(A/N: Ok, as everyone knows by now, Harry Potter and co., do not belong to me. Now, I'm going to make sure my life insurance is payed up. I don't care what people say, this is a very risky buisness! ^^)

Harry Potter and the Staff of Time

Chapter 18

Nowhere to Hide

As soon as they got back to Hogwarts, Savana and Harry found Hermione and Ron. They all went down to Hagrid's hut, so they could include Alex in their discussion. Once the group had reached the hut, they told the others about almost everything they had discovered over the Christmas holiday. (They chose not to mention Aunt Christina's journals, or their contents.) Then they gave the copies of the poem, and what they suspected was its translation, to Hermione.

"Most of the scrolls, books, etc., are written in this language. I think it might be Celtic." Alex said, with a touch of pride, as he handed the documents to Hermione. "We figured that if anyone could translate this stuff, it would be you."

Hermione blushed with pleasure at Alex's compliment.

"We thought a good place to begin would be with this poem. We think the English version is a later day translation of Merlin's version, but we're not sure. If you could translate it, we'd know for sure. Plus, it could serve as something of a Rosetta Stone for the other documents." Alex continued to explain. He was completely oblivious to Hermione's reaction to him.

"Well,...ahhh...for one thing, this is written in Gaelic, not Celtic." Hermione said with some discomfort. She didn't want Alex to loose face, so she added, "They are similar. It's easy to confuse them if you haven't studied them as I have."

"If any of the rest of us had made the mistake of confusing those languages," Ron thought darkly, "Hermione wouldn't have thought twice about telling us just how illiterate we are."

Ron caught Savana's eye and made a motion indicating that Hermione was crazy. Hermione and Alex didn't see it because Ron was behind them. Savana smirked at Ron in return.

They decided to leave the other copies, books, scrolls, and talismans in Alex's keeping until Hermione was finished with her first task. Then they went back up to the dormitories to unpack.

...`~*~`...

The next morning, Savana sat and stared, bleary-eyed, into the sludge which passed for coffee. She hadn't really slept the night before. When she was trying to fall asleep, she kept worrying about her family and not being able to use the Staff of Time once they had found it. Once Savana had actually managed to fall asleep, she had terrible nightmares. The nightmares had been terrifying, but she hadn't been able to hold onto the images once she had awakened.

Savana's stomach felt queasy and her head ached. Both were common side effects of fatigue, for Savana. The smell of the 'coffee' was making things worse. She pushed the cup away, then picked up a piece of toast to nibble on instead. She considered going back to bed and just skipping her morning classes. Savana had to admit, the idea of not seeing Professor Snape was an appealing one. She was still uncomfortable with what she had learned reading Aunt Christina's diaries. Savana was unsure of how she would react to Professor Snape in light of her new knowlege of him.

"Wakey, wakey, Savana. It's almost time for our 'favorite' class." Ron stage-whispered into Savana's ear.

Savana groaned and dropped her head into her arms. "Bite-me!" She mumbled.

"I've got just the thing to get your blood moving, a lovely piece of kidney pie! Let's try a bite, hmmm?" Ron spoke in a syrupy sweet, wheedling tone, like a mother trying to get a reluctant child to take its medicine.

Savana partially lifted her head and gave Ron a withering look. "Keep it up and you'll be wearing a vomit pie!" She threatened him.

"One of these days, Savana is going to get you for this, Ron." Hermione warned him as she gathered her books up and prepared to leave. "Come on Savana, we can't afford to be late." She prompted.

"I don't understand why I can't miss just one day of class. It's not a though Professor Snape looks forward to seeing our smiling, little faces." Savana grumbled. "Ron, one of these days, I'm going to make sure you have nothing to eat except tripe,1 sweetbreads,2 and hagus.3" She added.

Ron snorted in response and gathered his things. He opened his mouth to say something appropriately pithy to Savana, but Harry stopped him with a warning look.

"My, aren't we being Sir Galahad?!" Ron hissed at Harry instead. Then, he bowed gallantly, "Me ladies, I bid you adieu!" He said sarcastically. Then he left.

