

"But-"

Before Halo could even think what he wanted to say after but, Narasima launched herself into the air and was gone. Halo sat down in the cool grass and watched her fly away until she was out of sight, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened. He failed.

"Halo!" Cassy shouted suddenly as she woke up a few feet away from where Halo was sitting. She blinked in confusion several times before she saw him. His sister had a strange look on her face as she scrambled to her feet and advanced on him, and for a second Halo was afraid that she might start yelling. Instead, she threw her arms around him, pulling him so tightly that he couldn't breathe properly.

"Ouch, hey, Cassy... little room," Halo wheezed, speaking as loudly as he could with his rather limited air supply.

"I thought I'd lost you," Cassy whispered tearfully in his ear, still crushing him so tightly that there was a good chance she might just finish the dementors' job for them. Still, even though he was being slowly crushed to death, Halo couldn't do much but stand there and pat her on the back. Cassy was crying, and even though he'd been angry with her for ages, Halo still wanted to find a way to cheer her up. That was just how he was.

"I'm fine, no harm done," Halo whispered, although he wasn't sure that was true. He knew he'd remember the sight of the dementors flying towards him for the rest of his life.

"I'm such an idiot," wailed Cassy, apparently quite unwilling to let Halo make her feel any better. "I've been a horrible sister ever since your sorting."

"W-what?" Halo stammered, taken by surprise. He'd certainly been mad at her for the past few weeks, but before she'd tried to get Cleo expelled Halo would have hardly called her a horrible sister. "What are you talking about, Cass?"

Cassy finally released her brother and sat down on the grass a few feet away from him, hugging her knees tightly to her chest the way Cleo did when she was upset. Halo noticed that Albus had woken up as well, but he was keeping quiet. Albus sat nearby, staring out across the lake and the valley below so intently that the other two could pretend he wasn't hearing every word of their conversation, which of course he was.

"Do you remember when you were seven, and you fell off your new bike and banged your knees up so badly that they wouldn't stop bleeding?" Cassy asked quietly.

Halo nodded, wincing slightly. He remembered it quite clearly, even though it had been four whole years ago.

"You came running into the house, bleeding and crying for Mum, but she was at work. Dad was home and tried to calm you down, but instead you ran straight to me. I patched you up, sang you your favourite song, and put you to bed. By the time Mum got back and made a potion to heal your knees, you were totally calm. You didn't even complain that her potion smelled like burnt eggs."

Halo nodded slowly, remembering the day well. He glanced nervously at Albus, who was still pretending not to listen. Halo was grateful that Albus was the one who'd overheard that particularly story. If it had been Rose, Sam, Atalanta or, worst of all, James, he would have never heard the end of it.

"It's always been like that," Cassy continued quietly, avoiding her brother's gaze. "Whenever you were sad or mad or in trouble, you always came straight to me, trusting that I would make it better somehow. I guess I never really knew how much that trust meant to me until it was gone."

"But-" Halo said, trying to interrupt her, but Cassy wasn't having it. She ignored him and just kept right on talking.

"It all started this summer, I guess. There was a mix-up about your letter to Hogwarts, and when you finally did get to school you were sorted into Slytherin of all places. You were so miserable and upset, at least at first, and you came to me to try and make it better, just like I always had. This time, though, I couldn't do anything to make it better. I failed you, Halo." Cassy clenched her fist, glaring angrily at her own legs.

"It wasn't your fau-" Halo tried to say, but Cassy shook her head firmly. She clearly wasn't interested in having him make excuses for her. Even though he had been the one who pushed everyone away in those first few weeks, Cassy still blamed herself.

"You started to feel better after Rose Weasley and Atalanta Selwyn of all people talked some sense into you. You were more like your old self, and I was so relieved. You were making new friends and settling in a little in Slytherin. At first I was surprised, since it seemed like you had very little in common with the other members of that house, but then you were my little Halo. You'd always been able to get practically everyone to like you. It's just how you are. As the weeks went on, the only thing that really worried me was Clytemnestra Lestrange."

