Disclaimer: Own nothing.
Dedication: to the Red Dragons Order!
AN: A new chapter... And although the story is dedicated to Red, this particular chapter should be dedicated to Akvar, without whose weird ideas it would have come out completely different. And thanks to him for a few names here!
Chapter 29: The Mistress and the Elf Celebrations
"Don't be afraid to be weak,
Don't feel proud to be strong,
Just look into your heart, my friend,
Let it be the return to yourself,
The return to innocence!
[...] Be yourself, don't hide,
Just believe in destiny
Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up to use the chance,
To return to innocence!
Don't care what people say
Follow just your own way!
Follow just your own way!
Don't give up... Don't give up!
The return to innocence!"
Enigma –"Return to innocence"
/-/-/-/-
"Naranesh... Naranesh... Naranesh...." Jack muttered slowly as he watched the goddess in front of him walk gracefully to the small spring and take some water into her hands and drink. That woman was a goddess. Or that goddess was a woman, he wasn't quite sure, but she was divine and otherworldly nevertheless.
"Yes, son of light?" she asked him with a smile on her lips.
"Nothing" he replied. "But you... wow..."
"Good thing my betrothed isn't here, then" she replied with a small chuckle. "I'm not sure how exactly he'd react to your last few words"
"He'd laugh his head off and make me feel bad, probably" Jack replied. "And again, I feel like a kid when I'm next to you, graceful goddess"
She smiled to him and said nothing. Instead, she sat down on the ground, her back to a tree and a few birds flew around her, landing on the ground near her and chirping happily when she petted them.
"Can I stay with you forever? Please?" Jack asked like a child.
"No, you cannot, young Navrad" she replied to him. "But for a while you are allowed to stay. Until I go to Hogwarts"
"Please let it be next year or after two years or..."
"In less than one month it shall be" she interrupted him. "More than that I cannot offer you"
"Pity" Jack said. "Can I ask you a question, Mistress?"
"You can ask as many as you like" she replied. "But be careful what you ask and be not surprised if some I shall not answer"
"Right" he replied. "Are you human or..."
"I am human" she replied. "Maybe a bit more powerful than some, maybe immortal, but human"
"How old are you?" Jack asked, sitting on the grass next to her.
"Asking a woman of her age! How disrespectful!" she said with a small laugh. "I am soon to be 2036"
"Whoa" Jack replied.
"Whoa indeed" she said and let out a chuckle. "But I have nowhere near the age of thine Master."
"How old is he?"
"A lot older than I, young Jack" she answered.
"Of course, but how old exactly..."
"It is a question I shall not answer" she replied. "His age reveals too much about him, for after an age it is possible to tell what and whom you are just by age. With me it is no secret, but you know as well as I that he won't reveal anything about him to anybody... except to me and to very few whom he completely trusts"
"Doesn't he trust me?" Jack questioned, a bit hurt.
"He trusts you completely, but you are not powerful enough to protect this piece of information enough... and even if you were, the knowledge of you knowing who he is would be revealed to the world. Many would hunt you. It is better for you to remain ignorant of this"
"Right" Jack said, gazing into her eyes. "How did you get to be how you are?"
"I? By the Grace of God, young one. He can offer all" she said with a charming smile.
"Another one of those questions you won't answer" the man commented.
"Ah, true. But my answer still stands"
"Yeah, I can bet on that" he said. "So, could you tell me how to be like you?"
"How to be like me?" she asked with a soft smile. "I doubt you would want to be like me... After all, which sane man wants to be like a woman and which sane woman would like to be like a man?"
"I mean, reach your level, milady, not be like you!" Jack corrected himself.
"Rather" she replied. "But be careful with words, they are powerful things..."
She looked in the forest and spotted a dear come shyly towards her.
"Come, sweet" she whispered to it and it caught some courage. "There, beautiful... How are you?"
"How do you do that?" Jack asked admiringly.
"If you are completely non-violent, others will be completely non-violent with you and animals and beasts will come sit near you" she answered him with a smile. "If you love them, they will seek your presence"
"So, I can make animals come to me, too" Jack concluded.
"No, no... Not make them. They will come by themselves" she said. "Tonight, the elves, naiads and dryads will come here". Then, she added with a chuckle: "You have been forewarned"
"Ah, thank you. So, no sleep tonight" he said. "I don't mind. But why do they come?"
"It is a very special night tonight... It is the night before the full moon; it is the night of harmony and beauty. It is a night that elves cherish, especially now, since it is so near the spring equinox."
"Ah, the elves... Always in the stars!" Jack commented humorously.
"You should see how they calculate the place where they celebrate some special days... All the complicated calculus and star watching... It's a science, I tell you"
"Weird people" Jack muttered.
"Weird, but pure and powerful and great" she said patiently. "After all, they are much more powerful than Muggles, you can't deny that, and many of them are more powerful than wizards"
"I know" Jack said. "But I don't know why I like humans more"
"Maybe because you are one?" she suggested.
"Ah, right" he said with a nod. "That too"
"But humans can be as great as elves... I know one human who is now half- elven, but in her heart she is still very human. The gift she received was to prove her just that"
"Sania, right?" he asked.
"Yes, her. Soon she will know she is human... But she has many elven qualities"
"Tell me about it" he replied. "Milady Naranesh, I still feel like a kid in your presence"
"Enjoy your childhood, then" she replied with a smile, petting the dear gently. "Mind if I put some music?"
"No, no, not at all!" he quickly replied.
She smiled and waved her hand carelessly and 'Enigma-Return to innocence' started playing.
"This one's for you... Since you feel like a child"
Jack smiled and let himself lye on the grass, next to the woman... no, goddess!
/-/-/-/-
"Do you know what day it is today?" Iris asked the class. "Can't remember"
"Um... the 19th of March" Hermione replied.
"Ah, thank..." she said and her head snapped up quickly. "Oh, dear! I forgot! The elves!"
"Um, Professor?" Draco asked.
"Right, right..." she said. "Gosh, I have to tell Albus I can't stay here tonight"
"Professor, you still with us?" the blonde asked.
"Yes, I'm still here, Mr. Malfoy" she said, turning her head towards him quickly. "Just my memory seems to have nearly betrayed me. I need to go to the elves tonight and I forgot. Oh, well, the class seems to be over anyway, so class dismissed"
The students stared at her for a few seconds before actually getting up and leaving the class, their teacher searching madly for something. Before Harry exited the class –he was last in line- he heard her mutter 'here, floo, floo, floo, floo'.
"I guess she wants to contact somebody" Harry told Hermione. HeHerm"She's currently searching for floo powder."
"Yeah, she was acting weird, but I guess it's an elf meeting or something... Seems she has a good contact with the elves, doesn't it? Maybe that's why she was telling us so much about them the past few days."
"Maybe she's friends with Sania" Amala suggested.
"It's possible. Actually, how many elf-friends can there be around Hogwarts?" Ron said. "So, what do we do today?"
"Study for N.E.W.T.S" Hermione said seriously and the three around her stopped in mid step.
"What?!" Ron said outraged. "Study for N.E.W.T.S?!"
"Heh, heh, just kidding, guys" Hermione said. "I can't believe you actually believed me!"
"With you, it was a possibility for it to be true" Amala said shaking her head, a smirk on her lips. "So, Har, how and where is the Torch?"
"In my bedroom" he replied. "It's hidden from everybody's view, just like Dumbledore suggested."
"You know, I really like the way you majestically said 'oh, shit' this morning" Ron said snickering. "Until now I had no idea it was possible to say a majestic 'shit'."
"I had my hand on the Torch!" Harry said. "You know what effect it has on me, don't you?!"
"Yes, and then you nobly tripped on your own legs, another thing which I thought impossible" Ron added. "I mean, come on, how can you possibly trip on your legs and look like a noble?"
"Beats me" Harry said. "But hey, seems like everything is possible."
"I agree" Amala said. "It's a good thing we have the Torch and Severus said that the Order is pleased it is in your hands. Well, they're pleased someone on our side has it, but they're not quite pleased that you have it... Sirius apparently said that there is too much pressure on your head."
"There is a lot of it" Harry replied. "But thank God I have the Torch... Imagine needing it and not having it"
"Agree with you there, mate" Ron replied. "I say tonight we should try those new products the twins sent to us"
"Are you nuts?" Amala asked. "I don't feel like losing my head or anything like it!"
"Actually, I was thinking on testing them on first years" Ron said. "Not on ourselves"
"Ron!" Hermione said threateningly.
"Or on Slytherins..." he added seeing his girlfriend's look.
"Rather" she said. "After all, we wouldn't want to hurt our own first years, now would we?"
"I think Ron and I definitely have a bad influence on you, Hermione" Harry said.
"I guess you do" she replied. "But don't worry, I think I like it"
"Oh, no, the saint Granger is turning into a devil!" Draco commented, showing up. "So, what was this I heard... Weasley products on Slytherins? My, my, I don't think I'll allow that"
"You're no fun, Draco" Amala said, shaking her head.
"I won't allow it unless I'm in, of course..." he completed. "And watch out what you say, Wright, walls have ears and you're lucky I am familiar with the 'Sevvie' thingy"
"Sevvie?" she asked, frowning.
"Well, you wouldn't want me to shout out his name, would you? I think that's your job when you two sha..."
Amala's eyes turned from calm to furious in less than a second as she slapped Draco with everything she had, leaving a red mark on his face.
"Don't you dare, Malfoy" she threateningly said, furiously glaring at the blonde who was rubbing his cheek, in pain. People stared at them oddly, but she didn't care.
"Never again" he replied. "God, what charm did you use to get yourself such strength?"
