Chapter Seven- Council Dilemmas And The Last Day Of Summer Holidays
Impan moved swiftly, grabbing Alena with a flame-licked hand and hauling her to her feet. Laeo placed a green tinged hand on her shoulder, willing her to regain strength as fast as possible. Raiye stepped in front of them, blinding white light causing the surrounding people to wince and squint before it dulled down to a faint silver aura.
Where the lightening had struck the ground stood a scowling woman. She waved a hand the green tinged flames suddenly vanished, causing pained yelps to rise from both Impan and Laeo. Her brown eyes flashed angrily and she brushed a leaf from her cloak. It was grey, like pre-dawn when the sun had hit to peek over the horizon. On it, in blazing gold, was a strange insignia that glowed in the shadows.
"Foolish imbeciles!"
Raiye narrowed her eyes. "Us? You dare to call us foolish!"
"You allowed her to use her abilities. You are not supposed to allow it to happen."
"We are not her keepers!" Laeo growled low in his throat as he tightened his grip on Alena's weak shoulder.
"You endangered innocents."
It was Impan's turn to glare as he spoke in a low tone. "You tried to rip it all from her. You endangered everyone within 20 k's!"
"Rip what from her?" Dumbledore was the first to speak from the stunned crowd.
The lady in the grey cloak turned and let out a snort. "I doubt a wizard would understand the complexities of a Wiel--."
"Oh, I understand a great deal more than you appear to. Councillor." Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled and he smiled.
She stared at him, nostrils flaring in anger. "How dare you speak to me in such a disrespectful way! None of you," She swept a pale hand over those gathered. "Have anything to do with this. These Wielders are not meant to be here. They are controlled by the Council and did not request an excursion to this country. Nor did they have a proper reason."
Alena growled angrily. The sound was strangely feline and her eyes glinted with cat-like annoyance. Impan jerked her arm, stopping the shadows from changing her into a panther. She blinked and nodded before straightening. Harry noticed that the shadows near her, while still light in the night, were gradually darkening again. She took a deep breath and stepped forward.
"Permission? To protect the one who could destroy Voldemort? Why should we even ask for it?"
"We are not controlled by you, we never have been." Raiye's voice was quiet and Laeo nodded.
"And we have already made it plainly clear that we will not kill for you." Impan flared in anger, Raiye's touch causing him to shake his head in confusion.
The four Wylerians were unconsciously powering up, and while they were most likely strong together, they were working towards slightly different goals; it was causing their elements to lash against one another.
"The Night Wielder, Assassin Alena, will return with me to the Council Chambers."
Alena scowled at her and shook her head. "No. I will not go anywhere with you. I made a promise and I will keep it until my dying breath." She turned vivid violet eyes to where Harry stood, shocked just like everyone else. "We will meet again Harry."
And then, it was like all the light in the world had been extinguished, swallowed whole by pitch-black night. Raiye waited a moment before strengthening her aura, allowing light to slowly creep back through the twisting shadows. Alena was gone and the Council member swore in several languages before fading out of sight.
"Well, as fun as that was, I'd much like to get you all back to bed. I believe you only have a day or so left until you return to school." Raiye smiled. It was like a beam of light hit them all and forced movement.
Impan glanced at Dumbledore. "I think our respect for you just went up a notch, old man." The term sounded strangely like a compliment, given that Harry knew their more extensive age. "You should tell them something, forcing them to move in how we need them to is rather demeaning."
"And we'd rather not answer so many questions at Hogwarts." Laeo grinned.
Dumbledore nodded and watched with amusement as they faded from sight. He turned and ushered everyone into the Burrow, waving his wand as he went. Harry sat down on a squishy armchair; Tonks, Hermione and Ron perched on the edges, looking in curiosity as everyone was herded into the small living room.
"I believe, that some of you will have questions concerning these recent events. I will answer these, to the best of my abilities. Not even I know the secrets of the four we just met."
The Order member who had attacked Impan frowned and spoke up. "Why is it that they were chosen to escort Harry Potter? The Order was well equipped."
Dumbledore sighed. "Harlen, I am sorry to say, but no. At the time we were not prepared to deal with any attacks without putting Harry into immediate danger."
"And they were?"
"Yes, they were. The Wylerians are ancient, far older than Merlin himself and hold a particular type of magic that is elusive at the best of times." He looked around the group and settled on Hermione. "Miss Granger, I believe you have been doing some research in the past few days, would you care to tell us about this magic?"
Ron snorted and Hermione shot him an angry glance. "Of course. The Wylerians control essences of the elements, taking them and shaping them to do as they please. They have the ability to summon creatures of that element. It also means that any spells thrown by a witch or wizard are likely to simply slide away from them." She frowned slightly. "But, professor, that lady called them Wielders. I don't understand what that means."
"It means that, when compared to an ordinary Wylerian, they are far stronger and much more adept at what they control. Essentially they 'wield' it as if it were a part of themselves and not something fundamentally created by magic. When they are joined to their element, it becomes a part of them and they a part of it."
"So who were they?" Harry looked up.
"They were the Wielders of Night, Light, Flame and Serpent."
Harlen laughed then. "Serpent? It's not an element, and neither is night."
"An element can be much more than what we consider it as." Dumbledore fixed suddenly cold blue eyes on the man. "I suggest you withhold your contempt Mr Harlen. I highly doubt they will be so understanding the next time you meet them. And now, I believe we should all retire. Tomorrow brings a new day after all!" he clapped his hands and everyone began to shuffle about, some leaving and others trudging up to waiting beds.
Harry sighed as he snuggled down in the covers. It wasn't like tomorrow would be bad or anything, he just didn't know if he wanted to go back. Selean appeared beside his bed, her velvety nose pushing against his cheek and he smiled.