Rebirth

Rebirth

Chapter 7: Julia Cassidy

Professor Ventura was approaching her office when she noticed a turquoise-clad figure sitting on the floor, gazing dreamily into a red book.

"Professor Lockhart?"

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked when he noticed her presence.

"Of course."

She unlocked the door and they entered. As she sat down and gestured for him to do the same, he began to explain.

"I wanted..." He hesitated, but finally managed to find the courage to speak. "I want to see her."

"What?"

"Please," he pleaded. "I need to see her."

It was then that Ventura noticed something different in Lockhart. When she had met him the previous year at Hogwarts (where she had spent thirteen years performing the regular charms on the statue), she saw a man in denial of the reality surrounding him. Now, she saw a lost child, who was looking desperately for the way home.

"Please," he repeated.

After a moment, she stood up. "Very well. Follow me."

***

Half-Pint was the first one to speak.

"Where are we?"

He was still very sleepy and appeared to be the most disorientated.

"Dunno..."

They looked around for a while, until Irina snapped her fingers.

"I know. Remember the vater falling from the big window that ve see from the outside?"

"Yeah," Dulce said, approaching the window and looking at the outside landscape, which was easily recognizable as the mountains surrounding Ingarnal. Rain fell heavily on to the lake born from the water that came from that same room.

"Okay, so we're still at school, but everybody else has left," she said, noticing that the Cegonha 1 was gone from its usual location. "Now the big question is: how do we get out?"

"You don't," said a cold, familiar voice. They all turned and saw Elektra, who was smiling nastily.

***

This was really disturbing. Ventura was beginning to wish she was miles away.

The man in front of her was not Gilderoy Lockhart, Order of Merlin, Third Class, Honorary Member of the Dark Force Defense League, five times winner of Witch Weekly's Most-Charming-Smile Award and insufferable twit, who could squeal like a girl because of a tiny wrinkle on his robes. This was a man she didn't recognize, his robes completely wrinkled and worn, in badly need of a shave, who cried silently at the feet of his beloved, asking for her forgiveness for something he couldn't remember. It was amazing what amnesia could do to a man. Or perhaps it was the regaining of a memory, long lost and forgotten by pain and heartbreak. She couldn't know, so all she could do was guess.

She tried to comfort him, but didn't know what to do. If she was to lay a hand on his shoulder, he'd probably begin to wail like a wounded rhino. The quiet sobs were disturbing enough. Finally, she decided to speak, as she remembered Coleraine's owl.

"Professor, we've got the formula..."

The sobs slowed, until he managed to utter, "You have?"

"Yes, the Iapetus herbs were right were you said. We will be able to save her."

The sobs had stopped by then, but the tears began to run with increasing strength down his face, which was now expressing indescribable relief.

"When?" he said, after two minutes of silence.

"Professor Coleraine will be arriving in a few hours. Everything will be ready tonight."

He picked a rose that was lying on the floor; it had been several days since Irina had stolen it from Professor Calixto's collection of "Muggle vegetation", and it was now old and withered looking, but Lockhart still looked at it as if it had just been picked.

"Can I tell you something personal?" he asked Ventura. She wanted to say no; after dealing with egocentric, insensitive Lockhart the previous year, the new Lockhart was very scary to her. However, something made her say yes.

"I can't remember it well, but I know I had everything before that Memory Charm. It doesn't matter how I got there, but I did, and I felt like I could rule the world. However," his sight moved from the dead rose to the statue's lifeless stone eyes, "now I know that the adoration of millions cannot replace the love of one special person."

By now Ventura didn't know if she wanted to faint, start laughing, or run screaming. She was now meeting Lockhart the philosopher. If he begins to sing, she thought, I'll curse him into...

But her thoughts were interrupted by a screech. Lockhart had been awakened from his melancholy by a custard-colored furball, which had felt sorry for him and tried to get closer, only managing to scare him.

