Hunting For The Sun

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

A Room With a View

I could feel Draco´s presence without thinking about it, and Alethea and Cloud were there, but that wasn´t so clear. The room, however, was clearly full of people I didn´t know. I swallowed and rubbed my sweaty palms on my velvet robe, making no difference at all. I hate crowds. I really hate them. Butterflies were shoving my soup around in my poor little belly, and I wasn´t sure if I was sick or just terrified. Maybe both.

`Don´t worry about it,´ Raven whispered, opening the door just a crack and pressing her cheek to the dark wood. `Not long now.´

I wrapped my arms around my stomach and sucked in a deep breath, curling over.

`Okay, that should do it,´ she smiled, standing tall and flicking her hood up over her immensely long black hair. I hadn´t pulled my hood down yet, so I just shifted it back into place nervously. Raven gave a little shiver, settling down, and pushed the doors wide.

The hall beyond them was like nothing I´d ever seen before. It was massive. It was big enough to hold the entire EKD3 hotel with room for balconies. The ceiling was lost in the darkness above. A long, wide aisle ran along the stone floor, pierced at intervals by huge pits, which held fires the size of cars. On either side benches marched away into the murk at the far side. Against the wall before us, miles away, was a raised dais on which stood a throne of basalt. Behind that, taking up the entire length of the wall, were tall windows of clear glass. Above these, almost hidden in all the stone crossbeams, was a stained glass portal that was as big as my room at the Ministry had been. It cast an undulating pattern of coloured light on the ground before us, towards which Raven began a stately glide. Her head was slightly ducked and, as I followed suit, I noticed that every single bench in this ridiculously colossal room was filled.

I flicked my eyes back centre like a horse with blinkers. People were staring; I could feel it. However, I knew that not one single person thought ill of me. No one wanted to hurt me, and that was an odd feeling. Raven stepped up the two levels before the dais, then spun around dramatically, letting her hood fall back, and raising her arms up high.

Not you, dear. Just come and stand behind me.

I glanced up at her, and she smiled. I stood just before the throne, obediently looking at the floor. My eyes, however, wouldn´t stay where I told them. They gazed at all the people, listening avidly to Raven´s speech. There was Draco. Typical. He leaned against the wall, near the doors. His arms were folded over his chest and his ankles were crossed. His face was expressionless.

`So now, my people, all this time we have waited to find our symbol again. Now we must wait no longer! I give you, Rae!´

I reluctantly stepped forwards, pulling my hood back. They were cheering and clapping, and my heart filled with joy. I grinned my head off. My legs shook like jelly, but I was here. I was alive! (A big thing for me, I assure you)

`She, her guardian and I will be leaving the Temple when another arrives. This is an important mission, and I expect you to cope without me for a while.´ She gave a winsome little smile. `Be good, and stay away from the oven. Don´t answer the phone and don´t open the door to strange men.´ She grinned and put her hand on my arm.

`Now, Malfoy and Rae and their friends have had a very long journey, so we should let them get away. I´ll leave Béibhinn to do the service, and have a nice day.´ She glided back to the doors, which opened magically at her approach, and led us out. I could hear Malfoy, Alethea and Cloud walking behind us.

`Now children,´ Raven smiled, once the doors had closed, `run along and play.´ Cloud blushed and Alethea looked indignant. Malfoy glowered, of course. Raven made a little slap at his arm. `Smile!´ she insisted.

He hissed at her and started to walk away. He half-turned.

`Don´t corrupt Rae too much,´ he told her. `I like her as she is.´

Raven laughed in her throaty voice. `Not too much,´ she promised. Malfoy grimaced and stormed away. Raven turned back to me, grinning.

`He can be an awful old stick sometimes,´ she observed. `How do you put up with him?´

`It takes patience,´ I grinned. `Am I not one of the children, then?´

`Not really,´ she said thoughtfully. `That Cloud boy´s a bit cute, isn´t he?´

I laughed. `He´s taken,´ I told her.

`Not for long,´ she said ominously.

`Where are we going, then?´ I asked as we began to walk down the hall in the opposite direction to the others.

`My council rooms.´ She made a face. `When one´s in charge one has to be easily accessible at all times.´

Her council rooms turned out to be an airy chamber at the top of a tower. There were windows all around and a large throne at the back. Raven flicked a talon-ended hand elegantly and completed her journey to the throne in a new outfit. Her tapping shoes were revealed to be thigh-length lace-up stilettos. She wore a floor length skirt that was slit to the hip and a low-cut corset top, all in black, of course. She sat primly in her seat, then threw her legs up over one arm and sprawled out completely, leaning her head on one hand. I grinned as she began to answer all the dull requests from incredibly weasel-like men and women.

I crossed to the windows, which drew my attention the moment I entered. I could see that the Temple, whatever it really was, looked out over a lush valley. Mountains fringed the green vale and a sky blue river wound its way through the trees and meadows far below. The late summer gave it all a golden tinge and lit the mist around the peaks to the shade of a sunflower. If I pressed my cheek against the leaded glass, I could see the rest of the Temple, stretching down and stepping along the slopes. It looked like a castle, really. Right below us was a rose garden. Lots of figures, dressed purely in black, sat or walked about, chatting or reading. It looked fabulous.

