Return of the Unicorns, Chapter 22
Note: This chapter will be from the perspective of Harry Potter. Some of the Legilimency/Occlumency lesson was borrowed from the Order of the Phoenix movie.
First, on the day before the end of term, he'd nearly kissed Cho Chang, only to have her tell him that she still wasn't over Cedric Diggory, and that her friend Marietta _. And somewhere in all that news about crying over Cedric and defending her traitorous friend Marietta was something that killed that first-crush feeling dead.
It was a relief, to be honest. Cho was a very emotional person and Harry didn't have to deal with the veritable hurricane of feelings that came pouring out of her every time they met.
Then, that very December 19 night, he'd gone to sleep thinking he'd be on his way to a nice winter break… only to have a vision where Mr. Weasley was bitten by a snake.
Mr. Weasley had gone to St. Mungo's the very moment after Harry told Dumbledore about the vision, and Harry had been transported via flue powder to Number 12 Grimmauld Place, the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix.
At the end of a tense and sleepless night, he'd been told that, thanks to a donation of unicorn blood – which he'd been assured was not cursed – Mr. Weasley had survived.
If Harry hadn't been so sleep-deprived or had more time, he would've wondered where on Earth the Order of the Phoenix had procured a donation of unicorn blood.
"How're you holding up, Harry?" his godfather Sirius asked as he came into Harry's bedroom at 5am to check how the boy was doing.
"I don't know," sighed Harry. "I'm just glad Mr. Weasley is okay. But where would the Order of the Phoenix even GET unicorn blood?! And how would they know it's not cursed? Dumbledore told me in my first year – unicorn blood is a substance so powerful and so pure that it can save you even if you are an inch from death, but from that moment on, you live a half-life and a cursed life."
"I think we have the answer to that," said Sirius, sitting on the bed next to Harry while Remus followed him in and sat on Harry's other side. Both men put a comforting arm around his shoulders. "See, we recently made friends with someone who's a reincarnated unicorn."
"Padfoot here has nicknamed her Horny, because her unicorn self has a horn protruding from its forehead," said Remus.
"Or Cinnamon. Because she's a cinnamon roll," added Sirius.
"We're thinking of making her one of the Marauders, because she'd gone Marauding with Sirius and me on the full moon," said Remus.
"So, do you think she's the one that gave unicorn blood to save Mr. Weasley?" asked Harry.
"We guarantee it. Apparently, the rule is that if a unicorn willingly gives its blood to save you, then it's not cursed, and you just get healed. So, Mr. Weasley will be okay."
"I'm glad to hear it, guys," said Harry, pulling Sirius and Remus into a three-way hug. A moment later, he fell back on the bed, asleep with both his guardians holding him tight.
But, come morning, the weirdness wasn't over. Harry was glad to hear that Mr. Weasley was on the mend in St. Mungo's, but then Sirius and Remus pulled him aside after breakfast because they had even more news to tell him.
"Harry, I have something to tell you," said Sirius. "Dumbledore has given you leave not to come back to the Dursleys this summer and to just stay with me if you're all right with that-"
"Of course, I'm all right with that!" Harry all but yelled.
"Good, I'm glad. And also, Remus is going to live with us-"
"That's fantastic!" Harry added.
"…and he's also my fiancé," added Sirius. "We have no idea when we'll get married, but we're determined to do it as soon as it can." For the purpose of making his point – or just because he could do it any time he wanted now – Sirius pulled Remus's face to his and kissed him affectionately.
Harry's face went bright red and he spat, "Are you pranking me?! I don't even know anymore!" The events of last night were clearly getting to him, and he might possibly be going insane. He should get some sleep to clear his head. So, he rolled his eyes at Sirius and Remus and stalked off, shutting the nearest door behind him.
But he stayed a moment longer, listening at the door in case Sirius and Remus had something to say to one another.
Harry heard Sirius's voice exclaim, "He thinks we're pranking him?!"
Remus replied: "You know, darling, that conversation really actually went as well as it possibly could have."
