Harry woke with a start, automatically curling into a foetal position and cringing, waiting for the pain that he had become so accustomed to over the past days – whenever he was conscious that is. When he felt no pain, he frowned and cracked open his eyes – sighing in relief when he saw the worried, golden eyes of his Familiar glinting back at him in the dim light. He closed his eyes once again and rolled on to his back, sinking into the plush mattress on which he was lying. He communicated with his familiar through mere thought, worried that any sound would bring forth an agonizing headache at the current time. "How long have I been out?"

Fawkes' forced voice answered a moment later. "Three days Harry."

The black-haired youth frowned and cracked open his eyes once again, taking in a sharp breath when he saw the relief in Fawkes' eyes. Hoping that noise wouldn't bring about the anticipated head-splitting pain, the green-eyes boy tenderly reached out and stroked Fawkes' cheek regretfully. "You were worried." At his nod, Harry smiled warmly. "I'm sorry I frightened you."

Fawkes nodded once again, and enjoyed Harry's ministrations for a few moments longer before warbling softly, causing Harry's smile to widen. The next sentence from Fawkes made the student's smile grow even larger. "Although, I did know you were going to be fine – there's no way a little power boost would kill my friend. Dumbledore however, was running around the school and the Ministry like a Nargle with its head cut off." At Harry's bemused look, the Phoenix chuckled. "Suffice to say that I'm glad we planned everything out before you did the ritual."

Harry cocked his head. "Why is that?"

"Well it's going to take me at least twenty hours to hide your new magical signature, let alone your bloody eyes."

"My eyes?" The Phoenix sighed and nodded his beak pointedly at a mirror on the wall; a mirror which Harry walked over to – surprised he didn't stumble – and looked into. His eyes widened when he saw the burning orbs glowing brightly back at him, and he swung around to his Familiar with a look of shock. Fawkes' only reply was an exasperated "Tell me about it."

After about ten hours of sleeping, during which Fawkes worked on concealing Harry's various new traits, he woke with a question at the forefront of his mind. Turning to look at the glazed eyes of his companion, he spoke. "You said you needed to conceal my new magical signature…" The Phoenix's eyes stayed distant, but he nodded. Seeing that a more in-depth answer was not forthcoming, he finished his question. "What's new about my magical signature?"

Harry waited for an answer, and was drifting off to sleep again nearly an hour later when the Phoenix's eyes cleared and his voice entered the young man's head. "Sorry about that; I was right in the middle of a tricky bit of spell work there." Harry opened his eyes at the bird's voice, and looked at the mirror with interest as the glow in his eyes faded until they were as they had been before any of this had happened. Harry turned his attention back to Fawkes when he continued. "In answer to your question Harry, your aura which used to be like this-" The bird projected a memory of Harry when he had first entered Dumbledore's office nearly four days previously, and Harry observed the faint glow surrounding his form, "To this."

Fawkes projected what he was seeing into Harry's mind, and he would have snapped his eyes shut if he had been using them to view the brightness that his Familiar was seeing. Fawkes severed the connection and nodded at Harry's wide eyes. "You'd damn near blind the manipulative old sod if you came within a kilometre of him; he doesn't see people, he sees auras – and he'd see yours a hundred flipping miles off." At Harry's disbelieving look Fawkes pecked at his hand, causing Harry to snap his head up and face his serious eyes. "I'm not kidding Harry; if this room wasn't specifically designed to contain auras, you'd damn near fill up every area in a two hundred mile radius."

"So what does that mean for me?"

Fawkes' eyes had glazed over once again, but he had been expecting another question and had set aside some attention for his Master. "It means, Harry, that when you cast Expelliarmus on someone, you'd best hope you don't tear them into a hundred pieces." His eyes cleared for a moment, and he grinned at Harry's dumbfounded expression. "I suggest you practice your control now Harry, feel free to use my memories for anything that might help you to that end." With that, Fawkes' eyes glassed over once again, their link became silent, and Harry was left to practice controlling his newfound power.

Harry's first attempt at Lumos burned his eyes so badly that Fawkes had to drop some tears into his damaged orbs, and saw fit to loudly berate him for not thinking about the consequences of his actions. Once the Familiar had returned to his glazed state, Harry looked at his shaking hands in fear; he'd barely put any effort into his spell at all, and it had done that. He put his wand aside, and held his hand out in front of him, aimed at one of the solid walls that surrounded him, and spoke the incantation. The resulting explosion from the Bombarda he had cast sent hundreds of deadly shards of rock flying towards him, but was halted by the infinitely powerful Protego he had erected in anticipation of the dangerous projectiles.

