Disclaimer: Unfortunately none of these wonderful characters belong to us
sniffle . They do belong, however, to the magnificent J. K. Rowling.
bows and does the 'we're not worthy'
Banesclaw Chapter 2: Wizard of the Glass
AN: Since there is no way in hell I'll sneak this in here without 'shine' noticing this, let me just keep this fairly civil. After all, she still says she'll shoot me with a sedative if I don't start writing this chapter, which I dreaded for a very long time. Though this introduces one of my favorite characters, the rest seemed a horrible excuse to fill up space due to writers block. I do plan for the future chapters under my making to be much more...entertaining. Let me shut up, I'm digressing. (shine: Mrs. Chapman taught us well! points to digressing)
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Two pairs (though some would argue, four) of blue eyes hidden behind a pair of old, round spectacles watched as the rickety elevator moved up and down between the first and third floor of the castle in interest. Though he could barely see due to a veil of very thick dust (which made him sneeze more than once and did a great deal to enhance his allergies), his attention stayed locked on the castle's new inhabitants without even considering falling back into his deep, peaceful sleep. Not that he actually required sleep, but it did pass the time.
Soon the old elevator would cease its rounds and the inhabitants would fall slowly into a restless sleep, as no beds had yet to be moved upstairs. As the noises faded into the blackness of the night, the blue eyes slowly did the same, only this time behind eyelids as his snores echoed through the very large, empty room.
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"This place is a mess and could use a damn good makeover." Audrie remarked loudly as she pushed an antique chair out of her way so she could get past.
The others nodded, looking around the kitchen that was in bad need of repainting and much more. The dripping of water echoed loudly through the empty rooms, drowning out all other sounds, save their voices and movements.
"Well, let's get to cleaning. I'm ready to get a fridge in here and some food." Sam said, pulling out a book Gaven had left them that held spells that helped clean in a short period of time.
Harry and Kelsey entered followed by large tubs of paint and paintbrushes that danced in midair and landed on the floor with a large amount of clatter.
"So what colors shall we do this?" Harry asked, walking over to one of the paint cans.
"How about cobalt blue and make the counter's a mellower yellow?" Sam suggested, turning to look at the kitchen for another take.
Harry nodded and started tapping the paint so the colors started swirling.
"You know, that reminds me of ducks." Kelsey said, laughing at the thought. "You know, rubber duckies."
They started laughing just as Harry finished with the last bucket of paint and started to open it. He fell backwards as rubber ducks poured out of the paint can, squeaking and quacking loudly.
They poured over Harry and onto the floor in a stream of nearly fifty of them. The noise was so loud they had to scream at each other to hear.
"Screw this." Kelsey said under her breath and seconds later rubber duckies started disappearing like mad.
Those of the duckies left started squeaking in fear, moving quickly out of her way and ducking into corners to escape her wrath.
Soon the kitchen was clean, save a few of the ducks that had sneaked into the wall out of grasp. Figuring they could get them later, the group turned back to the paint and carefully started painting the walls, using the spells Gaven had given them.
The kitchen was soon finished (though the colors had been changed to cobalt blue and light blue to save another ducky mishap) and all the appliances had been put in their place. (the movers had come in earlier that week and placed all of their furniture in the house) Next they moved to the third story in order to get their rooms cleaned so they would actually have a place to sleep.
After checking each of the rooms they got together and picked the one of their choice. For once there was no argument in their choosings, for it seemed all the rooms had been laid out exactly for them. Only one room was left (the sixth) with no one claimed due to it being windowless.
Sam chose the room just down the hall from the large den and the elevator that hugged one of the corners. Hers was smaller, though more spacey due to a loft that wound around the top of the room, just high enough for a human to walk under it without bumping their head. She shoved in a four poster bed with a navy comforter with a large, golden sun and moon in the center. Pillows were pilled at the head of the bed. A built in desk shaped like the corner it inhabited was placed under the loft and facing a large window that peered onto the winding porch that went all that way around the top story. In the other corner, just down from the steps that led to the loft, she placed a small, round table that was often littered with cups, papers and books. The wall opened up to reveal a tv and some of her favorite books on a shelf above. The second story held a small bathroom with a shower. The part that hung over the porch below was round and filled with benches that curved with the tower. From there a small library and couch accompanied the tower. Looking up from your back at the ceiling when lying on the bed, one would notice that the ceiling was clear and captured the rooftop. Part of it was below a clear pond with fish and the other the roots of large trees. All of this grew on the rooftop.
