(A/N Harry Potter and co., do not belong to me. This is really getting old, but I have to do it! If I don't want to get sued before I'm even old enough to pay taxes!)
Harry Potter and the Staff of Time
Chapter 24
The Staff of Time
Harry successfully fought an urge to ask Merlin to clairify the warning, but Savana didn't.
"Exactly what do you mean by that?...what's going to happen and whe..." She began to ask Merlin.
"I have told you all that I am able to tell." Merlin responded wearily.
"Savana, that's enough!" Alex warned her.
It suddenly became obvious to Savana that Alex knew something about the dynamics of the situation which she did not. So, Savana let the subject drop, but decided to interrogate Alex about it later on.
Harry was just relieved the entire exchange had been telepathic. By its conclusion, the rest of the group and Nimue had joined them and Harry knew the warning had been directed specifically towards the three of them. He suspected Merlin wouldn't have appreciated the others being let in on what he had just told them.
The others quickly ate and drank some tea. While they ate, they discussed getting to the Staff of Time, retrieving it from its crystal tomb, and how to get back to Stonehenge once they had done so.
Merlin's only response to all of these questions, however, had been that Orion knew how to get to Stonhenge and that retrieving the staff would be a relatively straight forward procedure at this point, since they had already made it through the labyrinth.
"...the labyrinth was the primary source of protection for the Staff of Time. I felt little need for more than some cursery protections around the staff, itself." Merlin explained to them.
"That makes sense." Hermione chimmed in. "We wouldn't have made it through the labyrinth without your talismans and the information you left with them..."
"We wouldn't have made it through the labyrinth without alot of luck, either!" Ron muttered.
Hermione shot Ron an irritated look before she completed what she had to say. "...it's obvious to me that you intended those things for your descendants...so they could find the staff."
Harry, who had been studying Merlin's facial expressions and manner of speech, suddenly stated, "You knew all of this would come to pass when you placed the Staff of Time here. Didn't you?...You foresaw all of this."
"While I did not foresee the details...yes, I did foresee the grand scheme of things." Merlin replied. "I have known since the time when I hid the staff in this place that it would be retrieved by someone...I tried to assure myself that someone would be a person of good character...someone who would not use the staff for their own gain."
Harry suddenly flashed back to his vision of Voldemort holding the Staff of Time. A wave of panic washed over him. He was about to say something to the others about it when Savana spoke up.
"So, you stacked the deck in your favor by leaving the information, talismans, and Orion with your descendants...pretty clever! So, now that your descendants, and their friends, are ready to get the staff, you can bring us to it." Savana said with a grin.
Alex stuck his elbow into his sister's ribs, hard.
"OW! What did you do that for?!" Savana whined as she rubbed the sore spot on her side.
"Because, someone doesn't know when to keep her big mouth shut!" Alex responded and fixed his sister with a glare.
"Merlin and I can not approach the Staff of Time." Nimue explained quietly. "Queen Mab..."
"That's O.K....I get it...sorry." Savana interrupted.
"Merlin and Nimue have told me how to get there, however, and it's not far from here." Alex informed the others in his group.
"I must tell you one more thing before you leave this place." Merlin said. "There is only one place where the Staff of Time will truely be safe...the island of Avalon...under the protection of its guardians. Otherwise, there will always be those who seek possession of the staff for dark purposes."
Just as Harry opened his mouth to ask about his vision, Merlin's message entered his mind. "I have told you all that I am able...what will be, must be...and your vision can not change that...you must calm yourself and use your pre-cognition as a tool."
Harry nodded to indicate that he understood. Then he joined the others in thanking Nimue and Merlin for their hospitality and bade them farewell. He followed Alex and the others down the trail and away from Merlin's grotto.
The sun was beginning to set as the group walked along the path through the forest. They constantly checked around, and above, them for anything that seemed dangerous. A few feelobats flew by, as well as several bats who were out hunting for their dinner, but they saw nothing dangerous on their one kilometer trek.
Their journey ended by a small pond with a tiny, rock island which was about 75 meters offshore. The rays of the setting sun reflected off of something in the trees, not far from the island's shore.
"What's that?! It looks like glass!" Ron shouted and pointed to the reflected light.
"Perhaps it's the crystal sarcophagus the Staff of Time's encased by!" Hermione lept in excitement.
"I do believe eet ees zhe Staff of Time!" Fleur joined in with Hermione's excitement.