So, it seemed Sirius Black and Remus Lupin really were romantically involved with each other. He'd have to ask them for the story of how they got together – and the story of how they befriended a unicorn – later.
XXXXX
Later on December 20, Harry had an unexpected visitor: Professor Snape.
Snape didn't bother to introduce himself or explain why he was even there. Instead, he grabbed Harry's wrist and dragged him into a spare room. "It appears that there is a connection between the Dark Lord's mind and your own," he muttered. "Whether as yet he remains ignorant of this connection is unclear. Pray he remains ignorant."
"You mean… if he knows about it, then he'll be able to read my mind?" asked Harry.
"Read it… control it… unhinge it…" replied Professor Snape silkily. "In the past, it was often the Dark Lord's pleasure to invade the minds of his victims, creating visions designed to torture them into madness. Only after extracting the last exquisite agony, only after he had them begging for death, would he finally kill them.
"Used properly, the power of occlumency will help shield you from access or influence. In these lessons, I will attempt to penetrate your mind, and you will attempt to resist. Prepare yourself."
But Harry had no idea how to prepare himself. Snape pointed his wand and enunciated the spell, Legilimens and Harry had no idea what to do to resist it.
FLASH!
Harry was in the Chamber of Secrets, fighting the Basilisk and stabbing it in the mouth.
FLASH!
Harry was doing homework in the Gryffindor common room.
FLASH!
Harry was researching aquatic plants to complete the Second Task of the Triwizard Tournament.
FLASH!
Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione on the Hogwarts Express; the three were sharing magical sweets and playing Exploding Snap.
"CONCENTRATE, POTTER! FOCUS!" bellowed Snape.
FLASH!
Harry was staring into the Mirror of Erised, looking at the reflection of himself with his parents.
"Feeling sentimental, are we?" Snape murmured.
"That's private!" spat Harry.
"Not to me," murmured Snape. "And not to the Dark Lord if you don't improve. Every memory he has access to is a weapon he can use against you – you won't last two seconds if he invades your mind."
"I've had enough of this!" shouted Harry. He ran out the door into the entry hall of 12 Grimmauld Place. Once he saw where he was, he bolted up the stairs. So help him Merlin, he was going to hex Snape in the next century if that git took so much as one step closer toward him…
But Snape walked up into the Entry Hall, took a fistful of Flue Powder, stepped into the fireplace, and announced, "HOGWARTS!" Harry didn't care whether his least favorite professor told Dumbledore how badly their Occlumency lesson had gone.
With Snape gone, Harry told Sirius and Remus how badly his lesson with Snape had gone. He didn't care whether Dumbledore or Snape thought him weak for this – he just wanted to vent.
"We'll see if we can get you a different teacher," murmured Remus as Harry went to sleep.
Most of December 21 went by uneventfully. Dumbledore didn't show up, and neither did Snape.
"Our unicorn friend might be able to help you out with things," whispered Sirius over breakfast. "She'll be starting Auror training soon, you know."
"What's she like?" asked Harry.
"Sweetest thing on two feet – or four feet," replied Sirius. "But she could seriously help you."
"Who is she, anyway?" asked Harry.
"We have our suspicions," said Remus. "But she has amnesia and she hasn't told us whether she recovered her memories or not."
"What if she's dangerous?" asked Harry.
"NAH," sighed Remus and Sirius at once.
XXXXX
Finally, on the evening of December 21, there was a disturbance at the front door of 12 Grimmauld Place.
Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks entered, holding a young woman between them. She was half-White, half-Black, very pretty, and appeared completely wrung-out. Mad-Eye Moody walked behind the threesome until they sat the young woman in a chair in the entryway.
The young woman was tall, curvy, athletic, and extremely pretty. She wore a curve-hugging black sheath dress and sky-high stilettos. She looked like she'd just come from a job interview.
"You okay?" asked Tonks.
"Yeah, just exhausted," she murmured, brushing a lock of her wavy dark hair out of her face.
"Ah! Harry Potter!" she exclaimed when she spotted him. "How are you? Doing well? I hope your mental health is okay?"
