The Phoenix Prophecy

Chapter 17: Epilogue - Part 5

Monday — July 21^st

Gretchen:

In the short time that had past since coming to this meadow, my emotional state had twice risen to an all time high, only to suddenly plummet to an unbelievable low. When I first spotted Harry and Hermione walking towards us, my heart had soared as high as the trees. Seeing them headed in our direction, apparently unharmed, was a sight I never expected to see. Ron was twice as excited as I was and showed his relief and enthusiasm by giving both Harry and Hermione enormous hugs. With Harry and Hermione’s safe return, Ron was once again a whole person.

When I hugged Harry and Hermione, I was careful not to squash the baby. Neither paid any special attention to the baby I was carrying. I assumed that they must have thought I was holding one of the twins. I debated with myself as to whether I should tell them about our baby right away, but decided to wait for a quieter time. Things were a bit on the hectic side with their return and Gawain seemed anxious to talk with us.

When I sat on the ground next to Ron, with our child in my arms, I was ecstatically happy. We were all together again and I now had a child of my very own to love and care for. It was a good thing that my thoughts were focused on our baby when Kai dropped his shocking prediction of our future on us a few moments later. Otherwise, I might have come completely unglued. I had experienced far too many agonizing episodes for one day as it was. One more would have been the straw that broke this camel’s back.

Fortunately for me, I was able to concentrate most of my attention on our daughter, so the prediction about ‘the end of life as we knew it’ didn’t completely devastate me. When Professor Dumbledore guided us in lifting our spirits following Kai’s predictions, I had an easy time of it, as I was part way there already. Ron and I were already holding each other’s hand before he instructed everyone to do so. I had no trouble whatsoever sending my love to Ron and receiving his love in return. What did startle me, in a pleasant sort of way, was just how beautiful the meadow we were sitting in turned out to be once I pictured it more closely with my mind’s eye.

The wildflowers that were scattered in abundance across the meadow seemed to shimmer vibrantly in the bright sunlight that shown down on them from the cloudless sky above. If I concentrated hard enough, I could see a shimmering mist radiating from each individual flower. Looking up at the trees, I noticed the same shimmering glow surrounding each tree. After Professor Dumbledore instructed us to open our eyes, I was astounded to see that I could actually see the glow emanating from the trees and flowers, just as I had pictured in my mind. This place was either the ‘Garden of Eden’, or the next best thing. I quickly glanced around looking for an apple tree. I was feeling very female at the moment and Ron scent was accentuating that feeling even further. I’m not sure if I was relieved, or just disappointed, that I didn’t spot one.

The intense feeling of femininity that I was feeling abruptly vanished when Nyssa angrily attacked Hermione for questioning her and Kai’s actions relating to the Realm. When Ron tensed and let go of my hand unexpectedly, I looked past him to where Hermione and Harry were sitting, apparently under some kind of spell. The transient looks of pain and despair that flashed across their faces told me that this was not a pleasant spell they were experiencing. When the look on Harry’s face changed from agony to rage, Professor Dumbledore’s voice rang out loud and clear. I jumped, startling the baby in the process.

From the moment Harry and Hermione’s eyes popped open, their bodies began to tremble uncontrollably. Ron quickly scrambled over next to Harry and placed both of his hands on Harry’s shoulders in an effort to steady him. I hesitated only for a second before I slid over next to Hermione and wrapped my free arm around her in an effort to help her stop shaking. The baby picked this moment to start crying. I guess I must have moved her around too quickly. Hermione instantly stopped shaking and stared at my baby. For a second or two she didn’t say anything, she merely looked at the baby, then at me, and then at the baby again. She seemed completely at a loss for words.

“Let me introduce you to my daughter—I mean, our daughter,” I said when Hermione suddenly sat up straight and looked at me, totally bewildered.

“You’re what?” she finally asked, in obvious disbelief of what I had just said.

“My daughter, or rather, Ron’s and mine.”

“Yeah, right! Come on, Gretchen. Whose baby is this?”

“Seriously, this is our daughter. Just look at her and you can see that she looks like Ron and me. But don’t ask me to explain how we got her, as I haven’t got a clue.”

“Well, I’ll grant you that she does look like you, but…Gretchen, this is ridiculous, you weren’t even pregnant the last time I saw you. And besides, a baby takes nine months to grow. Even I know that much.”

“Who says I wasn’t pregnant. We don’t know what happened last night. Maybe I got pregnant on my wedding night.”

“That’s true, it is possible that you did get pregnant last night. But even so, babies are not made in a single day. I don’t care how much you love babies, it just isn’t possible. No, something else is behind this child, and I’ll give you three guesses who.”

“I’m sure you are right, Hermione. Right now, I am willing to believe just about anything as long as this child doesn’t up and vanish. If anyone tries to take this baby away from me, they are going to have one bloody fight on their hands.”

