Harry Potter and the Quest of Light
Chapter: 11 of 30+
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. Naturally I cannot forget AJ. She's a great e-wench.
A/N: For those people who think that adding major OCs ruins fanfiction, perhaps you need to sit back and think about how every canon book introduces major 'OCs'. Such as, if we had only read up to Chamber of Secrets, characters like Remus and Sirius would be 'major OCs'. If I don't make up OCs I can't add to the complexity of the storyline. If you hadn't noticed, I am balancing an unusually large amount of plots and minor subplots.
Harry Potter and the Quest of Light
Chapter 11
A Breakdown in Negotiation
"We have a lack of any sort of sneakiness power—we shall have to rely on audacity instead, sheer audacity!" — Khazarkhan
When Harry returned to the Beacon from Hogsmeade station he was confronted by more bad news and tasks he had been putting off. First, Neville and Ginny had reported to him with painful accuracy on how the Aurors had handled the situation.
The Aurors, it seemed, had been reduced greatly in number and morale. Fred had reported that even the department at the Ministry seemed empty and Harry wasn't really surprised. The amount of Aurors who were required to run Azkaban successfully, the ones who had died, was a very large sized portion of the total amount. Fred had also mentioned that there was only a handful actually present at the Ministry when he arrived and it took well over ten minutes to get someone to come back with him. Harry had been told by Ginny that it was, in fact, Bond who had reported to the scene and Harry was glad that he had chosen to skip out to take the Hogwarts Express.
Harry was currently doing one thing he had been putting off for a while as well. He was currently sitting at an old desk that was placed in his room a week ago. It was found outside in a garden shed, but seemed to be in near perfect condition. There was a blank sheet or parchment sitting perfectly in the center while Harry himself was sitting with his quill poised above it. Not a single word had been written for Harry did not know how to say what he wanted to.
Hello, Tom! I don't even know your last name, but your establishment was destroyed and I'd like to send you some money. Harry groaned and vanished the sarcastic words with a wave of his wand. It was a bitter attempt since he had been trying to write it out for an hour now. He rubbed his temples as he thought over more important things. At this moment he looked up into a mirror that someone, Harry wasn't sure who, had hung on the wall over his desk. Once he realized what he looked like rubbing his temples and trying to clear a headache he immediately recoiled with a sigh. He looked, for lack of a better word, old and tired. Harry suddenly had a vision of himself at Dumbledore's age and still trying to coordinate a war effort against Voldemort.
In the end Harry settled for a short and simple message. He was part of the White robed figures fighting against the Death Eaters and felt responsible for the loss of his business. He enclosed a sizeable sum of British Pound Sterling notes. Harry, of course, left the note unsigned. He was just sealing the letter when there was a knock at his door. Harry turned around in his chair to see who it was.
"Harry… can… can we talk?" Ginny asked. She was standing in the doorway wearing a simple summer dress with a floral pattern. She had worn similar dresses throughout the last week due to the still hot weather.
"I suppose," Harry replied with a shrug as he leaned back in his chair. He was still feeling rather bitter about the whole situation.
Ginny nervously entered the room and sat down on the edge of the bed which was just a few feet from Harry's desk and chair. She had a depressed look on her face. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking down at her lap.
With a flash of anger Harry was about ready to tell her exactly what he thought of her apology when he wouldn't even look at her. He calmed himself down a bit with a few deep breathes before replying. "If you won't even look at me, it doesn't mean anything," he snarled bitterly.
She looked hurt by his words, but nodded. There were tears forming in her eyes. Ginny looked up at him. "You're right. You're always right," she said, her lower lip trembling.
Harry simply glared at her and waited for her to continue.
"I'm sorry. I made a big deal of it acting like a spoiled brat. It's just…" she hesitated.
"Go on," Harry said plainly.
"I'm jealous, Harry," she sobbed. "I'm just a jealous bitch," she spat the last word loudly so that she could hear it.
Harry blinked. This was news to him. "What? What on earth are you jealous about?" he asked, clearly surprised.
It was Ginny's turn to blink blankly. "You… you don't even know?" After Harry shook his head Ginny sighed. "Don't you see? You try to break up with me, but we stay together and everything is fine. We have a little time apart and then suddenly you come back acting like super dad with a daughter." She was crying freely now and trying to wipe her tears off on the sleeve of her dress.
"It's not like I became a father out of nowhere. Sarah needed me," Harry said defensively.
"I know, Harry, I know, but that doesn't stop me from thinking certain things. You started spending a lot more time with her than you did me-"
Harry glared again. "And what was I supposed to do, Ginny? Say 'alright your parents are dead and I adopted you. Go find something to do!'?" His anger was growing again.
"I told you I know," Ginny sobbed. "And then to make it worse Luna, who was the one friend I had that was my age here and isn't part of some golden friendship, starts spending more time with Sarah than me. Luna's become better friends with a twelve year old girl than someone her own age!" Ginny was starting to get angry now, though she continued crying.
"Don't blame me for what Luna does," Harry snapped back. "It's not like I'm going to tell Luna and Sarah to stop being friends. In case you hadn't noticed, Sarah has no one around her that's her own age either."
Her face flushed, Ginny simply glared daggers at him. "I'm trying to apologize here!" she yelled angrily. "You're barely letting me explain why I was acting like a bitch and when I do say something you snap right back at me!" She got up off the bed and hurried out towards the door before Harry could get out of his chair and stop her.
Harry quickly got up and followed her out the door and down the hallway. He got to the door to her room just as it slammed in his face with a loud bang that Harry was sure everyone else in the house heard. "Ginny!" he called, banging on the door with his fist. When she didn't answer, Harry drew his wand and pointed it at the door. "Alohomora," he nearly shouted. The door clicked open and Harry entered.
Ginny was sitting on her bed with her knees pulled to her chest. She was shaking with anger, yet still crying. Harry wasn't sure whether she was more angry or upset.
Moving over to the bed, Harry sat down on the edge beside Ginny. "I'm sorry that I didn't let you finish," he said simply. "I think it was good that you were telling me what you thought."
Her eyes simply shifted over to him. They had an icy look to them.
