Hermione glaced over at Fred when she took her hand and smiled, squeezing it gently. She was glad that she was here. And she liked Wesley too - could see why Rupert loved him so much. If she had come here and just met Angel and Cordelia, she probably would have ended up wanting to go straight back to Moonstar.
When Fred pointed out the caves, Hermione craned her neck to look out. It reminded her a bit of some of the caves they had explored during their search for Voldemort's horcruxes. Remembering some of the things that they had encountered in those, she swallowed slightly.
Once they had pulled up in front of the caves, Hermione got out of the car and adjusted her wand, pulling it down from her sleeve, while Wesley and Fred got their weapons out of the boot. She decided that she was going to go into this ready, given her past experiences. By the time she was set, they were ready, so she joined Fred while Wesley walked ahead to the entrance.
"Hopefully we'll find something," she told Fred, reaching over and squeezing her hand one more time. They didn't dare hold hands, however, as they followed Wesley inside - Fred needed to be able to hold the crossbow properly, and Hermione wanted to be ready.
They walked through a cavern to a room where Hermione could very cleary feel dark magic. It made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, and as they moved into the room, she heard a noise and something flying through the air towards Wesley.
Instinctively jumping forward, she brought her wand up. "Incendio!"
A line of fire erupted from her wand, hitting the object, which caught on fire and fell to the ground.
"Lumos," she then said, and a small beam of light like a torch appeared. She aimed her wand toward the now smoldering remains of the thing that had been about to attack Wesley and shook her head. "A bat." She looked up at Wesley and Fred, feeling quite embarassed. "I'm sorry. I--I've haven't had good experiences in caves, and I can feel the dark magic in here. When it flew towards Wesley, I automatically assumed it was a trap that had been left for intruders."
Fred jumped a little when she saw something flying through the air. She raised her crossbow but was too slow for Hermione had jumped in front of Wesley and said something, which caused fire to shoot out of her wand. Fred stood in awe as the bat caught on fire. "Wow," she whispered as Hermione lit up her wand so they could see. "That was… wow."
"It's quite all right, Hermione," Wesley said with a small nod. He led them forward until they came to the main room of it. Something growled from the corner and Fred raised her crossbow, shooting it off. There was groan, followed by dust.
"Vampire," she said with a smile. Wesley sighed, muttering something about why he bothered to come since it seemed Hermione and Fred could take care of themselves. "It's okay, Wesley. I'm sure you'll find something to kill." Wes rolled his eyes and started to look around the room for the scroll.
Fred followed suit and looked on the table and then under it. "Is this it?" she asked, holding something that looked like a scroll up. "I can really see if it's blue like you said, Hermione."
Glad that Wesley wasn't upset that she had rather jumped the gun with taking out the bat, Hermione couldn't help but smile at Fred's obvious surprise over what she had just done with her wand. Being in the wizarding world, it wasn't often she ran into someone who had never seen a wand at work before. Of course, first year students from Muggle families sometimes showed a bit of amazement, but usually it wasn't the same.
When she heard the growl, she was about to swing her wand around when Fred shot off her crossbow instead, taking out the vampire. She felt a bit sorry for Wesley, feeling like he wasn't helping, but at the same time, she was quite impressed by Fred's skill. Hitting the vampire in the exact right place in the dimness of the cave was quite a feat.
"That was a great shot," she told her softly before moving away to look for the scrool. When Fred asked her if she had found it, Hermione crossed back over to her again, holding her wand up so the light from it shined on the rolls, which were indeed colored blue and rolled with the parchment.
"This looks to be it," she said, glancing from Fred to Wesley as he came over to them. She took it and unrolled it slightly, using the light to look at the text. "We're definitely going to need to translate it, but..."
Her eyes then fell on a picture that had been drawn in the parchment, showing what appeared to be a large multi-tentacled creature with clawed feet perched on a rock outcropping in front of an army and holding two double-bladed weapons.
"That must be the demon monarch that created Quortoth," she breathed. "Illyria."
Fred moved closer to Hermione and looked down at the scroll. It was in a demon language that she had never seen before but she knew Wesley was good at languages and probably wouldn't have a problem with translating it. He'd translated a lot harder in the time she had known him.
