Illusions

"What do you mean she can't meet me today?" Chris's perfectly calm demeanour cracked a little bit and there was a flicker of frustration and anger in her voice.

"I am truly sorry to inform you this, Lady Christina. But her Majesty doesn't feel well," Gweneth said looking apologetic.

It was middle of the day and Gweneth had come with a servant to give Chris her lunch, a few new set of clothes and to inform her that Queen Vasilisa was unwell and she couldn't meet Chris that day. Because apparently, she was not feeling well.

'I am asking her to talk to me not to fight me,' Chris thought fuming. But looking at Gweneth, she calmly said, "Fine. But please inform me when she feels well to talk. I don't have the luxury of wasting time."

"Of course, sorry again, Lady Christina," Gweneth nodded looking scandalous.

"And please, call me either Christina or Miss Norton," Chris said impatiently.

"Oh yes," Gweneth gave an embarrassed smile. "And call us if you need anything else."

Chris gave a nod and Gweneth with the servant exited the room. For the next several minutes Chris glared around the room feeling utterly frustrated and useless. She even punched the bed corner and cursed as her fist made contact with the hardwood. Grumbling she sat down and stare at her fist, where purple bruises were forming. There was no way she will sit around while Malgino and Riddle were killing people outside. Just because she was safe for now, doesn't mean she will always have that comfort. Sooner or later They were coming for her and she needed to be prepared for anything. Also now, there was someone inside this palace, who tried to sneak inside her room, so she needed to take the risk, no matter the consequences. Chris made her mind and was about to get started on the work when her stomach growled loudly.

"Ugh, I need food," groaning Chris sat down to eat the food the servant left. Surprisingly, all the food she had eaten in that vampire castle, was either fruits or vegetables. Chris was definitely not one of the complaining people but it just struck her as an odd thing. After eating Chris changed her clothes and took out a bundle of cloth from her bag. She delicately unwrapped the cloth and stared at the thing inside it. A wand. Dumbledore's wand. After a moment of hesitation, Chris picked it up. Dumbledore's wand felt a lot lighter in her hands, as she was very used to her own heavy wand by now. Dumbledore's wand gave Chris a foreign feeling, she had used her friends' wands before but nothing felt like this. It was a connecting yet disconnecting feeling, the wand was unfamiliar in her hands but she felt as if the wand knew her. Chris hadn't used Dumbledore's wand till now, she kept telling herself that she will use it when it will be absolutely necessary, but deep down she knew she was just dreading the feeling of using a wand which was once owned by the greatest wizard of all time and now he was gone. She realised how uncertain life could be, one second you could be standing on the top of the world and the next second you could toppling over, falling on the ground hard, completely broken.

Chris took a deep breath and pushed the ominous feelings aside, she needed to focus. Time to test the new wand. Chris remembered the time when Ollivander tested the Triwizard Champions' wands and gave the new wand a flick. Several things happened at once, a few objects in the room flew up the air, colourful flowers bloomed all around the floor and the furniture, the candles lit up and started to burn brightly. And instantly Chris felt more connected to the wand.

"The wand chooses the master, Miss Norton," Ollivander's voice rang in Chris's head.

Chris brushed her hand over the wand. If her memory served right then it was made of elder wood but she didn't know much about the core. Though she was certain that the wand was powerful, it was pushing Chris to use her magic to a great extend. Dumbledore had mentioned that with this wand he was able to make himself invisible, so it was a perfect time to use its powers.

Chris held the wand over her head and tapped twice, a cool sensation ran through her whole body. Then she stepped in front of the mirror and there was nothing. She was completely invisible. She looked down at her hands and after a minute of concentration she could barely make out the outline of her hands.

"Perfect," grinning Chris slowly stepped out of the room and locked the door behind.

Time for some undetectable exploration of ancient Vampire Castle.

***

Miles away, under the delusion spell, Luna was slowly making her way towards a small village, leaving Ginny and Colin in the tent, which was deep inside the forest. But she had barely entered the village when an unnatural chill, a descending mist and a sudden darkening of the skies made her freeze where she stood.

"Dementors," Luna very quietly and slowly let out her breath. Looking around she forced herself to walk again. But the more she progressed ahead her mind started to become fuzzy with dark and sad thoughts. Luna shivered, and finally against her better judgment she pointed her wand out and muttered, "Expecto Petronum."

A beautiful sliver hare burst out from the tip of her wand and sprinted ahead of her chasing the dark hooded dementors away from her path. Luna quickly collected the food from a nearby shop under the protection of her Patronus and hastily ran back into the forest.

"We need to move," Luna said as soon as she reached the camp.

Colin was sitting outside the tent and hearing Luna's voice Ginny came out. They both were still a little pale and weak, and their injuries hadn't healed entirely.

"Did someone see you?" Ginny asked urgently drawing her wand.

"No, but there are dementors in the village and I cast my Patronus. My guess is there are other spies here, so it's a matter of time before someone informs Malgino's minions or the death eaters," Luna explained quickly. "I brought a lot of food. We should have no problem living in the woods for a while. We need to get away from towns and villages."

"Alright," Colin got up at once and started packing their stuff. "Should we use my portkey?"

"No, we cant travel by portkey considering Ginny and your condition," Luna responded. "You guys aren't ready to use any kind of thing like that. We have to move on foot for now. But I have a plan for later."

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To be continued. . .