AN: So, when reading Half-Blood Prince, did anyone else feel confused that none of the teachers or Harry didn't take into account the fact that now Dumbledore's dead they might not get a say in what would happen to Hogwarts, seeing as the wizard Voldemort most feared is now dead and within a few months he would take over the school and the Ministry? This thought hit me the other day as I was rereading this chapter I had written, and I have answered it in Kiara's story. I don't know if it was because they were overcome with grief by Dumbledore's death, or it was a flaw on JKR's part, but it just hit me as odd. Something for you all to think about, anyway. And now, on to this chapter. Remember, this story finishes next week, and make sure you have tissues with you.
Chapter 33
The Phoenix Lament - Part 2
KIARA
"Now?" said Professor Darbus, surprised. "Are you sure this can't wait until - ?"
"I'm afraid not, ma'am," said Sian, her voice stronger. "My mother's body cannot be moved until after the ritual, which the Oracle must perform, and he will not leave until it is done."
"Very well," said Professor Darbus. "Is there anything I should do?"
"Yes," said Sian, "speak to the school and tell them all, staff and students, that they should all head to the foot of the Astronomy Tower. This is something they should all see."
Professor Darbus nodded and hurried out of the hospital wing. Sian then turned to Ferdinand and said, "You should stay here."
"What? No, I'll come with - "
"No," Sian cut across him gently. "You are needed here." She looked down at Sam. "She needs you, I see that now. Besides, there will be the - the funeral."
"Thank you," Ferdinand said gratefully to Sian, who shot him a small smile.
Just then we heard Professor Darbus' voice, magically magnified, saying that all staff and students should all proceed outside to the foot of the Astronomy Tower. Sian looked at us and said, "Let's do this." She then walked over to her father who put his arm around her, and together they led the way out of the hospital wing, the rest of us, minus Ferdinand, following them out of the hospital wing and all the way outside to the foot of the Astronomy Tower.
When we got outside, we heard Kenna's song of mourning echoing louder than in the castle. Students and staff alike were joining us, most of them looking confused as to why they had been called out of bed again, but they kept walking to the Astronomy Tower nonetheless. When we got there we saw stood over Crighton's body a man who was below average height, but had a strong, powerful aura about him. He wore a light green robe and, as I drew nearer, I saw that he was completely bald as Mina had said; the only facial hair he had were on his eyebrows and his soul-patch, both were grey. He had hazel eyes and on one side of his bald head, where his sideburns should be, was a tattoo of a small circle surrounded by a holder of sorts, which I presume represented the Heart of Kandrakar. When we had all gathered close enough to hear him, the Oracle spoke in a wise, strong voice that emitted power and demanded respect.
"Students and teachers of Dragon Mort, this is my first visit to Earth. I have long wished to visit this school, but I only wish that it were under happier circumstances." His eyes then fell upon Sian, Chrissie, Beth, Kestrel and Merida, and he cast them a sad smile. "My dear Guardians." He then made his right hand into a fist, put it over his heart, bowed and said to them, "Blessed be, Guardians."
Sian, Chrissie, Beth, Kestrel and Merida placed their right fists over their hearts, bowed and chanted, "Blessed be, Oracle." The Oracle then nodded and he and the girls rose.
"The condolences of myself and the Council of Kandrakar go out to you and your family, Guardians, especially to you, Sian." Sian bowed her head sadly; the Oracle walked to her and placed his forehead to hers. When he pulled back sadly, he looked directly into Sian's eyes and said, "I know that this is difficult for you, Sian, but you understand why we have to do this, don't you?" Sian nodded her head quickly. The Oracle gave a curt nod. "Good. Girls," he spoke to them all, "please power up and take your positions; Sian, you stand just behind your mother's head."
Sian, Chrissie, Beth, Kestrel and Merida rolled up the sleeves of their left arms and pressed a small rune, each one different: there were five bright flashes of light that lasted only for a second, and when the lights died away, the girls were revealed in their Guardian clothes. Once transformed, they took their positions around Crighton: Sian at her head, Beth at her feet, Chrissie with her back to the Tower, Kestrel opposite Chrissie and Merida in the centre with the Oracle, who handed each Guardian a candle in their element's colour: yellow for Air, red for Fire, blue for Water, green for Earth and purple for Spirit. The Oracle then took out of a pocket of his robes a plain candle, which he asked Beth to light, and then picked up a smudge stick that was beside Crighton, which he also got Beth to light, which emitted scents of white sage and lavender from it, and then made his way over to Kestrel, waving the smudge stick as he went.
