"I'm not sure I understand." Harry spoke after a moment, brow furrowed in a searching expression. After a beat, he opened his mouth to speak, then stumbled a bit, hesitating. "I'm sorry." He looked up, shifting his gaze from Luna to her father. "I actually have loads of questions."
Xenophilius smiled fondly, nodding his head and gesturing an invitation with open arms.
"Okay." He paused, gathering himself. "Okay, first. This Nexus — how exactly does it work? And what will it mean for us? You mentioned it was a gift. How does it help? And the Raven King — if he's — I think you said he's been cast from our plane of existence, right? — well if he's gone, how does he know who I am, and how does he know who Luna is? And why did he choose us, of all people? And what are we facing? I mean, is this about Voldemort, or something bigger? And what will it mean for us — for our future, I mean? How can I keep her safe if we're to — I can hardly believe I'm saying it — lead the armies of the light or whatever?"
His pace had quickened as he spoke, and toward the end his questions tore out of him in a frenzy. He took a moment to settle his breathing, and his gaze returned from the floor-to-ceiling shelves on the far wall. He huffed out an awkward laugh. "Sorry. It's just that — well, I've never quite felt in control of my life. And this is just another layer, isn't it? I'm not afraid. At least I don't think I am. I'd just like to know what there is to know."
Xenophilius had stopped pacing, and for a moment merely watched him, his expression heavy with compassion. He nodded, and held Harry's gaze unflinchingly. "Harry Potter, you've every right to ask questions, and you've every right to express frustration. Rarely is the path of mere youth so soon fixed. Few would have chosen the course you both seem destined to follow."
He paused, and Harry and Luna watched with bated breath. Just in that moment they saw a fire in his eyes. "And yet. All that is dark and violent on this forsaken world, all that haunts innocence, all that siphons joy and goodwill from the hearts of men — the darkness is rising, Harry Potter. I feel it everyday. You feel it, too; I can see it in your eyes."
He set his jaw and narrowed his eyes in what can only be called an expression of ferocity. "If I told you there was a way to crush it forever — if I told you it'd cost you blood and sweat and toil and tears, yet on the other side of that sacrificial work the world would be rid of the darkness." He paused, and time slowed. "Harry. Could anything stop you? Can you even imagine ignoring such an opportunity?"
It was this moment, fixed forever in his memory, that would carry Harry through to the very end.
He blinked, inhaled deeply, nodded with a distant expression, and spoke. "I would. Of course I would. All I've ever wanted was to be rid of the darkness."
Luna's eyes, capturing Harry's every movement and shifting expression, blinked away tears as he spoke the words, and just at this moment she knew she'd love him forever and ever.
"I know." Xenophilius' expression shifted, and the enchantment broke. He smiled kindly. "I know, Harry. Perhaps that's why he chose you."
He began pacing again. "I'll try to answer your questions in turn. You ask how the Nexus works? If you're asking about mechanics, only the most brilliant soul magic theorists have the slightest clue. It's an extraordinary bit of magic, the study of which is made even more complex by its fairy origins. If you're asking what it does? Well, in that case we know a lot, because the few cases in human history were so exceptional they were richly documented."
He hesitated for a moment. "You'll have to excuse the nature of my explanation. I am, of course, Luna's father. And you are, of course, Luna's boyfriend. And, traditionally at least, that ought to somewhat complicate our dynamic. Yet to answer your questions I'll need to speak about sex." He smirked and Harry blushed. "You must know it's at least as awkward for me as it is for you." A few seconds later, he took a breath and continued.
"In every case the Nexus draws together. That's the key."
He adopted a distant, melodic cadence. "Human relationships foster affection, and that affection draws lovers in the most natural sense, culminating in affectionate embrace. The physical act of sex is, and has always been, the triumph and seal of true love. It is no mistake that most religions hold marriage sacred, for at the center of marriage is the union — mark the words — of two souls. The notion is that, in marriage, these two are no longer two, but by way of analogy they've become a part of each other."
He stopped, fixed his eyes on the pair of them. "Two become one, you see? Love draws together; it has a powerful force of attraction, until a man and a woman are no longer —indeed cannot any longer be individuals. They become "one flesh," to use the biblical analogy. The ancient word picture for the physical act that symbolizes, at its heart, permanent union. It is a symbol. Alas, it is only a symbol. Yet in the case of Nexus, this union is very real."
"Nexus begins with an extraordinarily powerful attraction. In each documented case, bound souls find one another against all odds, despite social and even physical obstacles — it is said that an overwhelming relief accompanies their first meeting, for every moment prior was something like a half-life. The color of the world, the bright light of every moment, the joys and pleasures of every interaction were only half experienced. Because, unlike traditional relationships, the bond of Nexus precedes the culminating act of union." He shifted his gaze back to the pair, now entranced, fingers laced together, watching with wide eyes. "In other words, until you met nothing truly felt right, because indeed nothing truly was right. You couldn't know fullness outside of one another. Indeed, until your union culminates in that physical act, you'll only know the beauty of the world at a distance."
Something about this stilled him, and for a few seconds his eyes turned again to the far corner. He blinked away tears. After a moment, he gathered himself. "In each case, as friendship shifts to shared affection, the souls bound by Nexus begin to share convictions, interests, values, and priorities. This is unspoken, often even thoughtless. Their minds are becoming knit together at every touch, at every gentle, affectionate exchange, and suddenly the bound souls find themselves thinking alike."