"You were right," he tried again. "I was an idiot for not letting you finish, though there were some things I obviously didn't agree with…"
She sighed and nodded ever so slightly. "I was going to say, before you kept biting my head off, I was already jealous over Sarah, but then you made a comment about how nothing meant anything until Voldemort was gone-"
"You know I didn't mean it like that," Harry said, then shut his mouth quickly when he realized he had interrupted her with another loud reply.
Ginny merely glared and continued. "I don't think we should let Voldemort stop us from loving each other," she finished. She had stopped crying now and was wiping the final tears off of her cheek.
Harry sighed and nodded. "You are right and I definitely don't want to let Voldemort run my life, but at the same time…" he trailed off and looked her in the eyes. He grabbed her hands in his before he continued. "I can't just pretend that Voldemort isn't around, Ginny. I just can't. I'm the head of the only force that seems to be putting even the smallest wrench into Voldemort's plans. That saddens me enough, but Voldemort killed my parents, Sarah's parents and his Death Eaters have killed many others. There are a lot of horrible things going on out there and my mind just isn't always thinking about romance. I'm sorry, but that's just the way it is." He simply waited for her reaction. He simply waited for her reaction. He was scared that she would find this unacceptable, but it was the truth.
"Like I said, I know, Harry. I was being a jealous brat. Jealous of a twelve year old girl that had her parents killed by the person we're trying to stop. I'm such an idiot," Ginny said glumly. She looked up at him. "Can you ever forgive me? Again, I mean."
Harry nodded with a small smile. "I think I can manage that, yes." He held one of her hands up and moved down the kiss the back of it. "But only if you can forgive me for interrupting you and not letting you say what was on your mind."
Throwing her arms around him and hugging him warming, Ginny smiled. "I can do that easily," she informed him. They snuggled for quite some time and while they did nothing naughty at all, Ron would have been horrified to learn that Harry and Ginny did sleep peacefully in the same bed that night, albeit fully clothed.
Ron and Hermione had returned to the Burrow early the next morning and were eating breakfast by the time Harry was awake enough to head downstairs, skipping his usual shower. He simply donned his bathrobe instead. Hermione greeted him warmly, but Ron simply stared at him rather oddly.
Harry yawned and shook his head to clear away the last bit of drowsiness. "What?" he asked his best friend.
"Oh… nothing really…" Ron trailed off. He tried to act like nothing was wrong, but kept shooting Harry glances that were unreadable. Ron also seemed to be trying to keep his mouth shut and was only succeeding with looks from Hermione.
"Ron, we've got about ten minutes before I have to talk to you all anyways, why don't you just tell me what's bothering you?" Harry asked, exasperated.
"I… I…" Ron started, but was unable to finish his sentence. His ears simply reddened.
There was a startling bang as Hermione slammed the book she was reading down on the island counter. "Oh for heavens sake, Ron! I'll tell him if it bothers you too much." She turned to Harry. "Ron got a letter from Charlie while we were at my parents' house. There was some family news in it and Ron decided to act like a five year old by running all the way up to Ginny's room to tell her-"
"Oh Merlin," Harry muttered as he went red himself and didn't even hear the rest of what Hermione was saying. Nothing had happened with Ginny and they were fully clothed, but when he had woken up they were quite close together. "Nothing happened! We were fully clothed!" Harry stammered. "We had some problems to work and we did… it was late…" he kept adding more and more things meekly, hoping that Ron would tone down his usual 'Ginny's boyfriend' reactions.
Ron surprised them all. "I know… I wasn't going to say anything, but blimey Harry if it has to be anyone I'd rather it be you."
"What?" replied Harry with his mouth open in surprise. "I mean… it's just that… that…"
"That's not the way he usually talks about who I date?" Ginny offered as she came up behind Harry and kissed his cheek. "Maybe he's maturing after all."
"You really should hear the way he used to talk about Dean," said Neville as he too entered the kitchen. Susan arrived a few moments behind him, saving Harry the trouble of having to assemble a meeting.
Once Ron had defended himself by stating how was 'never that bad and just looking out for his little sister', it was time to get down to business. Susan had, in Harry's opinion, learned enough Occlumency to be let in on the main scheme of things. Harry spent a few minutes giving her a brief overview of the Horcruxes and what the Order of Light was attempting to do. He promised to give her a more detailed explanation tonight after.
When everyone had taken a seat around the island in the kitchen, Harry told them what had to be done. "I need someone to come to the Chamber of Secrets with me since that's the smartest and safest place for Voldemort to hide his Hogwarts Horcrux. We only have two invisibility cloaks and even though I have permission to be there, I don't want to have to use that unless it's an emergency."
Ginny and Ron had noticeably paled at the idea. "I'm not going back there, mate. Being stuck with Lockhart after the cave collapse wasn't fun."
Ginny shook her head adamantly. "I'm never going back there, even if you did destroy that diary and kill the Basilisk… too many bad memories."
This was basically what Harry expected from both of the Weasleys. He turned to Neville and Susan and saw them both shrug with an 'if you want us to' expression. Hermione, however, was trying hard to refrain from jumping up and down with excitement. She looked exactly like she did when she knew an answer in a class.
Harry gave her a look bored look. "Would you like to come, Hermione?" he asked, trying not to laugh.
Hermione nodded vigorously and sprang up to go get some parchment and a few quills to take notes on Slytherin's Chamber. Harry sighed and stood up. "I need the rest of you to keep on the look out for Death Eater activity as usual. We won't be able to be reached while we're at Hogwarts. Well, at least not quickly. Ron, you're in charge until we're back tonight."
Ten minutes later Harry and Hermione Apparated into a back ally beside Honeydukes in Hogsmeade. From there they donned their Invisibility cloaks and headed up the street towards Hogwarts. It took them a good twenty minutes to make their way up the sloping hill and to the front doors. They slipped inside quickly and were glad that they had timed their entrance perfectly enough so that everyone was currently eating in the Great Hall.
As he and Hermione ascended a staircase to the second floor, Harry wondered how Sarah and Luna's first night back had been. He was unsure how many Voldemort oriented students were returning and he hoped whole heartedly that it was less than he suspected. He had spotted about three, but he hardly checked out the entire train and that was only students he was absolutely were Death Eaters, like Pansy Parkinson and Zacharias Smith.
