Anna Grayson and The Order of Merlin
The Shroud of Dormancy

The children were quiet as theymade their way up the stairs to bed, completely exhausted from the evening’sevents. Anna was walking behind the twins as they discussed the last items thatneeded to be packed before their return to school.

“I can’t believe this time nextweek we’ll be sitting in class again. Oh — I hope this year is easier thanlast,” Dowla said to Tencha, bemoaning the thought of another long year awayfrom home.

“Yeah, I know what you mean,”her sister said, shaking her head resignedly, “I barely survived last year.”

Damon was following Anna up thesteps. “Nice little toast you gave after dinner, Anna. Where did you get itfrom…Muggle Homes and Gardens?” he said, in a very sarcastic tone.

“Oh, and I suppose you think‘the most powerful man in the wizarding world’ was really deep?” Anna shotback.

“Well — at least I know to whomto raise my glass and call father,” he said, amused. Passing her, he hoppedonto the landing and then turned to face her. “I guess we’ll just have to addanother title to your long list: Anna-Muggle-squib-orphan,” he said, with achortle.

Anna shoved her brother backagainst the wall as she turned to pass him. “I’m warning you Damon, you’dbetter shut your mouth. You never know when to stop,” she growled angrily.

“Oh — touchy, aren’t we? Musthave hit a nerve,” he said, walking down the hall to his bedroom door. Heturned to give a wink of satisfaction to the twins. “Well...Goodnight fellowGraysons. Oh — and you too, Anna,” he said with an ugly grin, peeking backthrough the gap as he closed his door. The twins turned, looking for Anna’sresponse.

Anna was fuming. “What are youlooking at?” she snapped, in a challenging tone at the twins.

“Nothing…Nothing,” they said,snickering, as they closed the door to their rooms.

Anna entered her bedroom,slamming the door behind her. She trudged over to her dressing table and satdown with a huff. “God, that Damon sure knows how to push my buttons,” shecomplained in frustration. She looked up into the mirror and was shocked bywhat she saw staring back. There were lumps of foodstuffs all over her clothesand face. Her hair had every color of pie innards smeared, matted and spatteredon and within it. Something else was shining against the side of her head andAnna reached up to pull it out. It was the little red hair clip, which hadcaused her so much trouble that very morning. It was covered in potatoes andchocolate goop. Anna was amazed.

“You mean to tell me you stayedin place through all of that? Good boy! You have a very stout heart, littleone,” she chirped, smiling broadly. The little clip happily snapped open andclosed several times at being considered so brave. She set the clip down on thetable and watched it bounce upright, shake itself vigorously to remove the messfrom between its teeth, and then happily hopped over and dove into an opendrawer in Anna’s jewelry box, which quickly jerked closed with a little click.

Anna looked up again at themess sitting before her in the mirror. “Bath!”she said, determinedly, and she stood and headed for the bathroom.

An hour later, Anna was clean,warm, and deep in her four-poster bed, thinking about the events of the day.“What a night,” she said with a sigh, staring up at the hangings above herhead. She considered everything that had happened. It seemed the fight withVeronica that morning had taken place ages ago. Then she remembered herexperience in the woods with the girl’s mother, the strange things on thegrounds and in the ocean, and then her ghostly visitor before dinner. What didit all mean? She remembered the talkwith her father about her mother, and Anna couldn’t help smiling once again.She loved her father very much. Her mind finally stopped to focus on thepicture of him being hit by all those pies and his body crashing to the floor.Anna giggled out loud. Her father was such a great man.

She wanted so much to proveherself to him in a way that would make him proud of her. The other childrenall had their path set for them. They were going off to Castlewood, and as longas they studied hard and did their best, Anna knew their father would bepleased. But how could she contribute? Anna wanted so much to bring honor tothe Grayson name…But how? What could a Muggle do? What could a squib do?

Squib. There it wasagain, that name. It always seemed to come into her mind as the biggestobstacle in her life. But despite her brother’s efforts, she wasn’t going tolet him or that name limit her. “I hate you, Damon,” she said, out loud. “Ican’t wait for you to go, and then I won’t have to look at that pasty-whiteface of yours until Christmas!” Anna felt herself sliding away and, rememberinghow dangerous it was to think about Damon before dropping off to sleep, sherolled over and tried to concentrate on something happy. But she was tired, andher body quickly floated off into a cloud of black mist.

