Harry Potter and the Quest of Light
Chapter: 10 of ?
Author: skarm
Rating: M
Timeline: Post HBP. This means if you haven't read Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince yet you'll want to do so before reading this.
Series summary: Post HBP! With the death of Albus Dumbledore, those corrupted by evil are becoming ever more bold and aggressive. Harried by both Dark and the Ministry, Harry Potter and his friends come into their own--and they are willing to fight.
Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. They are owned by JKR except for a few original characters I have created for the purpose of this story. Needless to say, I did not invent this world and am merely borrowing it for some fun.
Special thanks: Chris for being a superb beta and Jane for the summary. AJ for being… magnificent?
Harry Potter and the Quest of Light
Chapter 10
Tears, Blood, and Cake!
"A joke is a very serious thing." - Sir Winston Churchill
By the time that the others had returned back from the wedding reception that evening, the Marauders had already prepared their revenge for the attack on one of their own that morning. The Raiders simply didn't know who they were dealing with. The Marauders had experience on their side this time as Harry did manage to talk to Remus about a certain prank idea they had. Moony had given him some specifics that he couldn't quite understand solely from the log and it allowed him to make this prank the new Marauder's finest one yet.
Everyone person at the Beacon had retired early due to fatigue of just experiencing a long and tiring day. However, the Raiders might have been on their guard that evening if they had noticed that Sarah hadn't gone to room her room that night, but instead went to Harry's. Perhaps it was slightly unfair that Harry had given the girl his invisibility cloak, but since when did anyone play fair in prank wars?
After finalizing their plans and writing a rather detailed entry in the Marauder's Log about what they planned, Harry and Sarah decided to head out at around midnight. Their first target was the slumbering Weasley on the second floor. Harry was sure that Ron was the one that had actually entered his room the night before to do whatever spell he actually cast. Harry had decided that Ron would have the honor of seeing what they had planned first.
As they silently entered Ron's room, Sarah closed the door and softly cast a silencing charm on the room. The Marauders didn't need their other victims tonight to get any wind that something was going down. They had already cast the main portion of the spell in the room while Ron wasn't around. It merely needed to be activated, and Harry had set the perfect sound to activate it.
Harry motioned to Sarah, who covered her ears. He quickly withdrew the dragon horn that Charlie had given him for just such an occasion. He took a deep breath and then blew with all his might. The room erupted in a deafening roar that lasted until Harry was out of breath, but it didn't need to last that long.
Immediately Ron sprang up from his bed and screamed, jumping a few feet in the air before coming back down, springing off the bed again and landing on the floor. Harry and Sarah retreated to the door and waited patiently for Ron's second reaction. With the roar of the dragon horn, the spell they had placed on his bedroom activated.
The spell was a rather complex once which required some time to cast. This is why they had to wait until Ron and the rest of his crew were out of the Beacon before applying it. When activated by a certain sound, normally a keyword, it produced a room full of something the occupant feared most.
"Lumos," Ron said in the dark. Immediately the color drained from his face as his eyes darted around the room. He didn't even notice Harry and Sarah. "Spiders!" he screamed. "Get them away!"
Knowing the spell would wear off in around five minutes, the Marauders quickly exited the room to head to their next victim as Ron tried to fight off hordes of large phantom spiders.
"Incarcerous!" Two voices rang out as soon as Harry and Sarah had exited the room.
Immediately Harry was bound with solid, thick robes. Quickly turning to the side, he saw that Sarah shared a similar fate. His attacker immediately came into his view with the tip of her wand lit, wearing her fluffy pink bathrobe and a smile on her face.
"That way," Ginny said as she pointed towards Hermione's room with her wand.
Hanging his head in defeat, Harry and Sarah were led at wand point by Hermione and Ginny to Hermione's room and then forced to sit down on simple wooden chairs that Hermione had conjured with a few waves of her wand. They were joined a few minutes later by Ron, who looked like he had just been through hell. Well, in his mind, he had been.
"I don't see why I had to be the bait," Ron said angrily.
"Because we knew he'd go for you first, dear brother," Ginny replied with a grin as she went over to where Harry was sitting and sat on his lap, staring him in the eye. "It seems he has forgotten that the Marauders are has-beens compared to the Raiders. Isn't that right, sweetie?" she taunted as she kissed the tip of his nose.
Harry merely grumbled. What would Moony say if he saw this?
Ginny kissed the tip of his nose again. "Oh don't be such a poor sport. Just admit that the Raiders are superior and we might let you off easy."
"Stop fraternizing with the enemy!" Ron exclaimed, staring aghast as his younger sister kissed their captured enemy on the lips fleetingly. His remarked earned him a glare from Ginny.
"We won't give up!" Sarah said defiantly. It caused Harry to smile inwardly.
Hermione moved closer to the young girl and squatted so that she could be at face level. She was trying to conceal a smile. "You could at least join the winning side," Hermione commented with mock seriousness. The Gryffindor knew that there was no way Sarah would be changing sides, but if this was to be a proper 'interrogation' certain things needed to be said. Sarah was fiercely loyal to Harry.
"No way," the younger girl replied as she stuck out her tongue. This nearly caused Hermione to laugh, but she managed to keep a straight face.
Hermione turned back to her comrades. "The question is what do we do with them?"
"Trap them in a room with spiders, I think," Ron said bitterly.
Ginny rolled her eyes at the suggestion. "Kiss them until they surrender?" she asked innocently as she planted another kiss on Harry's lips. Harry was helpless against these aggressions, but amazingly he didn't mind.
This time Hermione laughed. "I don't think either of them needs to be traumatized by Ron kissing them, though it is a very cruel idea. Perhaps if they continue trying to beat us we'll have to consider that."
"You don't seem to mind," Ron shot back. Hermione's cheeks went pink.
"At any rate," Hermione said, quickly trying to change the subject, as she moved over to where Harry as tied up. "We need to decide what we're going to with these so called Marauders."
"Let us go?" Harry asked meekly. He was already eager to run back to the Marauder's Log and find something so amazing that even Ron, Hermione and Ginny would be caught off guard and fall for it.
"We could do that," Ginny nodded with a grin, "But even you have to admit this is fun." She wiggled in Harry's lap. Despite the fact that this interrogation was being done in mock seriousness, Harry quickly realized that Ginny was opting for a very real form of torture.
"You're naughty," Harry whispered in her ear.
"I know," she whispered back, but gave him a slight wink and stopped wiggling.
Well, that plan failed, Harry thought. There was just no making Ginny Weasley embarrassed.
