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Chapter 10

Professor Bingley

Harry was worried. Schoolwork was so important and there was so much of it that it was easy to forget the deadliness of Voldemort's memory. Why does he still linger? When will he leave me alone! He couldn't even bloody die without leaving this behind to torment me. Perhaps that's all it is. A deliberate trick to torture me. I hope that's all it is. I just want a normal life. Is that so much to ask?

"This meeting is first of all to summarise and review the situation with everybody here at last." said Harry. "It's getting serious. We've made no progress. We've not a clue what we're up against. We might all be... The world might be disintregrated tomorrow for all we know."

The original three bond-pairs were in the old classroom on the first floor: Ron and Hermione, Harry and Ginny, Neville and Luna. It was a cold night but as usual they were all sitting relaxed in a semi-circle in the darkened room before a blazing fire with just dim candlelight here and there. Luna's pottery animals cast long shadows up the wall dancing hypnotically in the flickering light. Ron lazily levitated another couple of small logs onto the fire.

"Neville, what about you and Hannah? Is she OK with this? - With you and Luna I mean?" asked Harry.

"No, she doesn't understand it and she's not happy about it but she accepts it. She trusts me. I just wish she could be a part of it."

"Well you know the answer to that - very few are ready. In the whole school, us six are the only ones and I've looked, believe me."

"Me too." said Ron.

"I know. I know. But still It feels strange." Neville turned to Luna, "Luna and I, we've discussed it and we work great together in this - no problem there - but still I feel very odd doing this pair-bonding thing separate from my future wife."

"Nothing we can do - she's a Hufflepuff-"

A log crackled loudly in the fireplace and sparks raced up the flue.

"What the hell has that got to do with it! She's not stupid!" Neville was angry. Any criticism of Hannah was now like a knife into his feelings. Steady on! This is Harry! Yes but is that all he thinks of Hufflepuffs? Of Hannah? It's as bad as the Carrows disgust with muggles.

"I didn't say she is! ... Sorry Nev, what I mean is, Hannah's got her own great qualities ... But it does seem to me that Ravenclaws are most suitable for this mind work and then Gryffindors second. Ron's exceptional. That's all I'm saying."

Luna tried to calm down Neville while Harry continued. Ron stirred the fire absent-mindedly with a levitating poker.

"...and that brings me to the second point of this meeting - well I'll come back to that in a minute. Ron, can you first tell everybody what you were telling me earlier." said Harry.

"Yes, we were only going to do that one session to verify the imbalance caused by the world curse which we did. You'd expect it to be a waste of time trying to work against something that huge but I've been thinking - and Hermione and me - we've done one or two exploratory sessions on our own..."

"What! I thought we weren't suppose to? We were supposed to always have a minimum of three?" exploded Harry.

"Calm down, calm down. Let me finish. I know. Ideally that is true, especially as a general rule. And 'specially beginners. But I've now done this so much I'm confident I can do it even on my own - steady on - let me finish! I'm not planning to do it on my own. I'm just saying I can. And in an emergency I would - I don't care what anyone says. Anyway, I don't think any of you are ready for that so don't anyone else do it." Ron paused for breath.

"Where's this all leading Ron?" asked Harry. He was tired of everybody doing their own thing. Hang on! Isn't that what I was always doing? Yes but that was different. Was it?

"Will you let me finish? So anyway, we've done three sessions and..."

"It's THREE now? Not one or two?" said Ginny.

"Will you please leave it out and let me get on with it?" He wandlessly flung the floating poker down into the hearth.

"You're getting good at that." murmured Hermione.

"Let him have his say." said Neville who had somewhat regained his composure.

