Chapter Thirty-Six: Singularity


Monday, 19th June 2000.

Natalie watched quietly as the teens arranged all sorts of unusual materials into very set patterns. Neville and Parvati had been working on it all since the wee hours of the morning and it was now heading into late afternoon.

Richard had been already been helping the kids for about an hour when she had arrived, and she observed the preparations curiously.

"Done," Padma said, standing up and stretching her back. "How about the rest of you?"

"All thirteen places are set, and Harry said the outer boundary was finished about two hours ago," Luna replied, dropping back on the grass heavily. She looked even more exhausted than the others, and Natalie wondered if it had to do with the fact she was currently making do without a wand thanks to the Isis Experiment. Meaning the small girl was left to apply her magic directly.

"You all look exhausted," Natalie said, walking over to her husband, who was the only one left standing normally.

"We are, magically speaking," Neville said softly. "Every ingredient needed magical preparation, and because the ley line is completely raw, it couldn't be gathered ambiently, we had to provide all of it ourselves."

"Will you be alright?"

"We'll be fine. We can't actually do the ritual until Sunday when Remus is in position directly above Aedis." Parvati said, indicating the orange-ringed moon that Harry had named after his parent's former friend. It was still slightly off-axis to Aedis, but would correct its position over the next week, eventually passing directly overhead, conveniently enough for them during its perigee when it would also be at its closest to Verda. Ensuring the transfer of energy between the two celestial bodies would be at its peak.

"Once it's in place, we can trigger the ritual together and, hopefully, channel the ley line so that it feeds its energy into Aedis properly, instead of passing through it randomly," Luna said, closing her eyes and taking several long deep breaths. "You wouldn't think it makes a difference, but we'll see in a week's time."

Natalie walked over, careful to avoid any of the ingredients laid around them and took a seat beside Luna. "Be honest with me, is this dangerous?"

Luna slowly opened her eyes and turned to face the woman beside her. "Normally, no. But normally, a ritual like this would be prepared over months, or years even. We don't have that kind of time to waste. Not to mention it's only ever been tried on Earth using Earth's singular moon. If this doesn't work though, then Aedis will fail at its purpose."

"Does it really? Aedis is meant to be the capital of the Aetherial. Not the house-elves, Furlings or whatever they eventually choose to call themselves."

Luna smiled. "That is true, but we already have a close relationship with them and one of them sits on our council. Meetings for that council are held here. We cannot ask them to endure this sickness for us when there are other options."

"Look, I want to help Dobby, and I'm happy you all think I have some place in this ritual, but I'm scared, for all of us. We're rushing this."

Luna groaned as she sat up, showing just how sore and tired she was. "Hermione, Padma, Professors McGonagall, Flitwick and Vector, and I have all gone over the arithmancy and specific requirements. They are all sure that we will be safe, and if anything does go wrong, we can stop without harm. We aren't rushing it, we're adapting it. This ritual already had to be altered. It was designed for ley lines on Earth that had already been partially tapped and altered by sheer proximity to magical humans over thousands of years. This one is completely pure. It's possible that we only noticed because the house-elves are so much more sensitive to magic and that, given enough time, we would all have fallen ill as well. Best to tackle it before that happens, when we're all at our best."

Natalie took a deep breath, not entirely reassured by the explanation.

"None of us wants to die for this, Natalie. We will be safe. If anything feels off on Sunday, just hit the button on your remote and we will all be instantly beamed away from Aedis, just in case. The ritual will fail, but we will all be fine."

Luna laid her hand atop Natalie's own, wringing in her lap. Natalie nodded silently as the tiny girl helped settle her nerves. Something she was meant to do for them as one of the only two adults of the group, but more often than not, was on the receiving end instead.

ϟ

Thursday, 22nd June 2000.

"Harry?" Tonks said with surprise as she answered the door, seeing the young man standing there with a smile. "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming by again until next week."

She stood aside and held the door open, gesturing for Harry to come in and he quickly passed over the threshold. Loud padding feet drew both their attention further inside as a rambling two-year-old turned the corner of the hall and his face brightened, quite literally, when Teddy saw his godfather.

