Chapter Four
"Draco? What are you thinking?"
"I wonder what would happen if I stood up?" Draco mused aloud.
"What do you mean?" Lavender asked, staring.
"I mean," Draco explained patiently. "If I stood up, would I sink, or would I be able to walk on water?"
"I don't know. You could try it."
"I think I will." Draco pulled his stiff legs out from under him and stretched them out in from of him. "I hope I won't sink," he said worriedly. I can't swim very well."
"I don't think you will," Lavender said assuredly. "You can sit, can't you? Why shouldn't you be able to stand?"
Draco stood up…and began to sink.
"Help me," he commanded, still somehow managing to sound dignified.
"Draco!" Lavender screamed. "Hang on!"
"To what, you idiot?" he yelled back, losing his dignified air.
It was like being in quicksand—he was sinking slowly, but the more he struggled, the faster he sank. To Lavender, he was now invisible from the waist down.
"Draco!" Lavender screamed again.
"Help me!" he repeated.
She darted forward, groping for his hand. But something was blocking him from her. It was if she had just run into a glass wall, one she could easily look through, but not penetrate. She was still on solid ground, and her arm could go through the wall.
"Take my hand!" Lavender yelled at Draco. He went completely still.
She reached even farther, feeling as if her arm would rip out of its socket if it were pulled any farther. Draco stretched his arm out, just as he sank to his chin. Their hands reached…and went right through each other. But Lavender felt something snap, and she was suddenly grabbing Draco's wrist. They had connected.
Draco flew out of the sand/water.
And Lavender saw a dark shape hurtling toward her at amazing speeds. It writhed and wrapped itself around Draco's body, then disappeared.
He was there, in soul, spirit and body. He was really there, not just a shadow.
"Are you all right now?" Lavender asked, watching him draw great, shuddering breaths.
"Yeah, yeah I am now," he replied. "Thank you."
~*()*~
"Ron?" he heard an astonished voice exclaim. He lifted his head with the very little strength left to him.
"Gin?" he whispered. "Mione?"
"It's us, Ron," he heard, as he felt someone bend down beside him. He saw a flash of red, and knew it was Ginny. Seconds later, he felt Hermione drop to her knees too.
"Ron, are you all right?" The words were soft, as though the sound waves were having difficulty travelling to his ears. He couldn't tell who was talking.
"I'm…fine," he managed to get out; right before his head dropped and he lapsed out of consciousness again.
"Liar," Ginny said, standing up. "He is most definitely not fine."
"Ginny, we have to keep him warm. See how cold he is."
"We'll move him over here. Put some warming spells on him."
Hermione took out her wand, pointed it at on and said, "Facillo-are." A small burst of red light exploded from her wand tip an hovered over Ron for a few moments, before shaping itself into a red, bubble-like form around Ron's unconscious body.
"What was that?" Ginny gasped. "It looks evil."
"It isn't. It's a warmth bubble… It will heat him and prevent cold from reaching him."
"If you say so," Ginny said doubtfully. "But how do we move him?"
"We don't. He stays right there."
As they had been talking, Ron had begun to shrink. Or, the bubble around him shrank, and Ron did with it. Smaller and smaller he got, until he was barely visible. Then, with a small pop, he disappeared completely from their view. He was gone, once again.
~*()*~
"You're sure you don't need anything?"
"Lavender, I am sitting on sand in the middle of a desert, with a blanket you conjured wrapped around me, a bottle of water and a meal fit for royalty. Trust me, I'm fine."
"You're sure?" she asked again.
"Yes," he said impatiently. "Now that we have established I feel perfectly normal, we might as well begin to walk and see where we end up."
"All right," Lavender agreed, a little hesitantly.
They began to walk, growing slower and slower with each step.
"Does this desert ever end?" Lavender wailed.
"I don't know. Not as far as I can see."
Then, about four paces later, they fell, and landed in a gorge filled with snow and ice.
~*()*~
Ron was sitting on something hard. He lifted his head to the darkness surrounding him. It was impossible to see anything.
Suddenly, a brilliant light lit the area around him. Five women, dressed in the strangest garb he had ever seen, were opposite him.
The one in the middle, the tallest of the five, was dressed in clothing that seemed to change according to the way she moved. It changed from brown to blue, to grey, to red, to brown again.
