Finding the Muse
by Rain Fletcher
Epilogue
It was a clear, mild Saturday in October, exactly two weeks since Harry's chance meeting with Hermione, Luna and a bassoon out by the lake, and once again, Harry found himself wandering aimlessly through the halls of Hogwarts, through the courtyard, and out onto the grounds.
It had been an eventful week to be sure. Hermione had been more than willing to tutor Harry in the basics of reading music, and had used the textbook given to them by Professor Sprout to come up with all manner of lesson plans and worksheets for him. She no longer seemed as concerned by the idea that they would not be able to find the time to pursue music amidst their magical studies: if anything, putting her in the role of the teacher had only increased her focus. As a consequence, every evening after finishing his actual schoolwork he would find himself up to his ears in dots, lines, All Cows Eat Grass and Every Good Boy Deserves Favour.
For the moment, he was enjoying it immensely, but he recognized that this was probably because it was something he really wanted to do rather than something that had been foisted upon him. More than this, though, it gave him something new to share with his friends. The trick would be in remembering that and not letting it somehow turn into unwelcome work.
Another, more unexpected change was that Hufflepuffs were the friendliest they'd ever been with him, frequently exchanging small talk in shared classes or the Great Hall, or making eye contact and sharing a knowing smile and nod with him in the hallways. Only after this did he notice that Hufflepuffs had something of a silent language amongst their own, and he was surprised and even a bit humbled that they had begun to open up to him.
Today's venture out onto the grounds had been free of such interactions, though: the halls had been all but empty except for the occasional Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. It seemed that most everyone was either already out on the grounds or holed up in their dormitories studying (that was where Harry had left Ron and Neville, at any rate). He hadn't seen Hermione since breakfast, but she had mentioned having something to research in the library, thus making her likely to be missing for the day, if not the weekend.
Mindful of this, Harry was a bit surprised when, just as he reached the well-worn path to the quidditch pitch, Hermione's hand closed on his forearm. "Harry," she said, stepping up from behind him, "are you busy?"
"Not in the least," he smiled at her, but the smile faded when he saw the intent look on her face. "What is it?"
"Would you come with me, please? I need to find Luna, and I… need to have you there when I do."
"Of course, but… what do you mean? What's wrong?"
Hermione let out a tense breath. "Nothing's wrong, really, but… I'm going to confront Luna with something, and I want her to tell the truth. I have the feeling she'd be more likely to tell the truth if both of us were there."
She steered them toward the lake, and they walked in step for a while as Harry tried to figure out what she was driving at. She had a book under her opposite arm, but the cover did not look familiar, and he could not see the title from his present angle. "Hermione," he said patiently, "what's this all about?"
"Do you remember how I've been wondering why it is that I can play so well when I'm in a duet with Luna? And how I thought there must be magic involved? I couldn't put my finger on what it might be, but then after you told me and Ron about what she said to Professor Sprout, I had an idea." She held up the book so that he could read its title: MYTHTORICAL MAGIC: Muggle Mythology and Wizard History.
"This is an advanced Muggle Studies book that's been out of the curriculum for a number of years," Hermione explained, "but they still have copies of it in the library. It's all about which elements of Muggle myths and legends had some basis in fact within the wizarding world."
"Alright," Harry nodded, "but what does that have to do with Luna?"
She proceeded to open the book and page through it. It never ceased to amaze Harry that Hermione could do just about anything while reading a book, including walking sure-footedly down the sloping earthen path that wound toward the lake. "The part where she talked about shaming the Muses and hiding behind a Siren got me thinking, so I looked in the section on Greek mythology and found this about the Muses." She paused to clear her throat, then began to read.
"`Famed in myth as the inspiration of Muggle artists and scientists, the nine Muses were said to be the children of Zeus, king of the Greek pantheon. Each of the sisters presided over a sphere of influence. Calliope, the eldest and leader, was the Muse of Epic Poetry, and thus was the Muse of the great Muggle poet Homer. Her sisters included Clio, the Muse of History and Heroic Poetry; Erato, the Muse of Love Poetry and…' erm… `Erotica,'" (Hermione again cleared her throat, but Harry thought it best not to laugh at her expression) "`Euterpe, the Muse of Music; Melpomene, the Muse of Tragedy; Polyhymnia, the Muse of Sacred Poetry; Terpsichore, the Muse of Dance and the Dramatic Chorus; Thalia, the Muse of Comedy; and Urania, the Muse of Astronomy and Astrology.' And then skipping ahead a little, there's this: `Some of the best-known legends of the Muses involve their rivalry with the Sirens, and the singing contests between them.'"
"So the mermaid on the Hufflepuff portrait door is a Siren?" Harry asked, having not made the connection until that moment.
