Author's Note: Sorry for the prolonged period of inactivity. Had to undergo surgery and, as you can well imagine, I didn't feel much like writing 'till now. Between that and other work I'm lucky to get a moment to myself to type. Anyway, I hope this update makes up for my long absence.
Admissions: HP chars belong to J. K. Rowling, Leiko to me, and Ravindra to my soul-sister Rave.
Section 22: Phoenix and the Flame
"I'd like to introduce everyone to Leiko and Ravindra. Some of you are already aware of their…situation, but we'll discuss that later. Now…"
Leiko stopped paying attention to Dumbledore once he started on about Order business. She really didn't care about the war they were wagging. She had died and been reborn so many times that Death itself was an abstract concept for her. She had also lived through many dynasties, only to see each crumble and be replaced by another. Voldemort would not dare to harm her, and she knew that, if forced, she could defeat him. But that would only happen if he came after her, otherwise she could not interfere.
Ravindra sat silently beside Leiko as the black gryffin considered eternity and circles of life. Rave was a bit more practical than her sister. If Voldemort reigned the wizarding world, it would not take long for him to conquer the rest of humanity. What affected the humans would ultimately affect the whole of the planet. Rave, unlike her sister, was more than willing to fight for the wizards, and Leiko knew it.
"And now for Snape's report."
Green and red eyes watched the Potions Master stand and begin speaking. Leiko only half listened to what the man was saying, but Rave paid rapt attention. Snape went over what had happened at the last meeting of Death Eaters. It had been called earlier that night and had entailed much fury on the part of Voldemort. The evil wizard was upset that his prize had been snatched away. He was now hunting spies in his midst, convinced that only someone on the inside could have orchestrated the rescue. His suspicions seemed to be aimed at Lucius Malfoy, who had been missing since that night. Rave smirked slightly at that. Her red eyes sparked with an emotion Leiko could not put a name to.
"Got something up you sleeve, sis?"
"You'll see. I'd hoped that snake would notice Malfoy missing."
"You've got a wing in this, don't you?"
Leiko eyed her sister suspiciously. The red one had a tendency to act without thinking, and Leiko had noticed her carry off a large object when she was rescued. Rave had dropped the object shortly before landing so no one else knew what it was. But now Leiko had her suspicions.
"Would the two gryffins please themselves to pay attention, or is all this not worth that courtesy?"
The gryffin sisters met Snape's accusing gaze with looks of total innocence upon their faces. Rave was a bit more convincing than Leiko, but the mischievous spark in their eyes gave them away. Not one wizard in the room bought into their act. Attention turned away from the females as Dumbledore stood to speak.
"I believe the time has come for our guests to tell their respective stories. Leiko, if you would go first."
And so the sisters told their tales. They included even the tiniest details from the time spent in Voldemort's lair. Leiko had seen and heard things that the others had not, and Rave revealed that fact that she had taken Malfoy.
"I did so with revenge in mind, but it seems that more has been accomplished. If Voldemort thinks Lucius the spy, your man is safe."
"Where did you stash him? He's not at Hogwarts is he?"
Ravindra gave the shabby wizard who'd spoke a look of contempt.
"Of course not. I dropped him in the Forbidden Forest. Got a few squirrels keeping an eye on him, and an owl. If a threat gets near, they'll handle it."
"How…"
"Don't ask. At the time I was only concerned with keeping him tied up. I don't care if predators get at him. But you'd be surprised just what one of those tree-rats can do. And I'm not giving up the hiding spot. I've got plans for Lucius and none of you are going to get hold of him 'till I'm finished."
"Keep him away from me, Rave, or he'll be in pieces. I don't take kindly to being kidnapped."
Dumbledore raised his hands to quiet the murmuring of the Order members.
"I think the question we most want answered at the moment is what help the two of you can offer the Order. You've established that neither of you is on Voldemort's side, but you also have not proven that you are on ours."
Leiko and Ravindra exchanged glances. Leiko spoke first.
"I'm neutral in this. I can't take sides. There's more to it than any of you could possibly imagine. To be honest, I'm closer to evil than good. The power Voldemort offers is tempting. My own ability is no greater than that of any other gryffin, but I'm sure you all felt that I do have great power. Not my own, but something separate from what is 'me'. I guard that power, as you guard the freedom of you people. I find myself wishing I could help you, but if I do that and the power within awakens, it could turn on you. The Guardian is not Leiko, and so I cannot allow myself to aid you. The danger is too great."
Confused looks and whispered comment filled the room. Leiko sighed and sat down. The wizards just didn't get it. It was unlikely they ever would. Luckily, Rave picked that moment to speak for herself.
"I'll help."
Surprised eyes turned to Rave.
"I'll help you fight. I'm not bound to anything like my sister is. What I can do for you is limited, but I will help. Leiko has no control over what the power she guards does, but I have total control over my own abilities."
"And what are your abilities?"
Rave smirked at the young witch who had questioned her. She looked up, noticed that the ceiling was a good nine feet high, and closed her eyes. Within seconds her form shifted into something larger, causing the wizards to leap against the walls. Where the humanoid Rave had been standing, a large red, purple, and gold gryffin loomed over them. Leiko laughed at the way her sister was crammed into the room, with her tail and legs tucked tightly under her, and her wings sticking out at odd angles. Although the room was high enough for her to fit, it was not of sufficient size for her to fit comfortably.
"I think my point is made."
With that, Ravindra shifted back into her elven form and the wizards cautiously retook their seats.
"There's more to me than that, but I'll be keeping my other secrets."
"I think that Ravindra has just provided us with a very good opportunity."
Once more all attention was focused on Dumbledore. The Headmaster considered his words carefully before continuing.
