Harry and Hermione made their way to the stone gargoyle that guarded Dumbledore's office and Harry said "chocolate frog". The gargoyle slid aside and they made their way up the stairs. Knocking on the door, Harry heard a faint "come in" so he opened the door and walked into the office. Walking over to Dumbledore's desk where he sat writing on a sheet of parchment, Harry and Hermione sat in the two chairs that had suddenly appeared in front of them.
Dumbledore finished what he was writing and looked up at them. "Harry, Hermione to what do I owe the pleasure so early this morning?" he asked, curious as to why they were there.
"Well, Sir, something strange just happened to Hermione" said Harry. The Headmaster cocked an eyebrow in question and looked towards Hermione who sat holding a fussing Conlan. Dumbledore got up from his seat and walked over to her, holding out his hands for the baby. Smiling, Hermione handed him over and watched as the baby immediately calmed down in Dumbledore's arms.
"Ah, children are so sensitive to their parent's feelings, it is the strangest thing. Obviously this is something that has you both very concerned, so why don't you explain what happened" Dumbledore said while smiling down at Conlan, and then looking at them.
"Well, Sir it started just a little bit ago..." Harry started to explain but was interrupted by Hermione "it actually started last night Sir."
Harry looked at Hermione confused. "What do you mean it started last night?"
"There's something that happened that I haven't told you about yet. Something woke me up last night and I heard this female voice calling my name. It kept calling to me, telling me to follow it, so I did. It led me to the Room of Requirement. I carefully opened the door because I thought it might have been a trap, but there was no one in the room. There was just this, I guess it's a scepter, floating in the middle of the room. She stopped for a moment and noticed the shocked look on Harry's face and the inquisitive one on Dumbledore's. "Anyway, I walked in and the voice told me not to be afraid and to take what was mine. I walked up to the scepter and grabbed it; suddenly I could feel power course through my entire body. I've never felt that powerful, not even when I had tapped into Conlan's magic."
"And where is the scepter now?" asked Dumbledore.
"In our quarters" Hermione replied quietly.
"WHAT?! You brought it back to our room without knowing what it was?!" exclaimed Harry, quite mad.
"I didn't feel that I was putting any of us in danger Harry. It felt like it belonged to me; I can't explain it but I knew that it was mine and I needed to keep it" Hermione said, trying to calm Harry down.
"What does the scepter look like?" Dumbledore asked, walking over to one of his bookcases while still holding Conlan.
"It's about half as tall as I am, it's gold and has a lotus bud on the top of it" Hermione said and Dumbledore's head snapped around to look at her.
"Are you sure that's an accurate description?" he asked, looking worried all of a sudden.
"Yes, I sat staring at it for a while last night. Why, what do you know about it?" she asked, getting concerned.
"Well, if I remember correctly, it is the scepter of Hera and dates back to ancient Greek times when Zeus was Ruler of the Gods and Goddesses" Dumbledore explained while pulling a book out of the bookcase. Walking over to Hermione, he handed Conlan back to her and sat down behind his desk once again. Flipping the book open, he held his hand over the pages and they magically turned on their own. Once he saw the chapter he was looking for, he stopped them and started to read. "Hera was the sister and wife of Zeus. Zeus tricked Hera into marrying him and was quite unfaithful to her. Because of this infidelity, Hera created a son from her own body; his name was Hephaestus" seeing the shocked looks on the two teens faces, he skipped ahead a few pages in the book. "Hera was the Goddess of Marriage and the Protector of Married Women; the symbol most associated with her is a Lion."
"Wow" said Harry, looking wide-eyed at Hermione, and then looking at Dumbledore. "But what does the scepter have to do with Hermione?"
"I suspect that somewhere in her lineage she is related to Hera" replied Dumbledore. "It may explain why you two were drawn together also; Prometheus and Hera both despised Zeus. One for his infidelity and the other for his hatred of Mortals. They tried to overthrow him, but they were unsuccessful and punished severely."
"Ok, but there is still the event that happened this morning. I had just gotten out of the shower and walked out to see Hermione rocking Conlan as he ate. Then suddenly she went into a trance and started speaking in a voice that wasn't hers." Looking at Dumbledore with a very concerned look, Harry said "I think she gave a prophecy this morning. Do you think it has something to do with the scepter she found?"
