The Crystal of Tempest

Chapter 7: Deis Rowena

The rest of the trip to the Holy City went along without much incident. Lin had decided to utilize a near revolutionary method of dragon raising by placing Nomie under a strictly vegetarian diet. The effect seemed to slow down the dragon’s growth but at least he didn’t develop an appetite for human meat.

Within the next 36 hours, the troupe finally arrived at the mystical city that was Deis Rowena.

Carved into the side of a mountain, Deis Rowena was a relatively small city, whose buildings were all built in a classical Greco-Roman style. Virtually all of the buildings had at least one shrine dedicated to the One Deity. At the northern edge of the city was a clearing, paved in marble with a statue of Rowena Ravenclaw standing with a few books in her arms and an eagle on her shoulder. Behind the statue was an uphill path of steps leading to the High Temple of the One Deity. This was the final destination of the Troupe.

At the entrance of the temple, the troupe met an old woman who seemed to have been waiting for them. She was an old woman with wisps of gray hair and elegant purple robes. She smiled at them with warm inviting eyes.

“Hello everyone, I am Arabella Figg, High Priestess of the One Deity in the Temple of Deis Rowena. No need to explain yourselves; I already know why you are here: you seek the rings of the One Deity.”

Harry and Hermione shared a look and shrugged. Arabella Figg continued speaking, “There is a devise at the back of this temple that you must use. Follow me, and I will show you.”

The troupe followed the high priestess into the sanctuary of the temple. It was a long corridor built out of marble with classical pillars supporting the arched sealing. Gothic Cathedral would be the word that would come to mind if one saw it. At the end of the chamber was a simple altar built of marble as well. On the surface of the altar was an opening, large enough for a person to lie down in.

“This is the soul searching chamber,” Arabella Figg said, gesturing to the opening in the altar. “When a person enters it, they will be able to communicate with either the One Deity himself or with one of his servants if he chooses that. For some reason, it works best if a muggle-born uses it.” She turned to the troupe and said, “If you seek answers, one of you must step into this altar.”

Hermione bit her lip and said, “Well, if it works best on muggle-borns, then I should be the one to use it.”

Harry gripped her hand and said, “You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I’m sure someone else can do this. You know what, actually I think I shou...”

“No Harry,” Hermione said as she fought back her fear. “This is my duty, I should do it!” Harry immediately recognized the glint of determination in her eyes.

“OK,” he said a little reluctantly. He gave her a quick kiss before Hermione stepped away.

“Mommy,” Virginia said in a longing voice.

“She’ll be OK, Love,” Harry said as he picked Virginia up and hugged her close. He seemed to be reassuring himself as well as his daughter.

Hermione swallowed as she climbed into the altar and lied down. To her delight, she found that the bottom of the altar was a soft cushion and not cold, hard marble. “May the protection of the One Deity be with you,” Arabella Figg said as she closed the lid of the altar, leaving Hermione in the dark.

As the High Priestess walked toward the troupe she saw the fear in Harry’s eyes as he held his youngest daughter close to him. Ron, James, and Lin were staring the the altar worrisomely, Lin looking near tears.

“She will be all right, we just need to leave her there for about an hour,” Arabella Figg said in a reassuring voice. She turned to Harry and said, “Your mother also spent an hour in the altar when she came here.”

Harry nodded but remained quiet.

* * *

For what felt like an eternity, but was in fact only about thirty seconds, Hermione lay in the darkness, the altar closed in around her. She was scared and part of her wondered if she was claustrophobic. But she knew that her mission was important and if the fate of all of Magiterran rested on her lying down inside a boxed altar, then so be it. Besides, she could easily blast out of the altar with her magic if something happened.

Finally, Hermione felt something happening. There was a tiny, ever so slight sound of ringing in the closed space and the air started to move around. Suddenly, without warning, a sound of an explosion rang through out the space and the wind started to pick up as if it were being sucked into a vacuum. Hermione tried to scream in terror but no voice came from her throat. The darkness was now starting to close in one her, trying to consume her, leering at her. She suddenly felt as if her clothes had been torn off and she lying naked and vulnerable in front of a hostile darkness. Feeling like a lost child, Hermione curled up into a ball and started to cry.