Hermione sighed, gave Harry and Savana an exasperated look, then followed Ron.

Harry looked at Savana. He was a bit concerned about his friend and told her as much. "I've never seen you act like this, or heard you say such things. What is the matter with you?!"

"I just don't feel like..." Savana began to respond.

"Don't lie to me. I know more than the others and I'm concerned about my friend." Harry interrupted her.

Savana sighed and told Harry why she hadn't been able to sleep the night before and how uncomfortable she was with the idea of seeing Professor Snape. "...what if I loose my temper, or slip-up and say something? We didn't even tell Hermione and Ron about those journals." She finished lamely.

"First of all, we're leaving for class and finishing this conversation while we walk there. We can't avoid Professor Snape forever and I don't want to even consider what he will do to us once we do see him if we were to skip class today." Harry told Savana in a no-nonesense tone. "Second; you will NOT loose your temper, because you've promised Professor Dumbledore that you wouldn't. And you're going to promise me that you won't 'slip-up', since that would embarress your aunt, whom we both think very highly of. Third; worrying about you-know-who, and you-know-what..." Harry suddenly began to speak in a quieter tone of voice as a group of students passed by them. "...isn't going to help anything. It could be disasterous, however, if you were to end up in the hospital wing due to exhaustion."

"Somehow, I can't see trying to explain the cause of my 'exhaustion' to Madam Pomfrey." Savana laughed in agreement.

The pair of them entered the potions classroom and slipped into some expty seats next to Ron and Hermione.

"Nothing like waiting until the last minute before you deigned to grace us with your presence." Ron hissed at them. "You're just lucky Professor Snape's late for class as well!"

Their odious task master arrived then, as though on cue, and stopped Ron from saying anything further with a venomous look. Ron sank further into his chair and Professor Snape began to explain the potion which the class was about to make. As he did so, Savana fought a loosing battle to keep her eyes open.

"We are not going to be making a sleeping potion today, Ms. Walker. Therefore, I would suggest that you wake-up and pay attention. NOW!" Professor Snape spoke in intense, velvet tones. "Oh, and by the way, that will be a 5 point deduction from Gryffindor House."

Savana blushed and sat up as Professor Snape continued with his lecture.

"This potion is an antidote for the poison found in the claws of a drake. If the claws of a drake break your skin, the venom introduced into your system will kill you within the next 12 hours, unless you drink this potion...This potion takes two weeks to make and is extremely complicated..."

"Professor Snape, if drake poison kills you within 12 hours, but the potion takes two weeks to make, isn't this whole exercise rather pointless?" Pansy Parkinson asked primly.

Hermione silently sighed with exasperation and rolled her eyes. Pansy was, undoubtedly, trying to sound profound, but her question was insipid. Everyone knew drake anti-toxin was kept available in areas where drakes were found.

Professor Snape said as much in his response to Pansy before he continued with his lecture.

"...you must be carefull not to get the potion on your skin during the first few days of brewing..." Professor Snape focused unpleasantly on Neville as he said this, and Neville shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "...the raw potion is quite caustic and tends to eat through any organic matter; such as skin, bone, muscle, etc." Professor Snape smiled unpleasantly at the class' cringing reaction to this graphic information.

Once he had completed his lecture, Professor Snape announced that the students would all be paired with new lab partners. "...To help prevent accidents, each one of you from Slytherin House will be paired with a student from Gryffindor House."

Then Professor Snape went on to announce the new lab pairings. Once he had completed that task, he had the class go over the procedures they would be using to make the potion, as well as the equipment and materials they would need.

Soon, class was over and they were all heading for their next class.

"I can't believe what a git Snape is!" Ron muttered. "I'm going to pair all of you incompetent Gryffindor people with the brilliant students from Slytherin, so you don't blow yourselves up! Of course, you people wouldn't be much of a loss, but I wouldn't want my little darlings singed!" Ron mimicked sarcastically.

"I can't believe Professor Snape paired you with Malfoy, Savana!" Harry said shaking his head.