When he got to Kestrel, the Oracle spoke loudly and clearly, so that none of us missed a word he said.
"Air, to blow away the evil that has struck Susan down. Please join our circle."
The Oracle pressed his candle to Kestrel's at once, and just like at Georgia's ceremony, a strong breeze swept through the area. The Oracle then proceeded to Beth.
"Fire, to burn away the hatred with which the curse was struck. Please join our circle."
The Oracle made to touch Beth's candle with his, but before he could do so, the candle was burning brightly, and the feel of a warm, roaring fire surrounded us. The Oracle then turned to Chrissie.
"Water, to extinguish the evil that has happened here. Please join our circle."
The Oracle lit Chrissie's candle, and we all felt and heard the powerful rushing of water, as though from a river, which hit me with such force that it took my breath away. The Oracle then moved on to Sian, waving the smudge stick still as he walked.
"Earth, to heal the soul and soothe it. Please join our circle."
The Oracle lit Sian's candle, and I felt, once again, as though I was standing in a lavender field, inhaling the soothing scent and I felt like I could feel the lavender around me. My attention was then drawn back to the Oracle, who joined Merida in the centre again.
"Spirit, which guides and protects us all, and to give us strength when we need it most. Please join our circle."
Merida's candle was lit, and many people gasped as the feeling of Spirit hit us, and I felt mine strengthen. I then noticed a silver line run through the circle, connecting the girls. The Oracle then placed his candle, still lit, down beside Crighton, stood up straight and walked around her, waving the smudge stick as he went.
"Many of you do not know this," the Oracle said in his strong, powerful voice, "but I know your Headmistress here very well. You see, she was once a Guardian, much like her daughters. She was the Earth Guardian, and a good one. She was a strong leader, a fierce protector and opponent, a good friend and a strong woman, who always knew when to fight back and when to retreat - qualities which live on in one of her children." The Oracle didn't say who the child was, nor did he need to, for it was pretty obvious who he was talking about.
"Susan Crighton," the Oracle continued, "was a woman who, though she had made mistakes, tried her best to make up for them. Her gentle wit and natural charm and grace drew people to her. Her wisdom guided her friends through their difficult times, and they were fools if they ignored her guidance. But more than anything, Susan's great care and love was always shown to two different things: this school and her family ... and I think she is ready now. So Susan, take my hand."
And just like Crighton had done with Georgia, the Oracle stretched out his hand, and Crighton's spirit rose from her body, looking as beautiful as ever. Once she had stood at full height, she smiled around at all of us. I looked at Sian, whose eyes were focused on her mother, and she looked as though she was struggling not to cry once again, and my heart went out to her. But next second, my attention was back on Crighton, who had started talking, her voice ghostly but clear.
"My dear students, teachers, friends and family, I know that this is a sad time, but do not feel too sorry for me; we all have a time, and mine is now, which I was aware of and have been preparing for quite some time. I am ready to take on what happens next and am not afraid, for I will be protected and cared for by the Oracle and Kandrakar, never fear. But I would like to say goodbye to a few people here first, if I may?"
She turned to the Oracle, who nodded, and his eyes flashed a strange purple colour for a moment, and Crighton's spirit became a little stronger. She then took slow yet graceful steps out of the circle and approached Mr Dawson first, kissing him firmly on lips, which he responded to enthusiastically. When she broke the kiss, Crighton said to him, "Take care of our family. Be strong for them and do not let them down."
"I will," said Mr Dawson. Crighton smiled at him and stroked his cheek gently, before she moved on to Professor Darbus, and the two women hugged like sisters.
"Oh, Deidre," Crighton said, once she had pulled back, "I have no trouble in asking that you and the staff will look after the students when I am gone, won't you?"
"Of course, Susan," Professor Darbus choked. "We would be terrible teachers if we didn't, wouldn't we?"
