a/n: I'm sorry for the very very late update! I'm kinda lost because of many entrance exams and my periodical exams in these 2 months. I would really like to thank those kind people who watch out and review in my humble story.
I dedicate this chapter to Jerome, the James Potter of my life (if my name is Lily Evans). And also, I dedicate this chapter to all of you. I always do.
CHAPTER 23: ALL HANDS TOGETHER
"I want to die right now!" Lily said in complaint as she looked at her herself at the mirror. She was wearing, once again, her green dress of disguise.
Argua rolled on the bed to look at Lily. "Oh! You look more wonderful than me!" She stood up and fluttered towards her. "You are so cute!"
"Are you sure it's easy for us to find the flower?" Lily asked, still looking at the mirror.
"Of course!" the nymph replied. "Are you ready?" she asked suddenly out of the blue.
"Huh?" Lily asked, confused.
"Are you ready, Lily? Because we are going!" Argua said childishly, holding Lily's hand. Before she could blink her eyes, they found themselves in a part of the Forbidden Forest where the rays of the moon touched them.
"That was fast!" Lily said. "But you should've given me a signal or something."
"We have to rush, Lily, or love will disappear!"
"Yeah, right. Whatever," the girl said sarcastically.
Argua sang a note. After that, two unicorns galloped towards their way. "You know that unicorns favor a woman's touch? Then hop on!" she said.
Lily climbed up the unicorn. It gave a sound of approval before starting to gallop. Argua was ahead of them.
"Lily, hold on to its neck," she reminded.
They were getting deeper and deeper through the scary forest when suddenly, the nymph stopped.
"Lily, pat the unicorn to silence it," she said.
"But why?" she asked as she did was she was told.
Argua held out a hand in her offensive position. "We've encountered some sweet pets," she said.
Lily heard some indefinite sounds in the darkness. She also felt another presence and saw some slight movements even in the dark.
Someone spoke. "What brings you here, human being?"
"You're still the same, Aragog," the lady said. "Don't you know that I'm not a human being? You should also know the authority," she added with a superior look.
"There's no authority around here. Leave!" the voice replied angrily. More noises were heard in the background. Lily could feel that there were thousands of eyes looking at them.
"We won't leave until we get what we need," Argua hissed venomously, she could be spitting poison.
"Then I have no choice," the voice said. "Children, I offer them to you."
"What does he mean?" Lily asked.
"Ah, Lily, he means that his children could eat us," Argua said coolly.
"Ah, ok," Lily said. She reacted differently when she realized it. "What? Eat us?"
Argua sighed. "Lady entrusted with Aphrodite's power, are you afraid of spiders?" she asked. More noise came from the background and they felt them nearer.
"Well, no," Lily said. "We encounter them in potion-making."
"Good. Then use the Naia Ai to see everything," she said.
Lily held her necklace and she saw everything clearly. "Eh! Giant spiders!"
Argua did not respond to her. She was throwing green energy balls on her hands, making everything brighter. "You're making me do it!" she shouted like hoodlum. The energy balls produced large explosions that made the other spiders go away.
One spider was advancing towards Lily. Kind of tensed, Lily held out her hand with the Naia Ai. Miraculously enough, it responded by producing a barrier around her.
"Now, will you let us pass?" Argua asked.
"Not even a limb," the largest spider replied.
"I know that will be your answer so," she said as she was about to throw more. But before Argua could even release more of her anger, large rocks and trees sprouted from the ground, producing caves around the fiends.
A woman swung her way to Argua and Lily. "Yo," she greeted, landing in a back flip.
"Oh, Dalin, you are always in a bad timing," Argua said. Her energy balls disappeared.
"I'm not late. If I was later than a minute, this haven of mine would become a swamp land!" she replied.
"You call this haven?" Lily thought, looking around. That portion of the Forbidden Forest should not be called haven.
"Oh, before I forgot," Argua said, looking at Lily. "This is Lily Evans, I will accompany her to get the Veritamor."
"Ah, I have been informed by that," Dalin replied. "I'm Dalin, the Nymph of Earth and Life." She offered her hand.
Lily shook her hand and surveyed the nymph. Unlike Argua's delicate and girly look, this woman looked like an Amazon. She was wearing what was suspiciously animal fur that barely covered her, sandals that were adorned by vines, and accessories made of leaves and such. Her hair was garlanded with autumn leaves to give her the complete camouflaged look.
