621 The Third Harvest Moon

The moon was terribly bright on the third night of the Harvest moon overlooking the streets near the Silver Pub were full of patrons drinking, and those exiting. The moon had yet to reach her peak as she continued to climb higher and higher into the night sky. The rustling of the brightly colored leaves and those fallen, scurry down the street being tossed and turned by the crisp autumn breeze.

All too soon, the arrogant figure of a handsome fifteen-year-old youth can be seen stomping down the streets having emerged from the high ended pub, the Silver Chalice. Damian Mulciber's golden hair gleams under the light of the moon as his lips are turned into a triumphant sneer. Rumors no doubt, but the whispers of gossip had reached his ears that his father contemplated the possible return of the wretched squib and even marriage to a daughter of one of the Greengrass branches.

The sheer audacity and treachery of his father filled Damian with fury. He would see his father dead, before allowing that filth return to Mulciber Citadel! And he had plans, oh yes. And he was not the only for the Dark Lord was set to make his grand return soon and announce his presence to the world before All Hollows Eve.

Suddenly, Damian awoke out of his stupor upon spotting a rather strange figure up ahead, that of a Plague Doctor. The figure wore a flat, brimmed hat along with the black leather beak-like mask that had glass over the eyeholes for which to see out of and dark heavy robes that the doctors of that era wore. The Plague Doctor cocked their head at Damian, before placing a gloved fingertip to the beaked mask as if asking Damian to keep silent.

Damian relaxed his stance at seeing the costumed Plague Doctor's actions. "Do I know you, friend?" Damian carelessly asked presuming this was one of the Death Eaters of the Dark Lord in disguise.

The Plague Doctor's gloved hand pointed upward at the moon causing Damian to stare upward as well to only suddenly feel a chopping sensation at his neck before everything became a dark blur as he fell unconscious.

The disguised figure of Rowan in the Plague Doctor costume easily catches the unconscious figure of Damian with one hand, before teleporting away and back to Hogwarts. She reappears with her cargo on top of the Astronomy Tower. There is a brisk, chilly autumn wind that flutters her robes around her as she carefully deposits her valuable cargo onto the cold, rough stone floor.

Rowan is silent for a moment as she recalls all the events of the night before. After returning to the Slytherin dorms, she had teleported to the Chamber of Secrets to hide and put away the small chest left by Marcellus, the First Headmaster of Hogwarts. She frankly did not have the time nor the mental and emotional capacity to open the chest at that time as she had many preparations ready for tonight's events. And it had been far more important to practice writing the ancient runes given to her by Merchieftainess Murcurs with a blade. (Though in a strange turn of events she discovered that she could channel her magic much easier through a blade than her wand to carve runes. Something more to think upon at a later point in time.)

That and the revelation of the Divination Professor, Professor Zephyros. Rowan was many things, but even she could see what clearly lay before her. She far too easily recalled Hydra from her dreams, and the feeling that Professor Zephyros had produced within her last night were the one and the same. Professor Zephyros was one of many, and Hogwarts was far from safe.

A soft groan causes Rowan to return to the present and glance up at the moon. The Hunter's moon was not long away, and Mulciber would also awaken soon. She must finish inscribing the spell pentagram matrix before he awoke.

Rowan knelt on the cold, rough stone floor, and with great care and precision, she begins to draw the spell pentagram matrix. She had practiced the entire night before, and even the rest of the day to the point that she lost points in class for being distracted. However, she did not have much time to learn the runes and had to make do with the limited time that she possessed.

There was no room for even marginal errors in the creation of such a complex spell matrix. If there was even the slightest of errors, she would have to commence the entire process again. Inch by inch, she slowly, and most carefully drew until at long last the complicated spell matrix was completed.

Climbing back onto her feet, Rowan reaches into the mokesking pouch at her side to remove twelve white candles. The twelve honey-embedded wax candles are placed in exact separation from each other within the drawn pentagram. Next, she removes the harvest offerings from her bag to be skillfully placed around the drawn matrix oak and ash leaves, sage, nutmeg, mint, and other such items. Then she placed newly cut flowers that had been cut by the Hogwarts house elves under that day's morning's first light. The flowers are placed on the ground one by one; Marigolds, Chrysanthemums, Amaranthus, Celosia's, Sunflowers, Dianthus, Rudbeckia, Helenium, Witch Hazel, and Monkshood.

Finished, Rowans steps back to check her handiwork, and nods in approval, before turning back to the still unconscious figure of Damian Mulciber. Reaching into her pouch, she pulls out a sleeping potion, before kneeling on the cold stone ground. With one hand she pinches Mulciber's nose shut as Mucliber opens his mouth to breathe. Quickly she pours the potion into his mouth and forces his mouth shut with the other gloved hand, while Mulciber begins to choke. Turning bright red, Mulciber chokes but finally swallows down the potion.

Seeing that he gulped down the potion, Rowan releases him as even unconscious he greedily gulps the air down finally able to properly breathe again. Ensuring that Mulciber is indeed unconscious, she mutters a disrobing charm leaving Mulciber naked and cold to the elements. A certain portion of his body wilts at the chill in the causing Rowan to snicker out loud, before performing a thorough cleansing charm on Mulciber's body. Finished, she gently floated the nude body of Mulciber into the middle of the pentagram.

Rowan repositions the body of Mulciber, before placing a length of silk to cover the lower physical bits of Mulciber for modesty's sake. Needless to say, she was not impressed.

Glancing up at the night starry sky, Rowan sees that the moon is almost at the summit. It would not be long now. Reaching into her pouch, she pulls out a glittering, sharpened, ceremonial silver dagger. This was certainly an act she had never envisioned herself ever doing much less performing. And yet here she was about to sacrifice an enemy for the Greater Good. And not even Dumbledore had been so cruel; callous, yes, but cruel, no. The irony really, all for the Greater Good.