YAY AY HOORAY ! Here is chapter four. Took awhile to write, but it's over 6000 words long. Welll worth the wait!
DiScLaImEr: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling. CAEL BELONGS TO MEEE! So does Omweid, but he stinks. You can HAVE him, JKR.
Chapter Four -- Rounding up the Servitials
Now, going over to Cael's house was part of my daily routine. I would wake up; eat breakfast; change; Apparate. He was quite a nice guy; he never said that I came too early, and always offered me breakfast, even though I had eaten already. He was only about a year older than me, so he could relate to all my feelings.
One recent discovery that I made about him was that he was very literary. He loved all things fictional, and wrote poetry nearly every day. When we weren't working on my Quest of Rejuvenation, I could occasionally glance over to him, writing endless melodic words down on scrap paper. About three days after I met him, I managed to memorize one of his poems—or at least half of it. He still hadn't written the rest. Maybe he was just waiting for the right inspiration. Here goes the poem:
Missing for a thousand ages
Left alone and lonely
I haven't seen you for the longest time
You were my one, my only.
Left alone and lonely
I was, when they took you away
Forever, it seemed rain streamed down my windows
And the darkness seemed to stay.
I was, when they took you away
As helpless as anyone could be
That was all he had written so far. I wished for his poem to continue; it seemed so beautiful. What I was wondering, though, was who was taken in the poem, and who did the taking? Did Cael have a past that I didn't know about? Seeing that I might cause him heartache, I did not inquire. Instead, I worked harder on our plans for the Quest.
Speaking of the Quest, Cael and I were nearly ready to set out in search of the seven we need to collect. I had pulled out my letter, which Cael had borrowed to examine.
"Hmm…" he said thoughtfully, scratching his beardless chin. We were sitting at his kitchen table, contemplating charts of information that we had made about all of the Servitials. "It seems like all of these addresses are hooked up to the Floo Network… although, I don't think it's very polite just to Floo to someone's house uninvited."
"You're right. Should we owl them to say that we're coming?" I asked.
"Remember, we only have a limited amount of time. I do not know if they will start to feel pain before their Servitial blood dies, but it will give us a warning so we can increase our speed. …Speaking of pain, has your curse come yet? I see not physical defects of any sort." He added, looking round at me.
"What, my face is going to become deformed or something! I don't want to live in exile!" I exclaimed with a note of panic in my tone.
"It's just that my curse had to do with physical traits. My hair and skin gained an orange tinge, and ghastly black marks appeared all over my body. Pretty soon, my voice disappeared into deep and raspy roars. Luckily, I found the countercurse in a very ancient spellbook. I unfortunately had to cut off my hair, though. My hair was originally a very reddish-brown color, but ever since that day, my hair has been a brown mahogany color. This is certainly a gain from the dreamland; remember how it said that you would become more charming? I'm dogged by young girls wherever I go."
"Aw… that must be terrible. As for me, I've noticed no change yet. My curse must be still yet to come. As for charm…"
"You're plenty charming, Luna. Your eyes are a beautiful glass blue, and your hair neither yellow nor brown… an entrancing color. You'll be sure to find men trailing you pretty soon."
"Heavens, no! I have no intention of being stalked!" I said with fright.
"Naw, I don't think you'll be stalked. You're basically under the protection of the Ancient Knight, and he'll do anything within his dead power to keep you on your quest. He hates unwilling death."
"Speaking of the quest, Cael… we must go. Are we Flooing?"
"Yes… It's time to round up the seven Servitials." he said, standing up. He held out his hand as to help me up, which I gratefully accepted. Cael was quite the gentleman.
Still Luna's POV
Our first stop was Ginny's house, since she didn't care if I intruded… I only hoped that Harry wasn't over.
So lucky for us, he was. As Cael and I swept through Ginny Weasley's fireplace, I saw two shadows against the opposite wall. As soon as I landed on my feet, I could see that one was sitting down, while the other was down on one knee.
My predictions from Hogwarts were correct. Harry would propose to Ginny within the first few months.
I could almost hear the faint sound of Ginny's gasping, her voice quiet and shaky. "I ac-accept… Oh, Harry, I love you!" she said, her volume increasing. I was determined to not ruin their moment, so I leaned over to Cael and whispered, "I knew that Harry would propose to her any day now."
