Chapter 4

Not wanting to cause any unnecessary confusion, the three didn't return to England for over a hundred years. When the time came, Luna didn't tell either one of them where she was going when she left that morning, but she was sure they would figure it out easily enough. Today was the day, it was the exact night, they had disappeared. She let out a shaky breath as she looked over the Hall of Prophecies. Soon she would see three of her friends that she hadn't seen in a very long time. She hoped they hadn't accidentally passed them by, but something told Luna not to worry. They would find each other someday.

"I thought you would be here." Harry materialized beside her, his clothing the only noise as he sat. "Hermione won't think this was smart and she won't like that we did this without her."

"We're more powerful anyway. There are things she hasn't learned yet."

Harry laughed softly. "And oh how that bothers her. You know, she Apparated seven times yesterday just to see if she could do it quietly?"

"I heard them." Luna brought a knee to her chest. "She's still thinking that it's about popping into a place. She doesn't understand that it's just sliding, instead."

"She'll learn. It took me nearly a hundred years to do it, after all."

"You were always the slow learner," Luna told him with a smile. "You can't help that you have all this magic and no idea how to use it."

Harry nudged her shoulder, laughing softly. "Funny, thanks." He looked at his watch. "We should be arriving at the Ministry about now."

"Give us time. We need to find the way here first."

"Yeah, that." Harry knelt down so he could look across the mass expanse of glowing glass orbs. "I wish we never came here. I mean, not now. Then."

"You would give up the past few thousand years, Harry? Everything you learned?"

"Yes," Harry said as the door opened and six very-familiar-looking teenagers walked in. "I would give up everything to have all of us together again."

Luna doubted Harry would have stayed close to all of them, but she chose not to voice that. Below them, a farmore inexperienced Harry ran through the shelves, looking for where Voldemort held Sirius Black hostage. A set-up that, if she wanted to admit it to herself, Luna should have seen coming. Her father had told her all sorts of stories about Voldemort manipulating people's emotions so they would do as he pleased. Why would Harry have been any different?

"Come on," Harry said, standing just as his other self reached the proper area. "We won't see anything else here. Let's find that damned room."

He remembered more about what happened than she did. He remembered sand digging its way into any hole it could find on his body before simply bursting. There hadn't been much pain, but he felt every bump on the road to the past. The sand seemed to muddle with his mind and body, creating what he became.

Luna knew watching that happen all over again was not going to be pleasant; she was glad Harry went after her to this place if only for moral support.

They settled into the Time Room and Luna gazed at the Bell Jar sitting in the center. Around them, the clocks ticked away the time and she settled herself against Harry's side. It was comfortable and, for a moment, she let herself forget why they were here. Harry's body was warm and comforting, a strong presence in this now-strange world.

"This is going to be strange," she said awhile after their counterparts left for the first time. They would be back, she knew, and she didn't want them to. It would be so easy to jump down and stop them, but Luna didn't remember seeing herself here. They had to stay silent.

"Probably," Harry agreed with her. "At least we can tell the others what happened. I'm sure, wherever they are, they're confused."

"Just like we were." Luna closed her eyes, letting out a soft breath. "Can you feel it?"

"The battle? Not yet. I feel my own anxiety, though. We probably just found the prophecy."

"That damned thing."

Harry laughed, pressing a kiss to the side of her head. "Yeah, that damned thing."

He tensed suddenly and Luna knew it was close to time. "Can you see what's going on?"

"No, and I really don't want to. I can feel it, though. Panic and worry all rolled into one, even when I'm experiencing it second-hand. Even more because I can't do anything about it." Harry stood and Luna almost whimpered at the loss of his warmth. "It feels like it took us forever to get back here, but I'm sure it won't be long now."

"I wouldn't mind watching that man run around with a baby's head again." Luna grinned, standing so she could lace their fingers together. "If he went with us…"

"He'd be experimented on wherever he was. We don't need to worry about him."

"Harry—"

"We don't need to worry about him." Harry lifted her hand, kissing her fingers. "We have enough to worry about. And if he does show up, I'll kill him myself."

Luna hesitated a moment before nodding. "If Ron were here, he might ask if that could be considered killing a child or an adult."

Harry laughed loudly, the sound echoing around the room. "That'd be Ron, yeah." He stopped abruptly then and pulled Luna closer. "Here we come."

Luna could hear the voices, feel her own magic, and knew he was telling the truth. They stood silent for a while before the door burst open and seven people tumbled inside. Six against one wasn't the best odds, but the battle went just as she remembered. Curses flew between them, people were knocked around, and then the stupid man simply tripped back, falling into the Bell Jar.

Her younger self didn't laugh, but Luna had to fight to hold back her amusement at the man screaming. Served him right, really. Her younger self was horrified, but Luna had lived long enough to know that Karma did exist to an extent. The man got what was coming to him.

