Chapter 42
Kayla positioned the cauldron in the centre of the table, took out several items and placed one at the top, one at the bottom and one to the left of the cauldron. At this moment, Kalliope stumbled through the door. "Something tripped me" she growled, when she walked, not as gracefully as usual, over to Kayla and Hermione.
"I hope you all have the symbols for your house with you" Kayla asked, shivering slightly; the cold winter breeze was stinging the bare skin of her face and hands terribly.
Ginny, Zara, Jozlyn and Kalliope nodded and they all pulled a different item out of their pockets.
"Hermione, would you please place one of your water-proof, blue fires here?" Kayla asked and pointed at the table on the right side of the cauldron.
The Gryffindor perfect tipped the table with her wand and a bright blue flame started to flare.
Kayla reached into the cauldron once more and retrieved the last item she needed.
She heard Jozlyn, who was standing at the railing, gasping for hair, when she pulled out a long silver dagger.
Several torches were the only light sources next to the sickle of the moon that lit the scene.
The mahogany-haired girl cleared her throat. "Let's begin" she said. "Please form a circle "
The girl took their places around Kayla and the circle, and then the pretty Gryffindor raised her voice and called "We're gathered here to invoke the help and protection of the elements."
She picked up the feather, she had placed next to the cauldron, and held it into the air.
"We invoke help from the spirit of the air. Blow away the evil that threatens to come upon us"
Then she dropped the feather into the cauldron and picked up a bowl with ground .
"We invoke protection from the spirit of the earth. Engulf the evil that threatens to come upon us"
After she dumped the ground into the cauldron, she picked up a goblet and raised it over her head.
"We invoke support from the spirits of the water. Drown the evil that threatens to come upon us"
She let a small amount of water flow into the cauldron, then touched the blue flame with her wand and levitated it over the cauldron.
"We invoke mercy from the spirits of the fire. Burn the evil that threatens to come upon us"
Then she dropped the flame into the cauldron and looked around.
All the other girls glared at her as she stepped forwards and called Ginny.
The redhead also stepped forward and met Kayla.
"Who are you representing" Kayla called
"Gryffindor" Ginny answered and dropped a drawing of Godric Gryffindor into the cauldron; Percy had given it to her the day she had started at Hogwarts.
Then Jozlyn stepped forward and dropped a pendant in the shape of a badger into the cauldron for Hufflepuff.
Kayla shuddered when she heard the thunderstorm coming closer as Zara stepped forward.
"I'm representing Ravenclaw" she called and put a piece of parchment into the cauldron; a symbol for wisdom.
When Kalliope stepped forward, the storm had almost reached Hogwarts. Kayla hoped that she could finish the ritual before she would lose control over herself. All she really wanted right now was run inside and hide deep in the dungeons as far away from the lightning as possible.
The Slytherin put a tiny bronze statue of a snake into the cauldron and called "For Slytherin"
Everybody looked expectantly at Kayla, when she picked up the silver dagger.
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Ron and Harry were under the invisibility cloak, right next to the astronomy tower, while Kelsey was hiding inside a suit of armour a little further down the hallway.Everything seemed quiet and so Ron had decided to inform the girls they were in position.
Just when he was safely back under the invisibility cloak, he heard distant footsteps.
"Filch?" he whispered and Harry shrugged. They watched a girl coming down the hallway and Harry recognized it was the Slytherin girl Kalliope.
"Is she in that ritual too?" He wondered.
Ron flashed him a wicked grin and whispered "Should we let that great chance pass?" Harry grinned back and pointed his wand at the floor. He mumbled something under his breath and a transparent string appeared on the stone floor in front of the steps to the astronomy tower.
When Kalliope was about to climb up the steps he pointed his wand at the string and whispered "Wingardium leviosa" and it rose three inches into the air.
Kalliope kept looking in every direction to make sure nobody was following her on her way, when suddenly her feet were pulled off the ground and she stumbled up the steps, hitting her forehead on the closed door.
Still hidden under the invisibility cloak, Harry and Ron were shaken with silent laughter and both of them had to bite their fists to stifle their outburst.