"Hawwy!" The toddler called as he shot down the corridor, almost making it the full distance before his legs caught on one another and the child tumbled forwards. Harry's renowned Quidditch skills saved a disaster as he managed to sweep down and grab the falling child by the shoulders and whisk him up into the air, tossing him slightly at the apex and drawing a hearty chuckle from the child.

"Remus was right to ask you. You're so good with him." Tonks said as she walked past the two, ruffling the now black hair of her child and leading Harry to the sitting room where her mother was already reading a book.

"I could come by more often. I feel like I have been neglecting my duties." Harry said, following her into the room and taking a seat at the far end of the couch to Andromeda, she simply nodded politely in Harry's direction.

Tonks noticed the flicker that usually passed over Harry's face when he saw her mother, thanks to the woman's uncanny resemblance to her, now-deceased, murderous sister. But as always it passed in an instant and she knew it to be pure reflex on the behalf of Harry's brain. Many had suffered at the cruel hands of Bellatrix, and the world was better to be rid of her for good. It was simply poetic that it happened to be Neville Longbottom that had removed her from it via the Sword of Gryffindor through the heart. Tonks just wished she could have been there to see it.

"So?" Tonks asked, reclining back into her own chair and watching Harry bouncing Teddy on his knee as he cooed to the boy who laughed in response.

Harry looked up at her with surprise. "Can't a godfather just swing by and see his godson?"

"Of course, you can, but you have always done that with ample warning or when we already knew you to be in town for something else and could reasonably expect a visit," Andromeda said, not looking away from her book. "You only show up unannounced when you want to ask something, Mr Potter."

"Please don't call me that," Harry asked with long-suffered practice. Tonks knew her mother loved being proper when speaking with people.

Tonks laughed. "Hah, good luck with that." She said, and her mother lowered the book to stare at her over the top, but she did not speak further.

"Ok, you're both right. I came to ask you," he said, looking at Andromeda, "if you would watch Teddy for us on Sunday and Monday. And to ask you," he said, turning back to Tonks, "if you would be willing to join us on Verda for a ritual."

"A ritual?" Andromeda asked, the book now falling rapidly to her lap.

"Relax. Flitwick, McGonagall and Vector have all gone over it with a fine-tooth comb, once they got over the whole other planet thing. Hermione, Luna and Padma have been setting it up for days now. But if we are going to do it this year, we need to do it on Sunday as that is when the largest moon will be in just the right place."

Tonks was very glad that Harry had done the rounds of his extended family and explained their new paradigm, or else that sentence would have been baffling in the extreme. While all of this other planet talk was becoming old hat for him, it was still somewhat new to Tonks. Andromeda turned to look at her and Tonks could see the concern in her mother's eyes. It was the same look she had given when she had prevented Tonks from leaving to join the Battle at Hogwarts. One she often got since her father's untimely passing at the vile hands of her aunt's despicable friends.

"Is it risky?" She asked, her eyes drifting to the tot in Harry's arms who was happily babbling away to himself now that the adults seemed to have drifted off to unimportant topics for a toddler. He was cycling through noses going from typical baby shapes to longer unusual ones that would make him laugh at himself when he could see them.

"I have been assured it won't be, and that every precaution has been taken."

"What ritual?" Andromeda asked firmly.

Harry sighed and bounced Teddy particularly high, making the boy laugh brightly once again. "There is a raw ley line under Aedis. Being there makes Dobby sick. The plan is to capture the ley line properly, like they are at Hogwarts, and that tapping into it by channelling it through the city will help keep the elves from getting sick and maybe even help us out in other ways."

"You're rerouting a ley line. And you think this is safe?" Andromeda said, her book now on the side table.

"No, I said that people I would consider experts in such matters have assured me that they think it is safe," Harry said, giving Andromeda a stare of his own in return. "And, I am here asking if Tonks would mind helping out. We need thirteen people, I would like for her to be one of them. We already have the four required muggles."

"Muggles?" Andi asked, looking confused. "Just how old is this ritual?"