After a few hours he even stopped verbalising the incantations, but found that even that had virtually no effect on the power of his spells. Finally he decided to sift through Fawkes' memories to try and find an answer, and eventually found a useful spell that started the formation of an idea in Harry's mind. Originally created by Godric Gryffindor for use in regulating the magical power that could be put into the Sonorus, Harry dissected it back to its basic elements using Arithmancy, and reversed its effects so that by varying the volume of his voice, he could vary the power of his resulting spell whether it was verbal or not; Harry rationalised that he could yell in his mind, and thus it would have the same effect.

After a few more hours of tampering with the spell; modifying the volume markers to suit his needs, and inserting a safe word to remove the spell should he need to call on his full powers at some time in the future, he pushed the incantation across his link to Fawkes for confirmation that it was safe. After a few minutes of stretching, the young Wizard lay back on the small bed in the room with his hands behind his head and sunk into thought. He hadn't had time to fully understand the situation he was in, or fully organize Fawkes' memories in his head. As he worked through his memories since he arrived at Hogwarts, he could see that Dumbledore's betrayal was far deeper and widespread than he had originally anticipated. After he had gotten his thoughts in order, he sWitched over to his recently acquired memories from the Phoenix beside him; pulling up the relevant recollections regarding what was written in the Headmaster's diary. For the next five hours Harry's emotions were in absolute turmoil; some of the things the old man had done were disgusting, horrifying, and at some points even downright sickening – and Harry's trust in his new friends grew tenfold.

Not only had Dumbledore modified his and Hermione's memories, but he had even gone so far as to manipulate the entire staff of Hogwarts, quite a fair share of the students, and an astounding number of important officials at the Ministry of Magic. Every name, every spell, every bit of information he could gleam from the memories pertaining the Headmaster and his diary, Harry filed away in the back of his mind for later reference; knowing that to keep his oath, and eventually stop Dumbledore's plan he would need every ounce of knowledge he could gather. The raven-haired Wizard had just finished running through the new information when Fawkes rubbed his hand with his beak.

Harry cracked open his eyes and smiled when he saw the smug look in the Phoenix's eyes. "I guess it went fine?"

Fawkes nodded. "And your spell has been added to the wards as well; I'd suggest you try it out."

Harry gave a small nod at the suggestion and sat up from the bed, raising his hand and aiming at the book that had led him through the ritual. In a normal tone of voice he clearly delivered the incantation. "Wingardium Leviosa." Both Harry and Fawkes smiled when the book gently lifted off the table, and the young Wizard navigated it around the room experimentally before returning it to the table. The grin on Harry's face was huge, and Fawkes seemed just as satisfied with the result; but both of them knew what they had to try. They turned to each other, both with matching mischievous expressions, before turning to look at the door as Harry raised his hand and screamed as loud as he could in his head. "Deprimo!"

The resulting burst of power literally blew the door right off its hinges, through the seven meters of magically reinforced rock that hid the room from the outside world, and into the chasm that housed the moving staircases. Peering through the Protego shield that Harry had erected immediately after casting the blasting curse, the Familiar and his Master looked at each other with matching expressions of amusement before the young Wizard cancelled the milky screen and walked over to the table which the Book of Power still sat on. Fawkes flew over to the table and placed his talon on the cover before looking up at Harry, a question in his fiery, yellow eyes. Harry paused for only a moment before giving the Phoenix a discreet nod, and with a bust of flame the book was destroyed – not even ash left to show for its existence; just as Harry had wanted it.

The next fifteen minutes weren't overly pleasant for the Boy-Who-Lived. The excuse he had chosen to explain his –now – four day absence was far-fetched at best, but with Fawkes gladly aiding in breaking both his arm and his leg, along with cracking a rib, Harry hoped like hell that it would be convincing enough. Poppy took it in a stride, and immediately dragged him into the medical bay before forcing him into a bed and telling him, on no uncertain terms, that if he so much as sneezed without her permission she would set a hoard of fire slugs after him. Harry had ignored Fawkes' smart comment when he didn't resist the medic's request, and had gotten himself comfortable after casting a pain-numbing spell on himself. Within fifteen minutes of his admittance to Madam Pomfrey's care, his two best friends rushed into the room with matching looks of panic and worry on their faces.

When they finally reached Harry's bedside, Ron had immediately managed to say something that had Harry grinding his teeth in frustration. "Hey Mate, you missed the quidditch game!"

