A/N: I apologize for the delay in getting this chapter out. Thank you all for your reviews, author alerts, addition to favourite stories, and your support in general.
Declaration: I write for my own pleasure and not for profit. I do not own Harry Potter Universe.
With You by My Side
Chapter 25- Reminiscences
Albus Dumbledore, head master of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was also the head or the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, the judicial and legislative body in Britain and the Supreme Mugwump of the International Council of Wizards; two bodies that made the laws and exerted control over the magical population of Britain and the world respectively. Far lesser individuals may have considered that holding three positions of responsibility may be a bit too much and much more astute administrators would have decried the presence of three powerful positions at one individual's discretion especially when one of that was in-charge of student's safety. They would be right, but Albus Dumbledore was no ordinary individual, he was considered to be the most powerful individual after Merlin himself. He would have been the only wizard powerful enough to challenge the title of the most powerful living, except for two other wizards; the dark lord and bane of peaceful existence, Lord Voldemort and recently a twelve year old student Harry Potter.
Like any leader of the magical world, Albus Dumbledore earned his stripes in war and rose to head three of the most powerful bodies that influence the magical world. During the early years he was considered a prodigy and so took it upon himself to guide the children of the magical world by becoming a professor at Hogwarts, teaching Transfiguration and went on to become the headmaster in a few short years. It was his defeat of the previous dark lord Gellert Grindelwald that catapulted him into the limelight. That his defeat was more as a revenge for his sister's death and less as a duty to the world was conveniently forgotten in the ensuing celebrations.
Accolades were heaped on the deserving winner and following a wave of public euphoria was elevated to a warrior wizard from his humble beginnings as an educator. Due to his sensibilities as a teacher, Dumbledore refused the coveted prize of being the Minister for Magic which added to his reputation but did nothing to satiate his burgeoning ego. With his rapid rise in the good graces of the ruling elite and even though he was not eligible to sit in the Wizengamot, as he was not a member of a noble and ancient house, he was given the privilege to preside over the august body as its Chief Warlock. Not willing to be left behind, as Grindelwald was a threat to the entire wizarding world rather than just Britain, the International Council of Wizards immediately invited him into its midst and promptly elevated him to the top position.
The years of war left a rift between the different countries too big to be bridged easily and this was seen nowhere prominently than in Britain. The ruling elite consisting of a few families of purebloods loathed any change that threatened their powerbase and scuttled all efforts to bring the British wizarding world on par with the more forward looking countries. The time of peace should have been utilized to foster a healthy growth and interaction between the various classes that formed based on wizarding heritage. This could have removed forever the threat of blood based conflicts within a society. Instead, the chasm was further widened and found a new champion in its cause, ironically, a half blood from the family of Salazar Slytherin one of the founders of Hogwarts, Lord Voldemort.
It could very well be argued that Tom Marvolo Riddle, who terrorized the lesser wizards based on heritage, in the name of Lord Voldemort, was inherently evil. The debate of nature vs. nurture is as old as creation itself, but whatever else was the cause of the rise of Voldemort, some of the blame could be placed firmly on the apathy of the wizarding world's elite. The political clout that was bestowed on Dumbledore could have been effective in negating the pureblood ideology rampant during that time but he was either despised using it or was never interested in guiding the wizarding world to a better future on par with the non-magical world. It could be argued that if policies had been enacted to ensure that any wrongdoing was severely punished, the inherent evil that was Lord Voldemort would never have gained momentum. On the other hand, if Dumbledore and the board of governors ruling Hogwarts were more perceptive to the plight of the orphaned Tom Riddle, the evil nurturing ending to be the feared dark lord would never have risen.
In any case, Albus Dumbledore was the focal point of the events that could have led to a different route taking Britain to peace and tranquility instead of cowering under the threat of Lord Voldemort. When the threat was all consuming, Albus Dumbledore rose to the occasion once again as the 'leader of light' against the darkness that was Lord Voldemort and his death eaters, an admirable trait. This time though, the he was powerless to stop the tide of the guerilla tactics that nearly annihilated the British wizarding world, only to be saved by an unknown event that led to the birth of the 'Boy-Who-Lived'.
