Chapter 7 is out! First of all, I want to wish you all a Happy New Year!
Now, this chapter is a very, very spicy one; in fact, it has the first piece of information regarding the story's title. I just hope for you to enjoy it at least 1% of what I did while writing it!
Scala ad Caelum
Chapter 7: Essentia Futurae
Ronald Weasley POV
Saturday 14th September, 1991 (Hogwarts) – Noon
After the eventful two first days of the week, the others had been way more normal and relaxed. Just as Daphne had guessed, Snape's talk with Malfoy was very effective, because the two rivals adopted some sort of ignoring each other dynamic; something Ron was totally fine with. Thankfully, the classes were getting more and more exciting as the days passed, but the highlight of Ron's week, without any doubts, came on Wednesday's.
They were all having breakfast at the Great Hall when the owls came like every other morning. Only this time, Harry received a very long and broom-like package. He tried to hide it from the others, but Malfoy had to get up and make and scene, so in the end, Ron ended up knowing that Harry had received a brand new Nimbus Two Thousand; which made so much sense when knowing he was Gryffindor's new seeker.
Ron obviously was very happy for his friend, but what really made his week was Malfoy's face when coming back to the Slytherin table. The redhead was so happy that Blaise had to elbow him on the ribs to stop his uncontrollably snickering at the blonde's expense.
Despite that, those happy moments were a thing of the past. After all, today was the day he was meeting his parents to talk about his sorting; which made him a total nervous mess. Where the hell is Percy? He should already be here. Yesterday, he asked his older brother for help. Ron had no idea about how to face the meeting, and Percy not only was the wisest person he knew, but he also was the one brother to understand him; even so, it was either asking him or the twins.
The classroom's door was suddenly opened by none other than a very sweaty Percy. "I'm sorry for being late," his brother started, loosening up his tie to breathe a bit better. "I had some prefect appointment to attend that came out of nowhere. I swear the twins are going to kill me one of these days because of all the work they gave me with their stupid jokes."
"Don't worry, Perce, it's not like I have many things to do."
"So, you are meeting with mum and dad today, aren't you?" He looked sympathetic at Ron. "Yeah, if I were in your place right now I would also be very nervous."
"How... do you think I should approach them?" Ron asked. "I know they will want me to be re-sorted, but I don't want it. I'm just starting to find my place in Slytherin after some rough weeks, and I like my new friends so far. It's true that they still believe too much in their crap about blood supremacy, but they aren't like I first pictured them. They are…, well, pretty much as normal as every other student from another House is; it's true they have their things, but who doesn't?"
"Well, I agree with you," Percy told him. "That also was my first impression about some of them when I started getting to know them a bit better, and I think it should be one of your main points when talking to them. Mum is going to be the hardest one to convince; you know what she does think about Slytherin, but kids are still her weakest point. They educated us to be fair to everyone, use that to show them that you haven't changed even if you were sorted in Slytherin; to show them that you still value how they raised you."
Ron stared at his brother, lost in his thoughts. "Do you think that would be enough?" That was the million-galleons question.
"No, I don't think so," Percy answered with honesty. "I think the best argument you can use is expressing your true feelings, just like you did with us a few weeks ago."
"I… don't think I'm comfortable enough to tell mum and dad that," Ron confessed. "I kinda got carried away and rambled everything out of nowhere to you; it was never something I planned to do."
"It wasn't out of nowhere," Percy sighed. "It was what you've been feeling for a long time, and the way you…, exploded, made me and the twins realise you really felt like that way. If you don't feel comfortable enough to talk about that with them, just use it as your last resource. But if you really want to make them understand why you do want to stay in Slytherin so bad, I don't see another way."
Ron started to fidget nervously with his wand; it was a habit he had developed when he was feeling anxious or nervous. "I guess you are right, like always," he admitted. "I'll do as you just said. I'll blurt out everything if that's what I need to convince them that I haven't changed at all and that I want to do good things in Slytherin."
"Ron," Percy called, very serious out of a sudden. "From where did you get that wand?" Looking down at it, he now realized his mistake. "Answer me, Ron," his brother almost ordered.
Shit, how can I be so stupid? They don't know about Gerard and my wand… they still believe for me to have Charlie's. That was truly a mess. Bloody hell, what am I supposed to do now? Should I tell him the truth? To the hell with it, Ron. It's Percy; if you can't tell him the truth, you can't tell it to anyone. "It is a very long story," Ron let out a huge sigh; this was a huge mess, but unlike others, this was entirely his fault. "Don't look at me like that before listening to it. I swear I did nothing bad or illegal to get it. Actually, it was a present from some old friend of mum and dad."
"Come on, tell me the whole damn story, and you better be right about not doing anything bad to get it," Percy groaned, massaging his temples as he always did when he was stressed. "Because if I think you've crossed some line, convincing mum and dad to not re-sort you will be the last of your worries..."
Thirty minutes later...
"I can't believe you trusted in some stranger you just met..." Percy said, totally incredulous. "That was very risky, Ron. You can't just trust the first man you find with promises about getting you a wand!"
"It wasn't some total stranger," Ron defended himself. "I've told you our whole conversation. He knew mum and the uncles very well. Besides that, I wasn't planning on going with him until I spoke with dad and asked him what he did know about Gerard."
"You still knew almost nothing about him! It was very dangerous-"
"You'd have done the same if you were in my place!" Ron interrupted him. "You knew how much I wanted to have my wand! For two entire years, it was the only thing I wanted! I didn't care about brand new robes, books, brooms, or even a pet. I've always known that we've struggled with money, but the only thing I ever asked for was a wand, and I couldn't get one because mum and dad preferred to buy you a bloody owl!"
"So don't come at me with that crap about me being careless," Ron went on. "Because you would have done the same if you were me! Or maybe not, because the Hat was right about you! We are very similar, but you never had the balls to take the hardest decisions! You just take the easy way and pray for everything to be okay!"
Ron had done it once again, but this time, he had crossed a line; he knew it as soon as he saw Percy's hurt face. "I-I'm sorry, Perce. I shouldn't have said those things about you..."
"No, you did well speaking your thoughts about me," Percy almost whispered. "So the Hat talked to you about our conversation, didn't he? You are right, I don't know if I could have been brave enough to do what you did, and I definitely didn't know that my owl was the reason mum and dad couldn't afford a wand... Or maybe, I did know it, but I was so happy that my work and efforts were finally rewarded I just looked to another way."
He let out a loud sigh before resuming: "I'm sorry about looking the other way when I shouldn't, and I accept your apologies for being so honest and real," then, he smiled tiredly at Ron and extended his arms towards him, inviting him to an embrace. "We've both been and done stupid things at some point in our lives, what about we learn from them and try to do better in the future, little brother?"
The two brothers had an awkward embrace, and Percy proudly patted Ron's back before separating. "You are starting to grow up, Ron," Percy said while tapping at Ron's head with his first finger. "I'm proud of how much you've matured in just a few weeks. Maybe, a change of environment was the only thing you needed to make us understand how you were really feeling. I wrote a letter to mum and dad trying to convince them to trust you and your decisions, but you are the only one who can make them see how you really feel. My only advice is to just be yourself and talk your mind about it."
"Thank you, Perce. This really means a lot to me..."
"But you have to promise me one thing," Percy told him, now squeezing both of his shoulders. "Someday, you'll tell the truth about your wand to mum and dad. I'm not telling you to do it right now, but as soon as all the issues get fixed, you are telling them, okay?"
