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Chapter 26 – Memories

Gabriel woke in his hideaway. Again. In his lion form. Again. He didn't understand how, each time he felt that wonderful feeling in himself, he had to be subtracted from his love. At least, now, he knew where to start to search for her.

He was torn, though, between his need of her, and the world he had lived in for a whole year. Joan still needed him, he thought, and Tamara...

Tamara!

She had been with him in that place and she wasn't there with him!

Happy to have an excuse, he quickly jumped on his feet, and spoke the activation for the third time.

"Hogliewarts."

He hadn't calculated the time difference this time, though, and arrived in a pitch black room. Cursing his lack of clairvoyance, he prepared to go back to Joan and Michael's place to fetch a flashlight, when someone spoke next to him.

"Lumos."

He jumped three feet in fright at the sound, and at the light. Someone was there! He looked around in fear, before the person took his hand and tried to soothe him. It was difficult, though, as half of what the girl said didn't make sense and the other half was tugging at forgotten memories. Something in her monologue attracted his attention, though.

"...and everyone else had spent their evening around Ginny. She had been awake enough to turn back, before-"

"What did you say?"

The girl sighed, before putting her lighted wand in her hair.

"I said 'Ginny.' You don't remember her? If you make the room explode each time you two meet, it's quite normal, though."

"I made what?" He looked at her as if she had lost her head.

"Harry, you are a-"

"Wait wait wait! How did you call me?"

"I called you Harry."

"Why?"

"Because that's your name, silly!"

"My name is..." he sounded hesitant, suddenly.

"Okay, you don't remember. I'll help you."

"You will?" He sounded hopeful and afraid at the same time. He sensed that the barriers of his mind had started to crack under the pressure already, and a little help would release the memories he was so afraid of and longed for at the same time.

"Yes. But I have something else to do beforehand, as I don't really want to be grilled like a hamburger. Nor having you faint."

"What are you going to do?"

"It's not me, it's you. What do you know about the Elements?"

"Tam showed me... Tam! Where is she?" He looked around in panic, ready to run through the door.

"You mean... the black girl who was with you before?"

"Yes!"

"She left, through the surest mean possible to escape curious wizards: elemental travel."

He was flabbergasted again, and she giggled. Shaking himself, he continued to ask questions. "Why escape curious wizards, and what is elemental travel. And, while I'm asking, who are you?"

"I'm Luna, nice to meet you. You are?"

"I'm... I don't even know! Call me Gabriel; I have had that name for a year, now."

She lowered her head, and her answer was barely audible. "Like the archangel, how appropriate."

"What?"

"Nothing, just elaborating..."

"What about curious wizards and the other thing?"

"Elemental travel is not your league yet, but will be, after you train sufficiently. Let's just say that she went home. The other question will need more details. You know the Elements?"

"Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. And others in between." He smiled, remembering his lesson with Tam, about the Spheres.

"Good boy. I think everybody had noticed you being a Lightning one. I'm an Air one."

"Cool! You could teach me with Tam, then."

"Yes, but we don't have much time, and Hogwarts is definitely not the place."

"Hog... warts?"

"Yes. The school we are in right now!"

"Ah. Yes. I remember, now." and it was true, if his mounting headache could be taken as a proof of that.

She continued, though, and spoke animatedly. "Wizards think Elementals are a legend because Elementals hide from the world. Elemental think that Wizards are a legend because Wizards hide from the world. Each of these two groups of people has its own rules of secrecy, and you'll almost never notice stray magic in the streets, or elemental prowess in public. You and I are right in the middle of this mess, because we are..."

"Both?"

"Right. We are called between ourselves as Magius. You're a Magius, Harry."

"Still that name!"

"Yes. It's almost time to drop the masks. Just a little... grounding... beforehand."

"What?"

"Just a joke. I think the term was very appropriate for your particular element."

"Yes. Lightning. Grounding. Right. What do you want?"

She picked a long and shiny object from the floor and gave it to him. "Hold this sword. It's the only thing entirely metallic I could find in my off-curfew run."

"You knew I was going to show up?"

"I suspected so, so I also disarmed the trap and temporarily moved the detection spell that was on your arrival spot. Now take that sword already, we don't have all night!"

"What do I do with it, now?"

"Hold it in front of you, and don't touch anything with it for the whole exercise, okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now, I want you to think of a mildly happy memory. A birthday cake?" He looked at her blankly, and she understood her mistake. "Sorry, bad idea. Helping friends?"

"Okay. I'm helping Kevin and the others in dressing as a wizard for Halloween."