"Cut them lose," Hermione ordered with her usual tone of mock seriousness. "We all need to get some sleep in case we have something unexpected to do tomorrow," she finished seriously with a sigh. No one wanted to be suffering from lack of sleep if they had to fight against some Death Eaters the next day.
"Why are you in charge?" Ron blurted out as Ginny carried out the order anyways and released Harry and Sarah from the enchanted robes with two flicks from her wand.
"Because of the same reason I have to make all the new advances: You're too nervous to make decisions," Hermione shot back, but then realized that there were a bunch of people present and witnessing her conversation. Both she and Ron blushed deeply.
Harry shook his head at the openness of the conversation Hermione had just stated. It always seemed that Ron and Hermione would be destined to dance around their feelings continually and never tell each other anything upfront. He then noticed that Sarah was staring up at Hermione with a confused look on her face. He quickly stepped over and grabbed his daughter by the wrist and dragged her out of the room.
"What?-" she began to ask.
"You'll understand when you're older," Harry replied firmly as he felt his own face reddening.
"Fine," his daughter muttered as they headed up the flight of stairs back to their floor. "What are we going to do, then?"
"About?" Harry asked as he was caught in his own thoughts.
"The Raiders! We can't let them win!" she exclaimed.
Harry smiled mischievously. "Oh, definitely not. We'll get them soon, but for now we'd best get some sleep." He kneeled slightly and gave her a hug. "Good night, don't let the massive horde of imaginary spiders bite," he said with a grin.
Sarah kissed him on the cheek and rolled her eyes. "Good night!" she said as she skipped off into her room.
"Oh please, Potter, don't get all soft on me," Ginny said with a grin as she came up behind him, causing him to whirl around on the spot and come face to face with her. "Seriously though, it's quite cute," she said.
"She deserves to be loved after what she's been through," Harry commented as he held his arms out.
Ginny slide between his arms and Harry pulled her into a hug. "By that logic you deserve the most love of all."
"Maybe," he replied as he rested his chin on her head. "Love for me can wait until after Voldemort is stopped." He knew he had put his foot in his mouth as soon as he had finished his sentence.
The redhead's head came up to look him in the eyes so quickly that it forced his head to look at the ceiling as his chin got shoved off the top of her head. When he looked back down, he saw that she was furious.
"Then what are we doing?" she asked angrily. Her voice was rising into a high pitched shrill. It was nearly identical to Mrs. Weasleys' voice. "Do you not take any of this seriously? Are you just keeping me around so that you can actually care about our relationship later?" She glared at him, her eyes boring directly into his.
"No… I… that just came out wrong. I didn't mean it," Harry stuttered as Ginny pushed her way out of his arms.
She gave him a look of hatred. "Well it certainly sounded like you meant it," she said calmly. Harry quickly decided her cold fury was far worse than her yelling. She turned on her heel and headed past him and into her room. The door closed with a loud slam.
"What happened?"
Harry turned around quickly again to see Sarah standing in her doorway with a look of concern knit all of her face.
He sighed and went over to here. "Nothing, Sarah. Just go back to bed," he said as he ruffled her hair. He knew his tone betrayed his words. He felt defeated and upset.
"But-"
"It was nothing. Everything will be fine, I'm sure," he said as he gave her a kiss on the forehead. "Now you need to get some sleep otherwise you're going to be tired tomorrow."
Hesitating slightly, Sarah went back into her room and closed the door softly while Harry headed down to the end of the hall to his own room. He entered and turned on the light, definitely not feeling like sleeping at the moment. On his bed was the Marauder's Log. It was opened to the page where they had outlined their prank.
Mr. Padfoot would like to know the outcome of Prongs Jr.' prank.
Mr. Prongs is sure that his son succeeded admirably.
Mr. Wormtail would like to note that Prongs Jr. has exceeded expectations so far.
Mr. Moony would like to note that with his own personal advice given to Prongs Jr., he cannot possibly fail.
Harry let out another defeated sigh and picked up his quill. The night had gone downhill in a hurry.
Harry couldn't exactly say the next morning went any better. There was obvious tension in the air as Ginny refused to look at him, save for a few icy glares she gave him while the two ate breakfast at opposite ends of the kitchen island. In fact, the only time Ginny actually made a comment was when Hermione directly asked her what was wrong.
"I think someone is having an affair with Voldemort. Someone certainly seems to want to spend more time thinking about him when it comes to love instead," she replied venomously.
The comment stung Harry deeply, but that was soon replaced by his own anger. Who is she to say that this damn war isn't important? He fumed in silence until he was slightly distracted by the arrival of a black owl carrying a professionally addressed letter.
"From the Board of Governors," he grumbled to Hermione and Sarah as she opened it. "I don't believe it," he said, actually surprised.
"What?" Hermione, Sarah and even Ginny asked together.
"Mrs. Zabini actually convinced the Board to allow my request to visit Hogwarts. I thought for sure she'd be against it since her son-" he stopped himself in mid sentence. "Why would she do that?" he asked out loud, though he was trying to think of the answer himself.
"Because she's crushing on you?" Neville offered with a grin as he entered the kitchen looking well rested. Of course, Neville and Luna didn't have to wake up in the middle of the night every now and then to deal with the ongoing pranks.
"Har har," Harry said glumly as it he set the later aside. What could she possibly be after?
Hermione didn't seem concerned at all. "It's not like she knows why you're going to Hogwarts though, is it?"
Harry shook his head. "Not that I know of. I told her that I wanted to keep an eye on Sarah every now and then, which is actually true. I suppose if Voldemort knows then Zabini would know."
"Exactly. No point worrying about it, then, right?" Neville said as he sat down on the island.
"Guess not," Harry replied as a large barn owl swooped in through the window and dropped the Daily Prophet into Harry's lap. He immediately opened it and glanced at the front page. He had to close his eyes, take a deep breath and count to ten before opening them to read.
Like Father, Like Daughter?
By: Rita Skeeter
The Wizarding World is most likely aware of how Harry Potter breaks all sorts of rules or bends them so that he can get away with them. This behavior has continued throughout his entire stay at Hogwarts, but now it has taken a more serious turn. For a while his actions only hurt himself and the few friends that were fanatically loyal to him, however now it has taken a more serious note.
His actions and stories have obviously rubbed off on his adopted daughter, Sarah Potter, who at a social event yesterday afternoon publicly violated the Underage Magic laws. She seemed to have absolutely no remorse for her actions which is typical of her adoptive father as well. In fact, the public at the event went as far as to defend her similar to the way people always seem to bail out Harry Potter himself due to his fame.
