[A/N: I can't even begin to say how good it is to be back.  Fanfic is an excellent way to blow off schoolwork when it starts to get to you.]

55. Ceremony

"Wash your hands afterwards," Llian cautioned, "or the calluna will start to affect you too."

Neville nodded and continued to rub the paste on Llian's bare back.  A slight breeze rustled through their hair, but it felt nice against the warmth from the sun.  The Volari were already congregating near the cliffs.  Llian had already been here two days, but the gathering was going to be this afternoon. 

"Are you nervous?" Neville asked.

"Not really.  I have what I have to say, and there's not really anything I can do to change their minds.  They'll decide on their own.  We're just here to deliver a message.  Ei!"

"What?"

"That's my tickle spot."

"Here?"  Neville poked the small of his back again and Llian jumped.

"Stop that or I'll curse you."

Neville chuckled.  "I'm done."  He washed his hands in the bowl of water beside Llian.  "I don't like this, putting all this paste crap on you.  It looks gross.  Are you sure it's safe?"

Llian rolled his eyes.  "It's not like I'm snorting crack or anything.  Just chill."

"Crack?  What's a snorting crack?"

"Nothing."  He stood and put back on his shirt.  It was too hot to wear full robes, but he was still dressed nicely.  As if the Volari would give a hoot what he wore, he thought.  A shadow above made him turn his head to see Tangur approaching.  The man landed a few feet away. 

"Have you seen Mrs. Berg?" Tangur asked.

Llian shrugged.  "I'm not sure.  I think she went poking around through the bushes over there."

Tangur scanned the hills.  "That woman!  I swear, she's like a ferret, she gets into everything."

Llian laughed.  "She's just curious.  A healthy curiosity."

Tangur snorted.  "I'll strangle her myself if she doesn't contain herself better."  Llian watched him take off into the air to continue searching for Carol.

Tangur was in his late twenties, but the best of friends with Carol Berg, the researcher.  He had traveled the world, living among humans in a way most uncommon for his species.  According to Benford, he spoke ten different languages fluently, and knew enough of five more to get by.  Although he still had a strange accent, he spoke English better than some students who were born in English speaking households.  Or, at least he had better grammar.  He and his sister Malia were something of oddballs for the Volari.  They were accepted back into the community whenever they flew home, but no one concerned themselves with the two.  It was as if they didn't fully exist to the rest of the Volari.

Llian turned when he heard a dry cough behind him.  Benford was announcing his arrival.  "Are you ready?" he asked.  Llian nodded.  "You remember what to say?"

"Does it even matter?  You're going to change what I say anyway to suit your own needs.  If you went to Hogwarts you'd have been in Slytherin."

"I did go to Hogwarts," Benford informed him, "and I was in Ravenclaw, I'll have you know.  But I take it as a compliment that you could mistake me for a Slytherin."  He winked.

"But you will be editing what I say," Llian pressed.

"There are some Volari who understand English," Benford reminded him.

"It doesn't matter what the rest of them hear, only what the Elders hear."

"Fine, I may...rearrange some of your wording to best suit our needs.  How heavily I edit your words depends on what you say, young sir."  He raised his bushy white eyebrows.

"Meaning you can recite poetry for all he cares," Neville translated.  Llian grinned while Benford occupied himself by looking indignant.

Llian spotted Carol and Tangur approaching.  Carol was so short that her Volari friend towered over her.  "I found her trying to catch a puff adder," Tangur explained.

"I wasn't trying to catch it, I was just looking," Carol retorted.  "Where is your sister; she's the one who would like to catch it."

"Malia?  Hopefully far away from you.  You two are bad for each other."  Llian silently disagreed – Malia was by nature a serious young woman, and Carol's giddiness was sometimes enough to draw her out of her shell.  "Are you ready?" Tangur asked Llian, who had stood.

Llian nodded.  "I guess so."

Having nothing left to say, they walked towards the cliff in silence.  Llian was anxious about what was going to happen.  It would be his first real visions.  He could feel the tickle of the calluna root on his back, already beginning to affect him slightly.  Within ten minutes he would be dizzy, and then the Ceremony would start.  He had promised June, when he left, that he would never, never use the calluna.  The drug had been forced on her thousands of times since she was declared a Haran at the age of five.  Although she didn't have any memories of that time, she had read all her journals and kept an instinctual dislike for it.  Llian had readily agreed, but had promised himself, in the back of his head, that he would do whatever it took to convince the Volari to join them.

