The Looney Link

Chapter 28

"It has to be," she sighed. "Minerva, can you house everyone overnight if necessary?"

"At least until breakfast," Minerva answered, both eyebrows raised. "Are you going to explain what the problem is?"

"No, I will not. Severus will, when he's ready."

Minerva nodded as if this was a perfectly normal answer and called for a couple of house-elves to move everyone's dinner to the Great Hall.

"Is everything okay?" Harry asked Draco, softly, as they moved to the Floo, Ron leaning in to hear his response.

"Everything will be fine," Draco replied. "Eventually. Hermione isn't at risk, we were. Mum will explain it later."

Remus remained until last, sending Tonks through the floo to Hogwarts as he scratched his head, attempting to figure out what would have scared Narcissa so deeply that she would draw her wand on her closest friend and endanger her own recovery.

XOX XOX XOX XOX XOX

"Mr. Malfoy, perhaps you would be so kind as to share with us why we are back at Hogwarts?" Minerva requested, grasping her after-dinner cuppa in both hands.

Draco arched an eyebrow, reminding Harry of the Draco he knew before this summer began. His clipped tone reaffirmed that image in Harry's mind.

"To put it bluntly, Headmistress, something was apparently wrong with the potion Severus made for Madam Snape. Her eyes were glowing blue, meaning that any man besides Severus who touched her would be rendered sterile…immediately and permanently."

He paused as most of the other men around the table blanched; Molly sputtered.

"But… but… I didn't see her eyes glowing blue!"

"The darker aspects of the Fertility Potion were added during the 13th century to protect the paternity of a child. A woman who attempted to sleep with someone other than her husband would render the man impotent. The risk of adultery was so great that even simply touching a woman under the influence of the potion would activate the curse. Those who were trusted by the husband were given a detecting potion to be able to identify when the woman was unsafe."

"That still doesn't explain – "

Draco cut Molly off with a glare and continued, his voice still hard, as if it pained him to reveal the information.

"Lucius cared for the continuation of the Malfoy bloodline enough to make sure I knew when to stay away from Mother. It occurred on and off from the time I was four until I left for Hogwarts."

A look of understanding passed across the face of most of those gathered around the wooden table in the Great Hall, Draco gave them all a cursory glance – stopping only to gaze at Remus, and nodding as the older man slightly inclined his head to indicate that he alone understood the full and true implications of Draco's explanation.

"Well then," Minerva interjected into the silence, "it seems you boys will need to stay here tonight. I'll have the house elves fix up more beds in the summer dormitory. We only have one student staying here right now. Remus, Tonks, I'll have beds made for you also – Molly, I assume you and Arthur will be headed back to the Burrow?"

"Minerva, you don't hafta to go to all that trouble for me!" Tonks said.

"It's no trouble at all…Miss Lovegood would enjoy a bit of company, I think." Minerva stood and moved towards the faculty door, gesturing for Molly and Arthur to follow her. "The Ravenclaw common room is already clean and ready for guests, and the house elves can have the Boys Dormitory ready by the time you four go to bed."

"Tonks, I'll stop by your office tomorrow and drop off the list of werewolf families for your research," Arthur said, rising to leave with his wife. "You boys behave."

"Always," Ron answered, giving a rouge wink to Harry.

"And no getting in the Quidditch Shed," Minerva stated before closing the door, ignoring the whines from those left at the table – Ron and Tonks being the loudest.

"Well, if we can't play Quidditch, what can we do?"

"I, for one, have no desire to sit in the Ravenclaw common room."

"Why-ever not, Draco Malfoy?" Came a soft voice from the end of the table, "the Tri-horned Featherblumps were all captured and released into the wild last May. The common room is perfectly clean."

"Hi Luna," Harry smiled at the newcomer, "how has your summer been?"

"Quite well, Harry, except for the attempt on Father's life by the Death Eaters, but then Voldemort has been rather angry lately, hasn't he?"

"How do you know I'm not a Death Eater, Looney?" Draco mumbled, his arms crossed over his chest and his chair kicked back on two legs.

"Simple, Draco Malfoy," she said calmly, sitting beside him. "You are presently in the company of four members of the Order of the Phoenix, which means that both the Headmistress and Harry trust you. And you are rather close to one of the Weasleys; I would say Ginny is likely due to the length of the red hair on your shoulder, but I guess Ronald isn't out of the question."