Randi's was two rooms down from Sam's, excluding a jointed bathroom with the windowless room no one claimed. Her room also held a corner space and was painted in black. Walking in one would first notice the large, pillow covered bed that filled the opposing corner the door faced. It curved to touch both walls, in which she later added a table on the wall beside the door. She had steps going down from her bed to the hardwood floor. To the wall that held the door and the bed she had created a hug bookshelf the size of the remaing wall full of books. On the wall opposite she had created an aquarium. Her closet was placed beside this and then her tv and stereo were placed on a large chest of draws across from the bed. Her room opened up into an accompanying bathroom (that also opened to the windowless room), and it was also painted in black and dark blues. A large, open shower (complete with bench) was placed against the outside wall while the sink and toilet faced it. A nice large rug centered the room.
Harry's room was next, right across the hall from the largest bathroom in the house and next to Randi's. His was not a corner room, unlike the two of previous mention. His room included a four poster bed, much like the one he had used while at Hogwarts. His room was also decorated in the same fashion as his previous 'home', including the original stone walls and the iron windows. The coloring also matched that of Hogwarts, though his walls were sprinkled with various posters of quidditch (Ron had sent them) and a couple of pictures of his friends and family. A bookshelf was placed in front of his bed that was against the back wall but centered in the room. On the bookshelf was a tv and various muggle things he had acquired during moving. He had placed a chest at the end of his bed where he kept various things. A desk was placed under a window beside his bed while a rug filled up the rest of the space. His closet was of to one corner, an smaller than the girls. The last wall opened up to Kelsey's room.
Kelsey's room was another corner piece and connected with Audrie's and Harry's on two of her walls. A large, fluffy bed was placed in the corner across from her television, which sat on an old oak chest. Her room was full of little tables adorned with candles, the only lighting, save the two windows in the room. She had closed off one part using a large, hanging quilt with moving fairies and dragons in an amazing fantasy scene. Behind the quilt she had placed another table, though it was only filled with papers. It acted as her desk. Her ceiling was enchanted to look like the night sky at all times, an occasionally played her favorite music instead of having a radio to do so. She could even get her walls to mimic the tv and project a larger version of what she was watching.
Audrie's room, which connected with Kelsey's, the resident's den, and the main bathroom, was decorated in bright colors that changed at her discretion. Various strange lamps lit up the room and cast strange shadows across it in the night. Like Kelsey, she had a nice, large bed that was rather fluffy that occupied the back wall and faced all three doors. A closet was stuck right infront of the bathroom, so she had to walk through it to enter the bathroom. She had placed a large couch at the foot of her bed, which faced the tv and stereo. To the sides of her bed she had placed large tables that were adorned with various magical items that made strange noises and had no use save that of decoration.
From their rooms the group moved on to the main bathroom, which was finally painted black, the only color that would satisfy the group. (Audrie and Kelsey wanted it painted green and silver, due to their being in Slythern, which Harry objected to immediately.) That left the residents den, which they finally turned it into a more rustic look, leaving the stone walls of the castle and the hardwood floors. This made the room feel extremely comfortable, dispite its darkness due to the lack of windows. The only light in the room came from the small, ever burning, torches that lined the wall.
The center of the den was cut out like a swimming pool and filled with couches that were placed on all of its sides, save the one nearest the elevator, which held a large tv and the opposing one, which had steps coming down. The couches were large enough to sleep on without having to lay across them and were full of comfortable pillows. This way they could all crowd in without being too close or too far away.
The last thing to note in the house was the large, mysterious slide that was built into the walls and came from the roof, down to the first floor, where a small pond had been placed. The origins of the slide, and its purpose were unknown (though it could hold a person) and tended to fill the background noises with the sound of rushing water. They all decided to see what was on the roof the next day, as well as tackle the large, guest den on the second floor. They were all still unsure of what to do with the first floor, and decided to sleep on it.
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The morning was peaceful, especially since all the kelekri had mysteriously disappeared and were nowhere to be found. Shrugging the group decided to go ahead and tackle the den, the only place inside the castle Harry had not been shown.
The guest den, as it was called, was much larger than the one on the third floor. It was obviously meant to be used in more formal occasions, from the looks of it. The furniture and walls were all caked in dust, thus the room was dark due to the lack of sunshine.
"Why don't we start at those doors, over there?" Randi suggested, pointing at the two doors that opened up onto what appeared to be a rather large terrace. They were unable to make any more out of it, due to the dirt and grime that clung to the glass door.
