QUEST FOR FREEDOM


By Fire


Chapter 5 Arise, King Arthur


"Absence from whom we love is greater than death

And frustrate hope severer than despair"

William Cowper


"Brazil, here I come… Thanksss, amigo."

"Harry – yer a wizard."

"Blown up a toilet? We've never blown up a toilet."

"You could be great you know, it's all here in your head and Slytherin will help you on the way to greatness…"

"Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

"Tut, tut – fame clearly isn't everything."

"Wood - I've found you a seeker."

"We could have all been killed – or worse, expelled."

"I see myself holding a pair of thick, woollen socks."

"Only one who has nothing to lose, and everything to gain, would commit such a crime."

"Yes… it's the only way… I've got to be taken."

"I killed your father first and he put up a courageous fight… but your mother needn't have died… she was trying to protect you…"

"After all, to the well organised mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"Harry Potter must not go back to Hogwarts."

"Leave him alone, he didn't want all that!"

"I must ask you not to scream."

"Come… come to me… let me rip you… let me tear you… let me kill you…"

"Enemies of the heir, beware!"

"You all know, of course, that Hogwarts was founded over a thousand years ago – the precise date is uncertain – by the four greatest witches and wizards of the age."

"Dobby thought his bludger would be enough to make - "

"Phoenixes burst into flame when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes."

"Riddle, do you mean you know something about these attacks?"

"Goodbye, friend of Hagrid."

"Her skeleton will lie in the chamber forever."

"Ginny! Don't be dead! Please don't be dead!"

"So ends the famous Harry Potter…"

"Dobby has got a sock."

With a huge gasping breath, Harry Potter's eyes flew open. The bright lights temporarily blinded him, and even when the spots had gone his vision was blurred because he was not wearing his glasses. He could tell he was in a room that was totally white, and he could make out the blurry outline of a red-headed woman leaning over him, looking at him with concern.

"Harry?" she said, anxiously, sounding as though she was speaking through several layers of very thick cloth.

But Harry found that he could not answer. Whatever it was that had shocked him awake was wearing away and he found himself being lulled back into unconsciousness.

"A no-account, good-for-nothing, lazy scrounger who - "

"Harry! Simply splendid to see you, old boy - "

"Black is deranged, Molly, and he wants Harry dead."

"My dear, you have the Grim."

"Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom."

"Ever since Harry joined the team, I've thought the thing was in the bag."

"Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. We owe them so much."

"Black was tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seems to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death."

"It's the best broom there is, Hermione."

"Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!"

"The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon – hope, happiness, the desire to survive – but it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can't hurt it."

"YOU CHEATING SCUM!"

"An Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

"For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends."

"All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down – but it was the other way around, don't you see?"

"DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

"If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight."

Harry sat bolt upright in his bed in the hospital wing at Hogwarts Castle. As his eyes tried to focus he felt two strong arms pushing him back down.

"You need your rest, Harry," he heard a female voice say.

"Where am I?" he muttered, his voice hoarse due to his dry throat. "What happened? The battle?"

He tried to sit up again but the arms held him down.

"You're at Hogwarts, Harry," said the voice. "You were knocked out during the battle and hit with a pretty nasty curse afterwards. You've been unconscious for three weeks."

"What about the resistance?" Harry asked, still croaking.

He felt a goblet being pressed to his lips and something cold being trickled into his mouth. Harry drank the water eagerly.

It was Ginny who was speaking, Harry realised. "That should help your throat."

She pushed Harry's glasses onto his face and he looked around. Ginny was sitting in a chair to his left, and his dad in a chair on his right, with another empty chair next to him.

"I've sent a message to your mother," James said.

"What about the resistance?" Harry asked again. "What about our force?"

"We found all the resistance and brought them back," said Ginny. "They only lost one. All of us managed to get back. Ron was a bit worse for wear and spent a week up here, but you, well, you gave us all a bit of a fright. We thought you were dead."

Ginny gripped his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Lily's been down in the dungeons everyday trying to brew up a potion to bring you out of it," said James. "That is until Dumbledore told us you'd wake up in your own good time."

"It was so strange," said Harry. "I kept hearing voices, saying things to me. Some I recognised and some I didn't, and even those who I recognised were saying things they've never said before. It was almost as though I was living in an alternate reality. I was at Hogwarts, as a student. My two best friends were Ron and Hermione. My parents were dead, and it was believed that Uncle Sirius betrayed them, but really it was Uncle Peter. Ginny got enchanted somehow by the Horcrux diary and set a basilisk on the Muggle-born students. And Dobby told me not to go back to Hogwarts."