"Yes, don't worry about it," Ron answered. "I was going to do it regardless of what you just said. I don't like lying to them. I don't like lying to any of you either, but I needed to keep this a secret."
The moment Ron feared had finally come; he had just been summoned to the Headmaster's office to meet his parents. When Ron made it to the entrance of the Headmaster's Tower, the giant and ugly stone gargoyle just opened to reveal some sort of circular and moving staircase. The redhead took a long gulp of air to gather all the courage he could before stepping in. As soon as his feet made contact with the stone floor of the staircase, it went upwards, towards the Headmaster's office.
When the staircase reached the top, the door that was in front of Ron also opened magically, granting him access to the main room. Unlike Professor Snape's office, this was much more illuminated and colourful, with some magical instruments which made loud and funny noises. There also were a lot of portraits of the past Headmasters and Headmistresses. In fact, some of them were looking at him with curious glances, others were just sleeping, and others were just gone.
"Excuse them for their lack of manners," the Headmaster said, as soon as Ron stepped into the office. "Spending years and years with me as their only company makes them extremely curious to any visitor."
"H-Headmaster Dumbledore..." Ron nervously greeted. "Where are my parents? Aren't they supposed to be here?"
"They should be in a few minutes, my boy. I just wanted to talk to you before they came, if you don't have any problems with it, that's it."
Does Albus Dumbledore want to talk with me? "Of course not, sir!" Ron answered, a bit too quickly. "I-I don't have any problems with it."
"Perfect, take a seat," the Headmaster smiled at him. "Do you want anything? Sherbet lemons? Toffee éclairs? I got plenty of them. The only things I don't have are Berttie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, I had a bad experience with them when I was younger."
What the hell? "No, thank you, sir. I'm good," Ron refused as best as he could. "What did you want to talk with me about, sir?"
"I just wanted to know how you were doing in your first two weeks, that's all. The other Professors had nothing but wonderful things to say about you."
"I-I'm really enjoying the classes, especially Transfiguration and Charms, sir."
"What about your housemates? You all seemed to have a very good time when I saw you together in the Great Hall."
"Well..." Ron tried to find the correct words. "It was... hard at the beginning. We had many different opinions about everything, but we talked about it, and I realised that they weren't… well, as bad as I thought."
Something sparkled in the Headmaster's eyes, just as he beamed at Ron. "That is wonderful news, my boy. I had been waiting for ages for someone to come and try to fix this whole rivalry between houses. The Sorting Hat talked with me about your sorting, Ronald; I was so glad that someone was finally able to take the first step." The old man sent a look to the fireplace before resuming. "I'm afraid that our conversation will have to wait, your parents are about to come, and I don't want to intrude in your conversation."
The Headmaster winked at him before getting up and disappearing behind some of the giant bookshelves which were just behind his desk; then, the fireplace roared and Ron's parents came out from it. His father had an awkward smile on his face, but he still seemed happy to see Ron, and his mother… she quickly walked towards Ron to envelop him with a hug, which he returned after some moments of astonishment. Wow, this is going way better than I thought it would.
"Ohh, you can't imagine how much I've missed you, Ronnie," his mother said, still embracing him. After some seconds, she suddenly stopped just to observe him. "Is everything okay? Are you eating enough? How did classes go? Are you having problems with your housemates?"
Wow... But luckily, Ron's father interrupted her barrage of questions. "Let the boy breathe, Molly," he laughed, then patted Ron's shoulder affectionately. "I've also missed you so much, Ron. Excuse your mother, but she was so worried about you these last few weeks."
"I'm okay. I really am," Ron reassured them both. "Things were a bit hard at the beginning, but now everything is going very well, seriously."
"Then… was it true?" His mother sighed. "Percy's letter, I mean. He tried to calm us down, said that you were doing okay and that your housemates weren't that bad."
"Yes, all of that is true," Ron answered. This was the moment he had been dreading for weeks. "I'm really doing more than good now. I even have a group of friends who aren't that bad, not as I thought they were going to be."
"Can I ask you why?" His father asked. "It's just… that your letter… took us by surprise; we weren't expecting you to be sorted in Slytherin. It is because of something we did? Was it… because of the wand? Was that the moment when you changed your mind about all the things we've taught you?"
"What? No, it's nothing like that, dad!" Ron exclaimed. He wasn't expecting by any means for the conversation to turn out that way; all his plans revolved about him being the one feeling at fault, not the other way around. "The wand… it hurt me, but I kinda got past it. I haven't changed at all… it's still me, the same Ron as always. I-I just realised that I wanted to… be something more than the new Weasley; for that, I needed to do this; I needed to be sorted in Slytherin."
"But why Slytherin?" Molly questioned. "You know how they are… how they've been raised… what some of their fathers did to your uncles. Have you really forgotten all of that or is it just that you... don't think like us anymore?"
What? Do they really have so little faith in me? Those words definitely hurt, and his face must have shown it because his father quickly tried to fix it. "It is not like that, Ron. We know you aren't like them… it is just… why Slytherin? If you wanted to do something different you could have chosen another House, like Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw."
"I chose what I thought was better for me," Ron answered. "I haven't forgotten anything of what you taught me, but this time, it's you both who aren't judging others fairly. I also came with the same mentality as you. It is true some of them are just nothing but idiots and bigots who had everything handed to them easily and who look down on others. But others, like my friends, are not like that. If you have so little faith in me… don't worry about it; I'm not turning into any bigot, I still believe in everything you taught me. Just… have some faith in me, please."
"I think you should listen to what young Ronald has just said," a voice piped in. Ron turned around to see no other but a smiling Albus Dumbledore, with some big book in his hands. "I'm sorry, it wasn't my intention to listen to the conversation, but I found myself with the irresistible need of reading this great book, and I needed to get it from the shelves."
He took a moment to look at the book's cover before resuming. "But once I heard those wise words coming out of Ronald's mouth, I just couldn't allow myself not to take part in this magnificent conversation. I often find myself pretty amazed at how the younger generations are always the ones that can teach us the hardest lessons. There has always been a big, unhealthy rivalry between the other houses and Slytherin. Even so, many young kids have been affected by it, making it bigger and bigger each year. But when I saw that young Ronald was sorted into Slytherin, I just couldn't help myself with the hope that a better future could be possible."
"Albus…" Molly whispered. "Are you saying that you approve of my son's decision? That he should remain in Slytherin?"
"I'm just voicing out my opinion," the Headmaster told her. "This is a decision which should not be influenced by anything that comes out of my mouth, but you could say so. I was certainly… curious and intrigued when young Ronald took that decision. A Weasley getting sorted in Slytherin? That was a thing I thought I'd never see. But now, two weeks after that day, I definitely think he made a good choice. Despite that, what will happen in the future is something I don't know," he finished his speech with a kind smile. "Sorry about that, I often get pretty enthusiastic when situations like this one find me. It must be something that goes with age. Now, if you can excuse me, I have a pretty interesting read waiting for me."
Is he trying to help me? Ron and his parents watched how the Headmaster made his way towards what should have been his chambers. "I think we should let Ron stay in Slytherin if that's what really wants, Molly," his father proposed.
