by Katie Davidson (Virtue)
(( A/N: Have you wondered while Elora and the others had their adventure under the ground, what was happening at Hogwarts? Well... this little section should clarify some stuff of what happened shortly after Elora and Lizzie fell. ))
Professor Flitwick sealed the crater Lizzie and Elora had fallen with a shield spell so that no one else would fall in. "I hope Lizzie and Elora are all right," Victoria said nervously looking at the crater.
Dumbledore walked up behind Victoria saying, "I'm sure they are, Victoria. They're both smart enough to find their way out." Another tremor shook the room; they felt as if they were getting closer to the school. All the professors and students were getting worried. The walls started to crack and bricks shattered leaving large, medium, and small gaps in the walls.
Professor Flitwick walked up to Dumbledore, and said in his usual squeaky voice, "Are you positive the students are safe in their common rooms?"
"It's the best place. I must go check on the other students now." Dumbledore said, then leaving the Ravenclaw Common Room.
Tremor after tremor shook the rooms, and every time a small piece of Hogwarts crashed to the floor. Students stared out the window, Victoria overhead one boy say to another, "At this rate, their won't be anything left of Hogwarts. We'll all have to leave."
Victoria looked up to the night sky and whispered, "Please let my friends be all right."
(( A/N: And now back to our hero's... ))
Elora and Cecil walked down the tunnel they had been trapped in. Cecil wanted to hold onto Elora's hand, but Elora always seemed to be doing something with her hands, whether it was dusting off her cloak, or running her fingers over her Moon Guard, she seemed to deny him. "What's your problem any way?" Cecil asked.
Elora looked up to him and replied, "What's my problem with what?"
"Me, Elora. What do have against me? I confessed I loved you. What do you have to say?"
"I..," Elora started, then paused; "Cecil, you're a good friend, but I don't have the same feelings for me as you do for me."
Cecil scowled, "You love Harry don't you?"
Elora blushed and nodding slowly said, "I do, yes."
Cecil growled, "What do you see in that boy?"
"You wouldn't understand Cecil." Elora replied, turning her head away from him.
Then suddenly Cecil pinned Elora against the wall and looking into her eyes he said, "My love for you, Elora, is stronger than the sun. My mother died when I was born, and when my father died when I was eight I took over as the Forest Guardian, and since then I've dreamed of someone like you. Now that you're here you've stolen my heart."
Elora looked at him; she was speechless. She felt warm inside, but felt frozen in time as Cecil came in closer to steal another kiss. The moment broke when a whizzing sound was heard, and Cecil fell to the ground, holding his right arm in pain. Elora shouted his name and knelt down beside him to see what had hit him. Embedded in Cecil's right arm, below his shoulder, there was a bone-handled dagger. Cecil yanked it right out and screamed in pain.
"Cecil," Elora said, "Are you all right?"
"I'll be fine," Cecil replied, then in a flash pinned Elora up against the wall as a dagger whizzed towards Elora's position.
The dagger had just missed him, but the realization that Cecil had used himself as a shield for her shocked Elora. "Cecil," Elora whispered looking into his eyes, "Why?" Elora didn't know why she asked; she knew what his reply was going to be.
Cecil replied, "Because I love you, Elora." Then he fainted into Elora's arms.
Elora held Cecil and shook him saying, "Cecil. Cecil? Wake up!"
Elora heard a large clunking sound from in front of them and from the shadows a large, two-horned, red-skinned manticore appeared.
"Razerlorn," Elora said, her eyes narrowed. Luno knew Razerlorn's identity, which is how Elora recognized him on the spot.
Razerlorn bowed saying, "At your service, M'lady, or should I say - Luno!" He cackled and with a long grin on his face he said, "That poison in that dagger should keep your friend out cold. Too bad the other one missed you, but I guess... it'll be more fun this way." With that, Elora screamed as she felt like a thousand volts of electricity were shocking her. Elora blacked out and fell to the ground with Cecil at her side.
The zombie-creatures neared Harry's, Tsutsami's, and Velicity's position. Tsutsami sneered and whispered to Harry, "I say we take them on."
"We have no choice but to," Harry replied. He took his hand off of Velicity's mouth; Velicity had fainted from shock. Harry placed her carefully on the floor of the tunnel and looked to Tsutsami, who smiled. "Let's go," He said and they both ran out from the shadows, showing themselves to the zombie-creatures.
Harry's sword appeared at his side, he unsheathed it and charged at the creatures at an amazing speed, waving his sword around and splitting three zombies in half at their waists' at a time. Harry had never felt this sort of power before; he didn't know what was coming over him. He pointed his sword at two others as a bolt of lightning arched from his sword to them, zapping them and making them fall to the floor.
Tsutsami took on the last three zombies; a wave of water squished the zombies against the wall. She laughed and exclaimed, "Didn't have a chance!"
