Two days later, we found out that the two opposing sides would be meeting at Stonehenge at the next full moon, coincidentally one week from then. This put both Ashley and I in a state of high anxiety, and Gertrude suggested I swear guardianship of my child to Ashley as proxy in case Harry didn't make it out. "Which he will," Gertrude said firmly. "But it never hurts to be prepared, and you've been putting it off for far too long, child."
I knew she had a point, so, that afternoon, Ashley and I retreated to the pool to do the ceremony.
She put her hands on my stomach, and I took a deep breath. "I, Charlie, do pledge that my child shall know you as guardian," I said. "I henceforth give care of my daughter into your hands, to guard and guide, to protect and raise, and to care and nuture, from the moment of her birth until her last day."
Ashley smiled. "I, Ashley, do so swear to look after you child, to guard and guide, to protect and raise, and to care and nuture, from the moment of her birth until her last day." Her hands glowed golden as she said those last words, and I felt warmth shooting into my body as the spell took hold. It wasn't perfect, but at least my daughter would be protected in the event of things going south. Neither of us wanted to talk about what would happen should Harry fall; both Brandon and Brody would come after us with a vengeance. "Should I do the same for you?" I asked, as a terrifying thought crossed my mind.
"No," Ashley told me. "I didn't tell you this before, but Gertrude is guardian in the event of things going south. I am carrying her grandcub, so I figured she should be guardian just in case. We've already arranged things, so there's no need for you to worry."
I nodded. "Fair enough," I said, but I had the sneaking suspicion she'd done something rather drastic in terms of her own cub's future. I decided my best bet, however, was not to worry about it. My cub would be protected in case Harry lost (which I was sure he wouldn't), and that was all I needed to worry about.
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The day of the battle dawned cold and grey, but I could still feel the full moon's energy through the clouds as I got up. I had the feeling I'd be giving birth any day now - females almost never made it to the full nine months gestation - and I prayed my daughter would be safe. She was growing ever more restless by the day, and I knew she was picking up on my anxiety over Harry's fate.
So after breakfast, I retreated to the pool to try and soothe both her nerves and mine.
I spent a bit of time just sitting on one of the steps, just letting the warm water cradle my body, and the sensations were enough to settle my nerves. Eventually I felt my daughter calm down as well, and I let out a sigh of relief. But she was still restless, so I decided a swim was in order.
I glided through the water, taking it easy, not wanting to put too much stress on either of us. Overhead, the sky was still grey, but the sun occasionally broke through, just enough to light up the tiles, before being obscured by the clouds again. I didn't take that as a sign, instead focusing on my swimming, allowing the familiar motion of my body cutting through the water to calm me down.
After a while, I sat on the step, before laying back and closing my eyes, gently cradling my belly as the water lapped at my legs and sides. My daughter was much calmer now, and I felt myself relaxing as well. The battle would go in favour of Harry and his allies, of that I was sure. And the Darkshards were unparalleled in the arts of dark magic, hence their name. I suspected Harry and his Beasts would be putting their arts to full advantage, and I hoped Brody and his allies were shitting themselves right now. I suspected quite a few grudges would be settled by the time today was through.
But that was neither here nor there to me; I wouldn't know the outcome until tonight, so I took a deep breath and sank underwater, letting it snuff the sounds of the outside world, and blanketing the faint worry in the back of my mind.
I held onto the edge, letting my body float up, eyes closed as I focused on the sensations. Once more I was reminded of how much like the womb it was here under the surface, and I longed to stay here forever. I could tell my daughter was much happier now that I was underwater, and I smiled to myself. Swimming lessons, I decided, would be in order.
Sadly, my lungs didn't agree with a prolonged submersion, and I reluctantly pulled myself to the surface. The world intruded on me once more as I stood up, and though I longed to stay in the pool all day, I knew I had to be on hand in case things went south. The four of us would have to be ready to flee at a moment's notice, and I quickly dried myself before throwing my bathrobe back on and hurrying back to the house. The sun had given up trying to make an appearance, and I could smell rain in the air. No rain had been forecast for today, but weather generally never behaved itself, so I didn't worry too much about that.
Even so, as I entered the house, I couldn't help but wonder if someone would decided to bring a storm or three to throw their enemies off kilter. It wouldn't be the first time, and I hoped that Harry and his allies would have the firepower to, well, fight fire with fire.
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