"Voldemort knows of Rave's existence, and that she is an ally of Leiko, but nothing more. I take it he only saw you as a gryffin? Good. You could go to him as you are now and spy for us. Severus has provided invaluable information to us, but I think that you might learn things that he would never have been told."
"I've still got the wings, Dumbledore. He'll know me. I don't think my becoming a spy will help much. He'll see me as just another toy to do his bidding. You're an intelligent man, think about something I, and I alone, can do. There's got to be something that my special skills can aid in. But until I hear a good idea, I'm not risking myself. You've got your spy. Don't try to turn me into another."
Dumbledore considered Rave's words for a moment before resuming the discussion of other Order business. Leiko, once again, stared into space without bothering to listen. Rave listened with her eyes closed, thinking about what she'd just volunteered herself into. She hoped that she would not come to regret it.
The meeting of the Order of the Phoenix ended and everyone headed to their respective homes. Leiko and Rave had returned to Hogwarts and were walking through the darkened halls towards Leiko's room. The green-eyed gryffin kept giving her sister suspicious glances, which Rave ignored. Ravindra knew that the black gryffin would shortly give voice to her thoughts. If Leiko had one flaw it was that she tended to be blunt as a brick in conversations. Oh, she could be cryptic when necessary, but Rave had a feeling that tonight Leiko was going to give way to that blunt nature of hers.
"I know that twinkle, Rave. Your eyes never lie to me. You've got something hidden, something you don't want even me knowing of. Spill it, sis. Secrets don't become you."
There it was. Straight to the point, as usual. Rave wondered if Leiko even knew how to be sneaky in conversation.
"Not in the mood for small talk, are we? Fine. Yes, I am hiding something. And no, you can't see what. At least not yet. It's my toy, and I don't want to share."
"Not even with me? Must be some toy."
Rave didn't feel the need to reply to that, and so the sisters walked in silence. Upon reaching Leiko's room, Rave paused. Leiko looked back when she realized that her sister was not following. She gave Rave a questioning look.
"I've got other plans tonight, sis. Go annoy Snape if you want a roommate. I won't be around 'till morning, I think."
Leiko gave her a penetrating glare, which slowly transformed into a knowing look.
"You've got a male, don't you? Friend from the Forest? Or a human, perhaps? Come on sis, you can tell me."
"I can, but I won't. If you can't figure out who then I've no intention of filling in the giant blank that is your mind. See you at sunrise, sister-mine."
Curious green eyes watched, puzzled, as Ravindra faded into the dark of the hall. Rave smiled, thinking of the fun she'd soon be having. She didn't usually keep secrets from Leiko, but this was one of those times when even a sister wouldn't understand her reasoning. Rave picked up a small bag of food from the kitchen as she left the castle. Once outside, Rave paused, concentrated, and transformed into her gryphonic self. Clutching the bag of food in her great talons, she leaped into the air and flew towards the Forbidden Forest. Her large wings propelled her through the sky at a speed greater than the fastest broom-riding wizard.
Her golden eyes sparkled as she neared her goal; an old dilapidated building. The red gryffin circled the Shrieking Shack as she descended from the sky. Rave landed with a soft thud and quickly shifted back to her elven form as she reached the front door. After stepping inside she headed for an upstairs room without waiting her for eyes to adjust to the darkness. In fact, the red orbs seemed to glow slightly. It had always hit her as strange that she, a beast of the Light, had better night vision than Leiko, who was a creature of Darkness.
Rave reached for a worn door, locked from the outside, and opened it. Stepping just inside the room she took note of the single candle burning on a table in the center of the room. The only other light source was the boarded up window, through which a few stray moonbeams shown. Below the window there stood a bed, probably the only decent piece of furniture in the whole building, upon which a shadowy figure reclined. As Rave closed the door behind her the figure stood, and Lucius Malfoy's angry glare became visible in the flickering candlelight.
"Hello Lucius. Having a nice stay?"
Rave made note of that angry look, knowing that anger was better than fear or self-pity for what she had in mind. The woman smirked with satisfaction, her eyes meeting his glare with a smug look. She tossed the bag of food onto the bed.
"I do hope you're hungry, Lucius. I had a house elf pack you a sack lunch."
Lucius ignored the bag. His eyes never left Rave for a second. After a minute he spoke in a voice that was barely more than a whispered hiss.
"What do you want with me, gryffin?"
"Now, now. Is that any way to talk to the one who holds you prisoner? Still, I suppose it won't hurt to answer that question. Revenge, Lucius. Revenge is why I took you, but not why I keep you. I was very upset at the abduction of my sister and swore to kill whoever had hurt her. You hurt Leiko, Lucius. Therefore you are the target of my vengeance. Your master, beast that he is, never laid a claw on her so I won't go actively seeking his hide.
"But why not kill you straight out? Once I had you, I saw that you are what we gryffins call one hot human. I've got a weakness for blonds, though I shall deny it if you tell anyone. Leiko has the reputation for drooling over humans and I'd like to keep it that way. So you, wizard, are here because I want to make you suffer for what you've done, but I don't want to kill you any longer. I just want to torture you for a while."
Rave looked at Lucius with hunger in her eyes, and the blond wizard went from anger to surprise and suspicion. The red gryffin moved closer to her captive, the sadistic smile still stretched across her face. She silently wove a spell of seduction, calling forth her own minor magic to make the elder Malfoy more amenable to her commands. Ravindra slapped his race with all her considerable strength, sending the man sprawling onto the bed. She then leaned over his unresisting body and smiled with sadistic joy before giving her captive a passionate kiss. Oh, what fun she'd have this night, she thought. What perfect revenge this would be.