บท 236: The Mists of Avalon
"Nice Banishing Charm," Viviane said approvingly. "You can still put a bit more of your wrist into the movement, to make it really effective."
It had been a few days since Oleandra's last visit to the Black Lake, and today, they were doing Banishing Charms in Professor Flitwick's class. This particular spell acted as the Summoning Charm's counterspell, serving the exact opposite purpose: making things go away from you.
"Wish I could Banish you," Oleandra muttered under her breath. "I miss having a moment alone to myself."
Oleandra ducked, a pillow used for Banishing practise nearly missing her and flying over her head.
"Good reflexes, too," Viviane continued, unfazed by Oleandra's words. "We'll make a Witch out of you, yet. You need to work on your accuracy, though. By the by, have you thought about what I said before?"
"Depulso!" Oleandra launched a cushion through Viviane's transparent form. "Yes, and the answer's still the same: no, I'm not about to uproot my entire life to go on a wild goose chase, before making myself the entire magical world's enemy. I'd have to be crazy to even entertain the idea."
"Shame," Viviane said sadly.
Usually, it's at this point that Daphne would be giving her a sidelong look for talking to herself, so Oleandra was rather glad that Daphne had skipped this class to work on Ovid's Tincture, which was a key part of the Bloodline Atavism Potion, as the potion's base. It rendered the body's DNA more malleable, preparing it for a more permanent change: purifying one's bloodline origin.
"Look," Oleandra said, "I don't want you to get the wrong idea. I'm grateful for your teachings. I'm not opposed to saving the Fairies and the people of Ys. I'm just really busy with the Triwizard Tournament and looking for hidden Dusk Elves, that's all."
Amidst the storm of flying cushions, one sailed across the room and landed precisely into the box they were supposed to be aiming for. Upon looking behind her, Oleandra found that the one who had launched it had been Hermione. Obviously.
"And somehow," Oleandra added under her breath, "I don't think that getting myself locked up in Azkaban for breaking the Statute of Secrecy for the sake of bringing magic back to the land to fulfil the prophecy's conditions would be especially conducive to your purposes."
"Far be it from me to suggest that you need to do anything drastic before you finish your training here," Viviane said stubbornly. "All I'm saying is that nothing is stopping you from making plans, and preparing for the future. I don't mean to rush you, but our people have been waiting for more than two thousand years."
"Then I suppose they can stand to wait three more years," Oleandra snapped.
"They can," Viviane said quietly. "But bear in mind that for each moment wasted, more will die."
Oleandra lowered her wand and looked at Viviane in disbelief. It wasn't as if they were in mortal peril, right? From what she had understood from the Lady of the Lake's explanations, the island of the Fairies had simply been transported to another world.
"How do you mean?" Oleandra asked.
"When the city of Ys appeared, fifteen hundred years ago, the mists around Avalon cleared up, so of course, explorers were sent out at sea. Our scouts found that our island had ended up in a world of endless sea and fog," Viviane explained. "Do you remember how I described the two lands that had previously disappeared from Earth?"
"Atlantis and that other one," Oleandra said while nodding. "You said you had found them in ruins. Not a single soul left alive."
"Precisely," Viviane confirmed. "The place where Avalon ended up wasn't a regular otherworld like one of the nine realms. It's a world where worlds go to die. You see, whatever disappears into the mist, disappears forever. If you fall asleep without anyone watching over you, you disappear. For five hundred years, we lived in perpetual fear of watching our close ones vanish forever—"
"Hang on," Oleandra interrupted. "What was that one about falling asleep?"
"That place was meant to erase us," Viviane said in a grave tone. "We needed to constantly verify our own existences by watching over each other. To lose consciousness alone, or to disappear from another's sight for too long, whether it be in the dark or in the mist, meant being erased."
Oleandra shuddered; what a scary thought. Mu, Atlantis, Avalon, Ys— and maybe even more countries or continents, their names lost to time— what had they done to deserve such a fate? What taboo had they committed that warranted being removed from existence?
And yet, there was nothing she could do for them. According to the twin prophecies, in order for Avalon to return, Britain's saviour, Arthur Pendragon, needed to return to unite the countries of British Isles and restore magic to the land, while the city of Ys needed Paris to sink under the sea.
Viviane's plan was to find the Deathly Hallows in order to resurrect the long-lost king; as for saving Ys, Oleandra wasn't about to sink an entire city under the waves; they'd have to find another way. Very much troubled by what she had learned, Oleandra couldn't concentrate on the rest of the lesson, sending her practise cushion flying everywhere other than at the target.
The bell rang, signalling the end of the class, but just as she was about to collect her things to leave with Tracey and the other Slytherins, she felt someone tap her shoulder.
"Where's Daphne?" Hermione questioned her. "It's not like her to miss a lesson."
"She's busy," Oleandra responded, glancing behind her. "Er— is Harry okay? He seems a little… on edge."
Oleandra had just got a glimpse of Harry, who was trying his best not to look too nervous, drumming his fingers on the wooden desk in front of him.
"Harry?" said Ron, "Oh, he's fine— he's just figured out the clue, is all."
From the way he looked, Oleandra would have guessed it was the opposite. I mean, once you've guessed the clue, it should be easy sailing from there, right? (No pun intended.)
"By the way," he said suddenly. "Do you play Wizard chess? If you're free, after classes—"
Oleandra was about to refuse and come up with some excuse, when Viviane's voice piped up in her ear.
"You should accept," she said. "I'll be teaching you something interesting at the same time."
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