Preparations
"I don't care if she's a two headed dragon, Linan! Andromeda has to learn to control her magic! You can teach her how to use that stone, but she has to go to Hogwarts to learn witchcraft!"
Minerva McGonagall couldn't believe Linan was suggesting Andromeda Phifer be kept out of Hogwarts. Andromeda had potential, and it was McGonagall's duty to make sure that potential was cultivated into something usefull.
"You would be the first to admit that knowing more than one kind of approach to magic is useful, Linan!"
"Yes, I would be the first to admit that, Minerva, but Andromeda can't be distracted now! She has to learn to keep the stone in check, or it's power will destroy her!"
"Yet if she doesn't learn to control the magic inside her, that will destroy her surroundings!"
Albus Dumbledore chose that moment to announce his presence.
"You are both right. The stone must be kept in check, and Andromeda must come to Hogwarts. Linan, is there anything you can do to make controlling the stone easier for Andromeda?"
Linan closed her eyes, thinking. "I could try to shield it so that the stone would only act if she told it to," she muttered.
"Then do that!" McGonagall cried, exasperated.
Linan sighed. "Shielding something as powerful as that stone takes a tremendous amount of energy, Minerva. I don't know if I can do it. Even if I can, I won't have the strength left afterwards to protect the house from attack."
The three sat where they were, searching for other alternatives. The truth was there were no other options. Annie needed Hogwarts training. She could hurt somebody if her magic got out of control.
Dumbledore hated himself for his thoughts. 'Annie will be here at Hogwarts. If Voldemort attacks, he won't get her. Linan is mainly at the manor to protect Annie.' Dumbledore swallowed. 'I could be signing the death warrants for William, Louise, and Alexia, but what else can I do? It's a risk that must be taken.' He sighed.
"You know what we have to do. We have to leave the Phifer manor with virtually no protection, so Annie can safely come to school."
McGonagall closed her eyes. "How long will you be out, Linan?" She asked.
"I can't be sure. Three to seven days would be my guess."
Dumbledore sighed. This was terrible. Then he had an idea.
"Linan, you've been with Annie for a year now. Do you think she could hold the shielding if she had to?"
Linan looked at him. 'Is he crazy?' She thought. 'Annie's only just eleven!' She looked down. 'She could. She has a good enough grasp of the power that she could hold crude sheds if she had to. Crude, but powerful.' Linan sighed.
"Yes, Albus, I think she could hold crude shields. How long would it take for hit wizards to get to the manor if it were attacked?"
"Three or four hours, Linan." Dumbledore said.
Linan frowned. "Annie can't hold the shields that long. Send hit wizards there now, so if the manor is attacked we have some defense."
McGonagall looked at Linan. "We need our hit wizards, Linan. We can't send them off to babysit."
Dumbledore sighed and massaged his temples. "We have to, Minerva. That's the luck of the draw."
McGonagall looked at the floor. "Who?"
~
Three hours later, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter were headed for the Phifer manor.
"Just because we messed up once doesn't mean they should put us on babysitting duty!" Sirius complained to his friends. "It wasn't our fault the Muggles wouldn't listen to us. They should have just done what we told them to do!"
James looked at his friend. "Shut up, Sirius. I for one am thankful to do something that isn't life threatening."
Sirius humphed, the looped around his friends broomstick. Hanging upside down in front of James' face, Sirius said, "Married life is making you soft, man. Where's the daredevil inside?"
James took his hands off his broom and grabbed Sirius by the ears. He made his broom fly in a corkscrew, then let go of his friends ears. Sirius went flying away from his friend, laughing his head off.
"There's the daredevil! Ha ha, I knew he was in there somewhere!"
Remus had been calmly flying along through all of this, staring into space. Preoccupied as he was, he didn't notice Sirius hurtling towards him.
"Oomph!"
Sirius slammed straight into Remus, nearly knocking him off his broom.
"Watch it, will you?" Remus yelled. "The daredevil inside of me prefers the ground!"
"Ah, Remus, you landlubber. No wonder you never made the Quidditch team."
"In case you hadn't noticed, Sirius, I never tried for the Quidditch team. I like the ground under my feet, thank you!"
James looked down. Below him he saw the beautiful Phifer estate. "Hey guys," he said. "We're there!"
Sirius whistled. "Pretty place, isn't it? Didn't really notice, last time we were here."
Remus glared at him. "Sirius, do try to be a little sensitive when we're on the ground. We're protecting all that's left over of the Phifer family, and I doubt they want to be reminded of what happened last time we were here."
The wizards tilted their brooms downward to the ground. They descended fast, then landed neatly in the front lawn of the house.
James looked at the house. It was a castle, really. Big, tall, built of stone. The place could easily house 200, not taking into account the magical rooms and corridors.
Just then a voice said behind them, "Hello. I remember you."
All three wizards started and turned around. A girl with red hair stood in front of them.
James blinked, then said, "Annie, right?"
The girl smiled. "You got it. You want to come inside, James Potter?"
The three wizards smiled. James said, "Yes, we would like to come inside. Although it is a beautiful day for being outside."
Annie instantly stopped smiling. "Follow me." She said gruffly.