"Why don't we just do the whole wall? It looks like its all glass, anyway." Kelsey said simply, pointing at the small rays of different colors that peaked through the dust.
They all nodded and lifted their wands. Saying the words they had now all grown bored with, the dirt and dust lifted from the wall leaving them all stunned and speechless.
The wall sparkled like it hadn't done so in years, though that's not what had them all standing with open mouths. With wall, save the two doors, was a large stain glass window shaped like a rather old looking wizard. However it was the sheer size and detail that made it so remarkable and so stunning. Harry thought it nearly rivaled the Great Hall's ceiling.
Seconds later a loud sneeze boomed through the room and the wizard opened its eyes. Each of the group members turned to look at each other, surprised. So the stain glass window was like the pictures in the wizarding world, it moved.
For a second the wizard stared at them, eyes a bit hazey from sleep, before he let a big smile stretch across his face. He was old, with long, white hair that was somewhat unkempt and missing a hat, which it seemed he should be wearing. He had large, round spectacles that were placed at the end of his nose, amplifying the twinkling in his bright blue eyes. He looked remarkably like Dumbledore, save shorter and a bit plumper. His face was also much rounder. Harry figured it was just the eyes that reminded him of his former headmaster.
"Ah, my new roommates. Rather young are thee, however." The wizard moved his spectacles on up his nose to get a better look.
"Didn't expect anyone. But why should I. That bloody thing of a headmaster they have here not keeping this castle clean. Never seeing anyone for nearly a hundred years. Caked in dust..."
Randi coughed, giving him a strange look.
"Ah, um, sorry about that. I believe an explanation is needed...or perhaps that introduction. Oh well, much the same, really." The wizard smiled broadly, obviously happy to have some people to talk to.
"I am Maelor, the Wizard of the Glass, otherwise known. I'm an encyclopedia of all wizarding knowledge, a chocolate éclair abhorrer, and the only one of my kind that was created with a Hippy mentality. I welcome you to your new adobe."
"Hippy Mentality?" Audrie coughed, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, Yes." He ushered it by. "Tree hugger, Woodstock, flower child. You know the whole package."
"What did you mean the only of your kind? There are more of you?" Harry asked, not sure if he liked the idea of a stain glass window telling him all about the wizarding world and certainly not liking the idea of a complete hippy wizard telling him answers to his questions.
"Oh, of course. Each of the castles here includes one of us. Each of us were created a little unique, though I must proudly say I take the cake."
"I think he takes more than that." Randi whispered to them, making them all break out in smirks.
The wizard cut her a look before continuing. "If you visit the other castles you'll find Marvin, who is a bit of a geek and rather annoying. Not quite as impressive a work as me, you know, twice as small. Then there is Madrin, the only witch of the bunch. Rather insufferable you know. Talks all about being a lady and constanly on me about being so 'liberal'. Never seen a 'lady' as sassy as her, though. Of course we also have Maniker –"
"Oh, well, we might check them out later. See what your relatives are like." Sam said quickly, figuring his list of relations might be fairly large due to the amount of castles that they had seen on the way in.
"Of course, right you are." He said brightly. "Now, I'll let you get back to cleaning this horribly dirty place while I take a nap. Talk to you later then."
"Wait, hold on. Since we'll be living here, we might as well introduce ourselves, right?" Maelor nodded, and smiled.
"Of course, where are my manners. So who are you?"
They all introduced themselves quickly before he fell asleep, which he did promptly after the introductions. They were all rather thankful for this.
The room was cleaned faster than any of the others due to their incentive to finish before Maelor awoke. After Randi had done the last of the cleaning (the two doors beside Maelor's window) they all decided to take a look at the terrace outside.
It was simply stunning. Water fell down in a large cascade from the roof to a lagoon that was crystal clear. Palm trees hung over the water to provide shade for the tables and chairs scattered around the lagoon. The small lagoon was obviously meant to be used as a swimming pool, for towels were drapped on the chairs all the time and the small tables held empty crystal glasses that sparkled in the small rays of sunlight that escaped the tree's leaves.
They decided to eat lunch on the terrace before heading up to the roof, where they planned to create something of a little recreational place. When they reached it, however, their plans changed.
Large trees with silver leaves unlike any they had ever seen before crowded the roof. To their right was the cascading waterfall that fell into the lagoon below. The water sparkled like glitter as it toppled over the edge and down the castles' wall, accompanied by ivy.
