Rebirth

Rebirth

Chapter 13: The Summoning

Ventura helped the nurse, Madam Cotovia, get Professor Penumbra dressed and into bed.

"Well?" Coleraine asked, once she had finished her task.

"She'll be fine," Ventura replied. "She has a concussion, though, so she will need to stay here in observation."

Coleraine and Ventura left the hospital wing, followed by a very confused Lockhart.

"What exactly has happened?" Coleraine asked after a while.

"Well, the answer to who did this is obvious," Ventura replied.

With the memory of the previous day's events still fresh in his memory, Coleraine nodded. It had to be Elektra.

"But why would she want to steal the Globe?" he insisted. "I can't picture her considering that to be worthy of her attention."

"On the contrary, Hector. There's much more to the Globe than its current function. Elektra must have told you about Aquaflavian Orbs, I assume."

Coleraine stopped dead on his tracks, his eyes wide. "What? But that's too dangerous! Why the hell is an Orb being used to sort children?"

"I have no idea." Ventura had stopped walking and was looking directly at Coleraine. "The Globe has been here ever since the school was founded, and an explanation was never given. However, that isn't important now - what we need to know is exactly what Elektra wants to do with it."

"Whatever it is, it has to do with the children," Coleraine said, recalling his last conversation with the centaur. "She hasn't given up on them, and now she's after Cassidy as well."

Lockhart, who had been silent so far, approached the other two. "Who's after Julia?" he asked. "Can anyone please tell me what's going on?"

"Still here, are you?" Coleraine asked dryly, turning his back on him.

"I assumed as much," Ventura said. "She gave a dream-manipulation potion to Miss Cassidy tonight." She then showed the feather to Coleraine. "It seems to have worked."

"I see," he said, examining the feather. "It's quite big for a crow."

"Dream-manipulation potion?" Lockhart asked. His eyes showed utter confusion and shock. "Why was she given a dream-manipulation potion? And why was this in her hair if she was only dreaming?" He pointed at the feather, as if it was something that could explode at any moment.

Coleraine glared, but Ventura looked at him with kindness.

"I told you about Sertorians when I took the pensieve to Miss Cassidy, right?" Lockhart nodded, so she continued. "Well, someone at this school is giving this potion to Sertorians in order to trigger some of their energy to manifest itself. This," she raised the feather again, "is one of the manifestations."

"Can we please proceed?" Coleraine grumbled. "We won't accomplish anything by standing in a corridor."

The three of them resumed their walk. Lockhart's mind was still spinning in confusion. Everything pointed out that he had also taken the potion - so what about what had happened to him? Was that a manifestation as well? And if so - a manifestation of what? As the woman in his dream had said, he wasn't a Sertorian...

He was about to vocalize his thoughts when they reached Ventura's office. Lockhart stopped in surprise at the sight of a dark-skinned girl desperately knocking at the door, but the other two continued to walk towards her.

"Miss Aleixo," Coleraine said, sternly, "what are you doing here, at this time of night?"

"I-Irina's gone, P-Professor," she stuttered. "I woke up and her bed was empty."

Both teachers nearly jumped at this.

"What?" Ventura said. "Do you have any idea of where she might have gone?"

Geno shook her head. "I thought it probably had something to do with the book," she said after a while.

Ventura's eyebrow raised. "Book? What book?"

"The black book that you confiscated from her a while ago."

"I didn't confiscate any book, Miss Aleixo. What are you talking about?"

Geno was surprised at the news, since she assumed all along that Ventura had the book. She was about to explain when Coleraine spoke, a sudden nervousness in his voice.

"Tell me, Aleixo, what was the book like?"

"W-well, it was this big," she gestured with her hands, "very old, with a bit of the cover peeling off -"

"And did it have some silver writing?"

"It had something silver on it," Geno recalled, "but it was faded. I didn't get close enough to it to see."

"Oh, my..." Coleraine trailed off. "She wouldn't."

"Wouldn't what?" Ventura asked.