The meteoric rise of Dumbledore and the lack of proactive law enforcement gave him the reins of leading the good fight against terror. Whatever else Dumbledore might have been, ruthless he was not, but that was what was needed to put a halt to the terrorist agenda of Lord Voldemort. Even after his defeat in the hands of a baby Harry Potter, his followers were allowed to re-enter public life and in some cases allowed to rule against the masses with just a slap on the wrist. Even though the leader was dead to the general public, the organization was not and if Voldemort were to return to life, one failed attempt notwithstanding, he would have his support structure back to full strength with minimum effort. If history was to repeat itself and Voldemort was back peddling his brand of murder and mayhem, the lack of meaningful retribution to their transgressions against peaceful citizens under the aegis of Dumbledore as Chief Warlock would spell the death knell.
The adulations of an adoring public would have put a lesser wizard to test to uphold the vast expectations. Harry Potter through his defeat, albeit temporarily, of Lord Voldemort was now the darling of the public and Albus Dumbledore took it upon himself to ensure that the boy would face his destiny one day. Dumbledore was sure that the day was still to come when Lord Voldemort was vanquished permanently but kept the counsel to himself, a grievous lapse of judgment that could have serious repercussions should he not live to ensure his defeat. Much more than a boost to his ego, the public offices that he held gave him the false sense of worth that he was the only one capable of handling the secrets to defeat the dark lord Voldemort.
Dumbledore's greatest critics would point out that this lack of trust even in his closest lieutenants and the total disregard for other's opinions even on the most critical of matters would be his failing. Dumbledore's belief that he was the only one that could handle the truth of Voldemort's near immortality and his self-importance in guiding Harry Potter to his eventual destiny led him to guard secrets so close to his chest that no one was privy to them. In his delusion of grandeur, Dumbledore made the naïve mistake in thinking his infallibility and should the day come to pass, the very secrets he guarded could well be lost to all, secrets that could one day threaten the very fabric of life and lead to the extermination of life on earth.
With only a few weeks left before the school would break for Christmas, Dumbledore was finally back at Hogwarts after a grueling meeting of the ICW. He was confident in the ability of his deputy professor McGonagall and so was able to afford a prolonged absence from the school, though if he had to admit, the knowledge about his extended stay away from the castle might have been one of the factors for Lord Voldemort's attempt at coming into the school for stealing the Philosopher's Stone.
Whistling a jaunty tune after a fulfilling Sunday breakfast, the headmaster neared the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to his office and was met by a closed door. Normally, the statue would admit him without the need for a password or his voicing a request to open, unlike the others who would only be admitted by a password or his express permission from inside the office. On this day, the guardian appeared to be asleep, very strange for a stone statue.
Clearing his throat the headmaster spoke, "My dear Gwarcheidwad (Guardian in Welsh- a named coined by the founders), would you be so kind as to let me in to my office."
To his consternated surprise the statue did not move thus adding to his confusion, he could detect a few wards that were not present before but they were definitely not of malicious intention, only added security. Not in a mood to discern the meaning of the new development, Dumbledore muttered the password, "earwax flavoured bean" and entered the stairwell. Adding to his shock, the self-propelled walkway refused to move and he had to climb the stairs adding to the discomfort of his tired knees.
Through his ordeal, he never considered the possibility that the castle was trying to send him a message disappointed with his decisions regarding the heir of Godric Gryffindor. Sadly, the message was not received by the headmaster even when the reluctance of the gargoyle to permit his entrance without a password continued.
Scene Break
The 'vibrant couple' noticed an immediate effect on Ginny Weasley as soon as the cursed diary belonging presumably to Lord Voldemort was removed from her possession. They did not believe her brothers the twins, when they said that Ginny was a very fun loving girl and prone to hitting back at them with pranks and had a wicked sense of humor. In contrast, when she came to Hogwarts they found that she was very moody and depressed with extended periods of staring into space. The initial few days, the twins put her behavior to one of homesickness, but Harry and Hermione did not believe that and after finding the tainted diary, they could explain the odd behavior easily. The thought of an extended period of possession by the soul piece present in the diary sent shivers down their spine and their fears were true too as evidenced by the petrification of Mr. Filch's cat. It was providence that there were no students at that time; otherwise it would have been an unmitigated disaster if even a single student was petrified or worse killed.