"About four thousand years," Harry said, looking away from the elder woman.

"Look at me," Tonks said, leaning forward as Harry returned his gaze to her. "Promise me that you believe it is safe, and I'll do it."

Her eyes flicked to the boy on Harry's lap and Tonks knew it was a somewhat dirty tactic to use Harry's own lost childhood as a barometer for this. But she also knew that he adored Teddy and wouldn't lie to her about something that had the chance to leave Teddy an orphan like he had been, no matter how much better they both knew he would be cared for.

Harry's own eyes tracked down and Teddy stopped blabbering as he noticed he was the centre of attention again. He looked up at Harry and smiled cheekily, his face coming to look even more like his godfather in the process.

Harry smiled at the tyke and began bouncing his knee faster as Teddy chuckled cheerily in response. "I wouldn't let any of us do it if I wasn't sure. I promise that no one involved will come to any harm. You'll be safely back home on Monday, but you'll probably be dog-tired for a bit."

Tonks leant back and glanced at her mother. Andromeda looked concerned, but she had that look near constantly when she looked at Tonks these days. Nymphadora had quit her job on the force to focus on Teddy at her mother's urging, given the original plan of having Remus be a stay-at-home dad while she brought the bread no longer worked with him gone. She sighed at the stupidity of the prejudice that would have affected their lives so deeply, and may still someday affect Teddy's. Perhaps this Aedis would be a place she could go if things ever got to be too much.

"Deal. But I want to check the Arithmancy myself first. I need to be sure."

"Of course. You can all come by for the entire weekend if you like. Just no visitors in Aedis during the ritual, just in case."

"What do you mean just in case?" Andromeda said, shuffling over and taking Teddy's tiny hand in her own.

"Relax, Andi. We will all be fine. The plan is that if anything goes remotely awry, we will all be instantly beamed away from Aedis. The ritual uses the energy of the moon in perigee and the ley line itself to force it to behave as we want. That much power being altered might cause damage to the city, and we don't want anyone inside if it does. We can fix anything wrong with the buildings. We can't fix anything that might go wrong with us. It's just precautionary."

Tonks smiled at the two. Harry had changed so much from the nervous quiet child she'd occasionally watched over at number four that summer. A time that seemed so long ago. The war had changed him. Life since though had definitely affected him for the better. And he was excellent with her own child.

"I'm in. We'll pack a few bags and come by Aether tonight. I assume Merlin can see us through, in case you're all busy."

"Of course. He'll always let you visit unless we've specifically instructed him not to. And we'd probably tell you about such a thing in advance."

"Good. So, tea? Or do you have to rush off elsewhere?"

"I would love some. The others are asking everyone else. And I am going to spend the rest of the morning with my little Teddy." Harry said, jumping up from the couch and turning Teddy so that he was flying through the air cackling with joy.

ϟ

Saturday, 24th June 2000.

Ron had no idea what to think. Everything around him was incredible and his eyes washed over every surface and space completely unaware of what any of it was for.

He caught Harry's eye as he turned back towards the large window looking out on the twilit sky beyond and his friend had a smirk that Ron knew to be wary of. Before he could ask, however, a flare of light shot up next to him, filling the huge ring that Harry had brought him to. Ron gazed at the shimmering blue surface in awe. It looked like the surface of a pond, but it was standing vertically and seemed to be lit from within.

"Wicked." He said as he reached out to tap the surface.

"Be careful, love," Mary said cautiously from his other side.

Ron turned to look at his wife, giving her a reassuring smile. "I'm sure Harry would warn me if it was dangerous. Right, Harry?"

He swung back to face his friend who had a cheeky look of faux consideration on his face before he laughed and stepped backwards through the surface himself. Ron was surprised as he moved around the shimmering circle to question his friend. But behind it, there was nothing but more empty room. He could see Mary trying to look through it, but the surface was a lot easier to see through from this side.

Ron steeled his nerves and stepped through the hazy blue energy only to find himself standing once more beside his wife, who looked shocked to see him pop out of the shimmering surface.