Ginny and James both looked at Harry with puzzled looks.

"It was so vivid, you know," he said. "And it was real, until I woke up of course."

"I think you need to talk to Albus, Harry," said James. "There's something funny about these dreams."


Harry was deemed well enough to leave the hospital wing a month later. Unfortunately, he had been unable to speak with Dumbledore as the former Headmaster had been away putting the finishing touches to his plan to seize the sixth horcrux.

As Harry entered the Headmaster's office the morning after he left the hospital wing, he was startled to find Dumbledore all ready to go.

"Ah, Harry," he said. "I apologise for not coming to see you in the hospital, but I am informed that you were in good hands. I'm sorry to send you on a mission so soon, but this is a matter of urgency. We must recover the sixth Horcrux. Do you think you are able?"

"Of course, Albus," said Harry.

"Excellent," said Dumbledore. "Now, see to it that Miss Weasley, Mr Weasley and Miss Granger know of the nature of this mission and bring them with us."

"No," said Harry. "I'm not putting them in danger."

"That is the interesting thing," said Dumbledore. "This Horcrux is unguarded."

Harry looked sceptical.

"I could scarcely believe it myself," said Dumbledore. "But I assure you it is true. You will find out why when we get there. Castle gates, Harry, with your friends, in one hour."

Dumbledore left the office, leaving Harry standing alone with a slightly bemused expression on his face.


One hour later, as ordered, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione waited patiently for Dumbledore at the Hogwarts main gate. The latter three were still trying to digest the horrors of what they had just been told.

Dumbledore arrived bang on time, and the group of five headed down to the apparition point in Hogsmeade.

"Where are we going, Albus?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

"We are going to apparate to a place called Cadbury Castle," said Dumbledore. "It is now only a ruin, and covered by woodland so we should not be seen."

"But I can't apparate," said Hermione.

"Mr Weasley will take you by side-along-apparition," said Dumbledore. "Ah, here we are."

They had reached the Three Broomsticks, and in moments they all vanished. They arrived at Cadbury Castle seconds later and found themselves in dense woodland.

"This way," said Dumbledore, as he began to lead the way through the trees.

After only a few minutes of walking they came to a small clearing. After a quick look around, it was obvious why this place was devoid of trees. They were at the centre of the castle, where the stone floor still remained, so no tree could go. But the curious thing was a large rock in the centre of the clearing, with a sword sheathed inside.

"The sword of Godric Gryffindor," Harry breathed. "But how do we get it out?"

"A spell?" suggested Ginny.

"Alas, no," said Dumbledore. "I have tried many and none have worked."

"We could try using a potion to melt the rock," said Ron.

"Do you know of such a potion?" Dumbledore asked.

Ron shook his head.

"Just pull it out," said Hermione. "Just like Arthur did."

Ron, Ginny and Harry looked confused, but Dumbledore smiled.

"That is exactly what we will do," said Dumbledore.

He gripped both hands around the handle and pulled, but nothing happened.

"Miss Weasley," Dumbledore said.

Ginny, still looking confused, stepped forward and attempted to pull the sword from the stone, but again, nothing happened.

"Miss Granger," said Dumbledore.

Hermione tried, but the sword stayed put.

"Mr Weasley," said Dumbledore again.

Ron stepped forward to try, but still the sword would not budge.

"Harry," said Dumbledore.

Harry placed both hands on the handle, gripped tightly, and drew the sword from the stone with ease.

The three young spectators gasped, but Dumbledore did not look surprised.

"Read it," said Dumbledore.

Harry looked at the writing on the blade.

"Godric Gryffindor," he said.

"There is something else," said Dumbledore. "On the handle."

Harry looked, and in very tiny writing he saw the word,

"Excalibur," he said.

"Oh!" exclaimed Hermione.

The others all looked at her and watched as she did the most extraordinary thing. She knelt to Harry, and even more surprisingly, Dumbledore followed suit.

"You know what this means, Miss Granger?" said Dumbledore.

"Yes," said Hermione. "Excalibur was the sword of King Arthur, but I don't understand why it's here."

"I will explain later," said Dumbledore. "But first, Harry, the spell."

Harry cast the spell to remove the fragment of Voldemort's soul from the sword.

