Chapter Thirty

The Cauldron and the Harp

The guard finally stopped in front the Cauldron, dropping Severus hard upon the ground as they stepped back. Sirius and Sagittari somehow managed to get him to his feet. A warm hearty aroma wafted out of the bubbling cauldron, enough to make even Jennifer hungry. It was not as large as she thought it would be; rather more of the size of any of the cauldrons she herself used when making up healing potions or other potions she did in bulk, about three feet tall and four in diameter. But her thoughts as she debated how to retrieve it were disturbed by the presence of a giant that taller than the others, wearing heavy white robes with draping sleeves. He looked down on the three wizards with hatred.

"So, these are the other Merlin bloods, one strong Merlin blood the others to a much lesser extent," the Governor said, looking pointedly at Severus. "What were you attempting to do in the cell?"

"Wishing you would all go to Hades," Severus muttered. The Governor laughed at that, but there was nor warmth behind it, only hatred.

"Your attempts at using true magic is commendable, Wizard," the Governor said, saying the last word with contempt, "Both in the cell and by using the whirlpool to starve the storm. But none of your kind is truly strong enough to handle real magic. Merlin has betrayed you with your trinkets and wands and words of power. They do not aid you. They are designed to hold you back," he smiled, shaking his head at them.

"If our magic is so inferior, how is it that you lost to the Fae?" Sagittari inquired. The giant's face grew dark, staring at Sagittari furiously.

"They had certain advantages we did not, and outside 'help' from their Gates. We fought a valiant war that they could only win by trickery! And Dagda, curse his name, enchanted us with a Harp. Later we returned, but we were tricked by those of our own blood and the Danaan gave pursuit as we fled to our islands and hidden cities. Only this one went discovered, to all but Merlin, may his death be as interminable as his life, for he too was not above trickery. He was a meddler and a half-breed, a Wizard who delighted in poking his nose into affairs that did not concern him. He took our servants, he took our treasures, and he cut our link to the Otherworld and from our daring brethren who had chosen to go there. And he left behind only an orchard of trees that do not burn or fall to axe with poisoned fruit that curses any who eat them to never leave this island again. Over time others began to find us, and by the grace of our gods, they brought us the treasures of our enemies; the monks, who harbored the Harp that nearly destroyed us, and whom we disposed of for their treacherous deeds. Later the Wizard came, who unearthed the Cauldron that sustained our enemies in battle. He too fell by our might. Now Dagda's power serves only us.

"You have entered our prison, Merlin bloods, and by my oath to Balor, it is a prison you also will never leave. And you, foul caster, who tried to defy our storm, will be the first to die," the Governor said, pointing at Severus.

"Governor!" A woman appeared in the door wearing similar garb as the Governor, looking quite frantic. "Governor, the other two Wizards have escaped. They have flown from our city in the shapes of birds!"

"Impossible," the Governor roared. "How could they have escaped? Don't just stand there! Call the storms! Magus, prepare the hemlock, see that the Merlin blood dies before I get back!"

"Which one, sir?" the Magus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Which one do you think? The one that stinks the most!" the Governor snapped, walking out of the room.

The Magus shrugged then and had the guards strap Severus to a chair, taking out several leaves while adding it to the Cauldron. But Jennifer was far from worried, knowing quite well that that route wasn't going to work. Instead, she was busy trying to figure out how to use the current diversion to her advantage.

The two guards watched with mild interest as the Cauldron's brew turned colors and the Magus poured it into a chalice, keeping a halfhearted eye on the other two prisoners. Just then they heard the beating of wings, and as they looked around they saw two owls, swooping through the hall and down the stairs.

"Magus! The birds!" One of the guards called out. "The Wizards are heading for the Harp room!"

"They must be after the Morrigan woman. Don't just stand there, go get them!" he ordered and the two of them turned and ran down the corridor. "As if I can't handle a couple of wizards on my own," the Magus muttered, forcing the cup to Severus' lips.

"Yes, but can you handle one irate witch?" Jennifer's voice rang out behind him. The Fomorian turned around in surprise as Jennifer threw back the cloak. "Mortify!" she boomed, pointing her wand at him.

The blast enveloped him and he fell to his knees, holding his head. She gestured at Sirius and Sagittari, who worked on loosening the straps that held Severus.