TWO

Swirls of black smoke wereswelling and moving toward her mind from behind her eyes, and the faint soundof a bellowed fire began to seep into her consciousness. The heat of the airwas suddenly unbearable, and Anna began pushing the blankets off of her nowsweating body. Her bed seemed hard and covered with sharp wooden splinters asAnna rolled onto her back. She frowned as she felt something snake around herwrists and ankles…It was pain. Something tight and coarse, like old rope, wasmoving in to hold her down. Anna opened her eyes and saw what seemed like adamp and darkened stone dungeon around her. She was no longer in her four-poster,but tied by invisible ropes to a hard table. She couldn’t move. She couldbarely breathe due to the scorching hot and smoky air surrounding her. Whatis this place? She tried to speak, to yell for help, but the air in theroom made her choke and cough. She looked around at the black stone wallsaround her and could see all of her belongings, her dresser, the table andmirror; they had been moved to this new place while she had been sleeping.

Anna heard a moan, a far offsigh, and then a gurgling whimper, which grew louder and seemed to come fromsomeplace below her feet. She finally looked down and could see an arched doormade of heavy planked wood next to her dressing table. There was a smoky redlight, like that of a fire from the other side, shining bright around itsedges.

Shaking with fear andconfusion, Anna tried to get up, but the unseen bindings on her wrists andankles were too tight. She could feel the pain from the ropes now cutting intoher skin. She yelled, hoping somebody, anybody, might hear her.

“What is this place? Daddy!”Anna yelled. “Somebody help me!” Butthere was no reply. The groaning from the next room was mixed now with sobbingcries, and she could hear a small voice pleading.

“No, please…No…” but a horriblesizzling sound could be heard interrupting the begging victim through the door,and Anna’s own feet suddenly exploded in burning pain. It was as if someone hadplaced something red hot on the bottoms of her feet. Anna screamed as shethrashed against the ropes, which cut deeper into her skin.

Anna could hear screaming fromthe next room mixing with her own, a voice beseeching and begging for mercyfrom some unknown attacker bearing down upon him. The suffering cries werefamiliar to Anna, but she couldn’t put the face together with the voicepleading for mercy in the room beyond the door. She knew that screaming voicewas important to her, but she couldn’t bring herself to understand who it mightbe. Then she heard a sinister laugh coming from the room, and Anna cringed uponhearing a cruel, malicious voice speak.

“Shut up, you worthlessparasite. You don’t know pain…But you soon will; I will see to it that youunderstand the true ecstasy of pain like never before.” There was a loud CRACK,as if from a heavy whip hitting something hard.

“Aaahhhhhhh,” came anotherscream, and then a tiny voice pleaded, “have mercy master — mercy.”

CRACK, came the reply, and thenanother horrible scream.

Anna’s back exploded with painupon each hideous snap of the whip on its victim. She was writhing, and archingupward on the table, as if feeling each terrible stroke across her own back.She tried desperately to get up, to break the bonds holding her down. Shewanted to stop this madness, stop the pain. “STOP IT!” she cried out, but shecouldn’t move. She could barely breathe as the agony continued.

CRACK, “Pain,” said thetorturer, in a cruel voice that only hinted of the untold brutality tocome. CRACK, “Pain!” the thing repeatedagain, an added weight of vindictiveness was being served with each stroke.CRACK, “PAIN!” screamed the laughing menace at his hapless victim. “I want tohear you beg some more, you filthy, worthless slave. I want to see your bloodall over my floor. I want to see you WRITHE!”

CRACK.

Another explosion of pain rippedthrough Anna’s back, piecing her body as if splitting her in two. She had tostop this. She had to get help. She had to break the bonds holding her down.With all of her strength, Anna wrenched at her bindings, and, willing every bitof power she had left, she slowly began to rise. There was another loud CRACK,and another scream of pain. Anna pulled herself forward, and finally was ableto roll over to the floor below the table, her wrists and ankles wet with herown blood. She pushed her body onto her knees, but it felt as if someone wasforcing her head back down, trying to press her into the floor again. Annascreamed out, hoping somebody might hear her now that she was closer to thedoor.

