None – yes, exactly, good guess!
Broadwaypoetess – you have a point here, of course. Trouble is I don't know any French worth speaking of. Also, we must imagine that this diary is really written in French, so she won't make her own accent appear in it. Her English is obviously very good, perhaps she did start learning it at an early age, or perhaps it's something to do with magic?
Fanship – Glad you think I've got the French clichés right. Say, would you care to help me out when I need some French phrases and things? Mail me if you like! And yes, the quotation is from Orwell, but I don't think it's 1984 (it wouldn't fit into that book I think) – may be mistaken though.
WickerB – Yes, I thought Sirius needed to be shown from an outsider's POV. From the way he behaves in OoP, we can imagine he doesn't really know how to be a convincing dog. As this is going to move away from canon anyway, I'm still debating with myself whether to keep Sirius alive if I ever get to do that sequel I've been talking about.
EvilReviewer – Sorry to disappoint you, but Harry ISN't going to do that. Why should he?
Chapter 23: Morgaine's Heir?March 12th, 1995
It's a weird feeling, and sometimes I even wonder if all the events in the forest were not only a dream. We are still unable to talk about that night, but we keep throwing each other nervous glances. Maxime has still not said anything to us, so none of us has any idea what all this may be about. As today is Saturday, I expect we won't hear anything before Monday. Gabie is quite depressed; she expects to be sent home after the adventure.
Of course, Cho, Cedric and the others have noticed that there is something wrong, but all I can tell them is "Don't ask!" And they are all kind enough to respect that request.
Hermione has been getting those hate mail letters every morning, she is absolutely fed up with them by now and winces whenever she sees an owl from afar.
March 13th, 1995
Nothing new; in addition, it's raining, so we can't even go out. I don't think I've ever done homework as carefully as today, to keep my mind busy.
March 14th, 1995
Monday morning. I've had an uneasy night, full of strange dreams that I have almost completely forgotten by now. I just seem to remember a pair of awful red eyes, but I'm not even sure of that. Quite on the contrary to me, Gabie has been sleeping soundly all the nights after the adventure in the forest. I do hope Maxime will tell us something at last.
***
She didn't show up all morning, but after lunch she summoned me.
"Are my friends and my sister to come too?"
She thought for a moment, then she said, "Well, I suppose they'd better. You are going to tell them anyway, and this will avoid any misunderstandings."
So we found ourselves in her office again, and she started her explanations without further ado.
"I have talked to Dumbledore," she told us. "And we agree that it is better if you know about this. It is, of course, still possible that we are wrong about it, but it would be rather a lot of coincidences… There are actually two things in these events that seem to be remarkable. First, it is quite unusual for a niffler to behave like that one obviously did. They are hardly clever enough for that. Secondly, and this actually emphasises the first point, the ornament, or rather the pendant, is either a perfect forgery or an extremely rare magical stone…"
"It's just a moonstone," I interrupted, "a very beautiful one, but still…"
"It may LOOK like a moonstone," she said, frowning at my insolence. "But I assure you it is not. You have got a moonstone of your own, right? Have you got it with you?"
"No, I'm afraid I haven't. I don't usually wear it. Shall I fetch it?"
"It doesn't matter. You can always compare the two stones when you are back in your dormitory. Well, Dumbledore and I suspect that this may be a lapis hesperidis…"
"But they are just a legend!" Now it was Iphigenie's time to earn a frown for interrupting.
"I'm glad there is at least one among my students to know about this stone," Maxime said dryly. "Can you tell the others what you know?"
"Well," Iphigenie began, seemingly embarrassed. "The lapis hesperidis, also called the stone of the evening star, is said to have fallen from heaven ages ago, and some say these stones are parts of a broken star. The descriptions of their qualities are rather vague, it is said that they protect you from spells, or that you can read people's thoughts with its help. And the legend says – no, it's silly…"
"What?" insisted Maxime.
