Kerushie: Thanks! :)
Laughing Fountain: Thanks! Ron is being genius these days ;)
Miss Piratess: lol! Well, he's here too!
Chapter 24 - The Council Of The Nine Kingdoms
Next day, Wendell was pacing nervously in his office, while Cinderella and Professor McGonagall were drinking tea.
Wendell was feeling nervous about the upcoming meeting. He was sure that the rulers of the kingdoms were furious about the sudden sleep of their subjects but none of them knew the reason to that.
Tony stared out of the window and saw a woman approaching. She was wearing a red gown and a red cloak over. Tony knew her instantly. Queen Red Riding Hood III was the first to arrive to the palace. From what he could see, she was extremely angry. After a little bit he saw another woman approaching. She was flying. She had pointed ears and her wings reflected the color of the rainbow.
"Leaf Fall is here too." Tony said. "She and Red Riding Hood III are the first to arrive."
"I wonder if the Ice Queen is coming." Cinderella asked.
"I don't know. She has been isolated from the others for a long time now." Wendell sat on his chair, behind his desk. "But I do hope that the Naked Emperor would put on some clothes. There's no one to hold up feathers around him to cover his nudity!"
"The Naked Emperor?" McGonagall asked.
"His grandson in fact." Cinderella said. "But he is as stubborn as any other member of his family. They believe that they are wearing magical clothes!"
"Goodness me." McGonagall said and took a sip of her tea.
"WENDELL! WHAT ON THE FAIRYING FOREST IS GOING ON HERE?" Queen Red Riding Hood III came into the office.
"Nice to see you too Red." Wendell replied in his calm voice.
The young queen turned around and saw Cinderella sitting with a woman. "Oh, excuse me. I didn't notice that you were here." She said. "Sir Anthony, I see that you're here too. Your Majesty." She bowed to Cinderella and turned to professor McGonagall. "I don't believe we have met before."
"This is Professor Minerva McGonagall from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Cinderella said.
"Hogwarts? But that's only in books." Red said.
"It does exist in fact." McGonagall said.
Queen Riding Hood III smiled. "How interesting! It's nice to meet you Professor. Although this situation isn't nice at all."
"Yes, indeed." McGonagall said. "But I do hope that we will be able to break the spell."
"Good day everyone." Queen Leaf Fall entered the room. "I was looking for you for a while now."
"Hello Leaf Fall." Wendell said.
"Hello Wendell. Can you tell me what's going on?"
"It's a spell. A strong one." Wendell said.
Leaf Fall sighed and sat down.
"Are you alright dear?" Cinderella asked.
"If you leave out the fact that all of my people are dead, yeah, I'm fine." Leaf Fall replied with sarcasm in her voice.
"No one is dead." Wendell said.
"Wendell, my people are not human. Sleeping spells don't work on elves and fairies the same way they do on humans." Leaf Fall said.
Wendell remained silent.
"I wonder when are the others going to come?" Tony asked.
"I'm here!" said King Cole who entered the room.
After a few minutes the dwarf king arrived along with the Naked Emperor, who had a cloth wrapped around his waist. Wendell looked at him and smiled. At least he won't be embarrassed by the appearance of the nutty emperor now.
"Has any one heard from the Ice Queen?" Cinderella asked.
"I'm already here Cindy." The Ice Queen entered the room and everyone felt a chill pass their body. She was wearing a white cloak over a white gown decorated with crystals and icicles.
"Hello Blanche." Cinderella said. "It's nice to see you again."
The two queens embraced. Wendell stared at them wondering about this sudden friendship. He has never seen his grandmother being so friendly with the Ice Queen.
"Well, it seems that everyone is here." Wendell said. "So, I suggest that we start the meeting."
"What about the trolls?" asked the dwarf king.
"We do not know who is their new ruler. And since no one came from the Third Kingdom, then I think they still don't have a ruler." Wendell replied. At that moment the door opened and Burly, the troll king entered. Everyone looked at him with shock, especially Wendell. For Burly has been one of the three trolls who wanted to capture him and take him to the Evil Queen.
"The witch Virginia told me that there's a meeting here." Burly said with his grumpy voice.
"Indeed." Said Cinderella and Tony made a loud "Humph!" at how Burly said his daughter's name.
"Well, let's start then." Said Queen Red Riding Hood III.
