DISCLAIMER: Oh, I am so sick of doing this. I've churned out four chapters tonight already. What's mine is mine, and what isn't isn't. Good? Okay.
CHAPTER FIVE: EARTH
Lili refused to tell the others what had gotten her so upset. She transfigured their pajamas into Muggle hiking clothes as they walked, after the third time Hermione's nightshirt had gotten caught on a bush. While Ron complained about his hatred of camouflage print, Lili stopped them all and made them listen.
"The Earth Temple is right over here. I need to get the sword now."
"That's what you woke us up for at four in the morning?" Ron exploded. "A bloody piece of metal?"
Lili looked him square in the eye. "That, and the fact that if I don't get it now, the Death Eater inside the Temple will."
The Temple didn't look like much, it was true. In fact, if it hadn't been for Lili, they would have passed it by entirely. But she knew where it was. She stopped in front of a large tangle of thorny vines, no different than anything else in the forest, except it was maybe a little larger and sharper. She raised her arms high above her head, clasping her hands together. A green tint came to her fingertips, and as she moved her hands apart, the briars in their way moved too, forming an arched path. Like a person in a dream, she dropped her hands and stepped forward, not even glancing back at the three friends behind her.
The passageway of thorns led them into a great stone room, with windows cut into the walls. But no sunlight came in through them; they were covered with vines. And in the center of this room lay three great cats; lionesses, or cougars, more likely. The largest of the three raised its head from its paws and spoke to the others. **Sisters, look, prey. And plenty.**
**How do we know these won't fly over our heads like the other, Naguret?**
"Um, please don't eat us," Lili said hurriedly. "We are part of a great destiny, and we're going to go kill the one that flew over you."
"Lili, what are you doing?" Hermione hissed at her. Lili turned to her in amazement.
"I'm talking to them, what do you mean what am I doing?" She turned back to the lionesses, which had risen, and were looking at her in something like amusement.
**She is descended of the Great Catspeaker, Naguret. Perhaps we should leave her alone.**
**Perhaps, Kerde. But the others are not Catspeakers.**
"What's a Catspeaker?" Lili asked, not liking being left out of this discussion.
**Why, you are a Catspeaker, little one.** The lioness that had been called Naguret showed her teeth. **Your kind is rare, nowadays. Not like those Snakespeakers, who seems to be popping up everywhere. Crude, that kind.**
**Too true, sister,** yawned the third lioness, who had not bothered to rise.
**Yes. We will leave the Catspeaker be, but the others must die.** She rose from her sitting position, but stopped when Lili stepped in front of her friends.
"You can't! They're part of the destiny, too!"
Naguret threw back her tawny head and laughed. **Child, what makes you think I care anything for destiny? It was our destiny, my sisters and I, to wait for the one who carried within him or her the power of the great one, the Mother Earth. But that one has never appeared. And we grow old, waiting for the Earth. Only when the sword is claimed can we finally die, and be at rest. No, if I let your friends live, it will be because you are a Catspeaker, and have the right to ask favors.**
Lili laughed, a bit nervously. "What would you do if I said that I was the one who carried the power of the Earth?"
Naguret looked her over thoughtfully, then looked her in the eyes. **I would say that there is a chance for the darkness to be defeated. Yes, I see within you the spirit of the Earth. But beware. That power is a great, and also terrible thing. Use the power well, as you must use the sword. Sisters, let them pass.** At the words of their sister, the other two lionesses moved to the side, and bowed to the four as they passed. Naguret walked by Lili's side. Before they left, she spoke to Lili one last time.
**When you leave this room, you will come to a fork. Take the left. The right will lead you only to death. Be careful, Earth's Flower. Many will want your power. You must choose your allegiences carefully. Now, fare well. When, and if, you return this way, my sisters and I will have joined the rest of our family in the final rest.**
"Goodbye, Naguret. Thank you for your help."
**Fare well, child. Earth's power is with you.**
Continuing down the passageway, they came to a fork. The right looked cheerful and inviting, well lit, with sunlight streaming through a window at the ceiling. The left looked grim, dark, dank. Unhesitatingly, Lili stepped to the left.
"Lili, where are you going, shouldn't we take the right?" Ron asked.
"Why do you say that?" She asked, puzzled.
"I dunno, it looks more likely..."