"Harry?" he whispered blankly back. "As in Harry Potter? I'm in the same house as Harry Potter… Any wizard would dream to know him… are you a close friend of his?"
"Oh yes. You remember the news some time ago, where some Hogwarts students fought Death Eaters at the Ministry of Magic headquarters? I was one of them."
All Cael could manage to do was look at me funnily, his expression very confused. "I didn't know that."
"Shh..." I said, putting a finger to my lips. "I think Harry's heard us."
Cael and I looked over at the shadows of Harry and Ginny, now walking silently towards us, till they were shadows no more.
"Harry's a trained Auror, Cael. I bet he hears even the slightest pin drop."
"Shoot."
"Petrificus Totalus!" said one uncommon voice. The owner of it whipped back his wand and added, "Oh, it's only Luna."
The spell had already hit Cael, and he snapped as straight as a board. He looked at me with worried and confused eyes, and I did all I could not to laugh.
"Oh—sorry, er, Luna's friend." said Harry, a shocked expression upon his face. He silently whispered to me, "What's his name?"
I laughed at Harry's question, and replied, "That's Cael, Cael Frennen."
Ginny, standing beside Harry, gasped. "That's him?" she questioned, looking over at me. Then, she quickly moved over to me and whispered: "He's so handsome!"
I laughed, and then Cael tried to speak. Unfortunately, due to the full Body Bind, he could only utter: "Gzmttmmh…"
"Oh, sorry Cael—!" said Harry, who quickly said the countercurse. "Why did you come in so silently? I bet Ginny wouldn't have minded if you just burst right through the front door. After all, it's only you… and Cael."
"Oh, we wanted to speak with Ginny, if that's all right with you, Harry." I said, glancing at him.
Harry nodded approvingly, and said, "Yeah, Ginny you go along. I'll be in the kitchen." With that, the three of us walked into somewhere more private; a closed off room, perhaps. Ginny sat down on the guest bed that looked freshly unpacked from her moving boxes, while Cael and I conjured chairs to sit upon.
"So…" said Ginny, clasping her hands together in a casual form, "What did you want to talk about?"
So, we told her everything she needed to know. Cael began first, for knew about Sir Quagrid before I did. Once he was finished, I began my part, the part that I alone knew all the details to. Ginny listened silently, making no interruptions.
As soon as our tale was finished, Ginny sat on the bed, hugging her knees. Her voice was deathly solemn and quiet. "You will be able to do this, won't you?"
I looked over at her face, tears wandering down her face. "We'll do the best we can." I went over to the bad and gave her a hug. "Don't you worry, Ginevra Weasley, we'll get through this. Some way, we will."
She gave me a silent nod. "W-when will w-we be leaving?" she asked shakily.
"Depends, are you ready to leave?" asked Cael. "This journey will take approximately a week if time is with us. Two weeks at the most."
"Give me five minutes. I'll meet you at the—wait, will Harry be coming, too?" she added.
Cael and I exchanged uneasy looks, and replied to Ginny's question. "It would not be wise to bring along Harry when we have so many others to attend to. It would take more time to attend to his needs, when we would be focusing in on yours and the other six." said Cael.
"I'm sure you'll be fine without him, Gin. He has work, and we have work of our own. No doubt the Auror team will want to know where he's been, and we do not want the information about this quest leaked out into the public's ears." I added, glancing over at Cael on whether to add my next remark. He nodded his approval, as though he could tell what I was about to say. "We will also be modifying the Servitials' memory, so there would be no use in taking him when you will have no recollection about this whole adventure."
"I just wanted him for support. After all, he is my fiancé. And I want to remember this! I'll only give you permission to modify my memory if I say so. And I don't say so."
"Ginny, we'll give you all the support you'll need. Just remember that if we don't modify your memory, you are to tell none about your part in this secret and sacred quest."
Ginny silently nodded her head, and left to go pack. I turned toward Cael, and let out a sigh of relief.
"That was easy enough…" I said.
"Yeah, but I bet some of the others will be harder… You said that Ginny was one of your best friends at school."
"Yeah, that's true. Then, there's Hermione, Fred, George, and Neville. I know Hermione and Neville pretty well, since we were all at the Ministry of Magic that day… and Fred and George are two of Ginny's older brothers. She can easily persuade them into coming better than I can."