Coming here had been like coming home.  He had been here only two days already and he already felt like he belonged.  He found people who were related to him in blood, and, more importantly, in spirit.  It wasn't even a question of whether he would come back here after Hogwarts – he belonged here.  Of course, he wouldn't move here completely, his home would always be with Papa and June, but it wasn't a place he would be able to forget.

He saw a swarm of colors before him.  His vision was already starting to blur – it was the wings he was seeing, hundred of wings.  "Neville," he gasped.  "Help me walk."  Suddenly he felt weak.  But Neville was right there, holding on to his arm.  "Thanks," he muttered.

The buzz that surrounded the area dissipated as the Volari's voices died away.  Llian and his small group walked through them to the fire in the middle, where the Elders sat.  The oldest one, a tall lady with white hair, stood slightly apart from the rest.  It was to her that Llian outstretched his wings.  Bowing was a sign of weakness; the Volari used their wings to communicate, as Ava's journals detailed.  He hoped he was doing it right.

"Llian," she said, stretching out her own wings in return.

"Llian, Llian," the rest of the group muttered.  She had greeted him with his name – if she hadn't, the group wouldn't recognize him as a person and they would ignore him until he left, or failing that would be driven off.  If she had failed to recognize him he and his friends would be fair game to any Volari who bore a grudge against humans. 

Llian felt better, lighter somehow, now that the greeting was over.  He began to talk, exactly as he had been instructed.  He told her of Voldemort's treachery, about his plans to kill all non-human sentient beings.  Her face remained impassive as she listened.  Although Benford was the one translating Llian's words into a language she could understand, she directed her gaze at Llian.  He finished what he had to say and retreated back to where Neville stood.

She the spoke to Benford.  Llian waited patiently while they conversed, becoming more and more dizzy.  His head fell back and he looked up into the sky at the stars.  Stars?  It was the middle of the afternoon; there shouldn't be stars up there.  The calluna must give me extraordinary sight, he thought hazily.

"Llian," Carol whispered in his ear, grabbing hold of his hand.  "Are you going to be okay?  Did I give you too much?"

"Fine."

"You don't look so hot."  He didn't respond.  "Look, I know it seems important, but you don't have to do this.  Being a Haran is enough.  It'll be harder, but it's not worth risking your health."

"I'll be fine," Llian whispered back.  He managed to find the strength to hold his head upright again.  It was worth the risk, even if this made him sick for a year.  He had June's determination, a runner's determination – he wasn't going to stop for anything.

There was more talk but Llian was no longer aware of time.  He stood outside of it all.  Some moments seemed to take forever, others passed in a fraction of a second.  He was no longer aware of what was happening.  One second Carol was beside him, the next she was standing tall and proud between Tangur and Malia, greeting the Elders.  Neville moved too.  At one point, Llian looked to the right to find his best friend supporting his right arm, but turned his head to the left to see that Neville was also supporting that side.  Maybe he had turned his head the same way twice.  He did it again and received the same results.  Neville was simultaneously on both sides.  Strange.

Suddenly Benford turned towards him.  He realized that the entire area was silent.  They were waiting for him.  Llian knew what to do, and after a motion from the Elder he approached the fire and braced himself.  Neville remained beside him, supporting his weight.  It was starting to irk him, actually.  Neville held tightly onto his arm as if he couldn't even walk by himself.  He thinks I'm drunk or something, Llian thought.  But he was absolutely sure he was walking perfectly straight.  But why did his human friends appear so concerned?

He knelt by the fire and looked back at the Elders one final time.  The leader stood apart, watching him with her dark eyes.  There was excitement written onto her face.  She was happy – Llian's dazed state of mind meant the paste was working, and that meant visions.  They would sit there and let him do this to himself?  It was mind-boggling.  They would base their future course of action, their entire lives on what Llian could should them.  Instead of making decisions themselves they were relying on arbitrary...

But he was too dizzy to finish the thought.  There was nothing left to think about now.  He knew now why June hadn't wanted him to use the calluna root.  He should have tried to produce visions on his own first, but he had been so certain he would fail.  He felt, deep inside, that this was going to hurt him much, much more than he had anticipated.  He was filled with a sudden hatred for them all.  He felt exposed and betrayed.  Why hadn't anyone stopped him?

