The Phoenix Prophecy

Chapter Three: The Arrival

Monday- July 7th

Hermione

I awoke to find myself hugging my pillow. The dream I was having was quickly fading away. The only thing I remembered clearly was wrapping my arms around Harry and kissing him passionately. I suddenly realized that Gretchen and Madelyn were awake and looking at me.

“You must have been having any exceptionally vivid dream,” Gretchen smirked, with a big smile on her face.

The look on my face must have reflected the puzzlement in my mind as Gretchen added, “You were talking in your sleep.” This she said with a devilish grin.

I was panicked, what had I been saying. I felt myself going red in the face. Again Gretchen noticed my reaction. I don’t think she misses a trick. I am going to have to learn how to hide my feelings better if I don’t want her to know what’s on my mind. Don’t get the wrong idea, I really like Gretchen, but there are some thoughts that I want to keep for myself, especially my most personal and intimate thoughts where Harry is concerned.

“Don’t fret Sis,” she said noticing my concern. “I won’t tell Harry or even Ron. Your dreams are strictly your own. But I can’t help but add; it must have been very sweet.” This she said with genuine warmth in her voice and facial expression.

“Thanks Gretchen,” I replied. “Yes it was sweet and tender. Trouble is I can’t remember exactly what I was dreaming about. It’s really frustrating when you can’t remember a vivid dream within seconds of waking up.”

“Well, we better get a move on girls,” interrupted Madelyn. “I’m sure the guys are up and ready to get going.”

This statement brought me back to reality like a punch in the stomach. And that’s exactly what my stomach felt like, as if someone had punched me. I still haven’t completely accepted the idea of being part of a prophecy. The idea of actually going off on some quest to obtain a protective charm, or be turned into a ‘human marshmallow’ as Ron calls it, still has me scared silly.

When I am with Harry, I feel like I am brave enough to handle anything. But without him, I feel just like a little mouse at a ‘cat show’. I am not trying to put myself down. I still feel very confident when it comes to intellectual abilities. I don’t feel superior to the rest of the group. I know I have read much more than Ron or Harry. It makes me feel useful to know that I have something unique to contribute to the group’s needs.

‘Hermione, you spend too much time thinking’, I said to myself. ‘Get yourself up and going or you are going to be left behind.’ Well, since I wasn’t about to let Harry go anywhere without me, I got up and quickly started dressing.

We helped each other put our hair into buns. As I was finishing Gretchen’s hair and we were looking at each other in the mirror I said. “More than mortal wizards deserve.”

“If you two are done admiring what great treats you are for the guys, do you think we could go down to breakfast?” Madelyn said, with a trace of frustration in her voice.

As Madelyn walked out the door, I whispered to Gretchen. “Wonder why she’s so uptight?”

“Maybe it’s the journey? I think she’s actually more nervous than she lets on.”

“Well, you know her better than I do.”

We followed Madelyn down to the breakfast table, where our guys were standing at the table talking to each other. When we reached the table Harry and Ron came over to us. I kissed Harry quickly and Gretchen did the same for Ron. I noticed that Harry and Ron were looking at us with a most appreciative look. I winked at Gretchen and she winked back at me.

We all sat down at the table and Dumbledore invited us to dig in and eat heartily.

After everyone had finished breakfast, we went out onto the porch to collect our gear. Professor Dumbledore instructed us in the special features of our wrist watches. These watches were preset to count down the remaining time until the portal closed. In addition the watches could perform an ‘Accio’ charm on our Pathfinder brooms.

Professor Dumbledore had all of us hold onto a length of old worn rope. Suddenly we were zooming through the air, and after fifteen minutes we landed by the edge of a lake nestled between high hills, covered with evergreen trees. The air was crisp and cool. We could see our breath as we exhaled.

“This feels very much like home,” commented Gretchen.

“Actually we are in the Oland Islands,” replied Professor Dumbledore. “As you know these islands are located in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland.”

“Where’s the portal to the Realm?” Ron asked.

Professor Dumbledore just smiled, his eyes twinkling and said. “Let’s see which of you can be the first to find it.”

