Chapter 30: The Space Between Black and White

Now that Harry knew he could fulfill the prophecy he found himself returning to Albus' library as much as possible, whether by himself or in the company of his friends. It was on one of his solitary early morning journeys that he resigned himself to reading the book his dreams had told him about. Levitating himself to the ceiling of the library, Harry sighed and pulled Debello from its place of rest. Letting his fingers do the walking he soon came where his instincts needed him to go. Absorbed in the vast tome, Harry (still floating near the ceiling) didn't hear Ron and Hermione enter the library after lunchtime. His two best friends turned their attention to the transfiguration section and immersed themselves in Animagus Theory for the next several hours before Ginny entered the library. Dinner had passed and the redhead was beginning to grow curious as to the whereabouts of her best friend, husband and brother. No one had seen Harry since last night in the dormitories, and Ron and Hermione had disappeared directly after a rushed lunch without a word of their destination.

Ginny moseyed around the library, heading at length to the Defense section where the group spent most of their time. Pulling her most recent conquest ("Blood Magic and its Significance Throughout the Dark Ages of History") off the shelf she wandered around looking for a well-lit, comfortable place to expand her knowledge horizons. Curious as she was about her friend's whereabouts, if Ron and Hermione wanted alone time she wasn't about to get in their way. As for Harry… well, Harry was a different matter entirely. It was possible he was on some strange assignment with Dumbledore, in a meeting with Professor Luenebraum, or just plain hiding away from gossiping students in the Room of Requirement. She wasn't worried. If anything went wrong- she'd be able to feel it. Making her way to the Transfiguration section she smiled as she stumbled across her brother and best friend so caught up in their books that they didn't notice her approach. Leaning over Hermione, who was laying on a large conjured silk floor pillow, Ginny looked at the chapter title of the page her friend was reading.

"Animagus Training Techniques?" she asked. "Are you thinking about learning how to transform?"

Hermione and Ron both jumped about a mile high, but the three quickly turned to the center of the library after hearing a loud 'whoosh' and a startled yell.

"Harry! Ginny!" Hermione cried. "I didn't hear you come in!"

"You all right mate?" asked Ron concernedly. "You must have fallen about ten feet before you got control of your levitation spell again."

Harry scowled at him, but then shrugged, summoning Debello back to where he was currently residing (about fifteen feet in the air).

"Hear me come in? I've been here all this time. When did YOU all get here?"

"I only just arrived," Ginny answered, sitting herself down on Hermione's already conjured cushion. "These two," she added, pointing, "disappeared right after lunch."

"We decided to research Animagus techniques," Hermione explained. "Ron and I were thinking about doing it. What time is it now, Ginny?"

"About seven-thirty."

"Seven-thirty?" cried Ron, groaning. "Aw, we missed dinner!"

"Don't worry about it, mate," said Harry, walking over with Debello in his arms, "we can always have Dobby bring something up."

"What book is that, love?" asked Ginny, leaning over Harry's shoulder.

Harry smiled secretively and clutched the book to his chest protectively. He gave Hermione a significant look, but answered his wife's question with only two simple words.

"The Key."

After enjoying a hearty meal provided by Dobby and a team of House Elves the group returned to the dormitory to avoid any of their housemates finally realizing that they had all gone missing at different intervals of the day. Harry adjourned to his four-poster later that evening to read more of Debello, leaving Ron, Hermione and Ginny in the Common Room playing gobstones with Neville. A flash at his bedside roused him from his studies.

"What is it, Sanguine?" he asked, stroking the bird's weightless plumage. "A letter for me, girl?"

Sanguine chirruped and dropped the letter in Harry's waiting hands as she made to perch on his shoulder. Harry unfolded the note and was surprised at the short, directed vagueness of its contents.

Meet me in A Place Where You Can Find Consolation at Midnight.

There was no signature, but Harry was sure he recognized the writing. Smiling to himself he glanced at his wristwatch- it was twenty after eleven. He had just enough time to grab his invisibility cloak and the Marauder's Map and begin a careful ascent to the highest tower in the castle. Tip-toeing softly down the staircase he saw that both Neville and Ginny had left the Common Room- he must have been too entranced by Debello to have heard his friend come in- leaving only Ron and Hermione snuggling alone in a chair by the fire.

Harry smiled to himself and clutched the note under his cloak- they would never notice the portrait hole open and close. Once outside, he gazed at the map under the light of one of the wall torches, then he reread the note. Chuckling softly, Harry made his way to the Room of Requirement. The note was vague enough that should there have even been the slightest chance of it being apprehended, a sparse few people could correctly interpret its meaning.

'Leave it to Ginny to be so secretive,' he thought. 'She still takes time to keep me guessing when all she really needs to do is tell me where to go and I'd walk a thousand miles just to meet her there.'

