Chapter 10: The Raven
Harry had tried to stay up as long as he could by Luna's beside, but eventually fell asleep in his chair. Because he was so anxious he had horrible dreams, waking up more than once and looking at her to make sure she was still breathing alright. They didn't really know what the Raven statue had actually done, and that unknown aspect to this really bothered him. Eventually the morning sun started to fill the room and Madam Pomfrey came out with a simple breakfast for them. While Harry ate she checked Luna's vitals and ran a few scanning spells over her before tucking in herself. "As far as I can tell she's still fine physically, whatever it did to her was probably mental." she explained. "Aside from taking her to get checked out at St. Mungo's I'm not sure there's much to be done. I think just waiting for her to wake up and seeing how she does is all we should be doing at the moment." she instructed him. Doing nothing was sometimes what was necessary, even though that was probably the hardest thing to do when worrying about a loved one.
Nodding, Harry took a rag and put it over the statue before taking hold of it. He was careful not to touch it directly so he would hopefully avoid a repeat performance of last night but with him in Luna's place. "Do you think Dumbledore would be up yet? If anybody could figure out what's going on it would probably be him. I want to be here when she wakes up, but at the same time I don't think I can take simply sitting in that chair any longer. Hopefully Dumbledore will be able to help me give her some answers on why this happened." Harry said, biting his lip in worry. Seeing her like this because of a gift he'd given her was eating him up inside. She wouldn't blame him, but he had given her a gift from a dark shop without finding what the item did. That would always bother him, even if she turned out perfectly fine in the end. He was learning the hard way that mistakes could have terrible consequences, and he had to do his best and try to learn from them.
Madam Pomfrey thought for a moment, before nodding. "I'd say he probably is. Dumbledore has been an early riser for as long as I've known him. If I remember the password is fizzing whizbees now." she said, smiling a little at seeing him so determined to help however he could. "Go on, I'll keep a good watch while you're gone." she assured him. The healer always took good care of her patients, and considering she still didn't know much about why this had happened to Miss Lovegood she would be doubly sure to keep a close eye. Hopefully when the poor girl woke up they'd be able to figure some things out with some gentle questioning of what exactly had happened. Although, there was an equal chance that it would remain a mystery and they would never learn exactly why the interaction between the her and the statue had behaved the way it had.
Harry hesitated for a moment before getting up and stretching, hearing a few pops from his back where he'd slept in the chair. "I know you will, I'll be back as soon as I can. Thanks for everything as always." he told her, grabbing a piece of bacon to eat as he walked out and headed towards the statue of the stone gargoyle. Having been there a few times in his years hear he knew right where to go. "Fizzing whizbees." he said aloud, smiling in relief as the statue moved, the staircase appearing as it did. He was glad he didn't have to keep guessing different candies until it opened. Knocking firmly on the door, Harry waited for a moment before speaking. "Professor Dumbledore, it's Harry Potter. There's something important I need to talk about with you." he told him, hoping he was close enough to hear. He was trying his best to remain calm, but after last night his emotions were frayed and his patience was starting to wear a bit thin.
Dumbledore heard the voice of one Harry Potter calling and finished some of the paperwork he was doing before going to open the door. His clear blue eyes were twinkling like they always did, giving Harry the sensation he was being looked through when they focused on him. "Come on in, Harry. I was actually hoping to talk to you myself as chance would have it." he said, walking in and sitting at his desk. As usual, it was covered in all of the odd instruments and trinkets whose purpose he could only guess at. If he had woken Dumbledore up Harry certainly couldn't tell, as far as he could see he looked much the same as he always had save for his hand. The blackened fingers on his hand had been there when he'd picked him up to take him to the Burrow and see Professor Slughorn as well, though he had yet to tell him what had happened.