"It was important. We had short sessions. Always two of us and I know what I'm doing. Do you think I'd risk Hermione if I didn't? And Hermione and I are now so close there is no way we can get separated in the mind realm. I'm certain that's impossible. Trust me on that. And I think the slight risk was worth it so you have to live with it. We're talking about a world curse for Merlin's sake. Doesn't that overrule what happens to me - Ron Weasley is not that important. Anyway, it's my view that it might be possible to do some effective work - at least to delay the curse if nothing else - but we need as many of us as often as possible. Right. Done. Over to you Mr. Harry Go By The Rules Potter." Ron relaxed back in his chair.

"OK, fine! I was just narked because nobody even knew about it, Ron." said Harry. "Anyway, going on from what Ron said we need to consider can we recruit anybody else from outside somehow - maybe even have the sessions away from the school?"

Luna was saddened by the conflict and kept silent. It's so clear now. Misunderstandings. Confusion. We're all friends. We all care about each other. But feelings get in the way... How freeing it is in the mind realm! Leave behind emotions, fears, and conflict. Just pure character, intelligence, meaning. Perhaps we should do that first and talk after. Still, that's to come. It will wash away this confusion.

"One problem is that David told us that it's usually the younger mind that is open to this work so it's usually kids so that limits the field." said Ron.

"Ron, what sort of numbers are we talking about to be of any use?" asked Neville.

"I'd like to see at least one session every day with ten of us." said Ron.

"Ten? Where we..." said Ginny. Her pendant slightly turned grey-green for a few moments. Wake up Ron! No way we can get that many.

"Ron, I think you're worth two of us and it may be that someone else is too." said Luna.

"Who did you have in mind?" asked Harry.

"Remember Professor Bingley was to join us and then we were diverted to help Sephany." said Luna.

"That's right - and she's got an amazing mind - maybe she would be worth two as well?" said Neville.

Ron was quick to respond, "Yeah, and maybe she'll only be worth a half - there's no telling. And she'll be a beginner. But still, worth a try. And that's another thing. You all got better and better with practice - we all did - so doing this everyday we'll all improve."

"OK - we're all in favour of Bingley?" asked Harry. There were yays all round.

"Right. So the other thing is I want everybody to keep their eyes open over the next few months for anyone else who might be ready outside the school - when you go on trips - when you're on holiday, or just shopping, whatever. Just one person might make a big difference. You all know you can sense they are 'ready' just by listening to them talk for a while."

Ginny began to feel this was all amateurish. Harry is just trying to do the leadership thing but he's clutching at straws. He knows it's hopeless. But he beat bloody Voldemort! He's right. We must be positive. Come on, Ginny! Think about all that Harry did in his very first year at Hogwarts!

"Don't forget first years. We have new students at Hogwarts. Has anyone even really got to know any of them?" asked Ginny.

"Good point." said Ron.

"Right, now Hermione has another idea. Hermione?" said Harry.

"Some of you don't know that a few years back I used a time turner to cram in more lessons. It helped for a while but it made me really tired so I handed it back in. But it made me think about another way of cramming in more hours in one day. There's a potion I tried which let me manage comfortably on only three or four hours sleep a night. It was OK but I kind of got bored studying in the night on my own. It was like being... anyway, the thing is it works so if we all used that we could have our meetings very late or even in the middle of the night and still be fresh the next morning."

"Aren't we doing enough already - studying all day and most evenings!" complained Ginny, "We'll be exhausted!" Stop being so negative! Think of the group! Think of Harry.

"No you won't. Aren't you listening?" Why can't they reason it out? It's free time. "You wake up fresh as normal. All it does is give you a longer day. It's not as if the mentasphere is hard work - it's a relaxing, pleasant experience. Sleep's a waste of time anyway. What use is it? Hey! I've got an idea. Let's all fall unconscious every night why don't we and waste our lives away!" said Hermione.

"Suits me." said Ron with a grin.

"Yes well you're unconscious through most of the day anyway so you wouldn't notice." said Hermione.

"It would be nice if Professor Bingley got permission from the headmistress so we don't have to sneak around like thieves in the night. We're not doing anything wrong." said Luna.

