Chapter Sixteen—Different Perspectives

Endless white light and a deafening rush of music swirled around Link as the Sacred Realm took form around him. The only solid things were Zelda, who had come with him, and Harry's three parents, Lily, James and Sirius, whom he had so desperately needed to see that they had materialized in this vision of the realm as soon as he did. They had discussed Harry briefly, because it was an emergency, but now all was spiralling nothingness again.

"Hey—What the hell is going on?" asked Sirius sharply. "One minute you're telling us you're talking to Harry…"

"And who are you?" interrupted Lily; her eyes were wide with amazement as she stared at the two Hylians, gripping James tightly by the arm, because there was nothing else.

"I was talking to Harry," Link insisted. "I told you, he was going to kill her—"

"But who are you? How do you know him?"

Zelda opened her mouth to answer, but quite suddenly, the world appeared. To Link and Zelda, it appeared as their image of home—Hyrule Field. They blinked in the brightness as colours and silence returned, trying to regain their vision and hearing.

The first thing Link became aware of was Zelda's cry, and he reflexively reached over his shoulder, remembering even as his grip closed over empty air that his sword was gone. Besides that, this was the Sacred Realm, so she shouldn't have been in trouble—

The next thing he became aware of was a pair of arms throwing themselves tightly around his neck with such force that he staggered, and he panicked until he recognized a familiar warm body pressed against him and pulling him into a passionate kiss.

"Malon…" he murmured, smiling beneath her lips as he embraced her back.

"I missed you so much," she told him, communicating with thoughts in a way they had never been able to do while she was alive; she hadn't been telepathic then.

"Er… If you four don't mind getting off each other," came James' voice rather pointedly, "I believe we need some clarification."

Pulling his focus onto what was going on around him, Link saw the reason for Zelda's earlier exclamation; she and Chezdon were looking up from sharing a similar reunion to that of him and Malon.

More significantly, however, he noticed that there were dozens of people surrounding them, divisible into two distinct groups: humans and Hylians, people who knew Harry and people who knew him and Zelda. All of them had been coexisting in the Sacred Realm, but not in the same version, because they didn't know each other. Now that the connection between them had arrived, however, they suddenly found themselves thrown together. Everyone (including Malon and Chezdon, once they looked around and saw that they weren't alone) looked utterly confused.

"Well, then," Zelda said, grinning sheepishly at Link, "introductions all around, I suppose…"

How long the world stood still, how long he and Remus stood there, suspended in existence and mourning cathartically, Harry never knew. Too soon, he felt another hand take his own and place it on a piece of debris. Dumbledore's voice counted to three, and in a swirl of colour, they were at Hogwarts.

It was a jarringly different atmosphere. Harry blinked the last of his tears away and slowly pulled away from Remus, wiping his face hard with his hand again. Dumbledore strolled to the window behind his desk, gazing at the now sunny sky outside and apparently lost in thought.

Harry knew the Headmaster would now offer some explanation, but of what, he couldn't hazard a guess. So he simply waited. Minutes passed in silence before Dumbledore moved to take his seat behind his desk and said quietly, gesturing to the two chairs opposite his, "Harry…Remus… Would you?"

There was always the right number of chairs in Dumbledore's office. Both Harry and Remus moved rather shakily as they stepped forward to take their seats. Remus was looking into Dumbledore's perfectly composed face, and Harry, staring at his own empty hands in his lap, didn't know how he managed it.

"There isn't much to say," the Headmaster began quietly. "You both know what happened this morning. And I think you both understand it. However, I also think you both will need a moment before you are ready to rejoin the rest of the world."

He couldn't have been more right. Harry nodded mutely; Remus turned to him, fixing a slightly trembling hand on his shoulder, and said in an equally trembling voice, "You know that I'm always here to help you." Despite the weak grasp he held on his emotions, he was sincere, and that was what mattered. "If you anything…help, or advice…or just someone to talk to…you know I'm always here. Okay?"