Pacing in front of the tapestry of the dancing trolls, Harry thought of the location the note had informed him of.

'I need a place where I can find consolation, a place where I can find consolation, a place where I can find consolation…'

The door appeared with a barely audible sucking sound as it popped into place in the wall. Removing the invisibility cloak, Harry sat down at the small white stone-hewed table in the center of the space the room had provided. It looked almost like the astronomy tower, but only in the sense that it was made from rock, had no windows, and there were pillars the held up the ceiling. Harry stood up from the table and walked to one of the makeshift windows on the far wall, his fingers lightly touching the ivy that climbed up the pillars and across the ceiling. Looking out he saw a medium-sized lake, its gentle waves softly caressing its white sand beach in the moonlight. Harry smiled at the beautiful simplicity of it all. The white stone pillars reminded him of ancient Grecian palaces and the vines of ivy made him think of the crowns of leaves the Greeks used to weave in their hair. And that reminded him of Hermione. Hermione, his best friend, and how she had looked at his wedding with her hair sporadically pinned to the back of her head and kept out of her fact by a ribbon tied at the nape of her neck.

Harry glanced at his watch- he was early. If Ginny was on time she still wouldn't be here for another ten minutes. Carefully pulling some of the ivy off one of the pillars he began to weave it together into a daisy chain with his wand, then into a circle just big enough to sit on top of his head. Smiling, he took off the makeshift crown and set it on the table, putting his wand away in an inside pocket and taking out a Galleon. Placing his hands over the circle of leaves he began to concentrate, not noticing when the door opened behind him. Ever so carefully he melted the golden Galleon into liquid gold leaf, and cast a petrification charm on the ring of ivy. With his hands he began to siphon the liquid gold onto the crown of leaves so each was coated in a thin layer. A few simple sealing and polishing charms later and Harry had finished the present for his friend.

"Nicely done, Mr. Potter," a voice from behind him complimented.

Harry turned and his wand was drawn nearly instantaneously. "What have you done with Ginny?" he asked sharply.

The Grey Knight held up his empty hands. "Nothing, Mr. Potter. I imagine your lovely wife is asleep in her bed right now, dreaming of you and the lovely crown you just made her."

"I—" Harry didn't know what to say. "The crown isn't for her," he explained, not really knowing why he was doing it, "it's for Hermione. At my and Ginny's wedding she wore her hair up and it reminded me of these Greek Mythology statues I saw in a museum when I was little. I came here tonight and saw the leaves and… well, you can figure it out from there."

The Grey Knight nodded. "A crown fit for Mr. Weasley's queen. Am I to understand that you thought Ginny had sent you the note tonight?"

"Yes," Harry admitted. "Lucky for you, really. Had I known it was someone whose identity I wasn't entirely sure of you could be most certain that I wouldn't have come alone."

"All the better for me, then, I guess," the Knight conceded. "Shall we get down to business then, Mr. Potter?" the Knight asked, offering Harry one of the white stone benches by the table.

Harry nodded archly and sat down. For lack of anything else to do he sent a thought out to the room to provide some food. Harry liked to have something to do with his hands while he had important conversations- as Hermione could testify. With a small pop there lie a silver tray filled with various fruits and cheeses and two matching silver goblets filled with pomegranate juice in the center of the table. Shrugging absently to his mysterious companion, Harry reached over to grab a few grapes and some cheese.

"What? I get antsy if I don't have something to do with my hands," he offered, as way of an explanation.

"I understand," the Knight said pleasantly. "But now, to business. It has come to my attention that He-Who-Must-"

"Voldemort," Harry corrected absently as he reached for his goblet of juice.

The Knight sighed. "Yes, I suppose you're right. All right- it has come to my attention that Voldemort is planning to attack Hogwarts once again."

Harry paused with a piece of pineapple halfway to his mouth. "Yes, I was sure that he would. Just before his cowled lackeys disappeared I heard his snaky little voice telling me that he would 'be back'." Harry paused. "I take it you know a little more about when he's planning on annoying us with his presence again?"

The Knight nodded. "He will bring his full force of Death Eaters just before the sun sets on the third day."

"What?"

"Before the sun sets on—"

"I HEARD that part. How does it help us, though?"

"Think about it, Mr. Potter. If he plans on bringing his forces in on the third day it means that we will have two days of 'warning shots' before the final blow. If there is one thing I've learned about Voldemort it's that he seems to do things methodically."

"How do you mean?"

"What day is your birthday, Mr. Potter?"

"The 31st of July," Harry answered, without thinking.

"And what day did Voldemort kill your parents?"

"Halloween. But what has this got to do with—"

The Knight raised one pale hand, stemming Harry's flow of thought. "And what day, Mr. Potter, did Lord Voldemort LAST attack the castle?"

