CHAPTER ELEVEN: NECKLACE OF THE DRAGONTEETH
Nearly Headless Nick returned later than he thought. It took him three days. The three days Harry tried to read some books from the library. He asked Madam Pince to put them down and he read them. He turned the pages with the trick Nick had taught him.
At Nick's return Harry was asked to go into Dumbledore's office.
"Harry", Dumbledore said, "Sir Nicholas spoke to the magi and the mago-wizards. There is a spell where are needed one wizard, one mage and a mago-wizard. It is called "Aducere la viata". The wizard creates a fire - a very strong wizard fire. The mage has to put a crystal of the magi on the fire. The wizard starts an enchantment - a long one. The mago-wizard helps the wizard with the complicated spell. The crystal should turn purple, and then the mage has to do a... spell and the wizard has to do a Ferethas charm. Then, the mago-wizard puts the necklace of the dragonteeth over the fire surrounding the crystal. He does another spell, and then the fire turns into a cyan sphere created of a mage gas. There we have to put your body and your ghost. Then, you will be back to your body."
He turned to Fawkes who started flying. "You want some food? Here." Dumbledore took a white round plate and created with a spell some red food. Fawkes ate it immediately.
"So, Harry. The mage we will sure will be Erised - and he will call the mago-wizard. They should arrive tomorrow. But first we have to find your body, the crystal and a necklace of the dragonteeth."
"How?" asked Harry. "My body was at the Riddle House... They may have moved it anywhere."
"Yes, Harry. That will be a difficult job. But first we shall find the other two requirements."
"Where?"
"The crystal of the magi... There are many in the world. I think I will go to the magi to take one. They should have one. And the necklace... It's a very rare artifact. It is a necklace that has on it the teeth of a dragon - And it is imbued with a rare magical power. I think there are only two in the world, and one of them... is not far away from here."
"Where is it?"
"I think it is at Eurazal, a castle hidden from Muggles exactly as Hogwarts. Inside it burns the Fire of the Ancients that guards the necklace. Only a very skilled wizard can walk through that fire. And ghosts."
"But how...?"
"I think you will look for it, but you will have to take someone with you. I wanted to say to tell Ron and Hermione - but it wasn't a good idea. They are not qualified wizards. And there are some guards - the only guards that can hurt ghosts. They are the ghost hunters, the ghywools. They have a breath that can kill a ghost."
"Kill... a dead man?"
"Yes, kill. The affected ghost would be nothing more than air."
Harry was then pierced by a cold spine in his back. He did not like the sound of the ghywools at all.
"You will choose a group that will come with you. I know you are the person who will take it."
Harry then left the office, through the left wall. He was outside the school again. He went to the gryffindor tower.
The persons who he had to take were hard to choose. He really thought of Ron and Hermione - but what use? He had to take some professors, of course. He thought of McGonagall and Flitwick.
Then, an idea came to his mind. If he took some professors he could take Ron and Hermione, too. Then he flew to Hermione who stood at a table doing her homework.
"Oh, hi, Harry!"
"Hello..."
"What happened?"
"It's about the resurrection."
"What?"
"Dumbledore said he heeds a necklace of the dragonteeth to do it. And it is in a castle." Harry told her about the castle, and that he had to take some persons to accompany him.
"Really, I and Ron could help. If you call McGonagall and Flitwick, we will surely take it successfully."
"But, Hermione, do you have any idea about what creatures live inside it? The Ghywolls?"
"Yes. I know all about them. Wizards easily kill them. They can only hit ghosts. Tell Professor Dumbledore that I'll come with Ron, McGonagall and Flitwick - if they agree of course."
"okay."
Harry left the common room and went to Dumbledore.
"Harry! Welcome back! Have you decided already?"
"Yes, professor."
"So... Who will come?"
"I decided that Professors McGonagall and Flitwick will be enough, and Ron and Hermione should come, too."
"Why?"
"Because..." Harry did not know exactly why he wanted Ron and Hermione to come.
"I understand you. Have you asked anyone?"
"Just Hermione."
"Then, Harry... Ask Ron because I will go to Minerva and Filius."
With that, he left the office. Harry was flying towards the gryffindor tower where he asked Ron about that. He agreed. Harry did not even think that Ron wouldn't agree with that.
The rest of the day the three of them waited for a sign from the professors about the plan, while Ron and Harry were playing chess. Harry only told Hermione what to move because touching them was hard. And they played long enough, because Dumbledore came to the common room only the next day.
He said the search had to start. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick waited just outside the room. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked (or flew in Harry's case) to them.
They got out of the castle. Dumbledore was still with them.
"Now I will go to find the crystal of the magi. Good luck in finding and taking the necklace" he said.
"Thank you, answered Flitwick. "We will need it."
With that, they left the grounds. It was quite cold; it was the end of November. They walked a long distance, McGonagall and Flitwick were in front, leading the way; Harry, Ron and Hermione were after them. They were talking about the possible dangers and creatures that waited them in the Eurazal castle.
Their walk to the castle was uneventful. After about two hours of walking the road split up in two different ways. They knew the castle was on the left road and they continued their road.
After about one hour, they entered a dark forest.
"Be careful here" said Flitwick "This is the Forest of Newronne. Dangerous creatures live in here. It is possible that we will meet some. After the forest, which is not very long, we will see the castle of Eurazal."
It was very hard to move in the forest. The trees were quite close one of each other.
After a short time, Harry, who was flying at a small distance from the ground, saw something small, red moving near a root of a tree. "There!" he said. Everyone looked at the place where Harry was pointing.
"It is a Neteree. It's a creature that looks like a tiny red dragon, at most one feet high, and works and thinks like a spider. It can shoot a spider web at someone. The affected person won't be able to move if the Neteree completes the attack. Now be careful -- let me kill it."
Harry was still up in the air. Being a ghost, he could not be hit by the web shot by a Neteree. He saw how Flitwick walked slow and in a complete silence at a small distance to the creature.
"Adamonia!" said Flitwick, wand pointed at the tree near the Neteree. A golden bird shot out of the wand. It hit the tree, and both of them exploded. The Neteree looked hurt by the explosion. "That was a useful spell. It creates a random bird that flies fast in a straight line. If it hits anything solid both the bird and the solid thing explode. They can knock out anything in a small radius from the explosion. This killed the Neteree. It was too close to the tree."