They walked silently through the woods, lost in their own astonishment at the beauty until they came into a small glen. Light wisps of sunlight reached through the sliver leaves and down to the large pool of water that shimmered like jewels. It appeared to them glitter swam in it, and like the trees, the pool seemed to appear silver and gold. You could see to the bottom, however, and they watched as strange, but beautifully finned fish leapt out of the water and swam quickly. Their fins seemed as if they were made of gossamer, and sang as the fish glided through the water like crystal when you play a tune upon it.
The background was filled the sounds of the wind as it whipped lightly through the trees, however it seemed to carry an extremely light tune that fit perfectly with the singing of the fishes' fins. The groups' eyes traveled over the water to the six trees that circled the pool. Each was adorned with its own type of flowers, some small and some large and exotic. Each flower released small amounts of pollen occasions that was more like fairy dust than the yellow creations of non-magical types. The whole forest looked as if it had sprouted from a fairytale in seconds.
"I wonder why you can't see this from below." Harry whispered, feeling as if he spoke louder he would committing an extreme sin. Familiar laughter issued from the trees as if they found his remark amusing.
"I suppose you are looking for your dear kelekri, friends?" A sweet voice called from what appeared to be one of the trees. Seconds later a slender but tall woman with silver skin and bright white hair with strands of silver walked gracefully out of the tree and gave them all a delicate smile. Her eyes were her most striking feature, however. They were like bright emeralds, only a brighter, almost lime green and extremely large. They also had no pupil.
The group stared in awe, unable to think of anything to say. The lady smiled and made a motion with her hand. Five more like her pulled themselves out of the trees, though each was obviously different though they were obviously related. All of them had bright green eyes, white hair, and silver skin. The strands in their hair were different, though.
"I suppose you have never seen a Dryad before then." One of them said with a deeper voice. This one had bright blue strands weaving through her hair.
"Well, then we must explain ourselves." This time it was the one with the silver strands, who appeared to be much more joyous as the sight of visitors.
"Dryads? But aren't you supposed to loath humans?" Randi asked, remembering something from one of her books about the bond between a lady and a tree.
"Yes, which is why I don't understand what we are doing talking to their kind." Another spoke up, eyes flashing along with the red strands of her hair.
"These are our friends, Aeal. Those the kelekri choose as their bonded are bonded to us as well if you remember correctly." It was the same one with silver strands that the group figured was the leader of the Dryads. Thankfully she was on their side, or else they had a feeling they wouldn't like the wrath of a bunch of tree ladies.
"Yes. You don't have to remind me. Well, lets get this over with." The red head said, glaring daggers at the group.
"Very well. My name is Lythial, lady of that tree (she pointed at the one with silver and white flowers) and you can always tell me by the silver in my hair. I'm the keeper of Serga's tree. Aeal is the one with the red strands and is bonded with the red flowered tree. She is the keeper of Kai's tree." She smiled and then continued.
"The one with blue strands is Maeil and is bonded to the tree with blue blossoms. She is also the keeper of Dytie's tree. Rael is the keeper of Rispa's tree, and the one with golden strands in her hair. Trinitive is the keeper of Demon's tree and has the green strands. Last, but certainly not least, is Shada, keeper of Letra's tree and the one with black strands. As you may know now, Letra has yet to choose a bond, though continually tells us her bond will come soon."
They all nodded, though they were extremely confused and perplexed. They had never considered people living in trees, not to mention their kelekri's having other friends. Apparently they had a lot to learn.
"Um, I suppose that means the kelekri live up here?" Sam asked. All of the ladies nodded.
"These woods were created thousands of years ago and were to be removed until they learned of our family. Thus they moved us here where we would be safe. Later the kelekri came, searching for a home and talking of bonding. We happily took them into our trees, happy to have friends to watch after. Kelekri, after all, are extremely special." Trinitive spoke up, though her voice sounded somewhat bored.
"So, you mean, this whole forest is full of dryads? But why is it silver?" Kelsey asked, eyes roaming around the place.
"Every tree here holds a member of our family. Most of them sleep now, but do enjoy the company of our friends. They are our cousins, thus the reason we all seem to look alike." Maeil said with a very light voice. "The silver leaves are the mark of our family. Unlike others of the Dryads, we were bred with the Audian tree, a very rare specimen that is only home to the kelekri. That is why they found us and it is hard to find them."
"Um, so where are the kelekri now? We've been wondering what happened to them all day." The dryads looked at each other and smiled.