Ron turned to look at them with hope, but it was quickly shattered as soon as he saw his mother's face. "What? How can you say that?" She almost shouted. "Ronnie can't be in that snake's nest! You know what they teach them, Arthur. Those kids are raised to be what we fought against in the war! The reason why Fabian and Gideon lost their lives!"
"I know, love," his father tried to calm her. "But things have changed. We won the war. It's true many of those kids are being raised to be some vile and cruel men and women, but others aren't. I know some of their parents, and I know what they did. The last thing they want is for their children to become just like them. Having kids changes people, Molly, you should know better than anyone. I'm not saying those men have changed at all in these years of peace; that will never happen, but their kids? They don't have the blame for what their parents did. They can become better people, and if our Ronnie helps them, wouldn't he be doing what we tried to teach all of our children? Wouldn't he be fighting to become a better person than everyone else?"
Both Ron and her mother were left completely speechless after Arthur's words. "I-I don't want him to be there, Arthur," she whispered. "That is not how things are supposed to be... I-I need time to think about everything." With that, she disappeared through the fireplace, leaving alone the two men.
She didn't even look at me... "Don't be too hard on her, Ron," his father said while patting him on the shoulder. "Your mother is confused. She hates most of the pureblood families after what happened to your uncles. This hasn't been easy for her."
"Neither it was for me," Ron answered. "I'm just asking you to have a bit of faith in me. Since I got sorted, I started to appreciate the way you raise us to be even more. There are plenty of cunts in Slytherin, but there also are some of them who aren't bad persons; just a little spoiled. I'm… happy with the decision I took that day, and I would love you to trust me."
"We do," his father reassured him. "We are not going to ask for any res-orting. I have faith in you, Ron; you are my son. So does your mother, she just needs… some time to assimilate things."
"Okay..."
"Well, I guess this is departure time; I should be working right now, after all. Promise me you will keep yourself out of trouble and that you'll write to us if something bad happens, okay?"
"Thanks, dad. I'll do it, don't worry."
"Goodbye, son," his father started to walk towards the fireplace, but he stopped midway. "Oh, I almost forgot about it. Ginny wrote this letter to you. She's been very lonely and bored since you all left, but your letter made her very happy; she even wrote the reply herself."
Ron got the letter from his father's hand, and before he realised it, he was gone. Well… what I'm supposed to do now… do I have to wait for the Headmaster or I can go now? He waited for some minutes, but since the Headmaster wasn't coming out from his chambers, Ron decided that he was free to go. At least I'm free now… no more family meetings for now… or so I hope.
Well, it definitely went differently from what I was expecting. As soon as the meeting was over, Ron left the castle and made his way to what was becoming his favourite place of Hogwarts; some tall tree with great views to the Great Lake, the very same in where he had the disturbing conversation with Nott last Monday. Why did he like that spot so much? Ron didn't know why, but he definitely felt better when he could spend some time alone after some incident, or just when he needed time to think about anything that was bothering him; just like now.
He closed his eyes and laid back on the grass; arms behind his head and enjoying the warm weather. "I told you he would be here," a voice said, interrupting his solitude. "He usually comes here when he's upset."
Great, seems like I have a club of fans now… Ron felt how some people sat around him. He already knew who they were, but he opened his eyes to let them know that he was very comfortable being alone. "How's that Blaise? Do you like me or something? That's a first for me, I'm not used to having people observing what I do and where I go."
"Shut up," Blaise answered. "It was Tracey's idea to come here. I wanted to wait for you in the common room. By the way, it was Nott the one to tell me that you liked this place; I don't care where you go or where you don't."
Ha! Too mighty to take a joke. I'm starting to like you and your pureblood antics. "Why were you so impatient?" Ron asked the brunette. "I was going to tell you guys what happened the moment I got to the common room."
"Well… yeah, but you weren't coming back, so..." Tracey answered. "How did it go? You don't look very… upset, so I guess that it wasn't so bad?"
"You could say so," Ron said with a shrug of his shoulders. "It definitely went differently from what I expected. Now, if it went good or bad… I don't really know, to be honest."
"But, you aren't getting re-sorted… right?" Tracey asked, a bit too quickly.
Okayyy… that was weird. What's gotten into her? "Nope, I'm not going anywhere; it doesn't matter what my parents think. What would you guys do without me?"
"Not wasting my time here on a Saturday morning, that's for sure," Daphne piped in. "But I liked what you just said; don't let your parents decide for you just because they don't think the same."
"It's a bit ironic to hear those words coming out of your mouth," Blaise commented, raising his brow.
Daphne blushed a bit and avoided Blaise's gaze. "Why? He can do that, his family doesn't work like ours," she defended herself. "Besides, my parents would never try to do something like that; especially, if I was performing as well as he is. It would make them feel nothing but proud of me."
"As much as I try," Ron started. "I can't understand how you guys think. It blows my mind how weird your customs and family relationships are."
"Then, don't try to understand them," Daphne replied. "It's what I do with yours."
Ron was about to answer with some not very refined comment about their pureblood antics, but Tracey beat him. "Hey, why don't we go back to the castle, it's almost lunchtime. We could do something after it! Are you up for… some exploring? Or we could play chess together; Blaise said that he wanted to practise and get better."
That doesn't sound bad... "Okay, I'm in," Ron agreed. "If Blaise wants to practise, I can help by destroying him in a few quick games."
"Come on, where was that confidence this Wednesday, Weasley?" Daphne smirked. "If I remember correctly, I beat you three times when you just did it once."
Shit, here we come again; she's gonna brag about it for the rest of my life. "Well, yeah, but that was the other day. I was having… a headache that night. Those games don't count for the record."
"If you say so..."
Lord Elend Shawn POV
Sunday 15th September, 1991 (Shawn Manor, USA) – Midday
"Come on, try it once again," Elend ordered.
His son, Alexander, got up from the floor with an enraged and frustrated look. They currently were at their weekly duelling meeting. The lessons had to be held either on Saturdays or Sundays because the boy was attending his first year of school at Ilvermorny.
Alexander took his typical combat stance; with his left leg forward supporting most of his body weight and his right arm, the wand one, also extended forward to guard his body. "I'm ready," he announced, before starting with a weak stunner—if it could even be considered as so—and some other rather simple hexes and curses which Elend dodged easily. The fact he was muttering the verbal incantations of the hexes wasn't helping him at all.
The boy certainly didn't lack determination or talent, but he still was four months shy of being twelve, and there was nothing he could do to fight against age, knowledge, experience, and the lack of maturity from his magical core. Elend easily sidestepped everything his son was throwing at him and closed the distance between the both of them.
Alexander was able to see through his moves, so he just stopped his offence to point his wand at something that was behind his father's back, but Elend also knew what his son wanted to do, so he just sidestepped the chair which was coming from his back and quickly shook his hand forward, sending some strong streams of air that made Alexander roll over his back a few times.
He was about to order him to try it once again when Alexander suddenly, still kneeling on the floor, sent him a very fast curse, which Elend just dodged without much effort. Was that a blasting curse? His suppositions were confirmed when he heard some light explosion from his back. Not bad at all.
"Stop, enough for today," Elend ordered while walking towards his son, who was still kneeling on the floor; recovering from the physical exhaustion and all the effort. "You did a good job today, but you still have to learn to control your emotions. They are one of the things that fuel magic the most, but it doesn't mean you can let them control you."
Alexander accepted his father's hand to get up from the floor. "I tried, but after you used me to wipe the floor with my body for the twentieth time I kinda lost it; wonder what could be the reason." He grunted.