Harry and Hermione took heed of Goron's warning not to actively seek out whatever it was that petrified the cat, if it was a student that was affected then they would have been forced to report it to the authorities and then aided in hunting down the culprit as Harry was the only one who could speak Parseltongue, available. They took time out of their busy schedules to hunt out the location of a possible lair of the serpent, thankfully no one paid heed to a couple of second years walking around the castle nonchalantly holding hands. It was a surprise too that they were not accosted by others even though they were the most popular couple in the entire castle. They did spy a few first year girls trying to look inconspicuous and still desperate for a look at the 'Boy-Who-Lived' even though it was blatantly obvious that he was with his girlfriend.
During one of their stroll, Harry and Hermione came across a flooded second floor corridor and remembered that Mrs. Norris was found at the same place the other day and the corridor was flooded then too.
Harry was ready to enter the room but was stopped by Hermione, "This is the girl's lavatory Harry, I am sure that no one will appreciate you barging in, if they are already using it" she replied to his questioning glance.
Harry turned red as a tomato and began muttering under his breath causing Hermione to laugh out loud at his embarrassment. Her laughter increased his mortification but he had to retaliate and so putting out his best leering grin said, "I am sure that others do not appreciate me barging in, but can I accompany you inside?"
It was now Hermione's turn to turn beet red but she recovered quickly and gave his arm a swat, "You are such a prat. You are lucky that I love you." She rushed inside the girl's lavatory just as Harry shouted "love you too" at her retreating back.
Getting the all-clear from his girlfriend, Harry entered the bathroom and began hissing the words in succession, "Open, show the way, entrance, expose" in parseltongue. He started near the door and repeated the process after taking a few steps away only to stop bewildered when Hermione started to laugh out loud. Her chuckles slowly turned to full belly laughs forcing Harry to look at her and demand the reason.
Getting her mirth under control she gasped out, "You look ridiculous Harry, sticking your head in front and your tongue darting in and out" and dissolved into a fit of giggles again.
Harry scowled at her but brightened immediately. With his arms bent at the elbows and raised above his head, Harry struck a classic bodybuilder's pose and puffed out his chest before proclaiming, "Me ape-man, me look for snake beast….. hu… hu…. hu….."
That was even more ridiculous to look at and did nothing to stem the flow of laughter from Hermione and Harry joined her after holding the pose for a few seconds more. Composing themselves, they began the hunt in earnest but not before Hermione muttered, "More like serpent-man" loud enough for Harry to take exception.
They finally hit the jackpot when a sink suddenly lowered itself and moved away into the adjoining wall immediately after the word, "Open" left Harry's mouth in a hiss. Looking into the cavernous space, and ignoring the stench emanating, they could not help but shudder at the thought of a deadly snake lurking in its depths.
Pulling Harry back to his feet Hermione prompted him, "Come on, we might accidently set it free. You should close it immediately", which Harry did with a muttered "close" in parseltongue.
When the sink returned to its original spot, the two students put as many locking, sealing, notice-me-not, and confundus charms on the sink as they could, and they did know quite a few owing to their training in basic curse breaking from professor Flitwick. They still resolved to bring either professor Flitwick or a professional curse breaker to make sure that the entrance to the 'Chamber of Secrets' could not be opened even by a parselmouth.
"May be we could put a password or something" was their last thought before they returned to the common room to clean up before dinner.
Scene Break
The first day of the weekend after purloining T. M. Riddle's diary from Ginny, the girl in question approached Harry and his friends after lunch while they were making their way to the 'den' for an afternoon of study interspersed with small talk. Ginny was blushing furiously even when standing a few feet away from Harry and was still trying to catch his eye. Luna took pity on her childhood friend and called her out.
"It's alright Ginny, Harry doesn't bite and even if he does, only Hermione is privileged to enjoy it."
The shocking statement was met with complete silence and more so from Harry and Hermione, the two people implicated in the statement, but it was enough to break the ice as Ginny's sense of humor came to the fore.