Crighton smiled at her gratefully before she moved on to her sons, hugging each of them and kissing them gently. I thought Crighton would then move back into the circle, but I was wrong, for she moved around, saying a few words to a few people, and hugging a few too, like Mina and my parents, giving my father a rather long hug, who hugged her like he would a mother, before she got to me, gazing at me gently.
"Oh, Kiara," she said, "you have lost so much, and I know that losing me does not make what you will have to do any easier, but know this: I will always be watching you, all right?"
I nodded. Crighton then hugged me, and I returned the hug without question. Crighton then whispered urgently in my ear, "Remember everything I told you. Do not tell anyone apart from Chris, Sian and Chrissie. Be good, be brave and never give up, can you do that for me?"
"I will," I answered at once. Crighton then let me go and moved back into the circle, where she hugged and kissed each of her daughter's cheeks in turn, saying a few words to them, reaching Sian at last. As soon as Crighton looked at Sian, Sian could not stop the tears that fell down her cheeks. Crighton wiped them away with her hands and held her daughter's face gently, looking at her softly.
"Oh, magi," she said, smiling slightly. "Don't cry. I'll be all right."
"Don't leave me," Sian sobbed, looking like a lost child once more, and my heart broke for her again.
"I never will," said Crighton. "I will always be with you, and I will always love you."
"And I you, M-Mother," Sian cried, and mother and daughter hugged for the last time. I couldn't stop the tears that fell down my own cheeks, and by the sounds of the sniffling around me, I wasn't the only one.
When they let go of each other, Crighton placed one last, lingering kiss on Sian's forehead before she moved back to the Oracle, who was smiling at her.
"Are you ready yet, Susan?"
"Almost," said Crighton. "I just have one last thing to say to these people before I go."
The Oracle nodded and Crighton turned to face us, her expression suddenly serious, and when she spoke her tone was firm.
"There are difficult times ahead now that I am no longer part of this world, this I know, but know that I am not the last form of hope you have." Crighton looked at me. "As long as you all stand by Kiara, are thinking of her and fighting for her, then she will not give up on you, and she will fight for you as you will fight for her, for every day that you are here, breathing, alive, is another day to keep fighting, to keep pushing away the evil that will attempt to thwart and control you, to keep resisting until evil is no more. So never give up, never give in, never surrender."
Crighton said this with such ferocity that I think we were all rallied by her words. Crighton then turned to the Oracle and said, "I am ready now."
The Oracle then nodded and turned to Kestrel, who nodded at him and began the spell:
"Some Air to help you release the strain - "
"Some Fire to help strengthen you - "
"Some Water to help wash away your pain - "
"Some Earth to help support you - "
"And Spirit to guide and complete you."
As each element was added, a strong, invisible gush of each element surrounded Crighton, and when the spell ended, Crighton's robes (the same as she wore when she was alive) had changed into the light green ones that the Oracle wore. The Oracle then took Crighton's hand and said, "I wish you well on your journey. Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again."
"Merry meet, merry part and merry meet again," the Guardians chanted. They then put down their candles at their feet and when they straightened up, they raised their arms as the Oracle let Crighton go, and she was off to the heavens, the elements helping her on her journey.
As Crighton travelled swiftly upwards, she spread her arms out wide, brought them down and swooped them over her body; there was a flash of light and where Crighton's body had been, a phoenix now hovered, emitting an emerald aura, which gave a soft musical cry before proceeding up into the light that had just started to emerge; once the phoenix had disappeared into the light, the light then spread widely before it closed, and when it did we saw that all traces of the Death Trail had been extinguished.
The Oracle then closed the circle, thanking the elements in reverse order. Once done, the Guardians blew out their candles and powered down. The Oracle then surveyed us all.
"Well, my work here is done," the Oracle said, as a white mist that came from his lit candle began to surround him. "I must return to Kandrakar. Blessed be, Guardians," he said, putting his right fist over his heart again.
"Blessed be, Oracle," the Guardians chanted, repeating the action. The Oracle then bid them rise, and smiled once more at them as he closed his eyes and the mist surrounded him entirely, obscuring his frame, and a second later the mist had vanished, leaving no trace of his himself or his candle behind.
