The Phoenix Prophecy

Chapter Seventeen: The Return

Monday – Early Evening - July 21^st

Harry: 7:55 PM

I had been trying to contact Hermione for the past five minutes without any success. My hope of reaching her just by calling out to her was all but gone. Even if Dumbledore was right about it being nothing short of pure luck that Alec and Nicole bumped into each other, returning to the Nexus and hoping for a repeat of their good fortune, seemed more likely to result in Hermione’s return than just calling out to her. At least that’s the way I saw it.

“Professor, surely there must be something we can do besides just calling out and hoping that Hermione will hear me,” I said, renewing my efforts to try something different after calling out yet again without getting any response.

“Albus, something must be preventing Hermione from answering,” Sirius said before Professor Dumbledore had a chance to answer me. “The love that Harry and Hermione share between them is as strong as any two people can share, short of the bond of love between a mother and her child. If Hermione could answer, I am positive that she would have answered by now.”

“I fear that you are correct in your assumption, Sirius,” Professor Dumbledore answered heavily, his usual optimism nowhere in sight. “Martha, would you be good enough to escort Roxanne, Nicole and Alec back to the Atrium. Fawkes will take you there. Please ask Minerva to join us here.”

“Certainly, Albus,” Martha replied and threw Walt a quick smile as she prepared to return to the Atrium.

“Professor Dumbledore, Hermione was quite positive that the room directly above us was Mortius’ secret room,” Nicole offered while Martha was trying to coax Nicole’s mom away from the wall where she was standing, apparently trying to get as far away from us as possible. “Hermione figured out that the spiral steps leading to the room only showed themselves when someone with a wand stood near the base of the wall where the steps start. Since the pass phrase to open the door to this room is ‘Athene,’ which was the name of Mortius’ wife, Hermione felt certain that we would find the agent for the aging spell in the room at the top of the stairs.”

“How did Hermione learn Mortius’ wife’s name?” Professor Dumbledore asked her, looking mildly surprised by her statement.

“Cetus, told us earlier this afternoon when he was telling us how Mortius imprisoned him along with his brother and sister on this island,” Nicole answered eagerly.

“Did Cetus mention anything else that might be of use?” Professor Dumbledore asked, staring at Nicole over the top of his half-moon glasses as he so often did when talking with a student.

“Well…” Nicole hesitated, looking at Alec who nodded for her to continue. “Virgo, that’s Cetus’ sister, told me that I have magical abilities and will be a witch someday, just like Hermione and Gretchen.” Nicole was positively beaming when she finished telling Dumbledore that she too was going to be a witch.

“She told you that?” Professor Dumbledore asked, a twinkle in his eyes that told me he did not doubt Nicole’s claim and found her to be a charming young girl.

“Yes, she did,” answered Nicole solemnly, not the least bit intimidated.

“I see no reason to doubt Virgo. From our limited conversation, she seems to be a most astute dragon,” Professor Dumbledore replied, smiling fondly at Nicole.

I noticed that Martha was not smiling as she tried to get Nicole’s mom to move away from the wall. She threw Walt a worried look, which he returned. From the way Nicole’s mother was acting, I could understand why she and Walt looked so worried over Nicole’s announcement.

“Walt, what do you know about Mortius?” Professor Dumbledore asked, turning his attention to Walt.

“Probably not much more than you do, Albus” Walt began. “He was reputed to be one of the most powerful dark wizards of his time. Considering that he lived about the same time as Salazar Slytherin, his reputation says quite a lot. Most of what is known about him is myth rather than fact. For instance, it is rumored that he spent many years on Plutos, but no one knows for sure if he did or for how long.”

“We know that…or at least Cetus does,” Alec interrupted, before his dad could continue.

“Does Cetus have any idea how long Mortius spent on Plutos?” Albus asked.

“Cetus told us that Mortius’ whereabouts were unknown for a fifty year period,” I answered. “The dragons speculate that Mortius was on Plutos for maybe half of that time before returning to the Realm. They feel that Mortius spend the remainder of the fifty years preparing this island for his dragon cult.”

“If Mortius spent just ten years on Plutos he would have learned enough about the dark arts to construct an entrance to the Nexus and conceal its true nature,” Professor Dumbledore began. “Martha, please leave Alec and Nicole with us as they may remember something else of value.”

“As you wish,” Martha replied. Having given up trying to get Nicole’s mom to move away from the wall, Martha motioned Fawkes to her side. Grabbing Nicole’s mom around the waist with one hand and Fawkes’ tail feathers in the other, the three of them apparated from the room.

“Harry, keep calling out to Hermione,” Professor Dumbledore said to me after Fawkes and the two women apparated from the room. “She may still hear you, which would be much safer than the only alternative we may have.”

Thankfully I did not have long to worry over what the alternative Professor Dumbledore was considering might entail. A ‘pop’ heralded the arrival of Fawkes and Professor McGonagall after I had called out to Hermione twice more without getting any reply.

“Minerva, we must move quickly as Hermione is trapped in the Nexus and is not responding to Harry’s voice,” Professor Dumbledore began just as soon as Professor McGonagall walked up to him. “It would appear that Mortius has constructed an entrance to the Nexus masquerading as a doorway leading to a secret chamber. All six of the youngsters entered the Nexus through the doorway, but only Hermione has not returned. I feel that we have no other choice than to send Harry in after her. Transfiguring Harry into a snake will allow him to search for Hermione based on the heat her body gives off. If she is alive, the snake should be able to locate her because of its ability to seek out prey based on their body heat. Inside the Nexus, the snake’s eyes will be just as unreliable as human eyes. Harry’s ability to speak parseltongue should give him enough control over the snake’s actions to search for Hermione.”

“Albus, even if Harry does manage to locate Hermione, he will not be able to lead her back to the Nexus’ entrance as long as he is still in snake form,” Professor McGonagall replied, looking extremely worried.

“That is quite true, Minerva. If Harry finds Hermione, then he will have to break the transfiguration spell and return to his normal human form,” Professor Dumbledore replied. “At that moment he will have to be very quick not to lose site of Hermione and grab a hold of her before the Nexus clouds his mind with another fantasy.”

“You mean, ‘be very lucky’,” Sirius added sarcastically, with a nervous laugh.

“Professor Dumbledore, isn’t this the same as changing into an animagus form?” I asked, wondering just how it was going to feel to have the body of a snake.

