Chapter 17

..... Sirius and Harry cut up to the rooftop through the secret passage. As they air grew colder, they could make out words from the arguing Zephyr sisters, in between the blasts of magic.

..... “You’ve been practicing,” snapped the cold voice of Lorelei.

..... “You obviously haven’t,” said Esme, her voice a brighter echo.

..... “If I have to Crucio the truth out of you, I will!”

..... “Actually...” said Esme. “That might work...”

..... There was a sound of strangled rage from Lorelei, then Sirius opened a new door and he and Harry burst out onto the roof. Both witches turned to gape at then in alarm. Out of nowhere, the ichling Sirius recognized from the mirror pounced on Esme and sank its teeth into her neck. She screamed in surprise and Lorelei stood petrified. Then she got hold of herself and blasted a spell that sent Esme flying into a wall.

..... The impact did nothing to dislodge the ichling. It hung on like a bulldog, sucking noisily. Esme batted at it, dazed from the fall. Lorelei raised another fireball and sent it skittering at the nasty creature. It dodged with a hiss and bounded away. Esme lunged for it, but the bloodloss and hit on the head slowed her down and it was gone in a flicker.

..... “Don’t let it get away!” Esme gasped. Lorelei slammed a booted foot down between Esme’s shoulder blades, making her chin bounce painfully on the roof and driving the air out of her lungs. Sirius almost protested but caught himself. Esme wheezed. Blood ran down her throat to disappear in her black collar. Harry was eyeing Lorelei with new respect. The Elmskill professor had shaken off her illness and though still looking terrible, now radiated a kind of furious strength despite it.

..... “You,” she said to Esme in tones that would have chipped diamonds. “Have some explaining to do.”

..... “Idiot!” gasped Esme. “With my blood it can open the portal here, just as it did at home. Catch it before it releases the Morthahg inside the barriers!”

..... “Was it you that released it?” demanded Lorelei. She bent forward and Esme rolled slightly to look over her shoulder at her sister. They were twins, Sirius thought idly. One in color and one in black and white.

..... “That thing opened it,” Esme panted. “Full of my blood, it opened the World’s Door and let the Morthahg in and IT WILL HAPPEN AGAIN UNLESS-” Lorelei’s boot slammed her to the roof again. She gasped painfully, but didn’t try to get up. The ichling bite in her neck suddenly stopped bleeding. Something black blocked the wound from the inside. As they all watched, the wound healed.

..... “You’re infected with a Bind,” Lorelei said with such disgust that it must have hurt her throat. She took her foot off her sister as if she didn’t want any on her shoes. “And how did that happen, Esme? Another of your little Dark games gone bad?”

..... “It’s Brohm,” Esme said quietly. Lorelei jerked like she’d been stung. “I killed him, but he got into me before I could finish the job. He made a deal with-” And then Esme thrashed with what had to be a sudden wave of pain. Lorelei stared at her for a moment and clenched her eyes shut tight before opening them again.

..... “The Bind won’t let you tell, will it?” she spat. “So that’s what you meant about the Crucious Curse. Well, lucky for you, I’m in the perfect mood for it. You.” she turned on Sirius. “Hold her arms. You.” Her weird eyes fastened on Harry. “Sit on her legs.” The two males blinked at each other.

..... “Do it,” sighed Esme. “Just hurry.” So Sirius shrugged at Harry and knelt behind Esme to put her in a full nelson. She gave him a weary smile and nodded to Harry as he settled gingerly down on her ankles. Lorelei loomed over them, only looking at Esme. Her wand slid from her sleeve into her hand. She pointed it at her sister’s chest. Esme shifted slightly to fit her body a little more comfortably against Sirius’ chest. Lorelei seemed to be steeling herself. A quiver of reluctance passed over her, but then her chill returned.

..... “Crucio,” she said. Harry gasped and Esme arched in the sudden agony. She held in a scream for nearly three seconds, then shrieked. Sirius clutched her arms to keep her from thrashing at him. Lorelei held the spell on her. It was too painful to watch. Harry was in a mental panic. They were using a forbidden spell on someone. He looked to his godfather for help. Sirius was biting his bottom lip and trying to keep Esme from flopping around like a landed fish. He had clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the screams and was looking as unhappy about the whole situation as Harry was.

..... A slow minute ticked by. Sweat and tears ran down Esme’s skin. Her legs kicked helplessly at the burning pain of the Crucious Curse, bouncing Harry painfully. He remembered how Voldemort had made him convulse suffering from this same spell.

..... “We have to stop,” he said over Esme’s muffled cries. “Soon! I can’t stand-”

..... “A Bind is a liquid consciousness injected into a host,” Lorelei interrupted. She was talking through gritted teeth. Maybe she was picking up some of the pain herself through the bond some twins had. She also might have just still been furious. “It’s used to control the host body. Dark Wizards used to force them on servants. The Bind can cause pain if the host disobeys its master, it can heal the host to preserve its body. The only way to get rid of it is to rack the host body with such agony that the Bind vacates to save itself.”

