(A/N Do I really need to say it again? Because I don't wanna! O.K., here goes...Harry Potter and all associated characters are the property of J.K. Rowling...Satisfied?)
Harry Potter and the Staff of Time
Chapter 19
Quidditch Blizzard
It was now late March and Savana's 'nasty little experience' was ancient history to her. Their lives had all been relatively quiet during that time. The majority of their free time had been spent either in the library, or down at Hagrid's hut, trying to translate the information they had discovered over the Christmas holiday.
They were making more progress with the translations, especially since Fleur Delacour had joined them. She was an expert with both of the necessary languages. With her help, they began to understand the nuances in the writings.
One of the books they had discovered pertained exclusively to how to use the Staff of Time. Unfortunately, large sections of it were badly faded and Fleur was spending alot of her free time reconstructing the writing.
Thus far, they had learned that the staff was most powerful if used in a circle of magic. Stonehenge was specifically mentioned in this segment.
They had also learned that anyone who wanted to use the Staff of Time must possess three abilities; either alone or in combination with others using the staff.
"The user(s) must be able to see the future (premonitions); have the
ability to move things by sheer force of will (telekinesis); and possess the
ability to project one's essence into another place (astro-projection)."
It had gone on to explain how to activate the Staff of Time and preform a basic spell to view the past, or the future.
No one in the group had paid alot of attention to it once they had discovered that someone needed to have the ability to astro-project. They didn't know anyone who admitted to having that particular gift.
The writings which had proven the most pertinent, so far, were those found engraved upon the monument. They all pertained to the Staff of Time, in one way or another. What the group found to be the most interesting, however, was the copious amount of information about the labyrinth in which the Staff of Time was said to be hidden. The writings described several challenges which must be successfully negotiated in order for the searcher to gain access to the staff. The information they had translated so far, however, had not been very specific in either their descriptions of the challenges, or how to successfully negotiate those challenges.
It was now late on a Friday evening and Harry, Ron, Hermione, Savana, Fleur and Alex were all gathered around the table in Hagrid's hut. They had the writings, the copies, and several books which aided them in translation, spred before them.
Harry sighed, stretched and rubbed his eyes. He stared out the window at the snow which was falling rapidly, and heavily, from the sky. It had been snowing steadily since late that morning and it showed no sign of letting up anytime soon.
"I hope it's done snowing by tomorrow. I've never played quidditch in a snow storm before." Harry muttered.
"I have. It's actually alot of fun!" Savana piped up.
"Not to worry! We don't play quidditch in inclimate weather." Ron said in a distracted tone of voice.
"You're not serious?!" Savana demanded. "At home we play no matter what the weather is like. They called a brief time out once, when a tornado roared through, otherwise, weather has never been a reason to cancel, or post-pone, a game. You guys must be wimps!" Savana teased.
"Ha! Psych!" Ron crowed. "Of course we play in snow storms! 'Neither rain, nor sleet, nor gloom of night...'"
"Give it up! You're not the United States Postal Service!" Savana chided him.
"Oh, so that's where I heard that saying." Ron chuckled.
"Now that our perpetual child is finished attempting to impress us with his wit, I think we need to take another look at the talismans." Hermione cut in. "I think I've discovered what they're used for."
"Just make sure you don't touch the Stone of Morpheous!" Savana added.
"Don't worry about that, I've stored it in a safe place." Alex assured them.
"What 'ave you found?" Fleur asked.
"As I just said, I'm not sure about this, but I think most of the symbols that were on the monuments are illustrations of the tallismans." Hermione informed them.
"You must compare zhem, to be sure." Fleur added.
Hermione nodded and searched through the copies until she found a symbol that matched the talisman which she held in her hand.
"Eureka!" Hermione shouted in triumph. She set the talisman on top of its corresponding symbol. She picked up another and began searching anew. The others all followed suit.
Soon most of the symbols were covered by their matching talismans. They noted there was only one talisman which had no corresponding symbol, the Stone of Morpheous.
