Chapter 11: The Flower
It had been twenty hours since the attack on Serena and Remus at Hogwarts. Serena's condition had only deteriorated as time to continue to move forward. Classes had resumed the following day for students, but of course rumors were flying about the attack, with speculations of what happened, for those who had not been there to witness it. Remus had taken over as the temporary teacher for Defense Against the Dark Arts classes since Serena and Hotaru were both unable to teach. Students that had Remus in the past were thrilled to see him again, while those who had not were a bit more fearful knowing his werewolf was inside of him. The day was uneventful with those asking Harry how Serena was doing. He was quiet most of the day only answering questions when asked, which worried Hermione and Ron. They knew his mind was on Serena, just as they were, and did what they could to comfort their friend.
The day seemed to go by very slowly for all those worried for Serena. There had not been any word from Snape or Amy on an antidote. So, now everyone was gathering back in the infirmary including Madam Pomfrey hoping they get a good update relating to Serena's condition. Most of the senshi stood or sat in various spots in the room. Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione were at the foot of Serena's bed with Remus by her side again on the right of it. Madame Pomfrey came out of her office with a bowl where she went to Remus to give him the bowl filled with cold water and wash cloth in it.
"Remus, use this, it should help." She said simply with a small smile though her eyes shown worry in them.
"Thank you Madme Pomfrey." He said gratefully as he carefully took the bowl and put it on the table next to Serena's bed. Just then the sound of the doors to the infirmary opened to reveal Trista, Professor Dumbledore, Snape, McGonagall, and Amy coming through the door. Harry noticed as the teachers appear that Amy and Snape looked exhausted. The young wizard realized that Snape most likely had not gotten any sleep, because he was in class to teach them earlier that day.
"Ah, Madme Pomfrey, so good to see you. How is your charge doing?" Dumbledore asked in an upbeat tone noticing the nurse by Serena's bed next to Remus. The grim looks on their features did not go unnoticed by him.
"I am afraid not good. Her condition has only gotten worse it seems. She is now running a fever and getting even weaker. Without a cure for the poison and at the current rate of her condition I suspect we have hours at most left." She informed him.
"Poppy, is there nothing you can give her that will slow the progression down?" McGonagall asked her seriously.
"I have tried every remedy I know, but nothing has worked. It is too powerful." She responded back to Professor McGonagall sadly.
"Amy and Professor Snape have been working to identify the poison. Were you successful at all?" Dumbledore asked them as he turned his attention to the two.
"No, we were not able to figure it out." Snape stated simply to them.
"Thank you for trying, I know you two have been up this whole time trying to figure it out." Dumbledore said appreciating everything they had done.
"How is it even possible that this is a poison that they can't find? You must be missing it if you haven't found anything." Amara blurted out accusingly to Snape.
"Amara, we have been looking all night. Both Professor Snape and I have scoured through all the books relating to poison that there is to offer here at Hogwarts. I assure you; we did not miss anything." Amy replied defensively. The fire in Amy's eyes and voice was enough to make Amara back down.
"How far back do most of those books go?" Hermione asked Amy curiously.
"They go pretty far back, why?" She curiously wondered what path Hermione was thinking about. She was aware of how bright the young girl was and knew she could have easily rivaled her in school had they gone together.
"Is it possible that the poison is some how related to Serena's pass as the Princess." Hermione asked for all to hear.
"What do you mean Hermione?" Harry asked his close friend to try to understand where this was going.
"Well, Serena is really a princess of the moon, so could it have come from there, which would explain why there is no information on earth about it, since the kingdom was destroyed so long ago?" She explained to Harry and the others her logic on the issue at hand.
"Whoa! Serena wasn't kidding when she said Hermione could have riveled you back in the day, Amy." Lita said with awe in her voice. The obvious compliment caused the young brunette to blush but smile proudly at the same time. This comment caused some chuckles to chorus throughout the room. This help lighten the tension up for a few minutes. Once the chuckles died down, Amy spoke with seriousness in her voice, showing nothing but determination to figure out how to heal Serena.
"I was actually wondering about those theories myself. It is very plausible." This statement caused many in the room to be surprised by this idea. "Trista is there anything we could reference from our past that could help us figure out the poison?" Amy asked the older senshi who stood next to Professor Dumbledore. Trista stood for a moment in silence, before answering the water senshi.