I think I speak for most of the Wizarding World when I am wondering if this is the sort of example we should be setting for children. Mr. Potter's actions are highly suspect themselves, but they also seem to be rubbing off on her daughter who, I still will add, seems to be fanatically loyal to him. This is questionable in itself and authorities should be questioning whether or not Mr. Potter should be able to have guardianship over his adopted daughter.
If it was up to this reporter, I would say no. Mr. Potter clearly isn't able to abide by the law himself and upon teaching his daughter that this is, in fact, acceptable, he is breaking them further. Would it be so difficult for Mr. Potter to abide by simple Wizarding Laws? Apparently not and now it is affecting an innocent child.
Perhaps more legal action should be taken against Mr. Potter to ensure that he sets a good example for Miss Potter.
"Just ignore it," Hermione said with a small laugh. This was her old standby for all of Rita's articles from their fourth year. However, Harry had learned that even if you try really hard to ignore something it won't go away on its own. Still, what exactly could one do to get back at Rita Skeeter?
Harry pondered that question for a few days, however he eventually forgot about as the 27th of August came closer and closer. While this date had no significance in his life until around two months ago, it did now. He was grateful that Voldemort had been quiet lately (though this also unnerved him on a different level) and everything was going somewhat according to plan.
Harry was starting to dread Sarah's Ravenclaw tendencies, however. She seemed to always be around asking what he was doing when he was trying to do something in secret. He didn't really need her to find out what he was planning, but it seemed that her curiosity and thirst for knowledge would eventually ruin the surprise he had planned.
Evidently his fears were in vain as around noon on the 27th, when he told Sarah that they had to go to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes for some potions supplies. The girl either didn't find anything odd about this at all or she knew what was going to happen and wasn't going to mention it. After Sarah had grabbed a hold of his arm, Harry Apparated to the main room of Fred and George's shop to find it deserted. This is actually how it was meant to be, however, as the twins had closed the shop at his request. This was a special day after all.
"But it's closed," Sarah remarked in confusion as they caught their bearings in the darkened shop. They could barely make out the merchandise on the shelves.
"I hadn't noticed," Harry replied with a smile that his daughter was unable to see due to the lack of light. Instead he simply pulled her along towards the back room of the shop which had a faint light emanating from the crack at the bottom of the door.
"But-"
"Not another word," he said firmly as he led the confused girl to the door. "Go on," he beckoned and gestured to the door.
Hesitantly Sarah opened the door.
"Surprise!"
Totally shocked, Sarah entered the room with Harry following her, his smile now visible.
The room was decorated with everything a regular birthday party should have. Self-throwing streamers and randomly inflating and deflating balloons soared around the room while the party guests cheered as the birthday girl made her appearance.
Both Rose and Anthony Bidwell had been instrumental in helping Harry organize the five or so guests of Sarah's age and get them to attend. While he didn't know any of the other Ravenclaws or Hufflepuff's that Sarah had been friends with, Rose did simply because that was one thing they had talked about when she was trying to calm Sarah down back at Hogwarts.
Only a few had actually attended as most parents were worried about letting their children go out and about in the Wizarding World with the threat of Voldemort being a very real and deadly one. Still, Harry was thankful for the effort that Rose and Anthony had put forward so he had invited them on the spot at the Board meeting. It turned out that the celebration was going to be a huge success.
While Sarah went off with her friends and experimented with the loads of free merchandise supplied by the owners of Weasleys' Wizarding Wheezes, Harry was hauled off to the side by Fred and George themselves. One of the twins picked up what look like a small cube and handed it to Harry.
"What's this?" Harry asked as he examined the cube. It was clear and small enough to fit in the palm of his hand.
"That-"
"Is what you asked us to keep working on."
"Turned out rather nicely I think."
Harry frowned. "Ok, but how do I see what the cube sees?"
The twins both pointed over to the wall above what looked to be a cluttered work station. There was a small rectangular mirror that at the moment was showing Harry's face looking off at something in the distance. A moment later the mirror changed it's imagine to show Fred looking directly out of it. Another moment passed and it changed to a complete close up of Harry's palm.
"The mirrors cycle through all the sides of the cube that are active," Fred explained.
"Right now all sides are active, which is why they're clear. Here-" George continued as he tapped the side of cube that would be showing his image. It turned an opaque grey. The mirror had one fewer image per cycle.
"So it's like a muggle security camera?" Harry asked in awe. This had impressed him very much.
"A what?" George asked.
"I think he's starting to act like dad if you ask me."
"Unfortunately."
"Most unfortunately."
"We have some spare plugs-"
"- and batteries"
"If you'd like them," they finished together while Harry merely rolled his eyes.
By all accounts the party was a huge success. There was only one thing that was slightly off and that was Ginny had refused to come. This didn't bother Harry too much as he wasn't really in the mood to talk to her either and he didn't want her attitude ruining the day. Ginny never really liked her to begin with.
The one thing that Harry was struggling with for weeks was what to give Sarah for her birthday. When he actually came to a decision, it actually felt right so he hoped that he had made the right choice. In his palm he held a small package wrapped in sky blue paper with bronze ribbon, but he couldn't locate the birthday girl.
After maneuvering through the crowd and getting hit twice in the head by rolls of streamers, Harry finally spotted his daughter. She was sitting with a group of her friends and listening to Luna tell them a story about some mythical creature. He smiled. For all Luna's oddity she definitely knew how to hold an audience.
He approached the group from behind the kids on the floor so as not to disturb them.
"… if it hasn't been caught then how do you know it exists?" asked a small boy that was seated next to Sarah.
"Because," Luna began, fixing the boy with her usual dreamy stare. If this unnerved the boy, he didn't show it. "There have been sightings. A lot of people in Sweden have said it exists. They're just better at hiding than we are at finding them."
"And," Sarah added, "It's just a matter of time before they're found."
The young boy wasn't convinced, but he let the argument go as he turned and saw Harry approaching. Harry simply handed the gift to Sarah. "Happy Birthday!"
Looking quite excited, Sarah tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a small jewelry box. All of Sarah's female friends quickly crowded around in awe. The two boys that were attending merely waited patiently for Sarah to open the box. Sarah lifted the lid and grinned as she pulled out a thin golden necklace with a small charm on the end of it.
The charm itself was a small golden lighthouse with a beacon on the top radiating light. The light itself was done in a white gold.
"So you can always find your way home from the darkness, if you should ever need to," Harry explained.
"It's beautiful," Sarah said happily as she got one of her friends to fasten the clip on the back of her neck.