Everyone passed the neteree. It was indeed looking like a small dragon. It was red, and with very thin yellow lines on some spots. One if its wings was almost cut by the explosion.
After a short walk McGonagall stopped. She was looking in all directions.
"What happened?" asked Hermione.
McGonagall did not answer. She was looking up.
It seemed only she could see what was up, over the tall trees. None of them could see anything. Harry flew high in the air. The first thing he saw was at a long distance from where they were. The Eurazal castle was a tall castle that looked almost like Hogwarts - but darker. Or was it just dark because it was night?
No, how could it be possible to be night. They left in the morning and they were out for about four hours.
He continued looking at the distant castle. The towers were not so high as those of Hogwarts. On the wall there were some bright red points. They were lighting the castle a little.
After a short time looking, Harry wanted to go back to the group. And he accidentally looked up. Seeing the castle he forgot why he was there.
And he saw nothing else than the Dark Mark, darkening the sky. It was floating at a small distance from his spot. It was from the point they came from. Hogwarts.
The Dark Mark was floating over Hogwarts and Dumbledore was not there - he was after the crystal of the magi! Did Voldemort attack the school again?
Harry went to the ground again.
"What happened?" asked Hermione again. Harry was frightened to say it. But he had to.
"The Dark Mark is floating over Hogwarts!"
"WHAT?" she asked. On Ron's and Flitwick's could be seen the terror. They took the mark worse than Harry did.
"We still have to look for the necklace!" said McGonagall, who wasn't looking up anymore. "If we don't find it this will be the end of the light side. Now let's hurry up."
They obeyed McGonagall's request. Harry knew that was the only thing they could do. It took them a too long time to return to Hogwarts, and they were so close to the Eurazal.
"Let's go!" said Harry at last. They started walking. McGonagall pulled her wand out. The other living ones did the same.
They were moving very fast. Harry did not have any problems with that. And neither with trees. He usually went through them. Once, Harry flew over the trees to see if the Mark was still there - it wasn't. And the castle was very close too. The sky was a light blue again.
When he was down, he saw the group stopped. And he saw why.
A small snake was attacking a blue creature - a creature that Harry had never seen before. It was quite small; it had two blue, hairy legs, a spherical body with two hands from its front, which were used as wings too judging by the way they looked like. It had a head as big as its body, blue and with small spikes instead of ears.
"What is that, professor?" he asked.
"That is a blue Scheezer. It won't have a chance against the snake, but there are really dangerous to wizards. They have the power to shoot ice with their hands. And if you touch any of the spikes on its head, you suddenly freeze and die. But they cannot affect reptiles."
The scheezer was shooting ice spikes to the snake, which dodged them easily. Some hit it but with no effect. The snake was closing to the scheezer and tried to bite it.
The scheezer had very good reflexes. It dodged the snake's mouth. But that was until an end - the scheezer was bit by the snake, and fell on the ground. It changed its color, turning a very light blue. It was almost white.
"Let me do the thing with the snake. I suppose I still am a parselmouth, even if I am a ghost." The team nodded.
He flew next to the snake. "Leave... Go far away from this place"
"Fine", answered the snake. It turned back and moved out of sight.
"Come on, it's clear!" said Harry. The professors, Ron and Hermione came to him, running.
"We must hurry up!" said McGonagall.
They walked a little. And after a minute, they saw light. They reached its end. The trees were not as close to each other as before. Harry was the first one to exit the forest. He saw the castle right in front of him. The red points he was were the windows. Inside the castle was fire. The fire of the Ancients was burning inside the castle and it protected the necklace.
After a small time admiring the place, he heard something flying. It was a creature, a flying ghostly creature, looking as a man with wings. It was looking to him. "Ghost! I am so hungry... Come to me..." it said with a mysterious, cold voice. It was almost as the basilisk's.
Harry almost panicked. It was a Ghywool. He ran back to the forest.
"Do not go... I haven't eaten... for so long..."
Harry met McGonagall. "A Ghywool! There!" McGonagall ran to the spot Harry showed and pointed her wand at the ghywool. A white straight beam erupted from McGonagall's wand. The beam was looking as white and transparent as a ghost. A loud "eeeaaaaarhhhh" could be heard; it was the sound the ghywool made when it died.
"That was a simulation of the ghost. The Ghywool's dead, Potter."
Harry was with the group. He did not want to be killed by a ghywool. McGonagall stepped out of the forest the first. Then, Flitwick. Harry flew careful to not meet his doom. Ron and Hermione were the last ones to come out.
A very high-pitched, continuous voice could be heard. It was almost as the ghost opera Harry heard in the second book. It was as if lots of high voices were saying "aaa" and "uuu" at the same time. Harry felt lucky he was a ghost - it could not affect him as it affected the others.
Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, Ron and Hermione were with their hands over their ears. It seemed they could not resist the sound.
"It's a screemer, Potter! You have to stop it if it is possible... With all the ghywools here..." shouted McGonagall. "We cannot bear the sound!"
"What to do?" he asked. But he realized no one could hear him. They were with their hands on the ears. He had to decide on the spot. It was really hard...
Harry thought again about the situation. There were many ghywools around that could kill him at any time. And, inside the castle, there was a screemer that started "singing" and no one could help Harry to kill the ghywools, who could feel ghosts. Harry had no chance. And neither the other members of the group.
Then, the door to the castle opened with a loud bang. After some seconds, a shape exited out... It was a human shape.
It resisted the sounds of the screemer. And he looked friend with the creatures that lived there. An undead zombie accompanied him. After then there came another human shape - a vampire. Harry could see all of that easily.
The human turned to Harry and spoke.
"Harry Potter." He stopped; the zombie and the vampire did the same. Then he turned to the castle. "Kwizztrek kwookawroow" The screemer stopped. Harry's party took their hands off their ears. "Hogwarts wizards... What are you doing here?"
"We - er... We need..." said Harry.
"We need the necklace of the dragonteeth!" said McGonagall.
"Harry Potter is a ghost..." he said "Pity for him that we... the guardians of the Eurazal do not allow anyone to steal out most valuable artifacts."