The second was wearing robes of periwinkle blue. Her skin was as pale as snow, and her hair was the colour of a glacier. It flowed to the ground like water.
The third wore a dress made of earth, mud, leaves and sticks, twisted intricately to form clothing. Her sin was a dark brown, as was her hair.
The fourth woman also wore robes, these of a bright red. The shades changed with every movement, never ceasing. Her hair was the colour of his, cut short, below her chin.
The fifth wore a skirt and shirt of grey. Her every movement was graceful, every motion looked planned and calculated. Her hair was grey, streaked with brown. Or perhaps it was the other way around. It was impossible to guess her age.
"Where am I?" Ron asked them.
"Who are you to ask questions of us?" the one in the middle asked. But her lips were not moving. The voice went straight into his mind, the un-sounds forming themselves into words. It didn't touch his eardrums. He jumped, almost falling off whatever it was he was sitting on.
"Speak to him in the way of mortals," the one dressed in blue said. She spoke the way he did. "He is not used to our ways of communication."
"Who are you, to ask questions of us?" the one in the middle repeated, this time sound blissfully penetrating his ears.
He battled with himself. He didn't know these women, but was sure they were Mage people. When dealing with a person unknown to you, let them make the first stupid move. He wanted to make them think he was powerful, perhaps even more so than they. He chose to remain silent. There is a power in silence.
"He wants to know who were are." The one in blue spoke again. Her voice was sweet and pure, reminding him faintly of something, though he couldn't remember what. "He will not give us anything unless we tell him. He is very wise."
There was a pause, in which couldn't even hear himself breathing. He wasn't sure is he was breathing.
Finally, "I am Natura'ae," the woman in the middle said.
"I am Aqua'ae," the one dressed in blue said, her voice still sweetly sounding. Now he knew it reminded him of something, but he couldn't place it.
"I am Fidelia'ae," the one dressed in leaves said.
"I am Flamma'ae," the one dressed in red said. Her robes changed from a dull burgundy red to a bright orange as she spoke.
"And I am Aura'ae," the last one, the one in grey, said.
"We are the Elements," the said in unison, bowing their heads to him.
Ron blinked. Nothing made sense to him. Their names sounded somewhat like Latin, but he didn't know Latin. He could ask Hermione. That is, if he ever saw Hermione again. If he ever saw anyone again.
"We mean you no harm," Natura'ae said kindly.
"How can I know," he asked, filled with suspicion.
"We gave you that which is only ours, our names. Give us yours, and one thing linking you to your people, and we will answer your questions," Aura'ae told him.
"Ron," he quietly whispered. "My name is Ron."
"Is that the name chosen for you at birth? Or a shortened version? We need you entire name, including that which lies in the middle, and the name of your father! We need straight answers to give straight answers," Flamma'ae said harshly.
"Hush," Aura'ae amended her. "Let the boy speak."
"The name chosen for me at birth is Ronald," Ron said, frightened into speaking by…Flamma'ae? Or was it Fidelia'ae? He couldn't' keep them straight any longer. "My full name is Ronald Michael Weasley."
"Very good, Ronald Michael Weasley. Now give me one thing linking you to your people," Natura'ae said, her voice echoing strangely.
"Something linking me to my people?" Ron asked. "What? Why?"
"We need it to answer your questions. For if we do not have it, we cannot see into your soul to answer your questions," Fidelia'ae (he thought) said.
"What would link me to my…people?"
"Anything."
He thought, Something linking me to my people? Who are my people? All witches and wizards, or just Lavender, Harry and Hermione and everyone?
"It must link you to all of them," Natura'ae said, her voice still echoing.
"But I can't think of anything," he said. "What could possibly link me to a person?"
"A secret you have with them, an object they gave you, anything that involves all the people closest to you. Even their names might work," Aqua'ae explained patiently.
Well, Harry's known all around the globe, Ron thought. And a lot of people know about Hermione, because she is marrying Harry. But not many people know everyone else.
"Who are the people closest to you," Fidelia'ae asked. "If you are close enough, even their names may work."
That was easy. The people closest to him came instantly to his head. He rattled off their names, accidentally giving nicknames for most. "Lav, Harry, Mione, Ginny and Draco."