"Isn't she lovely?" Argua asked Dalin.
"I have no time for loveliness, woman. You should have told me that you're out to get the flower," Dalin said in a brusque way.
"Oh, we're so sorry we bothered you," Lily said.
Dalin approached the spiders. One of them glared at her. "What are you glaring at?" she asked, hitting its head. "Don't mind me. I would like to play with these spiders."
Argua climbed up her unicorn once again. "Ok, have fun! Lily, let's get going."
"Umm… good day, Dalin," Lily greeted.
"Thank you," Dalin replied. "You might wanna try those vines. You'll get there easier."
"No, thanks," Argua replied for Lily. "That's so uncomfortable."
"Then try to follow the trail of the moon," she suggested. "The aurora will lead you to the right place, got what I mean?" she added with a wink.
"Got it," Argua replied with a wink. "Let's get the ball rolling, Lily," she said as she kicked the unicorn at its side lightly. "This will be easier than what you imagine," she said as they saw an aurora path in front of them.
"Are we going to pass through that?"
"Yes. Don't worry, it's safe!" Argua said.
Lily drew a deep breath while entering the portal. The portal closed after she went in.
"It's easy to get through that portal," Dalin said with a sigh. "But the realization behind it? That's hard, right, Aragog?" she said, turning to the side. The giant spiders disappeared. "Oh! They escaped again!"
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Good work, guys," Eros said, looking at the vase-like flower inside its glass case.
"Why, thank you," Argua said happily as she munched on some raw vegetables.
Lily mimicked Argua's words. "Yeah, right. We almost died," she added.
"I'm sorry, Lily, but you're not yet through. You still have to find the host of the Dianca," Eros said sadly. "But don't worry, everything's bound to end."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Helena, what happened to you?" the spy asked angrily.
"I'm so sorry. But I feel that my life has not come to waste," Helena replied dreamily. "And because of that fateful incident, I have realized that I have my eyes only for Vladimir."
"Huh?" the spy said. "That is called stupidity. It's impossible to fall in love with a man you've only met…"
"I always see him before. But it's only now when I've realized that I love him," Helena interrupted, her eyes turning into hearts.
The spy shook Helena. "Wake up, Helena! You love Matthew! Understand?"
"But Vladimir and I are meant for each other!" she insisted.
"No worry. The Dianca will eventually take effect, whether they like it or not," the spy thought, smirking. Helena was completely ignoring her as she was still absorbed in her dreams.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Do we really have to sneak inside the boys' dormitories?" Lily hissed to Danicia.
"I don't really know. But if it weren't for my sister…" she trailed off. "Let's just go!"
Lily beckoned Danicia to come nearer. "This must be it! Look the bedside has Melissa's picture!"
"Okay, let's go do this, Alohomora," she whispered, pointing on the locked cabinet. It opened with ease.
"Where's the flower?" Danicia asked as she knelt in front of the opened cabinet.
"Here," Lily said, getting the bottle that served as her pendant.
They started to put a drop of the liquid on all kinds of food they see within the cabinet.
"How many times does this guy sneak to the kitchens? He has a lot of food," Lily complained. "Maybe I should try to catch him on action and take some points off."
"Quit complaining, Lils. You don't know that he's not the only one sneaking to the kitchens" Danicia continued searching. "Even I do that," she muttered.
"What? You mean, you also go there?"
"Let's talk about that next time, Lils," she said. She cut her off. "Look, here's an unopened chocolate box! Let's try it."
Lily opened the package, careful not to destroy it for some reasons. She took a piece of chocolate and placed a drop of the magical liquid on the specimen. It emitted black smoke.
"This is it," Lily said. She placed the chocolate inside a black bag and slowly returned everything back in place.
The two of them almost jumped when they heard someone talk. "Helena! Helena, I love you," the voice said.
Danicia and Lily turned around and saw that it was Vladimir. They looked at each other once again, bewildered.
"Is this…?"
"Eros' counterplan?"
They looked at the guy once again before escaping through the window where a giant bird awaited them.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"What? What do you mean you give up?" the spy asked angrily.
Auriga sighed. She leaned on the wall. "You know, I've realized something. I think that if Sirius is happy, then I would be happy because I love him."