“No, Harry. There are a couple of significant differences between being transfigured into another living form by someone else and transfiguring yourself into another living form,” Professor Dumbledore began slowly. “First, if you have not been taught the counter-spell you will not be able to reverse the transfiguration someone has performed on you. Second, you do not have the same degree of control over the living form you have been transfigured into that you experience when you change into one of your animagus forms. In short, you will possess the snake’s body instead of being one with it. You will have to fight to overcome the snake’s own free will, but with your special ability to speak parseltongue I feel you should be able to accomplish this with only minimal difficulty.”

“How long will I have to find Hermione?” I asked, willing to try just about anything, as I was getting very desperate.

“I cannot answer that question with any degree of certainty,” Professor Dumbledore replied. “My best estimate would be that if you do not find her within the next thirty minutes you never will.”

Professor Dumbledore’s final three words cut into me like a knife. I refused to believe that Hermione was lost forever. I vowed to keep searching for as long as it took to find her.

“Harry, I know you will find Hermione,” Ron said, trying to sound positive as he and Gretchen stood next to each other with their arms around each other’s waists. The site of the two of them supporting each other and sharing the love that they felt for each other strengthened my resolve to find Hermione, no matter how long it might take.

“Thanks, Ron. I really appreciate your support,” I replied as he and Gretchen walked over to me, and both of them gave me a big hug. Gretchen kissed my cheek and told me to hurry because Hermione was waiting for me.

“Harry, we must hurry,” Professor Dumbledore said and I flashed a quick smile at Alec and Nicole, who returned it.

“Good luck, Harry,” Sirius said as he clasped a hand on my shoulder as I followed Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall to the base of the spiral stairs.

“Thanks, Sirius. I will find Hermione, you can count on it,” I replied positively. I refused to entertain any other outcome. I was going to find her.

Professor Dumbledore had me lead the way up the spiral stairs with Professor McGonagall between us. Once we reached the top of the stairs, I took a couple of deep breaths as Professor McGonagall gave me some last minute instructions.

“Harry, the counter spell to reverse the transfiguration is the word ‘Hogwarts.’ Do not say ‘Hogwarts’ until you have found Hermione or…” Professor McGonagall began, her voice trailing off suddenly. “Once you have transfigured back into human form, call out to us and we will talk you and Hermione back to the entrance of the Nexus. Do you have any questions?”

“Yes, lots of them, but they will all have to wait,” I replied, managing a weak smile. “I am ready and Hermione is waiting, so let’s get started.”

“Right you are, Harry,” Professor McGonagall replied and managed a thin smile even though she was just as upset over Hermione as I was. “Turn around and face the door. I will transfigure you into a snake and levitate you through the entrance to the Nexus.”

I barely heard Professor McGonagall cast the spell. One instant I was facing the doorway, the next instant I was floating through the doorway and then I was suddenly falling. I hit the floor after falling only a short distance. It was quite dark and I could not make out anything familiar. I lay perfectly still trying to determine if anything was near me. My tongue shot out of my mouth and I felt my brain being flooded with information. From the almost imperceptible vibrations in the air, I knew that several creatures of some sort were moving somewhere in the immediate vicinity.

I felt as though I was inside the snake, seeing what its senses saw, but not in control of its’ actions. As I continued to ‘watch’, three images of shapes began to form in the snake’s brain. Fascinated, I watched as the images became more detailed and one began to glow a dull red. The dull red image did not appear to be moving. Two of the three images seemed to be moving slowly about the room. These images showed no color, they appeared mostly as an outline of a shape that was constantly changing. After watching them move about for several seconds, I wasn’t sure what the images were.

I returned my attention to the single image with the dull red glow. This image was quite large and was a fair distance away. The snake’s instincts seemed to have focused on this image. As I watched, the snake’s tongue tasted the air several more times. Turning its head in the direction of the dull red image, the snake’s heat sensors were able to add a considerable amount of detail to the image. Within seconds, I was sure that this was the image of a human being, lying on the floor about ten feet in front on me. Near the center of the image was the unmistakable shape of a human heart slowly pumping warm blood to other parts of the body.

If this was Hermione, then she was alive. I was so excited that I almost shouted out ‘Hogwarts’ so that I could gather her in my arms. I stopped short of returning to human form when I realized that I would never find Hermione once I transfigured back to human form from this distance. Suddenly I realized that I could not control the snake’s movements and I felt panic swelling within me. I had to get the snake to move closer to Hermione before I could transfigure back to human form. Just then another thought hit me; what if this person was not Hermione, then what? Should I search the entire room…was that even possible given the time I had to find her…was this even a room?

Before I could do anything, I had to learn to control the snake’s actions, or at the very least get it to move in the direction I wanted it to go. Not sure how to begin, I tried talking to the snake. At the sound of my words, the snake contracted into a tight coil as if it had detected something very dangerous nearby. The snake did not appear to understand anything I was saying to it. Then it dawned on me that I was thinking in English and not parseltongue. As soon as I shifted to parseltongue the snake’s head snapped around to look behind itself. It took me a while, but I finally managed to convince the snake that I was its ‘inner voice’ speaking to it, and that it should slither over next to the human lying on the floor.

Cautiously the snake moved closer to the only human that its’ senses could detect in the immediate vicinity. Afraid that the human might react violently if it saw a snake slithering up beside it, I urged the snake to proceed with great caution. At the first sign of aggression on the part of the human, I was ready to break the spell and return to human form.

The snake was now just mere inches away from the human. The snake’s senses had detected no movement other than normal breathing from the body lying on the floor beside it. The mental image of the human in the snake’s brain was not distinct enough to identify who the person was. Staring at the image I quickly realized that we were seeing the human’s back. Urging the snake to move around the body, it made its way along the side of the body until it came to what was obviously the head. My heart almost leapt out of my body when I realized that this person had a lot of hair on their head. I forced myself to wait until the snake was in front of the person’s face before breaking the spell, just in case this person might not be Hermione.

Once the snake was next to the person’s face and the image in the snake’s brain sharpened, I shouted out ‘Hogwarts’ in parseltongue. The instant I returned to human form I lunged for Hermione’s body that I knew would be in front of me. As my arms encircled her body, I realized with a start that I could see her as plainly as ever. The first thing that passed through my mind was that I was back inside another fantasy and I just thought I was holding on to Hermione. As I was brushing Hermione’s hair out of her face, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from behind me.