He stared into the fire, and summoned his Volari magic.  Images, auditory hallucinations, odious smells overwhelmed him.  He projected it all into the fire, which burst up twenty feet in the air, so that the entire group could see.  Suddenly, Llian wasn't a person anymore, he was a vessel.  Waves of power and pain rushed through him.  He became the visions:

Hogwarts stood in the middle of a large grey cloud.  The sky swirled above the castle like cotton candy.  Llian found himself flying closer until he was pressed up against the window of the Great Hall.  There was chaos within.  Blood coated the window.  The floor was littered with bodies.  Bars made of wood grew over the inside of the window, blocking him out and the people in.  The walls reached out and sucked in his vision.

He was stumbling through rocks and brush.  A figure appeared before him, at the end of a path.  It was a...lizard?  A man with scales and reptilian eyes that glowed.  He ran, but Llian followed him.  The lizard scampered up a tree, but Llian stopped underneath and peered up into the branches.  He saw its eyes again, and then one second later the knife was flying straight for his throat.

Giant birds flew through the sky.  No, Volari.  They approached a bright green light that pulsed in rhythm to his heartbeat.  He willed himself closer.  Suddenly he was flying alongside them.  He couldn't make out their faces – they were all strangers, or maybe friends, but he couldn't tell for sure.  They were flying over an indeterminate forest.  But then he saw a break in the trees ahead – a giant gap consisting of broken boulders that seemed to stretch for miles.  He knew this place!  This was the battlefields of the wizarding war thousands of years ago!  This meant that they were in England, and the Volari were coming to England!  He was suddenly afraid that something else would happen to dissuade them from coming.  He wished the visions would end right now, but no, that wouldn't be fair.  They should know as much as possible about what lay ahead.

As if the visions were sentient beings listening to his thoughts, the scene changed.  Llian was running again, towards safety, towards a bright violet light.  He reached out for it, trying to draw it closer to him.  Neville was panting behind him.  He was almost there when he realized he was alone.  He stopped and found that Neville had stopped ten feet ago.  "What is it?" he tried to ask, but the visions wouldn't allow for speech, only thought.  Neville looked sadly ahead, and then behind him.  He turned around and walked the other way.  "Neville!" Llian screamed in his head.  "Don't go that way!  Please!"  But Neville left him all alone.  His ears rang with betrayal and loss.  He tried to understand more, what was happening, but all he could sense was a metal coldness closing around his chest.

He was at Hogwarts again.  Or was he?  Hogwarts was there, but it was only it's image, not the castle itself.  He couldn't make sense of it.  What did it mean?  Hogwarts in another dimension, maybe.  It was crazy.  He was beginning to see why Eliza could be so skeptical about visions sometimes.  Focus here, he commanded of himself.  There was a Volari lying on the ground – June!  He couldn't see her face, but her wings were that same distinct carmine he had grown up with.  She was bleeding.  No, that wasn't supposed to be blood.  He was getting a bit better at understanding the visions – none of them were real.  They were all metaphors.  The blood was...her magic!  He could feel its pulsing from her.  Her magic flowed out, out, out, towards a circle of light beside her.  A chill ran through him when he realized that she was running out.  Part of her was empty, where her magic was leaving.  "Stop it, June!"  He tried to shake her awake, but she was either unable or unwilling to listen.  Her magic continued to leave her.  He tried to block its path – without magic, a Volari could be weakened to the point of death.  But she kept on filling up the circle with more and more light, and as the last bit of magic left her body, she shuddered and then the light overwhelmed his vision.

Stupid!  Was that how June was going to die, draining away her own magic?  For what?  There were powerful sources of magic elsewhere, in the earth and in objects themselves.  Llian was suddenly determined to prevent what he had seen.  He didn't know when it would happen, or what the circumstances would be, but he would stop her, even if it bloody killed him.

His ears burning, his back was itchy.  He reached out to scratch himself but couldn't find his hands.  Where were they?  Where was he?  A coldness in the pit of his stomach gave a huge lurch and he was retching into nothingness, his stomach burning, burning, burning

Fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire fire....