"Yes. Let's go to the meeting hall." Wendell went into the meeting hall and sat at the head of the table. All the other kings and queens joined him, as well as Professor McGonagall.
"My dear friends." Wendell started. "As you all know the nine kingdoms have been hit by a sleeping spell. We already know who has done this, and we've sent a group to the Deadly Swamp where the caster of the spell is."
"The Deadly Swamp? That's in my kingdom!" Leaf Fall said. "How come we never saw a sign of a spell being cast?"
"Because the spell was cast in the Fourth Kingdom." Professor McGonagall said. "As it borders all the other kingdoms, and it's also in the center of the region. And that helps in casting a spell that is supposed to spread out."
"But who did it?" asked King Cole.
"A dark wizard, called Voldemort." Wendell said. To his and McGonagall's surprise the Ice Queen gasped.
"Voldemort is here?" she asked.
"It seems so, yes." Wendell said.
"How do you know about him?" Cinderella stared at her old friend.
"I met him once. About sixteen years ago."
"Sixteen?" McGonagall asked she remembered the tragedy with the Potters that happened sixteen years ago.
"Yes, he needed my help."
"You helped Voldemort? The one that is trying to take over our kingdoms?" Queen Red Riding Hood III asked furiously.
"Red, that was sixteen years ago." Wendell said.
"What did he want?" McGonagall asked.
"He needed to learn a freezing charm that is done without a wand." The Ice Queen replied. "Although, he never learned it."
Professor McGonagall smiled. "That's good to know."
"Alright, back to the main subject." Wendell said. "Voldemort is not alone in all this. His ally is none other than the swamp witch."
Everyone in the room gasped. The swamp witch was the most powerful evil witch in the kingdoms and everyone fears her until this day, even when she's dead.
"But… how?" Leaf Fall asked.
"But she's dead, isn't she?" the dwarf king asked.
"She was." Cinderella said. "Just a couple of hours ago, someone here witnessed her return. She and Voldemort have used the old magic of Merlin to bring her back to life."
"And what is the old magic of Merlin?" Queen Red Riding Hood III asked.
"They use the body of a living person and replace the souls." Cinderella said. "It's complicated and dangerous."
"As I said before, we have sent a group to the swamp this yesterday." Wendell said. "Virginia Lewis and Wolf are with them."
"Then we have nothing to worry about!" said the Naked Emperor. "They can take care of everything! They saved the kingdoms before!"
"That was different." Wendell said, obviously loathing that person. "Virginia and Wolf are accompanied by our friends from the wizarding world. One of them is a boy, who is supposed to be the only one who can truly kill Voldemort."
"But the wizarding world is just in books. It's a legend." Leaf Fall said.
"It isn't." Professor McGonagall said. "I am here with you now, and I am from the wizarding world."
Queen Leaf Fall's jaw dropped and she quickly straightened herself. "That's amazing. No one was able to get there before. I wonder how did you come here?"
"We have our own ways." McGonagall replied.
"Wendell," the dwarf king said. "What are we to do now?"
"Each one of use should stay in his or her palace and wait. If the group fails it's task, then we will defend our kingdoms separately."
At that moment four people appeared in the room and everyone turned to look at them wondering about whom were they, except for professor McGonagall who looked rather pale.
O o O o O
As they reached the edge of the swamp, Wolf stopped.
"We're here."
"I hate this place." Virginia said.
"I looks scary." Ron said.
"You can wait here Mr. Weasley." Snape said and Ron looked at him with narrowed eyes.
"We better move on." Wolf said.
"I'm tired!" Sirius said.
"It's no time to be tired Si… William." Remus said and Ron stared at him. "We are here and we can't wait for you to get some rest."
"You go then! I'll stay here and catch my breath!" Sirius snapped. He was tired of a day and a half of walking.
"Huff-puff, if you want to wait here, that's okay." Wolf said. "If there's anyone one else who wants to stay, that's okay too. The rest, follow me."
Sirius stayed at the edge of the swamp and lay down under a tree, while everyone else walked through the swamp.
"Where's the cottage?" Virginia asked.
"I'm not sure." Wolf said and sniffed the air. "I can't smell anything! This place have such an amount of smells that I can't seem to find another scent!"
"Let's walk then. I'm sure we'll find it on our way." Virginia said and they all continued their way deeper into the Deadly Swamp.