Harry Potter and the Ruby of Karda

Chapter 7: A Terrible Dark Arts Ceremony

A week had passed. The initial shock of learning about his great-uncle had worn off; but Harry was far from okay. The good thing about all his classes, apprenticeships and Quidditch practice was that they kept him very busy; he didn't have any spare time to think. But somehow, the joy had gone from everything. Even zooming through the air on his Firebolt didn't bring him any relief. Ron and Hermione had tried talking to him about his great-uncle; but he hadn't wanted to talk about it. For the first time in his life, he was deeply ashamed of his family.

They were making some progress in their Defense Against Dark Arts apprenticeships. Their research into sustainable Force Fields was not going well, but they had all learned to create a Force Field, and keep it sustained under attack for about an hour. The reading was very interesting though; the Indian wizards and witches had some very interesting theories on magic. Harry had read about flying chariots, animals enchanted to talk, and many other strange and wonderful things. When he had asked Prof. Manohar about them, she had just looked sad.

"It is terrible that we have lost so much knowledge," she had said. "The ancient Indian witches and wizards had powers we almost cannot imagine. Even the weakest of them was able to perform more magic than anyone can nowadays. We think that we have lost focus; the kind of focus they had was marvelous. I have read of wizards meditating to sharpen their focus for years at a time. Imagine then, the kind of magic they could perform. Angered, they could control weather to such a degree that no rain would fall on a land for years. Drought, famine, all within their control. Ultimately, we think that they fought among themselves so much that much of their knowledge was lost. They only wrote a few books on magic, many of them were too paranoid to write down their spells, for fear it might be stolen. What we are able to piece together about their powers are from other books of the period. Books on war that allude to spells cast by witches and wizards, books on weather patterns that talk about how the climate of some regions was altered by magic, and books on medicine that talk about miraculous recoveries aided by powerful healing magic."

The topic had then swung around to how the ancient wizards and witches had seemingly mingled freely with Muggles. "Unlike in the Western World, Indian wizards and witches weren't persecuted by the people, they were revered as next to God," Prof. Manohar said. "The laws of the land didn't apply to them - they were above the law."

Their Herbology lessons were also going very well, under Prof. Sprout's direction, they had successfully grafted tulsi plants brought to Hogwarts by Prof. Manohar onto Mandrakes. The Mandrakes were growing; Prof. Sprout was waiting anxiously for the end of the term for them to be fully grown, when she could brew a Restorative Potion from that plant to see if it was indeed more powerful than anything discovered so far. She was almost giddy in anticipation; she told the class that British Healers were ready to publish her paper when she wrote about her findings. British Healers was evidently a very prestigious publication; Hermione had looked awestruck when Prof. Sprout had made that announcement.

However, it was Harry's Transfiguration Apprenticeship that was turning out to be the most exciting. Confirming his first impression, Prof. McGonagall had wanted them to learn to become Animagi. They were learning the theory behind the Transformation, Prof. McGonagall had warned them that they would not be able to attempt the transformation till next year at the earliest, but Harry was happy to be learning this - he felt he it was something he would share with his father. She had sworn them to secrecy, so Harry couldn't share the exciting news with Ron and Hermione.

It seemed that in all the classes Harry was taking this year, he was learning something that would be useful in fighting Lord Voldemort. In Herbology, they were hoping to make the most powerful Restorative ever made, Prof. Manohar was teaching them how to create a Force Field to defend themselves from attack, even Prof. Snape was teaching them how to brew Invulnerability potions.

The signs were clear that Prof. Dumbledore expected Voldemort to do something big, and he was arming the students with knowledge that would help them fight him. Fred and George had confirmed it when they remarked how different the curriculum had become this year. Harry was determined to do his part. With everything that he had done, Prof. Dumbledore had given him opportunities to succeed. In Harry's first year at Hogwarts, he had sent Harry his Invisibility Cloak, educated him about the Mirror of Erised, and taught him enough to fend of Quirrell and Voldemort. In his second year, he had sent him Fawkes with the Sorting Hat and the Sword of Gryffindor to fight Tom Riddle. His third year, Dumbledore had recruited Harry and Hermione to save Sirius from being administered the Dementors Kiss. And just last year, after fighting Lord Voldemort, it was Dumbledore who had saved his life from Barty Crouch. Harry was disappointed that Prof. Dumbledore hadn't told him about his great-uncle, but that didn't change how grateful he was to Dumbledore for everything he had done for him. If it wasn't for Dumbledore, he might have been at Stonewall High, wearing Dudley's castoffs, and living in his cupboard underneath the stairs.