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

He awoke to Neville's snoring.  With a groan, he opened his eyes only to be blinded by bright light.  "Nev..." he said weakly.  The snoring continued.  He knew it was Neville's snoring because he had slept in the same tent with him for that past few weeks.  He turned onto his side.  His skin was burning – it felt like it was stretched tight and peeling off with each movement.  His eyes had sharp nettles in them.  He licked his flaky lips.  He could feel his fangs grown underneath his lip. 

He reached out for his bag, which was lying several feet away, but didn't have the strength to pull himself nearer.  He needed the potion to make the side effects of vampirism diminish.  The sun would kill him.  Not all at once, but he felt like he was already dying. 

A shadow blocked the sun's light from his face.  "Looking for this?" asked Carol's voice.  She held something in her hand.  "Neville's been staying up day and night looking after you.  Traditionally the Haran are left by themselves in the wilderness to recuperate, but Neville wouldn't leave you by yourself.  I think they overlooked it because they figured him to be some sort of human servant to you." 

She knelt down and cradled Llian's head while feeding him the contents of the vial.  It was the potion he had been looking for desperately.  He tried to mutter thanks, but his words were incomprehensible.  "Neville told me that you'd run out of this stuff sometime today, just before he fell asleep a couple hours after midnight.  He wouldn't consent to leaving you unwatched.  You have quite a dedicated friend."

Llian nodded wordlessly. 

"So what is this potion's for?  Is it a medication?"

Llian didn't really know how to respond to that, so he simply nodded.  He feigned tiredness by closing his eyes again and pretending to fall into a light sleep.  He jerked awake several hours later to realize he probably hadn't been pretending at all – he was more tired than any 10k race had made him.

This time Neville was up.  The sun was farther down.  Llian was able, with some help, to sit up and take in his surroundings this time.  He was in a clearing in the middle of a sort of thin forest, lying on top of his sleeping bag.  There was nothing blocking the sun for yards around him.  It was warm, but he found the sensation pleasant.  "It feels nice here," Llian muttered, after Neville had passed him some water from a canteen. 

"I should hope so.  They picked it out especially for you."

"Huh?"

"I don't know, it was this big deal after the ceremony, finding the perfect recovery spot for you."

"Ava never wrote anything about that in her journals."  June, he thought silently.

"Well, she wouldn't have to – after they found a spot for her she didn't need any other.  Carol explained it to me, kind of.  It has something to do with Strength Grounding.  Something about the sun being yours.  So they found a sunny spot.  It's a bit too warm, if you ask me."

Llian sniffed.  "Well, it's not the bloody middle of winter like in England, is it?"

Neville shrugged.  "But then again, I've got more...flubber than you do, so it makes me warmer."

"Flubber?"

"Yeah.  June says it's a word."

"And you're trusting June because...?"

Neville shook his head.  "I didn't know the sun was your element.  I didn't even know it was an element."

Llian laughed.  "Not element in the Muggle chemistry way, or element in the transfiguration sense – it's similar to when someone's really good at something, and you'd say, They're in their element.  Get it?"

"I guess.  My element's probably mud."

Llian grinned.  "Is that why you get along with June so well?"

"What, because mud...hardens into rock?"

Llian shook his head.  "Nevermind."

"How do you find your element?"

Llian shrugged.  "Dunno.  I didn't even know what mine was before this."

"Well it makes sense," Neville said.  "I mean, you're always looking on the bright side of things."

"Ha, ha," Llian said.  He was still physically weak, but being with Neville gave him some other kind of strength, almost a strength of spirit.  "I think you're good for my health, Nev."

"Well, you're bad for mine."  He glanced down at his legs sprawled out in front of him.  "You know, I was thinking about an hour ago how I couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts so I could have Madame Pomphrey weigh me."

Llian snorted.  "You're pathetic."

"And if you snort one more time you'll turn into a poppu."

"A what?"

"A fairy breaded with a pig."

"Really?"

"No, they're not real, just a myth."

"Oh."  Llian pretended to look disappointed.  "Doesn't it feel like the journey's over?"

"Yes.  Strange, isn't it?  I mean, technically we're only a little past halfway done, but it feels much shorter."

"We still have to get back to Hogwarts.  But yeah, I know what you mean.  We've done what we came here to do."  He paused.  "Have the Elders said anything?"

Neville shook his head.  "They've been debating your visions for a couple days now.  There were some contradictory images.  But it's hard to tell which ones were warnings of what would happen if the Volari don't participate, and which were warnings of what would happen to them if they did."