Elend mentally groaned at his son's sarcastic comments. He really needs to work on his mental strength. But instead of voicing his thoughts out, he ended up saying: "You really need to stop relying so much on your wand. Magic is everywhere and it's everything, use that in your favour."
"That is easy to say when you really can do magic without using your wand, father," Alex argued back. "The only thing I can do wandless is lighting some weak and little flames. I can't even touch you using my wand, how am I supposed to perform without it?"
"You said it yourself, fire is the easiest form of magic for you, use it," Elend lectured. "Remember my teachings. Magic is energy that is manifested in many ways and forms; it is in the metals the Ancient Wizards were able to use for producing it; it is in the trees the good wandmakers use for their crafts; but especially, it is manifested, in both a greater quantity and quality, in the four basic Elements."
"I know; fire, water, air, and earth," Alexander recited. "But I've always had a doubt about the Elements, especially after something I asked Professor Smith about one of his lessons. Do really light and darkness exist as Elements? Can they be used as Magic?"
That's the debate of the century... "Kyle Smith is a good wizard, but he has always been very close-minded," Elend sighed. "He is one of the many wizards who think magic can be divided into Dark Arts and Light Arts; that is just not correct. Light and darkness are two of the magic's properties, and they are also present in every one of the Elements. Using water as an example; there is light in it because it is needed to live, but there is also darkness in it because you can get drowned if you don't control it."
"So, you're practically telling me that all that debate about what can be considered as Dark Arts and Non-Dark Arts is bullshit?"
"Basically," Elend answered. "There are very, very few things I would categorize as pure Dark Arts. It is always the wizard's intention that gives meaning to magic."
"I see, and what about the wand?" Alexander asked. "You keep saying that I should not use it so much, but it is what everyone does since they were created. I get your point that I should try other forms of magic and not just get stuck with the easiest of them, but why do you focus that much on it, father?"
This has turned into a theoretical lesson... "Everything revolves around our magical cores and our magic, Alexander," Elend started to explain. "The wizards of the Ancient Times didn't have wands, so they used their bodies, or other sources like metals, as conductors. What wands do is just facilitating the flow of magic so performing it is way easier and even more powerful with them; most of the time, that's it. Now, there are certain types of magic that need a bigger conductor than wands to perform them, and that's why we use our bodies to do it. That kind of magic is more powerful, in terms of raw power, than the one we are used to performing with wands; but it is also way more dangerous and demanding. That's why you need to train your body to be a good conductor as soon as possible."
To show his point, Elend extended his arm forward, and suddenly, flames started to envelop his forearm. They started to extend towards his left hand, and soon, they reached a bit past his hand. Then, they started to shape into a pointier and sharper form, resulting in a flaming arm-sword. "There is also this," Elend pointed with his chin at the blade. "If I had used my wand hand to do this, it would have been way easier, but then, I would have been stupid because I would have lost my best weapon doing a technique I could have done with my other arm. There are different types of wizards: the ones who prefer a more controlled flow of magic by using their wands; or the ones who prefer a more aggressive and powerful burst of magic by using their bodies as conductors."
"Wow," Alexander whistled, his eyes gleaming at the fire-blade. "This is the first time I've seen something as incredible as that. If I promise to work on everything you've just said… will you teach me that thing you've just done to your arm?"
"I give you my word," Elend promised. "But don't get your hopes up so easily. It will take you so much time preparing your body if you want to perform the most basic wandless magic, even the easiest of them. But yes, I will teach you as soon as I consider you ready."
"Good. That's the only thing I need to hear. If it's possible, I'll do it, no matter how much time I need."
Like father, like son; or so they say. Elend was about to ask him if he could go for another round when Jiru, his most trusted house-elf, apparated in the training room. "Master," he bowed. "It's time for the young lord to go back to school."
"Good, thank you, Jiru," Elend said, before turning to look at his son. "You've heard him, Alexander. Next week, same day, and same hour as always."
"Yes, father. For the next lesson, I'll try to control my emotions. I swear," Alexander promised, before leaving the training stance.
Elend started to clean up the mess they had made during the training, but one of his men suddenly appeared in the room. "Maybe you shouldn't be so harsh on the boy," Nathan said as a greeting.
Nathan Miller was one of his most trusted men, and he also had the command of a great part of House Shawn's forces. In the past, the man had been one of America's most renowned mercenaries, but that ended when Elend himself bought his services for life. Now, not only he was out of that life, but he was also a very important person within the personnel of one of the most important and ancient families in the world; the Great House of Shawn, one of the seventy families which formed the Ancient Council.
The man, despite being over fifty years old, was as imposing as always; an entire head taller than Elend and way more buffed. That, along with his messy, short beard, gave him the looks of some kind of grizzly; a profile people wouldn't expect from the Head of Security for such a noble family. Not as if Elend care about that. It was said the experience was a rank on itself, if so, there were very few people out there who were as prepared as Nathan for a position of that magnitude.
"Your girl is also attending Ilvermorny for the first year, isn't she?" Elend asked.
"Yeah, she is enjoying it so far from what she's told me in her letters. But that is not what I'm here to talk about. Your men are ready, for whatever you want them to do."
"Is that true? Will they really do whatever I ask from them?"
"Well, you already know how they are," Nathan started. "Those who are here for the money will do it; I'm the one keeping them in check, after all. But those sons from the lesser lords who owe you a few favours… I'm not sure about them. Most of them are gonna think this is a task not worthy of their efforts, you should know better than anyone."
"Yeah," Elend sighed. He definitely was very used to pureblood relationships and problems. "I'll deal with them later. For now, I want your most trusted men to collaborate with Master Shana's. And for you, my friend, I have one special and very important mission." Elend stopped to look at Nathan's eyes. "I want you to personally track Jin the Stranger down. I want to know everything about his moves and the reason behind them."
Nathan furrowed his brow and looked back to Elend's eyes, way more serious now. "What you are asking from me right now is something that I can't do, Elend. This clearly breaks the premises we both signed in my contract."
"What premises am I breaking?" Elend asked him. "I bought you for life. I gave you more than what you've ever dreamed you would have. In exchange, the only thing you needed to do was to assume the command of some of my men and to accept the tasks I entrusted you with."
"Yeah, but we agreed you wouldn't ask me to risk my life unnecessarily; going after Jin the Stranger is nothing but wishing for an early grave."
Elend let out a tired sigh and put his hand on Nathan's shoulder. "I know, my friend, and I'm sorry. But you are the only one whom I trust enough to carry out this task. You are my best soldier and one of my closest friends; trust me that I wouldn't be doing this unless I considered it as the only option possible."
"So, this is that serious, eh," Nathan also sighed with resignation. "I trust your judgment, Elend, I'll do it. But if we are doing this, I want to know everything; the reason behind it; against whom we are going; what would happen if we lose... In the past, I might have accepted it with no regard for my own life, but things have changed. Now, I have someone who I don't want to leave alone. If you want me to give everything I have, you better give a good damn reason to fight for, Elend."
Elend made his way towards the training stance's balcony, and he felt Nathan following him. The two of them leaned on the railing and watched the sunset. "I'm trying to prevent a war before it starts, Nathan," Elend finally said. "You were also there, in the last one. We can't let, under any circumstances, something like that happen. I won't allow it."