Harry and Hermione entered the bathroom that contained the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. While he was slightly nervous about heading back down into the Chamber, Hermione was a mix of fright and excitement. She had heard all of the horrible stories about it, but her curiosity and the chance to learn was bringing out her typical side. She was also disappointed as this was the one adventure that she hadn't been around for.
"So, come back with another girl already, have you?" sobbed a voice from one of the bathroom stalls. "I thought you said no more!" the voice continued, only becoming more agitated. Moaning Myrtle floated through the door of her stall and out into the open. Harry and Hermione both froze.
"It's no use hiding!" wailed Myrtle. "I can tell you're here… but oh no, let's not introduce ourselves to poor little Myrtle. We'll just ignore her until she leaves to wallow in self pity!"
Against his better judgment and Hermione's shock, Harry pulled off the hood of his invisibility cloak. "Hello, Myrtle," he said simply.
Myrtle looked unsurprised, but her mood brightened considerably or at least as happy as Moaning Myrtle could get. "Harry! I knew you'd come back to see me soon!"
"Uh, we're not really here to see you Myrtle, but it's always nice to say hi. Hermione, you can come out now," Harry winced.
"Not here to see me?" sniffled Myrtle as Hermione reluctantly removed the hood of her cloak and greeted the ghost.
Harry shook his head. "Unfortunately not, but it is good to see you again. Hermione and I aren't coming back to Hogwarts this year, but we'll be around from time to time on imported business."
Myrtle hovered in the air gloomily before the two Gryffindors. "Oh," she said glumly. "Don't let poor Myrtle interrupt your important business. No one else does anyways." She began to slowly glide back to her stall.
"Wait!" Harry called out as an idea popped into his head. "Why don't you come with us, Myrtle? We're going down to the Chamber of Secrets."
"It's pretty gloomy down there I hear, you'll love it," added Hermione under her breath.
"Me? Come with you?" Myrtle flew through the air and stopped only inches from Harry's face. "That's the first time someone has ever asked me to do anything with them!"
"You might even learn some of the history to… to… well, why you died. All of that history is in the Chamber of Secrets down there. The student who caused your death, Tom Riddle, is Lord Voldemort," Harry informed her hesitantly. He didn't know how exactly she'd take it.
Gliding past him and over to the sink that housed the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets, Myrtle spun around to face them. "Well, what are you waiting for?" she wailed.
Harry sighed and wondered if he was going to regret offering to let her come along soon. Hermione seemed to be keeping her comments to herself as Harry looked at the snake on the faucet handle. Willing it to be real, he spoke in Parseltongue.
Immediately the entrance opened up exactly as Harry had remembered from his second year. When the path to the Chamber was open, Harry smiled and looked over at Hermione. "After you," he said with a snicker.
After glaring at him, Hermione headed down into the Chamber with Harry following right behind. Myrtle had the easiest ride of all because she easily floated down, following Harry closely. They landed in a small room that Harry remembered quite well.
"This is where-" Hermione started.
"Your beloved Lockhart tried to Obliviate us, yes," finished Harry as he looked around. "Luckily Ron had broken his wand at the beginning of the year…"
Hermione ignored Harry's comment about her and Lockhart and was concentrating on another problem. "And how are we going to move that without causing another rock slide?" she asked.
Looking to where Hermione was, Harry stopped himself from slapping his forehead in disgust. He had entirely forgotten about the cave in that had sealed the traditional entrance. "I… uh… forgot about that," stammered Harry at a complete loss. "We could levitate the rocks one by one out of the way."
"Clearly," Hermione replied to his original comment dryly. "But that could cause another cave in and in case you hadn't noticed this whole area is a cave. We'd be crushed."
"We don't know if the rocks are supporting the ceiling," commented Harry as he moved closer and tried to see the top. "I can't tell."
"I can tell you!" Myrtle perked up. Before either Harry or Hermione could say anything she had floated through the stack of rocks and vanished from view.
"Err… well you can't say it was a bad idea to bring her along now, can you?" Harry said as he tried to make conversation while they waited for the ghost to return.
Hermione laughed and smiled. "I suppose not," she sighed. "I can't wait until I can see the inside of that Chamber. You never really did tell me what sort of historical artifacts were in there."
Harry grinned. "Well, at the time I was running for my life from a gigantic Basilisk that could kill with just its gaze while dodging the spirit of Tom Riddle and trying to save Ginny's life. I didn't have much time for sight seeing."
"Which is why I plan to document the things in the Chamber. They date back centuries to the time of the original founders and only you and Voldemort have set foot in it," Hermione explained.
"Just remember what we're really going in here for, ok?" sighed Harry as he arched an eyebrow at the witch.
"Of course, we're going to see how long it takes before you get bored of my taking notes."
Harry was spared having to think of a good retort by Myrtle's return. "It isn't supporting anything," Myrtle said glumly. Harry couldn't tell why this was bad news.
"Great work," Harry said with a grin as he took out his wand. "Wingardium Leviosa," he stated with his wand pointing at a small rock near the top. The rock floated ever so slightly and Harry directly it slowly off of the stack and placed it beside him. "This is going to take a while," he sighed.
There was a very subdued feeling in the Great Hall during breakfast and the handing out of schedules. It was partly due to the fact that only a third of the students had returned to Hogwarts, but the other half was because, despite all her efforts, Professor McGonagall did not maintain the same enthusiasm and charisma that Dumbledore had.
Luna Lovegood didn't really mind that much. She was never close with anyone in her dorm and didn't have any actual friends until her fourth year. Now she was seated beside Sarah Potter, a second year who was looking nervously around at the others at the table. Only one student older than Luna had returned and that was Terry Boot, a seventh year now.
From Luna's own year only two students remained and both were seated across from her, though closer to the head table. One was Celeste Blair, who thankfully had no relation to the muggle Prime Minister. This family of Blairs was pureblooded and even if their relative was Prime Minister, they'd never admit it. Celeste herself was the one who decided in their first year to start the annual tradition of hiding Luna's belongings and was even the one responsible for the nickname 'Loony Lovegood', not to say that it took any creativity to come up with it. Celeste had short black hair, much like Rose Bidwell's, but with piercing crystal blue eyes.