"Before we get too excited here, boys and girls, I think we had better confirm we've actually found the Staff of Time. We can't afford to waste any time chasing ghosts. We are due at Stonehenge soon." Alex cautioned them.
"I smell a reconnaissance mission and I hereby volunteer, sir!" Savana volunteered.
Savana settled herself and focused on the source of the glint of sunlight eminating from the island.
When she opened her eyes, Savana found herself standing in front of a large mound of transparent rock. Savana squinted to see inside of the rock and saw a one and a half meter form inside. It was the Staff of Time!
"Woohoo!" Savana yipped as she confirmed the object of their quest.
Savana immediately went back to inform the others of their success.
"That's it...the Staff of Time!" Savana crowed to the others when she opened her eyes. "Let's go get it!"
"'ow do we get zhere? Ees zhere a boat?..." Fleur asked and visually searched the shoreline for any such impliment.
"Perhaps the water is shallow enough to wade across to the island." Hermione suggested.
"And eef eet ees deeper?" Fleur's question and its implication hung in the air.
"Then we just go for a little swim." Savana said with a shrug.
Fleur's face was ashen as she told them, "I do not wish to swim...especially eef I can not use magic to 'elp me...eet frightens me..."
"It's because of what happened during the Tri-wizard Tournement,1 isn't it?" Harry murmured.
Fleur nodded miserably and re-itinerated the entire episode to everyone else.
"O.K., so one of us can go over and bring the staff back here...or, maybe we can just wade over..." Ron thought outloud.
"I think wading is out of the question." Alex told them.
He dropped a rock in the water near shore and they watched it sink and disappear into the murkey depths.
"Time to go to plan B." Alex said with an impish grin on his face.
Savana saw the look on her brother's face and tryed to make a run for it.
"Oh, no you don't!" Alex cried as he picked up his sister and threw her into the pond.
"AAALLEEEXX! You are a dead man! I'm telling mom and dad when we get home!" Savana spouted as soon as her head broke the water's surface.
Her robes floated on the pond's surface, but they could tell from her arm motions and the way she bobbed on the surface, that Savana was treading water. Consequently, they were able to conclude the pond water was deep enough that Savana couldn't stand on the bottom. Savana ran a hand over her head and flung some partially decayed weeds, which had been caught on her hair, into the water.
"This water is freezing! I'm getting out!" Savana shouted at Alex.
"Not until you've swum over to the island, you won't!" Alex warned her.
Then he added, in a wheedling tone, "I'll give you an almond cookie if you do it."
"Get going, Savana! The swim will warm you up!" Ron coxed her.
"You owe me a dozen almond cookies from my favorite Chinese bakery, or I'll hurt you in ways you've never imagined!" Savana threatened her brother as she swam off toward the island.
A few minutes later, Savana crawled up onto the island's shoreline. She considered stripping off her sopping, soiled robes, but decided against it when she realised how cold she still was. Instead, she wrung as much of the water out of them as she could. Then she began to make her way toward the staff.
"Savana! Don't touch the crystal case! It will kill you!" Harry shouted at her retreating back.
Savana gave no indication that she had heard him, so Harry decided to send the message telepathically.
"Savana! Don't touch the crystal case! It will kill you!" He repeated.
"Then how am I supposed to get the staff out?!" She threw back at Harry.
"I'll get back to you on that." Harry thought back.
Savana continued on toward the staff, but froze when she was right in front of it. She had heard the scream of a drake and it was right over her head!
...`~*~`...
"It's about time!" Severus Snape thought darkly.
Lucious Malfoy had just told him that Lord Voldemort expected the Death Eaters to assemble near the center of Stonehenge.
Severus chuckled to himself as he followed Lucious to the assembly. The man's eyes still had a redish hue and his nose still twitched.
"I guess the rumors were true." Severus thought.
A sardonic half smile formed on his face.
Severus and Albus Dumbledore had discussed the necessity of stopping Lord Voldemort from succeeding in gaining control of the Staff of Time, before Severus had left for this place. Therefore Severus had put the time he spent waiting into creating several scenarios that would achieve that goal. After mentally reviewing several of these scenarios, however, Severus had come to the conclusion that they wouldn't work. In every case, Severus would be exposed for the spy he was, be killed, or both. Worse yet, other nasty reprecussions came to mind that would make death look good. The fate of Neville Longbottom's parents at the hands of his master,2 stood out starkley in his mind.
