The Swan's Fight

"I am born to be what I must be - And I must be..." Tom McRae - The Boy With The Bubblegun

Chapter 5 - Doomed to Spend a Merry Christmas

In the cosy kitchen of the little Welsh cottage, a crowd chatters loudly. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks seem to be planning a nasty prank on Charlie Weasley, who is discussing dragons with a rather drunk Hestia Jones; Alastor Moody explains how to get rid of enchanted rings to Remus Lupin, Lymp Slayter is battling with Fred and George Weasley in a bad jokes contest, and Kingsley Shaklebolt eavesdrops; Negra Glace, Hermione Granger, Molly, Bill, and Ginny Weasley are playing Talking Cards. Ginny is winning, and she is not being modest about it. The others are in the living room, talking about a revolution*.

The dinner went well, without any death threats, angry looks or suspicious questions. Just like a Christmas dinner is supposed to be. However, Remus and Harry are the only ones remembering that their last Christmas had been happier - with Sirius. Sometimes you can catch one of them daydreaming.

Lymp and Negra daydream, too. They think about a little girl with whom they long to spend Christmas. Molly and Arthur Weasley miss their son Percy, who was too ashamed of the Ministry's attitude to reconcile with his parents. Christmas is definitely a hard time for all the broken families.

One by one, as the night fall down, the members of the Order and their children go to sleep, dream, and try to feel safe, for once.

*

A shout wakes up everybody.

"CHRISTMAS IS HERE, WAKE UP, YOU BUNCH OF LAZY SLEEPYHEADS !"

Negra stands up with a start. Lymp is not lying near her anymore. It is 6 in the morning. She mumbles, "I should've known the idiot would be up to something like that..."

"WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR ! DASHING THROUGH THE SNOW..." Her eardrums rumble with the inhumane sound. She's afraid she might go deaf from the bad but heartfelt singing.

She sighs heavily. She puts some clothes on, and leaves her room. In the corridor, she exchanges a glance with Remus. "You jinx him or I jinx him?"

"I'm afraid Fred and George Weasley helped him."

"Let's jinx everybody." Moody is known to have no sense of humour during the day; few people are aware that it's even worse in the morning.

The three of them Apparate in the living room, where Lymp, Fred and George are singing - shouting, using Lymp's wand as a microphone. Fred holds some bells, and shakes them at the end of every verse. By their side, Hermione and Ginny are laughing to tears, trying to catch their breath. Harry shakes his head with despair. Five curses fly towards the singers: "Silencio!" They keep singing, but without any sound.

Realizing they have no intention to stop the dramatics, Negra grabs her wand a second time. "Accio dictionary!" When the dictionary reaches her hand, she holds it firmly and slams it on Lymp's head. Then she turns towards the twins, who already fled the room... To be welcomed by Molly.

"I can't believe you had the guts! ...insane! ...no respect! ...shame on you!" She's so angry that she can't make grammatically correct sentences. Negra feels annoyed by that.

Meanwhile, Lymp falls on a chair. The 'Silencio' spell just wore off. "You hit hard, my love. Don't you think I'm a bit old to be spanked?"

"Don't-ever-do-that-again. You understand?"

"You made yourself pretty literally clear."

She nods firmly. "Good."

*

Negra contemplate the onyx Lymp offered her, it's a beautiful stone on which a rose is carved. She uses her Earth magic to feel the energy of the stone, it is powerful. The onyx is pure. She doesn't want to consider the fact that those things are so expensive that he probably had to kill someone to get it for her.

"Er... Negra? Can I talk to you?" Harry waits on the threshold. She smiles nervously, worrying that he knows her secret, then she slaps herself mentally. Harry is not sensitive enough to know she was doing Earth magic.

"Sure, come in." He enters the room and sits down on the only chair not covered with books.

"I wanted to thank you for the Snitch." Her smile grows wider.

"You're welcome. This one is pretty vicious; it's the one we used for the 1989 World Cup. The match lasted during 10 hours, it was bloody hard to find. Of course, I was the one who caught it."

"Waoh." Harry looks at the Snitch a bit longer, and then he adds, "I'm sorry I have misjudged you."

"No problem. I happen to have misjudged you as well."

"However, I need your help. If I must trust you completely, it would be a great incentive that you agree to assist me."

She frowns. She knows only one other person who has no qualms about using such obvious blackmail. "You have been around Lymp way too long, Harry." He doesn't pay attention.

"When we're back in Hogwarts, I want you to train me."

"Train you. Are you talking about Quidditch?" He nods, she frowns again. "Lymp sent you, right?"