"Cleo isn't-" Halo began protesting immediately.

"Let me finish, Halo," Cassy said firmly, cutting him off again. "From the moment she arrived in the middle of Sorting, everyone in school was talking about her. I didn't pay much attention to it, since I knew they knew less than nothing about her, but then suddenly you two were best friends. I was shocked, but then you introduced us and told me she was just misunderstood. I believed you at first, since I trusted you knew her better than I did, and for your sake I tried to be as nice to her as I could. But she was too shy to spend time or even really speak to anyone except you, so I hardly got to know her at all. Then things got more serious. You had your vision of someone working some serious magic and setting the sky on fire, and we formed our group to try and stop it. It was then that..."

Cassy stopped speaking, swallowing as if it were painful. "It was then that I realized that you didn't really need me anymore; not the way you used to. If something was wrong, you would run to Rose, Albus, James or any of the other members of THOMAC for help. It seemed like you were more likely to go to Atalanta Selwyn for help instead of me. Remember when you and the others made plans to sneak into Hogsmede without asking me? You didn't even tell me about the plans you'd made until the last minute when I had no choice but to go along with it. Then I wasn't able to do a thing when the golem nearly killed you. Not that I'm not proud of what you did, your magic was incredible, Halo, but I just felt so… useless. At first I was scared and frustrated, but pretty soon I became angry."

Cassy's grey eyes flashed angrily for a second, but then she let out a long sigh and just looked sad. "It was a stupid way for me to feel, but I couldn't really help it. You had always been my baby brother, my little Halo, but just like that you became all grown up. You were basically leading our little group, and if what Professor Mason says is true there's a good chance your magic is already stronger than mine. You didn't seem to need me anymore."

"That's not-" Halo began, but once again, though, Cassy didn't seem to want to hear it. She continued on before he could say more than two words.

"For a while I didn't know what to do. I was irritable and angry with everyone, but I did my best to hide it from you. Heather probably figured out what was going on, she's a clever girl and she knows me better than almost anyone else, but everyone else just thought I was going through a phase or something. I just got more and more annoyed, and then Selwyn of all people brought up the idea that Clytemnestra might be the one to set the sky on fire. It made some sense given her power, her lack of control, and the fact that she was already at Hogwarts, which was where the attack would take place. A few of us talked about it, but then Rose said that you would never believe it. She said that you trusted Cleo completely, and that no matter what the evidence might be you would never be convinced that she was guilty. I was worried and upset, but I told the others to watch and wait. After all, we didn't have any proof yet."

Halo said nothing, he just fidgeted and tore up a few blades of grass without realizing what he was doing. Rose had already apologized for not trusting him, but it still hurt that they had gone behind his back and tried to get Cleo expelled because of powers she didn't even have.

"But then she lost control and burned you a second time, even though the day I first spoke to her she promised me that she would never hurt you again. I was furious that you'd been hurt again and that it seemed like I couldn't do anything to protect you anymore, and I kind of went a little crazy and tried to have her thrown in Azkaban. I blamed her for everything, and I was just so angry and frustrated. But now that I've been there, I just… I can't believe what I tried to do. No one should have to go to a place like that, especially not an eleven-year-old girl. I'm so sorry, Halo, sorry for everything. I didn't listen to you at all, I just acted as though I knew what was best for you without asking what you thought. So when you decided to sneak into Azkaban I made sure to go along. I said it was to make sure I kept you safe, but all I did was make everything worse. I was completely useless and nearly got both you and Albus killed! I've been angry and jealous and irritable, and it feels like we've been fighting forever. I'm... I'm the worst big sister ever! I wouldn't blame you if you never wanted to speak to me ever again."

Cassy began crying again, and instinctively Halo got to his feet and walked over to her. She looked up at him with watery grey eyes, looking utterly miserable. Halo hated seeing anyone like that, especially when that someone was his sister. He threw his arms around her, and pulled her into a hug so tight that now she had trouble breathing. He thought about saying that even though he was upset that she hadn't believed him, the fact that he had almost died made that seem kind of unimportant now. He thought about saying that he was tired of fighting and wanted his big sister back. He thought about saying that no matter what, he would always rely on her more than anyone else. But in the end, he didn't say any of those things.