We all started to look around for anything that might be the portal. But I hadn’t the faintest idea what the portal should look like. ‘Well use your head’ I thought to my self. It can’t be anything living, like a tree, because it’s been here for thousands of years. It shouldn’t be anything that someone could accidentally stumble upon. There was a mountain stream that emptied into the lake from a small waterfall about twenty feet high. I’m not sure why, but I suddenly remembered how we got onto platform ‘Nine and three quarter’s’ at Kings Cross Station. I looked back at the waterfall again, and all of a sudden it hit like a flash.

“The portal is through the waterfall,” I said triumphantly.

“Absolutely correct,” replied Professor Dumbledore. I noticed that great grandmother was also smiling very affectionately at me.

“Well, it’s time you were all off to the Realm,” said Professor Dumbledore. “I have every confidence that you will succeed on your quest. But even if you fail to acquire the charm, I am sure that you will gain immeasurable experience from your journey. ‘May fortune favor the foolish.’”

We all bid Professor Dumbledore and great grandmother goodbye. I gave her an especially big hug and she kissed my forehead. I could see the tears in her eyes. This started the tears flowing down my face.

“I love you,” I said to her, and went to join the others.

We all mounted our brooms and took off straight for the waterfall. It was just like Kings Cross Station, one second we were in our world and the next we popped out into the Realm.

Ron

We emerged into the bright sunshine of the Realm. The entrance to the portal from the Realm was through a waterfall, just like it was on Earth. Rising to the west, behind the waterfall, were the tallest mountains I have ever seen. They went on as far as the eye could see. The tops were covered with snow. I couldn’t remember a more breath taking sight, except for the first time I saw Hogwarts as we crossed the lake as first year students.

The land to the east sloped down and away from the mountains. Gretchen said this place reminded her of pictures she had seen in a book of the Rocky Mountains in the United States. Having never seen such a book, I would have to take her word for it. All I knew for sure was that we didn’t have anything like this in Great Britain.

I suddenly noticed that I was breathing more rapidly and started to feel slightly panicky. Sirius must have noticed as he told all of us that we must be at a fairly high elevation and that was why we were having to breathe more rapidly.

We locked our current position into the Pathfinder brooms so that we could return to this exact location, even in total darkness if need be. I moved over to hover beside Gretchen. “Welcome to the Realm,” I said, and kissed her, careful not to fall off my broom.

“Milady thanks her gallant knight,” she replied affectionately, and kissed me back rather vigorously, almost knocking me from my broom.

“If Romeo and Juliet are ready, we should be on our way,” Sirius said good-naturedly. “All set,” Gretchen and I said simultaneously.

Sirius and Madelyn were conferring on how to proceed, and after a short discussion they motioned for the rest of us to gather around and listen up.

“We will be heading northeast, down from the mountains and into the prairie. We should fly about 100 feet above the tree tops and keep fairly close together. Always remember, we are ‘Strangers in a Strange Land’ so be constantly alert. Our lives may depend on it.”

This statement had the effect of yanking me back to reality rather abruptly. I started looking around, half expecting someone or something to attack us at any second. I also realized that I wasn’t afraid for myself. My real concern was for the safety of Gretchen and the others. I didn’t feel invincible or anything like that. I just had this overpowering urge to watch out for Gretchen. I was just beginning to realize how important she was to me. Just having her beside me seemed to give my life added purpose. When I looked at her and she smiled back with those sparkling blue eyes, I felt incredibly happy.

Harry and Hermione were side by side, holding hands, while Sirius was talking. Sirius had us double check our gear. We all made sure our wands were firmly seated in the special pocket of our flying suit jackets. When Sirius and Madelyn were satisfied, we took to the air, heading down a long canyon, following a river leading out of the mountains.

The sun was shining warmly and its position suggested that it was mid morning local time. The temperature felt like seventy, but flying at about twenty five miles per hour made it seem cooler. The flying suit kept us warm and was surprisingly comfortable. We were flying about ten feet apart with Madelyn and Sirius in the lead.