The injured, green-eyed Wizard was sorely tempted to say something resembling what was etched into Dumbledore's office's wall to the stupid and greedy red-head, but somehow managed to contain the expletive and smile somewhat convincingly. "Yeah, that's a real shame."

He turned to face Hermione and smiled slightly at her expression of genuine worry. He was actually sorry that he couldn't tell her what had happened over the past few days; at least she wasn't in on all the manipulation like Ron was – the back-stabbing little sod. "Sorry for having you worried 'Mione; I fell off my broom and was unconscious for the past few days – I only just managed to drag myself in here." Again he felt the pang of guilt at lying to the Witch, but his Familiar reminded him that one day – when Dumbledore and Voldemort had been defeated – he would be able to tell her everything. For the next twenty minutes Harry explained to both of his 'friends' and the Matron how he had injured himself, and after a few diagnostic tests which Fawkes so helpfully falsified, the medic agreed that it was exactly what had happened, and that Harry would need to stay in the Hospital Wing for at least a week to make sure he was fully recovered.

After the his friend and the traitorous red-head had left, Harry let out a deep sigh of relief, grimacing slightly as he felt his bones knitting back together from the Skele-grow that Madam Pomfrey had administered to him a few minutes previously. Fawkes disappeared for a few minutes, returning with his Master's necklace with a very happy Dilys and Armando attached, both of them congratulating and thanking him on the success of the Ritual. Over the next two days, Harry recovered and listened intently to lectures from his tutors, taking in every word that the two talented Wizards said, and adding a few suggestions to the conversations from the memories he had gained from his bonding with Fawkes.

It was on the third day, just after Armando had finished talking about light versions of the Unforgivable curses that a most unexpected visitor popped her head through the curtains to Harry's room. The pale-skinned girl looked around the room inquisitively before stepping inside and closing the curtains behind her, letting out a deep breath as if she was hot. Seeing Harry's raised eyebrow she waved around and calmly gave her explanation. "The Sneeze-footed Dorchids have been a bit anxious lately, and they've been steering well clear of the hospital wing." She looked around once again and her eyes landed on where Fawkes sat, hidden. "I can see why now." Without another word she sat down in the chair beside Harry's bed, pulled out a book, and began furiously scribbling inside, her tongue poked slightly out the corner of her mouth, and her silvery blonde hair flowing down her back like a waterfall.

Harry was speechless, but his surprise multiplied tenfold when, without even looking up from her small leather journal, she spoke lightly – as if merely talking about the weather. "Why is Fawkes here?" When she got no reply she looked up with a slight frown, and squinted at Harry. "And why are you…" Her eyes widened, and for a moment Harry could've sworn that he saw her ever-glazed eyes become sharp and alert, but the fleeting change disappeared before he could even be sure it had happened at all.

She shrugged lightly and returned to her furious scribbling, apparently not aware of the four shocked looks facing her. Harry slowly turned to look at his Familiar, and found an amazed look on his face. "What?"

Fawkes was silent for a few seconds, but slowly answered Harry's question after a moment's thinking. "She is a master of Occlumency – I've never seen anything quite like it…" After a moment, Harry's vision clouded, and he found himself immersed in his Familiar's memory. It was like looking through a thick, blue glass, but when he realized what, or rather who the colourful blob in front on him was, he gasped.

"That's Luna?"

"Mmm. This is what most people look like from their aura, but watch closely."

The memory began to play out, and after a few moments the aura flickered as if a ripple had ran across the glass. Harry frowned. "What was that?"

"I can't be sure…but I think that was the real Luna." His familiar sensed his confusion and let his Charge's vision return before explaining. "She projects a false mind and person to everybody else around her. Technically, the mind that she projects is who she is really like with a few minor changes – personality-wise at least." The fiery bird cocked its head at the young, blonde-haired Witch. "But she is far smarter than she pretends to be."

Harry looked over at the subject of conversation and cocked his head as well; this was a real development, and it just made the young woman all the more of a mystery to Harry. Eventually she finished writing in her book and looked up at the black-haired Wizard, the customary, dreamy look on her face. "How are you Harry?"

Harry cleared his throat and answered after a few seconds. "I'm feeling better, thank you for asking Luna. How are you?"

She smiled warmly at him. "I am fine." She frowned slightly and looked down at her feet.