"Uh…" said Harry. What did the term mental health even mean?
"Sorry, what a stupid question," she amended. "I'm Hope. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"Uh, you too," said Harry, reluctantly shaking her hand.
"Hope is the newest Auror trainee in the Ministry of Magic – and in the Order of the Phoenix," explained Tonks.
"And she introduced herself to the Order by defeating the Giant Gorgomath," added Kingsley. "She'll be my trainee, starting this January. We just had to get her through the interview with Rufus Scrimgeour, head of the Auror Office."
"What happened to her?" asked Harry. Surely, someone couldn't be this exhausted and faint after just an interview?
"The interview involved reading her mind," explained Tonks. "Reliving lots of nasty memories – she's pretty tired."
"I'll be fine," protested the young woman, "just give me a minute, ok?"
"Take your time," replied Tonks, patting her on the shoulder before she and Kingsley headed off in the direction of the kitchen.
Harry approached the young woman. "Hello?" he asked.
She massaged her forehead tiredly, then took a proper look at him. Her gray eyes seemed to stare through his very soul. "Hello, Harry," she said. "I heard you saved Mr. Weasley the other night, because of your vision."
"Uh, yeah," said Harry.
"Happy Christmas," she said. "Tell me, is there anything you particularly want for a Christmas present?"
"Uh… no more Occlumency lessons with Professor Snape?" Harry laughed. He knew that Professor Dumbledore would probably cause the lessons to continue, even though Snape was hardly an ideal teacher.
She grinned. "We'll just see what we can do about that."
"What about you? What do you want for Christmas?" asked Harry.
"Actually, Harry," she said, "As Christmas presents, I think we should trade lessons. How about I teach you some Legilimency, so you can read Dolores Umbridge's mind, and you can teach me how to cast the Patronus Charm. I hear you're quite gifted at Patronuses. Have we got a deal?"
"Um…?"
"Oh, come on. Today – December 21 – is my birthday! I'm 22 years old! Can you please consider it?"
"Okay," sighed Harry. "But could I start with the Legilimency lessons? Could you show me how it's done?"
"Of course," replied Hope, getting out of the chair she'd been deposited in. "Would your friends like to come, too? I understand you all tell each other everything."
Harry nodded and as he and Hope headed up the stairs, he beckoned Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, and George to join him.
The group gathered in Harry's bedroom and shut the door, Hope sitting in an armchair at the far end.
"We don't even know who you are!" blurted Ginny.
"Well… right you are, Ginny Weasley. Perhaps you ought to take my wand and lash me to the chair so I can't get away," Hope replied, proffering her wand.
Hermione grasped the wand from her hand and cried, "Relashio!" binding Hope to the chair. Hope, for her part, seemed quite relaxed about the whole ordeal.
"Right," said Hope. "Well, now that you've subdued me, why don't you read my mind in order to figure out who I am? It can be your Legilimency lesson. Harry, if you'd like to start, the incantation is Legilimens."
"Legilimens!" Harry cried as soon as Hope told him what the incantation was.
And now, he had access to her memory.
FLASH!
A young girl who looked like Hope was sitting in a boring history class passing notes to her friends.
FLASH!
A high school aged Hope was playing hockey with a bunch of boys.
FLASH!
The scene suddenly switched to Rick Astley singing, "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down-"
"Are you trying to Rickroll us?" exclaimed Harry, putting his wand to his side and ending the Legilimens spell.
"Kind of," said Hope, "But I was also demonstrating one of the primary techniques of Occlumency, which is distraction. In distraction, you think of something that your enemy doesn't want to find, and try and use it to keep them from getting to the memories that they're really interested in."
"You mean.. there's more to Occlumency than just trying to clear and discipline your mind?" asked Harry.
"Uh, obviously!" replied Hope. "I mean, how are you supposed to discipline your mind without any proper techniques to redirect your consciousness! I mean, have you even been taught any meditation techniques to clear your thoughts?"
"Uh… no," replied Harry.