Then, as suddenly as it started, it ended when a soft hand touched Hermione’s shoulder. A soft hand that was stroking her back softly, the way her mother used to when she was sad or sick, all those years back when she was just a child. Hermione felt like she wanted to curl up in cry in this motherly person’s lap, something she hadn’t been able to do ever since her family was murdered by Death Eaters all those years ago.

“Its OK, my dear. You’re safe here,” a loving motherly voice said. No it wasn’t Hermione’s mother, it was a voice she had never heard before and yet it strangely made her relax. Apprehensively, Hermione looked up to stare into oh so familiar green eyes, framed be long, wavy dark red hair and a loving smile. With a shock, Hermione instantly recognized her.

“L-Lily?” she asked.

Lily Evans Potter smiled at her daughter in law and said, “Yes dear, its me.” She gently lifted Hermione to her feet. With a start, Hermione realized that she was not in the small dark altar, but in a beautiful meadow that stretched toward a small stream and forest. Birds were singing and the sun was shining in a cloudless sky. Hermione was wearing her old blue and white travel robes and she also noticed that Lily was wearing something similar, only hers were maroon.

“Lily, how?”

“The One Deity sent me, specifically to help you find the rings. Or at least to tell you where they are.”

Hermione bit her lip and looked down at her feet and said, “Does Harry know you’re seeing me here?”

“Yes he does,” Lily said plainly. She gave a kindly smile to Hermione who was nervously shifting around on her feet. “You’re worried that he’s going to be angry at you for seeing me in here, is that it?” When Hermione remained silent, Lily smiled and said, “That is nothing to worry about. He loves you more and though he may be a little disappointed at having missed the chance to see me, he’ll understand, especially after my husband and I go visit him in his dreams tonight.”

Hermione couldn’t help but smile a little. “He misses the two of you so much,” she said.

“As much as my James and I miss him,” Lily said. “How much we wished we could be with him all this time. He grew up unloved and unwanted: he never deserved any of that. But then, someone has now come into his life to love him as much as we did and even more so.” Lily gently took Hermione’s face in her hands and kissed her on the forehead. “Thank you, Hermione, for loving our son as much as you have.”

Hermione smiled weakly at Lily. Lily let her go and walked away a little bit before turning back to Hermione, her expression suddenly serious.

“Too business,” she said. “You came to Deis Rowena to find the remaining rings, I’m here to tell you where they are. As I’m sure you know, the eight rings were divided amongst founders, two each. The Rings of the Lion and the Phoenix are the rings that were given to Gryffindor, I’m sure you know that.”

“Yes.”

“Good. Now when you wake up, you must go to the Kingdom of Hufflepuff. Head for Diggory Manor and there, you will find a path that leads into the very heart of the Wilderness of Creepers.”

“The Wilderness of Creepers?” Hermione said suddenly alarmed. “The forest is filled with...”

“Acromantulas? Manticores? Chimaeras? I’m afraid you’re going to have to brave them all. Whichever way, the path will ultimately lead to a cave called the Creeper’s Lair. That is where the Rings of the Badger and the Unicorn are hidden.”

“OK.”

“I have no idea where the Rings of the Dragon and the Serpent are. But I’m sure that once you have the other six rings, you’ll be able to find them.” Lily looked up and saw that the sun was starting to set. “I have to go now. Tell Harry that we love him, and will always be watching over him as well as you and our three grandchildren. Give them my love. Goodbye, Hermione.” With that, Lily started to fade away, a soft smile gracing her features.

“Wait!” Hermione shouted. “Where are the Rings of the Eagle and the Sphinx?” But by that time Lily was long gone. Before Hermione could even blink, she was back in the darkness of the altar, lying on the cushions.

Just as she started to become aware of her surroundings, the lid to altar was lifted open and Hermione was looking up into the faces of Arabella Figg, Ron, Harry, and their children.