She punctuated her statement by reaching over and plucking a long red hair off of his shirt and giving a spacey smile as both he and Ron reacted to the thought of being in a relationship with each other.

"That's bloody disgusting, Looney!"

"Don't call her that," Remus said in his best teacher voice.

"Oh, it's fine," Luna answered, her odd trademark smile gracing her face. "I've been called much worse, I assure you, Professor Lupin. And the Headmistress was correct; it's dreadfully boring around here, all by myself. I've spent the last few weeks strolling about the grounds and helping Professor Hagrid with the thestrals."

She tugged absentmindedly at a strand of dirty blonde hair that had escaped her ponytail and tucked it behind her ear, carefully not disturbing her wand that was precariously perched there.

"I would have liked for Ginny to come, but perhaps she can make it later."

"You've been here all alone?" Tonks asked, incredulously.

"Some of the professors are about, as are the ghosts. Professor Binns is delightful when he's not in class and Professor Hooch has been teaching me about Quidditch."

"Like what?" Ron asked as he leaned forward, Harry mimicking his pose. Even Draco seemed to pay a bit more attention to her.

"Ever since I was the commentator last year, she's been lending me books on the sport. This summer I've been practicing myself."

"Up in the air?" Harry raised his eyebrows. "On a broom?"

"Certainly," Luna said, nodding in agreement. "A lovely pink Firebolt. I spent last week painting tiny red flowers and green ivy on the handle. I didn't want anyone to accidentally use it next year."

The five Quidditch players at the table shared a look of nausea at the mere thought of a Firebolt being humiliated in such a manner, before Draco asked the obvious.

"How on earth did you afford a Firebolt?"

"My father owns the second largest periodical in the Wizarding British Isles," she replied, narrowing her grey eyes. "The pink cost extra."

Draco gave a rough chuckle and placed his coffee mug on the table in front of his plate.

"Shall we go?" Luna stood and headed towards the Great Hall doors, clearly expecting everyone to follow. She was not disappointed.

" – over there, beside the chairs is our House Chess board. Our Quidditch practice stand is in front of the fireplace, and the bookshelves are full if you want to read."

Luna waved her hands about, attempting to be a good hostess to the assorted Slytherins and Gryffindors that found themselves in the deep blue room.

Ron wandered over to the chessboard, grinning at the Ravenclaw chess pieces that squawked from their place on the board. Three different sets sat in boxes, one for each of the other houses and he found himself itching to set up the lions and have a go against someone. Draco, Tonks, and Harry were surrounding the miniature Quidditch pitch, ignoring the rude shouts of the tiny Ravenclaw players.

Remus found himself lingering at the bookshelves, envying for a moment the Ravenclaw House and wishing he could have spent his years here – albeit still with at least James and Sirius along for the ride. He laughed aloud at the thought of Sirius in Ravenclaw.

"Looking for something in particular, Professor?" Luna appeared at his elbow, her long fingers trailing over the leather spines. "I often enjoy this one when I need to relax."

Her hand stopped on a red-bound cover, the silver imprinting stating the title in bold letters.

"My Many Souls?" He read, his voice conveying his shock as he pulled the book from the shelf. "Why didn't anyone tell us this was here? Surely Albus knew!"

"I wouldn't think so, Professor. This shelf is spelled much like the Restricted Section in the library. Only 7th year Ravenclaws and Heirs of Rowena can read any of the texts."

She shot a secretive smile at Remus and leaned closer to his ear.

"The Sorting Hat told me my first year," she whispered. "I had to hide the fact that I could see this shelf from all the other Ravenclaws, but Professor Flitwick knows."

"Did he know about the book?"

"I doubt that he realized it could help you," she shrugged her shoulders. "We guard the Manuscripts of the Eagles seriously. Any Ravenclaw who has ever lived past the age of 140 has written a book for this shelf. Our Heads of House have passed the spell to hide it down, in a rather complex ceremony, from one to another. I was only privy to the information because of my Heir status. Most of the 7th years look to the other books, the ones that focus on the Master Level occupations; Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, and such. We focus on logical and useful information. This is a memoir, written by Anne Hamilton in 1405."

