Unofficial Portkey Archive

Chapter 28

The week following the visit to Slantos was as busy as ever for the seven youths. Harry carved out some time from his schedule to train Neville on his newly acquired skill. That meant less alone time with Hermione, during the waking hours that is, but she understood. They also spent some time studying for their NEWTS and catching up on their lessons in which they'd fallen behind.

The fifth song earned its place on the wall:

"The power leaping be the fifth

In Varigal beware."

They'd cut down on their nightly visits to Fincayra since they knew they'd spend the whole day and a half or so on weekends. Except for Harry of course, he continued his nightly visits with Merlin as well as his thirty minute meetings with his grandfather. He seemed to spend less and less time sleeping, but still no effects could be seen on his person.

Harry and Hermione's nights also consisted of loving and sharing, but not every night. Hermione needed her rest. But on the nights they do, they're left contended and with very fond memories of their union.

On the weekend, they found themselves at Varigal. Since the giants were not a friendly lot with the exception of Shim, Emrys' friend, they tried to stay out of site. At the top of the hill overlooking the most ancient city of Fincayra they crouched. They could see the lush green fields surrounding the buildings made from stones. They noticed that it looked similar to the structure at Stone Henge. They saw the giants gathered around what looked like a camp fire. It looked as if they were cooking since the aroma of some type of roasted animal filled the air.

They looked at the giants from afar. Some looked like Gawp, Hagrid's half brother; one looked like a bigger version of Urnalda. One even looked like a distant relative of Hagrid if one took a closer look, which they weren't really willing to do. The giants were fascinating and scary at the same time. Harry and Hermione were the only two that had encountered Gawp in the forbidden forest, though Gawp had become friendly after a while, their initial encounter with him was horrifying.

Emrys was sure he'd find Shim around, taking a nap somewhere, but he didn't see any sign of his friend. He would have loved to say hi to him, he'd rarely had time to visit him nowadays. He'd supposed if it was meal time he wouldn't be napping anyway. Those were Shims favorite activities: napping and eating.

"Well, what do you suppose we have to do to learn the lesson of leaping?" asked Ginny in a low whisper.

"Truth be told, I don't know if the exact lesson is learned from the giants," Emrys told them. "I was able to learn the lesson from one of the spirit of a star named Gwri. I am not exactly sure if she'd show now since the giants have finished re-building their city. She'd only been here at that time because she was helping the giants re-build their city."

The seven were a bit disappointed to hear that bit of news, especially Harry. He'd been having terrible pain connected to his scar. Though he'd been blocking it out successfully, he knew that the increase in pain only meant that the inevitable was getting closer. The confrontation between he and Voldemort neared and they still hadn't found all the meaning to the songs.

He knew he needed to tell the rest of them, but he was caught in between telling them and having them panic or not telling them and having them caught by surprise. Both were important and he'd spent many nights weighing his options. He knew he needed to tell Hermione soon. He felt uncomfortable keeping such information from his wife most especially because the outcome would drastically affect them physically and emotionally if anything were to happen to either one of them.

"I suppose I could tell you what Gwri told me when she was talking to me," Emrys volunteered.

"Well, if it doesn't violate the rules that we'd have to solve it ourselves, why don't we give it a try," Hermione added.

"I'm not sure if we'd violate any of the rules, maybe we should ask Merlin first?"

"Good idea. I suppose we could leap him here," Harry commented. Harry and Emrys closed their eyes and concentrated in locating Merlin. To their surprise Merlin appeared with only a towel wrapped around his waist. The girls giggled and looked away.

"Sorry, about that. We forgot to check if you were decent," Harry told him trying to hold in his mirth.

"Apologies may be accepted when you can actually say it with a straight face," Merlin pretended to be angry. Luckily he'd been able to grab a towel when he first felt the familiar pull of the summons. He summoned some clothing and was dressed in seconds.

The girls turned around when they were told it was safe to do so. Containing their chuckles was a hard task, however, until Rhia reminded them that the giants might hear them. It stopped any giggling on the spot.

"Now, then. What brings me to this fine place on this fine day?" Merlin asked.

"Well, sir, we were just wondering if we'd break any rules if we'd have Emrys tell us what Gwri told him when he had to learn the soul of the fifth song?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I suppose it would all depend on what Emrys tells you, doesn't it."