"I believe they went out for a bit of...snacking. Don't worry, where you find disaster you find them. Especially if it has to do with candy." Lythial said, smiling to herself
Banesclaw Chapter 2: Wizard of the Glass
AN: Since there is no way in hell I'll sneak this in here without 'shine' noticing this, let me just keep this fairly civil. After all, she still says she'll shoot me with a sedative if I don't start writing this chapter, which I dreaded for a very long time. Though this introduces one of my favorite characters, the rest seemed a horrible excuse to fill up space due to writers block. I do plan for the future chapters under my making to be much more...entertaining. Let me shut up, I'm digressing. (shine: Mrs. Chapman taught us well! points to digressing)
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Two pairs (though some would argue, four) of blue eyes hidden behind a pair of old, round spectacles watched as the rickety elevator moved up and down between the first and third floor of the castle in interest. Though he could barely see due to a veil of very thick dust (which made him sneeze more than once and did a great deal to enhance his allergies), his attention stayed locked on the castle's new inhabitants without even considering falling back into his deep, peaceful sleep. Not that he actually required sleep, but it did pass the time.
Soon the old elevator would cease its rounds and the inhabitants would fall slowly into a restless sleep, as no beds had yet to be moved upstairs. As the noises faded into the blackness of the night, the blue eyes slowly did the same, only this time behind eyelids as his snores echoed through the very large, empty room.
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"This place is a mess and could use a damn good makeover." Audrie remarked loudly as she pushed an antique chair out of her way so she could get past.
The others nodded, looking around the kitchen that was in bad need of repainting and much more. The dripping of water echoed loudly through the empty rooms, drowning out all other sounds, save their voices and movements.
"Well, let's get to cleaning. I'm ready to get a fridge in here and some food." Sam said, pulling out a book Gaven had left them that held spells that helped clean in a short period of time.
Harry and Kelsey entered followed by large tubs of paint and paintbrushes that danced in midair and landed on the floor with a large amount of clatter.
"So what colors shall we do this?" Harry asked, walking over to one of the paint cans.
"How about cobalt blue and make the counter's a mellower yellow?" Sam suggested, turning to look at the kitchen for another take.
Harry nodded and started tapping the paint so the colors started swirling.
"You know, that reminds me of ducks." Kelsey said, laughing at the thought. "You know, rubber duckies."
They started laughing just as Harry finished with the last bucket of paint and started to open it. He fell backwards as rubber ducks poured out of the paint can, squeaking and quacking loudly.
They poured over Harry and onto the floor in a stream of nearly fifty of them. The noise was so loud they had to scream at each other to hear.
"Screw this." Kelsey said under her breath and seconds later rubber duckies started disappearing like mad.
Those of the duckies left started squeaking in fear, moving quickly out of her way and ducking into corners to escape her wrath.
Soon the kitchen was clean, save a few of the ducks that had sneaked into the wall out of grasp. Figuring they could get them later, the group turned back to the paint and carefully started painting the walls, using the spells Gaven had given them.
The kitchen was soon finished (though the colors had been changed to cobalt blue and light blue to save another ducky mishap) and all the appliances had been put in their place. (the movers had come in earlier that week and placed all of their furniture in the house) Next they moved to the third story in order to get their rooms cleaned so they would actually have a place to sleep.
After checking each of the rooms they got together and picked the one of their choice. For once there was no argument in their choosings, for it seemed all the rooms had been laid out exactly for them. Only one room was left (the sixth) with no one claimed due to it being windowless.
Sam chose the room just down the hall from the large den and the elevator that hugged one of the corners. Hers was smaller, though more spacey due to a loft that wound around the top of the room, just high enough for a human to walk under it without bumping their head. She shoved in a four poster bed with a navy comforter with a large, golden sun and moon in the center. Pillows were pilled at the head of the bed. A built in desk shaped like the corner it inhabited was placed under the loft and facing a large window that peered onto the winding porch that went all that way around the top story. In the other corner, just down from the steps that led to the loft, she placed a small, round table that was often littered with cups, papers and books. The wall opened up to reveal a tv and some of her favorite books on a shelf above. The second story held a small bathroom with a shower. The part that hung over the porch below was round and filled with benches that curved with the tower. From there a small library and couch accompanied the tower. Looking up from your back at the ceiling when lying on the bed, one would notice that the ceiling was clear and captured the rooftop. Part of it was below a clear pond with fish and the other the roots of large trees. All of this grew on the rooftop.
