//------------------------------// // 69 - The Light Inside // Story: A Phoenix Beyond the Veil - The Philospher's Stone // by gerandakis //------------------------------// Chapter Sixty-Nine The Light Inside Amelia found herself in a small dining room not far from the castle kitchen. Albus had invited her, the Flamels and Madam Maxime to stay for dinner. The topic of discussion was clear. “I knew Miss Shimmer was an expert on this subject and had a full magical education, but a whole different world? I know you warned me and the minister about that, Albus, but I can still hardly believe it.” “Oh I assure you, Amelia, it becomes much easier to believe after they first take you there. It is certainly a quite … memorable experience.” “Why do I ‘ave ze feeling zhat zhere is something you are not telling us Dumblidor?” “Probably because there is,” Nicholas Flamel pointed out with a chuckle. It was odd talking to him. He looked no older than fifty, yet he spoke with that same wisdom of age Dumbledore had, had that same sense of humor all old people seem to share. “In all the years I’ve known him, he always liked to do that.” “True. ‘E always liked ‘is riddles.” “Still, I wasn’t really expecting to be getting homework,” Amelia fell in. Albus chuckled. “Personally, I am quite pleased to see Miss Shimmer taking this matter so seriously. I am not certain how much she realizes it so far, but her arrival has provided us with a plethora of chances to, shall we say, change fate in a more favourable direction.” “True. The very idea of a spell that can destroy dementors … I can still hardly believe it. Could it really be possible?” “And with a spell we were able to learn within a few hours, no less,” Perenelle joined in, “it sounds too good to be true.” “Oh, I have no doubt that it will work,” Dumbledore reassured them, “Miss Shimmer and I had a most enlightening conversation on the subject when I first proposed these lessons to her. The reason we could never destroy them before, is that they belong to a group of semi-corporeal beings that can only be destroyed by light magic. And since the only light magic spell we had before today was purely defensive, meant to drive them off, not destroy them, well …” “Well, we did always assume that it took happy memories to even conjure a patronus.” Nicholas’ thoughtful gesture made it quite clear where Albus had picked up the habit of stroking his beard while thinking. “And reminiscing about happy times in our past doesn’t really sound like the right frame of mind for righteous devastation, does it?” Albus chuckled in response. “Perhaps not. But now that we know that that isn’t even necessary.” “Yes, Albus,” Perenelle joined back into the conversation, “her explanations on what emotions can be used to power light magic were quite enlightening. Righteous anger sounds like a much better frame of mind for such work.” As the months went by, Sunset kept busy. Beyond giving lessons in light magic once a week, she had drawn other conclusions from her ‘battle’ with Quirrell. Together with Hermione, she continued her research into means of controlling complex enchantments using technology. They had a few promising leads, but nothing they could really pursue while they were still at Hogwarts. In the meantime, Sunset worked to correct her other shortcoming in that fight. She had been working to stall Quirrell and, for that, her skills had been adequate. Had she instead been trying to end the fight, preferably by subduing him, her chances would have been much different. As such, she was reading up on offensive spells. It wasn’t a subject she had given much thought to before, but given that humans seemed to be far more combative in nature than ponies, it seemed prudent to know her way around a magical battle if she intended to remain living among them. She was learning plenty of interesting things, but it was slow going. Her lessons in history – from both worlds – had taught her the value of surprise, of keeping one’s enemy unaware of one’s true power. That was one of the reasons she went spell by spell and went to the effort of modifying each using her knowledge of Equestrian magic. Some of the spells were true works of genius, leading her to once more question the humans’ tendency towards fighting each other. Some spells, of course, were designed to be non-lethal. Stupefy, for example, was a stunning spell, combining an immediate neural shock to disable the target with a sustained sleep spell that would keep the target unconscious. The disarming hex Expelliarmus, meanwhile, caused a sudden discharge of air pressure at the point of impact and in both of the target’s hands, throwing anything they might be holding flying and also knocking over or at least back all but the most sturdy of targets. Interestingly, both of those effects, like those of many targeted combat spells, were stored within the spell pattern alongside a magical charge and only manifested upon impact. She encountered that particular pattern in most normal curses and hexes designed for combat. She would have to investigate the possibility of weaving a pattern disruption charm into a shield. Doing so without disrupting the shield itself would be tricky, but she was confident she could manage it. It was a weakness about Earthen combat spells she would have to learn to exploit and, if possible, correct for her own use. If nothing else, the spells had given her plenty of ideas for destructive ways to use the magic she already knew. It took a bit of rethinking. She was still used to ponies who tended to be a lot more durable than humans. A fire or lightning spell would have to be very powerful indeed to cause lasting harm to a pony. Similarly a wind spell might knock over a physically weak unicorn, but no earth pony or pegasus worth their salt would be blown over by a bit of wind. Humans changed everything. Even wizards, who’s magic afforded them some natural resistance, would be a far easier target for such magic. At the same time, while a pegasus might dodge, a unicorn or earth pony would be far more likely to simply take an attack head-on if forced into a combat situation. Humans were far more likely to dodge or seek cover, making combat a far more strategic matter. Yes, she had much to consider. Of course, doing so was a bit tricky when her sister kept bugging her about studying for the year’s final exams. Perhaps it was time to put her research on ice for the time being and focus on more immediate matters. Hermione had a point, exams were coming up and she really should study. Just to be sure. Not to mention she had something to discuss with her. “Are you serious? She would do that?” “Well, she did the same for me, didn’t she?” Hermione stared at Sunset for a moment. “Well