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I Am The Fire That Burns In The Air Tonight
May 2, 1998
Hogwarts
‘You conjure it. I’ll control it.’
That was how it started. A kinship of power and control . A yin and yang . Then emotion was added, and the triad was complete.
And now, as two witches crouched low, sheltering a third, came the culmination of all their studying, practicing, training.
“You can do it, Angelina. I know you can. Reach deep… find your fire…”
The dark-skinned girl nodded absently. Looking down at Lavender, lying prone on the cold stone floor, Angelina focused her breathing. In… out… in… out… She drew into herself, shutting out the distant sounds of the battle that still raged in the castle, forcing herself to narrow her consciousness to their tiny sphere, their little spot in a corridor nearly demolished by pillaging Death Eaters intent on nothing but utter destruction.
Padma watched her patiently, for she was the control. Angelina had the power, but Padma - and only Padma - could direct the witch’s power, and even influence it when necessary. So she sat, kneeling beside Lavender, with her control ready and waiting. She knew Angelina would begin soon. Even if the witch wasn’t entirely ready, that was a minor concern compared to the fact that they could both feel Lavender’s energy fading as she lay dying.
Suddenly Angelina began to rock herself back and forth, her lips moving as she conjured a fiendfyre. It was extremely dangerous, and they both knew it, but they also knew that Lavender’s magic responded best to fire, and they didn’t have time to come up with Plan B.
The air around the young women began to grow warm, then hot, and sweat began to form on their skin. While Angelina fixed her eyes on Lavender, Padma sat calmly watching the flames grow. At first they were wild, but as Angelina pushed her power outward, they morphed and moulded themselves into a ring, cutting the witches off from the rest of the world.
All that mattered lay in the centre of that circle.
When the heat became unbearable, Padma wielded her control, cooling the air immediately around them and reaching out with her magic to check the other witch’s vitals. First Angelina - because if the fiendfyre got away from them, the entire castle would likely be consumed - and the Lavender, to see if the healing had begun.
The fyre was a long shot, and they both knew it, but they were desperate. It had only been the previous month that Lavender had found a little-known ancient text about a supposed ‘reverse-effect’ to all-consuming fire. Dark witches and wizards tended to use all magic to their own selfish, twisted ends, but that didn’t mean that all the magic they used was Dark. It just meant the way they used it was Dark.
According to the text, fiendfyre could be used to restore the powers of a magical person whose element was fire. When powerfully cast and carefully controlled, the fyre would create and repair rather than destroy . Lavender’s element was fire, so they’d catalogued that knowledge in the event something happened to her. They’d also found reverse-effect spells to Angelina’s element, earth, and Padma’s, air.
“I am the fire… I am burning brighter… roaring like a storm…” Angelina murmured to herself, repeating the words over and over.
Padma nodded, and began her own quiet chant. “I can feel it… coming in the air tonight… I can feel it… coming…”
As Padma continued watching the fire, Angelina watched Lavender. Her chest began to rise and fall with less difficulty. Lips that had been pale just minutes before began to take on their normal pink tint. When her eyelids began to flutter, Angelina and Padma both felt a jolt go through them like a shot of caffeine.
Angelina’s fingers twitched and Padma’s murmuring got a bit louder as they realised it was working. But the flames started to grow again with their inattention, and the air got hot and began crackling. The two witches shared a nervous look and tried to dial back the fyre.
Padma eyed the wall of flames around them and reached out, grasping Angelina’s hand. Angelina held on tight as she struggled to grasp the power that radiated from her. She shook with it, and even Padma’s forced calm couldn’t control it.
They had overreached themselves conjuring fiendfyre, and two alone weren’t enough. They needed their third.
Suddenly a gasp was heard and both Padma and Angelina felt a hand on theirs. Looking down, they saw Lavender’s eyes wide open, their normal brown colour now a violent, flaming gold, like the fire that surrounded them. Her lips were moving and it seemed that she grew stronger with every word spoken.
“I am the fire… in the air tonight… roaring like a storm… I can feel it coming…”
Snatching at the life-line, Angelina and Padma redoubled their efforts. Grasping hands in a three-way hold, the young women brought the fyre back into their control and finally, after many long, hot minutes, extinguished the flames.
All three trembled with the exertion. The rush of magic gone, Padma and Angelina slumped forward, their foreheads nearly touching as they still knelt above Lavender.
“You two are idiots, you know.”
Angelina rolled her eyes. “Didn’t stop you from saving us, though.”
“She’s a Gryffindor,” Padma said. “It’s what you lot do .”
“Nevermind about Gryffindor,” Lavender countered. “I expected better from a Ravenclaw, Pads.”
“Too much exposure to us,” Angelina diagnosed.
Lavender nodded weakly. “Must be it.” She reached up, and the two witches pulled her into a seated position.
“Status report, Lav,” Padma said. “What do you need?”
Thinking carefully, Lavender tapped into her magic, trying to find her weak points. “Headache potion,” she said finally, “and something for dizziness.”
Padma nodded and reached into a small bag she had taken to carrying at all times. Pulling out a vial of headache reliever, she handed it to Lavender, then thought for a moment before pulling out a second potion. “Here,” she said, “I think this will work best, but we need to get you hidden because you won’t be using a wand for a good hour after taking it.”
“Why?”
“You’re stronger than you were ten minutes ago, but you’re still pretty weak. I think it’ll give you the shakes.”
Just as Padma finished speaking, a young wizard skidded around the corner. All three witches drew their wands, but paused when they recognized Seamus.
“Alright there?” he asked. They nodded. “Good. By the way, thought you’d like to know that Potter just won.”
“Won?”
Seamus nodded. “Yeah. It’s all over. We’ve won!”
He scurried off, leaving the three witches alone again. No one said anything - no words were needed. They simply exchanged tired smiles and slowly, carefully got to their feet. Making their way towards the noise, they were mindful not to trip over injured people or rubble, and walked into the Great Hall together.
Hand in hand in hand.