Harry took the seat across from him before setting the raven on the table and removing the rag from it. "I acquired this artifact at Borgin and Burke's after Luna wanted to search the shop for curious items. She told me that the statue had seemed to call out to her, and the tag says this supposedly belonged to Helena Ravenclaw. We didn't purchase it that day, but later I went back and got it for her as a surprise gift and when I gave it to my girlfriend Luna as a gift its eyes flashed white before sending her into a sort of coma or something, I'm not really sure. Madam Pomfrey says there's nothing physically wrong with her, but she still hasn't woken up. Do you think you could figure out what happened?" he asked hopefully. He was aware that it wasn't much to go on, but he was hopeful that if anybody could help him shed light on the subject it would be the old Headmaster.
Dumbledore nodded as he listened to Harry's story. "Well, we won't know until I try. Let me see what I can find out." he said, smiling as he pulled out his wand and began to cast spells over the unusual object. He worked for a full ten minutes before finally sitting back in his chair, a frustrated expression on his face. "That, my boy, is something from another age. As best I can tell, it's meant to warn whoever touches it of impending danger by projecting an image into their brain. From what you've told me, I'm guessing she reacted poorly to the intrusion in her mind and out of reflex it shut itself off to prevent any damage." he explained. He frowned before giving a shrug. "I don't think there's anything we can do except wait for her to wake up. Although, I suppose if this item did belong to Helena Ravenclaw we could ask the Grey Lady directly. The only thing is, she doesn't take too kindly to most students. More often than not she'll just avoid people who chase after her until they leave her alone." he said with a sigh. It was an idea, but he wasn't sure if it would be at all successful.
Harry was at least glad Professor Dumbledore had found out something, and nodded to himself. "I suppose that makes as much sense as anything else." he told him. For a few moments he considered going after the Grey Lady, but when Dumbledore explained about how standoffish she was he figured they would have a better chance of going with Luna. If anybody had the heart of a Ravenclaw it was her, and he was hopeful that Rowena's daughter would be able to recognize that and want to help on her own. "Okay, thanks for your help. What was it that you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked curiously. Usually when Dumbledore wanted to discuss something it turned out to be rather important.
Professor Dumbledore clasped his hands in his lap before leaning forward. "Well, I was hoping that you and I could delve into Tom Riddle's past together in hopes of finding a way to defeat him. I've gathered a collection of memories about him, and I would like us to view them in the pensive together and discuss what we see." he explained. "You see, I think I figured out how he escaped death, but I can't be sure as to the method because of a tampered memory." he explained. It was obvious that he was rather frustrated with the problem he'd hit, although what that had to do with him he didn't know yet.
Getting to know what drove Voldemort made sense. Know your enemy as yourself and all that. "I think that's a great idea, just let me know when you want to start, sir. I really should be getting back to Luna though, I want to be there when she wakes up. After all, it's my fault she encountered the Raven in the first place." he said, putting the rag back over the silver statue before getting up to leave. "Thanks again sir, I know I can always come her for help when I need it. Hopefully it won't be too often, but my life just never seems to accept being boring and safe." he said with a dry chuckle before exiting and heading back towards the hospital wing. His attempt at humor had fallen a little flat because he'd had a flash of an unconscious Luna in his mind's eye. He was trying to be positive, but it was rather difficult at times.
When he got back to the hospital wing he saw Luna sitting up and eating breakfast, talking to Madam Pomfrey and seemingly perfectly alright. Harry let out a breath he'd been holding and set the raven on the table before going over and giving her a hug. "I was so worried." he said quietly, holding her tight for a good long while before finally letting go and taking a seat so she could get back to her meal. Madam Pomfrey took that as her cue to go and went into the adjoining room to give them some privacy. "Are you okay?" he asked.
Luna nodded, touched by his concern. "Yes, I'm doing much better. Although, I did see a flash of a round door that had serpents carved into it before I passed out. I think something bad is going to happen there." she told him, having no idea where that place might be herself. She was shocked to see had a look of recognition appear in his eyes, and she cocked her head to the side. "Do you know where that place is, Harry?" she asked him, looking at him. The look on his face was telling her that he knew exactly where the place with the door was. Judging by how white he had turned, he didn't seem all too pleased at the prospect of going back there either.