"Ok, ok, break it up!" Ron said, pulling Draco away from Amala, while Hermione pulled Amala away from Draco. "No use to kill yourselves over House pride, you know!"
"What the-?" both of them started, but they stopped in the middle of the question, seeing the mass of students around them. "But I assure you, Wright, the so-called 'Gryffindor courage' is actually 'Gryffindor unconsciousness!" Draco cried."
"I'm surprised you can use such a long word!" Amala replied.
"Can't believe it! Was that a sentence?" Draco sarcastically asked.
"Yes, I believe you learnt about them yesterday, at kindergarten!" she replied.
"Break it up, break it up" Ron said. "This is turning silly"
"I'll give you silly, Weasel" Draco said. "Now let me go, may I remind you that it wasn't I who started this?"
"Actually, you did" Amala said with a glare.
"But I didn't jump at you to slap you, Gryffindork" Draco furiously said.
"That's it!' Ron cried. "You're dead, Slimy-rin!"
"What did you call me?" Draco asked, turning his head to face Ron as much as possible.
"You know... Slytherin... Slimy-rin"
"Mhm. you" Draco said.
Ron turned as red as his ears and hit him against the cold wall of the corridor.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Hermione said, letting go of Amala who stopped struggling to get to Draco and just stood there, watching them, eyebrows raised. "For goodness sake, where are we getting to?! Two prefects fighting on the school corridors. Five points from Slytherin and Gryffindor!"
The two gaped at her.
"You crazy, Granger?" Draco asked.
"Yes. Now BREAK IT UP!"
The two parted and glared at her.
"Now, let's move it to our next class" she said turned her back on them. "This way!"
They all nodded and followed her... through some empty corridors.
"Ron, have you taken a shower this morning?" Amala asked casually.
"Yes. Why?" he asked.
"Five points to Gryffindor, then" she said with a smirk. "How about you, Draco?"
"Yes, ma'am" he replied.
"Five points to Slytherin, then" Hermione said. "But Draco, you should really cut it down on that type of jokes, you can easily see Amala gets outraged from nearly nothing and can slap you for them. Thank God I and Ron thought fast enough to get us out of that mess we were in."
Amala made a face, but didn't reply.
"Yeah, when I heard you going on with House pride I realized there was something bad going on there" Draco said. "And quick thinking at the end, too. I didn't know how to end the act"
"Me neither" Ron said. "But I really was starting to get pissed off with you"
"Let's all go to Hollywood" Harry proposed and the girls laughed.
"Hollywood?" Draco asked.
"What's Kali good?" Ron asked.
"Hollywood. A famous place for movies and actors" Harry replied. "A Muggle place"
The other boys shook their heads. Those Muggle things were really annoying sometimes.
/-/-/-/-
"Relax, Sirius" Iris said, holding his hand.
"It's an elven party. Ring a bell? I'm not an elf!" he complained.
"Relax, it's wonderful. Plus, you get to see Naranesh and not many get to see her in the way you will now"
"How do I get to see her?" Sirius asked.
"As the goddess she is. But she said that she might go to Hogwarts soon"
"Right. Then why go and see her in advance?" the man asked and Iris smirked.
"Why, I do believe you are scared, Mr. Black"
"So, I'm nervous. Sue me!" he said. "I can't believe you're dragging me into this!"
They had Apparated to the 'closest place to the clearing' as Iris had put it and now were moving on foot to the place where the celebration would take place. The forest was dark, but the nearly full moon was shinning up in the sky, lighting the whole place in silver. If Sirius hadn't been so nervous, he would have probably already felt the power of the 'goddess', as many called her, all around him. But maybe it was better this way, because when he entered the clearing he was completely amazed by all that there was around him and a huge shock always works for nervous people.
Elves were dancing to some soft, pleasant music, laughing and talking happily and he frankly had no idea how he hadn't heard them before. Maybe there were silencing charms around the place.
And suddenly, something struck him. Some not-quite-elven-or-human people were walking around, either in blue, water-like clothes or in brown, tree- like clothes...
"Naiads and dryads!" he said in one breath.
"Correct" Iris said. "Come meet Naranesh!"
She dragged him to a place in the clearing where light seemed to come from. There, next to a somewhat silvery flamed torch, stood a tall, beautiful... no scratch that, extremely beautiful woman, dressed in a silver dress herself, a silver chain with a silver medallion on it on her forehead.
"Ah, you are here!" she said, seeing them, her voice as wonderful as the one of angels. "Hello, Iris, my beautiful child"
"Hello, Naranesh, lady of light" she replied cheerfully.
"I see you've followed my advice"
"Could it be any other way, Mistress?" she asked happily.
"And hello to you, Sirius" the woman said, turning her head towards the man who felt odder by the second.
"Um... hello... you know me?" he nervously asked.
"Yes, I do" she answered him. "With your death came the birth of my child who knows not yet that she is my daughter"
"Excuse me?" he said, frowning.
"The one who has saved you is my daughter of heart... in other words, by saving you, she became my child and I, her mistress"
"So, Amala's..."
"Yes, you could say so" Naranesh replied, seeming to read his thoughts. "And I will ask Iris to guide her on her path"
"My pleasure, milady" Iris replied with a small bow of head.
"Is there anything you wish to ask me, Sirius?" Naranesh said, looking at him as if she could read his heart.
"Yes, milady..." he replied, taking example from his girlfriend. "Jack Towers always talked about his Master, you say now you are Amala's Mistress... Who is my Master?"
Naranesh smiled humorously.
"I would tell you, Sirius, but you see, there is one problem... You don't have a Master"
"What? But Towers said everybody had a Master when I asked him about the subject!" Sirius said with a frown.
"Ah, but you see, the reason why you don't have a Master is that you have a Mistress" Naranesh replied, laughter in her eyes and in her voice.
"A Mistress?!" Sirius asked. "But don't men have Masters and women Mistresses?"
"Not necessarily" she replied. "Take my betrothed, for example. He has many disciples and they are both men and women. And I have male disciples, too"
"So, who is she?" he asked. "You?"
"Oh, no..." Naranesh said. "My children are on the path of pure light, as you can see Iris and Amala. When they will be powerful enough, they will be so pure and white that nothing will be able to harm them. So is my path, too... I cannot fight, for the grace over me is so great that all that could hurt me runs away before I even reach the place... Therefore, it is impossible for me to stay hidden or fight. And this is not your path"
"So, I'm a fighter..." Sirius said.
"Yes, more than one of us. You see, my betrothed, Jack's Master is one who helps fighters on their path... That is why Jack Towers is as he is"
"But I thought I had a Mistress, so your husband couldn't possibly be..."
"He isn't" she interrupted him. "But you need to understand that paths are many. And yours isn't Towers' either, although for a while it might seem so. Your Mistress is not here, so you will meet her after a very long time, if you will at all... If not, in another life you will meet her"
"Another life?!" Sirius said a bit outraged. "After I die... again?"
"Yes, Sirius, after you die again" she replied with a chuckle. "But you should be grateful that Death herself likes you"
"Oh, you know of what happened"
"Yes, I do" she replied. "But let me tell you something, Sirius. What you have seen is only a small side of Death. She isn't as cheerful as she seemed to be and she is definitely terrible when se wishes to be. But then she wished not to scare you. Death is much more than what you have seen. She is the Mistress of some and they know her both terrible and loving. She has a disciple who has died to serve her better and so he gained immortality. She can give that, if she desires to."
"Immortal, you say?" Sirius asked. "How immortal?"
"Well, he can't die at all, since he is already dead. You do the math" Naranesh said with the smile which Sirius understood was specific to her. "Now, children, go have a good time, for the elves are starting to dance in happiness... Join them, if you will"
The human goddess nodded in goodbye and they bowed in front of her and went to the place where the elves danced gracefully. They joined the dance, feeling the harmony erupting from the music and a certain indescribable feeling that came from nowhere and everywhere. As Sirius thought some time afterwards, it was probably the whole 'harmony and beauty' thing the elves were celebrating.
Sometime after midnight, Naranesh herself appeared in the middle of the celebration, holding a tall, white scepter in her hand.
"I didn't know she uses one of those" Sirius said, staring at her.
"Actually, she does" Iris replied. "She doesn't need a wand, they're too weak for her... so are scepters, in fact. But the scepter is a symbol of her power and status. She is one of the old witches, she is nearly a goddess..."
Naranesh raised her scepter majestically and bowed her head slightly, white beams of light erupting from it and hitting everybody around. Sirius immediately felt a floating-like feeling and great happiness.
"Call it a blessing" Iris said to him, grinning.
After about half a minute, it stopped, but they could still feel the effects. Naranesh raised her head and lowered her scepter and made a sign for Iris and Sirius to follow, then made the same sign for others. Obediently, they did so and soon they found themselves in the same place where they had been before.
There, there was a group of people who made Sirius feel very, very uncomfortable. There was a tall and beautiful elven woman dressed in blue which had a lot of herbs and small rocks and all kinds of things that only added to her charm attached to her clothes. Then, there was a tall and handsome elven man, sterner than the woman. Then, there was one of the naiads dressed in dark sea blue, with blue eyes and clothes that seemed to be made out of water. There also was a dryad, a beautiful woman that looked a lot like an oak, wearing dark brown and with hair that had leaves of the aforementioned tree in her hair. Next, there was a man who looked as if he were one of the old kings. Then, there was a young elven woman, dressed in brown and having a scythe-like weapon in her hand. Last, but not least, was his own girlfriend, looking much more powerful than usual. And of course, there was Naranesh herself. How did he, Sirius, end up here?