"If I'm correct, that is a very dangerous book on dark magic," he said. Panic was now written all over his face. "I remember Elektra using a spell in it on someone when I was a child... Have you heard of Pasqual Peloquin?" Ventura nodded, so Coleraine continued. "It summons bodiless entities - spirits and such - into the body of the person who casts the spell. Elektra tricked Peloquin into reading it, making him believe that it was something else, and he was possessed by the ghosts of his victims."

Ventura shuddered. It was something completely brutal and pointless... but nevertheless something she knew Elektra would have pleasure in doing. She then realized what Coleraine was thinking.

"Hector... You don't mean that Elektra..."

"She has the girl," he said, "and she most certainly has the book. The spell is powerful enough to defy this school's wards and summon almost anything from the outside, as long as she has a strong source of energy at hand that can be used as an entrance for the entity."

Ventura suddenly remembered. "The Globe!" she said, breaking into a run. "I need to find her!"

Coleraine looked at Geno. "And you, Aleixo, get back to your dormitory," he said to her, ignoring Lockhart. "This isn't for you!" And he ran after Ventura, who had by now turned around the corner and was out of sight.

Geno remained still, staring at his back until he too had turned and disappeared. Then, she silently began to follow them.

Suddenly remembering about Lockhart, she turned to him. "I... er... My dormitory is this way," she lied apologetically, and continued walking slowly. After she crossed the corner of the corridor, she broke into a run as well.

Lockhart prepared to return to his chambers. He needed to talk to Julia and see if she could help him clear things out. However, when he had almost reached his destiny, he stopped in his tracks, as his vision began to be tainted with red...

***

"Are you ready?" Elektra asked Irina, who nodded nervously.

The two of them were in the waterfall room, where the centaur had arranged a table where the black book stood open, with the Sorting Globe lying right in front of it. Dozens of thick black candles were scattered all over the grass, their red flame giving an eerie atmosphere to the room. In one corner were the staffs used by the Avises while they had been held captive - they lay there, unnoticed.

"The moonlight will soon enter through this window," Elektra said, sounding excited. "You will begin to recite the spell then, and soon you will have your parents back, safe and sound."

Irina smiled, excitement and anticipation clearly visible in her face. Elektra turned her back to her, unable to hide her satisfaction at the fact that the girl was so gullible. Idiot Muggle-borns, she thought. Give them the possibility of reaching their hearts' desires, and they'll believe that anything is possible... and legal.

She sighed, turned back to face the girl, and said, "Any moment now, Irina... Get into position."

"Yes, Elektra," the girl said obediently, approaching the table so that she could face the book.

"And don't forget to -"

Elektra's instructions were interrupted as she felt something heavy hit her head. She looked up, and saw the silver bird looking fiercely at her, ready to strike again.

"You!"

The bird dived straight towards her face, now easily exposed, but the centaur was faster, grabbing it by the tail. She was about to use her other hand to grab its neck, but the bird bit it and she released it, yelping in pain.

"You'll pay for this, you miserable..." Elektra cursed, as she looked at the blood on the bite mark. "Irina, now!" she yelled at the terrified girl, who was looking paralyzed at the bird.

It was then that an opening appeared in the wall, and Coleraine became visible from the outside.

"Whatever you're doing here, Elektra, has to stop right now," he said.

"Irina, now!" the centaur repeated to the girl, who grabbed the open book with both hands.

"Don't do it, Petrova," Coleraine yelled, as he tried to cross over the opening. "She's trying to trick you!"

"Irina, you've read the book," Elektra said with difficulty, since she was trying to stop the bird from attacking her again. "I'm trying to help you, but for that you've got to read the spell now!"

"Don't do it, Petrova," Coleraine repeated, now completely inside the room.

"They're the ones who are trying to trick you!" Elektra insisted. "Read it!"

By now, Coleraine was extremely close to Irina.

"I have helped you before," he said, offering his hand. "Remember when I realized your problem and sent you to Professor Sampaio?"

"Irina! NOW!"

The girl was still paralyzed, except for her eyes that nervously focused on either Coleraine or Elektra, as each called for her attention.