"There's more to it than just good looks. If you hold it in your hand, you should be able to know where I am. Since you seem to think I'm that easy to get rid of and all…" he trailed off and gave her a wink. He stuck his hand into his pocket and pulled out a similar thin golden chain. This one had a small charm of a Cherub flapping its wings. "It has the same charm on it so I can keep track of my little angel," he said, feeling his own face reddening again. Blimey, that didn't sound so bad in my head, but…
Either Sarah didn't care how awkward it sounded or ignored it, but she jumped up and hugged him anyways. After she let go, Harry looked around and noticed that one of the boys was feigning gagging while the first boy Harry had scene was merely looking perplexed. This didn't help his blushing.
"It's not everyday you turn twelve," Harry remarked as Sarah examined her necklace. "I can remember my twelfth birthday rather clearly…"
"What happened?" Sarah asked eagerly. She had learned a while ago that nearly all of Harry's stories were excellent.
Harry shrugged. "Nothing much. I was pretty depressed since no one had written to me. As it turned out a mad house elf was blocking my mail. In turn he went on to run around the Dursley's house and drop a large pudding on a house guest." The kids simply stared and then started laughing. It hadn't been funny at the time, but even now Harry could see a lot of humor in it.
It was a short while later that Fred and George floated out a large cake. They began to cut out slices for everyone, but when Sarah approached Fred immediately handed her a special slice.
"A special slice-"
"for the dearest birthday girl," George finished. Fred handed Sarah the plate.
Sarah blinked for a moment and then held it out to George. "You eat it," she said, smirking. Harry had informed her privately a few minutes earlier to never accept anything from the twins unless you were absolutely sure it was safe.
The twins looked aghast. George backed away a bit. "There's no way I'm eating that. It was made especially for you."
"I wouldn't dare," Fred chimed in, backing away an equal amount of steps.
"I insist," Sarah said, giving the plate to George. "There's nothing wrong with it, is there?" she asked innocently.
The twins exchanged glances. Slowly, his hand trembling, George ate a small piece of the cake on the plate. Immediately there was a puff of purple and pink smoke that enveloped the Weasley. When it the cleared there was a miniature pink pony standing and whinnying where George had stood. On the horses rear there was a tattoo of a purple heart with the words 'Birthday Girl' written in loopy red writing.
There was a collective 'aww' from the three twelve year old girls who quickly ran up and began to give George the pony hugs and began using grooming spells on his soft coat. By the time the spell wore off, George had been thoroughly humiliated.
"I believe this was your idea," he said glaring at his twin.
"Hey don't blame me," Fred said defensively.
"We should blame Harry! He must have told her!" they both wheeled around and stared down at Harry.
Harry merely raised an eyebrow. "You just happened to attempt a prank on a Marauder. Of course she isn't going to fall for it. The question is whether or not you want to be allies or enemies." He couldn't help but smirk at the paling of the twins' faces.
"Whatever you say, my liege!" George exclaimed quickly.
"I am at your service!" Fred chimed in.
Together the three of them huddled for a few moments, but their meeting did not go unnoticed by the watchful eye of one of the Raiders.
Three days later it was one of Hermione's reactions that finally got him to make up his mind to go visit Godric's Hollow. Hermione had taken Ron and said that she wished to take a few days off to go visit her parents who she hadn't seen since before her sixth year started.
He had been toying with the idea for quite a while, but his mixed feelings about wanting to go and see their graves and the remains of Godric's Hollow had caused him to procrastinate for quite a while. Every time he set a specific date his stomach began to tie in knots as the date approached. Many times he had set it back two weeks because a certain event came up or that he wasn't sure that he was ready.
Today was different. Tomorrow Sarah would be leaving for Hogwarts along with Luna and Harry himself would be traveling around continually with someone else to try and find Voldemort's Horcrux that may or may not be present. It took him a while to work up the nerve, but he finally managed to Apparate to the town, or rather close to it. He decided that popping directly into the town would be a bad idea.
"So it's just down there?" Sarah asked as she looked down at the small village. The place looked almost medieval from the hill they were standing on. Godric's Hollow was in a valley.
Bringing Sarah along was another hard decision. He knew the entire trip was going to be emotional for him and very hard to handle. Harry thought for this reason alone that she should stay home, but then a nagging thought in the back of his mind convinced him otherwise. After all, she was family.
Harry nodded. He was already feeling uncomfortable and his stomach was already feeling queasy. Some Gryffindor I am, he thought as he sighed. "Yup. That's Godric's Hollow," he replied as the two of them began walking down the hill on the side of the road. Harry thought that someone might wonder why they were walking down the side of the only road into town seeing as Godric's Hollow was a relatively isolated community and the next nearest two was a good thirty kilometers away.
When the Potters finally reached the small town it was exactly how Remus had described it to him the day before. It had a very old fashioned feel too it like most of the Wizarding World, but this was not a Wizarding community. James and Lily Potter were the only witch and wizard to have ever lived there. Even the road is cobblestone, Harry thought as he took in the sights.
Half an hour later Harry wished he had Apparated to the other side of the village, but he soon found out why Remus insisted on the one location he actually did Apparate to. After walking for a few minutes down the main, and only, road which lead them straight through the small town they came upon a babbling stream. There was a wooden bridge leading across the river to a dirt path that looked like it went off towards some forest that was behind the town. According to Remus' directions, the cottage that his parents had lived in was around the outskirts of the forest past the bridge.
"Unless yer looking for something in the woods there ain't nothin' there for ya," remarked an elderly man who was fly fishing from the bridge.
"All that's down this trail is the woods?" Harry said, scratching his head. Fidelius would have worn off by now so there should be ruins or something. Remus had told him that his parents were buried there by himself and Dumbledore shortly after Sirius was thrown into Azkaban.
"Nothin' down there but the forest," the man repeated. "Mind ya I haven't had much time to look around. I keep getting' mighty busy when I want to have a look around, ya know? Usually I gotta take my wife somewhere… I tell ya…"
Something clicked in Harry's mind. The Muggle repellent charms are still active… Dumbledore must have kept them up to keep the muggles from finding the graves… "We're going to have a picnic up by the woods, actually," harry replied and nodded towards the woods.
Harry took Sarah's hand and quickly led her away before her confused look gave anything away. They had almost made it to the end of the bridge when the old man called to them.
"But ya haven't got any picnic stuff," he called out, scratching his forehead.
"Uhhh…" Harry was wracking his brain trying to think of a solution. The picnic idea had only come out because he couldn't think of anything better.
Luckily at that very moment the man caught a fish and began fighting it allowing Harry and Sarah to sneak off, much relieved. If that hadn't happen, Harry was prepared to simply walk into the area in which the muggle repellent charm would have been activated, but this was a lot easier.