"The Dark Wizards are destroying and killing everything!" said Harry. "I am the only hope. I have to be revived to stop him. I am the only one who can do that." The wizard looked at the sky.
"I saw the dark mark... over Hogwarts."
"I saw it, too" said Harry "We were on our way to this Eurazal castle when it happened."
"That is not good news for you. But to me, it doesn't even matter. I suppose you did not know, but we the Eurazal guards are not on your side."
Harry did not know. The Eurazal was on the dark side?
"You -- are helping Voldemort?"
"Him? Noooo... We are just guarding the necklace of the dragonteeth and the other less-valuable artifacts in this castle. And you will never get it from us. Only if you can beat all the guards... And you, the ghost of Harry Potter, you will not be a ghost for a long time... My ghywools will come if I want to."
Everyone was quiet. Ron and Hermione were terrified about the events. Harry and the professors did not know what to say. The situation was over the expected.
"Now... I will give you one last chance... to retreat! If you want to retreat do it now... Or else, rest in peace... dead on the grounds of the Eurazal castle."
McGonagall turned to Harry. "Really... We will die anyway. I say we should try our luck with the necklace..."
"Yes, professor. I agree."
"So... What's your decision?"
"Avada Kedavra!" said McGonagall. The green light hit the man in the chest. He fell dead. Harry knew that after that, they could not retreat. The zombie and vampire started attacking. They died easily. McGonagall transfigured both of them into eggs and broke them.
Then, about twenty ghywools came out of the castle. McGonagall and Flitwick were shooting the same spell McGonagall shot at the first ghywool. Hermione tried to do the same, and she managed it. Harry was well hidden and could not be harmed easy.
The twenty ghywools died very quick. Then, the screemer started "singing" again.
The four humans had to put their hands again on their ears.
"This is our end!" said McGonagall. "Look!"
Another two ghywools appeared from one of the towers. Harry did not know what to do. His last help was ended - the screemer stopped his defenders from acting. And then he saw McGonagall moved.
She took her hands off her ears and killed both ghywools with one quick spell. But after she put her hands back, she fell to the ground, unconscious. Her ears were uncovered. The screemer did not stop yet.
Harry knew what to do. He hoped the ghywools were all dead and he went straight to the castle.
He entered through the wall. He stopped inside a huge room. He was in the necklace room. He looked around.
There was no ghywool. Many other creatures were standing inside. There was a circular fire burning around the middle. There had to be the necklace. The fire was burning very high. It reached the very high ceiling.
Harry remembered what Dumbledore said and entered the fire of the ancients. He was sure all the room had to be hot - all the creatures were fire-based. The fire was quite thick. Then he was out of it.
If the fire was a wall, he would be standing in the middle of a small, high circular room which had a big stone-made wall in the middle.
Over it was some kind of a stone table. It sustained a high column, with many square holes in it. It sustained a chair. Over it was the screemer. It was like a big head with thin legs and arms. It reminded him of Voldemort. Why, he didn't know.
"Damn you!" said Harry. He took some energy and punched it in the mouth. It suddenly shut up. It gave a furious look at Harry. It surely looked for a ghywool. "There are no ghywools here... all of them are DEAD!"
Harry flew back at the column. Hw looked more attentively at it. The fire around him looked even lighter.
The stone table had a small trapdoor on its top. Harry wanted to open it. He wondered if it was a good thing to do that.
Then he decided to enter through it, to see what is hidden inside. He saw a golden cube. The trapdoor opened automatically. Harry could see the bright, golden cube shining. A stone platform inside the table pulled it up. Harry saw it well. And he looked at the holes inside the column. They were exactly the size of the cube.
Harry took some energy from the air and tried to take the cube. He couldn't do it. His hand passed through the material. Then the screemer started "singing" again.
Harry flew up very fast. He punched the screemer again. It stopped. Then it moved. It flew through the fire. Harry hoped it would go outside, where it could be an easy target for professor Flitwick.
Harry saw the golden cube again. It lifted itself in the air. That made it easier to touch... And Harry did it. He pulled the cube inside one of the holes.
The column, which had a light gray color, turned golden. It emitted more light than the fire itself. The fire stopped suddenly. Every creature looked at him.
That made Harry uncomfortable. He tried to ignore them.
Then he was stopped by another scream - the screemer started "singing" again. Or was it? The sound was different. It faded out.
The column was shining more than before. The creatures did not look as energetic as before. The burning ones died. Then the chair where the screemer stood fell down, through Harry, and broke when it hit the ground.
The golden column rose into the air. On the table, in the same place where the column stood, was a strange thing. It was the necklace of the dragonteeth.
It was created from a thin rope and on it were some big teeth. Those had to be teeth of a dragon, after the artifact's name. And Harry tried to take it.
It was strange. He could touch it as if he was with his body. Dumbledore said it was completely magical.
Harry put it around his neck. Every creature in the room died. The necklace had a very strange connection with the castle. Now Harry understood why the guards did not want to give it away. They died if they had done so.
Harry could not enter through the walls with the artifact. That was a solid object. Harry had to exit on the door.
Ron and Hermione stood up, Flitwick and McGonagall were lying on the ground. "I GOT IT!" shouted Harry so he could be heard from a big distance. "THE NECKLACE IS OURS!" He showed it to his friends. Then he stood near them.
"What happened?"
"It was the screemer, Harry... McGonagall did not move at all from the time she casted the spell to kill the two ghywools. And -- The screemer came outside. Flitwick shot a blue cloud spell on it. Then, when it died, it made a sound worse than all... It was a scream of death! We two managed to hide our ears, but Flitwick was still occupied with the spell."
"We should go back to Hogwarts... quick..." said Harry. But his thoughts were stopped. What happened to Hogwarts when the Dark Mark was cast?
"Really... I think all our hopes are lost. The two professors are... unconscious. At least I hope that. I hope they are not dead. And we think Hogwarts was attacked again. Dumbledore was away - or at least that's what we think. Who could defend it against Voldemort again?"
"We should go to Hogwarts, anyway. If not we will die here. Even if all the creatures here died when I touched the necklace, we will starve here... And the forest is dangerous. Ron, why are you so quiet?"