Although Harry was enjoying all his lessons (even Potions, since Snape, for the most part, seemed to be ignoring him this year), he wasn't enjoying his Quidditch practice at all. Three times a week he went to practice, and three times a week he endured the Gryffindor team making a fuss of Priya, and taking him for granted. He felt alienated from the rest of the team, although he tried hard not to show it. The first Quidditch match was fast coming up, and they were playing Ravenclaw. Angelina reported that Cho had assembled a really strong team, and Fred and George, who had spied on a Ravenclaw practice for a few minutes before being found out and ordered out, had been impressed with their team. "But," Angelina said, grinning, "with the team we have, we are going to win for sure. I mean, Priya has never let a Quaffle through. How will they even score?" And catching a look at Harry, she quickly added, "And Harry always catches the Snitch for us too... We should win this one easily."

...

It was early one morning, two days before Halloween. Harry, Ron and Hermione had forged a peace of sorts; they would talk about everything other than Harry's great-uncle. They were sitting at breakfast in the Great Hall, discussing the upcoming Halloween feast. "Do you think they'll have pumpkin ice-cream for dessert?" Ron had asked them, when Pigwidgeon distracted him by dropping a letter in his lap. "Hang on, it's for you, Harry," he said. "Stupid owl." Harry reached out for the note, and quickly opened it. "It's from Sirius, " he said in a low voice to Ron and Hermione. "Meet me in the common room - there will be no one there now."

Ron and Hermione quickly stuffed their last pieces of toast in their mouths, and hurried out. As they left the Great Hall, they heard Malfoy sneer. "Your family can actually afford an owl, Weasley? Your mother must have had to sell the family jewels." Crabbe and Goyle faithfully sniggered. Ron's fists clenched; but both Hermione and Harry hustled him away. "Let him be, he's just scum," Hermione said witheringly, not bothering to keep her voice down.

But it had succeeded in putting Ron in a thoroughly bad mood. "Why doesn't Dumbledore just expel Malfoy?" he asked angrily. "I mean, his father is obviously a Death Eater - and Malfoy is probably drumming up support for You-Know-Who right now among the Slytherins."

Harry shrugged; he supposed Ron didn't really want a response to his question, but just wanted to vent. His own feelings toward Prof. Dumbledore were peculiarly ambivalent. For the longest time, Dumbledore had been Harry's hero. But Harry's faith in Prof. Dumbledore had been shaken by the news about his great-uncle. He felt rather used by the whole thing. Hermione, on the other hand, had no such doubt. "Don't be ridiculous, Ron. I'm sure Prof. Dumbledore knows what he's doing, " she said firmly. "Harry, what does Sirius say?"

Harry read the letter aloud. It was very short.

Harry,

I must speak to you urgently. Things are not as they seem, and I need to warn you about some dangers you might face. Trust no one - remember Barty Crouch.

Meet me in Hagrid's cottage the evening after Halloween. Wear your cloak. You must not be followed. Don't bring Ron and Hermione, you can't risk being seen.

Sirius.

"Remember Barty Crouch?" Ron asked, puzzled, as Harry fought the sinking feeling in his stomach. The note from Sirius had an ominous ring to it. With all the work he was doing, Harry had managed to push the events of last year back; Sirius' note brought it all back, Barty Crouch's treachery, Cedric's murder, Voldemort's resurrection, Draco laughing snidely at Dumbledore's end of year speech...

Hermione had evidently been thinking along the same lines as Harry. "It just never stops, does it?" she remarked quietly. Neither Harry nor Ron replied. They really had nothing to say.

...

Angelina had scheduled a Quidditch practice session right before the Halloween banquet, much to Fred and George's disgust. "Have a heart, Angelina! We might be late for the feast..." Fred had protested, but Angelina had been unmoved. "The practice will help your appetite," she had said, and that had been that. Harry had therefore set out with his Firebolt a few hours before the Feast. Ron and Hermione had both wanted to accompany him; they didn't think he ought to be roaming the grounds by himself after Sirius' warning, but Harry had dissuaded them. "I can take care of myself," he said firmly, "besides, Sirius would have mentioned it if there had been an immediate danger."

Only Alicia and Katie were at the field when Harry showed up, a few minutes early. "I think I saw Fred and George," he said. "Good," Katie said feelingly. "I swear, there must be something about being Captain that causes you to go crazy. Even Oliver never made us practice before the Halloween feast."

That got them talking about past Quidditch matches. They were laughing over the time when Harry had almost swallowed the Snitch and won them the game, when Fred, George and Angelina showed up. "Priya can't make it." Angelina said shortly, not at all looking happy about it. "Prof. Manohar just called me into her office to tell me Priya was feeling unwell."

"She wasn't at lunch, was she?" Fred remarked. "Well, I just hope she feels better soon - the match with Ravenclaw is just four days away. And I saw the Ravenclaws at practice yesterday, they looked fantastic. Cho's really done a good job with the team."

No one asked Fred how he had managed to spy on the Ravenclaws; Angelina looked even unhappier. "All we can do is hope she feels better soon," she said. "Come on, let's get started. You do want to go to the feast, don't you?"