"It is time to return to Hogwarts," said Dumbledore.


Later that afternoon, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were seated in Dumbledore's office waiting for the old man to explain to them what was going on. Dumbledore gazed at them for a moment, while Harry absentmindedly fiddled with the handle of the sword.

"What can you tell me about Arthurian Legend, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked.

"Er, not all that much," said Hermione. "It starts off with Merlin the magician putting Excalibur into a stone and declaring that whoever can remove it shall be King. Arthur was the one who did, and so he became king. He led a group of knights called the Knights of the Round Table and they were based at a place called Camelot. There was Lancelot, Gawain, Mordred, Bedivere and several others. Arthur's wife was called Guinevere and she had an affair with Lancelot. Mordred launched a rebellion against the king and in the battle, Mordred was killed but not before he mortally wounded Arthur. The dying king also entrusted Sir Bedivere to go and return his sword to the lake, and after lying about it twice, Bedivere finally did as he was told and Excalibur was taken by its protector the Lady of the Lake. There is also the suggestion that Arthur and his knights conducted a search for the Holy Grail: the cup that caught the blood of Christ at the crucifixion. But what I don't understand is how this all fits in with the Wizarding World."

"That is what I have been researching for the past few weeks," said Dumbledore. "I first came across Arthurian legend after I found the sword Horcrux, and after some research I discovered that all the Horcruxes have been discovered in places integral to the story of King Arthur. First, the ring at Little Hangleton, which is close to Glastonbury, the location of Arthur's grave. Then there was the cup of Helga Hufflepuff found at Alderley Edge, where Arthur and his knights are believed to slumber in a cave. We found the fake locket at Merlin's Cave, and a tiara belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw at Arthur's Seat near Edinburgh. The diary was, of course, and Malfoy Manor, which contains in its grounds the Tristan Stone, and finally, the sword of Godric Gryffindor was found at Cadbury Castle, believed to be the legendary Camelot.

"I was surprised when I discovered this. My thoughts dwelled on why Voldemort would hide his precious Horcruxes at locations significant only in a Muggle legend when he himself is a self-confessed Muggle-hater. It was only after I delved deeper into the past that I discovered the truth.

"I don't think it will surprise you, now, that Godric Gryffindor was indeed King Arthur, the owner of Excalibur. His Queen, Guinevere, was Rowena Ravenclaw, hence the tiara. Mordred was, unsurprisingly, Salazar Slytherin, but I was unsure of the Arthurian identity of Helga Hufflepuff. She was certainly not Morgan La Fay, Morgause or Anna, and certainly not the mother of Arthur. It was then that it hit me. Hufflepuff was the Lady of the Lake, and the lake is our very own lake here at Hogwarts, and the castle is in fact the home of Sir Lancelot. Of the identity of Lancelot, I am not sure, but I have traced back my own family line to find Merlin to be one of my ancestors.

"But still, I was troubled. Why would Voldemort leave the sword unprotected? Surely it could be easily removed. But Voldemort was even cleverer than I thought. Because of his great interest in Hogwarts and its founders, he had researched all he could and discovered the very enchantments that Merlin had used all those years ago. So he knew that nobody other than King Arthur would be able to remove that sword and knowing that Gryffindor was dead, well, he felt safe enough to assume that the sword would be protected forever. But something, at some point in his research, had escaped his attention. The markings in the church at Glastonbury, the burial place of Arthur, say: Here lieth Arthur, once and future King.

"In other words, there would one day be another King Arthur."

"What has this got to do with us?" Harry asked.

"Everything," said Dumbledore. "Harry, you pulled Excalibur from the stone. You are the new King Arthur. Your coming together with Miss Weasley is no coincidence. Her name, Ginevra, is Italian, meaning fair one. It is the Italian for Guinevere. It's one great puzzle and the pieces are fitting together once more. Voldemort is a descendant of Sir Mordred. I am a descendant of Merlin. And unless I am mistaken, the new Tristan and Iseult will be somewhere in our midst."

"Who were Tristan and Iseult?" asked Hermione. "I've never heard of them."

"Tristan was sent to retrieve the bride of King Mark of Cornwall, only the two were fed a love potion, and continued an affair in secret. In legend, they are lovers second only to Lancelot and Guinevere. And when Tristan died, Iseult died a few months later of a broken heart."

"Merope," whispered Harry.

"Quite," said Dumbledore. "We have found ourselves in the middle of a legend that is well over a thousand years old."


