Chapter Twenty:

Strange Magic

It seemed that it came so slow as the night moved on. An awkward silence fell over the Potter house like a steamy cloud of poison. No one could speak and no one dared to try, for they had to move out as quickly as possible. It seemed like every second could be wasted and eventually turn into the fact that they had lost their only child. Hermione seemed empty and all reason to want to live just drained from her veins, little by little each millisecond.

Harry seemed confident. The only place he could ever think of being treasured in his past would be the many exciting and dangerous memories that once were shared in the grounds of the infamous Hogwarts. Harry seemed far from excited, and very close to scared at the thought of his daughter going to Hogwarts, but for the reason of not studying but to be a hostage. He wondered if she was older if she'd be scared, or if she would be brave enough to not show fear because her father was indeed coming.

The tension in the house began to hang like a limb for a while, waiting for it to break off and someone to speak. No one would speak, no one would attempt, and all any of them were doing was cloaking themselves and getting ready to apparate outside the gates of the place Harry once called "home." Now it was nothing but the past, and even though he had most of his memory restored, the image of Hogwarts laid fading in his mind and vaguely remembered at all.

Harry cloaked himself with a thick heavy cloak and he headed for the door, the bottom of it swishing around his ankles. He nearly jumped every stair as he attempted to, but landed only one away from the bottom, and entered the next room. There sat Ron and Lavender, motionless, while Sky and Molly sat in front of the television in the other room. Lavender said nothing, Ron made a quick smirk and then let it fade, and Hermione had stiffly entered the room with a ghost-like face. She was mortified.

Harry walked to her, patting her on the shoulder quickly, as she coiled into a hug and nuzzled her self into his chest. He kissed her head softly and wiped away the silent tears that trailed from her eyes. He moved the hair out of her eyes and she closed them. She refused to open them as she wished she could just die if her daughter had, or hope to the greatest extent that she was safe. Hermione felt nothing but emptiness in her body that once experienced love, lust, anger, fear, and remorse. With a deep breath she opened her eyes.

A dark and foggy night rested there on those grounds. The chains upon the gates rattled as if they were moved by a phantom breeze. Hermione shuddered, but with a deep breath and a hand held by Harry, she was ready to face the challenges. They approached the gate, their feet sinking in mud, and Harry pulled his wand from the inner pocket of his cloak. He lifted it to the sky, grabbing Hermione by the waist and hugging her tightly to him, and he spoke for the first time in nearly two hours.

"Expecto Patronum!" Within a moment a spark of silvery mist erupted from the tip of Harry's wand, and inside the gates formed a large white stag erupting from the silver. It died down in a mere moment and Harry once again cloaked his wand respectively.

"This doesn't make sense." Hermione whispered to herself. "If Pansy did bring Melody here, then wouldn't the new Headmaster surely be suspicious of her whereabouts and reasoning? I mean… she is a Death Eater."

"But according to you," Harry whispered back. "She's like a mere muggle in hiding."

Lavender and Ron looked at them suspiciously. Lavender turned and gently brushed Ron's long red locks away from his eyes and smiled, showing there was some hope in saving not only Melody, but their marriage. Ron was about to speak, but Lavender turned quickly and froze. They watched closely as a limping man headed toward the gates. No one spoke. He did take a long time to walk from the castle to the gates, but no one decided to even sigh.

Hermione breathed heavy as gray mist escaped her lips. Harry held her close. It was colder tonight then most nights, but there was no choice about staying in or staying out. It was done or needed to be done. He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, wrapping both arms around her now, and holding her so close as if he were afraid that she'd disappear too. He already let one of the best things in his life slip away, and he couldn't afford to lose the other one too.

The man came into the clearing. His lion-like main shimmered in the moonlight as if each golden hair was caked with a thick layer of grease. He limped forward, with a frog like grin, and breathed heavy into the night. The cane in his right hand, and a flask in the other, and with a stern voice he growled into the night. Almost wolf like it seemed that the man was eager enough to make them come in, but none the less he struck up a conversation.

"Bit late to be entering these gates, Potter." He said far from happy.

"Sorry, Moody," Harry spat. "But there seems to be an emergency. You seem quite unaware of the fact that I sent the Headmistress a note and she warmly invited me here."

"Then go get her to let you in." He growled once more, his breath heavy in the nightly cold.

"Now that doesn't make much sense as in you are here. If you'd send her what was the point of you coming here to help us in?" He asked politely. "Now, if you would kindly open the gates, we would be very grateful."

"Not until I have proof that you were invited." He added in a mocking tone.

"Let us in, now," Hermione said and everyone turned in shock.

