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Twenty-fourth December. A couple of minutes before midnight. Neighborhood of Hogwarts Castle. Forbidden Forest.
Slowly getting up from the ice platform, which at the same moment was showered with ice crumbs without replenishing with mana on my part, I headed towards the magicians waiting for me. Seeing me walking in their direction, they also moved in my direction.
- Well, is everyone ready? — my question was not idle curiosity, no. If anyone doubted it, he would be excluded from the upcoming ritual, at least from its beginning, which is the most labor-intensive and demanding.
However, there are none here, I feel.
"Yes," Astoria nodded mischievously, smiling brightly at everyone around her. Luna, standing next to her, just nodded silently.
"Don't doubt it," Penelope's mysterious smile once again makes you think. What is she hiding?
The rest just nodded silently or simply remained silent, but in their emotions each of them was serious. Not a trace of uncertainty. That's good.
- Great. I think it's not worth reminding you what will happen and in what order. The main thing to remember is that no matter what happens, don't be afraid." Raising my head up, I looked at the starry sky, which in winter was much more beautiful and "brighter" than at other times. - Today is a special day. Much more important than you think.
Taking another look at the assembled group, I just nodded silently. Even though I am new to the magical world, even I can understand that at this moment they are ready to perform one of the most important rituals of the year for any magician.
"Let's go," turning around on the spot, I walked towards the prepared log with brushwood.
Its time to begin.
*****
Life stood still, the ancient forest fell silent, waiting in the wings. Every animal, even the smallest and most insignificant, understood that today, like a year, two, three, ten or more years ago, was special. There are only pitiful moments left until what the strongest of them are waiting for happens.
The wind was blowing among the trunks of centuries-old trees and crowns covered with winter caps. This invisible guest again collected secrets in order to add them to his collection. And tonight is the perfect night for this.
At the border of the forest, where his forces are not so great and where he comes into contact with the possessions of people, there was one nondescript clearing. It's curious, but over the course of a year and a half, its importance for both magicians and the forest has grown greatly. Incredible, right?
Right now, in its center, a small group of young magicians had gathered and stood together around a lonely log. Seven smart ones, two guys and five girls. Each of them was individual, different from the others. Perhaps in the future they will do something that will be recorded in the annals of history. Or maybe they will perish in this stormy river called "Life".
Having taken their places, the children froze, as if expecting something. The wind rose and began to dance around them, playing with the clothes, hair and faces of these intelligent ones. Finally, after an unknown moment, something happened.
The time has come.
Each of the seven, as if on command, raised their hand in front of them, some of them were empty (four), and some had a wooden stick clamped in them. Closing their eyes, they froze, and then with a flash of light they opened them again.
Seven flames: green, a slightly chubby boy, red, the one who hides her nature from the others, silver, otherworldly, yellow, the youngest of the sisters, pale blue, the eldest of the sisters, black, the eldest of those present here, and finally the gray one with flashes of blue, the one that still hasn't understood himself. Each of the lights burned brightly, passionately and fiercely. They were the product of magic, the nature of a magician; it seemed that around them the world itself was changing its laws, as if making an exception. Or maybe that was it...
In one moment, all seven of them, in one united movement, laid their flames on the future "hearth." The giant log burst into flames, being consumed by seven types of fire. It burned slowly, disappearing from our world little by little, giving in return the very energy that these children so needed. Something is coming.
The wind, which until that moment had only been playing with everything it could reach, howled with terrifying force. Its long "sleeves," like spirals, went around the children and then twisted around the flame, thereby creating a kind of barrier. The flames flared up.
Thunder rang out, lightning flashed. Once, twice, three times. Her blows were getting closer and closer each time, but the children didn't seem to care one bit. They all continued to "feed" the seven-colored flame, giving their own in order to later receive someone else's and make it their own.
Finally lightning struck for the ninth time. A blue beam struck from the sky, hitting the flames exactly. The colors mixed, giving rise to a new, starry flame. In an instant, the log burned, leaving behind sparks. Those, in turn, picked up by an unknown force, began to rise to the top, gathering into a bizarre shape. Finally, after ten seconds, they took the form of a ritual tree, so similar to a Christmas tree, only without decorations.
Finally, the children lowered their hands and took a breath. And around them nature began to go wild. The wind howled, lifting tons of snow from the ground. The sky was partially covered with clouds, only occasionally letting in the light of the stars. Even the fog wanted to appear for a brief moment, but under the pressure of other forces it retreated. Today is not his time.
After a couple of minutes, the children began to approach the fire one by one. Approaching him, they threw "gifts" at him, what they had created themselves, as well as what they wanted to share with others. Apples, flour, magical plants, toys... a lot of things. The "fire" accepted all this as a gift, spraying them into countless sparks, so that after ten seconds they took on a different form, right under the ritual tree.
Twenty minutes later, when all the gifts had been brought, it was the turn of the next stage of this sacrament. Now all seven intelligent ones, as if in a trance, approached the tree and raised their hands in front of them, palms facing each other, and froze.
The mana that had previously arrived in this clearing from everywhere: from sources, nature, the magicians themselves, other planes, spirits, began to flock to the children, absorbed by their bodies, and then collected in their hands. The lights flickered.
Slowly, balls made of magic began to appear between their palms. Their colors matched the color of the flames they brought into this ritual. The balls, frozen in place, slowly flew up to take their rightful place on the ritual tree. If a non-gifted person noticed this picture, he would say that these were Christmas toys. True, he wasn't here, so there's no one to tell about it.
