A/N: I'm almost done, there's just one more part after this 
^_^ Well, I don't have much to say except that barely 
anyone's reviewing and it's making me rather sad *sigh* 
Sorry, I'm just not in a happy mood anyways. C'est la vie, I 
don't feel like typing anymore so...enjoy!!! Wait, if anyone 
wants to talk tell me and I'll email you, I love to 
talk...heh...*ahem*





Hermione sat on her bed, her thoughts all colliding at once. 
She absently flipped through a text, but found that she just 
didn't feel like thinking about work now. Don't feel guilty, she 
told herself, He'll get over it, you two always have these silly 
quarrels. "This is different," she sighed aloud, shoving the 
book under her bed.

Chera stretched her wings and let out a yawn. 

"You be quiet," Hermione said crossly, covering the Pegasus 
with a thick blanket,

The air was sticky and heavy, and all she wanted was to sleep, 
but something just wasn't letting her. It was not until many 
hours later that Hermione finally drifted off to sleep, to dreams 
that were troubled and fretful.







"How d'you like that, eh Harry?" said Ron, "I save her life, and 
she just goes on about how horrible I am." 

"Mmm..." mumbled Harry.

They pushed open the door to the library and walked inside.

"Harry! Ron! Over here!" Hermione called, gesturing at them 
to come sit beside her. She was bent over a thick book, poring 
over its pages. "I was reading this book... ("big surprise," 
muttered Ron sarcastically,") ...and I found out that Pegasus 
are also known as winged horses and have an ancient magic 
known as rainbow storming." She glanced at them both and 
then continued, "People used to say it was rubbish, but now 
it's proven that Pegasus can make color wherever they go."

"Like when we were on the ice?" asked Harry sharply, "And it 
was changing colors? That was from the Pegasus?"

Hermione nodded solemnly. 

"So how does this help?" asked Ron. He kept looking at the 
ground, not wanting to meet Hermione's stare.

"Well, that's just it," she said, her voice frustrated, "I'm not 
sure. Harpies aren't stupid, and they'll have all sorts of 
enchantments on the Pegasus. I think they even enchant the 
ice so the Pegasus don't sprout those claws and all," she 
looked a bit shaken from recalling the memory, "All the 
Pegasus I saw were still colorful, and most had wings."

The sky outside was clear but there was the distant rumbling 
of thunder. Rain was sliding steadily down the glass windows. 
Hermione sighed and closed the book silently. "I'm going down 
to the lake to see something," she said hastily.

"Hermione..." Ron started.
"What?" said Hermione, her eyes flashing.

"Give it up," said Ron steadily, "Just give it up." He turned 
around and walked slowly out of the library.

Rain was tapping down rhythmically on the ice, making it 
almost impossible to walk. Hermione sneezed as she 
continuously tapped on the ice with her wand, muttering 
spells. Harry stood with his hands in his pockets, shivering in 
the wind. The slight rain was quickly turning into a gale, and 
Hermione was showing no sign of relenting. 

"This makes no sense," she was saying furiously under her 
breath, "If I could only..."

"HERMIONE! LOOK OUT!" Screamed Harry. 

Hermione instinctively looked around and then opened her 
mouth in a silent shriek. She raced by Harry, grabbing him by 
the arm, and they both knelt down behind a tree. Hermione 
peered out cautiously.

A Harpy was circling above them. It was the most grotesque 
thing either had ever seen. It had long, beating wings that 
were charred and brown. Its talons were black and splotchy, 
and its head was that of a woman, with elongated, pointed 
fangs, the beak of a bird, and deep, black eyes. She glanced 
about and then swooped down towards the ice. Her voice was 
low and raspy as she recited some sort of charm. The ice 
turned a sickly sort of brown and the Harpy landed on it. As 
she rose into the air again, a single Pegasus was clutched in 
her talons. It looked scared and helpless as it flailed about in 
the air.

"We have to save it," Hermione gasped.

"There's nothing we can do for that one," said Harry sadly.

"What do you mean? She's going to kill it!"

"We have to get out of here," said Harry feverishly, "When I 
say run, run."

The Harpy landed nearby, dropping the Pegasus roughly on the 
ground. She glanced in all directions and then lowered her 
head.

"RUN!"

Neither of them had ever moved so quickly in their life. They 
raced past the harpy, through the forest, up the stone steps 
and slammed the door behind them. Hermione could feel her 
chest rising and falling rapidly as she leaned against the heavy 
door.

"Didn't know you could move that fast," said Harry.

"I wasn't running on my feet," gasped Hermione, "I was 
running on fear."







The sun through its reflection on the floor, casting everything 
into its shadow. The rain was still softly tapping against the 
roof, and Chera kept pawing at the window and ramming it 
with her head. She seemed very frustrated.

