When Harry and Mrs Figg arrived back home, Harry remembered that he wanted to talk to Mrs Figg about a few things. It was late and he knew he needed to get some rest, but with so much unveiled but unexplained on his mind, he wasn't sure how much sleep he was likely to get anyways. He decided to broach the subject of Mrs Figg's family first.
"Mrs Figg, when I got your locket with Hermes help, I opened it and I saw who Hermes explained was your late husband and daughter," Harry said. "I guess I just wanted to ask if you'd want to talk about them sometime? It's just, in a lot of ways you and are alike, both orphans of a sort and I wanted to be there for you if you needed…" he trailed off.
Mrs Figg looked at him with a sad small smile, "Thanks Harry, maybe another time."
Harry nodded. She'd tell him when she was ready.
"Luna found something interesting in the library today… well we found two interesting things such as a demiguise hiding in one of the greenhouses. There's also some Devil's Snare, probably, in one of them… There was a small incident but we all turned out okay," he was rambling.
Mrs Figg started rubbing her temples, and he thought she was going to get angry again, but she took a deep breath and said, "And the other interesting thing… the one in the library?"
"Oh, right. Well Luna found a journal in between two couch cushions that belonged to Sirius Black and…"
Mrs Figg perked up at that. "Sirius Black had a journal here?"
"Yes," Harry said, "And it said some interesting things about the Fidelius Charm and switching Secret Keepers to Peter Pettigrew at the last minute…"
Mrs Figg had wide eyes at that revelation. "It makes sense," she said. "Sirius and your father were practically brothers. I've always had a hard time thinking he'd betrayed them."
"Luna said something about his aura being that of a good person and she doesn't believe he betrayed them either," Harry said.
Mrs Figg simply hummed at that.
Harry contemplated his thoughts on the subject. He still wasn't sure what difference it would make, but he decided to press forward with his request to write to the man.
Mrs Figg looked thoughtful at his request. "Hmm, I'm not sure…"
"What could it hurt, Mrs Figg," he asked. "He's in Azkaban so even if he did do it, what could he possibly do from there?"
"Alright, I think prisoners are allowed visitors occasionally, but I think a letter first would be best and we can go from there."
Harry smiled and nodded happily.
"We should probably get to bed, lad," Mrs Figg said. "It sounds like it's been a long day for both of us."
"Good night, Mrs Figg," Harry said and they parted ways, each heading towards their own quarters.
Harry got a much better night's sleep. When he did wake up, it was to her head on his chest, and that was a huge improvement to the night before. Luna hardly moved at all and for the most part stuck to her side of the bed.
His stomach growled loudly and he gently shifted Luna off of him so he could get up. She didn't budge an inch but she did wake up. "Ughhh," she said into the pillow. "You're more comfortable than my pillow Harry, why'd you move?"
Harry laughed and said, "C'mon, lets go get something to eat. Mrs Figg got home late last night but said that a healer was going to stop by to check on both of us."
Luna groaned louder at that. "I never agreed to be checked out by a healer," she said pouting. Harry ignored her.
"I'm going to go take a shower. When I'm done, you will have to get up and do the same," he said.
"Fine," she mumbled as she fluffed her pillow and went back to sleep.
Harry walked towards the bathroom and turned the water on. He peered at his reflection in the mirror. He looked a lot different than he had while living with the Dursleys. Still scrawny, he noticed, but not deathly thin. He wondered what the healer would notice about his physique. He felt fine, but you never really knew what an expert might find. He hopped on the shower and cleaned himself up. He wanted to present himself in the best light possible. He knew it likely didn't matter, but he couldn't help but squirm at the thought of being inspected by a stranger. He finished cleaning himself and turned off the water. It was the best he could do. The healer would find what they would find. There was no use trying to cover anything up or act like he was fine.
He dried off and got dressed so he could go wake up Luna so she could have her turn. When he got back to the room, he knocked, not wanting a repeat of last time. Luna shouted from the other side of the room for him to come in. He opened the door, and Luna came walking out past him and towards the bathroom. "Take your time, but not too long please. I want to go eat breakfast together," he said to her and his stomach growled again.
