Chapter Twenty-Eight: Uncertainties Of The Mind

            Blazing jack-o-lanterns lit the Great Hall, igniting the enchanted sky with its surreal glow.  Skeletons, pirates, and characters of the sort mingled beneath the festive lightning that snaked across the sky.  Hermes stood by the corner in all his godly glory, swishing a simple glass of pumpkin juice carelessly in his hand.  Draco had gone so far as to even attach small tufts of wings to his feet.  White silk draped like damask over his sinewy limbs.  The boy's face hardened into a frown as he saw Pansy Parkinson in Aphrodite's likeness (or lack thereof) approaching him.  Good grief, he thought, how much more vain can she get?

            "Hello, Draco," she said, giving him an unnecessary peck on the curve of his cheek.  He looked at her out of a weary eye, flinching slightly at the contact of skin.

            "Pansy," he said in a low growl, "I didn't ask you to the Ball for a reason."

            He left the girl flustered in all her grossly exaggerated pomp and sass.  Heading toward Crabbe and Goyle, Draco hoped they would prove to be a lovelier entertainment than the daughter of foam.  A hush swept over the Hall as the main doors opened to reveal a pair of late students.  The messenger god turned his gaze toward the entrance to see who had entered, and stopped short, allowing his glass to unwillingly slip through his fingers, shattering on the ground in dancing fragments.  The one who walked into the Hall seemed to be an angel gently placing a foot on Earth to inspect the well being of its inhabitants, and left a fleeting feeling of exposure and uncertainty in their own being in all who saw her.  She came in on the arm of a knight, giving the impression of the saint that grants blessings to brave warriors before a battle.  The night sky had been lost in her hair, glittering with every possible constellation known to man.  Draco stood like a wet statue drying in the sun, shards of glass decorating his feet like rhinestones.  His heart had forgotten its purpose as a vital organ, ceasing to beat any further.  Every sense in him, every fiber, sensation, and thought was immersed in the sight of the girl, in the gentle sweep of her wings, the lull in the curve of her back.  Emerald eyes met remote cobalt ones, and as they found each other amidst the crowd of stares, everything ceased to exist except for that moment.  It was as if eternity had ended, unraveled itself like a blooming flower, and started over again.  And in that moment, eternity returned as soon as it had withdrawn from itself.

            The Potions Master looked up from the staff table with removed interest in what had caused everyone (to his delight) to fall silent.  His breath caught in the pocket of his throat as he saw Natalia enter the Hall on the arm of Harry, supple like the sun that sets past the horizon.  He could not prevent the smile that crept onto his face.  The girl was a masterpiece, every accessory completing her already apparent beauty, creating a startling effect.  Grinning and shaking his head in wonder, he speculated on how many hearts she had captured in her entrance. 

            The incandescent being found its way across the Hall to a grinning Guinevere. 

            "Natalia, I owe you one for making Pansy develop such a scowl on her face." Hermione said with a chuckle.  The winged girl turned to see Pansy storming away from the punch bowl, absolutely beside herself with fury.  Her face was stitched together like Hera discovering Zeus in the act with another deity.

            Time was replaced with the sirens' song as couples were drawn into dance by the creatures' mesmerizing melodies.  Natalia grinned at her knight, held ever so gently in his armored limbs.  Laughter sputtered from the two as they heard an "Ow!" come from Padma Patil and a "So sorry, didn't mean to step on your foot" come from Ron.  Hermione exchanged congenial glances with Natalia when she passed by in Justin Fitch-Fletchley arms.  As the song came to an end, Natalia headed to the punch bowl, slightly weary from the dancing. 

            "I see that beautiful things are not as durable as they seem."

            The girl looked up from pouring a cupful of pumpkin juice and saw a smirking Snape standing beside her.

            "Well then, Professor, you must be the most durable of us all." she said with a smug wink, leaving the Potions Master choking slightly on his drink.  As she walked back to her friends, she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

            "Natalia, may I have the honor of dancing with you?"

            The girl turned and dropped her glass at the sight of Draco.  He swiftly bent down and caught it, setting it down on a nearby table.  Smiling, she stared speechlessly at the boy.  He waved his hand, wiggling his fingers in the air. 