Again, Harry nodded, still unable to speak.

Remus tried to say more, but stopped himself. He then made an uncertain movement, clearly not knowing how to end the conversation, and said in the most businesslike tone he could muster, "Goodbye. I'll see you both."

He rose and walked away silently, closing the door behind him with a faint click. Harry listened to his slow footsteps fading away.

After another short silence, Dumbledore leaned towards Harry and said in his softest, most considerate voice, "You are not alone."

Harry said nothing, and though he tried to look up, he couldn't do it.

"Sometimes you think you are the only person in the world who understands or cares about your own life, and that is when you let your emotions become so tangled and overwrought that even you no longer understand what drives you, and you almost lose control of yourself. So far, you have always managed to rein yourself in when it mattered most, but…it is a dangerous balance, Harry."

Still, Harry could find no words. Dumbledore paused, then spoke again, in a stronger voice.

"During his quest to awaken the Sages, as he may have told you, Link was forced to do battle with a doppelganger of himself incarnate in shadow—Dark Link. This being was not only a hardened and heartless warrior, but also the embodiment of everything the real Link hated about himself and the world: his anger, his self-doubt, his painful childhood… his destiny… In battling this demon, Link not only conquered a physical challenge, but a psychological one. He faced the dark side of his own heart, and he won. And he learned what lurked within him, his own potential for both good and evil."

Harry remembered what Link had told him—"Killing myself was the hardest thing I've ever had to do…"

Dumbledore continued to speak. "After that, he knew how important it was to trust the people that cared about him—He had Navi, his guardian fairy, and Saria, who raised him, and all the Sages, and Zelda, and Malon, who was his wife as well as his friend." With a faint smile, he added, "He even had his horse, Epona. You have people like that, too, Harry. Don't shut all of us out of your life and your heart. We only want to help you. Your ability to love is the key to your success. Remember that."

Harry could think of no adequate way to express all that tumbled through his tired mind as Dumbledore spoke. The simplest thing to say was…

"Thank you."

"You are truly welcome," Dumbledore replied, a hint of a sigh in his voice as he leaned back in his chair. "Now, if you are ready for them, I think your friends will be looking for you."

Harry glanced out the window, at the sun that was well on its way to reaching its peak. He could picture Ron and Hermione, and doubtless every other Gryffindor, torturing themselves and each other with worry over him.

When he reached for the doorknob, he caught a glimpse of the back of his right hand. The Triforce mark; though he knew it would eventually fade as he adjusted to his new role, now stood out like a birthmark. And Dumbledore and Voldemort had it, too.

He would take his time returning to Gryffindor Tower. He still needed to think.

"Oh, Harry!"

"HARRY!"

As soon as he stepped into the common room, over an hour later, Harry was attacked. Ron and Hermione were, of course, at the front lines, but the rest of Gryffindor house charged at him, too. Hermione touched his head and arms all over like a doctor checking for injuries, and Ron gripped his wrist to hold him still and scan him for any signs that he wasn't okay. When he passed both of their inspections, which happened at the same moment, Hermione wrapped him in a suffocating hug, and Ron went limp and released the breath he had been holding. The rest of the Gryffindors were shouting.

"Where were you?"

"Where did you go?"

"Are you okay?"

"What's the big idea?"

"Where did you go?"

"Was it a battle?"

"What happened?"

"Okay, okay!" shouted Harry over the noise. His peers all shushed each other and fell silent themselves, fixing their awed gazes on him intensely. "Let me sit down, and I'll tell you everything." He had known this scene would greet him, so he had braced himself for it before daring to return to the tower.

The crowd followed him to his usual seat by the fire, and just as he had settled into it, he heard, "Hey… Where're Link and Zelda?"

Harry knew the reaction his answer would get, but he gave it anyway. "They're dead."

Sure enough, everyone gasped or screamed or swore or muttered. Only Ron, uncharacteristically, had the sense to say. "They were souls, they weren't really alive to begin with! So dying could have been too bad for them, could it?"