"Well, that's no good!" replied Hope. "Anyway, for Legilimency, you'll want to do more than just the basic Legilimens spell. See, when you cast the spell, you can also use it to search for certain things within my memory. For example, if you want to figure out if or how I know you, you'll want to search for yourself in my memory."
"Okay!" exclaimed Harry.
"Hey, wait, since we're all included, you should let us have a turn!" exclaimed Fred and George, springing up from their seats at once.
"Okay," said Harry, ceding the floor to them.
"Legilimens!" screamed George, pointing his wand at Hope's head.
FLASH!
Hope was building a snowman outdoors somewhere.
"George, search for Harry!" cried Fred.
FLASH!
There was an image of the inside of the champions tent, and the memory had a view of Harry, Fleur, and Krum.
FLASH!
There was an image of Harry, crossing a bridge at Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione, worrying about the Second Task.
"Hang on, didn't Barty Crouch Jr. stalk you for all the tasks of the Triwizard Tournament?!" exclaimed Ron.
George dropped his wand, ending the mind-reading spell. "Merlin's beard, it must be Barty Crouch, Jr., who impersonated Mad-Eye Moody for all of last year!"
"Noooo!" cried Hope.
"Aha! It's you!" cried Fred.
"Relashio!" exclaimed Hermione, and her spell encased Hope in ropes that bund her to her chair.
"Let's expose her to the Order!" cried Ron.
So, Fred levitated Hope down the stairs while she struggled against the ropes binding her to the chair where she sat. Harry gazed on skeptically with Ginny, while Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George stampeded ahead.
"You shouldn't let her be an Auror!" exclaimed Ron. "She's Barty Crouch, Jr. in disguise! She impersonated Mad-Eye Moody last year. Then, somehow, she escaped capture and now she's trying to infiltrate the Order of the Phoenix!"
"YEAH!" screamed Fred and George in unison.
"Oh, no! Get her!" cried Tonks, and encased Hope in even more rope.
"Impostor!" cried Kingsley.
Remus and Sirius both made like they were fainting dead away.
"Oh for Heaven's sake, will you lot stop it?!" cried Mrs. Weasley, gesticulating wildly with her hands.
The room went still. Then, Remus and Sirius got up off the floor and Tonks vanished the ropes and chair that bound Hope in place, allowing the young woman to get to her feet, softly grinning.
"She's not Barty Crouch Jr! She's-" began Tonks.
"No, no, let them finish figuring out who I am by searching my mind!" exclaimed Hope. "Also, can we please stop right now and appreciate this moment where I managed to pull one over on Fred and George Weasley?"
At this, the entire Order of the Phoenix erupted in laughter.
"All right, back you go! It's time for you lot to figure out who she really is!" gesticulated Kingsley.
So, Harry, Ginny, Ron, Hermione, Fred, and George escorted Hope up the stairs back to Harry's bedroom.
"How are you, really?" asked Harry.
"You were so close! Just keep searching for memories of yourself in my memory, and you'll be there!" encouraged Hope.
"Legilimens!" said Harry.
FLASH!
Hope was receiving an acceptance letter to Harvard Law School.
Harry concentrated on memories that included him.
FLASH!
Harry was telling Cedric Diggory that the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament involved dragons.
FLASH!
Cedric Diggory was rescuing Cho Chang from the bottom of the lake, and then watching Harry emerge with Ron and Gabrielle in tow, demonstrating excellent moral character.
FLASH!
Amos Diggory was ragging on Harry about how Cedric was going to defeat him in the Triwizard Tournament.
FLASH!
Cedric Diggory was under the influence of Krum's Cruciatus Curse.
Hope was in some other location, collapsing and clutching herself in pain.
FLASH!
"Kill the spare!" shrieked a shrill voice.
Cedric Diggory collapsed, dead.
Hope Marshall collapsed in the middle of the crosswalk of some big city intersection, and was then hit by a car.
Hope Marshall was being transported away in an ambulance, while EMTs attempted to resuscitate her with defibrillator paddles.
Cedric Diggory was emerging as a ghost from Lord Voldemort's wand, was telling Harry to take his body back to Hogwarts and back to his parents.