            "I don't understand, they seem to catch everything but the snitch."

            She grinned, saying softly, "I would love to dance with you, but Harry –"

            "Oh, I already asked him, and he says if you are willing, it is fine."

            Natalia raised both eyebrows in surprise.

            "You asked him?  Since when did you start being civil to Gryffindors?"

            He smiled and took her hand in his, saying, "You'll be surprised at what I'll do to achieve the things I want." as he led her onto the dance floor.

            The two were a taking contrast: the night sky against locks of hair like the first light of day, eyes a colder blue than Alaskan skies gazing into green ones warm as the depth of a summer ocean.  And yet, in the perfect contrast held between them, their bodies melted together like waxwork, both moving in flawless unison to the invisible ribbons of melody.  Natalia felt her senses quicken and stop at the same time, catching in an unseen net before the one that drew her to him.  Things and people passed them without the slightest recognition, everything measured and seen in a new light through the other's eyes.  Draco was sure that he had died the moment she stepped into the Hall and saw only him, and now, she was the one that willed him to live again, if only for a moment more, just to breath in the world that had been recreated in her eyes and slowly take away his breath once again.  It was like holding a small dove in one's hands – he felt an infinite adoration for her, but knew how easily she could be crushed with his grasp.  And now as he held her so gently in his arms, he realized for the first time what he had ached for all his life, realized the feeling that the seas must experience every morning as the sun rises and it feels the light reflect on its glassy surface – an indescribable, burdening, hungry, raw, love. 

            "You've lost your way in your own mind, Draco," she whispered softly in his ear.  His lips settled back as he squeezed her hand, looking fondly into her eyes.  Suddenly, darkness engulfed him, enveloping his consciousness in the belly of the chimera.  He lurched forward, clutching to the girl in pain.  His breath was stolen from him as his mind ran through visions of a forest like a hound on a scent.  The dizzying path led him to a clearing in the middle of the forest.  From the moonlight he saw images: a hut, a cottage, four imposing horsemen.  They came in an army of colors – brilliant white, fiery red, pitch black, and a deathly pale.  He shrank back as he felt the chill from the breath of Death's horse, only to stumble around and hear screams come from within the hut.  "Let me out!  I beseech you, they are coming!" the voice cried.  His mind's eye staggered toward the sound, seeping itself through cracks into the hut.  A dwarf immediately came into view.  The small man held an iron club, beating it against the door.  As he struck the again and again, the four horsemen came thundering in, sending Draco reeling back into reality.  He clung to the girl, gasping breaths of life into his lungs.  Spots of darkness dotted his vision as he slowly regained consciousness.  Natalia led him to a chair near the back of the Hall, looking at the boy with great concern.

            "Draco," she whispered, offering him a glass of conjured water, "Are you all right?"

            He nodded, taking the glass with shaking hands.  As he poured the water down his parched throat, a great urge to aid the dwarf came over him.  He set the glass down, arising in desperation.

            "Natalia, I have to leave.  A man cries for help."

            The girl looked at him with confusion knit on her face.

            "What are you talking about?"

            "I had a vision, a premonition, as we were dancing, of a clearing in a forest with a hut and a cottage, and a dwarf was trapped inside the hut, at which four horsemen broke in to capture him."

            Natalia's eyes flared open in alarm.  "Did you say a clearing with a hut and a cottage?"

            "Yes," he replied, "Do you know of such a place?"

            The girl turned a ghostly pale, realizing where this lead.  "Mab…" she uttered in a whisper, "The other night, I was in that very clearing during my Offense Against The Dark Arts training, and she cast a binding spell on the hut.  She must have trapped the dwarf inside."  Looking back up at Draco, she added, "We have to go get him, he could be in grave danger.  I fear that this may lead to something more ominous that we can perceive."

            Relief flooded over the boy as he asked, "You'll come with me?"

            "Yes, but we will have to bring my dragon along."

            Nodding, they slipped past the Great Hall's entrance unnoticed, heading to the dungeons to fetch Amicus.