"How appropriate. Now close your eyes, and meditate. You feel that energy in your heart?"

"Hmmm... Yes. It looks like a spark."

"In your case, yes, it should be."

"What do I do with it? It's disappearing!"

"Stay focused on your memory. I want you to imagine the spark escaping through your hands, into the sword."

He concentrated for a while, until he felt the spark had transferred to the blade. "It... it works!"

"I can see that. The blade has faint sparks around it, now. Let's do it again with something stronger, while keeping these sparks there. You had imagined helping your friends once. Now try to remember all your happy moments together. All of them. And push the energy through your hands."

"Argh... it's too much..."

"I guarantee that it's not too much! It will be when you'll collapse. You have to train, young Magius, or you'll be hunted by both our communities..."

"Don't tell me..."

"Stay focused! Good! See? Now let's do it again. Without speaking of true love, have you felt a physical attraction for anyone?"

"Errrm..."

"I'm not asking anything, mind you. If you have, remember the feeling, and pass it through your hands."

"Okay." He concentrated, before some more sparks could be seen dancing around the blade. "I'm... doing... it... damn! It's... painful."

"Stay focused. Good. When you are done, open your eyes."

He opened them, and looked at the sword in wonder, panting from the exhaustion. The weapon was positively glowing, now. "What it this?"

"It's all your positive energy gathered in one place. You can see it's really strong. It's even lighting better than my wand now."

"Wand? Do I have one?"

"You should... but let's stay on topic. Let's fill this sword to the brink."

"What do I do?"

"You'll do as before, pushing the energy, but now, you are going to think about Ginny."

"Who?"

"The redhead lioness."

He closed his eyes and reflected for a few seconds, then... "Oh. Oh! Oh my god! It's... it's too much! I'm going to burn my hands if I push it through!"

"Don't worry about that. It's your element, it can't harm you."

"Remind me... that... later. Damn! I'm... going... to fall... asleep... after this. It's... draining... me."

"That's partly the idea."

"What?"

"Stay focused! I just said that I want to make you recover your memories but I don't want to receive a lightning bolt because of it, so you are being grounded to that sword."

"Okay... I... understand... now."

They spent a few minutes in silence, Gabriel concentrating on passing his energy on the sword, slowly, steadily.

"Sweet Merlin!" Luna suddenly exclaimed.

"What?" He still had his eyes closed, and she suspected that he hadn't finished yet.

"Did you put all of it into the sword?"

"Only... half... of... it."

"Move over there, quick!" She pushed him towards a corner of the room where no carpet was decorating the stone floor. Once there, he suddenly noticed that the sword was strange. The combined action of all that energy had melted it so much that the blade literally leaked on the floor, in a white-hot and sizzling metal puddle.

"What? Oh! I broke it!" Gabriel was apologetic, but Luna merely shrugged it off. Taking the sword hilt, she set it on the metal heap before it could solidify completely.

"You really must have quite an impressive power to melt metal like this."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't. And don't worry about losing your energy like that. It's just to prevent too much shock to myself and the surroundings. You'll recover every spark of it after a good night of sleep."

"Okay."

"Now, are you ready?"

"What for?"

"To recover your memory, silly!"

"Oh. Okay. It's just that there is so much to learn at the same time..."

"Remember. Don't talk about Elementals to non-Elementals. Don't talk about Wizards to non-Wizards. And never ever talk about Magius."

"You just did."

"I silenced the area before coming here. No one can hear us."

"Okay, then. Proceed."

"Just don't ask question, and repeat after me."

"..."

"Ready?"

"Ready!"

"My name is Harry James Potter." She closed her eyes, and concentrated.

"My name is Harry James Potter." He did the same.

A slight pause.

"That's all?"

Another pause. She was still concentrating.

"Wait... I can sense them coming in... I don't want... No! My eye! Not the knife! AAAAAAARRRGGH!"

The boy who didn't have a name crumbled in a heap, and kicked wildly, continuing to scream at the recollection of his past. Several shockwaves erupted in the room, but Luna, who had retreated in the farthest corner of the room, protected behind an Air shield, reflected that they would have been considerably stronger if he hadn't emptied himself beforehand.

The last dam of his memory had just burst, and every little torture his relatives had inflicted on him, either physical or mental, was relived. His two years at Hogwarts, with the special events that had crowned them, passed in front of his mind's eye. And Ginny. Ginny lying deathly pale in the accursed Chamber. Ginny smiling at him. Ginny hugging him close, saying 'see you later.'