Randi's was two rooms down from Sam's, excluding a jointed bathroom with the windowless room no one claimed. Her room also held a corner space and was painted in black. Walking in one would first notice the large, pillow covered bed that filled the opposing corner the door faced. It curved to touch both walls, in which she later added a table on the wall beside the door. She had steps going down from her bed to the hardwood floor. To the wall that held the door and the bed she had created a hug bookshelf the size of the remaing wall full of books. On the wall opposite she had created an aquarium. Her closet was placed beside this and then her tv and stereo were placed on a large chest of draws across from the bed. Her room opened up into an accompanying bathroom (that also opened to the windowless room), and it was also painted in black and dark blues. A large, open shower (complete with bench) was placed against the outside wall while the sink and toilet faced it. A nice large rug centered the room.
Harry's room was next, right across the hall from the largest bathroom in the house and next to Randi's. His was not a corner room, unlike the two of previous mention. His room included a four poster bed, much like the one he had used while at Hogwarts. His room was also decorated in the same fashion as his previous 'home', including the original stone walls and the iron windows. The coloring also matched that of Hogwarts, though his walls were sprinkled with various posters of quidditch (Ron had sent them) and a couple of pictures of his friends and family. A bookshelf was placed in front of his bed that was against the back wall but centered in the room. On the bookshelf was a tv and various muggle things he had acquired during moving. He had placed a chest at the end of his bed where he kept various things. A desk was placed under a window beside his bed while a rug filled up the rest of the space. His closet was of to one corner, an smaller than the girls. The last wall opened up to Kelsey's room.
Kelsey's room was another corner piece and connected with Audrie's and Harry's on two of her walls. A large, fluffy bed was placed in the corner across from her television, which sat on an old oak chest. Her room was full of little tables adorned with candles, the only lighting, save the two windows in the room. She had closed off one part using a large, hanging quilt with moving fairies and dragons in an amazing fantasy scene. Behind the quilt she had placed another table, though it was only filled with papers. It acted as her desk. Her ceiling was enchanted to look like the night sky at all times, an occasionally played her favorite music instead of having a radio to do so. She could even get her walls to mimic the tv and project a larger version of what she was watching.
Audrie's room, which connected with Kelsey's, the resident's den, and the main bathroom, was decorated in bright colors that changed at her discretion. Various strange lamps lit up the room and cast strange shadows across it in the night. Like Kelsey, she had a nice, large bed that was rather fluffy that occupied the back wall and faced all three doors. A closet was stuck right infront of the bathroom, so she had to walk through it to enter the bathroom. She had placed a large couch at the foot of her bed, which faced the tv and stereo. To the sides of her bed she had placed large tables that were adorned with various magical items that made strange noises and had no use save that of decoration.
From their rooms the group moved on to the main bathroom, which was finally painted black, the only color that would satisfy the group. (Audrie and Kelsey wanted it painted green and silver, due to their being in Slythern, which Harry objected to immediately.) That left the residents den, which they finally turned it into a more rustic look, leaving the stone walls of the castle and the hardwood floors. This made the room feel extremely comfortable, dispite its darkness due to the lack of windows. The only light in the room came from the small, ever burning, torches that lined the wall.
The center of the den was cut out like a swimming pool and filled with couches that were placed on all of its sides, save the one nearest the elevator, which held a large tv and the opposing one, which had steps coming down. The couches were large enough to sleep on without having to lay across them and were full of comfortable pillows. This way they could all crowd in without being too close or too far away.
The last thing to note in the house was the large, mysterious slide that was built into the walls and came from the roof, down to the first floor, where a small pond had been placed. The origins of the slide, and its purpose were unknown (though it could hold a person) and tended to fill the background noises with the sound of rushing water. They all decided to see what was on the roof the next day, as well as tackle the large, guest den on the second floor. They were all still unsure of what to do with the first floor, and decided to sleep on it.
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The morning was peaceful, especially since all the kelekri had mysteriously disappeared and were nowhere to be found. Shrugging the group decided to go ahead and tackle the den, the only place inside the castle Harry had not been shown.
The guest den, as it was called, was much larger than the one on the third floor. It was obviously meant to be used in more formal occasions, from the looks of it. The furniture and walls were all caked in dust, thus the room was dark due to the lack of sunshine.
"Why don't we start at those doors, over there?" Randi suggested, pointing at the two doors that opened up onto what appeared to be a rather large terrace. They were unable to make any more out of it, due to the dirt and grime that clung to the glass door.
"Why don't we just do the whole wall? It looks like its all glass, anyway." Kelsey said simply, pointing at the small rays of different colors that peaked through the dust.