"I don't know if I'm relieved about its omission, or not." Alex said as he loked at the assortment of talismans laid out before him.
"The next trick is figuring out what was said about each one of these in the writings." Savana added eagerly.
Fleur was studying a page of writing above one of the talismans. She looked up from it and told them, "I can tell you zhat, according to zhis section, 'ere1, zhese talismans are all necessary to navigate zhe labyrinth. 'owever, eet does not say 'ow zhey are to be used. Merde!" Fleur added a few more explatives in French and shook her head with frusteration.
"Well, if the information is written here, we don't have enough time to pursue it any further tonight." Hermione reminded the others. They sighed and nodded in agreement.
"We have at least one thing working in our favore now," Hermione said as they began to put everything away. "Voldemort can't get through the labyrinth to the Staff of Time without those talismans, and we have them!"
"Yeah," Savana agreed. "I hope that buys us some time."
The others had the same hope, but didn't feel the need to express it.
"There is another thing working in our favor, if we're concerned about time." Hermione reminded the others. "No one can enter the labyrinth unless there is a blue moon and the constellation of Orion is in ascendance. The next blue moon will be the last week of April, but Orion is only in ascendance during the winter months in this hemisphere. Consequently, it is unlikely that anyone can enter the labyrinth until sometime next winter. A blue moon will occur next January and Orion will also be in ascendance...I looked it up during astronomy class." Hermione added with a smile.
"Somehow, I suspect Voldemort found a loophole to that little obstacle." Savana said with a sigh. "So, forgive me if I don't have too much faith in what you just said, or take comfort from it."
Harry, Ron, Hermione and Savana trudged through the rapidly accumulating snow to the castle. Then on to their respective dormitories, where they turned in for the night.
...`~*~`...
The next morning, Harry, Ron and Savana rushed through their breakfasts. They needed to meet with the rest of the Gryffindor Team and discuss their strategy for the best way to defeat Slytherin in a raging blizzard.
After they had left, Hermione went up to the library with the intention of getting some research done. However, as she stood in the stacks, she overheard a stage whispered conversation between Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown.
"Oh, great!" Hermione thought. "It's the local gossip squad!"
"...and I heard the Yank is a freak!"
"Do tell? I knew there was something odd about her. What did you hear?"
"Catlyn O'Shea, from Hufflepuff, told me that..."
Hermione wasn't able to hear the rest of the conversation because Lavender and Parvati walked away, giggling.
"That's sweet of them," Hermione thought sarcastically. "Spreading gossip all over the school behind Savana's back."
Hermione briefly entertained the idea of confronting the two gossip mongers, then decided against it. She would prefer not explaining that she had been evesdropping. The likely result of that admission would be gossip about her as well. Instead, Hermione packed up her books and left for the quidditch game.
...`~*~`...
The snow was comming down so hard and fast that Hermione and the other spectators were barely able to see the players on the field. It was virtually impossible to identify who each individual player was, or to see the goals.
When Harry and Draco shook hands at the begining of the game, they both wondered how they would ever see the snitch through all of the snow.
The game got off to a rather slow start, due to the weather. It took awhile for the players to adjust to the lack of visibility and the effect of the heavy snow on the quaffle and the bludgers. The ice built-up on the quaffle, making it slippery and difficult to hold onto. The bludgers were almost impossible to see or hear. They simply made sudden appearences through the snow, then dissappeared again.
Harry had already dodged several bludgers, which had barely missed him. His one comforting thought was that Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherin team had the same problems and disadvantages as his team, and he, had.
The game was going into its eighth hour and the score was tied. Harry thought he had seen the snitch a few times during the game. Twice it had turned out to be an optical illusion and the other times, the snitch had vanished by the time he had arrived. Harry huffed in frusteration and sat back on his broom as he surveyed what he could see of the field.