There was always a slim hope that Potter and the Walkers wouldn't succeed in finding, or retrieving the staff, but that would have its own set of reprecussions. One consequence of that scenario would undoubtly be the death of all of the Walkers, including Christina. Therein lay Severus's conundrum. He couldn't bear the thought of loosing her, now that he had finally found her again.
Severus sighed and thought, "Perhaps I should hope that Potter's incredible luck will once again rescue him...and all of us along with him."
Only one thing was clear...under no circumstances could Lord Voldemort be allowed to possess the Staff of Time.
...`~*~`...
Draco Malfoy sat in the Great Hall and moodily poked at the food sitting on his plate. The dinner hour was fairly well over and he was thankful that most of the students had already gone.
Crabbe and Goyle had tired of Draco's pensive mood and had left him to his thoughts. They couldn't understand Draco's behavior, nor did they have any desire to do so.
Draco had been feeling a sense of dread since Savana had disappeared and it had grown in exponential proportions when Professor Snape had not been there for potions class today. Professor Dumbledore had told them Professor Snape would be gone on 'Ministry business' until further notice.
Draco had heard the rumors around the school...some of them were ridiculous...like the rumor that Professor Snape had run off to marry some long lost love...others were more disturbing, perhaps because they could be true...like the rumor that Professor Snape was secretly a Death Eater and He-who-must-not-be-named had demanded their presence because The Dark Lord was poised to preform a major coup which would make him all powerfull.
Draco had overheard snippets of conversation and comments, from his parents and their friends, while he was home over the Christmas holiday, which led him to believe the latter was close to the truth. He also suspected Savana and her associates were in the thick of things and on the loosing side. While Draco didn't care a whit about what happened to Potter, his friends, and Alex (whom he had just discovered was Savana's brother)...he did care about Savana and what happened to her...but he had no idea as to what he could do to ensure her safety.
Draco cursed the day he had met Savana Walker. His life had been fine before her presence had made Draco begin to question the direction in which his life was headed.
Suddenly, he had a thought...his parents had mentioned something about Merlin's mage staff and the Walker family being related to Merlin...
"...what did they call that staff?!" Draco thought as he searched his memory.
The name of the staff had sounded rather ridiculous to him at the time, "...what did they call it?!" Then it came to him, "It was the Staff of Time!"
Draco got up immediately and made a bee-line toward the library. He had to find, and read, everything he could find on the Staff of Time. Then he remembered that Professor Binns had spent quite a bit of class time rambling on about Merlin and some staff.
"Why didn't I pay attention?!" Draco mentally chastised himself.
He promised himself that in the future, he would pay close attention in class...even when he wasn't particularly interested. He never wanted to be in his current position of ignorance again!
...`~*~`...
Savana made a desperate dive for cover as the drake dove at her. She ended up under a dense, thorny bush which tore at her hair, skin and robes.
Apparently the drake didn't think anymore of Savana's cover than she did, because after its first pass, it flew off.
Savana crawled out from under the bush and contemplated the crystal formation in front of her. She had to figure out how to get the staff out of there!
Savana heard a commotion from the shore where the others were waiting and looked to see what was causing it. The drake was attacking the rest of the group!
Alex and the others heard the drake's attack on Savana and saw it turn its attention toward them. Alex was relieved that the drake's attack on Savana had obviously failed. But now, he and the others had the same problem Savana had a few moments ago!
Ron shouted at them, "Jump into the pond and stay under as long as you can!"
The rest of the group followed Ron's directions as quickly as possible.
Harry inhaled sharply, quite against his will, as he hit the water. It was freezing! His skin burned with the cold and he fought an urge to scream. He looked up toward the sky from under the water. He could no longer see the drake...
...but Savana could! She watched in horror as the drake returned its attentions to her!
Savana began to run the short distance back to her bush, but she tripped on something and fell. Savana threw her hands out, to break her fall. The Staff of Time's crystal case was in her way, however, and she fell into it!
Savana was amazed when her hand passed through the crystal, like it was a mirage, and grasped the Staff of Time! Without thinking, she simply pulled the staff from its crystal tomb. She wanted to study the artifact, but there was still the threat of the drake attack to consider.
"Where did that thing go?!" Savana wondered as she searched the sky for the drake.
She found the answer in her surroundings. Everything except the rocky island on which she stood was fading...including the pond and the drake. The Phantom Forest was disappearing once again, and with it, the danger posed by the drake.