The scenery was breathtaking. Many times we would spot wild animals along the banks of the river. There were several different types of deer. Once I spotted what looked like an extremely large brown dog standing in a shallow part of the river. I pointed it out to Gretchen and asked if she knew what it was.

“I think that’s called a Grizzly Bear,” she answered me. “They are very strong and quite ferocious. We don’t want to get close to one of them, they are carnivores.”

After about an hour of flying we emerged from the canyon into grass lands the stretched to the horizon. We continued following the river. Several times we passed over herds of cattle like creatures, with shaggy coats and long horns. About an hour after entering the prairie, the river widened out and we came to a small island in the middle of the river. Sirius pointed to the island and descended to circle the island. A quick inspection of the island showed it to be deserted, and we landed on the east side near a clump of trees.

Everyone stretched as we dismounted from our brooms. The seats on the Pathfinder were fairly decent, but after a couple of hours of continuous flying you needed to get off and stand up. The island was about fifty feet from the bank of the river. We would be able to see if any animal or person were to cross in our direction.

“Let’s take fifteen or twenty minutes to stretch and have something to drink,” Madelyn instructed us. “Don’t go wandering off. We have no idea what might be on this island that we couldn’t see from the air.”

Gretchen, Hermione, Harry and I went over to a grassy spot near the rivers edge and sat down. After removing my backpack and getting a drink of water, I asked. “Well what do you think of the Realm so far?”

“I’ve never seen anything this wide open before,” Hermione replied. “And those mountains back at the portal looked absolutely awesome.”

“I wonder what it will be like when we get to the coast,” Harry said. “I have only been to the ocean once in my life, but I found it utterly fascinating.”

“The coastline along the Baltic Sea is absolutely stunning,” Gretchen added. “In the summer months there are many cruise ships that tour the area.”

“Even though this is beautiful countryside, I wouldn’t want to live here,” I said. “I haven’t seen a single place to buy any sweets.”

“Ron, I’m the only ‘sweet’ you’re going to need from now on,” Gretchen said, trying to sound very serious. “‘My lips are full of sweet wine so that you may drink of me, my handsome prince’,” she continued.

“Gretchen, you’re starting to worry me,” I said, faking a serious concern for her mental state.

Gretchen’s face started quivering as she said. “Oh, Ron, I was just play acting for you.”

“I know you were. I was just teasing you,” I said grinning.

“Oh, you rat,” she said, jumping up and pushing me over backwards. As I fell back, I grabbed her and she fell on the ground beside me.

“I’m sorry, I truly didn’t mean to upset you,” I said. “Please forgive me.”

“Kiss me first, and then I’ll think about it,” she said, trying to look serious, but not quite managing it.

I pulled her face to mine and kissed her gently but warmly. When we sat up I noticed that Harry and Hermione were following our lead and had just broken from a kiss. Sirius called to us and said it was time to continue on our way. We would fly for a couple of hours and then stop for lunch.

The next two hours were very boring. The prairie continued on and on, and on some more. Finally we started to encounter trees and low rolling hills. From the general weather conditions, I assumed it must be sometime during the summer here in the Realm. I had wondered about this back in our home world. I hoped we wouldn’t arrive in the middle of winter.

I could see that Sirius and Madelyn were scouting the landscape for a safe place to land and have lunch. So far, I hadn’t seen any signs of civilization. Just how big was the Realm, and how may people lived here, I wondered to myself.

Just then we all sighted a large rock formation rising above the tree line. When we reached it, we circled around the outcropping to see if it looked safe enough to land for lunch. The sides were quite steep and there didn’t appear to be any signs of animal life big enough to be a threat. We landed in the middle of the plateau and looked around for any signs of impending danger. Everything appeared Okay, so Sirius took off his backpack and sat down on one of the smaller rocks. We all followed his lead and were soon munching down on food that we carried in our backpacks.

I asked Sirius how much longer it would take us to reach the coast.

“We should be able to reach the coast in about four more hours,” he replied. “We will stop halfway for a short break and then continue on. We want to be there well before dark, so that we can find a suitable place to spend the night.”

Since the sun was directly overhead, I figured we had at least eight hours of daylight left. “Sirius, did Professor Dumbledore tell you anything about the population on this continent?” I asked.