When Hermione showed them the picture of Illyria, Fred felt herself shiver a little. "It looks like an octopus," she commented as she stared down at the picture. "Illyria - does this mean Shakespeare was a demon since, ya know, one of the characters he wrote was named Illyria?"
Wesley furrowed his brow at her before glancing down at his watch. "It's getting a bit late. We should head back to the hotel, especially if we want to have the scroll translated before sundown," he said, heading toward the entrance of the cave. When he was out of sight, Fred stepped in front of Hermione.
"You're amazing," she whispered as she placed her hands on the other woman's hips. She leaned forward and softly kissed Hermione, allowing her tongue to nudge the other woman's mouth open. As their tongues slipped over each other, Fred could feel herself becoming aroused. She wanted to touch Hermione all over, and probably would've if Wesley hadn't stepped back in and cleared his throat.
Breaking the kiss, Fred panted and looked over her shoulder at him. "Sorry. We're coming," she said before looking at Hermione and taking her hand. "We can finish this later."
Hermione looked over at Fred, a smile playing on her face when she made the joke about Shakespeare. "Actually, he was a wizard. How do you think he managed to write all those plays?"
Wesley didn't appear to be amused, and she didn't really blame him, considering how much rested on them being able to translate this scroll in order to get Connor back. Plus, she could see that he had noticed the closeness between Fred and herself - she didn't imagine that was easy to see, especially with Rupert so far away.
Rolling up the scroll, she looked at Fred as she stepped in front of her after Wesley headed out of the caveroom they were in. When she leaned forward and kissed her, Hermione closed her eyes and opened her mouth to allow the kiss to deepen. A shudder of pleasure rushed down her spine - Fred was causing her to feel things that she had never experienced before, and she wanted to do so much more, even though now was not the time.
When Wesley returned, they broke the kiss, and Hermione nodded at Fred's remark about finishing what they had started. "Most definitely," she breathed, trying to push away the throbbing feeling deep down inside her as they hurried out of the caves together, hand in hand, following Wesley to his car.
Once they were in, Wesley immediately headed back to the hotel, and Hermione unrolled the scroll again. In the daylight, she was able to read it better, and as her eyes scanned the text, her eyes opened.
"Fred, what was the word you said you remembered from the spell? Lekko?" She pointed to what looked to be the word in the scroll. She didn't dare read any of the other words around it out loud, though, since they didn't know what might happen. "I think that's it. I'd say we definitely found the right scroll. Once we translate this, we should know for sure."
She glanced over at the scroll and nodded her head. "Yes, Lekko was the first word he said," Fred told Hermione. She looked over the rest of the scroll, still not knowing what any of the other words meant. Fred was glad they had Wesley there to translate it because she knew she couldn't do it.
Fred leaned back in the seat and watched as the city passed by. When they got back to the hotel, all of them went inside and to Wesley's office. "I'll put on some tea," Fred said, knowing Wesley worked best with a cup of tea nearby. She squeezed Hermione's shoulder before leaving the office.
She went down to the basement and brew a pot of tea, just like Wesley had taught her, before bringing it back upstairs. Fred sat it on the small desk to the side and sat down beside Hermione. "Do you two need anything else?" Fred was fairly new to translating and didn't know if Wesley wanted help or if he wanted to do it on his own.
"No, not right now," Wesley said as he looked over the scroll. "I think I'm seeing some sort of pattern. Do you two see it too?" He pushed the scroll forward so Fred and Hermione could look at it.
Hermione smiled at Fred as she sat down after returning with the pot of tea. Wesley had spent the entire time she was gone, talking a bit to himself as he checked some of the words he was translating against another book and jotted phrases down. It reminded her a bit of the way some of her professors would work when she saw them in the library - except Snape. Snape had always worked in stony silence, no matter what he had been doing.
When Wesley pushed the scroll toward them, asking if they saw the pattern, Hermione sat forward and pulled it closer, reading over the part of it he was pointing to. It was the words following the one she had found earlier were repeated - in reverse order. Lekko najine forkahdio. Forkahdio najine lekko. She stared at that for a moment.