Gabriel Swift had collapsed, screaming. Harry James Potter rose from the floor an hour afterwards, smiling. Forty minutes of the hour had been spent screaming, though, and his throat was sore to the point of forbidding speech. His eye, though, had recovered his usual green colour, and was now twinkling with happiness at feeling whole again.

"Thanks." He croaked.

Luna gave him a glass of water from the nearby bathroom tap, glancing at him warily. He drank it and returned it with a smile.

"Thank you, Luna, that's better now. You were really prepared, weren't you?"

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"It's you, Harry?"

"Yes. It's me. And my relatives are going to pay." The new information Harry had gathered about all his childhood had rolled into a ball of bad thoughts, and he was furious at them.

"Sorry to disappoint you on this point, then."

"Huh?"

"They died already."

"How? I hope it was painful."

"Their house burned, it seems. I only got the story through a string of reporters. Their dental marks identified the three of them. The fourth body, on the other hand..."

"Let me guess... no dental record, so they just guessed I was dead?"

"Right."

"It's no wonder I had no record... they never brought me there. Luna?"

"Yes?"

"I know I owe you, big time. Anything I can do for you, now or whenever you want, just ask."

"Thanks, Harry."

"However, I want to spend some more time unknown from the outside world. I have a whole new mind to sort, and..."

"If you want help on this one, ask me."

"Why, you know how to sort my mind?"

"Well... sort of. I already helped you recover it."

"How?"

"What do you know about Elemental powers?"

"Nothing, Tam only told me about the spheres."

"I'll just say that Air elementals have knowledge to influence the mind. One of their jobs is to hide the Elemental community from the Unorienteds."

"I'd like it if you can help me with that. However, I have to give an explanation to my muggle friends, though. They deserve it, even if it will be censored." He fell silent for a moment, before raising his head again. "Can you keep all this information for yourself? Or do some people already know?"

"I kept this trip to myself, but Ron will know. He'll keep quiet, though."

"What about Ron?"

"You have much to discover about what had happened since you... died. I will owl you a few letters to sum up the main changes from last year. Some of them are really... disturbing."

"Can't you tell them now?"

"I don't know if you are fit to receive more information, especially of this calibre."

"I'll sort my mind later. Shoot."

"Okay. You asked for it, but I'll start gently." They sat face-to-face on the floor, before she started again. "Ginny is an animagus."

"Hmmm... I knew that already. I guess I'm one, too."

"No."

"No?"

"No, you are not. An animagus can transform into an animal. Not a mythical creature."

"And not several animals?"

"No, why?"

"Well..."

"Don't tell me, or it's my brain which will overload. I'd be glad to know how, though."

"As promised, you'll be the first to know. As soon as I sort my mind."

"Now, Ron... is my boyfriend."

"Okay. Congratulations, by the way. Is it official?"

"As official as it could be given our reputations."

"Your... reputations?"

"Ron's mind has snapped when he learned about your death, and, even if it's perfectly functional, he's not the same wizard. Much calmer. He's also better at Divination. Better than me, even, and I suspect he might have gained an ounce of True Sight in his ordeal. He told me that he was the one who led the others to you, in the park and in the alley. He even showed your scarred face in his crystal ball."

"Now that you tell this, I remember meeting him. It's strange, how a part of my mind remembers him as my turbulent best friend, and another one sees him as a calm and collected stranger."

"Strange. But I'm not finished..."

"Hermione?"

"She stopped speaking with people and drowned herself in her work. It actually saved the school this evening, but the only person she speaks normally with, now, is Snape."

"Snape? The greasy Potion professor?"

"He's not that greasy anymore, as he only teaches NEWT level classes. I heard that he liked them best. He got a job as Defence teacher, and does pretty well. The class has been split, though, with an old Auror named Alastor Moody teaching wards, and Remus Lupin got to teach the same amount of Defence as Snape. We have physical education too, with Sirius Black. I will send you some information about them later."

"Why not now?"

"I don't know everything, and I think it would be best to meet them to discuss about it. It has something to do with... your history."

"My history? I want to know! Even if I have my memory back, I have found that I still know next-to-nothing about the magical world or my history in it."

"I'll owl you what I have tomorrow. It's really better to read it, as I can't sum it all from memory."

"Thanks, Luna."

"There are some other things you have to know, before you go to the Hospital wing to check on Ginny." At these words, Harry rose, ready to run to said place. He hadn't forgotten about her, but the sheer volume of information was threatening to overwhelm his mind. Luna prevented him, though.

"You are certainly going to see someone in one of the beds."

"Who? Malfoy?"

"Him? No... I'll owl you about him too. It'll be worth reading, I promise you. I was speaking about a girl, who you certainly don't know. Her name is Megan Prunner."