"Er... No." A grin appears on his face. "He could have, but he didn't."

She rolls her eyes, this is definitely something Lymp could have said. She caresses the onyx. Its power flows through her long fingers, her arms, up to her heart were it spreads itself into her whole body. The raw power of the Earth magic reaches her eyes, it is somehow mightier. She curses herself for having been scared to use it. The best solution to her instability was to practice. Note to myself: practice Earth magic whenever you can. And the best way to do it is to fly. "All right. I'll train you." She can't hold back laughter when she sees Harry's relieved ear-to-ear grin. He too is on his way to be healed.

*

"What is Earth magic, exactly?"

"Well, exactly, it is a very simple principle. When you do magic, for example 'Lumos', you use your own strength and drive it through the wand. Now, when I use Earth magic, I take objects' strength, and I don't need my wand."

"I don't understand."

"Well I can't really be clearer, because it would be teaching you Earth magic, and I don't want to do that."

"So, you...feel the objects?"

"Constantly. I grab the power I feel in them, and I turn it into magic."

"I still don't get why it is dangerous."

"First of all, it's a kind of wandless magic, just like some types of Dark magic. It's dangerous because you have very little control of the magic, and you can end up killing everybody easily. Then, it deals with the life of things like stones, trees, and wind - there is magic in the wind, yes, and other people. If you can drain the strength from a tree, then you can drain it from a human being."

"Oh."

"It means that if I wanted to, I could kill you by 'swallowing' all your power. A bit like a vampire."

"Lymp knows about that?"

"No, of course he doesn't. Imagine the fear, Remus, imagine if I'm angry, what can happen... This is why I had closed the gates. This is why I insisted on giving Mélodie to that woman, and this is the reason why I didn't start playing Quidditch again. And in order to find that student who practices Earth magic, I have to face all that again... I'm scared, and if you tell anyone, I kill you with my bare hands, Remus."

"I am scared too, Negra. And can the fox help you?"

"I hope so. The fox always helped me to keep my self-control, but now there is someone else in the same magic web, I have no idea. Earth magic must no be used by two persons at the same time in the same place, unless you want to destroy the fragile balance there is within nature... only future will tell."

*

Hogwarts dives into the night, covered in a blanket of stars. On the roof of the Owlery Harry is trembling, despite the warmth of the Invisibility Cloak. A flash of grey catches his glance. He turns towards the sudden move. Charlie should be there anytime soon. He freezes. There is a grey fox in front of him. A fox on Hogwarts' roof. Now, that is strange.

The fox stares at him, and then is gone, in the blink of an eye. Before Harry decides to follow it to figure out what it's doing there, a tall figure approaches the roof and lands near the Boy Who Lived. Charlie is here. "Hi, Harry. Sorry I'm late."

"You can be sorry, it won't make me warmer. Do you have the ingredient?"

"Of course. There you are." Harry hides the little bag under his cloak. Charlie Weasley frowns, and mutters in a tone full of belated concern: "You are not doing anything illegal, are you?"

"It is illegal, Charlie. If it wasn't, I wouldn't need you to bring it to me by night on the roof." He feels the worry of the older boy, "But I promise it's not dangerous."

"What are you going to make with that?"

"You don't want to know."

"Yes I want to know, or I take it back."

Harry sighs heavily, to make him understand he is really boring with his questions. As Charlie seems serious, he eventually explains: "We are trying to cast a spell on stones to be able to communicate at any time."

Charlie smiles. "Like some kind of a Muggle fellytone ?"

"Yeah." Charlie doesn't notice that Harry did not precise who is 'we' and for what purpose they are spending their nights doing that, and satisfied, he gets ready to leave. "Well, I must go. Bye, Harry, and take care."

"I will. Thanks for the dragon foam powder."

"You're welcome. Say hello to Ron and Ginny for me." And with a wave of his hand, he leaves.

*

Snape drops a pile of papers on his desk. "I have the results of your tests." He sits down. "They're terrible." The looks on the students' faces are priceless. "I don't know what happened. You should have better marks, all of you. This is lower than even I thought you could get." He takes the first paper between two fingers, with a scorning look, as if it was highly toxic. "Mister Longbottom, I suggest you to have a look at your first year lessons. Basil with Mandrake Sirup does not, in any case, make a good remedy against Influenza. Even the first years don't write such rubbish."

Negra slams the door open. "Professor Snape ? I must talk to you." Blood is covering her face, and she obviously spent time under the rain with no shelter. The students whisper furiously. What happened? Realizing she didn't use the most discreet way to talk to Snape, Negra smiles goofily. "I tripped."