They continued their discussion for some time then ended with a short mind session and finished for the evening. As everyone was leaving, Harry extinguished the fire and started to snuff out the candles.

"Harry?" said Ron.

"Yeah, Ron?"

"Did you notice? Luna's different. Neville thinks so too. Sharper. Smarter - no not smarter but more focused. Less scatter-brained. I can't pin it down. More confident I think. What happened in that forest when she ran away - do you know? You were talking to her that time in Charms."

"I can't say, Ron. I promised never to speak to anyone about it except Ginny - and don't talk to her about it either." warned Harry, "Anyway, she didn't run away - you know Draco cursed her."

"Oh yeah. Nearly got me too."

...

Harry and Ginny leaned back in their chairs towards the end of their next General Magical Knowledge Class. This was everyone's favourite lesson because there was no pressure and Professor Bingley always found a way to make it interesting. She had related a short story and had asked the class to name eight possible reasons why the main character, Maldreth, had said that Eloise no longer had any magical powers.

"She was old, very old, and her powers had faded." suggested Seamus.

"Age in itself will not reduce a person's magic but you're on the right track." smiled Professor Bingley.

"If magic is never practiced then over a very long time it will fade just as the muscles weaken without exercise." said Hermione. Good one! It must be five years since I read that!

"Correct." Bingley caught Hermione's words in a listening charm and spun them up to display on the board behind her.

"A dark wizard can leach away magical power with prolonged and repeated curses." Neville said which caused a stir among those who knew about his parents. Bingley spun his words up to the display without comment.

"Obliviate might make you forget you had magic?" suggested Stebbins.

"It does not strictly reduce a person's magic but I might allow that because effectively a wizard or witch can no longer use magic."

"Yeah but her memory might be restored." said Ron.

"Not necessarily. It is possible to completely wipe some memories." said Bingley.

"But couldn't someone just tell her?" said Seamus.

"Some people just cannot accept what you tell them without proof." said Luna. She was sitting on her own more and more now that Ginny tended to sit with Harry. She did not seem concerned when there were a few sniggers heard around the classroom, especially from the Slytherins. Her mind was clear.

"Exactly! It's not enough to be told. It has to be felt." said the professor.

"But if you keep explaining it long enough you can persuade them surely?" said Hermione.

"Some people will never believe no matter what you do." said Luna.

"Very good. I will allow this Obliviate proposal then." said Bingley and spun it up.

"She's dead." said Abigail which caused an eruption of laughter from everyone so she added, "Eloise I mean."

"Valid proposal. Maldreth was only explaining why she was no longer a threat so he might have had a reason not to mention her death. Anyway, it is a cause of cessation of magical powers." she spun it up then there was silence for a long time.

"The sacrifice spell!" exclaimed Hannah. "Wasn't there someone in History class who sacrificed their powers to save someone?"

Neville smiled proudly and almost looked towards Harry. See? Hannah can be as smart as anyone.

Bingley smiled. "We're out of time. There's your homework. See how many of the other three reasons you can discover and also tell me more about the sacrifice spell. I'll give you a hint. It's not called the sacrifice spell."

"Do they have to be permanent? I mean if I kept stunning Ron every ten minutes he couldn't do any magic could he?" said Harry with a grin.

"He would eventually die though so that falls into a kind of slow death group for instance so I would treat that the same as someone who falls ill and dies even if it takes all week is dead at the end of it. Sorry - I have to lump that under the death reason."

"Sleep! Sleep!" shouted Ginny.

"Suspended animation!" yelled Dean above the gathering noise of students preparing to leave.

"OK - you are all clearly stumbling onto one of the three missing reasons anyway - the various groups of disabling spells where the victim is magically helpless but not dying so find three examples of that - and they must be permanent, irreversible. They all will count as one reason. That's it until next week! Hurry - don't miss your next class." Bingley had raised her voice above the noise of scraping chairs and student chatter. She was gathering up her papers and shooing the students out of her classroom. Ginny and Harry held back.

