Book Three: The Next Great Adventure
With the Ori defeated, it's time for the team to figure out what the future now holds for them in this wide-open galaxy. Some of it, extremely close to home.
Chapter Nineteen: Babylon
Tuesday, 23rd November 1999.
Harry smiled brightly as Fred and George demonstrated some of the lighter aspects of magic for the Grangers, who watched with rapt attention. This had certainly been the most lighthearted Halloween period he could remember, the day itself passing without incident as the Grangers introduced him to the scary movie marathon at the local cinema.
The weeks since had been some of the lightest of Harry's life. He loved the Weasleys, but their family could be so hectic at times, being that there were so many of them all vying for attention. The Granger dynamic was so different, and Harry often felt surprisingly off-kilter as he was shown just as much attention as his girlfriend by her parents.
The regular visits had also helped to raise his spirits with everyone from the presently raucous Twins coming by, to Nym and his godson once it was known he was back in London. He felt a little guilty seeing Tonks smiling at her little tyke as he tried to walk for his extended family. He could still see the guilt in her eyes that she'd been absent from the battle where her husband had lost his life. Sacrificing his life protecting a room full of first years and second years from half a dozen Death Eaters had finally bought Remus freedom from the prejudice he'd worn his entire life, but she had still lost her husband while her mother kept her stuck at home, fresh from giving birth only two days earlier.
A loud bang from the fireplace drew Harry's thoughts back to the now and he chuckled at the rainbow-coloured flames filling the large hearth between two proud Weasleys basking in the applause for their latest trick.
Harry was about to congratulate them both when everyone in the room bar the Weasleys felt a buzz on their wrist and a set of four beeps sounded in the room. Still laughing to herself, Natalie glanced at her remote and nodded softly. "That was wonderful, boys. You have got a real talent."
The Twins took a bow and said thank you in unison.
"Remind me to hook you up with a few of my old schoolmates. They started a small business in a similar vein. Maybe you can find a way to expand some of your gear into the muggle market." Richard offered and the Twins' eyes widened.
Natalie smiled at her husband. "But before that, it seems we're being summoned at long last."
"Summoned?" George asked, curiously, only now seeming to notice the device on each of their wrists wasn't a simple watch.
"Yep." Hermione popped the final letter as she stood and stretched. "How would you like to see our new place?"
"You're moving?" Fred enquired, looking down.
"Fred, we live in a magical world. You live down the road now, but everywhere is but a small hop away with magic. And other things." Harry finished softly as he joined Hermione standing in front of the Twins.
"Where are you moving to?"
Harry glanced at Hermione who gave him a soft knowing smile in return and they extended their hands in unison. "Come find out."
A familiar sound filled the air behind them for a moment and Harry didn't have to look to know that Richard and Natalie were gone, he could see it in the stunned faces of the Weasleys before him. The Twins each took a hand and a few moments later white energy surrounded the four and they were transported halfway across the world once more.
But it wasn't the Twins who looked the most shocked when the energy cleared. Harry's face was stunned as he looked out over the snow-capped peaks of the Transantarctic Mountains but didn't feel the cold-biting wind he would expect from such a view. He glanced around and noticed that while he appeared to be outside, he was really standing in a large glass-walled room that sat atop the tallest peak of the range.
Outside in every direction, he could see the white and brown landscape of the mountains stretching away, beautiful and deadly in equal measure to the unaware. His eyes focused on closer objects, inspecting the walls and their supports before he noted several others looking about the space with the same awe he felt. His eyes soon fell on a somewhat familiar sight. The control chair from Fundamenta now sat dead centre of the large space and the group was arrayed around it.
"Welcome," Luna said, drawing everyone's attention past the chair where she stood beside Merlin, the sun shining brightly behind them over the southern horizon.
Hermione smiled and rushed over to the wee blonde, catching her in a firm hug as Harry smiled. "Hello, Luna."
"Harry." She replied, "Hello everyone. I see we have some visitors too."