Harry could see a few other players hovering on the edges of his field of vision. He suspected the one closest to him was Malfoy. He suddenly realised that there had been no cheating or foul play during this game, by either team.
"That can't be true!" He thought. "Slytherin is probably responsible for this freak blizzard...somehow...who ever heard of a blizzard at the end of March?!...I'll bet I'm having these thoughts because my brain is getting frostbitten!" Harry realised with a start.
He shook himself mentally and physically, then began to fly in a search pattern. Just then, Harry heard the 'whoosh' of a closely passing bludger along with a shout of, "Yee Ha! Ride 'em cowboy!" Curtesy of Savana as she flew past him with a manic grin on her face. Harry swore he saw little devil horns sprouting from Savana's head in that moment.
"I must be loosing my mind!" Harry thought. "We have got to finish this game before we all go crackers and end up in the nut house!"
As that thought crossed Harry's mind, the bludger which had just missed him, hit the broom of a Slytherin player. The hapless player zoomed, nose first, into a deep snowdrift.
Harry realised that the player in the snowdrift was Malfoy and he laughed with glee. Malfoy looked more like the abomidable snowman than a human. Then Harry launched himself toward Malfoy at top speed. When Malfoy had hit the snow drift, he had caused a huge spray of snow. The snitch had appeared in that snow spray. It rode with the spray like a surfer riding the crest of a wave. Harry pounced and came up with the snitch in his hand while Malfoy was still wiping the snow from his face.
"I've got the snitch!" Harry shouted in triumph.
Thus ended one of the most unusual quidditch matches in the history of Hogwart's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
...`~*~`...
Several days later, Ron, Hermione, Savana and Harry, sat in the great hall eating dinner. It had taken a couple of days for everyone, players and spectators alike, to thaw out after the quidditch match. The snow had finally stopped falling the day after the match, April Fool's Day.
Savana snuck a quick look at Pansy as she limped past their table, and Ron sniggered. Pansy favored them with a murderous look, then continued on her way to Slytherin's table.
"I heard the official story on Pansy's injuries is that she was hit by a wayward bludger. It was re-directed her way by yours truly." Ron said with a sardonic smile. "Of course, I know that I never hit a bludger anywhere near the stands during that match. Pansy just made-up that story to cover-up how she really got hurt...falling out of the stands when she tried to help poor, widdle Malfoy!"
"Enough Ron! The whole story has been done to death!" Savana told him wearily.
"Oh sure, what do you care? You're not the subject of the libelous tales Pansy is telling..." Ron hissed back at Savana. "...but you are the one who hit that bludger!"
Savana flushed. She was formulating an appropriately nasty response when Harry interrupted with,
"...which hit Malfoy, who released the snitch from the snowdrift where it was buried, etc., etc...and if it hadn't happened, we'd probably still be out on the quidditch pitch! Now it's time to drop the entire topic."
They all became involved with other conversations and people. They didn't notice Pansy, who periodically glared in their direction. Pansy had decided that it was time for everyone to see what a freak Savana was, especially Draco! Pansy assumed that when Draco saw how odd Savana really looked, he would loose all interest in the Yank.
Pansy excused herself from the table, saying she needed to fetch something which she had forgotten elsewhere. Then she left the great hall and went to the closest girls' lavatory, where she had hidden the things which she needed to make her plan a reality. Once she had retrieved them, Pansy quickly returned to the deserted entrance of the great hall. Her limp had mysteriously vanished as soon as Pansy was out of the sight of her audience.
Pansy furtively removed her wand from one sleeve of her robe and a large, completely filled, water balloon from the other sleeve. She snickered as she cast a spell of invisibility, then one of levitation, upon the balloon. Then she carefully guided her loaded missle until it hovered directly over Savana's head.
"Rupturea!" Pansy whispered with a viscious smile upon her face.
The balloon burst, dumping its load of water over Savana's head and shoulders.