As one, the Gryffindors turned to Harry for an answer, and he said, "Yeah, actually, they were looking forward to it. They wanted to die once and for all. They intended to die when we left this morning."

"So where did you go?" Katie Bell pressed.

"Was it a battle, Harry?" asked third-year Dennis Creevey eagerly.

"Yes."

Instead of the questioning chatter Harry had expected at this, they all fell, if possible, even more silent, and settled themselves in for a full story. Harry sighed.

"Not much to tell. We got up early, and a bunch of us went with Dumbledore, oh, and Tonks, too, to Voldemort's headquarters—"

He paused to roll his eyes and the collective shudder and gasp.

"We fought him and his Death Eaters, and Link and Zelda fought their enemy, Ganon, and they killed him. The magic that kept them alive was only designed to keep them here until his death, so when it was over, they just sort of…dissolved away."

Harry was amazed that he could tell the story so calmly when he still felt as though his very soul was trembling as he came down from the adrenaline rush of combat. But then, he supposed that he had purged enough grief with Remus that he had none left to feel—right now. Still, he was getting a headache and he wanted to rest. He rubbed his eyes hard.

"Hey, Harry, what's that?" spoke up a fourth-year girl.

"What's what?" he muttered without looking up.

"On your hand…" Ron said slowly.

Of course. "The Triforce," Harry explained wearily. "It'll fade after a while… It just means that I have the Triforce of Courage now that Link's gone, and Dumbledore has the Triforce of Wisdom."

"Cool! So You-Know-Who'll be no problem!" squealed another fourth-year girl, who was standing next to the first.

"Did you kill him today, Harry?" demanded a second-year boy.

Harry let out a hollow laugh. In answer, he said, "And Voldemort's got the Triforce of Power."

He could understand why they were horrorstruck at his words. Seamus swore under his breath; no one else spoke.

"If you don't have any more questions, I really didn't get much sleep last night," Harry muttered. No one seemed offended at his less-than-subtle hint; they all simply cleared out of the way. Ron and Hermione, however, stayed.

"So that's it, huh?" Ron said after a moment.

Harry nodded.

"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione said softly, reaching out towards him. "I know you'll miss Link—"

"What? Is that why you think I'm upset?" asked Harry, blinking in surprise.

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. "You mean…it's not?" Ron asked uncertainly.

"No," said Harry, understanding now why they had been looking at him so fearfully while he told his story. "We formed a telepathic connection before he died, see, between our souls, so we can still talk."

Hermione raised her eyebrows as Ron' mouth fell open. "Harry, are you sure…?"

"You know there's such a thing as telepathy," Ron cut her off.

"Yes, but I just don't know if—"

"Hermione, it really doesn't matter to me what you believe about this," Harry said swiftly, "because I talked to him not long ago, and whether you think I really did or not doesn't change a thing." He smiled pleasantly, leaving her with a look of shock on her face.

Taking her hand, Ron said, "Sometimes you've just gotta have faith in things you can't prove, Hermione."

She closed her mouth, which was hanging open, and a smile made its way across her face. She shrugged, but said nothing else.

Harry leaned back in his chair with a sigh and closed his eyes, satisfied to be relaxing in the Gryffindor common room, in his favourite seat by the fireplace. He wondered vaguely if Link and Zelda, wherever they were, were as content as he was at this moment. Then, smiling to himself, he decided to find out.

::Link?::

::Hey.::

It was strange to be able to get a response as quick as thought this way, but definitely something he liked.

::Did you pass along my messages?::

::Of course. No one can accuse me of ever not keeping a promise. Well, except Princess Ruto…::

Harry laughed; Link had been engaged to the Princess of the Zoras, but then disappeared for seven years and broken it off when he returned.

"What's funny?" asked Ron.

"Link," Harry answered. "I'm talking to him right now."

Hermione looked up from the essay she had picked up to work on once Harry had finished his story, and raised her eyebrows. Harry shrugged and smirked, then closed his eyes again to continue the telepathic conversation.