Harry followed her gaze and growled slightly when he caught sight of her bare skin, and held his hand out from under the covers of his bed on the opposite side from the friendly Ravenclaw. He didn't use a spell, he simply willed his magic to do what he told it to do, and with an almost indistinguishable pop a pair of shoes appeared in his hand. The blonde looked up at the sound and her eyes widened when she caught sight of her missing shoes. Harry was prepared for the moment of clarity in her eyes, and quickly darted past her defences – plucking the thought that had the most importance to her from her mind. With an ability that even surprised the observant Phoenix, Harry pulled out of her thoughts just as the detection shields closed over once again – his invasion remaining undetected.

He held out her shoes, and she gently reached out and took them off him with a muttered thank you. A silence filled the small cubicle for a moment, but Harry had already made up his mind on his course of action. He was just about to speak when he caught sight of her slightly blushing cheeks, and his eyes widened at just how pretty she looked. He shook his head slightly and then returned his gaze to the blonde Ravenclaw, to see if he was simply imagining things. He wasn't, and he leant back in his bed with wide eyes and a slightly slack jaw. Fawkes provided the answer to his Master's unasked question. "Your magic purged Ginny's love potion from your system – that's why you've never noticed Luna before."

Harry looked over once again, and had to stop himself from staring at her slightly lifted lips and red cheeks before clearing his throat once again and slowly speaking so as not to alarm her. "Hey Luna, you know I consider you one of my best friends, right?"

Her head snapped upwards at the sound of his voice, and her eyes lit up at his words. "Really?"

He nodded and smiled warmly at her. "Yeah. I've never thanked you for helping me; you've stood beside me and trusted me without question, and you've always listened to what I have to say – even if you didn't want to hear it."

"But I always want to listen to what you say Harry." His eyes widened at her words, and when he saw her embarrassed blush he felt his heart skip a beat, and a feeling enter his chest…was it hope? He mentally shook himself again, and smiled at her. "Thank you Luna, you don't know how grateful I am for that." He quietened for a moment and then began hedging towards the crux of his plan. "Luna, I trust you with my life."

She smiled up at him from the chair, her cheeks dimpling in a way that made Harry realize, once again, just how attractive she was. "I trust you with mine too Harry."

"Would you ever leave my side?"

The answer was immediate. "No, I would never desert or betray you Harry."

Harry nodded to himself before asking the next question. "Even if I had betrayed your trust?"

Her smile disappeared and she frowned at him. He waited for a few moments, and she finally answered, albeit slowly. "I would still stay by you."

"Would you forgive me?"

"Yes."

Harry looked directly into her silver orbs and could almost see the hidden mind behind them. "Trust me now?" She stared at him for a few seconds before nodding, and Harry held out his palm. "Take my hand." Warily she stood from her chair and padded softly over to his bed, tenderly sliding her pale hand into his. Once again Harry felt his heart leap, but he forced the feeling down for the time being – he could deal with that after this was over. He closed his hands around her delicate fingers and firmly held her there; looking into her questioning eyes before closing his own and reciting the poem he had so carefully plucked from her hidden sanctuary mere minutes before.

"Breathes there the man, with soul so dead, Who never to himself hath said, This is my own, my native land! Whose heart hath ne'er within him burn'd, As home his footsteps he hath turn'd From wandering on a foreign strand! If such there breathe, go, mark him well; For him no Minstrel raptures swell; High though his titles, proud his name, Boundless his wealth as wish can claim; Despite those titles, power, and pelf, The wretch, concentred all in self, Living, shall forfeit fair renown, And, doubly dying, shall go down To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, Unwept, unhonour'd, and unsung."

From the very first words he had felt her tense, and at one point he had even felt her try to pull away, but he had held her still. Now he opened his eyes and looked into the panic-stricken, ash orbs of the woman in front of him, and squeezed the hand that was still within his grasp. Her expression was pained, and her next whispered words nearly broke Harry's heart with the anguish they held. "Why?"

"Because I want you to have somebody you can truly trust in, somebody that you can tell anything. I also want somebody who I can tell anything, somebody I can trust implicitly with no risk of any old, powerful Wizards getting inside their head." Her slight struggle to get free stopped at that moment, and she looked up at Harry with no small amount of astonishment. Seeing that she was about to confirm the identity of the 'old powerful Wizard' he held up his hand. "I cannot say any more about the matter of the Wizard in question, as I have sworn a vow and to break it would mean my death." He paused and turned to the portraits that had remained silent throughout the entire visit. "Unless…"

The two paintings looked at one another, and then turned enquiringly to Fawkes, who returned their query with an almost undetectable nod. Armando turned back to Harry and nodded. "You have our permission, but really you didn't need it – if she wasn't then you'd be dead already."

