บท 116: The City of Gates
"Sis, wake up," whispered Daphne, gently shaking her sister awake. "We're nearly here."
Partway through the journey, the team had swapped drivers so that Oleandra could get some rest. Since the sun never set, she had had some difficulty falling asleep, and the rumbling of the motor didn't help either.
Oleandra wiped her bleary eyes and looked out of her window; they had finally reached the enormous mountain. An expansive city had been built at the foot of the mountain; it was perfectly circular, and it surrounded the entire mountain. A tall wall had been built around it, and from what Oleandra could see, multiple gates served as entrances from the outside. But hold on, where did they lead to? From what she could tell, this city was the only place inhabited by sentient beings for hundreds of miles around.
"I'll set us down on that hill over there," said Ginny, pointing to a hillock right outside the towering walls. "Now, I propose that we approach the situation like so: we form a two-person investigative unit, while the rest stay behind, ready to start the car."
"Good plan," said Oleandra. "I'll be going, of course, so who's coming with me?"
"Not so fast," Ginny interrupted. "You're too important to risk; you're the only one who can get us back home. As for Daphne and Tracey, they're the second most adept with runes, so I'd be inclined to let them stay back as well. Stacey is a Muggle, it's better to leave her here as well, since she's powerless."
"That only leaves you and Draco," said Daphne, frowning. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"
"I'm against this!" said Draco, his face turning white. "Who in their right mind sends the king out first in chess?"
"Oh, will you stop worrying?" said Ginny offhandedly. "If anyone's the king, it's Oleandra. You're at best a bishop."
"Then you're just a pawn," Draco retorted. "You're just a second-year!"
"I'm fairly sure I'm the strongest one here," said Ginny, her eyes glinting dangerously. "Which makes me the queen. Need I refresh your memory on how I hexed your little bodyguards?"
Draco gulped. He hadn't seen the Weasley girl perform much magic outside from that one time she cast the Bat-Bogey Hex, but this little girl scared the living daylights out of him, for some reason.
"Now hold on just a minute," argued Oleandra. "This is my adventure, so I'm going. And why am I a king? I'm the strongest, so I should be queen."
"Enough with the chess metaphors, this conversation is getting unproductive," interrupted Daphne. "Ginny's right; if the stars do end up showing up, you're the only one who can interpret the altered forms the runes will take."
"Fine," said Oleandra. "We'll wait here, then. But if you don't come back within twenty-four hours, we're going in after you."
"Good!" Ginny called back, as she made her way down the hillock. "Then it's settled. Draco, make sure to bring your man purse. Gold should be valuable even here, I suppose."
Draco grumbled something about satchels and purses while he dug through his things, then rejoined Ginny at the foot of the wall once he found what he was looking for.
"How'd you suppose they'll get past the wall?" asked Tracey as she watched Ginny whisper into Draco's ear. "Surely they're not going to go in through the front gate?"
"Can't Wizards walk through walls?" Stacey asked curiously.
"That's a ghost thing," Oleandra replied. "We're still made of flesh and blood, which are very much tangible."
"What about Platform nine and three-quarters?" Tracey reminded her.
While the three girls were having their discussion, Daphne was watching in rapt attention as Ginny and Draco gesticulated; they were apparently having a heated discussion, though she couldn't make out the particulars, as they were too far to be heard. After a while, seemingly having had enough, Ginny slipped behind his back and seized him by the armpits in a standing full nelson hold.
"What on earth are they doing?" Daphne wondered out loud, shaking her head.
And then it happened, quick as a flash.
"What the—!?" she exclaimed, as Daphne watched them both rocket into the air and land on the battlements. "She can fly!"
"So what? We literally just flew here," Stacey commented, sounding unimpressed. "And in a flying car, no less. That's much heavier than just having to support the weight of two people."
"Well yes, that's supported flight," Oleandra explained. "But what Ginny did was unsupported flight. No broomstick, no flying carpet, no flying car. It's supposed to be impossible, isn't it?"
"I'm beginning to have some trouble identifying what it is you Wizards can or can't do," said Stacey drily. "It all seems incredibly arbitrary to me."
"Don't worry about it," Tracey said. "It all makes perfect sense if you think about it."
"It really doesn't," Stacey said stubbornly.
"Enough," said Daphne wearily. "We should all get some rest while we still can, they should be back soon."
Oleandra checked her pocket watch. Twenty-three hours and fifty-seven minutes until they were allowed to go after the advance party. A morbid thought bubbled up within her; she hoped they didn't make it back in time so that she could also go exploring.
Twenty-two hours. Twenty. Fifteen. Ten. Five. Four. Three. Two. Finally, one hour left to go. And then, zero. Even after all this time, night still hadn't fallen, and what's more, their companions still hadn't returned; it seemed as if Oleandra's wish had come true.
"I'm starting to get antsy with all this waiting around," Oleandra finally said. "Everyone, get ready. Something obviously happened to those two, which means we're going in after them."
Stacey and Tracey gulped nervously, while Daphne nodded.
"It's long past time they should have returned," Daphne said. "Stacey, do you want to stay behind?"
The girl in question shook her head vehemently; the last thing she wanted was to remain alone. She watched in mounting apprehension as the Greengrass twins changed into their basilisk-skin combat robes. As they put on the last pieces of their outfits, the detachable sleeves, the twins nodded to each other in satisfaction; Madam Malkin had done a terrific job, and they would probably need the extra mobility and durability the robes offered.
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