The Phoenix Prophecy

Chapter Seventeen: The Return

Monday – Early Evening - July 21^st

Sirius: 8:10 PM

I held my breath from the instant Ron told Gretchen that they were ‘ready’ until we burst into the room through the hole Albus had blasted in the doorway. The sound of the explosion echoed throughout the room, reverberating off the walls, which acted to contain and magnify the sound. The sheer volume of it nearly broke my eardrums. I caught a brief glimpse of the two ghostly spirits just before Albus and Minerva snared them with nets from their wands. I was too busy looking about the room for the kids to pay the ghosts much attention. After frantically scanning the floor for a couple of seconds I spotted the protective shield just off to my left.

“Over here!” I shouted to Walt and quickly lifted the protective shield to find the three of them unconscious or nearly so.

I bent down to scoop up Harry as Walt reached Hermione’s side. Harry and Hermione were holding on to each other so tightly that we practically had to pry them apart. Gretchen burst into the room just as Walt and I stood up, with Hermione and Harry cradled in our arms. She flung herself at Ron, immediately rolling him onto his back. Ron opened his eyes and, after a brief moment of bewilderment, smiled weakly at Gretchen.

“What…happened? Where am I?” Ron asked as though he had just been roused from a drunken stupor.

“Ron, you are just dazed from the force of the explosion,” Gretchen said, sounding and looking greatly relieved that Ron was alive and all in one piece. “Here, let me help you up.”

After Albus instructed Walt and me to get the kids down to the floor of the pit so that Iseult could take them back to the Atrium, we headed for the door. The two ghosts were struggling fruitlessly to escape from their bonds, shouting obscenities that made even me blush. Gretchen was doing a commendable job of ignoring them as she helped Ron to his feet and steered him in the direction of the door. I waited with Gretchen and Ron while Walt levitated down to the floor with Hermione and set her on the floor beside Alec and Nicole. Once Hermione was safely down, he levitated Ron and Gretchen down as I levitated Harry and myself down to land beside them.

“Alec, Iseult is going to take you and the others back to the Atrium,” Walt said as soon as we were all together. “Have Madelyn check Hermione, Harry and Ron for possible concussions or any other maladies that might have been caused by the force of the explosion we used to break into the room and rescue them. Tell your mom that the rest of us will be along just as soon as we have finished dealing with the ghosts that caused all of this.”

“Sure, dad,” Alec replied quickly.

For some reason Alec looked as if he couldn’t make up his mind about something. All of a sudden, he reached inside his shirt and pulled out a second wand.

“Dad, this wand used to belong to one of the cult members. I found it in Gawain’s bedroom,” Alec replied hesitantly. “Harry, Hermione and I have each held this wand. It gave us quite a bit of knowledge about this place, but I think we only tapped the surface of what this wand has experienced or can do. By the way, the ghosts are named Luther and Eliza. They were supposedly abducted by Mortius and brought to this island as the first two members of the cult. I am guessing that they know more about Mortius and this island than anyone alive.”

“Thanks, son. You did well,” Walt replied, giving Alec a pat on the shoulder as he accepted the wand from him, without mentioning anything about how Alec had acquired the wand.

When Walt accepted the wand, he stared at it for several seconds.

“What is it, Walt?” I asked.

“You can feel it too, can’t you, dad?” Alec asked, before Walt answered me.

“Yes, son, I can,” Walt answered. “Sirius, this wand is very old and does have some very interesting images. But there is something about it that I can not quite figure out.”

“We had better hurry and get the kids out of here. Albus and Minerva are waiting for us,” I said to him, wanting to get the kids back to the Atrium as soon as possible.

Walt and I helped steady Harry, Hermione and Ron as all six kids grabbed ahold of Iseult’s tail feathers and she disapparated from the room taking the kids with her. As soon as the kids were safely on their way, Walt and I levitated back to the top of the stairs and rejoined Albus and Minerva.

The two ghosts were floating side by side just above the floor, straitjacketed by a fine yellow mesh that completely bound them from head to toe. Albus was looking about the room while Minerva stood guard, her wand ready if need be. Either Albus or Minerva must have cast a gagging spell on them, as their verbal assaults could no longer be heard.

“Albus, what are we looking for?” I asked, as I watched him carefully inspecting the table in the middle of the room.

“This,” he replied as he touched his wand to the center of the table and a weird looking contraption rose from beneath the table’s surface and hovered in mid air.

“What is it?” I asked as Walt and I moved closer to get a better look.

“If I am not mistaken, this device is used to draw energy from a ‘dark power source’ and transmit it to one or more spell agents,” Albus replied tonelessly, as he studied the object in detail. “Think of it as a regulator that draws dark power in a controlled manner so that it can be used by spells and hexes.”