“Just a few basic facts, which he said were at least one hundred years out of date,” Sirius replied. “We probably won’t encounter any civilization until sometime tomorrow when we head north up the coast to the city of Enchantment.”

While we were eating, I noticed a flock of birds flying off in the distance. There was something familiar about the motion of the birds as they flew. I pointed them out to Sirius and asked if they looked familiar to him.

“If I’m not mistaken, those are Hippogriffs or at least some relation to the Hippogriffs back on earth,” he replied, frowning slightly. “When you have finished eating make sure your backpacks are closed and you are ready to leave at a moments notice,” he added as an afterthought.

“Sirius, is anything the matter?” Madelyn asked, when she noticed that he was frowning.

“No, everything’s Okay, we just want to be prepared at all times for the unexpected. The sight of the Hippogriffs just reminded me that we are not alone on this world.”

“Take thirty minutes to relax, and then we will be on our way again,” he said to us all.

I stood up and held out my hand to Gretchen, and said. “I think I could use some more wine.”

“Huh, Oh yeah,” she replied, smiling as she got up and took my hand.

We walked over to a large bolder and sat down with our faces in the sun. The warmth of the sun shining on me felt good. After eating, I felt like I could use a little nap. I put my arm around Gretchen; and we both leaned against each other. We didn’t talk for several minutes, and then Gretchen said to me.

“Ron, do you like to dance?”

“What possessed you to ask me that at this particular time?” I said a little louder than I should have. I could feel Gretchen tensing up. “I’m sorry, Gretchen,” I added quickly. “I didn’t mean to sound angry. It’s just that the question caught me by surprise, and well it’s just that I don’t really know how to dance.” This I added feeling quite embarrassed.

“Would you like somebody to teach you how?” she said, looking quite serious.

“Have anybody in mind?” I asked, smiling.

“Well, just me,” she replied, grinning.

“Gretchen, that would be really great,” I said. “But could we do it privately?”

“That’s a deal,” she said, and gazed into my eyes for several seconds before kissing me.

For the next twenty minutes we talked about our families back home. When I heard Sirius calling, we got up and walked back to the others. Everyone shouldered their backpacks and picked up their brooms. We checked to make sure we weren’t leaving anything behind, and mounted our brooms heading east.

Harry

As we continued heading for the coast I kept thinking of the challenges that lay ahead of us on this journey. I asked myself if it was fair to be exposing Hermione to the many possible dangers that we could encounter in the days ahead. I knew she was very nervous about this trip. But I also knew that there was no way she would allow herself to be left behind. She would stand beside me and subject herself to the same dangers that awaited me. When I thought about it, I realized that Hermione was being the perfect mate. We would be one, inseparable, unto death if necessary. No one could ask more from a mate than that.

I also realized, for the first time in my life I had someone to share the responsibility I felt I owed the wizarding world. Having Hermione to confide in and ask advice of made the task of trying to live up to a prophecy at least bearable. Living up to the reputation caused by Voldemort being nearly destroyed when he tried to kill me when I was a baby was tough enough.

These and other thoughts filled my mind and helped pass the time as we flew for the next two hours. As we were reaching the time to take a break, I noticed that dark clouds were now visible on the horizon, directly ahead of us. Sirius must have noticed them as well because we stopped to rest just before the two hours had passed. We landed on the side of a rocky hill where we could see any approaching animal life.

“I don’t like the looks of the weather up ahead,” said Sirius. “However, if we head north now, we will have to go around a mountain range in order to reach Enchantment. That will take us at least two days out of our way.”

“Could we wait here for the storm to move on?” I asked.

“I think the storm is actually moving in this direction,” he replied. “And there isn’t any suitable shelter in the immediate area. I am afraid we must go on to the caves along the coast.”

“These brooms are quite stable,” Madelyn interjected. “They should get us through the weather up ahead. I suggest that we take a very quick stretch and be on our way.”

“Does anyone disagree?” Sirius asked. “Okay, then try and stay close together. Put on your goggles to keep the rain out of your eyes. We will land in the first cave we find that is high enough for us to stand up in.”