"I think so, it sounds a lot like the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets that I found in second year." he explained, biting his lip as he thought about what it could mean. "Dumbledore examined the Raven and said he thinks it gives warnings about where danger might be coming from. If somebody is going to use the Chamber of Secrets, well...I would have to assume it would be Voldemort. He's the only other parseltongue that I know about." he explained. If he was using it, there was a chance it was granting him access to the grounds. And if he could get through, that would mean he could bring others with him. A chill went down his spine at the thought, and he thought about it. "Well, if it's a warning that should mean the danger is yet to appear. Perhaps we can find out whatever is being plotted and put a stop to it before it gets too dangerous." he reasoned.
Luna could see that her news had really concerned him and she reached over, squeezing his hand. "It's okay, thanks to what I saw we have advance notice and can tell Dumbledore. I'm sure he can think of something to make things safer for us here." she told him. "I'm just disappointed our little excursion was cut short, I was having a lot of fun. Maybe just leave the Raven statue at home next time." she suggested, letting out a bit of a laugh.
Harry was relieved that she was so positive about things and nodded, leaning over to give her a kiss on the cheek. "I'm sure we can make time for another outing. Hopefully this time I won't get caught. Detentions every Saturday for a month with Madam Pomfrey." he said with a sigh. It especially hurt because he had been planning most of their practices for Saturday with the Quidditch team. Now he would have to check and see what other times were available, and most likely they wouldn't be convenient since he was sure the other teams would have booked it pretty full by now.
She could tell Harry was rather annoyed with the detentions and patted his hand. "Don't worry, we'll have plenty of time this year to do what we want. Have you decided when you're holding tryouts for the team? I know Ginny and Ron are eager to get out on the Pitch." Luna said, and Harry couldn't help rolling his eyes a little at that remark. It was clear he thought that calling them eager was putting it far too mildly.
"Oh, that's understating it by a good margin. Ron won't stop bugging me about it and since we have most of our classes together and share a dorm I never get a break. I'm looking forward to the season too, but I'm trying not to be quite so fanatical about it." Harry told her, chuckling. "It'll be good though, I know Ron's a good keeper if he can just keep his nerves under control. Ginny will be an excellent Chaser, she really has a knack for sending tricky shots." he explained. He knew Luna wasn't the biggest Quidditch fan but she at least knew enough about the game to hold a conversation about it.
"I'm sure they'll both do great. Have you any idea who the beaters are going to be, though? It's a big hit losing Fred and George they were a great team up there." she said, causing Harry to let out a sigh. Those two had been a terror on the Quidditch Pitch, they hadn't just been coordinated it was like they'd been playing while reading the other's thoughts. Chances of seeing a pair of beaters like that again any time soon at Hogwarts was probably next to nothing.
"To be honest, that has me stumped too. We'll probably just have to take whoever we can get and do our best to get them up to snuff before our first game. You can't replace the twins easily overnight, they were a force to be reckoned with out there." Harry told her. Part of him was nervous that he wouldn't be captain material, and the team would start collapse under his rule. Sure, he was a fairly good seeker but as far as coaching, tactics and strategy went he was well aware that he had a lot of catching up to do.
Luna nodded, smiling as she saw Madam Pomfrey coming back and handing her the now empty tray of food. "Well, Miss Lovegood as far as I can tell there's nothing else wrong with you so you are free to go. Just be careful with that statue, it may have been a one time thing but we still don't know how it works so it's best to leave it be. If you have any unusual symptoms come back immediately. There's a chance we may still need to have St. Mungo's take a look at you to see if they can be of any more help. However, I don't think you'll need it so long as nothing else happens. So stay safe, the both of you. I do not want to see you back here except for detention, Mr. Potter. Do you hear me?" she asked, getting a nod from him in return and she smiled. "Well, off you go then." she told them both.