Flamma'ae shrieked in rage. "You mortal fool!" she ranted. "We need their full names, like we did yours. Birth names, that which lies in the middle and the name of their fathers!"
"Flamma'ae!" Aura'ae scolded again. "Be kind! He does not know what we need unless we specify."
Ron was liking Flamma'ae less and less.
"All of their full names?" Ron asked hesitantly, not sure how well the question would go over with Flamma'ae.
But Natura'ae silenced her with a look as Aqua'ae said, "Yes, Ronald Michael Weasley, for all of them."
"Um…Lavender Elizabeth Brown, Harry James Potter, Hermione Vivian Rebecca Granger, Virginia Anne Weasley and Draco Thomas Malfoy."
"This Virginia Anne Weasley has the same father's name as you do. Are you related?" Natura'ae queried.
"Yes, she's my sister."
"And these are the people closest to you in the world?"
"Yes they are."
"Please repeat their names, then ask us your questions."
As Ron gave the names again, the women in front of him moved closer, until they formed one person. She looked not like a single one of the Elements, but a combination of them all.
"Question us," the one woman said, though it sounded as if five were speaking.
"Where am I?" he asked immediately.
"You are in the Core of Elements. This is where each Element dwells, until she is needed."
"Where is Lavender?"
"She is in the Orb of Ice, along with the one you call Draco. They are stranded there, unable to leave until rescued."
Ron was a little uneasy about Lavender being stranded anywhere with any other guy, but there was nothing he could do about it right then. "Where's Harry?" he asked instead.
"He is in the hands of those you call Death Eaters. He is with Ariadne, the Unknown."
Ron did not understand half of this, but kept going.
"Where's Hermione?"
"In the Vast Expanse, with Virginia. You were there too, for a time, but you were sent here. Hermione is a descendent of Water, though it was under no willingness. She contains this, it is her Essence."
Ron blinked. Hermione was a what of what? "How can I get to one of them?" he asked.
"To whom are you referring?"
"How can I get to Hermione and Gin…Virginia, or Lavender and Draco, or to Harry?"
"You cannot get to Harry from here. He is hidden from us well. But you will get to him eventually. You may choose, Hermione and Virginia, or Draco and Lavender."
"I thought you said Lavender and Draco needed rescuing."
"Yes, they do."
"Then how do I get to Hermione and Virginia?"
"Think about them both. Can you see them?" Without waiting for an answer, the woman went on. "As you think about them, I can send you. Remember the essence of the one called Hermione. She is one of us."
Ron closed his eyes and pictured Ginny and Hermione in his mind's eye. He felt a pull, like that of a Portkey, and felt himself hurtling through the air. He kept speeding up, and just as he was finally slowing down, his thoughts drifted to Lavender and back.
He instantly felt the switch, as he began hurling the other way.
As he slowed, he saw Lavender and Draco coming into focus. They had collapsed in the ice and snow. On an impulse he reached out and grabbed a hand of each of them. Their skin was colder than their surroundings.
Ron felt himself changing direction once again, back the way he had been before. His thoughts were still on Hermione and Ginny, and they stayed that way.
Hermione and Ginny were still arguing over what had happened to Ron as he dropped from the sky, still clinging to Lavender and Draco. Both girls gasped.
"Where were you? What happened?"
They pelted the three with questions as they sat up, groaning.
"Hermione, you are made of Water,' Ron said, sounding as if he had just been through a huge ordeal, and just wanted to sleep. And maybe he did.
"What?" Hermione asked, confused.
"Do you know Latin?" Ron asked around a yawn.
"Yes, I do, why?"
"What does Aura'ae mean?"
"It sounds somewhat like the word for…wind."
"How about Aqua'ae?"
"It sounds like water."
"Flamma'ae?"
"Fire."
"Fidelia'ae? What about that one?"
"Earth, sort of."
"And, last one, Natura'ae?"
"Element. Where are you getting all these? I thought you didn't know Latin."
"I don't. But I met them. The women, I mean." And Ron's head dropped to his shoulder as he fell fast asleep.
And in the second before he fell asleep, Ron remembered what Aqua'ae's voice reminded him of—Hermione.