"You're right, I don't know her."

"You have to know, so that you don't gasp too loudly in the Hospital wing, that everyone, and I mean everyone, thought that she was... your sister."

"My... my sister? Why so?"

"She looks like you in every detail. Well... except that she's a girl and that you have more scars now."

"My parents... died, Luna! And I certainly don't remember having ever had a sister."

"What do you exactly remember?"

He went silent for a moment, before shaking his head. "I was too young when they died, I don't remember anything."

"If you still have memory problems, we could try something, you know."

"What?"

"Have you ever been hypnotized?"

"No, and I don't want..."

"Think about it this way: that would be a way to remember your parents."

He processed the information, before shaking himself. "Perhaps later. I think I'll go see Ginny now."

Luna nodded, and they stood up, before heading for the door, ready to leave towards the Hospital wing. He stopped suddenly, remembering something about trekking in the castle after curfew.

"Do you know who got my map?"

"Your map?"

"Yes. It was in my trunk. Surely, someone got it."

"Harry... your relatives' house... burned. To the ground. And your trunk must have been there, too. Nothing remained, I'm sorry."

He blanched suddenly. "My wand!"

Sensing his distress, she put her hand on his shoulder, and tried to reassure him.

"You survived a whole year without one. And you also succeeded in damaging more Dementors in your lightning-wielding winged leonine form than any of the castle defenders, yesterday. I'd say you don't really need one right now."

He reflected about that, and acquiesced reluctantly. With his old memories back, he was still feeling naked without it at hand in the castle. He followed Luna around, though, as she seemed to have a keen sense of where to go to avoid Filch and Mrs. Norris.

When they arrived at the Hospital doors, she grasped him a last time, and kissed him on the cheek. "It's good to have you back, Harry." she said, looking him in the eye. She then left, humming happily to herself.

When she arrived in front of the Ravenclaw common room entrance, an old man, clad in white, was waiting for her. He addressed her.

"Hath everything gone finely?"

"Yes."

"Good. I thank thee, Luna Lovegood. Go to sleep, now, and thou will meet somebody special to you in your dreams."

"Who? Is it... my mum?"

He nodded, smiling benignly.

"Thank you, sir! Thank you."

She couldn't help herself and hugged him. He patted her head and then directed her towards her quarters. When the door of Ravenclaw House closed, he muttered something to himself.

"I for sure am not used to intervene directly. But I would not dare losing this one game. Too many lives..."

He looked at the portraits around him, which he had put to sleep upon his arrival, and woke them, just before disappearing.

Harry looked at the doors in apprehension. What if Ginny didn't want him after this year's absence? What if she didn't recognize him? What if...

He shook himself, gathered his courage, and pushed the door silently.

Inside, the only light was coming from the now clear sky, sporting a moon crescent luminous enough to discern the head of each wounded students.

He stopped a moment in front of a bed, where a black-haired girl was sleeping. There was his supposed sister, and he remarked that she really looked like him, in a younger and girly fashion, except for the bandage around her head and shoulder. She had been spying from a classroom when an explosion curse had hit the ceiling, and she had been wounded by fallen rocks. She was okay now, though, breathing deeply. Shaking himself, Harry continued to check the faces and stopped in front of a bed sporting a wild mane of red head.

Ginny Weasley was sleeping, and was apparently in the throes of a nightmare, as small beads of sweat could be seen on her forehead, and she was mumbling incoherently. Unable to let her suffer, he approached her side and stroked her face gently. She calmed instantly, and the smile that graced her features was what Harry had searched after for a whole year.

He was so happy that he felt the familiar tingle of electricity menacing to burst around him. Looking around quickly, he managed to direct it to the metallic goblet that was on the nightstand. It was instantly transformed in a heap of metal, and Harry felt better.

He prodded at her gently, trying to wake her, but she was now soundly asleep, and he didn't want to shake her like a puppet. Looking at her, and remembering that he hadn't been invited in the area, he reflected on a way to stay with her without being detected.

He had two possibilities: he could take her away, or he could adapt himself. He didn't want to kidnap her without her knowing it was him, though, so he decided to change his features. At this point, he had mastered a transformation into a winged lion, as well as a dog and a sparrow. He preferred the feline one, though it sure wasn't discreet enough to be allowed in the Hospital wing. It was also too recognizable, especially after the mess in the Great Hall. Stopping his stroking of Ginny's hand, he reflected about his possibilities, and closed his eyes. Concentrating on each and every memory he had about little cats, and helped by his extensive knowledge of the lion's anatomy, he felt the usual tingle in his whole body. When he opened his eyes afterwards, he could see much better in the semi-darkness, and everything seemed bigger. He jumped on the bed, and nuzzled himself a place in her arm. When he was there, he started to purr contentedly, and Ginny sighed in her sleep, before hugging him closer.

