It was the end of summer, just a few days until the first of September. A month and a half had passed since Gringotts executed Harry's will at his direction, passing on the entirety of his fortune to his designated heirs.
Remus Lupin and Dora Tonks were upset that they had not been able to help Harry in his battles, but the letters he wrote helped them gain closure. They were determined that their children would grow up in a much better world.
The Weasleys were devastated when they heard the news and attended the will reading with equal parts gratitude and remorse. The loss of their two youngest still cut them deep, but they no longer had the heart to blame Harry anymore. The gold he left for them was life-changing.
Daphne Greengrass was surprised that she was left anything at all, but she too was grateful for her bequest. Her sessions with a mind healer were still at the beginning, but already she could sleep just a little easier. She no longer blamed herself for the death of her best friend, though she still broke down occasionally when she remembered what her hands had done.
Luna attended the reading by herself, and after she arranged for her bill from St Mungo's to be handled, she converted her bequest to pounds and returned to the café not far from the Leaky Cauldron where she'd left Harry. Upon reuniting with him, she insisted that they stay a few nights at the Savoy, her treat. They both found it amusing that she was effectively taking care of him with money he'd left her, as he had none of his own anymore.
A few days after the will reading, the Queen declared the Magna Carta Magicae null and void for cause, bringing magical Britain back under her rule. Most of the remaining citizens acknowledged her rule and swore the required magically-binding oaths. With their former government in a shambles, many were even secretly grateful that there was once more someone in authority, even if technically she was nonmagical. Those few who refused to swear the oaths found themselves losing their magic and unable to claim their fortunes from Gringotts.
While magical Britain was readjusting itself to its new way of life, Harry and Luna disappeared completely. Their last secret foray into the magical world was to obtain standard British identification papers from Gringotts, after which they bade farewell and thanks to the goblins before leaving for the last time.
Following the lead Luna had received from her father, the couple travelled to Crawley, where they visited Hermione's grave one last time, before going to London Gatwick airport. From there they flew to Stockholm, then Oslo, and finally landed at Longyearbyen airport at Svalbard.
Over the course of the next week they got kitted out for their expedition into the Arctic wilderness to search for the elusive crumple-horned snorkack. They purchased a tent suitable for the both of them, backpacks, sleeping bags, extra clothes, boots, food, Sterno stove, extra fuel canisters, first aid kit, knives, ice axes, rope, flint and steel, compass, maps, flashlights, batteries, a couple of rifles, and several boxes of ammunition. The last was due to recommendations from every trail guide they spoke to – Svalbard was well-known for its population of polar bears, and at some point they might want fresh meat from one of the native reindeer. Luna also took the opportunity to buy a new sketch pad, a metal tin of drawing pencils, a kneaded eraser, and a pencil sharpener. Their luggage from Britain, including his armour, along with their new clothes, food, sleeping bags, and tent were magically shrunken and stowed in the packs, which in turn received permanent light-weight charms. The rest of their gear fit comfortably in the packs as it was.
Before they set out, Luna spent time meditating on the map of the islands that they bought. The more she studied it, the more she felt drawn towards the Nordvest-Spitsbergen national park, the glacier-filled northwest peninsula of Svalbard Island. Having no reason to doubt her, Harry arranged for them to hitch a ride on the roughly biweekly supply flight from Longyearbyen to Ny-Ålesund, a small west coast town of permanent and semi-permanent research stations on the southern shore of Kongsfjorden Bay, across from the national park. Two days later, they were sitting in the back of a white and orange Dornier 228 aeroplane in cramped seats, with stacks of boxes and supplies held in place with cargo netting in the space behind them.
Upon landing, they secured their gear, and after a few surreptitious confundus charms to encourage the personnel at the airport to forget them, they shouldered their packs and made their way to the promontory about a mile north of the airstrip. From there they apparated across the channel to the island of Blomstrandøya in the middle of the bay, site of the abandoned marble mining settlement of Ny London. After a hike to the north side of the island, they apparated once more to the mainland – a rugged, desolate land of craggy mountains, creeping glaciers, pristine fjords, and frozen permafrost.
Crossing the hostile landscape would have been almost impossible without their ability to apparate. Due to the treacherous terrain, they limited their jumps to line of sight only – it would not do to land on a glacier and potentially have the surface snow give way underneath them and dump them into a hidden crevasse.
They set up their primary camp at Velkomstpynten, a rocky peninsula north of Woodfjorden at the far north of the main island. The peninsula was relatively flat, just a few feet above sea level, and was composed of sandstone with an abundance of driftwood scattered across the surface. Thanks to the driftwood they were able to enjoy a warm fire every day after their explorations – this far north it was still daylight twenty-four hours a day this time of year – and after Harry killed a reindeer they also enjoyed fresh fire-roasted meat. Notice-me-not charms were put up around their campsite, attuned to humans and animals alike, with the sole exceptions of themselves and Hedwig, whenever she arrived on her long journey from Britain. They also found there on the peninsula an abandoned wooden hut over sixty years old yet remarkably preserved due to the low temperatures of the region.