"Oh! Are we allowed to take notes on that" she retorted to increased embarrassment of Harry and Hermione who began to deny the accusations but only managed to sputter incoherently.
Ginny joined in the ensuing laughter and was able to get over her own discomfiture of meeting her crush. Regaining her sense of propriety she addressed Harry timidly, "I was having difficulty in understanding some lessons in Transfiguration and my brother Ron was of no help. He however directed me to you two, and told me about a study group. Can you please help me with my lessons; I promise that I will not get in your way whatever you are doing?" Ginny pleaded with them.
Harry was only eager to oblige, the motive of forming the group was to help each other out in their lessons and they were going to help Luna and Colin with their studies any way. He however deferred it to Hermione, as they suspected that Ginny had a serious case of hero worship against Harry and Hermione was certainly angry at other girls who were taking to stalk Harry along the corridors, even with her always holding his hand. Hermione may be having issues with fan girls, but she was not about to deny an honest request for help in lessons, may be this may help Ginny in seeing the truth about their relationship and get her over the crush.
As usual Harry and Hermione led the others with the addition of Ginny to their room and everyone was able to notice the not so subtle glances that Ginny was casting at their joined hands. If Hermione was irritated at the redheaded girl, she was able to hide it well, but Ginny was not able to hold her curiosity back much longer. As soon as they took their seats with Harry and Hermione sharing a loveseat, Ginny blurted out, "Are you two a couple?" and then promptly turned beet red. This raised a few chuckles among the assembled friends but no one was brave enough to comment on that fearing the famous Hermione temper especially when it came to their relationship.
Hermione bristled at the bluntness of the younger girl but kept her anger in check, she was not going to let the girl off the hook so easily though, "Why? Are you jealous?" she retorted.
Padma, Susan and Hannah snorted in unison but it was Padma who ventured to answer Hermione, "Of Course she is jealous, you are the girlfriend of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' any girl would be willing to kill for that position."
Ignoring Harry's loud groan of protest, and in a surprising bit of clarity Susan provided the much needed information regarding the prevailing childhood dream of every witch who was of similar age to Harry, "You being a muggleborn do not know about the frenzy of being a partner to Harry Potter, every girl myself included harboured hopes of snagging him. It was almost like a cult, the girl of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' was probably a bed time story to many children."
"None more so than Ginny Weasley who would only sleep if the story was told. Not to mention she even dragged me into playing Harry Potter so that she could enact her dream wedding" Luna delivered the mortifying blow totally ignoring the desperate attempts of the redhead to shut her up. Ginny hid her face in her hands to try and cover up her blush which would soon start to spout steam if the vein of conversation continued.
Michael Corner was a recent addition to their group and a Ravenclaw along with Padma. "Good thing you were too young to recite vows, otherwise you would have been wedded" he deadpanned.
This declaration only increased the discomfort of Ginny and brought the girl close to tears prompting Luna to abandon Colin and embrace the clearly mortified girl. Michael quickly apologized to both Ginny and Luna seeing that his comment had the opposite effect rather than inducing some laughter. In what was the first move that would later seal their fate as a couple, Michael hugged Ginny to him and effectively managed to calm the girl down.
Hermione changed the subject and brought an important point that Harry and she wanted to know, "Ginny we noticed that you were feeling a little under the weather. The twins thought that you were homesick, are you feeling better?"
Everyone could see the gratitude on Ginny's face towards Hermione for bringing the topic onto a safer ground. She sighed, "It was not homesickness but rather something strange. I was having periods of blackout where I could not remember anything. Once I stopped writing in my journal, I am feeling much better. I don't know why writing in a diary would cause that."
Hermione exchanged a significant glance with Harry; this proved that Ginny was being possessed by Voldemort's soul piece stored in the diary. "It's good to hear that you are better Ginny, but you should talk to Madam Pomfrey, extended periods of blackouts can cause lasting damage to the brain. You may have difficulties in school if not corrected, and can harm your life even causing a change in your personality. Please do not delay." She managed to extricate a promise from the younger girl about seeing the school healer as soon as she could maybe even the same day.