"How...how long did the ceremony last?"

"Long?  Merlin, it lasted the entire night.  I don't know how in the world they can remember so many images.  It was one thing after another.  It was tiring just looking at it."  He suddenly reached down into his backpack and took out some bread and various plants.  Llian looked at them warily.  "Go on, eat them.  Even if you don't feel hungry it'll make you better."  Llian picked up a leaf and smelled it.  "They're all edible.  This one is a bit sour," he pointed to a dark leaf, "but you should eat all of it, it'll give you back your energy."

Llian shrugged and took the meal.

"Maybe tomorrow you can eat some stew or something.  Carol said we shouldn't feed you anything too heavy."

"How long do you think it will take the Volari to decide?"

A dark look crossed Neville's face.  "It doesn't matter to us," he said bitterly.  "After going through all of that, Benford's not even allowing us to stay to see what they decide."

"What?!"

"It was prearranged.  We're going straight back to Hogwarts, but Benford is going to stay, and Carol, too, once she drops us back off at the Auror's camp."

"That's bullshit!  What if they want to talk to me?"

Neville bit his lip.  "Benford's been kind of sketchy over whether you'll be staying here or not, so he thinks you should leave as soon as possible."

"Sounds fishy," he muttered.

"Damn right it does," Neville agreed.  "But he says you have to be quite deliberate in insisting that you're leaving of your own accord, to protect Hogwarts for the Volari."

"He wants me to be the leader, then, doesn't he?  The first one to pitch in my support for the humans.  That's why he's been trying to make it sound like I was considering staying here."

Neville shrugged, even though he still looked angry.  "Well, it's working.  There's already some talk among the younger Volari that if you leave they'll follow you even if the Elders don't agree."

"Mhhh...I wonder if the younger ones are reaching out farther than their ancestors did.  Do you think it's a trend?  From Ava's journal, it sounded like no body left the group for the outside world, and now it's not common, but it's not completely uncommon either."  He sighed and lied back down.

Neville thumped him on the chest.  "Eat!" he commanded.  Llian groaned and propped himself up on his elbows to eat some of the bread, and the weird plants.

"Are you even going to tell me what these things are?"

Neville grinned.  "What you don't know won't hurt you.  Are I or are I not a herbology expert?"

"It's not that I doubt you, I just don't trust you."  Neville stuck out his tongue.  The sour leaves in Llian's mouth suddenly tasted bitter; it was the strangest sensation.  He wasn't sure if he was going to throw up or not.  He shoved what was left back into Neville's hands.

"You know, you don't look so good," Neville commented. 

"It's because I'm sunburned."

Neville chuckled.  "Sorry about that.  I told Carol to give you the potion, but she waited until you woke up.  I guess it's my fault for not making sure she knew to give it to you at daybreak whether you were awake or not.  I guess the pain must have woken you up."  Llian didn't say anything.  "Well, I rubbed some aloe on your exposed skin.  It does feel better doesn't it?"

He still felt a bit stretched out, but at least his skin was cracking with every move.  "Yeah, it's better."

"I can move you out the sun," Neville offered anxiously.

"Naw, that's alright.  The potion neutralizes the sun's power over me."  He frowned.  "But I guess I should spend at least some time in the shade.  Whoa!"  Neville had picked him up and was carrying him into the forest.  He put him down underneath the shade.  "Uh, thanks."  Neville went back to retrieve the sleeping bag and backpack.

"No problem," he said when he came back.  "Is there anything else you need?"

"No."

"Then go to sleep."

"I don't want to."

Neville glared at him.  "Sleep or I'll hex you into unconsciousness," he said in a monotone.  He looked ready to carry out his threat.

"Fine," Llian muttered.  He stretched out on his sleeping bag and was asleep in less than five minutes.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

There had been surprisingly less trouble with leaving than Llian had anticipated.  As they walked out of the settlement, most of the Volari ignored him, going on with their own lives.  Only the children playing at the edge of town laughed and waved to him.  He smiled and waved back.  There were less Volari escorting them this time – only Malia and Tangur, Carol's good friends.  Llian felt happier being with a smaller group, especially now that the sneaky Benford was still negotiating with the Elders.