We each had a quick sip of water, stretched our arms and legs and once again took off. Within thirty minutes we were at the edge of the storm. The clouds were so thick that the sunlight was almost completely blotted out. It felt like nightfall would be upon us shortly. As we pressed on, the winds began to blow very strongly and rain started to pelt our bodies. I estimated that we should reach the coast within the next fifteen minutes.

Lightning was beginning to flash all around us. The winds were howling. It was almost impossible to keep the brooms under control. I could barely see the others and we were only ten feet apart.

Then suddenly we broke out over the cliffs along the coast line. We looked to be at least two hundred feet above the surface of the water, which was crashing in great waves against the base of the cliffs. Even from this height, the roar of the sea was deafening. As we dropped below the tops of the cliffs it seemed a little easier to control the broom.

Just then a powerful bolt of lightning lit the sky and surface of the cliffs. A good sized cave was about 500 feet further up the shoreline. The cave was fifty feet from the top of the cliffs. It was large enough that we should be able to land in its mouth, even in these winds. Or at least I sure hoped so.

We kept inching our way towards the cave. The constantly changing up and down drafts was going to make landing in the cave very difficult. We were almost to the mouth of the cave when a bolt of sizzling lightning hit the cliff about twenty feet above our heads. The impact of the lightning caused an explosion of rocks and stones that came straight for us. I turned sharply away from the cliff wall to avoid the rocks and watched in utter horror as Hermione was hit in the side by a large chunk of rock that knocked her off her broom, two hundred feet above certain death at the base of the cliffs.

It felt as though time had been suddenly frozen. I couldn’t hear a sound, even though I knew I was screaming as only a terrified animal can scream. My throat felt like it had a lump the size of a bludger lodged in it. Hermione seemed to be suspended in mid air with a look of terror frozen on her face as she suddenly realized that she as about to fall to her death.

As quickly as time had been frozen it was unfrozen, and Hermione was falling helplessly with her arms flailing the air. For the briefest instant I hung there watching her fall. Then I was diving after her on my Pathfinder, squeezing the handle so hard I though my fingers were going to break.

At first it seemed that I wasn’t gaining on her, but then slowly, ever so slowly, I was closing the gap between us. Would I be able to reach her in time? Would we have time to pull up before we both crashed into the rocks below? Time just seemed to crawl by. I was screaming at the broom to go faster. My heart was beating so hard it felt that it was going to explode.

I was close enough to Hermione to see into her eyes. Her arms were stretched out to me pleading for me to save her. Her terrified look of ‘please save me’ was burned into my mind forever. I knew that I would either save her or die with her. There was no way I could live with the look of horror on her face that I would carry with me for the rest of my life.

And then suddenly I was beside her, and grabbing her around the waist with one hand, and hanging onto the broom with the other. Once she wrapped her arms around me, I pulled up on the handle with all of the strength I could summon from my nerve racked body.

Slowly, ever so slowly, we began to slow our descent. I also turned and headed away from the cliffs, towards the open sea. If we crashed into the water we might just have a chance to survive. I just kept screaming over and over, “Pull up!—Pull Up!” I thought we were just about to hit the water when the broom finally leveled off and started to climb. Our feet actually touched the top of a wave as we cleared the water and started back up.

Hermione and I were both shaking uncontrollably. I could barely keep the broom level. Just when I felt that I couldn’t go on another second, Sirius and Madelyn came up beside me. Sirius grabbed Hermione and pulled her to him on his broom while Madelyn helped steady me. Without Hermione’s added weight I was able to control my broom.

Sirius headed straight for the cave. The winds were swirling all around the entrance. Just as Sirius was ready to land a cross draft slammed Sirius and Hermione into the side wall of the cave as we all watched in disbelief. Madelyn shot forward, and was able to land in the cave without crashing into the walls. She ran immediately to Sirius and Hermione, who were both unconscious. Madelyn motioned for the rest of us to attempt a landing in the cave.