“Stop it!” she yelled. But thetorture in the adjoining room continued, and horror in knowing nobody was goingto stop it was overwhelming Anna’s senses. She pushed with all the strength inher legs beneath her, and finally found her body standing upright. But therewere powerful forces holding on to her, trying to pull her back. She tried totake a step, but something unexpectedly grabbed her by a trailing foot. Shelooked down in shock to see several hands reaching up through the woodenfloorboards, grabbing at her feet and pulling on the hem of her pajamas. She triedto take another step, and another loud CRACK stabbed her soul once more. Thescreams in the next room were intensifying, now non-stop even between the heavyripping sounds of the whip.

“Let me go,” Anna screamedfrantically, yelling and stomping down at the hands trying to hold her back. “ISAID — LET ME GO!” And all at once, Anna broke free; her body hurled forwardand landed hard against the door from where the screams could be heard. Shetried to turn the large iron handle, but the heat from the metal burned herhand. The door was locked.

CRACK! There was anotherscream, and Anna bent rearward grotesquely, her hands flailing against thepain. She began pounding on the door with her fists, and kicking it with herfeet. “Leave him alone — please!” she yelled at the unknown attacker on theother side.

CRACK! There were no answers to her pleas. Shelooked desperately around the room, searching for something, anything, to openthe door and stop the assault. Her attention fell upon a pair of heavy scissorson her dresser and she immediately grabbed them up. She jammed the pointed endinto the latch of the wooden door and started prying it with all her strength.

CRACK! Another agonizingscream, louder this time, made her ears ring. A knife of pain shot betweenAnna’s shoulder blades and straight down into the center of her back. Shecollapsed from the blow. Her eyes were blurred, her ears still throbbing as shestaggered to stand again. She saw the scissors lying on the floor, glowing redin the light blooming out from the bottom gap. Picking them up, she flew intothe door again, prying angrily at the lock.

Another sharp CRACK was heardfrom beyond the door, and Anna almost passed out from the pain. She leanedagainst the wood of the door crying. “Please stop…Please…I’m begging you.Please leave him alone…” she pleaded. “You’re killing him.”

And then she heard the deepterrible voice once again, “Now, slave, you will bare witness to a new level ofpain unknown to your kind.” There was a terrible, awful shearing sound from theroom on the other side, and the small voice screamed again in appallingtorture. Instantly, Anna felt a stabbing blade in her back, a red-hot knifepiercing and cutting deep into the middle of her spine. Her head jerked back asshe thrashed her hands behind her shoulders, trying to remove the instrumentpushing into her. The pressure stopped and another hideous laugh was heard onceagain.

Anna’s eyes shot forward.Seeing the scissors still jammed in the latch, she snarled with blinding rageas she leapt forward at the tool. She began gouging back and forth desperatelyat the wood of the door. At last the lock finally sprung open, and she grabbedthe edge of the gapped door and angrily threw it back with all her strength.

The sight before Anna’s eyessickened her, the image so revolting, she immediately turned her head away andalmost slammed the door closed again. It was Widwick. His hands were tied tothe ceiling, while his body dangled beneath. Ropes from the floor stretched hislegs below into a horrible twisted knot of blackened flesh. His head was limp,and there was a choking-acrid smell of smoke rising from the elf’s back. Annastaggered forward and fell into Widwick’s legs; she began tugging desperatelyat his bindings. She looked up into the creature’s pitiful face hanging aboveher. His normally bright eyes were swollen and bloody as they slowly opened tolook down.

“Pleeeeease, mum. Make itstop,” he begged. “Please…I is sorry…I is…I is a good house…” but his remainingstrength finally left him as his head lulled over and settled lifelessly to theside. Anna screamed and yanked wildly at the ropes, desperately trying torelease him. Anna heard a terrible, evil laugh to the side, and she quicklyspun around to finally face the menace. There was a large raised fire on abrick pedestal, and white-hot coals burning deep within its flames. And there,standing next to the boiling pit, was a cloaked hooded figure, stoking thecoals with a metal iron. At the creature’s feet lay a coiled whip, still bloodyfrom its cruel work on Widwick’s back. Anna’s blood was a scalding brew, readyto explode as she limped forward to protect her hanging friend. She was dizzyfrom pain and the suffocating heat around her.