"But, don't you want to have him?" the spy asked her, hopeful that this last ally would never leave her.
"It's pointless," Auriga replied, smiling. "To have a Sirius Black that ignores you is to have nothing at all. The way he treats me, do you think I would be happy with that?"
"But you will be happy if he's to be with you, right?"
"Maybe. Maybe not. By the way, I am happy that you were there for me. I will be returning to Beauxbatons after two days," the girl said.
The spy looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Wait? You're leaving?"
"Yes, I am," Auriga said, nodding her head. "But first, I am going to apologize to the people I've hurt. I'm going to say sorry to the people I've pestered in my short stay in Hogwarts."
Auriga went to her dormitory after the conversation. She sat down on one of the study tables and emptied her bag, taking a piece of parchment and her ink and quill. "I guess I should write her first," she said with a small smile.
After an hour of writing and rewriting her letter, she stretched her arms and went out to the Owlery.
When Auriga stepped on the tower where the owls reside, she saw Kristanna looking far from one of the windows. "Oh, hello, Spencer," she greeted shyly.
Kristanna turned around and smiled at the brat. "Hello, Centauri." She approached her. "You need not call me Spencer. It's Kristanna," she said, offering a hand.
Auriga shook her hand and said, "Then call me Auriga, please." She smiled. "Um… by the way, can we talk?"
They walked on the school grounds, Kristanna kicking on some small rock. "What are we going to talk about?"
Auriga stopped walking. "Well… well… I just want to say sorry," she said, bowing her head in embarrassment.
"Why?" Kristanna asked.
"For trying to take Sirius away from you," she said.
Kristanna smirked. "Oh, that. That has been settled a long time ago, hasn't it? Besides, I never gave up."
Auriga looked at her. "Sirius always thinks of you," she said. She turned around and started to walk again. "Our mothers arranged our wedding when we were young. You know, purebloods – the older generation – wanted to spread and turn into one big clan that some of them resorted to marrying their own family members of the second degree," she explained. "I was very excited before because I have this big crush on Sirius. Then we were engaged in a zap. The Honorable Pureblood Centauri and the Ancient House of Black. That term got my parents into a fit of excitement."
"What will happen to you now if you call off the engagement?" Kristanna asked in a worried voice.
"I don't really know. That's why I'll go back to Beauxbatons and find a new pureblood to get attached to," Auriga said jokingly.
Kristanna laughed along with her. "I do not have any particular grudge," she said. "But I think you're a brat."
"Well, make it a royal brat!" she playfully said.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Erida, what brings you here to my humble suite?" Aphrodite asked.
"I'm just going to tell you that you are still not winning," the goddess of discord said.
Aphrodite laughed. "Oh, really. Is that all?" She raised an eyebrow. "Are you really desperate to win against me that you resorted to stealing the water from the underworld and make the Dianca?"
"I just want to prove myself to the other gods," Erida replied.
Aphrodite smirked. "Well, then. You'll be eating dust after this. A goddess that causes chaos has no room here."
"A bet is a bet, Aphrodite. One pair-up gone with the wind means you losing all your responsibility on all the love in the world," she reminded.
"I have backups, Erida."
"I have backups, too, Aphrodite. And they will be ruthless," Erida warned. The goddess left the suite.
"That stupid woman," Aphrodite said, pouring some wine in her goblet. "Maybe she doesn't know yet that her ways against the pairings failed."
"I doubt, my dear goddess," Iris said, sitting on the chair opposite that of the goddess. "By the way, I have good news to pile on top of that good news."
"What is it?" Aphrodite asked.
The two went to the glasshouses where the crystals were kept. Iris led her to one crystal beside Sirius and Kristanna's. "Dear goddess, look at this one. Isn't this one a little black before?"
Aphrodite picked up the crystal. "You're right, Iris. This one was cracked and dark yesterday." She looked at the label. "Maybe it's because the peril's gone."
"Peril?"
"This is the crystal that was threatened by the Dianca," Aphrodite explained, looking at the crystal closely. She replaced it back to its case.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Fix that carefully," Lily warned the silver hands that were carrying a very large vase of flowers. "Slowly… slowly… there."
Danicia approached her. "Having a good time with the arrangements?" she asked.
"These silver hand assistants that Aphrodite sent freak me out," she replied with a sigh. She wiped her sweaty forehead with a handkerchief. "I just hope…" she was stopped with an earsplitting crash.