"Welcome, ones of the council" Naranesh said, all of them forming a circle around her. "Most of you know each other, but some of you do not. And it is also true that not all the council is here now... But let me start by telling your names to the others"
The goddess turned towards the naiad and dryad and said in a soft voice:
"You will forgive me for not saying your names, but you know that many find it hard to remember them and even harder to say"
"It is no problem" the naiad said. "Few elves and even fewer humans can speak our language"
"Same on our side" the dryad said. "How many can sound like water or wind through branches?"
Naranesh bowed deeply in front of them.
"These two are two of the most important naiads and dryads in their lands... And further, we have Sania, a half-elven woman who once was a human"
"Still am, still am" she murmured.
"Iris Rose, belonging to the humans, daughter of mine"
Iris made a small bow.
"Sirius Black, again human, back from the dead with the grace of Death herself"
Sirius wished he could've done something better than turn red and bow slightly.
"Saren, the High Elven Priestess, her loyalties lie with Niamana, the goddess, mother of all, the part of God that is a woman"
The beautiful elven woman dressed in blue smiled and bowed her head.
"Soveran, the High Elven Priest, his loyalties lie with Shalar, the god, father of all, the part of God that is a man"
Soveran bowed deeply, smiling slightly.
"And last, but not least, stands in front of us the one called Eagle, of the humans"
The guy who looked like a king bowed slightly, but didn't smile, instead looking concerned.
"Some of you know why I called you. Some of you do not. But all of you are warriors, built to stand against the hits of the dark and this is what I ask of you now"
Naranesh made a small pause before continuing in a completely different way.
"A thousand years ago, on the plains of the school called Hogwarts came the Ghost War... Slytherin fell as we all know, leaving his House into darkness. And after the last battle –if we wish to call it so- the Fal'sil retreated to another world... A different world where time runs in different ways... Most of them died, but some of them remained, for there Death herself decided who shall live forward and who should die. And some Fal'sil remained... and through those the great king of the times when Hogwarts was built. Eagle, they called him, for his eyes saw better than a human's... Eagle for he flew in front of his people with braveness and wisdom. And that Eagle stands now in front of you, like he stood in front of his own a thousand years ago. Eagle, my king, you know the battle, but you know the price you shall pay, do you not?"
Naranesh turned towards the old-looking guy who started speaking.
"With great destinies come great prices and I am afraid I have both... My children have died, my children's children have also, my wife is dust in the wind... only I remained and even I now go... I came here to speak for one last time, before I go to sleep for eternity, for I have already slept with the grace of Death, my body hardly living, for 990 years. I speak now last in my life before I go... A lot of things have gone, and very few remained, but the Fal'sil now fall under different command and when they should they will fall in the hands of my heir. All of you will know her, for it is indeed a she, and descendant of mine and my wife's... Easy to tell by her name, she is. And I know she will rule them good."
Eagle made a pause, looking at all the others.
"Anything else you would want us to know? Think well, Eagle Eye, King of the Fal'sil" Naranesh said.
"The gates of our land are hidden and elven nobles know where. But this is not all, no, it is not! I might be nothing but stardust now, but my belongings are not! I left great treasure in the Forbidden Forest –ah, I still remember the day when we had named it so!- and Naranesh knows where. I leave it to my heir, again. She is now richer than the Malfoys, if my knowledge is right"
"It is, it is" Naranesh agreed.
"And last, but not least, I will ask Naranesh to do me a favor..."
Eagle turned to the goddess and took out a gold ring with one small diamond with a black something in the small diamond.
"Give this to my heir, goddess... It this the Ring of the Fal'sil, the symbol of the great king and which will have the black sign of the dragon in it only when the one who wears it is the real sovereign of the Fal'sil and only with his or her agreement can the dragon be studied"
Naranesh took the ring with a small bow of her head and the black thing in it disappeared, instead a white something appearing.
"It changed to suit me and my soul" she said, looking at the ring. "I can see in it my dove, my sign..."
"Indeed" Eagle said, his eyebrows arching a little. "I did not know it would do that"
"It sometimes does" Naranesh said. "When the one who holds it is indeed light, with all his or her heart..."
"With these said, I go sleep forever" Eagle said with a sigh. "My only sadness is that I will not get to see my heir."
"You will see her soon" Naranesh said. "For the dead are sometimes graced by Death to see what they wish to in the world of the living... And you are one of the graced"
Eagle's eyes widened in surprise and for a second it seemed that he wanted to ask something, but he gave up quickly, bowed deeply and turned his back on the group and went through the forest alone, pacing slowly and tiredly, a few shadows moving in his back... Soon they could see him no more.
"There goes a great king" Naranesh said after a few minutes. "But he has been gone for one thousand years now. When wishing not to be a ghost, he was granted his wish and left on this earth until the reason of his staying here would disappear. What you have seen is a shadow, a shadow long dead which is only a ghost more material and yet less keen on life. He goes now to die and he knows that his presence in this council was not required... that is why he left now. But do not fill yourselves with sorrow and grief, for he goes to rest after a life that was too long."
Sirius stared at Naranesh, a smile on her lips, the Ring of the Fal'sil on her finger. She actually seemed happy for something. Anyway, the whole scene had been weird. And again, what was he doing here?!
"Now, we should decide what to do about the destiny of Harry Potter and Voldemort... About our destinies"
Sirius's head snapped up and he looked into her eyes. Would he... Would he have something to do with...?
"I answer now your question, Sirius. The one you didn't dare ask. You are here for your part is to help Harry directly. Young Harry Potter..."
Sirius stopped his breath as she turned to the others.
"Beloved ones, we are here to help our clause. And our representative in this battle was chosen by Voldemort himself. Harry Potter... Some of you know him, some of you do not. He now holds the Green flamed Torch and we need to help him resist in front of the one who calls himself the Dark Lord. As friends, we have the order of the Phoenix, we have Harry's friends... We have the angels that some of us can summon. We need to give him time to give ourselves time! Sania, you've met him, have you not?"
"Yes, milady" she replied.
"You will meet him again. And you will live near Hogwarts until your father will tell what to do next."
"Yes", she said.
"Saren"
"Yes?"
"You will gather elves along with Soveran. Be ready to strike. Always. Sirius, you need to be near him. For moral support. You will also be, along with Iris, a link with the Order. For now, you must tell them that an attack upon Hogwarts will come soon and you must convince them to let Harry use the Torch at the right moment. It shan't be easy. In fact, it will be difficult, for your own heart won't want to let him do it. Can you manage?"
Sirius looked at the goddess and felt a wave of confidence come over him.
"Yes, madam. I can"
"Very good" she said with a smile. "My dear dryad and naiad, guard the trees in this forest and the waters in the Hogwarts lake. There will be things you will have to take care of with great care. And I... I shall speak with my angels, I shall call Death herself... and go to Hogwarts soon, but I shall stay only short. I need to speak with the heir of the Fal'silian king. She might need some support herself. Jack Towers."
"Yes?"
"You will retreat in the shadows and come back only when your Master says you should. You will not help. You will not interfere. Not in this... But you will need to sabotage some of Voldemort's plans... on your own. Can you manage?"
"Yes. I can" he replied.
"Very good. I shall contact you all later... For now, I release you to go back to your own business. And thank you all"
Naranesh bowed her head and they all retreated towards where they came from. Iris grabbed Sirius's hand and as they went towards the elven party, they were each stopped by a hand on their shoulders.
"Oh, no, you two" a nice voice said. "You're coming with me"
They turned to see Saren, the High Elven Priestess, smiling mischievously.
"A friend of my friend's is my friend, even if he is in fact her boyfriend... Come, Sirius, Iris, tell me of your story and I shall tell you some of mine. But not here, I am usually searched for and I do not like being interrupted. Let's go to a tree I like, we can stay there in peace."
Sirius was amazed by this, but Iris just smiled as they followed the beautiful woman elf walk deeper into a forest and climbing into a tree there, making sign for the two others to do so, too. They climbed, easier than Sirius thought he would do it, but more difficult than Saren and ended up on a tree branch which seemed comfortable and it was almost as if it had grown in the shape of some chairs...
"I might not be very good with plants" the priestess said "but even I am good enough to convince a tree to grow differently than he intended. As you can see, I asked it to modify a little, so I could sit on it more comfortable... so tell me your story, tell me what is new and I shall tell you of the elven lands and the stories we hear there now"
So they did... and it was a nice night. As Sirius got to discover, Iris and Saren were close and 'went a long way back', knowing a lot about each other. He also got to study the priestess better, the way she looked, the way she was... a true priestess, in his opinion, giving advice –especially to Sirius, Iris seemed to need none-, speaking a lot of 'the Great Goddess', as if she were real and there with them. But to his surprise, he found out that unlike human priests, she had a nice collection of 'exes', still searching for the right man. Surprising, indeed, who'd have thought? She also seemed to have no problem with the fact that Sirius was oblivious of her religion and didn't try to convert him but instead started speaking of Jesus and Christians... all this without it seeming unnatural. Without dragging him into religious conversations, she just let out a few words about a saint or another... and managed to sound perfectly natural. But she also spoke about completely non-related to the subject things easily and she seemed to know them as if she had been through them. Plus, she never said the word 'sin' the way Christian priests used it. Ok, so a few times she had said it ironically "oh, my, what a sin!" and as a part of an expression "It's not a sin to..." but never, ever did she blame Iris or him of any sin. Very good idea, he never stood for that. So, in other words, she was a perfect priestess, knowing a lot about everything that had to do with both life and religion... And Sirius couldn't be happier.
/-/-/-/-
"Wake up"
"Two more minutes..."
"Now, or we'll be late!"