“You will stop this!” Anna screamedin appalled rage. “You will stop this…Now!”

The cloaked figure stoppedpushing at the coals, picked up one of the white-hot instruments, and thenslowly turned to face her. The face of the thing was hidden in the deep shadowsof its hood as it stepped forward.

“Stop?” the growling voiceasked, “but I’m only getting started.” The figure turned and glided to Anna’sleft as if to return to its hanging victim. Anna moved to the side, placingherself between Widwick and his torturer. The hooded figure stopped and slowlyturned to face her again. “Get out of my way!” the thing demanded, pointing thesmoking poker at her face. The ground beneath Anna’s feet shook at his words,and she had to grab Widwick’s legs to steady her balance.

“No!” Anna screamed. “You won’thurt him anymore. I won’t let you. He’s my elf — he lives in my house,” shesaid, coughing through the thick smoke. She looked up again at Widwick hangingabove her. “He’s my friend,” she said, in a hoarse, yet caring voice. ButAnna’s determination was strengthening as her steely graze returned to thefoul-cloaked figure before her. “You will stop this. If you come near him again— I’ll kill you!”

The hooded figure gave a mightylaugh, and the ground shook under them again. “You…? You are powerless — youare nothing — you are worse than the vermin you seek to protect. You pretend tobe something you are not. You cannot stop me.”

“I will. I won’t let you havehim — you’ll have to kill me first,” Anna shrieked, angrily.

The figure rolled his head backand laughed again. “And what a pleasure that will be,” he said, as he raisedone hand to lower his smoking black hood. Anna stared in horror at the face ofWidwick’s torturer; it was Damon. His orange face glowed bright from the lightof the steel in his outstretched hand. His face, still spattered with Widwick’sblood, was gleaming with anticipated delight. “You will wait your turn, littlesquib. First the fleas…And then the wizard lice,” he said, through his clinchedwhite teeth.

Anna was seething in fury asthe shadow of mist began to cloud over her vision again. Her head suddenlyexploded in crazed hate as the figure of her brother began to laugh.

“I’m going to kill you!” Annascreamed, and she could see the thing’s eyes widen in shock as she leaped forwardat him. She heard a terrible growl, like that of some attacking animal, comingup out of her own throat as she knocked Damon to the floor with a single blow.She could see a massive clawed paw tearing at his body, and the horror now inhis face as she looked down into his terrified eyes.

“What are you?” he screamed,his eyes looking at her from the side, too afraid to look upon her fully in theface.

A deep rumble, half human -half animal, burst forth from Anna’s throat, “I — am your death!” she snarled,as she opened her mouth wide. The last thing Anna saw was Damon screaming asher head swooped in and clamped its massive fanged jaws into his face andeverything went black with a loud crunch.

THREE

Thedream finally ended and Anna’s eyes snapped open, but the blackness surroundingher was making it nearly impossible to see. She was back in her four-posterbed, but she knew immediately there was something terribly wrong. She couldfeel an agonizing and starving hunger deep within her body moving its way outfrom her core toward her limbs. Different than the normal grumblings of amissed meal, this was a craving much deeper and all consuming in its nature. Itwas as if the various parts of her being were crying out together fornourishment, for food. The pain of her need was desperate, nearlyuncontrollable. The message was clear; she had to eat, to feed.

Her body began to rise upward,and now she could feel it hovering over the blankets of her bed. The blackcloudy mist was surrounding her, making it too dark to see anything within theroom. Anna recognized the mist as the same murky blackness she had seen in thewoods earlier that day; its dark inky coldness was working to smoother her. Shefinally saw a faint light coming from under her bedroom door and sheinstinctually hovered toward its dim glow. She wanted to open the door, but herbody didn’t seem to have limbs anymore with which to grasp the knob. Shefloated up and over the door, desperately looking for a way out, but what would it take to open it?