Over the past few hours, Harry had managed to experience quite a few jaw-dropping moments; the first being Madam Pomfrey informing him that Dumbledore had been trying to see him for the past three days but she had turned him away; the second being the realization that Luna was very pretty; the third being that she liked him back judging by the cute blush when their fingers had briefly touched as he had handed her her shoes; and now this. Harry's jaw did drop lower than it had previously however, but he quickly clamped it shut, well aware that he probably looked like a right idiot in front of the young woman beside him. After a few moments of awkward throat clearing, thumping down his elation at the knowledge that he was lucky enough to have such a soul mate, and slowing his racing heart, he finally managed to squeeze out a few words and motioned to the space beside his bed. "Pull up a chair."

Over the next three hours, Harry and the two portraits – along with Fawkes who communicated through Harry – explained the entire situation to the intently listening Witch; all four of the talkers however, conveniently forgot to mention the bits about soul mates. At the end of it all, Harry sat back in the bed, happy to get it all off his chest and share it with an actual person. Luna however, sat silent for a few moments before standing from her chair, her eyes as sharp as an eagle's and her fists clenched so hard that her knuckles turned completely white. "That bloated stinkworm!" Harry was shocked at her sudden outburst, but she wasn't yet done, and everyone except the furious girl was thankful for Harry's quick silencing spell around the room. "That evil old man has been hurting you since you were a baby? He's nothing but a monopolising, underhanded phoney! Nobody hurts my Harry!"

His eyebrows shot up at the last sentence. "Your Harry?"

She glared at him, but it was clear that the anger wasn't directed at him. "Oh and don't even get me started on that ginger hag!" She paced for a few moments before seeming to make up her mind on something. They all found out what a few moments later. "Right, I'm going to go and hex that red-head into the middle of next week."

She turned to leave the room, but Harry's hand shot out just in time to pull her back with a weak accio. She turned to him angrily and he shook his head. "She can't know anybody knows about her plan Luna, because then Dumbledore will find out." At his words she looked crestfallen, and he was taken aback when she fell to her knees and buried her head in her hands; her frame shaking softly and quiet sobs escaping her lips. Harry did the first thing that came to mind, and pulled himself painfully out of bed before shuffling to her side. He grunted in pain as he too fell to his knees, but ignored it as he pulled the sobbing Witch into his arms in a light embrace. Feeling his presence she began sobbing harder, and she clung to his shirt desperately while trying to talk through her tears.

Harry had the ironic thought that he had certainly had his fair share of dealing with crying women, but found himself completely at a loss as what to do for the Ravenclaw beside him. Whispering quietly to her and gently rubbing her back was all he could do to comfort her, and he was relieved when her sobs began to subside. He continued holding her even after she had stilled in his arms, lending her all the comfort she wanted – but was surprised that she was the one to break the silence that had descended in the room. "I could've told you so much earlier; you could've seen it so much sooner than now; she took you away from me." She lifted her head slightly and rested it on his chest; an action which caused Harry's breath to momentarily hitch in his throat.

The words that followed were so much more than breath-hitching however. Her voice was so quiet that Harry had to strain to hear the words, and he watched, shocked, as a few more tears trailed down her cheeks. "I've had to watch Harry, I've had to watch as you sent her those glances; and it hurt so much to feel that the person I loved cared for another."

Harry's composure took a leave of absence at those words, and his speech followed soon after. "Yo- you? You love me? Wha- why?"

She tilted her head and locked her clear, grey eyes with his confused green ones. "Because you see me for who I really am. Even when you didn't know about me like you do now, you still cared – you still liked me. You stood up for me when nobody else would, and you were my first friend." She lowered her head in embarrassment at her next words, and so she missed Harry's look of absolute, utter elation. "I fell in love with you without knowing I had, but one day I just knew. I knew that I wanted to stay by you, and fight for you, and love you, and live for you for the rest of my life – and I knew that whoever you fell in love with, you would never leave, and you would love with all that you are." She sniffled slightly. "This is why it hurt so much to see you look at Ginny like that. I felt so alone."

Harry, although happy, was absolutely confounded. He had known Luna for over a year, nearly two now, and he had always seen her as a friend… he supposed he had Ginny to thank for that. He looked down at the woman in his arms and felt the same feeling he had earlier spread across his chest and had a realization of sorts. He had never really known what love was; from the Dursleys he had received nothing but hate and resentment; and so he had thought his feelings for Ginny were love since they felt so…nice. Looking at Luna, he realized just how wrong he had been. Although until today he had only seen her as a friend, he felt as if he had loved her since the moment he met her.