"And Omweid and Michael?"
"I've never heard of Omweid before, but Michael…" I said mystically, scratching my chin. "I think he used to date Ginny, and he was in this club that Harry set up, but I'm not sure."
"Hmm… he sounds like a suspicious fellow."
"Really, now?"
"I dunno why, I just suspect a lot of things. Don't pay attention to my thoughts."
"Cael Frennen! Do not speak of such things! Your thoughts are important, as are mine and everyone else's. Don't turn away your thoughts, whether they be absurd or not. You have a right to your opinion, use it when may!"
He turned to me, and smiled. "Thanks, Luna."
Ginny reentered the room. "I'm all packed, Luna." she said, putting on a grim smile.
"That didn't take you long." I replied. "Do you want to—er—say goodbye to Harry before we take our leave?"
Ginny gave me a skeptical look. "You honestly thought that I'd leave here with the known fact that my life as well as others' is at stake, and not say goodbye to my fiancé? What's gotten into you Luna, I thought you knew better!"
We laughed, and walked out to meet Harry. Ginny gave him her goodbye kiss (which took some time), and sighed. "So this is it. My own adventure… funny… one would never think that even before the adventure had started, their life would already be on the edge of a knife."
"Our adventure's already begun, Ginny. We just have to step out the door, and see where the wind takes us." I replied.
"…But we're not going with the wind now," said Cael. "To Fred's house next, right Luna?"
I replied with a smile. "Right you are. Now… we take our leave, Ginny. Wands out, now… let's go."
And with a whirl of wands and a swish of cloaks, three figures that once stood in Ginevra Weasley's front room had now disappeared with the unseen wind.
Cael's POV
The world came back into focus. I was standing now in front of a red-and-orange-bricked house with white windows, not Ginny's living room. Luna and Ginny were standing beside me once more, stowing their wands in their pockets.
"Is this Fred's house… or George's?" I asked, turning to Ginny.
"Fred's. George's is just next door." she said, motioning to the nearly identical house a yard away. "So… who's ringing?"
"I'll do it, but you're talking first, Ginny." said Luna, stepping up to the door with Ginny and I. She silently pressed the little button (odd Muggle device called 'doorbell') by the door that made a loud noise inside the house. She stepped back, and the door was opened by a little three-year-old boy with flaming red hair identical to his father's. Speaking of his father, Fred Weasley approached the door, standing over his small son.
"Hey… Do you need anything, Ginny?" he said, looking from Ginny to Luna and me.
"Yeah, Fred. Do you mind if we come in? We have a lot to say."
Fred gave us a suspicious and confused look, but admitted us inside. Ginny led the way into the sitting room, where we took a seat on the sofa.
"Tyler," said Fred, talking to his three-year-old son. "You go find momma, she'll fix you up a snack." Obediently, his son obeyed and ran down the hall in search of Angelina Weasley.
Fred took a seat in his armchair by the empty fireplace. "Ginny… you guys wanted to tell me something? What is it?"
Ginny looked at Luna and me. "Well since it all started with Luna… I'll let Luna tell you a bit first."
So Luna fidgeted around nervously, and told her tale. Occasionally, she would look up from her hands to Fred's face. He looked very confused, as if even in the magical world, such things didn't happen in your sleep. "… After reading the back of the letter, I had no idea what to do, so I consulted Ginny. Ginny, you want to take it from here?"
Ginny shot her a look as if meaning to say: I didn't do much; you were only at my house for half an hour before going to Cael's place! "Okay… so then from what she told me, I believe it was the third day after the back of it…?" she said instead.
"Yeah, three wasted days."
"So she comes Apparating into my house…" Ginny continued, until she ended with Luna's Disapparition. "Cael… your turn?"
I nodded, and then started my part of the story. I explained all about Luna's visit, and what we had been doing since then. He also explained picking up Ginny just about five minutes ago. "…and now we're here to get you, and then everyone else." I said, finishing it.
Fred had his head in his hands. From what Ginny had told me about him, this was very odd behavior for someone of his nature. She said that he was usually carefree, outgoing, and hilarious. Now, he looked all but that. I could only wonder what was going on in his mind right now…was he worried? Upset? Mad? Then again, I could only wonder…
Fred looked up. "Ginny, this doesn't seem possible… it can't be. Not even in the wizarding world have I heard of such an outlandish thing!"