With some pretty serious discussions going on, no one was in a mood to open their books and so Ginny was coerced into telling about her home life. She finally agreed only when Michael promised her, and was backed up by the whole group, that they would meet again the next day and get her doubts cleared. Ginny told them about being the only girl even among her cousins, in a family inundated with boys, how she was pampered right from her childhood probably giving her the impression that she could have whatever she wanted. The matter was not helped by her mother reading to her about the adventures of the 'Boy-Who-Lived' and even encouraged her about getting close to him. How she looked like Lily Potter and Harry looked a lot like James Potter making it the perfect match.
She confessed that those tales started an infatuation in her, which she would now make an effort to get over. Seeing the closeness between Harry and Hermione, she understood that she did not have a chance at the fairy tales, where she would spend her time in parties and being the wife of Harry Potter.
Harry was disgusted how the trade in Harry Potter goods has actually done a lot of damage to his life, rather than giving him anonymity his absence from the wizarding world for ten years had actually given more fuel to the flame of the 'Boy-Who-lived' persona.
"You should definitely look for an advocate to stop this trade Harry" Hermione put voice to his own thoughts after Ginny concluded an abbreviated version of her life history till Hogwarts.
"Yeah! I mean books being sold as my life history even if there is no shred of truth in them. I have to get them to stop printing those books" noticing the frown on all the girls except Hermione, Harry amended, "or at least have them printed as fiction and children stories."
Hannah agreed with his assessment, "People have been led to believe that you live the life of a prince and live in a castle."
Harry scoffed at that, "Life of a prince indeed, I had to do chores around my aunt's house to earn pocket money. I spent most of my time in the library or with books that I bought with the money I earned."
"There is nothing wrong with doing chores around the house Harry, you know that even I do them and you do not complain when you live at my house" Hermione was sympathetic to Harry's plight at his aunt's house where he had no experience with love but she still had to play the devil's advocate and not allow him to wallow in self-pity. What caught the attention of the others though was the casual use of the words implying that Harry was used to living in Hermione's house a lot of time and not just visit her. This raised a few eyebrows, which was totally unnoticed by the two in question.
Harry gave her hand which was resting in his all this time, a gentle squeeze, "I know Hermione. I do not have any complaint about doing my share of chores and you do almost the same amount in your house. My grouse is over the difference in treatment of two boys of practically the same age, granted I am not their own son, but you know that my cousin does not even lift a spoon unnecessarily."
"Not the life of a prince I agree" Neville interjected hurriedly to prevent any chance of an argument. To lighten the mood he went on to describe how everyone in his family feared that he was a squib and the only case of accidental magic he showed was when his uncle dropped him from the second floor balcony and he bounced.
Hermione took over from him and described some of the cases of accidental magic she had, "But it was traumatic to my parents. They had no clue as to what was causing all the books flying around or my tormentors in primary school losing their homework that I helped in completing. They took me to several doctors who could not find anything wrong with me I was a healthy growing girl. It was only when I was nearly eight years old that one doctor convinced my parents not to worry about such occurrences and everything will be clear one day. Come to think about it, he might have been a squib or a relative of a magical and he knew about magic."
"I was horrified when I landed on the school roof trying to escape my bullying cousin. I was nearly in tears when I got home to my aunt's but she explained that it was normal for me and my parents could also do it. That actually calmed me down more than anything else; I had something in common with my parents, something to connect with them. My aunt did not tell me about magic, just that I will know about that when I turn eleven" Harry brought his own experience with accidental magic to the table.
Neville was pensive, "They knew about magic already from your parents, so it should not have been a problem for them to tell you about magic" he opined.
"May be but they were not sure if that broke the statute of secrecy. They were already not so comfortable with magic, I am sure they were terrified of making any mistakes and getting on the wrong side of witches and wizards" Harry explained with a shrug of his shoulders.
Hermione harrumphed, "I mean is it so difficult for someone from either the Ministry or the school to come and tell about magic to those parents whose children have shown signs of accidental magic? That would save a lot of trouble and also provide peace of mind to them."
"Harry, you can do that once you take up the mantle of headmaster of Hogwarts" Luna interjected in the serene voice of hers totally out of the blue.