Gretchen was just starting her run to land in the cave when out of nowhere came a great ear piercing shriek. And just as suddenly, Gretchen was yanked from her broom by the largest bird I had ever seen in my life. The bird started climbing towards the cliff tops, clutching Gretchen in its talons. Ron and I took off after the bird and Gretchen. As we crested the cliff top, the bird was screeching furiously and having a very difficult time fighting the wind.

I started harassing the bird’s head while Ron tried to position himself under Gretchen, so the he could catch her if the bird let go. By some small miracle, the bird had actually snagged Gretchen by her backpack instead of her body. While I kept the bird occupied by harassing its head, Gretchen managed to slip out of her backpack and drop so that Ron could catch her.

Once Ron and Gretchen were free of the bird, I joined them where they had landed by a large rock on the top of the cliff. When I landed beside them, they were both shaking and crying almost hysterically. I told them we had to find some shelter immediately. There wasn’t any way we could make it back to the cave the others had landed in. I said for them to stay put while I took a quick look around. Luckily there was a small cave just about fifty feet below where we had landed.

I went back to Ron and Gretchen and told them of the cave. “The winds had temporally let up so now’s our chance,” I said. We quickly descended the cliff wall and were able to land safely in the small cave. The cave was just barely high enough to stand up in. I pulled out my wand and said ‘Lumos’ as we made our way into the cave, out of the wind and rain.

Gretchen was still shaking uncontrollably. I pulled off my backpack and pulled out the nylon blanket that was part of our supplies. I told Ron to wrap Gretchen in it, and hug her to him to see if he could get her to start to calm down.

After getting Ron and Gretchen settled, I continued looking through the supplies in my backpack. I finally found something that might be useful. ‘Witch Hazel’s All Purpose Tonic’ guaranteed to cure what ever ails you. I took the bottle over to Gretchen and told her to take a small sip. She had stopped shaking enough to put the bottle to he lips without spilling it. She coughed and sputtered as she drank from the bottle. I told Ron to take a sip too, which he did, and coughed just as Gretchen had.

“Boy that stuff is hot,” Ron managed to choke out. “I can fell it starting to warm my whole body.”

Since I also felt like I was frozen to the bone, I decided to take a small sip. I coughed and sputtered just as they had. But Ron was right, I immediately started to feel warmth radiate throughout my whole body.

All of a sudden I felt too tired to even stand up, and kind of half fell half slid down next to Gretchen. Ron took off his backpack and handed me the nylon blanket from his backpack. I gratefully wrapped myself in the blanket, and just sat there not wanting to move or think. Ron was still holding Gretchen, who had stopped shaking but was holding onto him very tightly.

I was so tired I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I just had to rest for a few minutes….

. . .

I was back on my broom, trying to catch Hermione as she was falling into a black bottomless pit. The faster I went, the faster she fell. I could hear her voice pleading to me, ‘Harry please don’t let me die.’ Over and over she pleaded. I was crazed and furious. I kept shouting ‘I won’t let you die, I won’t let you die.’ I could feel myself shaking with rage.

“Harry, wake up, you’re having a nightmare,” Ron was saying as he shook my shoulders, trying to rouse me from my dream.

I finally awoke, still shaking and drenched with sweat. “Hermione,” I cried out, trying to jump up, but Ron held me down saying. “Harry, she’s with Madelyn and Sirius. She’ll be fine. Try and relax.”

By this time, I was so overcome with grief that I found myself crying as I tried to tell Ron what it was like to look into someone’s eyes when they knew they were going to die.

“Ron, we almost lost Hermione and Gretchen,” I blubbered. “Whose idea was it to take this idiotic journey? It can’t possibly be worth the lives of our girls. This is stupid, we should turn right around and go back home, now before something else happens.”

My mood was changing from grief to anger. I was furious that we had risked the girl’s lives. This just couldn’t be allowed to continue. It was one thing that Voldemort wanted to kill me. But it was unthinkable that anyone or anything should endanger Hermione, my one true love. Finally from sheer exhaustion, I fell into a fitful sleep.

Ron

Harry was really spaced out. I couldn’t blame him. What had started out as an enjoyable journey had turned into a total nightmare. Hermione and Sirius were definitely hurt. How bad we had no way of knowing. I sure hoped that Madelyn was a good nurse. We were a long way from civilization, no hospital wing with Madam Pomfrey close by to cure all our ailments.