Harry didn't need to sleep, as he had had the time to recover in his hideaway. He then proceeded to meditate, closing his eyes, to sort the information in his mind. He forced himself to examine his memories of when he lived with the Dursleys, and isolated them from the rest of his mind, as a group of thought upon which he could call to anger himself efficiently. Ginny was stirring in her sleep, so, after having done that, he purred again, and started to explore his other memories, most of them happier.

He brought forth his memories of his friends, and separated the wizarding ones from the others. After all, he had lived two different lives, so it was better to store the different memories in distinct places. He then updated his knowledge of the wizardry world with what Luna had told him. He also reflected that he had to add a separate area for elemental-related memories.

As he was organizing his memories, he was always annoyed to discover stray ones moving from a group to another. Thinking about it, he decided to imagine his thoughts as being muttons, him being the shepherd, and resolved to build a fence around them. To his surprise, the already ordered thoughts stopped moving from one group to another, and the jumble of his other memories didn't try to invade the ordered groups anymore.

He wanted to think more about this, but the sun was rising already, and people were stirring. The first morning call was made by a first year Hufflepuff, who suddenly sat on her bed, screaming in fright for a second before realizing where she was. She had been in the Great Hall and had been wounded by a knife there.

The shout woke most of the room, though, and made Madam Pomfrey appear in the room quite quickly. She first calmed the crying girl, before making her first round of the magically enlarged room. Some students got woken up to drink a potion or two, while others weren't touched at all. Sadly, she had to levitate two of the beds out of the room to the mortuary. Everyone got inspected, though, and when the matron went to check on Ginny, she was surprised to see her sleeping with a smile on her face. No other student was smiling, especially after yesterday's attack!

Looking closely, she remarked that the teen was holding something furry in her arms, and tried to remove it, when she got a shock. The thing was moving, and a cat head looked at her inquiringly. It was a black cat, with vibrant green eyes. She suddenly didn't know what to do. Normally, pets and animals weren't accepted in her infirmary. However, the sleeping girl seemed so happy to hold the purring feline that she couldn't bring herself to remove it. While she was thinking this, the cat looked at her fixedly. It unnerved her that a cat could destabilize her like that, and she quickly cast her detection spell on Ginny before turning towards the next bed, intent on finishing her round. Just as she was leaving the bedside, though, she remarked the now cold lump of metal on the nightstand. She took it, briefly asking herself what it could be, before dropping it in the nearest trashcan.

When Ginny woke up, some time afterwards, Harry had just left. He had had a sudden thought about Ginny yelling his name upon seeing him, even as a cat. The thought finished on everybody discovering him, something he didn't want yet. He had then jumped off the bed, before hiding under the cupboard. The movement had woken up Ginny, though, and she looked around in sleep-filled wonder. She knew that something was missing, but couldn't place it, as everything was at the same place as the day before. Nevertheless, she had spent a globally good night, filled with a few nightmares and many dreams as well. The images of them were fading rapidly, though, and she didn't have the time to notice that they hadn't been hers.

After Madam Pomfrey's clearance, she left for the breakfast, unaware of the black cat that was following her, hidden in the shadows of the corridors and of the Great Hall afterwards. The atmosphere was subdued, as everyone was remembering the carnage of the day before. Ginny took her usual place at the table, before noticing that Ron and Hermione were both sitting next to her. She greeted them, and started to eat.

A few minutes afterwards, a large flock of owls could be seen arriving in the Hall, as every parent who had read the morning copy of the Daily Prophet wanted to have news of their offspring.

Several owls were flying aimlessly in the room, obviously trying to find someone, when McGonagall reacted and stood up, before using the powers of her position to send these owls to her office. She would answer personally to those who had lost someone.

A school own was flying aimlessly too, but not in the flock that had been sent away. That one was flying around Ginny, hooting in disappointment. When he noticed this, Ron's eyes lit up, and he looked at the Ravenclaw table, where Luna had stood up and was walking toward them. He offered his hand to the owl, and gave it to Luna without glancing at the envelope.

"I believe," he said to Ginny, but loudly enough to be heard by a couple other students, "that the person whom Luna wanted to write to must be somewhere else."

Ginny answered. "What do you mean?"