"You have." Harry looked up at his Familiar in surprise, and received a chuckle in return. "The love potion you were given was created by Molly Weasley; specifically designed to suppress any other feelings of attraction for anybody but Ginny. Even though it hid the feelings from you, it could not actually stop them from developing." Harry looked at Fawkes, shocked, but was brought back to the present when the Phoenix growled at him. "Stop screwing around Potter, she's beside herself with worry that you don't love her back."

True to his word, when Harry looked down at the unique young woman she was chewing her bottom lip nervously, and even though she had her eyes averted he could see the fear in them. He decided right there and then that he would get rid of that in the fastest way he could, settling for something he had been itching to do for the past three hours. "Hey Luna?" She tilted her head up slightly, which gave Harry the perfect angle to press his lips to hers, causing the shocked girl to freeze for a moment before throwing all caution to the wind and letting herself enjoy it. Harry revelled in the feel of her soft lips; he hadn't been expecting fireworks and popping sounds in his ears, and he wasn't disappointed – but this was so much better than that. He felt as if he was at home, as if he was cared for and loved, as if he was needed just for being himself; not some weapon to fight Voldemort – and he couldn't have been more correct about Luna's feelings if he tried.

Tenderly he broke away from the kiss, and looked into Luna's eyes; eyes that were looking back at him, full of the feeling he had craved for his entire life, a feeling which he hoped she would allow him to return in kind. Slowly her eyes dulled, and she once again lowered her eyes. "If you don't love me back then that-"

"Now you stop right there." She looked up, surprised, and met Harry's slightly heated gaze. "If you think for one moment that there is any way I couldn't love you back, then cut it out right now." He cupped her face in his hands, and smiled when he saw the hope return to her eyes. "I. Love. You." Seeing the surprise in her expression he held up his hands. "I know it seems sudden; going from friends to admitting love, but I would've done it sooner if I hadn't been poisoned – I would've realized it sooner. You're everything I've ever wanted Luna, and that's never going to change – so I want you to repeat every word I say after me." At her shocked expression he continued. "I am beautiful."

She looked up at him, almost looking like she was going to object, but was quietened by his next words, his eyes piercing hers. "You are beautiful; you are the most beautiful woman in the world Luna."

The conviction in his emerald eyes and his voice shocked the young Witch, but she soon found a warmth fill her chest. Harry thought she was the most beautiful woman in the world. "I am beautiful." She sounded almost disbelieving, but Harry's loving smile settled her doubts instantly.

"I am loved by the man I love."

She looked into his eyes once again, and repeated the sentence with less hesitation as she gradually accepted the truth in Harry's words. "I am loved by the man I love."

The list went on and on, and Luna was nearly crying in happiness by the time Harry got to the last sentence. Fawkes had already anticipated the statement, and had spent the last five minutes erecting the strongest barrier he could around the small cubicle. "The man I love is my soul mate."

Luna's eyes widened, and she backed away slightly. "Yo- soul- me…your so- your soul mate?"

Harry nodded seriously. "I couldn't think of anybody else I could love as much as you. I've only just begun to sort through my feelings for you, but already they outshine anything I have for anybody else. I will love you more every day, of that I'm sure, and I want to share all that I am with you – forever."

"Bu-"

Harry reached over and took her slightly shaking hands before repeating his earlier statement. "The man I love is my soul mate."

"You're…" She paused, but then felt a flood of warmth spread across her when she looked into his eyes and saw the deep love he held for her. "You are my soul mate."

His smile was so tender and loving she fell into his embrace without hesitation, smiling softly when she heard his words by her ear. "And you are mine." Harry was just about to close his eyes when he caught sight of a small, white tendril of light curling up from the floor and begin to creep up Luna's back, and he immediately turned to Fawkes – who by this point had erected an even stronger barrier around himself and the two shrunken portraits. He looked slightly apprehensive about the entire situation and Harry smiled when he realized what was happening. He squeezed Luna tighter when he heard her gasp, and whispered once again in her ear. "It looks like we were right."

She pulled slowly back from the embrace and looked at him, amazed. "You mean this is-" He nodded and smiled as the tendrils curled around his torso. She shook her head in disbelief. "But the chances that we were is-"

"Phenomenal?" She nodded and he pulled her back towards him with a laugh – not missing the fact that the pain in his body had ceased. He pressed a gentle kiss against her lips and held her close as the light began to spin faster, lifting them upwards until they stood suspended in the middle of the room. Luna looked around at the dancing streams of white and laughed happily, a sound which brought a joyous smile to Harry's lips. It was after a few moments however, that Harry's eyes darkened and his laughter caught in his throat. Luna noticed the change in Harry's mood immediately and she followed his eyes, her own widening when she caught sight of the black tendrils beginning to curl away from the floor and towards the bonding that was taking place between them.