She felt her body floatingwithin the cold blackness down the walls surrounding the door’s frame to thefloor where the light was shining in under its bottom edge. That’s the way out, she thought toherself, as the driving pain of hunger continued to lead her onward. Shehovered there, studying the crack, and then easily slid through to the dimlylit hallway on the other side.

She was closer now; she couldfeel it. Food was very near. She glided within the mist toward the staircase,thinking of the kitchen, but then stopped. For no explainable reason, she knewwhat she needed wasn’t down the stairs. She slowly turned to look down the darkhallway. There was another weak light coming from under a door just a few yardsaway.

There! She thought hungrily to herself. Food! She floated across the carpet flat to the floor, and then tothe wall and onto the ceiling. Slowly inching her way toward the light, thecold blackness continued to drive her forward, pressing her almostunconsciously into service toward its needs. She finally reached the door andlaid herself flat against its wood, her smoke-like form spreading itself to itsfullest extent against its paneled surface and walls surrounding it.

Yes — food was there — just inside, she could smell it, almosttaste the warm flesh. She swooped down to the bottom of the door once again andmoved through the tiny space beneath. The room inside was dark, except for theminute light shining from a small lamp on a table next to the bed. It was there — very close now. The pangsof starvation radiating through her body were getting worse with anticipationas she continued, now almost completely without thought. She reached the end ofthe bed and glided up one of its legs to the blankets on top.

There, she thought with an irrepressible eagerness pressing herforward. She slowly moved up toward the mound buried within the layers ofbedding. She was so close now; she could feel its balmy breath, its heartbeating in quiet slumber. As she moved closer, she could see the leading edgeof the thing that contained her preceding her gaze. Its satin-like edge rippledand delicately shimmered before her as it reached out and made contact with themound lying deep under the covers. She could feel the mass beneath her quietlyshudder at her cold touch, even through the thick and piled blankets. Shecontinued toward the head and there, finally, she found what her body wasstarving for — food! She saw the faceof the prey she was seeking, quietly sleeping with his mouth open. Anna reacheddown, and allowed the black shroud that was her body to touch the warm face.The reaction was instantaneous — Damon’s eyes popped open and looked up at herin horror.

“What the?” but he neverfinished what he was about to say. In an instant, she enveloped him. Damonstruggled and fought as hard as he could, but the dark unknown creatureattacking him had wrapped tight around his entire body, cutting off his airsupply. He was jerking and trying to reach out, grabbing onto whatever hecould, but his arms were drawn tight against his body. She had him, and inshort order she knew his struggles would weaken. Then she would feed; absorbhim totally within the folds of her blackness and into the starving soulbegging for the relief that would only come from nourishment such as this. Shecould see the unknown, unrecognizable face below her struggling, gapping forair.

Sssshhh, Anna tried to say, bestill…It will be over soon — there’s noneed to struggle. But there were no words; no sound coming from her nonexistentmouth, only the muffled moans now fading beneath her. That’s right, relax; it will be over soon, Damon; and that’s when she realized, it wasDamon. It was her own brother she was smothering to death in this terrible icygrip. What was she doing? And as soon as she realized what was happening, themisty clouds surrounding her eyes began to suddenly clear. She could see Damonstruggling in front of her. She had to stop; she had to let him go. What am I doing? Then all at once, Damongasped his first breath of life-sparing oxygen in nearly two minutes. His bodybegan heaving for all the air it could manage.

“It’s okay,” said Anna, stillhovering over him. Her voice was beginning to return in a wispy murmur. “You’reall right now,” she said, reassuringly. Damon opened his eyes and looked up inhorror.

“ANNA!” he screamed, stillgasping to catch his breath. “What are you…? What are you doing? You’re —trying to kill me!”

“No…I was just trying…”

“Get off!” he screamed. Damonplaced both of his hands upon Anna’s cold wintry face and shoved her back hard.She flew back, but her body, still enveloped within the misty blackness,stopped in mid-air. Instinct instantly took over again, and she immediatelyshot back onto Damon’s body, smothering him again. Damon began suckingnothingness, gaping wildly for air, breaking through only intermittently togasp out a few words.

