The Valley of Nevermore and Secrets Revealed
Both Frank and Alice Longbottom smiled broadly. Alice stepped forward and embraced Hazel in a tight hug. Hazel was uncomfortable with such things, but she allowed it to happen without complaint. She understood the emotion behind the action.
Frank and Neville smiled, Augusta had a displeased look on her face, and Hazel's friends giggled at her discomfort; it was all quite dramatic and seemed to go on forever for Hazel.
When Alice finally let go, she was met by a brilliant smile on Hazel's face. "I am glad to see that you are doing well, Mrs. Longbottom."
"All thanks to you." This was Neville, and he spoke with trembling emotion. He spoke but he didn't move, as if he were scared that if he moved something would go wrong. He just stood by his father, looking at Hazel intently.
"Thank you so very much, Hazel; thank you for bringing my parents back."
There was something different about him. Hazel allowed her eyes to run over him and look into his aura. It churned with a dense energy that seemed to be feeding and strengthening it.
His aura was growing.
She nodded in understanding; the situation had changed him fundamentally, and now his aura was changing to meet and align with the new Neville.
It made her think how differently things may have been if Neville was chosen by Voldemort instead of her Harry.
"Don't worry about it, Neville. I am from here as well, and I think we should right wrongs whenever we can."
"And why are you here now, young lady?" Augusta Longbottom looked to Hazel and then to the three behind her. "What do you and your friends need of my children?"
Hazel turned to her with a patient smile, but Frank spoke first.
"Mother, she is just here to make sure we are okay. She already said she would continue to check on us. She is a very good and responsible healer." He looked to Hazel with a smile, then to his wife. "We are doing well, Hazel." He pulled his wife to him in a side hug and then looked about the valley. "This place has been miraculous for us. I have known magic all my life, and this still dazzles me a bit."
Hazel smiled as she looked around as well. "It is probably because it is of a different dimension; the magic feels different across the layers." She put her hands together and smiled broadly. "Let's get to it. Show me how much you have truly improved."
Frank and Alice nodded as one, and the small house disappeared, and a dueling field rolled out like a wide, inviting carpet in its place. Hazel nodded, impressed at how easily the Longbottoms manipulated the valley now. She watched carefully and knew that this was just Frank and Alice's doing—actually, more Alice than Frank.
She stepped back and took a seat. "Have you decided if you will go back to the Ministry?"
Frank and Alice took up positions at opposite ends of the field as more and more chairs appeared and everyone took seats with Augusta and Hazel to watch.
Alice looked at her with a frown. "We can't. Your spellwork was not approved, and so we are officially classified as rogue magic."
Hazel frowned as Evervine scoffed and shook her head.
"I am sorry. I forgot about the Ministry's policies. I should have thought to register the technique first."
Everyone shook their heads, but Augusta spoke. "We would all take on that responsibility. If anyone was to be at fault, I would say it was Dumbledore; he stood there watching the whole thing. Truth be told, only you and Madame Pomfrey thought it would be a success."
Evervine couldn't hold her tongue any longer. "En Dimension is truly insane with their rules and separations. It merely breeds prejudice and causes gaps in knowledge."
Augusta looked at the young girl with a rare smile but said nothing. Hazel continued to berate herself. She should have known better. Why had she not thought of something so simple? Then Frank and Alice began, and she focused on them and the flow of their magic and how it interacted with their auras.
She nodded as she saw the incantations flow smoothly through their auras. There was slight color change every once in a while, but that was just an indication of a pull on something no longer used to the given activity.
They ended with a flourish, and Frank smiled broadly. "I feel like I am back by 80%!" The excitement in his voice made Hazel smile as she watched Alice nod with the same emotion.
"I would say you two are closer to 92 or 93% back to your original selves. Your auras have both developed well and will probably be a bit stronger in the end." Her smile fell as a thought came to her. She looked to them both, "If you want, you can easily go to Eram Dimension—you call it the 3rd Dimension. It is true that no humans actively live there now, but there are still fully functioning human settlements, and the species there like humans, and you do not need to use a portal to travel there." She allowed her eyes to roam over the valley.
"This place was connected to Eram long ago. No matter where it is, it can take you back to one of the main human castles in Eram." She looked back to Frank and Alice.
"It is an option for you."
The couple came and sat down with the others, now frowning and sharing meaningful looks with each other, but Augusta spoke first, her cane slamming into the soft ground.
"Why go to an entirely different plane?! This is your home."
Frank smiled at his mother.