"One more minute..."
"Already had it... Ten of them! Wake up, Harry!"
Harry Potter opened his eyes to see Ron standing, in his school robes, next to his bed.
"Tell them I'm sick... or skipping... or that you can't wake me up... or that I'm as lazy as a..."
"Stop mumbling and wake up, Harry" Ron insisted. "It's Monday morning, you can't be late on Monday..."
"You know, I think you're starting to scare me... You sound like Hermione" Harry said and Ron just shook his head.
"Actually, what I wanted to say with that sentence is 'I can't believe I'm up and dressed and ready for school and you're still in bed! It's not fair, I tell you!... Couldn't you at least announce me of your decision so we could both skip?!"
"Ah, you stopped sounding like Hermione there" Harry said and got up lazily.
In about twenty minutes they were in the Great hall, Hermione eating while reading a book –nothing unusual-, Amala writing something on a piece of parchment.
"What're you doing?" Ron asked her.
"Writing a letter to my parents... I'm still trying to find something to deliver it, but hey, why not?... right?"
"There's an ogre in the owlery" Hermione peacefully said.
"A WHAT?!" Harry said. An ogre? What would an ogre be doing in Hogwarts? "I mean, weren't those dark creatures..."
"Not that kind of an ogre, silly" Hermione said. "There are indeed some non- England students, so the school has ogre owls to help them deliver their letters"
"Ogre owls?" Harry asked.
"Yes. Owls Good for no Road Exhaustion. They don't grow tired easily. Nope" Hermione said and almost ducked back into her book when she seemed to remember something. "They're also called LIZARDS, but it's not such an every-day term, you know... I mean, everybody's used to calling them ogre owls, but still. Or were the LIZARDS of a different type? Nope, my mistake, two different kinds of owls..."
"What does "lizard" stand for?" Harry asked.
"Long, Intercontinental or Zappy Airline, Road or just any Distance. LIZARD"
"Good to know" Harry said with a small nod of head showing he didn't even dream of beating Hermione in the 'encyclopedia' domain. 'So, Amala, what're you writing?"
"Well, that everything's fine... a bit of knowledge of my school activity, nothing of the Torch, of course... And about my boyfriend. Mother has a right to know"
"You'll just... tell her you're going out with Severus Snape?" Ron said after seeing nobody around was attentive to them.
"No, silly" she replied. "Imagine if the letter got intercepted... But still, wouldn't tell them if mom in front of me now. They know him in a way or another, don't ask me how... But I would tell auntie Mona if she were around. She'd understand. No, no, I'll tell them I like a boy named Sev. Short from 'seven', the divine number"
"Okay..." Ron said, watching her write. "'s that in Romanian? I can't get a word out of it"
"Yep, it's in Romanian" she replied.
"Is Amala a normal name there?" Harry asked.
"No. I was named so after my grandma, but I never heard of anybody with my name there"
Ron nodded and turned to his girlfriend, trying to convince her to let down the books. But, as usual, he was unsuccessful.
Amala put down her feather and looked around.
"Huh, we're not too many, now are we?" she asked slowly. "The others must have come earlier"
"Well, we can stay here for about ten minutes... Frankly, I don't feel like waiting in front of the dungeons when Snape is still here" Harry said. "Now, if Ron would have let me stay in bed for another ten minutes..."
Amala smiled wickedly a bit.
"Say, while we wait, how about a bit of music? I miss that"
"Music? How?" Ron asked.
"The veni cantus, remember?" she asked. "Come on... Hermione, what d you think?"
Hermione surprisingly snapped her books closed and nodded.
"It would be a good idea. What song do you have in mind?"
"Um... Dunno" she replied. "No, wait, I have an idea!"
Amala took out her wand and said clearly:
"Veni cantus"
Harry tried to recognize the song. Hmm, it sounded familiar. Ah, the chorus was known, but he had no idea who sang the song or what it was called like. Well, it was probably called "I wanna be daylight in your eyes" or something like that... At least that was what the chorus said. Amala was enjoying herself and Hermione was smiling mischievously.
"I wanna be daylight in your eyes, I wanna be sunlight only warmer, I wanna be daylight in your eyes, I wanna be love, only stronger" Amala sang happily, while scouting around at the teachers' table to see if anyone complained. Instead, Flitwick got up and said to McGonagall loudly, so that they could hear, too. Which, by the way, was the idea he had in mind.
"Yes, Professor, this is what I was talking about just the other day! Magic for real in this school, students using it during free time also... And what a good idea, music! I say... 10 points to Gryffindor!"
Amala smiled and looked at Severus Snape, smiling when she met his eyes. For a second there, Harry thought he recognized a shadow of a smile's shadow on the Potion Master's face, before he frowned and glared at Amala. He had an image to keep, didn't he?
Dumbledore smiled jollily at them and seemed to sing along with the song. The old coot...
Hermione looked at the Slytherin table where Draco had his eyebrows raised and was looking from Amala to Snape, expecting something. Luckily, the others thought he was expecting his Head of House to punish the girl. Which, of course, didn't happen. Explainable. He wouldn't want to cross Dumbledore, now would he?
But when the song was over, everybody started going towards their classrooms. Which, in the sixth year Gryffindors' case was the dungeons.
"Snape will kill you, Amala" Neville said. "He didn't seem too pleased with you playing that song in the Great Hall this morning"
"Nah, he won't kill me..." she carelessly replied and many raised their eyebrows. "After all, Dumbledore agreed and Flitwick was on my side completely, so his hands are tied. Maybe he'll take a few points for various reasons or give me a detention, but nothing I can't fix"
"There goes a brave little Gryffindor" Draco said, sniffing a bit with irony, while wiping an inexistent tear out of his eye while Crabbe and Goyle laughed their heads off. "Really, you Gryffindors jump face forward into everything"
"Shut it, Malfoy" she replied without even bothering to seem upset. "So, what do you think we're doing today in Potions?"
"Not much. Blow up a few cauldrons, lose some points, get Snape to yell at us, you know, that type of things" Ron said and the others started laughing. They didn't get to talk more since Severus entered the classroom in his usual bat-mode.
"Are you in love, Mrs. Wright?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Amala.
'What's this, a trick question?!' she asked herself, but didn't get to say anything outside.
"Detention today for daring to play a love song at breakfast. Emotional and sentimental business are not to be exposed in all the school, Mrs. Wright. That's why it's called personal business, although I doubt you know any English."
Draco was laughing along with Crabbe and Goyle until something seemed to strike him and he got a sour look on his face. But nobody except Harry noticed that.
"Well, at least, he didn't take any House points" Neville mumbled towards Harry.
"And five points from Gryffindor since Mr. Longbottom decided he could comment on my words" Snape added and Neville sighed. So much for the good part. "I do hope the... musical moment is over, Mrs. Wright. We wouldn't want you to lose some points for singing in the classroom, now would we?"
Amala nodded reluctantly and sat down, staring at the empty cauldron. And today's lesson was...
"Today we will make an extremely difficult potion" Snape said. "Longbottom, you stand no chance."
Neville frowned and glared at the Professor, but he didn't seem to care.
"It is called the Dragon's Draught... Mainly because dragons are amongst the very few creatures who can drink such a thing. In case somebody of incredible idiocy or out of mistake drinks such a draught, he dies in extreme pain because the draught burns the person from the inside. However, in case one drinks it and is powerful enough to survive, he gets incredibly more accurate senses and power to contact the demons... or angels. It also makes one's eyes shine and a terrible force seems to surround the one who drank it. If drank constantly, it appears to have weird effects on the person. I tried once to swallow a bit out of a diluted potion of Dragon's Draught, but the effects were quite disastrous"
Snape made a pause and looked at each student slowly.
"However, I know a man who could drink it with no problem and he talked about different effects. You all know him, your ex-Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Jack Towers. I once saw him drink it from a normal beer mug, saying it tasted good"
Draco snickered and Snape turned towards him and frowned.
"You think it is funny, Mr. Malfoy? It is not. He might be a Dragon Animagus, but still he drank it too easily. Blamed it, as usually, on his Master. He said that the effects were quite different from those we learned, since very few can drink it and those can indeed have the characteristics I've mentioned before, but not because of the drink, instead because of their own interior being. But he said it was rather a drink of those powerful that gave you more energy than a Pepper Up and which released a bit of your power. And it indeed made your eyes shine and it also connected you to some inner sources of power. But it was drank like people drink now alcoholic drinks, except it couldn't get you drunk, just made you feel warm and helped you control the element you were closer to. He also recommended I would stop teaching it, since it wasn't worthwhile. Unfortunately, the Education Department in the Ministry disagreed and now I must teach it."
"Wow, we're making a drink we can't drink because we'd die" Ron said sarcastically towards Harry. Unfortunately Snape heard him.
"Heard that, Mr. Weasley. And I am afraid I agree. I believe it is useless, but you might need it for the NEWTS."
Ron gaped. Had Severus Snape agreed with him?
"The ingredients are all herbs" Snape said bored. "You can see them on the blackboard. Get to work"
They all started writing on parchment all the instructions and then got to work indeed, making the most useless difficult potion in existence.
/-/-/-/-
AN: Ah, another chapter... unfortunately, you had to wait for quite a while for it, for which I am sorry... But alas, my problems are going away soon and then I'll write more. If I get off my lazy but, that is. And something more: REVIEW! I really miss that...
Thanks to:
Babyjayy: Thanks
The Red Dragons Order: I'm glad you like it!
Other chaps: skillz: y the time you get here... ah, well, Mary sue is Mrs. Perfect-in-every-way. Check parodies for more information.
Dedication: to the Red Dragons Order!