Getting up and walking over to a table against the wall, Dumbledore removed a cloth that was draped over an object there, revealing his pensieve. "Harry, will you come here please?" he asked.
Harry walked over to him and he instructed "I want you to think of the event that happened this morning, try to remember every detail." Harry closed his eyes and shook his head, affirming that he had the memory. Dumbledore removed his wand from the pocket in his robes and put the tip to Harry's right temple. Pulling the tip away from his temple, a silvery wisp of light followed the wand as Dumbledore brought it down and touched the tip to the silvery substance in the pensieve.
Dumbledore swirled the substance around with his wand and looked at Hermione, motioning for her to join them. "We are going to have to go in and watch the memory" he said and she handed Conlan over to Harry. "What do you mean we'll have to 'go in'?" she asked confused.
"Just take my hand" said Dumbledore, holding his hand out to her. She took it and Dumbledore bent down, touching his nose to the silvery, shimmering substance. He was immediately pulled in, with Hermione following close behind. They both landed on their feet and Hermione saw that they were in her quarters. She noticed she was sitting with Conlan in her rocking chair; she and Dumbledore watched as she zoned out and spoke in that strange voice she had heard last night. When the memory was through, they both found themselves standing once again in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore had a troubled expression on his face as he walked back over to his desk and started leafing through the book once again. "Just as I feared" he said as he located what he had been looking for.
"What is it Headmaster?" asked Hermione, becoming worried at his troubled expression.
"The scepter's twin mentioned in the prophecy you gave is the scepter of Zeus" he explained.
"How did I give a bloody prophecy!?" she asked, becoming frustrated. Dumbledore's eyebrows shot up at her outburst and she mumbled "sorry, but I don't believe in divination and there's no way I gave a prophecy. That job belongs to that fraud, Professor Trelawney."
Chuckling to himself at her behavior, Dumbledore asked "when you touched the scepter last night, you said you felt a surge of power run through your body, correct?" When Hermione nodded yes, he said "I believe it may have given you some of Hera's powers. She was known for her gift of prophecy and foresight; she was also well known for bestowing that gift on a few people."
Hermione dropped into the chair she had previously sat in, shaking her head in dismay. "I don't want to be a prophet; I have enough to worry about with Conlan and Harry" she said mostly to herself.
"Do we need to be worried about this scepter of Zeus?" Harry asked, sitting down in the chair next to her.
"Most definitely. During the first war with Voldemort, I did some research into his family's lineage and found that his blood line dates back to Zeus. The lightening bolt scar on your head also goes back to Zeus; the weapon he used in battle was a thunderbolt. The fact that the curse he used left the lightening bolt scar on you affirmed that he was in fact an ancestor of Zeus." Both Harry and Hermione's heads shot up at this and they stared wide-eyed at Dumbledore, afraid of where this story was going. "The prophecy Hermione gave mentioned that evil still walked the earth in disguise. It is possible that you didn't kill Voldemort in Malfoy Manor as you thought, Harry."
"But I saw him, his body was reduced to ashes" exclaimed Harry, becoming even more worried.
"He has survived before when we thought him to be dead. Remember Professor Quirell?" Dumbledore looked at them for a moment and said quietly "the green-eyed savior and the marked savior could both be you Harry, but I doubt it. It could be Conlan that is the marked savior; have you noticed any odd markings on his body?"
"No" said Harry and Hermione together. "Couldn't it also mean that Voldemort, if he is still alive, has marked Conlan as his next target?"
"That is an excellent point Mrs. Potter" said Dumbledore, thinking over what she just said. "Either way, the scepter of Zeus needs to be found as soon as possible and destroyed. That job, I am afraid, goes to you Hermione."
"ME?! Why me?" she asked confused.
