Praesentia
Chapter Nine---Power Hungry
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Harry turned to slowly to Luna, and then looked sharply toward Lupin. Lupin nodded.
"It's all right, Harry." Lupin said softly, and gave Luna a brief look.
Harry was concerned. Why had Lupin just blurted out that address?
Lupin leaned forward and grasped his shoulder. "You can get up, get ready, and we'll all go in about an hour."
"All?" Harry muttered.
Luna piped up. "I'm going, too."
"Huh?" Harry blurted.
Lupin spoke, "It's for her safety. Luna lives very near the Burrow, and her house was attacked and ransacked. Nobody was home at the time, as her father is still recovering from his unfortunate incident last night. Dumbledore and I feel that it would be best that she join her classmates in safety. We're still not certain why the Death Eaters attacked Ottery St. Catchpole."
Harry shook his head, as if to clear it. "Ottery St. Catchpole? You mean, they attacked an entire village?"
Lupin nodded. "It may have been a diversion, but we don't why it was done."
Harry swallowed, and tentatively slid off the edge of the bed.
Luna looked away suddenly, stood up, and shuffled to the door. "Um--I'm going to go and stay with my father for a while, and I'll be ready when it is time to leave."
She opened the door and slipped out without a backward glance.
Harry shrugged, briefly thinking of Luna's oddity before turning to Lupin. "Are my clothes in that wardrobe?" He gestured to it.
Lupin turned halfway toward him and nodded.
Harry busied himself with getting ready. He wasn't too thrilled at the prospect of going to 12 Grimmauld Place, and all the memories of Sirius it would bring back to him.
If only Susan could have....
Harry gritted his teeth. No, he couldn't think about her any more. It was useless; just as useless as thinking of his parents and Sirius. Nothing could bring them back.
Concentrate on Voldemort, Harry thought to himself. It's time to think about destroying him, and all the misery he's caused, once and for all.
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Mrs Weasley was muttering under her breath at the sight of the condition of her home. Hermione bit her lip, and pretended she didn't hear what Mrs Weasley was saying; but Mrs Weasley wasn't trying to hide her anger.
Hermione continued tidying up Ron's parent's bedroom, which by far was the most ransacked one. Not only had the room been nearly demolished, but scorch marks from spells covered the walls.
Mrs Weasley turned to Hermione. "You can go and finish getting ready to go now, Hermione dear. Thank you very much for your help." Patting her shoulder, she turned and muttered under her breath, "I refuse to leave my home in ruins."
Hermione swallowed, nodded, and turned to slip out the door. Then she remembered something.
"Mrs Weasley..." she turned, and gave Ron's mother a backward glance.
"Yes, dear?"
"Um...Ron and I decided..." Hermione swallowed, blinked, and looked toward Mrs Weasley's now scratched and scorched wardrobe.
Mrs Weasley raised an eyebrow. "It's about the Wesele Stone, isn't it? You've decided when you will...haven't you?"
"Yes. Ron and I agreed that I would touch it tomorrow. But if I'm at 12 Grimmauld Place..." Hermione whispered the very last words, and looked down at her feet.
There was silence for a moment, before Mrs Weasley spoke up. "I'm glad that Ron has become sensible and you've both worked this out."
Hermione looked up to see Mrs Weasley cross over to the wardrobe and pull out her wand.
"It's fine, dear--we'll just take it with us--" She muttered something under her breath, and tapped her wand to the wardrobe, where the secret compartment was. "When you're ready tomor--" She stopped mid-sentence; and then exhaled sharply, as she looked down into the drawer.
Hermione instantly knew something was wrong. "What is it?"
She rushed up behind Mrs Weasley and looked down into the secret compartment.
"It can't be!" Mrs Weasley stated loudly, gasping, and running her hand about in the drawer.
Hermione's heart fell to her midsection as she looked down into the very empty space where the box with the stone should have been.
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"WHAT?" Ron cried. "GONE?"
Ron's father was furious, and pacing the floor in front of the fireplace at 12 Grimmauld Place. Ron's mum was wringing her hands, and Hermione was sitting on the couch, looking rather numb. Bill and Charlie were leaning against the wall next to the fireplace, and Ginny was sitting next to Hermione, appearing confused.
Ron's father turned to his mother, and said loudly, "I agreed to allow Fred and George to go back their shop, but maybe now I should apparate to them--"
"No, Dad," Bill spoke up suddenly. Everyone in the room turned to him.
Ron winced; bitterly angry. Every time he looked at his brother, he was reminded of the torture Bill had gone through.
His brother stepped forward slowly, looking pensive. "I know what you're thinking, Dad, but I think Fred and George will be safe. Whoever took the stone already knows what it means--what power it holds. And...I'm probably responsible..." his sentence faded to silence. Ron's father stopped pacing and gave Bill a hard look.
"What do you mean, son?"
Ron watched as Bill swallowed visibly, and then spoke with a rasping voice. "When I was their captive...I'm sure I was given veritaserum. I have no way of knowing what I was asked. It's very possible I could have provided them with enough information--"
Ginny's thin voice broke in. "Ok, hold on--I think I understand this curse--but why would anyone outside of our family want the stone?"
Ron could see that Hermione was bursting to say something. As soon as Ginny finished her sentence, Hermione spoke loudly.
"Voldemort."
