Chapter 28: Luna

To say the results were not what we were expecting would be a serious understatement. After several attempts by Snape to locate a Horcrux only succeeded in him remaining exactly where he was, we admitted failure.

"Ok," I sighed, "either the idea is a failure, or we overlooked something."

"Are you sure these are the correct runes for the spell?" Snape asked, examining the talisman we'd created that was supposed to locate Horcruxes.

"Yes. I wrote them the exact way they were in the book. It should work!"

"But it doesn't."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious." I muttered, throwing my hands up in frustration. "I don't see why it doesn't work."

"Maybe it does," offered an airy voice from hall.

I whirled around to see Luna standing just outside the door, holding what suspiciously looked like a thestral-hair bracelet. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe," she said, stepping into the room and sitting in the nearest chair, "maybe there's a Horcrux in the house somewhere. The Blacks were known to be big Voldemort supporters. Maybe they left you a present?"

I stared at her, open mouthed. "That honestly never occurred to me."

"A lot of things wouldn't occur to you, Harry; you've got nargles nesting in your hair. I'd be a little slow-witted if I had them too."

"I've got… what?"

"Nargles, in your hair. That's why it won't lay flat – they like to keep their nests a bit messy, I'm afraid. Good luck with your search." She smiled, leaving to go do only Merlin knows what.

"That girl is quite odd." Snape mused. "Brilliant, but very odd."

"Tell me about it. And what the heck is a nargle?"

Xxx

The morning of August 30th rolled dawned, and we still had not progressed in our search.

"The theory made sense at first." I began, reclining fireside with Luna in the library. "But it seems you were wrong, Luna."

She paused in her knitting to look at up at from the floor. "How so?"

"The talisman is wonky at best. It only causes Snape to appear in whatever room I happen to be in. We think my scar is interfering."

"Hmm…" Luna responded, returning to her knitting, "Maybe it's not your scar."

I rubbed my eyes tiredly. "What do you mean?"

"You didn't die when the Killing Curse hit you… you can feel all of Voldemort's emotions… sometimes you can even see into his mind."

"Yeah…" I replied, unable to follow her train of thought.

"Well… what if the talisman does work, but it only takes you to the closest Horcrux." She said, more to herself than to me.

"Luna…" I said slowly, finally understanding and not liking it at all.

"What if," she continued, "what if you were a Horcrux?"

Xxx

"She thinks you're a Horcrux?" Snape said stroking his non-existent beard, "Interesting."

"No!" I fumed, "Not interesting! If I'm a Horcrux, then that means that for me to kill Voldemort, I'd have to commit suicide! It's ludicrous!"

"Harry…"

"No! I'm The-Boy-Who-Lived! The Chosen One! The one with the power to Vanquish the Dark Lord! I can't be a Horcrux! It negates the entire Prophecy! How can I kill him if I'm dead myself? Tell me that!"

Silence. It seemed that for once, I had actually rendered Snape speechless. Not that I was in the mood to gloat. After a while, Severus seemed to come up with a suitable solution.

"We could always turn you."

It was my turn to stare stupidly.

"Turn me? Turn me? Me?" I shook my head, bemusedly. "You must be out of your ever-loving mind. I'm not sacrificing my love of Quidditch and sunshine just so I can take Voldemort down a peg or two."

"Harry," Snape sighed, "be reasonable."

"No. I won't do it. What's the point of defeating him if I can't even enjoy my life after he's dead? There has to be another way."

"You could perform an exorcism," came a familiar voice.

"Hello Luna." I sighed. "I somehow doubt that would work."

"It might."

"I'm not possessed, Luna."

She looked thoughtful. "Oh. There is that, I suppose."

"Ms. Lovegood's idea is not without merit, Harry." Snape mused. "All we need to do is remove the bit of Voldemort's soul from your body. While an exorcism might not work, perhaps a similar sort of ritual could be applied? A banishment perhaps?"

"Like you would do to a poltergeist!" Luna exclaimed, clapping her hands in delight.

I nodded. "Let's try it."

"Are you sure?" Snape asked, "It might not even work."

"At this point I'm willing to try anything."

"A banishment it is!" Luna exclaimed, hopping up from her seat. "I'll go get the salt!"