"No." She shook her head. "It's left. Naguret told me." She continued down the passageway, and the others shrugged and followed her.
"So, Lili how were you able to talk to those lionesses?" Hermione had caught up to her, and was looking at her friend curiously.
"They said I was descended from someone called the Great Catspeaker, who I guess could... well, speak to cats. Said something about a Snakespeaker, too, and that they were 'popping up everywhere'. I'm guessing that a Snakespeaker is a... what's it called? A Parsley-something-or-other?"
"A Parselmouth," Hermione supplied.
"Yeah, Parselmouth. But they're not common." Lili shrugged and turned the corner. "But I wonder- wooooah!"
Her exclamation of surprise was echoed by the others. They had walked into a huge room, it must have been the size of a city block, with windows carved high into the ceiling. Light from the rising sun filtered in through one of them, illuminating the stone altar that lay in the very center of the room. And the sword that rested on that altar.
Lili was about to move into the room, when Hermione called to her. "Lili, wait! There's something there, carved on the wall next to you. It looks like some kind of runes, give me a moment to figure it out..." As Hermione hurried forward to try to decipher the runes, Lili looked at them, and simply read them.
"All but the Earth Mage beware in this room. The Earth only can lift the sword from the altar, death will come on swift wings to any other." Hermione looked at her in amazement.
"I didn't know you studied ancient runes."
"I don't. They just... I don't know, I understood them. Must come with being the Earth Mage."
"Must."
Lili approached the sword cautiously. The altar was bathed in light on one side, and Lili circled around, specifically so that she could step up to the altar from the lighted side.
"Why are you doing that?" Harry asked her.
"I believe that approaching from the light shows good intentions. If possible, I always stay in the light. I'm showing the spirits in here that I'm not evil."
As she put her hands on the sword, she heard a yell of "look out!" from Harry, behind her. And then she felt a strong hand clamp around her thin wrist, dragging her hands away from the sword, a thin, sharp blade against her throat. And a voice that she recognised instantly.
"Oh, you may not be evil," drawled Draco Malfoy. "But I am."
(A/N) Yay! Dracie's here! Woohoo! Can you tell I like the guy? Yummy... Review! Or I'll borrow a pumpkin from Ady and you'll be covered in orange gook!
CHAPTER FIVE: EARTH
Lili refused to tell the others what had gotten her so upset. She transfigured their pajamas into Muggle hiking clothes as they walked, after the third time Hermione's nightshirt had gotten caught on a bush. While Ron complained about his hatred of camouflage print, Lili stopped them all and made them listen.
"The Earth Temple is right over here. I need to get the sword now."
"That's what you woke us up for at four in the morning?" Ron exploded. "A bloody piece of metal?"
Lili looked him square in the eye. "That, and the fact that if I don't get it now, the Death Eater inside the Temple will."
The Temple didn't look like much, it was true. In fact, if it hadn't been for Lili, they would have passed it by entirely. But she knew where it was. She stopped in front of a large tangle of thorny vines, no different than anything else in the forest, except it was maybe a little larger and sharper. She raised her arms high above her head, clasping her hands together. A green tint came to her fingertips, and as she moved her hands apart, the briars in their way moved too, forming an arched path. Like a person in a dream, she dropped her hands and stepped forward, not even glancing back at the three friends behind her.
The passageway of thorns led them into a great stone room, with windows cut into the walls. But no sunlight came in through them; they were covered with vines. And in the center of this room lay three great cats; lionesses, or cougars, more likely. The largest of the three raised its head from its paws and spoke to the others. **Sisters, look, prey. And plenty.**
**How do we know these won't fly over our heads like the other, Naguret?**
"Um, please don't eat us," Lili said hurriedly. "We are part of a great destiny, and we're going to go kill the one that flew over you."
"Lili, what are you doing?" Hermione hissed at her. Lili turned to her in amazement.
"I'm talking to them, what do you mean what am I doing?" She turned back to the lionesses, which had risen, and were looking at her in something like amusement.
**She is descended of the Great Catspeaker, Naguret. Perhaps we should leave her alone.**
**Perhaps, Kerde. But the others are not Catspeakers.**
"What's a Catspeaker?" Lili asked, not liking being left out of this discussion.