"The legend says that Morgaine used to have a necklace with…" her eyes went wide and round. "You mean this is it?"
"I'm not saying it is, and I can't be sure that it is not, either. All I can say is that Dumbledore and I performed some spells and tests on it that prove that it is not your normal moonstone. It has not, at any rate, enabled us to read anybody's thoughts," she allowed herself a small smile, "but it seems to have the ability to deflect some spells, which a moonstone has never been known to do. So, no matter whether this is really Morgaines necklace, - and I personally doubt it, - it may be a useful thing to have."
"But Madame," I said, "There must be more to it than that. I mean you seemed very much concerned when you talked to us last time…"
She hesitated, and if it hadn't been Madame Maxime, I'd have said she felt insecure.
"We are not sure, Dumbledore and I," she finally said. "But I suppose it's better for you to know about all this, even if it should turn out to be wrong. As you will be aware, the events seem to indicate that someone wanted Gabrielle to go into the forest, and was using the niffler for that purpose, though we have absolutely no idea why. Now we all know that the forest is a dangerous place, especially for a small girl that won't be able to defend herself, and indeed it's quite remarkable that nothing happened to her. A further safe guess (though we just might be wrong here) is that you were intended to find the ornament with the stone. What we don't know, however, is whether it was meant for Gabrielle or Fleur. The two things seem to be in direct contradiction to each other: The dangerous venture into the forest, and the finding of the stone, which has positive, protective, qualities."
"Couldn't it be TWO forces at work here?" Iphigenie enquired. "I mean, a malevolent one that wanted to do harm to Gabie – and another one that protected her and helped her get the stone?"
"Indeed," Maxime replied. "This is a possibility, and it would fit events quite well. But again, we have no clues as to this. Another thing, and this makes the affair more remarkable still, is the thing the centaur said…"
"Jupiter aligns with Mars," I repeated. "What does it mean?"
"You will find the details about the planets in your Astrology books, I'm sure," she was back to her old detached and cool self again. "The alignment of these two predicts danger, violence and death. If, in addition to that, the moon enters the seventh house, the danger increases and may affect a larger number of people or remain over a longer period of time. But they didn't say anything about any house, did they?"
"No."
"That's something. So, what I'd suggest you do is this: Keep a lookout for strange things, and report them to me at once. Anything that strikes you as unusual, mind you, coincidences, things you find, dreams… Whatever it is, it may be important. As long as we do not know the force that is behind all this, we'd better be more than less careful… Even if it might be quite harmless after all. You can go now."
"Can we talk about it now?" Margaux asked.
"I don't think there can be any harm in it, rumours will already have spread, anyway."
With these words we were dismissed.
The first thing I did back in the dormitory was putting the mysterious stone next to my moonstone. And indeed, now that I looked at them together, it was clear that they were very different. The moonstone is much duller in comparison, without the internal fire the other stone possesses. But most remarkable is that there seems to be a repulsive force between the two: Whenever I put them closer than some fifteen centimetres to each other, they are pushed apart as if by an invisible hand.
I can't say that I feel at ease now. Quite on the contrary. This whole affair is still as mysterious as it was before, if not more so.
***
Harry and Ron left right after dinner, so there was nobody there to disturb us. And I went straight up to Hermione and told her about everything that had happened in the forest. I left out the part about Morgaine's necklace, because I thought it too fantastic for a rational mind like hers.
"If there's anyone who can bring light into this business, it's you," I told her.
She listened to me intently and without interrupting.
"It IS weird," she said at last. "If this was Harry… but why would You-know-who be interested in you?"
"Because he is smitten with my beauty?" I suggested in a weak attempt at being funny. Hermione frowned at me.
"Not him, believe me," she said dryly. "Let me get this straight. Lapis hesperidis, you say? Well, that's something to start from. If it's really so famous, there should be plenty of information about it in the library. I have a free period tomorrow morning, and I'll see what I can find. Concerning the astrological stuff, though, I'm not so sure. These things have a tendency to be rather vague and a question of interpretation. Sorry, I must be off now, Ron needs me to help him with his potions essay."