::You're hilarious.::

::I know.::

He laughed again, before asking, ::Did they have anything to say to me?::

::You know that's a stupid question, Harry.::

::Humour me.::

::They said they've been watching you, and they couldn't love you more unless there were two of you.::

Harry smiled without noticing it. ::And what about you? What do they think of you?::

::Well, we've just been talking for a bit, while me and Zel try and catch up with about a thousand people at once, but so far, they're great! You were right about Sirius, he's just like me. Your dad said that if I'd gone to Hogwarts in their day, Sirius would have had some competition, and there would have been four illegal Animagi running around. Your mom guesses it'll take about five minutes before we start wreaking havoc on the Sacred Realm the way they did at school, and Malon agrees… Me and your dad've gotta watch out for the redheads, Harry, they're trying to keep us out of trouble.::

Harry gave a snort. ::Well, if you're part of the group, do you have a nickname, then? Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, Prongs and…?::

::No nickname yet, but I do have a…whaddya call it…Animagus form.::

::Yeah?::

::Sure, remember I told you people can turn into animals here? So now I can, and so can everyone else. You'll never guess what I turn into.::

::What?::

::A lion.::

Again, Harry laughed, in his head and aloud.

::I know,:: Link agreed, laughing as well. ::What are the odds? And Zel's a cat, too. A panther, in typical Sheikah style. We figure it must run in the family.::

::So I wonder if that means I'll be a stag, too, like my Patronus, or else…I dunno, a horse or something.::

::If anyone's gonna be horse, it's Malon.::

::Why do you think that? And is she one?::

::Of course she is, because she's the most fanatical horse lover in any world. Although, incidentally, Sirius is a big horse fan, too. Used to be really good at show jumping.::

::Really?::

::Oh, yeah. Your dad's family owned summer property out in the country, and they had this dappled grey mare named Pepper that just loved Sirius. Your dad was pretty good at riding, too, but he says he didn't like it that much, which your mum claims is just because he wasn't as good as Sirius.::

Harry felt a pang of something like sadness at hearing all this information. ::I never knew any of that…::

::There's so much they want to tell you. Good thing we have all the time in this world and the next to share everything, huh?::

::Yeah,:: Harry thought, opening his eyes and looking over at where Ron was reading Hermione's essay over her shoulder as she explained some of the finer points to him. ::Yeah, we've got to share everything.::

At that moment, his train of thought was interrupted by a shriek from the portrait hole.

"HARRY!"

Blinking, he barely had time to see who was there before she had crossed the room and collided with him in a whirlwind of red hair. She moved so fast that it took a moment for him to realize that she had thrown her arms around his neck and pulled him into a kiss.

She seemed to realize what she was doing at the same time that he did, because she leapt away as though she had been electrocuted, eyes wide in shock. In his mind, Harry heard Link's laughter.

::Well, I see you're busy…:: he thought smugly.

::Oh, shut up…::

::…and I have some of my own catching up to do,:: his thoughts now trembled with suppressed mirth, ::since I've just barely started to meet everyone, and I'm in the middle of it all right now… so we'll finish this conversation later. Bye!::

::Okay, get lost already!:: Harry wondered if, wherever he was, Link could see him flushing.

"I—I…uh…" Ginny was stammering, as her cheeks flushed scarlet and she shrank on the spot, clearly wishing she could dissolve. Managing a weak smile, apparently hoping to gloss over what had just happened, she observed, "So you're okay."

Harry opened his mouth to speak, but Ron beat him to it. "Yeah, he is, but you are obviously not," he said sharply. "What the hell was that?"

If Ginny could have become any more crimson, she did at these words. She made several attempts to form sentences, but none came to fruition. "Well…I mean…I…"

Harry as well couldn't seem to find his voice. He mouthed soundlessly, but didn't know where to begin forming actual words.

"I think what Ginny's trying to say," Hermione spoke up, smiling, "is 'Welcome back, Harry.' And I think Harry's trying to say, 'Thanks, Ginny.' Why don't you take it from there?"

