Stepping further into the safety of the clearing, Rowan nearly trips over a fallen tombstone. She glances around in surprise to find the entire clearing is full of dilapidated tombstones. Many of the tombstones are cracked and chipped. The lettering on many of the graves is old and faded, utterly unreadable, while the wording on others can still faintly be made out.
Some of the headstones lay on the ground utterly shattered. Others are covered by long grass, thick lumps on the ground easy to trip over or hurt one's shin. Rowan lost count of the number of times she nearly fell, but she stubbed her toes and shin painfully each time. At one point, she thought she might have even cracked a toe.
Yet despite the rough path, Rowan never completely lost sight of the Fenny snake. The serpent slithered on an unseen path only known to it. Through a patch of tall weeds and grass, they arrive at a tombstone with a large, engraved family crest.
The family crest is utterly unrecognizable having been violently slashed through by a spell or something else. The edges of the faded family crest slogan can still be made out. Rowan leans for a closer look and barely manages to make out the words meaning, "Toujours Pur," meaning 'always pure.'
The slogan belonged to the Black family, Sirius, and Regulus's family to be precise. But why had the serpent brought her to the grave of one of the Black family members? It is a reasoning Rowan simply failed to comprehend.
The serpent climbs to the top of the worn tombstone, before pointedly tapping on the wording of the headstone with its tail. Furrowing her brow, Rowan leads closer to make out the wording under the murky moonlight. "Here lies, Phineas Black, 1878-1899."
"Phineas Black?" Rowan furrowed her brow in intense concentration.
Phineas Nigellus Black, a former Headmaster of Hogwarts and the great-grandfather of Sirius and Regulus. However, the name of the former Hogwarts Headmaster's youngest son is Phineas Black. Yet despite being a Slytherin, the young man had mysteriously been blasted off the Black family tapestry with no further explanation.
There had never been any further mentions of him, it was as though Phineas Black had simply been erased from history. And one could argue that had been the case since Bellatrix Lestrange in Potter's time took perverse pleasure in recounting the endless faults of why Sirius and Andromeda had been blasted off the Black family tapestry. Yet not once is there a mention of their great-grandfather's son, their great-uncle to be precise. Surely, there would have been a mention of a scandal, and considering Bellatrix's tendency for dramatics, she would surely have been thrilled to bring the subject up at least once. Rather it was far more particular in retrospect that Bellatrix had not openly scoffed nor mocked Phineas Black not even once.
Briefly counting back time, Rowan did some basic math in her head. Albus Dumbledore would have been born in 1881, so Phineas is more or less three years older than Albus. The two of them would have attended Hogwarts at the same time for at least four years. Taking into account the difference in age and house affiliation, it would have been unlikely for them to be friends.
Then again, Albus had been a prideful young man, who to an extent had believed in the superiority of wizards over muggles. After all, this was the original basis for the friendship and brief romance between Albus and Gellert Grindelwald. And it is a rather odd coincidence that Phineas Black died in 1899, the same year that Albus and Gellert met. He must have died rather young at roughly 21 years of age.
Frowning, Rowan turns to gaze at the serpent. She hesitates uncertainly of what to ask. "What is that you want of me or what is it that you want me to do?"
The Fenny snake merely flicks its tongue at her, before slithering off the headstone. "Follow," the snake simply hissed at her leading her further into the cemetery.
Rowan hurries after the serpent only pausing once to glance back over her shoulder at the tombstone of Phineas Black. Whatever it was the serpent had wanted to tell her, the crux of the matter lay with Phineas Black. It would seem that she might have to bribe or pry information from Sirius and Regulus upon waking up.
In the mist behind Rowan beyond the mist in the forest, something seems to stir. The green mist thickens as if becoming the portal to another world or place. The dark night sky does not change, but they walk for hours never seeming to near the edge of the graveyard.
Having lost count of how many bruises, she had acquired, Rowan stubbornly presses forward without complaint except for the occasional grunt of pain. She feared she would wake up with her legs covered in bruises.
"The mist thickens hurry," the serpent snapped effortlessly gliding forward.
Rowan grimaces in pain but increases her pace to keep up with the serpent. Abruptly the sound of soft rushing water can be heard. Glancing up, she can see the ripples of a fountain or pool laying up ahead.
Around several large, broken catacombs, there lays an aged, cracked weeping, wingless angel. The angel's hands are clasped together in a silent plea. Past the fallen statue of the wingless, weeping angel is a crystal-clear pool. In the depths of the pond, simmering darts of colors rush about, blue, white, orange, black, yellow, or a mix of various colors. Upon closer inspection, the flashing glints of color are revealed to be beautiful, glistening koi fish.