From her blush I guessed there was more to it than just a potions essay, but I didn't say anything.
March 14th, 1995
What I feared and expected has finally happened. This morning an owl arrived demanding that Gabie goes home immediately. It's not surprising, after the adventure in the forest, but we are both sad to have to part. I wanted her to keep the necklace, but she insisted that I take it.
"You still have the last task to do, and you might be glad to have something to protect you," she said, proffering the ornament. "I'll be perfectly safe at home, even if it's going to be dull, but who knows what awaits you in the next couple of months."
There is no arguing with my sister when she has set her mind to something, so I accepted and let her put the fragile golden chain round my neck.
Presently, Maxime came to take Gabie away and "send her back home," as she put it. (There must be some way to get back to France that is much faster than our carriage; I believe they just used that for showing off.)
I'm going to miss her, but I can always use the virtualis Charm to visit her, at least.
***
The most surprising thing has happened! Tonight after dinner, just when I was getting ready to leave the table, a girl that I had never talked to before came up to me. I had seen her sitting at the Ravenclaw table, of course, but had never taken any notice of her. She is quite much younger than I am, probably third year only, and more than a head smaller than me. Unlike most of the Hogwarts girls, she wears her sandy hair open, and long, almost down to her waist. But the strangest thing about her are her eyes: a pale almost silvery blue, they seem to bear a constant dreaminess and detachment.
Well, this girl came up to me and said,
"So you are the heir."
"What?" I must have looked les than intelligent.
"Her heir," she giggled at the pun, which it took me a couple of seconds to understand. What I did NOT understand, of course, was what she was talking about.
"Heir?"
"Morgaine's, of course. You're wearing her necklace." She was speaking in a matter-of-fact tone that excluded any possibility she might be joking.
To say I was surprised would be putting it mildly. I gasped. I had not told anyone about Maxime's speculations of the possible link between the legend and the necklace, yet here there was this small girl talking to me as if she knew everything about it, and even more than Maxime had told us.
"When she left for Avalon," the girl went on as if it was the most natural thing to do, "she hid the Hesperion and put a spell on it. Only the true heir of Morgaine will be able to find and to wear it. And you ARE wearing it." She finished with satisfaction in her voice.
"But..." I stammered, "But.. How do you...?"
"My dad told me about it," she went on in that same earnest tone. "He says there are more things between heaven and earth than you can read about in all the clever books. And this is one of those things."
I was just opening my mouth when suddenly a small boy came rushing up to the girl.
"Watch out, Loony Luna!" he yelled, grabbed the satchel she was carrying and raced off again.
If I had expected her to be annoyed, I was very much mistaken.
"Oh dear," she said, quite calmly. "Kevin again... he just can't leave it... well, I must go after him, there's no telling what he might do with my bag..." she turned to go, but stopped herself. "She was half Veela, you know," she told me, flashed me a smile and was gone.
"What's Luna been up to this time?" Cho, who had been watching, asked. "I wouldn't take anything she tells you too seriously, you know," she went on, seeing my expression, which must have been quite dumbfounded. "She sees strange things, and she keeps telling the most absurd stories. Believes in Snorkacks and things, too"
"Snorkacks?"
"See what I mean?" she chuckled. "As I said, she is a nice enough girl, but her imagination just runs away with her. What was she on about?"
"Oh, something about this necklace," I said, showing her. "Something about it being an heirloom of Morgaine's... But I don't know how she can have known about it, I've not told anyone..."
Cho shrugged.
"Rumours, probably. Everyone knows what happened to Gabrielle in the forest, and everyone knows you found this necklace. So it's not so surprising; I guess she heard some of those numerous legends that are about Morgan and Avalon, and what not, and so she constructed her own little story from it. If I were you, I'd just forget it."