"March… ooh."

"Exactly. March 31st. I conclude that Voldemort will return on the 31st of May, seeing as school is no longer in session by the 31st of June."

"I guess that IS helpful. But what about the first two days? How is he going to deliver these warning shots?"

The Knight shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine, Mr. Potter. I do not pretend to flatter myself in false pretense that I understand how Lord Voldemort thinks."

Harry nodded and gazed inquiringly at the cloaked and hooded man sitting across from him. "Why are you doing this?" he asked. "Why are you helping us—helping ME?"

The Knight sighed and stood up from the table. He walked to the window and gazed outside at the moonlit lake.

"Did you ever notice, Mr. Potter, that nothing in this world lasts forever? That nothing here is consistent?"

Harry pondered that for a moment, then stood and walked to join the Knight at the window. "I suppose I never have thought about that. Why?"

"I have noticed, Mr. Potter, I've noticed for quite some time now. You see, although nothing IN the world is consistent, and nothing IN the world lasts forever, the world itself DOES. Do you understand?"

"Not entirely," Harry replied honestly, "but please continue."

"Nothing lasts forever, Mr. Potter, except for three things that I can think of."

"And they are?"

"Hell, for one. Hell and the torture that comes along with its eternal damnation."

"And what of the other two?" Harry asked.

"The earth, for one. Even after we die it will still go on being there, housing the rest of humanity. …The third, and last, being sky. I suppose you could go as far as to call the sky 'Heaven', if such a place even exists, but still… Long after our bodies have returned to dust in the ground the sky will still look down upon the earth, even if we're not there to look up back at it."

"I see," Harry said quietly.

"So you do," the Knight muttered. "Nothing lasts forever but Hell, Earth, and Sky. Well, Mr. Potter, I've had my share of Hell, and the Earth doesn't seem to be the place for me. I think it's time to find my piece of Sky."

"I think I understand," Harry said. "You're tired of being tortured in the life that you live, and no one on earth seems to be able to accept you, so you think that by helping to rid the world of one of Hell's creatures that you might be able to find peace, a place where you belong—to find your own sky."

"In a way, yes."

"But you've forgotten something, haven't you?" Harry prodded.

"I don't believe so, no."

"You said that only three things last forever- Hell, Earth, and Heaven- right?"

"If you believe in a place called Heaven, yes."

"Oh, but I do," Harry said in earnest. "How could there be something as horrible as Hell and nothing to counter-balance it? I guess you could say that I learned that from Voldemort. He's absolutely evil, and so someone had to be good enough to counteract that evil. Unfortunately it was me who got stuck with that destiny."

"To be honest, Mr. Potter, I don't think I could personally trust anyone other than you with that particular destiny."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Thank you. I appreciate that. I still disagree with you though- I think there's a fourth thing that outlasts time."

"Oh? And what's that?"

"Love," he replied simply.

The Knight raised his hands in a gesture of acquiescence. "Yes, I suppose you're right. But I WOULD look that one over. The closest thing to love anyone has ever shown me is hatred—" the Knight's hand went unconsciously to his left cheek, "there is but a thin line between them, after all. But I having never been loved, I've hardened myself to learn to live without it. Maybe that's why I've decided to help you. You lived without love for quite some time as I understand it, and yet you and Ginny have one of the most powerful loves on record."

"That may be true," Harry conceded, "but in order to BE loved you must first LOVE. I had to learn that the hard way. Ginny loved me for a long time, but I refused to see it. I had to open myself up to her and learn to let myself love her- and others as well- before I could begin to understand that the benefits of love outweigh the potential costs."

The Knight inclined his head. "I suppose you may be right. It's hard, though. I've steeled myself against feelings for so long that I wonder if I would even know what they were if they kit me alongside an Avada Kedavra."

"Well, I trust you, and you trust me," Harry offered. "That has to be a start."

Harry could almost feel the Knight smile underneath his hood.

"Once again, you are right," the Knight said. "I want to feel what normal people do. I want to understand how my heart evolved into a piece of rock beating inside my chest."

"Maybe helping to get rid of Voldemort will help you with that," Harry said, "and I need all the help I can get."

"And I will be there to give it," the Knight said firmly. "You have my word on that."

Harry nodded; and just like that the conversation was over, the mysterious Grey Knight turned and walked away.

"Goodbye, Mr. Potter, I am sure we will meet again."

Harry raised his head in agreement. "Goodbye, …Mr. Malfoy."

Slowly, the knight turned around and lowered his hood, revealing the pale face and grey eyes of Draco Malfoy.

"Goodnight, Harry," he said softly as he reached for the door handle.

With a small nod from each of them and a swish of their cloaks as they parted their separate ways, the night's events came to an end.