Hope Marshall was laying on a stretcher, screaming to no one that Harry Potter should get back to Hogwarts.
Harry ended the spell and stared into Hope's gray eyes, recognizing the similarity. "CEDRIC?!" he exclaimed.
Hope nodded and grinned irrepressibly.
"Oh my Merlin, how?!" exclaimed Harry. "Wait, is it because of the reincarnated unicorn thing?"
Hope nodded. "In the first of my lives, I was the unicorn Rocinante. Then, Professor Quirrell, when he was possessed by Lord Voldemort, slashed my throat in order for Lord Voldemort to drink my unicorn blood. Then, in my second life, I was Cedric Diggory. And now, I've reincarnated to the form you see before you."
"Wait, you say You-Know-Who's name now?!" blurted Ron.
"Of course," replied Hope with a shrug. "The bastard had me murdered twice – does that not give me the right to call him whatsoever I please?"
"I guess it does," laughed Harry. "Merlin's beard, Cedric, I can't believe you're back!" He hurled himself into Hope's arms and gave her a great big bear hug. Overjoyed, Hope picked Harry up and swung him around.
"It's really good to see you too, Harry Potter. I've missed you so much."
"I'm so glad you're back! God, Ced, can you ever forgive me for getting you killed?"
"There's nothing to forgive, Harry," said Hope, setting him down. "Thank you for bringing my body back to Hogwarts, by the way. It was because my body vanished from its coffin that my parents were able to tell I'd returned from the dead. Your actions meant absolutely everything to us."
"I love you, Cedric," said Harry. "Will you be my friend?"
"Absolutely, Harry. Absolutely."
XXXXX
The seven of them went downstairs and walked into a party in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place.
"Happy Birthday, Hope!" cried everyone. Kingsley, Mad-Eye Moody, Tonks, and Mrs. Weasley were still there – accompanied by Amos and Natalie Diggory, and also Charlie Weasley, Bill Weasley, and Fleur Delacour (who Bill had apparently brought along as a date of some sort).
"WELCOME BACK, CEDRIC!" they all cried in unison.
Hope blushed profusely, and then greeted everyone there. Fleur Delacour was thrilled that Cedric had managed to come back from the dead and the two friends spent a while catching up, which included her introducing Hope to her boyfriend, Bill. Mrs. Weasley thanked Hope for providing the unicorn blood that saved her husband's life. Charlie, who hadn't gotten to know Cedric that well, nonetheless came forward to shake Hope's hand. Remus and Sirius mischievously picked Hope up and swung her around in circles while calling her "Horny" as she protested the nickname all the while. Kingsley and Mad-Eye expressed their gratitude that Hope was going to be entering Auror training that January, and of course, Mr. and Mrs. Diggory, who had organized the whole thing, were beaming with joy at their daughter's happiness.
Dumbledore even came during the party to give Hope 1,000 Galleons – from his own
Vault at Gringotts – to take the place of her Triwizard Tournament winnings. ("Uh, dead people don't have property rights," she whispered to him as he made to hand her the galleons. "Nonsense! You'll find a good use for the prize money, I'm sure," he laughed in response and handed her the bag of money before she could protest any further.)
They all sang Happy Birthday to Hope and let her blow out the candles on a cake of several different flavors covered in rich chocolate icing. As a present, Mr. and Mrs. Diggory had gotten Hope a brand-new broomstick – a Nimbus 2004 – which she absolutely loved.
All in all, their little party was a hit and after an evening that went by far too quickly, Hope and the Diggorys had to be getting home.
"I want my Patronus Lessons!" shouted Hope as she left. "And a proper game of Quidditch against you!"
"You've got it!" shouted Harry.
"Wait!" said Hope, scrambling away from her parents before they could apparate away. "I know about Dumbledore's Army. And I think I can help you fight back against Umbridge. The Legilimency lessons I gave you today will help, but maybe we can come up with some other strategies, yeah?"
"Yeah, all right," said Harry. "See you tomorrow."