“Can it be turned off?” Walt asked, gazing intently at the device.

“I would assume so,” Albus began slowly. “However, I have never seen a device quite like this one. It may take us some time to determine how to operate it.”

“How much time?” I asked, knowing that time was something we did not have a lot of.

“That I can not say,” Albus replied and stopped looking at the device, turning his attention to Luther and Eliza.

“Veritaserum will be of no use in getting the truth out of you two,” Albus said casually, looking over Luther and Eliza very closely. “Perhaps the ‘Lamp of Truth and Justice’ will increase your desire to be of assistance.”

With his wand, Albus caused a highly polished gold lamp with two globes to appear in the air in front of Luther and Eliza. The globes were giving off a white light that pulsated slowly, almost hypnotically. Luther and Eliza tried frantically to turn their faces away from the light as Albus brought the light ever closer and closer. It was obvious from the anguish on their faces and the soundless cries that were coming from their open mouths that the lamp was causing them great agony and pain.

As the intensity of the light grew greater and greater, their ghostly outline grew steadily dimmer. The light from the lamp was so intense that it was starting to hurt my eyes. I did not know how Albus was able to stand the light from such a short distance. The lamp quickly returned to just a dull glow and as my eyesight returned to normal, I could see that both Luther and Eliza looked even angrier than before.

“Are you ready to tell us what you know of this device,” Albus asked them after he released them from the gagging spell.

For several seconds neither Luther nor Eliza replied. They both appeared to have suffered measurably from the ‘lamp.’ Finally, Luther decided to answer.

“No one will ever operate the regulator again,” he said haughtily, as he stared defiantly at us.

“Given enough time, I am confident that I can learn how to operate the regulator,” Albus replied unhurriedly, appearing undisturbed by Luther’s statement. “I thought perhaps you would like to save yourself further pain and discomfort by telling us how to operate the device.”

“You could not operate the device even if you knew how,” Luther answered contemptuously. “Without the rings of power and Mortius’ wand no one will ever be able to shut the regulator off. We know for a fact that Mortius’ wand was destroyed, so your efforts will be for naught, even if you spend the next thousand years trying.”

“How do you know that Mortius’ wand was destroyed?” Albus asked calmly, but I thought I noticed a slight waiver in his voice.

“We saw him perish in the ‘Lake of Death,’” Eliza replied smugly. “His faithful pet, Cleo, betrayed him and dropped him in the lake. Nothing that falls into the lake ever survives, not even the great Mortius.”

“Why would Cleo betray Mortius,” Albus asked, shifting his attention to Eliza.

“For the same reason we did, freedom,” Eliza replied. “We promised Cleo and her mates that they would be free if they helped us get rid of Mortius.”

“With Mortius gone, why are you two still here?” Albus asked, sounding puzzled.

“Mortius tricked us,” Luther spat out angrily. “The wand he gave us was not his wand; it was a fake, utterly useless.”

“What happened to Mortius’ wand?” Albus asked.

“It must have been destroyed when Mortius perished in the lake,” Eliza answered bitterly.

“That is extremely unfortunate,” Albus replied, looking as though he were defeated.

“Unfortunate is hardly the word I would use,” Luther said disgustedly. “Shutting off the regulator is a simple matter of inserting the wand and then the rings. Thanks to Mortius’ final deception, we have been imprisoned here for all eternity.”

“Albus, may I have a word with you,” Walt asked, beckoning to Albus.

Albus turned his back on Luther and Eliza as he stepped over to where Walt and I were standing.

“Albus, Alec gave me this wand,” Walt began, pulling the wand from his jacket so that the ghosts could not see it. “He told Sirius and me that it used to belong to a member of the cult and that it seemingly knows a great deal about this island.”

“Did Alec say where he acquired the wand?” Albus asked.

“Yes, he said he found it in Marcus’ bedroom,” Walt answered.

“I had the feeling that Alec had found something of interest when we were looking for the second ring, but did not question him as I was sure that whatever it was would come out sooner or later,” Albus said as he took the wand from Walt.

Albus flinched when he took the wand from Walt and stared at it for several seconds, examining it very closely, both through and over the top of his spectacles.

“I am certain that this wand belonged to a very dark and powerful wizard,” Albus began. “Yet, I sense that it has been modified in some way. It has all the memories I would expect to find in such an ancient wand, but the power it should command is greatly diminished.”

“If this is Mortius’ wand, will it work with the regulator if it has been tampered with?” I asked quietly so my voice would not carry.

“I do not see any reason why it should not work, it is after all still Mortius’ wand,” Albus replied and turned around to face Luther.

“Does this wand look familiar to you?” Albus asked, holding up the wand Alec had found so that both Luther and Eliza could see it plainly.