They all nodded and lifted their wands. Saying the words they had now all grown bored with, the dirt and dust lifted from the wall leaving them all stunned and speechless.
The wall sparkled like it hadn't done so in years, though that's not what had them all standing with open mouths. With wall, save the two doors, was a large stain glass window shaped like a rather old looking wizard. However it was the sheer size and detail that made it so remarkable and so stunning. Harry thought it nearly rivaled the Great Hall's ceiling.
Seconds later a loud sneeze boomed through the room and the wizard opened its eyes. Each of the group members turned to look at each other, surprised. So the stain glass window was like the pictures in the wizarding world, it moved.
For a second the wizard stared at them, eyes a bit hazey from sleep, before he let a big smile stretch across his face. He was old, with long, white hair that was somewhat unkempt and missing a hat, which it seemed he should be wearing. He had large, round spectacles that were placed at the end of his nose, amplifying the twinkling in his bright blue eyes. He looked remarkably like Dumbledore, save shorter and a bit plumper. His face was also much rounder. Harry figured it was just the eyes that reminded him of his former headmaster.
"Ah, my new roommates. Rather young are thee, however." The wizard moved his spectacles on up his nose to get a better look.
"Didn't expect anyone. But why should I. That bloody thing of a headmaster they have here not keeping this castle clean. Never seeing anyone for nearly a hundred years. Caked in dust..."
Randi coughed, giving him a strange look.
"Ah, um, sorry about that. I believe an explanation is needed...or perhaps that introduction. Oh well, much the same, really." The wizard smiled broadly, obviously happy to have some people to talk to.
"I am Maelor, the Wizard of the Glass, otherwise known. I'm an encyclopedia of all wizarding knowledge, a chocolate éclair abhorrer, and the only one of my kind that was created with a Hippy mentality. I welcome you to your new adobe."
"Hippy Mentality?" Audrie coughed, raising an eyebrow.
"Yes, Yes." He ushered it by. "Tree hugger, Woodstock, flower child. You know the whole package."
"What did you mean the only of your kind? There are more of you?" Harry asked, not sure if he liked the idea of a stain glass window telling him all about the wizarding world and certainly not liking the idea of a complete hippy wizard telling him answers to his questions.
"Oh, of course. Each of the castles here includes one of us. Each of us were created a little unique, though I must proudly say I take the cake."
"I think he takes more than that." Randi whispered to them, making them all break out in smirks.
The wizard cut her a look before continuing. "If you visit the other castles you'll find Marvin, who is a bit of a geek and rather annoying. Not quite as impressive a work as me, you know, twice as small. Then there is Madrin, the only witch of the bunch. Rather insufferable you know. Talks all about being a lady and constanly on me about being so 'liberal'. Never seen a 'lady' as sassy as her, though. Of course we also have Maniker –"
"Oh, well, we might check them out later. See what your relatives are like." Sam said quickly, figuring his list of relations might be fairly large due to the amount of castles that they had seen on the way in.
"Of course, right you are." He said brightly. "Now, I'll let you get back to cleaning this horribly dirty place while I take a nap. Talk to you later then."
"Wait, hold on. Since we'll be living here, we might as well introduce ourselves, right?" Maelor nodded, and smiled.
"Of course, where are my manners. So who are you?"
They all introduced themselves quickly before he fell asleep, which he did promptly after the introductions. They were all rather thankful for this.
The room was cleaned faster than any of the others due to their incentive to finish before Maelor awoke. After Randi had done the last of the cleaning (the two doors beside Maelor's window) they all decided to take a look at the terrace outside.
It was simply stunning. Water fell down in a large cascade from the roof to a lagoon that was crystal clear. Palm trees hung over the water to provide shade for the tables and chairs scattered around the lagoon. The small lagoon was obviously meant to be used as a swimming pool, for towels were drapped on the chairs all the time and the small tables held empty crystal glasses that sparkled in the small rays of sunlight that escaped the tree's leaves.
They decided to eat lunch on the terrace before heading up to the roof, where they planned to create something of a little recreational place. When they reached it, however, their plans changed.
Large trees with silver leaves unlike any they had ever seen before crowded the roof. To their right was the cascading waterfall that fell into the lagoon below. The water sparkled like glitter as it toppled over the edge and down the castles' wall, accompanied by ivy.
