Disclaimer: I still don't own Harry Potter, but Alisa is still mine.
"Okay, this may seem a bit odd to the both of you, but what we're going to do is called collaborative spelling. Technically, you should take a class in this, work with each other twelve dozen times, and then beg the Ministry of Magic for a 'maybe' before you do something as large as what you're going to do. However, as far as I'm concerned, the Ministry can take their damn laws and disappear. I have no need for people who can't accept those which are different. Now, let me tell you a bit about what we're going to do." Alisa said. Hermione and Ron looked at one another.
"Right, so this is how it works. We all spread out, and say a specific spell at exactly the same time, pointing our wands at the castle. I feel we're going to work just fine together, so there's no real need for a practice, but we will any way because I can see you've never done this before." Alisa continued.
"Not only have we never done this before," Hermione said, "But I've never even heard of it."
"Now that's saying something." Ron said. Hermione shot him a look.
"It's not practiced much any more. Supposedly, everything works so effectively now, no one needs it. It's rather traditional. It was widely used once. The founders of Hogwarts used it, and now we will too. We're going to put up a protection spell. It's called ellemen- what is it Hermione?" Alisa said, stopping in the middle of the spell.
"Well, it's just, we already have dozens of protection spells on the castle, is this one going to make a difference? And if it is, then why don't we keep it up all the time?" Hermione asked.
"This one will make a difference because it is targeted toward a specific group, while the others are just general protection spells. We don't keep it up all the time because after a certain amount of time, about six months, the spell looses power and begins to drain power and energy from the people it is protecting, which makes it, obviously, counter- productive if left up for far too long, but it is perfect for short-term attacks. We will, hopefully, pray for our souls, be here to remove it after the fact." Alisa said.
"Do you really think it's possible we won't survive?" Hermione asked.
"I never know what is going to happen. Some of us could survive, others might not. The day of the attack may be a frightening day. This isn't just a flock of seagulls, these are hard core followers of Voldemort. These are men that wouldn't think twice before using an Unforgivable on you. And it's not just a few of them, this isn't something we can just handle. This is up to a hundred well armed, fully trained men coming to take our school. It's not like Harry facing Voldemort, this is you facing him, and unless I'm mistaken, you haven't personally faced him or a follower of his in combat. I am unwilling to attempt to predict who will die and who will live, I only can hope those that will die are not from our side and those who live are on the side of good." Alisa said.
Ron thought for a moment. He had never seen Voldemort. He had never faced him. Harry was always the one to do that final tough job. Harry was the one who finished it off. Ron was just a supporting character. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle being part of this important team.
"Now, as you might have realized, Voldemort and his followers are not the quickest squirrels in the litter. They won't catch on as quickly as you and I would, but the spell we're going is heavy, and they would notice it if they came before it was settled, so we're doing it today. You might feel drained for the rest of the night." Alisa said.
"What do you mean 'they're not the quickest squirrels in the litter?" Hermione asked.
"Well, if you haven't noticed, they've had plenty of chances to kill Harry. I mean, they could have just as easily turned an object Harry owned into a portkey and taken him away at any time. Professor Moody had ample chances to kill him, but he didn't. They aren't very quick to catch on to ideas and things. But we need to do this. The spell is called 'ellementill' It combines the water, the forest, the ground, and the air forces that surround Hogwarts to protect it." Alisa said, "The spell we do will be very simple, the incantation is as follows: 'Demi sor a tetha he.' All you do is point your wand at what you want to protect, and say the incantation, and it works, usually." Ron gulped at the word 'usually'. "Let's practice." She turned to the lake, "This stick, for example," She gestured to a small stick laying on the ground next to the lake. "Say the incantation with me." Ron searched his mind desperately to remember the incantation but surprised himself by saying it in perfect harmony with Alisa and Hermione.
The area around the stick glowed blue briefly and then returned to normal. "Let's test it." Alisa sad, picking up a stone and tossing it at the stick. It landed near it, and Ron wondered quickly if the spell had worked, but water rushed up from the lake and swept the rock away. "Excellent. Hermione, you stand here, Ron you stand about 300 yards that direction," She pointed somewhere vague, "And I'll go to the other side. When you see the flag at the top of the castle stop waving, say the incantation. Good luck." And she walked off with great speed. Ron looked at Hermione for a moment, then walked in the direction Alisa had pointed.
He couldn't have stood there for long, staring up at the waving flags of Hogwarts before quite suddenly, the flags went limp. Pointing his wand at the school, he heard both Hermione and Alisa's voices saying along with him 'demi sor a tetha he'. Hogwarts glowed quite blue, but the colour didn't disappear after just a moment, instead, it was the whole time Ron walked back to Hermione. When he reached her, the blue faded completely and he suddenly felt very tired. Alisa reached them quickly and said, "I'm rather tired. I think it's best we go back inside." So they did.