"That's better than the partner I recieved, Pansy Parkinson!" Hermione sighed. "She may soon discover that she's suffering from a debilitating illness which keeps her out of potions class until we're assigned new partners. I'll be happy to arrange it as soon as possible!"

Their next class was The History of Magic. Savana had already been having an extremely difficult time paying attention and staying awake in a more stimulating class. The effort to remain awake in this particular class could prove to be overwhelming and that thought scared Savana.

The group entered the classroom and took their seats. Savana begged Ron to keep her awake during the class, but her strategy proved to be ineffective. Ron fell asleep at the same time as Savana did.

Professor Binns was lecturing on magic in the ancient Muggle world. It was not an attention grabbing topic at first blush, so Savana didn't feel terribly guilty about nodding off. She was awakened by a sharp elbow to the ribs, however, a short time later.

"Ow! What the..." She hissed at Hermione, who had committed the foul.

"Shhh! Listen to what Professor Binns is talking about." Hermione whispered urgently.

In the meantime, Harry was trying to awaken Ron. He was sound asleep with his head lolled to one side and a small line of drool running from the corner of his mouth.

"Five more minutes, mum." Ron murmured as he shifted his weight and began to snore softly.

Harry sighed and decided against any further attempts to awaken Ron.

"I'll bet you one galleon that Ron falls to the left and hits the dirt!" Savana whispered to Hermione.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to Professor Bins, as did Savana and Harry.

"...a few places of magic still exist in the Muggle world, as well as in ours. One such place is Stonehenge...Stonehenge is believed, even in the Muggle world, to have been constructed by Merlin. He brought the bluestones over from Ireland with magic and oversaw their placement 4...the location and placement of those particular stones greatly enhances the power of any magic preformed there...such places are called 'Circles of Magic'...Stonehenge is one of the places where magic is still active..." Professor Binns droned on.

"So, Stonehenge was created by Merlin and is a place of active, amplified magic..." Savana thought, "...no wonder the family estate is nearby."

Professor Binns had moved on to places of active magic which were located only in the wizarding world.

"...another such place is the Phantom Forest. Queen Mab5 created it to trap Merlin and Nimue there for eternity..."

The professor's lecture was interrupted by a clatter and a loud thump as Ron fell to the floor.

"Wha' happened?" Ron asked sleepily.

"I just won a galleon, that's what." Savana said with a smile.

...`~*~`...

Savana skipped lunch and took a nap instead. Hermione had a difficult time waking her up, and getting Savana to Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class, on time. Once they had gotten to the classroom and sat down, Savana laid her head down on the desk in front of her. She felt sick and exhausted.

"Savana, are you O.K.? You don't look very well." Harry commented in a concerned tone of voice.

"Harry is quite correct, Savana. You appear to be rather ill." Professor McGonagall's crisp voice said from beside them. "I think you should go to see Madam Pomfrey, immediately."

"I'm just a little tired." Savana whined.

"Be that as it may, I don't want the rest of us catching your illness simply because you think you're 'just a little tired.' Now, off with you. Hermione will accompany you." Professor McGonagall retorted.

Savana sighed and left for the hospital wing along with Hermione. She was glad Professor McGonagall had told Hermione to assist her. Savana had to admit, she felt woozy and that was not a typical result of exhaustion.

Madam Pomfrey diagnosed Savana as suffering from poisoning and told her that she would be staying for awhile. Then she ordered Savana to bed, wrote a note and asked Hermione to deliver it to Professor McGonagall immediately.

Hermione noticed the message wasn't sealed, so she gave into temptation and read the note while she was on the way back to class with it. The note said:

Minerva, Savana Walker is suffering from a form of poisoning. I have

yet to determine the cause and will require some assistance to do so.

Please, come to see me immediately and bring Albus with you.

Hermione re-folded the paper, ran back to class, and handed the note to Professor McGonagall. Then, Hermione returned to her seat while Professor McGonagall read the note.

"My presence is required elsewhere, therefore, class is dismissed."Professor McGonagall announced. After which she quickly left for the hospital wing.

"Hermione, what just happened here?" Harry asked in suprise.