“Don’t worry. If anyone tries to do that, I’ll help you. Don’t ask me why, but for some reason I feel very protective about children right at this moment. It must have something to do with the spell I just experienced.”

“Just what did Nyssa do to you?’

“She caused Harry and me to live through the death of our son. I think it was supposed to be Voldemort that killed him. It was just dreadful, just dreadful,” Hermione answered, her facial features contorted from the obvious pain she was feeling by reliving the event once again.

“You’re kidding, right?”

“No, I am completely serious.”

“That’s just about the cruelest thing I have ever heard of. Even if she did suffer the loss of her child, that doesn’t give her the right to make you or anybody else suffer like that. I think we had better watch what we say and do around Kai and Nyssa until we know a lot more about them.”

“Yes, I think you are right. By the way, what name have you given to your baby girl? It is a girl, isn’t it.”

“Yes, she is a girl. Ron and I haven’t had time to discuss names yet. We just found out about her a short time before we came to this meadow.”

“She is so cute. Would you mind if I held her for a moment?” I was more than a little surprised by Hermione’s request. When I handed the baby to her, I was surprised yet again by how much more at ease she seemed to be as she cradled the baby in her arms. When Hermione looked up at me, I saw that she had a big tear in each eye.

“I can hardly wait to have a baby of my very own. You have no idea how much I envy you right at this particular moment.”

“Don’t you think it might be a good idea to have a husband first,” I replied, not knowing quite how to take this sudden change in attitude concerning babies. Something was definitely going on here. I know that I am nuts over babies, but I always have been that way. This was not the Hermione that I knew from before. Something had triggered her maternal instincts in a big, big way. I was sure that I was going to need Martha’s help in getting to the bottom of this before Hermione hauled Harry off to make a baby.

“Yes, I know that. I was just thinking about the future.”

Oh yeah, the future. From the dreamy look on her face, the future she was thinking about was the very near future; say the next fifteen minutes or so. . Hermione was wearing rose-colored glasses as she imagined the future without considering all of the consequences and ramifications from her actions.

“You know that there is a lot more to having a baby than just holding them when they are sweet and adorable. Little things, like cleaning up their messes, nursing them, being scared to death when they get sick, stuff like that.” I thought that my mention of the less glamorous things that go along with having a baby might bring Hermione around to her normal self. Unfortunately, I thought wrong.

“Yes, I know. I’m sure I will enjoy doing all those things as well,” she replied dreamily, without taking her eyes off my baby. Boy, was she gone, or what! I looked up at Ron to see how he and Harry were doing. Harry seemed to be okay as he and Ron were talking quietly. Once I looked at Ron, I could not take my eyes off him. All I could think about was the tremendous pleasure we had shared with each other on our wedding night. Funny, up until this moment I had not given our lovemaking a lot of thought today. But then again, with everything that had happened since we awoke, why would I? There was definitely something about this place that affected one’s libido. The baby let out a small cry, which quickly brought my attention back to her. Right now, she needed my full attention. I felt a small pang of guilt for having thought of only myself. The needs of children must come first.

“Hermione, perhaps you should give the baby back to me,” I said after the baby started fussing. It truth, I wasn’t sure how much trouble I was going to have getting the baby away from her. I knew she would never hurt the baby, but the longer that she held her, the harder it was going to be to let go. Especially with the way she was feeling.

“Oh, I don’t mind a little fussing. Like you said, this is part of having a baby.” Hermione was positively radiant when she looked at me. I was feeling a tiny bit jealous, and ashamed for feeling that way. Before I could think of something else to say to get my baby back, Hermione turned to Harry to show him the baby.

So once again, we went through the entire discussion of how Ron and I got this baby. Harry was even more skeptical than Hermione had been. In truth, I don’t think he really believed that the child was ours. If it had not been for the fact that Sirius and Madelyn had not joined us, we might still be trying to convince Harry that the baby was indeed ours. Fortunately, once Sirius and Madelyn corroborated our story, the discussion ended and Hermione handed the baby back to me. I could tell that it was not very easy for her to do so by the look on her face.

“I think we should ask Kai and Nyssa if your recovery and this child is their handiwork,” Madelyn said as soon as my baby was back in my arms.

“I agree, Madelyn,” Sirius added and stood up, offering Madelyn his hand.

The guys helped Hermione and I to our feet and we walked over to join Walt and Martha who were talking with Kai and Nyssa. At first Nyssa just ignored our presence. By the time Walt and Kai finished speaking, I had worked up my courage enough to ask the question I was not sure I wanted to know the answer to.

“Are you and Kai responsible for our, I mean Ron and mine’s recovery?” I asked looking directly at Nyssa. “If so, we would like to thank you.”

“Yes, we are responsible,” was all that Nyssa said in reply. She could not have been more distant if she had tried.

“How have we come by this child?” I managed to ask even though my throat felt as if it was going to knot up at any moment. I could feel the cold sweat running down my back and chest as we all waited for Nyssa or Kai to answer the question, which they finally did.