"What the hell? Where did he go?" Ron asked aloud as a shimmer in the air nearby signalled a new figure appearing beside them.

"You need to step through from this side." The wizard-looking figure said to them both, indicating the surface. "And be sure to step away from the event horizon on the other side. Though your friends have resolved the unfortunate dematerialization issue that previously existed after last week's mistake."

"Dematerialization? Issue?" Mary said, eyes wide as though she had understood some of what the figure had just said.

"Trust me, it is safe. Harry is waiting for you on the other side. It is worth the trip, I assure you." The figure said gesturing to the shimmering surface.

"Trust you? Mate, I don't have a clue who you are." Ron said.

The figure bowed slightly and gave him a soft smile, looking a lot like Ron's former headmaster in the process. "My deepest apologies. Most seem to recognize me on sight. My name is Merlin."

Ron's jaw dropped again and he stood in stunned silence until Mary shook him out of it. While the figure was quite important to magical Britain, Ron had never felt the need to look the mythical man up. He could easily see now why so many called Dumbledore the second coming of the man. And he now had to follow Harry. Because his best friend was clearly screwing with him for a laugh and Ron wasn't about to stand for it anymore.

Taking Mary's hand firmly, he turned away from Merlin and stepped through the blue surface, emerging out the other side unharmed to see a nervous Harry looking at him with sudden relief.

"At last. What took you so long?" He asked, but Ron's attention was once more drawn away from his friend.

Instead of the backside of the room he had just been in, he was now standing in a huge glass atrium or courtyard full of the greenest grass he'd ever seen. A softly babbling brook circled the area on which the giant ring stood, a sound behind him drawing his attention away from the towering spires and purple mountains in the distance under the now easily visible sun.

The shimmering surface of the ring dissipated and now Ron could see more buildings and a lush forest in the distance that way too.

"Welcome to Aedis," Harry said as the two stunned Weasleys stared about themselves.

"Bloody hell." Ron finally said once he got his mouth working again. "What is this place?"

"Aedis. My new home." Harry said with a broad smile, looking about himself as he did. "I see that Richard has moved his little construction project out over the mountains ahead of tomorrow's fun. That's good. Come on, I'll show you around."

Ron somehow found his tongue again as Harry led them across the grassy expanse. "I know you told me about it all but, mate, I thought you were just hiding from all the dicks at the Ministry and that."

"It started out that way, but as I told you we found something amazing, and one thing led to another. One attempted robot alien invasion and boom, we decided to move here. A lot more space to grow and build here too."

Ron was gobsmacked. Harry had built an entire city of shining towers. And that was not even mentioning whatever that weird ring thing had been that had brought them here, to begin with. Or the bright white light that had taken them to the last place from home. Neither of which had felt anything like any form of magical travel that Ron had ever experienced. They were pleasant for one. Or the even bigger tube of light hanging in the air off in the distance.

"What's that then?"

Harry saw where his eye was focused and he smiled. "Spaceship. Hermione's dad is building it. The thing you can see is how it stays in the air while it's being constructed. He had to move it away from the city before the ritual. Don't want it interfering. He's probably downstairs interfacing one of the navi into the beam engine to maintain the field during the ritual, as we will be powering down the rest of the city."

Harry's reply was given so casually, as though such things were now his every day. Ron's senses were overwhelmed with the absurdity of what he was seeing. Neville was in one corner of the courtyard planting several small saplings. His housemate gave them a wave when he saw them, but did not stop his work as they stepped inside of the nearest massive tower. Yet another form of crazy simple transport later, this one contained within a small cupboard of some sort, Ron found himself in a big flat as Mary stared out the huge windows in wonder at the scope of the city laid out around them.

Ron had never seen its like. London didn't even remotely compare. Not even Vegas came close to matching the insane splendour of what he was seeing.

"And this here is the bedroom," Harry said, snapping Ron from his thoughts.

"Sorry, what?"

"I said this is the bedroom. Did you get the rest?"

"The rest of what?" Ron said, looking at the room in more detail now. It was the nicest place he'd ever seen. The sort of fancy that he assumed that muggles with the sort of wealth that the Malfoys had would surround themselves with.