Sirius: 8:00 PM

Just standing around waiting while Harry searched for Hermione inside the Nexus was starting to get on my nerves. Being confined inside such a small windowless room wasn’t helping much either. This pit reminded me of the prison cells at Azkaban, and that really didn’t help my disposition. At the moment, I dare say there wasn’t a single happy thought in the entire room. Ron and Gretchen were standing with Alec and Nicole, none of them seemed to have much to say. Walt and I were at the foot of the spiral stairs, our necks craned towards the ceiling where Albus and Minerva were in the middle of an intense discussion. From the looks on their faces, I got the distinct impression that something was not going according to plan.

Albus suddenly motioned for Fawkes to join him and Minerva. After what looked like a short set of instructions from Albus, Fawkes apparated, and Albus and Minerva returned their attention to the doorway that was also an entrance to the Nexus.

“Walt, something is not right. Albus and Minerva are definitely upset,” I said as I lowered my gaze and started rubbing the kinks from the back of my neck.

“It certainly does appear that way,” Walt agreed. “Do you have any idea what Albus just asked Fawkes to do?”

“No, I don’t. What ever it was, I don’t think we are going to have to wait very long to find out,” I replied, as Minerva quickly levitated herself down to where Walt and I were standing. The kids gathered around us as soon as she landed as anxious as we were to find out what was happening.

“After examining the entrance to the Nexus, Albus and I are convinced that there is something very peculiar about the Nexus on the other side of the doorway,” Minerva began, speaking in hushed tones, but talking loudly enough so that the kids could plainly hear what she had to say. “Normally, one would hear a continuous stream of muted voices coming through an entrance to the Nexus. These would be the voices of souls who have recently passed into the Nexus from any of its’ many entrances. What has Albus and I so concerned is that we cannot hear even a single voice. The only reasonable explanation that we can come up with for this lack of voices is that everyone has passed on to the world of the dead, which is highly unlikely, or that this is not an entrance to the Nexus, as we know it.”

“Minerva, is it possible that the Nexus operates differently here in the Realm than it does on Earth?” Walt asked, a deep frown on his face.

“From everything Albus can recall, he feels that the Nexus is common to all of the magical worlds. Unless you have something to add, Albus and I are of the opinion that the Nexus beyond the doorway is not a true Nexus, but something that was deliberately created to look and act like the Nexus,” Minerva concluded, looking grim but determined.

“So where does that leave us?” I asked, wondering if I was ever going to see Harry and Hermione again.

“Albus has sent Fawkes to investigate the immediate area to determine what else lies beyond the doorway,” Minerva replied.

At the sound of a small ‘pop’ we all looked up to see that Fawkes had returned. Albus appeared to be conversing with his phoenix, as Fawkes was answering with soft clucks and squawks. After just seconds of conversing, Albus levitated down in front of us.

“From what Fawkes has learned it appears as if there is indeed a room just beyond the doorway,” Albus began. “He is positive that Harry and Hermione are both in the room. Harry has evidently returned to his human form otherwise Fawkes would have reported seeing Hermione and a snake. This is good news as the two of them are in one place. The bad news is that there are two extremely evil spirits in the room with them. Fawkes does not recognize who the spirits are as he only stayed in the room for a fraction of a second so that the spirits would not realize that he had been in the room.”

“Do you think we will be able to overpower these evil spirits and rescue Harry and Hermione?” I asked, my gut beginning to ache as it always did just before a fight.

“That remains to be seen,” Albus replied hesitantly. “Right now I feel that Minerva and I should continue our close examination of the doorway and the entrance to the Nexus.”

“What we really need is ears and eyes in the room so that we know exactly what is going on and what we are dealing with,” Walt suggested.

“Minerva and I have discussed the possibility of doing just that,” Albus replied. “In the end we rejected the idea as it would mean that someone else would have to enter the room.”

“Couldn’t we just use remote eyes and ears?” Ron asked. “Fred and George were always using them to eavesdrop whenever they wanted to find out what was going on and they were excluded for some reason.”

“Remote eyes and ears will not work in the Nexus,” Minerva replied. “Under most circumstances using remotes would work well, but not in this case, I’m sad to say.”

“Professor McGonagall, what is the smallest creature you can transfigure me into?” Gretchen asked suddenly, looking as though she had just remembered something she had forgotten.

“A common housefly or an ant. Why do you ask?” Minerva replied, a look of puzzlement on her face.

“If you transfigured me into a housefly, would I be able to fly into the Nexus?” Gretchen asked excitedly.

“I do not see any reason why you would not be able to do so,” Minerva replied, still looking puzzled by Gretchen’s questions. “Albus, what do you think?”

“Any creature can enter the Nexus, even houseflies,” Albus replied. “Gretchen, where are you going with this line of questioning?”

“Ron and I are telepathic with each other. Whether this is result of the wedding bands themselves or the aging spell I am not sure,” Gretchen began eagerly. “The point of all my questions is that you could transfigure me into a housefly, I would enter the Nexus and relay what I see and hear back to Ron telepathically. He would then relay my observations to you so that you would know what we are up against.”

“I am fairly confident, but not positive, that your telepathic abilities will work between here and the Nexus as our voices pass through the Nexus,” Albus began slowly. “The problem is that a housefly does not see and hear as we humans do. You would not be able to make sense of what the housefly was seeing and hearing. We need a larger animal whose senses are similar to ours.”

“What do you suggest?” Gretchen asked, looking frustrated but not defeated.

“The real problem is that we also need some animal that will not arouse the suspicions of whoever is in the room,” Albus replied.

“Professor Dumbledore, how about one of these critters? The place is overrun with them,” Nicole suggested, pointing at the small rat-like creatures that littered the floor of the pit.

“Young lady, that is an excellent suggestion. Go to the head of the class,” Albus replied, beaming warmly at Nicole who looked extremely pleased with herself.

“Albus, what are these things?” I asked, my nose wrinkling up at the smell of the carcasses littering the floor.

“They are baby dracks,” Nicole answered promptly, and looked a little sheepish for having interrupted. “At least that is what Luther said they were,” she added when everyone turned to look at her.

“Gretchen, you are not going to be transfigured into a drack and enter the Nexus,” Ron gushed out. “No. If anyone is going to be transfigured into a miniature monster from Hell and go back into that awful place it is going to be me, and I don’t want to argue the point either.”

“All right, Ron. If you feel it is your place to go, then I won’t argue with you over who goes and who stays,” Gretchen replied, without even trying to convince Ron otherwise.