Seven, fourteen, twenty-one... The number of "toys" grew, because each of them symbolizes the desire of an individual magician. Every dream, goal, hidden thought, it was all here on the ritual tree.
Finally, the round dance of magic balls ended. The world froze, and along with it, mana froze, only to spring into action a minute later.
The flame flared up, engulfing the ritual tree in its tongues. The clouds began to thicken, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. A crunching sound was heard throughout the clearing. The mirror of reality has cracked.
Slowly raising their heads, the mages looked to the heavens to see hundreds of rifts that had opened there. The clouds, which had previously moved with incredible speed, took on the bizarre shape of a bridge, as if woven from cotton wool.
Step. Slowly, a couple of people began to emerge from one of the cracks. Man and woman. Married couple. Their slightly cloudy eyes slowly cleared up, only to flare up with the fire of reason a second later. Brown eyes behind the glasses met the green eyes of the red-haired person. A moment, a storm, awareness.
The light flashed and the couple was engulfed in a glow. They disappeared, only to find themselves next to a frozen girl who was hiding her essence a second later. The woman tearfully hugged her daughter as the father hugged the two of them. The girl's trembling hands, as if fearing something, slowly hugged them back.
Tears flowed. Intertwined into one stream, they fell to the ground in order to give life to something special in the future. For these three, the world ceased to exist. For this night, they became one family again.
The ringing of the string signaled the arrival of new characters. From another breach, a fairy made of leaves emerged. Her smile brightened the world. Slowly walking along the "bridge" she went down to the bottom, only to find herself in front of an uncertain boy a second later. Each step she took revived the sleeping nature, giving life to everything.
Smiling brightly at the guy, she uttered an inaudible phrase with a smile on her lips, which made him hug her and cry for the first time in many years. Hugging him back, the fairy flickered with green light. Slowly, a variety of plants and animals began to appear around her. As if protecting them, they entwined the figures, hiding two in a cocoon.
A sad melody sounded. At the same time, two creatures appeared from two gaps. A skeleton engulfed in gray fog, and a soul that has long ago lost a part of itself. Having disappeared from their place, they found themselves next to the silver-eyed girl. Another secret that remains to be discovered.
Silently, from the shadow of the oldest girl, a strange creature appeared. His whole body consisted of shreds, scraps of alien shadows. The figure's eyes looked with a certain question at the one who attracted his gaze. In response, he was greeted by a mysterious smile, which once again hid something from this world. However, the figure understood her. Silently nodding, she grabbed the girl with a "tattered blanket" only to disappear a second later.
A rift appeared in front of the pair of sisters, which led to another rift in the heavens. A lady in an evening dress, as well as a man in a top hat, came out to meet them through it. The lady was accompanied on her journey by small spirits that hovered around her. The man was alone. His calm, icy eyes looked with some interest at the eldest of the sisters. She looked at him in exactly the same way. Contact has been established, what awaits them ahead.
And only one reasonable, lonely young man was left alone. He was not at all affected by the whole situation that was happening around him. It didn't bother him that no one came down to him. He was thinking. And his thoughts were far from here.
And intelligent ones continued to arrive from the rifts. Who was there: the lords of water, the lords of fire, the lords of lightning. Cerberus, giants, minotaurs. It felt like everyone was here. After all, everyone was curious about who was able to reach them?
But the night continued. The lights sparkled, the stars shone. A variety of animals crawled out of the forest and looked up in some trepidation.
The world has changed. Each individual world brought a piece of itself into our reality. Lava rivers flowed and fiery flowers bloomed. A chilling wind blew and it began to snow. Ents entered the world, walking menacingly on the ground. Rivers of blood made their way out of the ground, inextricably linking all living things. The mirror of space was desolate, its fragments became part of everything.
With multi-colored flashes of light, lower spirits of different planes came into the world. It was impossible to make out the shape, because they were incredibly small. Small, colorful balls. They began to dance with each other, playing for the first time in years.
The dead rose from the ground to take part in this sacrament. Souls also came into operation.
The flames of the fire engulfed the entire clearing, thereby embracing everyone present here. It warmed, gave warmth, punished, burned away dirt, stench and stench. He helped the needy and gave gifts to the worthy. Gigantic volumes of super concentrated mana of the most varied nature mixed here, "hardening" those present. Many miles away, many magicians felt this, and also tried to understand where this feeling was coming from. However, their attempts were in vain. On this special day, only the strongest could observe what was happening in the clearing. However, they were not interested in this; they had already seen much larger and more majestic pictures in their lives.
And the "toys" on the ritual tree slowly but surely disappeared, simply exploding, only to fly away as sparks in the wind a second later. The night is not endless, the countdown has begun.
Slowly, right above the horizon, the glow of the morning dawn began to rise. Its rays illuminated the earth. The hour has come.
With a pop, the last wishing balls disappeared. Each of the guests was engulfed in a rainbow glow. Gradually their figures began to disappear from this world.
With another crunch, the mirror of reality became the same. A gust of wind scattered the bridge connecting heaven and earth.
The flame, which had previously burned evenly, flared up for the last time beyond the nova in order to say goodbye to this world once and for all, taking with it any traces of its presence here.
The neighbors left, completely locking the "doors" behind them. The mirror of reality has again become monolithic as never before.
The fireflies went out, the fairies disappeared. The "dreaming" animals rose to their feet and slowly disappeared into the forest. Six tired children with blissful smiles fell asleep right on the ground. The tears had long since dried, leaving behind an all-consuming joy.
And only one awake remained standing. He has something to think about.
*****