Chapter Twelve
Mercury
Close my eyes, she's somehow closer now
Softly smile, I know she must be kind
When I look in her eyes
She goes with me to a blossom world
-Brian Wilson and Mike Love, Good Vibrations
July 3, 1996, Riddle House, Little Hangleton, England, UK
Timing was everything, the Dark Lord Voldemort thought. And now, Time had worked against him.
He had just woken, and was laying in his bed, Bella still dozing beside him.
His plans had been so carefully constructed. Wizarding Britain was terrified, as he needed them to be. He'd set in motion plans to eliminate Dumbledore, one of the very few who understood the true scope of his goals. With Dumbledore eliminated, next was the Ministry of Magic.
Once his followers had control of the Ministry, it would be a reign of terror, he knew. But, they would need that ruthlessness for what was to come, after.
An important rule of Nature was "Evolve or die." That rule guided Voldemort's life. He sought to evolve himself to godhood, and then, in turn, to evolve Humanity.
Alice, Xeno, even Andy... Voldemort was certain they knew, deep down, what needed to be done, but they weren't ruthless enough to do it. Andy was a child of the '60s, after all, and, it seemed, she never grew out of it. Alice had a lot to do with creating the youth culture of that era. And Xeno... Voldemort didn't know what Xeno's excuse was. Well, he did, really... Morgan.
They sought to fix the system as it was, make it better. But, only through trial and challenge could Humanity evolve. There were also too blasted many humans and not enough resources. And then there were the Black Coats...
Voldemort knew much more about the muggles than most British wizards, and not just because his early years were spent in their culture. For his long term plans for the world to succeed, he needed to know it. To overcome the Black Coats, he needed to know them.
The Black Coats were an ancient cadre of Magi, most immortal through various means, who had positioned themselves over the centuries to be the shadow ruling the world. The various Ministries of Magic ignored them, because they kept their activities to the muggle world, for the most part. Gellert Grindelwald had been one of them, Nazi Germany being one of their experiments.
Paranoid muggles spoke of a New World Order, a vast international conspiracy. They'd point fingers at other groups, usually because of ethnicity or culture. But, that wasn't what had happened. There was no grand plan of the Black Coats, just whatever was convenient at the time and place to maintain their wealth and power, and increase it, if possible. But, they paid their muggle servants well to misdirect the populace when they realized something was wrong, to get them to look in every direction except where the money was going.
The lack of any sort of grand plan for the Earth was a large part of the problem, Voldemort thought. The Black Coats never thought of the day after tomorrow. It was all about their own immediate gratification. Everything and everyone were simply prey, a source.
There was a time in the Western Capitalist democracies when one person with one job could raise a family. The auto manufacturer Henry Ford paid his employees based on how much one of the cars they were making for him cost to buy. So, he not only had loyal employees, but that many more customers. He was loyal to his employees, in turn. Capitalism was about creating a product or service and selling it.
After the fall of Grindelwald and his muggle allies, the Black Coats spent the next decades slowly changing that. Now, it was faceless corporations run by boards of directors who far too often didn't care about the long term health of their businesses. Their focus was on rewarding themselves large bonuses, and if they had to gut the company to do it, so be it. Manufacturing was moved overseas to countries with almost slave labor, often including children. More and more people found themselves without jobs, and those that had them found themselves with less and less spending power. Young people were now told not to follow their dreams, but lower their expectations.
Through corporate money, they controlled governments. They were increasingly consolidating their control over the media, meaning the time would soon come when dissenting voices wouldn't be heard.
They were much like the British wizarding world, Voldemort thought.
They would soon be waging wars for no other reason than there were resources to exploit. Their systematic destruction of the environment was having worse and worse effects on the climate.
He knew he needed to destroy them, and he knew exactly how he'd do it.
He would use their own tactics against them.
The plan had been to eliminate Dumbledore, and eventually Potter. His people would take command of wizarding Britain, and, once they were firmly secured in power, would begin actions against the muggles. Then, he and his chosen few would remove themselves to a place he'd prepared, years ago, in the Himalayas.
The Fae would then have been forced to act. The muggles, meanwhile, would know that magic existed, and that wizards were warring against them. Voldemort would leak information, with proof, of the Black Coats to them.