James, Sirius, and Remus looked at each other confusedly. What had they said wrong?
~
"Thank you for coming. It is good to have the extra protection, in case something happens." Louise Phifer paled as she said this. 'I doubt three hit wizards could do much if the Dark Lord attacks us. He knows what hides in this house. If he attacks, we will fall.'
Louise had been old when Sophia was born, and now she looked and felt ancient. She was a witch, and that gave her a longer life, but at 115 years old, she was old even for her order. Her short, flyaway hair was completely white, her voice was deep and raspy, and her eyes spoke of a long life. Only her skin didn't look old. Pale as porcelain, her skin was much smoother than would be expected.
"We're glad to help, Ms. Phifer. We only hope we're not needed." That was Remus. He could see the age in the woman's eyes, feel her still present grief at the passing of her daughter.
Louise looked at the younger man. "Remus, correct?" Remus nodded. "I hope you're not needed, too. Voldemort knows what hides in this house. If you are needed, I hope you will be enough."
James knew that the house held thousands of books, artifacts, potions, remedies, and other priceless things. He also knew that Voldemort could most of find those things in places less heavily guarded. What was here that people would die just to get?
'I bet this has something to do with that stone. I wonder what that thi-'
"Exactly what does this house hide, if you don't mind my asking?" Sirius asked.
James sighed. 'You don't beat around the bush, do you Sirius? Go right in for the kill. How tactful of you.'
A new voice came from a doorway next to the group.
"This house hides something far older than you, Sirius Black. It hides a key to the old magic, a link to the lines of magic flowing around, over, under, and through you. There was a time when that magic could be used without a key, but no one alive remembers that time. If Voldemort got a hold of the key, then he would be able to tap into pure magic. He wouldn't need a wand, or spells, or any of the things recognized as magical now." Linan had been listening to the conversation, and she had answered Sirius' question.
"Is that little stone Annie showed me the key?" James asked.
Linan looked at him. "That is the key's physical form, yes. It's actually a lot more complicated. You see, the key doesn't just give access to the old magic. When someone with the key is in trouble, the key will twist the magic into the form it thinks it's keeper will need the most. That way, you don't have to know what you're doing to use the magic. The key does most of it for you. All the keeper of the key has to do is channel the magic through his or herself into the key. After that, it's easy."
The three hit wizards thought about that information for a minute. Finally Remus asked, "If it's that simple, why did Sophia Phifer die?"
Louise gasped. The question had been asked. He wanted to know why her baby had died.
"Sophia was a Squib." Louise choked . "You have to be trained to handle the flow of magic through your body. I didn't know how to teach her without magic. She used her life energy to fling the magic into the stone, and the magic that flowed through her veins destroyed her."
James, Remus, and Sirius didn't know what to say. So that was why Sophia had died. In her desperation, she had done the only thing possible to keep the stone from the Dark Lord. Her bravery had killed her.
James thought about that. 'How could she be so brave? I don't know if I could do that.' He paused for a minute, thinking about Lily and his newborn son, Harry. Then he realized something. 'I could. For Lily and Harry, I could die. For Lily and Harry, I would die.' He shook his head. 'It won't come to that, James. Sirius will be our Secret Keeper, and everything will be fine. Just another month, and everything will be fine. Lily, Harry and I will be safe.' Then James remembered something.
"Wait a minute. Annie handed the stone to me when I was here last. It burned my hand. I still have a scar," he said, holding out his hand. "You said the stone chooses it's keepers. It already chosen Annie, hasn't it? I though it only chose from the Phifer bloodline."
"The stone would only choose from the Phifer bloodline if it had it's way. However, if Voldemort captured Annie, He could trick the stone into believing He was a Phifer, then he could kill Annie and take the stone from her. The stone would have no choice but to accept the Dark Lord." Linan spoke grimly.
Sirius furrowed his brows. "How could he trick the stone into believing he was a Phifer?"
Linan looked at him. "He would have to have Phifer blood in him."
Sirius' frown deepened, then suddenly he went paled and gagged. "Where's your bathroom?" He asked Louise. Louise pointed down the hall, and Sirius took off at a run, trying not to be sick.
Linan looked at Remus and James. "If Voldemort were to drink some of Annie's blood, the stone would be convinced He was a Phifer long enough to bind itself to Him. By the time her blood was out of His system, He would have control over the stone."
The two men paled. Suddenly, this babysitting didn't seem so unimportant.
~
Linan left the group in the hall and walked to Annie's room. She could have just materialized in the room, but Linan wanted to save her energy for what was ahead.
"Hello, Annie. You don't look at all happy. What's wrong?"
Annie turned away from the window. She had been staring out at the mid-July sky, which was a beautiful blue color with little wisps of cloud floating through it. She looked at her teacher. "I hate this weather," she said.
Linan looked out the window. By anyone's standards it was a beautiful day. Even the stuffiest of stuffy old men would say that the weather was wonderful. She turned her attention to the child in front of her.