Harry gave a small laugh before he walked back over to his friend. "This is your flat."

"My flat?"

"Yes. For both of you. Anytime you want to visit."

"Harry? This place is nicer than my house." Ron said in disbelief.

"Well, we wanted you to be comfortable," Harry said, looking somewhat embarrassed. "You've got all your own facilities here. Kitchen, bathroom, laundry." He added, pointing out the areas as he listed them.

"Ron, honey. Are you alright?" Mary said, stepping over and grasping his hand.

He gave a silent nod as he stared at the opulent accommodation. What could he possibly say to all of this?

"I'll give you two some time to get settled in. Lunch will be in two hours. I'll come back then?" He asked, looking at Mary as the only currently functioning guest in the room.

She nodded and Harry gave them both a smile. He patted Ron on the back as he headed to the door and disappeared. Mary guided Ron over to the massive window where the pair took a seat on the comfy loveseat situated there looking out over the horizon.

"Ron. Talk to me."

"What is there to say? This place is beyond words."

"I mean, you could have said thank you, to Harry at least. He built an entire city and still made sure that you had a place in it. Even if you two have grown apart a little."

"Yeah, I mean, of course, I am grateful, but like… bloody hell."

Mary smiled at him. Unlike Hermione, she never cared to correct him when he swore. In fact, she was a worse offender for foul language than he was. Her muggle father had been a sailor for thirty years before he retired and took up life as a lorry driver, so was rather loose with profanity himself.

"You miss it, don't you? You want to get back to going on adventures with your friends."

This finally broke through Ron's stunned stupor. "Hell no. I love them both to bits, but I'm done with adventuring. Quidditch and you are all the excitement I need anymore."

Mary smiled brightly at him and Ron thanked whatever higher power existed that had made their paths cross. "You can be such a charmer." She replied, leaning in and giving him a kiss.

The kiss settled nerves Ron hadn't realized were there, and set something else in motion in their place. As the two pulled apart, Ron's eyes flicked to the door Harry had told them was the bedroom and Mary tracked the motion herself.

He saw her tongue peek out from between her lips as they parted in a cheeky smile. "What are you thinking?" She asked quietly.

Ron stood and extended his hand. Mary took it and with a quick movement, he had her up in his arms, bridal carry style. "That if this is really our place, we should break it in. We've got at least an hour."

"Should be enough time for a couple of the main rooms at least," Mary replied, slinging her arms around her husband and kissing him firmly as he headed for the bedroom, no longer thinking about the majestic city or tomorrow's looming ritual.

ϟ

Sunday, 25th June 2000.

With the bright white tube of energy that was their future spaceship now hovering in the far distance, Harry watched as Hermione and Luna double-checked the state of the materials that had been carefully laid out in the courtyard.

The array was complicated in the extreme, and Harry was unsure what half of the symbols and angles were for. He once again regretted taking the easy option of Divination, which he had then failed anyway, instead of something that may have been useful later in life. This was it though. If anything was not ready, the ritual would be called off and have to wait however long it would be for one of the three moons to be in the correct alignment again. And Remus was certainly the best of the three options.

"So," Tonks said, stepping up beside him. She too wore the robes that the group had commissioned for the ritual, the spun silk shimmering in the powerful moonlight they could feel washing down on them from the fast-approaching moon.

"Just about time. You ready?" He asked her.

"I was. But then Padma let slip one of the particulars of our part of the ritual."

Harry turned to face her and saw she wore a cheeky smile. He suddenly understood what she was referring to. "Oh, that. Sorry. I should have warned you. You don't mind, do you?"

"That you named this giant orange moon after my werewolf late husband? I think it's both funny and sweet. I'm sure that he's getting a good ribbing from your father in whatever form the afterlife takes. But thank you. It means a lot." She pulled him into a soft hug. "It gives Teddy something more than just a headstone to talk to."

"You and he are always welcome, Tonks. Whenever you feel like it, just come on by. 'Teddy' can talk to Remus all he likes." He said, giving her a knowing look.