Everyone looked gob smacked at Luna, who was back to playing with her cork necklace with one hand. Harry was the first to recover his voice, "How do you say these things as if they are going to happen Luna?"
"I told you Harry, I see a possible future based on the current path you are taking. The future is not written in stone but may very well become a reality one day, if allowed to flourish and not impeded" Luna answered calmly but everyone could see that her eyes had a hard edge to them almost as if daring anyone to contradict her words. No one dared but everyone turned thoughtful deciding for themselves the truth in her words.
Hermione leaned into Harry and whispered with an unrepentant grin adorning her face, "Well what she said could very well come to pass one day and we could live in a castle, Mr. heir of Gryffindor."
Before Harry could retort however, Luna broke the silence, "Apart from the fame part and aversion to be ogled at in public, why don't you like the attention you get Harry?"
Harry had to actually think about that for a few seconds before he could answer truthfully, "I did not know anything about all of this before I turned eleven Luna. All that time the only fame I wanted was to be known as a smart kid and finish University with the highest grade ever possible. I would not have minded that fame and ironically enough no one knew the names of the top two students in the entire country at the primary school level." Throwing an impish grin at Hermione which was mirrored by her, "All I knew was that I was competing for the first place with a girl from Oxford. I come to the wizarding world and I am famous for something that I do not even remember, hell I may not even deserve the moniker, may be it was something that my parents did that ended Voldemort."
Seeing the thoughtful looks on his friends Harry sighed, "Whenever someone says 'Boy-Who-Lived' I feel like a fraud. Growing up in the non-magical world, all this was the stuff of fantasy, there heroes did not exist except in movies and story books."
Hermione immediately countered, "Not true Harry, even in the non-magical world, heroes do exist. They may not be able to fly or shoot rays out of their eyes, but they do much more than that. They influence people and bring about revolutionary changes in the society. People like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., recently Nelson Mandela; they are heroes to millions of people Harry. They brought about a change that no one even imagined, let alone knew there was a need for change."
Luna continued from where Hermione left off, "Heroes never want the fame Harry; they are thrust into doing things that bring fame. They still get the work done just because there is a need for that not because of the fame or fortune it brings. There is such a need today Harry, you can see it all around you, being the 'Boy-Who-Lived' is not a burden, if you choose it to be it could be a blessing."
Suddenly there was a wind that started in the closed room accompanied by a whistling sound. It all seemed to whirl around Luna and died down as suddenly as it started, but there was a noticeable change in the blonde haired girl. Her voice took on an eerie tenor as she started on her monologue.
"There is a saying that heroes are born and not made. That is true in almost every case throughout history whether magical or not. They arise whenever there is a need for something drastic to occur."
"Merlin was a hero; he was not only a scholar but also was a warrior wizard. He was a hero neither due to his prowess in battle nor in bringing forth an innovation or his brilliant teachings, he was a hero because he cared enough to bring peace between the magical and non-magical worlds. If he did not strive for that, the world might not have survived the genocide. He was not a leader, but from the side lines, he changed the world and brought peace."
"After Merlin, there was only one who came anywhere near to emulate him; Albus Dumbledore was both as powerful as Merlin and smart enough to rival him. He was even considered to be the incarnation of Merlin himself. However, Dumbledore was not born to be a hero; he was born to be a leader. In trying to become a hero, he made many mistakes that now threaten to rip our world apart. He could have led the world to prosperity and equality as a leader of the masses, but he chose to ignore his duty to the people. He should have become the Minister of Magic when offered, yes he was a brilliant teacher but his main role was as a statesman; but because of his self-importance and his inadequacy based on his birth in a lower house, he thought himself to be a hero. He did not do his duty as a leader should do properly and left the wizarding world poorer."
"There was another who was born to be a hero. He was born into trying circumstances and was ridiculed all his childhood. He was both powerful and smart. If he was given a chance and guided properly by the aforementioned leader, he would have grown to be the hero we all needed. He would have brought down the blood status barriers and peace would not have been left as a distant dream. Instead he used those same attributes of a hero to become a menace and a danger to the society." Luna or whoever was using Luna as a medium looked down trodden at a lost opportunity. Harry strongly suspected that it was the Hogwarts castle imparting her knowledge to them and may be teaching a lesson too.