She is probably right, I know how kids can dream up the strangest stories of their own, but I have a strange feeling nevertheless.
March 15th, 1995
Talked to Hermione about the stone, but she has not been able to find anything new about it.
"All the sources stress that it's a legend, and that there is possibly nothing in it," she told me. It is assumed that the Lapis Hesperidis has the qualities you have mentioned, protecting you from spells and letting you read people's thoughts."
"This, at least, I can assure you it DOESN'T," I said to her, grinning. "Maxime says it does deflect spells, but I haven't tried it myself yet."
"So why don't we?" she asked. And we agreed to meet on Saturday to do some experiments together.
March 19th, 1995
After an uneventful week today I'm going to meet Hermione and the others to find out more about the supposed lapis hesperidis. Margaux and Iphigenie have said they want to come along, they are just as eager as I am to know more about this mysterious affair.
***
We went to the quidditch broom shed right after lunch. Even though it's quite cold compared to Beauxbatons, the afternoon was sunny and calm, so I took my broom along.
Margaux teased me, of course.
"In for some flying lessons again?"
I didn't bother to reply.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were already waiting for us, and I saw with satisfaction that Harry had got his broom, too.
"Expelliarmus!"
A jet of red light shot out towards me, seemingly from nowhere. Before I had time to react in any way, I felt pushed forcefully backwards, but managed to keep my ground and only stumbled a pace or two before the light disappeared.
"What -?" I began, completely at a loss for words.
"Sorry," Hermione was grinning at me widely, lowering her wand. "Thought it would be a good way to begin our experiments. Take you by surprise, you know. And it did work, didn't it?"
"Thanks, I needed that. And what if it hadn't?"
"So what? You'd have been blasted off a couple of feet and landed on your precious backside. The grass is quite soft around here."
I had a strong feeling she had done it out of mischief rather than scientific curiosity, bit I didn't tell her that.
"So we know there IS something special about this stone," Iphigenie said. "And we know that it can protect the bearer automatically; you don't even have to be aware you are going to be attacked. Now what do we test next?"
"We might see if you can block the spell WITHOUT it," Hermione suggested, but I wasn't having any of that. I was thinking of the things that strange girl, Luna, had told me.
"Let's test if someone else can wear it to the same effect," I said, taking the necklace off. When I touched the stone, it felt warm in my hand. "Who wants to give it a try? How about you, for a change?" And I offered the chain to Hermione.
"Oh, it's just fair, I suppose," she said putting it round her neck. "But you'll catch me if I fall, won't you?" she added anxiously to Ron.
"Don't worry," he replied, "I'll be here, right behind you."
I raised my wand.
"Expelliarmus!" I shouted, and watched the red light dart out of it. The beam hit her straight in the stomach and hurled her off her feet and into Ron's arms, who was standing about half a metre behind her. He caught her with surprising presence of mind, but the force of the spell was so strong both of them flew off another two or three metres.
"Ouf," came a muffled sound from Ron, as he landed in a heap on the grass with Hermione on top of him.
I stepped over towards them and held out my hand to help Hermione get up, although I had the impression she was in no great hurry to do so.
"So that's another question answered," she said when she had finally got to her feet again and straightened her robes. "What does this tell us, now?"
"That Ron is good at cushioning falls?" Harry teased, and she went an interesting shade of red and gave him one of those dagger looks that she had been reserving for me for several months.
"It tells us that this thing doesn't work for everybody," Iphigenie stated. "We can't be sure, but it seems likely that Fleur is the only person for whom it does, especially as the odds are that she was MEANT to find it in the first place."
"Right," Hermione had regained her composure. "Which doesn't make the whole thing any easier to understand, quite on the contrary. The important question is WHO wanted you to find it? If we can answer this, it will help us a good deal."