"I was just going to help them try to figure out the soul of the fifth song the way Gwri had helped me without spelling it out for me. You know in a form of question and answer. That type of thing."

"Then by all means, go to it. I will go back and finish my bath if you don't mind." With that Merlin leapt back to where he was.

"So?" Lavender asked. "What type of questions did the star spirit ask you?"

"She'd asked me things that I had done and their connections to my present predicament at that point. But with all of you since you do not really know who the person is that supposed to learn the lesson, it will be a bit difficult."

"I guess we could just start by just asking questions outloud," Harry suggested.

"Sure," Emrys agreed. "That would be a great start."

"I have a question," Ron voiced. "Like what the bloody hell are we doing in the land full of giants if the person we're supposed to be seeking might not even be here?"

The others looked at each other as if to say, good question. All of the sudden they heard a smooth melodic voice "Well, Ron, maybe you are here because you are here to meet me."

They all turned to find a tall, pale woman with long flowing golden hair that almost reached her feet. She wore a simple, light blue robe, yet her very posture made it seem like an elegant dress. Her eyes shone unusually bright, as if intense flames burned inside her.*

They all goggled foolishly at her except for Rhia and Emrys. "Gwri!" Rhia practically screamed. She felt like running up to her and giving her a hug, but she wasn't sure if she'd be burnt by the heat emitted from her light, or if she'd just go through her.

"You may give me an embrace if you want, Rhia. I will not break nor will I hurt you." With that Rhia happily ran and embraced her. Rhia introduced her to the rest of the teens and they flopped down Indian style surrounding Gwri.

"So, you came," Emrys finally said after he'd recovered from his stunned silence.

"Of course, Emrys Merlin, I will always be present when I am in need."

"Then you know why we traveled here?" Harry asked.

"One of you is here to discover the lesson in leaping, am I correct?" They nodded. She looked at Harry. "It is not you, since you have already mastered the art of leaping. But I want to tell you this. Do not hold anything in too long else it will eat you up inside and become too huge for you to carry around." The six looked at him with questioning gazes. "I am glad that you respect the rules so much that you did not merely tell your friends the meaning of the song. I am humbled to be in your presence. There are many things written in the stars and meeting you in person is most humbling knowing what the future holds for you."

"Could I ask you about the future, then?" Harry inquired.

"I am sorry. But the future, though it is written in the stars, can still be changed."

"Yet, you are humbled by meeting him in person. This means that in the future you see great things about him, yet some events in our present can still alter the outcome of the future you've seen?" Ginny asked.

"You are truly correct, my dear. So, what do you think that means?"

"Are you trying to say, that there are things we can still do right now that would still change the future as it is now?" Ron asked.

"Yes, Ronald. Knowing about the future doesn't necessarily mean that the future is guaranteed for me or any of you."

"But leaping from one time to another, like what we do when Harry brings us back here, does that somehow change our present when that happens or when we do things here at Fincayra in the past?" Lavender asked.

"Ah, but remember, Fincayra is of a different world, not too connected to yours and Harry and Merlin have been wise enough to be able to alter certain memories to help your visits here a bit non-existent. However, if you remember the time turner that Hermione used once before, that type of thing could be dangerous if it falls in the wrong hands or if the power of leaping is passed on to a bad generation."

"Oh, so, are you trying to say then, that if someone can go back in time and change something, our present time could be altered and whatever decisions or actions we make in our present determines our future. Anything that happens in one place could just as well alter the future of another." A bit inspired, Ginny continued, "like those rocks that the giants built. If one of those rocks that support the top happens to fall, then it could just as well affect the other structures next to it. Like a domino affect."

"Exactly," answered Gwri. "Do you see then what the power of leaping means?"

"I think so," answered Ginny. The rest of them looked at her expectantly. The fifth song was about to be solved and they waited anxiously. "Somehow everything is connected to everything else."

With that Gwri smiled and disappeared. The wind stirred around them. Gusts of wind ran through them as if a storm was about to brew. Ginny looked at the rest of them as they took cover. She couldn't hear what anyone of them was saying. The wind was whistling loudly in her ears. She looked as if she was flying and dancing at the same time as her hair swayed with each movement of the wind.

A/N: There's the fifth song. Again, it was more thinking than action this time. I didn't want to have them go against the giants of Varigal. Thanks for your reviews.

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