He could see in her eyes how much she missed Remus, though he hadn't been thinking about that the other day when they had been discussing the ritual. The repeated usage of 'the orange moon' had spurred him to act on the fly and offer the name for the satellite. A way of honouring a man who spent his whole life being ridiculed and hated for things beyond his control.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Tonks replied as Hermione approached.

"Everything is ready." She said, gripping Harry's hand in her own and giving it a firm squeeze.

"Great. How long do we have?"

"Nine minutes until perigee," Harry said, checking his remote, the only active pieces of technology that would be anywhere near the power of the ritual.

"We got lucky it happened so soon," Hermione added.

"If all goes according to plan," Padma said, joining the group. "We can still make some final adjustments."

She looked at Harry expectantly. "I know you think it would be better with you and Parvati as the Two after the whole Anubis thing, but you have to trust me on this. Hermione and I have endured magical stresses together that you wouldn't believe. And this is probably still going to hurt with how much magic we will all be channelling."

"Not to mention Harry's thing for protecting others at the cost of himself," Hermione said with a light glare at him. "But he's right. Of all of us, he and I are best equipped for the centre roles. You should get into position."

Padma nodded with a small, if tight, smile and turned away. She quickly moved to her place in the outer Ring of the ritual. The seven magicals would hold Remus in position throughout, focusing the moon's energy into the space once the process began.

"I'll double-check that the Trap is ready," Luna said, heading for the nearby positions where Hermione's parents indicated the southern edges of the ley line under the courtyard.

Harry saw the two nod their readiness before Luna even got close, and the lithe girl danced quickly to the other end, where Carson and Cyla would provide the northern border. The doctor had spent the past three days working with the Alteran woman to master their part in the efforts. Neither wanted to be left out due to their lack of experience. Together, they four would provide the chant that would pull the energy of the ley line itself up into the ritual space. Where Harry and Hermione would spend the next six hours subduing that energy.

Their constant connection over the past decade in magical strife would hopefully be enough to keep them both safe from the immense stresses of their role as the Two in the Centre. A role that would usually be undertaken by highly trained priests with decades of experience in both ritual magic and intimate experience together. Though the professors had assured Harry that even if they were not, the worst that would happen is the weight of it would overwhelm them, leaving them unconscious for a few days.

"Ready?" Hermione asked, squeezing his hand again. Harry nodded and she gave him a firm kiss. "I love you."

"And I you. Let's do this."

As they stepped over to their positions, Harry glanced at the others. They were harder to clearly discern at the distance due to his lack of glasses, but the two Patils were immediately to the west and he nodded to them both. As his eyes drifted over the circle he saw Aurora, eager and excited to be part of their efforts. Nym was next, and she looked charged and ready as well. Next in the chain was Neville who seemed calm and collected, but Harry could feel he was still nervous, as he himself felt. After Neville came Ron, Mary having decided to return to Earth for the duration of the ritual, who gave Harry a thumbs up before Harry's gaze, at last, drifted over to Luna.

As the closest person to Harry and Hermione magically over the past year or two, it had been decided that Luna would take the primary role in the Ring. The place through which the energy shifting in and out would pass. While in the past, many would have said that Ron was the closest to the pair of any other, the habit of interweaving their magic to achieve greater feats in the past year meant that Luna was far more familiar with their magic when under this level of intense stress. With any luck, that intense familiarity would help ease the transfer of energy between the layers of the ritual spell.

Taking a deep breath, Harry heard the four corners of the Trap begin to chant, and his eyes locked on Hermione's. They all felt it when Remus finally arrived in position directly above them. Energy washed over the surface of them all as the Ring began the gestures that would lock the moon in sync with the ritual for its duration. Harry felt a charge of energy rush through his body, making him eager to begin.

Nervously, Harry and Hermione raised their own hands and started the series of gestures that began the ritual in earnest. He felt it in his bones as the raw energy beneath them was slowly drawn nearer, one aching inch at a time. Between the two massive forces now acting on his body, Harry was glad he had endured some of what he had. Without such prior hardening, he doubted he could deal with that sort of feeling for the several hours that this would go on for.

