Chapter 7: The Scar

Harry opened Hope's bedroom door, and suddenly realized what Ginny had meant when she said Hope could scream really loudly! Ginny walked up to the crib, and picked her up, cradling her in her arms. Suddenly, Harry clapped a hand to his scar, which gave a painful throb. Hope seemed to cry louder, and wave her one arm quickly, as if she was trying to fly.

Harry frowned, as Ginny tried to desperately get her to stop crying. It wasn't until Hope's sleeve slipped down far enough for him to see it. A small red mark that resembled a lightning bolt- identical to the one on Harry's forehead, which was still burning mildly under his fingers. Harry took Hope's hand into his own, and examined the mark.

"Harry!" Ginny gasped, seeing the scar for the first time. "Why has she got... what..."

Ginny seemed to be lost for words. Harry pulled out his wand, and gently and barely touched it with his wand tip. The scar gave a sizzling sound, and his wand was repelled. Harry quickly put it away and then looked more closely. Shaking, he placed a hand over Hope's arm, covering the scar, and expecting to be burnt. But the burning didn't come. In fact, Hope stopped screaming, and the scar disappeared.

Ginny was looking very blank and shocked, as she continued to lightly bounce Hope in her arms, to stop her whimpering.

"That was my scar" Harry muttered. He ran his hand through his hair. "Gin, we've got to go see someone about this..."

"Who?!" Ginny gasped. She sounded very nervous.

"Isabella Coy. She's the only person who might have a clue about what it means"

Ginny frowned. "Who's Isabella Coy?"

Harry hesitated, trying to describe Isabella's magical talents. "She's... she's a psychic... type of person. She works from her home, and isn't like us. She's gifted with this talent to see things others can't. Say someone shot a dark mark into the sky, Isabella would know who shot it, because in her mind, she could bring her mind to focus on it, and the mystery would be revealed... it's kind of hard to explain what she does..."

Ginny nodded. "The wizarding world, then" She sounded rather disappointed.

Harry wrapped an arm around her waist. "I'll give you the option if you want to come or not. I won't force you to come if you're not ready. I also won't force you back to your family until your ready"

"Thanks" Ginny said appreciatively, looking relieved. "It means a lot. But I'm going...just to take Hope."

"Whatever you want" Harry murmured, kissing her cheek gently.

Ginny sighed, and grabbed Hope's blanket. "Come on, sweetheart"

"Can you disapparate?" Harry asked.

"No!" Ginny exclaimed. "I wouldn't trust myself to apparate as I haven't in nearly two years!"

Harry nodded. "I can apparate with you to the Ministry, and then come back for Hope"

"Won't we... you know, be recognized?"

"I will" Harry said grimly. "You won't if you disguise yourself. However, sooner or later they'll know we're back together"

"I know" Ginny muttered. "So we'll skip the disguise..."

Twenty minutes later, Ginny had dressed Hope in her little jacket, and Harry had pulled on his cloak.

"Ready?" He asked, glancing at Hope, whom had been seated in her carrier until Harry came back for her. Ginny nodded, and took his hands. With a loud crack, they disapparated. They appeared in a small, dimmed waiting room. Ginny stumbled slightly, but other than that, she was fine.

"Be back" Harry muttered, disapparating again. Harry appeared within seconds, holding Hope, who looked dazed and curious about what had just happened. Harry sighed, and walked up to the desk, and looked into the back room.

"Isabella?" He called.

"Hello Harry" A cool voice said, stepping out from the darkened back room.

Isabella Coy was a petite woman. She had long white blonde hair. Most of it was wavy, and pulled into a messy bun, while some pieces hung out in the back, and front. She had large, round, blue eyes, and a friendly aura surrounding her. She wore long white and ice blue robes, and she wore many thin silver bracelets on both her wrists.

"My, it's been a while" Isabella said thoughtfully, leaning against her desk. "What can I do for you?" She said, glancing at Ginny and the small child, her eyes widened slightly. Ginny felt a little uncomfortable under her intense gaze. She reminded Ginny of a cross of Professor Trelawny and Luna Lovegood.

"So this is Hope," Isabella whispered to herself. "Adorable" She added a little louder.

"Isabella... we came here upon discovering a reflection of my scar on my daughter's arm"

"Ah" Isabella muttered. "Follow me, please"

Ginny fell into step beside Harry, holding Hope tightly to her. Isabella led them to the far end of the room, and through a door, which appeared to be Isabella's office. It was lit with candles, and the windows were covered with white drapes. In the center of the room, there was a large and round table. The room was fairly empty, except for the extremely large bookshelf against the wall behind Isabella.

"So. Tell me exactly what happened, Ginny" Isabella requested softly, leaning forward expectantly.