"And what did Elektra do for you?" Coleraine continued.

"Irina, don't listen to him!" the centaur was now screeching, as she struggled to catch the bird, which kept biting and scratching.

"She drugged you and locked you here."

"Irina!"

"And I know what she did to Thessaly. I saw the marks on his neck when you left this room."

"Read the spell!"

Finally, Irina reacted. "But..." she began, hesitantly. "She said she'd help me get my parents back."

Coleraine made a grimace.

"Oh she said that, did she? She's lying. I know what this spell is really for, and it has nothing to do with Necromancy."

"Don't listen to him!" Elektra screamed even louder than before.

Finally, she managed to grab the bird by the neck, squeezing it so strongly that it let out what sounded like a scream. She then threw it towards Coleraine. In mid-air, the bird changed back to a, by now, unconscious Professor Ventura. Coleraine tried to escape, but his reaction was too slow and he received the full impact, falling to the floor with her.

With an expression of triumph, Elektra approached the fallen teachers. With a snap of her fingers, ropes appeared from thin air and wrapped themselves around the two forms.

"You've lived your whole life with me, Hector," she said to Coleraine, as she kicked Ventura to the side, "and it still hasn't sunk into that thick head of yours that it is useless to defy me."

She then turned to Irina. "They tried to stop you, because they want you trapped in this school for ever," she said, with a false friendliness in her tone. "Everything is fine now. Read the spell, and soon you will have your parents back."

"Don't listen -" Coleraine was about to scream out, but a horseshoe hit his shin.

"Shut up," Elektra snarled. Then, she resumed her false sweetness. "Don't be afraid, child. Nothing can stop you now."

With a nod, Irina pulled the book close to her and began to read.

"Vinde ate nos, ente errante..."

Coleraine closed his eyes. The impossibility of reaching the girl and stopping her from dooming herself made him feel too small and useless. He swallowed hard, and felt the taste of blood; he must have bit his lip when Elektra hit him.

"So," he heard the centaur said, "how does it feel to be on the losing side this time?"

He opened his eyes and stared angrily at her. "And how does it feel to be on the wrong side?"

"Wrong?" She laughed. "There is no wrong side. I'm just taking the one that will lead me to glory."

"That's all you can think of?"

"Of course? What else is there, besides power and glory? I taught you that."

"You sound like Voldemort."

Elektra's expression hardened. "Perhaps he's not so wrong after all," she said dryly.

She then turned her eyes to Irina, who was concentrated on reading the spell. "Look at her," she said. "The most obedient of those children - and the most easy to fool. Perhaps I should have made you be raised by Muggles, instead of taking you under my wing straight away. Perhaps it would have made you as docile as her... and as your mother."

Coleraine raised his head. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, I never told you? I trained Larissa Coleraine when she was at Hogwarts and Dumbledore found out she was a Sertorian. Unlike you, she was obedient. Unfortunately, she was also too weak, so I realized that she wasn't worthy of my effort."

Coleraine closed his eyes tightly.

"I think this is the perfect time to tell you everything, since you won't survive this night," Elektra continued, smiling widely. "Yes, she was weak, but I decided she could still be useful... and produce something that could be closer to my standards. So I chose her a proper mate, and made sure they would fall in love... or at least think they were in love, thanks to a Love Potion."

Coleraine's eyes were now so tightly closed that a strong pain was surrounding them. He did not want to hear this.

"I helped her give birth to you," Elektra continued. "You should have seen the sickening happiness on her face... The foolish girl thought she was going to be able to keep you. When she finally fell asleep, I approached her slowly..."

No, please, no.

"...and I slit her useless throat."

He opened his eyes and looked up at Elektra.

"You're the one who killed my mother!" he said in an almost inaudible whisper.

"What did you think had happened?" she asked him with a triumphant smile. "Unfortunately, something unexpected happened, and I had to flee, leaving you near her body. It still worked anyway, because Dumbledore later gave you to me. The fool thought I would protect your from the murderer."