But Ron had returned to his bacon. Ginny turned around to ask to Luna, but the Ravenclaw girl had left already, patting the owl.

A few seconds afterwards, a scuffle and admiring exclamations could be heard from the table's end nearest from the doors.

Earlier that morning, Megan Prunner had been cleared by Madam Pomfrey and had joined the breakfasting Hall. After the mail incident, during which she had sulked about her parents being non-magical thus unable to owl her, she had noticed the strange owl farther but had dismissed it as one of the numerous strange occurrences related to Gryffindor's resident fool. A few seconds afterwards, she had sensed something near her foot and, quick and nimble as a she was, she had suddenly bent and retrieved a small black ball of living fur. Turning it around, she noticed two things: it was a cat, and it had vibrant green eyes which looked back at her.

Megan opened her mouth in surprise, and the cat appeared to be surprised as well, while Megan's neighbouring girls fawned over its cuteness. The small cat had exactly the same colour of eyes as she had. Reflecting about it, she noticed that the small animal's fur was also the same colour as her hair, and was sticking in places like her. Looking closer at the animal's eyes, she could see that they were changing, that the animal's vertical pupils slowly changed to round ones. She was looking at it in wonder, when someone from behind her grasped the cat in a flash, and ran out of the hall. Recognising the person, she yelled, at the same time as someone else behind her.

"Ronald Weasley!"

Turning around, she noticed that Ginny Weasley was standing, pale, next to her seat. The older girl approached her and fidgeted for a few seconds. Megan sensed that she wanted to ask her something, so she tried to encourage her.

"Yes?"

"You know him?"

"Your brother? Not a chance."

"No, not him... Him."

"Who?"

Ginny sighed exasperatedly, and seemed to think for a moment, tapping on the floor with her foot, before taking a decision. She grasped the girl's elbow and led her out of the Hall. A few seconds afterwards, Luna left too, the owl gone but its package in her hands. Understanding that something was going on, Hermione, stood up too and left the room, closely followed by the Weasley twins.

Ginny led Megan for a few stairs, before the younger girl yanked her arm off the other's grasp.

"What are you on?"

"Shhh, come on, I can't talk about this in public..."

"There is nobody now, you can talk."

"False. Muggles say 'walls have ears' but here, they have eyes also." Ginny answered, nodding at the portraits.

Looking around them, Megan understood. The portraits were looking at them with curious expressions, and everything that was said there wouldn't be a secret. She relented.

"Okay. Lead the way."

Both girls got up the stairs until they reached an empty corridor. There, Ginny stopped Megan and started to pace, to the younger girl's annoyance.

"What are you doing?"

Ginny didn't answer, but, to Megan's amazement, a door appeared in the wall. The castle was full of surprises, she reflected, before following Ginny inside.

Inside, a small and cosy room was lit by a fire roaring in the chimney. Eight chairs were put in a circle, and Ron was sitting on one, apparently waiting for them. Ginny started to talk, but he stopped her.

"Please sit. We are not complete."

That made the girls think, and they sat. A few seconds afterwards, Luna entered the room, and she held the door open for the three students who she knew would be following her. When Hermione and the twins entered the room, they looked at it in wonder.

Fred started, "I never knew..."

"...that there was a room on this floor." George completed. The twins still had the annoying habit of completing each other's sentences. They had flaunted their knowledge of the castle time and again, and were quite floored that there was some room they didn't know about.

"What are we here for?" asked Hermione.

Ron looked at Luna, who nodded at him. Addressing the others, he started. "Sit down, and we will tell you."

They sat, while Megan asked warily. "You said we weren't complete but I still see an empty chair."

"True." Ron answered, but he didn't elaborate. It was true, of course, as the eighth chair, between him and Luna, was empty.

Megan began to be fed up of the situation, and, turning towards Ginny, she talked to her. "Why did you drag me here?"

Ginny answered, throwing uneasy glances towards Ron. "I wanted to talk to you alone, but my loony of a brother seemed to have other ideas."

"Right." Ron interjected. "Rather than giving each other false ideas and hopes, I preferred to call for a little get-together."

"Which means?"

"During the short time between my arrival and yours, I discussed with someone who had agreed with my idea. I'll be blunt. Harry's here."

Luna knew it, and turned to look at the others.

Megan hadn't known Harry, so she was looking around in bewilderment.

Hermione was her usual logical self, so she scowled and started to mutter about incoherent fools.

The twins were looking at Ron like he had grown a second head.

Ginny almost fainted, but managed to grasp her chair, before looking at him, pale, partly hopeful, and partly angry.

Ron was looking at her, and at her only, though, when he spoke again.