The other was a boy with sandy blond hair and a generally happy look about himself. Willis Sawyer was a half-blood that had, strangely enough, not treated Luna unfairly in anyway though he did choose to hang out with the rest of their year and outcast her all the same. The most memorable thing about Willis was his gentle features and attitude. Once he had even given Luna hints as to where her possessions were hidden, but Luna being Luna was already a few steps ahead of them and had already tracked them down, but was thankful for his help all the same.
There were quite a few fifth years in Ravenclaw and numerous other students of younger years in all houses, most likely sent by those parents who figured that Hogwarts would still, despite all that had happened there in recent years, be the safest place for them.
Professor Flitwick came by just as Luna was finishing her breakfast and handed Luna her timetable. Unsurprisingly all students from each hours of that year would be taking classes together due to the small number of students. This would also give the teachers a lot more free time for independent projects, or in McGonagall's case, Luna knew, working for the Order of the Phoenix and the fight against Voldemort.
Luna and Sarah stood up together and headed towards the great doors. Since Harry had asked her to keep on eye on Sarah, which she would have done anyways, Luna wasn't going to let Sarah out of her sight.
"Miss Potter! Miss Potter!" called out a voice that sounded out of breath. Both Luna and Sarah turned to see Professor Slughorn hurrying up as fast as his stumpy legs could carry him. "Miss Potter, I'm glad I caught up to you before your classes! I'm sorry I couldn't get to see you on the train, but of course I was needed here instead."
"Err… hello… sir," replied Sarah, adding the last part on as she remembered she was at school.
"Please," Slughorn said jovially, "forget the fancy titles. Harry and I were good friends. I suppose he talks about me often, does he?"
"Not really. I don't think he's mentioned you all summer…"
"Oh? Well, I suspect he's been busy and all," continued the Potions Professor, obviously not to be deterred. "Harry was one of my favorites and my best potions student all last year and- Oh my!"
It took Luna a moment to notice that Slughorn had now turned to her and was rambling sometime. She had begun daydreaming again while taking in the conversation. Such simple things as conversations always bored her so she had to amuse herself with other things while listening. However, this seemed to come off with some certain side effects.
"Miss Lovegood! I remember you from my Christmas party last year… you went with Harry. How lovely… and now you're here with his adopted daughter," Slughorn continued as his eyes darted between Sarah and Luna. "Has Harry found a steady girlfriend, then?" he asked. "I must ask you both if you'd be interesting in getting together for dinner with some other students this Friday."
Luna wasn't really listening though; she had slipped into thought again. This wasn't like her typical dreamy state, however. It was one that had really gotten her picked on early in her Hogwarts life. Mummy… she mentally wept as memories of her mother came back.
"Come on, Luna! I can't wait all day! You have what I've been working on," her mother called from the basement of their small house.
Happily, Luna bounded down the stairs to see her mother, who looked nearly identical to her, only older, was getting ready to cast a spell at a vase she had set up on a stool. "Ok, mummy. Show me!"
"Now stand back…" Lola Lovegood said happily as she turned back to the vase. She raised her wand…
"Not that I know of," Sarah said slowly. It snapped Luna out of her daydream. "He keeps his love life private," she continued with a tone of finality. Harry would have been impressed.
It took only a slight second for Luna to realize that she had been giving Slughorn a look of complete disinterest and was getting an equally confused look in return. Over the professor's shoulder she could see Pansy Parkinson shooting her a jealous glare and whispering to Theodore Nott.
"Really? That's too bad. I thought you two made such a wonderful couple at my Christmas party. Gwenog Jones, captain of the Holyhead Harpies, usually sends me two tickets to her games. It would be perfect for a couple of young kids," commented Slughorn as he turned his attention back to Luna. "Still, both of you must come to my office, Friday at 9. I won't accept no for an answer!"
Slughorn left before Sarah or Luna could say anything otherwise and was replaced by Clifford Lestrange. Luna recognized the boy as the dark haired one from Sarah's birthday party.
"Hi, Sarah," he said shyly. "I'm glad you decided to come back this year. None of my other friends did."
"Hey Cliff," replied Sarah cheerfully. "No one of my age besides you is back either, but Rose and Luna are here."
There was a shout by one of the Slytherin Prefects which caused Cliff to sigh sadly. "I've gotta go," he said glumly. "I'll see in Transfiguration!" he added happily as he departed. The Prefect reprimanded him immediately, causing Sarah to sigh unhappily.
"Why don't they just leave them alone?" she asked.
"It's the way they are," Luna explained while she dreamily watched Pansy Parkinson.
When the two Ravenclaws were out of the Great Hall, Sarah went up the steps to her right towards Transfiguration while Luna herself went to the left and headed towards Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was interested in seeing who the new teacher was since Professor McGonagall had neglected to mention it in the start of term announcements. She was humming 'Weasley is Our King' to herself and minding her own business when her legs suddenly came up from underneath her and caused her to fall to the floor face first. A shrill laughter followed her trip to the cool stone floor.
Blinking and getting to her feet slowly, Luna turned around to see Pansy standing there, flanked by both Nott and Smith, with her hands on her hips. "Next time, you miserable blood traitor, you won't be able to get so easily, if at all," Pansy said with a sneer reminiscent of Draco Malfoy.
Tilting her head to the side, Luna gazed at her. "You know, everyone was right. It does look like Trifolump's," she commented lazily.
"It what?" Pansy said, not quite understanding.
"Your nose. A Trifolump looks like a common pig, but has wings. It does look similar. Perhaps daddy could write an interesting article… do you have a Trifolump blood in you? They're really rare-" Her mind wandered to what she had read about Trifolumps and how her father was trying to find proof of their existence.
"How dare you!" shrieked Pansy as she drew her wand and fired off a hex.
Unlike for simple brain tasks like conversations, Luna used her full attention for dueling. Almost immediately she produced a shield charm which sent the spell harmlessly into the ceiling. Her dreamy demeanor always made her opponents underestimate her, but if you looked closely when she was dueling, you might spot a fire in her silver eyes. It was, perhaps, the only positive to her daydreaming habit.