I looked around and saw that most people were wiping away tears. I looked at Sian, who was staring at the shell of her mother on the ground, her arms around herself. I wanted to go and say something to her, but I didn't know what. Fortunately, Professor Darbus chose that moment to speak.
"Heads of Houses, please lead your students back to bed - Professor Beadu, you can stand in for Snake-Eyes - then I want to see you and Mina in the Head's study." She then came over to me and said, "Kiara, I would like you, Matt and Sian to come with me, please."
Mr Dawson, who was stood close by me, hurried over to Sian. I muttered, "See you in a bit," to Chris who was stood beside me, and hugged both of my parents separately, and then I followed Professor Darbus back to the castle. Mr Dawson had his arm wrapped around Sian, who looked back at her siblings and told them, "Open the letters that Ma gave you." She then smiled swiftly at her siblings, before she turned back around, and she and her father followed Professor Darbus and I, making our way through the crowd of students and teachers alike who were wall proceeding into the castle, the phoenix song still going.
In silence we approached the glass elevator, which Professor Darbus put four tokens in, and after we were all inside and Professor Darbus had pressed the Head's study button, the elevator sped off at once. Once the elevator had stopped we all stepped out and entered the circular office. I did not know what I had expected: that the room would be draped in black, perhaps. In fact, it looked almost as it had done when Crighton and I had left it mere hours previously: the silver instruments whirring and puffing on their spindle-legged tables, Lion-Heart's sword stood in its glass case gleaming in the moonlight, the Sorting Chest on a shelf behind the desk. But Kenna's perch stood empty; she was still crying her lament to the grounds, and it was then that I noticed that the photographs of Crighton's family were no longer on the desk, and the drawings Crighton's children had sent to her growing up had all been taken down - except one: the first one Sian had ever sent to her mother that looked like 'a pig riding a donkey' as her youngest brother, Max, had once said. Anyhoo, this sight made Sian cry harder - well, that, and the new portrait that joined the ranks of dead headmasters and mistresses of Dragon Mort ... Crighton was slumbering in a golden frame over the desk, looking peaceful and untroubled. Mr Dawson held Sian tighter, rubbing her back gently as his daughter sobbed into his chest.
After glancing once at this portrait, Professor Darbus made an odd movement as though steeling herself, then rounded the desk to look at me, her face taut and lined.
"Kiara," she said, "I would like to know what you and Professor Crighton were doing this evening when you left the school."
"I can't tell you that, Professor," I said. I had expected the question and I had my answer ready. It had been here, in this very room, that Crighton had told me that I was to confide the contents of our lessons to nobody but Chris, Sian and Chrissie.
"Kiara, it might be important," said Professor Darbus.
"It is," I said, "very, but she didn't want me to tell anyone."
Professor Darbus glared at me.
"Pride-Lander" (I registered the renewed use of my surname) "in the light of Professor Crighton's death, I think you must see that the situation has changed somewhat - "
"I don't think so," I said, shrugging. "Professor Crighton never told me to stop following her orders if she died."
"But - "
"There's one thing you should know before the Ministry gets here, though. Sir Smoothster's under the Imperius Curse, he was helping Malty and the Love Destroyers, that's how the necklace and the poisoned mead - "
"Smoothster?" said Professor Darbus incredulously, but before she could go on, there was a knock on the door behind us and Professors Spud, Winds and Beadu traipsed into the room, followed by Mina, who was still weeping copiously, her huge frame trembling with grief.
"Tiphrom!" ejaculated Beadu, who looked the most shaken, pale and sweating. "Triphorm! I taught her! I knew her!"
But before any of us could respond to this, a sharp voice spoke from high on the wall: a sallow-faced witch with a short black fringe had just walked back into her empty canvas.
"Deidre, the Ministry will be here within seconds, she has just Disapparated from the Ministry."
"Thank you, Evelyn," said Professor Darbus, and she turned quickly to her teachers.
"I want to talk about what happens to Dragon Mort before she gets here," she said quickly. "Personally, I am not convinced that the school should reopen next year. The death of the Headmistress at the hands of one of our colleagues is a terrible stain upon Dragon Mort's history. It is horrible."
"You mat not have a choice in the matter, ma'am," said a quiet voice. We all turned to look at Sian, who had indeed spoken, who had dried her eyes and was no longer leaning against her father, but was trying to stand as tall and proud as always.