"You can't blame what happened to your family on the weather, dear one. Bad things happen in the sunlight, in the moonlight, and when it's raining. You should enjoy this weather while it lasts, because soon enough it will be rainy and cold. Not that you shouldn't enjoy rainy, cold weather," Linan said, trying to conceal a shudder. It was all for the point she was trying to make. "The point is, enjoy what's given to you. There will be things in your life worth hating, so don't waste your energy complaining about the weather."
Annie smiled at her teacher. Deepening her voice to sound like Linan's, she said, "Uhg! I hate this, cold, wet, cold, and WET weather. I hate it, I tell you! It's depressing! I can't even feel the wet part, but I STILL HATE IT!"
Linan sniffed. She held her head up, stuck her chin out, and said, "Well! Umm... You have a point. Ahh.."
Annie burst out laughing. It was pleasant to see her teacher speechless for once.
Linan sighed. She hadn't come up here to joke with her student. She had a job to do.
"Annie, may I see the stone?"
Annie blinked. She had promised Dumbledore she wouldn't let other people touch the stone, but Linan couldn't touch it, could she? 'She is my teacher...' Annie thought. She took the necklace holding the stone off her neck and held it up so Linan could see it. Linan hadn't gone solid since the day she and Annie had met.
Linan looked at the stone. It was still glowing blue after a year. If it had been deactivated, it would be a deep, dull black. 'Damn.' Linan thought. 'The stone responds to Annie's inner magic, and it won't deactivate. She has to deactivate it herself, and she doesn't know enough yet to be able to.' Linan sighed.
"Annie, you know you're going to Hogwarts this fall, don't you?"
Annie nodded. Of course she knew she was going to Hogwarts.
Linan looked at the stone, then looked at Annie again.
"Annie, if you get scared or angry, you know the stone will react to that, don't you?"
Once again, Annie nodded. She could sense something important was going to happen, but she wasn't sure what.
"You also know that if the stone does something, it could hurt somebody. You aren't strong enough yet to control the stone yourself. You know that, right?"
Annie blinked. "Yes Linan, I know that. What are you saying? That I can't go to school? That I can't go to Hogwarts?" She choked. Annie wanted to go with her brother to Hogwarts. It meant everything to her.
"No Annie. That's not what I'm saying. I have an idea, and it might keep the stone in check. My idea is this: I can put a shield around the stone, and I can teach you how to open the shield and close the shield if you need to. That way, you can use the stone if use need to, but it won't respond to your every fear. How does that sound?"
Annie stared at Linan. "Linan, I'm eleven years old. You don't have to sugar coat questions as though I were three. Yes, that sounds good."
Linan jerked. 'That's right, she is eleven. She is far to mature for eleven. Damn Voldemort, stealing this girl's childhood.'
"You're right, Annie. You are eleven. Eleven and a half, to be precise. You will be an old first year, but that gives you an advantage. So you like my plan?"
Annie frowned. 'Linan changes subjects too fast.'
"Yes, I like your plan. What do I have to do?"
"I will make a shield around the stone that will open and close if your voice tells it to. All you have to do is decide what word you want to open the shield and what word you want to close it."
"Sounds easy enough. Er.. "
"Make them words you don't use very often. You can't have the shield opening and closing all the time. I might advise names from mythology. Let's see, you won't be studying ancient Egypt at Hogwarts until your fourth year. Why not choose names of mythological beings?"
"Do you do things like this often, Linan? You seem to have a lot of ideas for passwords."
"Yes, actually, I do a lot of things that need passwords. Now look in your mythology book over there and pick two names."
Annie went to get her mythology book from her bookshelf. Arnita had brought her this book from Egypt for her eighth birthday. It had all an eleven year old could ever want to know about Egyptian mythology. Annie flipped to the section about the gods Egyptians worshipped.
"Lets see, something appropriate for this use. None of the obvious ones, that leaves you out, Isis. Bastet? No, not for protecting. Hathor? Ah.. No."
Linan sighed. "Please don't take all day. I would like to do this before you die of old age."
Annie looked up. "What will this do to you, Linan? I assume the hit wizards are here to protect us. Isn't that your job?"
"Yes, that is my job. Shielding something as powerful as the stone will take a lot of energy. After all, it takes a lot of energy to hold a lot of energy. I will be exhausted after this, and in no condition to protect your family. That is why the hit wizards are here."
"That's nice." Annie was paging through her book, not paying much attention to Linan. "Eureka! Meretseger can be the opener. Listen, 'Meretseger was the silent guardian of royal tombs. She would curse wrongdoers, yet she was merciful to those with honest hearts.' That seems appropriate, don't you think, Linan?"
Linan groaned. It was going to take the child all day to decide. "That sounds great. It's certainly not the kind of word you use everyday. Now pick a closing word."
"Okay. Ahh... Ummm.. Ah! Here we go. Amun. 'Amun was invisible to mortals, concealed from them,' it goes on. Seems like a decent guardian word for the stone."
"All right! Give me the stone, and I'll get to work." Linan said, before Annie could change her mind.
"Maybe it should be something else, though...."
"No!"
"Are you sure?"
"Quite. Now let's get this over with. The sooner I'm done, the sooner I can recover."