..... Another heartrending two minutes of pain passed. Feeling sick, Sirius didn’t think Esme was conscious anymore. Her body still bucked and flinched but her screams had died out to a gasps and whimpers. Harry had been unable to watch after awhile and Lorelei had sent him to be lookout while she took his place on Esme’s legs. She watched her sister’s face carefully. Must be like looking in a mirror, he thought. Sort of.

..... Esme suddenly screeched again, startling them all. The wail turned into a gurgle and her back arched again as something came pouring out of her mouth. Lorelei leapt backwards, stumbling on her own robes. Harry ran in and stopped in horror. Sirius slapped a hand on Esme’s back to help her force the thing out, even as he leaned around to see what it was.

..... “Don’t let it touch you!” Lorelei hissed. “It can get in through your pores!”

..... ‘It’ was a greasy, inky looking fluid. It splashed into Esme’s lap, twisting into shapes that made Sirius think of deep sea creatures, gelatinous and ancient. A faint murmur of an evil voice could be heard from it. Lorelei, her wand shaking in her hand, cast the same spell Harry had seen her use on the wisp of Morthahg and trapped it in a ball of light. Unlike the wisp, the Bind did not shrivel and vanish when it was skewered by the bolts of light. It only coiled around them and itself, little tendrils of it reaching around like blind fingers for a way out. After a moment’s hesitation to be sure it was safely contained, she took the Curse off her sister.

..... Esme collapsed and Sirius lowered her to the floor. She looked worse than any living person he had ever seen. In the absence of pain, she just lay trembling. She was soaked, from sweat, tears, and the spit she’d foamed in the worst of it. She was as pale as her sister, veins standing out under her skin like blue scars. Red rimmed her eyes. Her fingers were locked in claw-like positions, and she sucked in air with a rattling sound.

..... “It’s over,” he told her. She didn’t seem to hear, just stared upward. “Esme?” Lorelei came to crouch on the other side of her. Sirius waved a hand gently in front of Esme’s traumatized eyes until she could focus on it and then turned to look at him.

..... “You’re tough to recover so quickly,” Lorelei said. Sirius thought he heard a hint of pride there. “If Brohm’s spirit was in the Bind, who was controlling you?” There was a long pause where Esme seemed to be trying to remember how to talk again. Her mouth opened and hung that way until she swallowed and forced a weak ghost of a voice out of it.

..... “Ficus,” she said, barely audible.

..... “That’s impossible,” Lorelei hissed at once. Esme swallowed again.

..... “He brought the Morthahg here,” she whispered.

..... “Esme, he couldn’t have!” Lorelei slammed her fist against the floor. “Look at me. It would’ve killed him!”

..... “He’s become a Slider,” Esme went on. That left Lorelei speechless, but only for a few seconds.

..... “What?” she sputtered. “He’s Headmaster of a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. You can NOT be a head of a school of magic AND be a Slider!”

..... “Ichlings,” Esme was struggling to raise her voice and failing miserably. “It has my blood. The World’s Door. Granpa’s...”

..... “What is the World’s Door?” Sirius asked to buy her some time. Lorelei looked annoyed at him for still being there.

..... “It’s a family heirloom,” she said impatiently. “It’s a powerful keyport, but only our family can use it. Handy for reunions, but not much else.”

..... “No eyes,” Esme said. “It can’t SEE. The ichling was full of my blood. Zephyr blood will open the World’s Door, whether it’s inside an actual Zephyr or not. The Morthahg passed through into Elmskill and it will come HERE unless someone keeps that ichling from getting to it with my blood.”

..... “That..can’t be right,” said Lorelei. She didn’t seem at all certain.

..... “WHY ARE YOU WASTING TIME WITH ME???” Esme rasped, then collapsed again. Being that loud had cost her whatever strength she’d regained. She whimpered a little bit. “Catch it! Stop it! Run!”

..... “All right, all right!” Lorelei squeezed her eyes shut again. “I’ll go. One of you go alert whatever authorities you have running around here. And YOU, Esme, are not to move from this spot. I have to track you down again...” Esme made a sound that might have been laugh if she hadn’t been in such a state. The chances of her escaping in that condition were slim. Lorelei looked at her as if there was more to be said, but then stood and whistled.

..... North appeared as suddenly from thin air as the ichling had and looked at his mistress expectantly. She pointed at Esme and the white dog sniffed her bloody shirt obediently. Lorelei tucked the imprisoned Bind into her robes, and the two of them ran off. Harry looked from Esme to Sirius. Sirius was strangely calm. He looked Harry in the eye.

..... “I’ve told Dumbledore about a lot of it,” he said. “Go tell him about the Bind and the Morthahg coming here. He may want to evacuate the school until they can be sure. Just let him know.”

..... “How about you?” Harry asked. Sirius looked at the shuddering Esme, and considered.

..... “If we have to leave here,” he said. “We’ll go to Buckbeak’s shed to hide. If worse does come to worse, look for us there.” Harry nodded and went hurrying off.

..... “You can leave me,” Esme murmured. Sirius almost laughed.

..... “After the time I’ve had catching up to you?” he said. “I think not.” The teensiest memory of a smile touched her mouth too.

..... “Then, consider me caught,” she said.