"I love you, Cass," was all Halo said, but somehow that said all those things and more.

The two Wiggins children hugged each other and cried for a while, but at more or less exactly the same time they seemed to remember that Albus was sitting nearby and both became self-conscious. They broke apart, quickly dried their eyes, and started acting like that had never happened. Albus got the message, and when they came over to join him he didn't make a single mention of the conversation that had just taken place. Instead, he and Cassy listened in wonder as Halo told them about how they'd escaped Azkaban and his conversation with Narasima.

"Wicked," Albus said quietly, shaking his head in amazement. "You actually spoke to the sphinx that provided the core of your wand. I don't think I'll ever meet the unicorn whose hair is in my wand."

"I wonder why she didn't take us back to Hogwarts, or at least stick around long enough to say hello to us," Cassy said, slightly offended. Halo grinned; he couldn't help it. Cassy might have just given him a tearful apology, but she was still Cassy. That was fine, he liked his sister just fine the way she was.

"It's some sort of secret sphinx thing," Halo said shrugging, "although I think she might have been playing it up a bit. She said this was where I was meant to be, or something like that. I dunno what she meant, since there's nothing here but grass."

Albus frowned, looking down again. He looked like he was thinking hard but, being Albus, he was likely to keep his thoughts to himself unless he was poked and prodded.

"Albus?" Halo prodded, poking him in the shoulder. "What are you thinking?"

"It might be nothing, but this place looks familiar somehow. I feel like I've been here before."

"You sure?" Cassy asked, staring intently at the lake for the first time. "I don't recognize it at all. What about you Halo?"

Halo shook his head. It seemed completely unfamiliar to him, too. Albus kept staring at the lake with a frown on his face. "I think we should go down and have a look," Albus said at last, pointing down at the lake. "I feel like I've seen this lake before. Maybe we should take a closer look"

Halo and Cassy exchanged glances. Neither of them could see how going to the lake would help them get back to school. Still, they didn't have any better ideas so they set off down the hill, letting Albus lead the way. He walked slowly at first, but gradually picked up his pace as they got closer to the lake. There were low hills and jagged piles of rocks everywhere, so when they descended into the valley their view of the water was blocked every few dozen feet or so. Therefore, it took them completely by surprise when they walked out from behind a particularly large pile of rocks and saw that the lake was less than a hundred feet away. Also, clearly visible for the first time was a strange, brightly painted house that sat right on the shore of the lake. At least, that was what Halo thought at first. After he'd had a second to get over the brightness of the place and the fact that half the house was a tall tower that reminded Halo of a miniature version of the Hogwarts astronomy tower, Halo saw that the house actually had five long, spindly legs that were in the lake. It was without a doubt the strangest and most wonderful house Halo had ever seen in his life. He was not the only one who thought so.

Albus let out a whoop and grinned widely, turning to the others. "So that's why this place seemed so familiar! I've been here a few times during the summer. This is my Great Uncle Samuel Weasley's House. I would have recognized it sooner, but I think it's usually standing on the other side of the lake."

"I-is it?" Cassy asked, trying to act as though that were totally normal.

"Who's your Great Uncle Samuel?" Halo asked curiously.

"Hm?" Albus asked, distracted by his excitement. "One of my Weasley relatives who lives up here in Scotland. I don't really know, actually. I'm pretty sure he's one of Mum's cousins. She's got so many. I know that means Sam isn't really my Great Uncle, but we all call him Guncle Sam, and he seems to like it. This is perfect! Guncle Sam will either get us back to Hogwarts safe, and there's almost no chance he'll tell Mum or, even worse, Grandma Weasley." Albus shuddered. Then he set off towards the house on the lake, cheerful as could be. "I'm telling you, Halo, that sphinx of yours really knows what she's doing."

"Narasima," Halo said quietly as he and Cassy followed, as if saying her name made her more real. "Her name is Narasima."