"I suggest you stop right there, Miss Parksinson, or I shall have to deduct points from Slytherin… though this early I am doubtful that they have any points at all."
Pansy turned to see who dared to interrupted her. She nearly jumped out of her skin. "D-D-Dumbledore? But you're… d-d-"
"Dead?" offered Dumbledore with a small smile. "Unfortunately my dear brother, Albus, passed away two months ago, but I assure you I am quite alive." There was a small smile one Aberforth Dumbledore's face that was so very like his brother's.
"Oh," Pansy said stupidly. She motioned for Nott and Zacharias to follow her down to the Charms classroom.
"I believe, Miss Lovegood, that we both have Defense Against the Dark Arts, but in different roles."
Harry and Hermione stopped to rest after all the rocks had been cleared away from the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. It had taken the two of them nearly all morning due to the fact that they had to go slowly and make sure they didn't cause a cave in by accident. Neither of them was going to risk their lives solely on the words of a depressed and overly emotional ghost.
It was nearly lunch time, or rather when all the students would be eating lunch in the Great Hall, so they both took a moment to eat the sandwiches they had packed. "I know it's none of my business, but I care about you both. How are things with Ron? And your parents?" Harry asked offhand.
Hermione swallowed her mouthful slowly and sighed. "My parents don't want me to stay apart of the Wizarding World. It took over five days to fill them in on everything and convince them that I have to stay and fight, but they think that since I'm a muggleborn I can just back out whenever I want. They of course knew about all the strange disappearances in the north, but were willing to go to America or Australia to protect me." She took a small sip of water from the glass she had hovering in the air beside her. "The only reason they let me go back is because I told them I could prevent the whole thing." She sighed and took another bite, chewed and swallowed. "Ron's good though, you know. I think he's really maturing… oh don't look so shocked. He's capable of maturing too."
Harry grinned and thought back to what Remus had told him about James and Sirius. Ok, I guess she's right. Everyone can mature to some degree… They finished the rest of the sandwiches in silence and proceeded to the snake engraved door that marked the actual entrance to the Chamber of Secrets.
"Now… you're sure that thing is dead?" ask Hermione nervously, looking re-assurance.
"Oh definitely not. It might be waiting right on the other side of the door for us. These things can survive swords driven through their skulls, didn't you read that?" Harry told her and she concentrated on the snakes. "Open," he commanded. The door began to slide open. Something horrible was waiting for them, but it wasn't a living Basilisk.
Harry immediately gagged and rushed off to the side. He threw up seconds later and heard Hermione having similar problems a few feet beside him. Moaning Myrtle floated around their heads wondering what was wrong. Harry staggered over towards the door, coughing and trying to keep his eyes from watering any worse than they already were. "C-c-clo-close," he sputtered at the door. There was a slide grinding sound as the ancient door closed back into place.
While the smell of a rotting carcass in a damp cave didn't entirely disappear, it was somewhat bearable. "Do… do you believe me that it is dead, now?" Harry asked sarcastically as he took out his wand to clean off the front of his invisibility cloak.
"Oh shut up," snapped Hermione as she did the same. "Why didn't you think of that?"
"Me?" Harry asked incredulously. "You're the one that thinks of everything…" he snapped back before sighing. "Now what?"
The witch shook her head in disbelief. "I really do have to think of everything, don't I?" She pointed her wand at her head and. Without speaking any words, a large clear bubble appeared around her head.
"Right. Bubblehead charm," muttered Harry, feeling quite embarrassed. He copied the spell and then turned back to the door. "Ready?"
"This time, yes," Hermione sighed.
"Open," Harry hissed once again. The door creaked open once more. This time no barrage of decaying stenches reached his nostrils. The two of them, followed by Moaning Myrtle entered the Chamber of Secrets.
The first thing they noticed was the rotting remains of a giant snake lying sprawled out on the ground just like Harry remembered. "Shouldn't it be decomposed already?" Harry asked.
"Yes… it should be… but… I don't know, maybe its magic?" suggested Hermione offhand. Anyone could tell she was wracking her brain for a plausible answer. "I'd have to look it up." She took out her quill and parchment and began making notes on the Basilisk carcass as well as some of the small serpent statues they passed while they headed up towards the giant statue of Salazar Slytherin himself.
"You know, we're here to find the Horcrux, not make notes on statues," commented Harry, irritated by the sound of Hermione's continually scratching quill.
Hermione crossed her arms and frowned. "Perhaps you can tell me exactly what we're looking for, then."
Harry's cheeks went red. "I'm not sure and you know it, but it'll be obvious when we see it."
"Right, and in the mean time while we're looking around I'm going to take notes on everything. It might be important," she stated matter-of-factly. "Besides, it would make an interesting chapter in Hogwarts: A History-"
"In which you want to write, I get it, I get it," Harry said as he looked across the small pool of water in front of the giant Slytherin statue. There was the statue's mouth, which Harry knew is where the Basilisk emerged from at one time, that opened somehow. And an ideal place to keep a Horcrux. Behind the sleeping place of a giant serpent that can kill anyone who it looks at and only the true heir of Slytherin, himself, could control…
Harry approached the edge of the war hesitantly. He really didn't want to swim in whatever slimy sewer water was in here, but it looked as if he had no choice.
"Oh move over," Hermione said, giving an exasperated sigh. She pointed her wand at the water directly in front of Salazar's mouth. "Are you a Wizard or aren't you?" she said smugly. "Glacius," she said loudly despite having a perfect grasp on non-verbal spells. There was a sound of crackling and freezing water as a small strip of ice appeared from the edge of the pool to the opposite side and the Slytherin statue.
"Ten points for Gryffindor," Harry said, giving her a Snape like sneer. "I just had to bring the genius…" he muttered as he stuck a foot out and pressed down. The ice seemed to hold.
Apparently Hermione sensed his hesitation. "Well if it doesn't hold, you'll get wet, but you were about to do that anyways, weren't you?"