“Anna…Stop…Stop it…” came hischoked appeal, but it was as if Anna had lost her ability to control what shewas doing again. The black shroud that was her body had completely takencontrol, and she seemed lost to influence her own actions. But it seemed theinternal struggle between her mind and the thing attacking her brother wasmaking both of them weaker, and Damon was able to keep his hands free of hericy grip. His open mouth was struggling for oxygen as he reached wildly to thesides of the bed, looking for something, anything, to fight his sister off.

He felt his fingers wrappingaround the familiar handle of his wand on the bed stand. He raised and pointedthe wand at Anna’s face trying to speak, but nothing was heard; without air, hecouldn’t form the proper words of the spell. He tried to concentrate on thewords in his mind, but his panic was getting in the way. He began stabbing ather image, but his hand passed straight through her icy form, piercing the openspace behind her. His eyes were bulging in terror, as he gouged at the facewithin the terrible mist. He shoved the wand between Anna’s eyes, but there wasno reaction to his effort. With a look of horror, Damon began waving his wandthrough the cloudy face, which did nothing, but to mix and swirl its mistyfeatures.

Anna’s view of Damon began toblur. I must stop…Let him go, she thought. Stop it!Immediately her vision began to clear again, and Damon gasped for the air thatAnna’s body suddenly allowed to pass through to his face. He looked up and,suddenly seeing her image clearer than before, pointed his wand directly intoher face. He wheezed out a faint, “Stupefy…”and red sparks shot from his wand and straight through Anna’s head.

Although she never felt it, thecurse passed straight through her cloudy form and into the ceiling above. Largepieces of plaster and wood fell down upon them, breaking her focus just enoughfor Damon to reach up and shove Anna’s now nearly solid face away from himagain. She flew backwards across the foot of the bed toward the wall, but onceagain, stopped in mid-air before him.

Damon rose up, still coughingand gasping for air. He looked wildly around the room, hunting for Anna in thedarkness. “Stupefy! Stupefy! STUPEFY!!” he bellowed,shooting curses into the room. One of the blasts passed straight through Anna’sbody again, and smashed into the mirror standing behind her. She could hearvoices suddenly coming from the hallway outside. One of the twins washollering, and now heavy footsteps could be heard thumping outside the door.

“What was that?”

“I’m not sure — it sounded likean explosion.”

“Where did it come from?”

Damon started yelling, “In here…I’mbeing attacked! Get in here!” he screamed, blasting curses into the room againas Anna’s black formless body slid to the floor at the foot of the bed.

Anna couldhear her father’s loud voice yelling in the hallway. She immediately tried tocall out to him, Daddy — help me. Pleeasseee…I don’t know what’s happeningto me…Help me. But, again, Anna couldn’t form the sounds necessary to beheard.

“That was Damon!” yelled Dowla.

“Yes! Quickly — get out of theway,” blurted her father’s voice. There were more heavy steps running; theywere coming closer. The knob to Damon’s door rattled. “It’s locked!”

“Father! Get in here!” Damonscreamed, still blindly blasting and cursing the room around him. “Stupefy…Stupefy!”he yelled.

“Stand back!” roared MisterGrayson. There was a loud BOOM, and the door suddenly flew off its hinges in aviolent blast. Anna’s father boltedacross the threshold, wand raised, his eyes scanning the room’s blackness.

“Damon…Where are you?” heyelled.

“I’m over here. It’s Anna…She’strying to kill me!” Damon yelled back, standing on his knees. His outstretchedhand was gripping his wand, searching for a target in the light now stretchinginto the room from the open doorway.

“What? What are you saying,boy?” yelled his father. “Turn on the lights!” There was a sharp click, and theroom brightened by the light from one of the nightstands.

Mister Grayson saw Damon risingto stand on the bed. “Are you all right?” he yelled. Anna could see her fatherstanding on top of the door laying flat on the floor, his wand pointing intothe room above her. Her brother Eric was standing next to him. He too was armedwith a wand. Dowla and Tencha moved to step into the room as well, but MisterGrayson stopped them.

“Stay back!” he yelped, wavinghis free hand behind his back.

“Anna was in here; she was —trying to smoother me!” Damon shrieked, angrily.