Smiling, Luna popped up from the bed and looped her arm through Harry's when he stood up as well. "Thank you, I'll definitely sure to be more careful with it from now on. Hopefully I won't have to be seeing you again soon." she said. Madam Pomfrey was a great person, but if she was back here than it would mean either her or somebody else had gotten injured again and she definitely didn't want that. There was plenty to worry about already with everything that was going on at the moment. Making sure to thoroughly wrap the statue before picking it up she realized she would simply have to carry it back to her dorm since she didn't have her bag with her at the moment.
As Madam Pomfrey headed back to her room Harry and Luna left. They finally reached the place where they would have to separate to go back to their respective common rooms and paused, looking at each other. "Luna...I'm so sorry. I should never have given you a gift like that when I didn't even know what it did. This was all my fault." he said, the frustration with himself audible in his tone.
Luna simply reached over and cupped his cheek. "Oh, Harry you were only trying to do something nice for me. It was my own curiosity that found the Raven in the first place. Accidents happen. We all got away without serious harm being done, so let's just try to be more careful in the future about things like this." she told him, before leaning over and giving him a soft kiss on his cheek. "Last night was still a lot of fun, nothing will ruin that for me." she told him quietly.
Harry blushed a little and nodded, smiling. "I guess you're right about that." he said, knowing that accidents happened. He'd been prone to more than his fair share of them, and even though he could try to blame it all on outside forces he knew some of it was his own fault. Like when he tried to outfly a dragon in the Triwizard tournament. While he may have felt it was his only option, it had still probably been the most reckless thing he'd ever done. "Remember, just try not to touch the statue directly and I doubt it will bother you." he told her. Once he began to think about the statue again, he remembered what Dumbledore had told him about the Grey Lady. "When I talked to Dumbledore and explained that there was a tag saying who it belonged to he recommended we see the Grey Lady. If it's hers she'll know, and there might be a chance she can tell you how it works or why it reacted the way it did when you touched it." he told her. Seeing her again had been such a relief that it had nearly driven the suggestion from the Headmaster out of his mind.
Luna smiled and pocketed it before turning to walk away. "Try not to blame yourself too much, Harry. What's done is done." she told him seriously. The mention of the Grey Lady had her smiling and she nodded. "That sounds like a great idea, I'll try and find her sometime. She's a bit skittish, but I've talked to her a time or two in the past so maybe she won't mind too much." she said, chuckling before she waved and started to skip down the corridor. "See you later, Harry." she called back to him. She was in desperate need of a good shower after crawling through that tunnel like she had. Once she'd gotten all the dirt off and tidied up she could start on some of the school work she had. It was her O.W.L. year and the teachers were not being shy about handing out more course work than they had last year to start getting them ready for their exams.
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After her shower Luna felt loads better, and worked on her essays until it was time for class. Since she'd had lunch in the hospital wing she could skip breakfast at the Great Hall and wait until lessons started to join her classmates. Honestly, it was a welcome distraction after her unusual night that she still hadn't gotten many answers about aside from Dumbledore's best guesses. She had just enough time to finish her Transfiguration essay and rolled up her parchment neatly once the ink had dried. As soon as classes were over for the day she was determined to hunt down the Grey Lady, and after thinking about it she thought her best chance was to do it alone. Grabbing her things, she set off to try and focus on her lessons in hopes that doing so would make the day fly by faster for her. Her first lesson of the day was Potions with Slughorn, and thankfully that was one subject that required constant attention to detail to keep things running smoothly. As soon as she found her seat and was instructed on what they'd be doing, she got down to work and let the rest of the world fade into the background.