They waited silently for a while and Harry focused on the map. He could hear the rumbling of the storm come closer and closer, when suddenly a tiny dot appeared on the map.
"Dang Malfoy" he sight and nudged Ron. His eyes grew big and he turned around, casting a color changing spell on the door to the platform.
Malfoy's dot remained in the same position close to Kelsey for a while without moving further. They tried to hear carefully what was going on, but couldn't make out any sign or noise of a fight.
Then all of a sudden the point started to move forward and was about to pass when Harry recognized two flashes of light in the distance.
"Do you think we should go looking if Kelsey needs any help?" Ron asked, but Harry never had the chance to reply.
They watched Malfoy running down the corridor chased by a squeaking suit of armour.
They boys could barely stifle their laughter when Kelsey caught up and pinned the Slytherin on the floor.
"Playing football like an ordinary muggle is still useful for something" he whispered maliciously. "It makes me a lot faster, even in a suit of armour, than a certain nasty ferret"
Malfoy tried desperately to free himself from the heavy weight. The Gryffindor was even without the armour 4 inches taller and at least 20 pounds heavier than he was.
"It seems that he doesn't need our help after all" Harry snickered as they carefully walked over to Malfoy.
He put Malfoy in a full-body bind and stored him in a broom closet for safe keeping.
After the Slytherin was taken care of, Harry snuck up to the door and opened it slowly.
Nobody seemed to recognize it, so he just sat on the top step and admired the view.
The seven girls were standing in a circle around a little table with a cauldron on top. His cousin was calling out to the elements and the whole atmosphere was enchanting. His eyes rested on Ginny. She was wrapped up in her winter cloak and her bright read hair was waving in the breeze.
She looked so beautiful when she slowly stepped forward and dropped something in the cauldron.
"Harry" he heard Ron calling from downstairs and he literally had to tear his eyes off of his lovely girl.
He reluctantly moved down the steps and was instantly pulled under the invisibility cloak by Ron.
"There's something, but I can't see anybody" he whispered.
Kayla held up the long silver dagger and called "We give our blood for our family. So take our offer and protect these grounds and everyone within."
She slightly penetrated the skin of her left index finger and a dark-red drop of blood fell into the cauldron. "I shed my blood for the sake of my family"
Then she turned towards Hermione and placed a little cut on her finger. The Gryffindor prefect placed her finger over the cauldron and also said the incantation.
Kayla repeated the procedure with Ginny, Amber, Zara and Kalliope.
When she turned to Jozlyn, the girls face was grey. Her darker skin prevented her from getting totally pale, but the Gryffindor could see that the Hufflepuff was not stable on her legs.
"Are you sure you can do that?" she said calmly and Jozlyn nodded grimly as she held out for the cut.
Kayla looked in the girl's face, which was screwed up in the pain she anticipated. Her eyes were closed and she was shaking visibly.
The Gryffindor decided to get it over it and with a quick motion penetrated the tip of Jozlyn's finger with the silver blade.
The Hufflepuff girl gasped loudly but remained on her first. Nevertheless, her reaction was commented with a snort from the Slytherin and a muttered "wimp".
When Jozlyn's blood fell into the cauldron and she whispered "I shed my blood for my family", the cauldron slowly started to rise from the table as if under a levitation spell and hovered about 5 inches of its original position.
"Form a circle" Kayla ordered again and the girl returned to their previous positions.
Kayla placed herself between Ginny and Hermione, while everybody stared expectantly at the cauldron.
Harry heard the rustling of robes and his body tensed.
"I hope they're done up there. It's getting chilly and I'm tired" Ron whispered.
The cold and tired feeling Harry had was not his main concern. The rustling of robes came closer and Harry glared at the marauders' map. A tiny dot came closer, but it wasn't labelled with a name. Harry frowned and wondered why the map failed to recognize the person, when suddenly the cold feeling increased to a bone-chilling sensation.
Ron next to him gasped and grabbed Harry's arm.