Ginny still looked hopeful. "…So you'll come?"
He shook his head. "No, I don't think so. My wife needs me, my son…I can't handle not being with them. Gin, I really don't think that my life is at risk. Unless you have a bottle of Veritaserum with you, I won't budge."
"This can't be!" I said, standing up. "Mr. Weasley, if you don't come, you are forcing not only your own but Ginny's death! Do you want her to die? Do you want your twin brother to die? Your son and wife will always have you here, but now is not the time that they need you! Your siblings need you! If you refuse, they will die, Mr. Weasley."
I looked to Luna and Ginny. Ginny's face was a deathly pale. "Let's not waste our precious time here. Come, we're going next door."
They continued to stare at me, but I proceeded to the door. I did not stop until I was out of the house.
Luna's POVCael was being nearly impossible. I didn't know that he could snap at Fred like that! Just when you get to know a person, you see a new side of them making things even more complicated than they already were. Ginny and I ran after him, not looking back to see Fred's expression upon Cael's response and our sudden departure.
Cael was already nearly to George Weasley's door. Ginny and I managed to reach him in time before he could lay a finger on his doorbell.
"Cael!" yelled Luna, waving her arms around as if to emphasize her point. "Why did you just—leave—like that! Now we may never get Fred to come! Now it may be your fault if Ginny and the others…" she trailed off, her eyes welling up with tears.
I turned around and wrapped her tightly in my arms. I could feel her wet tears upon my shoulder. "It'll be alright Luna. Don't you worry, now. All hope is not lost. Come, I'll show you."
She looked up into my eyes, so sky blue and sad. Deep, they were, and they looked like they were drowning in their own emotion. "W-what? How do you know? Without Fred, our hope is lost."
"Shh, stop your crying now. I'll show you." I then turned to Ginny saying, "Ginny, can you ring George's doorbell? We should at least try to get George to come along."
She nodded silently, and pushed the little Muggle device by the door. Footsteps could be heard beyond the door, and then the door was opened. Mrs. Alicia Weasley looked to us, and smiled. "Ginny! I haven't seen you in the longest time. What brings you by?"
"We wish to speak with George. Is he around?" Ginny replied.
"I'm afraid he's not. He's up at the shop, and he took Sydney with him. He should be back by 5 o'clock, if you want to reach him then."
From my previous knowledge that George Weasley had a daughter, I wasn't the least bit confused by Alicia's remark about Sydney, their only child so far. Sydney was only half a year older than her close cousin, Tyler Weasley, Fred and Angelina's only child so far.
"No thanks, Alicia, we'll just go up to the shop. See you around."
"Alright, then." Alicia whispered, closing the door. Ginny then turned to me.
"So—er, what was your brilliant plan again?" she said doubtfully.
"I didn't say it at all. Now come, we're Apparating to the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes shop." I said, still rubbing Luna's shoulder comfortingly.
With nods from both of them, we raised our wands. A swish and a pop later, we reappeared in front of a very lively shop, bustling with customers. This was the Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes shop, where Fred and George worked (and owned!). I stepped forward into the shop immediately with Ginny and Luna close on my tail.
It was very hard to try and find George in here; the store was practically jam packed with customers, surveying the Weasleys' fine wares. I did see a head above the others though: the shining red-haired head of George Weasley, pricing new items.
I quickly dashed over to where he stood. "Mr. Weasley." I said, tapping his arm lightly, "Can you come with me for a second?"
George turned around and looked at me wildly. I didn't question his expression; if I was asked by some random person to come with them to some place, I would look kind of fearful and bewildered too. For all George knew, I could be some kind of gay hooker or Death Eater out to get him. Luckily, I wasn't.
George's expression, however, was reassured when Ginny and Luna ran to my spot and explained me to him. "All right, Ginny, Let's go into my office and talk. Sydney's in there, so watch out for flying projectiles."
Luna looked confused and quickly mouthed to Ginny: 'She can't do magic already, can she?'
Ginny giggled rashly, and followed George through the store. I caught up with her quickly, and entered the little room that George called his office. There was a little two-year-old girl with flaming red hair in pigtails running around on the cramped furniture.