It was one thing for Harry to speak, for he was spoken to, but for Hermione? You couldn't blame her though, for this was delaying her chance of saving her daughter and she would not let him walk away from her. She took a deep breath and before anyone could even blink she had pounced onto the gate demanding an entrance. No one said anything just stared at her blankly and amazed at her sudden hostility. She growled back with every word he ever said to her.

"S'cuse me?" He said in a rather groggily voice, as if annoyed with her.

"If she dies because of you, I will be sure that you will not live either." Hermione threatened. "Let us in."

She grabbed two bars that created the door and began to push them back and forth. They rattled with every laugh or high squeaky pitched giggle Moody had made. Then, before any other word was said, Harry wrenched Hermione away from the gates and held her tightly, not blaming her for anything. Harry turned back to the man Harry once learned to love, but after the years went by everything just fell apart. He drew his eyes together in a long hateful glare and looked back at Hermione.

"You'd do well to teach your sewer…" Moody hissed "rat of a wife to hold her tongue in my presence. Harry looked away from Hermione and faced the man with a glare again, pulling his wand straight.

"You might challenge her and win, but do you dare try me?" Harry asked, knowing completely well that the same wand once killed the greatest wizard ever known. "Do you dare try and defeat me?"

"It was once my job to think as dark wizards do, and what you inhabit is nothing more powerful than dark." He glared, a bit of anger dripping from the corner of his ungrateful mouth.

"This wand, as you perfectly well know, destroyed all the evil magic it could. Do you dare challenge me to a duel against dark magic when you know I can defeat it?" Harry wondered. "Now, as you see, I have some business to attend if you'd just open the gate."

"No." Moody said rudely. "Climb it if you care that much." He said happily.

"FOR GOODNESS SAKE! LET THEM IN!" A voice shouted.

A woman walked briskly towards them in robes of only the finest emerald green fabric that shined brilliantly in the moonlight. Her hair was pulled back and neatly tucked within her hat that was smoothly decorated with an oblong feather that looked as if it came from a phoenix. No one outside the gate spoke as the woman graciously let them in and apologized multiple times how awful wrong she had been to send someone like Moody to allow an enter in.

"Moody," She said strictly. "You can return to the castle now, and I can take it from here. First off, before you leave, you know who Potter is and don't ever trying pulling a stunt like that again and claim you thought he was a Death Eater."

"Wouldn't surprise me." Moody said under his breath as he slowly made his way toward the castle, swearing after ever limp. The woman had turned back to and faced Harry fully.

"Been a long time, Potter, but it's good to see you." She said with a smile of indulgence.

"Thank you Professor," He said. "Or Headmistress, either one."

"Potter," She smiled. "You are no longer a school boy; you are welcomed to call me Minerva." She insisted.

"Okay, well since I am no longer am a school boy, happily married, and trying to save a child, may you call me Harry?" He asked and McGonagall had snapped.

"Oh, yes, your daughter!" She alerted herself. "May you exercise extreme caution as you enter the grounds, and please try not to alarm any of the students by entering too many rooms in the castle?" She asked in a sweetened tone.

"I assure you Minerva," Harry said, wincing a bit. "We won't be long."

She had only nodded before they had hurried off into the darkened grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Too many memories flew by in Harry's mind, but it could not distract him from the fact that Melody was in danger. It wasn't long before they had reached the enchanted forest that was filled to the great extent of mysterious animals. From werewolves to Centaurs, from man eating spiders to unicorns, and everything else was just there hiding them from the world.

Harry stepped into the river that flowed around the outside of the forest. He stood there, only a moment, before carrying on and walking not around it, but inside the river. Everyone stared for a moment, and then followed suit. Harry had a hunch, but he had only hoped it were wrong. He walked briskly through the water, analyzing each step of what he was about to step on. He looked away for only a mere minute but looked back quickly once Hermione spoke:

"What's that!" She asked in awed.

An orange globe-like ball shimmered in the water as it was un-neatly buried in the muddy river bank. Harry grabbed it. It looked like a remembrall that was once used by Harry's ex-partner Neville when he was younger. This though was trimmed with a silver scripture of cursive in its thick beam of light. Harry looked closely and found it said exactly what Parkinson had said. The riddle was on the ball and Harry looked around to the others with a smile.

"This is it," He said with a smile "This is the key to the forest and the entrance to the cabin."

"What do we do with it?" Lavender asked quietly.

Harry did not speak. Harry did not move. He just stared into the ball before her turned towards the forest and began to run. As if there were a time limit he found what he needed to. A patch of thorns were growing between two trees. A heavy aura of evil filled the air with a scent of freshly cut wood. He did not speak at all and before he knew it he found himself throwing the ball directly into the patch and screaming: "I will." By then the others were trailing behind.