While I was trying to figure out why Gretchen had agreed to allow Ron to carry out her suggestion, I noticed Walt looking at Gretchen with a strange look on his face. When Gretchen glanced up and noticed Walt staring at her, she looked embarrassed and quickly looked away. What that was all about I had no idea. I made a mental note to ask Walt later.

“Professor Dumbledore, if you think it is worth the risk, I am ready to give it a try,” Ron said, his voice trembling only slightly.

“Yes, Ron, I do think what we will learn justifies the risk,” Albus replied gravely. “In addition, and possibly more importantly, you will be taking a protective shield with you that you will activate to protect Harry, Hermione and yourself if it becomes necessary for us to attack the evil spirits who are in the room. I have been vexed over how to protect Harry and Hermione should we have to storm the room with force.”

“What kind of protective shield and how will I activate it?” Ron asked, as Gretchen slid her arm round Ron’s waist, her face showing some of the worry that she was obviously feeling.

“The shield will be a fire-proof blanket that I will compress so that you can carry it in your mouth,” Albus replied. “When Gretchen tells you to do so, return to human form by uttering the counter-spell for the transfiguration, spit out the shield you are carrying and activate it by saying ‘Expandus.’ Once the shield expands, pull it over the three of you and tell Gretchen that you are ready.”

“Sounds simple enough, “Ron replied, with a nervous laugh.

“Unless anyone has anything else to say, we need to get Ron transfigured and into the room with Harry and Hermione as quickly as possible,” Albus said, looking at the faces in front of him.

“Excuse me, Professor Dumbledore,” Alec interrupted just as Albus, Minerva and Ron were about to return to the doorway. “How did you manage to levitate down from the top of the stairs? When Hermione tried levitating earlier, she was unable to do so. She said that there must be a hex on the pit preventing levitation.”

“There is indeed a hex on this pit preventing levitation, plus other spells that you might wish to perform,” Minerva replied, smiling at Alec. “It’s just not a very powerful hex. As you become more experienced in advanced magic you will learn how to overcome some hexes and spells.”

“If the evil spirits that are in the same room with Harry and Hermione cast the hexes on this pit, maybe they aren’t all that powerful,” Alec replied to a quite and thoughtful group.

Harry: 8:05 PM

 “Well, it’s about time you realized that the person you have been stalking so cautiously is none other than your precious girlfriend. We thought you would never figure it out.”

I reached for my wand, but it flew out of my hand before I could point it in the direction of the voice I had just heard. “You!” I exclaimed, completely stunned by their totally unexpected appearance. “You’re behind all of this? What do you think you are doing? What do you want?” I asked in a rage as I lifted Hermione, who seemed to be unconscious, from the floor and held her to me as tightly as I could.

“Of course we are,” Luther replied, holding my wand in his hand, his perverse laugh echoing throughout the room. Eliza was floating right next to him holding a wand that looked very much like Hermione’s wand. “As for what we want, I would think that should be obvious by now. We want you and Hermione, of course; or should I say, we want your bodies.”

It took several seconds for the madness of what Luther had just said to sink in. At first I was inclined to laugh in his face, but looking up at him I realized that he was serious about taking our bodies. Having lived through a brief out of body experience just a few days ago, I was not anxious to do so again.

“Luther, that is utterly ridiculous,” I replied hostilely, as I was tired and angry from everything I had been through today. “You and Eliza are ghosts; you cannot come back from the dead to inhabit a living being.”

“If we were ghosts, then you would be right about our not being able to inhabit your bodies,” Luther answered, a look of superiority spreading across his face. “But Eliza and I are spirits, and because there has not been a living being, other than Marcus Pennywhistle, on this island for the past nine hundred years, we have been forced to possess two of the ghosts that inhabited this island. Until Marcus brought you and your friends to the island, it looked as if we were going to be imprisoned here for the rest of eternity. Now thanks to you and Hermione we will be free at last to return to the world of the living.”

“You can’t be spirits, you were killed by dracks,” I protested, unable to believe what I had just heard.

“That is what we led everyone to believe,” Eliza replied haughtily. “We knew that several other members of the cult were setting a trap for us and that Mortius would never allow us to be free again, so with some dark magic we learned from Mortius we conjured our spirits from our bodies just before the dracks attacked and devoured our spirit-less bodies. Since then we have been cohabiting other people’s bodies, and as Luther just told you, the ghosts of cult members who died and refused to leave this world.”

“So as you can see, inhabiting your bodies is far from ridiculous,” Luther added when Eliza finished speaking. “But, don’t worry; you and Hermione will still be together…as ghosts that will haunt this island until the end of time,” Luther concluded, laughing maniacally that caused a cold shiver settle over me.

“Inhabiting another body is not a simple matter,” I replied, more to bolster my own courage than to challenge Luther.

“That is very true my young friend,” Luther answered, his voice patronizing me. “Fortunately, we have a large supply of vitriol spheres that provide us with the elixir necessary for making the transfer of spirits permanent. In addition, we have successfully made this transfer several times in the past.”

“Why did you choose us? We know nothing of the dark arts,” I asked, already knowing the answer, in an effort to gain more time to think of some way of signaling Professor Dumbledore that we were in trouble.

“Actually, you and Hermione were not our first choice,” Eliza answered, matter-of-factly. “Ron and Gretchen were our first choice. When we learned that they were going to be married in the Atrium yesterday, we arranged for Sirius to find a pair of enchanted rings. Once the rings were on their fingers they would be unable to leave the island, or so we thought. If it had not been for Marcus’ meddling phoenix, Ron and Gretchen’s bodies would have been ours before the sun had set on their wedding day. Luther and I would have enjoyed the pleasure of their wedding night for them,” Eliza concluded gleefully.

“How did you fool Sirius into thinking that the rings were just a couple of harmless gold bands?” I asked to keep them talking. Hermione was starting to stir in my arms, mostly by trying to snuggle closer to me.

“That wasn’t too difficult. The aging spell does not activate until after the ring is placed on your finger,” Luther replied, seemingly enjoying the ease with which he and Eliza were able to fool us. “When Sirius examined the rings, the spell was completely undetectable. I doubt that even Marcus would have been able to detect the presence of the dormant spell.”

Luther’s dislike for Gawain was obvious from the belittling laugh he made after boasting about Gawain’s inability to detect the spell.

“I take it you didn’t get along with Gawain,” I said to Luther, trying to see if this might be a sore spot with him.