"Daddy? Who there?" she asked, looking extremely cute swaying around on the spot with her arms behind her back.
George laughed, and took her in his arms. "Well, Sydney, This is your Aunt Ginny right here, and these are her friends Luna and Cael. You want to sit on the couch with Aunt Ginny?"
She quickly nodded, and sat down upon Ginny, who had also just taken a seat upon the small green couch. Luna and I sat down on the other side of it. George had just taken a seat in his chair behind the desk when I began to speak.
"George, are you ready for us to talk?" I asked, twiddling my thumbs nervously. I was not used to these explanations. I would probably have Luna tell it again.
"Yeah, go ahead. I've sent Kayden to cover my spot in the store; I won't be missed if I'm cooped up in my office for a long time."
I gave out a shaky breath, and nudged Luna to begin. And so, the story was repeated once more to George Weasley.
Luna's POV
We were Apparating again. Once more, I had to relive that horrible sensation of being sucked through a tight plastic tube. As half second later, the sight of a red-and-orange-bricked house came into view.
Some figures rushed right past me to the door. They entered it immediately, not even bothering to knock. I quickly dashed in after them. One of them, the tallest one, was up in the face of the man whose house we had just barged into.
"…Not even near the point, can't you see? You think that you can avoid this? There are more important things at the time than what you're choosing. What you choose is not always right! Believe me, and come with us!"
The man being verbally attacked looked astounded. "A-alright. Fine. You win, I'm coming. For all of our sakes, I'm coming. Let me say goodbye first, though."
With that, he left the room in search of his family. The man who had just done some verbal attacking turned around with a smile upon his face.
And so it was the George Weasley had convinced his twin brother, Fred Weasley, to come on our Quest of Rejuvenation.
Next, we traveled to Hogsmeade, where we would find Omweid Renovyk. He lived on Turaitieve Street, which just happened to be a block away from where he worked at The Hog's Head. Since Cael and I had already discovered his schedule, we knew that he was working. We walked silently into the pub where he stood polishing dirty glasses behind the counter.
He looked scraggly and worn-out; there were deep circles under his eyes even though he was no older than twenty-five, and his clothes looked as though he had worn them for a month without changing. How despicable. No wonder his wife left him.
I hated to approach him, but I had to. For Sir Quagrid! I thought hopefully as I gritted my teeth the whole way to the barstools. I sat down, and put my hands on the bar, playing with my own fingers. Cael, Ginny, and the twins followed suit.
"Um… Mr. Renovyk…" I said timidly, catching the ragged man's attention. "We all were wondering if we could talk in some place private for a minute."
Before he could reply, Cael had nudged me in the stomach. I felt like I could slap him! "What is it?" I muttered harshly in his ear.
"Look over there, at the other side of the pub." he said, subtly pointing. "That's Michael Corner. Probably here for his noontime drink."
I inhaled sharply, and whispered back: "You explain to Omweid, Ginny and I will take care of Michael."
He nodded, and beckoned Fred and George to help him explain to Omweid our situation whilst Ginny and I walked over to where he sat, looking very lazy. A torn-up newspaper was clutched in his pale hands, and his gray eyes glanced sharply at Ginny for a moment before saying: "Hello?"
"H-hey, Michael." said Ginny, stuttering and shaking nervously. Then, I wouldn't let her say any more. She already saw him nearly every day at St. Mungo's, I could spare her from at least talking to him.
"Now, Mr. Corner, I'm about to tell you something very hard to believe…"
Things were going smoothly. Our group had grown much bigger, according to plan. Omweid looked as though he didn't get any of it, but eventually agreed when we told him that we'd give him a free month's worth of firewhisky.
Michael, on the other hand, agreed immediately. I did suspect that if Ginny weren't with me, however, he wouldn't have come. A part of me still thinks that Michael wants her. After all, he does work as one of the janitors of the Spell Damage floor, the very same place where Ginny works as a Healer. Michael stared at Ginny's engagement ring the whole time, and I'd bet that he was thinking that if he came, then Ginny would fall madly in love with him, and the ring would "magically" disappear.
Yeah right.
The company (as Cael now called us) was now heading towards the easy penultimate stop—Hermione Granger's house. Ginny, the twins and I all knew that she would believe us, so this would not take any time at all.
