Categories > Books > Harry Potter > The Blue Ribbon Dance
I woke early in the morning. My companions were still asleep. I walked over and sat with my legs dangling over the cliff.
I fell into my thoughts and stayed there for a while.
*********
I had been only sixteen years old, when he came to my farming village in rural England. I had been playing with my little sister, Katrina, she was only four...
He came and set fire to one of the houses. It was a dry season, and the fire spread quickly. He killed many people, including my mother and sister, as they tryed to escape. He caught me by the arm and told me in a raspy voice, "You're coming with me!" It was only when he put his wand to my head, that I knew what he was... he was like me. Magic.
I had had an invitation to Hogwarts, but my mother would not allow it, she needed me there. I had to decline. I had taught myself things, I could move things with my mind, and that was the extent of it.
After that, I remember nothing. I woke in a wooden carriage with many other girls in it. They all looked about my age. Then they told me the frightening truth, I would never age again. I would live as I am now, forever. They all had lost their magical abilities, and only a few had kept their strongest attributes because they where strong. Claric, could sense weather patterns, I could move things, and apparently I was gifted at Divination. I could see the future, or the present wherever whenever.
We had been given siren-like qualities, we could seduce men with a single song, and we had gained a super human beauty.
We were to use these to seduce our masters victims so he could get what he wanted and then kill them.
That was nearly seventeen years ago.
A year later, we were all kept in a cellar. We were suffering from mal-nutrition, and he was gaining power. We found later that he had perished attempting to kill a baby.
We took no notice of the child, we took our chance to escape. We have been roaming the country side ever since.
About a year ago we learned about a certain book, that our evil master had created the curse he cast upon us. Lia had gone to Hogwarts, and excelled at reversing curses. She could, no doubt, reverse the curse if she had the original... blue prints, so to speak, of the curse. We would be free.
Maria and Sia are the oldest, our master, now we call him as the rest of the world calls him, You-Know-Who, he captured them almost forty-five years ago. They had each been sixteen as well.
We spent the last sixteen years as travelling gypsies, dancing and playing our music, I told fortunes, while the others sang.
We made money, and travelled as far as we could... we would do anything we had to to get where we needed.
Six months ago I had had a vision of the castle and my minds eye flew within and found the book, though I cannot be sure where it was. I was moving much to fast.
That was where we were headed now, I knew for sure now. Though were in the castle it was I did not know.
**********
Lia came behind me silently, we were lighter now than a normal person, and we could not be injured, as we were immortal, that is why I lived after jumping so long ago.
"Are we ready to leave, Tara?" She asked me quietly.
"If not now then later... it makes no difference to us now, we are so close. I would venture to say the castle is not moving anywhere?" I asked.
Lia laughed softly. "I will go wake the others then. How will we find it once we are there?"
"We cross that bridge when we come to it, Lia." I said, standing swiftly. I hurried over to the small backpacks we each carried. One held soap for washing, four held the last of our foods, the rest held spare things we needed to keep: blankets, spare shawls, and the last pieces of our human lives we had left. Lockets, photographs and the like.
The girls were up and ready in a matter of minutes and we had set off down the mountain in the direction of the castle.
***********
When we arrived at the door of the castle it was raining, as Claric had foretold.
It looked exactly like my vision, the huge castle, with the lake at one side and the hut at the other, an dteh pumpkin patch behind the hut, this was it.
There was a great brass knocker on the door. I took the liberty of knocking (as I was one of the few who could speak English fluently).
After a minute the door opened and a very ugly man answered. He was dressed like a Midevel Pick-pocket, and his breath smelled of fish.
"What do you want?" he asked with an old english accent. He got a terribly frightening grin on his face when he saw my face which was framed by my blue shawl.
"Sir..." I said quietly, "we need shelter, it's raining outside and we cannot stay out here. Do you have room?"
"Would you like to speak to the head master about that?" As soon as he said that I knew where we were. Hogwarts.
"Yes please, I would like that very much," I said greatfuly.