"Ginny, I just don't think it is wise for us to be together," said Harry, later that evening. "I'm putting you in danger."

"I am already in danger!" exclaimed Ginny. "Ever since I was old enough to hold a wand, I have been trained to fight, trained to lead the Southern rebellion. It was always my job. Being with you makes it no worse for me."

"It doesn't make it better," said Harry, quietly.

"How can you say that!" shouted Ginny, her cheeks pink with anger. "How can you say that, when I have never been so happy in my whole life as I am now I'm with you? Ask yourself, Harry, when was the last time you were truly happy?"

"I don't know," said Harry.

"I do," said Ginny. "It was when you were young, innocent. Too young to know what your future would hold, too young to understand the horrors you would grow to face. In our world happiness doesn't exist, and yet, somehow, we've managed to find it. Are you just going to throw it away?"

"I'm just trying to do what's best for you," Harry said, his eyes begging Ginny to understand.

"How is breaking up with me best for me?" Ginny asked. "Harry, you have given me control of the entire rebellion army, and the only reason that we will all be going out to fight is to keep the Death Eaters at bay long enough for you to fight Voldemort, and you know as well as I do that we don't have enough people to fight, we don't have the power or the strength to win. You know that we'll be walking out there to our death. And you know what, Harry? If I die, and you know that you didn't spend my last few days with me, all you will feel will be regret. How do I know? I know because that's how I would feel if it were the other way around. When you lay in that bed, unconscious for weeks, I felt as though I was dying. I didn't know what I'd do if you died, and I am not going to let you walk away from me now. I love you too much for that."

"I love you, too, Ginny," said Harry sadly. "More than you know. That's why I have to do this."

Harry turned away from Ginny, trying to stop the tears from spilling from his eyes and left the room. He walked down the corridor to the exit of the old staff quarters but stopped when he heard voices in his parents' room.

"…a try, Remus," his mother was saying. "You both owe it to yourselves."

"It's not that simple, Lily," said Remus. "She's ten years younger than me for a start, and I can't ask her to put up with the transformations each month. Not to mention the fact that we're at war, and the chances of dying are much higher than the chances of surviving."

"You can't let the war stop you," said Lily. "That's how Voldemort wins. He destroys people's spirit. You and Tonks shouldn't let fear stand in your way. Look at me and James. Look at Harry and Ginny. Haven't you noticed how different Harry has been since she came into his life?"

"You couldn't not notice," said Remus. "After Susan, and then Neville died, he's been slowly retreating into a shell."

"I was so worried," said Lily. "James and I had no idea what to say or what to do. Albus was never around and Harry had nobody. And then Ginny came. You know, when a mother gives birth, she always knows deep down that nobody will ever be good enough for their child, but you know what? I can safely say that I was wrong. Ginny is perfect for Harry and he's a fool if he ever lets her go. He's been stronger since he met her – filled with a power far greater than the hope for revenge. The strength that love gives is far greater than anything else. And that's why Voldemort won't win. Because Harry has something he doesn't, and that will tip the balance. As long as Ginny is by his side, nothing else matters. You can have that too, Remus. You just have to be prepared to risk a little."

"Maybe you're right, Lily," said Remus, thoughtfully. "I'll go and talk to her."

Harry ducked into the shadows as Remus left the room. He was about to sneak out when he heard his mother say,

"Harry. Don't think I don't know you were standing outside listening."

Harry turned around and looked at Lily guiltily.

"I hope you took what I said to heart," she said. "You can't let her go now."

"I'm scared," said Harry. "I'm scared of dying, of leaving her. I'm scared that she'll die and I'll be left alone."

"Don't be scared, Harry," said Lily. "After what you discovered today it is clear your destiny lies far beyond this battle with Voldemort. You are destined to become a great leader, a champion of the people. A hero."

She paused for a moment.

"But even the best hero deserves some happiness," she added, quietly.

Harry nodded slowly and headed back to Ginny's room. He flung open the door to find Ginny slumped on the sofa with her head in her hands. She looked up when Harry entered and he noticed that she had been crying. Harry strode forward and swept her up in his arms.

"I'm such an idiot," he whispered in her ear. "I'm so sorry."

Brushing aside her hair, he kissed her gently. After a moment he pulled away and looked at her for a moment.

"What?" Ginny asked, squirming a little under his gaze.

"Marry me," said Harry.