Harry nodded and put his full weight on the ice. There were a few slight cracking sounds, but nothing major happened. He decided that sprinting across would be better so he took off at a full run despite how hard it was to get traction. He made it across without further incident and looked back across to wait for Hermione to cross, however the bushy-haired witch seemed content on scribbling down more notes, rather than crossing the ice bridge. Harry cleared his throat with a loud 'ahem'. Hermione looked up. "Aren't you coming?"
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Over that thing? No way. Let me know if you find something important back there." She looked back at her parchment and was taking more notes on the objects in the chamber and the rotting Basilisk carcass in particular.
Harry grumbled as he ducked his head down and entered Slytherin's throat. After a few feet he swished his wand and lit the tip up in a simple 'Lumos' spell. The tunnel went farther down than he had expected. Even with his light source extended as far as his arm could stretch he could not see the end of the tunnel. He didn't really have any concerns until the smooth stone began to slope downwards and he found it hard to keep his footing since the floor was, like everything else in the Chamber, somehow still damp.
He slowly edged his way closer and closer as the downward angle became more and more sharp. With another shuffled footstep he slipped and tumbled down the remaining length of the 'throat' and landed with a crack on the cool, wet floor below. There was a painful jolt up his arm and he groaned, knowing instantly that it was broken. After he retrieved his wand with a quick summoning charm and re-lit it, he noticed that his arm was dangling down from the precise location where the Basilisk had sunk it's fang into him the last time he was down here.
It was only when he slowly got to his feet and bit his lip, trying not to think about the pain, that he noticed he was in a small square room that was a solid emerald green, though still made of stone. On the far side was something that chilled Harry to the bone. He approached the small ceremonial bench in a mix of anticipation, surprise and general fear. Sitting clutched in serpent's head stands were two eggs the size of a regular human's head. The serpent stand on the left contained nothing which confirmed Harry's fear.
Basilisk eggs… but… that's impossible. Harry knew it couldn't be true, but there was no reason to believe otherwise. He remembered, nearly word for word, the page of the book Hermione had clutched in her hand at the end of second year. A Basilisk is born by hatching a chicken's egg underneath a toad. These were clearly not chicken's eggs and nor were there any toads around. As he leaned in for a closer look at the eggs, which were a pale yellow color, he noticed they had a small red shimmer to them which seemed to be coming from the teeth of the serpent's stand. Preservation, Harry thought, his mind reeling.
He raised his wand higher to the wall above the ceremonial bench. There were words written on the wall above.
If the Serpent King's Heir wishes for power, simply speak open and you shall receive.
Power… there's got to be another part of the room here with something Slytherin deemed important. If Slytherin thought it was important, Voldemort would have too! His mind was racing and he could have sworn his heart was skipping a beat. "Open!" he hissed as loud as he could in Parseltongue. He looked around and waited for a large passageway to open up or something else amazing to happen. There was a very odd 'shink' sound from right in front of him and he recoiled back a few steps, his broken army flailing slightly with the quick movement.
The center serpent's head stand had retracted its teeth and the Basilisk egg it was clutching was no longer giving off the dull red shimmer. The egg itself was shaking every few seconds as if... It's about to hatch! How could I be… be so stupid, he thought angrily. He wasn't quite sure what to do, but he awkwardly grabbed the egg from the stand and kept it held against his body with his broken forearm as he hurried back over to the pipe. Looking up at the pipe in which he had fallen down, Harry realized he couldn't climb up in the current state. The rattling of the Basilisk egg against his body made him panic even more. Are you a Wizard or aren't you, he thought as a small grin crept on to his face. He pointed his wand with his good arm at his feet and wordlessly cast the levitation charm.
Navigating himself through a pipe in which he had to duck to enter in the first place was hard work. Harry ended up hitting his head on the roof many times before he managed to get to where he could walk again. He hurried along the pipe and slide out of the giant Salazar Slytherin statue's mouth and on to Hermione's flimsy ice bridge, which seemed to be melting. He slid to the other side just in time as the ice began to break apart. "Hermione!" he called, breathing faster and faster as the egg under his arm began to continually shake.
Hermione emerged from one of the pipes that lead off to the side of the main chamber. When she saw Harry she gasped. "Harry! Your arm and-" her eyes widened even more. "Is that… no that's impossible!"
"It obviously is possible and not everything you read in books is right," Harry snapped back. This wasn't the time to argue as the egg gave a big lurch which was followed by a cracking sound. "What do we do?"
"Are you a Wizard or aren't you?" Hermione nearly yelled as she hurried across the room and knocked the egg from Harry's grip. It fell to the floor, but didn't break. Instead a large fracture appeared near the top as the young Basilisk began to hatch. Hermione had other ideas. "Reducto!" she cried to give the spell more power. The jet of light hit the egg and exploded it in a shower of thick shell and a bunch of pulp that looked like the remains of the young Basilisk. A few seconds later, after both Harry and Hermione had calmed down, Hermione smiled. "That wasn't so hard. By the stories you told you made it sound at least somewhat difficult."
Harry could only stare at her for a few moments before shaking his head sadly. "I hope you learned that books can be wrong, sometimes. There's another egg down there too that we'll have to destroy."
"Another one? That's amazing. Those eggs have to date back to the time of the founders. That egg was hatching… is it time released?" Hermione continued to spew a bunch of questions and thoughts as her quill and parchment and began to scribble down a bunch of things she wanted to look up next time she had access to a library.
"Um, Hermione? Perhaps we can quit for today and maybe get my arm fixed," Harry asked weakly. The pain was starting to catch up to him now.
"Oh! Merlin, Harry. You're quite pale. Let's get you Madam Pomfrey. It'll be quick," Hermione exclaimed as she remembered that Harry was in fact injured.
"No," Harry said flatly. "That would raise too many questions. Let's just get back to the Beacon."
"I guess Susan is looking for something to do, anyways," Hermione sighed. "I see the Light."
Both of the Gryffindors blinked when nothing happened. "The wards at Hogwarts?" Harry suggested. "But no… we've used Portkeys from Hogwarts before, like that stupid Triwizard Tournament trophy."
Hermione looked agitated. "There's no time to argue, let's just hurry back outside the grounds and Apparate back if that's what you want to do. Maybe they added some wards to block portkeys." She grabbed Harry's good arm and dragged him towards the exit. "And just where did Myrtle get to anyways?"