"Oh no!" she shouted. "I have to leave you for a while, Dani. They destroyed the crystal chandelier!" Lily ran towards the center of the ballroom where pieces of the broken chandelier lay. "Careful, now," she said, some of the silver hands trying to sweep the mess.
"Is that more important than a letter from your dear Raven?" Danicia asked, waving a piece of parchment lazily.
Lily dived towards Danicia as the latter tried to unroll the parchment threateningly. "Never try to touch my letters," she said with a gasp.
"You're the man… I mean… woman!" her friend chortled. "So, that's more important than those clumsy hands," she added shrewdly. "I see…"
"Dani, instead of picking on me, why don't you just help those hands," Lily asked.
"Fine!" Danicia replied, raising her hands to surrender. She left her as she started to shout like an army commander to the hands.
Dear Green Apple,
I don't know if you are here in Hogwarts for the holidays or not. But I hope you have a nice vacation.
You don't know that I've missed you so much. Actually, it is very embarrassing to admit but I'm having a hard time trying to think of a good Easter gift for you. Things were going haywire in my place. Maybe I am also getting mad because I like to meet you very much.
Please get in touch soon, Green Apple. You make me worry when you don't reply to my messages.
Raven
"Hands! Hands!" she called out. A pair rushed to her. "Please send me quill and parchment, please," she said, pocketing the letter.
The hand returned with a quill and a roll of parchment. Lily sat down to write. She only realized by that time that she had no ink.
"Hand," she said, laughing softly to herself. "Kindly send me an ink bottle, please." The hand showed some signals. "Yes, the one from my room." The hand started to float away when she added, "the one in the violet bottle, please. That one is scented."
"Sheesh! Scented, huh?" Danicia snorted. "I bet that's the special ink from Hogsmeade. Costs two galleons per bottle."
"Well, I guess you're right," Lily sighed. The hand returned, carrying a bottle with glittery designs. "Can you help them? They're destroying the whole place already."
"As you wish, my princess," Danicia mocked, curtsying. She turned around and started to shout like a platoon commander, causing the hands to line up.
Dear Raven,
I'm so sorry to make you worry. Don't worry about me. I'm having vacation in a small town with my friends. Don't have a hard time thinking of a gift for me. It's alright. I don't need one, actually. And please don't go mad. Try to calm down, okay?
Advanced happy Easter to you!
Green Apple
"Hand?" she called out, and one pair arrived. "Please take this to my owl and let her deliver this letter, ok?"
The hand gave thumbs up and left, carrying the piece of parchment with it.
Hours passed and the two were able to manage the decorations of the hall. The large hall became very beautiful, draped with gold and yellow lights, giving it a romantic look. They also arranged a stage where the performers would perform.
Danicia was panting as she threw herself on a chair. "Is this fine?" she asked Lily.
"Very wonderful!" she exclaimed, beaming at the hands, who moved as though they were curtsying.
"Oh! What a very great arrangement!" an earsplitting voice said from the door. It was Aphrodite.
"Like it?" Lily asked, also sitting on a chair.
"Like it? Lily, you should know the difference of like and love. I love it!" she said, turning round and round the hall.
"The party's tomorrow, what about the food?" Danicia asked, fanning herself.
"Well, I am Aphrodite after all. Now, get some beauty rest, the two of you. The party's tomorrow," she said.
"Beauty rest? It's only four in the afternoon!" Lily said, pointing at the large grandfather clock on the top of the hall.
"Well, the longer, the better! Don't you want to see your Raven?" Aphrodite asked darkly, followed by a wink.
"What the…?" Lily exclaimed. She was stopped from talking back to the goddess when the hands started to push the two up from their seat and up to their bedrooms.
A pair of hands approached Aphrodite. "Have you sent my dear Green Apple's letter?" she asked.
The hand gave an 'OK' sign.
"How about the 'meet-the-parents' scheme? Is it fixed?" the goddess asked.
The hand gave another 'OK' sign.
"Thank you. I do hope that the raven-haired boy would come," she said with a giggle before going waving her hands, making all the candles of the hall go out.
a/n: tell me what you feel. Any violent reactions? LJ moments up for the next chapter but please be patient enough because I'll still have 2 more entrance exams to go!