Pansy quickly withdrew her wand back into her sleeve and limped pitifully back into the great hall. She wanted to watch Savana's humiliation as it occurred. Pansy felt a delicious feeling of triumph wash over her as she innocently watched events unfold before her.
Savana gasped and sputtered for air as the water poured over her head. Her eyes had been open, so the water also washed out her contacts. Savana didn't notice, however. She attempted to mop-up some of the water with a napkin.
The great hall was silent and all eyes were on the soggy occupants of the Gryffindor table.
"Who did that?!" Hermione demanded. She was furious, as well as wet.
"It was probably Peeves, Hermione." Harry said.
"Yeah, this has his finger prints all over it." Ron added.
"Where is that precocious, little, spook now?" Savana muttered as she took the napkin away from her face and looked around for Peeves.
"Look at her eyes! They're two different colors!" Someone shouted. Then it seemed as though everyone present was laughing and pointing at her.
"My contacts!..." Savana gasped. She looked to Hermione for conformation that they were indeed missing.
Hermione nodded back mutely. Savana jumped up and ran from the great hall as tears threatened to over flow. She ran into the girls' lavatory, locked herself into a stall and rolled -up into a fetal position in the corner. Then she began to cry her heart out.
"Why are you crying?" A female voice asked.
"Who's there?" Savana choked out through her tears.
"Oh, you have an accent! You must be the American I've heard so much about!" The voice sounded quite pleased with herself. "I'm Myrtle."
"I'm Savana." Savana said with a hiccough. She tried to dry her eyes and looked around to see where Myrtle was. "Why are you in here instead of eating dinner?"
"Because, I don't eat." Myrtle replied. Then she popped through the wall of the stall.
"I'm sorry, I didn't realise you're a ghost." Savana apologised hastily.
"That's allright, I'm used to that response. I should have known you were new here. Most of the girls know this is my bathroom." Myrtle told Savana. "So, why were you crying?"
"My eyes...they were all making fun of me because of my eyes..." Savana hiccoughed again.
"I don't see anything wrong with them...they're two different colors, that's all." Myrtle said as she studied Savana's face.
Savana told Myrtle about the water balloon incident which had just occurred and the students' response. Her chest heaved and more tears threatened as a result.
"I know what it's like to be teased like that...the night I died, I was in here crying because another girl was tormenting me about my glasses..." Myrtle commisserated with Savana.
"Everyone says they understand how you feel, but they don't have a clue!" Savana said with hurt and anger boiling up in her gut.
The two sat in shared, silent misery for a few moments. Then Savana wiped her eyes again and stood up to face Myrtle.
"Thanks, Myrtle. Talking to you has made me feel much better." Savana said as she opened the stall door.
"Please, come and visit me again." Myrtle invited Savana as she stepped to a sink and splashed some cold water on her face.
"I'd love to, and thanks again for your help." Savana replied as she left the bathroom.
"I assume Myrtle is well, despite the fact you are not, for the moment at least?" Said a cultured, older voice from behind Savana as she stepped out into the hallway.
"So, you know what happened during dinner then." Savana replied sulkily. She kept her gaze averted from Professor Dumbledore. Savana didn't want him to see the cause of her shame.
"Would you please come with me? I think we need to discuss something." Professor Dumbledore requested and waited for Savana to turn and join him before he escorted her to a small parlor.
Professor Dumbledore bade Savana enter and take a seat. Then he closed the door and sat down across from her.
Savana stared at the floor in front of her. "Now what have I done?" She thought in exasperation. "This day just keeps getting better and better!"
"Savana, I'm sorry you had to go through that..." Professor Dumbledore began.
"Yeah, so am I!" Savana thought.
Professor Dumbledore glanced at her sharply before continuing. "I had meant to speak with you about your eyes last January, when I realised they were different, but time got away from me."
"Please, don't tell me that my eyes make me special, like my mother does..." Savana thought with a sigh.
"I will tell you that your eyes mark you as a special person, but not for the reasons your mother told you."