“Why do you keep calling him by the idiotic name?” Luther demanded angrily, and I knew that I had guessed right. I would have bet almost anything that Gawain saw right through these two characters, and their perverted schemes. “His name was Marcus. Just because some Grand Wizard bestowed that title on him means nothing. ‘First Imperial Wizard of the Realm’, indeed.”

While Luther was muttering insults about Gawain, Hermione opened her eyes and looked at me with a dreamy expression on her face. From the way she was looking at me, I got the impression that she didn’t think I was real. I was so happy that Hermione was alive and well that I didn’t care about any of Luther’s disparaging remarks towards Gawain. Ignoring the fact that Luther and Eliza were watching us, I bent down and tenderly kissed Hermione, forgetting my cares in the softness of her warm, moist lips.

“Aw, how sweet,” I heard Eliza say when our lips parted. “They really are a handsome couple, aren’t they? I just know I will enjoy having her body to use.”

Eliza’s words penetrated Hermione’s brain faster than a bludger could knock you off your broom. The soft, warm, smiling woman I was holding turned hard and cold in less than a heartbeat. The expression of anger and loathing in her eyes was so sudden and intense that I almost dropped her. I could tell from the tensing of Hermione’s muscles that she was ready to leap up and attack Eliza with a fury that would wake the dead. On the pretense of kissing the side of her cheek, I whispered in her ear to wait as we were in trouble. Thankfully, Hermione understood me the first time and I felt her muscles relax slightly. Instead of jumping up and attacking Eliza, Hermione sat up next to me to and glared at her.

“Luther, even if you do manage to take over our bodies with your spirits, you will be still confined to this island because of the aging spell that now affects Hermione and me,” I said, holding up my left hand with the ring he had forced me to put on as Hermione’s hand found its way in to my right hand.

“The rings you and Hermione are wearing will not place you under the aging spell, and even if they did, we know how to deactivate it,” Luther replied. “The rings you two are wearing possess a spell that will shortly drive your spirits from your bodies. Once your spirits have left your bodies we will enter them before your bodies begin to wither and die.”

The shock of what Luther had just told us hit me as hard as a fist in the face. I was momentarily stunned and did not realize that Hermione had yanked her left hand from mine and was frantically trying to remove the ring on her finger until I heard Eliza laugh, telling her that our rings would not come off until their spirits entered our bodies. After several fruitless attempts to remove the rings from our fingers, we both gave up trying.

“Luther, you are never going to get away with this,” I said, my frustration at being outwitted starting to get the better of me. “Professor Dumbledore is going to realize that something is different about us and…”

“Right now your astute professor thinks you are searching the Nexus in the guise of a snake for Hermione,” Luther said mockingly. “Tragically, the two of you will have crossed over to the world of the dead; at least that is what your friends will be led to believe. Since everyone is going to believe that you have passed on, no one is going to be looking for you here in the Realm. Once your friends return to your home world, we will be free to move about the Realm as we please. With all of the gold that Marcus has stashed away in his treasure room and a large supply of vitriol spheres, we will be able to live comfortably for centuries to come.”

“We are no longer in the Nexus, are we?” Hermione asked suddenly.

“You never were in the Nexus, or at least not the real Nexus,” Eliza replied, smirking at us as if we were a couple of idiots, which is just about what I felt like over being taken in so easily. “We cast a spell around the room to make it appear from outside the room that you were inside the Nexus. Oh, the spell did create individual fantasies for each of you as you entered the room. We needed to keep you all occupied until your professor and his companions could be lured to the pit below us. Everything that has transpired has done so according to our desires. By the way, Hermione, I was quite amused by your fantasy. Do you really believe that a simple beast could defeat a dark wizard that easily? If you had truly confronted Mortius, you would have all learned the real meaning of fear and suffering,” Eliza concluded. The look in her eyes betrayed a mixture of hatred and fear that sent waves of chills shooting through me.

“I assume there must be another way out of this room?” I asked, wondering how they planned on getting past Professor Dumbledore and the others.

“Actually, the only way in or out of Mortius’ private chamber is through the door you used to enter the room,” Luther commented dryly. “Your friends will leave the island as soon as they decide that you are not going to return, everyone except Ron and Gretchen that is. They, along with Cetus, Gemini and Virgo will remain here to keep you company for the rest of eternity.”

“So this is Mortius’ private room,” Hermione muttered as she gazed around the room. “Were you ever in this room when Mortius was alive?”

“In here?” Eliza choked out. “That’s a joke. No one as far as we know even knew that this room existed. We only discovered its existence after we inhabited these ghostly bodies and began exploring the island, level by level. Mortius had been gone for about fifty years when we stumbled across this room quite by accident.”

“How do you know that this was his private room?” I asked.

“We found one of his personal journals on a table in this room,” Eliza replied. “We also found some of his clothes and other personal effects. No, this was his personal room all right, of that we have no doubt.”

“Why did you tell me that you were going to take Alec and Nicole’s bodies,” Hermione asked, staring at Luther.

“That was part of our plan so that no one would suspect that it was your bodies that we were truly after,” Luther replied, grinning smugly. “I’m sure that Alec and Nicole will have related to the others what our intentions were by now. We felt that would serve as a diversion should any of your elders start asking meddlesome questions.”

“How do you plan to get off this island once our friends have left?” I asked, starting to feel that all hope was lost.

“By constructing a portkey,” Luther answered simply. “One of the many things we learned to do over the nine centuries we have been imprisoned here. A thousand years from now you will be amazed at the things you have learned to do.”

“It sounds as though you have thought of everything,” Hermione replied, as she leaned against me.

“Yes, we have,” Luther replied. “Now why don’t you two lie down as the spell should begin to take effect any time now. I would hate for you to keel over and damage our soon to be new bodies.”

I glanced at Hermione and we lay down on our sides facing each other. “I assume you have no objections to our talking with each other for the short time we have left,” I said, not really caring what Luther or Eliza thought. I knew they would not do anything that might damage the bodies that they were planning on inhabiting in the very near future.

“Of course not, talk away,” Luther replied with mock generosity.

Even though I knew Luther and Eliza were listening to our every word, I was not going to miss my last opportunity to tell Hermione how much I loved her and taste the sweet fragrance of her lips one last time. With a pang of anguish and guilt I was beginning to realize that Ron and Gretchen were going to be far better off that we were. At least they would be able to comfort each other physically; I wasn’t sure what was in store for us.