"So this is the great Fomorian magic?" Jennifer said challengingly. "You can control water but you can't stand up to your enemies? You fear us, that's why you want us dead. If your magic is so superior, then why would you fear us at all?" Jennifer said, further strengthening the spell with her words. She glanced up to see Severus was leaning on Sagittari's back, and Sirius nodded.

"All right. If you value your life, you will go down to the Harp room. dismiss the minotaurs and guards, and tell them that you saw the birds heading towards the lower levels," Jennifer said, putting all her will into it. "Imperio!" The Magus got up, quivering, but slowly he began walking down the hallway.

"Great stars, I hate doing that," she muttered to the others. "I hope this thing minimizes all right, or we're going to have a big problem."

"Only one?" Sirius said sounding sarcastic. "How are we going to get out of here? They can still smell us."

"Yes, but for some reason, they can't smell her," Sagittari said thoughtfully.

"I think you just gave me an idea," Jennifer said, grinning triumphantly when she successfully minimized the cauldron small enough to shove into her cloak. "I hope my books aren't covered with hemlock-laced porridge when we get home," she said, yanking some hair from her head and taking out some more phials.

So it was that a few minutes later that Jennifer, Jennifer, Jennifer, and pregnant Jennifer walked into the room at the end of the corridor. There in the center of the room lay Anna, next to a large golden harp that was playing softly.

"Magus, how do you dispel the harp?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know. No one knows but Governor Astron," he sobbed. "But then, I don't know anything," he whimpered.

"Never mind, I'll do it the hard way. Back up. We might have to fight our way out after this," Jennifer warned, taking her wand back out and putting a Sonorous Shield on Anna.

With perfect precision, Jennifer pointed at the harp and let loose the Shrieking Death, the waves of sound making the Harp tremble and the strings vibrate uncontrollably, disrupting the music. But just as Jennifer was about to break off, one of the strings suddenly snapped and the rest followed in suit. Sensing what was about to happen, Sirius grabbed Anna as the Harp suddenly began to grow brighter and brighter, and with a loud *Crack * it split into two, falling to the ground, never to play again.

Sirius lowered Anna gently back to the floor as she began to awaken, brushing her hair out of her face as she opened her eyes and stared at him.

"Jennifer, why are you looking at me like that?" she asked. Sirius blinked.

"It's me! Sirius! I just look like this so I don't smell!" he said as Anna looked at the Jennifers around her in confusion. "But Severus smells more. The Fomorians said so."

"THERE YOU ARE!"

The real Jennifer turned around in surprise only to discover they were surrounded by Merrows, acting delighted to find them.

"We came to save you!" they announced.

"Better late than never," Sirius muttered.

"We found your stuff near where they were keeping Kelpie and Angelfish prisoner," said Stew.

"Thank goodness, I was feeling pretty useless without my wand," Sirius said, grabbing his cloak and wand out of the pile, the others soon following.

"Don't get too confident, we still have a storm to deal with," Jennifer pointed out. "And I'm certainly not leaving until we exhume Janus Craw so we can get him back to Hogwarts where he belongs."

"Merrows live for storms," Kelpie assured them. "Let's go! There's an exit to water nearby!"

Jennifer turned back to the Magus, saying something quietly to him before hitting him with one last spell.

"All right, I'm ready, let's go," Jennifer said, and the Merrows ran like a small army out front to alert them of danger.

"What did you do?" Severus asked when Jennifer came over to support him.

"I tried to lessen some of the damage I did," Jennifer explained. "I hope he's going to be alright." Severus didn't say anything. After all, the giant had just tried to kill him. But he also knew that sometimes Jennifer regretted her own talent nearly as much as he regretted his. But why regret having to use one Fomorian to save them all?

The Merrows led them up a spiral stone staircase to what looked like a window, stepping out of it as if there were nothing there. The rest of them followed, taking a deep breath and rushing for the light above. One by one they reached the surface, back to their normal appearances. The weather above had already worsened considerably and they were tossing about a bit on the waves. It was pointless trying to find each other, it was too much of a struggle just to keep one's head up. But the Merrows were around Jennifer, coaxing her on, and Jennifer realized that the Merrows weren't about to let any of them drown. With the waves helping to push her in the right direction, she paddled onto shore, feeling quite exhausted and ill when she finally arrived. Sagittari was already there and wrapped a dry blanket around her, taking a look at her.

"Is she alright?" asked a familiar voice beside her.

"Yes, but she needs to get out of this. She can't afford to get a chill right now," Sagittari told the ghost.