AN: A new chapter... And although the story is dedicated to Red, this particular chapter should be dedicated to Akvar, without whose weird ideas it would have come out completely different. And thanks to him for a few names here!
Chapter 29: The Mistress and the Elf Celebrations
"Don't be afraid to be weak,
Don't feel proud to be strong,
Just look into your heart, my friend,
Let it be the return to yourself,
The return to innocence!
[...] Be yourself, don't hide,
Just believe in destiny
Don't care what people say
Just follow your own way
Don't give up to use the chance,
To return to innocence!
Don't care what people say
Follow just your own way!
Follow just your own way!
Don't give up... Don't give up!
The return to innocence!"
Enigma –"Return to innocence"
/-/-/-/-
"Naranesh... Naranesh... Naranesh...." Jack muttered slowly as he watched the goddess in front of him walk gracefully to the small spring and take some water into her hands and drink. That woman was a goddess. Or that goddess was a woman, he wasn't quite sure, but she was divine and otherworldly nevertheless.
"Yes, son of light?" she asked him with a smile on her lips.
"Nothing" he replied. "But you... wow..."
"Good thing my betrothed isn't here, then" she replied with a small chuckle. "I'm not sure how exactly he'd react to your last few words"
"He'd laugh his head off and make me feel bad, probably" Jack replied. "And again, I feel like a kid when I'm next to you, graceful goddess"
She smiled to him and said nothing. Instead, she sat down on the ground, her back to a tree and a few birds flew around her, landing on the ground near her and chirping happily when she petted them.
"Can I stay with you forever? Please?" Jack asked like a child.
"No, you cannot, young Navrad" she replied to him. "But for a while you are allowed to stay. Until I go to Hogwarts"
"Please let it be next year or after two years or..."
"In less than one month it shall be" she interrupted him. "More than that I cannot offer you"
"Pity" Jack said. "Can I ask you a question, Mistress?"
"You can ask as many as you like" she replied. "But be careful what you ask and be not surprised if some I shall not answer"
"Right" he replied. "Are you human or..."
"I am human" she replied. "Maybe a bit more powerful than some, maybe immortal, but human"
"How old are you?" Jack asked, sitting on the grass next to her.
"Asking a woman of her age! How disrespectful!" she said with a small laugh. "I am soon to be 2036"
"Whoa" Jack replied.
"Whoa indeed" she said and let out a chuckle. "But I have nowhere near the age of thine Master."
"How old is he?"
"A lot older than I, young Jack" she answered.
"Of course, but how old exactly..."
"It is a question I shall not answer" she replied. "His age reveals too much about him, for after an age it is possible to tell what and whom you are just by age. With me it is no secret, but you know as well as I that he won't reveal anything about him to anybody... except to me and to very few whom he completely trusts"
"Doesn't he trust me?" Jack questioned, a bit hurt.
"He trusts you completely, but you are not powerful enough to protect this piece of information enough... and even if you were, the knowledge of you knowing who he is would be revealed to the world. Many would hunt you. It is better for you to remain ignorant of this"
"Right" Jack said, gazing into her eyes. "How did you get to be how you are?"
"I? By the Grace of God, young one. He can offer all" she said with a charming smile.
"Another one of those questions you won't answer" the man commented.
"Ah, true. But my answer still stands"
"Yeah, I can bet on that" he said. "So, could you tell me how to be like you?"
"How to be like me?" she asked with a soft smile. "I doubt you would want to be like me... After all, which sane man wants to be like a woman and which sane woman would like to be like a man?"
"I mean, reach your level, milady, not be like you!" Jack corrected himself.
"Rather" she replied. "But be careful with words, they are powerful things..."
She looked in the forest and spotted a dear come shyly towards her.
"Come, sweet" she whispered to it and it caught some courage. "There, beautiful... How are you?"
"How do you do that?" Jack asked admiringly.
"If you are completely non-violent, others will be completely non-violent with you and animals and beasts will come sit near you" she answered him with a smile. "If you love them, they will seek your presence"
"So, I can make animals come to me, too" Jack concluded.
"No, no... Not make them. They will come by themselves" she said. "Tonight, the elves, naiads and dryads will come here". Then, she added with a chuckle: "You have been forewarned"
"Ah, thank you. So, no sleep tonight" he said. "I don't mind. But why do they come?"
"It is a very special night tonight... It is the night before the full moon; it is the night of harmony and beauty. It is a night that elves cherish, especially now, since it is so near the spring equinox."
"Ah, the elves... Always in the stars!" Jack commented humorously.
"You should see how they calculate the place where they celebrate some special days... All the complicated calculus and star watching... It's a science, I tell you"
"Weird people" Jack muttered.
"Weird, but pure and powerful and great" she said patiently. "After all, they are much more powerful than Muggles, you can't deny that, and many of them are more powerful than wizards"
"I know" Jack said. "But I don't know why I like humans more"
"Maybe because you are one?" she suggested.
"Ah, right" he said with a nod. "That too"
"But humans can be as great as elves... I know one human who is now half- elven, but in her heart she is still very human. The gift she received was to prove her just that"
"Sania, right?" he asked.
"Yes, her. Soon she will know she is human... But she has many elven qualities"
"Tell me about it" he replied. "Milady Naranesh, I still feel like a kid in your presence"
"Enjoy your childhood, then" she replied with a smile, petting the dear gently. "Mind if I put some music?"
"No, no, not at all!" he quickly replied.
She smiled and waved her hand carelessly and 'Enigma-Return to innocence' started playing.
"This one's for you... Since you feel like a child"
Jack smiled and let himself lye on the grass, next to the woman... no, goddess!
/-/-/-/-
"Do you know what day it is today?" Iris asked the class. "Can't remember"
"Um... the 19th of March" Hermione replied.
"Ah, thank..." she said and her head snapped up quickly. "Oh, dear! I forgot! The elves!"
"Um, Professor?" Draco asked.
"Right, right..." she said. "Gosh, I have to tell Albus I can't stay here tonight"
"Professor, you still with us?" the blonde asked.
"Yes, I'm still here, Mr. Malfoy" she said, turning her head towards him quickly. "Just my memory seems to have nearly betrayed me. I need to go to the elves tonight and I forgot. Oh, well, the class seems to be over anyway, so class dismissed"
The students stared at her for a few seconds before actually getting up and leaving the class, their teacher searching madly for something. Before Harry exited the class –he was last in line- he heard her mutter 'here, floo, floo, floo, floo'.
"I guess she wants to contact somebody" Harry told Hermione. HeHerm"She's currently searching for floo powder."
"Yeah, she was acting weird, but I guess it's an elf meeting or something... Seems she has a good contact with the elves, doesn't it? Maybe that's why she was telling us so much about them the past few days."
"Maybe she's friends with Sania" Amala suggested.
"It's possible. Actually, how many elf-friends can there be around Hogwarts?" Ron said. "So, what do we do today?"
"Study for N.E.W.T.S" Hermione said seriously and the three around her stopped in mid step.
"What?!" Ron said outraged. "Study for N.E.W.T.S?!"
"Heh, heh, just kidding, guys" Hermione said. "I can't believe you actually believed me!"
"With you, it was a possibility for it to be true" Amala said shaking her head, a smirk on her lips. "So, Har, how and where is the Torch?"
"In my bedroom" he replied. "It's hidden from everybody's view, just like Dumbledore suggested."
"You know, I really like the way you majestically said 'oh, shit' this morning" Ron said snickering. "Until now I had no idea it was possible to say a majestic 'shit'."
"I had my hand on the Torch!" Harry said. "You know what effect it has on me, don't you?!"
"Yes, and then you nobly tripped on your own legs, another thing which I thought impossible" Ron added. "I mean, come on, how can you possibly trip on your legs and look like a noble?"
"Beats me" Harry said. "But hey, seems like everything is possible."
"I agree" Amala said. "It's a good thing we have the Torch and Severus said that the Order is pleased it is in your hands. Well, they're pleased someone on our side has it, but they're not quite pleased that you have it... Sirius apparently said that there is too much pressure on your head."
"There is a lot of it" Harry replied. "But thank God I have the Torch... Imagine needing it and not having it"
"Agree with you there, mate" Ron replied. "I say tonight we should try those new products the twins sent to us"
"Are you nuts?" Amala asked. "I don't feel like losing my head or anything like it!"
"Actually, I was thinking on testing them on first years" Ron said. "Not on ourselves"
"Ron!" Hermione said threateningly.
"Or on Slytherins..." he added seeing his girlfriend's look.
"Rather" she said. "After all, we wouldn't want to hurt our own first years, now would we?"
"I think Ron and I definitely have a bad influence on you, Hermione" Harry said.
"I guess you do" she replied. "But don't worry, I think I like it"
"Oh, no, the saint Granger is turning into a devil!" Draco commented, showing up. "So, what was this I heard... Weasley products on Slytherins? My, my, I don't think I'll allow that"
"You're no fun, Draco" Amala said, shaking her head.
"I won't allow it unless I'm in, of course..." he completed. "And watch out what you say, Wright, walls have ears and you're lucky I am familiar with the 'Sevvie' thingy"
"Sevvie?" she asked, frowning.
"Well, you wouldn't want me to shout out his name, would you? I think that's your job when you two sha..."
Amala's eyes turned from calm to furious in less than a second as she slapped Draco with everything she had, leaving a red mark on his face.
"Don't you dare, Malfoy" she threateningly said, furiously glaring at the blonde who was rubbing his cheek, in pain. People stared at them oddly, but she didn't care.
"Never again" he replied. "God, what charm did you use to get yourself such strength?"