Fred and George managed to close their mouths for a moment to nod in Luna's direction before they continued inspecting the odd chair in the middle of the space. Parvati had accompanied her sister again and Harry smiled at his housemate. Neville was standing with his grandmother and a man Harry had not met before, but that he assumed was Neville's great uncle Algie.
"All done with the renovations then?" Hermione asked as she pulled away from Luna.
"We are. Though of course, Merlin did most of the work."
At the name, everyone who had not been with them for the past few months spun to face Luna. "Who?" George asked.
"Ah, right. For all the guests, this is a hologram. He was made by an alien who used to live here on Earth and built the cavern that Harry found earlier this year at Glastonbury. At that time, the alien went by the name Myrddin."
"Are you trying to tell me this 'hologram' was made by the Merlin and that he was an alien?" Augusta Longbottom asked sharply.
She glanced at her grandson who nodded with a big smile on his face. Augusta looked at him oddly before she walked over to the shimmering form, somewhat harder to see in the direct sunlight streaming in through the glass. She spent several long moments inspecting the figure who remained still, though it cocked an eyebrow in surprise.
"Well, I'll admit. You got the details remarkably right. I've never seen such a perfect replication of the artwork. But an alien? Really."
Harry smiled at them and looked back at Luna. "It looks good, Luna. What's this bit supposed to be?"
"Well, we were concerned about the potential weight of leaving the unused mountaintop resting on the structure. I was concerned," she said as Merlin cleared his throat, "so we agreed to remove the rock and utilize the space. For now, it just has the control chair, so we can use it while looking up at the stars."
"It's beautiful." Hermione agreed and Luna beamed.
Harry noticed Neville looking at the space with a glimmer in his eye, his gaze occasionally flicking to the bright sun on the horizon. "What are you thinking?" He whispered to the man.
Neville turned and smiled at him cheekily. "You'll see."
"But, this is the tip of the iceberg as they say," Luna said, drawing attention back to herself. "The best part is still to come. Follow me."
She walked past the group, Hermione matching her pace and Harry quickly joining them both. As they approached the northern edge of the room, Harry noticed a wide ramp leading gently down. Luna soon had them all walking down its easy slope, the window continuing down its side as the right-hand wall fell away and they were now in another room that took up the full space of the peak, though this one had a pale cream ceiling a few feet thick.
"This is the 'fancy' dining area," Luna said, doing exclamation marks with her fingers as she said fancy, making Hermione chuckle beside her. "For when we might have guests."
This room too had a view that looked out all sides of the peak, allowing plenty of the external light source to enter. Only the two-inch thin ramp impeded the view in any way. Summer meals here would be something special, but Harry wondered just how incredible the winters would look, seeing the starry sky unfettered in a way few places on Earth could boast. The group continued to follow the slope of the ramp that continued around the side of the room, flattening out for several metres as it met the floor of the dining hall before continuing down into the rock.
As the floor of the hall passed above their eye line, Harry noticed a reddish-brown doorway in the right-hand wall, standing out against the pale blue of the wall itself. "What's that?"
"Fast travel," Luna smirked. "Each of these is a transport cabinet which can fit about ten people at a squeeze. Allows you to quickly get from the top to the bottom, or anywhere in between, as there are no stairs outside the accommodation areas, only the ramps."
"Brilliant," Hermione noted as the others followed along behind them. "Why the ramps though?"
"They circle the mountain, most of their length is covered in windows allowing us to look out on the landscape, given that the temperature outside makes it hard to have something like a balcony. Fundamenta was pretty, but it was somewhat claustrophobic with all that ice over the top. I wanted us to be able to enjoy the landscape around us."
"I think it's amazing," Parvati said from further back in the group. "Much nicer than the old place."
Harry glanced at Merlin moving alongside them and he seemed to take slight offence at the statement, but he remained silent and allowed it to pass unchecked. Most of the visitors were looking out over the landscape and Harry assumed they were attempting to discern exactly where this incredible structure was.
Hermione gasped loudly as she and Luna ducked below the floor and entered the next space and Harry couldn't contain his laughter as Hermione rushed ahead, soon followed by Padma as the extent of the library became evident. It seemed to fill an entire floor by itself. Shelving of various sizes filled the space from floor to ceiling, already filled with various leather and cloth-bound tomes.