They practiced rather halfheartedly for over two hours. Angelina was clearly distracted by the possibility they might not have their star Keeper for their match against Ravenclaw, and although he didn't admit it, so was Harry. And so it was that when the practice ended, that Harry asked Angelina if she wanted him to check on Priya for her before he joined Ron and Hermione at the Feast. "Could you?" Angelina said gratefully. "That would be great. Thanks, Harry."

...

A half hour later, Harry was feeling like an idiot for volunteering to check on Priya. He had looked everywhere, the Common Room, at the Feast, the Hospital Wing and even most of the classrooms, and there was no sign of Priya anywhere. And Prof. Manohar was nowhere to be found either. "This is stupid," Harry said to himself, when it suddenly struck him. "Of course. The Marauder's Map."

Harry hadn't used the Marauder's Map at all this year, he had a hard time finding it. Finally, he located it at the bottom of his trunk, next to his Invisibility Cloak. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good," he said, holding his wand over the map, watching the map of Hogwarts swim into view. "Where could she be?" he wondered, looking all over the map for Priya. Then he located a figure labeled Priya Manohar, quite still in the Potions classroom. Next to that figure was one labeled Lakshmi Manohar. Prof. Snape however, was not in the Potions classroom with them, Harry's Map showed he was in the Great Hall with the other teachers.

This was odd. Neither Priya nor Prof. Manohar had any reason to be at the Potions dungeon. In fact, if Priya hadn't been feeling well, the Hospital Wing would have been the logical place, or if not there, her dormitory. This definitely needed investigation, but Harry's instinct was to be wary. He grabbed his Invisibility Cloak, swirled it over his head, and made his way towards the dungeons.

The corridors were deserted, the school was at the feast, Harry didn't even encounter Filch and Mrs. Norris on the way. He made an extra effort to be quiet as he neared the door of the Potions classroom; it was slightly ajar and he could hear someone talking. It sounded like Prof. Manohar. Leaning forward, he peeped in through the crack...

And nearly yelled in shock. Priya was seated on the floor, on some kind of golden plank, facing a fire that was burning in the middle of the room. Her eyes were vague and unfocused, she reminded Harry strongly of someone under an Imperius curse. Prof. Manohar was holding a red-hot knife in her hand, she had evidently heated it in the fire. "Hold out your right arm," she said. Priya did so, without any change in expression. Prof. Manohar started chanting an incantation. Harry strained to hear the words of the chant, but he couldn't make anything out. But the knife in Prof. Manohar's hands glowed bright red, and almost seemed to guide itself as Prof. Manohar took Priya's right hand, and made two deep slits in her palm, in the shape of an X.

Priya didn't even flinch, not even when Prof. Manohar took her hand, held it over the flames and let the blood drip into the fire. The blood was a deep red in color, but as it touched the flames, it seemed to turn to gold. "This has to be done," Prof. Manohar said quietly to Priya. "You know that as well as I do. I am not amused by your attempt to avoid this." Priya made no reply in answer, or even gave a sign that she had heard her mother.

Prof. Manohar then stepped on the opposite side of Priya, facing the fire. She raised both her arms to the sky, and started chanting a spell, getting louder and louder as she chanted.

She seemed to slip into a trance as she chanted, then suddenly, the fire rose to the ceiling. The whole room was lit by it, and it seemed to engulf Priya.

Harry panicked. He had seen enough. He practically ran back to the Gryffindor Common Room, stuffed his Cloak into his trunk, and made his way to the Great Hall in a daze.

What could it all mean? Why did Prof. Manohar cut Priya, and feed her blood to the fire? And Priya hadn't been bound, why didn't she run? Did Prof. Manohar intend Priya harm? This seemed unlikely, Prof. Manohar had always seemed like a normal mother. Harry remembered how worried she had been when Priya hadn't been Sorted. But still, what normal mother would slash her daughter's palm? Most of all, Harry was chilled by her tone when she had talked to Priya. It had been normal, almost conversational.

Ron and Hermione were full of questions about why he was late. They were eating dessert. "Fred and George were here ages ago," Ron complained. "We saved you some food." Harry didn't reply, he quickly gulped some food down. "Come on, we need to find a place to talk," he said when he was done, rising from the table. Ron looked longingly at his plate of pumpkin pie and ice-cream, but he quickly rose too, when he saw the expression on Harry's face.

The three of them made their way to the Gryffindor Common Room. There was no one there; everyone was still at the feast. Harry told them what he had seen. Ron and Hermione's faces were ashen by the time he was done. And Harry, as he was telling the story, realized what was disturbing him so much about what he had seen. The blood, the strange ceremony, they were all similar to the one last year that had resurrected Voldemort.