"Fred said she remembered Sahjhan saying 'Lekko' when he opened the portal. So obviously, that's part of the spell, but the six words together...that's too many for a spell." She looked at Wesley and Fred. "In magic - real magic - it's best to keep a spell as short as possible as it allows the caster to remember it better and lessens the chance of the spell being cast incorrectly. A spell, therefore is usually one word, with three words being the absolute maximum. So...do you think the first three words could be the spell to open the portal, and the reverse of the words, the spell to close it?"
Wesley nodded, taking the scroll back. "We didn't hear Sahjahn very well save for what Fred heard, but I'd say that seems to be exactly right."
Hermione nodded, reaching over and taking Fred's hand, suddenly feeling very nervous. "So we have the spell - is there anything else we need for me to able to cast it? Any specific potion brewed beforehand or anything of that sort?"
When Fred pointed out the caves, Hermione craned her neck to look out. It reminded her a bit of some of the caves they had explored during their search for Voldemort's horcruxes. Remembering some of the things that they had encountered in those, she swallowed slightly.
Once they had pulled up in front of the caves, Hermione got out of the car and adjusted her wand, pulling it down from her sleeve, while Wesley and Fred got their weapons out of the boot. She decided that she was going to go into this ready, given her past experiences. By the time she was set, they were ready, so she joined Fred while Wesley walked ahead to the entrance.
"Hopefully we'll find something," she told Fred, reaching over and squeezing her hand one more time. They didn't dare hold hands, however, as they followed Wesley inside - Fred needed to be able to hold the crossbow properly, and Hermione wanted to be ready.
They walked through a cavern to a room where Hermione could very cleary feel dark magic. It made the hairs on the back of her neck prickle, and as they moved into the room, she heard a noise and something flying through the air towards Wesley.
Instinctively jumping forward, she brought her wand up. "Incendio!"
A line of fire erupted from her wand, hitting the object, which caught on fire and fell to the ground.
"Lumos," she then said, and a small beam of light like a torch appeared. She aimed her wand toward the now smoldering remains of the thing that had been about to attack Wesley and shook her head. "A bat." She looked up at Wesley and Fred, feeling quite embarassed. "I'm sorry. I--I've haven't had good experiences in caves, and I can feel the dark magic in here. When it flew towards Wesley, I automatically assumed it was a trap that had been left for intruders."
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"It's quite all right, Hermione," Wesley said with a small nod. He led them forward until they came to the main room of it. Something growled from the corner and Fred raised her crossbow, shooting it off. There was groan, followed by dust.
"Vampire," she said with a smile. Wesley sighed, muttering something about why he bothered to come since it seemed Hermione and Fred could take care of themselves. "It's okay, Wesley. I'm sure you'll find something to kill." Wes rolled his eyes and started to look around the room for the scroll.
Fred followed suit and looked on the table and then under it. "Is this it?" she asked, holding something that looked like a scroll up. "I can really see if it's blue like you said, Hermione."
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When she heard the growl, she was about to swing her wand around when Fred shot off her crossbow instead, taking out the vampire. She felt a bit sorry for Wesley, feeling like he wasn't helping, but at the same time, she was quite impressed by Fred's skill. Hitting the vampire in the exact right place in the dimness of the cave was quite a feat.
"That was a great shot," she told her softly before moving away to look for the scrool. When Fred asked her if she had found it, Hermione crossed back over to her again, holding her wand up so the light from it shined on the rolls, which were indeed colored blue and rolled with the parchment.
"This looks to be it," she said, glancing from Fred to Wesley as he came over to them. She took it and unrolled it slightly, using the light to look at the text. "We're definitely going to need to translate it, but..."
Her eyes then fell on a picture that had been drawn in the parchment, showing what appeared to be a large multi-tentacled creature with clawed feet perched on a rock outcropping in front of an army and holding two double-bladed weapons.
"That must be the demon monarch that created Quortoth," she breathed. "Illyria."