Hermione's delight came to an abrupt end as she and Padma bounced off an invisible field that currently prevented anyone from stepping off the ramp and into the library proper and Harry burst out laughing at the indignant look on his girlfriend's face at being kept from such a trove of knowledge.
"Calm down, Hermione. There'll be time for that later." Luna explained as she held out a hand to the ravenous bookworm. "Tour now, read later."
The brunette's eyes narrowed at Luna, but she took the offered hand as Parvati helped her sister to her feet and the two nerdiest members of the council blushed as Luna directed the group further downwards. Hermione huffed to herself as Harry took her hand and guided her away from what he was sure would soon become the girl's favourite room in the entire building.
"And here we have, well mostly unused space right now. I'll let Merlin explain." Luna noted, stepping off the ramp into a large cavernous space.
At the end to their immediate left, there was a slanted wall with what seemed to be a large doorway built into it. The space was mostly rectangular and extended all the way through the mountain to a large window at the northern end. There were strange markings on the floor each framed by a few pillars and fences. Each spot looked large enough to house a typical London bus.
"This is the hangar for the Navis Porta. Thanks to the size of the mountain we can fit a total of twelve of them here, each with its own pad for resupply and repair. They're unique in Alteran design in that they are made to venture through the Astria Porta as well as capable of extraplanetary flight. The slanted door leads directly into the conscensa, while the far end allows access out into the open air. I have the computer checking the designs, but we should be ready to produce a few units soon."
"Wait, real-life spaceships?" Fred blurted out in astonishment.
"Indeed," Merlin replied.
"Wicked!" The twins said together.
Hermione eyed them carefully for a moment before stepping over to the hologram. "Merlin, council directive. Do not allow those two to utilize the Astria Porta without direct council approval or accompaniment."
Harry couldn't help but laugh aloud at the comment and the others turned to look at him and Hermione. "Agreed."
"Council directive verified," Merlin replied and Fred and George looked confused, unsure of what had just happened.
Luna chuckled before she continued the tour. "Moving on from the obvious, along both sides of the bay are several small workshops and labs. Most are empty at the moment as I wasn't certain what we'd need them for, but I'm sure that we have more than enough when combined with the larger facilities below."
Harry now noticed the seams in the walls that indicated doorways, some small and person-sized while others looked big enough to be garage doors. "Very nice, Luna. Merlin. So far I love it."
Luna beamed once more, obviously happy that her work was appreciated. "Unless anyone wants a closer look at a bunch of empty rooms?" She asked rhetorically, indicating the ramp still leading down to more of the structure.
While the gentle slope of the ramps meant they tended to be a longer method of travel than he was becoming used to since they'd acquired the beam technology, Harry found the journey downwards to be very relaxing. He noted the colour scheme seemed to be yellows and whites in the floors, while blues and greens made up most of the walls and frames of the windows. The rusty red-brown colour of doorways and terminals stood out against the paler colours. All in all, it gave the entire building a comforting homey feel.
But before anyone could comment on it further, they were all left speechless once more as a smirking Luna stopped and swept her hand towards the enormous space now open before them.
"Welcome to the Atrium."
Harry was stunned. This room seemed brighter and more welcoming than any so far. It was wide and circular, though it stretched further to the east and west than to the north and south. It featured several short tiers that descended to a wide base centred around a beautiful fountain of crystal clear water, the sound of which filled the space with a delightful tinkling sound that made Harry instantly relaxed and calm.
Dotted along the tiers were a series of small planters, all growing seedlings that he assumed would grow into even more beautiful features of the room as time went on. At each of the cardinal directions of the space, he noted openings that led through to further areas. The opening in front of them had an enormous wooden table visible in front of a large window, and a few small doorways to the left and right of its massive opening.
"Ahead to the north is the conference room. There are offices and such in the surrounding section. To the east, we have guest accommodations and the main medical bay. To the west are personal private quarters and the council chamber." Luna explained as she walked down onto the uppermost tier and hugged the wall, indicating the directions as she went.