Annie handed Linan the stone. Linan put her hands on either side of it and let the stone and it's chain hover in front of her. She closed her eyes. The air around her began to hum, very softly. The humming started to get louder. Linan's normally blue hue began to warp to include other colors. The first new color was purple, then green, yellow, orange, and red. White light came from within the ghost, and she seemed almost black around the edges. The humming in the air was really loud now, and suddenly Annie realized she could hear music in the humming. All kinds of music, music that was played on strings, music from flutes, singing, drums, classical, jazz, oriental, it all blended together to form the most beautiful song Annie had ever heard. The air around Linan started to bend, forming a globe around the stone. The colors that where in Linan poured into the globe. Annie watched in fascination as Linan slowly lost all of her color, pouring it into the stone. She realized the music was somehow bending itself around the stone as well. Linan was creating a shield of color and music. The ghost was concentrating all her being on the shield. Suddenly, she spoke.
"Meretseger."
The globe around the stone pulsed outwards.
"Amun."
The globe pulsed again, then contracted in on itself. The globe was truly beautiful now, shining with light, colors swirling all over it's surface. The music was loud and almost frenzied, the tempo having increased threefold.
Linan bowed her head and dropped her hands. The music stopped, the color disappeared, and the stone dropped to the ground. The necklace chain was gone. All that was left of it was a bead of melted metal on the top of the stone.
"You can pick the stone up now," Linan said. Her voice was dull and lifeless, with none of it's usual punch. She had faded so that her outline was fuzzy, and she was a sort of pale grey-blue color.
Annie looked at the stone uncertainly. Whatever Linan had done, it had caused enough heat to melt the silver necklace chain. She wasn't sure she should pick up the stone. It might burn her, too.
"It won't burn you child. Pick it up."
Annie did as she was told. When she touched the stone, she saw a flash of color and heard a burst of music, and then the world was normal. She had a question.
"What kind of magic was that? I've never seen shields done that way before."
Linan wasn't sure she had the energy to explain. "That's how shields were made in my time, Annie. Before mages started using wands, they had to recreate their spells every time they cast them. Then they got the idea to imprint the structure of the spells into wands, so the mage didn't have to know the spell he or she was casting. Those were very unstable times, and it made life easier for those who had too much to worry about already."
Annie was confused. "If it's that simple, why does it take so long for witches and wizards to get through school?"
Linan, faded though she was, smiled at this. "There's still some skill involved in magic, Annie. Mages have to learn how to cope with the flow of magic through their bodies. The wands make it easier, but the more complicated spells require the wizard or witch to piece together the parts. There's still some talent and art left in magic. The good mage are and always were artists. They could take the raw magic of the earth and spin it into something that would work for them."
Annie frowned again. "Linan, if magic comes from the earth, and there are lots of wizards and such, wouldn't the earth run out of magic eventually?"
"No, Annie. You see, when you cast a spell, that magic is not gone forever. It has simply taken another form. Eventually, the spell will decay and the magic will return to the earth."
"Is that why spells have to be renewed occasionally?"
"Yes."
"How did I get magic, then, if these mages locked it away?"
Linan smiled. "The group of mages in question was very big, Annie. Four or five thousand, at least. They had leaders, people who where in charge. Most of these mages had children, Annie. Sometimes the ability to hold the Earth's magic was passed on to those children. Those children had children, their children had children, and so on. The ability to store magic was brought down from generation to generation. That's why witches and wizards exists."
Annie was still frowning. "That was bad of those mages. Magic should have stayed accessible to everybody. No wonder the Muggles hate us. We stole magic from them."
"Very observant for an eleven year old. That's why the Muggles hated you originally. It's been so long, though, that they can't remember having magic. They don't remember why they hate you. Alas, most witches and wizards don't believe that any other way of handling magic ever existed. They think theirs is the only way, and they call anybody who says otherwise crazy."
Annie had more questions. "Can magic still be worked the old way?"
"Yes, Annie, you just saw me do it. The only reason I can do it is because I remember how. You could do it. That's what that stone is for. Someone created a key so people could access magic without wands or without being great mages. That key took the physical form of your stone. Later on, somebody decided it would be good idea to give the stone intelligence of it's own, so that once activated it would do whatever it thought it's keeper wanted it to do. Bad idea, if you ask me, but oh well."
"Linan, you said you're old enough to remember. How old are you?"
Linan smiled again. "The creation of wands was thousands of years ago. I was born before wands were created."
Annie gaped. "Wow! Wait, how old exactly?"
Linan laughed. "I don't remember how old I am, Annie. I lost count around 1300, and that was during the dark ages."
"Whoa!"
"Indeed." Linan said dryly.
Annie paused, thinking.
"Linan, can you teach me how to use the Earth magic for myself, without the stone's help?"
Linan blinked. She had sworn never to teach again. Not after what had become of her last student. Yet here was this girl who had lost almost everything in her life, asking Linan to give her knowledge. How could she refuse?
Linan needed to think.
"There's a book down in your library. It's in the section labeled 'The Ancients.' Linan said. "It's a black leather book.. It's titled 'The Time Before'. Read it. When you're done, tell me, and maybe I'll have enough energy to teach you then. Now, I'm going to rest."
With that, Linan disappeared.