He finally pulled out of the Jar and that's when things went crazy. He flailed around and all six of the younger wizards jumped back. Neville slammed into the shelves of Time Turners, all of them smashing around him. Ginny tripped directly into the Bell Jar, knocking it over so it and the sand from the Time Turners seemed to mold together.

Neville was wrapped in the sand first, his face full of open terror as he tried to struggle away. Ron ran toward him and tripped on a piece of a broken necklace. He fell right into the spot that used to hold Neville. In an instant, he was gone as well. Hermione screamed as the sand tracked up her legs, reaching out toward Harry. Harry, who could do nothing but struggle as the sand engulfed him.

Luna forced herself to look to where her other self stood, seemingly just standing there and accepting things. Her younger self closed her eyes as the sand, rather than swallowing her whole, almost caressed her. Luna gripped Harry's hand tighter, biting down on her lip. She looked then toward Ginny. The poor girl had tried to run away. The Death Eater was already gone and panic was clearly over Ginny's face as she screamed, the sand finally catching up to her. Then, she looked up, right at them. Luna stared straight into the eyes of Ginny Weasley before the girl disappeared, the explosion of dust and glitter the only thing left in her wake.

The Death Eaters arrived just as the air settled and the room fell dark once again. They looked around in confusion before disappearing down the hallway, yelling orders as they ran. One of them clearly shouted that the Ministry workers had arrived, then the hall went quiet.

"Well," Harry said, his hand squeezing hers tightly, "that wasn't what I expected."

It hit her then, something that she should have realized back in the 1200's when she first found Harry. "Harry… Voldemort is still alive. If you aren't there, who's going to stop him?"

triotriotrio

"Absolutely not!" Hermione pulled laundry off a line outside of their home in New Mexico. "It was dangerous enough going to England to see what happened, but now to return until Voldemort's gone? That's stupid." She roughly tossed a towel on top of the basket before lifting it. "What if the war goes on for years? Someone is going to notice that we're not aging. Not to mention we'll be missing three people."

"You know Luna and I are good at illusions. We'll just—"

"That's stupid and insane." Hermione marched into the small house the three of them shared. They were near a local college, so nobody questioned the three of them living together. "You can't simply conjure up our friends and go on as normal."

Harry followed her inside, Luna trailing a bit behind them. "So you're just going to let Voldemort take over Britain while you sit here and do laundry?"

"Of course not." Hermione dropped the basket by the couch. "We're going to kill Voldemort before he has a chance to truly take over. We'll make excuses for the other three."

"We could just say they died," Luna said softly, already knowing what both would say to that.

"No," Harry said, his voice firm. "We are not going to kill them off just to make things easier on ourselevs. Mrs. Weasley would be devastated that she lost Ginny and Ron in one go."

Hermione had been staring at Luna since the suggestion and Luna could just about see the wheels turning in her head. This is why she liked Hermione sometimes. The girl could think through what might seem to be a strange idea and see the merit behind it.

"It might work. No, Harry, wait. Mrs. Weasley is going to lose them either way. If you do conjure them up, you can't just keep it going after the war. It would take too much from you." Hermione smiled a little sadly. "Unless we find them soon, she'll lose them anyway. Especially if we still don't age and need to leave."

Harry scowled at both of them. "We are not letting them just die. Look, I consented on the not seeing my parents or being near England when they were alive, but I won't budge on this. You both owe me for missing out on what you had."

Luna would not bow her head in shame like Hermione did. They had done the right thing, no matter what Harry thought. "Okay, then. We'll work on how to do that before going back to England. Hermione? Think of a reason why we haven't been there since the Department of Mysteries. I'm sure they're all out looking for us by now."

"I'm on it." Hermione smiled softly. "And we'll fine-tune the idea on the way back."

"You can help her with it, Luna. I think I can handle our friends."

Luna opened her mouth to argue with Harry on that, but stopped before she could say anything. She had long gotten too used to the swirl of magic around Harry to bother looking at it closely. It was thicker than when she first saw it; a shiver ran down her back at the acknowledgement of his sheer power. There was no question that he could handle this on his own, just as he said he could.

"I trust you," she said before joining Hermione near the bookshelves.

"Are you sure that was a good idea?" Hermione asked. "What if he wears himself thin?"

"He's more powerful than you think." Luna settled on the couch, tucking her feet underneath her. "Do you think…"

"Hm?" Hermione pulled down a muggle novel.

"It's silly, but do you think this is the power the prophecy spoke of? What the 'Dark Lord knows not'?"

Hermione glanced over just as Harry managed to produce a rough form of Ginny. "Possibly, I suppose. Magic works in weird ways."