They set out along the vast grass plain between the cliffs and the thin forest Llian had healed in.  On the whole, Llian was demoralized about the entire trip.  He had shared his soul with the entire Volari settlement, and for what?  He had thought himself special; it was a vain thought, but true – he was a Haran, someone to be reckoned with.  But in the end, he was just a weak little boy, and what's more, he had been used by the adults he had trusted.

He supposed that was what he was hurt about the most.  He had been used, that was the entire reason of bringing him along.  Before they left Hogwarts, he had thought he was doing something adventurous and daring and noble.  But he was simply the wild card Dumbledore had had up his sleeve.  He wondered if he ever really had any choice in the first place.  He remembered how Papa became madder and madder as Dumbledore got further into his spiel.  Llian had been on the edge of his seat in anticipation, waiting for the Headmaster to tell him more, and was annoyed at the time that Papa was making a big deal over nothing.  Now he began to see it from another perspective – everything Dumbledore had said was calculated to draw Llian in. 

He felt heat rise through his body when he thought of Dumbledore's words.  The old man had played him perfectly, knowing exactly what to tell him.  That was why Papa had been so adamant at first that Llian think carefully and make sure it was his own decision.  But the most annoying part about it was that he couldn't complain – technically, he had chosen of his own free will.  Although it was admittedly an immature teenage will.

He sighed and walked a little faster, passing Tangur and Carol, who were talking, to catch up with Neville.  He was about to explain his feelings to Neville, but Neville spoke first.  "I feel useless," he said quietly. 

Llian had heard such sentiments come from Neville (and June) quite frequently, but he was surprised to hear Neville say the same things now out of context of school.  "Why?"

Neville sighed.  "What was the point of my coming?  What did I do?  Nothing.  All I did was keep you company; and now I'm going to be so far behind in my schoolwork.  I'll never pass any O.W.L.'s now!"

"You always said you wouldn't pass even when you were attending class normally.  This is much more important than the O.W.L.s.  If we don't get more help, we could loose this war..."

"I just think I would have been more useful at Hogwarts.  I probably slowed down everyone on the way here, and I'll do the same going back."

"Bull!  You kept up with everything.  You were just in as good shape as everyone else."  Part of him didn't feel like dealing with Neville, but the other half was glad that Neville helped him put his own complaints into perspective.  "Neither one of us really had much choice in going anyway."  Neville was about to protest, but Llian cut him off.  "I went because Dumbledore practically commanded me to; you went because Florean sent you, and thus Dumbledore.  How could either of us have refused?"

"But why do I feel so depressed?"

Llian frowned.  "I don't know.  I was feeling the same way, but I think...I think I just feel used, by Dumbledore and his cronies."

Neville looked at Llian disapprovingly.

"Look, the Headmaster isn't God or anything, he's only human; sometimes he has to sacrifice some people to get what he wants.  He was willing to risk our lives in hopes that we could gather Volari participation.  And look at Harry, he's been sacrificing him forever."

"What are you talking about?  Sacrificing?  That's absurd."

"Why else has he been leaving Harry with the Dursleys.  He knows they treat him like crap, but he wouldn't do anything about it.  What's more, everyone knows that he knows."  As he said it, the idea began to make more and more sense to Llian.

"But why would Dumbledore intentionally do something like that to Harry?"

"He's playing out his cards.  Harry was destined to be powerful – look at his parents, and Trelawny's prediction.  He wanted Harry to be completely self-sufficient.  Like Ender in Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game.  He needed someone who would always know, deep down inside, that the only person he would be able to truly count on would be himself.  And it worked.  Every time something's wrong with Harry, does he ever run for help?  Did he tell any teachers that he was hearing a voice in the walls his second year, or tell any of them besides Lockhart that he knew where the Chamber of Secrets was?  Has he ever gone to any adults for help?"  Llian had heard it all second-hand from Ginny, but he was sure that most of what he was saying was correct.

"It still doesn't make any sense.  What if Harry had turned out to be another Voldemort?  What if he had turned bad from the Dursley's abusing him or something?  There's so many ways that could go wrong when you're dealing with another person's life."

"Well, Dumbledore's willing to make some sacrifices.  There's always a risk with everything," he said bitterly. 

Neville stared at him for a long time.  Llian stared back, impressed that his friend could stare and walk at the same time.  When they had gone for almost half a minute and Neville still hadn't tripped, Llian tried to break him out of his trance.  "What?" he snapped.