The others followed her closely and more than a few times someone would be so in awe of the space around them that they would bump into something as they walked, not looking where they were going.
"And this," Luna paused as she stood before a large archway that appeared to be made of the finest marble, "is the conscensa."
Harry moved forward to join her and when he turned he saw the room had become even more impressive than the one that Merlin had fashioned in Fundamenta. Now with the open air and the early morning sun in the background, the Astria Porta shimmered brightly, looking every bit like a magnificent piece of alien technology. The seven green crystals of the visible chevrons caught the sun's rays and glowed even in the absence of a connection.
"Incredible." Several voices sounded, offering differing comments and compliments.
Harry turned to Luna and noticed she was glowing under the praise. "That's brilliant, Luna. I've never seen anything like it."
The tiny blonde leapt at him and hugged him tightly and Harry returned it gladly. Hermione held her from the other side and Harry marvelled at the incredible rooms around him. Luna had not been kidding when she had implied she had ideas for improving Fundamenta. He was very glad they had agreed to leave her full autonomy for the new design.
As he stood at an angle to the beautiful room, he noticed a corridor tucked between the wall of the conscensa and the atrium and another that mirrored it on the other side. At the end of the tunnel, he could see a few doorways and assumed they must hold rooms related to off-world travel. He glanced up and noticed an odd look in Hermione's eyes as she gazed out the window of the conference room into the distance. There was clearly a thought process in action that he wanted to understand.
"I think we should rename this place." She said aloud before he could ask.
"Any suggestions?" Neville enquired, being even quieter than normal during the tour.
"Well, that peak in the distance. That's Mt Erebus. I know that it is Greek, not Latin or Alteran, but Aether seems to fit quite well. Aether was the son of Erebus," she nodded towards the mountain, "and Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night, and brother of Hemera the deity of the day. Fitting with this area's long days and nights. But it is also the name given to the quintessence above the terrestrial sphere in which people believed the heavens resided. We haven't even finished looking around and I already think the name fits it brilliantly."
A still unfamiliar voice sounded in the quiet, "Night and Day passing near greet one another as they cross the great bronze threshold. The one is about to go in and the other is going out the door, and never does the house hold them both inside, but always the one goes out from the house and passes over the earth, while the other in turn remaining inside the house waits for the time of her own departure, until it comes. The one holds much-seeing light for those on the earth, but the other holds Sleep in her hands, the brother of Death—deadly Night, shrouded in murky cloud."
The entire group turned to look at Augusta in stunned disbelief. "What? You don't think an old lady might enjoy some reading from time to time. I happen to be a fan of Theogony. There is more to most people than meets the eye. I think Miss Granger's suggestion is a brilliant one."
"I agree," Harry said, looking at his girlfriend in wonder at the incredible way her mind worked. "I think it's as beautiful as Luna's handiwork."
"That it is." Natalie agreed, Richard nodding by her side. "And it's not like there are any rules on what we can and can't name our home."
"Any objections?" Padma asked with a smile. None came.
"Then it's settled," Harry said. "Welcome to Aether."
As the words left his mouth, he noticed a bright light on the floor in the conscensa. As the light cleared he noticed that there were now three words etched into the floor in Alteran, the very words he had just uttered aloud. He turned and nodded at the hologram who returned the gesture.
"I don't know if I've got it in me to see the rest," Neville said. "What you've shown me so far is already so amazing, Luna."
The tiny blonde blushed brightly in their midst before she centred herself and took a deep breath. "Well, tough. We're moving on."
Harry allowed the others to move ahead as he took Hermione's hand and stared out past the porta into the Antarctic morning. "We need to repay her for this somehow." He said, smiling at the wondrous sight.
"Agreed. We'll figure something out. But let's not fall behind either." Hermione added, giving his arm a soft tug in the direction of the small opening to the southeast that the others were filing into.
Harry nodded and followed as they entered another gently sloping tunnel that wrapped about the rooms, but this one soon disappeared into rock, no external windows allowing natural light into the depths.