This statement caused Savana to look sharply at Professor Dumbledore, who returned her gaze with a smile and a twinkle in his eyes.
Then Professor Dumbledore said, "Your control has improved greatly, however, you still project your thoughts when you're upset."
Savana smiled slightly and allowed herself to relax a little. "So, what's so great about my eyes?" She asked with a small laugh.
"They are the physical proof of an extremely rare talent, astro-projection." Professor Dumbledore explained.
"Say what!?" Savana exclaimed in suprise. "If I could do that, wouldn't I know it by now?"
"No, not necessarily. As with many other talents, the ability to astro-project may not appear until adulthood. It would also be difficult to control the talent without training." Professor Dumbledore told her.
"What do my eyes have to do with all of this? It's not as though one needs two different colored eyes to achieve astro-projection." Savana observed.
"While your observation is correct, it does not take into account the importance of genetics and their influence over our talents. In your family, and all those who are heirs of Merlin, the gift of astro-projection is always paired with the physical trait of eyes which are two different colors. This fact has remained unchanged throughout history."
Savana sat back and digested this information and Professor Dumbledore was content to allow her to do so. Savana's features twisted in puzzlement as a thought crossed her mind. Then she said, "One of Merlin's writings, which we've recently translated, said that in order to use the Staff of Time you needed to possess three gifts; one of those gifts was astro-projection. We ignored what was written after that because we didn't know anyone who could do that. I guess I'd better tell everyone we had better take another look at that section, since this means we might actually be able to use the staff."
"Yes, you probably could, assuming you also knew the necessary incantations and spells." Professor Dumbledore agreed. "Now, I must meet Severus, so I can defeat him in a game of wizard's chess."
Savana smiled at the wicked glint she saw in Professor Dumbledore's eyes when he made the last comment. Then they parted company and went their own ways.
...`~*~`...
It was now close to the end of April and as the students of Hogwarts ate their breakfast that morning, the minds of the upper classmen were focused on the upcoming spring formal dance.
Draco Malfoy sat in his usual seat at the Slytherin table stirring his now cold tea and staring into space. He was determined to ask Savana to the spring dance. Today, before Neville or anyone else could do so. Draco could see one obstacle to his plan to escort Savana to the dance, Pansy Parkinson. If Draco were to take Savana to the dance, Pansy would waste no time before telling her mother. He could rest assured that Pansy's mother would complain to his father and his father would be furious with Draco. Draco suspected that the excuse of keeping an eye on Savana wouldn't be very effective this time around.
"...there must be a way for me to take Savana to that dance without my father killing me for doing so..." Draco thought with frusteration. "...but how?...I will need to be creative..."
Draco's thoughts were interrupted by the cacophony of noise which accompanies a howler letter. He normally would have laughed heartily at the unfortunate reciepient of the letter. Given the nature of Draco's current thoughts, however, it could be just a matter of time before he recieved just such a letter from his parents.
While Draco attempted to figure out the safest way to escort Savana to the dance, Savana, Harry, Ron and Hermione were eating breakfast. The mail arrived and, along with it, Ron's copy of today's Daily Prophet. Ron grunted in satisfaction as he unrolled the paper, smoothed it and began to read.
"Oh, my-y-y...!" Ron uttered as his eyes widened in suprise. "You all had better read this...NOW!"
"What is so earth shattering that I need to read it before I've even finished my coffee?" Savana drawled, then wrinkled her nose in distaste as she sniffed that same beverage.
"Uhhh, Savana, Ron's correct. You had better read this, now!" Hermione whispered urgently.
Savana sighed and looked at the proffered paper. Then she gasped, uttered a strangled cry and fainted, at least that's what appeared to happen.
Savana shook her head to clear it and took a step backward in shock. She bumped up against a student who sat at the Slytherin table eating breakfast. The student appeared to be completely unaware of Savana's presence and continued to eat, uninterrupted. Savana looked to her right. She saw Draco Malfoy, who was absently stirring his tea and staring toward the Gryffindor table. Then she looked to her left and saw Professor Snape sitting at the faculty table. He was slurpping his tea while reading a book.