Everyone in the room cringed involuntarily, and Hermione sighed. "It's all too obvious; he wants the power. Mrs Weasley, you told me that--and correct me if I'm wrong--you said that Herneith put her essence into that stone. If it was possible to extract that essence--that power--they could become quite powerful. Powerful enough, in fact, to cheat death. You said it yourself that Herneith did cheat death; for as long as she could." Hermione inhaled briefly, and continued. "If Voldemort was aware that kind of power existed, he'd do anything to tap into it."
Ron felt the anger well up into him, and he was burning with it. "Oh, this is the lowest of the fucking lows," he muttered under his breath.
He had the strongest desire to punch something.
Before he could act out this desire, there was a knock at the door in the other room. Mrs Black's portrait began to shout, and Ron's parents rushed out to greet the newcomers. Ron turned to the others, and watched as Bill and Charlie moved to quieten the portrait. Catching Hermione's eye, Ron grasped her hand and they both walked to the entryway.
Harry had entered the door, followed by Lupin and Luna Lovegood. Ron was immediately puzzled as to why Luna was with them, but he didn't have time to think about it. He channeled some of the anger about the stone into the need to find out how Harry was.
He was concerned by the way his parents were looking at Harry. Something was off; it was as if they were avoiding him somehow. Ron shook his head; were they doing it on purpose?
Then he realized--they were still avoiding direct eye contact. So St. Mungo's hadn't been able to help keep Voldemort from channeling through Harry....
Ron stepped forwarding, clutching Hermione's hand desperately.
"Hi, Harry," he said thickly to Harry, who was being hugged energetically by Ron's mother.
"Ron! Hermione! It's good to see you." Harry said, sounding genuine. Ron was a bit taken aback. Was this the same depressed, brooding Harry who'd gone to St. Mungo's just one day before? Apparently, the visit had done him good. Ron reached out to clap a hand on his friend's shoulder, and was awarded with a firm smile.
"Harry, it's good to see you're okay," Hermione was saying softly, and giving Harry a brief hug. Ron vaguely saw Harry turn quickly to hug Ginny next, and his attention wandered.
Ron's parents were talking softly to Lupin, and Luna was looking a bit lost, gazing wide-eyed at Ron's brothers, who were still trying to quieten Mrs Black's screeching.
"Luna," Ron said evenly. Luna turned to look at him sharply.
"Oh, hello Ronald," she said, her eyes boring into his, and looking oddly out of focus.
Hermione was now grasping Ron's arm; Ron sensed her attention had just moved from Harry to Luna.
"Luna! What happened; why did you come?" Hermione asked, and Ron thought for sure her friendly tone was forced. Even through the anger that was still eating away at him about the stone, he felt a corner of his mouth lift in amusement. Hermione was being jealous at a time like this?
"My house was attacked, as was Ronald's. Professor Dumbledore thought I'd be safer here, at least for the time being. My father is still in St. Mungo's...he'll most likely join me here, if he's still ill before I go back to Hogwarts."
Hermione relaxed slightly against Ron, and Ron finally had the chance to concentrate on his parents and Lupin. All three looked concerned, and Ron wished he knew what they were whispering about. He was about to pull Hermione toward them so he could hear, when Harry stepped in front of them.
"Ron...Hermione..." Harry said, his eyes directed to the floor. "Can I talk to you both? In private?"
Ron nodded, as part of him was hoping to tell Harry about everything that had happened within the last 24 hours. He exchanged a look with Hermione, and all three walked to an empty corner of the living room.
Harry moved closer to them both, and then pulled them toward him. He avoided their eyes, and began to speak firmly.
"There is something I've been keeping from you. I kept it a secret because it seemed like--well, first term--things were getting better, it seemed. I really didn't think I'd have to tell you until...well, until I thought...or needed--oh hell!" he stopped, and let out a frustrated sound. Ron noticed that he'd clenched his fists.
Ron caught Hermione's eye briefly, and saw how worried she'd become. They both turned back to Harry, who was still clenching his fists and looking at the floor.
"I guess...I just didn't want to see the looks on your faces. I didn't want you to pity me, any more than you already were. And then when I met Susan, I just forgot about everything else that was happening. But now, I need your help, more than ever before. I need you to promise me that you'll help me." At that, Harry raised his eyes, but didn't look at them directly.
Ron's mouth had suddenly gone dry. He instantly knew how important this was, and instinctively said, "Definately, Harry. I promise to help you, you can count on that."
Ron felt Hermione nod beside him, and then her soft voice said, "Right, Harry. We'll always be here for you--did you doubt it? I mean, because of Ron and--"
Harry said sharply, "No! I never doubted it--but this is dangerous. It could kill you both, but you're the best mates I know, and the best witch and wizard. I hate to ask you to do this, and have to tell you this, but I need to know you'll be there until the end."
Ron felt ill. He didn't want to know what Harry meant; he had an idea, but he didn't want to hear Harry say it out loud.
Finally, after a tense silence, Harry began again. "Do you remember the prophecy? From the Department of Mysteries? The one that got shattered, the one with my name on it?"
Ron nodded, and saw Hermione nod in kind beside him.
Harry sighed heavily. "Well, the prophecy basically said that--" he stopped, and seemed to have lost his courage to continue.
Ron heard Hermione clear her throat beside him, and say, "The prophecy? Harry, you mean it actually was a real prophecy, about you? I don't know if I believe--"
Harry shuddered and let out an angry sound. "You'd better believe in this prophecy, Hermione. I can tell you for a fact I have a good reason to believe this one is true. And before I explain--I need to tell you what the prophecy said."
Harry exhaled deeply, took a deep breath, and began to speak again; with a ferocity Ron had never heard before.