Children of the Legends. 02

Albus Dumbledore faced four of his students across the kitchen table at Grimmauld Place. Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Luna were watching him intently. "I hardly know where to begin to explain to you what is happening. Today's events began with an innocent question from you, Ginevra, about having a baby with Harry." Luna's face lit up.

"Oh, I didn't know you were having Harry's baby, Ginevra, congratulations." Ginny and Harry looked suitably embarrassed.

"Er… No, I'm not pregnant, Luna. It was just an idea I had." Luna frowned before Dumbledore got the conversation back on track.

"We went to a place that I know only as The Library, Miss Granger can tell you more of that later. While there we were told that Hermione is in fact a Daughter of Aspartea." He paused and with a wave of his wand produced four identical stacks of books. Each consisting of four volumes and two rolls of parchment. "These are copies of rare texts. You will have to study them carefully. To that end you will not be returning to Hogwarts this year. You will be taken to a secret location where your mission will be explained and you will receive the required training. In case you feel that you are being coerced you will have an opportunity to withdraw. All I ask of you now is to be patient and to trust in anything you are told. I would like the four of you to be isolated until tomorrow. You will stay in the same room tonight, I'm sure I can trust you three ladies not to molest Harry…" he chuckled, "without his consent at least. There will be an Auror stationed outside your door. When you need to visit the bathroom another Auror will escort you. You may begin by reading the smaller of the two parchments and volume one of the books. Talk freely among yourselves about what you read."

"What is a Daughter of Aspartea, Professor? If this concerns Hermione, why are we here?" asked Ginny.

"Because you and Luna are also Daughters of Aspartea, Miss Weasley. It's explained in volume one better than I could explain it."

"And me," asked Harry, "why am I here? I'm guessing I'm not physically qualified to be one of these daughters? Is it because of the prophesy?"

"This goes way, way beyond the prophesy, Harry. You are the male equivalent of the Daughters. You are a Son of Myrdeo. The presence of you and three Daughters of Aspartea; sets in train events that are at the same time exciting, exceedingly dangerous, and of vital importance. Now you have enough to take in, I suggest you retire and begin volume one."

"My room, girls, it's by far the biggest. Bring your things and let's meet there in ten minutes. Dobby!" Harry's free, but devoted house elf appeared.

"Yes, Harry, what do you need?" The great saucer eyes blinked nervously.

"Three more beds in my room, Dobby. Also protect the room against eavesdroppers please."

"Er… easdrippers, Harry?" the little elf asked nervously.

"Outside listeners, Dobby. I'm sure elfin protection is better than ours." Harry knew how the elf loved flattery.

"Outside listeners? Oh… Harry Potter means Nosey Parkers!" They all laughed.

"Absolutely correct Dobby. Let's go girls, we're not going to get any answers here." He showed the girls to his room. By the time they got there, Dobby had already supplied the beds.

An hour later Harry, Ginny and Luna were sitting on their beds engrossed in the books they were reading. Hermione was at the table with all the books and parchments open, busily flitting from one to the other, checking this, cross-referencing that. They were suddenly aware of raised voices, notably Ron's, outside the door. "Tonks, I'm telling you to get out of the way. I'm going in to find out what the hell is going on! If you don't move, I'll move you!" I wouldn't try it if I were you Ron, Harry thought.

"Don't even think about it Ron," said Tonks gently, "I don't want to have to hurt you. Please calm down. I'm sure everything will be explained soon."

"Not enough Tonks, I want answers now!" Harry opened the door,

"It's okay Tonks; let him in for five minutes. I'll be responsible. Come in Ron." Ron closed the door and did not stand on ceremony.

"Harry, what the hell is happening here? All of a sudden everyone has their knickers in a twist and the place is in uproar. Nobody will say word one to me or the twins. So what is it all about?" He noticed the extra beds, looked around at the girls. "Please don't tell me that the three of you are sleeping in here with him. I don't fucking believe this. I want to know what's happening, and I want to know now! So somebody had better start talking." All eyes went to Harry.

"Okay Ron, I'll tell you what I can, which I'm afraid is not a lot. When Ginny made her suggestion this afternoon, it gave Dumbledore an idea and he went off to do some research and he took Hermione with him. When they came back he was very… anxious about something. That was when, as you know, things got a little crazy. I can't tell you any details because I don't know any, but apparently it's of vital importance. Dumbledore insisted that the four of us go into isolation. Again we don't know why. That's as much as we know." Ron turned to Hermione.

"So where did he take you?"

"I'm sorry, Ron, I can't tell you because I don't know. All I do know is that it was an immense library. We did some research and came back here."

"What research?"

"Sorry again, Ron, I can't tell you that. I haven't even told these three. That's the way Dumbledore wants it. I'm sorry. And yes, we have to sleep in here. Not that we'll be sleeping much." Seeing Ron's head swivel to Harry, she hastened to continue, "I mean that we have a lot of reading to do, not…" she trailed off to an embarrassed silence.

"I'm afraid that will have to do for now Ron, there's nothing more we can tell you." Said Harry, I know it must be frustrating but…"

"It's just as bad for us." Ginny said, kissing her brothers cheek. "We'll try to get Dumbledore to keep you more informed. You'd better go now before you get Tonks into trouble. We'll see you soon." She didn't know it then, but she was wrong. A very unhappy Ron left the room.