Harry and Sarah continued down the dirt path and found that it them around the edge of the woods to the right. The forest itself was quite lush. There were tall trees that were flourishing with life while the underbrush was just as vivid and growing. The one thing that caught Harry's eye was a type of yellow flower that he had never seen before. It seemed to grow in abundance here if not anywhere else Harry had been which, granted, wasn't too many places.
Eventually the path turned into a small fenced off garden on the edge of the woods. Up a small stone pathway as the remains of a small wooden cottage that looked like it had been caught in a blazing inferno. Most of the walls were still standing except for the front left corner from Harry's viewpoint. The entire building was burnt to a crisp and the few things that were still standing were black and charred. Harry suspected that if it weren't for the valley protecting it from most fierce winds the structure would have collapsed already. Still, he wasn't going to try and touch it.
Harry tentatively took his first step forward onto the property of his first home. At this instant Sarah let go of his hand and told him that she'd wait for him for a bit as she wanted to check out the woods anyways. He nodded and took another step forward. Already he could feel tears collecting in his eyes as he imagined what his life would have been like had his parents still been alive.
He would have gotten to live in this simple house. He would have been able to have a family and warm, caring home to grow up in. Harry looked to the side and saw what could only be the remnants of a garden. A small flower bed was along the edges of the small picket fence. Perhaps Lily Potter had kept a garden? They could have grown vegetables like the Weasleys as well. It was just one more thing Harry didn't know. As he looked at the scorched cottage again, he was reminded directly of what Remus Lupin had told him yesterday.
"Your parents were always down to earth, Harry. Sure, James might have shown off a bit and Lily was extraordinarily gifted as well, but just looking at their home alone would tell you all you need to know. It was a small, cozy cottage. Most rich wizarding families like the Malfoys or the Blacks feel the need to show off with large manors or houses, but no, not your parents. A simple warm and inviting house was all they needed."
Harry smiled sadly. As he entered through the front doorframe which no longer had a door he realized that Remus was exactly right. The crisp remains of simple, yet comfortable furniture was all he could find in what he suspected was a living room to the right of the small entry way. He headed straight through the living room into the back right corner of the house.
The room here was definitely smaller than the living room and this one seemed to have suffered from a far worse disaster than simple fire. There was a ton of broken and splintered wood all over the ground along with chunks of plaster and rock from the walls. The walls themselves seemed to have gaping holes in them as if there was some sort of explosion. Harry took another step forward and spotted the remains of what looked like a wooden cage, but he knew better.
A crib… my crib, he thought sadly. So this is where it all happened. This is where Voldemort… he stopped himself as he became angry. It was right here. He… he killed mum and dad and tried to kill me… and it all blew up in his face… At the very least it explained why the room looked like it had a bomb explode in it. He took another step forward and heard a snap under his foot. He bent down to see what he had stepped on to find something he definitely didn't expect.
It was a think piece of blackened wood that had snapped in half when Harry had stepped on it. It wouldn't have been noticed among the other debris and no one else would have paid it any mind. Harry, however, was seemingly drawn to it. He lifted up his foot slowly to see the object. He bent down to get a closer look. From the snapped portion there were shiny silver-white hairs glistening in the sunlight (as there was no longer any roof over the remains of the building).
Mum's wand, he thought in surprise as he gently picked up and cradled the two burnt pieces. Didn't anyone give a bloody damn about picking these things up? She died right there saving me… right well there. He wasn't sure why, but he pocketed the broken wand before shaking his head. She died right here. Right on this spot…
Harry looked up and saw something through the remains of the back wall of the house. He quickly dodged his way through the rest of the debris and headed out into the backyard. It was nearly as small as the front yard, but here the only difference was the two plain tombstones sticking out of the lush green lawn.
Red flowers that looked impossibly perfect were sticking up in a small row in front of each of the tombstones which were so close they were basically touching. Harry approached them slowly and fell to his knees in the soft grass.
In Loving Memory
James H. Potter
May 15th, 1960 - October 31st, 1981
The tombstone beside it had a similar small piece carved into it
In Loving Memory
Lily A. Potter
August 1st, 1960 - October 31st, 1981
Harry wasn't sure what to say at first, but then he just began to talk as his eyes filled with tears. "I wish you didn't die," he blurted out as he wiped the first set of tears on his sleeve. "I wish you didn't die and I could have grown up with you. I wish I didn't have to go to the Dursleys." He let it sink in. Without waiting for a reply he continued after sniffing.
"I didn't want to be the Boy who Lived, I wanted to be the Regular Boy with Parents. I don't want to be the savior of the Wizarding world at all. I wish people would just leave me alone." He stopped and simply gazed up at the cloudless sky directly above.
He shook his head and wiped his eyes though it didn't do much good. He was crying regularly now and not ashamed to admit it. He did his best to stop. "I'm sorry, you must think I'm selfish," he muttered as he tried to get his emotions under control.
"I have some good friends," he commented idly. "They're going to help me beat...kill Voldemort once and for all. He came back, you know. I won't let him hurt anyone anymore. I'll stop him even if it costs me my life, you know." He smiled sadly as he felt the tears traveling down his face. "I know you wouldn't want me to think like that, but it's true, you know. I have to murder him or he murders me. It has to end like that." He thought about it for a moment as he looked down at the headstones again. "I guess you already knew that and that's why you hid. You hid for me… but…" he couldn't finish his thought.
Harry heard some footsteps behind him in the ruined house. "I have a daughter now… no mum… I adopted her, I didn't get anyone pregnant…" he allowed himself a rare smile at the comment. He looked directly at mother's headstone. "Don't let Remus tell you otherwise, either. I assume he talks with you…"
He leaned forward and carefully slid his fingers over his mother's name. The headstone was smooth with no dirt on it whatsoever. The flowers were still in perfect bloom. The whole scene was totally flawless and Harry strongly suspected Dumbledore had worked some magic to keep it like that. Harry turned to his father's headstone and smiled sadly. "Remus made us Marauders on my birthday. We're going up against the Raiders-" he sighed. "They're a rival prank group made of my friends, but we'll be ok. Sirius might have told you we have the Map," he stopped to let his father take in this information. "Remus gave me your Log for my birthday this year… I think we'll be able to beat them." He was feeling slightly less depressed now.
There was some noise behind him so Harry turned around to see Sarah hesitantly standing in what used to be the back door. "It's ok, come over here," he beckoned as he turned back to the headstones.
When Sarah kneeled beside him, he used an arm around her shoulders to pull her into a hug. "Mum, dad… this is Sarah. She's my daughter," he said. After the introductions were made the sun seemed to shine just a little more brightly than it had previously.