"Forget him. He is just quiet."
"Forget me?" asked Ron. "Now I think Harry's right. We should go to Hogwarts... quick! Let's go!"
"Mobilicorpus!" said Hermione pointing to McGonagall's body. It was lifted in the air. Ron did the same to Flitwick. Harry looked back to the castle - the fire of the ancients started burning again... At least it wasn't home of some evil creatures anymore.
The three, followed by the floating professors, started passing the forest. They did not meet any dangerous creature inside, but it took them a really long time to find an exit. The familiar road that went to Hogwarts could be seen from the place where they were. It looked as if anyone was afraid of them, after what they've done. Then Harry remembered he had the necklace of the dragonteeth, which he put again on his neck. It had a good effect over the creatures in the forest.
Then Harry could hear a distant voice. It seemed it was in his mind.
"The necklace has been moved, my Lord... Harry Potter will raise again!" said a voice. He recognized it. That was Wormtail.
"I felt that... The whole fortress at Eurazal has been broken! But it is nothing compared to what we managed to do..." That was the cold voice Harry knew it was Voldemort.
"How did they? And who?"
"That was Harry Potter's ghost accompanied by some wizards! I felt it... And we should stop them from accomplishing their plans. Do you have any idea?"
"Yes, my Lord" answered another voice. That was Lucius Malfoy. "We will catch them... They are on one of the roads that lead to Hogwarts. We will wait for them there."
"No, Lucius. I say we should attack them while they are at the castle. Harry will not stop even if we will kill his friends. And the necklace is well protected... It likes being in the hands of a ghost. We have to wait until they will reach Hogwarts and they will leave the necklace unguarded. Then we will steal it... I will do that myself."
The voices stopped. Harry could see where he really was in the time he heard the voices, but could not hear anything around him. Then he said to Hermione:
"Voldemort. Again. I had... what I think it was a dream if I was alive. I could hear him."
Harry explained everything to Ron and Hermione. They continued their way to Hogwarts.
It was dark again. That was normal, being in November the night fell quick. They had to hurry. And that was what they did.
After it was really dark, they saw some lights far away... It was Hogsmeade. That was where they went. After a half an hour they reached the village. They entered the three broomsticks. Everyone was surprised to see them there. It was a strange group. One ghost that had the shiny necklace of DragonTeeth, two Hogwarts students and two unconscious teachers.
Everyone was surprised. Harry, Ron and Hermione explained to Madam Rosmerta why they were there late at night and about the professors' knockout.
It was time when they had to do something about the professors... Madam Rosmerta called an old man, which listened to Flitwick's heart. "It is good. He is alive." Then he moved to McGonagall. "Oh... No... She is dead."
Most of the people in there were horrorstruck. They did not like seeing a good wizard (or witch) dead. The wizard tried some "ennervate"s on Flitwick but unsuccessful. "We tried it, too" said Hermione in a low voice.
Then after more spells he did it. Flitwick stood up. He asked what happened after being so surprised when he saw where he was. They explained everything.
"Now, I think it is time to go to Hogwarts... Oh. What happened?" asked Flitwick.
"There was another attack. And it was not as good for us as before..." said another wizard which did not speak until that. Harry recognized him. He was Dumbledore.
"What happened, professor?" asked Harry.
"I was away, searching for the crystal of the magi. And I saw the sky darken... It was the Dark Mark."
"I know, we saw it too."
"Yes... I did not know what to do. To turn back to Hogwarts or to find the crystal? I went to look for the crystal, knowing that if I turned I would be late. And... I found it. I found the crystal. Then when I was back at Hogwarts... It was a very evil sight... And a strange fear entered through me."
"What was that?" asked Harry.
"Hogwarts was heavily attacked. Voldemort and his small group of Death Eaters have accomplished their mission. The Hogwarts Castle... is in a worse state than ever. Voldemort casted another mago-wizard spell... He casted an inferno on the castle."
"WHAT?" asked Hermione. "Inferno?"
"Yes."
"That means -- Hogwarts is destroyed!"
"That is wrong. Well, it was hit in many places. Some classrooms are inaccessible. The astronomy tower was completely destroyed. Lucky that everyone was in the Great Hall at that moment. It was lunch. At least that is what Sirius, Lupin, Figg and some other teachers told me. They went to fight Voldemort. And that was one of the worst things. We had casualties there. Mundugus Fletcher and Fred Thunder both died in the defense. Severus was hurt, but he was healed fast. I reached quite fast there. I hurried up, and the first thing I did was to send every student home. The Hogwarts castle is empty right now." He took a sphere from his pocket. It was a pure white. That looked just like a crystal ball. "This is the crystal of the magi. I see you have the necklace... I heard everything, but I will need a better explanation of things. Not now, but I will want to listen. The only thing we need is the body. I think you haven't noticed, Harry, that in this room stays Erised himself. We will do the resurrection with Alfro, the wizard that brought Flitwick back to consciousness."
"And... Where to find the body?" asked Harry.
"Ah, it's simple" said a familiar voice... It was Erised. "We ma... I have the power of detecting things if I really want to. But it consumes a lot of energy. Your body will be easy to recover. I'll take it now if you want."
"No, Erised. Just... Wait until tomorrow. It will be better."
"No, Albus. The resurrection has to be done on night."
"Then we will wait until tomorrow night!" said Dumbledore. "Harry... You have one day left to... enjoy? being a ghost. You will never be one again. This is a chance given once per person. Well, there may be some exceptions... Now, We will stay here this night. Then we will see what to do exactly."
Harry really wanted to make the best of his last periods of being a ghost... He liked being able to enter through walls, but he missed his magic. The rest of the night he talked to Ron and Hermione while entering through all the things possible.
"Dumbledore said... the castle was attacked" said Hermione. "But An inferno spell - the firestorm had to destroy it entirely!"
"But remember, Hermione. Voldemort can't use my powers anymore. I am a ghost. And he just used Erised's. And the magic from only one person cannot be used good. That is why he did not destroy the school."
"And - after you will be back to your body... Will he be able to use your powers?"
"I am afraid so."
He practiced his powers of touching things some times. He had a good time until Ron and Hermione went to sleep.