When she looked back to Harry's eyes, she felt a shiver run down her spine at the slight glow that she could see burning there – full of power and anger. The one word from his mouth was enough of an explanation for Luna. "Dumbledore." He pulled her closer and then looked down into her worried eyes, his tender smile and expression easing her distress. "Hold on Luna." She did; wrapping her arms tightly around his back and holding onto him as if her life depended on it – and for all she knew, it did. She felt the power around them growing, and hazard a glance downwards at the evil roots that were trying to stop their union, gasping when she saw them being held back by a blue barrier that seemed to disintegrate their growth. The humming around them grew louder, as did the efforts of the malicious coils beneath them, and the strain on Harry's magic. Eventually everything reached a crescendo, and everything seemed to flash a blinding white around them.

Luna clung to the man beside her, and sighed, relieved when she felt his arms close lovingly around her back. Soon after she felt her feet touch the solid stone ground, and she slowly opened her eyes, stumbling when she felt Harry's weight bear down on her. She worriedly looked upwards, and let out a relieved breath when she caught sight of Harry's lopsided smile. "Sorry Luna, I'm a little bit worn out." She nodded understandingly and was about to walk him over to the bed when she noticed the state of the room. The bed lay mangled in the corner, all of the instruments lay in puddles of molten metal on the floor, and a disgruntled Phoenix sat on the windowsill. With a quick flap of his wings, the room pulled itself back together and Harry collapsed onto the bed, followed quickly by Luna who tucked them both under the covers.

Harry looked amusedly at her and she looked up at him with a clear conscience, and one of her customarily odd explanations. "The Snorgals will attack you if you fall asleep alone in that state."

"Oh…right." Taking it a stride, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and looked over to Fawkes, who was still glaring at Harry. "What?"

"You idiot."

"What?"

"You're lucky I was here!"

Harry nodded. "Yes I am. Than you."

Fawkes looked incredulous. "That's it? Thank you?"

Harry looked at him, confused. "What else am I supposed to say? I couldn't do anything; I didn't even know that there was a bonding ritual!" He motioned madly at the floor, "And what the hell was that? Nobody told me that we'd be attacked!" He glared at the Phoenix. "I did what I needed to do to keep me and my soul mate safe – I am not going to apologise for that."

Chastised, the Phoenix bowed his head in an apology. "I'm sorry Harry, I was just a little worried that we would be discovered; it was hard enough keeping my shields from failing, let alone stopping Dumbledore from becoming aware of the bonding."

Harry nodded his head, giving the Familiar a small smile. "It's okay, just be aware that I'd do anything to keep Luna safe." At Fawkes' nod, Harry looked down at Luna and smiled when he saw her slow breathing and relaxed expression. Lowering his voice so as not to wake his bonded, Harry continued his conversation with the Phoenix – albeit with a frown on his face. "I guessed that that dark magic was Dumbledore's, and judging by what you said, I was right."

Fawkes nodded and got comfortable by the window before explaining. "The magic was imbued into the castles defences; something that only the Headmaster of the school can do." With a slight shift, Harry was reliving the memory of what Fawkes had seen, and watched as the dark vines pushed upwards towards Luna and him. Suddenly the memory froze, and Fawkes' voice echoed in Harry's mind. "Even through the memory you can feel the dark power in the tendrils; I've never seen anything like it before."

With a flash, Harry's vision returned to normal and he looked at the Phoenix curiously. "So what was it supposed to do?"

Fawkes let out what sounded like a sigh and answered. "It's hard to tell exactly what it would do, but I can guess that it was meant to stop the bonding, alert Dumbledore, and then paralyse the participants until he came and dealt with the matter."

Harry felt anger well up in his stomach, but pushed it down; knowing that it would do him no good. "So he would have obliviated us?"

Fawkes nodded, but his eyes held some amusement. "He wouldn't have much luck with either of you though; Luna would simply allow him to obliviate the false mind that she has created, and you would simply block any attempt at his manipulation." Fawkes was thoughtful for a moment. "We need to get your mind working like Luna's however, if Dumbledore tries to look inside your head and finds himself shut out then he will immediately investigate the matter: we want to avoid that at all costs."

