Les Sylphides, Chapter Two: Masquing Spells.

by flax, 2003.

JK Rowling owns the characters. They're only in this daydream for a profitless romp.

After dinner, Hermione arranged to meet Ron and Harry later in the library. After they'd gotten a chance to find out all they could. So while the boys were finding out what they could about sylphs and masquing spells, Hermione was chatting with the Parvils. But they didn't know much more yet, either. Soon Hermione was off to the library.

"Full masque," she answered to Ron's question as the boys were working out what spells were possibilities and what spells were not.

"Why are we doing this?" asked Harry, not completely enjoying the idea of dressing up.

"To see the adults act like idiots?" answered Ron.

"To see the costumes?" answered Hermione.

"I'm going to read about sylphs," said Harry, still disgusted. So while Ron figured out spells and Hermione figured out why they wouldn't work, Harry prowled off. A few minutes later he prowled back, a copy of _Sylphs_and_Wizards:_Before_the_Six_Hundred_Year_Peace_ in hand.

"You're never going to believe this!" he said in a whisper.

Ron and Hermione looked up.

"Have either of you heard of a wizard/sylph war?"

"That's old news," said Ron. "And according to my parents, it wasn't much of a war."

"Not much of a war?" asked Hermione.

"It says here," started Harry, planting the book open on the table and pointing to a passage, "wizards used to track down the sylphs, looking for the their source of youth, and the sylphs would kill them."

"My mum says that it's a 'spiritual youth' that the sylphs had -- not a real fountain of youth thing," said Ron, who was still beginning to become curious.

"Sylphs killed wizards?" asked Hermione, scanning the page.

"That's what it says," said Harry.

"It might even tell you that you're idiot -- but that you wouldn't believe," put in Goyle who rounded a shelf of books to look at his least favorite Gryffindors.

"If it told me you were slug bait, I might begin to believe," sneered Potter back.

"It's your idiotic beliefs that will keep you from going anywhere, Potter," said Malfoy, following Goyle out of the stacks. The two swept on.

"Spreading crankiness wherever they go," said Hermione.

"So about this source of youth, does it say what it is?" asked Ron eagerly.

"Just some legend about bathing in the light and being reborn."

"Sounds fun," said Ron.

"It's got a title: 'The Light of the Sylphs.'"

"Now that sounds cool!" upgraded Ron.

"We bathe in the light all the time," protested Hermione. "There has to be something about how this light is special?"

"Only that it was given to a wizard safe keeping as part of some pledge of peace, with the understanding that the keeper would provide it to the sylphs during their great cycles. They need it to move on, or else they fade."

"Do you see the name of the wizard?" asked Hermione, her eyes large.

"I've never heard of Rolanza Ravenclaw before," replied Harry.

"Does that mean the Light of the Sylphs is here?" asked Ron. The three stared at each other. After another hour of research, the three didn't have an answer to that question. But they suspected a resounding, "yes," so the trio returned to the question of masquing spells.

"I still don't want to dress up. I'll just wear the invisibility cloak," said Harry.

"But then you can't talk to the adults who are acting like idiots," said Ron.

"Looking for a down side," said Harry.

"You can't get the elves to get your food," said Hermione.

"That's a down side," said Harry, returning to the spell book. He and Ron took notes so that Hermione could take the book and spend the night working with Padma and Parvati on their costumes.

"Why can't this charm work twice in a single month?" asked Harry, realizing there wouldn't be a test run on this.

"It prevents people from showing up to a party like this in the same costume," answered Hermione. The boys rolled their eyes. Hermione rolled her eyes at them. Parvati and Padma dropped by their table soon, reminding them that they were waiting for Hermione to drop by with the spell book.

"Parvati, why can't I go invisible?" asked Harry.

"Silly," said Parvati, "you can. But then who will see you?"

"You can take the book, we're done, I think," said Ron helpfully.

"What are you going as?" Padma asked them, taking the book. Ron and Harry gave a few general ideas they'd written down. Then they all looked at Hermione.

"I was going to go with the random spell," said Hermione.

"Drop by when you come back to the dorm, we'll argue you out of that!" said Parvati, chuckling.

Later that night, Hermione joined the Parvil twins to chat about costumes, but instead found them beside themselves with news.

"We know why the ball is here," said Padma conspiratorially.

"You will never guess," said Parvati. The pair were bursting.

"Tell me," said Hermione, very curious.

"You know about sylphs marrying humans?" asked Padma.

"Sylphs marry humans?" asked Hermoine in confusion.

"It's usually quite romantic," said Parvati.

"The wizard goes off and dances with the sylphs, achieves a spiritual union, and becomes part of their flock," explained Padma.

"That's romantic," agreed Hermione.

"The down side is that the wizard could die," added Parvati.

"That's less romantic," said Hermione.

"You want to guess what's anti-romantic?" asked Parvati with a glint.

"I don't really want to know, do I?" responded Hermione.

"Snape is married to a sylph," finished Padma.

"According to Marcia Skeeter, it was some big society scandal years back, him running out and doing that and all," said Parvati.

Hermione processed for a moment before reacting. "Ugh. I pity the sylph."

The girls shared a group cringe. "That doesn't explain why the ball would be here," said Hermione a moment later.

"No one leaves the sylphs," said Padma.

"You can't think that anyone is going to kidnap professor Snape," said Hermione incredulously.

"We hope!" said the girls.

They all paused, looked at each other, burst out laughing, and got back to the costume book. That theory was too impossible.

tbc...