"What's that? What's that? Oh my God, it tried to kill me!" he shrieked, as he tried to hide behind the common room fountain.

Ventura smiled. That was the old Lockhart she knew.

"Oh, it's only Matilde," she said, picking up the small furball. "It's a Puffskein, Professor. One of the student's pets. It's perfectly harmless."

"It... it is?" Lockhart asked, as he approached hesitantly. Ventura handed him the Puffskein, which licked his cheek and purred affectionately. "So it is," he said, smiling.

"The poor thing was left behind," Ventura said, cursing Elektra with her thoughts. "It must be starving. Could you take care of it until its owner gets back?"

"Me? But... but I can't even remember what it is. How can I take care of it?"

"Don't worry, you'll do fine," she said, smiling at the Puffskein curling happily on his arms. "Looks like you have a new fan."

***

"Welcome to your first real lesson," Elektra said to the Avises. "So far we have only dealt with theory, random trivia and useless information. Now, we'll finally deal with what's really important."

"Important for what?" asked Half-Pint.

"You'll find out as you learn."

"What if we don't want to learn this?" asked Aenor. Being hungry, disorientated, and locked up in a weird room when he was supposed to be back at home increased his annoyance towards Elektra's strange secrets.

"Are you questioning schoolwork, Aenor?" Elektra asked, her gray eyes turning strangely into black.

"This isn't schoolwork! Studying Charms is schoolwork! Making potions is schoolwork! Even Flying lessons are schoolwork! This is being locked up with a deranged beast who hides things and expects us to follow orders like house-elves!"

"Are you questioning me, then?" Elektra's face was now covered entirely by strange, terrifying shadows, but Aenor didn't seem to notice. He was letting out his anger at everything that was beyond his knowledge, and couldn't notice anything else.

"Ever since school started it has been a succession of weird things, like women that appear in paintings and inside our heads," he pointed at Gwendolyn Gryffindor, who smiled weakly in her frame, "statues that turn out to be alive, monsters with stupid names that attack people who should have been Avises, goodness knows why -"

"Shut up," said Elektra, now covered entirely in shadow.

"- nonsense about 'chosen ones', and this idiotic idea of a 'class' named Special Studies being given by an insane centaur -"

"SHUT UP!"

Now Elektra was absolutely furious. She ran to Aenor, almost trotting on him, and grabbed him by the neck.

"Listen to me, you silly child. I am Elektra the Mighty, sister of Orestes the Great and direct descendant of Chiron, the legendary Sagittarius. My will is not to be questioned by a mere eleven-year-old human! I was told to teach you how to survive but decided instead to make you excel above all others, so you should be grateful to me. However, if you question me, you will wish you were face to face with Voldemort himself!"

For the first time since they met, Geno saw fear instead of arrogance in Aenor's eyes. However, this was not surprising, since Elektra looked absolutely monstrous and horrifying, and was holding the boy in the air by his throat with painful strength. After a while, the centaur finally realized that she was suffocating Aenor and opened her hand, dropping him. Half-Pint and the three girls ran towards him, checking if he was all right.

"I'm in no mood to begin your lesson now," said Elektra, now back to her normal gray self, and looking peaceful, "so it will be adjourned until tomorrow. And, as a punishment for Aenor's arrogance towards a superior, there will be no food for you until then. You must learn to be humble and obedient."

With this, she threw something in their direction, which immediately exploded in a flashing red light. When the Avises managed to regain their eyesight, she was gone.

***

An owl tapped at the window, waking Professor Ventura from her thoughts. She opened it and received the letter, which she immediately began to read.

My dear Professor,

I have just been informed by Coleraine of the success of his trip to Hogwarts. I am sure you have received news from him as well, so I'll restrain myself from repeating what you already know. However, I have to say that I found his tale about the dementor rather amusing.