Rowan arches her brow in disbelief. She had been brought to a pond in the middle of a sinister graveyard just to look at koi fish! A rustle breaks through her thoughts causing her to intently study her surroundings. A sudden movement further at the edge of the pond causes her to spot a fishing line. Her eyes hastily follow the fishing line to a pair of spotted hands.
Rowan lifts her gaze to carefully studies the elderly fisherman. The elderly fisherman wears comfortable, loose, old worn robes. The tips of his fingers are stained with ink. His face is firm with bushy untamed eyebrows. The face of the wizard is old and worn and yet much like Dumbledore, his eyes are bright and clear.
Astonished and wary at the appearance, Rowan cautiously takes a step back. The wizard wrinkles his nose and grins revealing crooked teeth yellow with age. "Ah, don't be shy child, I don't bite," his lips curve further in jest, "not that I have much of any teeth left to bite with."
Unsure of what to make of the eccentric wizard, Rowan gazes at the Fenny serpent only to find it laying at the feet of the fishing wizard. "Ah, you distrust me," the old man mused out loud. "A good decision considering whose descendant you are, but then again for all their famed power and intelligence that did not save any of the founders from their end."
Rowan's gaze grows sharp, but the old wizard continues to speak. "Long ago, when I was young, I met a wizard from the distant East, who claimed to have witnessed the transcendence of these tiny fish. These tiny slivers strive until their deaths to swim upstream of the Yellow River only then to be forced to leap up a great waterfall. Many perished along the journey, but a few against all impossible odds pass the test set by the spirits and transform into great and powerful dragons."
The old wizard raised his bright eyes to meet that of Rowan's. Rowan almost flinches at the intensity of the wizard's gaze, but she is not the first to look away. The elderly wizard grins at her and knowingly says, "It is the fate of the Koi to battle against an impossible destiny."
Rowan has the inkling that the elderly wizard was not referring to the koi fish in the pond, but rather to her. Pressing her lips into a thin line, she finally warily asks, "And just who are you, sir?"
"I am a simple passerby," the old wizard sincerely replied. "My life wanes and someday the sun will finally set for me, but not yet."
Seeing that the eccentric wizard is not willing to answer her question, Rowan instead asks, "Ancient one then why are you here? I see nothing here for you."
"To fish, of course," the old wizard frankly responded. "Why else would anyone come to such a dreary, dreadful place?"
A bit irked at the elderly wizards' responses, Rowan turns to glance back at the pond. The koi fish swim about in the pool, but she finds that the pool deepens the more she gazes into the depths. Pulling her gaze away, she searches for the serpent only to find it gliding into the pool.
The Fenny Snake tongue flickers in the air, before abruptly diving into the pool. The swarm of Koi fish scattered, but the serpent is clever and captured a large orange and white patterned Koi. With the wriggling fish firmly clamped in its jaws, it emerges on land to eat and swallow its prey whole.
The old wizard pensively studies the serpent murmuring, "Beware of the tail hidden in plain sight, Child of the Founders."
A loud rushing sound begins to ring in Rowan's ears from beyond the forest edge. Glancing up at the woodland, she finds the green fog rising up in the air like an ocean wave. The green wave crashes and the thick fog begins to pour into the edge of the clearing.
Seeing the green fog spreading into the clearing, the elderly wizard rises from his post. His joints crack loudly, and he winces as he straightens up. "It is time to wake up, child," the old wizard said pointing a finger at her. "Come find me, when it is time."
"Wait?!" Rowan cried out. Before she can ask, who the elderly wizard is a green mist hungrily pours between them. Following closely behind the fog is a darting dark shadow that eagerly leaps toward her!
Gasping Rowan wakes up panting her book having fallen onto the rug. She wipes the cold sweat from her face still feeling her heart racing inside her chest. She glances down at her hand feeling a sting. There just at the edge is a scratch from where she had put her hand up to protect her face.
A tendril of dread crawls down Rowan's back. Great Mother Snake had once said, the dreamscape is a dream and yet not a dream. An interconnected dimension where time exists and does not in the same breath.
Knowing she will be unable to sleep, Rowan gathers the book to put away. Whoever, the old man had been, he existed in this world. She needed to find him. Just one more thing to add to her list.
Tired and feeling clammy, Rowan teleports back to the girl's bathroom. She takes a brisk shower trying not to avoid thinking about what the old man had told her at the end. Regardless she did not sleep much that night. Her dreams were filled with hungry creatures hunting in her dreams.