"These rooms are all below the mountaintop," Luna's voice answered a question Harry had not heard. "Merlin and I worked on some artificial windows below, but mostly it's artificial light from here on down."
It did not take the group long to find themselves on another level. "This floor contains the recreational areas. Gym and rec rooms to the east. Kitchen and mess to the north. Additional medical facilities to the west, as well as the quieter recreational spaces." Luna explained as they continued past a smaller yet just as beautiful atrium between the spaces.
"How's the power in this place?" Padma enquired. "It looks a lot bigger than Fundamenta was, and has a lot more facilities overall."
Merlin answered. "We have increased our possible power consumption considerably. The entire structure has multiple beam, shield and cloak emitters. Lighting and life support are a magnitude higher than they were at Fundamenta, but we managed it easily enough. To be fair, the single potentia we were using would have been enough, but to be safe and to cover worst-case scenarios we expanded the power source. There is now a room buried deep beneath the facility that is accessible only via transport cabinet. It is a triangular prism in shape to better focus the 'energy' Miss Luna claims."
"It does. I'll show you later why. Each wall holds a socket for a single potentia, giving us a total of three. Primary conduits come up from the pyramid to the main structure and are concealed in the walls between the main areas and the ramps, going right up to the base of the dining hall. Only small conduits go further up to fuel the viewing platform."
"Indeed. We will not run short on energy for the foreseeable future." Merlin finished.
"You grew more potentia?" Hermione asked.
"Merlin had been preparing more at Fundamenta for some time," Luna noted. "It is considerably easier with the matter converter. The design is well established in the database Myrddin originally programmed Merlin with. Now though, we can pre-build a nutrient-rich 'skeleton' of sorts that the crystals consume as they grow. It guides the growth in a more specific pattern. Which speeds production from the nearly six months it would take using the traditional method to within two weeks. But they must still be grown with care. If the crystal pattern warps once it's begun absorbing energy from subspace, they can explode. Which is why we designed the growth pods in the room where they are grown here to be out of phase with normal reality as a failsafe measure."
"Probably a good idea," Harry added as they finally reached another level, this one seeming far lower than the others. "Why is this floor so far down?"
"It needs to be," Luna smirked.
Unlike the other floors they had come to, this one did not open directly from the ramp to open space, but rather there was a very large set of solid-looking doors. As the group approached, they opened and revealed a wide corridor and another set of similar doors that also opened, revealing a catwalk perched high at the closest end of a massive hangar. Harry figured it continued almost a mile from where they stood back under the mountaintop.
"Bloody hell." The twins said, staring out into the massive space. "What are you planning on storing in here? Hogwarts?"
Luna laughed lightly at the concept. "Nothing right now. We just figured it wouldn't hurt to have the space. Never know when we might need a bigger ship."
"This place is brilliant," George remarked.
"You can say that again, brother. If the shop wasn't going better than ever, I'd be sorely tempted to join our young friends here."
"Where is here?" Algie finally asked.
Neville grinned at his great uncle. "Bottom of the world. The whole thing is built into the Transantarctic Mountain Range."
"And between the technology of the Alterans and a dab application of runic magic charms of every kind, it should remain completely undetectable to anyone, even if they're actively looking for it," Luna added.
"It worked then?" Padma asked, looking excited.
"It did. Hermione's work on the off-world outfits was a proof of concept. Once we started construction, it was easy to weave the runes into the structure. But, while we can beam properly treated materials as needed, we cannot generate suitable material directly with the matter converter. We can make the material, but it still needs to be magically prepared to be runically suitable."
Hermione smirked and Harry could already see a few new ideas percolating in her mind. "That's good to know."
"Please tell me there is nothing at the other end. I might seem strong and unflappable, but all this walking is beginning to take its toll." Augusta said.
"No, beyond that is the isolation ward and you can't walk there regardless. It's embedded directly in the rock, surrounded by reinforced earth, energy fields and some of the densest materials we could engineer with the matter converter." Merlin explained.
