Chapter Eighteen

The Wraith

Anna felt part of herself attempt to react to the horror she was seeing, but strangely, no magic came to her aid. Jennifer stood in front of the Wraith with her arm up and wand ready as she prepared to fire, but there was a look on her face that Anna had never seen on Jennifer during any sort of battle; pure, unmasked worry. Her calm determination was still there, but Jennifer knew from the start that there was no way she could win this battle, and for some reason, Anna couldn't seem to bring herself out of her body to shield her. Finally Jennifer cast as the wraith moved towards them, and a fanning wave of a shrieking sound barreled into the creature, the spell so strong that the trees beyond it bowed to the onslaught of sonorous waves. The creature bent over, folding its body around its head protectively, but Jennifer knew they had only bought an instant in time.

"Run!" Jennifer shouted, trying to keep the spell on it as she began backing away.

Anna wasn't about to leave Jennifer there alone. Taking a step forward, Anna changed forms and a Unicorn appeared with a neigh, galloping over to Jennifer and nudging her, putting her leg up. Quickly Jennifer climbed aboard as the Wraith began to recover, and Anna went into the forest as fast as she could gallop, running through the trees as if they were not even there. Despite Anna's pace, it was evident to Jennifer that they would probably not be able to outrun it. The Wraith was soon on their tail and they were within inches of its deadly, life-draining touch.

Jennifer pointed her wand at Anna and shouted, "Hermes." Sparks flew out instead of a spell, and Jennifer renewed her grip on Anna's mane. What a time for her magic to go out, Jennifer thought. Her stomach was reeling from the horrible pounding movement, and she was finding herself wishing that it would just catch them and get it over with. That was when she looked back and saw that they were not alone. A line of Unicorns closely packed together had managed to come between Anna and the Wraith, while right beside them ran a large mare that had slowed to match their pace.

"Keki!" Jennifer shouted in surprise at the pack leader. Once again she would have to owe her life to the greatest of steeds. They pushed further and further in, and Anna was able to pick up the pace at Keki's urging, driving them past Anna's cabin and towards the far edge of the forest.

Behind them, Jennifer was vaguely aware of centaurs rushing about as they passed, taking up great bows and hand-held circlets of glittering light as they turned to meet the threat. But Jennifer felt that something was wrong as pain shot through her, and she found herself begging Anna to slow down as they neared the Hogwarts grounds.

"Anna, I need down! I'm not kidding," Jennifer protested again.

As the tree line came to an end, Keki stopped quite abruptly and Anna along with her. Jennifer came tumbling off with a groan, getting violently sick. A moment later, Jennifer was aware of Anna's arm around her from behind, asking her if she was all right. What a silly question, Jennifer said miserably, feeling dizzy and exhausted. She heard Keki's neigh behind her, unusually loud and demanding attention as she reared up, stamping loudly.

Anna looked around just as Sagittari thundered out of his cabin, alarmed and bewildered at hearing the Unicorn's call. Anna called out to him, directing his attention to Jennifer, and within a flash Sagittari was over there as Anna gave a quick account of what happened.

"We need to get her in my office. Jennifer, can you walk?" Sagittari asked. After a quick shake of her head, Sagittari called up a stretcher and Anna helped her onto it, and the three of them hurried to the hut.

As Anna sat waiting in the main room of the hut, a pounding knock came at the door and she let Severus in wearing a look that could curdle ice cream.

"Well, where is she, what happened?" Severus snapped impatiently.

"She's in with Dr. Sagittari right now, calm down." Anna said.

"What do you mean she's in there with Sagittari, he's a veterinarian! Why wasn't she brought to Hogwarts?"

"This was closer, and Jennifer was feeling sick. Would you please stop yelling? If it wasn't for you two fighting to make us want to walk home, we probably wouldn't have even run into the Wraith!" Anna snapped back.

"Was it the same one that attacked Sirius last year?" Severus asked anxiously.