            The two swiftly wove their way through the woods with Amicus guiding them like a nomadic moon.  Upon reaching the clearing, they heard a jolly tune float through the air, born from a rich tenor voice.  They cautiously approached the hut, knocking on the door firmly.  A voice came from within.

            "Come in, come in.  I can't get the door to open, but you can go ahead and try coming in."

            The two students exchanged perplexed looks and opened the door, seeing a jovial dwarf brewing a steaming pot of tea.  He smiled at the children crookedly, hobbling around and gathering stools.

            "Here, here, sit, please."

            He trudged back over to the fire, picked up the blistering hot kettle with his bare hands and set it on the table, pouring them all a cup full of tea.  He then got a large bowl from a cupboard, set it before the dragon, and poured him a bowlful of tea.

            "Now," the dwarf began, twirling his teacup around his finger, "What brings you to the woods at this time of the night?"

            The two children looked at each other doubtfully.

            "I had a vision earlier this evening," Draco began, "That you were trapped in here and needed help."

            The dwarf chuckled to himself as he set his teacup on his foot.  "Ah, yes.  You see, the nice little lass that visited me earlier put a binding spell on my home, so now that you've come in here in your efforts to save me, you won't be able to get back out either."

            Draco looked at Natalia in panic.  "We'll be killed if we stay here!"  He turned back to the dwarf.  "You see, in my vision, there were four horsemen that came to capture you.  They broke into your hut, but unfortunately, I was unable to see the rest of the vision."

            The burly little man leaned back on two legs of his chair, considering the matter.

            "Hm…I presume they are coming to acquire the Graeae's Eye."  Turning back to the children, he said, "Well, that is most unfortunate.  My guess is we will just have to sit here and wait."

            "What?" Natalia exclaimed, speaking up for the first time, "We cannot do that, they may be in league with Mab!  We will be sitting ducks for Death!"

            The small man sighed deeply, saying, "My dear, you will one day learn that the thing we fear is not nearly as fearful as what our minds make of it."  He turned around and gestured to a shadow in the corner.  From the dim space came a fox, coated with auburn hair and a dash of jet black on the tip of its tail.  Its silver eyes glowed with warmth as it turned its gaze on the children.

            "Well, Sasha," the dwarf said, "You were right.  The last days have finally arrived."

            "Excuse me," Draco said, "But what exactly is the Graeae's Eye?"

            The dwarf looked at the two children carefully, and seeing that they were true and good, replied, "The Graeae's Eye is an instrument of great worth.  It allows the user to see anywhere and everywhere in the world, allowing nothing to escape its gaze.  Many have used it for disparaging purposes in the past, therefore, I was assigned to be the keeper of the Graeae's Eye.  But now, it seems that the one that you speak of, Mab, has discovered its whereabouts and searches for it relentlessly.  Its purposes have become most un–"

            A sound of eager, heavy hooves came from a distance, at which all three fell silent.  Natalia gripped the glowing wand at her side, scorching her skin with its searing warmth.  The group tensed with each sound of the nearing horsemen.  All noise suddenly disappeared as the five held their breaths in anticipation.  Cold blasts of snorting breaths drifted through the cracks in the wood as the horses stamped their feet wildly outside.  The door crashed down with a crimson horse rushing in toward the dwarf.  The towering figure on its back raised its heavy, bloody sword and swiftly brought it down on the dwarf's head.  At the contact of skin and blade, a ringing clang resounded from the impact.  The dwarf's neck did not split, but stood firmly in place.  He grabbed the fox and tucked her under his arm, gesturing to the children.

            "Come, run while you can!"

            They clambered past the fallen door and ran into the woods with the four horsemen at their heels.  The three stumbled through the woods with Amicus flying as a guide in front of them.  From a distance, Natalia saw small figures running towards them, and stopped dead at seeing the approaching Ignes.  She grabbed Draco's arm, drawing him back.

            "Stop!  They've surrounded us!"