He went and made the bed and tidied up the place a bit. Luna still didn't have any other clothes and was borrowing his pajamas each night. They'd need to remedy that soon, he thought. He looked out the window and saw that the sky was full of dark clouds. It looked like it was going to storm today, he thought with a smile. He loved storms with lots of lightning and thunder and was looking forward to watching it later if he could.
He hadn't seen Loki since the day before. The bakeneko hadn't been in the room with Luna when he came home last night. Thinking of the Devil's Snare, he hoped he was safe.
His stomach growled again and he silently wished that Luna would hurry up. He decided to go wait in the living area on the couch. He thought about reading more of Sirius' journal but didn't want to invade the man's privacy too much, seeing as how he was alive. It seemed wrong somehow, to invade a family friend's privacy like that. If it were someone else he might be more tempted but he couldn't do that to someone that was basically family.
He went and grabbed one of his dad's school journals instead. He still needed to discover how he had been able to sneak into Hogsmeade.
Harry laughed as he read about one of his father's pranks on the Slytherins. It was mostly harmless and according to his dad, it was rather well received by the majority of the school, even a few Slytherins.
They'd broken into the Slytherin common room and charmed all the snake statues, paintings, and even the embroidery on the sofas to sing Christmas carols in the weeks leading up to Christmas break. In order to share the prank with the entire school, they'd cast some pretty advanced charms so that the snake paintings would feel compelled to leave their frames to follow the Slytherins around the school. His dad had described both Professor Dumbledore and Professor Slughorn, the head of slytherin, in the great hall during breakfast, waving their wands in the air as if they were conducting the musical number. According to the journal, the students cheered and clapped at the spectacle.
He'd also learned that the group of marauders had learned of the reason for Remus' monthly visits. They'd grown suspicious of him needing to disappear every 28 days and Sirius had eventually put it together that it was always on a full moon. The three friends had put it together and then confronted Remus on their theory that he had Lycanthropy. From then on, they vowed to help their friend and started the process of becoming animagi so that Remus wouldn't have to be alone.
Luna eventually made her way back all cleaned and dressed for the day, except she wasn't wearing shoes.
They made their way down to the kitchen and made breakfast, this time pancakes and sliced fruit. They made enough for themselves and Mrs Figg who arrived with a fond smile when they were nearly finished.
"This looks wonderful, thank you," Mrs Figg said. "This is just what I needed after Harry…" Harry, who was standing behind Luna, started waving his hands to get Mrs Figg's attention before she spilled the beans to Luna that he'd snuck out last night. He didn't want to have to explain.
Luckily Mrs Figg caught on and she just trailed off. Luna looked at her confusingly and said, "Mrs Figg, I think you have wrackspurts." Luna had a thoughtful expression and said, "I know! I'll draw you a picture. Mom always said it helped her keep them away."
Mrs Figg smiled down at Luna and said, "That would be nice dear, thank you."
Luna smiled, happy to be taken seriously about her magical creatures.
They finished their breakfast in comfortable silence before Mrs Figg broke the silence by saying, "The healer should be here sometime this morning so please stay close."
Harry and Luna nodded in agreement and made to start cleaning up but Mrs Figg stopped them. "You made breakfast, let me clean up," she said cheerily as she waved them off.
Luna said she wanted to explore the library some more. Harry didn't want to do that so he went to the potions lab. He hadn't been able to try Mrs Figg's advice since her mini tutoring session.
On his way there, he ran into Loki. "Oh, good morning, Loki! Do you want to come with me to the potions lab?" Harry asked.
Loki barely looked back as he mentally said, "Luna's in the library and she gives the best belly rubs while she reads," and then disappeared.
"Traitor," Harry mumbled.
In the lab, Harry got to sharpening his knife as instructed by Mrs Figg. Then he collected all his ingredients. He inspected the cauldron and stirring rod to make sure they were clean and then got to work. An hour later and he had successfully brewed his first potion. It matched the book's description perfectly.
Harry was very pleased as he bottled and labeled his potions before storing them in the cupboard. He was going to make as many different potions as possible before going to school. He wanted to do his parents proud and planned to make it look effortless just like his dad had.