"I'll tell you as soon as we're out of here." Hermione said with a meaningful look at the other students in the room.

"O.K., spill it." Ron demanded as soon as they were alone in the courtyard.

They didn't see Draco, who had followed them and was hiding behind a pillar, listening to them.

"Madam Pomfrey said Savana was poisoned. The note requested Professor McGonagall to get Professor Dumbledore and bring him to the hospital wing with her. Unfortunately, that's all it said and I don't know anything more." Hermione told them in a rush.

Draco's stomach twisted with anxiety.

"I'll wager anything that Malfoy slipped Savana something during potions class." Ron declaired angerly.

Draco's eyes narrowed and he clenched his fists. "How dare that slug-spitting, low-life, even suggest such a thing!" He thought, but he resisted the impulse to confront Ron. It would not be to Draco's advantage to reveal himself just now.

"That can't be the case." Harry explained. "Savana was already feeling ill at breakfast this morning."

They began to walk away from Draco. The last thing he heard any of them say was that Madam Pomfrey wouldn't allow any of them to see Savana.

Draco leaned back against the pillar and tried to decide what to do about Savana. He suspected the Death Eaters had poisoned Savana after recieving the information he had given to his father over Christmas. They were moving much more quickly than he had expected. Draco thought again about the need to warn Savana about Lord Voldemort and that there was no place where she could hide.

Draco smiled and relaxed as an idea took root in his mind. He decided he would send Savana a get well bouquet and he would bury a note in it, warning her about Lord Voldemort. He ran back to Slytherin House, so he could put his plan into action.

...`~*~`...

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall hurried into the hospital wing, where they were met by a concerned Madam Pomfrey.

"I haven't been able to determine the source of the poison yet, but I believe I have discovered the type. It is an extremely potent and long lasting sleeping potion. I have sent for Professor Snape. He should be able to help me make a potion which will counteract the effects." Madam Pomfrey told them.

"I will send for Savana's brother, Alex, immediately." Professor Dumbledore told her. "Perhaps he will be able to shed some light on the source, especially since it is possible that Savana came into contact with the potion while she was on holiday. Is it possible to speak with Savana?"

"She's been drifting in and out of consciousness." Madam Pomfrey explained to them. "But, we could certainly try. Please, follow me."

Their attempts to communicate with Savana came to naught. Her only response was a moan and a request for a good cup of coffee.

"She must be delerious!" Commented Professor McGonagall.

Professor Dumbledore simply chuckled. He was well aware of Savana's continued quest for a decent cup of coffee since her arrival at Hogwarts. "No one can say she isn't determined." He thought.

Alex came through the door carring a large bouquet of flowers. "I found these outside the door with a note which said, 'Get Well, Savana.' They must be from Neville, or someone else who knows her fairly well." He continued. "Stargazer lilies and blue delphinium are her favorite flowers. I don't see any signature on the note, though."

Alex set the vase of flowers on Savana's bedside table and propped the note up against the vase. Then he saw the corner of a paper buried in the bouquet. Alex carefully fished the paper out.

"Well, well, what have we here? The identity of our secret admirer is about to be revealed." Alex said with a chuckle as he unfolded the note.

"Perhaps you should leave your sister's mail for her to read." Professor McGonagall suggested with a sniff.

Her comment, however, did not deter Alex. "Nah, if her admirer wanted to remain anonymous, he'd have sealed..." Alex broke off in mid-comment and turned white as he quickly re-read the note, which said:

Savana, Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters know about you. They know

your family is alive and living in England. I am taking an enormous risk in

divulging this information to you, so please, do not ignore this warning. It

is not a prank!

Silence reigned among them for a few seconds, except for a quiet scuffling sound near the door.

Professor Dumbledore looked toward the sound and said, "You may remove the cloak now, Harry."

Two pair of feet seemed to appear from thin air. Harry and Hermione's flushed faces and sheepish grins were quickly revealed afterward. Harry began to fold the invisibility cloak and cleared his throat before attempting to explain Hermione's, and his, presence in the room.

