Qiya

  With a loud crack, three adults, a child, and an old house-elf appeared on the isnd in the centre of a ke, hidden deep within a cave.

  The cave was dimly lit by a stone basin in the middle of the isnd, emanating a green glow that lent an eerie, suffocating atmosphere to the already stifling space.

  Kreacher quickly retreated to a corner, distancing himself from the humans. While the adult wizards observed their surroundings, Meiko, visibly tense, took out her fan and asked through gritted teeth, “Midy, may I summon the power of the Sun? This pce is intolerable!”

  “I don’t mind at all,” Scarlet replied, pulling a rge cloth from her bag as she looked around for a spot to unfold it. “Professor, would you kindly allow Meiko to drive away the darkness? It’ll help me with my ritual.”

  “By all means. Today, I am but a witness; I won’t interfere with your ritual in any way, unless you need me to,” Dumbledore said, gesturing for Meiko to proceed. He took a few steps back with Bck and Kreacher, giving Scarlet the space she needed.

  Without another word, Meiko snapped open her fan and let out a fierce, wordless roar, like a battle cry.

  Her fan fred with a blinding light, bright as the midday sun. The cave lit up as if its ceiling had been ripped away to expose the sky, banishing the suffocating darkness that lingered in the air.

  The two wizards and the old house-elf could hear a strange sizzling sound, as though something were frying. To Dumbledore’s practiced eye, it was clear that at least half of the dark magic in the cave had evaporated under the fan’s brilliant glow. He observed Meiko thoughtfully, a glint of appreciation in his eyes. It was clear that there was more to her than met the eye.

  Scarlet gave a low whistle. “The power of the Sun is truly the bane of creeping darkness.”

  The fan’s brightness soon faded to the softer glow of a light bulb, just enough to neutralize the eerie green light from the basin and dispel the oppressive atmosphere.

  Meiko bit her lips. “My apologies for my arrogance, Midy, for I imagined that the power of the Sun I summoned would be enough to drive all the darkness from this cave.”

  Scarlet pced a comforting hand on her shoulder. “No, it’s perfectly alright. We’re facing the magic of a dark wizard who terrorised the British wizarding world. It’s natural that not all of his magic would yield so easily. You did wonderfully, Meiko; you’re truly among the finest Shrine Maidens of your age.”

  “I’m humbled by your praise, Midy,” Meiko said, still looking a bit dissatisfied, though she said no more. “Please, continue with your ritual, Midy. I’m certain the trapped souls will be relieved to find peace.”

  Scarlet nodded, spreading out the rge cloth she had brought. It was embroidered with a magic circle, sewn with strands of her own hair and inked with oak sap runes. The circle emanated a warm, protective energy the moment it was revealed.

  “Next, I will sing the Kulning for the Lost Souls,” Scarlet expined to the others. “It’s inspired by the Elegies of Chu from ancient China and the herding calls of the Nordic region, and has been approved by the Queen. You’ll hear a high-pitched vocal, a powerful call that uses head tones and echoes against mountains – or in this case, the cave walls. The song might seem to resonate deeply with your heart, perhaps even your soul, but that’s only an illusion. Just ignore it.”

  After confirming everyone understood, Scarlet drew her spear, which served as a staff to amplify her power. She took a deep breath, stepped into the magic circle, and stood at its centre. Opening her mouth, she began her song.

  Ooohhh...

  Her first note was long and wordless, hauntingly beautiful. It conveyed a vast, sorrowful feeling, as if they were no longer in the eerie cave but standing atop a snowy mountain, gazing out over a dark forest and calling out to loved ones far away.

  The magic circle glowed in a warm maple hue, illuminating the priestess in the centre like a saintly figure. Her song, ethereal and without words, was filled with raw feeling. Everyone present could sense she was calling the lost souls, inviting them back to a pce where they could finally rest.

  The ke began to boil. The water rippled and surged, and the dead bodies lying beneath the surface rose, twitching and shrieking as if in agony, though only waves of warm, maple-coloured light pulsed through the cave, filling it with the song’s echoes.

  Her wordless calls continued, soft yet persistent.

  The sizzling sound returned, this time from the bodies of the Inferi. They surfaced in the ke, only to sink back down again, caught in the grip of the song. The gentle yet powerful notes coaxed them, pushed them, and ultimately released their trapped souls from their twisted bodies.

  Ooohhh...

  One by one, the souls left the Inferi, floating toward Scarlet with peaceful smiles. Their abandoned bodies sizzled and wailed, but Meiko seized the chance to summon the power of the Sun again, burning the misshapen remains to silence them forever.