Luna smiled, watching as Harry ran his fingers across the image's cheek. She knew Harry would perfect them, but it was nice to know that the most powerful wizard alive still had trouble getting things right the first time. To Luna, it made him more human than anything else he did.

triotriotrio

After three hundred years together Luna was still amused when she and Harry could surprise Hermione at their display of magic. The girl had had wanted to study them whenever they used a large amount of magic and, after the Wizarding world disappeared from the Muggles, Harry had let her study him when she wished. Luna had yet to give her permission.

Now, as they walked through Diagon Alley, Luna wondered if Hermione would ever get tired of examining them. Witches and wizards walked around them, completely ignoring the trio as if they weren't there. The charm had been developed over the past century and Harry practiced it whenever they interacted with large crowds. It had been perfected shortly after they left England.

They stepped into Ollivander's and studied the shelves as he took care of the excited girl standing there, a new wand clutched in her hand. Hermione leaned close, rattling off what wood it was as well as the length. Luna smiled and offered the core while Harry simply laughed at both of them.

Once the girl and her family left, Harry dropped the charm and stepped from the shadows. "Good morning, Ollivander."

The only hint that Ollivander hadn't expected them was the slight tensing of his shoulders. Luna could see the paranoia in his stance before he turned to see them. "Ah, Harry—"

"Yes, yes, I know. I apologize for being rude, but we're in a bit of a hurry." Harry motioned toward Luna. "She and I would like to get a back-up wand. Just in case."

Ollivander smiled, stepping close to them. "Mister Potter, when have you ever needed to lie to me?"

"Sir?"

"He knows we lost ours," Luna said, her voice soft as her mind read the old man's thoughts. She hadn't meant to, it just happened. "He doesn't know how, but he knows we did."

Ollivander grabbed two boxes, handing one to both Harry and Luna. "I'm sure that is your secret, so I won't ask. Try these out."

There was a gleeful part of testing out a new wand. Luna was sure it didn't matter what wand she and Harry had anymore, but she longed for the familiar warmth that spread through her fingers.

Just like the last time, Luna's third wand came out as a match. She paid while Harry attempted his fifth, and then went to sit next to a bored-looking Hermione. The girl still had hers, at least.

"I'm not sure another wand will be like his first," Hermione said as the ninth wand exploded a shelf. "Especially since it had a connection with Voldemort."

"I'm sure there's one in here somewhere."

"I hope so. I'd rather not be here all day. I thought it was hard enough to stand there and try out dozens of wands, but it's much harder for those watching."

Luna smiled, glancing to where Hermione had hidden her wand. "How many did you go through?"

"Thirty-four. Ollivander said—"

"I said that your magic was particular, but strong." The man offered them a tray of tea. Both declined. "I had to dig into my back stores to find yours, Miss Granger."

Hermione's cheek tinted red and she tilted her chin up. "Yes, well, that's just who I am."

Ollivander laughed before handing Harry yet another wand.

They weren't able to leave for a few hours. It wasn't until Harry opened his fifty-eighth box that he had enough and just asked Ollivander for a wand that had yet to be fused with a core. It took a small demonstration of his abilities for the old wandmaker to give in, but he eventually sold Harry a holly wand that looked almost identical to his last.

"I don't want to ever go through that again," Harry said as they left the shop. With a wave of his hand, they once again passed unnoticed in the crowd. "After we take care of this, we're going to find a way to make our own wands."

"Without cores?" Hermione asked, a small frown on her face.

"Without cores," Harry agreed. "It's just going to mess us up."

Hermione sighed. "I think you're jumping ahead of yourself."

They'd had this conversation plenty of times over the years and Luna smiled at the familiarity of it. "Hermione, I thought we agreed to disagree on this."

"I'm just worried for you guys." Hermione stopped, a hand on Luna's arm to stop her as well. "And why could you find a wand?"

"Because I'm adapting. My magic flows and accepts things more readily than Harry's. His is just stronger."

"Speaking of being stronger…" Harry ran a hand through his hair, making it messier than it already had been. "I can feel it building and it's gotten a little crazy since Voldemort was born."

"Crazy like you're losing control?"

"Nothing like that yet, 'Mione." Harry sighed. "I don't think I can handle it for much longer, though. At least not all at once." He motioned them into the Leaky Cauldron and then upstairs to an empty room.

Luna settled herself on the bed. "What are you suggesting?"

"Well, making the others appear helps it, but I think I need a regular outlet for my magic." Harry sat next to her before pulling Hermione down on his other side. "I want to share it."

"What do you mean by 'share it'?" Hermione got more comfortable so she could look across to both of them. "Harry?"

"I mean trickle it down to you—"

"No." Luna shook her head. She should have seen this coming. "That will just weaken you."

"Not if I'm careful."

"And if you're not?" Luna looked to Hermione. "Besides, Hermione and I have been thinking."