The muggles would see the puppet masters who had long been pulling their strings. And, they would rebel. It would be war on such a scale that even the Black Coats couldn't control it. Their system was a house of cards. It would fall, and chaos the likes of which the world had never seen would ensue in the vacuum thus created, even beyond that of World War II. Billions would die in the cleansing of war, famine, pestilence, and death. But in the end, the Black Coats, and everything they had built, would fall, consumed by the fire that would engulf the planet.
And then, from the ashes of a burning world, Lord Voldemort would emerge. The strong, muggle and magi, alike, would survive, and they would be the building blocks for the new Humanity that he would create, the world he would build in his own image.
But, the Fae were taking action ahead of his schedule, right when he was at his most vulnerable. He hadn't even found the Elder Wand, yet. Yesterday had been a disaster. He would have to adjust his plans so he could still achieve his ultimate ends. But, he did learn something important that would have led to even bigger disaster had he never known.
One couldn't master the world without mastery of self, and he'd lost that. After thinking about why, he concluded that it was his new body. It was part his father, part Harry Potter, and part Wormtail, with some of Nagini's venom. His mind was still as powerful as ever, as was his magic. His mind and magic, however, were having to operate in a physical form they weren't attuned to. He would need to get his body in sync with them. And, that would take a little time.
He felt Bella stirring. He would touch her Dark Mark to summon his Death Eaters for what he had to tell them. She moaned and moved a leg over his... OK, his Death Eaters could wait awhile before being summoned. He had something more enjoyable to do, first.
Wednesday is named for Woden. While Woden was the ruler of the German Gods, he was also a messenger, and thus the day's name is associated with the Roman Mercury.
On this Wednesday morning, Harry received a phone call. He was a little busy with something when he received it.
He'd woken up, suddenly. He'd been having a very strange dream involving Bellatrix Lestrange. It wouldn't have been strange if he had been doing something normal like fighting her. But that with a woman he hated...
While Dream Bella had a great body, there were girls he'd much rather do that with. Her niece, Dora, for example. What was it about the Blacks that produced beautiful women that were forces to be reckoned with? It made him wonder what Draco Malfoy's mother was like.
Not that he'd want to sleep with her, either. From his one brief encounter with her, and judging from her husband and son, he figured she was likely a bitch of the highest order.
He'd just made out with a girl for the first time, and he wanted to do more with Luna. Just thinking of that caused the blood to rush, as it did yesterday, to the lower regions of his anatomy. He realized that the first girl he ever kissed, Cho, was a Ravenclaw like Luna. Ravenclaw was the house of intelligence, but it also produced very physically attractive people. It had even been said that Professor Flitwick was quite handsome in his youth. But then, Rowena Ravenclaw was as noted for her beauty as her brains.
The Founders put a little of themselves in the Sorting Hat, so perhaps Rowena had sought students that were most like her in ways beyond sheer intelligence. The Hat had tried to put Hermione, with both looks and brains, into Ravenclaw. It considered Harry for that house, too. He sometimes forgot that due to his brooding over the Hat considering Slytherin for him. So, maybe he was naturally smarter and better looking than he thought.
He hoped so, at least.
For that matter, Dora was a smart girl, judging from her OWLs and NEWTs. Only one conclusion Harry could draw: He liked smart girls, and, for some reason, they liked him. Good thing, too, if he wanted something out of a relationship besides snogging and baby production. It would be good to have someone to talk with, as well.
But, at the moment, with the blood rushing where it was, Harry was thinking more about what Luna called their dancing tongues, and the enticing nipples that had been poking in her thin t-shirt. How he longed to see them without the shirt, like how he'd seen Hermione...
Great, now he was thinking of both Luna and Hermione, that way.
Well, only one thing to do, just go ahead and polish his wand.
It was while he was doing that, thinking of a naked Hermione in Luna's bed, with Luna dressed as she was, yesterday, and doing to Hermione what she had done to him, that his mobile rang.
It was Hermione.
Well, that was awkward...
"I was... just thinking about you," He said.
"You sound a little flustered, Harry. Did I call at a bad time?"
"No, no... Not at all... I was wanting to ask you about something, actually."
"Sure. What would you like to know?"
"Luna offered to teach me Occlumency. She taught me some breathing exercises, yesterday... I know she and Dora were teaching you... Does it work?"
"Yes. Like I said, there are better ways to teach it than how Snape did. Honestly, Snape wasn't teaching you anything."
"So, you think she could teach me?"
