Chapter- 81 : Revival Part - 4

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you're eager to delve deeper into the story, consider joining my Patreon for exclusive content and early access to new chapters

50+Advanced Chapters there.

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

patreon.com/Kun_Blig

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"So this is to be your classroom, hmm?"

Madam Marchbanks asked, eyeing the large room on the second floor of the Divination Tower curiously.

Truly, it didn't look much like a classroom at the moment as all the furniture was stacked along the walls and the eye was immediately drawn to the middle of the otherwise empty room where an immense ritual pattern was carved into the stone floor.

"I know it doesn't look like much now, but in two days my students will be sitting here. Speaking of which..." He quickly summoned three chairs from the top of a stack and placed them in a triangle a good three feet away from the carefully carved pattern as to not mess it up. "Shall we go over the particulars?"

The ancient woman carefully lowered herself onto the seat, as did her colleague, Professor Tofty, a man who would by all rights be called elderly were he accompanied by anyone else.

"Please," he said, producing a clipboard and settling in to make notes. "We will of course act as examiners today, but as neither of us has actually seen this ritual in practice we'd like to know what you can tell us of what to expect."

Harry nodded quickly. "Of course. I'm assuming you've read the source material I sent?" Both nodded. "Excellent. Then you know the Seeker's Soothsaying ritual is basically a focus to have five different Divining elements address the same subject, thereby reinforcing one another." He waited for them to nod once more before turning to the ritual site behind him.

"The five small circles symmetrically positioned as if on the corners of a pentagon each contain the elements for a single Divining. In order, they are: Tarot cards for cartomancy, a bowl of sage to burn for pyromancy, an egg and a bowl of water for ovomancy, a cup of tea for tessomancy and finally a crystal ball. They are connected through a groove spiralling outward from where I will sit in the centre through each of the circles until the end there at the door, symbolising the journey I will be making based on the clues I will receive. The groove will be filled with a potion for magical conductivity held in this flask here and a chant in Ancient Greek will set the whole thing off."

Both examiners took notes and Marchbanks was the first to quiz him. "Why those five elements?"

Harry shrugged. "There's limited options to choose from and these are what I'm best at. I can hardly rely on dream interpretation as I can't fall asleep during the ritual. The same for bird omens as there aren't any wild ones indoors. And anything to do with an animal's entrails I would rather avoid."

"And what will you focussing on? After all, the Seeker's Soothsaying needs a goal."

Harry smiled faintly. "Yes, it's essentially a ritual treasure hunt, isn't it?" He took a deep breath. "My goal is to acquire a pensieve."

Four eyebrows shot up. "Explain."

"For beginning students a pensieve is a marvellous teaching tool as it allows them to pause and repeatedly view a vision and inspect it for detail that they would otherwise miss. Hogwarts isn't willing to cough up the Galleons to pay for one and I'm not rich enough to afford it. Pensieves are rare enough that I can't just find an affordable one any other way, but not so rare that it is beyond the bounds of the ritual."

Professor Tofty tilted his head. "What is the most important thing to keep in mind during the ritual?"

"Don't deviate from the script," Harry replied without hesitation. That was the one rule above all others that must be followed during any ritual. One broke it at one's own – often short-lived – peril.

"True, but not what I meant. The second-most important thing then?"

Harry thought for a moment before answering, "Myself acquiring the pensieve, my capabilities and my morals."

Marchbanks smiled, pleased. "Why?"

"Without a goal the ritual has no direction. Without my capabilities the ritual can offer no path I am capable of following. Without my morals the path the ritual offers will have no limitations."

Tofty joined her in smiling. "Why is the last important?"

"Because by their very nature rituals are amoral, neither good nor evil; they just are. The most expedient way to acquire a pensieve may be to find someone who owns one, kill them and steal the thing. The ritual cannot force me to do so, but I get only one chance for a path and if turn out not to be willing to follow it I will fail."

The pair of examiners eyed each other for a moment before Tofty commented, "I'm convinced he at least thinks he knows what he's doing."

Marchbanks snorted, a distinctly inelegant sound. "He had better, considering he was the one to propose this whole thing in the first place. If I wasn't convinced that he knows more on the subject than we do I wouldn't have accepted his proposal in the first place." She took a deep breath. "Very well. You may begin whenever you are ready. We will observe."

Harry gave them a brisk nod and waited for them to move over all the way to the far wall before settling down cross-legged in the centre of the spiral and picking up the stoppered flagon waiting for him there. He took a deep breath and then popped the cork.

"Wish me luck," he said in the ominous silence and then, not waiting for them to answer, carefully tipped over the flagon over the nearest groove. The sea-green concoction slithered out of the bottle like a syrup with a mind of its own as it neither sloshed nor dripped, merely travelling along the grooves in the floor as if it was eager to explore the shapes and limits of the pattern but not to go beyond. It didn't take long until the whole pattern was topped off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you're eager to delve deeper into the story, consider joining my Patreon for exclusive content and early access to new chapters

50+Advanced Chapters there.

(P).(A).(T).(R).(E).(O).(N)

patreon.com/Kun_Blig

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~