~
"I don't care if she's a two headed dragon, Linan! Andromeda has to learn to control her magic! You can teach her how to use that stone, but she has to go to Hogwarts to learn witchcraft!"
Minerva McGonagall couldn't believe Linan was suggesting Andromeda Phifer be kept out of Hogwarts. Andromeda had potential, and it was McGonagall's duty to make sure that potential was cultivated into something usefull.
"You would be the first to admit that knowing more than one kind of approach to magic is useful, Linan!"
"Yes, I would be the first to admit that, Minerva, but Andromeda can't be distracted now! She has to learn to keep the stone in check, or it's power will destroy her!"
"Yet if she doesn't learn to control the magic inside her, that will destroy her surroundings!"
Albus Dumbledore chose that moment to announce his presence.
"You are both right. The stone must be kept in check, and Andromeda must come to Hogwarts. Linan, is there anything you can do to make controlling the stone easier for Andromeda?"
Linan closed her eyes, thinking. "I could try to shield it so that the stone would only act if she told it to," she muttered.
"Then do that!" McGonagall cried, exasperated.
Linan sighed. "Shielding something as powerful as that stone takes a tremendous amount of energy, Minerva. I don't know if I can do it. Even if I can, I won't have the strength left afterwards to protect the house from attack."
The three sat where they were, searching for other alternatives. The truth was there were no other options. Annie needed Hogwarts training. She could hurt somebody if her magic got out of control.
Dumbledore hated himself for his thoughts. 'Annie will be here at Hogwarts. If Voldemort attacks, he won't get her. Linan is mainly at the manor to protect Annie.' Dumbledore swallowed. 'I could be signing the death warrants for William, Louise, and Alexia, but what else can I do? It's a risk that must be taken.' He sighed.
"You know what we have to do. We have to leave the Phifer manor with virtually no protection, so Annie can safely come to school."
McGonagall closed her eyes. "How long will you be out, Linan?" She asked.
"I can't be sure. Three to seven days would be my guess."
Dumbledore sighed. This was terrible. Then he had an idea.
"Linan, you've been with Annie for a year now. Do you think she could hold the shielding if she had to?"
Linan looked at him. 'Is he crazy?' She thought. 'Annie's only just eleven!' She looked down. 'She could. She has a good enough grasp of the power that she could hold crude sheds if she had to. Crude, but powerful.' Linan sighed.
"Yes, Albus, I think she could hold crude shields. How long would it take for hit wizards to get to the manor if it were attacked?"
"Three or four hours, Linan." Dumbledore said.
Linan frowned. "Annie can't hold the shields that long. Send hit wizards there now, so if the manor is attacked we have some defense."
McGonagall looked at Linan. "We need our hit wizards, Linan. We can't send them off to babysit."
Dumbledore sighed and massaged his temples. "We have to, Minerva. That's the luck of the draw."
McGonagall looked at the floor. "Who?"
~
Three hours later, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and James Potter were headed for the Phifer manor.
"Just because we messed up once doesn't mean they should put us on babysitting duty!" Sirius complained to his friends. "It wasn't our fault the Muggles wouldn't listen to us. They should have just done what we told them to do!"
James looked at his friend. "Shut up, Sirius. I for one am thankful to do something that isn't life threatening."
Sirius humphed, the looped around his friends broomstick. Hanging upside down in front of James' face, Sirius said, "Married life is making you soft, man. Where's the daredevil inside?"
James took his hands off his broom and grabbed Sirius by the ears. He made his broom fly in a corkscrew, then let go of his friends ears. Sirius went flying away from his friend, laughing his head off.
"There's the daredevil! Ha ha, I knew he was in there somewhere!"
Remus had been calmly flying along through all of this, staring into space. Preoccupied as he was, he didn't notice Sirius hurtling towards him.
"Oomph!"
Sirius slammed straight into Remus, nearly knocking him off his broom.
"Watch it, will you?" Remus yelled. "The daredevil inside of me prefers the ground!"
"Ah, Remus, you landlubber. No wonder you never made the Quidditch team."
"In case you hadn't noticed, Sirius, I never tried for the Quidditch team. I like the ground under my feet, thank you!"
James looked down. Below him he saw the beautiful Phifer estate. "Hey guys," he said. "We're there!"
Sirius whistled. "Pretty place, isn't it? Didn't really notice, last time we were here."
Remus glared at him. "Sirius, do try to be a little sensitive when we're on the ground. We're protecting all that's left over of the Phifer family, and I doubt they want to be reminded of what happened last time we were here."
The wizards tilted their brooms downward to the ground. They descended fast, then landed neatly in the front lawn of the house.
James looked at the house. It was a castle, really. Big, tall, built of stone. The place could easily house 200, not taking into account the magical rooms and corridors.
Just then a voice said behind them, "Hello. I remember you."
All three wizards started and turned around. A girl with red hair stood in front of them.
James blinked, then said, "Annie, right?"
The girl smiled. "You got it. You want to come inside, James Potter?"
The three wizards smiled. James said, "Yes, we would like to come inside. Although it is a beautiful day for being outside."
Annie instantly stopped smiling. "Follow me." She said gruffly.