"We'll discuss all that later. Not important right now." Luna finished. "In fact, we're pretty much done. The only other parts left are the larger workshops and labs down here."
She pointed to the entrances that had been hidden from view by the way they'd come down the ramp, the impressive doors to the hangar taking up most of a visitor's attention immediately.
"Apart from those, there is a small brig, also in a separate section of rock on the other side of the facility."
"What do you need a brig for?" George joked, but Harry's eyes noticed the way both Parvati and Padma shifted uneasily.
"You'd be surprised." He offered plainly.
"Truly," Luna said solemnly. "Only other things further down are the main armoury and firing range directly below. But all three of those areas are transport cabinet access only. Their designs meant it just made sense to keep them physically separate from the main structure."
As ever, it was the Weasley Twins that cleared the sombre tone from the air, alternating speakers as they completed each part of the sentence. "So, if that's the tour done can we go have a better look at the recreational areas?"
The others chuckled lightly at the comment but Harry noticed Hermione went bolt upright and a dastardly smirk filled her face. She shot off towards the nearby wall and the transport cabinet opened, allowing her access before the doors closed behind her and realization filled Harry, and apparently her parents as well.
"Well," Natalie said, "that's the last we'll see of her for a while. A whole library, Luna?"
"Reading is important." The blonde replied straight-faced and the group laughed at the idea that Hermione had found her new nirvana. "And Merlin is slowly copying all of the text into the database as well." She paused for a moment. "Shall we follow her example?"
The group moved over to the transport cabinet and as the doors opened, Luna gestured their guests inside. As the doors closed behind Neville, his family and the Twins, Luna waved before she turned to Harry and the others. "While they're off exploring, we found something when we were building."
"The isolation ward?" Padma asked, and Luna nodded.
"Once they returned to McMurdo, some of the team that investigated the old location returned to the base near where the porta had originally shifted. They run a research base there, looking for more out in the ice."
"That's good. They're exploring." Harry mused.
"Not exactly. They were heading for the exclusion zone." Luna replied and Harry felt a chill go through him.
"How soon?"
"Now? Never. We removed the entire section we'd previously blocked out. Converted it all down to base molecules and beamed it all into space on a leisurely course for the sun. No chance for contamination by reusing the matter. With four exceptions."
"They can't still be alive," Padma noted aloud.
"Three are dead, but one of the bodies down there is somehow still alive. She's most definitely infected, but…" Luna trailed off.
"Of course," Richard said. "If there is a living Alteran, we have to do what we can."
"The ward consists of a handful of stasis chambers separated into their own rooms. Every room is fully isolated from one another." She turned to the Grangers, "Sorry, but for safety's sake, the only way in and out at the moment is apparating."
"I don't mind not being able to go into a room containing a virus that ran what seems to be the most powerful race these stars have ever seen out of the galaxy," Natalie replied.
"It's also the reason that access to the detached zones is currently restricted to council members only. I planned on us having visitors, but the last thing we need is someone stumbling into an off-limits area and becoming infected or worse."
Parvati held her sister closely for a moment and Padma nodded that she was fine. Harry resolved to have another talk with her soon, as she had been avoiding them for the past week. "Sound judgement if you ask me. We'll need to look into what healing methods we have available to bring our guest back to full health. Who knows what she might be able to tell us."
The group nodded before Luna waved her hand over the panel to the left of the doors to the cabinet which opened before them. "Shall we join the others?"
They all stepped inside and as the door shut and Luna tapped a point on a diagram of the facility on the wall, the doors reopened and the view outside was different. Harry noted that he hadn't even sensed the transport of this method. One moment they were by the hangar, the next in the rec room.
Before them now was another mostly open space, but this one was full of large comfortable couches, looking somewhat similar to a Hogwarts common room. The biggest difference was the large screen at the far end of the room in front of which Fred and George were currently standing side by side yelling as two skateboarders on the screen turned different parts of a school red and blue as they performed tricks on them.
"Really, Neville? Straight to the video games?"
"Don't blame me, it was already on," Neville replied.