"Right," Hermione nodded. "In some of the legends the Sirens were hideous bird-women, but in others they were mermaids. But I haven't even gotten to the interesting part yet! Listen to this: `While little direct evidence remains from this period in magical history, it has long been held by magical scholars that the Muses were a coven of witches who practiced magic, music, art and science as equal disciplines, effectively blending their arts and sorcery in a fashion yet to be equaled by modern practitioners.' Don't you see, Harry? Music and magic were the same thing to them!"
"Well, that explains why Luna might know about them, but…"
"I'm not finished," she interrupted. "Here's more: `To seek divine inspiration, a Muggle artist would begin each work with an invocation of the appropriate Muse.' There's a sidebar here with the opening lines of Homer's Odyssey, but I'll skip that. `If the Muse found the artist worthy, she would bestow a blessing in the form of her faith. The magic of faith is, of course, scarcely understood even to this day, but it is generally accepted to be a power akin to the great Mysteries. The Muses, by all accounts, were unsurpassed in their skills with faith magic, and were able to inspire greatness by bestowing that faith upon those they favoured.'"
Harry nodded, as he was beginning to see what Hermione was driving at. "So you think Luna might have some sort of…" he groped for the word, "affinity with this faith magic?"
"Yyyeeesss," Hermione said carefully, "but… I think there's more than that. Listen: `While several pureblood Wizard families claim descent from one or more of the Muses, there is only anecdotal evidence to support their claims. Many believe that such "Muse-touched" descendants exist in both the Wizard and Muggle worlds, exhibiting unusual talents within the spheres of one or more of the Muses.'"
"Alright, then you think Luna's… `Muse-touched?'" Harry asked.
"No, I think Hufflepuff is," she answered with an impatient sigh. "We've seen their talents with music, but if you look back into the school's history, Hufflepuff's strongest subjects are traditionally History of Magic, Astronomy and Divination, all of which are related to the Muses."
He considered this. Luna had mentioned something about Hufflepuff claiming to consort with the Muses; maybe there was something to that claim after all. "That's very interesting, Hermione, but it doesn't explain why we're on our way to confront Luna."
Here, Hermione finally stopped and thrust the book into Harry's arms. "Look here," she said, turning to the next page and jabbing her finger at the page. "This is an artist's depiction of Euterpe, the Muse of Music."
Harry looked closely at the indicated picture. Euterpe was a young woman whose long ashen-blonde hair was strewn with flowers and leaves, and her eyes were as wide and blue as the sea. She smiled dreamily as she played a double-flute, and she danced as she played, her hair swirling about her. The picture was in constant motion, just like a magical photograph.
"Does that look like anyone we know?" Hermione asked.
Euterpe winked at him from the page, and Harry's jaw dropped. "But - it can't be her! She's younger than we are!"
"That's why I want to talk to her," Hermione replied, taking back the book and continuing toward the lake. "All the pieces fit. One of Euterpe's symbols is the flute, and we've never seen Luna play anything other than wind instruments. You and Ron and I have been capable of things in her presence that we could never have done without some form of magic. There's a connection there, and I want to know what it is, whether it's that she's a devout follower, or..."
"I still don't understand why you wanted me to come with you."
Hermione sighed. "Because she… I just don't…" There was a pause while she chewed her lower lip in thought. "She knows you better than she knows me. I think she'll be more likely to give us an answer if we're both there."
She said nothing more, and Harry did not press her, as he was still more than a little confused by Hermione's brief dissertation on Luna's potential place in mythology.
As they approached the familiar beech tree, Harry became aware of the sound of music coming from beneath its branches. Sure enough, Luna was there, wearing the same straw hat with its cork tassels. She was seated cross-legged on the ground this time rather than in a chair, and she was playing an instrument that looked rather like her clarinet, but made of brass rather than wood. It sounded a lot like a saxophone, but was not curved like one.
Hermione paused for a moment before ducking under the branches of the tree and settling to the ground in front of their Ravenclaw friend. Harry sat beside her, and Luna smiled at the two of them around the mouthpiece of her instrument.
"Hello, Luna," Hermione said, somewhat hesitantly.
Luna stopped playing and set the instrument aside. "You have something to ask me," she said as a statement rather than a question.
"How did you know that?" Hermione asked, startled.
"If I had a mirror I'd show you," Luna smiled. "It's all over your face." She then turned to Harry and nodded in greeting, much like the Hufflepuffs had been doing of late.
"We… I do have something to ask you," Hermione admitted, absently pulling at her fingers. "It's a bit awkward, but… I really have to know, Luna."
"Alright," Luna nodded. "Ask me."