"In time, as the physical relationship develops, the souls bound by nexus begin to feel the same things. Many stories tell of overwhelming joy, experienced by both souls simultaneously, because one witnessed the birth of a child while the other worked the soil of a field hundreds of miles away. I've read accounts of fury shared, simultaneously — as one soul stumbles across the torture of an innocent, while the other washes dishes in their home, halfway across the globe."
"They also (forgive me) want the same things. Indeed, in every documented case, as the relationship develops — as affections turn to physical expressions of interest — the building intensity of their physical desire becomes impossible to manage. It's been said that bound souls are insatiable. They long for one another at nearly every moment. They are physically drawn together because, at every moment, each feels the other's physical interest. It is as if they're simultaneously longing for the other, and feeling at full volume the other's longing for them. For this reason, of course, courting seasons are seldom prolonged, and in many cases the social conventions leading to proposal and consummation of marriage are ignored altogether."
"Finally — and I think this will answer your second question, Harry — when the Nexus is sealed with the physical act of sex, the bound souls are fully united. It is said that, at will, bound souls can trade one another's thoughts, communicate without words. Perhaps more significant than this, their magic is shared, their intentions are shared, their power is shared."
He paused, settled his gaze upon them with gravity. "Magic is, of course, a function of the will, the mind, and the strength. Souls bound by Nexus are extraordinarily powerful, for their will is the united will of two, their mind is the singular mind of a united pair, thus their strength compounds exponentially."
He smiled. "Dark wizards do not survive the resistance of bound souls, because no one man was ever a match for two souls united as one."
A stillness settled over the room. Harry suddenly realized his lips were parted, and he blinked into awareness. Luna, however, eyes wide with a distance about her expression, spoke melodically.
"Until our bond is sealed, our experience of the world is hindered. Once our bond is sealed, our power to press back the darkness compounds exponentially. And every moment from this point to that, we'll long desperately for that unity?"
At this, Harry could have sworn he was Xenophilius blush. "Correct, my dear."
She turned to Harry, speaking matter-of-factly, fighting desperately to conceal the sorrow behind her eyes.
"My safety, Harry, is less important than our victory."
Harry shook his head. "Absolutely not."
She bit her lip, blinking back tears. "Darling, it's okay."
Harry stood, placing an arm's distance between the two of them. "Luna Lovegood, I won't. I won't lose you. I can't. So I won,'t, Luna. Until the day we're married, I won't. And you can't do anything to change my mind."
Suddenly all despair in her expression vanished, and she breathed full, awash with affection.
"Until the day we're married?"
Harry, recognizing suddenly that he'd outwardly acknowledged what he'd always known, flushed. After a beat to recover, he spoke. "Yes, Luna. And not a moment sooner." And then he sat back down, laced his fingers through hers, and shifted his gaze to Xenophilius, whose expression was overwhelmed with pride.
The significance of the exchange held them captive for at least thirty seconds.
Finally, Xenophilius gathered himself, mentally indexing. "Ah. I think your second set of questions were related to the Raven King himself. I'm afraid I don't have some of the answers you're seeking. I'll tell you what I know, and nothing more."
He stilled, his eyes closing briefly. Again, Harry thought he could hear whispers in an unintelligible language.
At last, he spoke. "We're of course dependent on legend to answer some of these questions. Yet I feel the legends ring true. First, you must understand that fairy magic is stronger than human magic, Harry. It is more ancient, more fundamentally woven into the fabric of the created order. It is why, perhaps, shifting from the fairy plane to the human plane is a matter of ease for fairies, and nearly impossible for humans. Fairy magic spans the gap, it shifts from this plane to that unhindered, accomplishing ancient will unlimited by finite imagination."
Something like reverence clouded Xenophilius' vision. "All students of fairy lore agree that the Raven King is not only more powerful than his subjects, but transcendentally so. Some suggest that he was not — indeed he could not have been cast out of this plane. For there is no coalition of darkness so strong as to overcome his light. Instead, acknowledging the darkened counsel of man and fairy, the Raven King willingly withdrew, only to return at the last battle — the final defeat of darkness and the restoration of his kingdom forever."
Something like a bow overtook his figure, and he finished with this. "I cannot tell you, Harry, exactly how he found you, but I can tell you that he's able. And I cannot tell you precisely why he chose you. But I feel that you ought to trust him."
At this, the heaviness that weighed on Harry and Luna seemed unaccountably to lift, and all the implications of his words washed over them as they sat in thought. A peace settled on the room, and Xenophilius took a seat beside them in contemplative silence.
Some time later, he stirred. "I've just noticed the time. It's nearly noon. Harry, would you like to stay for lunch?"
Suddenly an expression of sheer overwhelming panic flooded Luna's features. She shot up from her chair and nearly shouted. "Oh!"
Their eyes shot to hers.
At this point, the entirety of her mental faculties were summoning all behaviors and expressions associated with the phrase, "act normal." Finally, in a wooden, mechanical sort of way, she feigned realization. "I've just remembered that I left something at Harry's." There was too much space between her words, and Harry met Xenophilius' puzzled glance with a shrug. "A book! Yes, I've left a book at Harry's." She suddenly pulled on Harry's hand, forcing him to stand. "Father, forgive me, we can't stay for lunch because I've got to get that book for important reasons."
At this Luna led an entirely bewildered Harry Potter out of the library, through the round green door, down the hill, and to the ancient ash.
As she picked up the tin can, threaded with loose string on one end, and she fought an expression of anxiety. She risked a glance at Harry, and spoke again in a spacey, wooden manner. "Not to worry, Harry. I've just forgotten my book."
She drew the can to her lips and spoke.
"Harry Potter."