"Rather than to discuss about it, I propose that our eighth member make himself known. Harry, if you would?"

Ron had glanced around his seat, and everyone craned their neck to see what was behind it. They weren't prepared, then, when a small cat appeared from under Ron's chair, walked uneasily towards the eighth chair and jumped on it.

Megan couldn't understand anything of the scene, and, looking around, saw that the older redheads and Hermione weren't either. Ginny, however, seemed to recognize something, and that was what made her retreat in her seat. 'Let's see what happens next' she thought.

And she thought well, because the seating cat closed his green eyes and his body expanded until a boy stood in its place, head hung.

Nobody said anything.

He raised his head, and sharp intakes of breath could be heard as they noticed the scars and burnt skin.

He looked at them with his only eye, before setting it on Ginny. He spoke, and his raspy voice startled them, as well as the uneasy tone underlying it.

"Hmmm... hi?"

Nobody could answer, because Ginny had launched herself on him, throwing the chair on the ground in the process. Neither Harry of Ginny thought of standing, though, as they were hugging like long-lost lovers. Luna and Ron, who had sat nearest, stood up and retreated a little to avoid the small shockwaves that still came from Harry.

Luna spoke first. "You really have to master this, Harry."

That broke the silence, and the four unknowing occupants started to ask questions at the same time. The ruckus seemed to bring the attention of the hugging teens on their audience and uncomfortable situation.

After helping the couple up, Ron merged two chairs before sitting on the last free one. Harry and Ginny, sat comfortably in the large chair, and Ron took control of the situation again.

"You okay, mate?"

Harry smiled, before nodding, nuzzling Ginny's hair in contentment.

Hermione looked at Ron strangely. "Ron?"

"Yes, Mione?"

"Are you... back?"

"I know what you mean, Mione. My answer is: Yes... and no."

"What do you mean?"

"We have all been scarred, and I have had my share. I guess that finding Harry brought some sense in that loony's head." he pointed towards his own head. "But I'll never be the same as before. You know," he sighed, "we formed a bond between us, by sharing all these experiences, and when Harry supposedly died..."

"It sure felt like it." Harry muttered darkly, before having his hand squeezed by the pretty red-headed girl next to him.

Everyone fell into an embarrassed silence for a few seconds, before Ron continued. "We have been specializing ourselves in the group. You were the logical brain, Hermione, and I guess I was the emotional one. Harry was... the bravery, I suppose. When we 'separated,' the only conjecture I can make is that each of us took his part from the others."

"Are we... are we friends?"

"Yes, don't worry. We weren't really a couple before, and I think you have higher aspirations."

Hermione's face displayed several emotions, one after the other: relief at finding both her friends back, alive, and seemingly well; sadness at the trials they had to go through; embarrassment at being known in such depth by someone she had frequently called a lunatic. She stood uneasily, and Ron went to her so that they hugged. Not like lovers, but like long-lost friends. Hermione, her emotional part rekindled, resolved then to spend more time with them.

Remembering the summer, she sniffed. "I'm sorry I yelled at you."

"I'm sorry to have pushed you out." he answered, knowing what she talked about.

After they separated, Megan piped in. "Not to bother you guys, but I still don't know why I'm here."

They all looked at her, and Harry cleared his throat, before answering. "I guess that the presentations had been skipped in our meeting. I'm Harry Potter, nice to meet you."

She looked at him. She had heard what everyone had said in the year, about their physical similarities. Narrowing her eyes, she tried to ignore the scars, but he surprised her, and everyone, again. "Wait a second."

He then bent his head forward, hiding his face. Unseen to all, he closed his eye and frowned in concentration. When he raised his head, a scar-less Harry Potter looked back at them.

Everyone gasped. Megan was even on the verge of fainting. Fred and George were the first to react vocally.

"Blimey, Harry..."

"...that is wicked! So, you are a metamorphmagus..."

"...on top of being an animagus?"

Remembering the trip back from the previous year, Hermione interjected. "Or does it have another name?"

Harry looked at Ginny, and smiled, remembering the last happy days before the previous summer, before turning towards Hermione. "I'll take my book's definition and say I'm a shape-shifter."

Turning serious for a second, he addressed them all. "I'd like you to keep it secret for the moment, as well as my arrival here. I have to sort my situation before 'announcing' my return to everybody." He looked intently at Hermione, who wanted to express something. "Tell the staff about my presence if you want but, please, nothing else."

He turned towards Megan, and winked at her. "Here is how I would appear if a dark wizard hadn't taken a sudden interest in me so many years ago, making me live in a wretched place where I got murdered."