“Hermione, you OK?” Ron asked, clearly concerned.

“Yes,” Hermione said as she sat up.

“Mum!” James shouted as he Lin and Virginia threw their arms around her, the girls bursting into tears. Hermione held them close to her as she timidly glanced up at Harry.

“Harry, I...”

“I already know,” he said.

“You do?”

“You met my Mum, right?”

“Yes. Are you angry?”

“I’ll admit that I’m a little jealous. But I can’t argue with what happens.” He smiled and pulled Hermione into a hug. Hermione smiled and gave Harry a kiss, chaste enough to be seen in front of the children, yet deep enough to convey the love she felt for him.

Just as Hermione pulled away, Harry suddenly noticed something. “Hermione, your hand!” Hermione glanced down at her left hand and gasped. Two more rings had now joined the Ring of the Phoenix: a blue one with a picture of a sphinx and a bronze one with a picture of an eagle on it.

“Two more rings,” Ron said. “Maybe you two are meant to be together twice.”

* * *

Draco Malfoy was sitting in his bedroom, waiting patiently for some one to come. The rest of the palace had already gone to sleep which was a little strange considering Draco was usually one of the first one’s to go to sleep. What was even stranger in the opinions of the palace workers was that he didn’t have a woman visitor with him that night. However, in reality, Draco was about to receive a woman visitor.

A swift movement in the air of the room indicated that Cassandra Frost had now come into the room, wearing a seductive black robe. She smiled and said, “Why, Draco dear, have you been waiting up for me?”

“Would you have preferred it if I hadn’t?” Draco smirked. Cassandra grinned maliciously and came very close to Draco.

“So, do I have an answer?”

“The answer is yes,” Draco smirked, “so long as I have something in return.”

Cassandra knew what Draco’s request would be and was more than willing to accept. “And you shall have it,” she said.

With that, their lips met in a bruising kiss, as the two tried to over power each other. Soon, Cassandra’s robes were on the floor and Draco led her to his bed.

Chapter 8: Dementor Warriors

Diagon Alley was pretty much the same as it had always been. People were going about shopping, browsing, eating, and just being people. It was always in the great commercial center of Magiterran that people were able to forget about their troubles outside and simply enjoy being people. Although the royal capitol of the Kingdom of Hufflepuff was Badger’s Hand where the royal family lived, the true cultural and political as well as commercial center of the Kingdom was Diagon Alley.

It was on a sunny weekday where a number of Gryffindor Mage Knights could be seen with a number of children. They were sitting at a table at the entrance of Flourestean’s Ice cream parlor.

“Well, I’ll get you children some ice cream,” Margaret said as she made her way over to the order stand. “What flavors do you want?”

“Rocky Road, with lots of chunks!” James shouted, the glee in his voice obvious.

“I would like two gallons of mint chocolate chip,” said Lin.

James stared at Lin if as if she had gone mad. “Two gallons? How can you eat that much?”

“Its not for me, its for Nomie,” said Lin as she petted the baby dragon sitting on the floor next to her. “I will have vanilla.”

“Chocolate!” Virginia and Christopher chorused together.

“OK, I’ll be back soon,” Margaret said as she silently hoped the ice cream parlor actually had enough mint chocolate chip to feed a baby dragon.

Meanwhile, Hermione remained silent, fingering the rings newly added to her fingers.

“Knut for you thoughts?” Harry asked.

“Nothing really,” said Hermione. “Just wondering how much longer all of this is going to take. Wondering if we’re doomed to be fighting evil for the rest of our lives.”

“It’ll end Hermione,” Harry said as he held Hermione’s hand. “It can’t continue on forever. It’ll end someday.”

Hermione nodded and sighed. “I just can’t help but remember my childhood, everything so much more simpler back then. It was just wake up in the morning and help my parents out in the fields. Go read a book in my spare time or tell the younger children stories.” She sighed once more and said, “I could’t have possibly imagined how much and how quickly my life would change.”

Harry frowned and said, “Hermione, do you regret...”

“No Harry, I don’t regret meeting you or my life as it is now. It just, gets so overwhelming at times.”