Nearly Headless Nick returned later than he thought. It took him three days. The three days Harry tried to read some books from the library. He asked Madam Pince to put them down and he read them. He turned the pages with the trick Nick had taught him.
At Nick's return Harry was asked to go into Dumbledore's office.
"Harry", Dumbledore said, "Sir Nicholas spoke to the magi and the mago-wizards. There is a spell where are needed one wizard, one mage and a mago-wizard. It is called "Aducere la viata". The wizard creates a fire - a very strong wizard fire. The mage has to put a crystal of the magi on the fire. The wizard starts an enchantment - a long one. The mago-wizard helps the wizard with the complicated spell. The crystal should turn purple, and then the mage has to do a... spell and the wizard has to do a Ferethas charm. Then, the mago-wizard puts the necklace of the dragonteeth over the fire surrounding the crystal. He does another spell, and then the fire turns into a cyan sphere created of a mage gas. There we have to put your body and your ghost. Then, you will be back to your body."
He turned to Fawkes who started flying. "You want some food? Here." Dumbledore took a white round plate and created with a spell some red food. Fawkes ate it immediately.
"So, Harry. The mage we will sure will be Erised - and he will call the mago-wizard. They should arrive tomorrow. But first we have to find your body, the crystal and a necklace of the dragonteeth."
"How?" asked Harry. "My body was at the Riddle House... They may have moved it anywhere."
"Yes, Harry. That will be a difficult job. But first we shall find the other two requirements."
"Where?"
"The crystal of the magi... There are many in the world. I think I will go to the magi to take one. They should have one. And the necklace... It's a very rare artifact. It is a necklace that has on it the teeth of a dragon - And it is imbued with a rare magical power. I think there are only two in the world, and one of them... is not far away from here."
"Where is it?"
"I think it is at Eurazal, a castle hidden from Muggles exactly as Hogwarts. Inside it burns the Fire of the Ancients that guards the necklace. Only a very skilled wizard can walk through that fire. And ghosts."
"But how...?"
"I think you will look for it, but you will have to take someone with you. I wanted to say to tell Ron and Hermione - but it wasn't a good idea. They are not qualified wizards. And there are some guards - the only guards that can hurt ghosts. They are the ghost hunters, the ghywools. They have a breath that can kill a ghost."
"Kill... a dead man?"
"Yes, kill. The affected ghost would be nothing more than air."
Harry was then pierced by a cold spine in his back. He did not like the sound of the ghywools at all.
"You will choose a group that will come with you. I know you are the person who will take it."
Harry then left the office, through the left wall. He was outside the school again. He went to the gryffindor tower.
The persons who he had to take were hard to choose. He really thought of Ron and Hermione - but what use? He had to take some professors, of course. He thought of McGonagall and Flitwick.
Then, an idea came to his mind. If he took some professors he could take Ron and Hermione, too. Then he flew to Hermione who stood at a table doing her homework.
"Oh, hi, Harry!"
"Hello..."
"What happened?"
"It's about the resurrection."
"What?"
"Dumbledore said he heeds a necklace of the dragonteeth to do it. And it is in a castle." Harry told her about the castle, and that he had to take some persons to accompany him.
"Really, I and Ron could help. If you call McGonagall and Flitwick, we will surely take it successfully."
"But, Hermione, do you have any idea about what creatures live inside it? The Ghywolls?"
"Yes. I know all about them. Wizards easily kill them. They can only hit ghosts. Tell Professor Dumbledore that I'll come with Ron, McGonagall and Flitwick - if they agree of course."
"okay."
Harry left the common room and went to Dumbledore.
"Harry! Welcome back! Have you decided already?"
"Yes, professor."
"So... Who will come?"
"I decided that Professors McGonagall and Flitwick will be enough, and Ron and Hermione should come, too."
"Why?"
"Because..." Harry did not know exactly why he wanted Ron and Hermione to come.
"I understand you. Have you asked anyone?"
"Just Hermione."
"Then, Harry... Ask Ron because I will go to Minerva and Filius."
With that, he left the office. Harry was flying towards the gryffindor tower where he asked Ron about that. He agreed. Harry did not even think that Ron wouldn't agree with that.
The rest of the day the three of them waited for a sign from the professors about the plan, while Ron and Harry were playing chess. Harry only told Hermione what to move because touching them was hard. And they played long enough, because Dumbledore came to the common room only the next day.
He said the search had to start. Professors McGonagall and Flitwick waited just outside the room. Harry, Ron and Hermione walked (or flew in Harry's case) to them.
They got out of the castle. Dumbledore was still with them.
"Now I will go to find the crystal of the magi. Good luck in finding and taking the necklace" he said.
"Thank you, answered Flitwick. "We will need it."
With that, they left the grounds. It was quite cold; it was the end of November. They walked a long distance, McGonagall and Flitwick were in front, leading the way; Harry, Ron and Hermione were after them. They were talking about the possible dangers and creatures that waited them in the Eurazal castle.
Their walk to the castle was uneventful. After about two hours of walking the road split up in two different ways. They knew the castle was on the left road and they continued their road.
After about one hour, they entered a dark forest.
"Be careful here" said Flitwick "This is the Forest of Newronne. Dangerous creatures live in here. It is possible that we will meet some. After the forest, which is not very long, we will see the castle of Eurazal."
It was very hard to move in the forest. The trees were quite close one of each other.
After a short time, Harry, who was flying at a small distance from the ground, saw something small, red moving near a root of a tree. "There!" he said. Everyone looked at the place where Harry was pointing.
"It is a Neteree. It's a creature that looks like a tiny red dragon, at most one feet high, and works and thinks like a spider. It can shoot a spider web at someone. The affected person won't be able to move if the Neteree completes the attack. Now be careful -- let me kill it."
Harry was still up in the air. Being a ghost, he could not be hit by the web shot by a Neteree. He saw how Flitwick walked slow and in a complete silence at a small distance to the creature.
"Adamonia!" said Flitwick, wand pointed at the tree near the Neteree. A golden bird shot out of the wand. It hit the tree, and both of them exploded. The Neteree looked hurt by the explosion. "That was a useful spell. It creates a random bird that flies fast in a straight line. If it hits anything solid both the bird and the solid thing explode. They can knock out anything in a small radius from the explosion. This killed the Neteree. It was too close to the tree."