"The scepter of Hera has sought you out, so that means that you are the only one that can use the magic it possesses. Using the scepter is the only way to locate the scepter of Zeus." Seeing the looks of disbelief on Harry and Hermione's faces, he said "I would not ask this of you if there were any other way. I will contact your parents Mrs. Potter and have them come to the school the day after classes have finished. The five of you will be going to Greece to find the scepter of Zeus." After pausing thoughtfully for a moment, he said "I will also send Remus and Tonks with you; they will act as guards for you and your family. I will also clear it with the Ministry so that you can use magic without getting into trouble. You are going to need to be able to protect yourselves and Conlan. If Voldemort has any knowledge of his heritage and if he has found another host for his spirit, he will be out to find the scepter also." Looking at them with a very grave look on his face, Dumbledore said "if he gets his hands on it, he will gain the immortality he has been after all these years. Merlin help us if that happens."
Harry and Hermione just sat there, trying to take in all the information they had just been given and the possibility of another grave, life threatening journey. "What are we supposed to do once we get to Greece?" asked Harry, not believing what Dumbledore was asking them to do.
"I will see if I can find a book that has the last known whereabouts of the scepter, and you can start from there. I will also ask Remus to find out all he can before your trip. You had better get some breakfast before classes start; big exams today you know and you wouldn't want to take them on an empty stomach!"
Looking at Dumbledore like he was nutters. Harry and Hermione stood up, then made their way out of his office. "I've always wanted to go to Greece, but not like this" said Hermione, shaking her head in disbelief. "How can he ask us to do this?" she asked.
"This time it's you that has to stop Voldemort, not me" replied Harry. "Don't worry Hermione, with Remus and Tonks with us we should be ok. Plus we'll have your parents along to help with Conlan."
"Yeah, that's a really calming thought" said Hermione sarcastically and the two walked down to the Great Hall to eat.
Lucius Malfoy sat in the dank, dark room that Voldemort liked to reside in inside of his lair. He sat rubbing his temples, trying to ease the pain of his throbbing head. All he could hear anymore was Voldemort's voice in his head, always telling him what to do like some puppet master. He just wanted to scream and drown out the high-pitched menace that seemed to dominate his thoughts.
There was a light knock on the door and Lucius gritted out "enter" while still messaging his temples. The bent form of Wormtail slunk into the room, bowing in front of Lucius. When he looked up, he saw it was Lucius sitting there and not his Master. Standing up straight, he asked "why are you sitting in our Master's chair?"
Lucius stopped his ministrations and glared at Wormtail, Voldemort taking over Lucius's mind and body as his eyes took on the same red glow that Voldemort's had. "You dare to question me?" roared Malfoy, but it was Voldemort's voice that was heard. Wormtail hit the ground groveling and stuttered "M-Master, what h-has happened t-to y-you?"
"Potter" Voldemort said, using Malfoy like a ventriloquist's dummy. Lucius hated that he could never use his own voice anymore. "After you sniveling idiots disappeared like cowards, he set my body on fire. When he left thinking I was dead, my spirit left my destroyed body and took refuge in Malfoy's body. He has been a most gracious host" explained Voldemort.
Wormtail stayed groveling on the floor as he said "it seems Rookwood has found out some interesting information at the Ministry Master."
"And why are you here telling me this instead of Rookwood? Send him in, I want to hear it from his mouth, not yours" shouted Voldemort, angry with the coward in front of him.
Wormtail got up, shaking in fear and backing out of the room. He backed up against the door and spun quickly to open it, afraid of being punished by Voldemort for making him mad. The door closed behind him and two minutes later Rookwood walked in. He walked up to Lucius and looked at him strangely. "What are you doing here? I was told to come speak to my Master, not to you."
"I am your Master you imbecile. If you would have stuck around Malfoy Manor you would have known that I inhabited Malfoy's body to survive." Glaring at Rookwood, Voldemort asked impatiently "I was told you have information for me?"
"Yes, Master, I have found out some very interesting things while looking through some of the Ministry's records. I overheard Remus Lupin talking to Nymphadora Tonks and it seems that your lineage dates back all the way to Zeus." A strange look came upon Malfoy's face as Voldemort asked "And why should I care about that?"
"After I found out about your ties to Zeus, I did some research on him. He had a scepter that was with him at all times and contained most of his power. Zeus was immortal and I have found a way for you to use his scepter to gain your own immortality" Rookwood explained, hoping to please Voldemort.
"And where is this scepter?" asked Voldemort, his mind reeling with the possibilities the scepter could hold.