At lunch Luna thought about it slipping Harry a note explaining why she wanted to do this alone, but she came to the conclusion she could always fill Harry in on the details of her encounter later. It's not that she didn't want him by her side, but the ghost was difficult enough in the best of times to engage and she was not taking chances. She was probably the only person who had any idea of what the Raven was supposed to do and how it functioned, unless of course the shop had been lying about its origins. If that was the case, she would be kept well and truly in the dark, the mere thought of it making her skin craw. Luna could accept not knowing about everything, but this was starting to get rather personal between her and the strange statue. She didn't want to throw it away or return it to the shop, but if they couldn't figure out why it had done what it did there was no telling if it could do it again or something worse.
While she'd been mulling things over and eating lunch time had quickly passed her by and she quickly grabbed her things when she noticed everybody else was starting to exit the hall. Harry came over and picked up her transfiguration that had fallen onto the table. Luckily for her the food had already disappeared so she wouldn't have to clean it off. "Thanks Harry. I really need to get going soon I have Transfiguration next and you know how McGonagall is about punctuality." she told him, double checking to make sure she had the essay she'd finished early as well before giving Harry a brief smile. "I really do feel fine. There's just a lot do with it being my O.W.L. year and all." she said, leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You're sweet, but stop worrying so much." she said, knowing it was easier said than done.
Harry looked like he wanted to argue the point but the kiss on his cheek and her referring to him as sweet served to distract him as he smiled. "Okay, I'll try to relax. You also need to make sure not to overdo it though, we don't know if what happened is going to have any weird side effects or not. Knowing that they both had to get back to class, he did his best to put on a brave face and gave her a hug. "Well, I guess I'll see you later then." he said, reluctantly letting go before making his way to class.
She appreciated the concern, but Luna was still set on going to talk to the Grey Lady alone once she had the time to do so. Madam Pomfrey had cleared her and she was determined to get her answers. With a spring in her step, she set off towards Transfiguration and hoped she wouldn't be late. It was cutting it closer than she usually did, but she managed to sneak in on time and handed in her essay before taking her seat. With her standard level of efficiency McGonagall commenced the class shortly after and she soon found herself with no time to think about anything other than the difficult spellwork. She loved Transfiguration, but it was definitely complicated and it would not do if she let her mind get distracted from what she was doing. Today they were taking a break from their vanishing work and doing the opposite by conjuring inanimate objects. Since it was their first day she wasn't expecting many of them to manage it, but that wouldn't stop her from putting forth her best effort.
By the end of the lesson Luna had yet to produce any results, but she remained hopeful that the essay they'd been assigned on the theory would help her get a grasp of it. She would definitely make sure to practice on her own and see if she could make any progress before their next lesson. Now that the lesson was over though, she was free until dinner time and made her way to the third floor corridor that had been out-of-bounds in Harry's third year. These days it was simply an empty part of the classroom that had abandoned classrooms lining the halls. She found a spot near the light of a torch above her on the wall and set her things down beneath it. Carefully taking out the cloth-covered raven statue she set it down and unwrapped it. Once that was done she took out a fictional book about a dragon trainer who got lost in the wild. The book was a bit silly but she found it enjoyable, and she let herself get lost in the story while she waited for the Grey Lady to hopefully appear. From what she knew of the ghost she disliked people, and she reasoned her best chance of being able to talk with her was by picking a place where it would be just the two of them.
It took about an hour before her plan paid off, and she saw the Grey Lady floating towards with a look of surprise on her face. As she got closer, the look changed from surprise to one of fear as she took in the uncovered raven statue next to Luna. "Child, where did you come by that artifact? Until now I thought you were one of the few in Ravenclaw that had some sense left." she said, looking at her as she waited for an answer. The ghost didn't like people much, but after having observed some of what Luna had endured she had gained a grudging respect for her. However, that wouldn't stop her from speaking her mind and she continued to stare until she got her answer.
