Harry Potter and the Sorceress of the Stars

Barely had the final words of the spell escaped their lips than the very air around them seemed to tremble. The atmosphere was becoming so heavy and hot that the very act of breathing was growing painful…

At first, nothing else seemed to happen…

Until two enormous yellow eyes blinked into existence, appearing out of thin air. Then, little by little, the rest of the beast shimmered into existence; fearsome and gigantic, yet illusory and slightly translucent, as if its very being had been spun from gossamer. The creature's gaze exuded a sort of malevolent intelligence— which was surprising, since Dragonkin were not known for being especially smart…

Oleandra and company had summoned a magical projection of a Lindworm.

Also known as Lindorm, Lindwurm or Lindwyrm— this beast was a flighted subspecies of the Dragon, possessing an elongated serpentine body that gave it the appearance of a gigantic winged snake. And strangely enough, the Sigil of the Helm of Terror shone on its brow— just like the beast that had nearly swallowed them whole two years ago.

Indeed, Oleandra and company had encountered a gigantic specimen of Lindworm during their adventures in Nidavellir… but why was this projection also branded with the Sigil of the Helm of Terror? Was it because this projection was copying the exact same Lindworm that Oleandra had once met? Was it just a coincidence, or was there something else at play that she was missing?

At any rate, no matter how impressive it was, this was nothing but a pale imitation of the real thing— a true monster.

"It's attacking!" Tracey shouted, her eyes widening in fear.

Voldemort's Transfigured snake reared its head, baring its fangs, but the magical construct seemed somehow afraid of the Lindworm's projection, even though it was not truly alive…

"Attack them!" Oleandra heard Voldemort hissing at the snake. "Kill them, eviscerate them!"

But his snake hesitated for too long.

The illusory Lindworm sprang first; and as it advanced, its sharp claws dug deep grooves into the black marble floor, while its dorsal crest sliced open the ceiling, showering the battlefield with debris. In a flash, the Lindworm was upon the gigantic snake, and before anyone knew it, it had severed the snake's spine, ridding it of its unlife.

The enchantment was broken, and the gigantic serpent turned back into the fountain's golden debris that it had previously been.

Tongue flickering, the Lindworm then turned its hungry gaze towards Voldemort.

He hurled Curses upon advanced Curses at its enormous body, but they either glanced off its translucent hide or passed through its body harmlessly; the projection literally could not be stopped. And as the illusory beast opened its maw, ready to swallow him whole, Voldemort decided that he had finally had enough; turning on the spot, he Disapparated.

It was over, they had actually won…!

"Oleandra, why is it looking at us like that?" Tracey whispered. "It's done its job, so why isn't it going away?"

Oleandra, Tracey and Daphne had summoned the Lindworm's projection to rid them of Voldemort. 'Disappear, and let the runes give way to the Dragon of the Earth, so that it may rid us of the Being of Darkness! LINDWORM!' had been the exact wording.

In theory, the Lindworm's projection was supposed to Vanish once it had done its job— but for some reason, it was not disappearing into the ether. Its fury was not abating in the slightest; in fact, its anger seemed to be building up to ever greater heights…

The Lindworm roared furiously at its own summoners, whipping its long tail at them and smashing it into the Full Armour of Awe. The spell formation shook dangerously, the runes inscribed on the Book of the Stars' pages blinking on and off again ominously…

"The Armour of Awe can't take another hit like that," said Oleandra urgently. "We need to end the spell now!"

"But how?" Daphne shot back.

Oleandra closed her eyes to think, before quickly opening them back up again in shock. The runes Laukaz, Isaz, Naudhiz, Dagaz, Wunjo, Odala, Raidhu and Mannaz had gone dark in her mind palace— somehow, the Lindworm had eaten them in order to manifest itself!

"We can't," said Oleandra, still in shock. "The projection will remain until it has either used up all of its magic or killed its target— and since it hasn't killed Voldemort… I suppose it got mad and went after us instead…?"

The Lindworm was being sustained by their runic magic, but Oleandra couldn't just cancel her Aquamirror Spell to cut off its power just yet— the Aquamirror was also sustaining her protective armour magic, which would run out of power much faster than the projection would!

"The lifts," said Astoria, thinking on her feet. "We need to get back to the lifts— it won't be able to fit in there..."

The Lindworm roared again, the very sound of its cry making the girl's bones shake. In this cramped environment, its roars were being amplified to an almost unbearable level…

"The moment the Armour shatters, we'll make a run for it," said Daphne decisively. "Get ready…"

The Lindworm snaked towards them at lightning speed and attempted to sink its fangs into the protective bubble of the Full Armour of Awe, causing translucent cracks to appear in midair all around them…

CRACK!

"NOW!" Oleandra shouted.

All four of them bolted towards the lifts, without giving a second glance behind them, even as the Lindworm roared in fury. Astoria reached the lifts first, and she slammed her fist down on the down button with all of her might.

'Level one,' said the lift's cool female voice. 'Atrium.'

Astoria slashed open the lift's grille door with the Sword of the Lake, and dived through the opening, followed in quick succession by Oleandra, Tracey and Daphne. Without thinking too much about it, Astoria punched in the '9' button, and the lift slowly clattered into action…

And not a moment too soon.

The Lindworm slammed its head into the lift's enclosure, causing the surrounding wall and the lift's grille to cave in, but it was too late— Oleandra and company were already out of its reach, as the lift lowered them farther into the bowels of the earth…

Breathing heavily and with their hearts pounding, Oleandra and the others peered fearfully through the grille doors, staring back into the Lindworm's great big yellow eye as they descended. To Oleandra, it almost seemed like its reptilian features were distorted in frustration and fury— and perhaps it was only her imagination, but she felt like it had been staring specifically at her…