They walked silently through the woods, lost in their own astonishment at the beauty until they came into a small glen. Light wisps of sunlight reached through the sliver leaves and down to the large pool of water that shimmered like jewels. It appeared to them glitter swam in it, and like the trees, the pool seemed to appear silver and gold. You could see to the bottom, however, and they watched as strange, but beautifully finned fish leapt out of the water and swam quickly. Their fins seemed as if they were made of gossamer, and sang as the fish glided through the water like crystal when you play a tune upon it.
The background was filled the sounds of the wind as it whipped lightly through the trees, however it seemed to carry an extremely light tune that fit perfectly with the singing of the fishes' fins. The groups' eyes traveled over the water to the six trees that circled the pool. Each was adorned with its own type of flowers, some small and some large and exotic. Each flower released small amounts of pollen occasions that was more like fairy dust than the yellow creations of non-magical types. The whole forest looked as if it had sprouted from a fairytale in seconds.
"I wonder why you can't see this from below." Harry whispered, feeling as if he spoke louder he would committing an extreme sin. Familiar laughter issued from the trees as if they found his remark amusing.
"I suppose you are looking for your dear kelekri, friends?" A sweet voice called from what appeared to be one of the trees. Seconds later a slender but tall woman with silver skin and bright white hair with strands of silver walked gracefully out of the tree and gave them all a delicate smile. Her eyes were her most striking feature, however. They were like bright emeralds, only a brighter, almost lime green and extremely large. They also had no pupil.
The group stared in awe, unable to think of anything to say. The lady smiled and made a motion with her hand. Five more like her pulled themselves out of the trees, though each was obviously different though they were obviously related. All of them had bright green eyes, white hair, and silver skin. The strands in their hair were different, though.
"I suppose you have never seen a Dryad before then." One of them said with a deeper voice. This one had bright blue strands weaving through her hair.
"Well, then we must explain ourselves." This time it was the one with the silver strands, who appeared to be much more joyous as the sight of visitors.
"Dryads? But aren't you supposed to loath humans?" Randi asked, remembering something from one of her books about the bond between a lady and a tree.
"Yes, which is why I don't understand what we are doing talking to their kind." Another spoke up, eyes flashing along with the red strands of her hair.
"These are our friends, Aeal. Those the kelekri choose as their bonded are bonded to us as well if you remember correctly." It was the same one with silver strands that the group figured was the leader of the Dryads. Thankfully she was on their side, or else they had a feeling they wouldn't like the wrath of a bunch of tree ladies.
"Yes. You don't have to remind me. Well, lets get this over with." The red head said, glaring daggers at the group.
"Very well. My name is Lythial, lady of that tree (she pointed at the one with silver and white flowers) and you can always tell me by the silver in my hair. I'm the keeper of Serga's tree. Aeal is the one with the red strands and is bonded with the red flowered tree. She is the keeper of Kai's tree." She smiled and then continued.
"The one with blue strands is Maeil and is bonded to the tree with blue blossoms. She is also the keeper of Dytie's tree. Rael is the keeper of Rispa's tree, and the one with golden strands in her hair. Trinitive is the keeper of Demon's tree and has the green strands. Last, but certainly not least, is Shada, keeper of Letra's tree and the one with black strands. As you may know now, Letra has yet to choose a bond, though continually tells us her bond will come soon."
They all nodded, though they were extremely confused and perplexed. They had never considered people living in trees, not to mention their kelekri's having other friends. Apparently they had a lot to learn.
"Um, I suppose that means the kelekri live up here?" Sam asked. All of the ladies nodded.
"These woods were created thousands of years ago and were to be removed until they learned of our family. Thus they moved us here where we would be safe. Later the kelekri came, searching for a home and talking of bonding. We happily took them into our trees, happy to have friends to watch after. Kelekri, after all, are extremely special." Trinitive spoke up, though her voice sounded somewhat bored.
"So, you mean, this whole forest is full of dryads? But why is it silver?" Kelsey asked, eyes roaming around the place.
"Every tree here holds a member of our family. Most of them sleep now, but do enjoy the company of our friends. They are our cousins, thus the reason we all seem to look alike." Maeil said with a very light voice. "The silver leaves are the mark of our family. Unlike others of the Dryads, we were bred with the Audian tree, a very rare specimen that is only home to the kelekri. That is why they found us and it is hard to find them."
"Um, so where are the kelekri now? We've been wondering what happened to them all day." The dryads looked at each other and smiled.
"I believe they went out for a bit of...snacking. Don't worry, where you find disaster you find them. Especially if it has to do with candy." Lythial said, smiling to herself