Both Ginny and Harry, who had glanced at her so that they would have something to look at besides each other, slowly rotated their heads back towards one another. Ginny cleared her throat.

"Welcome back, Harry."

"Thanks, Ginny."

There was a long, awkward pause.

"I'm glad to see you're okay," she finally spoke up again.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine."

Ron was still looking between them with a guarded expression, and Ginny was clearly straining to find a subject that was more attention-consuming than what had just happened.

"Erm… Where did you go?" she finally asked.

Harry repeated the story, dramatically abbreviated: they had gone to fight the Death Eaters, they had defeated Ganon, and the Triforce of Courage now belonged to him.

"So Link and Zelda are dead?" Ginny said in a horrified whisper, clapping a hand over her mouth. "That's horrible!"

"No, not really," Harry told her, shaking his head. "They were ready for it. It is too bad that they didn't get to say goodbye, though…"

Ron cocked his head curiously. "What d'you mean?"

Bewildered, Harry said, "I mean…they just disappeared, and you guys are never going to see them again, and they didn't even get to say goodbye to you."

His voice faded away as he noticed Hermione smiling sadly and shaking her head. Still completely confused, he watched her lean forward in her chair and rummage through her book bag, pulling out a thick stack of parchment.

"We found these in their rooms," Ron explained. "Thought we'd hang onto them… You should probably keep them."

Harry glimpsed two different kinds of handwriting—neat and elegant script, and endearingly childish printing—as Hermione handed the parchment to him.

"Here," she said simply, smiling.

Riffling through the pages, Harry found he couldn't breathe, because his heart had swollen and was constricting his throat as it pounded hard. The manuscripts were like diaries, chronicling in massive detail everything that the Hylians had done, clearly written with the intent of being left behind and read by their new friends. Harry caught snatches of phrases, and a smile slid onto his face almost without his consent.

…a different world, but really great…you guys are priceless…would never have believed…feels like home…so much fun…never forget anything…

"They did say goodbye…"

Because his attention fell to and remained on Link and Zelda's journals once he had them, Harry didn't get much of chance to talk to anyone until early that afternoon, just after lunch, as the Gryffindor Quidditch team gathered themselves for a training session. Though no one said it, Harry knew they were all wondering if their captain would be feeling up to a practice; the truth was that he was as eager as ever he had been to get outside and take to the air, for the weight of the world had been gradually lifting off of his shoulders all day, and he wanted to revel in this new freedom. It took only a few minutes for the rest of the team to realize that they had no reason to be on tenterhooks around him, and resume their normal behaviour. By the end of a tough two hour practice, he was feeling back up to a hundred percent, so much so that he lingered in returning to the change rooms after he sent his teammates to do so. On the pretence of putting the ball crate away, he slowly walked to the storage shed and enjoyed the sights, smells, and feelings of the outdoors. He could easily understand why Link loved being a child of the forest…and why Sirius had been unable to handle being trapped indoors for so long the previous year…

"Harry?"

His heart stopped in his chest at the sound of the voice behind him. He would have been lying if he'd claimed it was unexpected, but that didn't make it any less difficult to turn around and face it.

Which, somehow, he did nevertheless.

"Hi, Ginny."

She looked very small, nervous and fidgety, just as she had done the first time he had met her, and even for a long time after that. She clutched her broom tightly in one hand, like a support, and shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she met his gaze uncomfortably.

"Listen…er…about earlier…" she began, and he had a feeling she had been mentally rehearsing these words. "I was… I was just really happy to see that you were okay and everything… I didn't…mean…" She tapered away to nothing, with a pleading note in her voice that left Harry completely lost. If she hadn't meant it, why had she done it? And why did she now sound so desperate for him to say…something, he could tell, though he couldn't have guessed what. Maybe she just wanted him to confirm that there was nothing between them.

And if that was the case, why was he not simply doing so and moving on?