Around ten minutes later Harry and Sarah were lazily walking back across the wooden bridge. The fisherman seemed to have abandoned his post, but that didn't bother either of the two as they were both deep in thought. It was Sarah who broke the silence first, but it was something that Harry was totally unprepared for.
"Dad?" she asked tentatively.
Harry merely blinked and turned to her. This was the first time that she had called him that, though Harry knew she had been close on a few occasions. He obviously had a lost look on his face for far too long because Sarah's face fell.
"I thought you were…" she said sadly.
"What? Of course I am!" Harry replied quickly with a smile. "You just caught me off guard. I'm… I'm not really used to being called that…" he finished, feeling quite bad. "I'm your father, but also your older brother and friend too. Well, maybe not too much your older brother otherwise I'd have to prank you a lot more…" he trailed off with a small smile. Sarah merely sniffled so he continued. "I guess I just wasn't expecting that. I can be whatever you want me to be. If you want to call me dad, but all means do so. Is that ok?" She nodded and gave him a strong hug.
"Now, what is it you wanted to ask me?" Harry asked, having wondered what she was thinking about since they had left the cottage.
"Where are my parents buried? Was there a funeral?" she asked softly.
The comment hit Harry hard. Why hadn't he ever been told, or more importantly why hadn't Sarah been told about a funeral or where her parents were buried. Bond… Bond wanted Sarah back. Bond and the Ministry wanted to take her to her uncle. If her uncle knew and didn't tell her… or if the Ministry didn't bother… He formed a fist with his left hand and slammed it down on the railing of the bridge causing the entire thing to vibrate. "I don't know," he said, trying to control his anger. "The Ministry or your uncle didn't bother to inform us…" He looked down at Sarah and saw her pale, pained expression. "But I am going to find out even if I have to break down the Minister's doors to do it." And I'll have more than a few choice words for Umbridge and Bond while I'm there.
Sarah nodded, though she was still looking quite crestfallen. Harry was determined to lighten the mood. He was still somewhat upset himself after visiting his parents' ruined house, but he felt relieved at the same time. "What do you say we go into London for some ice cream before going back to the Beacon?" he asked. When Sarah nodded, he simply smiled. "Just as long as it doesn't ruin your appetite for dinner. What kind of dad would I be if I let that happen?" he asked innocently while Sarah rolled her eyes. If anyone had looked closer they may have noticed her trying to hide a grin.
Harry sat eating a leisurely breakfast while Sarah and Luna quickly rushed around the floors above collecting items they needed for Hogwarts. Harry himself had never seen a morning on September 1st that didn't involve rushing around. This one was mainly due to after coming back to the Beacon yesterday, Sarah definitely wasn't in the mood to pack. Luna, being Luna, didn't pack either until the last minute, though she really didn't seem to be rushing around.
Ron and Hermione were still visiting the Grangers. Hermione had sent Pig back the other day telling Harry that they shouldn't be expected back for a few days. The two of them had tried to explain everything about the current state of the Wizarding world complete with a long history and her parents weren't taking it well. This was to be expected, of course. Hermione also wanted to put up some more wards on their house or convince her parents to move to a safer location. Harry had offered to let the Grangers stay in Grimmauld Place if they desired.
It was quarter to eleven when Neville burst into the kitchen in a rush. "The Weasley twins just floo'd us. They said Death Eaters were in Diagon Alley!" he said.
Harry immediately sprang up off his seat. He quickly glanced at his watch and saw the time. While they could simply Apparate to King's Cross station in the blink of an eye, it still didn't give him time to do two things at once. "Just a second," he told Neville and rushed upstairs.
Harry found Sarah in her room just finishing up packing her trunk with the assistance from Luna, who was experimenting with some packing spells. When they saw him enter, they looked up at him in surprise. "What's wrong?" Sarah asked.
"There's trouble in Diagon Alley. I don't think I'm going to be able to make the train. If I don't, I'll apparate to Hogsmeade in time to meet you," he said in a rush. He got a disappointed nod from Sarah in return, but there was nothing that he could do about it. He stopped for a moment just as he was about to head out of the room. "Take Susan with you to King's Cross. If there's any sign of trouble get back here right away. Use Luna's ring or Apparate back. This timing is too coincidental. I don't like the sound of it." He pulled Sarah into a hug and kissed her on the forehead. "Be careful!"
He sprinted outside into the backyard to where Neville and Ginny were already waiting in their white robes. Harry quickly donned his and nodded to the other two. With three soft pops they Apparated directly into Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes.
George was there to meet them, though he looked panicked. "Fred's gone to the Ministry to get Aurors, but the Death Eaters are gone now. Two of them just dragged this bloke out in front of our shop and hit him with this spell. He's still lying there." He stopped for a moment and his eyes glanced up and down the three people in front of them. "And when do I get robes like those?"
"When we figure out how to duplicate them," Harry muttered as he pushed his way past George and headed out of the shop. He could see the body of a middle aged man lying face down in the street with some dark red blood slowly expanding from underneath him.
Harry stopped short just before the man and bent down. The man was clearly dead so he took out his wand and slowly levitated the man into the air and rolled him over. The wound was a simple cut from the abdomen all the way up to his collarbone.
"Look at the blood," Ginny remarked in surprise from behind him.
Turning his head back to glare at her, he snapped, "I think we all saw there was blood, you know."
"No, look at it," Ginny replied again, staring directly down where blood stained the street."
Shaking his head slightly Harry waved his wand and gently set the body down on it's back before looking down to see what had Ginny so enthralled.
Will Potter come out and play now?
With the removal of the body, the blood on the ground had flowed directly in to letters forming the sentence on the pavement. It was an effective message delivered by Voldemort that made Harry's blood boil. I've been in three battles since the end of school and you think I haven't done anything? We'll see about that.
"The Aurors will be here any minute," Neville reminded Harry. "I don't think they'll like us being here."
"The message was for me, obviously, and they put the poor bloke here just so Fred and George could get it-"
"But our robes," Neville cut him off. "And you know regardless of where they dropped the body they'll wonder why we're here."
Harry nodded and sighed. "Let's go back inside."
When they were all safely in the back room of the shop, Fred came in a few moments later telling everyone that the Aurors had arrived and effectively told him to scram.
"I think it's obvious that Voldemort knows you two are helping us. I think you might want to move out or-" Harry began, but was immediately interrupted by the twins' protests.
"We're not going anywhere," George said.
"We won't abandon our business," Fred finished.
"Besides, if any of them want to try and break in here to harm us we have more than a few surprises cooked up for them," the twins said together, pride evident in their voices. Harry couldn't even begin to imagine what sort of traps or other devices the twins had set up.