"Well," said Harry, "I don't know about you three, but that broke my concentration, how about we get some refreshments and talk for a while about what we've been reading? Dobby!"

They settled around the table with drinks and sandwiches. After a few minutes small talk Harry said,

"Okay, who wants to begin?" Luna got in first.

"I will. I have been reading about Aspartea. According to legend she was the first witch. She was born in a small Greek village long before the rise of what we call the Ancient Greek civilisation. The story goes that at about eight years of age, she wandered away from her village and got lost in the nearby forest. Personally, I think she may have been looking for a Sharp-Toothed Breedlup. They live in that region. She was missing for about a year and had been given up for dead. One day a man came across her in the forest enveloped in a golden light. The light disappeared and she asked the man to take her home."

"Her parents were, of course, very happy to see her. Although she told nobody, it soon became obvious to her family that she had changed. She now had Magic. How and where she obtained it, to this day, nobody knows. Word eventually got out about her abilities. The local warlord tried to take her when she was about fourteen, but she was protected by her family and her village. There was a confrontation in the centre of the village where he demanded the girl be brought to him. The villagers refused, so he cut the throat of another young girl. Aspartea came to stand in front of the man. A single tear came to her eye when she saw the body of the girl. Aspartea wiped the tear with her thumb, walked to the man and drew her thumb across his forehead. Seconds later he collapsed in agony and died. She then knelt beside the body of the girl and proclaimed that this was her daughter. The first Daughter of Aspartea. She picked up the body and walked into the forest and has never been seen since. There is no record of Aspartea's death, so perhaps she is still alive." She paused, "That's as far as I have gone up to now."

Hermione smiled in delight, "So the first witch was Muggle born. Hooray for me! I want to be the one to give Voldemort that particular bit of information. He'll go nuts."

"He's already nuts, Hermione. I'd like to see that too, so don't tell him unless I'm there. Ginny, what have you been reading about?" Looking at her he suddenly noticed that she was very pale. "Ginny are you okay?"

"Not really, Harry. I have been reading about Inchostia and I'm scared shitless." She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Inchostia is the final battle between the forces of dark magic and… well, us. It is going to be hell on earth." She picked up a parchment, "Quote, Blood will flow like rivers. Few will survive, unquote. Apparently the battle will take place when three Daughters of Aspartea and one or more Sons of Myrdeo combine to defeat evil. It seems that we are the first combination like that to occur. I don't know how I came to be one of these Daughters but I wish to hell I wasn't."

"I've been reading about that, Ginny." Hermione said, "Like me and Luna, you were chosen at the moment of birth, because your spirit was pure, bold, honest and untainted by evil. You might think that all babies at birth are like that, but it seems that is not the case. Voldemort or Bellatrix would be good examples; even at birth their souls would have been tainted. The decision is made by Aspartea herself, so it would seem that she is alive. It seems that the four of us are also something else. We are Proto-Eternals. I haven't finished my reading yet but it seems that the Eternals are beings, like a council, who watch over the Magical World. Being a Proto-Eternal means that we have the potential, and at this moment, only the potential, to become Eternals. There have been thousands of Proto-Eternals over the millennia, but perhaps only one in a thousand years goes on to become a full Eternal. And don't worry, Ginny, you're not alone, I'm scared too." Ginny grinned.

"That's good, for a moment I thought you were going to say everything will be alright. So Harry who is Myrdeo?"

Harry rubbed his eyes; the fatigue was beginning to mount. "Okay, but I'll keep it brief and then we should turn in. Myrdeo was, or is, an ancient, very powerful wizard. I can see a difference between him and Aspartea in that the Sons of Myrdeo are in his direct bloodline, not chosen as the daughters are. The most famous of the sons was Merlin, the one we invoke a lot; you know the one, he of the beard and sweaty Y-Fronts. The research suggests that any offspring of a Son of Myrdeo and a Daughter of Aspartea would be a very powerful magician. Merlin was the last product of such a union. Now the elements are in place for another."

"So my idea of this afternoon was a good one." Said Ginny.

"So it would seem, but the question is this. Is this the right time?"

"And who with?" this came from Luna. Ginny gave her a dirty look.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, if Hermione and I are Daughters of Aspartea too. It could be anyone of the three of us, or even all three of us. After all it might take some time for you to become pregnant. Three chances are better than one."

"That's true." Hermione joined the conversation.

"Forget it," said Ginny, "I'm a Weasley; we don't have a problem with fertility."

"Excuse me ladies but this is my offspring too. Stop talking as though I'm not here. Now let's get to bed."

"All of us Harry?" asked Luna mischievously. They all laughed.

"Shut it Luna, get to bed."

"Before we go to bed, Luna, what was that Sharp-Toothed thing you were talking about?" asked Ginny. Harry rolled his eyes at Ginny. You just had to ask, didn't you? He thought glumly.

"Breedlup. A Sharp-Toothed Breedlup. They are about the size of a large dog, a Labrador for instance. As the name suggests it has very sharp incisors, far sharper than anything man could make. The strangest thing is that it has five legs. It's not clear why, as the fifth leg doesn't reach the ground. They are gentle creatures and if befriended they will donate teeth for those need something sharp. Like you Harry, if say, you wanted to shave and didn't have a razor or Hermione when she..." Harry wasn't about to let Luna go any further. He didn't want to know why Hermione might need a razor.

"Thanks for that, Luna. Now, please lets get some sleep. I have a feeling we're going to need it."