            In front of them were the Fire Children, and at their backs were the four horsemen.  To either side of them were approaching demons that seemed to be wooden puppets staggering awkwardly from an invisible guiding hand.  The group stood frozen in panic, unsure of how to greet their certain death.  As the adversaries neared, both witch and wizard drew their wands, one shining as the sun, the other black as an eclipsed sky.  Death rode up to Natalia, its horse's breath stinging her face with the bitter frost of mortality.  Death raised a wicked blade, bent and curved with the many slashes of its victims.  As the rider brought the sword down on the girl, a great roar echoed through the Forest.  Amicus flew in front of Natalia and spread his wings, shielding her face while expanding to a colossal size.  He stretched taller than the oldest tree, his wings reaching towards the thundering skies.  The great dragon arched its neck down and sent a terrible pillar of pure, white-hot fire down upon the horse and its rider, incinerating the two on impact.  The creatures of the Dark froze at the sight of the terrifying animal, and within a minute, scampered away.  The three remaining horsemen turned their horses around and thundered back into the depths of the Forest. 

            Draco cried out in horror at the sight of the magnificent beast, clutching to Natalia like a frightened child.

            "G-good grief," he stammered out, "Does he always d-do that?"

            She reached forward and touched the dragon's claw timidly.  "Amicus, if you could, would you mind changing back?  You are rather…imposing like this."

            The winged creature smiled a wry dragon's smile and shrunk back to the size of a large eagle.

            "Thanks for fending them off." she whispered, petting him on the head.  The now reduced guardian pet grinned at the girl smugly, quite pleased with himself.  The dwarf chuckled and said to the fox, "Now why don't you ever do great feats like that?"

            She rolled her silver eyes.  "At least I have the gift of speech." she replied in an articulated voice.

            Both children stared at the animal in wonder.

            Sniffing softly, the fox muttered, "Do stop looking so surprised.  You humans talk to us all the time anyway, it's only natural that I should respond."

            Letting the fox down onto the ground, the burly little man said, "Don't mind Sasha.  She's a bit sensitive about the subject."

            "What's your name, dwarf?" Draco asked, wanting to know more but holding back his tongue.

            "Oh, don't ask him that," the fox groaned, "It will take him a decade to get it out.  Just call him Master Dwarf; it should suffice for now."

            "Master Dwarf," Natalia started, "What do you mean to do with the Graeae's Eye?"

            The dwarf got up and started walking in the direction of Hogwarts.  "Well, I am going to deliver it into the hands of Albus Dumbledore and let him worry about it.  My capabilities of protecting it have reached its limit."

            The children followed him out of the Forest while the two animals trailed behind, conversing in a language only animals understood. 

            The group sat in the Headmaster's office, all warmed with hearty mugs of hot chocolate. 

            "Master Dwarf," Dumbledore said, "I am most relieved that you have reached Hogwarts before danger fell upon you or the Graeae's Eye."  He turned to the two children, looking at them kindly.  "Draco, you were most brave to venture into the Forest with Natalia, although I would suggest informing the faculty first next time.  Twenty points will be taken off your house for wandering off school grounds, but fifty points will be awarded to you for aiding a person in need of help.  Now, if you will please, Master Dwarf and I have matters of dire importance we need to discuss.  It would be best for the two of you to head back to the dormitories and get some rest, for it is well past midnight already."

            The two children left the Headmaster's office, heading back down to the dungeons for a night of well-earned sleep.

            Albus Dumbledore turned back to the dwarf, rubbing his eyes in weariness.  The dwarf's face had lost all its joviality as the children left, and nearly contorted into an expression of grave worry.  "Albus, it is most fortunate that the boy received a vision, although I have a feeling that it came from his father in an attempt to trap the Bearer.  She is not safe, you know.  The war is approaching fast, and she needs to acquire her full powers much more rapidly than she seems to be doing."

            The Headmaster sighed, looking every bit his age.  "Yes, I agree.  I had never thought in my life that the end would be so soon."  He looked up at the dwarf.  "And the four horsemen…"

            "Yes," the modest man replied in a hushed vioce, "It is they.  I had thought them to be trapped in the void of Time forever, but it seems that isn't so.  Their presence can only mean one thing…"

            "Yes," the Headmaster agreed, nodding worriedly, "Yes, it can only mean one thing…"