"Damn right, she can. I just wonder how she became a Legilimens at her age. I was of the understanding you couldn't, that young. But, if Luna can do it at her age, I can learn it. And I will."
"I'm sure. We need to learn everything we can if we're going to win this war."
"And after the war... There's a lot of things in this world that need fixed. And, we're just the people to do it."
"Well... I haven't thought much past Voldemort... I know we have a lot of problems, but... Could we really do a lot about them?"
"It's the '90s, Harry. The world is changing. Our generation won't sell out its ideals, become part of the problem."
"Well, let's live long enough to discuss that when the time comes. This is Voldemort... And, I'm nowhere near his level."
"Harry... Think about the prophecy... Voldemort marked you as his equal. Now, think about how much power he has. Don't think about how he's used it, just think of how powerful he is. If you're his equal, that's your level. He wasn't born knowing how to do all that... Well, except for talking to snakes, which you have... But the rest, he had to learn. You have a lot of power, Harry. You just have to learn how to use it. But, you can do it."
His new debit card arrived by owl post. He followed the instructions and activated it. Seeing his name on a card with the famous Visa logo made him feel a little more grown up and responsible for his life. Realizing that this was a Gringotts debit card with the Visa logo made him feel that he wasn't living in two worlds, after all. Everyone just tried to pretend these were separate worlds.
He heard the pop of someone apparating into the house. He expected it, as Luna was coming to pick him up so he could see his house in Kensington.
Luna was wearing a lovely green dress, today. And, she didn't come alone.
"Hello, Harry," she said. "Look who's joining us."
"Dora!" Harry said, pleased.
"Madame Bones has decided you need a bodyguard. Guess who got the assignment?" said Dora, with a grin.
"Does Dumbedore know about this?"
"Nope, and he's not gonna know. Madame Bones figures she'll share more with him when he learns to share more with her. She's a little sick of him telling the Ministry what he wants them to do without telling them why. Lives are at stake, here, and she understands the 'Needs to know' approach with the general public, but she figures, since she's Head of the DMLE and all, she falls under the category of 'Needs to know.'"
"I can relate... But, he was right when he said Voldemort wasn't dead..."
"And did he tell anybody how he came to that conclusion? Look at this from Amelia's point of view... Her job is to protect the public. And the Chief Warlock has some pretty vital info, but won't share it. Knowingly withholding evidence is a crime, but... He's the Chief Friggin Warlock. If she tried legal action, he'd just give himself a pardon and immunity."
"Can he do that?"
"Not by the letter of the Law... But, a Ministry appointed Hogwarts official isn't allowed to torture students, either."
"Yeah... How are they punishing Umbridge?"
"They're not. They just reassigned her to another Department. Amelia's really pissed off about that."
"What? She's getting by with everything she did?"
"Tells you a lot about the system, here, doesn't it? And you can see why Amelia wants more reasons from Dumbledore than 'Because I said so.' That wasn't a good enough reason for Umbridge to do what she did."
Albus Dumbledore was not having a good week, to say the least.
Two days before, he learned that he had, at most, a year to live. He'd come to terms with that. He had thought, for some time, that he wasn't going to live through this war. He'd lived a long, productive life. Granted, he'd have preferred the cause of death not have been a stupid mistake, but there was nothing he could do about that, now.
His primary concern was winning the war. Nothing else had really come to matter. That, and building his vision of the greater good for Wizarding Britain.
He'd had everything quite well planned out in the case of his death, that is, barring unexpected complications. The events of the previous day had presented a few of them. Voldemort's attacks were expected. That they failed was not.
What was more infuriating was the lack of information he'd received. Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement Amelia Bones had declared the details classified. So, he'd be relying on his agents within the DMLE. And one of them was, he was informed, not going to be available either for missions or information, as Bones had given her a full time assignment of which she couldn't give him the details.
Making matters worse was which member of the Order of the Phoenix it was.
All of the Order were carefully hand picked by Dumbledore based on, first and foremost, their unquestioning devotion to him, except one.
Nymphadora Tonks had overheard Kingsley Shacklebolt and others talking about Order business, and expressed an interest. Bringing her in was risky, Albus knew, but the benefits of not only another Auror, but a Metamorphmagus, were great. Plus, Albus admitted to himself, the opportunity to turn Andromeda Black's daughter against her was too good to pass up.