"Here comes another!" A Merrow shouted over the waves, diving right back underneath them again. The shadow of a black dog appeared above the foam, and finally ran up to them, turning back into Sirius, still on his hands and knees.

"Anna? Where's Anna?"

"Where's Severus?" Jennifer asked.

"I believe I see them," Janus said, pointing out at something white in the waves. Jennifer and Sirius stood, and Jennifer's jaw dropped in complete surprise. For Severus appeared to be clinging to the back of a white dolphin. She knew at once who the dolphin must be, but how could it? Anna's form was a Unicorn. Everyone knew that. She was even registered now. How could she possibly have more than one form? Of course, Anna always did seem to do things that nobody else could, but this truly came as quite a surprise.

Sirius, who seemed to figure out who it was about the same time as Jennifer, braved the waves again to meet them helping them get onshore as well, followed by several of the Merrows. The moment they beached, Anna was herself again, softly glowing, as was Severus. That's when Jennifer realized that she and the others were glowing as well.

"An Aethermage," Janus said in awe. "This is your sister-in-law?"

"Yes, my husband's half-sister, Anna. Anna, this is Janus Craw," Jennifer said, switching to English. But Anna was busy getting a blanket wrapped around her.

"That's Latin, isn't it?" Anna asked.

"I couldn't understand his English," Jennifer chuckled.

"We need to get Severus to the boat as well," Sagittari said, sounding even more serious than ever.

"You had best be going. There won't be anything left of any of you to introduce if you stay here," Janus said sternly.

"We're not going to leave you here, Janus," Jennifer said firmly. "And it won't be easy for us to come back."

"You all go on," Sirius said. "Anna, Apparate ahead and let the Captain know what's coming while Sagittari gets these two to the skiff. And ask Janus to show me were his remains are, my Latin is hardly worth insulting him over."

"But what about the Fomorians?" Jennifer said, but gave Janus the message.

"If they come too close, I'll bite 'em." Sirius shrugged.

"They won't bother coming to the island," Janus said, realizing what she must have asked. "They know how you have to leave. They'll be destroying you at sea."

"I'm the only one who can do this. You both need a doctor, and I don't think Anna knows how to exhume a ghost's remains," Sirius insisted. "Go on! The captain will need your help."

"All right, Sirius. But if you take too long, I'm coming back after you," Anna threatened, Disapparating.

"Good luck, Sirius," Jennifer said, leaving Sirius and Janus together as she and Severus headed towards the skiff.

It had taken them quite a while to get back to the boat on the tossing sea. Enchanted buckets kept baling out the water as they pushed forward, but Sagittari had spent many hours on boats and skiffs while abroad as an outcast, and even in those cursed conditions managed to get them back in one piece. Captain Finn himself gave them a hand, very glad to see them.

"Did you enjoy your shore leave? Lovely weather for it, wasn't it?" he joked cheerfully. "Anna and the Merrows told me all about it, not to mention the two sops down below. I bet the rest of me fellows back home won't believe this story when I tell them."

"Assuming that we make it that far," Severus said ominously.

"Not to worry, lad, these Merrows have never let me down in a pinch. I also got full nets and I don't intend to let a full stock go to waste," he added. "Head down below, I'm going to turn north while we wait for our strays."

"Where's Anna?" Severus asked.

"In the pilot's cabin, helpin' the Merrows turn the tub around," Finn said, shooing them down the stairs.

"Now why doesn't that make me feel any better," Severus muttered.

The storm had begun to increase the moment they were settled on the ship, as if somehow the Fomorians had known they had gotten back. But Jennifer suspected it was more that they had discovered the prizes that were missing, and they were not about to let the Cauldron go without a fight. Had she been up on the deck perhaps she would have been even more concerned, for Anna had quickly realized that the storm was worse than the night before. But instead of trying to keep them away, they were trying to pull them into certain death, smashed to pieces on the rocky shores. For nearly an hour the boat fought against the current but made little leeway to get to the north. At last Sirius appeared, carrying large stone box down the stairs, then coming back up a moment later.

"Mission accomplished. I think. At least, Janus was satisfied I got it all, so hopefully I did," he said.

"What if you didn't get it all?" Anna asked.

"It's all or nothing. If I didn't get every piece of bone, he'll be stuck in limbo forever," Sirius said. "Or until someone can get back and find it."