Everyone passed the neteree. It was indeed looking like a small dragon. It was red, and with very thin yellow lines on some spots. One if its wings was almost cut by the explosion.
After a short walk McGonagall stopped. She was looking in all directions.
"What happened?" asked Hermione.
McGonagall did not answer. She was looking up.
It seemed only she could see what was up, over the tall trees. None of them could see anything. Harry flew high in the air. The first thing he saw was at a long distance from where they were. The Eurazal castle was a tall castle that looked almost like Hogwarts - but darker. Or was it just dark because it was night?
No, how could it be possible to be night. They left in the morning and they were out for about four hours.
He continued looking at the distant castle. The towers were not so high as those of Hogwarts. On the wall there were some bright red points. They were lighting the castle a little.
After a short time looking, Harry wanted to go back to the group. And he accidentally looked up. Seeing the castle he forgot why he was there.
And he saw nothing else than the Dark Mark, darkening the sky. It was floating at a small distance from his spot. It was from the point they came from. Hogwarts.
The Dark Mark was floating over Hogwarts and Dumbledore was not there - he was after the crystal of the magi! Did Voldemort attack the school again?
Harry went to the ground again.
"What happened?" asked Hermione again. Harry was frightened to say it. But he had to.
"The Dark Mark is floating over Hogwarts!"
"WHAT?" she asked. On Ron's and Flitwick's could be seen the terror. They took the mark worse than Harry did.
"We still have to look for the necklace!" said McGonagall, who wasn't looking up anymore. "If we don't find it this will be the end of the light side. Now let's hurry up."
They obeyed McGonagall's request. Harry knew that was the only thing they could do. It took them a too long time to return to Hogwarts, and they were so close to the Eurazal.
"Let's go!" said Harry at last. They started walking. McGonagall pulled her wand out. The other living ones did the same.
They were moving very fast. Harry did not have any problems with that. And neither with trees. He usually went through them. Once, Harry flew over the trees to see if the Mark was still there - it wasn't. And the castle was very close too. The sky was a light blue again.
When he was down, he saw the group stopped. And he saw why.
A small snake was attacking a blue creature - a creature that Harry had never seen before. It was quite small; it had two blue, hairy legs, a spherical body with two hands from its front, which were used as wings too judging by the way they looked like. It had a head as big as its body, blue and with small spikes instead of ears.
"What is that, professor?" he asked.
"That is a blue Scheezer. It won't have a chance against the snake, but there are really dangerous to wizards. They have the power to shoot ice with their hands. And if you touch any of the spikes on its head, you suddenly freeze and die. But they cannot affect reptiles."
The scheezer was shooting ice spikes to the snake, which dodged them easily. Some hit it but with no effect. The snake was closing to the scheezer and tried to bite it.
The scheezer had very good reflexes. It dodged the snake's mouth. But that was until an end - the scheezer was bit by the snake, and fell on the ground. It changed its color, turning a very light blue. It was almost white.
"Let me do the thing with the snake. I suppose I still am a parselmouth, even if I am a ghost." The team nodded.
He flew next to the snake. "Leave... Go far away from this place"
"Fine", answered the snake. It turned back and moved out of sight.
"Come on, it's clear!" said Harry. The professors, Ron and Hermione came to him, running.
"We must hurry up!" said McGonagall.
They walked a little. And after a minute, they saw light. They reached its end. The trees were not as close to each other as before. Harry was the first one to exit the forest. He saw the castle right in front of him. The red points he was were the windows. Inside the castle was fire. The fire of the Ancients was burning inside the castle and it protected the necklace.
After a small time admiring the place, he heard something flying. It was a creature, a flying ghostly creature, looking as a man with wings. It was looking to him. "Ghost! I am so hungry... Come to me..." it said with a mysterious, cold voice. It was almost as the basilisk's.
Harry almost panicked. It was a Ghywool. He ran back to the forest.
"Do not go... I haven't eaten... for so long..."
Harry met McGonagall. "A Ghywool! There!" McGonagall ran to the spot Harry showed and pointed her wand at the ghywool. A white straight beam erupted from McGonagall's wand. The beam was looking as white and transparent as a ghost. A loud "eeeaaaaarhhhh" could be heard; it was the sound the ghywool made when it died.
"That was a simulation of the ghost. The Ghywool's dead, Potter."
Harry was with the group. He did not want to be killed by a ghywool. McGonagall stepped out of the forest the first. Then, Flitwick. Harry flew careful to not meet his doom. Ron and Hermione were the last ones to come out.
A very high-pitched, continuous voice could be heard. It was almost as the ghost opera Harry heard in the second book. It was as if lots of high voices were saying "aaa" and "uuu" at the same time. Harry felt lucky he was a ghost - it could not affect him as it affected the others.
Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, Ron and Hermione were with their hands over their ears. It seemed they could not resist the sound.
"It's a screemer, Potter! You have to stop it if it is possible... With all the ghywools here..." shouted McGonagall. "We cannot bear the sound!"
"What to do?" he asked. But he realized no one could hear him. They were with their hands on the ears. He had to decide on the spot. It was really hard...
Harry thought again about the situation. There were many ghywools around that could kill him at any time. And, inside the castle, there was a screemer that started "singing" and no one could help Harry to kill the ghywools, who could feel ghosts. Harry had no chance. And neither the other members of the group.
Then, the door to the castle opened with a loud bang. After some seconds, a shape exited out... It was a human shape.
It resisted the sounds of the screemer. And he looked friend with the creatures that lived there. An undead zombie accompanied him. After then there came another human shape - a vampire. Harry could see all of that easily.
The human turned to Harry and spoke.
"Harry Potter." He stopped; the zombie and the vampire did the same. Then he turned to the castle. "Kwizztrek kwookawroow" The screemer stopped. Harry's party took their hands off their ears. "Hogwarts wizards... What are you doing here?"
"We - er... We need..." said Harry.
"We need the necklace of the dragonteeth!" said McGonagall.
"Harry Potter is a ghost..." he said "Pity for him that we... the guardians of the Eurazal do not allow anyone to steal out most valuable artifacts."