Unfortunately, that also meant she required more attention than usual, more conditioning, and on a very regular basis. He wouldn't be able to continue conditioning her if he had no direct contact with her. Without his direct guidance and helpful potions, the poor girl might fall away from service to the greater good.
Given the perverse dark magics her parents engaged in, the poor girl had already almost certainly had sex before marriage. But such sins could be forgiven, and learned from, if one felt proper shame and never did it, again. Why, being a Metamorphmagus, she had probably even engaged in same sex relationships. Her dark witch of a mother even advocated such things. Albus, himself, had once known that temptation. He was thankful that nothing came of his perverse desire for Gellert. He had been spared, he knew, for a higher purpose. He conditioned himself so he'd never feel such desires, again.
And then, he understood the true secret for bringing about the greater good: Conditioning. Humans were like any other animal. You could condition them to behave as you wanted them to.
But, proper conditioning required Albus to have as much control as possible. And, as of yesterday, he didn't have nearly enough of it. When his spy in Tom's ranks, Severus Snape, arrived with news, it confirmed Dumbledore's worst fears. Alastor Moody had suspected thar Rotfang's group had returned, but Dumbledore knew better. Them, he could handle. But, what Severus had told him...
The Fae had entered the war. Worse, it was American Fae. Titania and Oberon had brought in foreigners. Severus had the unpleasant duty of informing one of his students, Gregory Goyle, that his father had been eaten by a tiger in the line of duty. Ah, the tragedies of war...
The Seelie Court calling in their North American brethren meant they'd involve the Veela, as well. This created a horrifying prospect. One of those infernal seductresses was at the Burrow, with Dumbledore's most devoted family, the Weasleys! The half breed harlot had seduced their oldest son, Bill, into an engagement to be married! Fortunately, Molly and Ginerva were adamantly opposed to this, and would make it clear to the bitch that she was unwelcome. Hopefully, Bill would choose his loving family over the Veela and would return to serving the greater good.
An owl arrived, with a letter from Kingsley.
There had been an unsuccessful attempt on the life of Amelia Bones, but Kingsley couldn't get any details, other than it was magi who came to her aid. If it had been the Seelie Court, Dumbledore would have been able to push the Ministry to move against them, as directly involving themselves in a conflict among wizards would be a violation of the truce. As it was, the Seelie Court had only acted to defend muggles, which they could do on behalf of the Crown.
This raised an even bigger issue. The Ministry of Magic was ultimately answerable to the Crown. It was only by the Monarch's grace that the wizards could self-govern in Britain. If she were to decide they were incapable of handling the responsibilities...
Kingsley was going to be assigned to guard the muggle Prime Minister. Albus had been pleased with this. But now... The offer had been refused. The muggles had, they said, already made security arrangements. They didn't disclose what those arrangements were, but it was easy to guess.
This was intolerable. The muggle Government was supposed to be fearful. They were supposed to feel helpless and dependent on the Ministry of Magic in these situations. And with the Seelie Court guarding the Prime Minister, it would be impossible to modify his mind, properly.
Albus looked at the Sword of Gryffindor, hanging in his office, and thought the worst mistake Godric Gryffindor ever made was forming the Knights of Walpurgis. The worst mistake his heirs made was merging their bloodline with that of the Blacks. Few now knew that the sword on the Black Coat of Arms was the Sword of Griffindor.
When Sirius Black became the first Black to be sorted into Gryffindor as far back as anyone could remember, many took it as fate. Gryffindor's blood heir was in the house his ancestor founded, and so, many thought, would be the natural future leader of the Knights of Walpurgis. Albus was thankful Walburga Black was such a horrible mother. That allowed him to reach Sirius, and, with a few mind magics, potions, and proper conditioning, make him an agent of the greater good. His brother and cousins, though... They were Slytherins, and, he thought, beyond saving.
Almost from the start, Albus knew Andromeda was the Black sister to worry about, more than Bellatrix. At least Bella was more or less predictable. Of that group of Slytherins that were Tom's pupils, the final generation of the Knights of Walpurgis, Andromeda was the Joker, the wild card, in the deck.
So, naturally, Albus Dumbledore's suspicions over yesterday's events turned to Andromeda.
At least Harry was safely with the Dursleys, and in no danger of falling into that scarlet woman's clutches or influence. Yes, he'd be kept as ignorant as possible, so Albus could properly guide him...