***
Hermione and Ron slept for a long time, the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday, in fact, and Alisa slept until she was restless and woke to a gloomy Sunday. She spent the day walking out in the rain until she came to a muggle town, a great distance from Hogwarts. She couldn't be sure how far she had gone, but it was quite far, farther than most could walk (or run) in a day. She heard the church bells ring long before she reached the town. She walked into it along a dirt road. It was a very small town, just a couple dozen houses which were far spread out, two restaurants, a general store, a church, a school, and a department store, only one road was paved. She smiled and walked to the church, covered in the filth of the days walk, and removed her shoes before entering.
The people had long since left the sanctity of their small church and Alisa knew it had to be around 9:00 at night. She loved churches, big ones and small ones, not just because of their beauty, but also because of the idea of it all, a belief so strong, it could survive for hundreds of years.
This church had a dozen stained glass windows, painting pictures of saints and flowers. At the front of the church, which had hardly enough pews for 70 people to be seated, was an alter and a small basin of water. Next to it was a statue of the saint Monica, for whom the church was named. Alisa kneeled down next to it to show her respect for the beliefs of the people here. She did not turn to it, but heard the whisper so close to her, "Why are you here?" Said the scratchy voice of a man too thin.
"Because it's beautiful." Alisa said, knowing who it was, but still refusing to turn.
"They would hate you, you know, if they knew what you were." The man crackled, "They fear what they do not know. You should not waste your time."
"Neither should you," She turned to him, "Father."
"I haven't heard you call me that in a long time."
"We haven't spoken in a long time, nor should we speak now, for you're only here to kill me." Alisa said, picking up on what Voldemort tried not to show.
"Now why would you think that, sweet daughter?" His red eyes glowed.
"Have you ever come for any other reason?" She asked.
"Do you think I would dare, in the sanctity of this clearly pure place?" A smile crossed his lips.
"You have your wand." Alisa said.
"And you do not." Voldemort replied.
"I do not keep it out in such a sacred place, I respect what they believe." Alisa said.
Voldemort raised his own wand.
Quickly, Alisa pulled her wand from within the folds of her skirts, "I said I didn't keep it out, dearest dad, but that does not mean I do not have it."
"And if I said the curse which lies on my lips?" Voldemort said, not dropping his wand.
"You wouldn't," Alisa said, Voldemort raised an eyebrow, "You never do. I am all you have left of her." She leaned in toward him, "I do not fear you." And she whispered a spell, disappearing before him.
"Okay, this may seem a bit odd to the both of you, but what we're going to do is called collaborative spelling. Technically, you should take a class in this, work with each other twelve dozen times, and then beg the Ministry of Magic for a 'maybe' before you do something as large as what you're going to do. However, as far as I'm concerned, the Ministry can take their damn laws and disappear. I have no need for people who can't accept those which are different. Now, let me tell you a bit about what we're going to do." Alisa said. Hermione and Ron looked at one another.
"Right, so this is how it works. We all spread out, and say a specific spell at exactly the same time, pointing our wands at the castle. I feel we're going to work just fine together, so there's no real need for a practice, but we will any way because I can see you've never done this before." Alisa continued.
"Not only have we never done this before," Hermione said, "But I've never even heard of it."
"Now that's saying something." Ron said. Hermione shot him a look.
"It's not practiced much any more. Supposedly, everything works so effectively now, no one needs it. It's rather traditional. It was widely used once. The founders of Hogwarts used it, and now we will too. We're going to put up a protection spell. It's called ellemen- what is it Hermione?" Alisa said, stopping in the middle of the spell.
"Well, it's just, we already have dozens of protection spells on the castle, is this one going to make a difference? And if it is, then why don't we keep it up all the time?" Hermione asked.
"This one will make a difference because it is targeted toward a specific group, while the others are just general protection spells. We don't keep it up all the time because after a certain amount of time, about six months, the spell looses power and begins to drain power and energy from the people it is protecting, which makes it, obviously, counter- productive if left up for far too long, but it is perfect for short-term attacks. We will, hopefully, pray for our souls, be here to remove it after the fact." Alisa said.
"Do you really think it's possible we won't survive?" Hermione asked.
"I never know what is going to happen. Some of us could survive, others might not. The day of the attack may be a frightening day. This isn't just a flock of seagulls, these are hard core followers of Voldemort. These are men that wouldn't think twice before using an Unforgivable on you. And it's not just a few of them, this isn't something we can just handle. This is up to a hundred well armed, fully trained men coming to take our school. It's not like Harry facing Voldemort, this is you facing him, and unless I'm mistaken, you haven't personally faced him or a follower of his in combat. I am unwilling to attempt to predict who will die and who will live, I only can hope those that will die are not from our side and those who live are on the side of good." Alisa said.
Ron thought for a moment. He had never seen Voldemort. He had never faced him. Harry was always the one to do that final tough job. Harry was the one who finished it off. Ron was just a supporting character. He wasn't sure how he was going to handle being part of this important team.