"Yes, there is Amy." She waved her hand in the air and in the middle of the room a light flash of burgundy in the air with the sudden appearance of an old book with obvious tattered pages within it, fell to the floor with a loud thump.
"What is that book about?" Madame Pomfrey asked loudly out of curiosity.
"It is a book on spells, potions, and poisons that was written back when the Moon Kingdom was still thriving." Trista said calmly a look of sadness in her maroon eyes thinking back to those times briefly.
"But the Moon Kingdom was destroyed so how did this book survive?" Ron asked obviously confused by this.
"Trista has so much knowledge and is the oldest among all of us senshi. She was not with us the night the Moon Kingdom was attacked because she was at the Gates of Time protecting them." Raye explained simply.
"Raye is correct. I survived because I stood at the gates watching the destruction feeling helpless. As I watched there were some items, I noticed that I could save by pulling them through the doors I guarded. I did this in hopes to save what precious few things from that era. So that one day I could give them to Serenity at some point. This book was one of those few things." Trista said solemnly.
"Wow, you must be really old!" Ron exclaimed surprisingly his eye going wide at hearing this new bit of information about the senshi. This outburst earned a whack on the head for Hermione with a scolding look on her features.
"Ron!" Ginny yelled at him at the same time. This caused numerous hushing from some while others just chuckled at the scene before for them.
"I think this is a good time to part for now." Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eye and small smile on his lips. He turned to Amy look at her through his half moon glasses. "I hope this book helps you and Professor Snape with continue research." Amy nodded her head before answering.
"As do I." She said simply before walking over to the book to take off the floor. On that que, everyone started to head towards to door. It was only a few more minutes before everyone was out of the room except for Raye, Madame Pomfrey, and Remus. Madame Pomfrey made her way over to the end of Serena's bed.
"I am going to get some rest for a bit. If you need me just come, get me." She told him seriously. Remus nodded his head in understanding before answering her.
"I will, I promise." Madame Pomfrey wish both Remus and Raye good night before turning to get some rest in her room that was connected to the infirmary on the opposite wall from where Serena's bed was. Remus turned to Raye who just nodded her head before going to a bed that was three beds apart from where Serena was laying. She propped the pillow up against the headboard before getting herself comfortable on the bed. She then pulled out a mp3 player with headphones and magazine from her subspace pocket. Remus watched the fire senshi relax on the bed as she put her ear buds in and start reading her magazine. As he watched her, movement out of the corner of his eye caught his attention, turning to see Serena starting to stir. A few minutes of light movement from her before her eyes fluttered open a few times as she tried to adjust her vision from being asleep. She looked around the room realizing where she was before her blue eyes fell on a pair of worried gray eyes watching her with intent.
"Remus." She croaked quietly out realizing as she tried to use her voice how dry it felt. Remus hearing Serena's voice sound hoarse grabbed the glass of water next to the water bowl on the table. He brought the glass carefully up to her lips to drink slowly.
"Take small sips." He said soothingly to her as she drank. As Serena tasted the water it was obviously stale from sitting for a while, but she did not care, for her throat was already feeling better as she drank it. Once she had her fill, Remus pulled the glass away from her lips and back to where it had been sitting on the table.
"How are you feeling?" He asked softly. Serena could feel how weak she was and that simply just trying to sit up would take up the little energy she had. She could see the worry evident in his gray eyes, but he was doing his best to hide it from her.
"I feel weak and cold. Plus, my head hurts too." She replied honestly to him. Remus nodded his head in understanding.
"You have a fever from the poison progressing in your system." He informed her in a matter-of-fact tone, trying to keep the fear out of his voice. He then grabbed the washcloth that was in the bowl that Madme Pomfrey had brought out a little bit go ago. He rung out the excess of water before rolling it up to lay it on her forward head.
"How long have I been out?" She asked him.
"It's been 20 hours since Darien showed up. You have been out the entire time." He responded simply. Serena nodded her head as she was quiet for a moment. The poison was ravaging through her system with nothing to stop it. It was killing her so quickly and every minute she was awake she could feel her strength waning at the battle to fight it. Remus had not brought up any mention of a cure, which meant that no body knew how to cure her from it. She knew Severus and Amy were most likely working on it and if anyone could figure it out the quickest, it would be them.