Luna smiled. "I like that one. Skateboarding seems fun, but the potential for injury is rather high."
"Was it difficult integrating the terrestrial technology?" Richard asked, walking over to where the Twins were battling it out.
"Not really. Merlin was able to make an interface point on the wall that the connections of the console connect to directly. We could have bought a normal TV, but the Alteran screens are much bigger, and nowhere near as heavy or bulky."
Harry walked over to Luna and laid a hand on her shoulder softly. The blonde turned and smiled up at him. "You have seriously outdone yourself, Luna. This place is incredible. I love it."
"Thank you," she replied, and they turned back to watch the Twins fight it out.
ϟ
Monday, 29th November 1999.
Luna walked quietly beside the smallest member of the council. Dobby cheerily padded along as he glanced about the new structure for the first time. He looked up at her and smiled, a gesture she quickly returned as they moved from the atrium into the east wing of the floor. The walkway to the medical facility was a genius bit of magic that Hermione had suggested. While the facility itself was about 500 feet back from the atrium, the walk was less than twenty through the magically manipulated corridor.
The others had not stopped congratulating and praising her for her efforts with Aether, and she was proud of her work. While Merlin and the computers had done most of the actual construction, she had managed almost the entire design. She had taken a few bits of inspiration from Hogwarts and her former home, but most of the layout had come from the wild depths of her imagination of a home at the peak of a mountain.
She paused as she entered the medical room for the first time since its initial completion. The far wall was lined with half a dozen beds spaced evenly apart. Each one was supported by a connection to the wall that allowed it to be angled as needed while a built-in gravity field kept the patient comfortable and flat on the bed. Various panels on the walls displayed the information collected by the many sensors in the bed and surroundings.
Dobby walked over to the one directly ahead of the entryway and smiled at Luna again as she stepped forwards and helped lift him up onto the surface of the bed where he once more began to swing his legs gently. A nervous tick that Luna had noticed in him a few times before and that she found endearing.
"Well, now we're just waiting on…" She trailed off as Merlin shimmered into place beside the pair and Dobby swung to face the image.
"You're both here." He said, seemingly unsure as to why Luna had come as well. "Are we ready to proceed?"
Dobby nodded silently and the hologram turned to face the display on the wall. Luna watched Dobby as his legs began to kick slightly faster than before.
"How has the research been going, Dobby? Has daddy been helpful?"
Dobby turned away from the hologram and faced her once more, his legs slowing greatly as he considered her question. "It is good. We have learned a lot. Though House-elf history is spotty. Not many elves bothered to write it down. Many never learned how to read and write at all."
"That's unfortunate. History is important. Look at what we've done here with a little history from Merlin's people."
Dobby nodded energetically as Merlin looked at Luna for a moment. "What is it?"
"An oversight in the designs. They're still mostly physically operated. For safety reasons, we didn't link them fully into the main system. Can you please assist me?" Merlin asked.
Dobby smiled at her as she stood and pressed the few commands Merlin indicated and she turned back to see a narrow sliver of blue light sweeping up and down Dobby's body over and over as the scanners ran their assessments.
"So. What have you learned?"
"Mostly that when the elves started our working for wizards, something was very wrong with our people. But they found that if they worked for humans with magic, the sickness wasn't so bad. At first, it was of…" Dobby paused and Luna could tell he was looking for a more complicated word than he usually used. "mutual benefit?" He finished with a questioning note.
She nodded quickly and he smiled brightly before continuing. "Winky was most fascinated by what we've been learning. She has decided to stay in the dig with your father until she learns it all. Dobby hasn't seen her this happy since he's known her."
"That's good to hear. I'm very glad she's found something to work on." Luna replied.
"Several of the Hogwarts elves's has been helping too. The older ones were sceptical at first, but now they seem more eager to learn than Dobby is. We still can't find anything about how elves came about though. They seem to just appear out of nowhere, but Shifty thinks it might just be a lack of detailed record-keeping around that time. It was a very long time ago."
"I'm glad. We're all excited to learn more. If you need any help, please ask us." Luna smirked as she considered the next point. "As a councillor, you have the full power of the former Alteran people at your disposal."