"Right," he choked out. "Yeah. I…er…I know. Of course."

And why did she now look, not as relieved as he would have expected, but faintly disappointed?

::Harry, you're an idiot.::

Blinking in surprise, Harry could think of no response to this. Fortunately, he didn't need to, as Link continued.

::Look, I've never been subtle before, and I don't plan to change that, so I'm gonna jump in here and be the proverbial fairy under your hat. She likes you. She's waiting for you to say you like her back. Which you do. Don't even bother trying to deny it, there's no point.::

::So…what do I say?:: Harry thought blankly, though half of him still objected feebly that Link was wrong.

::Tell her the truth. That you don't think that kiss meant nothing, that you don't want it to mean nothing, that she's sweet and you care about her, and you think she cares about you, too…and say it fast, before she gets away.::

At these words, Harry realized that Ginny was indeed walking towards the change rooms and away from him. His voice leapt out of his throat before he could stop it.

"Hey, Ginny! Wait up!"

Harry had no idea what had just happened. But whatever it was, it had involved him finding himself unable to stop talking once he started, and then Ginny jumping in as well, and then both of them just talking over each other without really listening, but not really needing to, because each knew what the other was saying, and then, somehow, him kissing her, or else maybe her kissing him, and then both of them laughing at something but not knowing what, and managing to establish, at some point between babbling mindlessly and laughing in exactly the same way, that they both felt the same way about each other, and then making it official.

Which was why they were now walking back up to Gryffindor Tower hand in hand. As boyfriend and girlfriend. And Link's voice in Harry's mind wasn't the only one laughing hysterically—his own consciousness was, as well. He supposed this internal laughter was his own way of coping with the disbelief and bewilderment that were still hazing over the rational part of his mind. It was all just so unbelievable, that all he could do was laugh.

Next to him, Ginny, let out a quiet noise of good humour, clearly a small taste of what she was struggling to hold back.

"What's funny?" he asked curiously.

Voice trembling with uncontrollable hilarity, Ginny shook her head and said, "I have no idea."

"Yeah," Harry agreed, struggling just as much as she was, "me, neither."

They were still laughing at nothing when they fell through the portrait hole together, to find Ron and Hermione sitting by the fire.

"There you are!" Hermione said indignantly. "Ron got back and he said you hadn't even started changing yet… What took you so long?"

"And what's so funny?" Ron put in.

Harry grinned at Ginny, who was making a valiant effort not to dissolve into further peals of giggling, which in and of itself of course only made the urge more irresistible.

"Funny story, actually…" Harry began.

And he related succinctly what had just happened.

"So lemme get this straight," Ron jumped in at the end. "You two are going out?"

Ginny shrugged, still smiling. "I guess so, yeah."

Hermione cast a sideways look at Ron, apparently reserving her own reaction until he gave his.

"Well," he said carefully, "you realize, Harry, that I will of course have to kick your ass if you hurt her."

"I know."

Ron nodded. "Just so long as we're clear on that." Then he cracked a smile. "But seriously, it's about time."

Hermione beamed at them fondly, clearly relieved that Ron was handling this comparatively well. "I'm happy for both of you."

First thing the next day, after an early breakfast, Harry went with Ron and Hermione to visit Hagrid; Ginny hadn't done any homework yet that weekend, and desperately needed to catch up, or else she would have come with them. They hadn't visited the groundskeeper in far too long, because they had been occupied with the Hylians. Harry had of course thought they should meet, when the visitors had first arrived, but Hermione had pointed out that they might not get along.

"What are you talking about?" Harry had disagreed, bewildered. "They love animals, don't they? Link does, at least."

"Yes," Hermione had admitted, "but I think they might have slightly different opinions on…well…more aggressive and dangerous ones."

At these words, the mental image had sprung into Harry's mind of what would happen if Zelda and Link got into a disagreement with Hagrid on the virtues (or lack thereof) of what he would term "interesting creatures" and they would term "murderous monsters," the types of things that Hagrid kept as pets and that Link made a point of killing before they killed him. So Harry had conceded that Hermione's point was a good one, and due to Link's later confrontation of Aragog, he was glad he had done so.