This break in the monologue offered Neville to ask what was in everyone's minds, "Who is this person you are talking about Luna? Do we know him?" His question received enthusiastic backers as Susan, Ginny and Padma began nodding their heads.
Instead of answering, Luna stared at Harry and Hermione, forcing Harry to answer, "He chose to go by the name Lord Voldemort and yes, he is still alive." That declaration was as close to spreading terror among the collected students as the appearance of the man himself would have.
"But….. but… you defeated him" Michael was the only one who was able to overcome his fear long enough to speak, but even he was close to a breakdown.
Hermione sighed heavily and took the onus, "No we have evidence that he is not dead, not completely."
Neville gathered his fledging courage, he was among his friends and they were learning to duel from a champion dueler, "What do you mean?"
"Remind me to tell you the story of what actually happened to Quirrell and not the rumor mongering" Harry hedged the matter for now; he had a lot to think about. Luna or apparently the castle was hinting at things that he desperately wanted to avoid, he was not ready or willing to be in the limelight, all he wanted was a quiet life with a loving wife and kids. His recent dreams have begun to insert Hermione and a couple of bushy black haired kids in place of the generic wife and kids. But if it was needed and he was the one in a position to do some good, can he really turn his back on the problem?
He was greeted by nods of acceptance and a muttered "Fair enough."
Hermione understood his dilemma and was sure about the content of Harry's silent deliberation. She threw her free arm around his shoulder and cuddled him into her and tightened her grip on his other hand that was in hers all along, reminding him of her support. Harry gave her a grateful smile and mouthed "later" before turning to Luna.
Luna took her cue and continued, "To compensate this evil, another hero was born. One who is as powerful as Merlin, Dumbledore, and Voldemort. One who is intelligent enough to destroy the myths surrounding many of the theories of magical world prevailing today. One who can really bridge the gap between all the magical races, irrespective of their blood status or creed. One who is smart enough to really be the reincarnate of Merlin, if there ever was one. Most importantly, he was the one who did not aspire for greatness or hero worship but was thrust into limelight at a very young age."
Lifting her finger and pointing at Harry all the time, Luna resumed, "You, Harry Potter are a hero not because you can, but because you WILL do whatever is necessary to bring forth a revolution to this stagnant world. You were born not to wear the moniker of the 'Boy-Who-Lived, Lord Voldemort is nothing but a minor inconvenience in your life, but you were born to change the way the wizarding world thinks and acts."
Here Luna turned her unblinking gaze to Hermione, "With your chosen mate, you will rise above the murky waters and become the beacon that is truly needed. Pay heed to the counsel of others but trust your heart and your life partner; they will not lead you astray."
Gazing into the distance Luna turned hopeful, "You are the only one who could truly be called the next Merlin. Embrace your destiny young Gryffindor, you are the hope for a better life for all those magical. You have the opportunity to even surpass Merlin in his achievements. As Lord Potter you have a significant role in our society and combined with your popularity as the one who defeated or will permanently vanquish Voldemort, you have an un-paralleled sway over the population. Use it to your advantage, to guide the masses towards a just society and leave bigotry behind. If you embrace the path laid before you, Merlin would only be a memory, a good memory, but a memory none-the-less. Instead of trying to become a Merlin, children would hope to become a Harry Potter."
With that proclamation, the ethereal wind left Luna and she collapsed in a heap. Before she could hit the floor, Harry jumped out of his chair and caught her. Madam Pomfrey diagnosed it as magical exhaustion and shooed them away saying that all that she needed was a good night's sleep and their presence was not conducive for that. Everyone left the hospital wing except for Ginny who opted to visit the healer about her bouts of blacking out.
With a heart full of contradictions and a mind full of thoughts and reminiscences, Harry led Hermione around the lake for a chance to let out some of the accumulated tension. Opting for some serious snuggling lying on the bank, Harry left the deliberations regarding his future for another time, preferably after Hermione had the time to take a serious look at all the options and hurdles laid out. He held hope for his future and as long as it was intertwined with Hermione's he was sure to succeed.