"Anne Hamilton, why does that name sound familiar?" Remus held the book tightly in his hands, equally afraid to open it or let it go.

"It might for you, or Hermione, or anyone who enjoys reading Hogwarts: A History…Anne Hamilton's granddaughter was her namesake – and is our House Ghost."

"The Grey Lady?"

"Lady Hamilton died young; she was only 19 and apprenticing in Charms here at Hogwarts when she was killed in a horrific Quidditch accident. Anne speaks in her book about how she wished she had given the information on how to create Horcruxes to her granddaughter. Apparently, the Hamilton family served as the local justice for both Muggles and the Wizarding community. Anne used capital punishment of guilty prisoners to create her own."

"How did she die?" Remus asked, enthralled by the story the young witch was weaving.

"Anne? She destroyed her own Horcruxes…she had only made four. She was almost 200 at the time of her death, but that isn't well recorded outside of our House. She said she wanted to ensure the continuation of her linage – "

"I am the one who convinced her to leave this world," another voice interjected. Remus looked away from Luna to see the Grey Lady hovering between them. "I promised to protect all the Hamiltons, and Ravenclaws, until my fading."

"Grey Lady," he inclined his head in a nod.

"Please, call me Anne. So few do."

"Lady Anne," he acknowledged. "Was it difficult for her to remove her own Horcruxes?"

"Not really; she couldn't feel anything when they were eliminated, but she became weaker. When you give away your soul, you must recall it to you in order to live. She simply destroyed the soul-bearing objects, rather than reunite her soul. It left her weak."

"Pieces of her no longer existed in the world," Luna continued. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named must also be unaware of your work. Which means he is unaware of how weak he is becoming. It's not just that Harry will be able to kill him for good, it's that he actually is losing the part of him that feeds his power."

"Pieces of his soul?"

"Our souls are all we have," the Grey Lady whispered softly to the two living beings. "Guard yours well."

"Soyez bon ma Dame," Luna gave a demure curtsey to the ghost who was moving away, through the wall.

"Et vous egalement, mon heirtier," she smiled and faded away.

"She speaks French?"

"Most English Peerage did."

"And you?"

"I am a Ravenclaw, Professor. Learning is what we do."

"Do you mind if I borrow this book?"

"You can see it, can't you?" She gave a very un-Luna like saucy wink.

"Oi! Professor! Are you up for a game?"

"Of course, Ron," Remus watched out of the corner of his eye as Luna chose a smaller black book off the shelves and curled up on the sofa edge closest to the chess board, listening to Harry and Tonks ramble on about how cool it would have been to see Hermione with glowing blue eyes. He sighed softly to himself and took a seat across from Ron. "I take it you wish to be Gryffindor?"

"Of course," he grunted, lining the tiny lion cub pawns along the front row.

"Your move, then, Mr. Weasley."

"All right, boys, it's time for bed, move along," Tonks stood up and stretched, poking Remus in the back of the head. "You too, Love."

"Does anyone need anything? More pillows? Blankets? Stuffed animals?"

The group stared at the girl on the staircase. Her bright red silk pajama set was lined with black cording and would have been the height of sophistication if it weren't for the charmed ladybugs that were frolicking over the set. Which really wouldn't have been that odd, but the two huge ladybug slippers that her feet were stuck into were wiggling their antenna and looking around with their huge buggy eyes.

"Um, I dun think the boys will be needing anything, but thanks for offering, Luna."

"Draco here might need a nice stuffed ferret to sleep with," Ron joked.

"Hardly, Weasel. I sleep with your sister every night, I doubt a stuffed ferret is going to be a fair substitute. But if you want her to get you a corduroy bear…"

"Why you – " Ron took a step towards Draco and was stopped by his best friend's hand on his forearm.

"Or a stuffed spider?"

"Harry! You aren't –"

"Let him tell the story, Weasley. Now, you say he sleeps with a stuffed spider in the Gryffindor tower? I could have sworn you suffered from arachnophobia," Draco smirked.

"Ron had a stuffed bear when he was a baby, got it for Christmas, and one day Fred and George turned it into a spider – it scared him for life," Harry relayed, grinning at the red face that was matching Ron's hair.

"I remember that Christmas."

"You do, Professor?" Ron asked.

The boys ceased arguing and turned to look at Remus.

