The Burning Pen

The Ring

by Ruth Solomon

The story content is adult in nature and can contain graphic sex and violence.  Those under the age of 18 are asked to leave this site immediately.  You are not welcome here.  The author is not responsible for those under-aged who view these works.

CHAPTER 14

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters belong to JKR. All situations are mine. No $$$ is being made from this fanfic.
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Chapter 14 ~ The Ascent Into Danger

Raucous flew ahead of Hermione, arriving at the mountain path first. He settled on the large stone Hermione had sat upon the night before, when Ketri accosted her. The raven looked around. There was little more than stone, brush and a few trees. The bird looked up the mountainside, his sharp eyes taking in the rugged features of the mountain. He noticed an outcrop of stone, oddly colored. He looked closer.

Ozmadias looked down at the black bird standing on a rock at the beginning of the mountain path. He didn’t move but just watched as the bird streaked off as if pursued by birdie devils. He decided to change his position and flapped over a few feet where a jagged piece of stone jutted out, leaving a shadowed depression. He hopped down and shouldered his bulk into it. Now he could see the path, but anyone on it would not see him. He hunkered down.

Raucous streaked back to Hermione, cawing loudly. He settled on her shoulder and made such a racket, Hermione stopped.

“What’s wrong, Raucous?” she asked.

The bird continued to squawk, shifting from one leg to the other and frantically preening Hermione’s hair, which resulted in him pulling strands from her ponytail.

“I don’t understand,” Hermione said. Raucous hopped to the ground and stared at Hermione, focusing as best he could. Hermione looked back at him. Suddenly, fuzzily she began to perceive an image. It was of a huge copper colored bird, at least twenty meters high, with a curved beak and huge fangs protruding from it. It had blood-red eyes and blood dribbled from a corner of its mouth. It had curved and bloody swords for talons, and these too dripped blood.

Hermione was shocked. First that she had received an image, and second that it was so horrifying. Obviously Raucous was truly her familiar now and could send her images. She looked down at the raven.

“Raucous, did you see this creature on the mountain?” she asked him.

At first, Raucous nodded. Then he shook his head. The image in Hermione’s head shrunk dramatically, lost the fangs and swords, and the eyes turned golden. The dripping blood disappeared too. It was still a rather large and frightening bird, but nothing like the first image the excited raven sent her.

“Ok, this is what you saw on the mountain,” Hermione said to Raucous. The bird nodded. Hermione looked thoughtful. She really didn’t know exactly how big the bird was or what kind it was. It was a bird of prey however, the wickedly curved beak and sharp talons showed that much. It shouldn’t be a danger to her if it were a wild animal. But it could be a danger to Raucous.

“Raucous, that bird is a hunter. To it, you’re food on the wing. You can go back to the village and wait for me to return. You’d probably be safer,” Hermione said.

Raucous squawked indignantly. How dare she suggest he run away and leave her defenseless?

The raven hopped on her shoulder and cawed fiercely at the mountain. He wasn’t going anywhere. He would just stay low and be wary. He was a good flyer, and there were trees and boughs to flit through. He knew how big the bird was. He could get into places it couldn’t.

Hermione smiled at Raucous. He was going to stay with her.

“All right, but I want you to be careful and stick by me,” she said. Raucous preened her hair again. Hermione waved at him and he fluttered in the air a moment before settling back on her shoulder.

“Stop preening my hair,” Hermione said, stopping and removing her tie so she could fix her ponytail, “you keep pulling it out of the tie.” Raucous cawed non-commitally.

Her hair tied back neatly, Hermione continued on until she came to the beginning of the mountain path. It was wide and ascended at a gentle slope. She would have no trouble hiking up it. A small stone rolled down the trail and stopped. Hermione didn’t think anything of it, until the stone rolled back up the trail and disappeared around the bend.

“That was odd,” Hermione said to Raucous who stared after the stone, his beak open. Hermione remembered what Petra had said about the stones and trees being animate. She took a deep breath, the ditty about sticks and stones breaking bones dancing about uncomfortably in her head.

“Let’s go, Raucous,” she said starting up the trail.

Ozmadias waited for them to get a distance away then stepped out of the cleft and soared strongly upward to the Manor. Mistress would want to see this.

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Venoma was still sitting in the window seat, watching the skies. Vivaldi was sitting close behind her, playing in her raven tresses, lifting the weight of it and letting it fall over his pale hands. In his mind he imagined it wrapped around his body as he made love to his half-sister. It was his favorite fantasy image. He knew how to make love. He had several Lemurian concubines who doubled as servants that stayed in the Manor, orphaned girls provided by Ketri and brought up in a basket by Ozmadias. But they were unlike his sister. The women were short and rounded, with brown hair and brown eyes, not tall and slender with ebony locks and black eyes like Venoma. They had all the right parts however, and Vivaldi would fuck them while fantasizing about his beautiful sibling.