"Ok, ok, break it up!" Ron said, pulling Draco away from Amala, while Hermione pulled Amala away from Draco. "No use to kill yourselves over House pride, you know!"
"What the-?" both of them started, but they stopped in the middle of the question, seeing the mass of students around them. "But I assure you, Wright, the so-called 'Gryffindor courage' is actually 'Gryffindor unconsciousness!" Draco cried."
"I'm surprised you can use such a long word!" Amala replied.
"Can't believe it! Was that a sentence?" Draco sarcastically asked.
"Yes, I believe you learnt about them yesterday, at kindergarten!" she replied.
"Break it up, break it up" Ron said. "This is turning silly"
"I'll give you silly, Weasel" Draco said. "Now let me go, may I remind you that it wasn't I who started this?"
"Actually, you did" Amala said with a glare.
"But I didn't jump at you to slap you, Gryffindork" Draco furiously said.
"That's it!' Ron cried. "You're dead, Slimy-rin!"
"What did you call me?" Draco asked, turning his head to face Ron as much as possible.
"You know... Slytherin... Slimy-rin"
"Mhm. you" Draco said.
Ron turned as red as his ears and hit him against the cold wall of the corridor.
"Stop it! Stop it!" Hermione said, letting go of Amala who stopped struggling to get to Draco and just stood there, watching them, eyebrows raised. "For goodness sake, where are we getting to?! Two prefects fighting on the school corridors. Five points from Slytherin and Gryffindor!"
The two gaped at her.
"You crazy, Granger?" Draco asked.
"Yes. Now BREAK IT UP!"
The two parted and glared at her.
"Now, let's move it to our next class" she said turned her back on them. "This way!"
They all nodded and followed her... through some empty corridors.
"Ron, have you taken a shower this morning?" Amala asked casually.
"Yes. Why?" he asked.
"Five points to Gryffindor, then" she said with a smirk. "How about you, Draco?"
"Yes, ma'am" he replied.
"Five points to Slytherin, then" Hermione said. "But Draco, you should really cut it down on that type of jokes, you can easily see Amala gets outraged from nearly nothing and can slap you for them. Thank God I and Ron thought fast enough to get us out of that mess we were in."
Amala made a face, but didn't reply.
"Yeah, when I heard you going on with House pride I realized there was something bad going on there" Draco said. "And quick thinking at the end, too. I didn't know how to end the act"
"Me neither" Ron said. "But I really was starting to get pissed off with you"
"Let's all go to Hollywood" Harry proposed and the girls laughed.
"Hollywood?" Draco asked.
"What's Kali good?" Ron asked.
"Hollywood. A famous place for movies and actors" Harry replied. "A Muggle place"
The other boys shook their heads. Those Muggle things were really annoying sometimes.
/-/-/-/-
"Relax, Sirius" Iris said, holding his hand.
"It's an elven party. Ring a bell? I'm not an elf!" he complained.
"Relax, it's wonderful. Plus, you get to see Naranesh and not many get to see her in the way you will now"
"How do I get to see her?" Sirius asked.
"As the goddess she is. But she said that she might go to Hogwarts soon"
"Right. Then why go and see her in advance?" the man asked and Iris smirked.
"Why, I do believe you are scared, Mr. Black"
"So, I'm nervous. Sue me!" he said. "I can't believe you're dragging me into this!"
They had Apparated to the 'closest place to the clearing' as Iris had put it and now were moving on foot to the place where the celebration would take place. The forest was dark, but the nearly full moon was shinning up in the sky, lighting the whole place in silver. If Sirius hadn't been so nervous, he would have probably already felt the power of the 'goddess', as many called her, all around him. But maybe it was better this way, because when he entered the clearing he was completely amazed by all that there was around him and a huge shock always works for nervous people.
Elves were dancing to some soft, pleasant music, laughing and talking happily and he frankly had no idea how he hadn't heard them before. Maybe there were silencing charms around the place.
And suddenly, something struck him. Some not-quite-elven-or-human people were walking around, either in blue, water-like clothes or in brown, tree- like clothes...
"Naiads and dryads!" he said in one breath.
"Correct" Iris said. "Come meet Naranesh!"
She dragged him to a place in the clearing where light seemed to come from. There, next to a somewhat silvery flamed torch, stood a tall, beautiful... no scratch that, extremely beautiful woman, dressed in a silver dress herself, a silver chain with a silver medallion on it on her forehead.
"Ah, you are here!" she said, seeing them, her voice as wonderful as the one of angels. "Hello, Iris, my beautiful child"
"Hello, Naranesh, lady of light" she replied cheerfully.
"I see you've followed my advice"
"Could it be any other way, Mistress?" she asked happily.
"And hello to you, Sirius" the woman said, turning her head towards the man who felt odder by the second.
"Um... hello... you know me?" he nervously asked.
"Yes, I do" she answered him. "With your death came the birth of my child who knows not yet that she is my daughter"
"Excuse me?" he said, frowning.
"The one who has saved you is my daughter of heart... in other words, by saving you, she became my child and I, her mistress"
"So, Amala's..."
"Yes, you could say so" Naranesh replied, seeming to read his thoughts. "And I will ask Iris to guide her on her path"
"My pleasure, milady" Iris replied with a small bow of head.
"Is there anything you wish to ask me, Sirius?" Naranesh said, looking at him as if she could read his heart.
"Yes, milady..." he replied, taking example from his girlfriend. "Jack Towers always talked about his Master, you say now you are Amala's Mistress... Who is my Master?"
Naranesh smiled humorously.
"I would tell you, Sirius, but you see, there is one problem... You don't have a Master"
"What? But Towers said everybody had a Master when I asked him about the subject!" Sirius said with a frown.
"Ah, but you see, the reason why you don't have a Master is that you have a Mistress" Naranesh replied, laughter in her eyes and in her voice.
"A Mistress?!" Sirius asked. "But don't men have Masters and women Mistresses?"
"Not necessarily" she replied. "Take my betrothed, for example. He has many disciples and they are both men and women. And I have male disciples, too"
"So, who is she?" he asked. "You?"
"Oh, no..." Naranesh said. "My children are on the path of pure light, as you can see Iris and Amala. When they will be powerful enough, they will be so pure and white that nothing will be able to harm them. So is my path, too... I cannot fight, for the grace over me is so great that all that could hurt me runs away before I even reach the place... Therefore, it is impossible for me to stay hidden or fight. And this is not your path"
"So, I'm a fighter..." Sirius said.
"Yes, more than one of us. You see, my betrothed, Jack's Master is one who helps fighters on their path... That is why Jack Towers is as he is"
"But I thought I had a Mistress, so your husband couldn't possibly be..."
"He isn't" she interrupted him. "But you need to understand that paths are many. And yours isn't Towers' either, although for a while it might seem so. Your Mistress is not here, so you will meet her after a very long time, if you will at all... If not, in another life you will meet her"
"Another life?!" Sirius said a bit outraged. "After I die... again?"
"Yes, Sirius, after you die again" she replied with a chuckle. "But you should be grateful that Death herself likes you"
"Oh, you know of what happened"
"Yes, I do" she replied. "But let me tell you something, Sirius. What you have seen is only a small side of Death. She isn't as cheerful as she seemed to be and she is definitely terrible when se wishes to be. But then she wished not to scare you. Death is much more than what you have seen. She is the Mistress of some and they know her both terrible and loving. She has a disciple who has died to serve her better and so he gained immortality. She can give that, if she desires to."
"Immortal, you say?" Sirius asked. "How immortal?"
"Well, he can't die at all, since he is already dead. You do the math" Naranesh said with the smile which Sirius understood was specific to her. "Now, children, go have a good time, for the elves are starting to dance in happiness... Join them, if you will"
The human goddess nodded in goodbye and they bowed in front of her and went to the place where the elves danced gracefully. They joined the dance, feeling the harmony erupting from the music and a certain indescribable feeling that came from nowhere and everywhere. As Sirius thought some time afterwards, it was probably the whole 'harmony and beauty' thing the elves were celebrating.
Sometime after midnight, Naranesh herself appeared in the middle of the celebration, holding a tall, white scepter in her hand.
"I didn't know she uses one of those" Sirius said, staring at her.
"Actually, she does" Iris replied. "She doesn't need a wand, they're too weak for her... so are scepters, in fact. But the scepter is a symbol of her power and status. She is one of the old witches, she is nearly a goddess..."
Naranesh raised her scepter majestically and bowed her head slightly, white beams of light erupting from it and hitting everybody around. Sirius immediately felt a floating-like feeling and great happiness.
"Call it a blessing" Iris said to him, grinning.
After about half a minute, it stopped, but they could still feel the effects. Naranesh raised her head and lowered her scepter and made a sign for Iris and Sirius to follow, then made the same sign for others. Obediently, they did so and soon they found themselves in the same place where they had been before.
There, there was a group of people who made Sirius feel very, very uncomfortable. There was a tall and beautiful elven woman dressed in blue which had a lot of herbs and small rocks and all kinds of things that only added to her charm attached to her clothes. Then, there was a tall and handsome elven man, sterner than the woman. Then, there was one of the naiads dressed in dark sea blue, with blue eyes and clothes that seemed to be made out of water. There also was a dryad, a beautiful woman that looked a lot like an oak, wearing dark brown and with hair that had leaves of the aforementioned tree in her hair. Next, there was a man who looked as if he were one of the old kings. Then, there was a young elven woman, dressed in brown and having a scythe-like weapon in her hand. Last, but not least, was his own girlfriend, looking much more powerful than usual. And of course, there was Naranesh herself. How did he, Sirius, end up here?