Savana felt strange, as though she were floating rather than standing by the Slytherin table. Then Professor Snape looked up from his reading and stared at her. Savana wondered if he could see her standing there. She opened her mouth to ask just that question of Professor Snape, but found herself looking at som spilled coffee on the Gryffindor table instead.
"Mmmph!" Savana said as she removed her face from the table and sat back up. She still felt a little disoriented.
"Savana! Are you O.K.?" Ginny asked from beside her.
"Wha...?!" Savana struggled to ask.
"You fainted! Are you ill? What happened?" Ginny peppered her with questions, but gave Savana no opportunity to answer them.
"This is what happened." Ron explained as he handed the offending newspaper to his sister.
Ginny's eyes widened in horror as she read the headline and accompanying article.
Stonehenge Estate Attacked!
Our favorite Dark Lord and his followeres attacked, and partially destroyed, an old country estate located near Stonehenge yesterday. The motive for the
attack is unknown, and the only occupants of the estate, house elves, refused
any interviews.
The estate is believed to have been owned by the heirs of Merlin...
"There is nothing in this article that would indicate your aunt and parents are in any sort of trouble..." Ginny said, more to calm everyone down than anything else.
"It's not what the article said, it's what it didn't say." Savana tried to explain, but her voice was chocked and the icy hand of fear squeezed her heart.
"Savana's family would never all leave the estate at once." Harry explained. "Merlin said one of the heirs must always occupy the estate, to protect it."
"I don't suppose they went somewhere on holiday, but neglected to inform you?" Ron suggested. His observation was mainly said in jest, but there was a fine thread of hope in it.
"We need to find Professor Dumbledore and ask him about this. I don't know what to do about this...it's out of my league." Savana said desperately.
"So, let's go." Ron said as he got up from the table.
"But we'll be late for class..." Hermione began to protest. She fell silent, however, when faced with the glares of the other four. "O.K., O.K...I know when I'm outnumbered. I have one condition though, Savana must explain why she 'fainted' while we're on the way to Professor Dumbledore's office."
Hermione also got up from the table and picked-up her things. Ginny stood awkwardly to one side. Ginny was uncomfortable with the idea of being late for, or skipping, her next class, especially since that class was potions with Professor Snape.
Hermione noticed this and kindly told Ginny, "We'll find you later and catch you up on everything."
"Thanks, Hermione." Ginny said with relief and ran off for her class.
While they walked to Professor Dumbledore's office, Savana described the strange thing that had happened to her when she had 'fainted' at breakfast.
"...it was so strange...and I was so upset...I still don't know what happened to me..." Savana shook her head in confusion.
"I think I know what happened." Hermione said with a smile.
"Do you intend to let the rest of us in on your little secret?" Ron ducked as he tossed out the verbal jabe because Hermione swatted playfully at his head.
"As I was saying...I think Savana had an out-of-body experience...astro-projection!...she can do it!" Hermione laughed as awareness dawned in the others' eyes.
The group stopped at the gargole which stood guard over the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office.
"I don't suppose any of you geniuses know the password?" Alex's sardonic voice came from behind them. He was fully aware that only faculty and staff knew it.
"Eet doze not matter." Fleur added as the others turned to face Alex and Fleur. "Professor Dumbledore eez at zhe Meanestry ov Mageek."
"But, I needed to ask him about that article in the Daily Prophet...I assume you've seen it." Savana demanded with a panicy note in her voice.
"We have seen the article and I assume that is why Professor Dumbledore went to the Ministry." Alex informed his sister and the others. "Fleur and I were just hoping to catch him before he left."
"Why?...I mean, if Professor Dumbledore already knew about the article..." Savana began to say, but Alex interrupted her.
"...because of this!" Alex told them as he handed Savana a piece of parchment which Alex had been holding in his hand.