After setting up camp and enjoying a meal cooked over the open fire, Harry wandered down to the north shore while Luna washed the dishes. She insisted on doing it alone since he had cooked for them, and so after a few minutes of protest, during which she happily ignored him, he acquiesced and left her alone.
At the shore, he found a large piece of driftwood and sat down on it, looking out across the calm Arctic Sea as the waves lapped up onto the rocky beach. Off in the distance clouds seemed to meet the water, but he had no idea how far away the horizon was nor how low the clouds actually were. A wave of melancholia swept over him as he stared across the empty waters. They were at the end of the Earth, quite literally. There was no land before him, only the ice cap somewhere in the distance floating on frigid, black waters. He could almost hear the siren call of the ocean beckoning him to the icy wasteland.
After a time he felt a slender hand caress his scalp as Luna came up behind him, finished with her cleaning. He did not turn around, but his hand came up to rest upon hers as it slid down to his neck. They dwelt there in silence for a while before Luna spoke.
"You hear it, don't you?" she whispered.
He slowly nodded, his face unreadable.
"It's okay," she continued, stepping over the driftwood and taking a seat beside him. "You've completed your quest with heavy losses, and you're not quite sure what to do now. You can't go back and you're not sure if you want to go forward. You hear the call of oblivion right now and you wonder if it's really as sweet as it sounds."
He turned to look at her, astonished.
"I hear it too," she admitted, meeting his gaze with liquid eyes. "Sometimes I wonder how I can possibly go on after all I've lost, but then I remember that there is still someone who needs me." The look on her face left no doubt in his mind that she was talking about him, especially when she leaned forward and kissed his lips. "I need you just as much as you need me," she whispered. "I cannot replace her, nor would I if I could – it wouldn't be fair for her, you, or me. I will take care of you to the utmost of my abilities though, just as I know you'll take care of me. Just as I promised her I would."
They made love for the first time that evening after returning to their tent, the sun low on the horizon but never setting. They had shared rooms and even beds, not to mention kisses, over the previous month but had not taken that final step until now.
It was two days after that when a tired but happy Hedwig joined them. The Arctic climate suited her a lot better than London's and even Scotland's, and after winging her way to Harry's shoulder she nuzzled him affectionately on his cheek as if to say, It's about time, silly human!
Towards late August it began darkening for almost a couple of hours after midnight, and by the time the 29th came around the sun was rising around 0300 and setting around 2245, giving a little over four hours of early twilight each evening.
Harry and Luna set out that morning after a good breakfast, leaving their extra clothing, most of the food, and their sleeping bags with the tent but carrying the rest of their gear in their packs. Yesterday afternoon they had found a glacier-carved valley at the southern end of one of the offshoots of the fjord, about twenty miles due south of their campsite, and decided to explore it today. The glacier had retreated over the summer months, allowing a fresh carpet of tundra grass to spring up while the weather was relatively warm.
They found a large flat rock about a quarter-mile from the glacier, large enough for both of them to sit on, and enjoyed the cool Arctic summer side by side, hands clasped together and fingers intertwined. They kept their eyes peeled for any wildlife they might encounter, but their primary focus was on just being together in an intimate, companionable silence.
The couple sat there for a few hours before breaking out some of their food and partaking of a light lunch. As they gathered the remains of their meal and stowed it in their packs, Harry felt a prickling on the back of his neck. He turned towards the glacier but saw nothing out there. The feeling refused to go away, though, so he activated his magesight.
There before him, quietly chewing on the tundra grass, was a translucent white rabbit. Growing behind its ears, though, was a pair of slender, irregular horns not unlike a scaled-down version of those of an antelope.
Beyond the rabbit-like animal was an entire colony of similar creatures.
"Luna," he whispered, "I think we've found them."
She looked out across the grassy valley but couldn't see anything. "What do they look like?" she asked. Not for one moment did she believe he was telling her anything other than the truth.
"Like jackalopes, actually," he replied, "except they're white, like a snowshoe hare."
She nodded. "That would make sense, as far north as we are. And it would appear that they also have some really good active camouflage too."
Harry looked at her, considering. "Let me try something," he said.
"Okay."
The utter trust she held for him never ceased to amaze him. He leaned over and softly kissed her lips. "I love you, Luna," he smiled.
"I love you too," she replied.
He kissed her again before pulling back and focusing on the Kenaz rune, specifically the aspects of knowledge, wisdom, and insight. He coupled them with his intent, his desire, his need for her to see the unseen. As the rune grew before him in his mind's eye, glowing with power and wreathed in flame, he pressed his fingertips to her eyelids and invoked its name.