Hermione could see beyond the trunk in front of her a burst of hazy green light erupted as the ball slowly dissolved into the black. A thousand crackles erupted from the patch as the vines of thorns were cut perfectly along the ground and within minutes revealed a door as Harry stepped forward. He reached out and slowly turned a thorn to the left and opened the space. He signaled everyone to follow as he started to enter the hut. Harry turned around to face them.

"She's here somewhere." He swore. "I know she is. It's only a matter of time. Check the rooms, check the closets, and be sure to check every inch of the house." He said.

"Harry, where are we?" Lavender asked, beginning to search the room. "It's my, my parents' house. It was kept here after they were killed because no other wizard or witch would want it after someone had been murdered in it. Dumbledore told me this story a long time ago, and now I return to the place that was once my home and ended up my long lost memory." He sighed. "He thought maybe I'd want to inhabit it later, but Dumbledore was the only one who knew how to move it."

"I'm sorry," Lavender said with a speechless whimper.

"Don't worry about it," He said shortly. "We aren't here to talk about…."

And then it happened, and he was cut off. The house fell silent as the listened in on the coming attractions down the hall. Harry gasped; gripping his wand tightly within his boney fingers, and ran down the hall. Memories running through his mind, guesses racing though, and it seemed like forever and a half before he has actually reached the door. Once he had turned in and entered swiftly, Hermione had kneeled down on the floor in tears and stopped screaming.

Her daughter, surrounded by flowers, in a casket of the shiniest silver lay motionless. Harry didn't know what to think, or what to say. He walked forward, his head pounding, and nothing but pure regret flew in through his mind. He bent do, swearing he heard a giggle from somewhere. Harry stepped back, disbelieving it, and with a smile he drew his wand at the coffin. He slowly turned it in a circular motion before Hermione had pulled his wand out from within his loosened grip. He looked at her as tears once again devoured her face.

"Don't," Hermione begged. "She's dead; don't try to make matters worse." She sniffled.

"Hermione," Harry said reassuringly. "I know what I'm doing. See, the thing is," He started while stealing back his wand. "Is that the flowers aren't dead yet. The water in the river isn't speeding, and everything is still calm. The problem is, Parkinson told us that because in the time she assumed that we'd figure out what she was talking about she could stall with a disguise or a trap. I heard once when I was in 7th year that Parkinson was telling Malfoy how funny it would be to disguise yourself as someone's child, and then once that someone would reach in for the baby and before you would know anything else, you'd be dead." An evil laugh barked from the walls.

"You're better than I expected, Potter," Said Pansy as she entered the room. "But I'm sorry to inform you that that is indeed your daughter."

"I know she's in there," Harry said instantly and Hermione gasped. "I know it's her, but I know she's still alive. No one else understands what you're doing, because only I do." He said slowly stroking the hair of his daughter.

"And what do you suppose I'm doing?" Pansy asked.

"I know that you can't kill her until the spell wears off. Your plans were destroyed because you couldn't get Moody to stall long enough for you. You had it planned that the moment we came in and touched you the spell would wear off at that exact second. What happened was that we got here sooner than you wished, and you panicked because you can't reverse the spell. So," he continued. "If I hurt my own daughter it won't harm her, it'll only harm you."

"You can't prove anything. You'd just be killing your own kid." Pansy hissed.

Harry took no options and plucked a hair from Melody's head. Hermione expected the child to move but it did nothing. It lay there as empty as her, but Hermione could breathe freely but right now she wished she couldn't. Hermione watched closely and as soon as Harry plucked the hair Pansy's left eye twitched. Hermione looked astonished and a bit confused none the less. She listened to Harry, but it seemed because he was an Auror that's why he could understand it.

"Okay, okay, so I can feel it… point is?" Pansy sneered.

"So if I say, badly injure, this child who lies asleep in the casket would you still be able to feel it?" Harry asked. "I thought so."

"But can you live with the fact that you brutally injured your own daughter?" Pansy asked.

"No, because now that I look at her I realize it isn't Melody. This child doesn't even look like either Hermione or me. It looks like you, because it is you. In your panic of errors you managed to mix a child with your memory, so instead you hid our daughter from us, but she still manages to be connected to you. Half of her is half of you right now, and the other half is your memory." Harry said simply.

It took nearly ten minutes before anyone had said or done anything. Pansy just stared at Harry as if he was a beast. She had been out beat, and her panic had sent her brilliant plan into a prank. Melody wasn't in danger, for Harry scared Pansy and he wouldn't let her forget it. Harry lifted his wand to the child and with a small whisper in his mind the child began to hover in the air for a moment. Before Pansy even realized what was about to happen the child was flung into her and being pulled into her stomach.