**Why, you are a Catspeaker, little one.** The lioness that had been called Naguret showed her teeth. **Your kind is rare, nowadays. Not like those Snakespeakers, who seems to be popping up everywhere. Crude, that kind.**
**Too true, sister,** yawned the third lioness, who had not bothered to rise.
**Yes. We will leave the Catspeaker be, but the others must die.** She rose from her sitting position, but stopped when Lili stepped in front of her friends.
"You can't! They're part of the destiny, too!"
Naguret threw back her tawny head and laughed. **Child, what makes you think I care anything for destiny? It was our destiny, my sisters and I, to wait for the one who carried within him or her the power of the great one, the Mother Earth. But that one has never appeared. And we grow old, waiting for the Earth. Only when the sword is claimed can we finally die, and be at rest. No, if I let your friends live, it will be because you are a Catspeaker, and have the right to ask favors.**
Lili laughed, a bit nervously. "What would you do if I said that I was the one who carried the power of the Earth?"
Naguret looked her over thoughtfully, then looked her in the eyes. **I would say that there is a chance for the darkness to be defeated. Yes, I see within you the spirit of the Earth. But beware. That power is a great, and also terrible thing. Use the power well, as you must use the sword. Sisters, let them pass.** At the words of their sister, the other two lionesses moved to the side, and bowed to the four as they passed. Naguret walked by Lili's side. Before they left, she spoke to Lili one last time.
**When you leave this room, you will come to a fork. Take the left. The right will lead you only to death. Be careful, Earth's Flower. Many will want your power. You must choose your allegiences carefully. Now, fare well. When, and if, you return this way, my sisters and I will have joined the rest of our family in the final rest.**
"Goodbye, Naguret. Thank you for your help."
**Fare well, child. Earth's power is with you.**
Continuing down the passageway, they came to a fork. The right looked cheerful and inviting, well lit, with sunlight streaming through a window at the ceiling. The left looked grim, dark, dank. Unhesitatingly, Lili stepped to the left.
"Lili, where are you going, shouldn't we take the right?" Ron asked.
"Why do you say that?" She asked, puzzled.
"I dunno, it looks more likely..."
"No." She shook her head. "It's left. Naguret told me." She continued down the passageway, and the others shrugged and followed her.
"So, Lili how were you able to talk to those lionesses?" Hermione had caught up to her, and was looking at her friend curiously.
"They said I was descended from someone called the Great Catspeaker, who I guess could... well, speak to cats. Said something about a Snakespeaker, too, and that they were 'popping up everywhere'. I'm guessing that a Snakespeaker is a... what's it called? A Parsley-something-or-other?"
"A Parselmouth," Hermione supplied.
"Yeah, Parselmouth. But they're not common." Lili shrugged and turned the corner. "But I wonder- wooooah!"
Her exclamation of surprise was echoed by the others. They had walked into a huge room, it must have been the size of a city block, with windows carved high into the ceiling. Light from the rising sun filtered in through one of them, illuminating the stone altar that lay in the very center of the room. And the sword that rested on that altar.
Lili was about to move into the room, when Hermione called to her. "Lili, wait! There's something there, carved on the wall next to you. It looks like some kind of runes, give me a moment to figure it out..." As Hermione hurried forward to try to decipher the runes, Lili looked at them, and simply read them.
"All but the Earth Mage beware in this room. The Earth only can lift the sword from the altar, death will come on swift wings to any other." Hermione looked at her in amazement.
"I didn't know you studied ancient runes."
"I don't. They just... I don't know, I understood them. Must come with being the Earth Mage."
"Must."
Lili approached the sword cautiously. The altar was bathed in light on one side, and Lili circled around, specifically so that she could step up to the altar from the lighted side.
"Why are you doing that?" Harry asked her.
"I believe that approaching from the light shows good intentions. If possible, I always stay in the light. I'm showing the spirits in here that I'm not evil."
As she put her hands on the sword, she heard a yell of "look out!" from Harry, behind her. And then she felt a strong hand clamp around her thin wrist, dragging her hands away from the sword, a thin, sharp blade against her throat. And a voice that she recognised instantly.
"Oh, you may not be evil," drawled Draco Malfoy. "But I am."
(A/N) Yay! Dracie's here! Woohoo! Can you tell I like the guy? Yummy... Review! Or I'll borrow a pumpkin from Ady and you'll be covered in orange gook!