Dementor? Ventura asked herself. Coleraine had made no mention of dementors or anything of that sort when he wrote to her. His only words had been Got the formula. I'll arrive at night. Make sure everything's ready. What had he been playing at?

As I have said before, I think you are wasting time and precious materials with that girl, as she's too old, and, from what I've heard, too stubborn to be properly trained. However, I'll agree with Dumbledore's sentimentalism on this.

Ventura was expecting this comment. Orestes was a kinder and more flexible master than Elektra, but he was still too inhuman for a pupil of his to think differently.

As for the children's families, the news I have is the following: My wife and I are well, obviously. The same goes for the Thessallys, since they live in a very safe place, where it is impossible for the Asterlyth to enter. However, the same cannot be said for the others. I will pull some strings for the Aleixo family to move to Alvorada, which will be relatively easy with Mrs. Aleixo's line of work.

She sighed with relief. This option was something she approved of.

However, I have failed with the Petrov family. When I approached their home to investigate, I found it deserted, and in such a state that suggests that they have been taken away by force. So far, I have no idea of who was responsible, since no magic of any kind seems to have been used.

As soon as I discover more, I'll let you know.

Regards, R. Zagalo

She folded the letter again, stupefied. She had a very good idea of what had happened to Irina's parents, but she had no proof, and nobody would believe her. She paused for a second, and then picked up two pieces of parchment, writing something on both. Then, she inserted them into envelopes. She addressed the first to Albus Dumbledore, but wrote just one word as the destination for the second: Tagids.

***

Aenor woke up with the coldness of the wet grass Geno was applying to his neck.

"Why are you doing this?" he asked.

"No idea. But I had to do something and this was the only thing I could find."

"Oh, I feel so safe with your knowledge and experience," he joked. It seemed like the old Aenor was still intact.

"Shut up."

"Where are the others?" He stood up, handed the wet grass back to Geno (who tossed it away with disgust, realizing that it was indeed a very stupid idea), and looked around. Half-Pint and Irina were on opposite sides of the room, feeling the walls in search of a hidden door and whispering "mistletoe" (the current Avis password) every two seconds, while Dulce studied the window, trying to think of a way of jumping without drowning or breaking her neck.

"You woke up," Half-Pint said, when he noticed that his cousin was awake.

"No, midget. I'm still sleeping, but I do it with my eyes open, and sometimes I walk and talk."

"Really? I never noticed that."

Aenor rolled his eyes.

"Stop it," Geno snapped. Then, she turned to the others. "No luck?"

"No, zorry."

"Nope."

"We can try tossing Aenor out the window," said Dulce. "It will be no help for us, but at least we'll get rid of him."

"Ha ha," Aenor replied dryly.

"I'm hungry," Half-Pint protested.

"So what else is new?"

"I'm tired," Irina added.

"If we had broomsticks, or at least our wands, we could find a way to leave through the window."

"Dulce, will you shut up about that window?"

The five of them sat in a corner of the room, their stomachs rumbling.

"You know what's weird?" Geno asked after a while.

"Everything," grumbled Aenor.

"But haven't you noticed anything out of the ordinary with that 'everything'?"

"What?"

"Well... we've been followed by that creepy bird ever since school began, right?"

"Yeah," said Dulce, "every time we look, it's there, staring at us. Scary."

"So?" asked Aenor.

"So," Geno continued, "look outside. Is there anything staring at us now?"

It was true. Perhaps for the first time ever since they entered Ingarnal, the silver bird wasn't there.

***

Everything was ready, and Coleraine was waiting for the others to join him. The first to arrive was Professor Penumbra, who greeted him with a nod.

"Where is Ventura?" he asked.

"She'll be here in a moment. She had to pick up something, I don't know what."

"What can she possibly need?" he asked, surprised. "I've got everything here!"

And, indeed, the Potions classroom had its chairs and tables moved into a corner, and the space gained with this had been filled with all the elements necessary for the task at hand.

"How about Zagalo?"