James, Sirius, and Remus looked at each other confusedly. What had they said wrong?
~
"Thank you for coming. It is good to have the extra protection, in case something happens." Louise Phifer paled as she said this. 'I doubt three hit wizards could do much if the Dark Lord attacks us. He knows what hides in this house. If he attacks, we will fall.'
Louise had been old when Sophia was born, and now she looked and felt ancient. She was a witch, and that gave her a longer life, but at 115 years old, she was old even for her order. Her short, flyaway hair was completely white, her voice was deep and raspy, and her eyes spoke of a long life. Only her skin didn't look old. Pale as porcelain, her skin was much smoother than would be expected.
"We're glad to help, Ms. Phifer. We only hope we're not needed." That was Remus. He could see the age in the woman's eyes, feel her still present grief at the passing of her daughter.
Louise looked at the younger man. "Remus, correct?" Remus nodded. "I hope you're not needed, too. Voldemort knows what hides in this house. If you are needed, I hope you will be enough."
James knew that the house held thousands of books, artifacts, potions, remedies, and other priceless things. He also knew that Voldemort could most of find those things in places less heavily guarded. What was here that people would die just to get?
'I bet this has something to do with that stone. I wonder what that thi-'
"Exactly what does this house hide, if you don't mind my asking?" Sirius asked.
James sighed. 'You don't beat around the bush, do you Sirius? Go right in for the kill. How tactful of you.'
A new voice came from a doorway next to the group.
"This house hides something far older than you, Sirius Black. It hides a key to the old magic, a link to the lines of magic flowing around, over, under, and through you. There was a time when that magic could be used without a key, but no one alive remembers that time. If Voldemort got a hold of the key, then he would be able to tap into pure magic. He wouldn't need a wand, or spells, or any of the things recognized as magical now." Linan had been listening to the conversation, and she had answered Sirius' question.
"Is that little stone Annie showed me the key?" James asked.
Linan looked at him. "That is the key's physical form, yes. It's actually a lot more complicated. You see, the key doesn't just give access to the old magic. When someone with the key is in trouble, the key will twist the magic into the form it thinks it's keeper will need the most. That way, you don't have to know what you're doing to use the magic. The key does most of it for you. All the keeper of the key has to do is channel the magic through his or herself into the key. After that, it's easy."
The three hit wizards thought about that information for a minute. Finally Remus asked, "If it's that simple, why did Sophia Phifer die?"
Louise gasped. The question had been asked. He wanted to know why her baby had died.
"Sophia was a Squib." Louise choked . "You have to be trained to handle the flow of magic through your body. I didn't know how to teach her without magic. She used her life energy to fling the magic into the stone, and the magic that flowed through her veins destroyed her."
James, Remus, and Sirius didn't know what to say. So that was why Sophia had died. In her desperation, she had done the only thing possible to keep the stone from the Dark Lord. Her bravery had killed her.
James thought about that. 'How could she be so brave? I don't know if I could do that.' He paused for a minute, thinking about Lily and his newborn son, Harry. Then he realized something. 'I could. For Lily and Harry, I could die. For Lily and Harry, I would die.' He shook his head. 'It won't come to that, James. Sirius will be our Secret Keeper, and everything will be fine. Just another month, and everything will be fine. Lily, Harry and I will be safe.' Then James remembered something.
"Wait a minute. Annie handed the stone to me when I was here last. It burned my hand. I still have a scar," he said, holding out his hand. "You said the stone chooses it's keepers. It already chosen Annie, hasn't it? I though it only chose from the Phifer bloodline."
"The stone would only choose from the Phifer bloodline if it had it's way. However, if Voldemort captured Annie, He could trick the stone into believing He was a Phifer, then he could kill Annie and take the stone from her. The stone would have no choice but to accept the Dark Lord." Linan spoke grimly.
Sirius furrowed his brows. "How could he trick the stone into believing he was a Phifer?"
Linan looked at him. "He would have to have Phifer blood in him."
Sirius' frown deepened, then suddenly he went paled and gagged. "Where's your bathroom?" He asked Louise. Louise pointed down the hall, and Sirius took off at a run, trying not to be sick.
Linan looked at Remus and James. "If Voldemort were to drink some of Annie's blood, the stone would be convinced He was a Phifer long enough to bind itself to Him. By the time her blood was out of His system, He would have control over the stone."
The two men paled. Suddenly, this babysitting didn't seem so unimportant.
~
Linan left the group in the hall and walked to Annie's room. She could have just materialized in the room, but Linan wanted to save her energy for what was ahead.
"Hello, Annie. You don't look at all happy. What's wrong?"
Annie turned away from the window. She had been staring out at the mid-July sky, which was a beautiful blue color with little wisps of cloud floating through it. She looked at her teacher. "I hate this weather," she said.
Linan looked out the window. By anyone's standards it was a beautiful day. Even the stuffiest of stuffy old men would say that the weather was wonderful. She turned her attention to the child in front of her.