Ronald Weasley POV
Sunday 15th October, 1991 (Hogwarts) – Middle of the Morning
Ron still couldn't believe an entire month had already passed since the meeting with his parents. In the end, much to his surprise, everything had worked out fine; or at least, better than what he expected, but that wasn't something very hard to beat.
Classes were getting more and more exciting each week, and he still was one of the top students in almost all of them. His relationship with his friends was also getting better and better each day, and right now, Ron was sure that they had reached a point in which they might consider him a friend more than an ally like he was at the beginning.
Of course, not everything could be good. the redhead still was a bit…, disappointed with his mother and her attitude when even Ron's father was trying to support him. He would have liked to talk about it with someone, but Percy had less and less time every week, so they didn't talk much anymore.
Despite all of that, the worst of it were the twins. At first, Ron had been simply amazed by their supportive attitude towards his decision. It was true he kind of exploded in front of them, letting the two of them know everything that has been on his mind since he was a toddler. Unfortunately for him, it didn't last for a long time, mainly because of him winning so many House points, which were one of the main reasons Slytherin was once again the favourite to win the House Cup.
Now, George, and especially Fred, threw him some not very subtle glances every time they met each other in the Great Hall or in some random corridor. Ron knew very well what those kinds of glances meant; jokes and pranks were coming. But for the first time in his life, he hoped to be the one to receive them, because if the twins decided to target his new friends, all the efforts they've all put into building the group would be totally destroyed.
It was a worrisome problem, but not as if it mattered now.
For the first time since his sorting, the redhead had been able to catch a glimpse of Gerd. Ron had been immersed in one of his weekly strolls along the Great Lake's shore when he sighted some kind of ghostly, blue eagle near the boundaries of the Forest; that bird was the form Gerd used to adopt when the Essentia went on one of her expeditions.
What the bloody hell are you playing at, Gerd? Ron had obviously followed her without giving it a second thought, and now he was starting to regret it. He hadn't lost sight of the bird, but he also wasn't able to catch up with her. It was as if Gerd was trying to guide him further and further into the forest; he didn't like it a bit.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of walking, Gerd stopped at some clearing in the middle of the forest. There were many trees shadowing the place, but a bit of sunlight was able to seep in through some of its branches, illuminating the middle of the clearing, where Gerd-eagle was floating in the air, looking back at Ron.
"What… are you doing Gerd?" Ron asked, slightly exhausted. "First, you disappear for more than a month, and then, you come with all this crap of following you through the forest."
Gerd-eagle didn't even answer him. The Essentia just stood there, levitating in front of him without even moving her wings, looking intensely into Ron's eyes. Then, she slowly vanished; like a streak of wind carrying away a pile of ash. What the fuck? What is happening here?
The boy started to step back, but a sudden voice at his right startled him. "I've been waiting for this moment for so long, Ronald Weasley." It was a voice completely devoid of any emotion, one which sent shivers down his spine.
Ron turned his head to look at the owner of the voice, and what he found was... "Gerd? Is that you?" Ron asked, completely shocked. In front of him, there was an ethereal woman, shining with a strong and ghostly-blue light. She was very similar to the Gerd he saw during his sorting, the one who showed him some kind of vision, but this time, she was even taller than Ron himself. His brain was practically screaming at him to move away, but the woman's presence was just too overwhelming for his legs to obey.
"Yes, this is my real self," Gerd calmly answered. "The presence which had accompanied you for the past three years was nothing but a shadow of my true essence. I needed it to link with you while I was gathering all the power I could. But today, after more than two thousand years, I've finally gathered all the power I needed to come back; even if it is just for one moment of clarity."
"W-What do you mean, Gerd?" Ron asked with a trembling voice. He was starting to get very nervous and scared. "You ain't making any sense, please stop this! If this is one of your jokes, stop it! Congratulations, you've freaked me out; this has been without any doubts your best one."
"I'm sorry, Ronald Weasley," the Essentia told him. "But this is going to be the last chance for the wizards and for the Wizarding World. I swore many centuries ago that I wasn't going to fail this time."
Shit, shit, shit... she isn't joking? What the hell is this... Ron tried to get away from her, but she just snapped her fingers and two of the trees which were at his back bent to a point of almost touching the ground, cutting his escape route. The terrified boy drew his wand and aimed it at his old and loyal friend. "I swear that if you take one more step I'll curse you into oblivion! You know I'll do it, Gerd!"
"Yeah, I know you would," Gerd sadly smiled. "That is one of the reasons why I chose you, Ronald Weasley. I'm so sorry, but this is the only way. I failed in the past, but you won't, and I'll make sure of it."
Had he known it beforehand, the result would have been the same.
Ron had sent a Knockback jinx to the Essentia, but Gerd, gliding as fast as lighting, just appeared in front of him out of nowhere. "I really wish things weren't like they are," the ethereal woman muttered, as she grabbed both of his wrists with one hand. "I truly do, but I have to fix all the mistakes I committed in the past before mankind suffers the consequences."
The redhead tried to scream, but there was no sound coming out of his mouth. Gerd just held his wrists, and her head started to go down until it touched Ron's. They were in that position for a few seconds, and then, Ron felt it.
A sudden beam of light. The knowledge to prevent the future. The sorrow of seeing many fallen comrades. The impotence of being the culprit of their deaths. A heavy regret that comes with it. Hope for a new chance. The fear of failing for a second time. Pure and pristine faith in him… All those emotions and more almost made Ron's mind explode, but then, it suddenly stopped; a calm coldness enveloping him.
Ron finally opened his eyes and looked around. He noticed that he was no longer in the forest. Instead, he was at some sort of big cavern, with an old man standing in the middle of the chamber, his hands clasped behind his back. Where am I? This feeling... it feels like that time on that beach...
"I see you have finally found out, Gerdnyaram," the man said without turning his back. "I knew that I should have killed you the moment Niklos recruited you for our great Order."
Is he talking to me? No, he said Gerd's name. That means... Ron turned around to see a tall woman with long, brown hair looking defiantly at the old man. The witch was wearing some kind of white dress that covered her whole body; with a long skirt that ended at the ankles and some tight sleeves of the same colour. She was gorgeous, but that wasn't what caught Ron's attention. The woman standing in front of the man was no other but Gerd herself; not looking like an ethereal spirit anymore.
"Yes, you should have done it, Herpo," Gerd answered with a calm voice. "That project you've been working on all these years… I know what it is, and I know what you are planning to do. I saw it all in a vision. One vision that the Gods themselves bestowed me."
The man sighed tiredly and started to walk forward, towards one wooden table at the end of the chamber. There, he grabbed some kind of jar and drank its contents in a long gulp. "Gods, you say," he commented. "There are no gods in this world, Gerdnyaram. Only us, mankind, and different magical beasts. But that is going to change soon, as you've figured out. I, Herpo the Foul, will be known as the First God; there is no one who can stop me."
Gerd extended her arm to her side as some kind of mist started to condense around it. Said mist began to extend and shape into a very beautiful sword, which was grabbed with a reverse-grip. It was of a very light, metallic-blue colour; very similar to the one Gerd—back when she was a spirit—used to be made of. "I will stop you, Herpo," the witch stated as she walked forward; the end of her blade slitting the surface of solid stone with each step. "I don't care if I lose my life in the process. If you win, there will not be a future for anyone. I've already seen it."