"What do you mean, Sian?" Professor Darbus asked, looking at her curiously.
"What I mean, ma'am," said Sian, her voice growing stronger with every word, "is that my mother's death is just the start. With my mother gone, Zira is now going to be looking at gaining control of the Ministry, and then the school. You mark my words, come the end of this summer, these things will happen. Besides, I know my mother, she will not have wanted this school to close. That's why she asked you to protect the students, ma'am," Sian added, turning to Professor Darbus, "because she knew her death was coming, she knew Zira's followers will take over the school and she knew that she could put her trust in the teachers - the original teachers - of this school, the good, the brilliant and the best!"
The teachers all bore looks of shock and horror as the true meaning of Crighton's words set in upon them. After a moment or two, Beadu broke the silence.
"You can't mean that, Miss Dawson? The very thought of - "
"I know it's hard to hear, ma'am," said Sian, turning her head sharply to face Beadu, "and I know you're scared, who isn't? But it's time to put your own feelings aside for a moment and think about the students, because I bet that next year a lot of them are going to come to you, tears streaming down their faces because of what has happened to them. And I know that you're afraid of Zira, ma'am. Aren't we all? But chances are, you won't see her, because she'll have people working for her here and at the Ministry doing all her dirty work for her, while she's off doing God knows what! So you have to decide now, ma'am, whether you want to be a child or a leader!"
Sian was looking at Beadu fiercely, and her words were so strong, so true, that I felt my respect for her rise; and I wasn't the only one who felt that way.
"What Sian says is true," said Professor Darbus, looking at Sian with a new kind of respect. "The students' welfare must come first in this case, and with that being said, I will stay here and do what I can to protect our students from those monsters! What say you?" she asked her teachers.
"I'll stay," said Spud at once.
"As will I!" said Winds.
Darbus, Spud and Winds all turned at once to Beadu, who looked unsure for a moment, then nodded.
Professor Darbus nodded, then turned to face Mina. "Mina, you haven't said anything. What about you, are you planning on staying next year, whatever happens?"
Mina, who had been weeping silently into her large spotted handkerchief throughout this conversation, now raised her puffy red eyes and croaked, "I dunno, Professor ... that's fer the Headmistress ter decide ... "
"Professor Crighton always valued your views," said Professor Darbus kindly, "and so do I, and I and the rest of the staff here will support your decision."
"Well, I'm stayin'," said Mina, fat tears still leaking out of the corners of her eyes and trickling down her cheeks. "It's me home, it's bin me home since I was thirteen. An' if there's kids who wan' me ter teach 'em, I'll do it. But ... I dunno ... Dragon Mort without Crighton ..."
She gulped and disappeared behind her handkerchief once more, and there was silence.
"Very well," said Professor Darbus, glancing out of the window at the grounds, checking to see whether the Minister was approaching. "Now, I believe the right thing to do would be to consult the governors, wouldn't you agree, Sian?"
"Of course, ma'am," said Sian at once. "You should go on as normally as possible. But would you mind not telling them anything about what I've told you about Zira?"
"Of course, Sian," said Professor Darbus. "You have my confidence."
"I trust you," said Sian. Student and teacher then shared a brief smile, then Professor Darbus turned back to her teachers once more.
"Now, as to getting the students home ... there is an argument for doing it sooner rather than later. We could arrange for the Dragon Mort submarines to come tomorrow if necessary - "
"What about Crighton's funeral?" I said, speaking at last, and I wasn't the only one who thought this; Mr Dawson and Sian both looked shocked that Professor Darbus didn't take this into account, either.
"Well ..." said Professor Darbus, losing a little of her briskness as her voice shook, "I - I know that it was Crighton's last wish to be laid to rest here, at Dragon Mort - "
"Then that's what'll happen, isn't it?" I said fiercely.
"If the Ministry thinks it appropriate, and her family approves," said Professor Darbus.
"We do," said Sian. Everyone looked at her.
"Are you sure, Sian?" said Professor Darbus, watching her closely.
