QLFC: Season 11, Round 5
Team: Kenmare Kestrels
Position: Chaser 1, Captain
Prompt: Colossus of Rhodes – Greece
Additional Prompts:
[plot point] time travel
[emotion] awe
[spell] Appare Vestigium (Description: Reveals traces of magic.)
Word Count: 1198
Warnings:
Notes: 1) This is an AU, including an AU of how long the Colossus stood… or is it? 2) We're playing fast and loose with the rules of time travel here, aka we're pretending that different methods of time travel result in different types of time travel. (eg Time Turners result in whatever you do you've already done like in PoA, whereas ritual Time Travel results in back to the future type vibes.) Also paradoxes don't exist, thank you. Enjoy the ride.
Maggie Potter was used to blending into the background. Her whole life she had gone unnoticed, always overshadowed by Harry, her older brother by two years, youngest quidditch player in a century, and star seeker of the Montrose Magpies. Everyone knew who he was. Most of the time Maggie didn't mind being unnoticed, it made it easier to do her job.
She adjusted the shoulder of her dress, looking at herself in the mirror. As far as the research division of the Department of Mysteries could tell this dress wouldn't stand out amongst the inhabitants of Rhodes. Marie, the head of costuming research had told her all the ways the fabric was wrong and all the places she'd had to fill in the blanks where historical records had failed her, but Maggie hadn't understood most of what she said.
"Unspeakable Potter, are you ready?"
Maggie took a deep breath, giving herself one last look in the mirror before turning towards Jeffery Llewellyn, her manager. "I'm ready."
"Perfect," Jeffery said. He motioned for her to follow him. "Remember, your job is simple. Find the seer that gave this prophecy and gain any additional information. If there is none, or if you determine it necessary, take action to prevent the prophecy from coming to pass."
"Jeffery, I've got this. I've been training for this mission for months, I won't mess it up," Maggie said. It was true. In addition to her three years in general training, she had spent five months in mission specific training. Learning the language, culture, customs, and history of Rhodes. She was ready.
"I know," Jeffery said. He opened the door to the ritual time travel room and followed her inside. "Here's the prophecy and your authentication disk for when you get back. I hope to see you soon." With that Jeffery left, and Maggie was left alone in the ritual time travel room.
She walked to the center of the painted runes and pulled out her wand. "Rhodes, 226 BC," She said. She waved her wand to activate the spell.
The sensation of time travel was nothing like Jeffery had described it. It was less like being plunged into an ice cold bath and more like riding a roller coaster in the middle of winter. It was exhilarating. By the time she landed she was out of breath.
She looked around, squinting in the sun. It was beautiful. The sun sparkled off the sea, which was a mix of bright blue and teal and the Colossus stood tall, looming over the bay, his hand raised as if shielding his eyes. She had never seen the Colossus in person, only pictures of it from when Jeffery had gone to study it to try and find why it was the subject of the prophecy. In person and only 54 years old it was much more magnificent. It was warm too, despite the breeze that swept up from the sea, a far cry from the cold and rainy London winter she had left.
She forced herself to look away from the view. She wasn't here to sightsee, she had a mission and the sooner she finished it the better.
(~O~)
It was almost dark by the time Maggie found herself outside the door of the seer's house. By the smell of the air a storm was beginning to roll in. Hopefully the seer would let her wait it out, if not she'd have to find or make a makeshift shelter.
The door opened a crack and a woman peaked out. She looked to be about the same age as Maggie, maybe a little older. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Are you the seer?" Maggie asked.
The woman looked at her closely and nodded. "My name is Anastasia." She opened the door further. "Please, come in. It'll rain soon."
"Thank you," Maggie said. She stepped inside, then followed Anastasia to a sitting area.
"Now, how can I help you? Are you here for a divination reading, or…"
"No, actually," Maggie said. She pulled the prophecy sphere out of her bag and held it out to Anastasia. "I came to ask you about this."
Anastasia took the sphere and looked into it for a few seconds before looking back up at Maggie.
"I'm from the future, my job is to learn more about prophecies to better understand them so we can prepare."
She had practiced the lie so many times that it fell off her lips naturally. Even so Anastasia looked like she didn't believe her. "I've met far too many people that think they can change the outcome of prophecies. I'd recommend you go home and let the future unfold. Don't try to stop it," Anastasia said. She handed the prophecy back to Maggie. "Besides, I don't know anything anyway."
"Right," Maggie said. This was always a possibility. Some seers didn't even remember giving prophecies. "Thank you for your help, I'll head home then."
Anastasia stood up, an alarmed look on her face. "But the storm…"
"I'll be fine. Thank you for your hospitality." With that Maggie left. It was time for plan B. If the prophecy said that the Colossus would lead to the rise of a great villain, then the Colossus would have to go.
The wind fought against her as she made her way towards the coast. It was strange how quickly the storm was moving in; the sun had set and any remaining light was blocked by dark clouds. Raindrops were just beginning to fall as Maggie reached the foot of the statue. The enormity of the statue hit her as she stood at its giant feet. She could have crawled into the statue's big toe and not felt cramped.
She pulled out her wand and looked up at the statue. "Appare Vestigium," She said.
A web of magic lit up around the statue. It was like Jeffery had said, the statue was built by Muggles and wizards, but wizards kept it up. The spells that were beginning to fade from her view were the only thing that had kept the statue standing through thousands of years of earthquakes. But not anymore. She cast the spell again then quickly set about identifying and undoing the spells.
By the time she finished, rain was pouring down, drilling into her skin and making her wool dress heavy. She cast Appare Vestigium one last time. No spells remained on the statue. She would be surprised if it lasted another year without them. It was time to go home.
Of all the things she had been taught and tested on, the most important one, the one she was taught first, was how to draw the runes for ritual time travel. Jeffery would always say that the first rule was: always know how to get home. By now it was like second nature for her to draw the runes. It was like casting Lumos, or teasing Harry. She stepped in the middle of her circle of runes, said her destination, and waved her wand.
2207 Years Later
Mr and Mrs Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.