"It was the Christmas of 1980, at the last Order Party. We rarely spoke to the older Order members, but your Aunt always bought presents for all the children."

"Aunt Cleo? The old crazy Slytherin?" Ron said with a small hint of disgust.

"Wynde Cleopatra Weasley? She's your aunt? She was a bloody legend on the Slytherin Quidditch team! The best Keeper in the 1890's! They held a memorial service when she died."

"How could you not know - " Harry started to speak but trailed off when Draco glared at him.

"Weasley may not be a common name, but it's not uncommon either," Draco said glumly.

"Ginny said that Weasley men always are sorted into Gryffindor, but women have a 50/50 chance of Slytherin or Gryffindor," Luna added, helpfully from her place on the stairs.

"She gave you a gift that Christmas also, Harry. She said Lily's red hair gave her honorary Weasley status, but she had you pegged for Slytherin. Don't you have your stuffed snake, Lilith packed somewhere? It was green and black and had this obnoxious red bow on her head."

"I don't have any stuffed animals, Remus, none. Aunt Petunia said that Professor Dumbledore didn't bring her any of my baby stuff."

"Impossible. You were over a year old and had been hanging on to that animal for almost ten months. It was to the point where Lily couldn't put you in your crib without Lilith, because you wouldn't fall asleep. You would stand there with your chubby little hands wrapped around her neck and call out 'Lil-lil'. James and Sirius use to laugh – "

"In my crib?" Harry interrupted.

"Every night. Lily made certain. Petunia has to have it; I would have known if it was in the rubble. I was there when we went to get the bod – when we went to get James and Lily." Remus managed not to flinch at the memories.

"Mum put me to bed. She was in my nursery – I was in my crib."

"Holding a stuffed snake in front of you – " Draco's eyes widened as he, along with everyone else, made the connection at the same time.

"If Voldemort was trying to hit me with the Horcrux spell and it ricocheted off of me – "

"Hermione was so concerned about you being one!" Ron practically shouted, bouncing up and down in his trainers.

"It's got to be the snake!"

"It doesn't have to be the snake," Tonks corrected Harry, "but it is the best lead we've had so far."

"We need Hermione, she's the only one who can take all this information and figure it out for us," Ron ran a hand through his hair, groaning. "We can't get to her until tomorrow, you said?"

"Some time after lunch," Draco answered, after going through quick calculations in his head. "She needs to have at least another 14 hours away from us – and Mum will let us know emotionally how she is doing."

"Can we tell her now? This will make her feel better!"

"Harry, I hardly think that you finding out your childhood stuffed animal could possibly be a Horcrux will in any way make her feel better about her problem!"

"Luna?" Harry asked, stunned. "Are you angry?"

"You boys are being incredibly selfish, considering what she is going through –" Her indignant tirade was abruptly cut off by Draco, who clamped his hand over her mouth.

"They don't know everything," he roughly whispered in her ear, letting go after she gave a slight nod.

"Well, I still think it's rather rude," she grumbled, crossing her arms and giving the roving ladybugs a new path to maneuver.

"Can we at least check the library to see if anyone is left?" Harry asked, walking towards the fireplace. "Which one is the Floo powder?"

"Right shelf, dark blue bowl," Luna grudgingly answered. "I'm going to bed. Goodnight Auror Tonks, Professor. Ronald."

"Goodnight Miss Lovegood," Remus replied.

"I'll be right behind you," Tonks leaned in to give Remus a kiss before following Luna to the Girls Dormitory, passing Draco on the stairs.

"Well, are you going to make the Floo call or not?" Ron asked, kneeling down beside Harry. "Come on, mate, she's the one who knows what's going on."

"You don't think Snape will kill us?"

"Hermione or my Mum would more likely the one to kill you, but contrary to what Lovegood said, telling them tonight might help things."

"Here goes nothing," Harry said, tossing the Floo power into the fireplace. "Number 12 Grimmauld Place Library!"

Draco and Ron squeezed near the back half of Harry and could only faintly hear his words through the Floo.

"Gins! Mrs. Malfoy! Wake up! We think we've figured out the last Horcrux!"

XOX XOX XOX XOX XOX

A/N: And from here we shall all return to that awful Dursley home... But the little box Petunia had earlier wasn't large enough for a pet snake... Was it?