“Hermione, even though words seem completely inadequate at this moment, I want you to know that I love you with every fiber of my being,” I said softly, as I gazed into her beautiful brown eyes that were shining brightly and defiantly into my own eyes. Our faces were just inches apart and I could feel her love for me radiating from her. “You have made the past two weeks the most meaningful of my entire life. From the moment that you accepted my mum’s locket and my love that went along with it, I have felt incredibly alive. Your sweet smile can do more to raise my fallen spirits than all the chocolate in the world.”

“Harry, your words are never inadequate as far as I am concerned,” Hermione replied, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye. “I will never tire of hearing you tell me how much you love me or how much I mean to you. You are the one and only man for me. I love you with all of my heart and soul, now and forever more…do you remember the poem you wrote for me after we came back from the picnic at the lake a little over a week ago?”

“Yes, I remember it,” I replied, smiling at the thought of the poem’s sentiment. “I’m not sure I remember all the words, so better not ask me to repeat it.”

“I don’t remember all of the words either,” Hermione replied, tenderly caressing my cheek with her fingers. “The main point of the poem was that ‘when you call on me, look at me or reach for me, you set my heart on fire and I know that I am alive.’ For as long as we have left, I want you to set my heart on fire by holding me against your body as tightly as you can, while still allowing me to breath,” she finished with one of her impish smiles.

“When you bless the day, I just drift away, all my worries die, I’m glad that I’m Alive,” I repeated, remembering a verse from the poem that I especially liked. I pulled Hermione to me so that we were as close as possible and still be two separate people. After gazing into her eyes one last time, I closed my eyes and our lips melted together at first touch.

Ron: 8:05 PM

When Gretchen mentioned our telepathic abilities to Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, I knew exactly where she was headed with her line of questioning. I had been thinking along a similar direction, but had not figured out how to get into the room without being noticed. When Gretchen had asked about transfiguring into a small animal and Nicole had suggested the baby dracks, I knew that I had to try to convince the professors to try Gretchen’s idea. To my surprise, they seemed quite willing, even almost eager, to get one of us into the room with Harry and Hermione.

I had expected, and was prepared for, an argument from Gretchen that she be the one to enter the room. When she gave into my demand that I would be the one to go into the room without even putting up single protest, I was completely caught of my guard. I was ready to counter her every argument, but when there was no need to do so I felt strangely disappointed.

Once Professor Dumbledore explained why he was so anxious to get someone into the room, I was not feeling quite as brave as I had been while dreaming up the idea. At the thought of losing Harry and Hermione to the world of the dead or some evil spirit, I was able to push my fear to the back of my mind. The only thing that mattered, other than returning to Gretchen alive, was saving my two best friends.

I understood in concept what Professor Dumbledore was planning for a protective shield and how to use it. It was what he had not said that had me worried. Namely, what kind of spells were he and Professor McGonagall going to be casting about the room in an effort to defeat the evil spirits that Fawkes had reported were in the room.

Giving Gretchen a hug, a squeeze (never mind where), and a kiss goodbye, I started for the spiral stairs but quickly found myself floating smoothly up towards the top of the room. Looking down at the others as we levitated upwards, I gave them all a small wave, which they returned while trying to hide their worries behind thin smiles.

We reached the top of the room and landed noiselessly on the stairs just in front on the doorway to ‘Bloody Hell’ as I was coming to think of it. Professor Dumbledore quickly created what looked like a large leather blanket and immediately shrank it to the size of a cherry. While Professor Dumbledore was creating the protective shield, which he handed to me with instructions to put it in my mouth just before being transfigured into a baby drack, Professor McGonagall levitated Gretchen up to the stair just below us.

“Are you two positive you want to risk this,” Professor Dumbledore asked, glancing between us.

“Yes, Professor, we are,” I replied, glancing at Gretchen who nodded her head and smiled at me.

“Very well then. Ron, once you are in the room contact Gretchen telepathically so that we know that you two can communicate with each other,” Professor Dumbledore instructed me.

“What do I do if I can’t contact Gretchen?” I asked, swallowing hard.

“My advice would be to try and be as inconspicuous as a mouse in Filtch’s office,” Professor McGonagall replied in mock seriousness and Gretchen and I both snickered while Professor Dumbledore just looked amused.

“Seriously, Ron, if you cannot contact Gretchen telepathically, try an be as inconspicuous as possible,” Professor Dumbledore said without the slightest trace of humor in his voice and I felt my amusement at Professor McGonagall’s advice disappear like a good mood did when I entered Professor Snape’s potions class.

“Mr. Wea…Ron, the counter spell for the transfiguration is ‘Pumpkin Juice’,” Professor McGonagall told me as she prepared to transfigure me into a baby drack. With a last quick look and throwing a kiss at Gretchen, I turned around and waited to be transfigured into a miniature version of something that tried to kill me on more than one occasion.

In the blink on an eye, I felt myself shrink as the world around me grew in size. Before I had a chance to look around, I felt myself being lifted and thrown through the air to land gently on my four feet a couple of seconds later. When I landed on the floor in a room with enough light to easily see by, the baby drack froze, hardly daring to breathe. After waiting a couple of seconds to see what the baby drack was going to do next, I called out to Gretchen.

“Gretchen, can you hear me,” I thought, picturing her face in my mind.

“Yes, Ron, I can hear you,” Gretchen’s reply echoed inside my head. If the baby drack noticed our thoughts it did not react to them which I figured was just as well.

“What should I do now?” I asked and waited for the professors instructions.

“Professor Dumbledore says that you should move about the room, keeping up a steady stream of description of what you see,” Gretchen’s voice echoed.

“Okay,” I replied. Now all I had to do was to get the drack to move in the direction I wanted to go. Professor Dumbledore thought that I would be able to control the drack without too much difficulty as they were very young and should not have had time to develop a strong will.

I suddenly felt hungry. Whether it was the drack’s feeling or my own, I wasn’t sure. The drack perked up and sniffed the air. After a few seconds, it started moving along the wall, away from the door.

I relayed what was going on to Gretchen. So far, the drack had come across nothing interesting. After moving maybe ten feet, the drack suddenly stopped and started sniffing the air with great interest. While the drack was sniffing the air, I thought I could hear someone talking. It sounded a bit like Harry, but I could not be sure that it was just wishful thinking. Abruptly, the drack turned and headed for the middle of the room, while I was telling Gretchen about possibly hearing voices.