The old man finally turned back, and Ron observed he had a very long and white beard, but what really caught his attention were his eyes; they were completely devoid of any emotion as if they were two endless pits. "So be it," Herpo the Foul said. "But I can't waste my time with you, my daughters will take care of you."
Daughters? What does he mean? His questions were quickly answered after hearing some loud hissing and the familiar sound of a creature slithering through the ground. Ron turned to look in Gerd's direction; what he found there made him freeze in terror. There were two giant snakes at each one of the witch's sides, hissing at the woman, their bright, yellowish eyes glistening with bloodlust.
Gerd took a guarding stance, but she didn't turn to face the beasts. "How did you hide the existence of two basilisks this big from all of us this entire time?" She asked. "It doesn't matter. I'll erase your entire legacy today!"
The two snakes hissed loudly before launching themselves at Gerd incredibly fast, but she was even faster. The woman slammed her hand into the ground, and it raised, forming a dome-like structure that protected her from the snakes' fangs. Both of the beasts started to slam their heads into the dome to break it, but suddenly, lots of stony and sharp spikes grew from the pure rock. One of the snakes wasn't quick enough to dodge them, and her jaw was pierced from side to side, soaking the dome with loads of green blood.
Both of the beasts slithered back, now way more watchful for any surprises.
Nothing happened for a few seconds, but then, the dome exploded, sending dozens of rock's chunks towards the beasts. Even though they were agile enough to dodge the first wave, the creatures were not ready for what came at them next. Gerd emerged from what was left of the dome, and with some swift movement of her hand, all the chunks of rock from the second wave were instantly turned into a dense cloud of black smoke.
After that, still moving in complete silence, Gerd sprinted towards the cloud. Instants before stepping inside, the witch pointed her left hand at the ground. Ron didn't know how, but even he—from his safe spot—could feel how the winds gathered around her hand. In the blink of an eye, Gerd jumped… no, she flew towards the biggest of the snakes.
It was a very strange sensation since the smoke didn't allow him to observe the battle, but the redhead felt how the winds circled Gerd; accompanying her across the whole cavern as she glided towards the beast. The snake must have also felt her because it tried to bit her in a half; it was useless. With a very sharp turn midair, Gerd dodged its fangs. At the same time, she spun around her own axis, using the motion of the movement to cleanly sever the monster's head with her blade; it fell to the ground under a rain of green blood.
Gerd landed gracefully on her right foot; her pristine dress now soaked in blood.
It was at that moment when Ron realized something; the witch had been fighting the whole time with her eyes closed! Gerd turned around to face the other snake, dispelling the entire cloud of smoke with a simple twist of her hand. The creature loudly hissed at her, but unlike before, it didn't seem to have any intention of launching itself towards the witch after her demonstration of skill and power.
Gerd took an offensive stance, with her sword and her left hand in front of her. The snake tried to feint a few attacks, but it was clear the beast no longer thought it had the upper hand. Despite that, after some seconds of feinting, it moved way faster from what Ron would have ever expected and lunged forward.
Thankfully, Gerd wasn't him, so she just waited for the snake to catch her up, and then, she moved out of its fangs reach. Much to Ron's surprise, the witch moved way slower than before; so slow that the snake was able to bite her arm with a glorious hiss.
What the hell? Before the monster was able to pierce her arm, the flesh that was at the fangs' reach suddenly evaporated and turned into smoke. Ron heard the loud sound of the snake's jaw-closing around the air, but before the beast even knew what was happening, Gerd severed its head with a very clean upwards cut; her hand still gripping the blade with a reverse-grip.
As it happened with the first one, the head fell to the ground with a loud thud; the two snakes were dead.
By the time Gerd had turned to look at the old man, her arm was already back to its original form. Herpo looked at her with rapt attention, despite that, he did nothing to stop the witch as she walked forward. "It is time for your games to end, Herpo," Gerd coldly said. "It is time for you to pay for your sins. Face me. The so-called God against the Great Seer; as it was fated to be."
"You are nothing but a delusional woman," Herpo let out a tired sigh. "It greatly saddens me to become the executing hand who banished the Great Sight from existence; ah, why did such a cursed power chose you, Gerdyaram? You have never been as powerful as I am, all your efforts will be futile. Your journey will end here, in this forgotten cavern; is that what you want?"
In response, Gerd just raised her blade to the air.
"So be it, then," the old man declared.
Herpo raised both of his hands to the air, and the whole cavern started to shake; the ground began to crack at many points; chunks of rock fell from the walls and ceiling; and yet, all those events paled against what happened next to the chamber. Thanks to the previously formed cracks, vast pieces of ground rose with others sank down.
Gerd used the winds to jump higher once again, landing at one of the biggest chunks of rock which were getting elevated, and then, she aimed her free hand towards the man and shouted: "Lux Aeterna!" A golden beam of light got out of her hand in the wizard's direction, shattering everything that happened to be on its way.
Herpo waited until the beam was about to hit him, then, the old man clapped both of his hands in front of him.
What happened in the next few seconds was something Ron couldn't understand. At first, some kind of waving appeared out of thin air at the point his hands had made contact; whether it was some kind of air magic like Gerd's or something completely different was a mystery to him. But much to his horror, the golden beam was suddenly absorbed by the rippling. "You dare to use your magic against me," Herpo muttered. "Humans should never defy a God."
The old man pointed his finger at Gerd's left. "Because of your sins, you shall receive sacred punishment," he said, just as the same kind of waving appeared near the witch. From it came the recently absorbed golden beam.
Gerd was barely able to dodge her own magic by jumping backwards; the beam going way past her and shattering everything it touched. They are monsters, Ron thought, completely awed by the fight he was witnessing. It turned out he wasn't the only one in shock. Gerd was no longer showing that self-confidence from before; her face glistened with sweat, making her look as pale as marble. Still, the witch didn't give up.
With a renewed fire, she threw her sword at the man, who just sidestepped it easily. That gave her enough time to get back on her feet and to sprint towards the old wizard, who was standing in the furthest chunk of terrain from hers; as she ran, the blue blade appeared in her hand once again.
"You always were too persistent for your own good," Herpo grunted, showing emotion for the first time in the battle. "I will end you here and now!
He aimed his hand at Gerd, who was still gliding through the air, trying to reach the rock where the wizard was standing as fast as she could. Herpo let her land, but as soon as she placed a foot on the ground, a dozen spikes came from the earth. It was a clever trap, but against a witch as skilled as Gerd, it was useless.
Before the spikes could touch her, the woman let out a furious cry and a white shield was raised around her body as if it was a bubble. Despite that, the spikes never made contact with her, instead, they just stopped in the middle of the way, completely surrounding her. "You never had what it took to be Kadir's apprentice," Herpo said, as he aimed his hand at the ground below her. "You have the habit of allowing your emotions to control your decisions in battle."
A flow of bright, green flames started to pour out of his hand, which were launched towards her, enveloping her shield in every direction; the white sphere of protection now turned into an incandescent fireball. He didn't stop there. With the simple gesture of a wrist's flick, the flames were also directed to the ground below the shield, being able to melt pure rock after a few seconds.
For a moment, Ron thought the battle was over, but a pained roar from Gerd proved him wrong. The witch had somehow managed to keep the shield floating in the air; even though it was still enveloped by the flames. "You have lost, Gerdnyaram," Herpo announced. "It does not matter how hard you try. What would your last decision be? Dying combusted by my flames, or pierced by dozens of spikes?"