Cael had just finished knocking on Hermione's door, located on a flowery hill away from the bustle of London. We heard a yell from inside: "Just a minute! I'm coming!"
Sure enough, a minute later, Hermione, looking very stunning in a pink wrap-around sweater and denim skirt, came to the door. "Hey, Ron, I'm so sor--?" She blushed when she saw us, and we saw her little ears turning red. Obviously, she was waiting on someone else.
"We're Weasleys, Hermione, but we're not quite Ron. Care for us to do an impression of him, though?" asked Fred, already proceeding to scratch his head and wear a dumbfounded expression on his face.
"I'm so sorry, guys, I was expecting Ronald. We're supposed to go on a lunch date today. I wasn't quite ex—AH!" screamed Hermione, as someone grabbed her from behind. This someone popped his head around, nuzzling her neck. "Ron! You could at least use the front door!" she said aggressively, although she was quite breathless.
"I'm sorry, Hermione, but the front door was occupied. So, I decided that since is going to be our new house together, I should get more acquainted with the back door." said Ron, now holding Hermione's hands, especially the left one. He was playing around with the glittering engagement ring on her fourth finger. "By the way—what are you guys doing here? Some kind of reunion?"
"Erm… we're here to talk to Hermione, Ron. Important things, we're going to talk about, too. Too complicated, Ronnie?" said George in a playful manner.
"Shut it, George." he snarled, sending a death glare at him.
"Okay." said Hermione. "We can…er… talk. Is that all right with you, Ron?"
Ron looked at her and said: "But Hermione… our lunch date…"
"This cannot wait, Ms. Granger." said Cael, his expression remaining nonchalant.
"Come on inside. We'll go to the sitting room… have our talk. Should I make tea?" she asked.
"No, I think that we're all fine." I said, looking around at the company. Slowly, we all entered Hermione and Ron's home and sat down on their small couches. Omweid and Michael sat on the floor. Hermione and a very confused Ron sat down on the loveseat, holding hands.
I started to speak, but, surprisingly, it was George's voice that overpowered mine. So, I lay back, contented that I wouldn't have to tell the tale of the past week or so again. George was very good at telling the story, too; he made sad expressions in all the right moments, was curious in the curious times, and he even reenacted his encounter with Fred to get him to join the company.
When the story so far was finished being retold, Hermione's head was now resting upon Ron's shoulder, and Ron was silently stroking her hair while staring wide-eyed at the carpet. Suddenly, he looked up. "So all of you have a chance of…" he trailed off.
"Dying." finished Cael, also looking expressionless. "Except for Luna and me, of course. We do not possess the Servitial blood that's in your fiancé and siblings. We must make haste every day, for we only have a few weeks…"
Then there was silence. The silence that everyone dreads, the kind where you take the time to think, this was. Even Omweid and Michael looked vacant. After a couple of minutes, Hermione lifted her head to reveal her tear-stained face and stated in a firm voice: "I am coming with you. I do not know whether what you say is false or not, but it's a risk that I'll take. I trust most all of you—even with my very life. I am coming."
A flame inside me kindled. Our hope is rising… I thought, and a smile came to my face. I got up and hugged Hermione. "Don't you worry." I whispered in her ear. "We will make it through these trials. We will come out the victors. It is not death's hour upon us. We will save that for a later time, a much later time."
I released from the embrace, and looked at Ron.
"Not so loony, are you now, Luna?" he asked, trying to hold back his tears. "You take good care of my fiancé, now. We still have a wedding a couple weeks, a family to raise…"
Hermione laughed. "I'm sorry, Ron, but I'm still yet to have children."
He shrugged playfully, and sighed. He got to his feet just as everyone else did, and pulled his future wife close. "I will miss you every moment, Hermione Granger. Don't be gone too long."
She smiled, and said: "I'll try not too, Ronald."
With that, he pulled her into a deep kiss. She instinctively wrapped her arms around him. From behind me, I heard Michael whisper to Omweid: "I always knew that they'd end up together..."
Cael's POV
Ten minutes later, we were in front of our last Servitial's house—Neville Longbottom. He let us in, while also giving us the most dumbfounded expression I'd ever seen. It reminded me somewhat of Fred's expression of Ron.