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When Hermione showed them the picture of Illyria, Fred felt herself shiver a little. "It looks like an octopus," she commented as she stared down at the picture. "Illyria - does this mean Shakespeare was a demon since, ya know, one of the characters he wrote was named Illyria?"
Wesley furrowed his brow at her before glancing down at his watch. "It's getting a bit late. We should head back to the hotel, especially if we want to have the scroll translated before sundown," he said, heading toward the entrance of the cave. When he was out of sight, Fred stepped in front of Hermione.
"You're amazing," she whispered as she placed her hands on the other woman's hips. She leaned forward and softly kissed Hermione, allowing her tongue to nudge the other woman's mouth open. As their tongues slipped over each other, Fred could feel herself becoming aroused. She wanted to touch Hermione all over, and probably would've if Wesley hadn't stepped back in and cleared his throat.
Breaking the kiss, Fred panted and looked over her shoulder at him. "Sorry. We're coming," she said before looking at Hermione and taking her hand. "We can finish this later."
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Wesley didn't appear to be amused, and she didn't really blame him, considering how much rested on them being able to translate this scroll in order to get Connor back. Plus, she could see that he had noticed the closeness between Fred and herself - she didn't imagine that was easy to see, especially with Rupert so far away.
Rolling up the scroll, she looked at Fred as she stepped in front of her after Wesley headed out of the caveroom they were in. When she leaned forward and kissed her, Hermione closed her eyes and opened her mouth to allow the kiss to deepen. A shudder of pleasure rushed down her spine - Fred was causing her to feel things that she had never experienced before, and she wanted to do so much more, even though now was not the time.
When Wesley returned, they broke the kiss, and Hermione nodded at Fred's remark about finishing what they had started. "Most definitely," she breathed, trying to push away the throbbing feeling deep down inside her as they hurried out of the caves together, hand in hand, following Wesley to his car.
Once they were in, Wesley immediately headed back to the hotel, and Hermione unrolled the scroll again. In the daylight, she was able to read it better, and as her eyes scanned the text, her eyes opened.
"Fred, what was the word you said you remembered from the spell? Lekko?" She pointed to what looked to be the word in the scroll. She didn't dare read any of the other words around it out loud, though, since they didn't know what might happen. "I think that's it. I'd say we definitely found the right scroll. Once we translate this, we should know for sure."
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Fred leaned back in the seat and watched as the city passed by. When they got back to the hotel, all of them went inside and to Wesley's office. "I'll put on some tea," Fred said, knowing Wesley worked best with a cup of tea nearby. She squeezed Hermione's shoulder before leaving the office.
She went down to the basement and brew a pot of tea, just like Wesley had taught her, before bringing it back upstairs. Fred sat it on the small desk to the side and sat down beside Hermione. "Do you two need anything else?" Fred was fairly new to translating and didn't know if Wesley wanted help or if he wanted to do it on his own.
"No, not right now," Wesley said as he looked over the scroll. "I think I'm seeing some sort of pattern. Do you two see it too?" He pushed the scroll forward so Fred and Hermione could look at it.
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When Wesley pushed the scroll toward them, asking if they saw the pattern, Hermione sat forward and pulled it closer, reading over the part of it he was pointing to. It was the words following the one she had found earlier were repeated - in reverse order. Lekko najine forkahdio. Forkahdio najine lekko. She stared at that for a moment.
"Fred said she remembered Sahjhan saying 'Lekko' when he opened the portal. So obviously, that's part of the spell, but the six words together...that's too many for a spell." She looked at Wesley and Fred. "In magic - real magic - it's best to keep a spell as short as possible as it allows the caster to remember it better and lessens the chance of the spell being cast incorrectly. A spell, therefore is usually one word, with three words being the absolute maximum. So...do you think the first three words could be the spell to open the portal, and the reverse of the words, the spell to close it?"
Wesley nodded, taking the scroll back. "We didn't hear Sahjahn very well save for what Fred heard, but I'd say that seems to be exactly right."
Hermione nodded, reaching over and taking Fred's hand, suddenly feeling very nervous. "So we have the spell - is there anything else we need for me to able to cast it? Any specific potion brewed beforehand or anything of that sort?"
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