"Serena I am sorry." Remus said suddenly breaking Serena out of her thoughts. The confusion was obvious on Serena's face as she looked at him.
"For what Remus?" The concern and confusion swirling in her blue eyes. He took a hold of her hand gently into his. The feel of her hand in his again felt so warm and comforting just as it used to so many years ago.
"For being angry with you when I found out you were alive." He confessed to her as he stared at her.
"You had every right to be angry with me." As she said this Remus shook his head at her.
"I should have known you would not have gone through faking your own death without good cause. I was a fool." He continued with his admission. Serena eyes soften at hearing his statement.
"And I will continue to look out for you, but I am afraid my time maybe up on that." She said quietly to him.
"Don't you dare say that. I can't lose you when I just got you back now." He said firmly to her. Serena was too weak to argue with him about it. She started to yawn as the tiredness started to take over once more. Remus could see that their little bit of talking had taken so much out of her. "Get some rest. I am not going anywhere." He told her softly before giving her hand a kiss in reassurance. Serena gave a small nod before closing her eyes once more to let sleep come.
*Midnight*
Raye looked over from her spot on the bed to check on Serena. She saw Remus sat on the chair still next to Serena's bed, but he had fallen asleep about an hour after Serena. His head was laying on her stomach while his hand still clasped Serena's hand. The exhaustion from staying awake to care and worry for Serena along with the battle against Darien had taken its toll on him. She knew he needed the sleep and decided best to leave him be for the time being. As the fire priestess was about to go back to her magazine the door to the infirmary suddenly opened. Raye was off her bed and in a fighting stance within seconds of it opening, ready to defend her friend. Remus woke up dazed looking at the door. But then people from their group meeting earlier in the evening started to come into the room. Some were obviously tired from having been woken up in the middle of the night still in there sleeping attire. Raye relaxed at this scene and took chance to put her things back into her sub space pocket. Remus visibly relaxed but took the moment to rub his face to wake himself up more. Once everyone was settled in a spot as before Albus spoke.
"I apologize for this late-night intrusion, but Severus and Amy have found the answers." Albus said with a serious look on his face. This announcement perked everyone's attention right away. "I'll let them explain what they have discovered." He said before turning his attention to them. Amy step into the circle right away taking the leadership role while holding the old book Trista had given earlier to her.
"The poison that is in Serena's system is from a flower called Midnight Blossom. The nectar is poisonous to only Lunarians. It is a flower found only on Earth in the Golden Kingdom of Elysion." She informed them in a matter-of-fact tone.
"Golden Kingdom? I have never heard of this place." Minerva replied in confusion.
"Because it's from the Silver Millennium times. That is the kingdom Darien was prince over and was to rule one day." Mina stated seriously.
"And I recall back then that flower was forbidden on the moon and was one of the reasons for so much tension between the two kingdoms. The last time a Lunarian was poisoned from it, Serena's grandmother was ruling." Amara explained further as she recalled her former life so long ago. Just then Madam Pomfrey came barging out of her room about to start yelling at whoever was talking, but upon seeing the group in the room with such serious and worried faces stopped herself.
"Good evening Poppy. Sorry for the intrusion, but it seems we have learned some new information." Albus told her politely. She nodded her head in understanding with a serious look on her face.
"Please continue." She said quietly.
"So, if this flower is from Elysion and yet forbidden on the Moon. Was there a cure for it?" Hermione asked Amy getting everyone back focus to the topic at hand.
"Yes, there was Hermione. It was called White Moon Lily. It was the only flower in the Moon Kingdom's garden that was grown that could cure any Lunarian from the Midnight Blossom. The fear still existed that it would happen again in a future generation so Selenity and her mother always made sure to have the White Moon Lily growing in the garden for emergency." Amy further described to the group in the room. Upon hearing this Hermione's eyes grew wide with fear and understand along with those from the former time. Those only taking a few minutes longer to grasp how dire the situation was.
"Oh no." She gasped out loud.
"So, there is no way to save her." Minerva said with sadness in her voice. Even Remus sat staring at the woman he loved and could not believe what he was hearing.
"If this flower is from the Silver Millennium how was Darien able to get it a hold of it?" Harry asked out loud. He was determined to find a way to save his godmother. He knew she would not give up on any of them if the roles were reverse and he was not about to now. Amy smirked at seeing Harry putting the pieces together.