"I don't know… this one looked bigger, but maybe. And it was so dark… Jennifer told me to run but I wasn't about to leave her, so I changed forms and carried her back. The Unicorns showed up and blockaded it from following. Jennifer didn't get sick until after we were away from it."

"Dumbledore, Harry, and Sirius went out looking for it the moment we got your owl. He wants the two of you to stay close to the castle and will speak to you about this later on." Severus said.

"What about you?" Anna asked.

"I'm not going anywhere until Jennifer is all right and back in the castle where she belongs," Severus said, glaring at the office door.

Finally it opened and Sagittari came out with a slight smile on his face, the door swinging shut behind him.

"Ah, good to see you're here, Severus. Don't worry, she's quite all right. She was just ill from the jarring ride. She'll be out in a moment," Sagittari told them.

"Who are you to say whether or not she's all right? You're a veterinarian, not a real doctor!" Severus snapped. "How dare you - "

"For your information, Severus, I have a centaur's veterinary license, which includes practice on humans. I just can't practice medicine on centaurs. I assure you that I am more than qualified to treat your species. Now that that's settled," the doctor continued, although the look on Severus' face clearly showed that he thought it was far from settled, "I'd like to talk to you a moment about this restriction list she's on, because if you don't mind me saying so, quite a bit of it is unnecessary. Jennifer is healthy, energetic, and quite capable of making her own decisions on whether or not she can handle something. The only thing that seems to be troublesome is her current stress level, and I guarantee you that it's not from doing her job. Rather, it's from feeling as if she's not allowed to do her job." Severus stared at him when the centaur paused, but chose not to say anything. "The potion restrictions, I believe, are right on target, and of course she cannot safely Apparate, but I suggest you throw the rest of these 'rules' away. And another thing, do not try to restrict where she can go because of this incident either. Rather, I suggest you both work out some compromises on modes of transportation. Let her ride on Ruby if she wants."

"But -"

"Let's look at this logically, shall we? It's less jarring riding on a flying mount than riding land mounts, and much safer… in Jennifer's case, much much safer… than a broom. So long as she wears that barrette of yours to prevent falls… that's the real danger when riding any mount anyhow… she should be fine. If you don't give her some rein, Severus, she is going to do it anyway, and that is the most perilous thing that can happen. Do you understand?" Sagittari said, his face stern and serious. Severus' skeptical frown straightened somewhat, and he nodded curtly. He knew Jennifer enough to know in this case Sagittari was right. "Good. We're all settled then. I'll expect her back in to see me professionally in about eight weeks time."

"What? Just one moment, you don't think I'm going to allow you to-"

Just then the door opened and Jennifer came out. Severus blinked in surprise, for she was smiling.

"Severus! Oh stars, I hope I didn't worry you," Jennifer said, hugging him. "Sagittari says we're both fine, and I just got a little jarred, that's all. No worse for the wear. Did you make up with Sirius?"

"I believe cease fire would be the more appropriate term," Severus said, still slightly astonished by the change in her behavior. "Come on, I need to get you both to Hogwarts. Dumbledore wants everyone to wait there until he returns."

"Well, I hope he returns soon, because I have a few questions of my own," Anna said.

Jennifer hugged Sagittari warmly and thanked him, walking towards the door before turning back to Severus, who was regarding her thoughtfully. It was going to take him a while to get used to the idea of having his children delivered by a centaur. Oh well, Severus brooded, it could have been worse… she could have gotten attached to a Muggle doctor.

When Dumbledore arrived at the office he looked slightly tired and worn, and Jennifer and Severus couldn't help but exchange worried looks. Harry and Sirius followed behind, both looking grim, as well as Minerva McGonagall, who appeared uncommonly anxious. Quietly Dumbledore went over to his desk, sitting down as he looked over at them.

"Well, I have managed to send the Wraith away for now, but for how long, I cannot guess. Fortunately, the protections around Hogwarts are powerful enough to repel it, but there is some concern over the Dark Forest," Dumbledore said.