"Welcome, ones of the council" Naranesh said, all of them forming a circle around her. "Most of you know each other, but some of you do not. And it is also true that not all the council is here now... But let me start by telling your names to the others"
The goddess turned towards the naiad and dryad and said in a soft voice:
"You will forgive me for not saying your names, but you know that many find it hard to remember them and even harder to say"
"It is no problem" the naiad said. "Few elves and even fewer humans can speak our language"
"Same on our side" the dryad said. "How many can sound like water or wind through branches?"
Naranesh bowed deeply in front of them.
"These two are two of the most important naiads and dryads in their lands... And further, we have Sania, a half-elven woman who once was a human"
"Still am, still am" she murmured.
"Iris Rose, belonging to the humans, daughter of mine"
Iris made a small bow.
"Sirius Black, again human, back from the dead with the grace of Death herself"
Sirius wished he could've done something better than turn red and bow slightly.
"Saren, the High Elven Priestess, her loyalties lie with Niamana, the goddess, mother of all, the part of God that is a woman"
The beautiful elven woman dressed in blue smiled and bowed her head.
"Soveran, the High Elven Priest, his loyalties lie with Shalar, the god, father of all, the part of God that is a man"
Soveran bowed deeply, smiling slightly.
"And last, but not least, stands in front of us the one called Eagle, of the humans"
The guy who looked like a king bowed slightly, but didn't smile, instead looking concerned.
"Some of you know why I called you. Some of you do not. But all of you are warriors, built to stand against the hits of the dark and this is what I ask of you now"
Naranesh made a small pause before continuing in a completely different way.
"A thousand years ago, on the plains of the school called Hogwarts came the Ghost War... Slytherin fell as we all know, leaving his House into darkness. And after the last battle –if we wish to call it so- the Fal'sil retreated to another world... A different world where time runs in different ways... Most of them died, but some of them remained, for there Death herself decided who shall live forward and who should die. And some Fal'sil remained... and through those the great king of the times when Hogwarts was built. Eagle, they called him, for his eyes saw better than a human's... Eagle for he flew in front of his people with braveness and wisdom. And that Eagle stands now in front of you, like he stood in front of his own a thousand years ago. Eagle, my king, you know the battle, but you know the price you shall pay, do you not?"
Naranesh turned towards the old-looking guy who started speaking.
"With great destinies come great prices and I am afraid I have both... My children have died, my children's children have also, my wife is dust in the wind... only I remained and even I now go... I came here to speak for one last time, before I go to sleep for eternity, for I have already slept with the grace of Death, my body hardly living, for 990 years. I speak now last in my life before I go... A lot of things have gone, and very few remained, but the Fal'sil now fall under different command and when they should they will fall in the hands of my heir. All of you will know her, for it is indeed a she, and descendant of mine and my wife's... Easy to tell by her name, she is. And I know she will rule them good."
Eagle made a pause, looking at all the others.
"Anything else you would want us to know? Think well, Eagle Eye, King of the Fal'sil" Naranesh said.
"The gates of our land are hidden and elven nobles know where. But this is not all, no, it is not! I might be nothing but stardust now, but my belongings are not! I left great treasure in the Forbidden Forest –ah, I still remember the day when we had named it so!- and Naranesh knows where. I leave it to my heir, again. She is now richer than the Malfoys, if my knowledge is right"
"It is, it is" Naranesh agreed.
"And last, but not least, I will ask Naranesh to do me a favor..."
Eagle turned to the goddess and took out a gold ring with one small diamond with a black something in the small diamond.
"Give this to my heir, goddess... It this the Ring of the Fal'sil, the symbol of the great king and which will have the black sign of the dragon in it only when the one who wears it is the real sovereign of the Fal'sil and only with his or her agreement can the dragon be studied"
Naranesh took the ring with a small bow of her head and the black thing in it disappeared, instead a white something appearing.
"It changed to suit me and my soul" she said, looking at the ring. "I can see in it my dove, my sign..."
"Indeed" Eagle said, his eyebrows arching a little. "I did not know it would do that"
"It sometimes does" Naranesh said. "When the one who holds it is indeed light, with all his or her heart..."
"With these said, I go sleep forever" Eagle said with a sigh. "My only sadness is that I will not get to see my heir."
"You will see her soon" Naranesh said. "For the dead are sometimes graced by Death to see what they wish to in the world of the living... And you are one of the graced"
Eagle's eyes widened in surprise and for a second it seemed that he wanted to ask something, but he gave up quickly, bowed deeply and turned his back on the group and went through the forest alone, pacing slowly and tiredly, a few shadows moving in his back... Soon they could see him no more.
"There goes a great king" Naranesh said after a few minutes. "But he has been gone for one thousand years now. When wishing not to be a ghost, he was granted his wish and left on this earth until the reason of his staying here would disappear. What you have seen is a shadow, a shadow long dead which is only a ghost more material and yet less keen on life. He goes now to die and he knows that his presence in this council was not required... that is why he left now. But do not fill yourselves with sorrow and grief, for he goes to rest after a life that was too long."
Sirius stared at Naranesh, a smile on her lips, the Ring of the Fal'sil on her finger. She actually seemed happy for something. Anyway, the whole scene had been weird. And again, what was he doing here?!
"Now, we should decide what to do about the destiny of Harry Potter and Voldemort... About our destinies"
Sirius's head snapped up and he looked into her eyes. Would he... Would he have something to do with...?
"I answer now your question, Sirius. The one you didn't dare ask. You are here for your part is to help Harry directly. Young Harry Potter..."
Sirius stopped his breath as she turned to the others.
"Beloved ones, we are here to help our clause. And our representative in this battle was chosen by Voldemort himself. Harry Potter... Some of you know him, some of you do not. He now holds the Green flamed Torch and we need to help him resist in front of the one who calls himself the Dark Lord. As friends, we have the order of the Phoenix, we have Harry's friends... We have the angels that some of us can summon. We need to give him time to give ourselves time! Sania, you've met him, have you not?"
"Yes, milady" she replied.
"You will meet him again. And you will live near Hogwarts until your father will tell what to do next."
"Yes", she said.
"Saren"
"Yes?"
"You will gather elves along with Soveran. Be ready to strike. Always. Sirius, you need to be near him. For moral support. You will also be, along with Iris, a link with the Order. For now, you must tell them that an attack upon Hogwarts will come soon and you must convince them to let Harry use the Torch at the right moment. It shan't be easy. In fact, it will be difficult, for your own heart won't want to let him do it. Can you manage?"
Sirius looked at the goddess and felt a wave of confidence come over him.
"Yes, madam. I can"
"Very good" she said with a smile. "My dear dryad and naiad, guard the trees in this forest and the waters in the Hogwarts lake. There will be things you will have to take care of with great care. And I... I shall speak with my angels, I shall call Death herself... and go to Hogwarts soon, but I shall stay only short. I need to speak with the heir of the Fal'silian king. She might need some support herself. Jack Towers."
"Yes?"
"You will retreat in the shadows and come back only when your Master says you should. You will not help. You will not interfere. Not in this... But you will need to sabotage some of Voldemort's plans... on your own. Can you manage?"
"Yes. I can" he replied.
"Very good. I shall contact you all later... For now, I release you to go back to your own business. And thank you all"
Naranesh bowed her head and they all retreated towards where they came from. Iris grabbed Sirius's hand and as they went towards the elven party, they were each stopped by a hand on their shoulders.
"Oh, no, you two" a nice voice said. "You're coming with me"
They turned to see Saren, the High Elven Priestess, smiling mischievously.
"A friend of my friend's is my friend, even if he is in fact her boyfriend... Come, Sirius, Iris, tell me of your story and I shall tell you some of mine. But not here, I am usually searched for and I do not like being interrupted. Let's go to a tree I like, we can stay there in peace."
Sirius was amazed by this, but Iris just smiled as they followed the beautiful woman elf walk deeper into a forest and climbing into a tree there, making sign for the two others to do so, too. They climbed, easier than Sirius thought he would do it, but more difficult than Saren and ended up on a tree branch which seemed comfortable and it was almost as if it had grown in the shape of some chairs...
"I might not be very good with plants" the priestess said "but even I am good enough to convince a tree to grow differently than he intended. As you can see, I asked it to modify a little, so I could sit on it more comfortable... so tell me your story, tell me what is new and I shall tell you of the elven lands and the stories we hear there now"
So they did... and it was a nice night. As Sirius got to discover, Iris and Saren were close and 'went a long way back', knowing a lot about each other. He also got to study the priestess better, the way she looked, the way she was... a true priestess, in his opinion, giving advice –especially to Sirius, Iris seemed to need none-, speaking a lot of 'the Great Goddess', as if she were real and there with them. But to his surprise, he found out that unlike human priests, she had a nice collection of 'exes', still searching for the right man. Surprising, indeed, who'd have thought? She also seemed to have no problem with the fact that Sirius was oblivious of her religion and didn't try to convert him but instead started speaking of Jesus and Christians... all this without it seeming unnatural. Without dragging him into religious conversations, she just let out a few words about a saint or another... and managed to sound perfectly natural. But she also spoke about completely non-related to the subject things easily and she seemed to know them as if she had been through them. Plus, she never said the word 'sin' the way Christian priests used it. Ok, so a few times she had said it ironically "oh, my, what a sin!" and as a part of an expression "It's not a sin to..." but never, ever did she blame Iris or him of any sin. Very good idea, he never stood for that. So, in other words, she was a perfect priestess, knowing a lot about everything that had to do with both life and religion... And Sirius couldn't be happier.
/-/-/-/-
"Wake up"
"Two more minutes..."
