Thanks y'all for the patience! Hope you like! It's a little short, but I'm trying!
Disclaimer: I own the box in front of 7/11! Nothing more, nothing less! Oh, and I also own my house, but I for sure do not own J.K's work!
Chapter 8: What Lady Icy Said
Even as the morning's lessons progressed, up in the Headmaster's office, something extraordinary was occuring...
Albus Dumbledore was currently sitting at his desk, minding his own business and sucking on a lemon drop, when a bright golden light emitted from one of his many trinkets littering the room. This particular device was small, round and silver-blue with a neat little diamond set on it's top which was giving off the light. Seizing the little object, Albus swore softly.
"This cannot be." he muttered, raising his wand and scanning the silver. Immediately it let out a sharp BEEP-ing noise, leaving Dumbledore to stare in bewilderment.
'Perhaps the Orb is malfunctioning,' the old Headmaster reasoned, prodding the Orb once more for good measure. Whatever the artifact was supposed to do, it didn't, and Albus was left with no doubt that this was, indeed, happening.
"Lady Ravenclaw." Albus addressed the wall of old Headmasters and Headmistresses. As he spoke, many of the portraits shifted to life to listen in on the conversation.
The women whom he had spoken to jerked awake gracefully, and shook her chocolate-colored locks to clear her head of its lightness. Beating imaginary dust off her blue robes, the lady straitened and smiled slightly at Dumbledore, her sparkling blue eyes observed him behind golden spectacles.
"May I assist the, Albus?" she asked.
"If you could, Rowena. You see, one of the Hogwarts heirlooms is acting up. I'm afraid I do not know much about it only that it has not awoken in the last one thousand years, and is hoped to never awaken again. Do you know of what this is?" Albus held up the silver ball for Ravenclaw's inspection.
"Hmm... I fear I am just vaguely familiar with such a device; the name escapes me. However, I believe it is one of Salazar's creations. He may be able to assist you." Ravenclaw offered.
Dumbledore smiled at her and nodded his head. Turning slightly, he sought out the painting of Salazar Slytherin, who had not troubled himself to activate his animation charm.
"Lord Slytherin? A moment, if you will?" Albus called to the man.
The painting of the most infamous Parseltongue in centuries slid smoothly into life. Though Salazar Slytherin was a very handsome man, with inky black hair, calculating emerald eyes, finely sculpted facial features, and aristocratic grace; he was better known, however, for his over-arrogant room presence, and condescending attitude. He demonstrated this now as he eyes the current Headmaster with a haughty expression.
"What does thy require so urgently, Dumbledore?" Slytherin drawled, injecting all of his upper-class contempt and long-suffering patience into the short sentence.
"I am sorry to disturb you, Lord Slytherin-"
"Then don't!" Salazar cut in sharply.
"-but there has been a small mystery that must be cleared up." Albus plowed on, holding up the still-glowing Orb for Slytherin to see. The dark haired man gave a knowing smirk at the sight, and leaned back into his chair at leisure.
"It seems, Headmaster, that you have a little situation on your hands."
"And what might that be?" Albus asked pleasantly, but with a hint of a warning in his tone.
Slytherin snorted at the tone, and rolled his eyes. "Save the intimidations for your students, Dumbledore. You are wasting your already very limited amount of time if you wish to inspire fear within myself."
"I do apologize, Salazar." Albus stated impatiently. It was so frustrating that he could not simply look into the painting's thought and not have to deal with his word games. "Please tell me-?"
"Very well." Slytherin said arrogantly. "You may as well know, since there is nothing you may do about it... That Orb. The Orb of Icis, yes I fashioned it myself out of ever-frozen mercury and a single baby tooth of my own Basilisk. I named it after the most powerful Seer of the age, Lady Icy. It was originally designed to act as a mediator between the living and the dead, however, instead of passing threw the worlds to speak to the dead, something went wrong, and the Orb was sucked onto a different world... The land where prophecies are dictated."
"What does the glow mean, then?" Albus asked fearfully. What if Harry Potter was not the one who would defeat Voldemort?
"It means that a prophecy had been changed." Salazar stated, looking amused. It was always immensely satisfying to ruffle the great Albus Dumbledore's feathers, as not many could lay claim to doing so.
"Which-?" the Headmaster started, but he cut himself off as the golden glow surrounding the Orb turned bright red. Suddenly, an image of a little girl around 6 years old was projected from the sphere, with scruffy dark hair and glazed over brown eyes. She was blind. Before Albus could react, the girl began to speak.