"Maybe there was something gloomier than down here," Harry muttered as he bit his lip due to the pain.
Harry and Hermione returned to the Chamber of Secrets for the next two days and after they destroyed the remaining Basilisk egg they scoured the rest of the Chamber with a fine tooth comb for any traces of a Horcrux. However, they continued to come up empty handed and Harry felt that they'd have to expand their search to the rest of Hogwarts.
Unfortunately the Slytherin common room and dungeons were next on Harry's list, but he wasn't sure how to go about getting in there. He wanted to ask McGonagall, but he knew that might be stretching things quite a bit. Still, he resigned himself to ask. A small thought that Harry kept in the back of his mind was that searching Hogwarts for a Horcrux was like finding a needle in a haystack. It would undoubtedly be hidden and have possibly deadly enchantments on it, but he tried not to get too discouraged.
At the current moment Harry was seated behind his desk again and reading a letter from Sarah. It was a simple, generic letter, designed to make anyone but he reading it not know its true purpose. He flipped the letter over to the blank side and did a revealing spell. There was only a single word written on the back.
Sanctuary
It was how Harry and Sarah had discussed prior to the Hogwarts express. She would send him a small letter and have Luna cast a spell on the opposite side to hide all writing. This was one word, Harry knew, was the current password to the Ravenclaw tower. It would help if I actually knew where the Ravenclaw tower was, though, Harry sighed. Well, it wasn't like he was having too much success searching elsewhere in the castle and the entire Ravenclaw section still had to be checked over. Possibly a relic of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw, Dumbledore had said.
The next day Harry traveled alone to Hogwarts. Ginny and Ron were on the prowl in the village of Ottery St. Catchpole after it Mr. Weasley had commented that there was probable Death Eater activity there. Arthur had also confided that Mrs. Weasley would be furious if she knew that he was willingly passing information to Harry and the others specifically so they could go out and endanger themselves.
Neville had taken to watching the mirrors that reported images continually from the spy cubes they had set up in key places in Diagon Alley as well as Knockturn Alley. Of course Susan had also stayed behind and continued to work on extra potions and practicing an increasing number of medical related spells. Harry also suspected that Neville and Susan had chosen to stay behind at the Beacon because there was something beginning between them. Harry himself had rarely been at the house over the last few days, but he still noticed that Neville and Susan seemed to exit and enter rooms together.
Hermione had found a way to duplicate the white robes the Order of Light wore into battle. However, with the duplication charm the robes lost all their enchantments such as automatic sizing and the temperature moderation charm. She was busy re-applying these and later planned to deliver them to the Weasley twins as well as Moody, Tonks and Remus.
It was probably a good thing that Harry had chosen to come to Ravenclaw Tower alone rather than with Hermione, his usual accomplice for Hogwarts Horcrux searching. It had become rather painfully obvious that Hermione and Luna would not get along. Hermione, for all her intelligence, completely ignored any probability that Luna was right in anything she said. On the other hand, Luna, for all her compassion and understanding of people and acceptance of differences, would not back down when Hermione blatantly challenged her opinions. While Harry couldn't blame the Ravenclaw, the bickering between the two girls had grown tiresome and just annoying. He wished that both of them would drop it.
It was late in the evening when Harry arrived at Ravenclaw Tower. Ron and Ginny were positioned in Ottery St. Catchpole to catch any Death Eaters that wandered in the area and Neville, Hermione and Susan remained at Headquarters. Harry was surprised that he actually found the common room entrance without trouble. He supposed he shouldn't have been surprised, it was in virtually the same place the Gryffindor common room's entrance was, only on the west side of the castle. Instead of a painting, Ravenclaw had a suit of armor that was clutching a sword at its side.
"Sancutary," Harry said clearly to the suit of armor, though he was still under the invisibility cloak.
The armor nodded and slide to the side, pedestal and all, to reveal a small entryway that Harry had to duck to enter. Harry's first thought of the Ravenclaw common room was that it was blue. From sky blue to navy blue to baby blue, it seemed to have it all. It was also far more pleasant than the million shades of green the Slytherin common room possessed. He also figured that he'd have to eventually set foot in the Hufflepuff common room to compare all four.
Harry spotted Sarah and Luna sitting alone on a couch in the center of the room reading the latest edition of The Quibbler. He had been told in confidence by Luna earlier that this exact issue would deal with another Crumple-Horned Snorkack sighting in Sweden. He tip-toed as quietly as he could until he reached the couch and took a seat on one of the arms. The two girls didn't seem to notice, being engrossed as they were in the Snorkack article. "Interesting read?" Harry asked offhand as he let the hood fall off his invisibility cloak.
Much to Harry's disappointment, neither Sarah nor Luna looked surprised as they look over at him. "Yeah! I can't wait until we actually find the Snorkacks!"
As much as Harry doubted it would ever happen, he gave Sarah a smile. "Well, I suppose eventually they'll have to be found. Anyways, what's been happening?"
"Nothing much," Sarah said gloomily. "No one is here anymore."
"Except than one boy that is quite smitten with you," Luna stated dreamily. "He doesn't believe in Snorkacks or the Rotfang conspiracy…"
This comment caused Harry's eyes to widen. "Boyfriend?" he asked meekly.
"No! Well… maybe I guess. He's a boy and my friend…" Harry noticed immediately that his daughter's cheeks were going pink. "But still, Luna isn't telling you about Willis Sawyer! He seems to like her quite a bit!"
"Is he? I didn't notice," Luna dismissed the thought serenely. "That Pansy Parkinson is clearly part Trifolump. After she tripped me the other day I noticed. I plan to track her down and get evidence for father to print."
Harry assumed that by this Luna meant she'd be trying to find out of Pansy was up to anything, but with Luna you could never be too sure. He had also learned not to bother asking what Trifolumps were, though he strongly suspected they were some form of rare magical creature. He talked with Sarah and Luna a bit longer and was quite surprised to find that Aberforth Dumbledore was the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. He was less surprised to find out that Slughorn had approached both of the girls and asked them to join the Slug Club, but he knew that Slughorn was rather harmless.