Ginny told Isabella how she and Harry had just gotten back together, and then they had gone upstairs to comfort Hope who had woken up from her nap, crying. Then how Harry had spotted the scar on Hope's arm.

"Harry, had your scar burned before?" Isabella asked curiously, bending down, and picking up a flat silver screen. She set it on the table, as Harry nodded. She waved her hands across the screen, and little green words appeared. She scanned it for a moment, and then looked up.

"Ginny, has the scar appeared before?" Isabella asked, looking eerie as the green text reflected on her skin.

"No" Ginny replied firmly.

Isabella fell silent, as she cleared the screen with another wave of her hands, and then made little notes appear. Neither Harry nor Ginny could see what they said, and Isabella didn't look as if she intended to tell them anything.

"Interesting...." Isabella mumbled suddenly. She looked up at Harry and at Harry alone. "Perhaps you could explain why you were kidnapped?"

Harry went white as a ghost and groaned softly. He could feel Ginny's eyes on him, but he couldn't bear to look at her. He simply nodded his agreement reluctantly, and cleared his throat.

"Two Aurors and I were separated from our squad- we had been travelling for days, and had just stopped for water. We were surrounded, tied, and dragged into the forest. There was a brief minute or so, when we all tried to escape..."

"Who was killed?" Isabella asked keenly. Harry looked as though he would be sick. He swallowed, and shrugged sadly.

"I only heard the spell" His voice was hoarse, and his mouth had gone horribly dry.

Isabella nodded, and she then looked blank. Her body went completely still, and her eyes were empty. Harry dropped his gaze to his hands; he knew Ginny would be angry with him for not telling her this.

Suddenly, Isabella shuddered, and she moved again. "Okay... Harry, I know this is hard to hear, and I suppose you've been out of contact with the Ministry. Your friend Roran was killed that day"

Harry swallowed, and felt a horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. The words echoed in his mind, 'Roran was killed... killed...Roran...'

"Anyway, where were you taken?" Isabella continued, sounding grim. Harry looked up, forcing himself to go on.

"Some old house" He shrugged. "I woke up in what looked like a basement"

"And what did you do there?"

"I..." Harry thought, trying to recall exactly what he had done. "I laid there for hours. Finally, a Death Eater came in, and I fought to get the stone from him"

"The stone of Usana?" Isabella asked with vague interest.

Harry nodded, and went on. "I managed to stun him, take the stone, and destroy it. Before I knew it, more Death Eaters ran in, and tortured me for information..." Harry shuddered, and continued. "I was saved by the remaining person who was stuck out there with me, Alannah"

"Mhmm," Isabella murmured, deep in thought.

"What does this all have to do with the scar?" Ginny asked suddenly in a fit of anxiety.

"Everything" Isabella replied before Harry could comfort her.

"You see, when Harry was being tortured, life was being drained." Her eyes flitted to Harry for confirmation. "I'm correct, aren't I Harry?"

Numbly, Harry nodded and Isabella continued, staring into space as she explained. "Harry fought for life, but before Alannah could arrive to save him, he began mentally sending Hope his powers, making her his 'heir'. Of course, he never would have known this..."

"So, why is Harry still a wizard if he sent all his powers?" Ginny asked in a small voice.

"Because, when Alannah saved his life, she used spells to give him his energy back, reversing the rare magic that was taking away energy to give to an heir. Alannah's actions were able to restore some of it to Harry. However Alannah had found a way to get him home, so she only needed him to be strong enough to get to the transportation route home"

"That doesn't make sense, though. What powers does Hope have? Aside from being magical" Ginny pressed.

Isabella leaned back in her chair, eyes still unfocused. "The most mysterious type of magic still remains in Hope. She will be a very powerful witch when she grows up. However, Harry has taken back enough that he is still a wizard, a parseltongue, and everything he was before"

"Will Hope... inherit the talent of speaking parseltongue?" Ginny asked slowly.

"That," Isabella said mysteriously. "Is something that only time will tell, and I am too weary to force my soul into the future... I would be exhausted for days..."

Ginny nodded, and glanced down at Hope, who was falling back asleep in her arms. She felt sick for her daughter. She'd taken Hope from the wizarding world to protect her, but the wizarding world had found them.

"So why did the scar appear on her arm?" Harry asked.

"It appeared because Harry's emotions were so powerful, so deep, that your connection with your daughter was the outlet, and the result was the scar on her arm"

"Will it ever go away?" Ginny asked nervously.

"No, but she can learn to block her connection when she wants to, with much practice, of course"

Harry nodded, and stood. "Thank you, Isabella. I'll be in touch"

Ginny stood, and followed Harry back to the waiting room. Avoiding Ginny's eyes, he took Hope, and disapparated, returning moments later for her.