The three figures paused for a moment before Luna began to chuckle and Dobby soon joined her while Merlin watched them both in confusion. He quickly shook his head and returned to focusing on the tests.
"Dobby is happy to have found such a wonderful family. Helping Harry Potter has been the best choice Dobby ever made."
"I agree. It is a truly wonderful family." Luna mused, thinking of her own experiences with the growing group. The easy friendliness of Neville now he had come into his own. The knowledgeable ear Hermione always offered. The fiery defence Harry provided against the world. And the love that filled them all and kept them together. It was a far cry from her first few years at Hogwarts.
Luna noticed Dobby was now watching Merlin as the image watched the information from the scans whizzing past on the data screen. The wee elf seemed curious, but not about what Merlin was looking at.
"Does you miss it?" He asked suddenly, Merlin turning to face him in response.
"Miss what?"
Dobby looked at Luna for a moment and tried to get his mouth around the complex word. "Fundi… fundle… fundum…"
"Fundamenta?" Luna offered.
Dobby nodded rapidly before turning back to Merlin. "Do you miss Fundamenta?
Luna watched Merlin as well, curious about the answer. The hologram had been instrumental in the design and construction of Aether, but as it had pointed out during the 'council meeting', Fundamenta had been on this planet longer than their species. The image even seemed to give a resigned sigh as it considered the answer.
"At times." He finally replied. "The more we learn, the more it becomes clear that my people are gone from the universe. At least in the traditional sense. Even more so given they only interfere on this plane when it seems to suit them, despite the supposed Rule of Non-Interference. Losing more of what they left behind just to keep our presence a secret is unfortunate."
"We can restore the structure if you like," Luna said. "Now that the others deem it to be no more than a geothermal vent, they shouldn't…" She paused and considered. From what she had learned of muggles from Hermione and her own studies, thinking about the locating of a source of ready geothermal energy in such an icy wasteland would probably lead them to construct some form of a base in that location to make the most of it. "Oh."
"Indeed. The humans will seek to utilize the location for their own benefit. Which I do not begrudge them. It was carelessness on my own part that allowed them to discover the heat signature. Proper application of the cloak would have prevented such a thing from occurring. But as you all pointed out, the Lantean design flaw of only allowing the emitters to produce a shield or cloak at once is what truly led to the downfall of Fundamenta. Yet another cross on the tally of success and failure for my people in the galactic histories."
Luna watched the image closely. Ever since Myrddin had interacted with the chair platform the night before they triggered the Sangraal, Merlin had been different. More melancholy and real compared to the generally static nature of the hologram from their first interactions. It seemed as though the former High Councilor had modified the program to make it more alive.
"I'm sorry, Merlin."
Dobby nodded from his place on the soft hospital bed, his ears shifting lightly as the blue trace of light shimmered and faltered completely.
"None of it is your fault. And you succeeded where even Myrddin could not. The Ori were a threat so great this galaxy would have been utterly altered forever had they not been dealt with. The loss of one decrepit building that the ice had already ripped apart is a small price to pay for their defeat."
The panel in front of the hologram beeped twice and the rolling text vanished, replaced by several static notes that also vanished soon after. Merlin stood slightly taller and turned to face them. "The tests have been completed. It will take a while for me to assess the data." There was no sign of the sadness that had only just before been in every aspect of the image's form. Luna chose to let the matter lie for now.
"Any initial thoughts?" Luna asked as Dobby hopped down from the bed and turned to face the hologram.
"None yet. The system detects a familiarity with the makeup, but it can't narrow down the result properly. Hopefully, proper analysis of the full scan will reveal the information it needs." Merlin replied, pausing thoughtfully before continuing. "Or, if the council agrees, any other elves who wish to contribute by being scanned. More data is always helpful when assessing a mystery."
"Dobby will ask." The once again chipper elf replied.
"Well, best of luck. We're off for ice cream." Luna smiled as she gestured for Dobby to lead the way out. The smile on the elf's face was all the reward Luna needed for helping him with this task.