Through the drack’s eyes, I could make out a large object on the floor several feet in front of me. The object was high enough so that I would have to make my way around it. Veering to the left, the drack changed course to move around one end on the object. After traveling another couple of feet, the drack stopped unexpectedly and started sniffing the air again. The sensation I felt through the drack’s mind was that of food.

“Gretchen, the drack has smelled something that it thinks is food, or at least that is what I think it thinks,” I said mentally to Gretchen.

“Professor Dumbledore says that since the drack is a carnivore, you may be near Harry, Hermione or some other creature made of flesh and blood,” Gretchen’s voice answered back after a short delay.

“Oh great, this thing thinks my best friends are lunch,” I thought and heard Gretchen giggle, which caused me to feel as if I were smiling.

Just then, the drack’s ears heard a voice that wiped the smile from my mind and I felt my heart begin to race.

“Well, look at what we have here,” I heard Luther’s voice say. “A wayward drack has wandered into the room, Eliza.”

“Those filthy things are everywhere,” I heard Eliza’s shrill voice answer. “Kill it, will you? I am not going to miss them in the slightest once we leave this island.”

“How can you say that, Eliza? After everything they have done for us,” I heard Luther reply. “Say, Harry, what do you think of our little pets?”

“Gretchen! Luther and Eliza are in this room and Luther just asked Harry a question,” I relayed to Gretchen.

Sirius: 8:07 PM

Albus signaled for Walt and me to join him and Minerva at the top of the stairs just after they sent Ron into the Nexus. Walt looked a little apprehensive over leaving Alec and Nicole all alone.

“Dad, Nicole and I will be okay,” Alec said, noticing the worried look on his father’s face. “If any more dracks show their ugly faces, I’ll hit them with an ‘Inversecus Curse’,” Alec said as he withdrew his wand from inside his shirt.

“Just where did you hear about THAT curse?” Walt demanded of his son, apparently quite shocked that his son even knew that such a curse existed, let alone would suggest using it.

“It was one of the many curses that I learned from the ancient Slytherin wand that Gawain bought for me at the wand makers,” Alec replied, looking slightly hurt that his father was so upset.

“Son, before you go putting a drack’s head, or any other creature for that matter, on backwards we need to have a little chat, okay?” Walt asked, calming down slightly.

“Sure, dad. What every you say,” Alec replied easily. “If any more dracks show up, what should I do about them?”

“If anything shows up that we are not expecting, then you and Nicole make a bee-line for the stairs and give a yell for help,” Walt said emphatically, causing a scowl to show on Alec’s face.

“Walt, as much as you may not want to admit it, Alec is growing up very quickly,” I said quietly to him once we were out of earshot of Alec and Nicole as we levitated to the top of the stairs. “If it had not been for his courage and quick thinking a lot of us would have died at the hands of Saccarus.”

“I know that, Sirius,” Walt replied, sighing heavily. “It is just going to take me some time to get used to his abilities. I guess what worries me the most is that he will be just as reckless as I was when I was his age.”

“Walt, we were all reckless at his age,” I replied with a smile and a pat on his back as I thought back on some of the things I had done at that age.

“Yes, I know, but it doesn’t make me worry any less. Once you have kids of your own you will understand,” Walt replied as we landed on the steps just below Gretchen.

“Understand what?” Gretchen asked.

“On, nothing,” Walt replied, evidently not wanting to explain what we were talking about.

“Are you in contact with Ron?” I asked her to get us of the subject so Walt could thin k about something else.

“Yes, I am. Ron has just heard Luther talking to Harry,” Gretchen replied quickly, and went back to listening to what Ron had to say.

Ron: 8:08 PM

 “What pets?” I heard Harry reply and at the same time saw the object in front of me move slightly.

“The dracks, of course,” Luther answered back impatiently. “There is one sitting just a few feet behind you.” The object in front of me, which was obviously Harry or Hermione, moved suddenly and the drack retreated backwards a few feet.

“This one is just a baby so you don’t have too much to worry about,” Luther laughed. “It would take it a week to gnaw off one of your legs,” Luther added, sounding quite amused.

“Gretchen, Harry is right in front of me and Luther is pointing me out to Harry. What should I do?” I asked her.

“Just wait and see what Luther does next,” she answered.

“Eliza does not care for my pets very much,” Luther said, sounding hurt by Eliza’s attitude. “She just wants me to kill it. What do you think I should do with it?”

“I don’t care what you do with it,” I heard Harry reply sarcastically. He sounded terribly angry and bitter. “You can kill them all as far as we are concerned.”

At the sound of Harry’s words my blood turned ice cold and I felt trapped. I must have stopped relaying what was going on to Gretchen as she was calling out to me frantically.

“Calm down Gretchen,” I said as calmly as I could manage. “Harry isn’t any fonder of dracks than we are. Both Harry and Eliza want Luther to kill me…the drack that is, but Luther seems to think I’m some kind of cute pet. Reminds me of Hagrid’s views on what makes a fine pet.”

“Professor Dumbledore says to be ready to break the spell and activate the shield on my command,” Gretchen replied and I could tell that she was getting extremely anxious.

“Say, Harry. Did you know that dracks can mimic human words?” I heard Luther tell him.

“No, I didn’t know that,” Harry replied sounding as if he could care less.

“Of what possible interest could that be to us?” I heard Hermione’s voice ask. From the sound of her voice, I guessed that she was just on the other side of Harry. It appeared that both of them were lying on the floor with Luther and Eliza floating somewhere overhead. I relayed this information to Gretchen, for which I received a terse ‘okay.’”

“Harry, you need to develop an appreciation for the subtle aspects or creature creation,” Luther replied, ignoring Hermione’s comment completely. “Watch and I will show you.”

I could tell that the drack’s attention was shifting back and forth between Luther and Harry as they conversed with each other.

“Food,” Luther said slowly and loudly. When Luther repeated himself, the drack responded with something that sounded like ‘oode.’

“Not too bad,” Luther commented and continued with “Attack.”

“Ahtack,” the drack responded.

“That was better. Don’t you think so, Harry?” Luther asked, evidently pleased with the dracks responses.

“If you say so,” Harry replied dully.

The word ‘attack’ had started me thinking furiously about how to get Harry’s attention and warn him that Dumbledore and McGonagall might attack at any moment.

“What’s the matter, Harry? You’re not scared of one little itty bitty drack, are you?” Luther asked.