Harry and the others were scrambling toward Savana through the rocks, but stopped and stared in amazement when they saw what Savana held in her hands.
"You've got the Staff of Time!...How?..." The question popped out of Harry's mouth before he could stop it.
Savana smiled and told them all of what had happened before their arrival. "I'm still suprised I wasn't killed when I touched the case."
"I'm not." Hermione said flatly. "Remember the poem?"
The others were clueless. So, Hermione quoted the poem to them, so as to refresh their memories.
"...Touch it not! If life you hold dear.
For only my kin, and those of Morgain LeFey,
May from its tomb take it,
Or their life energy, they pay."
"I thought it was Fleur who had the photographic memory." Ron teased.
"It's burned into my brain from going over it so often." Hermione responded. "The point is, Savana is related to Merlin...she's his kin. The only people among us who could have removed the staff, without being killed, are Alex and Savana." Hermione responded.
"Ron, 'ow did you know we'd be safe een zhe water?" Fleur asked, changing the subject.
She had been curious about that since she had overcome her fears and jumped into the pond.
"Drakes can't manouever under water. They'd drown and they know it." Ron replied.
Hermione looked at Alex, who was trying to dry Orion. Orion sneezed, but didn't look much the worse for the swim they'd just taken.
"I'd ask how you prevented Orion from drowning, but we all know his magic still works down here." Hermione commented.
Alex grinned, then shut his eyes as Orion gave him a bit of a shower. Orion shook himself, like a dog shaking itself dry. Then he began to groom himself, since, compared to the humans at least, he was relatively dry.
They took a minute to look over the Staff of Time. The top piece was similar to the drawing they had seen in the book; a gold filigree piece with a ruby and onyx clock face. The staff itself, however, was made of dark, polished wood instead of the gold shown in the illustrations.
"This is all quite interesting, but we're almost out of time." Ron reminded them as he pointed to the western horizon.
The sun had just sunk below it.
"Merlin said Orion knew how to get us to Stonehenge." Alex reminded them. "Orion, do your stuff." Alex commanded the rat.
But Orion simply sat there. He stared at Savana and the Staff of Time.
"I think he wants you to hand the staff to me." Alex told Savana.
Savana made a 'hurrumph' noise in her throat and handed the staff to her brother.
Alex grasped the staff with his left hand and set Orion on the ground next to the staff. In his teeth, Orion held the gold piece he had used to get them down into the labyrinth. Once he was on the ground, Orion repeated the actions he had taken when he had first transported them.
They were again enveloped in the bright, blue light. When the glow faded, they found themselves standing in the middle of a ring, made up of enormous, gray, rock slabs. It was Stonehenge.
Orion climbed up Alex's leg and jumped into his pocket before the light had even faded. He huddled inside the pocket and trembled a little.
"I wish I could hide in there with you, Orion." Alex thought. "I've got a bad feeling about this entire situation...really bad."
Harry was moderately successfull in fighting a wave of nausea, which swept over him as a result of the pain coming from the scar on his forehead. He knew Lord Voldemort was already present here.
As their eyes adjusted to the deep dusk light, Alex and the others were able to make out a large circle of ghostly figures surrounding them. A particularly tall, skeletal, dark form separated itself from the rest of the Death Eaters and stepped forward, accompanied by a Death Eater with a shining silver hand.
Peter spoke first, in a sarcastic tone of voice. "Well, well...our happy, little warriors have returned to us, victorious!"
"...and in one piece...may I add...no thanks to you!" Savana muttered.
"This impertinant brat doesn't learn very quickly, does she?! She still shows no respect for her superiors!" Growled Lord Voldemort.
"Whatever should we do about her?!" Peter added in a high pitch of mock dismay. "Perhaps she needs to be taught a lesson in respect...by our lord and master?"
Savana wished she had held her tongue. "Me and my big mouth!" She thought.
"Crucio!" Lord Voldemort intoned as he pointed his wand at Savana.
Savana immediately felt pain like she had never felt before. She felt like she was on fire from the inside out. Her muscles felt as though they would explode and white hot light was shooting out of her eye sockets. Savana fell to the ground and writhed in excruciating pain.
"Savana!" Alex, Harry and Ron cried in unison.
"Stop!" Cried Fleur and Hermione.
Appearently Lord Voldemort felt he had made his point, because he lowered his wand and released Savana from the spell.
