Chapter 122: Chapter 122: Master of Fire (1)
Lightning flickered through the leaded windows, casting eerie shadows on the stone walls of the Gryffindor Common room. Thunder rolled ominously, shaking the very foundations of the castle as torrential rain pounded against its sturdy ramparts. The merry chatter of students engaged in evening activities provided a stark contrast to the furious October storm raging outside.
Catherine, settled into a weathered burgundy armchair was deeply engrossed in her book, with the flames from the fireplace casting a warm, dancing light across her serene face. Her eyes were quickly darting through the pages of the old blue volume named Beasts and Banshees: Folklore of the British Isles. A lightning struck nearby, prompting the young witch to jump nervously, her hand instinctively searching for her missing braid.
'Pull yourself together!' – she scolded herself – 'It's just an autumn storm and this is nothing but a silly book full of legends! I'm probably on edge because I'm exhausted.'
The past weeks had indeed been tiresome for the young witch. With the intense Quidditch practice and her morning running sessions with James, she had to wake up at six-thirty almost every day of the week. Meanwhile, due to the increased number and volume of assignments, Catherine had not been able to go to sleep before midnight, often dozing off over a runic translation or a Transfiguration essay. The worst part was that even when she finally managed to get to bed, her sleep was far from peaceful. More often than not, she had horrible nightmares of severed human parts and puddles of blood where she could never see her face. These dreams were distinctly different from those she had experienced before. There was no additional information about her past lives to console her. They were just a torturous product of her mind, leaving her not wanting to sleep at all and waking up more exhausted than if she had spent the entire night awake.
Furthermore, something odd was going on in the dormitory. Recently, the room was a complete mess almost every morning. The girls' belongings were thrown around the floor, and even though they tried to lock their trunks, they still ended up being opened. After the initial suspicion from Gwyneth about some of the boys being the culprit was overruled due to the spell preventing them from entering the girls' premises, Catherine's only plausible explanation was that either one of them was sleepwalking or it was Peeve's doing. She was not certain if the poltergeist could enter their room, but at this point, the fourth-year just couldn't come up with any better ideas.
'I'll ask Dumbledore when I meet him on Tuesday.' – the girl decided, stretching her arms. She had received an invitation for a lesson with the Headmaster the previous morning and was anxiously awaiting their meeting.
"What are you reading with such a terrified expression? Is it for History of Magic? Then count me scared too!" – Sirius exclaimed, grabbing the book from Catherine's hands and flipping through its worn pages with exaggerated curiosity.
"Hey! Give it back! How many times have I told you not to do this?" – the girl protested, jumping from the armchair in a futile attempt to reclaim her treasured volume.
"Three hundred fifty-five times, if my count is correct." – James interjected with a mischievous grin, joined by Peter Pettigrew who chuckled in agreement.
Sirius sighed dramatically, waving the book in front of James' face. "I was hoping for something more thrilling—like forbidden spells or dark potions! Even a dirty novel would suffice, but why waste time on ghost dogs?"
"It's not just about ghost dogs! It's a collection of tales about legendary creatures from British folklore." – Catherine retorted defensively – "I read it because I like it!"
'And because I hoped it might reveal something linking Alecto and Morgana.' - the girl thought as she once again attempted to get a hold of her book. James, however, had excellent reflexes, and the game suited his current mood. He quickly leaped to the nearest sofa, scaring away a few second-years in the process.
"Yeah, right! That's why you jumped every time the thunders cracked outside." – he teased – "You may attempt to look tough, Miss Plantier, but just admit that you enjoy being scared senseless by a terrifying story… about…Padfoot? What a stupid name is that?!"
"It's a shaggy black ghost dog said to haunt travellers in Lancashire." – Catherine explained, trying to salvage her dignity.
"Merlin, it looks ugly!" – Sirius barked a laugh as he peered over James' shoulder at a disturbingly vivid illustration of Padfoot, taking up an entire page.
"Are you done mocking me?" – the young witch hissed, finally snatching her book back and retreating to her armchair, her lips pursed in irritation.
"Oh, come on, Flame! We're just kidding around!" – Sirius grinned, casually taking a seat on one of the armrests – "As far as I'm concerned, you can read all the ghost dogs books you can find! I'm also available in case you need some cuddling to overcome your fears!"
"Go to hell!" – came the girl's kind response.
"If we want any progress on the map tonight, we should start now, mate, or she might send us to the Hospital Wing!" – James suggested, settling onto the opposite armrest.