Harry glanced at as watch. It was three minutes to 11 and unless he hurried he would be missing the Hogwarts Express. He truly wanted to scope out the students returning to Hogwarts and see if he could get any clues as to what Voldemort was planning. "Make sure you find out what the Aurors are doing, I've got a train to catch," he said as he pulled out his wand a popped back to the back yard of the Beacon.
After hurrying up to his room and grabbing a few items he didn't have time to distribute prior to Sarah and Luna leaving, Harry quickly went back down to the back yard. He took a deep breath and then Apparated direction to Platform 9 and 3/4. When he arrived the train was just issuing its final call whistle. He checked around to make sure no one was specifically watching him before slipping on his invisibility cloak.
He made it to one of the doors just as the train began to pull away. Clinging to the door handle to keep himself from falling over, he shoved it open as best he could and walked aboard. After making sure his cloak wasn't going to get caught in the door, he shut it and locked it firmly.
Harry was correct in assuming that not many people would be attending Hogwarts this year. Usually the halls of the train were crowded with students visiting each other, but this year there were only one or two people trying to see if their friends were coming back. It wasn't difficult for him to avoid walking in to any people as he searched for Sarah and Luna.
He found them sitting alone in one car and silently slid open the door and slipped in. Closing the door behind him, he drew the curtains and took off his cloak's hood.
"You made it!" Sarah exclaimed happily.
Harry winked. "I keep telling you that you can't get rid of me that easily, but you seem to take every opportunity to think so."
"You do seem to find a lot of trouble," Luna informed him.
Sighing as he sat down, Harry looked across at Luna. "It finds me, you know."
"If you say so," Luna replied as she settled back and withdrew the latest Quibbler. A moment later she was holding it upside down and reading the latest articles on Ancient Runes.
"… you sure?"
"No one will know if…"
The two familiar voices came from outside the car. Harry knew them well and figured that even if he hadn't heard those snippets of conversation that they'd be up to no good. He stood up and pulled the hood of his cloak on again before heading towards the door. "Stay here and keep an ear out. I'm going to see what Pansy is up to."
By the time he got out into the corridor again Pansy and Zacharias had nearly made it to the back of the current car. They seemed to be glancing into every single compartment as they went down the aisle. Harry followed them at a distance, though he wanted to hear what they were speaking. They're checking to see if anyone is paying attention to stop them… or maybe they're checking for me, he thought. They have to be Death Eaters now. They're Voldemort's Hogwarts servants now that Snape is gone.
He followed the two Death Eaters to the rear of the train where they entered a compartment and closed the door. By the time Harry made it to the compartment the curtains were drawn and the door was locked. He listened intently, trying to ascertain what they were doing. When there were some low whispers and other sounds he couldn't quite place coming from the compartment he knew he had to take action. Whatever Pansy and Zacharias were plotting it wasn't going to be good.
"Alohomora," he whispered, pointing his wand at the door lock. There was a click as it unlocked. Harry waited in silence incase either of the two occupants took notice and went to investigate. As the sounds continued from inside the compartment Harry gripped the door handle and slowly pulled it open. When it was wide enough Harry leaned forward and stuck his head in.
There were two standard black student robes on the ground in a pile along with a simple forest green skirt. On top of the clothing there was a pair of purple underwear with a large red heart that would sit directly over a girl's nether regions. Despite these obvious warning signs, Harry looked up and saw what would later haunt him for a good part of his life. Zacharias' pants and boxers were down around his ankles while Pansy was sitting lengthwise across one of the seats leaning up against the far wall. Harry was merely thankful she still had her shirt on.
Harry stared dumbfounded at the scene for a few seconds before his brain clicked. Horrified and disgusted at seeing Pansy half naked, he quickly pulled his head out of the compartment and shut the door. There was a soft bang as the door closed and Harry heard Pansy yelp and say something quickly to her partner in a panicked voice.
After making his way back Sarah and Luna's compartment he sat down on one of the seats and caught his breath. He simply shook his head and laughed nervously, though he wished he could get the image of Pansy's underwear and the scene on the seat out of his mind.
"What was it?" Sarah asked.
"Nothing I'm going to tell you about," Harry said flatly, an unnatural paleness on his face and steel in his voice. Luckily Sarah decided not to press the issue by demanding to know.
It was a good ways into the voyage to Hogwarts that Harry spotted Justin Finch-Fletchley walking down the corridor to his normal compartment. Harry was glad he had decided to keep the curtains open after the Pansy incident to see who exactly was roaming what. He was surprised to see, however, that Justin had a silver prefect's badge on his robes above his Hufflepuff house shield.
"'scuse me," he told the Ravenclaw girls in his compartment as he got up and headed out again. Justin used to be talkative and generally happy for as long as Harry had known him. Now he still looked as depressed as when Harry had seen him on the train platform. Though he figured he'd be annoyed by people trying to talk to him about his personal problems, he knew that someone had to do it.
Luckily he didn't have far to tail Justin as the Hufflepuff went into the compartment right beside his. After taking off his invisibility cloak he knocked on the door before entering.
Justin looked surprised to see him. "Hey Harry, I thought you weren't coming back this year," he commented. This tone was pretty depressing.
Harry sat down opposite Justin and shrugged. "I'm not going back, but as you and everyone else probably already know I adopted a girl whose parents were killed in the King's Cross attack at the end of last year. She was attacked by some of her housemates before we went home."
"I heard. Congratulations." The reply was so unlike Justin. The old Justin would have been enthusiastic and giving a more thorough reply.
"So, Ernie not coming back, then?" Harry knew that Ernie MacMillan was Justin's best friend at Hogwarts.
The Hufflepuff shook his head and tapped the Prefect's badge on his head. "No. Neither are Susan and Hannah. Zacharias is back, though," Justin said glumly. He leaned forward a bit as if someone was listening in. "I think Zacharias is up something. He's been hanging around with Parkinson and all the Slytherins… I think he might be… you know."
He's in something pretty deep, actually, Harry mentally rolled his eyes and then reddened as he realized how wrong his thought was. Harry quickly nodded and hoped his reddening went away. "He is," Harry replied simply. It was best to let Justin know in case Zacharias tried anything while they shared the same dorm.
"How do you know? What have you been doing? You've been fighting-" Justin was silenced as Harry cut him off with a glare. Some students were moving down the corridor.
"I've been doing a little of this and a little of that," Harry admitted. Though not in the same way as Zacharias, he thought. Bloody hell! He growled and tried to remove the forever burned in image from his mind. "What have you been up to?" he asked as his mind shifted back to a certain pair of purple panties with a red heart. He shook his head again to clear it.