Matching Hermione's precise hand movements exactly, Harry felt the air changing around them, charging with the mixture of energies now coursing through the city. He was very glad he had ordered the city powered down and the potentia removed. And that Andi, Teddy and Dobby were safely monitoring from the Mesa, which one more housed the stargate, just in case. This was going to be a very long and very taxing night.

ϟ

Monday, 26th June 2000.

A dense crack of energy swept over Dobby as he shot up in his small bed, having drifted off sometime in the night. It took him only a moment to shake off the fingers of sleep still clinging to his mind as he traced the path of the energy back with his senses. The pulse had come from Aedis.

He jumped out of bed and found Andromeda exiting her own room. "You felt it." She asked, glancing back over her shoulder at the still-sleeping child in the bed.

"Yes," Dobby said simply, rushing over to the nearby terminal and hammering in commands, thankful that Luna and Padma had found a way for house-elves to learn the new languages and systems involved in their new technology, even if he still couldn't operate the ones that required the special gene.

A display popped up showing Aedis and Remus, which was once more orbiting freely around Verda. But the distant scan was not showing Dobby what he so desperately needed to know. The sensors in this small facility were mostly tied into the vulta exploring the planet. There was no need for remote sensors around a city packed with its own.

"I'll be back." He said rapidly before he felt a tight grip on his remaining arm.

"No, you don't. My daughter is there, I am coming. But we cannot leave Teddy alone."

She gave him a stern look and he knew that if he tried to pop away while she gathered Teddy up, he would face her wrath. Dobby followed her impatiently into the other room where she carefully and quietly gathered the sleeping toddler into her arms. She turned back to Dobby and nodded, holding out her free hand as the other held the boy tightly to her chest.

Dobby took the offered appendage, and with a thought, they were back in the courtyard at Aedis. A deep black charred line through the once nicely manicured green grass indicated where the array had been set out and the materials they had used were consumed by the ritual's energy. But Dobby's eyes were immediately drawn to the still figures at the centre of the array.

Dropping Andromeda's arm, he rushed over to the nearest of the two bodies and rolled the person onto their back with some difficulty, given their size difference and his one arm. As the figure splayed onto their back, Dobby saw Harry's face looking up at him, the green eyes sluggish as they focused on his body.

Harry had not worn his glasses for the ritual, given they were not properly prepared for such a ritual, but he seemed to be able to discern Dobby's identity. "You shouldn't be here yet. We don't know if it's safe." Harry slurred, clearly exhausted.

"Then Dobby will go back to the Mesa. After he helps his friends to their beds."

Harry nodded sluggishly, the movement barely even noticeable; he was so drained. "Is everyone ok?"

Dobby glanced upwards and saw that Andromeda was fussing over her daughter, who was at least sitting upright, holding her child. The elf's eyes drifted over the others who were in various states of setting themselves to rights. Only Luna remained laying in place though was very clearly breathing and Ron, who, despite laying down himself, was rolling over the grass sluggishly in the tiny blonde's direction.

The elf glanced over to Hermione who while still slumped forwards on her belly, could be seen looking at him and Harry.

"Dobby thinks so, Harry Potter." He said, looking down at his oldest friend.

"Good," Harry said, his head lolling to the side as he stared at his still girlfriend a few feet away. "Can you take me to Hermione?"

"No," Dobby said, focusing on popping Harry into his bed. A moment later he popped away from the still man before returning to the room with a second figure.

As Hermione landed on the bed, her slump evened out and her sluggish fingers splayed over the bedsheets seemed to move in Harry's direction.

"You two sleep. No funny business or Dobby will be very upset with you." Dobby said cheekily as the two exhausted figures tried to laugh, but lacked the energy needed. "Sleep now, friends."

"Thank you, Dobby," Hermione said softly as her fingers closed on Harry's still hand.

"Thank you. For going through all of this for Dobby." He replied before popping away once more to help the others to their rooms. It was going to be a busy morning getting them all settled once more.