Wizards of Ancient India - Harry Potter Fanfiction

Chosen by Mud

Theodore was trembling, but Niranjana wasn't sure whether it was from fear or from anxiety about his sorting. Judging by the way he kept flitting his eyes across the masses of people gathering around while rubbing his wrist where the skeleton musician's grip left a mark, she thought it could be from both.

"I just have to choose, right?" He kept saying. "Just pick and choose. Whatever. It doesn't matter because I won't be here long."

Niranjana huffed at that. There was a reason behind why Acharya decided to keep him here, and she didn't think he would be returning to his home very soon.

Still, she went along with it. "Sure."

"Yes," said Neelkant, "pick and choose."

"That's what we did," Natkhat added. "Right, sister?"

Niranjana snorted. She turned to Theodore. "These two have the Vata dosha, that is a combination of air and ether. Sorted into Rajas, like me. Basically, I would say that they couldn't have chosen anything more suitable. Like air, they can be invisible, but like strong winds of a hurricane they can toss you over and out before you know it."

The brothers grinned. "Agreed."

Theodore locked his eyes on Niranjana. "And – and yours?"

She pursed her lips. "Fire and water."

Her brothers' eyes sparkled knowingly. "Couldn't have been more suitable, right sister? Some days you're water, and some days you're fire. Some days you're you, other days you're Her."

Theodore frowned. "What?"

"Didn't she tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Theodore Winters."

Suddenly, the chit chatter of the crowd died down and all heads turned to the center of the field where Acharya stood, seemingly unaccompanied. But Niranjana could feel their presence: a pond of water here, flames burning wood to ashes there. Agnidev, Varundev, Vayudev, Indradev, Bhoomidevi – all the Gods were present and watching.

Theodore did not move. Niranjana nudged him forward a little forcefully. "Go," she urged.

Slowly, still trembling, he made his way through the gap in the crowd, trudging his path toward Acharya as if it was the walk of doom. Silence fell across the grounds, even the notes of the sitar could not be heard.

Theodore stood before Acharya, who merely observed him in silence. Acharya laid a gentle hand on Theodore's head, and then walked away to join the crowd, leaving Theodore at the dead center of attention.

He gulped. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead. His eyes searched for Niranjana, and then he saw her, asking a dozen questions at once. She gestured with her eyes at the elements around him.

He seemed to have received the message. He took a few shaky steps toward the fire first, eyeing the flames cautiously, fearfully, expecting it to lunge at him and burn his flesh off. Niranjana suddenly had a flashback to her own sorting. The moment she was near enough to the fire – which was initially a simple candle flame – it burst into a bonfire, engulfing everything around it ... including her. For a split second, everything was alight, as if they were transported to the very depths of Norse Muspelheim. But then the split second was over, and the bonfire became a candle again and Niranjana emerged unburnt. Instead, she was drenched in water as if she simply returned from a swim in the lake. Thus, the elements reacted to her inner self, as if desiring to return to a piece of her soul. She was fire and she was water, two opposites for the two people within her.

But now, as Theodore took a single step toward the flames, the fire extinguished. Mutters rippled through the crowd.

Theodore, looking even more shaken, glared at Niranjana with wide eyes. She shifted her gaze to the pond of water. Already she had figured that he wasn't fire, ether or air, otherwise the very particles around him would have reacted in some way. He wasn't Earth either, or the very ground beneath him would have trembled. Which left only one element: water.

The entire crowd held their breath as the Britisher approached the pond. He stood there stupidly, frowning at the water. Nothing happened.

Niranjana looked at the amused faces of her brothers and had a sudden thought.

She leaned towards them, whispering, "You guys know, isn't it? You tapped into his aura?"

Neelkant pursed his lips, casting a sideways glance at his brother. "It was his idea."

"Hey," Natkhat whispered back, "we had to make sure he was trustworthy, right? The moment we saw him in the forest, we had a strange feeling."

Niranjana frowned. Her brothers had sort of a sixth sense, allowing them to do strange things like divine the future. She had never doubted their abilities, but she did often wonder how accurate they were. "What do you mean by strange feeling?"

They turned their eyes to Theodore, crossing their arms across their chest in a perfectly synchronized manner. "You'll see in due time, sister."

Nothing seemed to be happening to Theodore, but Neelkant and Natkhat kept their determined gazes upon him, making Niranjana wonder whether she was missing something. The crowd was beginning to lose interest, but Acharya did not signal the end. Even he seemed to be waiting for something.

Finally, Theodore was tired of feeling foolish. "Nothing's happening! Look – nothing!" He raised his leg above the water, kicking up ripples to prove his point. The water splashed on either side of him, wetting the soil.

Next thing, his leg stuck.

The entire Paatshala gasped as one, watching as Theodore struggled to free his leg from the water's grip.

"What – what is this?"

And Niranjana noticed something else behind Theodore. It looked strangely like her brother's snakes, slithering on the ground. But it blended in perfectly ... as if was the ground. Soon, the spot where the water had splashed on the soil had erupted into a tower, casting a long shadow over the crowd.

"Mind-blowing," Neelkant and Natkhat said under their breath.

Niranjana barely had time to see how the next few things occurred. The gist was this: the tower of mud dumped itself over Theodore, blocked him from view, then disappeared, leaving the Britisher standing before them in orange robes, the numbers eight, nine, and one glowing white on his wrist, the markings of skulls across his arm – Kali for Tamas.

Niranjana's heart skipped a beat. She locked eyes with her brothers, who were grinning.

"We told you we had a strange feeling," they said. 

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I hope you liked this chapter, althought it is a little short. Question for the day: what Guna and Dosha would you get if you were sorted here?

Oceans of love,

Kiara.