He realized his mistake the moment he uttered it. Ginny began to cry in his shoulder, while Hermione stood up suddenly, demanding the whole story. Ron calmed her, and Harry, remembering Luna's words, turned toward Megan again. "So, many people told you that you looked like me? That you were my sister?"

She nodded. She had been surprised at the change in his face, and couldn't speak a word as the face she was looking at appeared like hers, although older and male.

Hermione spoke at that moment, her mind always questing for information. "I wonder if there is a way to know."

Surprised, Harry looked at her, frowning and remembering, before answering. "There is a way."

Hermione looked at him in wonder. "How can you say that?"

"Blood magic."

She froze. Everyone froze, except Ron and Luna, who were looking at the exchange with peaceful faces.

Hermione reacted first. "How can you even suggest that? It's the most advanced field of Alchemy, and..."

Ron chose that moment to tease her. "How do you know?"

She blushed, remembering her endless discussions with Snape about Potions. Sometimes, Dumbledore had joined them, and the topic would then tilt a little towards Alchemy.

Harry answered her plainly. "My dear ancestor, whose name you should know by now, wrote about blood magic in that famous book."

Hermione interrupted him again. "What do you mean, we know his name? And where is that book, now?"

Harry turned towards Luna. "Luna?"

"I told Harry his house burned down. It seems his trunk was there, with everything in it."

"So, I don't know, Hermione. I lost my trunk, my wand, the map, and everything else. But I remember the book perfectly. With time, I could write its content."

She looked imploringly at him. "Will you?"

"I said 'with time' and I think there are more pressing matters. Like actually using blood magic between us." he finished, looking towards Megan, who recoiled a little. He corrected himself immediately. "It's not dangerous. You just have to give a drop of blood."

"You are not going to do strange things, like possessing me?" Megan spoke in a little voice. After all, she had just encountered the boy, and she didn't know him.

His crooked smile, though, the same as hers, appeased her before his words. "I won't. It's just a detection spell."

Pushing Ginny aside after kissing her hair, he sat up and addressed Ron. "Can I have a cup, a knife, and your wand?" He then remembered the events of a year ago, and corrected himself. "Well... not your wand, in fact."

Remembering the state of his wand the previous year, Ron laughed. A real laugh, which drew everyone's attention apart from Harry and Luna. He hadn't laughed for a year, they thought, and it made them smile as well.

"Don't worry, Harry. It had been repaired and works well, now."

"In fact, speaking of wands, I wonder which of yours I'd be more attuned with. Can I?"

Everyone passed their wands to him in turn. With the usual move learned from doing it countless times at Ollivander's, he only got some sparks from Megan's and Ginny's. During this, Ron had concentrated on the image of a small table with a little knife and a small cup. They were in a room which was called the Room of Requirements, and the room adapted itself to the needs of the people there. Ron had found it on a fluke, and had used it a few times since then.

Harry chose Ginny's wand, and prepared to cut himself with the knife. At the last moment, he looked at Hermione. "You can heal that, right?"

She understood he spoke about little knife cuts, and nodded.

He cut his left thumb, and let some drops fall in the cup, before raising his hand. Meanwhile, Hermione had cleaned the knife and given it to Megan.

Harry looked at his bleeding thumb in fascination for a second, and Luna glanced at him uneasily. He then brought it to his lips, and licked it.

Blood!

Alas, only his own... not as interesting as others'.

He shook himself, freeing himself of these strange thoughts. He definitely had to finish ordering his mind, he thought. Hermione was looking at him with her hand out, asking him something.

"What?"

"Your hand. You asked me to heal, remember?"

"Oh, right."

He gave her his hand, palm up. She took it warily, and looked at it for a second, before returning it. Looking at Harry, she said "You're healed already."

"Ah? I guess I healed it, then." He smiled innocently at her, but she wasn't convinced that he had told the truth. During this, Megan had let some of her blood drop in the cup.

Taking Ginny's proffered wand, he approached the cup and straightened up. "Here comes nothing." he said, before starting to chant some ancient words while drawing a convoluted Y-shaped figure with the wand.

Smoke began to rise from the cup, and formed a strange-looking shape. Harry looked at it, his eyes wide. "It's not possible." he muttered. And he fainted, dropping the wand.

And disappeared.

In the shocked silence that ensued, everybody could hear Luna speaking. "I wish he stops doing that, it's becoming quite annoying."

To be continued in next chapter: New Beginnings...

Satisfied? I'd bet you are.
Alas, the plot I won't mar
There is always more to write,
You'll see... a most evil rite.