All at once, a crazy idea flashed through my mind. Not sure if I could pull it off, I concentrated on the dracks tiny brain and said ‘Scabbers’ as clearly and loudly as I could. To my amazement the drack repeated ‘Scabbers’ as plain as you please.

“Hah, you see how stupid these filthy things are,” I heard Eliza exclaim. “They can’t even repeat ‘scared’ without messing it up.”

“Scabbers doesn’t sound much like scared does it,” Harry added, placing considerable emphasis on the word ‘Scabbers.’

My heart felt like leaping for joy because I was sure Harry knew that the drack was me. Exactly how that was going to help him or what he was going to do about it, I did not have a clue.

“Gretchen, Harry knows it’s me,” I relayed to her jubilantly.

“This one does not seem too bright,” I heard Luther reply. “Perhaps I should kill it.”

Luther’s last words were the last words I wanted to hear him say.

“Gretchen, I’m in big trouble…Help!”

Sirius: 8:08 PM

“It appears as though two spirits named Luther and Eliza are in the room with Harry and Hermione,” Albus said to Walt and I just after we reached the top of the stairs. “Gretchen informed us that she and the other youngsters were under the impression that Luther and Eliza were ghosts of two cult members killed over nine hundred years ago. As Fawkes reported two spirits in the room, I can only conclude that the spirits have been masquerading as ghosts in an attempt to deceive the youngsters as to their true nature.”

“Do we know what the spirits are up to?” I asked.

“No, not yet,” Minerva replied.

“Luther has just pointed Ron, which Luther believes to be a drack, out to Harry,” Gretchen interrupted.

“Tell Ron to just wait and see what happens next,” Albus instructed Gretchen to tell Ron telepathically.

“If it appears the Harry or Hermione are going to be hurt we will attack immediately,” Albus told all of us. “For now we will just sit tight. I want to know more about what these two spirits are up to.”

“Luther is telling Harry about the dracks, which he considers as pets,” Gretchen added. “Eliza wants Luther to kill the drack, but Luther is trying to interest Harry in the drack. Oh no…Harry just told Luther to kill the drack,” Gretchen added, her voice wavering, almost on the verge of cracking.

“Tell Ron to be ready to break the transfiguration spell on my command,” Albus said to Gretchen

“If Minerva and I need to attack the spirits, which is almost a certainty, I want you and Walt to look after Hermione and Harry,” Albus said, his voice cold, a determined look on his face.

“The dracks can mimic human words,” Gretchen interrupted, holding up her hand to keep us from asking her questions. “Luther is giving Harry and Hermione a demonstration…Ron says he has an idea…yes, it worked…Ron had his drack say ‘Scabbers’…Ron is sure Harry knows that it’s him…Oh Lord…No!…Luther has decided to kill him after all,” Gretchen moaned, looking at Albus imploringly.

“Tell Ron to break the spell immediately and to tell us when the three of them are under the shield,” Albus replied instantly. “Get ready, we attack on Ron’s signal,” he added, pulling his wand from his robes.

Ron: 8:10 PM

“Actually, they do start to grow on you,” I heard Hermione say. “Since you and Eliza are going to take over our bodies, by driving our spirits out of our bodies with the rings you had us put on, it might be nice if you told more about these dracks.”

“Gretchen! Tell Dumbledore that Luther and Eliza are planning to steal Harry and Hermione’s bodies by using enchanted rings they have been forced to wear,” I said in a rush, almost tripping over my words.

“Message received and understood,” Gretchen’s voice replied. “Professor Dumbledore says to break the transfiguration spell now and shout ‘ready’ when you are covered with the protective shield…Ron…you be careful, I love you.”

I felt a lump in my throat the size of a bludger. It was now or never as I had the distinct feeling that Luther was about ready to kill me. Calming my pounding heart as much as I could I called out ‘Pumpkin Juice’ just as I heard Luther say ‘that he might as well kill me before it could damage either of their bodies.’

The instant I returned to human form I spit out the shield and shouted ‘Expandus.’ In the shocked confusion that followed my sudden appearance, I call out to Gretchen, ‘Now!’ I grabbed the shield, and dove head long for Harry and Hermione. I landed on the other side of Hermione, pulling the shield over them and myself just as a brilliant flash of light and a deafening roar exploded inside the room, knocking me almost unconscious.

Harry: 8:10 PM

Within a fraction of a second of Ron diving over Hermione and me, and pulling some sort of blanket over us, a brilliant flash of light lit the room, followed by intense pain. Suddenly waves of pain were shooting through my head; all I could see were white pinpoints of light. I knew Hermione was also in tremendous pain, as her lips had turned rock hard as she fought the pain that must have been racking her body too. As the pain in my head started to subside, my body felt as if it were on fire. Afraid that the spell had begun to drive our spirits from our bodies I held on to Hermione as if our lives depended on it

All of a sudden, I felt hands slipping beneath me and lifting me from the floor. I fought to keep my arms around Hermione, but the hands were too strong and Hermione was yanked from my grasp. I was vaguely aware of someone twisting and wrenching a ring off my finger. Even though my head was still throbbing and I felt like I was going to sick at any moment, I forced my eyes open just enough to see.

A few feet away I could just make out Walt standing with Hermione cradled in his arms, apparently unconscious. Just beyond Walt, Professor Dumbledore was pointing his wand at Luther. A yellowish, pulsing net was emanating from the tip of his wand that completely surrounded Luther, preventing Luther from moving. Professor McGonagall was restraining Eliza with a net that looked identical to the one Dumbledore was using on Luther. One look at Professor Dumbledore’s face caused my blood to turn ice cold. When I escaped from Voldemort for the third time last year, he had not looked even half as angry as Professor Dumbledore looked as he stared at Luther, furious beyond comprehension. I never thought I would live to see the day that Professor Dumbledore would look upon anything with such unrestrained loathing. It was obvious from the look on Luther’s face that he had lost all sense of reality as he glared wildly at Professor Dumbledore. The pain in my head intensified again and I felt the world growing dark around me. Professor Dumbledore’s voice abruptly cut through the darkness, his words were the last thing I remember hearing.

“Sirius, you and Walt take Harry and Hermione to where Alec and Nicole are waiting; Gretchen will help Ron. Instruct Iseult to return all of the youngsters to the Atrium so that Madelyn can attend to them. After Iseult has left with the youngsters, return to this room. We have some extremely unpleasant business to attend to and I do not wish to cause our youngsters any nightmares from what they might overhear should they remain in the vicinity.”