Now that the Hylians had gone, though, Harry and his friends needed to catch up with Hagrid, and tell him everything that had gone on in their lives.

When they arrived at Hagrid's modest home, they found him arriving as well, from a venture into the Forest.

"'Bout time yeh dropped by!" he said, grinning beneath his beard when he spotted his visitors. "Yeh're not too busy with yer new friends ter come an' have a cuppa with me, then?"

"Sorry it's been so long, Hagrid," Hermione said, smiling back. "We were really busy, though."

"Yeah, I know," he chuckled, waving away their apologies. "With yer homework an' yer Quidditch an' tryin' ter save the world… I don' blame yeh none."

As they took their seats around the table, Hagrid bustled around the sink to make some tea. As he did, he continued to talk.

"So I don' need ter ask what's goin' on in yer lives, then, do I? I've seen yeh practicing with yer new toys, Harry."

Laughing, Harry said, "You mean my sword and bow?"

"Tha's the ones," Hagrid agreed, handing around three mugs of tea. "Link's been helpin' yeh with 'em, isn' tha' right?"

"Er…yeah. Yeah, he was."

"Was?" Hagrid echoed, frowning over his own drink. "Not any more? Summat happened?"

Harry exchanged a look with Ron and Hermione, before saying slowly, "Well…didn't you hear what happened yesterday?"

Hagrid leaned forward in his chair interestedly. "No, I didn' hear nuthin' 'bout anythin' after I brought yeh the Thestrals. Wha' did happen?"

With a sigh, Harry explained, "After we fought, Link and Zelda died."

Choking on his sip of tea, Hagrid asked, "Wha' did yeh say? They died?"

"Yeah," Harry said wearily, nodding. "But it's okay, they're fine, and we're keeping in touch."

Raising his bushy eyebrows, Hagrid asked, "Yeah? How's that?"

"Telepathy," Ron spoke up, "between Harry here and Link in the Sacred Realm."

"I can't believe it's never occurred to anyone before to use telepathy to cross the borders between the worlds of the living and the dead," Hermione said thoughtfully, talking more to herself than anyone else. "But I suppose no one really wants to blur that line, do they?"

"So yeh can talk ter him whenever yeh want, eh, Harry?" Hagrid asked, placing his mug down onto the table.

Harry nodded.

"Well, tell 'im hi from me."

This time, it was Harry, Ron and Hermione who all choked into their drinks.

"Tell—But you never met him," said Ron, sounding slightly alarmed as he glanced wildly at Hermione and Harry. "Did you?"

"O' course I did," Hagrid said, looking around at them and clearly surprised at their reactions. "Why wouldn' I?"

"Well…well, we just thought…" Hermione stammered uncertainly, but she apparently didn't know where her sentence was going, because she let it fade away and looked to Harry for help.

"When did you meet him, Hagrid?" Harry managed to ask.

"He came by, roun' abou' the same time he started trainin' you up ter be the next hero," Hagrid explained. "Wanted ter talk about Aragog."

Harry's heart stopped in horror, and to judge by how pale Ron and Hermione had suddenly become, theirs had as well.

"About…about Aragog?" Harry forced out, his voice sounding somehow higher pitched than usual.

Nodding, still looking doubtful about their stability, Hagrid explained, "Said he'd had a run-in with all Aragog's kids in the Forest. Said you were there, too, Harry. Weren' yeh?"

"Yes," Harry admitted slowly, "but I didn't know you knew about it…"

"Yeh didn' wan' me ter find out what had happened ter Aragog, did yeh?" Hagrid said in an abnormally shrewd tone.

Harry opened his mouth, but had no idea what to say. Glancing at Ron and Hermione, he saw that they were just as dumbfounded.

"Did you… Did Link tell you?" he said, his throat dry.