"Right now I'm just concerned with gettin' us out of here the first time," Finn said, pulling the wheel to the right against the storm. A crack of lightning seemed to echo his sentiment, coming up quite close in the water. "We're sitting ducks here for their sea magic, no mistake about it."

"Then maybe we ought to get out of the sea," Anna said. Sirius looked at her strangely. "I was in a train that flew once." His eyes went wide.

"Now just a minute, there's no way we can get this thing off the ground…" he protested.

"We have to try something," the captain said, and for the first time Sirius noticed the strain in his voice. "It's either fly out with the boat or without it. If you have keys on you, feel free to save yourselves. I don't think the Mermaid's going to make it out this time," Finn admitted.

"I'm not about to abandon you or your boat without trying everything first," Anna said. "Not after all the risks you've taken for us."

"Not at all, lass, a man needs a bit of adventure in his life every now and then to teach him a bit of humility," Finn chuckled, but Sirius knew very well his wife was right.

Quickly Sirius dove down the stairs, looking around. Sagittari and Jennifer looked up from there were sitting, attempting to warm themselves over a mug, while a snoring lump inhabited the other couch.

"Sagittari, we're going to need you upstairs, we're going to try something to get out of here," Sirius said. Jennifer read his face with surprise, standing up herself.

"Count me in. What about Severus?"

"These two can watch him easy enough," Sirius said, and Balmweed nodded to him, bringing out some blankets. "I think he's fine where he is, let's go," he insisted.

"I think the Synchronizing spell is in order here, don't you?" Jennifer put in when she got in the pilot's cabin.

"Definitely," Sirius agreed, offering his hand to Jennifer and Anna. "Finn, you're in charge of keeping us moving, the rest of us will keep the boat up."

"Righto. STEW! Have the crew all report onboard and below deck! We're going to have an upliftin' experience, and hopefully not the sort to meet our maker!"

"Aye-aye, Cap'n," Steward said, running out of the pilot's cabin. Taking out her wand and taking a deep breath, Jennifer cast the sync spell, feeling the familiar web envelop her. A strange tingle she never noticed before also joined in, and she realized belatedly it was Anna's magic, working its way into the mix of the others. Then as one, the four of them held out their wands concentrating on the ship, and with perfectly matching pitch and timing, they cast "Wingardium Leviosa!"

With a sudden lurch the ship rose quickly, straight into the thundering clouds as lighting crackled around them.

"I don't think this is an improvement," Sirius muttered as one came dangerously close to striking the ship.

"Hang on, mates, I'm bringin' er around!" The captain said, taking out his own wand and enchanting the wheel so that it and the keel would function as if it were still in the water. Chucking his wand recklessly, he grabbed the wheel, determined to make the effort to save what was left of his ship. At last, the ship slowly began to move forward. Lightning struck what was left of the antennae, fizzling dangerously around the outside of the ship, the sound of thunder deafening as it did so. Finn leapt back from the console as smoke rippled over his electronic equipment, patting the smoke out as he grabbed hold of the wheel again.

Jennifer heard something hit the ground, vaguely aware that Anna had taken off her ring and necklace and had cast them to the side. As she did, a bright glow enveloped them and the ship lurched forward again, pushing so fast that Jennifer had to grab onto the wall, realizing belatedly she was losing her concentration.

But just as she felt her spell slip away, she saw the sky lighten before her. As the boat slowly began to descend, the storm cleared up completely, turning into a cloudless late afternoon sky.

Hugs and tears of relief swelled through the pilot's cabin as they settled roughly back into the water, and no one more relieved than the captain himself, shaking hands all around.

"The engines are dead, the equipment is shot, and I've no idea where we are, but I can't say I can be more grateful than I am right now," Finn said.

"Let's get a position then," Sagittari said, taking an ancient sextant from its place of honor on the wall.

"Then I'll run ahead to get us a tow," Sirius suggested quickly, very interested in getting off the boat as soon as possible.

"Yes, why don't you two both run ahead? We'll stay here with the captain and watch Severus," Jennifer said.

"Thank you, lass," Finn said again gratefully to Anna. "We wouldn't have got out of that without you."

"There, you hear that? You're a hero," Sirius said. "But you and I are still going to have a long talk about your taking off on your own this morning."

Anna bent down to grab her Fomorian jewelry, putting them in her pocket instead of back on her hand.

"And I'm going to have to learn that heritage can be dangerous," Anna said before following Sirius out.