After Sarah and Luna went to bed as it was already past midnight, Harry searched around the Ravenclaw common room for any sign of Horcruxes. He sighed heavily when he searched what seemed to be the fifth large book case. What is with all these books? If Hermione was a Ravenclaw she'd never have left her common room… The sigh wasn't only due to the large amount of reading material present, but because Harry's patience was already wearing thin. Hogwarts was massive and the chances of finding a Horcrux were incredibly small. Even if he did stumble upon it, how would he recognize it?
Harry didn't dare search the dormitories. He'd leave that to Luna when she had the time, but the common room turned up absolutely nothing out of the ordinary. What exactly am I expecting, anyways? Do I think there will be some sort of huge dark aura surrounding it or something? The Diary, he knew, looked as common as anything else. Gaunt's Ring, Dumbledore had said, gave off a magical aura, but Harry didn't know if this was felt by anyone who came near it or if Dumbledore had done some sort of detection spell. The problem was, even if Harry knew a detection spell for finding magical items, it would be useless in an environment such as Hogwarts where nearly everything was magical including the walls themselves.
He was about to head down to the dungeons to continue his futile search when a black falcon landed on his shoulder, having approached from his back. He jumped slightly, and then breathed a sigh of relief as he realized that it was only delivering a letter. Harry quickly untied the note and read it.
Potter,
We have your filthy muggle aunt and uncle. To spare their lives you will give yourself up without a fight. You have until 2 am this morning to make your appearance at the muggle church in Ottery St. Catchpole. Come alone. We know you have two members of your pathetic, so called 'Order' in the area. If you decide to bring support or contact those two in anyway, they'll die too.
The note was unsigned, but already Harry was panicking. They found the Dursleys… but where? He quickly checked his watch and saw it was 1:13 am already. He silently cursed the slow raven and took off at a full sprint down the corridors towards the main doors. He didn't care if Filch heard his footsteps and came to investigate since he knew the squib would never be able to find him while he was wearing his invisibility cloak.
Harry reached the Hogwarts gates fifteen minutes later and immediately Apparated back to the Beacon. Upon rushing into the house, he saw that Neville was dozing peacefully in front of the mirrors and Hermione had already gone to bed. He ran up to his room and, despite being mostly out of breath, blew into his dragon horn with all his might.
The reaction was immediately. Within half a minute Neville, Hermione and Susan were all struggling through the doorway to his room looking confused and tired. "There's a situation in Ottery St. Catchpole-"
"Ron and Ginny?" Hermione exclaimed nervously.
"No, my aunt and uncle. They've been kidnapped and want me to exchange myself for them in Ottery St. Catchpole. Alone, of course. They said they'd kill my aunt and uncle as well as Ron and Ginny, though I don't think they've been caught, if I don't come alone or try to warn them," explained Harry in one breath as he struggled to get on his white robes.
"So we're coming with you," Neville said.
"Of course, we can use the invisibility cloaks and the Death Eaters won't even know we're there," finalized Hermione. Harry had a bad feeling about Neville and Hermione coming, but there wasn't time to argue as he handed Neville the invisibility cloak he had taken to Hogwarts. "Fine, whatever. Susan, I need you to stay here in case Ron and Ginny come back."
The Hufflepuff nodded as Harry led the invisible Hermione and Neville out to the back of the Beacon. With three distinct pops they three of them departed to the one place they had visual knowledge of: right beside the cinema which overlooked the main street. Ron and Ginny had placed one of Fred and George's spy cubes in the area just last night.
The three of them sprinted towards the lone church. The lights that usually remained on, according to Ron and Ginny, were off, which made Harry worry even more. When they reached the large wooden doors, Harry stopped them.
"You should probably let me go in alone," he explained. "If we all go in they may notice somehow. You should be able to hear what's going on inside or perhaps you can sneak in the back and take out some of them."
Hermione and Neville nodded and set out in different directions heading around the building. Harry sighed, wondering where exactly Ron and Ginny were. While he wanted
With a slight struggle, Harry pulled open one of the doors and entered. The main hall of the church was vacant, save for many rows of vacant pews and the typical altar up at the front of the room. The only source of light came from an old metal chandelier that was hung from the tall ceiling by chains. All six candles were lit and cast eerie shadows about the room. Along the back there was an old wooden staircase leading up to a balcony above the altar.
However, there was no sound at all and the lump in Harry's stomach grew heavier. I did it again. I feel for the same trap again… they didn't get the Dursleys… this is just like the Department of Mysteries all over. He felt like crying, but he knew that wouldn't do any good.
"Potter, I believe we said to come alone." Three figures had emerged from the backroom, which Harry suspected belonged to the pastor or whoever ran the church. The two flanking Death Eaters were masked, but the one in the center, who Harry knew all too well now, was unmasked.
The flickering candle light only made his face even more horrifying, but Harry assumed that was his intention. It was also working. Harry felt a lump rise in this throat. "I… I am alone. I never talked to the two people in the area."
"Liar," sneered Rodolphus Lestrange. "Don't think we don't know of your two friends under those precious invisibility cloaks of yours." Obviously Harry's facial expression betrayed him. "Yes, don't you think that we have ways of detecting such pathetic attempts at trickery?"
"My aunt and uncle! Release them!" Harry said, panicked again and trying to swallow the lump in his throat. Why am I so stupid? He wanted to hurt himself.
Rodolphus and the two other masked Death Eaters laughed. "No. You violated the contract, not us. The Dark Lord will be pleased that we can deliver him a bunch of bodies rather than just one."
Harry frantically looked around for some means of escape or to warn Neville and Hermione. His glances didn't go unnoticed.
"My darling wife will be disappointed that I get to finish you off and not her. I wish I could share the pleasure with her, but unfortunately she doesn't find me attractive anymore." Rodolphus Lestrange sounded bitter and smug at the same time. "I can only hope that little blonde girl happens to be under one of those invisibility cloaks. Revenge on you and her on the same day would make it perfect-"
"You have me!" exclaimed Harry angrily. "Let everyone else go! Let them all go and I'll come no questions asked."
"It doesn't work like that, Potter. You broke the agreement already-"
"No!"
"I think it's time we show you what happens when you don't play by our rules."
"Wait!"
"Avada Kedavra!"
To be continued…