"You can't blame what happened to your family on the weather, dear one. Bad things happen in the sunlight, in the moonlight, and when it's raining. You should enjoy this weather while it lasts, because soon enough it will be rainy and cold. Not that you shouldn't enjoy rainy, cold weather," Linan said, trying to conceal a shudder. It was all for the point she was trying to make. "The point is, enjoy what's given to you. There will be things in your life worth hating, so don't waste your energy complaining about the weather."
Annie smiled at her teacher. Deepening her voice to sound like Linan's, she said, "Uhg! I hate this, cold, wet, cold, and WET weather. I hate it, I tell you! It's depressing! I can't even feel the wet part, but I STILL HATE IT!"
Linan sniffed. She held her head up, stuck her chin out, and said, "Well! Umm... You have a point. Ahh.."
Annie burst out laughing. It was pleasant to see her teacher speechless for once.
Linan sighed. She hadn't come up here to joke with her student. She had a job to do.
"Annie, may I see the stone?"
Annie blinked. She had promised Dumbledore she wouldn't let other people touch the stone, but Linan couldn't touch it, could she? 'She is my teacher...' Annie thought. She took the necklace holding the stone off her neck and held it up so Linan could see it. Linan hadn't gone solid since the day she and Annie had met.
Linan looked at the stone. It was still glowing blue after a year. If it had been deactivated, it would be a deep, dull black. 'Damn.' Linan thought. 'The stone responds to Annie's inner magic, and it won't deactivate. She has to deactivate it herself, and she doesn't know enough yet to be able to.' Linan sighed.
"Annie, you know you're going to Hogwarts this fall, don't you?"
Annie nodded. Of course she knew she was going to Hogwarts.
Linan looked at the stone, then looked at Annie again.
"Annie, if you get scared or angry, you know the stone will react to that, don't you?"
Once again, Annie nodded. She could sense something important was going to happen, but she wasn't sure what.
"You also know that if the stone does something, it could hurt somebody. You aren't strong enough yet to control the stone yourself. You know that, right?"
Annie blinked. "Yes Linan, I know that. What are you saying? That I can't go to school? That I can't go to Hogwarts?" She choked. Annie wanted to go with her brother to Hogwarts. It meant everything to her.
"No Annie. That's not what I'm saying. I have an idea, and it might keep the stone in check. My idea is this: I can put a shield around the stone, and I can teach you how to open the shield and close the shield if you need to. That way, you can use the stone if use need to, but it won't respond to your every fear. How does that sound?"
Annie stared at Linan. "Linan, I'm eleven years old. You don't have to sugar coat questions as though I were three. Yes, that sounds good."
Linan jerked. 'That's right, she is eleven. She is far to mature for eleven. Damn Voldemort, stealing this girl's childhood.'
"You're right, Annie. You are eleven. Eleven and a half, to be precise. You will be an old first year, but that gives you an advantage. So you like my plan?"
Annie frowned. 'Linan changes subjects too fast.'
"Yes, I like your plan. What do I have to do?"
"I will make a shield around the stone that will open and close if your voice tells it to. All you have to do is decide what word you want to open the shield and what word you want to close it."
"Sounds easy enough. Er.. "
"Make them words you don't use very often. You can't have the shield opening and closing all the time. I might advise names from mythology. Let's see, you won't be studying ancient Egypt at Hogwarts until your fourth year. Why not choose names of mythological beings?"
"Do you do things like this often, Linan? You seem to have a lot of ideas for passwords."
"Yes, actually, I do a lot of things that need passwords. Now look in your mythology book over there and pick two names."
Annie went to get her mythology book from her bookshelf. Arnita had brought her this book from Egypt for her eighth birthday. It had all an eleven year old could ever want to know about Egyptian mythology. Annie flipped to the section about the gods Egyptians worshipped.
"Lets see, something appropriate for this use. None of the obvious ones, that leaves you out, Isis. Bastet? No, not for protecting. Hathor? Ah.. No."
Linan sighed. "Please don't take all day. I would like to do this before you die of old age."
Annie looked up. "What will this do to you, Linan? I assume the hit wizards are here to protect us. Isn't that your job?"
"Yes, that is my job. Shielding something as powerful as the stone will take a lot of energy. After all, it takes a lot of energy to hold a lot of energy. I will be exhausted after this, and in no condition to protect your family. That is why the hit wizards are here."
"That's nice." Annie was paging through her book, not paying much attention to Linan. "Eureka! Meretseger can be the opener. Listen, 'Meretseger was the silent guardian of royal tombs. She would curse wrongdoers, yet she was merciful to those with honest hearts.' That seems appropriate, don't you think, Linan?"
Linan groaned. It was going to take the child all day to decide. "That sounds great. It's certainly not the kind of word you use everyday. Now pick a closing word."
"Okay. Ahh... Ummm.. Ah! Here we go. Amun. 'Amun was invisible to mortals, concealed from them,' it goes on. Seems like a decent guardian word for the stone."
"All right! Give me the stone, and I'll get to work." Linan said, before Annie could change her mind.
"Maybe it should be something else, though...."
"No!"
"Are you sure?"
"Quite. Now let's get this over with. The sooner I'm done, the sooner I can recover."