  As the freed souls reached the magic circle, they disappeared one by one, passing into a realm of peace. The subtle presence of the deity’s gaze washed over them for a final moment before fading away with the once-trapped souls.

  Before the deity fully departed, Sirius Bck saw a familiar figure – a soul he recognised immediately, one he hadn’t seen in years but knew well. His brother.

  Regulus Bck, still youthful in spirit, appeared before him. The years had separated them, yet standing before Sirius now, Regulus looked almost like a son rather than a younger brother. For a brief moment, he met Sirius’s eyes, a quiet understanding passing between them.

  Regulus smiled - a silent farewell to his brother and a tender goodbye to the old house-elf, who wept openly. With a final wave, he stepped into the circle, and then he was gone, taken away by the Queen of the Shadowy Land. Finally, he was at peace.

  As the song came to an end, Scarlet lowered her spear and exhaled deeply. She could feel the drain of magic coursing through her, knowing it would take time to recover. Before she could stumble, Meiko swiftly moved to her side, supporting her by the arm.

  The young priestess gave a wry smile. “Heh, miscalcuted. Didn’t expect the song to take that much magic to free the souls. Good thing I brought you along, Meiko.”

  “I am honoured to serve, Midy.” Meiko replied, helping Scarlet step out of the magic circle.

  The once-bright magic circle on the cloth had faded. The strands of hair that had served as threads for the embroidery and the oak tree sap used as ink had vanished, leaving only a rge white cloth lying on the rocky floor, now dust-streaked and dirt-strained.

  “Meiko, please burn the cloth.”

  “Yes, Midy.” With a flick of her fan, fmes began to edge around the cloth’s rim, etching it away as though it were being dissolved. Upon closer inspection, it was clear that the fire was small and meticulously controlled, reducing the cloth to ash bit by bit.

  “Professor,” Scarlet’s voice broke through the silence, drawing Dumbledore out of his quiet awe at the ritual he’d just witnessed and the haunting song that had touched each of them. “I’m afraid I can’t manage to drag the bodies out of the ke right now.”

  “No need to worry, Scarlet. Rest, and leave the rest to us adults.” Dumbledore’s gentle gaze met hers. “A song like that, and at such a young age, that is a rare gift, Scarlet.”

  With a sweep of his wand, he cast a Lumos charm, sending light to the top of the cave. The cold, sterile light reminded Scarlet of the fluorescent glow in a hospital.

  Dumbledore then began drawing the bodies out of the ke, one by one, ying them carefully on the isnd. Bck joined in, raising his wand to help. Kreacher, meanwhile, stood off to the side, his face awash with tears and glistening trace of green mucus around his nose. It was hard to tell whether he was overwhelmed at the sight of his beloved Master Regulus or simply moved by the song for the lost souls.

  However, there were too many dead bodies for the isnd, which soon became covered with neatly lined, greenish corpses, most bearing the charred marks of the sunlight summoned by Meiko. In response, Dumbledore murmured a silent spell, freezing part of the ke’s surface, then carefully levitated the bodies and continued to arrange them on the ice. One by one, he retrieved them until the st body was drawn from the ke. Scarlet counted a total of 235 bodies, with Regulus Bck’s body being the st.

  Sirius knelt by the brave boy’s body, his face tight with grief he barely held in check, while Kreacher let out a strangled wail, tears streaming down his wrinkled face. Regulus’s appearance was the most tidy and normal among the others. It was clear that the dark wizard had done something to the ke; the dead bodies showed no signs of decay. Dumbledore could easily recognise many of the missing wizards from the Wizarding War among them. He sighed, realising that many of the others were likely Muggles who had been tragically caught in the crossfire during that dark time.

  After a moment of contemption, he asked, “Scarlet, perhaps your understanding of Muggle protocols could assist in arranging a way to bring these poor men and women back home. I trust you’ll find a way to manage their return better than I can.”

  “Of course,” Scarlet replied with a nod, though her gaze remained sombre. “But first, we need to open this cave to the outside world...then, I’ll be able to provide the authorities with a proper expnation. I remember the Wizarding War being described in the Muggle press as a terrorist attack, so I can reason from there.”

  Her knack for information gathering proved invaluable in this situation, allowing her to devise a pn swiftly.

  “Indeed, I’ll open the cave as soon as I can,” Dumbledore assured her, his thoughts also turning to the task of reaching the Horcrux hidden in the Gringotts vault.

  Qiya