Coleraine's eyes were now tainted with red. "And you did the same to the Petrovs, didn't you?" he said through gritted teeth.

Elektra smirked. "I don't repeat myself, boy. But yes, I'm the responsible for their deaths. Their child is with some friends of mine right now. As soon as I get Julia Cassidy and the children, I'll go and get her as well."

"And exactly how are you going to get the Avises?"

Elektra smiled. "Oh, I made a little deal with a certain... someone. The visitor we are expecting. I get the Sertorians, and, in return, it gets everybody else at Ingarnal... Since you two are now useless to me, you will also be included."

"You damned -"

"Watch your language, Hector," she interrupted him. "I taught you better than that. You know," she said after a while, "I have been thinking about the name I should give to the Petrov child. How about... Larissa?"

Instinctively, Coleraine made an attempt to get up, but the ropes stopped him.

"I'm going to kill you, Elektra," he snarled. "That's a promise."

"It's a promise you can't keep, Hector," she said with a smile. "Let's face the facts, my boy - you are already dead."

"I'll come back and kill you anyway."

"Shh. Listen," she said. "The spell is reaching its end."

Indeed, it looked like the spell was reaching its climax. The Sorting Globe was now floating in front of Irina, and it was glowing strongly.

"Trazede ate nos -"

"NO!" a scream was then heard.

To everyone's surprise, Geno had entered the waterfall room and ran towards Irina, throwing herself over her.

"No!" Elektra screamed. "The spell isn't ready yet!"

Irina tried to release herself from her friend's grip and instinctively reached for the book; however, her hand found the Sorting Globe first, and the two girls vanished.

***

Geno opened her eyes, and found herself floating in what looked like black mist. Next to her, was Irina.

"Where are we?" she asked.

The other girl looked at her with a pained expression. "I vanted to get my parents..." she cried. "Vhy did you stopped me?"

Geno looked back at her with surprise. "What?"

"The spell vas to get my parents back. You stopped me from getting my parents back!"

It was then that Geno realized what had happened. "Irina," she said, "that wasn't what the spell was for."

"Yes it vas!" the girl was screaming. "I hate you!"

"Irina -"

By now, Irina began to hit Geno's arm.

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate -"

She trailed off, as she realized she wasn't feeling her friend's arm any longer. Looking at herself, Irina realized that she was fading.

"W-what...?"

Geno was looking at her, equally shocked.

You didn't complete the spell, they heard a voice say.

"Who's there?" Geno asked.

That's not important, the voice answered. I want to get out of this place, and I need my transportation.

The mist became even darker and thicker around Irina, who was by now completely terrified.

"G-Geno..." she managed to stutter in a faint voice. "H-help me..."

Unlike Irina, who was fading even faster and looked nothing more than a specter, the dark mist began to look solid and started to pull her off Geno's reach. The two girls, however, tried to reach for each other's hands. Geno couldn't help but smile when she managed to reach Irina, but her smile soon faded when she realized she was unable to touch her.

Irina screamed as the thick mist enveloped her, and she disappeared. Then a loud explosion occurred, and Geno lost her consciousness.

***

As quickly as they had disappeared, the girls returned, surrounded by a dark mist. Coleraine tried to raise his head as much as possible to see them, and after a while, he managed to recognize the figures. Geno was lying on the floor, unconscious, while Irina was standing up, the Sorting Globe in her hand.

"I am here, centaur," she said, but her voice sounded somewhat different. For some reason, Coleraine had the feeling that it wasn't her.

"W-what -" he tried to speak.

"Where are your manners, Hector?" Elektra said to him, a wide smile on her face. "Aren't you going to greet our friend the Asterlyth?"

"T-the Aster-"

"Apparently not," she said. "Never mind." She turned to Irina who was approaching them. "I'm glad to see that we were successful, after all."

"This body is slightly older than the one I was taking," the Asterlyth said, "but it is also too young for my purposes."

Elektra pointed at Coleraine and Ventura. "Those two Sertorians are yours as well - a gift from me. You can choose the one you prefer."

