POV Hermione Jean Granger
The girl stood on the hillside next to the excavation pit and watched as her friend was led down a meter-wide stone path that led to the center of a large man-made pit that had a wide stone column rising from the bottom and ending in a wide, perfectly circular circle with a writing in the center.
Hermione had never seen a book that talked about anything like this, and she didn't understand what this strange structure could be for, but unfortunately she hadn't had time to ask questions before, so she just watched as Harry walked barefoot across the smooth stone, wearing only a white shirt and pants. He was accompanied by a very friendly and kind girl in a simple white and red robe, who asked to be addressed only by her first name, Maya. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a low ponytail that fell below her shoulder blades, and two gold bells in her hair complemented her graceful walk with a melodious chime.
Hermione could see that Harry was nervous, but he was trying to control himself, but she suspected that his friend was nervous not only because of the upcoming action, but also because Maya took his hand and led him all the way to the font without letting go, smiling softly at him. Hermione smiled herself: he was in love, he had told her how he felt about his Arletus, who was also watching him, but still blushed at the attention of another girl! Those boys!
Hermione glanced to her right and then to her left, and there were two very handsome, very attractive young men standing next to her, the mere sight of which made most of the local men cringe, and the women — on the other hand — immediately put on goofy smiles, some even trying to flirt with Cain or Alliel.
It was especially funny when their friends, who looked to be in their early twenties, were hit on by women who were well past the age when it was time to have grandchildren. Some of them, characteristically, Cain even reciprocated, but Hermione tried not to interfere with his amusement, only asking him not to kill any of these ladies and not to give her any problems, and otherwise — he was a reasonable adult, so let him have fun as he wanted.
Alliel tried to "noodle", but Cain just laughed and went on another "date". To the demon's credit (he can be placed in this category of creatures, as demons are called a variety of creatures, the same Nanao is called a "demon cat"), he really does not cause any problems, and sometimes even brings interesting books on magic that he was given to read by another "friend".
Here's Harry lowering himself into the fountain and freezing in the clear water. What Maya said to him was inaudible, but the words made his friend nod briefly and visibly relax in the water. The sound of the flute came as a surprise to Hermione and she immediately whipped her head around to find the source of the sound. Gently touching the girl's arm, Alliel pointed to Nanao, who was comfortably perched on a thick branch (was it there?), quietly continuing to draw a melody from her instrument. Maya began to dance, immediately drawing the attention of the onlookers back to her. As if by magic, a strange staff of bells appeared in her hand, the ringing of which crowned each "verse" of her dance.
From time to time, another unusual instrument, which even the girl's companions did not see, rang out for a long time. It seemed that there was nothing special in the girl's dance: no acrobatics, no cleverly complex movements or supports (of course, she danced without a partner), just a lot of spinning, stomping, and swinging of the hands. Even so, it was almost impossible to take your eyes off the girl — her movements were mesmerizing, she was like a bird performing its ancient dance.
Hermione didn't even notice when the clouds parted and the grounds were illuminated by the rays of the gentle sun, but she caught the moment when the red circle embroidered on Mai's clothes turned into a golden shining sun and the girl's figure was surrounded by a halo of soft light. The girl caught the movement, and when she looked at Alliel, she was surprised — the man put his hand to his heart and bowed his head, and when she shifted her gaze to the other side, she saw a repeat of the image.
Not realizing to whom her knights were bowing, the girl turned back to the platform to put her hands over her mouth again. Since the platform and the font were lower than the spot where the girl and her companions were standing, she could clearly see that the water in the font, previously clear, had now turned into an impenetrable liquid gold, glowing softly. Obeying a gesture (or a word?), Harry dipped his head into the liquid gold and disappeared from sight. Hermione thought her heart would stop from the experience, but her friend soon reappeared, very much alive.
The dance resumed, and continued for some time, while the girl noticed that the sunlight gradually became... ordinary, and the glow around the dancer's figure disappeared, and the water in the fountain returned to its usual state.
Hermione later found out what this strange ritual was for, and also why her friend had lost the need for glasses, and why the scar on his forehead was almost invisible.
A few hours later, she witnessed what could be called the "Game of Shadows", or simply and more familiarly, "Dark Magic". She watched as the candles were lit not with the usual fire, but with a blob of purple... something, and they turned into indistinct shadows, deep in their unnatural darkness.
Hermione watched as Afiri, her first real friend, slaughtered the giant Komodo Varan with her own hand, a black dagger very similar to those made by the first humans from volcanic glass, and fed the "shadows" their blood and flesh. She felt the dry cold on her skin, and her heart sank at the image the Egyptian woman had been transformed into during the ritual — a black-skinned, white-haired, naked woman wearing a high golden crown cap and many gold ornaments. And she, like the other few witnesses, heard the inhuman roar of a strange evil shadow with fiery red eyes, trying to escape from the white-glowing ring in the center of which Harry stood.
The girl was even a little jealous of how strong and confident her friend had looked when she had severed the evil ghost's head with one swing of her sickle weapon, after which it had been pulled into Hermione's friend. She was assured that nothing bad would happen to the guy, but she didn't believe it right away, and so Afiri explained in detail what the girl had done at the request of her future husband, and then Hermione was really impressed. And she also had new questions and doubts, which she was no longer in a hurry to reveal to her friends or teachers — not after what had happened to her...