Harry started rubbing the back of Hermione’s hand with his thumb. “We’ll get through this,” he said.

Hermione smiled and was about to lean in for a kiss when Ginny’s voice broke in and said, “Hey, that isn’t Fudge, is it?”

Harry groaned. “Oh no, please not Cornelius Fudge. Anybody but Cornelius Fudge.”

“Sorry mate,” said Ron with a grumble, “It’s the bloody minister all right.” The Gryffindor Mage Knights let out a collective sigh as a middle aged, pudgy man stepped up to them, a megawatt smile on his face.

Cornelius Fudge was the Minister of the Alliance, the supposed elected head, of the

Four-Kingdom Alliance. In truth, he had no actual power. The true rulers of the Alliance were the four monarchs with their respective parliaments and the Guradian of Hogwarts, Dumbledore. However, on print at least, Cornelius Fudge was in charge though he was more concerned about his funding and his status in the polls than the affairs of the Alliance.

“Hello, Cornelius,” Harry said, forcing a grin onto his face. Hermione smiled at him apologetically.

“Your majesties, how great to see you here?” Fudge chuckled. Twelve burly Hufflepuff soldiers whom were clearly his bodyguards surrounded him. “Whatever brings you out here, with so little security and services.”

“We really didn’t need them, Mister Fudge,” Hermione said, a polite smile on her face.

“Surely you don’t mean that?” exclaimed Fudge, looking like he had been scandalized. “What is the point of the monarchy going out if not to make sure the common folk pay their dues to their rulers.”

“Sure, Minister,” Ron snorted. Harry and Hermione meanwhile were starting to look a little worried. They had been browsing around Diagon Alley anonymously, hoping to avoid the reverence that came with monarchy. Now, Fudge was threatening to blow their cover and was suggesting Harry and Hermione do precisely what they had been hoping to avoid.

“Well I must go, have some potential voters to please,” Fudge said. “And I’ll make sure that everybody you pass will be groveling at your feet.” He ruffled up the hair of the four children (much to their annoyance) and walked away.

Hermione groaned and buried her face in her hands. “Oh, I sure hope he doesn’t blow our cover.”

“Don’t count on it,” Harry muttered. “I suppose that ends our freedom of wandering around Diagon Alley. Maybe we should just head out to Diggory Manor right now.”

The children did not seem to be too happy at this idea and were just about to start a round of protest when the screams came.

The Mage Knights sprang up on instinct. “Again?” Harry exclaimed.

“What is it this time? It better not be vampires again, they’re such a pain in the neck?” shouted Ron. He turned toward his wife and said, “Margaret! Watch over the kids!” Margaret nodded and gathered the four children around her as the four Gryffindor Mage Knights dashed into the street.

There was an air of extreme gloom and depression in the air that hadn’t been their just a few minutes earlier, as if the very joviality and cheerfulness of Diagon Alley was being sucked away. Hermione couldn’t help but feel as if she had felt this sensation somewhere before, but she couldn’t recall it.

As the Mage Knights started to gather closer toward the source of the atmosphere, they couldn’t help but notice what was happening to the people. They were starting to fall to their knees in pure terror, some trembling very hard while others started to sob. They even found Cornelius Fudge hiding in one of the dark corners, weeping like a baby. The four shared a glance, wondering what on earth could’ve caused this to happen.

It was right around then that it hit Hermione, a cold creeping chill that rattled through her bones, terrorizing every inch of her soul. Panting, Hermione sank to her knees, clutching her head in her hands. And before she could blink an eye, she was back in Azkaban, tortured by the Death Eater Icicle and believing Harry to be dead. “Oh, Harry...” she moaned.

She snapped out of her depression when she suddenly felt Harry’s hand grip her own. Hermione glanced up at him and saw that he was also suffering: his eyes had tears welled up in them his body was shaking as he whispered, “Mum...Dad...Voldemort no...”

‘Oh my God, he’s reliving his parents’ death,” thought Hermione. She squeezed Harry’s hand tighter, which caused Harry to snap back to his senses as well. He gritted his teeth and angrily swiped at his eyes before he pulled himself and Hermione up to his feet.