Savana unfurled the parchment and read it with a growing sense of dred. Harry, Ron and Hermione bunched in with her and read the parchment along with Savana.
"Alex and Savana Walker,
We have your aunt and parents. This incident would have ended without your
involvement, but we haven't been able to locate Merlin's talismans at the
estate. We know you have them, or know where they are located. If
you ever want to see your aunt and parents alive again, you must come
to the estate immediately.
A black carriage will be waiting for you in Hogsmead, outside the
Shrieking Shack. We expect your timely arrival there...
You must bring the following with you: 1. Merlin's talismans; 2. Harry
Potter; 3. The rat;..."
The rest of the message detailed exactly where, and when, one of Voldemort's representitive would meet them.
"The rat?! I think old red eyes has finally lost it! Why on earth would he want a rat... and which rat is he talking about, Orion?" Ron said with a laugh. The others shrugged their shoulders in confusion. "Maybe Peter put that in...maybe he's started a Rat Liberation League, or something like that." Ron had meant this comment as a joke to lighten their collective mood, but the attempt at humer fell flat and died. The only reaction he recieved was an arched eyebrow, curtesy of Savana.
"I'll need to go back to Hagrid's hut and get the talismans, as well as Orion. I wouldn't have left him behind anyway. He gets a little schizy when I'm not around." Alex told the others. "Harry and Savana, get whatever you need and meet me down at Hagrid's."
Ron, Hermione and Fleur looked at each other, then cleared their throats collectively. "We're going with you." They told Alex, Savana and Harry in unison.
"No way!" Alex said quickly. "this is a one way trip guys. I don't want to be responsible for dragging anyone else into this mess!"
"You're not responsible for our choices, and we're already involved up to our eyebrows." Ron firmly informed his friends. "We're going with you."
"Did you not hear me?! This is a one way..." Alex began to say in extreme exasperation.
"We understand what you just told us!" Hemione interrupted. "We're coming with you."
"Who's going to tell Professor Dumbledore where we've gone if we're all off on this little adventure." Savana requested logically.
"We'll send him a letter." Harry informed her. "Give me the parchment. I'll send Hedwig with it and a letter explaining what we're doing." Harry held out his hand for the parchment.
Alex glared at Hermione, Ron and Fleur. "Are you sure...?"
"YES!!" They responded.
Fleur accompanied Alex to Hagrid's hut, where they quickly packed the talismans, many of the documents, and the copies of the monuments' engravings, in a knapsack. Fleur added some food and water. Neither of them noticed what Orion was doing as they completed their tasks.
Orion poked his nose out of his hut when he heard the unusual activity around him. He yawned, then stretched irritabley. As far as Orion was concerned, it was late at night and time to sleep. Orion sat and studied the humans for a moment. He wore a quizzical expression on his face and his bright, beady eyes took in everything going on around him. Then Orion scrambled down, underneath Alex's bed, where he rooted around until he found what he was searching for, the pouch containing the Stone of Morpheous. Orion grasped the pouch firmly in his teeth and tugged it free. Orion was carefull not to bite through the material surrounding the stone as he went about his task. The stone and pouch were almost as large as Orion was, but it was quite light weight. The determined rat carried the pouch up to Alex's pocket and took it inside of the pocket with him. Once there, Orion curled up into a ball on top of the Stone of Morpheous and went back to sleep.
A short time later, Harry, Ron, Savana, and Hermione joined Fleur and Alex at Hagrid's hut. Harry informed the others that he had dispatched Hedwig with the messages.
Alex checked his pocket to be sure he had Orion. Orion blinked back at him sleepily. "Go back to sleep, buddy. The rest of you, it's time to hit the road."
The assemblage picked up their packs and followed Alex into their uncertain futures.
1. This isn't a gramatical error. Some of the French directional phrases literally translate as: This thing
here, or that thing there. Fleur is employing one of those phrases.
