The Search Is Over

Chapter 151

Chapter 151, Ancient Runes And Old Curses

When Kreacher and Regulus entered the library, Mag was already back with her runes. She sat on a sofa near the fire chatting with Walburga and Orion who both floated close by. One of the elves must have brought her tea, for she had a steaming cup in her hand. "So how do we do this," Regulus asked a little nervously. He knew this wouldn't necessarily hurt, but he may find out something disconcerting...or he may ready himself to learn something disconcerting only to have a different yet equally unpleasant emotional crash of learning nothing at all.

"Just sit down and relax," Mag said. "Ask me the question, and I'll ask the runes. Then I will interpret what they say for you. If there are more questions, we shall go from there, as the first reading will at least provide us with a path of inquiry."

Regulus nodded. Drawing in a deep breath, he took Kreacher's hand and went to their favorite oversized arm chair not far from the sofa on which Mag sat. "Thank you for this, Mag," he told her gratefully.

"Of course," she assured with a smile. "That's what friends are for. And of course when my dragon needs a place to stay, you'll be there to help out by lending your basement."

Regulus's eyes flew wide. "What? I don't think a dragon would fit in our..."

Mag laughed. "I'm joking. He has his own cave, and though I consider him a friend, he isn't My Dragon by any stretch of the imagination. He's one of many beings that Voldemort attempted to subjugate, and I rescued him nearly by accident in my seventh year at Hogwarts."

"From Voldemort," Walburga practically squawked. Her eyes were wide with a mix of shock and disbelief. "I hardly see how that's possible as you aren't a ghost along with Orion and I. No one rescues anyone or anything from that monster as my family can attest.

Mag shook her head. "Not directly. Voldemort had linked my dragon friend's energy to a stone. He was using that link to charge his own magic, making it more powerful like the energy of a dragon. This was draining the dragon's energy, weakening him. I'm certain he would've died if it had gone on, as is he." She shrugged. "Anyway, Voldemort must have accidentally dropped the stone in the forest and my owl found it while he and I were on one of our late night flights." She smiled fondly. "We used to slip out of my dorm window and fly after everyone else was asleep. I kept my broom under my bed, because I always enjoyed flying at night. When we found the stone, a heavy faceted hematite, it was shining with a strange inner light and you could see the dragon's image in that light. I was actually able to mentally communicate with the dragon through it," she said excitedly. As she reminisced, her large, green eyes shone with an inner fire that clearly showed her fondness for the topic of dragons, as well as the memory of this particular situation. "Dragons are very smart you know, but most people don't know how to talk to them. Anyway, I asked Severus for help and we released the link connecting the stone to the dragon. We had to do so in person, though, so we had to go to his cave, which is in the Welsh hills. It was very exciting," she recalled. "Now he still allows me to visit him and even help him polish and arrange his treasures. I always wanted a dragon, and it's sort of twisted that I got my wish due to Voldemort of all people." She gave a shudder.

"Well something good should've come of the bastard's reign, somehow for someone," Walburga said emphatically.

"Is that actually true," Orion asked a bit skeptically and Mag nodded. "I swear it," she said gravely. "The dragon's name is Areecen, and he's a White Ridge Back."

"Well if that was supposed to serve to distract me and calm me down, I think it worked," Regulus told Mag with a grateful smile.

"Good," she said, smiling back. "That was indeed my intent, but it's still true. Areecen freed himself from Voldemort's bonds and so can you if you haven't already."