Hagrid nodded seriously. "Yep. Told me Aragog had mentioned me jus' before he died, so he figured we were friends. Course, that didn' stop Link killin' him, bu'…" He paused, suspended momentarily in thought, then snapped out of his reverie to take another sip of tea.

"What else did Link say?" Hermione asked softly, breaking the silence.

"Well," Hagrid began, leaning back again in his chair, apparently trying to recall the conversation, "told me that he was sorry he'd had ter do it, bu' he'd jus' had ter do it. Said tha' these types o' spiders aren' meant to live in a fores' like this one, an' I did know that already, but I thought Aragog was learnin' fine. Look how big his family was gettin' an' all! Centaurs never liked 'im much, though…ruddy mules," he added irritably, and Harry shared his sentiment. "Anyway, we got ter talkin', an' I definitely wasn' happy that Link had ter go an' kill one o' my friends, bu' he told me how Aragog's kids were tryin' ter kill him an' Queen Zelda, an' yeh, too, Harry. Didn' want ter believe him, 'cause Aragog's always been fine with me, but I could tell Link wasn' the type who'd jus' say summat like that if it weren' true, yeh know? We had a good, long talk about it, an' we settled some things, an' in the end I guess I can' really blame 'im… He's a soldier, o' course, bu' he also knows what he's talkin' abou' when it comes ter animals an' stuff. Grew up in a fores', yeh know, an' later he worked on a ranch. 'Sometimes yeh jus' have ter let 'em go, Hagrid,' he tells me. 'I don' ever like havin' ter kill summat, bu' sometimes yeh jus' have no choice.' It's true enough, I know that. He was real sorry, an' he knew I was still upset an' all, bu' he still stood by what he'd done." Hagrid paused again, a slight crease in his brow. "An' it's funny, but even though he's not some fancy nobleman or nuthin', somehow yeh can' help thinkin' that he knows best."

An odd silence fell. As impossible as it seemed to Harry for anyone to actually care about the monster that was Aragog, it seemed equally impossible (if not more so) for someone who did care to be so comfortable discussing its death. Even though he knew exactly what Hagrid meant about Link—like Zelda, he just gave of an aura, greater than simply his mystical glow, of some strange wisdom of experience, and it was something no one could help trusting—he also knew that no one could help grieving the loss of a loved one.

"So…are you okay, then, Hagrid?" Ron asked uncertainly, apparently thinking the same thing.

"Oh, I'm all righ', sure," Hagrid said dismissively, waving a massive hand. "Ter tell yeh the truth, I was kinda expectin' it soon. Aragog was gettin' old. More'n fifty years old, ter be exact. Blind an' getting' pretty weak an' all… An' he didn' get along with the centaurs, like I said, an' this type o' fores' isn' where he was meant ter be, like Link said, an'…he didn' much get along with Grawp, either…"

Of course, Harry thought. If Hagrid's half-brother and old friend were in conflict, and the old friend wasn't happy with his living situation to begin with, there must have been a part of Hagrid that was grateful that Aragog was at least now at peace.

"Bu' why are we talkin' 'bout all this sad stuff?" Hagrid asked abruptly, with a short laugh. "There's gotta be a Quidditch game comin' up soon or summat, righ'? Who's playin'?"

It was such an obvious attempt to change the subject that they all indulged it, even Hermione, who didn't much follow Quidditch beyond knowing that Gryffindor had a tendency to win every game they played. The conversation moved from sports to school to other areas, and Hagrid laughed heartily when he learned that Harry and Ginny were now a couple.

"Yeh'll have ter keep him in check, then, won' yeh, Ron?" he pointed out, beetle eyes twinkling.

"You got that right," Ron agreed, but he, too, was smiling.

Hermione laughed as well, and Harry merely shook his head and tried to look annoyed at having his personal life become the subject of conversation. But the fact was, he greatly preferred discussing such everyday, typically teenage occurrences to trying to understand the grand scheme of destiny, and where he fit into time itself.