"Now, or we'll be late!"
"One more minute..."
"Already had it... Ten of them! Wake up, Harry!"
Harry Potter opened his eyes to see Ron standing, in his school robes, next to his bed.
"Tell them I'm sick... or skipping... or that you can't wake me up... or that I'm as lazy as a..."
"Stop mumbling and wake up, Harry" Ron insisted. "It's Monday morning, you can't be late on Monday..."
"You know, I think you're starting to scare me... You sound like Hermione" Harry said and Ron just shook his head.
"Actually, what I wanted to say with that sentence is 'I can't believe I'm up and dressed and ready for school and you're still in bed! It's not fair, I tell you!... Couldn't you at least announce me of your decision so we could both skip?!"
"Ah, you stopped sounding like Hermione there" Harry said and got up lazily.
In about twenty minutes they were in the Great hall, Hermione eating while reading a book –nothing unusual-, Amala writing something on a piece of parchment.
"What're you doing?" Ron asked her.
"Writing a letter to my parents... I'm still trying to find something to deliver it, but hey, why not?... right?"
"There's an ogre in the owlery" Hermione peacefully said.
"A WHAT?!" Harry said. An ogre? What would an ogre be doing in Hogwarts? "I mean, weren't those dark creatures..."
"Not that kind of an ogre, silly" Hermione said. "There are indeed some non- England students, so the school has ogre owls to help them deliver their letters"
"Ogre owls?" Harry asked.
"Yes. Owls Good for no Road Exhaustion. They don't grow tired easily. Nope" Hermione said and almost ducked back into her book when she seemed to remember something. "They're also called LIZARDS, but it's not such an every-day term, you know... I mean, everybody's used to calling them ogre owls, but still. Or were the LIZARDS of a different type? Nope, my mistake, two different kinds of owls..."
"What does "lizard" stand for?" Harry asked.
"Long, Intercontinental or Zappy Airline, Road or just any Distance. LIZARD"
"Good to know" Harry said with a small nod of head showing he didn't even dream of beating Hermione in the 'encyclopedia' domain. 'So, Amala, what're you writing?"
"Well, that everything's fine... a bit of knowledge of my school activity, nothing of the Torch, of course... And about my boyfriend. Mother has a right to know"
"You'll just... tell her you're going out with Severus Snape?" Ron said after seeing nobody around was attentive to them.
"No, silly" she replied. "Imagine if the letter got intercepted... But still, wouldn't tell them if mom in front of me now. They know him in a way or another, don't ask me how... But I would tell auntie Mona if she were around. She'd understand. No, no, I'll tell them I like a boy named Sev. Short from 'seven', the divine number"
"Okay..." Ron said, watching her write. "'s that in Romanian? I can't get a word out of it"
"Yep, it's in Romanian" she replied.
"Is Amala a normal name there?" Harry asked.
"No. I was named so after my grandma, but I never heard of anybody with my name there"
Ron nodded and turned to his girlfriend, trying to convince her to let down the books. But, as usual, he was unsuccessful.
Amala put down her feather and looked around.
"Huh, we're not too many, now are we?" she asked slowly. "The others must have come earlier"
"Well, we can stay here for about ten minutes... Frankly, I don't feel like waiting in front of the dungeons when Snape is still here" Harry said. "Now, if Ron would have let me stay in bed for another ten minutes..."
Amala smiled wickedly a bit.
"Say, while we wait, how about a bit of music? I miss that"
"Music? How?" Ron asked.
"The veni cantus, remember?" she asked. "Come on... Hermione, what d you think?"
Hermione surprisingly snapped her books closed and nodded.
"It would be a good idea. What song do you have in mind?"
"Um... Dunno" she replied. "No, wait, I have an idea!"
Amala took out her wand and said clearly:
"Veni cantus"
Harry tried to recognize the song. Hmm, it sounded familiar. Ah, the chorus was known, but he had no idea who sang the song or what it was called like. Well, it was probably called "I wanna be daylight in your eyes" or something like that... At least that was what the chorus said. Amala was enjoying herself and Hermione was smiling mischievously.
"I wanna be daylight in your eyes, I wanna be sunlight only warmer, I wanna be daylight in your eyes, I wanna be love, only stronger" Amala sang happily, while scouting around at the teachers' table to see if anyone complained. Instead, Flitwick got up and said to McGonagall loudly, so that they could hear, too. Which, by the way, was the idea he had in mind.
"Yes, Professor, this is what I was talking about just the other day! Magic for real in this school, students using it during free time also... And what a good idea, music! I say... 10 points to Gryffindor!"
Amala smiled and looked at Severus Snape, smiling when she met his eyes. For a second there, Harry thought he recognized a shadow of a smile's shadow on the Potion Master's face, before he frowned and glared at Amala. He had an image to keep, didn't he?
Dumbledore smiled jollily at them and seemed to sing along with the song. The old coot...
Hermione looked at the Slytherin table where Draco had his eyebrows raised and was looking from Amala to Snape, expecting something. Luckily, the others thought he was expecting his Head of House to punish the girl. Which, of course, didn't happen. Explainable. He wouldn't want to cross Dumbledore, now would he?
But when the song was over, everybody started going towards their classrooms. Which, in the sixth year Gryffindors' case was the dungeons.
"Snape will kill you, Amala" Neville said. "He didn't seem too pleased with you playing that song in the Great Hall this morning"
"Nah, he won't kill me..." she carelessly replied and many raised their eyebrows. "After all, Dumbledore agreed and Flitwick was on my side completely, so his hands are tied. Maybe he'll take a few points for various reasons or give me a detention, but nothing I can't fix"
"There goes a brave little Gryffindor" Draco said, sniffing a bit with irony, while wiping an inexistent tear out of his eye while Crabbe and Goyle laughed their heads off. "Really, you Gryffindors jump face forward into everything"
"Shut it, Malfoy" she replied without even bothering to seem upset. "So, what do you think we're doing today in Potions?"
"Not much. Blow up a few cauldrons, lose some points, get Snape to yell at us, you know, that type of things" Ron said and the others started laughing. They didn't get to talk more since Severus entered the classroom in his usual bat-mode.
"Are you in love, Mrs. Wright?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at Amala.
'What's this, a trick question?!' she asked herself, but didn't get to say anything outside.
"Detention today for daring to play a love song at breakfast. Emotional and sentimental business are not to be exposed in all the school, Mrs. Wright. That's why it's called personal business, although I doubt you know any English."
Draco was laughing along with Crabbe and Goyle until something seemed to strike him and he got a sour look on his face. But nobody except Harry noticed that.
"Well, at least, he didn't take any House points" Neville mumbled towards Harry.
"And five points from Gryffindor since Mr. Longbottom decided he could comment on my words" Snape added and Neville sighed. So much for the good part. "I do hope the... musical moment is over, Mrs. Wright. We wouldn't want you to lose some points for singing in the classroom, now would we?"
Amala nodded reluctantly and sat down, staring at the empty cauldron. And today's lesson was...
"Today we will make an extremely difficult potion" Snape said. "Longbottom, you stand no chance."
Neville frowned and glared at the Professor, but he didn't seem to care.
"It is called the Dragon's Draught... Mainly because dragons are amongst the very few creatures who can drink such a thing. In case somebody of incredible idiocy or out of mistake drinks such a draught, he dies in extreme pain because the draught burns the person from the inside. However, in case one drinks it and is powerful enough to survive, he gets incredibly more accurate senses and power to contact the demons... or angels. It also makes one's eyes shine and a terrible force seems to surround the one who drank it. If drank constantly, it appears to have weird effects on the person. I tried once to swallow a bit out of a diluted potion of Dragon's Draught, but the effects were quite disastrous"
Snape made a pause and looked at each student slowly.
"However, I know a man who could drink it with no problem and he talked about different effects. You all know him, your ex-Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, Jack Towers. I once saw him drink it from a normal beer mug, saying it tasted good"
Draco snickered and Snape turned towards him and frowned.
"You think it is funny, Mr. Malfoy? It is not. He might be a Dragon Animagus, but still he drank it too easily. Blamed it, as usually, on his Master. He said that the effects were quite different from those we learned, since very few can drink it and those can indeed have the characteristics I've mentioned before, but not because of the drink, instead because of their own interior being. But he said it was rather a drink of those powerful that gave you more energy than a Pepper Up and which released a bit of your power. And it indeed made your eyes shine and it also connected you to some inner sources of power. But it was drank like people drink now alcoholic drinks, except it couldn't get you drunk, just made you feel warm and helped you control the element you were closer to. He also recommended I would stop teaching it, since it wasn't worthwhile. Unfortunately, the Education Department in the Ministry disagreed and now I must teach it."
"Wow, we're making a drink we can't drink because we'd die" Ron said sarcastically towards Harry. Unfortunately Snape heard him.
"Heard that, Mr. Weasley. And I am afraid I agree. I believe it is useless, but you might need it for the NEWTS."
Ron gaped. Had Severus Snape agreed with him?
"The ingredients are all herbs" Snape said bored. "You can see them on the blackboard. Get to work"
They all started writing on parchment all the instructions and then got to work indeed, making the most useless difficult potion in existence.
/-/-/-/-
AN: Ah, another chapter... unfortunately, you had to wait for quite a while for it, for which I am sorry... But alas, my problems are going away soon and then I'll write more. If I get off my lazy but, that is. And something more: REVIEW! I really miss that...
Thanks to:
Babyjayy: Thanks
The Red Dragons Order: I'm glad you like it!
Other chaps: skillz: y the time you get here... ah, well, Mary sue is Mrs. Perfect-in-every-way. Check parodies for more information.