Chapter 1 - The Glass Vile

Disclaimer: all characters except Jerica are owned by JK Rowling.

Heavy smoke hung over the dense atmosphere, the insides of the room virtually invisible. What could be slightly seen was a large black cauldron, placed in the center of the room.

Smoke poured out in whisps over the sides of the cauldron, covering the ground and filling the air. A small figure stood anxiously over her creation, pouring in more ingredients and stirring the mixture constantly.

The tiny witch turned to shelves that sat nailed to the wooden walls of the room and gingerly picked up a small glass vile connected to a long, silver chain. At the top of the cork in the vile was a metal figure. A small, shapely rose.

She ran her fingers delicately down the glass vile, scraping them against the metal rose. She pulled out the cork and walked back towards her cauldron.

The smoke had turned a deep red color, and the mixture inside the cauldron had begun to bubble and evaporate. The witch leaned over with the vile, scooping up the evaporated red mist.

She quickly placed the cork back into the vile, and stood back to admire it.

Blood red mist swirled continually and tiny beads of red liquid began to form along the inside of the glass.

The witch turned the vile over and over again in her old hands, admiring her hard work. Then she held the vile between her middle finger and thumb, exposing the glass. She looked up towards the tiny window near the ceiling where no light shone through.

The tiny witch grabbed her small wooden stool and placed it under the window, climbing up on it. She grasped the vile between her two fingers and carefully held it up to the window pane.

Suddenly, a tiny glint of sunlight shot through the window. It was immediately followed by hundreds of tiny more streaks of light, and eventually the window was filled.

The tiny glass vile heated up through the light, and began to glow a deep red color. The tiny witch stepped off her stool and took another look at the vile.

The red mist had begun to swirl faster and faster, creating a small hurricane of mist. The witch began to slowly chant, casting a deep spell over the tiny vile of mist.

"This vile holds the key, and spreads what there should more be, red mist inclosed in glass, be weary of the power in this tiny mass, love and life for all there to see, as the power allows, so mote it be."

The vile started to glow brighter and brighter, until it was a deep red light filling the room and cascading the darkness. The tiny witch then placed the vile in a small black box, and set it on the highest of her shelves.

She knew, that in a hundred trice more years, the mist would be awoken.

~*~

Sunlight poured through the small window and crept up the wooden walls of the small room. The room had been kept in it's origional state, never once cleaned nor swept.

Preserving had been a technique mastered by the keeper of the old house.

Jerica ran her hands along the small wooden table along the back side of the wall. Her hand removed years of caked dust that she casually brushed off on her faded blue jeans.

A large black cauldron sat unused in the back corner, along with a shabby looking broom and ancient candlestick. Nothing but a wooden chair sat in the center of the room, and everything was covered in thick dust.

Jerica glanced up at the tall ceiling. The entire room was wood, including the ceiling. Holes bore into the oak wood and termites had eaten away part of the left wall.

She looked over at the tall shelves that sat nailed to the back wall behind the table. They were filled with bottles full of potions and weird ingredients plus many boxes full of herbs and spices. The room had once been a kitchen as well as a potion room.

Dried flowers sat shriveled up in a small glass vase on the top shelf. But one of the flowers was alive and fresh looking. Intrigued as to how a flower could still be alive after it had been locked inside a room for over 50 years, Jerica pulled a tiny wooden stool against the shelves and climbed up on it, standing tall and reaching up to get the flower.

Her hand brushed a small box and she carefully grabbed it, bringing it down closer to her face. The box was gray and worn. She blew on the cover and dust scattered out in front of her. Lifting off the cover gently, she revealed what it held inside.

The tiny glass vile shone dimly. Faint red light streaked out from the dust covered glass as Jerica lifted the vile from the box. Setting the box carefully on the table, she skimmed her fingertips over the metal rose on the cork incasing the mist.

Entranced by the glowing mist inside the glass, Jerica pulled the cork off of the vile slightly.

A loud creak in the floorboards stopped her and she knew her grandmother was returning upstairs. She hurriedly pushed the cork back into the vile and placed it in the box, shoving it into her jacket.

As she left, a tiny bit of blood red mist floated lazily in the air and then disapeered.

~*~