"The Dark Wizards are destroying and killing everything!" said Harry. "I am the only hope. I have to be revived to stop him. I am the only one who can do that." The wizard looked at the sky.
"I saw the dark mark... over Hogwarts."
"I saw it, too" said Harry "We were on our way to this Eurazal castle when it happened."
"That is not good news for you. But to me, it doesn't even matter. I suppose you did not know, but we the Eurazal guards are not on your side."
Harry did not know. The Eurazal was on the dark side?
"You -- are helping Voldemort?"
"Him? Noooo... We are just guarding the necklace of the dragonteeth and the other less-valuable artifacts in this castle. And you will never get it from us. Only if you can beat all the guards... And you, the ghost of Harry Potter, you will not be a ghost for a long time... My ghywools will come if I want to."
Everyone was quiet. Ron and Hermione were terrified about the events. Harry and the professors did not know what to say. The situation was over the expected.
"Now... I will give you one last chance... to retreat! If you want to retreat do it now... Or else, rest in peace... dead on the grounds of the Eurazal castle."
McGonagall turned to Harry. "Really... We will die anyway. I say we should try our luck with the necklace..."
"Yes, professor. I agree."
"So... What's your decision?"
"Avada Kedavra!" said McGonagall. The green light hit the man in the chest. He fell dead. Harry knew that after that, they could not retreat. The zombie and vampire started attacking. They died easily. McGonagall transfigured both of them into eggs and broke them.
Then, about twenty ghywools came out of the castle. McGonagall and Flitwick were shooting the same spell McGonagall shot at the first ghywool. Hermione tried to do the same, and she managed it. Harry was well hidden and could not be harmed easy.
The twenty ghywools died very quick. Then, the screemer started "singing" again.
The four humans had to put their hands again on their ears.
"This is our end!" said McGonagall. "Look!"
Another two ghywools appeared from one of the towers. Harry did not know what to do. His last help was ended - the screemer stopped his defenders from acting. And then he saw McGonagall moved.
She took her hands off her ears and killed both ghywools with one quick spell. But after she put her hands back, she fell to the ground, unconscious. Her ears were uncovered. The screemer did not stop yet.
Harry knew what to do. He hoped the ghywools were all dead and he went straight to the castle.
He entered through the wall. He stopped inside a huge room. He was in the necklace room. He looked around.
There was no ghywool. Many other creatures were standing inside. There was a circular fire burning around the middle. There had to be the necklace. The fire was burning very high. It reached the very high ceiling.
Harry remembered what Dumbledore said and entered the fire of the ancients. He was sure all the room had to be hot - all the creatures were fire-based. The fire was quite thick. Then he was out of it.
If the fire was a wall, he would be standing in the middle of a small, high circular room which had a big stone-made wall in the middle.
Over it was some kind of a stone table. It sustained a high column, with many square holes in it. It sustained a chair. Over it was the screemer. It was like a big head with thin legs and arms. It reminded him of Voldemort. Why, he didn't know.
"Damn you!" said Harry. He took some energy and punched it in the mouth. It suddenly shut up. It gave a furious look at Harry. It surely looked for a ghywool. "There are no ghywools here... all of them are DEAD!"
Harry flew back at the column. Hw looked more attentively at it. The fire around him looked even lighter.
The stone table had a small trapdoor on its top. Harry wanted to open it. He wondered if it was a good thing to do that.
Then he decided to enter through it, to see what is hidden inside. He saw a golden cube. The trapdoor opened automatically. Harry could see the bright, golden cube shining. A stone platform inside the table pulled it up. Harry saw it well. And he looked at the holes inside the column. They were exactly the size of the cube.
Harry took some energy from the air and tried to take the cube. He couldn't do it. His hand passed through the material. Then the screemer started "singing" again.
Harry flew up very fast. He punched the screemer again. It stopped. Then it moved. It flew through the fire. Harry hoped it would go outside, where it could be an easy target for professor Flitwick.
Harry saw the golden cube again. It lifted itself in the air. That made it easier to touch... And Harry did it. He pulled the cube inside one of the holes.
The column, which had a light gray color, turned golden. It emitted more light than the fire itself. The fire stopped suddenly. Every creature looked at him.
That made Harry uncomfortable. He tried to ignore them.
Then he was stopped by another scream - the screemer started "singing" again. Or was it? The sound was different. It faded out.
The column was shining more than before. The creatures did not look as energetic as before. The burning ones died. Then the chair where the screemer stood fell down, through Harry, and broke when it hit the ground.
The golden column rose into the air. On the table, in the same place where the column stood, was a strange thing. It was the necklace of the dragonteeth.
It was created from a thin rope and on it were some big teeth. Those had to be teeth of a dragon, after the artifact's name. And Harry tried to take it.
It was strange. He could touch it as if he was with his body. Dumbledore said it was completely magical.
Harry put it around his neck. Every creature in the room died. The necklace had a very strange connection with the castle. Now Harry understood why the guards did not want to give it away. They died if they had done so.
Harry could not enter through the walls with the artifact. That was a solid object. Harry had to exit on the door.
Ron and Hermione stood up, Flitwick and McGonagall were lying on the ground. "I GOT IT!" shouted Harry so he could be heard from a big distance. "THE NECKLACE IS OURS!" He showed it to his friends. Then he stood near them.
"What happened?"
"It was the screemer, Harry... McGonagall did not move at all from the time she casted the spell to kill the two ghywools. And -- The screemer came outside. Flitwick shot a blue cloud spell on it. Then, when it died, it made a sound worse than all... It was a scream of death! We two managed to hide our ears, but Flitwick was still occupied with the spell."
"We should go back to Hogwarts... quick..." said Harry. But his thoughts were stopped. What happened to Hogwarts when the Dark Mark was cast?
"Really... I think all our hopes are lost. The two professors are... unconscious. At least I hope that. I hope they are not dead. And we think Hogwarts was attacked again. Dumbledore was away - or at least that's what we think. Who could defend it against Voldemort again?"
"We should go to Hogwarts, anyway. If not we will die here. Even if all the creatures here died when I touched the necklace, we will starve here... And the forest is dangerous. Ron, why are you so quiet?"