From the look of shock on Luther and Eliza’s faces, which was quickly replaced with loathing and hatred, I knew that they had seen the wand before.

“Where did…” Luther started to ask, but stopped himself in mid question.

“From a very old and dear friend,” Albus replied smiling, which further infuriated Luther who began cursing at us in some extremely colorful language until Minerva silenced him.

“Minerva, what do you think? Should we try using this wand in the regulator?” Albus asked her after he gave her the wand to hold.

“Yes, Albus, I think we should,” she replied, gazing at the wand intently. “This wand is very old and dark. I think it highly likely that it was Mortius’ wand,” she added with a shiver and handed the wand back to Albus, looking glad to be quit of it.

“Sirius, Walt, what are your thoughts?” Albus asked looking at us.

“I think we should give it a try,” I replied and Walt agreed.

Luther was straining so hard at the net that bound him that his eyes were nearly popping out of their sockets. After spending nearly a thousand years thinking that he was marooned here forever, only to find out that the wand he so desperately sought was here all the time, was enough to make anyone crazy. I didn’t feel the slightest bit sorry for either of them. By my way of thinking, they had earned their just desserts.

We all gathered around the table in the center of the room. I held my breath as Albus inserted the ancient wand into a hole in the top of the regulator. I think we all flinched when the regulator came to life, humming noticeably. From the grunts and groans Luther and Eliza were making I was sure we were on the right track.

“Walt, if you will insert the ring you are…

Albus stopped in mid sentence and looked quite distressed.

“What is the matter, Albus?” Minerva asked, after a second or two passed and Albus said nothing more.

“We do not know which ring to place in which side, or in what order,” Albus replied gravely. “There are six possible combinations with the two rings and the order of insertion.”

“Those odds are not to my liking,” I said, feeling quite depressed.

“Me either,” Walt added.

“Nor do I find them acceptable,” Albus added. “I can see this is going to be more difficult than I thought it might be. Inserting the rings in the wrong sequence could have no consequences or—

“It could destroy the entire island and everybody on it.” I finished Albus’ statement for him, feeling really depressed.

“Precisely,” Albus confirmed and we all just looked at each other.

“Luther or Eliza must know the proper sequence for inserting the rings,” I suggested.

“Yes, I am sure they do,” Albus replied. “However, they showed considerable resistance to the ‘Lamp of Truth and Justice.’ If I were to expose them to it at a greater intensity or for a longer period of time, it could completely destroy their spirits.”

“Now that would be a real tragedy,” I replied sarcastically. I had no false pretenses when it came to these two body-stealing ghouls. If they were destroyed in the process of shutting off the regulator or deactivating the aging spell, I wasn’t going to shed a single tear or lose a wink of sleep over them.

“Sirius, even though I can sympathize with your feelings in this matter, we still must decide where we draw the line when it comes to what we are willing to do to achieve our goals,” Albus replied. His voice was kind, but firm. “You know as well as I do that the end does not justify the means. If we begin to think that it does, then we become those that we despise. What ever we think of these spirits, we do not have the right to destroy them except in the case of destroy or be destroyed.”

“Albus is right in what he says,” Walt added. “When you are willing to do anything it takes to accomplish your goals, you invariably turn to evil.”

“Those are mighty fine words, but right this instant Ron and Gretchen are bound to this island by a curse that Luther and Eliza know how to undo,” I replied heatedly. “On top of that, they were going to force Harry and Hermione’s spirits from their bodies, which is nothing short of cold-blooded murder in my book, and use them for their own spirits. Just because I am willing to risk destroying these foul creatures in an attempt to save Ron and Gretchen does not mean that I am evil or will become evil.” By the time I had finished speaking my mind, I was angry. There was a time and a place for humanity, but this was not it, not by any stretch of the imagination.

“Albus, Sirius does have a point,” Minerva said in the silence that followed my angry outburst. “The choice we are faced with is how much risk we are willing to take to save the innocent at the expense of the guilty. I think there can be no doubt as to Luther and Eliza’s intent to steal Harry and Hermione’s bodies for their own use, and thereby effectively terminating Harry and Hermione’s lives. We are not acting out of malice, or spite, or vindictiveness, or any other unworthy reason. We are applying a force that could destroy Luther and Eliza in an effort to undo a wrong that was instituted over a thousand years ago. By any standard you care to name, Luther and Eliza’s time has come and gone. I accept the consequences of our actions should they destroy Luther and Eliza’s spirits. In matters of life and death, choices and their consequences are never easy. I feel that we should pressure Luther and Eliza with the ‘Lamp of Truth and Justice’ until they either tell us what we need to know or it becomes obvious that they will let themselves be destroyed before telling us what we need to know.”

There was a long pause following Minerva’s declaration. I was not sure if Albus was formulating a rebuttal or was just letting Minerva’s words sink in a bit more. After looking at each of us in turn, Albus finally broke the silence hanging over us.