Hermione watched in disgust as the flesh on Pansy started eating away itself. Harry held the casket close, snapping the sidings from it, and slowly he slid the pieces off, and Melody lay tucked inside playing with a rattle. Hermione sprang forwards and gathered her child up in her arms and with a smile she twirled her around sweetly. Melody just giggled for the first time that Hermione or Harry had ever heard and both smiled at each other. Ron walked to Harry.

"Woah, mate, how did you know everything?" Ron asked.

"What do you mean?" Harry wondered.

"I mean, come on! First you delay us a bit while you talk with McGonagall, then you know precisely what to find in the river, exactly what to do with it, exactly what Parkinson was up to, and then know exactly where Melody is and how to defeat Pansy." Ron said, out of breath. "Did you two plan this together?"

"No," Harry laughed. "It was all apart of the attempts of fighting in the final battle. This is where I came and was attacked and then we got the lead on Voldemort because I nearly escaped. Then I went to the Burrow to tell Molly, exact time I met Hermione, and then everything fell out from there. Hermione showed me the book of Hogwarts and then I remembered everything. I knew how to enter the house because I, at the time, was the only one that could. Then about knowing what Pansy was doing and how her feelings were not in the body she possessed but split between two children was because she needed Sky. She used a trick used by a wizard over 100 years ago, by her grandfather. That way we'd have to kill one of our own, but instead she hid half in her memory and half in Melody because she needed her second child. The only thing I could defeat her with was her own power. Half of it seemed to be enough. Her mistake was she put the wrong child under the casket." Harry smiled, walking to his family.

"But how did you know she was under there?" Ron asked and Harry shrugged, knowing perfectly well he heard a giggle.

"Lucky guess?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"… And that's how it ended that sad day, and yet still I stand here alive and well after nearly thirty two years later. I, Melody, stand over my father to tell you the story of what made him a hero. I stand here to tell you about why he was loved and why I considered him my idol. It seemed like so short ago it happened, and even though I don't remember it because I was so young, the thoughts and stories about what happen will stay with me forever. My father was a brilliant man and honest through and through. He had a temper, as my mother knows, but I know nothing was ever meant by the mean things he said, and even if he was mad I still can't push away the fact that if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be alive." She wiped away the tears from her eyes with a tissue.

"So I ask you to think about your selves in my position. Would you feel happy? Would you feel disappointed? Or would you feel proud that your father cared enough to save you?" She looked around to all the saddened faces and blank looks on their faces. "I blame my father for nothing, and I loved him more than anything. I know, though, that as his body lies in that silver casket his spirit is free. He is finally free from trouble, free from harm, and free from his terrible past. Even though he died at such a young age, we felt it was coming after he couldn't stop getting sick. And yet, he would still run around the house saying 'I can go to work, I am fine.' And then faint or something like that." The crowd uneasily laughed.

"He knows what it was like not to have parents around, and as he meets them up above I find to be the luckiest. I am the luckiest. I don't need everything in the world to prove my parents love me, for I've gotten the best gift of all: life. My mother once told me these words when I was younger and I'll never forget it: The most extraordinary thing you'll ever learn is that love is magic too. It is the strongest dose you can find for such strange magic…"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

COMPLETED.

Author's Notes:

None of you have any idea how excited I am to post this chapter. For it is my last and I do not want to attempt at a sequel… this one sucks enough, haha. So I bid you farewell and give you my final chapter and my final notes. It's been great, and I hope you enjoy.

To My Reviewers:

missxsh0rtie – Yep, haha, so they find her… Pansy is dead… and everything is back to normal, well, until the speech at Harry's funeral. I thought that made a nice touch. Thanks though.

E.G Potter – Thank ya! Haha.

Neverforget99 – Well, it wasn't soon, but I can not tell you more how excited I was to write it, but I needed a good way that the battle would go fast and it wasn't ring-around-the-rosie thing. I mean, Harry is an Auror, isn't he supposed to know everything? Haha.

Charmedlily – Over and over I thought about killing her just to piss you off. Don't think I wouldn't have done it either. I honestly don't care if you read another story. It's my story with my plotline, not my story with your plot line. I suggest you get that straight.

Ms. Sakura Moon – It wouldn't be foolish, a guess is a guess. Lol, but I'm glad the Chinese won't be mad, 'cause it would be awkward eating their food if they were and I 3 their food! Haha, well, here you are, and enjoy!

That's it!

UPDATED COMPLETE CHAPTER: (SATURDAY) SEPTEMBER 2, 2006 - +tear+

"It's weird...you know the end of something great is coming, but you want to hold on, just for one more second...just so it can hurt a little more."