Harry and Ron were playing chess, and Hermione was 
desperately reading every book she could lay her hands on.

"This is so bloody impossible!" she snapped, slamming shut 
yet another book, "Stop that, you'll give yourself a headache," 
she added more softly, carrying Chera over to a chair. The 
little Pegasus glared at her and let out a low whine. 

"What's wrong with her?" asked Harry, as his knight was taken 
very forcefully.

"I don't know, she's acting really odd," said Hermione, as 
Chera banged her head into the window again. She let out an 
indignant snort and growled. "Honestly, I think she's going 
mad," Hermione said fretfully.

"Checkmate," said Ron. He was carefully ignoring everything 
Hermione said.

"Damn," sighed Harry, "Hey Hermione, find anything yet?"

"No, but I will..." Hermione sighed. She flipped to the next 
page and let out a triumphant hoot. She slammed her fist on 
the paper, as both Harry and Ron bent over and began to 
read.

The Harpy's deadly stare will render all who look in its eyes 
powerless. The victim will be frozen in a tomb of ice if it looks 
at the Harpy for more then thirty seconds. Harpies have no 
visible weakness and are considered immortal. Their one 
weakness lies in the Pegasus, causing them to freeze all 
Pegasus before birth, and later to eat and kill them.


"So that's why I felt so cold and rigid when that Harpy 

looked at me," said Hermione pensively, "That's why all 

the Pegasus were in ice..."


"But how could a Pegasus possibly be stronger then a Harpy?" 
said Harry.

Chera let out another growl and slammed herself against the 
window. Hermione looked quite nettled and turned the other 
way. "I wish I knew," she said slowly.

The rain had turned to a drizzle and the sky was a bright blue. 
Hermione walked to the window and looked outside. Chera 
nipped her and let out a squeal of frustration. "Ouch! What's 
gotten into you?" said Hermione.

The Pegasus threw back her head and began to paw at the 
window with her hooves.

"You can't go out there," said Hermione sternly, "It's too 
risky."

"If you don't take risks, then life's just not worth it," said Ron 
quietly.

Hermione turned around and faced him, "Do you want to go 
out there and face those Harpies sometime, Ron? Because if 
you do, then I have no problem with it."

Ron glowered at her and said softly, "Fine, let's go."

Hermione looked taken aback. She was torn between storming 
outside and proving to Ron how brave she was, or just 
laughing it off, saying she was kidding...

"You're on," said Hermione, her eyes narrowing.







"Look at that..." said Harry, blinking up at the sky, "A rainbow. 
Storm must be over."

"It's lovely," said Hermione, stopping to look at it. Chera was 
whining loudly and kept struggling to get out of her grip. 

Ron was still walking, he didn't want to look at some stupid 
rainbow...

"Ron! Get over here!" Harry said shakily. Ron sighed and then 
trudged back over to them. He stopped dead in his tracks.

Loads of Harpies were circling around the rainbow. Their talons 
were skimming its surface and sleek bolts of lightning were 
coming from their claws. The rainbow began to flicker in the 
sky as if it was fading away. 

"What's going on?" said Hermione tremulously. Chera began to 
squeak loudly.

None of them knew what to do, but they all knew one thing: 
the rainbow couldn't go out.

"Hey you!" He waved his arms in the air.

Hermione looked shocked at first but she caught on quickly, 
"Really, you're all scared of those little Pegasus? That's just 
pathetic."

The Harpies glanced at them and Ron felt his stomach seize up 
with cold. He shut his eyes tightly, "Right, what's going on?"

One of them flew closer to Harry, who looked terrified. He 
glared at it and asked shakily, "Why are you making the 
rainbow go out?"

"That is not for you to know," answered the Harpy in her 
raspy, rough voice. She had a thick accent, and sounded 
course and nasty.

"But it is for us to know," said Hermione hotly, her eyes tightly 
shut, "You're treacherous, horrible creatures, and you don't 
give a damn about anyone but yourself. You're killing those 
Pegasus not because you're hungry, but because you're afraid. 
So tell me, why are you afraid of a rainbow as well? Does 
anything pure and good scare you?" 

The Harpy glared at her, then snapped her beak several times, 
"Foolish child, do not speak of that which you do not 
understand. I could kill you now, if I wished to."

"But you wouldn't. You're not as strong as you pretend to be, 
and we all know your weakness," snapped Harry.

The Harpy let out a low hiss as she flew back to the rainbow. It 
began to flicker more violently, and Hermione saw it blacken at 
the edges. There was no room for black in a rainbow...

"We can't let it go out," said Ron stubbornly. He took a step 
forward, swallowed deeply and then walked onto the ice, 
beneath the Harpies. 

"Ron, don't do it!" gasped Hermione.

"Hermione, I have nothing left to lose," he said shortly, 
"Nothing except my life."

To be continued...