He lead us up several flights of stairs. We passed many moving pictures, the girls were chattering quietly behind me, all excited. We came to a statue and he said some odd word I have never heard before and the statue lept aside. A stair case took us to a large room, with many moving pictures on the wall.
"Professor?" the ugly man said harshly. "I got some visitors for you."
"You may go Argus..." the ugly man grimaced and left.
A kind looking old man appeared at the top of the stairs and looked down on us with kind eyes.
"Got caught in the rain, I suppose?" he asked us with a smile as he descended the stairs.
A good portion of the male paintings stared at us as we removed our shawls to reveal our sleeveless ruffled tops and chained necklaces.
"Yes sir, we were hoping for a place to stay..." he cut me off quickly.
"How long will you be requiring the stay?"
"Possibly months, sir..."
"You may stay as long as you like, we have the room."
This must be Nadia's doing. She can make anyone agree with us and in their minds it will seem as though they are doing it willingly. You-Know-Who never knew about this.
"Er... thank you sir," I said slightly dumbfounded even though this was probably Nadia doing her thing.
"I will have..." he looked around for a minute, "Philius, could you show these girls to the room on the fourth floor behind the painting of that field?"
"Yes sir," one of the paintings replied.
We got to the bottom of the staircase again and Philius led us down th hall to a huge room with staircases as far up as the eye can see. We came to the fourth floor and he led us to a painting of a field that looked very familiar, but it was titled the fields of Norway, and I knew then I'd never seen it.
"Your password is 'ridgeback' got it?" the man said gruffly.
"Yes," I replied.
He retreated back the way we came.
"Lia, let the girls know that 'ridgeback' is the password ok?" I told her. I turned to the door and spoke, "Ridgeback." The painting flung open to the inside of the room. We stepped through the hole in the wall and found the best place we've ever stayed in before; it had a couch, several chairs, a fireplace, and two sets of stairs lead upward toward two seprate rooms with the words 'girls'and 'boys' written on them.
We hauled ourselves and our bags upstairs and chose our beds. there were fourteen alotgether, luckily for us.
We found ourselves asleep quickly, drained of energy from our journey. Tomorrow, a new one would begin.
I fell into my thoughts and stayed there for a while.
*********
I had been only sixteen years old, when he came to my farming village in rural England. I had been playing with my little sister, Katrina, she was only four...
He came and set fire to one of the houses. It was a dry season, and the fire spread quickly. He killed many people, including my mother and sister, as they tryed to escape. He caught me by the arm and told me in a raspy voice, "You're coming with me!" It was only when he put his wand to my head, that I knew what he was... he was like me. Magic.
I had had an invitation to Hogwarts, but my mother would not allow it, she needed me there. I had to decline. I had taught myself things, I could move things with my mind, and that was the extent of it.
After that, I remember nothing. I woke in a wooden carriage with many other girls in it. They all looked about my age. Then they told me the frightening truth, I would never age again. I would live as I am now, forever. They all had lost their magical abilities, and only a few had kept their strongest attributes because they where strong. Claric, could sense weather patterns, I could move things, and apparently I was gifted at Divination. I could see the future, or the present wherever whenever.
We had been given siren-like qualities, we could seduce men with a single song, and we had gained a super human beauty.
We were to use these to seduce our masters victims so he could get what he wanted and then kill them.
That was nearly seventeen years ago.
A year later, we were all kept in a cellar. We were suffering from mal-nutrition, and he was gaining power. We found later that he had perished attempting to kill a baby.
We took no notice of the child, we took our chance to escape. We have been roaming the country side ever since.
About a year ago we learned about a certain book, that our evil master had created the curse he cast upon us. Lia had gone to Hogwarts, and excelled at reversing curses. She could, no doubt, reverse the curse if she had the original... blue prints, so to speak, of the curse. We would be free.
Maria and Sia are the oldest, our master, now we call him as the rest of the world calls him, You-Know-Who, he captured them almost forty-five years ago. They had each been sixteen as well.
We spent the last sixteen years as travelling gypsies, dancing and playing our music, I told fortunes, while the others sang.