Mrs Figg entered the lab just then to let him know the healer had arrived. She walked over to the cupboard and inspected his work. "This is very well done," she said.
Harry ducked his head, pleased at the praise. "It's all thanks to you, Mrs Figg. Your advice was a game changer."
Mrs Figg gave him a side hug as they walked out of the lab to go meet the healer.
Luna was already talking to the healer when they got there. Harry overheard her talking about nargles and wrackspurts and was curious how the healer would respond.
Harry was happily surprised that the healer engaged in the conversation as if it were the most normal topic in the world. She asked many clarifying questions and responded with a large smile and frequent nodding as she listened to Luna's descriptions and explanations.
Eventually, the healer was able to, Harry thought rather expertly, shift the conversation and introduce herself to Harry. "I'm Healer Juniper, from St Mungo's. Mrs Figg has stressed that my evaluation is kept confidential. You can rest assured that no one other than those of us in the room will have any knowledge of my findings."
Harry was relieved because he was rather nervous about what would be discovered. He knew he was malnourished but he wasn't sure what that would mean for his magical core.
If Luna was curious about the need for secrecy, she didn't let on.
"Thanks, Healer Juniper," Harry said.
Healer Juniper smiled and said, "I'd like to start with you, Mr Potter," she said. She then pointed to a privacy curtain that she'd set up and asked him to go change into a hospital gown.
Harry complied with her request and changed his clothes. As he did so, Healer Juniper informed him that clothing is contaminated by magical interference throughout the day as we interact with magic. The gowns were sealed in bags that repelled magic to prevent them from being contaminated. Harry was intrigued and wanted to know more but Healer Juniper didn't have all the details.
Changed, Harry stepped out from behind the curtain. Healer Juniper said, "Now, Harry, you can choose to excuse anyone that you don't want here. It's up to you."
Harry thought about it but he didn't mind Luna out Mrs Figg knowing so he declined to send anyone away.
Healer Juniper nodded and wasted no time as she began explaining what she was going to do and then started chanting spell after spell while making notes.
Harry had no idea what any of it meant but he was in awe of the display of magic. He hadn't had many opportunities to see magic performed at this level. He found himself curious if he'd be able to read anything using his meditation exercises. Healer Juniper gave no sign of stopping so Harry shifted his focus and reached out with his senses.
He was able to get a reading on Healer Juniper, Mrs Figg, and Luna, who giggled when his magical aura reached hers. He zoomed out a bit so it felt like he was observing the room from above. It was then that he started picking up on the spells the healer was casting.
Each spell felt slightly different. It was like little bugs were burrowing into him painlessly and others were scurrying over his skin. A steady hum was present as they reported back their findings.
Harry was stunned. In a way, the magic felt like it had an intelligence all its own and was making decisions as it interacted with him. It wasn't something he expected.
Satisfied, Harry ended his exercise. When he came to, he noticed Healer Juniper looking at him with a curious expression, but she never stopped chanting.
It seemed like the spell continued for several more minutes before she ended the spell. She jotted down a few more notes and then said, "All done."
Luna went to the screen to get changed.
Luna was offered the same option as Harry but she also chose to let them stay for the scan.
Harry watched as Healer Juniper worked her magic on Luna. He decided to try and sense the spells again, but Healer Juniper shook her head at him when he was about to start. She has a stern look on her face.
Chastised, Harry simply observed as he waited for the spell to end.
Luna went and changed back into her clothes as Healer Juniper made more notes. Once changed, Luna rejoined the group. Harry went to change back into his clothes but the healer stopped him.
"OK," the healer said, "Mr Potter, before we go over your results… I noticed you did a bit of magic during my scan and it seemed intentional… do you mind explaining what you were doing?"
Harry nodded and explained that he got curious and wanted to try and read what the magic was doing.
Healer Juniper looked confused at his description and said, "I'm sorry, I don't follow. What do you mean, read the magic?"
Harry explained again, "If I focus, I can find magic around me and feel it. When I feel it, I can get a sense of what the magic does. It works on people too. I can get a sense of a person's nature and…" he glanced at Luna, "sometimes I can get a sense of their emotions at that moment."