He was drawing his hand through her hair for the umpteenth time when she stiffened, then leaned forward excitedly, throwing open the window. Ozmadias squeezed his bulk in, and lowered his head for his usual caresses. Vivaldi felt a stab of jealousy as his sister’s lovely hands stroked the big, ugly bird.

“What news my pet?” she asked the bird gently. Ozmadias stared at her, sending the images of Hermione and Raucous walking up the mountain path. He also showed her the ring on Hermione’s hand. Venoma let out a little scream of delight, kicking her feet, then hugging the great fowl around his neck.

“Thank you, Ozmadias. You have done well my pet,” she said, kissing his beak. If birds could blush, Ozmadias would have been a deep shade of crimson. It seemed Venoma’s appeal crossed the species line as well. Venoma released him.

“Go now and keep watch, Ozmadias. Tell me when the mountain has claimed her,” she said. The bird nodded and dropped from the window. Vivaldi had listened to his sister in silence. Now that the bird was gone, he could find out what she learned.

“What? What is it, sister?” Vivaldi asked, rising from behind the witch and walking around to face her.

“The deliverer is on her way up the mountain path, my brother,” Venoma said excitedly. “She is wearing the ring! We only need wait till the mountain takes her, and send Ozmadias to pluck the ring off her cold, dead hand.”

Vivaldi smiled, then frowned.

“What if she makes it up the mountain, sister? What if she makes it to the tomb?” he asked, his brow furrowed. “The ring may protect her.”

“She’s not a Snape. The ring may do a little something, but the guardian will not manifest for her. She will need the guardian to survive,” Venoma said wickedly. “I will be surprised if she survives the day. And if she somehow manages it…the night will take her for certain.”

Vivaldi still looked doubtful.

“But sister, what if she does manage to get here. We must consider that possibility, no matter how small the chance of success is,” the wizard said, his dark eyes meeting hers firmly. He was no longer so easy to sidetrack.

Venoma narrowed her eyes at him in displeasure.

“If she should make it, by some miracle, we will stop her at the tomb itself,” Venoma practically hissed at Vivaldi. “She is traveling without magic after all. She will not be able to defend herself.”

“But the ring…” Vivaldi said. Venoma cut him off.

“Damn the ring, Vivaldi. It will not protect her against its own,” she spat.

Vivaldi wasn’t certain of that. Severus had given her the ring, probably with his blessing. He wasn’t sure how much power would manifest. His sister was becoming careless in her greed. He slid his eyes toward her. Venoma was looking out the window with a glazed look in her eyes. So beautiful. Well, he would protect her from herself. But once he got the ring…she would submit to him or he would cast her out. He was tired of waiting. He was the Lord of the Manor and all were to obey him. The ring would seal that. His black eyes shifted out the window to the blue sky beyond. He would restore the Manor to greatness. The Lemurians below would pay tribute again to the House of Snape, giving him a portion of all they produced in return for being allowed to live a peaceful existence. They would most likely refuse at first, but his powers would be intensified, strengthened by the ring and he would be merciless. The old ways would return. Then life would return to the way it should be.

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Hermione had been walking up the path for a good two hours now, and there had been no attacks. On occasion a stone would roll by her, stop and return. If she had been a Lemurian, the stone would have recognized her as an intruder and initiated an avalanche. Without the magical signature, she was safe.

Raucous rode on her shoulder, looking around carefully for the big bird. He didn’t like not knowing where it was. It was big enough to attack Hermione. Suddenly Hermione stopped.

A sound like distant thunder was drawing closer. She stopped and set her pack down, listening. The noise grew louder and she could make out a large cloud in the distance. The path was longer now. The mountain was huge and the trail seemed to extend straight out before her.

The cloud drew closer and she could make out shapes, moving swiftly. Her eyes widened.

Unicorns.

And they were charging down on her. Desperately, Hermione looked around for an escape. There was nowhere to run but back down the trail, and they would catch her quickly. There were no rocky ledges low enough to climb on. She was trapped. She stared in horror as the animals drew closer.

Hermione could see the leader, a magnificent white stallion with a long, shiny spiral horn leading the charge. He had to be eighteen hands high at the withers. He flew toward the witch, smoke blowing from his nostrils, his horn lowered to skewering height. His eyes seemed made of flame. Behind him, several more unicorns charged. There were silver foals too. And they all looked angry as they galloped toward her.

She had only been on the mountainside a couple of hours, and it seemed her time was up.

Above her, Ozmadias observed the happenings from a high outcropping, his sharp eyes watching the advancing unicorns close the distance between themselves and the witch. Would she be skewered or trampled? Probably both.

The mistress would be pleased.

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A/N: Man, Hermione is in a mess. Vivaldi isn’t as much of a fool as Venoma thinks. It seems he has his own designs for both her and the ring. Let’s see what happens next chapter. Please review.

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