“Walt, do you have anything more you wish to add?” Albus asked.

“No, I am comfortable with continuing to extract the information we need from Luther and Eliza,” Walt replied grimly.

“Very well, let us get on with our task,” Albus said and returned to stand in front of Luther and Eliza.

“I am asking you to willingly divulge the order of inserting the rings into the regulator,” Albus asked Luther and Eliza calmly after he released them from the gagging spell.

“Never! Not in a million years,” Luther snapped back.

“So be it,” Albus replied and levitated the ‘Lamp of Truth and Justice,’ which he had set on the floor after the previous attempt to extract the truth had failed.

When the lamp was even with Luther and Eliza’s faces it started to glow brighter and brighter. The frequency with which it was pulsating grew steadily faster as well. Within seconds, Luther and Eliza were writhing in extreme pain from their attempts to fight the force of the lamp. I watched as their outlines grew dimmer and dimmer. How they were able to resist the power of the lamp was beyond anything I could remember seeing. The pulsating was so rapid that the light seemed to glow continuously.

As I moved my hand to help shield my eyes from the intense light, the room was rocked by a tremendous explosion that sent me flying backwards to land on the floor. An instant before the explosion I saw what was left of Luther and Eliza’s ghostly outlines dissolve into a gray vapor and collapse into a tiny ball that suddenly vanished in the blinding light of the explosion.

I hit the floor hard but managed to remain conscious. Struggling, I get to my feet. I could barely keep my balance. My ears were ringing, and for a moment I was seeing double. By the time I was able to stand up straight, Walt had managed to get to his feet as well. Just as my eyesight returned to normal, I spotted Albus and Minerva lying on the floor. They were not moving and looked in very bad shape. As Minerva was closer to where Walt was standing, he went to help her as I stumbled forward to see what I could do for Albus.

At first I though Albus was dead, but I finally managed to detect very shallow and labored breathing by placing my hand lightly on Albus’ chest.

“Walt, how is Minerva doing?” I shouted over my shoulder, not daring to take my eyes off Albus.

“She is coming around. I think she will be okay. She is one tough old bird, this one,” Walt replied, sounding relieved. “How is Albus?”

“Not good,” I replied as I straightened Albus’ arms out so that he would be more comfortable. “I think Albus took the brunt of the explosion because he was so close to Luther and Eliza.”

“Any idea what caused the explosion?” Walt asked as I heard Minerva cough a couple of times.

“I’m not sure, but just before the explosion Luther and Eliza dissolved into a gray vapor that shrank to a dot and disappeared,” I replied, wondering what to do for Albus, as his condition was beyond my abilities to help him. “Something tells me that Luther and Eliza destroyed themselves rather than divulge what they knew and that’s what caused the explosion.”

“That’s crazy,” Walt replied after asking Minerva if she was all right and felt strong enough to stand.

“Yes, I know it’s crazy, but then again Luther and Eliza were crazy to begin with, so go figure,” I added, wishing there was something, anything I could do for Albus. I felt so helpless just letting him lie there.

I glanced over as Walt helped Minerva to her feet. She was not going to be happy hen she looked in a mirror. When I returned my gaze to Albus, I was nearly knocked over backwards as Fawkes apparated right on top of Albus’ chest and began looking him over very carefully. When I tried to get closer to Albus, Fawkes became agitated and spread his wings as if to protect Albus. Before I could say anything to Walt or Minerva, Fawkes grabbed one of Albus’ wrists in his left talon and then disapparated taking Albus with him.

“What the Bloody Hell was that all about and where did Fawkes take Albus,” I shouted as I jumped to my feet and immediately regretted getting up so fast.

“Fawkes has spent over one hundred years looking after Albus,” Minerva answered weakly. “I’m sure wherever Fawkes took him, Albus will be all right. As long as there was a single spark of life left in him, Fawkes will be able to bring Albus around.”

“What do we do now?” Walt asked, and as if by way of an answer, Iseult apparated in the room and began to shake her tail feathers at us.

“I guess we go with Iseult,” Minerva replied.

“Wait!” I shouted.

I went to the table and placed my hands gently around the regulator. To my surprise, it ceased floating as soon as my hands touched it. I nearly dropped the regulator not expecting it to weigh as much as it did. I very carefully carried the regulator over to where Minerva and Walt were standing next to Iseult’s tail feathers. Firmly clutching the regulator to my chest with one hand, I reach out and grabbed ahold of Iseult’s tail feathers with the other. The instant Minerva and Walt grabbed ahold, Iseult disapparated and apparated in a single heartbeat. We were back in the Atrium, which looked more like a hospital ward at St. Mungo’s, than a garden.