"T-This can't be happening… it just can't be," the witch's muttering reached his ears. Bit by bit, a certain area of the flame-covered shield started to push the fire out, allowing the redhead to see Gerd's crazed look. "I choose to go down fighting until the end, and you are coming with me!
Gerd let out the most furious roar he had ever heard, completely shattering both shield and flames with a burst of magic; in fact, the wave was so strong it also erased the spikes from existence. Then, not losing a single second, she used the winds to launch herself towards the man; her bland appearing on her hands once again. For an instant, Herpo looked surprised, but he still raised an arm to stop Gerd's thrust with one hand.
The blade was able to pierce and cut flesh up to his elbow; the arm being completely destroyed and ripped apart. However, the sword was no longer moving forward. "H-How is this possible?" Gerd muttered, evident fear in her voice. "T-This can not be happening… this blade is made of Alazthi steel…"
"You have much to learn yet, Gerdnyaram," Herpo said between ragged breaths. "Mankind's craft might be excellent, but they have nothing to do against me, the First God!" As the battle progressed, Ron had observed how the man lost his calm bit by bit, but there were no words to describe the crazed glint in his eyes right now.
He then grabbed Gerd's head with his free hand. "You have made me lose so much time," Herpo hissed, just as the witch started to scream in utter agony. "For that, I will crush your mind!"
Ron looked another way, but Gerd's agonic cries still reached his ears; even though he tried to shield them with his hands. The boy kneeled on the ground, crying and begging for the nightmare to end. Please, stop… I don't want to be here… Then, the screams suddenly stopped. When he rose his head to look at Gerd, he realized he was not in that cursed cavern anymore, just as a wave made contact with his feet. Wait, I know this place… This is the same beach where I met Gerd for the first time.
"What you have just seen was the day I died," a voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Gerd had appeared out of nowhere at Ron's side. The witch—now back in her spirit form—was wearing the same white dress she wore during the battle. "That day I was blinded by arrogance and fear, so I decided to face by myself the most powerful wizard on the planet. I thought it was my destiny to erase His legacy before he could reach his most desired ambition: Scala ad Caelum, or how we named it, The Ascension."
Ron tried to crawl back as far from her as he could, but the waves didn't allow him to get very far. "W-What kind of monster are you?" Ron whispered, fear completely clouding his mind. "P-Please, just let me go… I don't want to be here."
"I am sorry, but that is not possible," Gerd answered; she really looked sorry. "I hate doing this to you, but you are the last hope of this world, Ronald Weasley. Yours is the destiny to end His legacy; now I know it, without any doubt. I was wrong in the past and misunderstood what the True Sight was telling me. I was not the fated one to end Him; not directly, at least. I was born to die that exact day by His hands and to be reincarnated as an Essentia; just to help you."
The sheer strength of the waves was pulling Ron towards her. No matter how hard the boy tried to resist, he was getting closer to her metre after metre. When he was at her arm's reach, the Essentia offered him a hand to get back on his feet. "Do you want to save your family and friends?" Gerd asked, looking at him eye to eye. "Because they will all day if you ignore the gift which has been bestowed to you."
"W-What do you mean?" Ron spluttered out. "What is going to happen to my family? Answer me!"
"Answer you?" Gerd muttered to the air, looking quite thoughtful. "No, I will show it to you so you can see what is coming." The Essentia just extender an arm forward until her finger touched his forehead. This time, the redhead didn't try to escape; there was no time to be a coward when his family's lives could be in danger.
It was just the same sensation he experienced the first time, but much softer and warmer. When Ron opened his eyes, he wasn't on the beach anymore. In fact, he didn't know where he was because there was nothing around him; just a bunch of places, persons, and sensations moving so fast that he couldn't get a grasp of anything. Then, everything stopped. Wait… is this the Ministry? The place where he was right now resembled a lot to the Ministry of Magic, but it was kind of different.
In the end, the redhead was pulled out of his thoughts when he saw his father wandering nearby, with his wand as the only light in the darkness of the place. Arthur Weasley wasn't just walking, he was eyeing every corner as if he was watching for something, or someone, to come from there. But unlike Ron, he didn't see the snake coming out of the darkness. "DAD!" Ron tried to warn him. "LOOK OUT"
It was pointless because his father didn't seem to hear him. The snake was way faster than his reaction, and when the wand was aimed at the beast, it already had its fangs on Arthur's neck. No… This can't be happening… All of this is just a nightmare... But then, the scene changed with just a bright flash, and Ron found himself in the Great Hall; only that it was… completely destroyed.
He started to walk around the place, completely astonished and scared to do other things but observing. All the tables where the students were used to eating were completely packed with bloodied bodies on them. There were many wizards and witches running around them in a frenzy, shouting things that Ron's shocked brain couldn't understand. With the corner of his eye, he was able to catch some familiar flash of red that got him out of his absorption.
Ron didn't even need to think as his legs started to run forward; towards his family. However, he regretted doing it, because what he found when he reached them was hell itself.
His mother was crying on Bill's body, which laid lifeless and scarred on the floor with his eyes still open. Percy was trying to comfort her, even though all his tries were pointless. Then, there was Ginny, who was just staring off to space without any expression on her face; not even tears were pouring from her eyes. By her side stood Charlie, sitting by her side and embracing his sister with one arm over the shoulder. Unlike her, his face was showing emotions, but it was just one: total sorrow.
Ron fell to his knees by Bill's corpse, too shocked to do anything. No… t-this can't just be true... and then, everything changed once again with a bright flash.
When he opened his eyes, Gerd was in front of him, back at the beach; only that this time, she didn't look so… real.
The Essentia was starting to get duller, and coming from her there were many volutes of light that were getting carried away by the non-existent wind. "Do you understand now?" Gerd asked. "The future is black, Ronald Weasly. The ned is coming, and your people, the magical race, are not prepared for it. "What I have just shown you are some glimpses of it, but there is way more than that."
Dad… Bill… Ginny… Everyone… no, I-I can't let that happen. Ron's mind finally snapped back from its stupor at the same time as something started to heat up inside of him; he raised his eyes to look at Gerd's. "I-I can't let that happen," he muttered. "I don't know what is coming, or how I'm even gonna face it, but… there has to be something we can do… right?"
"Yes, there is something we can do," Gerd answered. "You and me, working together. The past and the present fighting for a better future," she extended her arm towards Ron, helping him to get on his feet; this time, he accepted her help. "I have finally understood what my destiny is. I am Future; I am an Essentia Futurae. Do you know who you are?"
The Essentia started to decompose, but the remaining light gathered around Ron, surrounding and enveloping him in warmness and clarity. He knew who he was. "Yes, I'm just Ronald Billius Weasley," he stated. "But I swear that I won't let those things happen. No matter what, I'll do whatever it takes to stop it and to protect my family."
"Are you willing to take the first step? To assume this burden?"
"Y-Yes."
"Then, it is done. I have enough energy for one last moment of True Sight. Farewell, Ronald Billius Weasley, use it well."
Everything flashed once again, but this time, Ron couldn't see anything; he just heard some unrecognisable voices talking frenziedly.
"H-Harry, R-Remus... don't listen to him!" A voice exclaimed, sounding totally terrified of something. "He is trying to manipulate you! Sirius was the one to get your parents killed! He was the one who betrayed Lily and James!"
"I'm going to kill you, fucking rat!" Another voice shouted. "Thirteen years! I've been imprisoned in Azkaban for thirteen years! There is no saving you this time, Peter!"