And so the tale was laboriously repeated for the final time (thank goodness! It was my turn to say it, too.). Neville by far had the most absurd response to the grave tidings. He tossed some Floo powder into his living room fire, and stuck his face in. So, for five minutes, we stared at his abnormally large buttocks (not pleasant).
When he came back, Hermione asked: "Neville… what in the world did you just do?"
Neville snuffled habitually, and replied: "Gosh, I thought that you of all people would know that I was talking to someone through the fire."
"I think she knew that, Neville, but that's just—odd. We'd usually expect you to cry or laugh or just sit and be silent. Who did you talk to?" asked Luna.
"My Gran. She's nearly on her deathbed and all, so asked her for advice about what it's like to be nearly at Death's door."
Luna had told me all about Neville (for he was at the Ministry that day with Harry, too), so I knew that this would be something typical for him to do. Poor Neville. I bet that he was ridiculed a lot at Hogwarts.
Neville continued: "She told me that it's not very pleasant, so I reckon that I'll come." He snuffled once more.
What! That simple? He asks his Gran about being near death, and decides to come? This was surprising, but also very nice at the same time. That way, we wouldn't have to spend the whole day trying to sway his mind.
After packing up his needed belongings for the trip (including a teddy), he was read to leave. Luna and I sent Fred, George, Omweid, and Michael home to quickly pack, since we hadn't gotten around to it when he came knocking at their doors.
Luna and I sat down on the lawn in front of Neville's house. Neville was busy showing Ginny how well his Mimbulus mimbletonia had grown over the years.
Neville's house was also separated from the rest of London; the only thing you could see around the house was endless plains of green and the little forest to the east. Luna was gazing out at its beauty; I was gazing at her hair. It billowed at the slightest amount of wind, catching sunlight in every strand of golden-yellow. She looked over at me.
"Cael." she said softly, "I was looking at this poem that you wrote over the days we spent studying our itinerary. What did it mean?"
I met her eyes, and replied: "Which one? How did you see it?"
"The one about someone being gone for a really long time. I was looking over your shoulder and you were writing it down."
"Oh… that one. It's kind of hard to explain. I-I was feeling s-sad one day, so I re-remembered it that day you were over a-and wrote it d-down…?" I was not a very good liar. I actually had no idea why I wrote it. Words just always come to me at ease. I always feel like Passion is the real writer, and I am just the scribe.
I think Luna could tell that I was lying, too, but she sure didn't say so. She just nodded her head silently, and stared off into the green fields once more. "Are you ready for this, Cael?" she asked randomly.
"What?" I said, not knowing what in the world she was talking about.
"This adventure." she said, now playing with the long blades of green grass. She picked a dandelion, and twirled it between her fingers. "They are risking their lives, Cael, for something they only whimsically know of. Some of them hardly know us at all, and yet they follow, willing to fight for their lives. Whether they believe or not, they still come. They leave their loved ones and their jobs for some silly quest that they hardly know about. Why, though? I'm not a good leader; I have but the smallest amount of strength to save lives."
I sighed, and picked up her dandelion out of her fingers. Wordlessly, I tucked it just above her left ear. In my mind, I silently agreed with her. Yes, they may not believe us, but they still come. I picked up her chin with my hand that had just held her dandelion and said: "There's hope shining in this quest, Luna. If they don't believe it, then at least we know that we do. It's all but our lives in this mission, but we must be the leading hope. This mission will surely fail without you leading it, Luna. With me alongside you, this quest will succeed. I can promise you that, if anything."
She reached out and grabbed my hand for comfort. It was cold and pale, so I gently rubbed it while looking out at the scenery, waiting for the Servitials to return.
And then, our real quest for the lives of the Servitials would begin.
How did you like it? Much longer, like I said it would be! six thousand words! You betcha. I love this chapter, and the next one will be even better!
...When the bitter end comes, will they be ready for it? Who knows what the bitter end is, anyway! I know, but I can't say.
Question that I want you readers to answer: Should I make the Servitials and Cale and Luna walk or apparate to where Luna and Cael have planned for them to go next?
Thanks to all reviewers to this story so far. Persuade your friends to read and review the story!
Please review, guys! I now accept anonymous reviews, so if you weren't able to review before, please do! Since I am aspiring to go into the occupation as an author, these reviews mean a lot to me! Every review is read and treasured!