Harry nodded and made a mental note to talk with Luna about the specifics when she woke up, but for the time being he had some questions that needed answering. "So what does us being bonded mean?"

The Phoenix looked taken aback for a moment, but then nodded in understanding. "Hmm, bonding is very rare in this day and age – which is probably why you don't know much about it." The bird seemed to grin at Harry with the next words he spoke. "Well Harry, you sure do move fast: 17 and virtually married!" Harry's jaw dropped, and Fawkes trilled softly in laughter. "Yes Harry, you're essentially a married man; the only things missing are the records at the Ministry, and the rings – both of which I think we should refrain from getting."

"I- I'm married?"

"If I'm not being too bold, I must say that you and Mrs Potter make quite a lovely couple."

"Mr- Mrs P-Potter?"

The Phoenix frowned. "Well she is your wife you know."

"But we haven't even dated!"

The Phoenix nodded. "It was common a long time ago for the exact same thing to happen; a Witch and a Wizard would be bonded even before beginning the courting process. The thing that you have to remember Harry, is that if you want to make it work, you will need to start from the beginning; going from friends to husband and wife would be far too stressful on the two of you, and would more than likely cause serious problems." Fawkes nodded to the woman lying asleep beside Harry with a caring look in his eye. "But I can already tell that it will work out just fine; I can feel her love for you, and yours for her; and both of your feelings are unbelievably strong." He saw Harry about to interrupt, but held out a wing to silence him. "You said it yourself Harry, you will love her more every day – of that I have no doubt – but I urge you to take it slowly; you have more than enough time before you need to take that final step and consummate your union."

Harry blushed beetroot red at that, and spluttered for a few moments before managing to pull together a sentence. "I hadn't even thought of that yet!"

"Sure you hadn't."

The sarcasm in the Phoenix's voice was palpable, and Harry gritted his teeth; resisting the urge to reach over and clap the cheeky bird over the back of his head. After calming down sufficiently enough to talk to his Familiar again, he asked the next question. "So what does this bonding do to us?"

Fawkes' eyes darkened and he suddenly turned serious. "Bonding is the ultimate form of union Harry; and you are the first in nearly two hundred years to have been bonded to your soul mate." Harry's eyes widened at the figure, but Fawkes wasn't finished. "Your life force is now tied to hers Harry, and hers to yours; if you die, so does she; if she dies, so do you." Harry listened intently, and felt a rush of emotion flow through him at his Familiar's words. "Although that is a large downside of being bonded, I have the feeling that when you truly realize just how much you love Luna you wouldn't want to live if she departed this world. The same applies for her." Harry had to admit that it was probably true, and continued to listen to the Phoenix's words. "The reason that I said not to rush with your relationship Harry, is because – much like Godric Gryffindor when became bonded to his wife – you will live for much longer than what is considered 'normal' in the Wizarding world."

Harry frowned at this. "How much longer?"

"Well Godric was four hundred when he died with his wife, so I assume that you will follow much the same path."

Harry decided to process that little titbit of information later on, when he could take another shock without fainting, and asked his next question. "Anything else?"

"Well understandably, being bonded, you will be able to feel the emotions your wife, and vice versa. It's the part of the bond which ensures that nothing is hidden between the partners, although I highly doubt that either of you would hide anything from each other.

"Lastly, you and Luna – more Luna in this case – will notice a boost in her magic, as the bond ensures that both of the bonded are near equal in ability, so your worries about having to put her through the pain of the Power Ritual can be laid to rest Harry."

Said Wizard's shoulders sunk in relief, and he let out a deep sigh. "Good."

Fawkes nodded in agreement, and stood up from his temporary perch. "I suggest that you cast a not-notice-me charm over the room, and that the two of you get some rest. I've been repairing and fortifying the room on the fifth floor for both of your training, and I have yet to fully complete the modifications in your dormitory."

"Modifications?"

The mischievous glint in the Phoenix's eye set an uneasy feeling in the young Wizard's stomach, and Fawkes' next words did nothing to ease his worry. "You'll see on your first night back in the dorm."

With a flash, the fiery bid disappeared, and Harry sighed in frustration; having such a Familiar was interesting, but Hedwig had been much easier to control. With a wave of his hand, he set a number of wards around the room and nestled down into the bed, smiling when Luna unconsciously snuggled into his chest. With a chaste kiss on the young Witch's head, he closed his eyes and slowly drifted to sleep; and for the first time in years found his rest undisturbed by the nightmares that normally plagued him.