"Tsutsami!" Harry shouted, "Get Velicity and let's move out. I can see light at the end of this tunnel."
Tsutsami quickly picked up Velicity, who was still unconscience from shock, and ran to catch up with Harry who had already headed to the light. Tsutsami caught up with Harry, and stopped just before she bumped into Harry, "What the heck did you stop for?" she exclaimed.
Harry reached out to the door and his hand lay flat against thin air, a ripple like waves shone all around them; "That's why."
Tsutsami put Velicity down, and did the same thing Harry did, and the same reaction was returned. She growled, "What the heck is this?"
A monotone voice answered; "A force field." A two-horned, red-skinned manticore appeared in front of Harry, Tsutsami, and Velicity just inside of the room that they were trying to enter.
"And who are you?" Tsutsami sneered.
"I am Razerlorn," the creature answered, "and I would just like to say... that humans, whether Wizard or Muggle, are a pathetic species." Razerlorn laughed and moved to the left, waving his arms to the right where Elora and Cecil stood tied together back-to-back to a tall poll in the center of a large circular platform surrounded by water.
Harry shouted, "Elora!"
Elora wearily lifted her head saying, "Harry?" She turned her head and saw him; "Harry!" She tried to move, but soon found that she was tied, and craned her neck to the side to see a glimpse of Cecil. She shook him while shouting, "Cecil! Wake up you git and pull yourself together!"
Cecil lifted his head and yawned, "What is it?"
Elora growled, "What is it? Look around you! One... we're tied together; Two... Harry and the others are here, and most important of all... WE'RE NOT IN GOOD COMPANY!" Cecil turned his head to Harry, his eyes narrowed, and he smirked, "Looks as though he can't get in."
Razerlorn jumped over the moat and walked up to Elora and Cecil, "I see you're awake now. Good, I need you two conscience for this to work."
"Don't you touch her you git!" Harry shouted from a far.
Razerlorn's gaze shot to Harry, and without letting his eyes off him he spoke to Elora, "If you don't comply with me, girl," he looked to Elora, "then I will kill your friends over there. And you know I can."
Elora tried to charge after Razerlorn shouting, "You son of a..." she stopped when Cecil screamed in pain.
Razerlorn grinned; "You better not try that again. The more you struggle the tighter those ropes get for your friend."
Elora stood still and sneered at Razerlorn, "What do you want me to do?"
"It's not really of what I want you to do, my sweet... I want Luno." Razerlorn replied, swiping at the ropes that tied Elora to Cecil. He set her free from the roped, but Cecil still stood tied to the poll, and Razerlorn paced around Elora saying, "I want revenge for what Luno and Gwen did to me. I want him to be imprisoned for centuries, and NEVER return. Now girl, show me Luno!"
"I can't do that," Elora replied.
Razerlorn growled in Elora's face, he waved his hand as an army of sharp daggers, spears, and axes hovered in front of Harry and Tsutsami's position, "I know you can, girl, now SHOW ME LUNO!"
"Don't do it, Elora!" Harry shouted.
Tsutsami agreed with Harry and shouted to her, "He'll surely kill you then."
Elora looked over to Harry and Tsutsami; "I have no choice. I'm sorry."
Then she closed her eyes and all the traits of Luno came to be; her hair went from brown to white, her cloak changed from black to white, a sparkling cape appeared behind her, and when she opened her eyes, they were blue. Luno-Elora, in a clear-as-a-bell combination of Elora's voice with that of Luno's, said "Razerlorn."
"Luno," Razerlorn replied, "How good it is to see you again. You may not be as I've first met you, but it is quite a change."
"Quit the squabbling and get on with it. What do you want of me?" Luno-Elora sneered.
"I think you already know that." Razerlorn grinned.
"It cannot be done, Razerlorn. You cannot have the power of Dreamscape. It cannot help you take over what cannot be yours." Luno-Elora explained.
"I think you're LYING!" Razerlorn shouted, "With Dreamscape on my side, I will conquer the Wizarding world!"
"Why do we always get the bad guys who want to conquer something?" Tsutsami whispered to herself, "It's a curse or something, isn't it?" Harry laughed softly, watching every movement inside the room.
Razerlorn waved his tail and soon a long golden rope bound Luno-Elora. He jumped across the moat as Luno-Elora hovered behind him; "You see Luno," Razerlorn started, "I found a way to harness the power of Dreamscape for myself."
"It's a theory Razerlorn, and it won't work." Luno-Elora replied.
"Silence!" Razerlorn shouted, whipping his tail to the side, as Luno-Elora crashed back first into a hole in a large black block that almost seemed perfectly formed for his figure. Razerlorn walked up to Luno-Elora as he groaned from the impact. Razerlorn sneered as he said, "And now it's time for the beginning of the end of your life, Luno."
Continued: Chapter 9 - Dreamscapes' Power