"I just can't believe how big that Wraith got," Sirius said, pacing the floor.

"So it was the same Wraith that attacked before?" Jennifer asked.

"Apparently this particular wraith has been feeding off of the remains of the Tomb since its collapse," Dumbledore explained, looking over at Jennifer. "When the Tomb was destroyed, the dark magic that had been drawn into the place was suddenly released, and now the entire area above it is bathed in it. It is more than likely that the resurgence of dark creatures in the Dark Forest has been heightened as much by its presence as by any other cause. There are some things we can do to help dampen it, but I do not believe that we will be able to stop it completely. The balance has been disrupted too greatly for it not to leave a lingering effect."

"So in other words, this problem isn't going to go away?" Anna asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"It can be lessened, however, with a lot of work and time. Anna, you should be safe where you are for the moment; the centaurs around the Glen keep that area fairly maintained, but should you need to leave that area, especially since the wraith seems to have some attraction to your magic, I ask that you be escorted. There's also something else going on that Vallid will fill you in on tomorrow concerning some work you've been doing. In any case, I'm sure you can find several volunteers to escort you, especially now that Harry and Sirius are back. Ah, and I'm ready to return these," he added, getting into his desk and taking out the ring and the gem. "Please be careful with them, they are very, very old. But something tells me it's not an accident that you have acquired them, even if by unusual circumstances."

"But what do they do, Professor?" Jennifer asked impatiently.

"They were made by ancient magicians, long lost under the sea, Jennifer, although some of their blood once mixed with Fae ancestors. They were called the Fomorians, and they used these things to heighten their natural magic ability. The ring has some power over water, and the green gem of earth, and if I do say so it's quite appropriate for an Aethermage to own them." Jennifer and Severus gazed at the two items that Anna took in astonishment and renewed appreciation.

"Incredible… a gem in the eye of an aura crystal? And a ring from who knows where, and such rare artifacts appearing out of the blue?" Jennifer wondered.

"Do you think the person who gave Anna the ring knew where it came from?" Harry asked. "It would seem rather odd that someone trying to hurt her would hand her such a priceless artifact, and if it were a gift, they would have removed the curse."

"Very odd indeed," said Dumbledore. "And yes, I believe it quite likely that for good or ill, the person that sent the ring must not have had much knowledge in such magic items. And it is also quite worrisome that the familiar who brought it seemed to have little idea where he had gotten it from."

"One old owl forgetting where it has been is not completely uncommon," Severus said, "but what we experienced abroad had affected more than one owl. In fact, not one owl got through the entire time I was there. Surely that feat couldn't have been pulled off by an amateur," Severus said.

"Madame Belle is currently looking into the matter and should be back here before Christmas with some news for us," Dumbledore nodded. "She is also going to stop by the dragon colony in Greenland and see what she can learn there as well. In the meantime, I suggest we concentrate on the problem with the forest for now. Severus, I'd like you and Sirius to try and discern how wide spread the damage is to the Tomb so we may try to find some way to mark it and contain it somewhat."

"Sir, I'd like to help out if I may. I'm quite sensitive to that area, after all," Harry suggested. Dumbledore looked at him thoughtfully for a moment then nodded.

"Very well, Harry, if you have the time. I understand that you have been helping Vallid with the Death Eater investigations and that comes first, but any aid you can give will be appreciated," Dumbledore said.

"Anything you want me to do?" Jennifer asked. Dumbledore turned to her with a smile. Jennifer saw that he was quite proud of her for some reason, and had a great deal of confidence in her.

"Well, Jennifer, you should just probably continue what you have been doing. I'm sure anything you have planned in your spare time is in the best interests of the school, just remember to check in now and again to keep me updated. Oh, and don't forget to let Severus know where you're going and as well, so I don't have to listen to him every time you slip out of his sight," Dumbledore added with a mischievous wink. Severus gazed at him but didn't say anything.