Gretchen had stopped crying and was sleeping quietly in my arms. I looked down at her face, thinking how close I’d come to losing her tonight. I could feel my eyes beginning to tear. I bent down and kissed her forehead gently, not wanting to wake her. “I love you” I said softly, with a sniffle.

I was starting to feel a little cold again. The elixir was wearing off. I looked around for the bottle Harry had opened but I didn’t see it. I tried to use one hand to hold Gretchen, and the other to rummage through my backpack for the bottle of elixir that should be there. While I was searching Gretchen woke up. She opened her eyes and smiled at me weakly.

“How do you feel,” I asked her.

“I feel like I just got stomped by a troll,” she replied.

“Gretchen, do you hurt any place in particular?” I said. “Do you think any bones are broken? I didn’t notice any blood or puncture wounds.” I added.

“No, I think I’m all in one piece,” she replied. “I feel cold to the bone. I wish we had a fire.”

I finally managed to find the bottle of elixir in my backpack. “Here take some more of this,” I said. “I will make you feel warm on the inside, at least.”

She took a swallow and immediately started coughing and sputtering.

“Oh, sorry, I forgot to warn you to take small sips,” I said. I then took the bottle from her and took a couple of small sips, coughing just a little. Once again the warmth started spreading through my body. This stuff was great.

“Did that help?” I asked her.

“Yes, I feel much better.”

Gretchen looked up into my eyes, smiled and said. “Ron, I thank you for saving my life.” She sat up and pulled my face to hers and kissed me. I’m not sure which gave off more heat, the elixir or Gretchen’s kiss.

As she leaned back to be cradled in my arms, she looked over at Harry who was still asleep. “He sure has had a rough time,” she said, with her voice full of compassion. “He still doesn’t know for certain whether Hermione’s Okay or badly hurt. That’s got to tear you up.”

“Ron, what kind of bird was it that grabbed me and why?” Gretchen asked.

“I’m not certain, but my guess is that it’s some kind of Hippogriff. As to why, maybe it has a nest in the cliff caves and we got to close to its young. Those are just guesses mind you, I really don’t know for certain.”

Gretchen looked in the direction of the cave opening and said to me. “It sounds as though the storm is still raging. Do you think we will be here all night?”

“I’m afraid so. We are in no condition to try and reach the cave where the others are hold up. We will be a lot better off if we wait for daylight.”

“Speaking of light, how long will the light from a wand last?” she asked, sounding a little nervous.

“Gretchen, are you afraid to be alone in the dark with me?” I said, smiling at her.

“No, Ron, I would never be afraid to be anywhere with you. I just don’t want any other creatures trying to move in with us tonight, that’s all.”

“We should try and get some sleep, its going to be a long night,” I said. I got up and lowered Harry to a laying position, with his head on his backpack. Gretchen lay down next to Harry. I got out my wand and said ‘Lumos’ and stuck the handle in a crack between two rocks. I lay down next to Gretchen and she snuggled close to me. Luckily the nylon blanket was large enough to cover the both of us. The cave floor was mostly sand which made it possible to lie down at all.

“This is not exactly what I pictured our first night together would be like,” I said, smiling at Gretchen.

“That goes for me too,” she replied. “Ron, do you like children?”

“Yeah, I like kids,” I said. When I am older I would like to have some. Exactly how many I’m not sure. Why do you ask?

“Well, I have always liked kids. I just wanted to know what your feelings were on the subject,” she said rather softly.

“Gretchen, in the likely event that we live through this and someday get married we can have as many kids as you need,” I said.

“Oh, Ron, you really do know how to make me happy,” she said softly, crying on my shoulder.

While we laid there and as I was stroking her hair, I felt Gretchen drop off to sleep. I was thinking of little Gretchens running around the house as I dozed off to sleep.

Madelyn

I landed in the cave, jumped off my broom and ran over to Sirius and Hermione. Sirius was unconscious, Hermione was just dazed. I waved to the others to come into the cave as quickly as possible. I then turned my attention back to Sirius and Hermione.