"Ron you need to go up there and get the girls. This is ..." At this moment Kelsey stumbled over to them and whimpered "Gotta get 'em. "
His face was ghostly white and big beads of sweat trailed down his cheeks. At this moment Harry saw dark robes coming down the hallway. With every breath the hooded figures drew, the cold went deeper into his body.
He knew what was coming next. The terrible screams of his mother before she was killed by Voldemort started replaying in his head once more.
He threw the invisibility cloak off and walked towards the five dementors. Pointing his wand in down the hallway, he yelled "Expecto patronum". A small stream of silver vapour emerged from his wand and floated like a cloud in front of him. Knowing that this wouldn't help he turned around and yelled "GET THE GIRLS NOW"
Then he focused at the evening at the lake when he had asked Ginny out for the ball. The way her hair smelt in the cold winter breeze, the way he felt when they kissed and how her lips tasted like vanilla and honey.
"EXPECTO PATRONUM" he yelled once more and he instantly felt it had worked. The brain-slashing screams faded slightly as he watched the familiar silver stag galloping towards the cloaked figures.
How the hell did they get here? What are they doing? he thought when we walked backwards towards the steps to the astronomy tower platform. His stag was chasing two of the dementors out of his sight, but the remaining three came irresistibly closer. The screams in his head became louder again when he fell over the bottom step and he groaned.
He shot another Patronus at his followers before he grabbed his invisibility cloak, ran up the steps and burst through the door.
Kayla grabbed her friends' hands when she was waiting to see if the ritual had worked. During her performance, she had been able to block out the threatening thunders, but now as her body and mind relaxed, the fear of thunder and lightning was returning with full force.
While everybody else was staring at the cauldron, her eyes got distracted by a lightning that stroke a tree next to Hagrid's hut. She started to shiver terribly, when suddenly she felt the reassuring squeeze of her friends' hands. Thank god I'm not alone now, she thought and returned her eyes back to the floating cauldron just in time to watch the most incredible show she'd ever seen.
The contents of the cauldron exploded in a blue darting flame and all the girls jumped back in shock.
"Don't break the circle" Kayla called as she heard a roaring sound from within the cauldron. "Nothing is going to hurt us"
"I wouldn't be so sure about that" Ron shouted as he and Kelsey burst through the door. "There are 5 dementors down there and Harry is trying to hold them back."
Ginny screamed and tried to get away from Kayla's tight grip and run to Harry.
"Whatever you do.... don't break the circle" Kayla hissed when her friend tried to break her hand free.
"But Harry" she cried "He's alone there and he needs me"
"You can't help him now, but you will help all of us when you remain here until the ritual is complete"
"You can't keep me here. You may not care about Harry but I do" Ginny hissed, her eyes full of fury.
"Damn Ginny shut up now" Ron growled. "Kayla is right. Harry handled more than just 5 five dementors before and you know it. You would only distract him when you go down there now. "
"MERLIN'S BEARD" Kelsey cried when all of a sudden an enormous, golden glowing, dragon, consisting of at least one hundred stars, wreathed out of the cauldron.
Everybody's attention automatically turned to the item hovering and glowing over the table.
Even Ginny stopped her rant to watch the spectacle in front of her.
The beautiful dragon was winding snakelike over their heads and seemed to take in the circle of the seven girls, holding their hands and creating a bond which nobody ever thought possible, and the two anxious and confused boys.
The students looked at the magical creature, which symbolized the protection they had put on the castle and its inhabitants, soaring in the black night sky and circling around the highest tower of Hogwarts, creating a golden glowing dome over the school and grounds.
Kayla was amazed by what she was experiencing. Watching this magnificent creature gliding through the air like on invisible waves, the red eyes sparkling like liquid fire was giving her a sensation of peace she never thought could be possible.
When the glowing dome extended from the top of the highest tower to the ground at the Forbidden Forest, the dragon faded and disappeared. For another moment they all stared where just seconds before, the dragon had bin, when reality finally hit them.
"Harry" Ginny cried again and ran to the door, which burst open this very second and Harry tumbled into her arms.
"They are right behind me" he gasped. Ginny held his hand tightly, visibly relieved he wasn't hurt.
"We have to get out of here now" Jozlyn screamed.