The Asterlyth inspected Coleraine carefully. It was now so close that he could see its red eyes in Irina's face. It then moved on to the still unconscious Ventura, and examined her even more carefully.

"A female form is more appealing," it said, "and this one pleases me."

"I am glad to hear it," Elektra said. "Then we have a deal?"

"Of course," the Asterlyth replied. "Just as we have agreed - you get the Sertorians, and I get everybody else in this castle."

Elektra bowed her head, smiling.

"What happened to Petrova?" Coleraine finally asked.

The Asterlyth smiled. "What do you think happened, Sertorian? She's dead. When I take a body, its owner automatically dies."

Coleraine closed his eyes again. This could not be happening.

"How touching, Hector," Elektra said. "Don't feel sorry for her. She was as weak and stupid as your mother."

Coleraine's eyes opened again, filled with rage. "Like I said, I am going to kill you."

"And like I said," she replied, "you're already dead so there's nothing you can do to me." She turned to the Asterlyth. "You can exchange bodies now, if you want. The woman is knocked out, so there will be no struggle."

"Is there any damage that I need to know of?" it asked.

"You'll feel a strong pain in your throat for a while," Elektra said with a smile, "but apart from that the woman is perfect. She has mastered the use of her bird form as well, which will be useful for you."

"I thank you, then. Once I finish the change, we'll sort out the castle's inhabitants."

"Agreed."

The Asterlyth kneeled down in front of Ventura. It held her head straight with one hand, as it prepared to touch her forehead with the other. However, before it could touch her, a loud crash was heard.

All three of them raised her heads to see what had entered the room, and met an impressive sight: a large, golden creature, half-human, half-lion, was looking back at them, ready to pounce.

The Asterlyth gasped.

"Gwendolyn!"

"We meet again," the creature said. Its voice was quite impressive, like thunder. "I have been looking for you."

"And I for you, Gwendolyn," the Asterlyth replied. It was obvious that it was trying to sound brave, but it was cowering, with the same expression that Irina often had.

"You are obsessed with that name, parasite," the creature said. "I used to be Gwendolyn, but that was centuries ago. You've been looking in the wrong places, trying to get me while I was weak and isolated." Its face contorted into what looked like a smile. "Well, you're too late now. I have been reunited with the Swan in this lifetime, and I'm strong again. Stronger than you," it added, examining the small, fragile figure of Irina.

"D-don't come any closer," the Asterlyth said. "Centaur, help me!" it screamed, looking back, but nobody else was behind it besides Coleraine and Ventura.

"The centaur has abandoned you, parasite," the creature said. "It's time to get my revenge. Remember when I told you, centuries ago, that it was far from over? Well, it will be over tonight."

And with this, the creature pounced, knocking Irina's body to the ground, its hand reaching for her chest. Coleraine was about to scream, but stopped himself when he saw that the hand didn't cut the flesh - instead, it entered the chest as a ghost goes through a wall, and when it came back, it was holding what looked like a minuscule crab surrounded in a tiny black cloud.

"Behold the Asterlyth," the creature said to Coleraine. "How can such a pathetic little thing have caused such misery over the centuries?"

And with this, it crushed the little crab.

"It is done," the creature said. "After all this time, I got revenge."

It then made a gesture, and the ropes binding Coleraine and Ventura disappeared.

"You are free."

Coleraine instinctively ran to Irina's body and checked her pulse. His worse fears were confirmed - the girl was indeed dead. He was unable to suppress his tears any longer.

"I am sorry," the creature said. "The innocents are always the first to fall."

"Who... what are you?" Coleraine asked.

"As you have probably heard right now, I used to be Gwendolyn Gryffindor centuries ago," it said, pointing to the portrait, where a very shocked Gwendolyn had her teary eyes fixed on Irina's body in Coleraine's arms. "I am known as the Golden Lion in the Gemini Prophecy."

Coleraine was confused. "The Gemini Prophecy? What is that?"

"Ask Dumbledore," the Lion said, before collapsing to the floor. It immediately began to change, and to Coleraine's surprise, Gilderoy Lockhart appeared in its place.