I pulled out my wand and said ‘Lumos’. I picked up Hermione and moved her further back into the cave. I removed her backpack and covered her with the blanket from her pack.

I went back to the cave opening expecting to see one or more of the others, but no one else was there. I peered out into the storm but couldn’t see anything. I turned my attention back to Sirius. He was still out cold. One look at his arm told me it was broken above the elbow. He didn’t appear to have any other injuries. I used my wand to tie his arm into a cast of sorts, so that I could move him further back into the cave.

After I got his backpack off, I looked around for a place large enough to set up the wizard’s tent. Luckily there was a large cavern just a short distance from the mouth of the cave. I quickly set up the tent and pulled two of the cot/beds into the main room. I went back and carried Hermione to one of the beds. She was starting to wake up and was extremely panicky. I put her under a sleeping spell so I could deal with Sirius first.

When I went back for Sirius there was still no sign of the other three. I was starting to get really nervous. I couldn’t see how they could survive out there in this storm for much longer. I used a floating spell to move Sirius to the other bed I had setup in the main room.

After lighting a couple of lanterns, I got out the medical supplies I would need to set Sirius’s broken arm and started to work on him. It took quite a while to just get is jacket off without doing further damage to his arm. Once I had the jacket off him, I could see that it was indeed a simple fracture. I prepared the potion I needed and set the arm in ‘QuickCast’ with the accelerated healing gel.

Once I had Sirius’s arm properly set, I removed the sleeping charm and roused him as gently as I could. He awoke with a start and tried to get up. I was prepared for that and gently pushed him back down onto the bed. I told him to just lie still and listen. I explained that he had a broken arm but it was already in a cast and would be fine in a couple of days. Hermione was sleeping and had no significant injuries.

Then came the hard part as I had to tell him that Harry, Ron and Gretchen never showed up. At this news I had all I could do to restrain him. I threatened to put him back under a sleeping charm if he tried to get out of bed again.

“Sirius, they are either safe in some other place or they are already dead,” I said as gently as I could. “Either way, you can not help them until morning. If you went out now you would only succeed in killing yourself.”

Sirius wasn’t very happy with me, but he knew I was right. I told him to try and get some sleep while I attended to Hermione.

I removed Hermione’s jacket and checked her chest, back and stomach for any signs of internal injuries that might have been caused from the rocks that knocked her off her broom. She had a small bruise on her left side near a middle rib. As a precaution, I applied some healing gel to her rib and wrapped her ribs in a rubber bandage. I decided against waking her as I felt sure she would get hysterical if Harry wasn’t here and we had no knowledge of his whereabouts. She didn’t need that distress after her nearly fatal fall.

I realized that I was starving and went and got some food from our supplies. I took a chair and went and sat beside Sirius.

“Are you hungry?” I asked him quietly.

“I couldn’t eat, not knowing where the others are,” he replied, in a voice choked with emotion and ready to crack.

“I know you feel responsible for what has happened to all of us, Sirius. With leadership comes the burden of guilt when those under your protection are hurt or killed. I can’t do anything to lessen that burden for you. But if you don’t eat tonight, you will be too weak to help them tomorrow when they may need you the most.”

Sirius looked up at me with tears in his eyes. My heart just ached for him and what he was going through. I too was awfully fond of all of these kids. I bent over and kissed him gently and said. “Eat a little now and more later, when you are ready.”

He took a small food bar from me and ate it slowly. I gave him some fruit juice which he finished quickly.

“Just lay there and try to get some rest,” I told him. I made sure he was covered, kissed him again and sat down and ate some food that I really didn’t want either.

‘Well this may be the shortest journey on record’, I thought to myself. There was no point in going on if Harry, Ron or Gretchen were injured or dead. We were all so worried about what some of the living creatures that inhabited this world might do to us that we failed to respect the most powerful element in any world, namely Mother Nature herself. I was very tired and needed some sleep if I was going to be of any use to the others. I retrieved a bed and placed it between Hermione and Sirius. I was asleep within seconds of lying down.