"I knew my mother, ma'am," Sian said, "and I know that she would want her final resting place to be here. Yes, she has the Manor, but that was not her home; to myself, my father and my siblings it is, but not to my mother. To her, it was always a respite place, and I know that because the only times I ever saw her as a child were the Christmas and summer holidays, and the first few years of our childhoods when Lord Voldemort was still at large when she stayed with us all the time. Anyway, her true home was here, ma'am, always, and we all know that she was more than just a mother, she was the headmistress of this school, so therefore the staff and students should say goodbye to the greatest headmistress this school has ever had, too, and not just my family."
"Well said," said Professor Winds after a few moments. "Well said indeed! It is not just the family who have the right to say goodbye to our dear Professor Crighton. We can arrange transport home afterwards."
"Seconded," barked Spud.
"I suppose ... yes ..." said Beadu in a rather agitated voice, while Mina let out a strangled sob of assent.
"She's coming," said Professor Darbus suddenly, gazing down into the grounds. "The Minister ... and by the looks of it, she's brought a delegation ..."
"Can I leave, Professor?" I said at once.
I had no desire at all to see, or be interrogated by, Rowena Scrimwazz that night.
"You may," said Professor Darbus, "and quickly."
She strode towards the door and held it open for me. I sped down the staircase and off along the deserted corridor; I had left my Invisibility Cloak at the top of the Astronomy Tower, but it did not matter; there was nobody in the corridors to see me pass, not even Match, Mrs Robbs or Weeves. I did not meet another soul until I reached the passage leading to the Lion-Heart common room.
"Is it true?" whispered the Fat Lord as I approached him. "Is it really true? Crighton - dead?"
"Yes," I said.
He bowed his head and, without waiting for the password, swung forwards to admit me.
As I had suspected it would be, the common room was jam-packed. The room fell silent as I climbed through the portrait hole. I didn't see Beth, Kestrel or Merida anywhere: this meant that they were in the dormitory with Chrissie. Without speaking to anybody, without making eye-contact at all, I walked straight across the room and climbed the stairs to the dormitories.
When I reached our dormitory, I saw Chrissie, Beth, Kestrel and Merida sitting on the latter's bed, each of them holding a letter and crying. They looked up when they saw me, and Chrissie got up from the bed and we went to her bed and sat down on it. For a while, we were both silent, neither of us knowing what to say, as the whispers from the other three reached our years.
"Are you OK?" I asked at last.
"I dunno," said Chrissie, shrugging. "I mean, I was never as close to Ma as you or Sian were, Kiara, but ... it does hurt a bit, you know?"
I nodded, understanding what she meant. I then looked down at the letter in her hand.
"What's that?"
"A letter that Ma wrote to me before she died," said Chrissie. "She wrote one for each of us. I never knew how much Ma noticed until I read this." She handed it to me. "You can read it if you want to. I don't mind."
But I pushed the letter back. "No, Chrissie. It's private and personal to you, and should be kept that way." Chrissie looked at me and smiled and we were silent again.
"They're talking about closing the school," I said.
"Not that surprising, is it, after what happened?" said Chrissie. I didn't say anything in answer to this.
A pause.
"So?" said Chrissie, turning to me and lowering her voice so that her sisters wouldn't hear. "Did you find one? Did you get it? A - a Horcrux?"
I shook my head. All that had taken place around that red lake seemed like an old nightmare now; had it really happened, and only hours ago?
"You didn't get it?" said Chrissie, looking crestfallen. "It wasn't there?"
"No," I said. "Someone had already taken it and left a fake in its place."
"Already taken - ?"
Wordlessly, I pulled the fake locket from my pocket, opened it and passed it to Chrissie. The full story could wait ... it did not matter tonight ... nothing mattered except the end, the end of our pointless adventure, the end of Crighton's life ...
"O.B.W.," whispered Chrissie, "but who was that?"
"Dunno," I said, putting my arm around Chrissie and looking out of the window at the dark grounds. I felt no curiosity at all about O.B.W.: I doubted in that moment that I would ever feel curious again. As I sat there, holding my best friend, I became aware suddenly that the grounds were silent, and from the gasps of the others, I wasn't the only one who had noticed. Kenna had stopped singing.
And I knew, without knowing how I knew it, that the phoenix had gone, had left Dragon Mort for good, just as Crighton had left the school, had left the world ... had left me - but more importantly, had left Sian.