yeah, sure. But you’d been her personal student for years. She barely knows me.” “True. But she knows me and trusts my judgement and I know you.” “But why would she suggest that? Why now?” Sunset smiled mischievously. “Who said she was the one who suggested it?” “Wait, you suggested it?” “Well, I am teaching Dumbledore and several wizards and witches he trusts to use light magic. The topic is bound to come up sooner or later. I asked Celestia to do it slowly so I can memorize how to do it myself. She already explained the theory to me, but she wouldn’t let me do it without having watched it once beforehand.” “What about when she did it to you?” “How would I remember that?” “Why wouldn’t you?” “The procedure is meant to manipulate your magical essence. Your mind and body are placed in suspended animation for as long as it takes. They’d cause interference otherwise. So I don’t remember what it was like when she gave me my Lumineum because I wasn’t conscious.” “Oh. That’d do it.” Hermione was silent for a moment, then spoke up again, more quietly, this time. “Still though. Are you sure I’m ready for it?” Sunset came over and sat down beside Hermione on her bed, putting an arm around her shoulder. “Hermione. If I wasn’t sure I wouldn’t have offered. The question is whether or not you want to.” “Well, why wouldn’t I?” “Mostly because a Lumineum has a tendency of getting a mind of its own when dark magic is about. Most spellcasters don’t like that. Especially in this world. Getting a Lumineum changes your perspective on magic. You learn to see it as less of a tool and more of a reliable friend. You can guide it. You can tell it what to do. But light magic especially will ultimately do what it thinks is best. If you want it to do a certain thing, you better know how to convince it. “And then, of course, there is the other side effect when it goes off on its own like that.” “You mean what happened after you came back from Azkaban, don’t you?” “Yeah. We were there for maybe half an hour tops. And I was only at peak output for maybe five minutes of that. And it still took me almost two weeks to fully recover my reserves.” “That’s not exactly what I meant.” “I know, I know. I prefer not to think about it.” Sunset snorted as she remembered the emotional backlash after her trip to Azkaban. “Guess the magic rather I didn’t think about it either. It’s weird, you know. You see all these things. You know you’re surrounded by the worst criminals this country has to offer. Murderers, rapists, sociopaths, not to mention the dementors themselves. You know you should be terrified. But you just aren’t. The magic doesn’t let you.” “But those emotions don’t just go away.” Hermione’s voice was barely more than a whisper. Neither one of the two was entirely sure when they had transformed into their equine shapes and curled around one another, but if it gave her sister comfort, she didn’t care. “No. They don’t. Even light magic of that level can’t just remove them. It only delays them. They come back afterwards. Once the Lumineum settles back down. All at once. In a way that’s even weirder. You know the things you’re afraid of are far away and can’t possibly harm you. But you’re scared out of your wits anyway. You saw the kind of mess I was that night.” “Yeah. I did. Though a high security prison guarded by the undead isn’t really a place you’d normally take an eleven year old, is it?” Sunset chuckled. “No. Not really.” Hermione awoke in darkness. Or did she? Was it really dark or was she just unable to see? She was feeling very strange. She couldn’t feel her body at all and her mind was sluggish. The only thing that was as she remembered it was her magic. It was just as orderly and responsive as ever. Or was it? It felt different somehow. How had she gotten here? Wherever here was. Thinking back, her memories seemed to return in bits and pieces. Sometimes sounds and smells without images, sometimes whole minutes without sound, but with sight, sometimes short, vivid, complete scenes. She recalled cheering Harry on in the quidditch match against Hufflepuff, but she couldn’t recall who had won. She recalled a discussion with Sunset. They had been talking about dementors. Why had they talked about them? Oh right? They had discussed the procedure of getting a Lumineum. Sunset had offered it to her. Had she accepted? Yes. She had. That’s what this was. Her mind and body had been placed in suspended animation for the procedure. Now her mind was waking up. She could feel something, something warm was cuddled into her fur. Fur? Oh right, she was in Equestria over the weekend to allow the Princess to complete the procedure. Was it her she was cuddled to? No. The princess was larger than that. It had to be Sunset. Yes. It smelled like Sunset. Oh, her sense of smell was back. Good. Now if only … Slowly, her eyes opened and her muscles began to respond. Lighting her horn cleared away the last vestiges of the spells that had kept her in suspended animation, returning her fully to the land of the living. She had been correct. Sunset was cuddled around her, the two of them curled together like a furry yin and yang symbol. A look around confirmed that they were within Sunset’s room in the Royal Palace. There were few lights in the city below and the horizon only had the faintest fringe of a glow. The pale light of early morning. Probably an hour or two before sunrise. Sunset’s quiet, slow breathing made it clear that she was asleep. She had never been one to snore. Hermione wasn’t tired, but she was quite happy to remain as she was, cuddled around her sister and enjoying their combined warmth. She remembered now. Harry had indeed won the game for Gryffindor. And that had been weeks ago. Before Sunset even started giving her light magic lessons. Oh right, light magic. That was what she had come here for, wasn’t it? She lit her horn with her usual pale green glow and called upon her light magic. She was rewarded by the light around her horn turning a pale silver. It felt differently to before. She wasn’t focused on any emotion. It was like channeling her regular magic it simply came from somewhere else. It felt strange after being used to both her regular magic and the regular way to channel light magic, but it was pleasant. The idea that she now had a reservoir of light magic was strange to consider. That she couldn’t use dark magic now, even if she wanted, was interesting. She hadn’t planned to, of course, but it was comforting to know that she couldn’t fall to that anyway. Comfortable and happy as she was, she felt her new Lumineum start filling up as she let her horn go out once more. She placed her head back down on Sunset’s side. She wasn’t particularly tired, but what should stop her from dozing some more?