Annie handed Linan the stone. Linan put her hands on either side of it and let the stone and it's chain hover in front of her. She closed her eyes. The air around her began to hum, very softly. The humming started to get louder. Linan's normally blue hue began to warp to include other colors. The first new color was purple, then green, yellow, orange, and red. White light came from within the ghost, and she seemed almost black around the edges. The humming in the air was really loud now, and suddenly Annie realized she could hear music in the humming. All kinds of music, music that was played on strings, music from flutes, singing, drums, classical, jazz, oriental, it all blended together to form the most beautiful song Annie had ever heard. The air around Linan started to bend, forming a globe around the stone. The colors that where in Linan poured into the globe. Annie watched in fascination as Linan slowly lost all of her color, pouring it into the stone. She realized the music was somehow bending itself around the stone as well. Linan was creating a shield of color and music. The ghost was concentrating all her being on the shield. Suddenly, she spoke.
"Meretseger."
The globe around the stone pulsed outwards.
"Amun."
The globe pulsed again, then contracted in on itself. The globe was truly beautiful now, shining with light, colors swirling all over it's surface. The music was loud and almost frenzied, the tempo having increased threefold.
Linan bowed her head and dropped her hands. The music stopped, the color disappeared, and the stone dropped to the ground. The necklace chain was gone. All that was left of it was a bead of melted metal on the top of the stone.
"You can pick the stone up now," Linan said. Her voice was dull and lifeless, with none of it's usual punch. She had faded so that her outline was fuzzy, and she was a sort of pale grey-blue color.
Annie looked at the stone uncertainly. Whatever Linan had done, it had caused enough heat to melt the silver necklace chain. She wasn't sure she should pick up the stone. It might burn her, too.
"It won't burn you child. Pick it up."
Annie did as she was told. When she touched the stone, she saw a flash of color and heard a burst of music, and then the world was normal. She had a question.
"What kind of magic was that? I've never seen shields done that way before."
Linan wasn't sure she had the energy to explain. "That's how shields were made in my time, Annie. Before mages started using wands, they had to recreate their spells every time they cast them. Then they got the idea to imprint the structure of the spells into wands, so the mage didn't have to know the spell he or she was casting. Those were very unstable times, and it made life easier for those who had too much to worry about already."
Annie was confused. "If it's that simple, why does it take so long for witches and wizards to get through school?"
Linan, faded though she was, smiled at this. "There's still some skill involved in magic, Annie. Mages have to learn how to cope with the flow of magic through their bodies. The wands make it easier, but the more complicated spells require the wizard or witch to piece together the parts. There's still some talent and art left in magic. The good mage are and always were artists. They could take the raw magic of the earth and spin it into something that would work for them."
Annie frowned again. "Linan, if magic comes from the earth, and there are lots of wizards and such, wouldn't the earth run out of magic eventually?"
"No, Annie. You see, when you cast a spell, that magic is not gone forever. It has simply taken another form. Eventually, the spell will decay and the magic will return to the earth."
"Is that why spells have to be renewed occasionally?"
"Yes."
"How did I get magic, then, if these mages locked it away?"
Linan smiled. "The group of mages in question was very big, Annie. Four or five thousand, at least. They had leaders, people who where in charge. Most of these mages had children, Annie. Sometimes the ability to hold the Earth's magic was passed on to those children. Those children had children, their children had children, and so on. The ability to store magic was brought down from generation to generation. That's why witches and wizards exists."
Annie was still frowning. "That was bad of those mages. Magic should have stayed accessible to everybody. No wonder the Muggles hate us. We stole magic from them."
"Very observant for an eleven year old. That's why the Muggles hated you originally. It's been so long, though, that they can't remember having magic. They don't remember why they hate you. Alas, most witches and wizards don't believe that any other way of handling magic ever existed. They think theirs is the only way, and they call anybody who says otherwise crazy."
Annie had more questions. "Can magic still be worked the old way?"
"Yes, Annie, you just saw me do it. The only reason I can do it is because I remember how. You could do it. That's what that stone is for. Someone created a key so people could access magic without wands or without being great mages. That key took the physical form of your stone. Later on, somebody decided it would be good idea to give the stone intelligence of it's own, so that once activated it would do whatever it thought it's keeper wanted it to do. Bad idea, if you ask me, but oh well."
"Linan, you said you're old enough to remember. How old are you?"
Linan smiled again. "The creation of wands was thousands of years ago. I was born before wands were created."
Annie gaped. "Wow! Wait, how old exactly?"
Linan laughed. "I don't remember how old I am, Annie. I lost count around 1300, and that was during the dark ages."
"Whoa!"
"Indeed." Linan said dryly.
Annie paused, thinking.
"Linan, can you teach me how to use the Earth magic for myself, without the stone's help?"
Linan blinked. She had sworn never to teach again. Not after what had become of her last student. Yet here was this girl who had lost almost everything in her life, asking Linan to give her knowledge. How could she refuse?
Linan needed to think.
"There's a book down in your library. It's in the section labeled 'The Ancients.' Linan said. "It's a black leather book.. It's titled 'The Time Before'. Read it. When you're done, tell me, and maybe I'll have enough energy to teach you then. Now, I'm going to rest."
With that, Linan disappeared.
~