"I don't know, I was unable to find it's exact location. All I know is that it is in Greece" Rookwood explained, noticing the angry expression on Lucius's face.
"What do you mean you don't know?!" Whipping out his wand, Voldemort said "Crucio!" and watched as Rookwood squirmed in pain on the floor. After a couple of minutes he lifted the curse and said "you will find where the scepter is located and you will retrieve it for me. Is that understood, Rookwood?"
"Y-Yes Master" said Rookwood, still lying on the floor feeling the effects of the curse.
"And tell Nott to find out exactly how I am to use the scepter to gain my immortality" ordered Voldemort. "Now get out of my sight and get to work."
Getting up shakily and bowing, Rookwood stood and quickly made his way out of the room. "Well Lucius" thought Voldemort "you may soon get your body back and I may get the immortality I've always wanted. Then I can take care of Potter and his family once and for all!"
After their meeting with Dumbledore, Harry and Hermione took Conlan back up to their quarters so that Dobby could take care of him while they were in classes. They grabbed the books they needed and headed off to their Defense Against The Dark Arts class. After taking that exam along with two others that day, they made their way slowly back to Gryffindor Tower, exhausted. Hermione kept trying to keep her mind off of what Dumbledore had told them this morning, but it was no use. She was afraid to see her exam grades because her thoughts wandered all during class. After excusing Dobby from his job and thanking him, Harry walked over and collapsed onto the bed as Hermione walked over to pick Conlan up out of his bassinet. She walked over to the rocker and put his head up onto her shoulder like Harry had showed her, then turned her head so that her nose was pressed into his hair. "I don't think there is anything that smells as good as a baby" she said, then kissed his forehead. She looked down into his face and was happily surprised to see him smiling at her.
"Harry!" she yelled, jolting Harry awake just as he had fallen asleep. "Harry, look. He's smiling at me!"
Harry jumped up off the bed and quickly walked to her side, just noticing the smile before it dropped off of Conlan's face. "Wow, his first smile" he said, smiling a proud smile, glad he got to see it.
"And it was at me" said Hermione, happiness radiating off of her.
"Of course it was at you, you're his Mum" said Harry, bending down and placing a quick kiss on her lips and then kissing Conlan's cheek. "Are you starting to feel more comfortable with him now?" he asked.
"I'm feeling a little more confidant and comfortable with him" she said "it helps that my hormones are starting to go back to normal too."
"We've been through a lot this year, haven't we?" When Hermione nodded yes, he said "I'm just glad you and I made it through everything together." He reached out and grabbed her hand, squeezing it lightly as he said "I love you Hermione, more than I could ever tell you."
"I love you too Harry" she said, squeezing his hand back. "You don't have to tell me how much you love me; you showed me when you stuck by me when I was being so horrible to you and Conlan. I think most other teenage boys would have given up and left."
"I wouldn't leave you, you are my family now and I'm not going to lose you willingly" he said, smiling at her as his love shone brightly in his eyes. Hermione thought she must have been the luckiest girl in the world to snag a guy like Harry.
A sharp knock on the door brought them out of their serious mood and Harry walked over to open the door. There in front of him stood Remus and Tonks, who had bright purple hair today. "Wotcher Harry! I hear we're going on a trip!"
Tonks walked by him into the room, making a beeline for Conlan and immediately started fussing over him. Remus walked in after her, smiling as he watched her. As she started talking silly baby talk to Conlan, Harry smiled at Remus and said "I think this is going to be a very interesting summer!"
~To see a picture of the scepter of Hera, go to http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/image?lookup=1990.03.0270&type=vase
~To see a picture of Zeus holding his scepter go to http://www.tunisiadaily.com/answers/wonders/zeus.html It's not really a close up, but will give you a general idea.
**I found something really interesting as I researched Greek mythology. Did you know that there really is such a thing as the Philosopher's Stone? And there really was such a person named Nicholas Flamel? Want to see pictures? Go to www.crystalinks.com/flamel.html for Nicholas Flamel and go to www.crystalinks.com/philosopherstone.html . I don't mean to sound like a geek or anything, but I didn't know these two things were real and I was blown away when I came across them. I thought they were just products of JK Rowling's wonderful imagination!! Please review!! Thanks!**