I returned my attention to the council room as I heard what sounded like a heated debate.

`You can´t leave now, Priestess!´ a thin man was saying.

`Who says?´ Raven demanded, sitting up straight and leaning forward, a dagger-like pointed crystal about her neck glinting in the candlelight.

`There´s just too much going on, what with all the spies in Hogwarts having been found out!´

`Too much going on?´ Raven asked kindly. `Is the stress getting to you, Mervil?´

`My Lady, I´m glad you understand, but...´

`Is your neck aching?´ she inquired solicitously.

`My Lady?´ Mervil asked tremulously, his weak chin waggling like a blancmange.

`Should I take some of the weight off it for you?´ Raven asked nastily, an evil glint coming into her eyes. She stood up and raised her hand slowly.

`No! My Lady, please NO!´ Mervil cried. He threw his arms up to defend his face, but Raven didn´t seem to care. She made a sideways cutting motion with the edge of her hand and Mervil stop pleading. He stopped everything, in fact. I watched with horror as blood boiled out and his head toppled off his neck. His body crumpled to the floor shortly after that.

Raven sat down in a polished manner and sighed.

`Okay, next?´

I couldn´t really stop myself laughing as a bunch of specially employed minions rushed out to clean up the mess. It didn´t really shock me, after all. The next terrified pleader stepped up, but was efficiently cut off by the door slamming open and a young woman marching in. Even though she was young, she had milk-white hair. Her skin was tanned and her eyes were electric blue. Her dark blue cloak flowed out behind her and swirled around her booted ankles when she came to an abrupt halt right before the throne.

`Raven!´ she snapped. `What the hell is all this?´ She threw a letter at Raven´s feet.

`I believe that is what we, in the business, call a letter,´ she said coldly, lifting the offending sheet of parchment from the ground with a spiral of purple sparks. `Nice to see you, Skye.´

Skye grunted. `Well? What do you in the business call the contents of that letter?´ she snorted.

`We call it writing,´ Raven explained. `One draws little squiggles on paper so that the person with whom one is communicating can understand what one is trying to say.´

`Oh, I see!´ Skye exclaimed sarcastically, her face expressionless. `So that´s what they meant!´

`So glad that you´ve caught up.´

`Isn´t it fabulous? Why do you need my help?´

`Gods know I wish I didn´t,´ Raven sighed. `You´re the only one who can break into Hogwarts. We need you.´

`What´s that I hear?´ Skye asked, cupping her ear with a hand. `Raven Sarius, asking my help?´

`Don´t rub it in,´ Raven growled, folding her arms.

`She needs me?´ Skye persisted. `She wants something of me?´

`Yes!´ Raven snapped.

`Like when I needed her, and she really helped me out?´ Skye asked coldly. `I don´t think so, Sarius.´

`Look, this isn´t up to you!´ Raven exploded. `There´s much more at stake than you could ever comprehend! You know about the prophecy, you know what has to happen. Without it, the whole world will die! Nothing´s set in stone yet. If you don´t come then there´s no chance! We know that you need to come, but you aren´t going to come of your own accord.´

`Too right I´m not,´ Skye nodded, folding her arms over her chest, clad in a top made from a gauzy, tight, hole-smattered top, showing her black bra underneath.

`Well, it´s up to you,´ Raven shrugged, but even I could tell she was just changing tack. `But I should tell you: Draco´s here and he´s coming with us.´

Skye stiffened, and her face lost that sharp look.

`You can´t do that,´ she said, restoring her nasty expression. `It doesn´t work. You´ve said that before, but I won´t fall for it again. I´m not stupid. He promised that he would never come back.´ A brief pain flitted across her face. `He isn´t here.´

`He is,´ Raven said. She gave Skye a flat look. `Do you really think I want to see you enough to call you all the way here for nothing? You flatter yourself.´

`I don´t believe you,´ Skye repeated.

`Rae,´ Raven said to me. `Get Draco.´

I nodded, ignoring the shocked looks from Skye. I reached out my mind, probing for his sense.

Rae?

Hello, darling.

How can I help you?

Raven wants you to see someone. I don´t quite understand, but it seems that you said you´d never come back or something. We need you to get her to come along. She´s the one who can get us into Hogwarts.

I felt a jerking spasm of pain flitter through my mind like a bat.

I´m coming

. Then his thought was gone.

`He´s coming,´ I told Raven. Skye, instead of looking happy, looked very, very scared and upset.

`Thanks,´ Raven nodded. She sat back in her throne and waved a hand, dismissing all of the waiting people. They scuttled off, looking apprehensively at the pool of blood still glistening on the stones. In the resulting silence, I thought about Draco´s reaction. Had he had some kind of fling with this girl? I immediately got hot under the collar like any girlfriend would. I glared at Skye and her short skirt and thin legs. I pouted again. In case you hadn´t noticed, that´s a bit of a thing with me.

We didn´t wait long. Soon the door banged open and Draco strolled in.

`Draco,´ Skye breathed.