"Well," said Dora, "my mum is Europe's leading Alchemist, and she made sure her daughter knew her stuff."
"I thought that was Dumbledore," said Harry. He, Dora, Luna, and Sarah were on their way to Kensington to show him the house he'd inherited from his parents that Dumbledore never told him about. Sarah was driving a Gringotts company car.
"Dumbledore didn't receive the Book of Abraham the Jew. Mum did, so she's Flamel's heir. The Book finds its way to whom is supposed to receive it. Whatever decides these things chose her."
"Hmm... Hermione's always said Flamel was the greatest Alchemist in history, but Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog Card makes it sound like Flamel was just Dumbledore's partner."
"Yeah... Chocolate Frog Cards are produced by a candy company wanting kids to spend their money on them. They don't always present an accurate picture of things, just whatever's popular in Wizarding Britain at the moment... The crap that card says about Morgan le Fay..."
Luna nodded. Harry noticed something he rarely saw in Luna, anger. Oh, she was keeping a lid on it. Harry didn't think most would even notice. Harry did, though.
"So," Harry ventured, "Morgan le Fay wasn't how the card described her?"
Luna answered, "She was Queen of Avalon. That's where the Holy Grail is kept, you know. She led the Sisterhood that protects it. Would the person that Chocolate Frog describes be given such a responsibility?"
"No... No, she wouldn't..." Harry sighed, and added, "I know I'm sounding like a broken record, here, but why aren't we taught about Avalon in History of Magic?"
"There are things the Ministry doesn't want you to know."
"But, this is our history! We need to know this stuff! It'd make the class interesting, if nothing else."
"I'm sure Binns would manage to make even that boring. He's turned making our rich magical history dreadfully dull into an art form."
"And, here it is," announced Sarah.
There were very large hedges and a gate. Behind them, at a distance, Harry could see a large, two story, brick house. Sarah pointed a device at the gate, which then opened. She drove in, and parked beside the house. They stepped out of the car, and Harry looked around. The house wasn't a palace, but definitely a large mansion. There were hedges forming some sort of pattern in the front yard, and the property was surrounded by trees.
Harry found it a little overwhelming.
"It was built in 1915. You have sixty rooms, including twelve bedrooms and six bathrooms," said Sarah.
"How could I possibly need all that space?" Harry wondered.
Dora said, "I grew up in a house about this size. My parents find use for it."
Luna said, "It'll be good if you have guests, and you can afford it, which you can."
"We've been maintaining your family's business affairs," said Sarah. "You've got investments in real estate, manufacturing... You know all that Peter Rabbit merchandise? You get a little piece of it, because your grandfather wanted to invest in the Potter name. You've got a piece of some wine vineyards in California... You can thank the Tonkses for that, because they were investing, and the goblins thought it was a good idea and recommended it to your grandparents. You're one of the main importers of some of the best wine in the world."
Luna said, "You can tell who the cultured in the magical world are by what wine they prefer. If they stock up on wine made by house elves, they're trying to show how they belong with the more upper class Purebloods."
Dora laughed, and added, "Mum said the worst part is if you're an actual upper class Pureblood, you have to be polite and accept the house elf made crap when it's offered by your host. Manners, and all. But when their host announces they're bringing out the elf-made wine, thinking they're being impressive, the upper class Pureblood gags a little, inside. The Longbottoms, Lestranges, and Malfoys have money in muggle French vineyards."
"You can't instantly magic up good wine," said Luna. "Some of the best things in life take time, and care."
Sarah said, "You might even want to expand the house a bit to include modern amenities."
"Expand?" Harry asked, stunned that he could possibly need more room.
"Yeah," Dora said. "I can vouch for the advantages of an indoor swimming pool."
"A garden pavilion would be nice," added Luna.
"I don't know," Harry replied. "I'm not really... I don't want to be like the Malfoys, flaunting my wealth."
"You wouldn't have to be," said Luna.
"Yeah," added Dora. "It's just something you own, your home. Like Luna said, it means you can have plenty of friends over and not have it be crowded. Look at the Weasleys. They keep expanding the Burrow, even though they don't have a lot of money, because a lot of people were living there."
"People always consider their dream home," said Luna. "You have the advantage most don't have, being able to make yours. Be thankful. Life can provide some good things to make up for the bad, and you've had more than enough of the bad."