"What is it Ginny? Harry?" asked Bingley as the hubbub died down and the three were left alone.

"Professor, You remember David Grey and what I told you about the mental realm?" said Harry.

"Ah yes, I wish I could have..."

"We need more help. Would you still consider it?" said Ginny.

"I definitely would! That was one of my... But is there something wrong?"

"If you would be willing to come along to tonight's meeting we will explain."

...

After coming out of the mentasphere experience they waited for Professor Bingley's reaction. They all knew that it took some time to adjust through the exit euphoria the first time. She had trio'd with Neville and Luna and their nods indicated that all had gone very well. At Luna's suggestion they had started the mind session early and were going to talk after when they were all calm.

"Thank you so much. That was so wonderful." said Bingley, staring distantly into the log fire that warmed the room.

"You understand now what we mean by the bad outbalancing the good?" asked Ron.

"Yes - but what is the cause?"

Harry explained about his near-death experience and the world curse and their attempts to locate the mountain. There was more silence as a shocked Bingley absorbed this.

"We've searched the library, bookshops, everywhere we can think of. I know you are well travelled professor. We'd welcome any suggestions you might have."

Bingley shook her head. "No. I do have a range of geography books in my collection but mountains are not really central to my interests. I have the European volume of Preed though so that's worth a look."

"Preed? You mean 'Preed's Peaks'? Is that the one with Italy and Greece in it? I think that's the version we've already got over there on the shelf. I remember Italy. I went through that three times. It's not in there. How many volumes are there? Where can we get them?" said Harry.

"Well, naturally, the European is the most popular in this area of the world. I doubt there's a bookshop in this country with any of the others. They are just not popular with wizards. You'd probably need to try contacting foreign bookshops." said Bingley then added suspiciously, "Is that fire on the floo network?"

"No, just a normal fire." said Harry.

"erm... Well I did experiment..." began Hermione guiltily.

"What! When was this?" choked Harry.

"It was over a year ago. I forgot to mention it. I'd even half-forgotten about it myself. I was up here on my own one time and..."

"Just happened to accidentally do some very advanced magic that you'd been studying in a book for three weeks?" said Harry but he was amused rather than feeling sarcastic.

"No - it's not working anyway. I just had a theory it could be simply connected to the Hogwart's floo network without anyone..."

"Without anyone knowing? Is that it?" said Bingley. "Great idea! Hogwarts has one central floo system. Any of its fireplaces can theoretically be included. But did you realize you would still be mapped in and out? Nobody can slip in and out of Hogwarts unnoticed."

Harry looked guiltily at Ron and Hermione and they glanced back furtively but Bingley did not seem to notice.

Bingley held up her wand towards the fireplace, "You've got it completely wrong anyway, Hermione. It's not that easy. You need a ministry licence even to add to a system. I can't even legally show you how it's done. I'll speak to the headmistress. You're all honoraries here. If Professor McGonagall agrees then I'll set it up for you."

"Thanks, Professor." They sat quietly for a minute or two.

"Preed might still be alive of course. Maybe he has an agent you can owl." said Bingley.

Hermione dashed to the shelf where they had accumulated some books. She grabbed the Preed volume and flipped the pages at the back and front.

"Here it is! There is a London address after the foreword. It's a woman; Thensa Preed. She's a magi-cartographer. I'll send an owl right now."

Bingley was worried, "I'm rather sceptical about all this. If you find this mountain really exists then I'll take it up with the headmistress and consult with the ministry for them to investigate. An old memory doesn't mean much at the moment."

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Author's Notes

Sorry - it's the next chapter which is the main Luna chapter but it's so big I had to split this off the front and it's still big. This one was not the most riveting of chapters but I needed to bring in Bingley and how it leads to the next chapter. I like the next one better and it should only be a few days before it's ready. :)

As ever, your comments and reviews are welcome even if you don't like the story I'd like to learn from your feedback. Thanks. :)

- Hippothestrowl