บท 377: The Journey Home

The Hogwarts Express shot across the blindingly white landscape like a crimson arrow, seemingly unhindered by the thick sheet of snow covering the railway tracks; the gleaming locomotive had been fitted with a snowplough for the winter journey from Hogsmeade Station in Scotland to King's Cross station in London.

Oleandra stared out of her compartment's window, watching the scenery pass by with unfocused eyes; it had been a while since she had last returned home for the holiday season. She had come back home for the winter vacations in her first and second years at Hogwarts, but she had remained at Hogwarts in her third and fourth, due to her expedition to Nidavellir and the Yule Ball, respectively.

This time, however, nobody would be waiting for her at home, since her parents had been taken by Death Eaters. Additionally, Oleandra wasn't going to the family's main home in London, but to their summer mansion in Dorset, where Astoria had left the Dusk Elf's heart after discovering it in Oleandra's pouch. She needed to retrieve it, no matter what; the Elf was an extremely dangerous variable, and she didn't dare leave its heart where it could easily be found.

Oleandra inwardly sighed. It seemed that as of late, fate itself was conspiring to make her life as complicated as possible. Two nights ago, she had experienced a rather strange lucid dream in her sleep; she had somehow turned into a snake and bitten Arthur Weasley, of all people. Oleandra often had strange dreams, but this one had been especially weird, even by her standards. She never, ever, thought of Arthur Weasley in her daily life, so why would she dream of him for no reason? Oleandra hardly needed any more unnecessary distractions in her life…

"This is the third time that bloke's passed by our compartment in the last half hour," Astoria remarked, as she slid open the door to the corridor and glanced outside. "Do you think he's lost, or something?"

Astoria and Tracey weren't staying at Hogwarts for the holidays, either. Tracey had extended an invitation to the Greengrass sisters, wanting to introduce them to her parents, but Oleandra had tactfully declined the offer. She held no illusions that Tracey's parents would be none too pleased to see their daughter bringing Britain's No. 2 Undesirable's sister home …

As for Astoria, it seemed like their father had already made arrangements for her to stay with the Order of the Phoenix over Christmas, so she wasn't coming with her to Dorset. Not that Oleandra would have wanted her to; for all she knew, she was walking right into a trap. It wouldn't have been the first time her home had been attacked…

"Drank too much Butterbeer before getting on, perhaps?" Tracey jokingly answered Astoria.

"We're being watched," said Oleandra darkly.

She'd been watching people passing by their compartment in the window's reflection. An Auror had been posted in the corridor right outside their door, but just as Astoria had rightfully noticed, the same students kept walking by them, glancing into their compartment through the glass-panelled door. Young Slytherins; or in other words, children of Death Eaters.

"You should have stayed at Hogwarts," said Tracey worriedly. "Even with Umbridge there, it's the safest place for you to be…"

"No thank you," said Oleandra, shaking her head. "I've things to do."

She had already finished decrypting her secret orders from the Order of the Round Table, but since it was too risky sending her response from Hogwarts, where her message could be intercepted by Umbridge, Oleandra was planning on sending her letter from her summer home. And she also had to retrieve the Dusk Elf's heart from the refrigerator, where Astoria had stored it…

A thought suddenly occurred to Oleandra.

Judging by how closely she was being monitored, she was indeed about to walk into an ambush. In that case, why couldn't she just beat her enemies to her destination and set up an ambush of her own for them? Her summer home was already covered in runic traps; Oleandra hadn't just lounged around and watched television the summer she had been grounded. At any rate, it had been a fun summer project, overhauling the house's defences…

'You dare attack a Runesmith in her own home?' she could already imagine herself saying.

Oleandra put on her winter gloves, already gleefully preparing her banter in advance for the upcoming fight. Hopefully, she would be the one ambushing her would-be ambushers and not the other way around. That is, if they even thought to show up to her summer home; the Greengrass family owned loads of properties throughout Britain.

"What are you doing?" said Tracey, completely taken aback upon seeing Oleandra throwing open a window and contorting her body through the opening.

"Getting some fresh air!" Oleandra called out briskly. "Don't wait up for me."

Oleandra pulled out her wand and jumped off the train, performing a Slowing Charm on herself as she did so. Most of her momentum was cancelled, allowing her to land and roll safely into a snowbank, which cushioned the remainder of the impact. By the time her disappearance would have been noticed, the ongoing snowstorm would have wiped away all traces of her footsteps in the thick snow.

Oleandra walked up to a lone pine tree and laid a hand on it.

"Wunjo, Berkana, Raidhu, Eihwaz, Dagaz!" Oleandra shouted, assuming each stance as she called out each one of the runes' names in turn; intricate patterns forming themselves in the snow where her feet fell. "Let this pine tree become a gateway! Open the door to the great beyond, and take me through the sea of stars to where I once stood!"

Oleandra was suddenly overcome with an irrepressible feeling of dread, and she just knew that an ancient and alien presence had just focused its sinister gaze on her. She had never felt it this clearly before; this oppressive gaze of infinite greed, like that of a one-eyed hawk eyeing its prey from on high…

The usual sound effects of the Tree-Portation Spell occurred; a wooden door creaking open, the rush of air being sucked into nothingness, and the loud bang of the door slamming shut. For a moment, Oleandra was hurtling through outer space, the World Tree occupying her entire field of vision, and then her feet were touching solid ground once more.

Oleandra took a few unsteady steps, before falling to her knees. She took a few deep breaths, before gathering the courage to lift her head to take in her surroundings, almost afraid to see where she had landed.

She let out a sigh of relief; she was on her summer home's front porch, next to the wooden pillar upon which she had engraved the Berkana rune.