"The eyes of the raven see all...
Though its voice has been silenced, and it's sight gouged by its former master,
Its presence is for always, and not even the Virus may take that away.
The wolf shall be slain by the 5th's rising as it attempts to redeem its fellow...
But all will be in vain if Fear chooses Right...
But what better place to hide then in plain sight...
The warning will come too late, and Fate sighs as the angel returns, leaving many without hope.
But evil has now sealed its fate, and made an enemy for life...
Destiny will be decided at the end of a long journey when the Chosen One will pick from what is right and what is easy
But step carefully young Champion...
For not all is what it seems..."
At the end of this announcement, the girl gave a disarranged giggled, and the picture faded from sight. The office seemed to be frozen in time for a moment as its occupants took all this news in.
"That child sounded mad." one of the past Headmasters observed, entirely serious.
"Believe it or not, most Seers are either chronically insane, or blind." Salazar informed loftily.
"Was that girl-?" Albus hesitated.
"Lady Icy was both." Gryffindor answered the unfinished question shortly.
"This is why we have no choice but to take this prediction as nothing short of a fact." Helga added softly.
"She could have been lying!" a red haired Headmaster protested loudly.
"Forgive me for saying so, Delturis," Ravenclaw said in a cool voice. "But you flaunt your ignorance. Icis's combination of insanity and blindness from birth is both a rarity and a curse. The Seer's blindness strengthens the inner eye, for then it does not have to split its focus on the solid world and the Seer world. The Seer's insanity causes his or her mind to be caught in the realm of prophecies and be fully immersed in the past present and future, so that the Seer has no control over weather or not they may reveal the prophecy's contents. They blurt out the truth without a choice.
"This is also a curse to be so powerful a Seer." Rowena sighed. "There is a price for all things good, after all. In this case, the price is the person's presence. The Seer is not here nor there... Like lightning. Some are so powerful, that in the translation of their prophecy, they die from the sheer knowledge they are given. They die of an overworked mind. Humans can only know so much..."
"So what does this new prophecy mean?" Albus wondered aloud.
"The only one who may be able to make sense of it would be the one whom the prophecy refers." Helga stated.
The current Headmaster sighed. "We cannot tell Harry. It would only help him if we said nothing." Instantly there were protests.
"That is the most illogical thing you have ever said!"
"How will he complete the prophecy if he knows nothing of it?"
"This information can only help him in his quest, Dumbledore. You would do well to tell him-"
"ENOUGH!" Albus hissed. There was silence, though it was far from a respectful one. "There is no sense in worrying the boy. I must attempt to decipher this myself."
Recognizing a dismissal when they saw one, the portraits indignantly went still. Before doing so, the painting of Slytherin hissed something that unnerved him very much.
"You are playing a dangerous game with these Warriors, Dumbledore. They are not as they seem, and hold many secrets. I know for a fact that none of them truly care about your side of this war. They will obey orders and do what they can to help their cause, yes, but the orders they follow are not yours. Be mindful of whom you try to brush the thoughts of, Albus. One of these days may be your last...:" Slytherin went still, but now his handsome face was graced with a knowing smirk as Albus scowled at the wall.
"Salazar has no idea what he is saying. Harry Potter will defeat Voldemort... But what does this new prophecy mean?" Dumbledore began to pace the room in irritation.
"Hmm... the Raven can mean anything from the animal itself, or a human. The second line has Voldemort written all over it. But how does the Raven tie into all of this? And what Virus? Is that supposed to be an illness or a person...? Or perhaps Voldemort is this Virus? Killing people all over is what he does...What Wolf does this mean? Were we not talking about a Raven? And what is the 'fifth rising'?
"Fear can mean a number of things as well, but what does she mean by 'Right'? What will be hidden in plain sight? Warning for what? This angel seems to mean death, but for whom? The next line is very encouraging, and the line after is rather obvious. The last line is what bothers me though."
Albus sighed as he rubbed his forehead. Turning to his phoenix, he sighed again. "What is so horribly important that an entire prophecy must be altered? And why must it be given by such a powerful Seer?" The phoenix trilled softly at him, and Albus smiled.
"I suppose we will have to wait just like everyone else to see what is to happen. Time is vicious when she wishes to be, after all. But unravel it will, my dear, for all time must pass...:"
There's the update! Sorry I updated Professors before you guys! They are just one scary group! And one of them possessed broccoli! (Shudders) I feared for my life if I didn't update for them soon! But here you go! Hope you like!