Healer Juniper nodded at his description. She wrote something down and handed it to Harry. "I recommend you try and get your hands on this book, if it's not already in your family's library."
Harry glanced down at the note and read 'Family Magic and Known Magical Abilities'.
He nodded.
"I suspect that what you're describing is family magic. Family magic is a special type of magic that is passed down through a family, just like physical traits. For instance, you seem to have inherited your father and grandfather's messy hair."
Everyone in the room laughed as he blushed and tried to flatten his hair.
"So my father had the same ability?" Harry asked.
"He could have, but it's not guaranteed. The ability is passed on genetically but isn't guaranteed to be active."
Harry nodded. He thought he understood finally. A question came to him though and he said, "I thought anyone could do what I do… I mean Luna said something about my aura expanding when I was trying to sense if anyone was nearby. I assumed that meant she was doing the same thing as me…"
Healer Juniper looked at Luna and said, "Luna, can you describe what Harry's referring to?"
Luna nodded and said, "I can see auras around people and some objects. When I read a person's aura, I get a sense of what kind of person they are and when I read an object's aura, I get a sense of the person's aura that's attached itself to the object."
"Interesting," Healer Juniper said. "Do you know if your parents could do this too?"
"My parents couldn't, but my mom wasn't surprised when I told her about what I could do. She said she had an aunt that talked about auras."
Healer Juniper mused aloud, "It could be that you have the ability to use your family magic, like Mr Potter here. From what you're describing, Luna, I think it's different from what Harry is doing. You should read that book as well. You both might find some interesting things in it."
Mrs Figg interjected, "Family magic is rare, and you should limit who you share your abilities with."
Healer Juniper nodded in agreement and said, "It is rare and Mrs Figg is right. Family magic is revered by each family that wields it and it's not talked about often outside of the family… except everyone seems to know that Slytherin's family magic involved talking to snakes."
Harry tensed as he processed what she was saying. Did his ability to talk to snakes come from family magic too? He remembered what Mrs Figg had said about parseltongue and he decided not to bring it up.
"Ok," Healer Juniper said, "Thanks for answering my questions. Let's talk about what else I found. Overall, you're pretty healthy all things considered. You need to eat more to counter the malnourishment you endured in your… family's care."
She said family's in a derisive tone.
"Your magical core is very strong so no worries there," she said. "I don't want to stress you out Mr Potter, but there is one thing I'm worried about and I'm not entirely sure I'll be able to help you on my own."
She conjured a bed and asked him to lay down. He complied and then she approached him. She motioned Luna and Mrs Figg over.
"Please, don't worry Mr Potter. I'm going to cast my spell again but I'm going to focus on your scar. I'd like you and Luna to use your abilities to observe me and maybe between the three of us, we can determine a diagnosis."
She conjured a second chair next to Harry's bed. "Mrs Figg, please take a seat and provide young Harry here with some comfort.
Harry felt Mrs Figg hold his hand. He looked up at Luna's smiling face. She placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Between the two of them, he felt himself relax.
"Ready?" Healer Juniper asked.
Harry nodded. He didn't want to risk talking and giving his nervousness away.
Harry heard Healer Juniper begin to chant her spell and he attempted to focus. His nerves were making it difficult. He was eventually able to focus and then he zoomed out so it was like he was looking down at himself. It was a weird sensation, like being in two places at once, for he was looking down at himself, but also looking up at Luna at the same time.
He felt Healer Juniper's magic probing his scar. Small tendrils flowed out of her wand and over and into his scar. Harry thought it looked like a column of ants entering and exiting their hill.
He shifted his focus to the scar and suddenly felt terrified. Something sinister and foreign resided beneath his scar. He began to hear hissing in his ears and he shuddered. 'Harry Potter, the boy who lived…' the voice said. 'You will not defeat me, for I am the greatest wizard who ever lived and I have taken steps to ensure my immortality and your impending doom…'
He tried his breathing exercises to calm down and stay focused but it wasn't working. Luna was watching him and could tell he was struggling. She looked off in the distance like she was receiving instruction and then leaned down and whispered in his ear so only he could hear.
