Ten years after I began at Hogwarts, Sebastian Sallow is back. And he's Professor Sallow now. He disappeared after the fall of Ranrok and Rookwood, after I lost Professor Fig, and after Ominis and I couldn't keep him from losing himself. But I never...
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"Precious gem!" The sound of Kai's voice booms deeply above all others as he gallops across the clearing. His baritone register is naturally resonant and full. My face breaks into the welcome relief of laughter to see him bounding towards me, arms outstretched.
From high above me his giant arms scoop me off my feet into a joyful embrace. He spins me in a whirl and I cling my arms tightly around his neck, less for fear of falling and more because I need a goddamn hug–this has been such a mind-fuck of a night. He utilizes the physics of our spin to recklessly hoist me onto his shoulders and I catch my balance fifteen feet in the air, plastering my legs around to his back as a few of the centaurs and centaurides around us whoop at the accomplishment.
"You are back and my heart is full!" he exclaims. On any other night I might roll my eyes over his effusive flair for the dramatic, but his charm is undeniable and his flattery shines in stark contrast to my apparent repulsiveness of earlier in the evening.
He rests a strong hand just above one of my knees to help secure my balance. "Make your magic for us!" he shouts, referring to a tradition I can't even remember when it started. Knowing a protest would be futile, I acquiesce and from above Kai's shoulders I generate a blue ball of ancient magic between my palms and knead it larger and larger until I hoist it out into the sky above, expanding its size with my focus as I do. The group cheers at the spectacle.
It feels like a win and that feels really, really good. I can't help but be overcome with the pure joy of this group and rather than let it bring a tear to my eye, I channel it into my fingertips to feed the magic teeming from inside me.
Whipping my arms around, I seamlessly mold the giant, luminous form from an abstract undulation into the pristine shape of a water lily, high in the sky, and I reveal its petals one by one, unfurling them in stunning hues of blue light.
The colony 'oohs' and 'aahs' until the flower has completely blossomed, at which point I shove my hands towards it causing an explosion of thousands of pieces. With a dancing of my fingers, each particle of magic blue light becomes a tiny, individual pansy flower as they cascade like confetti, following my fingers in their downward direction.
Finally, I scoop my wrists to transform them once more, each tiny flower morphing into a butterfly that takes wing in a gust towards the night sky, slowly dissolving like a thousand shooting stars.
The crowd applauds at the fireworks-like display, and I have to admit this was a particularly good one.
When in doubt, make something beautiful. And I feel like I've come back into myself for the first time in a long time.
"A drink for the tiny maiden!" Kai calls out playfully, and soon a large mug of some kind of berry wine is thrust into my hands. I drink it in its entirety and Kai laughs his benevolent laugh, raining joy onto anyone lucky enough to be in its vicinity.
I am so thankful for his all-encompassing boisterousness tonight, as it makes it easier for me to be present here and set aside the other matters weighing on my mind.
The rest of the night is filled with music, frivolity, feasting, and joy and I'm glad to still have been perched high on Kai's shoulders during the dancing, as the intricate, four-legged choreography has not been kind to my toes and shins in the past.
I know the festivities will continue long into the night, but my tiredness takes a staunch foothold. I pay my respects to the Elders before saying goodnight to friends, and to Kai who is sleepily lounging in a large, earthy bed of flowers with his primary companion, Anja, who is a gorgeous, chestnut-coated centauride with honey brown skin and sleek, ebony brown hair.
"Tiny maiden!" he exclaims, albeit drowsily. Anja and I laugh. She, above anyone else, has been the most patient and gracious with the diplomatic-social-emotional arrangement between Kai and me. She says in a cool, low raspy voice "Kai, you must walk April to the village edge."
"No, no. I know the way," I protest.
Kai grins and says to Anja with a sleepy laugh and shrug " I cannot force her to accept unwanted assistance. She is willful."
"Aw darn, guess you two better stay put, nice and cozy," I joke, taking his hand and leaving a firm kiss of gratitude and kinship in his palm as a goodbye.
"Little gem," he stops me. Reaching beside him to where his bow and quiver rest on the ground, he pulls from the case a welcome sight. "Your wand!" He hands it to me saying, "You honor us with your respect."
"Thank you, Kai."
"Visit us before the next moon."
"I'll do my best." I call behind me as I pluck my pack from the ground and disappear into the darkness of the woods. As I walk, I return to myself with a swish of my wand. My comfortable linen top has replaced the silken shift, the heavy medallion is off of my neck –thank god, finally– and my snug overcoat hugs my shoulders and waist like a security blanket.
Having had enough of apparating for one evening, I delight in the contentment that has finally settled in my nerves and take in the cool evening air with a brisk walk home. So delighted by the joy that carries me, I don't even notice the ancient magic that seeps from deep within me of its own volition, as though it were alive.
The loose magic creates a subtle, living trail of tiny, sparkling mushrooms, cushions of lacy moss, and creeping vines of floral ground-cover, all in shimmering hues of bioluminescent blue and violet, at my feet with each step I take along the path that leads me out of the Forbidden Forest, directly to Hogwarts castle and, finally, straight to my giant, warm bed.