Hermione whispers to Ron, "Is she making fun of us? She 'tripped'? She looks like she has been fighting with a herd of cats!" and rolls her eyes.

"Stay silent! Everybody read the three chapters about the use of potions in medicine in 'Moste Potente Potions'!" Snape joins Negra in the corridor. "I hope you have a good reason to interrupt my class. And don't spill blood over my robes." She smirks.

"Sorry for the bleeding. Next time I will try not to bleed when I come to talk to you." The sarcastic tone is definitely lost for Severus Snape.

"What is it you want to tell me? I don't have all day; I am working, unlike others."

"I know who is practising Earth magic. I need you to tell the Order at the next meeting."

"You are supposed to be there."

"If I ask you to tell them, it is because I won't be there." She addresses him as if he was simple-minded.

"I think you'll have to move and go tell what you must tell. I am not your messenger."

"Severus, I swear I'll-"

"What are you going to do, bleed on me?" Severus says, raising an eyebrow. Then he calms down. "So I guess it is Potter again, it is probably a power he received from the Dark Lord when he killed his parents?"

"The Dark Lord doesn't master Earth magic, Severus. You should know that."

"Who is it, then?"

"You won't believe it. It's that Ravenclaw girl, Luna Lovegood."

Severus Snape chokes. Then he notice Negra is still bleeding profusely. He decides to be human. "Go and see Madam Pomfresh, I'll come and talk to you when you feel better." And he goes back inside his classroom.

Negra follows the corridors, avoids the few students wandering, hides not to meet Peeves, and eventually arrives in the Hospital Wing. Poppy Pomfrey shrieks when she sees her state. "Holy Merlin ! What happened to you?"

"I tripped."

She starts cleaning the numerous cuts on her face, neck and arms. "You will have scars. Even the Professors can't behave in that school! What did I do to deserve that?" Even under her clothes, she is cut everywhere.

"I will have scars?"

"Yes. Not very obvious ones, though. Hold still..." Negra's hand is closed on her onyx. "I'm afraid I will have to tell Professor Dumbledore."

"I feel like a spanked child..." Poppy's frown does nothing to reassure her of the contrary.

*

It is night time again, Negra is waking up. Her skin aches badly. Two silhouettes are standing by her hospital bed. Severus Snape and Lymp Slayter.

"I would kiss you if I knew where, Foxel."

"You can try under my left foot. What are you doing here? You told me you were going to Norway."

"Lymp and I are working together for the Order. So tell us what happened."

"You're not scared of my bleeding anymore?"

"You're not bleeding anymore."

"All right, you two, stop it. We are adults, and we can behave like adults." Snape doesn't like Lymp lecturing him.

"YOU are telling us to behave?"

"He's got a point, Lymp." They remain silent for a moment. "I was told not to tell Lymp anything about my mission."

"I already know about it. You talk in your sleep, remember?"

"Bullshit. Oh, well, I might as well tell the both of you. I was training Harry yesterday when I felt a powerful stream of raw power. I nearly fell off my broom. I wanted to know what it was, and there is a dangerous spell that could make me locate the other source of Earth magic..." She moans. Talking hurts. "I did it, and it's Luna Lovegood. The spell went wrong, and my skin just...exploded. From the inside. It's a disgusting experience, believe me."

"What are you going to do?"

"Train her. She is dangerous for me, and I have enough scars like that." She is out of breath. "I won't come to the meetings anymore, since that girl is making me blow a fuse. I could kill everybody, or betray you... There are enough wards around Hogwarts, so I'm not going out until she is ready."

"Is she strong?"

"She is a bomb. I'll make sure she stays on our side. If he knows, Voldemort will want both of us. If Voldemort uses our power to feed himself, he'll be indestructible."

Snape nods, "I will let you two alone. You have an hour, then we must go." And he leaves the Hospital Wing. Lymp is frustrated; he wishes he could hold Negra in his arms, but it would hurt her too much.

"How are you feeling ?"

"Tired. Lymp..." She seems afraid of something. He tries to speak in a very gentle tone.

"Yes?"

"I am sorry, I will have scars, I'm - Will you still love me with scars?"

"Are you kidding?"

"Do I look like I am?" She points at her face, which indeed, doesn't look like she is joking at all.

"No you don't. I will still love you with scars. You must be really tired to ask such a dumb question."

"And about Earth magic... I'm sorry for not telling you. You don't hate me?"

"Merlin, you're even getting dumber. I don't hate you. I gave you this onyx because I knew you could use the power. Now stop talking nonsense or I bite you." He thinks, then add "Grrr."