"It's going to be OK, Harry Potter. We will overcome whatever this is," she said in a serene voice. "Relax and let your family watch over you. Feel the familial love in your home and let it in. Your entire family is watching over and supporting you… always."
Harry felt tears begin to form in his eyes. He was completely touched by his friend's words. Friend didn't quite match his feelings for Luna so he corrected his thoughts. They were his sister's words.
He reached out with his senses and felt his magic reach out like it was searching and beckoning all the residual magic in the house to come to his aid. He felt the magic, or the auras, or whatever it was that resided in his home, and it answered his call.
Luna looked on in awe at things no one else seemed to be able to see but Harry could sense.
His family gathered around him showering him with love, the special familial love that only existed between family members. It answered his magic's call. Warm magic swirled around, surrounding him in a loving embrace. He felt more magic enter his skin and fortify his body from within.
The magic began to collect like a rain cloud in his center. He felt it swirling around inside him, growing bigger. Soon it felt more like a thunderstorm, ready to burst with wild energy. He wasn't sure how much longer he could contain it.
He heard thunder crack outside as if the atmosphere was reflecting what he felt inside.
Healer Juniper's chanting ceased, but Luna and Mrs Figg continued to hold him.
He felt the energy continue to build and then he heard a hissing voice begin to scream, 'Noooooo!'
A smoky substance began to release from his scar and the group watched as it coiled to the ground like a snake. The smoke dissipated and in its place was a tiny fetus-like creature, no bigger than an apple, before also disappearing into nothing.
Thunder cracked ahead once again and then the storm within him began to calm. He could still feel his family's comforting presence within him. He began to release tears of joy as he felt warmth and happiness manifesting from an unseen source. It felt like his magic and his family's magic were celebrating a great victory. He was filled with gratitude for his family, both living and dead.
He felt himself gasp as if he'd been holding his breath as he returned his focus to normal. The experience had been intense, unlike anything he'd experienced so far.
Luna jumped on him, crushing him with a giant hug. He returned the embrace with equal fervor and said, "Thank you! I don't know what that thing was, but it felt scary and said awful things to me." Mrs Figg had tears in her eyes that she was wiping with a handkerchief. Harry glanced at Healer Juniper and saw that she also had tears in her eyes. She sniffled and turned away.
Harry had not expected what had happened. He thought they'd just be diagnosing his scar, not healing it, but it looked like his family's magic had other ideas and when he'd identified that dark energy as a threat, his magic had reacted.
They all took a moment to recover. Mrs Figg ran to make some tea. Luna ran to find Loki. Harry found himself alone with the healer who was looking at him fiercely.
"I need to tell you something while we're alone, Mr Potter. I don't advise you to share it with just anyone as it's very dangerous information," she said.
"What just occurred was more than family magic," she said, "It was ancient magic. Something that I haven't felt since I was fresh out of school exploring the continent when my friends and I were still set on being curse breakers. The experience was so frightening that I decided to pursue healing instead."
"What happened," Harry asked, intrigued.
"My friends and I were visiting a small village. We'd heard rumors that there was a hidden ruin deep in the mountains. When we got to the village, a group of kids had found their way inside the ruins and two of them were killed. The remaining kids returned home shaken, unable to speak.
"One of them eventually slipped into a coma and we volunteered to investigate the ruins to find out what happened. We were young and cocky... foolish," she said as she shook her head.
Harry didn't comment. He was happy to hear her story and he willed that Mrs Figg and Luna would stay away long enough for her to tell it.
"I won't go into great detail, but our mission did not go well. We found the object seeping with dark energy that we suspected was the cause of the villager's troubles. We brought it back carefully wrapped in a bag similar to what I brought your hospital gown in.
"When we got back to the village, the boy in the coma was working on a dark sacrificial ritual. He was being possessed by whatever was in the object and he had killed over half the village.
Healer Juniper continued, "We tried destroying the object but nothing was working.
"We had to stop the boy and one of my friends cast the killing curse in desperation. The boy died and a dark energy left him and returned to the object."
Harry gasped. It sounded just like the dark energy that left his body.
"What was it?" He asked.