"You have to tell Dumbledore," Hermione said, when she recovered slightly. "Harry, this is a Dark Arts ceremony, I'm sure of it. Anytime blood is used in a Potion, or a Spell, anytime blood is unwillingly given by a person, or taken from a person, there is Dark Arts involved."

"Yes Harry, Dumbledore will know what to do," Ron piped in. "By the way, do you remember any of that spell she was chanting? We could look it up."

That suggestion was enthusiastically received by Hermione. Harry hadn't heard much of Prof. Manohar's spell when she cut Priya, but he did remember pieces of the chant that caused the fire to rise to the ceiling. Hermione scribbled down what Harry could remember. "I'll start looking in the library tomorrow," she said. "Tell Sirius too - he might know what this chant means."

Harry looked reluctant. "Sirius will worry. I don't want him to do something stupid. He's still wanted by the Ministry, if he is busy protecting me, he might get caught."

"Harry, don't be ridiculous. What you saw today sounded serious. Sirius should know, and so should Dumbledore. Prof. Manohar could be working with You-Know-Who, and they could be plotting something terrible." Ron looked pale, but determined. "I will tell Dumbledore myself if you won't."

That surprised Harry. Ron was usually willing to go along with Harry; he thought he'd have to argue with Hermione. This must have really scared Ron. "I'll tell Sirius, alright? Let's see what he thinks."

...

It was late next evening as Harry hurried towards Hagrid's hut, buried under his Invisibility Cloak. He had seen Hagrid chatting with Prof. McGonagall in the Great Hall as he left; his conversation with Sirius would be uninterrupted.

Harry wasn't quite sure what to say to Sirius. Sirius had already sounded worried in his letter. What Harry had seen the previous day had scared him, but he was even more afraid of something happening to Sirius. The Dementors were not actively hunting for Sirius still, as far as he knew, but Sirius was still sentenced to receive the Dementor's Kiss if he was caught. And Harry was convinced that Sirius would be caught if he hung around at Hogwarts.

Fang was barking inside Hagrid's hut as Harry let himself in. Sirius's head was hovering in the fireplace; his face broke out into a broad and relieved smile as he saw Harry. "Harry - its good to see you. How are you doing?"

"Fine." Harry answered. It was good to see Sirius. He hadn't seen Sirius for over five months, not since just after Voldemort was resurrected. "Where have you been?" he asked curiously.

Sirius ignored his question. "Harry, listen to me carefully. I can't stay long, but I needed to warn you. I've heard some troubling things."

He took a deep breath and continued. "Voldemort has been looking for allies. He dare not face Dumbledore by himself, so he has been striking deals with other powerful witches and wizards from all over the world. And I believe one of these witches might already be at Hogwarts..."

"Prof. Manohar. Of course." It made sense to Harry. He quickly told Sirius what he had seen the previous day.

Sirius looked very worried by the time he had finished. "She is probably not after you, Harry, I believe that it is Dumbledore that is the target. But you still need to watch out. That she would use her own daughter for a Dark Arts ceremony..."

"Do you know the spell?" Harry asked. Sirius shook his head. "No, I don't. But I will look it up."

"Why would she be doing that to Priya though?" Sirius wondered. And then it struck Harry why. "The Ruby of Karda." He told Sirius what Prof. McGonagall had told them about Priya and the Ruby.

Sirius had turned pale. "I have heard of the Ruby of Karda. As the story goes, thousands of years ago, an Indian God crafted the ruby, and before he died, he transferred his magical powers in it. Generations of Guardians have protected the Ruby from harm. They have also safeguarded it from many Dark wizards that wanted to seize the Ruby, activate its powers, and use it to gain power."

"If Lakshmi Manohar is using her daughter's blood for a spell," Sirius continued, "then we have much to fear. The Guardian's blood is powerful. Especially powerful is the blood from the Guardian's right hand. It is in the right palm that the Ruby is embedded. If Lakshmi Manohar is using the blood to gain power, soon she might be powerful enough to bypass the Guardian's natural defenses and take over the Ruby."

"And then Voldemort would be powerful enough to challenge Dumbledore," Harry finished dully. "Sirius, what can we do? Prof. Manohar is Priya's mother. She can take over the Ruby anytime she wants!"

"Harry, calm down," Sirius said. He still looked worried. "We aren't weaponless in this battle. There is a reason Voldemort is afraid to challenge us directly yet. Because right now, we are more powerful than him. Dumbledore is the greatest wizard of our time. It is possible Lakshmi Manohar is at Hogwarts so Dumbledore can keep an eye on the Ruby."

"But Prof. Dumbledore doesn't suspect Prof. Manohar, Sirius, I'm sure of it."

"I will talk to Prof. Dumbledore, Harry. Listen, I have to go. Be careful. Stay out of trouble. And DO NOT meddle in this." With that, Sirius was gone.