"It hurt you, didn't it?  The ceremony hurt you a lot more than you've admitted, maybe even to yourself.  I think it really hurt you."

"And you win the award for excellent perception!" Llian shouted, flinging his arms wide open.  Neville looked upset.  "Look, I'm sorry."  They kept on walking.  "I just...can I talk to you about it later?"

"Sure," Neville promised, and the topic was dropped.

It wasn't that Llian didn't want to talk about it – he wanted to talk and talk and talk and spill all the images and horrors in his head out onto the ground.  He pictured all the vile stored in his occipital lobes pouring out through his eyes, black and sticky.  He wanted to talk, but not to Neville, not yet.

He needed to talk to Edan first.

Edan.

The name felt like silk on his tongue.  He whispered it silently.  He couldn't wait until he could be back in Edan's arms.  He felt safer there than anywhere.  He was beyond caring whether it was true love or not – all he knew was that Edan understood him, and that was all that mattered.

A shadow passed overhead.  They looked up to see Malia.  She landed close to them, and Carol and Tangur quickly drew closer to hear what she had to say.  "They've moved almost a mile to the north," she said, pointing in that direction. 

Carol sighed.  "Let's take a short break.  We don't want poor Llian to get tired out, now do we?"  She sat down heavily on the ground and rummaged through her backpack for water.

Llian wasn't tired at all, but Carol the most out of shape, so he figured she needed the rest.  He sat next to her.  Or maybe she was just being thoughtful – who knew how tired he really was?  He was too numb to be able to tell by himself.

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"Should we leave them here?" Tangur asked jokingly once they reached the top of a rocky hill.  They were within view of the campsite.  Around a burning fire were various packs and equipment.  They could just barely make out a couple people sleeping on the ground.  Llian chuckled – they must have been whoever Moody had put on night guard duty.

"Don't be ridiculous," Carol said.  "It's only a bit more before we can dump the brats off.  I suppose we can manage that long."  She gave Llian and Neville a sloppy grin.  Llian was amused by her bluntness.  In truth, the three adults were antsy to go back to the Volari.

They walked back down the hill and could no longer see the campsite.  Neville became considerably more cheery, even trying to trip Tangur once.  Malia was taking the lead, as always, stepping much lighter than her brother who stomped through the bushes.  Suddenly she stopped, her back straight and tense.

"What is it, dearie?" Carol asked.

"I smell blood." 

Llian shivered.  He glanced beside him to see that Neville's face to see horror mirrored there.

Tangur stepped up next to his sister and sniffed the air.  "Mhh, I smell it, too.  Too bad I'm a vegetarian."

"You're not a vegetarian," Malia said, continuing to walk.

"Wait a second!  You smelled blood – doesn't this warrant further concern?" Llian asked sarcastically.

Tangur laughed.  "Wow, Moody really has been getting to them."

"I told you so," Carol said.

"It's not human blood," Malia said evenly.  If she were a more expressive person, she would have rolled her eyes.  "It's...."

"A kangaroo!" Tangur shouted.

This time Malia did roll her eyes.  "No, something smaller.  Some kind of marsupial creature."

"Probably a numbat.  Who's ready for dinner?"

Malia ignored him. 

Llian still felt random tingles down his arms.  They only intensified as they neared the campsite.  He started to feel a bit nauseous.

"We'd better get there quickly," Neville said suddenly.  "Llian looks like he's about to die."

Llian bit his lip.  "Do I really look that bad?"

Malia glanced back at him.  "Yes," she answered in a way that settled the question.

"I don't feel so hot."

"Don't be afraid to let us know if you need to stop.  If you feel too bad Tangur won't mind carrying you," Carol said kindly.

"I'll be fine," Llian said quickly.  He probably was about to faint.  That would be rich, he thought.  Almost there, wait to faint until later.  Suddenly he started laughing.  "Neville!  If we were in a horror movie you would have doomed me!"

"Huh?"

"You just said I looked like I was about to die.  Like the guy in one of the  Friday the Thirteenth movies who said 'This bottle will be the death of me,' and then Jason came out and mutilated his body with the same bottle?"  He started giggling.  He was having so much fun he didn't even notice until a good half a minute later that he was moving.  "Whuh-"

Tangur was holding him like a giant baby, and the group had continued walking.

"Ah, cuh-mon, put me duh-down."