`Skye,´ he nodded, not looking at her. `Raven, what is this?´

`I just wanted to prove a point,´ she shrugged. `You can go now.´

`No I can´t,´ he disagreed. `It´s time for a little council of war.´

Raven nodded and created a table and four chairs. We all settled around it and looked darkly at each other. Draco was steadfastly ignoring Skye, and Skye was steadfastly ignoring Raven. Raven didn´t seem to know Skye was even there, and no one had remembered me at all.

`We´ve got a lot of planning to do,´ Raven began. `We won´t be heading off for a while yet.´

`What do we need before we can set off?´ I asked.

`We need a map, ropes, grappling hooks, swords, daggers, guns, wands, black clothes, torches and determination.´

I nodded and sat back. I had nothing to give to this. I had simply refused to stay home like a good little girl. I realised suddenly that Skye was deliberately ignoring me as well. I ignored her back. Wasn´t this a happy gathering?

I didn´t bother to join in with their prattling. I had enough to think about. Draco looked similar. He was looking roughly at Raven as she talked, but his eyes looked slightly glazed and blue-ish.

Draco?

Greetings, oh light of my life.

Whatever. Listen, what is it with Raven, you and Skye? I don´t get it!

It´s nothing.

It´s something.

Rae.

Sorry

I used to go out with Skye, but she was pissing me off and I had an affair.

With Raven?

Yes. Skye hasn´t forgiven Raven, but she´s fine with me. I couldn´t take the two of them sniping at each other so I left. I wasn´t planning to come back.

Oh, I´m sorry.

Why?

It´s my fault we´re back here.

It didn´t bother me until I knew that Skye would be here too.

And are you and Raven...?

Finished? Yes.

Skye?

Long time passed, don´t worry.

Are you sure?

Of course I´m sure.

I brought my eyes back into focus to find Skye and Raven in an all-out war of words. Raven was obviously more eloquent, and she said a lot of thins I didn´t understand at the time. Skye just used base insults and nasty comments. Then Raven said the real cutter.

`Well at least he picked me. He came to me because he couldn´t bear you.´ Then she stood up and vanished in a swirl of black smoke.

Skye shot the puff a filthy look, then jerked to her feet. She put her hands under the table and heaved it over, knocking all our chairs back. She flounced out, slamming the door behind her. Draco gave me a little smile.

`Don´t worry about them,´ he said, putting an arm around my shoulders and kissing the top of my head. `They strop sometimes, but they always get over it.´

I nodded, snuggling under his arm, and we left the smashed room.

`So, do you know who the Light one is?´ I asked.

`I think she´s called Adura, but I´ve never met her. I know nothing apart from that.´

I nodded. `What about her guardian?´

`Neit, but I´ve only met her the once.´

`What´s she like?´

`Tall, wears white all the time,´ he shrugged. `She doesn´t like me all that much. Says I wear too much black.´

`Well, of course you do!´ I smiled. `Have they been deliberately looked after, then?´

`No. They´re being kept prisoner in the Light Temple.´

`I thought we were going to Hogwarts?´ I frowned.

`We are, but that´s just to get the maps. We need to find out where this place is.´

`You mean you don´t know?´ I exclaimed.

`Do you?´ he asked pointedly; I looked at my feet. `No, it´s shielded. You can´t find it without the maps that they keep in Hogwarts.´

`How are we going to get there?´

`Do the questions ever stop?´ he demanded, rolling his eyes. `We´re going to ride there.´

`Why?´

He groaned. `They have sensors up against magic. We have to go the Muggle way.´

`Where is it?´ I asked.

`Five miles the other side of Hogwarts,´ he answered. `Can I go now?´

`Yes,´ I laughed. `Sorry, I just don´t know anything about this.´

`That´s alright,´ he grinned. `Anyway, I´ve got some research to do. I´ll be in the library if you need me.´ Then he just walked into thin air again like before. I didn´t have the time to add that I had no idea where the library was anyway, and would be looking for days before I found him. Great.

So I drifted off in the direction we had been walking. I came to a large door a little further on, and apart from that it was a dead-end. I looked around to see if there was anything to tell me what it was, but I was completely alone. I shrugged and pushed the door. It swung wide on smooth, oiled hinges. Behind it, a stairway spiralled up into the darkness. I had a curious feeling, but it didn´t seem bad, so I put my foot on the first step.

It was a long staircase, going up and up and up and up. I was getting more than a little sick of it, and my legs were hurting, by the time I found another door. I could feel cold air blowing through the gaps in the wood, so I pushed on it eagerly and stepped out.

It was a tower. That much was certain. I crossed to the battlements surrounding it, and looked down. The rest of the castle was so far away that it looked like a little toy. I could see both ways down the valley. In the distance, between two peaks like silver-white wolf ears, was a castle. A really big castle. It had a glassy black lake out the front, and a forest streaming into the distance, as dark as night. I knew what it was even before I remembered Draco saying it was close by -- Hogwarts.

`Hey, what are you doing on my tower?´

I turned, an apology on my lips, in response to the woman´s voice.

`Megara?´

`Mummy?´

~*~

Oooh. De ja vu.

Apologies for that. I´m ashamed of myself.