Luna blinked a few times before looking out across the valley. Her face lit up in a wondrous grin as she saw the crumple-horned snorkacks in the grass before her. "Oh wonderful!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands in glee. "This is even better than spectrespecs! Thank you love!" She turned away from the snorkacks just long enough to peck him on the lips before her attention was once more on the animals she had been hunting for years. She immediately dug her sketchpad out of her pack along with her pencils and began working on a quick but thorough drawing of the animal.
Harry was content to watch her work. She was a prodigy in the art, and as the elusive creature began to take shape on the paper he could almost swear that it would start breathing and hop off the page at any moment.
When she finished she stowed her supplies back in her pack and the two gently hopped off the rock.
Immediately every snorkack head turned their way, so they froze.
The animals apparently could tell that Harry and Luna could see them, but could also tell that they meant no harm. Most of them went back to enjoying the grass after a few moments. The one nearest to them, though, cocked its head to the side before turning and hopping along a few feet. It stopped and looked back once more before continuing on its way.
"I think it wants us to follow," Luna said.
Harry nodded agreement and the two followed in its path. It was a few minutes later that they could see the snorkack was hopping towards a large opening at the base of the glacier and they stopped.
"Do you think it's safe?" Luna asked.
He shrugged. "Don't know," he said. "I feel drawn towards it though."
"Me too. I don't feel any danger either."
The snorkack stopped as if it sensed their hesitation and turned its head back to them. They started walking again, and it turned back around and continued towards the cave.
Stepping into a glacial cave was a new experience for them both. The sun shone down through the ice, bathing them in a brilliant blue light. The knobby icy roof of the tunnel glistened like aquamarines and sapphires as they hiked deeper within.
At last they came to a chamber deep within the glacier. It no longer appeared to be ice overhead but open sky – in the dead of night. Thousands of stars were scattered across the sky in unfamiliar constellations. And weaving its way across the night sky was the aurora borealis – shimmering, slowly undulating curtains of blue, green, and even red fire. Even as they watched, the end of the aurora lowered itself to the ground before them, creating what looked like a shimmering bridge of fire connecting the earth to the heavens.
Chills went up their spines that had nothing to do with being surrounded by ice.
"It's the Bifröst," Harry whispered reverently. He looked at Luna, awe written across his face. "Do you know what this means?"
She returned his gaze, a dreamy smile on her lips. "It means it's time to go home, my love," she replied. "Go ahead, call for Hedwig. We can't leave her."
As he did so, she leaned over and picked up the snorkack. "Do you want to come with us?" she asked the fluffy little animal. The snorkack nuzzled into her shoulder, content to be carried wherever she wanted to go.
A few minutes later, the white snowy owl flew into the chamber and perched on Harry's shoulder. He gazed at Luna and took her free hand, kissing her once more before giving an experimental step onto the ethereal bridge of light and fire. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when it held firm beneath his foot. "Let's go," he said.
Together they began walking up the Bifröst into the night sky. Before long they saw a shadow blotting out the stars in front of them, and as they drew nearer they saw an enormous tree stretching above them and below them further than their eyes could see. Harry recognised it immediately from his dream so long ago.
The fiery bridge of light took them to a branch wider than the entire castle of Hogwarts. At the point where it met the trunk of the great tree they found a large marble entryway framing wooden double doors bound with polished bronze, ever-burning torch sconces on either side. Slowly, they made their way to the door, the light from the stars and the bridge casting their shadows on the white marble before them.
Harry reached up and rapped the bronze door knocker. Almost immediately the doors swung open, radiant sunlight spilling through from the other side.
They found themselves stepping into a marble room with large open windows, ushered in by a man who was large enough to dwarf Hagrid. His skin was as white as snow and almost seemed to emit a light of its own, and his hair, eyes, and teeth were the colour of gold. He wore armour of polished mithril, embossed with gold filigree and precious gemstones.
Through the open doorway, they could see a beautiful white and golden city nestled far below in a lush green valley framed by majestic, wooded mountains. The sky overhead was the brightest blue either of them had ever seen. The air was crisp and clean, and carried with it the faint scent of fragrant wildflowers.
They thanked the gatekeeper and left the room, which turned out to be the ground floor of a watchtower high up on a mountaintop overlooking the city. A roadway led down from the watchtower and wound its way to the valley below.
Further down the road, they could see two figures walking up towards them. As they drew near, both figures broke into a run. Within moments Harry and Luna had their arms full of a radiant young woman with cinnamon eyes and bushy brown hair as a massive dire wolf capered playfully around them. Tears of joy fell like rain all around and many kisses were exchanged as the trio was at long last reunited.
"Welcome to Asgard," Hermione said at last. "Welcome home."
Finite Incantatum
***AN***
The Call of Oblivion: Borders by Kalandra
Coming Home: Meadows of Heaven by Nightwish