“What? Nonsense! Don’t beridiculous,” said Mister Grayson, sharply. “You say Anna was here? Where isshe?”

“I’m telling you — it was her.She’s still in here somewhere,” insisted Damon, still pointing his wand intowhat looked like an empty room.

“Anna? Are you in here?” calledher brother, Eric.

“Where is she?” yelled herfather. “Tencha — check her room!” Anna could hear the footsteps of somebodyrunning down the hallway.

“She’s not in her room,”Tencha’s voice yelled back.

Anna tried to speak, but in hercurrent form there were no words.

“Anna!” screamed MisterGrayson. “Where are you? Anna!!”

Here, father, Annastruggled to say, but they couldn’t hear her.

“ANNA!” screamed Mister Graysonloudly again.

I’m here, father; I’m righthere! Anna screamed with her mind, praying she might be heard. She tried tocalm herself, concentrating on the warmth of all the bodies she could feelgathering in the room above her. It seemed to work, and Anna’s vision began toclear again.

“I’m here, father,” she said,this time in a barely audible tone.

“Did you hear that?” Ericwhispered to their father. “Anna — where are you?”

“She’s here! You heard her…Itold you she was here,” yelled Damon, who was now standing on the bed, his wandshoulder high at the ready.

“Quiet — son! Let melisten! Anna? Where are you,sweetheart?” Everybody froze waiting for a response.

Anna could see the leadingedges of her dark form ripple as she began to rise from the floor.

“Look — there on the floor…Whatis that?” yelled Dowla, pointing at the misty black form moving at the foot ofDamon’s bed. Damon jumped to the floor and ran toward his father, looking downat the mist.

“That’s it! That’s what attackedme! It’s Anna!” Damon yelled, pointing his wand.

“What are you talking about? Itlooks more like the smoke from one of your curses,” Eric said with a chuckle,stepping forward as if to get a better look.

“STOP!” their stunned fathershuddered, his voice filled with fear. “Don’t…move!”

The black mist continued torise, finally standing fully upright before them.

“LETHIFOLD!” whispered MisterGrayson, pointing with his wand hand.

“KILL IT!” screamed Damon,raising his own wand to strike.

“Wait!” yelled Eric, who waspointing at the living shadow as well.

Anna was floating erect, hercold body starving from a form of hunger she never could have imagined everexisted. She could barely see her family standing in front of her through herown blackness. “Daddy — it’s me. It’s Anna,” she managed to say.

“Oh, my God — look!” screamedDowla, pointing at the nearly transparent face deep within the folds of thecreature’s black shape.

“Anna!” yelled Eric. “It’s gotAnna!”

“KILL IT!!!” screamed Damonagain.

“WAIT!” bellowed MisterGrayson. “Wait…” he repeated again, softly this time. He took a step forwardand stared disbelievingly at his daughter’s nearly black face. “But how…How canthis be? Here — in our own home? How could it happen again?” Mister Grayson seemedto be talking to himself as he took in the sight before him. “Anna…Can you hearme? Sweetheart…Can you see me?”

“Yes, father,” said Anna, in awhimpered voice. “Please — what’s happening to me?” She began to cry.

“My God, father, the thing hasher; it’s got Anna…What can we do?” Eric asked desperately in a whisperedvoice, still pointing a shaking wand at the creature.

“Sssshhhhhh, be quiet!” MisterGrayson hissed again, “Anna…Don’t be afraid, honey. Daddy is here...I’m goingto help you.”

“Please, daddy…I’m so cold…I’mso hungry…” Anna replied, wispily.

“Okay, sweetheart — Iunderstand. I’ll get you something to eat. Can you see me? Can you move?”

Anna tried to change herposition, testing her control; she slowly turned to face what was left ofDamon’s mirror behind her. She was horrified by what she saw. Her body wascompletely gone. Only a tall oval shaped blackness was standing draped beforeher. The creature looked like a black shroud, covering a dead body standing inthe room. And near its top was Anna’s nearly black face staring out through theterrible mist. Anna tried to scream, whirling around to face her family.

“What’s happening to me? Whatis this? Daddy, what should I do?” she yelled, in a panic.