Tangur looked down at him and smiled as if he were a little infant.  "You'd better rest when we get there," he said.

"He'll rest anyway.  Look at him, he's delirious and half-unconscious," Malia commented.

Llian leaned his head against Tangur's strong chest and was covered by a blanket of darkness.  He awoke when they stopped.  He lifted his head to find that the group was waiting within sight of the camp, but had gone no further.  It remained about a football field length away.  Malia, he saw, was flying towards the campsite.

"What's going on?" Llian asked.

"Something smells wrong," Tangur answered.  He didn't put Llian down.

"Blood?" Llian mumbled.

"No, no blood.  Just...an off-ness, I guess.  Malia's checking it out."  He sighed.  "Everything was fine when I flew down here earlier this morning."

"If something's wrong, you guys know what to do," Carol whispered in Tangur's ear.

Neville was too far away to hear, but Llian heard it perfectly.  "What, what's he, they gonna do?"  His words were less slurred, but still a bit incomprehensible. 

"Get the heck out of here," Tangur answered.

"Well, you guys can fly!  And so can I."

Carol and Tangur exchanged a look.  "You're not doing any flying, child; Tangur's going to have to carry you."

Llian frowned.  "But I can fly, and carry Neville."  They ignored him.  "Wait, you're going to take Neville and me away, aren't you?  And leave Carol?  No way!"

"Stop it, guys!  You're making me nervous," Neville said.  "Probably nothing's wrong.  Let's just see how it goes."

Llian blew a raspberry.  "Maybe somebody farted!"  He was glad that time that they ignored him.  He twisted his head around again and saw that Malia was swiftly flying back.

She landed next to Carol.  "They're dead, three of them," she said.  "No blood, no sign of a struggle, just dead.  Probably the Killing Curse.  No one else was in sight."  She glanced around.  The landscape had few trees, but there were still plenty of places to hide between the rubble of rocks and bushes.  "There are more trees the way we came, so avoid those," she told Tangur.  "They-"

She fell down onto the ground, a knife buried in her throat.  It had came at her so quickly that Llian hadn't even seen it until she was already falling.  Without a second thought, Tangur took off into the air, Llian still cradled in his arms.  "No!" Llian screamed, trying to loosen Tangur's grasp.  "Let go!"  Tangur kept on rising.  He was flying slower than normal because of Llian's weight.  "Neville!  What are you doing?  You're leaving behind your own fucking sister!  You traitor!"

Tangur's face twisted into a mask of agony.  "She's dead," he said, his voice cracking.  "I can't do anything for her, but I can save us."

"We could have stayed and fought!"

"Don't be stupid!" Tangur exclaimed bitterly.  "We don't know how many enemy were there.  The entire place could be surrounded.  It's better to save two lives than none."

Llian continued to struggle.  Tangur made logical sense, but Llian couldn't erase the thought of Neville being overwhelmed by an unseen enemy, the look of betrayal that must have been on his face when his best friend left him in a heartbeat.  He kicked his legs furiously.

"Stop that!  I can't hold on to you and fly at the same time.  Shit!"  Llian hit him the face, and then again.  "I should have stunned you, but I can't while I'm flying.  You're hurting me!"  His flight dropped sharply, but he steadied himself and gained altitude.  "Look, I'm not a strong flier, this is taking all of my energy – stop!"

Llian flung his entire body out of Tangur's arms, and for a second he was in free fall.  Tangur dived after him, but he couldn't fly any faster than Llian was falling.  They hadn't been very far from the ground, and it was quickly approaching.  He grew out his wings and wondered at how much it strained his back to do so.  He was weak, he could feel it in his blood.  Less than ten feet from the ground he straightened out and skimmed along the grass.

A dull thud made him turn around in shock.  Tangur hadn't been able to turn his downward flight back up in time. 

He kept on flying.  It might take Tangur a couple minutes to recover, but Volari were built to fall from enormous heights without being hurt – their bones were pliable and airy. 

He flew back the way they had come, to the campsite, to Neville.

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[A/N: Sigh.  More really important things were supposed to happen during this chapter, but it ended up being too long, so I'm stopping here.  Am I putting in too much explanations or random dialogue?  How do they end up being longer than I anticipate?  Ah, but the next chapter is going to be so freakin' bloody you won't even believe it!  I'm talking enough blood to bathe in!  Oh boy, better prepare yourself now for battle!]