"Forget him. He is just quiet."
"Forget me?" asked Ron. "Now I think Harry's right. We should go to Hogwarts... quick! Let's go!"
"Mobilicorpus!" said Hermione pointing to McGonagall's body. It was lifted in the air. Ron did the same to Flitwick. Harry looked back to the castle - the fire of the ancients started burning again... At least it wasn't home of some evil creatures anymore.
The three, followed by the floating professors, started passing the forest. They did not meet any dangerous creature inside, but it took them a really long time to find an exit. The familiar road that went to Hogwarts could be seen from the place where they were. It looked as if anyone was afraid of them, after what they've done. Then Harry remembered he had the necklace of the dragonteeth, which he put again on his neck. It had a good effect over the creatures in the forest.
Then Harry could hear a distant voice. It seemed it was in his mind.
"The necklace has been moved, my Lord... Harry Potter will raise again!" said a voice. He recognized it. That was Wormtail.
"I felt that... The whole fortress at Eurazal has been broken! But it is nothing compared to what we managed to do..." That was the cold voice Harry knew it was Voldemort.
"How did they? And who?"
"That was Harry Potter's ghost accompanied by some wizards! I felt it... And we should stop them from accomplishing their plans. Do you have any idea?"
"Yes, my Lord" answered another voice. That was Lucius Malfoy. "We will catch them... They are on one of the roads that lead to Hogwarts. We will wait for them there."
"No, Lucius. I say we should attack them while they are at the castle. Harry will not stop even if we will kill his friends. And the necklace is well protected... It likes being in the hands of a ghost. We have to wait until they will reach Hogwarts and they will leave the necklace unguarded. Then we will steal it... I will do that myself."
The voices stopped. Harry could see where he really was in the time he heard the voices, but could not hear anything around him. Then he said to Hermione:
"Voldemort. Again. I had... what I think it was a dream if I was alive. I could hear him."
Harry explained everything to Ron and Hermione. They continued their way to Hogwarts.
It was dark again. That was normal, being in November the night fell quick. They had to hurry. And that was what they did.
After it was really dark, they saw some lights far away... It was Hogsmeade. That was where they went. After a half an hour they reached the village. They entered the three broomsticks. Everyone was surprised to see them there. It was a strange group. One ghost that had the shiny necklace of DragonTeeth, two Hogwarts students and two unconscious teachers.
Everyone was surprised. Harry, Ron and Hermione explained to Madam Rosmerta why they were there late at night and about the professors' knockout.
It was time when they had to do something about the professors... Madam Rosmerta called an old man, which listened to Flitwick's heart. "It is good. He is alive." Then he moved to McGonagall. "Oh... No... She is dead."
Most of the people in there were horrorstruck. They did not like seeing a good wizard (or witch) dead. The wizard tried some "ennervate"s on Flitwick but unsuccessful. "We tried it, too" said Hermione in a low voice.
Then after more spells he did it. Flitwick stood up. He asked what happened after being so surprised when he saw where he was. They explained everything.
"Now, I think it is time to go to Hogwarts... Oh. What happened?" asked Flitwick.
"There was another attack. And it was not as good for us as before..." said another wizard which did not speak until that. Harry recognized him. He was Dumbledore.
"What happened, professor?" asked Harry.
"I was away, searching for the crystal of the magi. And I saw the sky darken... It was the Dark Mark."
"I know, we saw it too."
"Yes... I did not know what to do. To turn back to Hogwarts or to find the crystal? I went to look for the crystal, knowing that if I turned I would be late. And... I found it. I found the crystal. Then when I was back at Hogwarts... It was a very evil sight... And a strange fear entered through me."
"What was that?" asked Harry.
"Hogwarts was heavily attacked. Voldemort and his small group of Death Eaters have accomplished their mission. The Hogwarts Castle... is in a worse state than ever. Voldemort casted another mago-wizard spell... He casted an inferno on the castle."
"WHAT?" asked Hermione. "Inferno?"
"Yes."
"That means -- Hogwarts is destroyed!"
"That is wrong. Well, it was hit in many places. Some classrooms are inaccessible. The astronomy tower was completely destroyed. Lucky that everyone was in the Great Hall at that moment. It was lunch. At least that is what Sirius, Lupin, Figg and some other teachers told me. They went to fight Voldemort. And that was one of the worst things. We had casualties there. Mundugus Fletcher and Fred Thunder both died in the defense. Severus was hurt, but he was healed fast. I reached quite fast there. I hurried up, and the first thing I did was to send every student home. The Hogwarts castle is empty right now." He took a sphere from his pocket. It was a pure white. That looked just like a crystal ball. "This is the crystal of the magi. I see you have the necklace... I heard everything, but I will need a better explanation of things. Not now, but I will want to listen. The only thing we need is the body. I think you haven't noticed, Harry, that in this room stays Erised himself. We will do the resurrection with Alfro, the wizard that brought Flitwick back to consciousness."
"And... Where to find the body?" asked Harry.
"Ah, it's simple" said a familiar voice... It was Erised. "We ma... I have the power of detecting things if I really want to. But it consumes a lot of energy. Your body will be easy to recover. I'll take it now if you want."
"No, Erised. Just... Wait until tomorrow. It will be better."
"No, Albus. The resurrection has to be done on night."
"Then we will wait until tomorrow night!" said Dumbledore. "Harry... You have one day left to... enjoy? being a ghost. You will never be one again. This is a chance given once per person. Well, there may be some exceptions... Now, We will stay here this night. Then we will see what to do exactly."
Harry really wanted to make the best of his last periods of being a ghost... He liked being able to enter through walls, but he missed his magic. The rest of the night he talked to Ron and Hermione while entering through all the things possible.
"Dumbledore said... the castle was attacked" said Hermione. "But An inferno spell - the firestorm had to destroy it entirely!"
"But remember, Hermione. Voldemort can't use my powers anymore. I am a ghost. And he just used Erised's. And the magic from only one person cannot be used good. That is why he did not destroy the school."
"And - after you will be back to your body... Will he be able to use your powers?"
"I am afraid so."
He practiced his powers of touching things some times. He had a good time until Ron and Hermione went to sleep.