"Nothing much," Justin replied, looking down at his hands. "I… I don't know what to do, honestly." He looked back up at Harry with a face wrought with worry and nervousness.
"If you want to talk about it, you can," Harry offered, though he wasn't sure how Justin would take it. If not he could always recommend Luna the Psychiatrist.
Justin just looked across at Harry for a few moments before slumping his head down again. "When my parents died, I… I lost it I guess. I got to mourn them and all and I guess all things considered I handled that pretty well," he stopped and looked back up. Harry nodded and beckoned him to continue. "I figured for a while that I didn't want to be part of the Wizarding world anymore, you know? If I hadn't insisted on wanting to go back to Hogwarts every year they wouldn't have been on that platform. I could have just gone to Eton like all my other friends, but no I had to show off at a Wizarding school." He sounded almost bitter and jealous.
"When my parents died they left a lot of their money to charity since they assumed that when they did pass away I'd have a great education at Eton and well on my way to getting a Law degree. It's what I always wanted. A law degree, that is," he sighed. "I just want to leave the Wizarding world, but I can't." Justin ran a hand through his hair. "The Ministry won't give me a muggle A-levels equivalent unless I complete Hogwarts. I guess that's to stop untrained wizards from leaving school and going to the muggle world. And even when I complete Hogwarts I can't just go to a muggle university and get a law degree because I won't know anything like Mathematics and other classes I'd need for it. For all it teaches, Hogwarts doesn't teach English or other required classes."
Harry simply nodded, taking in all the information. "I've been where you are, trust me."
"And why didn't you run away?" Justin asked glumly.
"Would it have done any good? Voldemort tracks me down everywhere and I can't run away from him," Harry said off hand.
Justin sighed. "At least you have a purpose. I have nothing now."
"Not true. Susan didn't really think she had a purpose either. She found a great one," Harry informed him proudly.
"You know where Susan is?" Justin asked, surprised. "She basically disappeared off the face of the earth… wait… is she helping you?"
"She does a little of this and a little of that as well, yes," Harry said with a smile. He checked his watch and saw that they'd be arriving in Hogsmeade in fifteen minutes. "I need to get back to my daughter, but if you feel the need to do a little of this and a little of that go see Luna. She can get you in contact with the right people." He knew Moody would have a fit if he knew what Harry was telling Justin right now. Harry trusted Justin, though. Justin's status as a muggleborn would ensure that he wasn't working for Voldemort, but even if he was a pureblood Harry knew that Justin would never sink so low.
Justin blinked. "Luna Lovegood?" he asked in pure surprise.
Harry arched an eyebrow. "Is there another Luna that I'm not aware of?" His tone clearly stated that he didn't want to hear any comments about 'Loony Luna'.
"I guess not. I'm not sure, though, if I can do anything. I'll have to think about it…"
"No one's forcing you. Have a good year and watch out for Zacharias," Harry said as he stood up and exited the compartment.
When he returned to his own compartment he found Sarah alone and dressed in her standard black Hogwarts robes. "Where's Luna?" he asked, frowning.
"That Pansy Parkinson girl was heading down towards the engine looking quite mad. Luna decided to go see what she was up to," Sarah informed him.
"How long ago was this?" Harry asked. He had a bad feeling in his gut.
Sarah shrugged. "About two minutes ago. She said if she's not back in about five to go get you."
Harry sighed with relief. He was glad that Luna was about to think ahead like that. "Listen, Sarah," he said as he sat down. "I need to tell you some things before we get to Hogwarts." He waited until he had her full attention. "Now I know you've learned quite a bit this summer, but I need to ask you to keep most of it a secret."
"But why?" she asked.
"Things like the new dueling spells you've learned should be kept secret in case of an emergency. If you go around talking and showing what you've learned it lets all the Death Eaters, like Pansy Parkinson, know what to expect. It's best to keep them in the dark," Harry explained.
"Oh," Sarah said simply. "I guess you're right."
Harry continued. "I also want you to stick close to Luna-" he caught her look of annoyance. "Look, I know you can take care of yourself and you're pretty independent, but I think you can understand my concern. As much as you might think you've come along dueling wise, the others are just stronger than you because of experience. Also, you only have Luna there and we've seen at least three people on the train that we know to be Death Eaters."
Sarah simply nodded.
"I don't want you to feel like I'm cutting you down because you're quite bright and have picked up a lot of things really quickly, but I am just trying to put them in perspective. Now then," he said as he got up and the train slowed. "Have a great year. Once you guys get into your common room you can send an owl or use the Floo network to tell me the password so I can come say hello." He gave her a hug and a kiss on the top of the head.
Luna returned just as the train slowed and reported that Pansy was obviously upset about the way something turned out on the ride. Harry made a note to tell her later, but even then he hoped to have the image of Pansy and Zacharias out of his mind.
Sarah left the compartment and headed out to the train platform when her friend, the young boy with black hair that had attended her birthday party, happened by leaving Harry and Luna alone.
Harry quickly withdrew two things from his cloak pocket and handed them both to Luna. "Some Floo powder," he said indicating the pouch. "You can probably use that on the fires in Ravenclaw tower, but I'm not sure. The other is the Marauder's Map. Has anyone told you how the map works?" The blonde haired girl nodded dreamily and pocketed both items. "Be careful, please and make sure Sarah's ok. Don't let her talk you into anything dangerous, either. She reminds me sort of myself in that regard and I definitely didn't do the smartest things ever in my younger years."
"I'd trust her judgment more than Hermione's," Luna said. Harry had a hard time trying to tell if she was being serious or not. "Your daughter is quite smart."
"If there's any problems, like serious ones, make sure you just use your ring and come back immediately," Harry said, ignoring her comment. "You can go to McGonagall and Hagrid if you need to contact me in an emergency."
"I rather like Professor Hagrid. He has interesting creatures that other people didn't know existed," Luna smiled.
Harry frowned. "In our fifth year you said he was a rubbish teacher."
"Oh yes," she replied serenely. "He is a rubbish teacher, but he has the most remarkable views on certain animals…"
Harry shuddered. He couldn't imagine a conversation about magical creatures between Hagrid and Luna. Frankly he was scared to even imagine it. "You'd best be going so you can ride with Sarah," Harry said.
Luna nodded, gave him a patented dreamy gaze and turned to go. She was stopped when Harry rested a hand on her shoulder which caused her to turn around.
"And Luna… be careful, too. I don't want anything happening to either of you."
"We'll be fine," Luna stated before turning and leaving Harry alone in the compartment.
I really hope so, he thought as he took out his wand and Apparated back to the Beacon.
To be continued…