"He won't be here," Penumbra replied. "He's still searching for the Petrovs in Azambuja."

Finally, Ventura arrived. Coleraine's jaw dropped when he realized what was the "something" was that she had gone to pick up... Gilderoy Lockhart.

"What the hell is he doing here?" he asked.

"I asked him to come."

"Are you out of your mind? The man is an idiot! He'll be in the way!"

Ventura's expression hardened. "Listen, the reanimation of Julia Cassidy has been my personal project for the last thirteen years, so I think that it gives me the right to decide who's going to be present. Besides," she leaned closer to Coleraine, and lowered her voice, "if she was indeed this important to him, I think he has a right to be a part of it. And it would help her to see a familiar face."

Coleraine looked exasperatedly at Lockhart, then at Ventura, and then at the statue, which was partially strapped to a mechanism made of iron and wood. He repeated this staring pattern again, since he couldn't decide whether to kick Lockhart out of the classroom, say something to Ventura, or continue with the arrangements. Finally, he turned to her and said, "All right, he can stay. But if he breathes the same air molecules as me, I'll tear him limb from limb!"

He then returned to the task of strapping the statue to the mechanism, while mumbling grumpily.

"What can I do to help?" Lockhart asked. Coleraine grumbled again.

"You better sit with us, Professor," Penumbra replied. "You can help Professor Coleraine to immerse Miss Cassidy as soon as the preparations have been made."

Coleraine grumbled again. This time it sounded like he was swearing with his mouth shut.

"Or perhaps it's better if you just sit and wait quietly... very quietly," Penumbra added.

After he was certain that the statue was secure, Coleraine moved his attention to a large glass box, which was filled with mercury. He then poured the contents of the phial into it, turning the silver liquid metal into something as clear as water.

"Now I need someone to help me," he said to the other three. "Professor Ventura," he added abruptly, just as Lockhart was beginning to rise from his chair.

The Flying teacher stood up, and approached the mechanism, where she grabbed one of the wheels (Coleraine had the other one). Slowly, they began to raise the statue, since it was now attached to a strong cable, which moved with the turning of the wheel and axle. When it was high in the air, the two teachers placed it above the glass box, and slowly lowered it until the whole statue had been covered in the liquid.

"What now?" Penumbra asked from her seat.

"We'll just wait until the solution changes again, and then remove it after five seconds."

And, indeed, the liquid contents of the box were slowly turning milky-white, and the solid contents began to disappear from the outside view. Lockhart's breath stopped, and he thought that he saw the girl's hair move before being covered by whiteness.

Suddenly, he noticed a strange shade of pink appearing in the middle of the white liquid.

"Is that normal?" he asked.

"If you have to be here, will you at least be quiet?" Coleraine asked sharply.

"But is it normal to turn pink once it's white?"

"Pink...?" Coleraine looked at the glass and saw that the other was right. "Raise the cable, now!" he said to Ventura.

The two of them tried to raise the statue again, gathering the most amount of strength that they could manage in order to do it faster. As they did so, a human Julia Cassidy appeared before everyone's eyes, her clothes and hair soaking wet, and coughing violently due to lack of breath. Blood was dripping from her abdomen into the box, turning the liquid pink. She had been wounded before the transfiguration.

Lockhart ran towards her, but Coleraine pointed his wand in his direction.

"Don't you dare approach!" he shouted. Penumbra, however, was accepted near the other two, who surrounded the injured girl as they recited healing charms.

Lockhart stood where he was, feeling small and useless.

***

The sky was dark, as black clouds poured rain and thunder.

The big stone block was again surrounded by the snakes, which tried desperately to pierce it. The female cries were getting even more desperate.

Then, suddenly, a silver glow surrounded the stone, repelling the snakes. It began to increase in strength and intensity, until the stone exploded. A golden figure rose from the inside, and flew away into the clouds, which immediately became clear and white.

At this moment, the five Avises woke up.