"While his kingdom is in ruins at this point in a remote place somewhere here on earth, he can easily find it and it still blooms there. Afterall, he is still the right Prince of Earth." She said simply.
"Plus, Earth was not destroyed like the Moon Kingdom was from the attack." Raye further added. "Which means even if we could get to the Moon, the White Moon Lily are completely destroyed to get some to make the antidote for Serena." She continued for a moment as she looked at her friend who was currently sleeping.
"And we can't save Serena." Lita added sadly tears in her eyes at the thought of losing her friend. The look of defeat was visible on everyone's face at hearing this revelation.
"Except that is not true." Amy pipped up from everyone to hear. This perked up everyone's attention at hearing her say this.
"But Amy you said it yourself the White Moon Lily doesn't exist anymore." Mina stated with confusion in her voice but hope in her blue eyes that Amy had a plan.
"Yes, it doesn't exist in this time, but it does exist in the Silver Millennium time." She said with a knowing look to her face. For the senshi it started to click slowly one by one what their friend was getting at.
"I still don't get it." Ron said out loud.
"I must admit I don't understand like Mr. Weasley." Professor McGonagall stated out loud.
"She is speaking about time travel." Hotaru said out loud.
"Time travel? But the only way you can do that is with a time turner and even that has limits." Poppy asserted seriously.
"To travel back to the time the Moon Kingdom was around we would not be using a time turner, but in stead the guardian of time, to get there." Amy said as she looked at Trista who stood between Poppy and Albus in the front of the beds.
"Is this a possible solution Trista?" Albus asked her curiously while his gaze remained serious at the same time. Trista stood looking grave as everyone in the room look to her for the final answer.
"Theoretically, yes it can be done." She simply answered.
"Then we should do it to save Serena." Remus said finally standing up from his chair next to Serena as he made his way over to the group with a determination blazing in his gray eyes.
"It isn't that simple. Going back into time can cause serious affects in another timeline if not careful. It is highly forbidden."
"But we have done it before, Trista." Mina stated back at her.
"And look how that turned out. I had to stop time, had I not, none of you would be here now." Trista shot back honestly at her. Mina blushed bright red in embarrassment at having forgotten this critical point from their past.
"Oh yeah, that's right." She mumbled back.
"So, we know a solution, but still can't use it?" Remus asked out of exasperation over the situation.
"Again, that isn't true either." Amy replied firmly.
"Amy.." Trista started out but was cut off by Amy.
"I am aware of the consequences and issues that lie with this solution but trust me when I say this is our only way to save Serena. Knowing this, I have come up with a plan to ensure we don't make the same mistakes." Trista looked at her fellow senshi skeptically wondering what Amy had in mind about going to the past. She sighed heavily before speaking again knowing full well that no one would back down from the idea of going to the past until the plan was heard.
"What is your plan Amy?" Trist asked in annoyance.
"Regardless of what point you go to the Moon, it is evident, that none of the senshi can go. There is to much risk for us to give away too much information or worse run into our past self. I propose that someone that is not a senshi who has experience with time travel go instead."
"And who would that be?" Michelle asked intriguingly.
"Hermione and myself." Harry replied truthfully. All eyes went to the two young students in the room. Professor McGonagall eyes growing wide at realizing what had met by that before looking at Professor Dumbledore.
"They are the ones that helped Sirius and Buckbeak escape!" She exclaimed at him, but before Professor Dumbledore could speak, Amy spoke up once more.
"I am afraid we are on limited time. Serena has only hours left if we want to save her." This statement help keep everyone focus on the task at hand.
"I agree with Amy. Harry and Hermione both have experience with time travel, but I think it would be best if they did not attempt this alone. Remus could go with them if that is alright with you Trista." He finished looking at the guardian of time wisely through his half moon glasses. Trista was quiet for a few minutes as she thought about it all before, she answered.
"Very well. However, Harry, Hermione and Remus are the only ones that go. Even with only three we are taking a risk at giving to much information to those in the past that could alter what is happening in present time." She said with finality not willing to budge on the idea.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I have been re-reading old fanfiction and a few new ones I have found. Now, that I am done with school and working from home, I am trying to find more time to work on all three of my stories and will try to update more regularly. Please let me know your thoughts. I love reading your reviews when I get them! 😊