"Ah-h-h, we just wanted to check on Savana..."

They were saved from further explainations by the arrival of Professor Snape.

"I never thought I'd be happy to see him." Harry thought wryly.

Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey nodded to the other adults in greeting. Then they walked over to Savana and proceeded to examine her while quietly talking to each other. After a brief period of time, Professor Snape motioned Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall over to Savana's bedside next to them. Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey began talking to them quietly. Snatches of what was being said by them, could be overheard by Alex, Harry and Hermione.

"...faint odor of orange blossoms and sandlewood...blue and yellow discoloration on the palms...pink conjunctiva...quite unusual...read about it, I haven't ever seen it...we'll get busy making the antidote...time is of the essence...must discover where she came into contact with it..."

Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey left the room, presumably to begin work on the antidote, and Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall approached Alex, Harry and Hermione.

"It would appear there is much for us to discuss." Professor Dumbledore said to all three of them. "However, let us begin with where Savana found the Stone of Morpheous."

Alex's only reaction was one of stunned silence.

Harry and Hermione silently chuckled to themselves. They were well aquainted with Professer Dumbledore's seeming omnipotence and could sympathise with Alex's current predicament. Neither of them were naive enough to volunteer the requested information, however, so they waited for Alex's response in silence.

"Um-m-m, the truth is...I have no idea what the Stone of Morpheous is..." Alex stammered.

"It is a very powerful talisman possessed by Merlin..." Professor Dumbledore began to explain when Alex interupted in confusion.

"I thought talismans were charms which ward off evil. If that's what caused Savana's problems, it's no charm."

"Had you allowed me to complete my explaination, I would have told you that the Stone of Morpheous causes any who touch it to fall into a coma. Merlin used it as the ultimate defense against the Dark Arts." Professor Dumbledore completed his explaination.

"We don't know why Savana wasn't affected more rapidly, or mor severely, by it...perhaps because she's related to Merlin. Albeit, many generations removed." Professor McGonagall said pensively.

"How do you know Savana's problem is even caused by this...'talisman'?! It could be caused by alot of other things." Alex demanded.

"No. The symptoms and the effects of the Stone of Morpheous are unique." Professor Dumbledore admitted while shaking his head. "Which brings us back to my original question; where did she find it?"

"Tell them, Alex." Harry urged quietly. "We can trust them and they may be able to help us."

Alex sighed with frusteration, then told them about the trunk in the attic and the monuments. "Savana was the only one who touched any of the talismans. That's why neither Harry, nor I, were affected, but we have no idea which one is the Stone of Morpheous...or if any of the others are dangerous...we can't read any of the writing..." He trailed off.

Harry was busy thanking Lady Luck that he had not touched the talismans. He had lost track of Alex's narrative, so he was a bit suprised when Hermione added;

"Actually, we do understand a few things. I was able to verify the poem's translation." She said with a blush. "Though the translation wasn't word for word, and that made it a bit difficult to compare."

"You're loosing me here." Alex said by way of prompting Hermione to explain her thinking more clearly.

"Oh, well, the poem in the translation begins with; "In the month of the blue moon." A blue moon is the second new moon occuring in a one month period. It is relatively rare, and can only occur if you're using the Julian calender..." Hermione noticed that Alex looked completely clueless, so she modified her approach. "...Merlin wouldn't have used a Julian calender, it's too modern. He would have used a Lunar calender, one based on the phases of the moon, so there wouldn't be any such thing as a blue moon..." Hermione stopped and sighed with frusteration. Now, even Harry's eyes were glazed over with confusion.

"So, you're saying that whoever did the translation was able to account for this difference?" Professor McGonagall said.

"Yes, I guess that's another way of putting it." Hermione huffed a little. "And the poem tells us the Staff of Time still exists and that it is protected." Hermione finished lamely.

"The Staff of Time's existance is well known in some circles." Professor Dumbledore assured them. "That is the reason your Aunt Christina remained on the family estate, rather than flee to the United States with the rest of your family. Someone needed to guard access to the Staff of Time."

"But, Merlin protected it." The words rushed out of Harry's mouth before he realised it.