"It's called a horcrux," she whispered. "It's a piece of someone's soul anchored to an object. It prevents the soul from passing on into the afterlife…"
Harry thought about what he'd heard the sinister disembodied voice say… 'You will not defeat me, for I am the greatest wizard who ever lived, and I have taken steps to ensure my immortality and your impending doom…'
"My scar was a horcrux!?" He whispered frantically.
"I believe so," she said. "We eventually destroyed the cursed object using fiendfyre. Dark smoke exploded out of the object before it dissipated into nothing."
Harry didn't know what fiendfyre was but he was grateful he didn't have to be burned to a crisp in order to destroy the horcrux inside his scar.
"Your horcrux seemed weaker than the one we encountered. I suspect there may be more of Voldemort's soul anchors out there. Curse breakers have access to texts that most people don't. In my research, a horcrux is made by splitting the soul in half, so that would mean that half a full soul is in the first object and half remains in the person. If the person were to create another horcrux, they'd split their soul in half again, the second soul fragment would be even smaller…"
Harry wondered just how many times Voldemort had split his soul… there had to be a limit then, luckily… but he agreed with Healer Juniper's assessment that there were more out there.
That meant that Lord Voldemort was still out there somewhere, and could return. Harry wasn't going to let him if he could help it.
Harry wanted to ask her if she was going to tell the Guild about her potential discovery. She'd sworn to keep his medical evaluation a secret, but he wasn't sure if this was covered by that. Did he want her to keep it secret? Maybe the Guild could help.
Before he could ask, Luna returned with Loki in her arms. Healer Juniper asked where the kitchen was and then went to help Mrs Figg with the tea.
"Thanks for what you said, Luna," he said while hugging her. "It made all the difference."
"I only said what your family told me to say," she said. "They really are watching out for you."
Harry agreed. He just wished he could have pinpointed his parents in the mix and gotten to interact with them in some way. Still, he was very grateful for what his family had done for him today.
Mrs Figg and Healer Juniper arrived with tea trays just then. Harry gratefully accepted a cup.
Healer Juniper handed a cup of tea to Luna and said, "We never got around to talking about you, dear, before everything got out of hand."
Luna simply nodded and said, "That's OK, what we did for Harry was very important."
The healer hummed in agreement while sipping her tea. "Are you alright discussing my findings in front of these two," she checked, gesturing to Mrs Figg and himself.
"Oh yes," Luna said, "We're family after all."
Harry smiled a big smile and Mrs Figg blew her nose again.
"Alright, you need to eat three meals per day just like Mr Potter. I'm also going to be sending you some Skelagrow potion to help with your teeth. You can take it before bed each night until you finish the bottle, OK?" She checked.
Luna nodded her agreement.
Healer Juniper reviewed her notes one more time before saying, "You'll probably start your cycle soon so I'll also send you some supplies for that and a potion to help with any discomfort. It should last you until Hogwarts and I know Madam Pomfrey will provide you more as needed."
Luna smiled and said, "I can't wait to be a woman!"
Mrs Figg chuckled. Harry was just confused, completely lost in the conversation.
"I should probably just send all the maturation material now, seeing as how you're living together here," she said.
"Oh, it's not like that though, Harry's like a brother to me," Luna said.
Harry nodded in agreement.
"Still, just to be safe, expect my owl. I should get going," she said. She waved her wand and her privacy screen shrunk and flew into her bag.
Harry got up and went with Mrs Figg to escort her out. "Thanks for all your help, Healer Juniper," he said.
"No problem, reach out if you ever need anything," she said as she handed him a note with her floo address. He just had time to read it before it ignited and burnt into nothing. She threw in some powder and disappeared a moment later.
Mrs Figg's eyebrows raised in shock. "She must really like you, Harry. She doesn't give out her address to anyone… I don't even have it," she huffed.
Harry just smiled. He'd liked the woman too and was grateful to be able to reach out if needed.
He and Luna headed out to the balcony to watch the storm. Lightning lit up the sky and thunder shook all around them. They were soaking wet but they didn't care. They enjoyed the show and each other's company until the storm ended.
"C'mon, sis," he tried as he got up from his seat, "let's go inside and get simmering to eat."
"Coming, big brother," she giggled.