"That's true enough," said Harry. He smiled, and added, "But I think some of the best things life has provided me are the ladies I'm with, right now."
"Thank you, Harry."
"Something you need to know before we go in," said Sarah, "is there are house elves with the property."
"I don't like slavery," said Harry. "I know what it's like."
"Glad to hear it. The house elves here are nice people."
"If you like," said Luna, "I can explain the benefits of having a brownie's rights to them. They'll still be under the magical enchantments, but they'll understand you're not trying to get rid of them. They'll recognize me for what I am, and that will help."
Dora said, "Something Jeeves... That's our brownie at home... suggested was treating them as you would a brownie, with the respect you would any intelligent being. That way, they'll still want to work for you when you do free them. They'll just be able to dress better."
Sarah said, "You'll find they already speak like brownies. Your mother apparently insisted that they be educated. They took that as her final orders, so you've probably got the most cultured house elves in Britain."
Well, that was good to know. It felt strange, being here. There was a familiarity about this place...
"This is where my dad grew up," he said, "where my parents lived... where Sirius lived, for a while..."
"And where you lived," said Luna. "This was your first home, you know."
"Yeah... yeah, it would have been... I guess that explains why it feels..."
"Like home?"
"We'll see."
Sarah opened the door, and they walked into a large entrance hall, where Harry immediately heard the distinctive pops indicating the arrival of house elves, two in fact, a male and female. Fortunately, they were wearing nicer things than old pillowcases. Their eyes widened at seeing Harry.
"You must be Master Harry," the female said. "You look like your father, only you have your dear mother's eyes."
"Welcome home," said the male, with a bow. "I am Fig. This is Minnie."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," said Harry.
"You look underfed," said Winnie. "Have they not been taking proper care of you?"
"Well..."
Luna said, "He was forced to stay with people who didn't care for him, I'm afraid."
"That's an outrage, that is!" said Minnie. "What sort of people were they?"
"Not very good ones, unfortunately," Luna replied.
"Well, it's good to see one of the Lordly Ones has stepped in," said Minnie, looking at Luna reverently.
One of the what?
"We do what we can," Luna answered, as though the title Minnie gave her was a natural one. "As, I know, will you."
"Thank you, Milady," said Minnie, bowing her head.
"Now," Luna said, smiling, "I think we should give Harry a tour of Potter House."
"Of course, Milady," said Fig.
If Harry was stunned by how many bedrooms he'd been told the house had, that was nothing compared to seeing how big everything was, here. The dining room, for example... He couldn't imagine needing to host 18 dinner guests.
They entered the study, where Harry saw a large portrait over the fireplace of a man and woman.
"Greetings, grandson," said the man in the portrait. Harry knew about these kinds of portraits, of course, but it still startled him.
"These are your grandparents, Edward and Elizabeth Potter," said Fig.
"Hello... Sir, Ma'am," said Harry.
Elizabeth said, "It's good to see you finally return home," said Elizabeth. "There's a couple, on the wall behind you, who are even happier to see you."
Harry froze. He knew exactly what he'd see when he turned around.
A female voice said, "Hello, son."
"Well," said a male voice, "turn around so we can get a good look at you."
Luna looked at him and did a turning motion with a finger, so he complied, ready or not.
"Hello, Mum, Dad..."
"So, where have they been keeping you?" said the painting of his father.
"With Vernon and Petunia Dursley," Harry answered.
"What?" said the painting of his mother. "Who... Who placed my son there?"
Dora answered, "Albus Dumbledore."
"But, he knows what they're like!" protested Lily.
"Why couldn't Sirius raise you?" asked James.
"He got railroaded into Azkaban, supposedly for betraying you," Harry answered. "Dumbledore told the Ministry that Sirius was your Secret Keeper."
"But... why would he lie about that?"
"So he could place me with the Dursleys. He said it was the only way to protect me."
"But, who was supposed to protect you from your protectors?" Lily asked.
Edward said, "I did warn you two..."
Lily said to Harry, "Tell us everything."
So, he gave them the abridged version of his life, so far.
There was silence, for a moment, before James broke it.
"That bastard! That son of a bitch!"
"That's what I said," replied Harry.
"He really did," said Luna.
"We... We have to do something to protect Harry," said Lily.
"Already working on that," said Dora.
"Um... We know Sarah, but who are these other two young ladies?"
"Oh, I'm sorry," said Harry. "This is Nymphadora Tonks. She's an Auror."