“Thanks, Love,” he whispered. Hermione gave him a faint smile and turned toward the two Weasleys who seemed to be extremely worried.

“We’re all right,” she said.

“Are you sure?” Ginny asked.

“Yes,” Hermione affirmed. With that, the Mage Knights turned to their adversaries. They already knew what they were after experiencing the terror of the effects on people: Dementors.

Or at least they looked like Dementors and had the same effect on people as Dementors. There were twelve of them crowded in the center of the street and being led around by one of the cultists known as The Children of Tempest. They were tall and wore black cloaks with their faces hidden within the shrouds of their dark hoods. But unlike most dementors, these ones had a pair of gauntlet wearing hands carrying swords protruding from their clocks and a pair of booted feet.

“Citizens of Magiterran!” the cultist proclaimed. “The time has come! Soon the Dark Lord shall return to us in the power and guise of Tempest and our time shall come! Join us now! Join us now!”

The cultist suddenly stopped his shouting when he spotted the Gryffindor Mage Knights standing near by. “A, Mage Knights of Gryffindor,” he said. “For years you have stood in the way of Tempest, but no more!” He gestured toward the dementor like creatures behind him. “See our new weapons of the War, the Dementor Warriors. They can match a Mage Knight in battle any day and furthermore have the depressing powers of an ordinary Dementor, including the kiss.”

The Four Mage Knights drew their swords. “Leave this city, right now!” Harry demanded.

The cultist threw his face back and laughed out loud. “And what position are you to make such a demand?” he said. “You are clearly in the disadvantage here. Can you not see how you are outnumbered by the Dementor Warriors?”

Ron grinned and said, “Actually, we’re not the ones who are outnumbered. You are.”

As if that were the cue, a hundred or so more figures crowded in and surrounded the Dementor Warriors, all with swords drawn and wearing armor with capes that were either red, blue, yellow, or green. The cultist realized that about a hundred Mage Knights now surrounded him and his Dementor Warriors.

“You should study espionage more,” said Ginny. “You should’ve known that its virtual suicide to attack Diagon Alley in broad daylight. Any Mage Knight who wishes to have a time off comes here whenever they have a free time and believeme, none of them are happy about having their free time disrupted.”

“You’re right, we should study espionage more,” the cultist said reluctantly. He glanced up at the various Mage Knights and saw how angry they looked, especially the Slytherin ones. The cultist took a deep breath and continued, “Whichever way, we didn’t come here today to start a fight. We’re here simply test how well these Dementor Warriors and I’ll be pleased to announce to High Priestess Cassandra Frost, that they work perfectly.”

With that, the cultists and the Dementor Warriors apparated away.

As the Mage Knights cleared out and went back to their own businesses, Ron slapped his forehead and said, “When the hell is Malfoy going to remove those bloody anti-apparation wards? Its so frustrating seeing your enemies apparate when you can’t!”

“Who knows what goes on in the mind of Draco Malfoy,” said Ginny. “We have worse things to worry about than Malfoy’s mind though.”

“And what may that be?” Ron said.

“Those Dementor Warriors,” Harry said sullenly. “They have the same powers as demntors and yet they can fight like soldiers. That does not hold well if it culminates to war.” He shared a glance with Hermione and saw their own worried and frightened faces reflected in each other’s.

“We have no idea how many of those there are,” said Hermione. “But we can be assured that there are a lot more than what we saw today.” She shuddered, remembering the effect dementors had on her and Harry. “I just hope, we can live through this.”

“We will,” said Harry as he gripped Hermione’s hand.

People around them them were waking up and starting to go back to their various occupations, though they were more silent and fearful. Cornelius Fudge was nowhere to be seen. ‘Probably ran off to save face,’ Hermione thought.

“Well, I suppose we’ve been here long enough,” Ron said trying to cheer up the mood. “So lets pack our things and head off to Diggory Manor.”

Hermione finally smiled and said, “Yes, lets go.”