“We brought you and Ron here after you were injured on the island because we felt responsible for all of the things that had happened to you,” Kai began after waiting for Nyssa to answer my question, which she did not. “Once we examined you, we discovered that you were with child. You were both in critical condition from the loss of so much tissue and blood. We knew that we could not repair the damage done to your body without causing irreparable damage to the baby growing inside of you. Therefore, we removed the fetus from your womb and placed it in an artificial womb so that it could survive while we regenerated your bodies.”

“Wait just a minute. I’m a little confused,” Ron said, echoing my thoughts as well. “The baby could not have been very old, a week at the most. Just how long did you keep us here while you healed our wounds?”

“We kept you here for two hundred and sixty nine of your days,” Kai replied. “We needed to wait that long so that your child could be returned with you. Once the child could survive on its own we removed it from the artificial womb and returned the three of you to the elves’ home.”

“Why don’t we remember any of this?” I asked. “Surely we would remember something from being here for that many days.”

“Once your bodies were completely healed—a process that took just a little over four months—we kept you under a trance that made you forget each moment as soon as you experienced them. In short, you were fully awake and alert, but have no memory of the experience.”

“That is not entirely true,” I replied, suddenly recalling the vague dreams I remembered after waking. “I do remember two people talking about a baby. I don’t know what they looked like, but for some reason I felt that they had red hair.”

Kai and Nyssa glanced at each other before Kai continued. “It is possible that you might have some residual memories from the experience. The important point to remember is that all of the damage done to your bodies has been repaired without causing any harm to your daughter. And that this was accomplished without causing you any mental anguish during the process. Do you have some complaint you wish to register with us?”

“No, no. We are very grateful for all that you have done for us,” Ron replied hastily. “Actually, we can’t thank you enough.”

“We are glad that we were able to be of service to you,” Kai replied, a small, but warm, smile on his face.

“Excuse me, but would I be correct in assuming that you rescued Harry and I from the fireball that engulfed us on your island?” Hermione asked before I could add my thanks to Ron’s.

“Yes, you would be correct,” Nyssa replied, the lines on her face softening just a tad. “You were both badly burned from the intense heat of the fireball. Fortunately for you, we are quite experienced in treating burns. Due to the intense pain caused by the burns, we kept you sedated during the entire healing process. The drugs we used are not addictive and have no residual or long lasting affects. You will have remembered nothing until the moment you woke up, just before you entered the meadow.”

“That’s right. The last thing I remember before waking was the intense pain from the fireball,” Harry said as he glanced at Hermione.

“We too wish to thank you for saving our lives,” Hermione said.

“You are quite welcome,” Kai replied.

“I have a question that I would like to ask, if I may?” I said after no one else seemed to have anything more to say.

“Just one?” Kai replied, with a genuine smile on his face.

“Actually I have many questions, but the one foremost on my mind is this; is it just me or is there something about this place that makes me feel so energized and alive?”

“It is not just you, of that I can assure you,” Kai replied. “This entire world gives off a large amount of energy that makes you feel incredibly alive…at least for a while.”

“What do you mean, ‘for a while’?” Harry asked tentatively.

“The energy given off is readily absorbed by the human body. At first, it makes you feel invigorated, ready to tackle anything. However, after several months of exposure, the energy becomes too much for the body to absorb and the brain starts to deteriorate. Total insanity occurs after twelve to thirteen months of exposure. That is why no humans live on this world. It is a great place to come for short periods of time, but it is impossible to live here.”

“Does this world have a name?” Hermione asked.

“Yes, it is called Eden. As a matter of coincidence, this world is directly connected to your home world,” Kai answered looking directly at all of us.

“Through a portal, like the one connecting Earth and the Realm?” I asked.

“Yes, exactly. Eden is one of the three other worlds connected to Earth by a portal.”

“Do you happen to know where the other portals are located?” Sirius asked.

“It is located on a small island in the middle of a large body of fresh water known as ‘Hudson’s Bay’, which is located near the Artic circle on the North American continent.”

“Is this portal always open, or is it only open for specific periods of time?” Madelyn asked, after she and Sirius exchanged glances with each other.

“The portal between Earth and Eden is always open,” Kai replied. “Very few know of its existence because almost everyone who has passed through it never returns. Eden is a very dangerous place. Remember what I told you about being exposed to its energy for prolonged periods of time. To stay in Eden is to risk madness and insanity.”

“We will remember that if we ever find ourselves in a position to visit Eden,” Madelyn said to the hush that followed Kai’s words of warning.

“We aren’t in any immediate danger, are we,” I asked, suddenly worried over what this energy might be doing to my baby.”

“No, you have nothing to worry about,” Nyssa replied. I was beginning to think that she was never going to participate in the conversation. “We will be leaving here long before the world’s energy can cause you or your baby any harm.”