"Now, as you might have realized, Voldemort and his followers are not the quickest squirrels in the litter. They won't catch on as quickly as you and I would, but the spell we're going is heavy, and they would notice it if they came before it was settled, so we're doing it today. You might feel drained for the rest of the night." Alisa said.
"What do you mean 'they're not the quickest squirrels in the litter?" Hermione asked.
"Well, if you haven't noticed, they've had plenty of chances to kill Harry. I mean, they could have just as easily turned an object Harry owned into a portkey and taken him away at any time. Professor Moody had ample chances to kill him, but he didn't. They aren't very quick to catch on to ideas and things. But we need to do this. The spell is called 'ellementill' It combines the water, the forest, the ground, and the air forces that surround Hogwarts to protect it." Alisa said, "The spell we do will be very simple, the incantation is as follows: 'Demi sor a tetha he.' All you do is point your wand at what you want to protect, and say the incantation, and it works, usually." Ron gulped at the word 'usually'. "Let's practice." She turned to the lake, "This stick, for example," She gestured to a small stick laying on the ground next to the lake. "Say the incantation with me." Ron searched his mind desperately to remember the incantation but surprised himself by saying it in perfect harmony with Alisa and Hermione.
The area around the stick glowed blue briefly and then returned to normal. "Let's test it." Alisa sad, picking up a stone and tossing it at the stick. It landed near it, and Ron wondered quickly if the spell had worked, but water rushed up from the lake and swept the rock away. "Excellent. Hermione, you stand here, Ron you stand about 300 yards that direction," She pointed somewhere vague, "And I'll go to the other side. When you see the flag at the top of the castle stop waving, say the incantation. Good luck." And she walked off with great speed. Ron looked at Hermione for a moment, then walked in the direction Alisa had pointed.
He couldn't have stood there for long, staring up at the waving flags of Hogwarts before quite suddenly, the flags went limp. Pointing his wand at the school, he heard both Hermione and Alisa's voices saying along with him 'demi sor a tetha he'. Hogwarts glowed quite blue, but the colour didn't disappear after just a moment, instead, it was the whole time Ron walked back to Hermione. When he reached her, the blue faded completely and he suddenly felt very tired. Alisa reached them quickly and said, "I'm rather tired. I think it's best we go back inside." So they did.
***
Hermione and Ron slept for a long time, the rest of Saturday and all of Sunday, in fact, and Alisa slept until she was restless and woke to a gloomy Sunday. She spent the day walking out in the rain until she came to a muggle town, a great distance from Hogwarts. She couldn't be sure how far she had gone, but it was quite far, farther than most could walk (or run) in a day. She heard the church bells ring long before she reached the town. She walked into it along a dirt road. It was a very small town, just a couple dozen houses which were far spread out, two restaurants, a general store, a church, a school, and a department store, only one road was paved. She smiled and walked to the church, covered in the filth of the days walk, and removed her shoes before entering.
The people had long since left the sanctity of their small church and Alisa knew it had to be around 9:00 at night. She loved churches, big ones and small ones, not just because of their beauty, but also because of the idea of it all, a belief so strong, it could survive for hundreds of years.
This church had a dozen stained glass windows, painting pictures of saints and flowers. At the front of the church, which had hardly enough pews for 70 people to be seated, was an alter and a small basin of water. Next to it was a statue of the saint Monica, for whom the church was named. Alisa kneeled down next to it to show her respect for the beliefs of the people here. She did not turn to it, but heard the whisper so close to her, "Why are you here?" Said the scratchy voice of a man too thin.
"Because it's beautiful." Alisa said, knowing who it was, but still refusing to turn.
"They would hate you, you know, if they knew what you were." The man crackled, "They fear what they do not know. You should not waste your time."
"Neither should you," She turned to him, "Father."
"I haven't heard you call me that in a long time."
"We haven't spoken in a long time, nor should we speak now, for you're only here to kill me." Alisa said, picking up on what Voldemort tried not to show.
"Now why would you think that, sweet daughter?" His red eyes glowed.
"Have you ever come for any other reason?" She asked.
"Do you think I would dare, in the sanctity of this clearly pure place?" A smile crossed his lips.
"You have your wand." Alisa said.
"And you do not." Voldemort replied.
"I do not keep it out in such a sacred place, I respect what they believe." Alisa said.
Voldemort raised his own wand.
Quickly, Alisa pulled her wand from within the folds of her skirts, "I said I didn't keep it out, dearest dad, but that does not mean I do not have it."
"And if I said the curse which lies on my lips?" Voldemort said, not dropping his wand.
"You wouldn't," Alisa said, Voldemort raised an eyebrow, "You never do. I am all you have left of her." She leaned in toward him, "I do not fear you." And she whispered a spell, disappearing before him.