Luna took the backhanded compliment with a dry laugh, and she stood up so she didn't feel quite so towered over by the ghost. "It was given to me as a gift from my boyfriend. We discovered it in a shop in Knockturn Alley. The statue's magic seemed to call out to me but it was expensive so I left it there. Little did I know he had gotten it for me and gave it to me as a gift recently. He didn't mean any harm by it, but something strange happened. Which is why I came here in hopes we could talk." she explained. Normally Luna's eyes had that dreamy quality that made her seem like her mind was somewhere else, but right now her blue eyes were calculating as she looked at the ghost. They were a piercing blue that would have made most people squirm under their intensity, but the Grey Lady was far from most people and held her own easily. "What do you know of it?" she asked. While she was aware that asking such a direct question was taking a gamble, she knew of nobody else who could give her this information and she was not going to simply wait and hope that the ghost's kindness would lead her to divulge what she knew.
An unexpected laugh escaped the Grey Lady's lips and it seemed to be genuine. She regarded the girl before her with equal intensity as she replied, trying to read her intentions. "Oh child, it's been ages since anyone has dared talk to me so. You have bravery and a sharp wit, but do not test me again. Now...that statue is like nothing else I've ever encountered. It was gifted to me by an acquaintance of my mother's. Once I started to get a glimpse of its capabilities, I attempted to hide the object so it would never be uncovered. Clearly, that failed. Since you are here and you said something strange happened, I'm assuming it showed you something. Correct?" she asked, looking at the girl to see how she reacted.
This conversation as only starting to make her more nervous, but she steeled herself and nodded. "Yes, the statue's eyes flashed white and it showed me an image before knocking me unconscious. I need to know how to proceed. To me it seemed like a warning, though of what I can't even begin to guess. From what I know and have been told about the area, the danger should already be gone." Luna explained, shrugging. There had been a serious danger kept in the Chamber of Secrets at one point but Harry had killed the Basilisk. She didn't know what other threat it could possibly pose.
"Listen carefully, the statue doesn't merely warn you of danger. It sees danger and attempts to lure you to it by making you think you can stop whatever it is from taking place. Now, the future isn't set in stone so there's nothing saying you can't possibly avoid the danger somehow but...it's risky. Also, it can cause serious damage to your psyche if you're exposed to these flashes again and again over time. The fact you're still here speaking to me is a testament to your strength of will." the Grey Lady explained, before looking at the statue. "My honest opinion is that you should have it destroyed. Dumbledore will know how to do it safely." she told her, waiting to see how she would respond. For a time in her life she had almost come to depend on the statue, and she hoped the girl wouldn't make the mistakes she had.
Luna listened to her advice and her explanation about the statue attentively, and wasn't too surprised upon hearing her recommendation. "It's an incredible piece of magic, even if it is dangerous. But, you're probably right. If this fell into the wrong hands it could be disastrous. I mean imagine what...You-Know-Who could do with it." she said, pausing as a cold shiver ran through her body. That thing was powerful enough without being forewarned of threats to his person, and she definitely didn't want to see him with that ability. "I will do as you ask. You have my thanks." she said, bowing to the ghost before beginning to wrap up the statue in cloth once again. She took her time and once it was completely covered she put it back inside her bag and looked up at the Grey Lady.
"Come here again when it is finished, child. I would like to hear it from you personally that it has been destroyed. Do we have an agreement?" the Grey Lady asked.
The question surprised her, since she'd neared of the Grey Lady asking anybody to visit her before. "I can do that. However, considering the dangerous times we live in and the place the raven showed me I feel I have to investigate the area. You can call me a fool if you wish, but I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I left it alone completely." Luna told her. While she was grateful for the advice, her life was her own and it was her conscience she had to deal with not the ghost's.
With that, the Grey Lady simply nodded and floated through the wall. She had already involved herself more in the situation than she had in a long time. The girl showed much promise, and she hoped that her investigation of whatever place the Raven showed her wouldn't do her any permanent harm. There weren't many of her house these days that she respected, so she would hate to lose her so soon.