"Tonks..." said James. "Andromeda's daughter?"
"That's me," said Dora.
"And this," Harry said with a warm smile, "is Luna Lovegood. She was one of the group that went with me to the Department of Mysteries."
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Potter," said Luna.
"Hello, Luna," said Lily. "What's your house?"
"Ravenclaw."
James chuckled, and said, "Harry takes after his dad. He likes smart girls."
"Harry," said Lily, "does... Sirius have a portrait?"
"I don't know," Harry replied. "I haven't been to his house, since..." He trailed off.
"He should," Dora replied. "I'll find it and retrieve it. I think he'd like it better, here."
"Thank you," said Lily.
As they had other things they needed to do, that day, they had to leave. But Harry promised to return.
"It was nice meeting you," said Luna, as they left.
"So..." said James, after they departed.
"I'd like to get to know her, more," said Lily.
"Good first impression, though."
"She obviously impressed Fig and Minnie. Did you see the way they looked at her?"
After giving Sarah their farewells, as she had to return to the office, Luna suggested a visit to Kensington Gardens. Harry liked the place. They stopped at the statue of Peter Pan.
"So, Harry," said Luna, "ready to continue your Occlumency lessons?"
"Sure."
Dora said, "First, let me give you something that'll help." She reached into her bag and pulled out a pendant, which she handed to Harry.
"It's from the Lesser Key of Solomon," she added.
"The Fifth Pentacle of Mars... Very powerful..." said Luna.
Dora explained, "It's associated with war and courage... Pretty fitting for your situation... It can be used for good or bad purposes. More than a few dark magi have used it for things other than what King Solomon intended it for. Voldemort's made use of it. But, you have to be pretty advanced for that. Where it's gonna be useful for you is helping protect you from dark forces, like, say, somebody invading your mind."
Harry examined the pendant. It was round, with a scorpion at the center, with strange lettering above, below, and on each side of the scorpion, as well as in the ring surrounding it. The letters were from an alphabet he didn't recognize. All he could understand was what looked to be a Star of David at the top of the circle.
Dora said, "It's Psalms 91:13. It translates to 'Thou shalt go upon the lion and adder, the young lion and the dragon thou shalt tread under thy feet.'"
"A lion and snake," said Harry. "That's fitting."
Luna said, "Though it's a pretty old lion you're needing to protect your mind from, in your case. One thing the Fifth Pentacle of Mars is used for is controlling demons. Demons aren't always literal. We all have our personal demons. We can either banish the ones we can and manage the ones we can't, or we can be controlled and ultimately consumed by them. You've been fighting someone from the latter category."
"Voldemort."
"Yes. But, there's a old saying: 'The road to Hell is paved with good intentions.' Sometimes, people with the best of intentions are unable to overcome the personal demons that bind them. Too much self suppression can do as much damage as too much self indulgence. Now, shall we begin?"
"What, right here?"
"The atmosphere is very pleasant, don't you think?"
Dora said, "Trust me, Harry, no one's going to give two young people doing meditative breathing exercises a second glance, here."
"And," Luna added, "we're very well protected, and not just by Dora."
She turned her head toward the Peter Pan statue. Standing under it was a beautiful red haired woman, who smiled at them and approached.
She held her out her hand to Harry, and said, "I am Wendy Moira Angela Darling."
Harry shook her hand, and replied, "I'm Harry James Potter."
Luna said, "Wendy and I have the same Godmother."
"Her Royal Highness, Queen Alice of Wonderland," said Wendy.
Harry asked, "How many Goddaughters does she have? You two, Queen Sarah..."
"Quite a few of us," said Wendy.
"We all take after her," said Luna.
"I can tell," said Harry, smiling.
Harry and Luna sat on the grass across from each other. Luna was in a lotus position, but Harry couldn't do that, at least comfortably, so he just sat cross-legged.
Wendy said, "I'm clearing out a lot of the pollution in the air immediately around this space. You may find the purer oxygen a bit intoxicating. But that's OK. It will help you relax."
The difference was noticeable. Harry realized he'd never breathed clean air, before. It was nice.
They started with the meditation exercises he learned the previous day. Thanks to Quidditch, he had good balance, which helped in keeping his spine straight. This was something else he'd never realized until yesterday... He tended to slouch.
Once he was in the meditative state, Luna took his hands in hers.
