"Baka! Baka! Baka!" Lei cursed at Drake in Japanese. Sarai winced at each word. She was the only one who knew what it meant. From her reaction, it was not complimentary at all. Malaika and Connor looked on with wide eyes. The group had gathered in a corner of the Great Hall to discuss what had happened. It wasn't yet dinner, so the Hall was only partially full. Helen was absent due to a detention given by Professor Trelawny. It appeared the elderly woman had not appreciated being called a quack.
Raksha watched the exchange with a slight scowl on her face. She had managed to force Drake to keep the smelly cream on for the half hour, but not without him complaining. In the end she had used the petrificus totalus spell on him. The left side of his face was now only slightly pink, but Raksha could still see the blisters in her mind's eye.
"Sarai, are you going to tell me what our little Seeker is saying or are you just going to keep wincing?" Drake asked calmly. He was sitting down, taking the abuse that Lei was dishing out. If Raksha hadn't still been angry with him, she might have been a little impressed. Drake had a temper. While it was very hard to make him angry, when he was, the best thing to do would be to use a shield spell. The last time he had lost his temper, it had been during lunch. Every glass on the Slytherin table had exploded. While no one else knew that it was Drake, to Raksha it was obvious that it was. Plus, she could've sworn his eye became slit pupils when it happened, but it had disappeared before she could make sure. That had been in first year. Ever since, Drake had kept an even tighter lid on his temper. Raksha couldn't help but wonder how long that would last.
"She's basically calling you an idiot. But only because she was worried, right Lei?" The raven-haired girl stared at the slight Seeker. Lei stared back and sat down with a huff.
"Yes…I was worried that I had…lost one of my best friends." Drake looked down. Raksha was beginning to feel a little sorry for him.
"Lighten up guys! He said he was sorry… I'm just glad he and Raksha are okay." Malaika's voice cut through the group. Lei and Drake looked up, smiled slightly and nodded. Raksha finally let the scowl fall from her face. Malaika had always been the one with the cool head, while Raksha had the quickest temper. They balanced each other.
Thanks sis. Raksha saw the twinkle in Malaika's blue eyes before turning back to Drake. The atmosphere of the group had brightened slightly. But there was still an undercurrent of tension.
"That sort of thing isn't supposed to happen. The fireplaces in Hogwarts are spelled to be safe. The only way you could be burned is if you leaped into the fireplace itself. From what you're saying, that didn't happen." Connor spoke up hesitantly. Everyone turned to look at him, considering his words.
He's right Raksha. This wasn't an accident. Someone just tried to hurt you.
How do you know I was the target? Drake was the one who got hurt. Raksha retorted back silently. Malaika stared at Raksha intently.
"Someone tried to kill you Raksha. Drake may have gotten hurt, but the fire was targeting you." Malaika voiced her next thought aloud for everyone to hear. Drake and Raksha stiffened.
"Why would anyone want to kill me? I haven't made any enemies."
"Except for that Ravenclaw kid!" Lei put in.
"And that shopkeeper in Diagon Alley!" Sarai added.
"And that fifth-year Slytherin guy!" Connor stammered.
"Oh come one! Sure they may not like me but not enough to kill me! Right?" Raksha looked around. Everyone avoided her eyes except Drake.
"Well, you have to admit, your sharp tongue has annoyed quite a few people. But, as you said, not enough to warrant charming an already enchanted fireplace to try to kill you." Drake mused thoughtfully.
"Maybe a case of mistaken identity?" suggested Sarai. Then she stiffened and clutched her head. She was having a vision and quite an intense one at that. Lei stood up and tugged her friend down into a chair. A minute passed and Raksha was contemplating getting the nurse when Sarai straightened with a gasp. Her dark-brown eyes were wide and her already pale face had lost all colour.
"What did you see?" Raksha asked.
Sarai's eyes went blank. Her mouth opened and a voice that was not her own came out.
"You escaped once, but will you escape twice? The powers that are hunting will not rest until the window to your soul is closed. You have your guardians, you have your skills. But will they be enough?" Sarai coughed and blinked rapidly. Blood returned to her face.
"Do you remember what you just said?" Lei asked gently. After a vision, Sarai tended to be slightly disoriented for a minute. But this was her first spoken prophecy, and that could make the effect worse.
"Not at all. Good thing you guys heard it. Right?" She glanced at them hopefully. They all nodded with grim looks on their faces. Sarai's face fell.
"Your prophecy pretty much blew your mistaken identity idea out of the water. So what did you see? Do you remember that?" Drake inquired impatiently. His eyes were grey with… Raksha wasn't sure when she'd seen that particular hue in his eyes. She couldn't tell what he was feeling. Tension? Worry?
"Yeah I do….unfortunately.." the seer murmured. She sighed and closed her eyes as if thinking about how to respond. The teens waited, wondering what she had seen that was so disturbing.
"If what I saw is true, then someone is definitely trying to kill you. It also means that you're dead if we don't change it."
"What do you mean by 'change it'? I thought your visions always came true!" Malaika sounded shrill, causing Raksha to look intently at her twin. Malaika and shrill did not go together.
"Well, they do usually but…you know when I pulled that girl out f the way in that Potions class?" They all nodded. "Well, the vision that I saw showed the girl at her cauldron during the explosion. I then saw her in the Hospital Wing… dead. Obviously, that bit didn't come true because I stopped it. I'm thinking that we can prevent Raksha's death the same way. Stop the vision from coming true, we save Raksha. Anyways, what I saw was…" Sarai closed her eyes before continuing on. "What I saw was Raksha on the ground somewhere outside. It was a meadow I think. I heard someone speak, but I couldn't see them. I could only see Raksha. He said something about closing your soul's window, whatever that means…" Raksha and Malaika sneaked a glance at each other. They both understood the reference. "Then he killed you Raksha. It was the killing curse." Tears rolled down Sarai's cheeks, yet she still met Raksha's hard silver eyes. No one spoke, as if trying to absorb and understand what Sarai had just said. Drake's eyes turned black, Raksha's streak was gray and Connor was for once still and not fidgeting. It was as if death was already in the room with them.
"Okay, so we know that Raksha is targeted, but why? And what this about the window to her soul anyhow?" Connor sounded unnerved and puzzled. He looked at Raksha. "Do you know what it means?"
Ralsha knew alright. It had to be the connection between her and her twin. However, she couldn't tell anyone that. Then the secret would be out.
We can't tell them sis. You understand that right?
…We can't hide it forever you know. They'll find out sooner or later.
Then let's make it later rather than sooner. Just don't tell them.
…Fine. Raksha breathed a small sigh of relief as she met Connor's eyes. She shook her head. Drake narrowed his eyes slightly. She pretended not to notice.
"What…season was it? In your vision?" Lei broke the silence. Sarai blinked and thought for a moment.
"The grass was green, so it was either spring or summer… I think I heard cicadas, making it summer. Other than that I don't know."
"So it's February right now. This means we have around…4 months to figure out what's going on. Right?" Lei said this with a measure of resolve.
"Yeah I suppose." Malaika said hesitantly.
"Shouldn't we tell the teachers? I mean, they might know about the soul window stuff at least." Connor looked a little desperate. "We're only in third year! How are we supposed to handle this?!"
"What teacher would believe this?" Sarai said woodenly. No one had an answer.