FLASH
This time Ron found himself in some Hogwarts' bathroom. He turned around when he heard some light sniffing and the sound of water pouring out of the water tap. "Hermione?" Ron asked. The bushy-haired girl had her eyes red and puffy from crying, but they opened in shock when the bathroom door was suddenly yanked out of its frame, revealing a big troll with some giant, wooden cub.
Hermione fell over her back and shouted, too scared to even move. The big troll just looked at her like she was some kind of interesting insect before slamming the cub down, crushing her body with some disgusting sound of bone-shattering.
FLASH
Now, the redhead was in the middle of some kind of ball's room of a pureblood manor, only that there were many wizards dressed in black robes and with masks on their faces. They all suddenly got on their knees with their forehead pressing to the floor.
Ron felt his blood icing, so he turned around just to find some kind of smoking shadow floating in the air. It had eyes of a bright, red colour that were looking at the kneeled wizards with pure disdain on them. But still, just one look to those eyes was what Ron needed to know that the shadow was a monster; one whose presence was strong enough to submit dozens of wizards.
FLASH
Ron had to shield his eyes from the sudden sunlight that hit him. He finally was back in the forest, and for a moment, he stood right there, sitting on the ground. Then, everything came to his mind in the form of flashing memories. He just threw his whole breakfast up. T-That wasn't a nightmare… why me? When he was finished and trying to keep his composure, he felt the familiar sensation of Gerd landing on his shoulder; back to her usual size and form.
"I'm so sorry, Ron…" she barely whispered, almost as if she was about to cry. "T-There wasn't another way. You needed to know, I couldn't keep you in the dark for any longer; you needed to know what was coming!"
"W-What… are you?" Ron asked, looking at her with a terrified look. "That woman… that was you? But now… you've come back to your usual form… Why?"
"Yeah, that was me; the real me," Gerd admitted. "But she… is dead now, or at least, too weak to have a conscience. I'm everything that remains of Gerdnyaram, the Great Seer."
"That man… the one who killed you… who the hell was he?" It was a very weird feeling, but something inside of him was telling the boy he should know that wizard's name; however, as much as he tried, there was nothing.
Gerd embraced both of her knees with her arms and answered with a very weak voice. "That man was the one to start it all. His ambition is the reason the future of this world is at risk."
"That shadow, the one from the vision… was it You-Know-Who?" Ron asked, shuddering with fear. "B-Because that can't be possible, right? He died many years ago when Harry defeated him. He just can't come back from death… right?"
"I don't know!" Gerd cried. "I know nothing! I'm worthless! The one who knew all the answers was my real self, and she is in a state similar to death right now. I-I'm so sorry."
After the events of the last hours, Ron didn't have enough energy to console her, so he just stood there, sitting on the ground and looking off to space with a crying Gerd on his shoulder. To think this morning I was worried about receiving a prank from the twins... Everything felt so unreal that the only thing Ron wanted to do was laugh, but he managed to resist that impulse; he couldn't go mad right now.
I can't stand here for the whole day… Dad, Bill… They really were dead in that vision… But that is not going to happen, I know things now; I can definitely do something now. But what can I do? It was something that clearly surpassed his capacities, and with Gerd's state, there weren't many bright points to give him any hope. No, I can't think like that... I'll do it, some way or another, my family will be safe.
"W-We need to do something," Ron said, almost to himself. "What was that vision about Hermione? What was a troll doing in Hogwarts? Shit… she got crushed under its cub."
Gerd left his shoulder and glided through the air to stand just in front of him, her cheeks glistening with ghostly tears. "You are right, we need to do something.," she nodded. "That was the reason why you were bestowed with glimpses of the future. We have to prepare you for what is coming, and we will use what we know to help others. I got many people killed because of my failures in the past; we won't make the same mistakes a second time."
"But what can we do, Gerd? I think we should tell everything to a more capable wizard," Ron proposed. "If You-Know-Who is really coming back... I-I think we should tell everything to Albus Dumbledore; he'll know what to do."
"No!" She almost shouted. "No… we can't tell anybody what we know… not yet at least."
What's her bloody problem? Is she barmy or what? "Why?" Ron asked, very confused. "He is the greatest wizard in history, Gerd! We can't do shit against what is coming! We should ask for help from those who can!"
"Do you want to save your family, or not?" The Essentia shot back. "Listen to me, Ron. Albus Dumbledore is a great wizard and incredibly intelligent from what I've heard and from everything you've told me; that's what makes him dangerous for our plans! Those kinds of people are always the most dangerous ones. If you hand him everything we know, he'll try to control the whole board; you, me, and the course of what is coming!"
"I don't see the problem with that! Who better than him to make the decisions? He is the only bloody wizard You-Know-Who feared-"
"Do you want to save your family or not?" Gerd asked once again, interrupting him this time. "I might be stupider than my real self right now, but I still know many more things than you about life and people. Albus Dumbledore might be a great person, I'm not saying he's not. However, I've known people like him, and they are the best leaders because they are ready to sacrifice everything in order to win. War is like chess, right now, thanks to what we know, we can be valuable pieces on the table. Go tell him all we know and you will turn into just another pawn for him to sacrifice!"
"Albus Dumbledore would never do anything like that!" Ron exclaimed. "He is fair and just, and we need him! He is the only wizard capable of stopping You-Know-Who!"
Gerd sighed tiredly and glided until she positioned herself just in front of Ron's eyes. "Listen to me, please. I know this situation is scary and that we are not prepared, but you need to trust me. The only thing that makes our decisions different is experience, and I've got the edge on that by far. You are still a kid, but I'm not; I've lived and died; I've made good choices and committed mistakes; I've saved lives and sentenced others… So please, just listen to me."
Ron groaned, completely overwhelmed by the situation, and sat on the ground with his back leaning on a tree. "Do you really think… he would sacrifice my family if he needed it?"
"Totally," she answered without haste. "Just like he would sacrifice himself if he needed to. That's what makes people like him to be the true leaders in difficult times. We can tell him everything... eventually when we are prepared to do it."
"It's not like we know many things. I just caught some glimpses of things I didn't even understand. I heard some conversation that mentioned Harry's name, but the only vision that made sense was Hermione's one," Ron suddenly got up from the ground with a startled jump. "Shit! It's true… Hermione… she got crushed under a troll's cub... and she looked the same as she does now! We need to do something!"
"Focus on that," Gerd advised. "We have something to start with, even if it's not so much. That vision was bestowed to you for a reason, so we have to prevent the event from happening!"
Shit… this is too much; I feel like I need to sleep for a full week. At least, I know where to start now. I have to save Hermione no matter what. Gerd glided to his shoulder once again, this time, shining a bit more brightly like she used to do before her disappearance a month ago.
"You are not alone in this, Ron," the Essentia encouraged him. "As of today, everything may look impossible, and that might also be true, but there is always the first step."
Ron thought about his family once again; no, the events of his visions would never happen under his watch. But the storm of images on his mind didn't stop there; even his friend's faces—along with others he was starting to know like Hermione—swarmed his thoughts. No, I won't let those disasters happen, he promised himself. Even if this whole thing greatly surpasses my capacities, there will always be something I can do to help other people; even if it is step by step, I will change the future!
Well, here it ends! I had a blast writing this one, especially the battle between Herpo and Gerd.