Guardians

The following rooms had no Brethren, but we continued to be cautious as we reached the final door before the meeting hall, as the phoenix said to my friend. Slowly I pulled one of the double doors open to darkness. No one was inside the huge room with the vaulted ceiling and the flying buttresses. If I didn't know any better, I would have guessed that this was a cathedral. In fact, I could see the outline of what could have been an altar only yards away. Nothing disturbed the silence, and I was tempted to yell out just so the quiet was ended.

"The coast is clear," I whispered instead to the two figures hovering behind me. My friend pulled the door open freely, and we all stepped inside. With a sudden slam the door shut behind us. Whirling with panic I tried pushing it open again, but it was locked. Without warning the candles in the hall were lit all at once with magic, and we found ourselves surrounded by at least a score of Brethren. With a shriek of fury, the phoenix attempted to take flight, but the wing restrained her. She used her fearsome beak and talons instead. Instantly, curses and counter-curses flew as I struggled to protect my friend and me as best I could.

"Look out!" he shouted as a curse I hadn't seen came firing at me. Instinctively I ducked, and I heard the explosion of magic behind me. I was tiring quickly because I needed to use all of my energy to cast spells. Levitating a nearby table I slammed it into the nearest Brethren as I pushed through the crowd with my friend in tow. We started to dash for the opposite door.

"Come on!" I shouted at the phoenix, and she half-hopped, half-flew after us. The wizards immediately gave chase.

"Don't let them escape!" I heard one of them cry, but I was concentrating on moving my legs faster. My friend led the way, dragging me along like a pull-toy. Why couldn't I run any faster? With every step I took, a new weight was added, it seemed. Suddenly a stray curse hit my foot, instantly cutting off any feeling to it. My foot felt like it was no longer there. It was a Neurapraxia curse, an effective curse that temporarily cut off the nerve endings to the afflicted part. I had to admire the originality of the Brethren; my foot was still on the end of my leg, but it certainly didn't feel like it.

"Are you okay?" my friend asked as he turned and noticed my limp.

"Yeah, just keep going," I managed to gasp out. An eternity seemed to pass before we reached the last set of double doors that would hopefully lead to freedom. My friend pulled both doors open as the phoenix and I went through to the cool night air. He hesitated for a moment, and the air in front of him suddenly began to warp into a ferocious three-headed dog. I was reminded of the legend of the Sorcerer's Stone, when a similar three-headed dog blocked the entrance to the stone.

"That should do the trick," I heard my friend mumble as the "dog" bounded inside.

"That won't keep them occupied for long," I said. "Come on!" We started to run down the street when my friend stopped.

"Where are we?" he suddenly asked. I looked around; I didn't recognize any of the buildings, though they looked antique. We were in the middle of a city, but the decor looked like it came from the Renaissance. An outline from a building in the distance alarmed my senses, and without warning it all began to click.

"We're in Rome," I said.

"Rome? As in Italy?!" my friend exclaimed in surprise.

"That building over there," I said, pointing towards the horizon, "that's the Coliseum. And the building we just came out of: that's St. Peter's Basilica!"

"We were in St. Peter's Basilica?" he repeated, still shocked at the fact that we were in Italy. It was a long way home to England! The phoenix nudged me forward with her beak unexpectedly.

"She says that the Brethren are coming this way," my friend translated. We started to run again. It was going to be difficult hiding two teens and a phoenix in an empty street, though, so when the Brethren were lost behind a corner, we ran into the nearest open building, a pharmacy. Hiding behind some store shelves, we watched as our pursuers passed right by without a sideways glance. I was about to give a sigh of relief when two wizards came running back and stepped inside. We helped the phoenix hide behind a large display of assorted heartburn medications as the two Brethren began their search.

Suddenly a blustering, red-faced man ran over to the Brethren, yelling angrily in a language I knew as Italian. The wizards waited patiently for the man to finish before one pulled out his wand and erased the pharmacist's memory. The other Brethren looked towards the back, and then he turned around and left the pharmacy. The other wizard followed suit. My friend and I both let out a sigh this time, and I giggled. It felt so good to laugh and smile after all this!

"We're not out of this yet, Rose," my friend cautioned. The phoenix gave a nod in agreement. It was strange, but I found myself believing that she was more human than bird. I helped to extract her from behind the display, trying to protect her damaged wing as best I could. We were about to leave (avoiding the red-faced man, who was still standing motionless because of the spell) when my friend went back towards the shelves.

"Hang on," he said, "I have an idea." Taking a roll of bandages and a tube of ointment, he attempted to bandage the phoenix's wing. To keep myself occupied, knowing that I would only get in the way, I stared out the window and looked for passing Brethren. I also tried to massage some feeling back into my foot. Slowly but surely the curse wore off, and I soon had my foot back to normal at about the same time that my friend had finished. The phoenix did seem to be in less pain, despite the makeshift medical care. She crooned with pleasure and relief.

"Well, that's done," my friend commented, wiping his hands on his robes like a typical guy.

"Wait," I said, "what about money?"

"I guess we should pay for this stuff," he replied rather guiltily. "Do you think that five sickles would do?"

"He doesn't seem like a wizard to me," I replied. "Do you think he'll accept our currency?" I glanced at the gold in my friend's hand.

"Oh, I'm sure that it would be okay," he said. He shrugged his shoulders as he placed the money on the counter. I stole a glance outside and was alarmed to see the parade of robes. The Brethren were coming back this way!

"Hide!" I warned the others, and we managed to squeeze behind a shelf just as they passed the window. Unfortunately the procession stopped in front of the pharmacy window as the wizard in front strolled casually to the glass. I held my breath as the eyes swept over the storefront. Suddenly his eyes caught my own, and I knew we were caught. The hair on the back of my neck tingled as we were connected in our twin stares, but to my surprise, he actually winked and turned away. Waving a big paw over his head, the rest of the Brethren followed and walked up the street, back towards the church. I dimly heard my friend sigh with relief.

"That was close," he commented. I was still thinking about the unusual behavior of the Brethren, however. He had seen us and even winked at me! Why did he let us go, then?

"Rose?" my friend called, jarring me out of my thoughts. "Are you okay?" I made a quick decision not to alarm them by telling them about the Brethren.

"Yeah," I replied, keeping my voice even. The phoenix tapped her beak on my friend's shoulder. He translated her thoughts to me.

"She says that the man is starting to wake up," he said. "We better leave while we still can." We had all stepped out of the pharmacy by the time the red-faced man took to his senses. I stole back a glance, and I watched the pharmacist as he noticed and picked up the knuts on the counter, shaking his head slowly in disbelief. He had been a Muggle after all! I couldn't help but laugh.