Hermione took Harry's hands gently in hers. "We both remember the prophecy, despite how long it's been since I was down there. Oh, don't look at me like that, I know you two went off to the Ministry that night."

"Women's intuition." Luna smiled and closed her eyes, listening.

"We think we went back in time for a reason. Or, at least you did. Look how strong you are now compared to the last time we were here."

"But Hermione—"

"No buts, Harry. We'll help you through this, but you can't just give us your magic. Keep it."

Harry let out a long sigh. "Fine, I'll keep it. But, if we do kill this bastard and I'm still having trouble, I am going to do it."

Luna could practically see the smile on Hermione's face. This had been easier than they thought. "Of course, Harry. Let's get rid of Voldemort, first."

triotriotrio

They hung the list in their tent, after they had made sure they had written seven items and their locations on it. First, Tom Riddle's diary, destroyed in Harry's second year. Second, a ring Harry pulled right from Dumbledore's finger the night they went to question him. Luna placed it on the same necklace that held the third item, a now cracked locket with an intricate 'S' on it. Harry wore both, shrugging and saying that it just felt right.

The fourth item sat next to the fire, waiting to be melted down as soon as they got to a place secure enough to burn it. Once that was done, they would be headed to Hogwarts again to find the Diadem hidden somewhere on the grounds.

"Tom Riddle was a bit of an idiot," Hermione said one night. "Why would he hide his soul in items that can be linked to him? And in places where people would know to look if they did a bit of research?"

"Your guess is as good as mine." Harry placed a chipped cup of tea next to her. "So what room in Hogwarts was he most connected to? Except the Slytherin dorms, because that's just too obvious."

"But we can't just ignore them." Hermione wrapped her hands around the steaming mug. "You're right, though. We need to look some place that's a little more tucked away."

"What about the Room of Requirement?" Luna didn't bother looking up from her own book, which was completely unrelated to Voldemort or the Horcruxes. "We used it before to train in, so why not use it as a room to hide things?"

"We'll look there first." Hermione smiled softly. "Thank you, Luna."

"You would have thought of it soon enough." She put her book to the side. "You always do."

Harry wrinkled his nose. "Ugh, do I need to go for a while to let you guys have some alone time?"

Hermione laughed, tossing a blank piece of parchment at him. "No. And just because you and I didn't work out doesn't mean you can tease us out of jealousy."

"Please, I'm not jealous. And we didn't work out because you're more like a sister to me." Harry got up and gave each girl a kiss on their cheeks. "I'm going to walk anyway. This tent is starting to drive me insane. You two have fun."

Despite their newly-formed romantic relationship, Hermione and Luna abstained from any kind of 'fun' while Harry was so close by. Both felt guilty, Luna figured she more so than Hermione. After all, she and Harry had shared a bed for nearly three-hundred years.

Her affair with Hermione started shortly after their trip to Diagon Ally. Harry claimed that he needed to speak to Dumbledore alone, leaving the two girls in the small room above the Leaky Cauldron for nearly four days. By the time Harry returned, Luna and Hermione had gotten used to sleeping curled in each other's arms. Much to Luna's disappointment, they hadn't gotten any further than hurried snogging while Harry was out of the room.

Harry had refused to tell them how he had come by it, but the information he brought back with him about the Horcruxes pushed them to act immediately. It negated the need for Harry to create three fully-functioning figures, but he never stopped practicing with them.

"Just in case," he said one morning as he made Neville and Ginny dance together. "I don't want to have to suddenly create them and not be able to."

If Luna were honest, she would have to admit that the Ginny she found herself talking to the next morning was as close to the real thing as they could get. Harry had been proud of himself and boasted for days.

There were other problems, too. Harry's magic exploded one morning, almost burning their tent to the ground with the intensity. Hermione saved everything with her quick thinking and used a spell that dampened the magic of everything in the tent; she left it up overnight just as a precaution. That precaution turned out to be their saving grace, as Harry told them the next morning about a late-night vision: Voldemort, seeking him out, tracing his power. Just to be safe, they took a small break from their hunting to perfect the damper around them. Together, Luna and Hermione finally managed to seal it to Harry's skin, including a spell that would remove the seal as soon as Voldemort was dead.

They were just a day's trip from the school. If she squinted, Luna could see the topmost tower on the horizon. According to Harry's visions, Voldemort knew they were at least heading toward Hogwarts. Death Eaters were already showing up around the school, preparing for battle. One way or another, Luna knew that it would end within the next few days. Harry was more than ready to face the monster and, after this, they could finally live their life how they wanted. There would be no more time interferences to keep them away.

She looked toward Hermione and smiled. Hermione returned it with a shaky one, but Luna could see the hope coursing through her. They would be okay, she just knew it.