She said, "Close your eyes... What we're going to do, today, is give you an understanding of Legilimency. I'm going to let you into my mind, a little. Not too deeply, of course. Now, open your eyes and look into mine."
He opened his eyes, and looked into her silver ones. He felt absorbed in them. He then noticed the trees behind her had changed.
So had everything else. They were no longer in Kensington Gardens, but still in a garden, as far as the eye could see. Many of the plants were unfamiliar.
Luna was naked, and beautiful, and natural, and not at all self-conscious. Everything was peaceful and in harmony, here.
He thought the trees had pink leaves, at first, but on closer inspection, saw that they were actually flowers.
"They're called cherry blossoms," Luna explained. "They're native to the East, and quite popular in Japan. I call this my Zen place."
"It's... pretty soothing..."
"This is the state you want to be for our exercises, so take it in. Feel it, fully. Carry it with you, so you can visualize it when you're doing your exercises. If you are calm, you can control your emotions enough to master Occlumency. Not all Occlumens have what I call a Zen place, but many do. I have it on very good authority that Voldemort's is based on the Himalayas."
"It's... hard for me to picture him having a place like this."
"Tells you what he was once capable of being, doesn't it?"
He thought about that, for a moment. Maybe it was Luna's Zen place, but he just couldn't feel his usual rage towards Voldemort. He felt... objective, knowing Voldemort had to be stopped to keep him from destroying more lives.
"Now, Harry, if you don't mind, I'd like to step into your mind, a little. Give you a magical check-up, if you will."
"Sure."
She smiled, softly, and gazed into his eyes. He felt her presence. It felt good.
He didn't know how long they were there. It was as though time had no meaning, until Luna's sudden very concerned expression.
Suddenly, they were back in Kensington Gardens. Luna enveloped him in a hug. Dora and Wendy quickly closed around them.
On Harry's Hug Scale, it was a Hermione Level Hug, the farthest one could go without moving into groping territory.
When she pulled back, she closed her eyes for a couple of deep breaths. When she opened them again, she turned to Dora.
"His magic has been bound," she said.
"Someone's put a binding spell on his magic?"
"No... Not a spell... The Dursleys..."
Dora's eyes widened. "Those fucking bastards..."
Harry needed to know, "What happened?"
Dora said, "All that abuse they put you through... It's... if I understand this correctly, it's created some mental blocks."
"What? Can it be fixed?"
"There are ways..." Dora shared a look with Luna. "Are you sure?" she asked her.
Luna nodded.
"Y'know," Dora told her, "it's a pretty big step if you're not ready..."
"I'm ready. I want to."
"OK, if you're sure..."
"What are you two talking about?" Harry asked. "Or actually, what are you two not talking about?"
Luna smiled, and answered, "Some magic that will help you release all that blocked energy, and put it to use. Don't worry. You'll like it."
Dora snorted, "That's an understatement..."
"But we'll have to work our way up to it."
"OK..." said Harry. "I really want to thank you both for all of this... And I mean everything you've been doing for me... Taking all this time out of your lives..."
Dora snorted, and said, "It's no trouble at all, Harry. And trust me, I'm enjoying this assignment a lot more than what my work week would have consisted of, otherwise. The funniest part is Dumbeldore's concerned that the assignment Madame Bones gave me, which I can't tell him about because it's classified, is leaving me no time for anything he wants me to do for the Order. I think I'm doing the most important thing I can do for the war effort, right here."
"And Harry," Luna said, "I think it should be obvious by now that I really enjoy your company. I don't shove my tongue into just anyone's mouth, you know."
"I really enjoy your company, too. And I figured you didn't... do that with just anyone... But, you were driving Voldemort out of my head, so you were being helpful and tactical, there."
"I suppose... But it's the sort of thing I would enjoy doing with you, regardless."
"Well, in that case... Maybe we should... do it again, just in case someone decides to invade my head, again... Or yours."
"Preventive maintenance? That's always a good idea..."
"And Wendy," said Dora, "that's our cue to step away for a bit."
Wendy replied, "Though still close enough to respond to anyone who wants to harass them."
"Have fun, you two."
So, assured of their safety, Harry and Luna did some preventive maintenance, otherwise known as making out. While Harry didn't have any real experience at this, he discovered this was a subject with which he was a quick study. Maybe he could be good at something besides defensive spells, gardening, and cooking, after all.