“I don’t — know, Anna, butdaddy is here and I’m going to fix this…I promise…I’m going to help you.”

“Father,” Eric whispered, in aterrified undertone, “if that thing’s already absorbed her — what can we do?What can anybody do?”

“KILL IT!” screamed Damon. Hesuddenly raised his wand.

BANG! Another red curse shotthrough the air and right through Anna’s body.

“STOP!” screamed MisterGrayson, snatching the wand out of his son’s hand.

Anna’s vision started to cloudover again. They were attacking her; they were trying to kill her. She had torun; she had to escape. The instincts of the creature were taking over again asshe began to crawl up the side of the wall and onto the ceiling. She had to getout; everybody was trying to kill her.

“What’s it doing?” asked Eric,whispering next to his father’s ear.

“I don’t know. I…” but thenMister Grayson suddenly did know; he realized what the creature was planning.“My God…It’s looking for a way out…It’s trying to get away! Anna!” MisterGrayson raised his voice desperately. He knew that if the creature got outside,his daughter might be lost forever.

“Guard the door. Don’t let itget by you,” he yelled at Eric, placing an unsteady hand on his son’s shoulder.

“But how, father? What do I do?How do we stop it?” asked Eric, who grabbed his father’s elbow to keep him fromwalking away.

“The Patronus Charm; only a patronus has been known to work. But nobodyknows if…”

“Father!” whispered Tencha, ina frightened voice. “The window — look!”

They all turned to look acrossthe room, and could suddenly see the glass in Damon’s window was cracked. Theblast from one of his many curses had broken the sash and several small holeswere now visible through its thin glass. A slight breeze from the outside wassoftly bellowing the curtains into the room.

“No!” whispered their father.“It must be repaired,” he said, quickly raising his wand, but it was too late.Anna was already moving toward the frame.

“STOP!” yelled Mister Grayson,who stepped quickly across the room toward the fleeing creature. But Anna wasalready at the window; she could smell the air outside calling to her. Shecovered the entire windowpane with her shroud-like body, her face looking backinto the room behind her. She could see her father moving toward her, his wandoutstretched in his hand.

“NO!” he yelled, but Anna,fearing another attack, moved back against the glass. Her smoky form passedeasily through the many holes in the window, pushing itself out and into thenight. As her dark body melded together again, the creature began to slide downthe wall of the house.

Panicking, Mister Graysonblasted the remaining window, its frame, and half the wall away with adesperate flash from his wand. The explosion from his curse sent rock andrubble flying into the yard twenty feet below. He peered over the edge of the buildingscreaming.

“Anna! No — come back. Bringher back! Anna! ANNA!!” He could see the creature sliding down the wall andfinally touch down upon the ground; it was heading for the woods.

“You will not take her!!!” hescreamed, and in desperation, he pointed his wand and yelled, “EXPECTOPATRONUM!” At once, a brilliant light shot out of the end of his wand. Itimmediately formed itself into a large animal with bright luminous horns. Itwas a gleaming, dazzling white bull.

The patronus ran downthe wall of the manor and across the lawn toward the barely visible creaturenow gliding across the ground near the entrance to the dark woods. The chargingbeast reached the Lethifold within seconds and, scooping up the folds of theshroud onto its mighty horns, it tossed the creature back over its massiveshoulders behind it. The shadowed Lethifold was thrown into the branches of alarge tree, and Anna, frightened, and not realizing what her father was tryingto do, immediately moved to escape. She quickly crawled higher into thebranches of the tree and around to the back facing the woods. She froze there,hoping the darkness of the tree’s canopy would conceal her. The bull patronuswas already heading back to its creator, back to Anna’s father; she was safe. Annaslid down the tree to the warm littered ground, and quickly disappeared intothe forest.

Mister Grayson was screaming,“NO! NOOOOO!!! Anna, come back! Don’t take her! Don’t takeher from me! No! No! No!!!” The man sank to his knees in utter despair. “Victoria, forgive me! It’s taken her. It’s taken ourbaby. No!!!” He fell forward against the edge of the enormous hole overlookingthe dark grounds of the estate, his cries echoing into the night.“Nooooooooooo!”