"You do have a point!" – Sirius agreed, pulling out a folded piece of parchment and tapping it with his wand – "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good!"
The familiar ink lines of Hogwarts appeared instantly on the surface. Catherine sighed, trying to push down her irritation. While Sirius' project intrigued her, it wasn't her priority at the moment.
"Too bad Moony's missing out this!" – Peter murmured, eyeing the still empty map longingly.
"He's going to be back tomorrow, and it'd be great if we can greet him with a working map." – James said, brandishing his wand – "Let's start with the Inquisitus Imprintum Spell first. If it's successful, we can proceed with the Homonculous Charm."
"I agree!" – Sirius nodded, his wand moving in an elaborate, complicated pattern above the parchment. He cleared his throat and stated decisively – "Inquisitus Imprintum!"
The map shined brightly with silver light, and then a myriad of black dots appeared across the castle's rooms and halls.
"It worked!" – Peter exclaimed in awe.
"Yup! Now, the Homonculous Charm!" – James said with concentration, tapping the map – "Creatura Vivifica!"
The four Gryffindors stared tensely at the parchment. Thirty seconds passed in silence before the dots on the maps started moving around.
"I can't believe it actually worked!" – Sirius whispered happily – "We spent so much time on this; it feels unreal that it's finally done!"
"Not yet." – Catherine noted, extracting a pin from her pocket – "Now, we move to the hardest part. Let's hope my spell will be strong enough to maintain the enchantments without needing constant recasting."
"I don't like this part with using your blood." – Sirius frowned, watching as the young witch pierced her ring finger with the pin.
"I've told you, blood is a pretty common source for lasting spells. It doesn't endanger me in any way. It just ties the magic to me."
What Catherine didn't disclose to her friends, however, was the spell's true purpose. Her blood alone couldn't sustain such a complex web of enchantments. Instead, she used it to tether the map directly to the castle itself. While uncertain of its success, she was confident that such a spell could only be performed by someone from her family or possibly the Headmaster of the school. Thus, it was unlikely anyone else would uncover her secret.
"Perpetuum Locus Nobilis Heres!" – the young witch murmured, concentrating intensely on the scarlet drop of blood gleaming on the bottom of the map's surface. For a brief moment, it appeared as if a net of tiny strings sprang from it in every direction before vanishing completely.
"Was it successful?" – Peter asked impatiently.
"We shall see. This is a spell of my own design. If the map works without issue over the next few weeks, then we can deem it successful." – the girl replied thoughtfully.
"I'm really fascinated by how you manage to create all these spells! I can't come up with a single one!" – complained Sirius.
"It takes time and persistence, Sirius." – Catherine shrugged – "You lack the patience to see the process through."
"You'd be surprised how patient he can be when he really wants something." – James smirked, earning a furious glare from his best friend – "Anyway, now that the map is more or less working, we shall probably test it?"
"I think we should go and check that Room of Requirement the Grey Lady told me about." – the young witch suggested.
"I can't believe you managed to outsmart the Ravenclaw House ghost!" – Peter grinned – "We're lucky you weren't sorted into their House."
'Luck had nothing to do with it.' – thought the girl, but she smiled nonetheless. Despite her initial disappointment when the Sorting Hat hadn't comply with her wishes, she had been quite happy in Gryffindor, destined perhaps to end up there with the boys.
"We can do it tomorrow evening?" – James proposed.
"I can't. I've got detention." – Sirius said gloomily.
"Again?" – Catherine asked, rolling her eyes.
"It wasn't my fault!" – the wizard exclaimed defensively – "I had a bit of a… disagreement with that prat Augustus Zabini, and since he's now a Prefect…"
"If you keep this up, you're about to earn detentions from every single Prefect in the school." – Catherine noted sarcastically.
"It's an honour I'll proudly accept!" – Sirius grinned – "Back to the question, let's check the Room of Requirement on Tuesday instead!"
"I have a lesson with Dumbledore at 8 that evening. I should be done around 9:30. We can meet on the 7th floor." – the young witch suggested.
"Are you going to be alright?" – James asked softly – "You mentioned using true fire might have some physical consequences."
"Yes, but I don't expect to be able to actually use it on the first try. So, I don't foresee any issues on Tuesday." – Catherine reassured him.
"Alright! Tuesday evening it is!" – Sirius nodded – "Peter, are you in, mate?"
"I… yes…" – the boy stuttered, his face turning crimson – "I just need to cut my date short."
"You have a date?!" – the other three teenagers exclaimed in an utter shock, staring at their friend in disbelief.
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