"It is a good option, Mother." He looked to Hazel. "We will have to think about it. We cannot leave our plane until we know Voldemort is no more."
Both his voice and his face became stern as he spoke of The Dark Lord. Alice's had gone stern as well. Hazel simply nodded and stood.
"Well, that is all for me. We will leave you in peace and go speak with Sirius."
As she spoke, the field disappeared, and the house rose from the ground to replace it.
Alice gave her another tight hug and spoke into her neck. "Come back soon, dear."
"I will. And if you need me, you know how to reach me."
Hazel pulled out her white wand and began tapping the air rhythmically.
Nevermore, Nevermore, valley grand, loose my hand, allow me to stand free of your grasp, allow me to return, next I ask.
In the next breath, Hazel, Evervine, Marcel, and Hermione stood in the dusty parlor of 12 Grimmauld Place. Hermione gave a little excited shriek, and Marcel exhaled dramatically. Evervine rolled her eyes at both as she looked to Hazel.
"That item is pretty powerful. I still can't believe you just gave it to the Longbottoms." Hazel shrugged and said nothing. She hadn't given it to them; technically, Shylah had.
They fell in line behind her as they went back downstairs, Marcel excitedly talking about the Longbottoms' recovery and how their magical flow improvements prove that Aura Channel Theory was correct. He loudly yelped when Kreacher popped out of nowhere.
The house-elf ignored him and spoke to Hazel. "Mistress, Master Sirius waits in the sun room."
Hazel bent down to the elf with a smile on her face. "Thank you, Kreacher; you are a great help as always." The house-elf mumbled something about easily frightened young wizards as he subtly flashed her a smile and turned to walk into another dusty wall.
Evervine laughed and looked to Marcel, who pouted and frowned.
When the group of four finally entered the sun room, they found Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Harry, Ron, and Nymphadora Tonks, who sat in a far corner randomly changing the color of her hair, as if she were bored.
"… Maybe not. It should have been impossible for The Goblet of Fire to be tampered with." Sirius looked up and smiled as the newcomers entered the room. Hazel frowned as she sat down next to Harry.
"I haven't had time to talk to you about all of this. I have heard from some of my friends at the dragon retreat that a task will involve them."
Harry looked down and nodded. "It's the first task. It will be in a couple of weeks."
"Actually, in a week and a half," Hermione spoke matter-of-factly as she sat next to Evervine. "The dragons are arriving tomorrow. I think it is too dangerous."
Hazel looked to her. "Do you think I should be there?"
"No!" Harry and Sirius spoke as one. Hazel frowned.
"But I probably know the dragon Harry may face." She laced her arm around her brother's, as if trying to protect him.
"It's too dangerous, Hazel. I don't want Voldemort going after you as well."
Evervine and Marcel scoffed at the same time, Marcel speaking up at all of the looks.
"He does not want Hazel. He marked Harry, so now only Harry can help him fully resurrect." He bit into a scone and sounded his delight. Evervine rolled her eyes.
"He is right. This Voldemort needs Harry's blood to reintegrate his soul into flesh. I have no idea where he would get the flesh from."
Marcel spoke with his mouth full of lemon bayberry scone. "A family cemetery will be enough. Bone, flesh—it's the same thing."
Everyone looked at him with horror. Evervine looked to Hazel and froze. Hazel's eyes had gone black, and she sat with her back straight, looking out at nothing. Sirius made a move toward her, but Evervine shook her head.
"She is having a vision."
Marcel frowned. "A powerful one."
Hazel began speaking, but it was a strange hissing language, to everyone except Harry. His eyes grew wide, and he and Ron both spoke the name.
"Parseltongue."
Hermione looked to Harry. "What is she saying?"
He frowned. "She is having a conversation, saying she does not believe in someone's loyalty to her. She wants proof, and is asking why she should believe them."
"Is she talking to..." Ron ended his sentence in a loud gulp.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "How could it be him? He would never say he was loyal to her."
Hazel's eyes slowly returned to their natural Hazel color. She blinked several times and looked at everyone staring at her.
The vision had been strong, and she needed a moment to bring herself back to reality. Voldemort's snake companion had revealed much, and it had all been a bit unsettling. Her mind suddenly searched for comfort and reassurance, it searched for Shylah, but then she truly registered the concern in everyone's eyes, and Harry's voice in her mind.
She focused and spoke slowly.
"It was Nagini, Voldemort's snake. It would seem she is actually a Hellfire Demon." Hazel leaned back in her seat, deep in thought.
Sirius, Remus, and Tonks were immediately beside her, demanding to know all.