Alex, Harry, Fleur, Hermione and Ron's faces all darkened with impotent rage. They would have loved to return the favor to Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters, but they were well aware that giving in to their base desires would only serve to make them as dark as their tormentors.
Lord Voldemort turned his attention to the staff Alex held by his side.
"Bring me the Staff of Time." The Dark Lord commanded.
Alex knew, before he even formed the thought in his head, that he would regret his response. "You promised to release my aunt and parents..."
The rictus that passed as Lord Voldemort's face parted in what may have passed as a smile, at least in his world. Alex felt a chill of foreboding.
"I made no such promise...I merely told you what their fate would be if you did not fufill your end of the bargain...you assumed the rest. Now, bring me the staff!" Commanded the Dark Lord.
"NO!!" Alex shouted mentally.
Alex, as well as the rest of the group, felt cheated and betrayed.
"Imperio!" The Dark Lord commanded.
Alex didn't move. So, Lord Voldemort repeated the command in a more threatening tone of voice.
Alex felt compelled to move forward toward Lord Voldemort, but still, he resisted the spell. The Dark Lord focused on Alex exclusively and Alex knew he had no other choice except to do as he was ordered. Alex moved slowly toward The Dark Lord, methodically putting one foot in front of the other. Alex felt like a zombie as he saw himself hand the Staff of Time to the Dark Lord.
Lord Voldemort grasped the staff and behaved as though he were simply recieving his due, instead of an instrument of great power which he had coveted for years.
Alex wanted to walk back to his friends, but found himself literally rooted to the spot.
Harry, Fleur, Hermione, Ron and Savana all tried to rush forward in a desperate attempt to repossess the Staff of Time. They, too, found themselves unable to move from the places where they stood. Someone had cast an imobility spell on them, but who? It was impossible to tell because the Death Eaters faces' were covered by masks.
"I have one more task for you to preform before I finish with you." Lord Voldemort continued unpleasantly. "Give that filthy, little rodent to me."
"Why? Orion is no threat to you...and anyway...he's Merlin's pet...and Merlin kept him...They're quite attatched to each other." Alex responded innocently.
Tense silence reigned for a moment. What Lord Voldemort didn't know was that Alex was buying time for Orion to escape. Alex could feel The Dark Lord trying to probe his mind. To cover his real plan, Alex began to softly sing, 'The Hokey Pokey.' The act of singing the song was a tactic designed to make reading his mind more difficult.
The attention of the Death Eaters was collectively focused on the drama before them. No one noticed Alex nonchalantly slip his hands into his jacket pocket, allowing Orion to run up the inside of Alex's sleeve, then down his back to the jacket's bottom edge. Then Orion dropped silently to the ground and rolled in some nearby mud. This effectively camoflaged the rat's white fur and blue spots. Orion now blended in with the dirt and the darkness. Consequently, he went unnoticed as he scuttled toward Lord Voldemort and hid under the edge of his robes.
Lord Voldemort knew Alex was lying to him. He knew Orion posed a threat to him. He also realised Merlin wouldn't have kept the rat because it was necessary for the return trip to this realm from Merlin's.
"LIAR!" Lord Voldemort thundered.
Alex's heard began to pound and his eyes widened in sheer terror as The Dark Lord pointed his wand at Alex.
"I will deal with both of you at the same time! Avada Kedvra!" Lord Voldemort intoned.
A blinding green light sprang from the wand's tip and struck Alex, then surrounded him. Alex collapsed like a scarecrow, suddenly removed from its support post.
Harry's head felt as though it would blow to pieces from the renewed pain in his scar. He dropped to all fours and vomited repeatedly. He was vaguely aware of someone screaming. Then, as the pain began to recede, Harry opened his burning eyelids. He was fearfull of the scene which would greet him.
Harry saw Alex's crumpled form on the ground before Lord Voldemort. He couldn't see Alex's face clearly, but there was no doubt in his mind...Alex Burke-Walker was dead...killed by The Dark Lord, Voldemort.
1. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE; During the second challenge, Fleur
was attacked by grindylows and wasn't able to rescue her sister from the Merpeople in the lake.
2. Rowling, J.K.; HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE; Frank Longbottom, Neville's father,
was a popular auror. Some Death Eaters tortured him and his wife to discover the where abouts of
Voldemort after his fall from power. Both of the Longbottoms went insane because of this and have
spent the intervening years at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries.