"This girl, Luna something, told me a weird story," I began, and finally told them all about the 'heir of Morgaine' legend. "But Cho says she is a bit strange and believes in the most absurd things, so I don't expect there's much in it," I finished.
"Ginny's told me about Luna," Ron, who had picked himself up from the ground too, said. "They are in some classes together. She says Luna often sees things nobody else does and has a tendency to believe things the more easily the more absurd they seem."
"Hold it, Ron," Harry interrupted. "Muggles don't believe in wizards, either, and yet they - WE - exist. By the same logic, there may at least be something in those legends. Just because most people don't believe them doesn't mean they can't be true. I'm not saying they ARE, mind you, but you shouldn't rule out the possibility."
"So, are you suggesting that it may have been Morgaine who wanted me to have the necklace?"
"It seems the only explanation that would make sense, wouldn't it?" Margaux mused.
"But she died some fifteen hundred years ago!" Hermione almost shouted.
"She went to Avalon!" Iphigenie corrected calmly.
"Avalon!" Hermione snorted. "Another of those stories! Why not Atlantis, for heaven's sake?"
"Indeed," Iphigenie said with a twinkle in her eyes, "there are historians who claim that Avalon and Atlantis are the same..."
"Oh bother, you're not taking me seriously!" Hermione said in a huff.
"Wait a minute," Ron interjected. "Isn't Morgaine supposed to have been an EVIL witch? I mean, think of what she did to King Arthur…"
"Male chauvinism," Margaux said in that pert way of hers that has always made her less than popular. "If you look at the stories more closely," she went on more heatedly, switching to French, "you'll see she was treated awfully by almost everybody; moreover, for all those hundreds of years, it was always men who handed down the story, and they never really appreciated a strong female character like her, so no wonder they made her into an evil witch."
"Wow, I've never heard you like this," Iphigenie's voice sounded almost awed. "I didn't know you could be so emotional about dry historical facts."
"Oh, it just annoys me when people keep rehashing the old prejudice again and again… Anyway, I for my part, am perfectly sure that Morgaine, – IF it is her necklace, and IF it was her who wanted you to find it, - does not have any sinister reasons for it. She was half Veela, too, wasn't she?"
I nodded.
"There you are! Another link that makes this theory more plausible. I say, Fleur, this necklace may come in very useful in the last task!"
Carried away, she had said all this in French, which left Harry and the others somewhat out of the conversation; but she caught herself and switched back to English to tell them what the argument had been.
"I believe you are right," surprisingly, it was Harry who said it. "Don't I know how people can shift facts and distort stories to fit their own ideas… And at any rate, I'm pretty sure that, whatever may be at the back of it, this necklace is a good thing for you to have found. Might even give you some advantage over me in the Third Task," he continued, giving me a big smile. "What do you say, let's do some flying now, shall we?"
"Oh yes, let's!"
And I got on my broom and shot off.
We soared high up into the air, and I enjoyed the feeling of freedom, but just as well the knowledge that I was together with Harry again, where none of the others would care to follow us.
Determined to prove myself, I got the CdF to do things I'd never have thought possible even a couple of months ago. When I finally went into hovering mode next to the hoops, Harry, who of course was immediately beside me, looked at me appreciatively.
"This is really quite good," he told me. "And I won't add 'for an amateur' this time. Honestly, your technique has improved a lot, and I don't expect there is much you can still learn…"
I felt myself blush furiously at the compliment.
"But I'm still nowhere near what you can do."
"Perhaps; but as McGonagall told me in first year, I'm a natural talent. It's no virtue of mine, I seem to have been born with it. But, with some more training, I don't see why you shouldn't get as good, too."
Embarrassed, I did a sudden looping, and then landed next to the others, who had been watching us from the ground.
The sun was starting to go down already, so we agreed to finish our experiments on the stone and said our goodbyes.
I am not really any the wiser concerning the necklace, more confused than ever, rather, but at least it has been an enjoyable afternoon.