"It is probable Merlin foresaw specific dangers associated with the Staff of Time in the future, which the presence of a descendant would prevent." Professor McGonagall told the group.

"Merlin decreed that a descendant must always be living on the estate. It is one of the many protections he provided for the Staff of Time and the reason Lord Voldemort tried to kill your family." Professor Dumbledore explained patiently.

"If Merlin foresaw all of this, why didn't he simply destroy the staff, or change the future?" Harry asked.

"You have actually asked two separate questions, Harry." Professor McGonagall responded. "I will address the first question. You are already aware that mage staffs harness enormous amounts of power and energy..." The others nodded to indicate that they already understood this. "...The destruction of any mage staff causes a catastrophic release of those energies and powers. The destruction of the Staff of Time would do all of that, and destroy the fabric of time, as well."

Professor Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "Well said, professor. I am able to answer the second part of your question. Merlin used the Staff of Time only to view the future and the past, much as Muggles watch movies. If the staff is, or was, actually used to travel in time, it would take most of the user's life energy to do so."

"That seems pretty harsh." Alex commented. "Merlin created it, why would he make it do that?"

"Because, he wanted to prevent anyone who used the Staff of Time from shaping the future to meet their own needs and desires!" Hermione murmured. "Think about it...without some sort of a deterant, the staff could be used to view the future, then travel to the past and change what will come...it would cause complete chaos!"

"While your observation is certainly true, Hermione, there is something more to be considered..." Professor Dumbledore added. "...Theoretically, it would take an enormous amount of energy to open a portal into time. The staff takes that energy from the most convient source, the user, in order to accomplish that task. Some legends indicate there are ways to circumvent this, but they have perils of their own."

"Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey will return soon, and as fascinating as this discussion is, we must leave it for another time. We have another important issue to discuss before their return, the warning note." Professor McGonagall reminded the group.

Yes, the very existance of that note is almost as disturbing as its content." Professor Dumbledore stroked his beard thoughtfully as he said this. "Someone, other than your family and Lord Voldemort, is at least partially aware of what is occuring and we have no indication as to who that person is."

"And, while you are all protected as long as you remain at Hogwarts, or on its grounds, your aunt and parents are not. They are clearly in danger and must be warned..." Professor McGonagall broke off as Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey entered the room carrying an urn and a cup containing a smoking, foul smelling potion.

"The antidote is ready to be administered," Madam Pomfrey announced as she advanced toward Savana's bedside, along with an unusually silent Professor Snape. "Have you determined the origion of the poison yet?"

The small group made eye contact with each other and Professor Dumbledore silently cautioned them to reveal nothing of their previous discussions. Then he said, "We have discovered that Savana came into contact with the poison while she was on holiday and there is no threat to anyone here, at Hogwarts. That is all." Then he turned to Harry and Hermione. He dismissed them by saying, "I believe it is time for you to return to Gryffindor House with Professor McGonagall."

They nodded and took their leave. There was no discussion between them as they walked back to the dormitory, as they were all occupied by their own thoughts. Those thoughts were dominated by impending feelings of doom.

1. Tripe: A delicacy made from the stomach and/or intestine of cattle or oxen.

2. Sweetbreads: A delicacy made from the thymus or pancreas of an animal, usually a calf.

3. Haggis: A Scottish delicacy. It is a pudding made of the heart, liver, gonades, etc. of a sheep or a

calf. These are cooked with spices and oatmeal in the animal's stomach.

4. The legend of Merlin and Stonehenge is common in Briton. It probably has its origins in

Geoffrey of Monmouth's History of the Kings of Britain.

5. Queen Mab: There are conflicting legends concerning her role, if any, with Merlin. She is believed

to be the Mistress of Magic; Merlin's 'mother'; and the sister of the Lady of the Lake. Queen Mab

created Merlin to encourage the peoples of Britan to believe in magic instead of Christianity. She

disappeared when people stopped believing in magic and turned to religion instead.

A/N Alright here is another update I will update if you be good and give me reviews. Flames will be used to heat my housed.