We made money, and travelled as far as we could... we would do anything we had to to get where we needed.
Six months ago I had had a vision of the castle and my minds eye flew within and found the book, though I cannot be sure where it was. I was moving much to fast.
That was where we were headed now, I knew for sure now. Though were in the castle it was I did not know.
**********
Lia came behind me silently, we were lighter now than a normal person, and we could not be injured, as we were immortal, that is why I lived after jumping so long ago.
"Are we ready to leave, Tara?" She asked me quietly.
"If not now then later... it makes no difference to us now, we are so close. I would venture to say the castle is not moving anywhere?" I asked.
Lia laughed softly. "I will go wake the others then. How will we find it once we are there?"
"We cross that bridge when we come to it, Lia." I said, standing swiftly. I hurried over to the small backpacks we each carried. One held soap for washing, four held the last of our foods, the rest held spare things we needed to keep: blankets, spare shawls, and the last pieces of our human lives we had left. Lockets, photographs and the like.
The girls were up and ready in a matter of minutes and we had set off down the mountain in the direction of the castle.
***********
When we arrived at the door of the castle it was raining, as Claric had foretold.
It looked exactly like my vision, the huge castle, with the lake at one side and the hut at the other, an dteh pumpkin patch behind the hut, this was it.
There was a great brass knocker on the door. I took the liberty of knocking (as I was one of the few who could speak English fluently).
After a minute the door opened and a very ugly man answered. He was dressed like a Midevel Pick-pocket, and his breath smelled of fish.
"What do you want?" he asked with an old english accent. He got a terribly frightening grin on his face when he saw my face which was framed by my blue shawl.
"Sir..." I said quietly, "we need shelter, it's raining outside and we cannot stay out here. Do you have room?"
"Would you like to speak to the head master about that?" As soon as he said that I knew where we were. Hogwarts.
"Yes please, I would like that very much," I said greatfuly.
He lead us up several flights of stairs. We passed many moving pictures, the girls were chattering quietly behind me, all excited. We came to a statue and he said some odd word I have never heard before and the statue lept aside. A stair case took us to a large room, with many moving pictures on the wall.
"Professor?" the ugly man said harshly. "I got some visitors for you."
"You may go Argus..." the ugly man grimaced and left.
A kind looking old man appeared at the top of the stairs and looked down on us with kind eyes.
"Got caught in the rain, I suppose?" he asked us with a smile as he descended the stairs.
A good portion of the male paintings stared at us as we removed our shawls to reveal our sleeveless ruffled tops and chained necklaces.
"Yes sir, we were hoping for a place to stay..." he cut me off quickly.
"How long will you be requiring the stay?"
"Possibly months, sir..."
"You may stay as long as you like, we have the room."
This must be Nadia's doing. She can make anyone agree with us and in their minds it will seem as though they are doing it willingly. You-Know-Who never knew about this.
"Er... thank you sir," I said slightly dumbfounded even though this was probably Nadia doing her thing.
"I will have..." he looked around for a minute, "Philius, could you show these girls to the room on the fourth floor behind the painting of that field?"
"Yes sir," one of the paintings replied.
We got to the bottom of the staircase again and Philius led us down th hall to a huge room with staircases as far up as the eye can see. We came to the fourth floor and he led us to a painting of a field that looked very familiar, but it was titled the fields of Norway, and I knew then I'd never seen it.
"Your password is 'ridgeback' got it?" the man said gruffly.
"Yes," I replied.
He retreated back the way we came.
"Lia, let the girls know that 'ridgeback' is the password ok?" I told her. I turned to the door and spoke, "Ridgeback." The painting flung open to the inside of the room. We stepped through the hole in the wall and found the best place we've ever stayed in before; it had a couch, several chairs, a fireplace, and two sets of stairs lead upward toward two seprate rooms with the words 'girls'and 'boys' written on them.
We hauled ourselves and our bags upstairs and chose our beds. there were fourteen alotgether, luckily for us.
We found ourselves asleep quickly, drained of energy from our journey. Tomorrow, a new one would begin.
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