Rather than come out and ask a question, though, Hermione took another approach. "Two weeks ago, when you played that duet with me in the Room of Requirement, I'd barely touched a piano in years, and yet… with you there, I was able to do it almost perfectly without the sheet music. I thought it might have just been luck, and the fact that I'd just been playing it before you'd arrived, but… then just before the duet at Hufflepuff, you said something to me, and I was able to do it again, days later, without any further practice. Do you remember what you said to me?"
"Of course," Luna smiled. "I told you that I believe in you."
"Yes, exactly," Hermione nodded quickly. "And then Ron… he was so nervous when they were chanting his name, asking him to sing, but then you leaned in and said something to him, and he was able to stand up in front of the crowd and perform for them. I asked him later what you told him, and he said you told him the same thing: that you believed in him."
"You were doing something worth believing in," Luna replied. "It would have been silly not to."
"Yes, but…" Hermione paused again, and Harry was a bit surprised to see that she looked genuinely nervous. "Ever since we saw you out here two weeks ago… things have been happening. Harry, Ron and I have been… inspired… in ways I've certainly not felt in years, if ever. And… it all comes back to you, Luna. You've been there all along, believing in us. And there's something I have to know."
Luna nodded, but said nothing. Hermione held her breath for a moment, then went on. "Luna… are you a Muse?"
At this question, Luna slowly closed her eyes and turned toward the lake, and for a moment Harry was sharply reminded of the fact that she was only fifteen. Her eyes had always made her appear much older than she actually was.
"Are you our Muse?" Hermione asked.
For a long while, only the birds spoke, but finally, a small smile appeared on Luna's face, and she looked back at them with eyes half-lidded. "Of course I am," she whispered. "But only because you allowed me to be."
Hermione looked thunderstruck. "You… you are a Muse?"
"Oh, yes, but no more than you are," Luna nodded. "You'll be a fine Muse for someone, I'm sure. In truth, I believe you already are…"
She gave Harry a knowing look as she said this, but before the implications of this could fully set in, there came the sudden sound of drums from fairly close by. A staccato, martial rhythm struck them in a wave of percussive force, rolling through them, past them and over the lake. All three whirled around to find the source of the sound, but saw nothing.
"Where's it coming from?" Harry asked.
"Back there, toward the castle," Hermione replied. "What do you think it is?"
The clear and unmistakable sound of bagpipes rose above the drumming, playing the familiar anthem of "Scotland the Brave." The three exchanged questioning looks for a moment, then as one took off running toward the source of the sound.
On the grassy knoll not far from the castle gates, Hufflepuff House was present in force, some of them drumming, some playing bagpipes, and others carrying tall flags bearing the crest of Hogwarts and the badger of Hufflepuff. They were dressed in traditional Scottish garb, right down to the kilts of yellow and black tartan. Professor Sprout stood in front of the formation, directing them with her wand as though it were a conductor's baton. The drummers were led by Justin Finch-Fletchley, whose sticks were a blur on the drum slung at his side. Among the pipers Harry recognized Hannah Abbott and Zacharias Smith, and several of the flag-bearers, including Susan Bones and Laura Madley, were in fact engaged in a synchronous dance that looked equal parts traditional and martial.
A crowd had already formed by the time the three of them arrived on the scene, and more were arriving by the moment, flooding from the castle and the grounds alike to investigate this singular occurrence. There were a few confused-looking professors amongst them, but the greater part of the throng was comprised of students, whose expressions ranged from surprise to awe to happy amazement.
Meanwhile, off to one side of the formation of musicians, flag-bearers and flag-dancers, Ernie MacMillan was busily unloading drum after drum from a familiar battered wooden trunk, directing a few first-year Hufflepuffs to begin distributing them to the crowd. Soon Gryffindors, Ravenclaws and even the occasional Slytherin were practically lining up for the chance to receive drums of their own.
At the end of the first anthem, Professor Sprout's voice rang out over the noise of the crowd. "Those of you who know the songs, by all means, join in! Those of you who do not… by all means, join in anyhow!" That said, Justin led them in with a marching beat, and the dozen drummers and eight bagpipers followed him into another traditional piece whose title Harry could not place.
For most of the length of this next song, Harry, Hermione and Luna stood at a distance, as though not daring to approach. While most of the crowd was still watching, a few had taken to their drums, playing them enthusiastically if inexpertly, while still others were clapping along with the basic beat, and a few were even bouncing on their toes and almost dancing in place.
Hufflepuff had found another way to bring music to Hogwarts after all.
Harry looked over at Luna, whose smile was particularly dreamy at the scene before them, then back at Hermione, whose shock was only matched in her expression by her delight.
"Well," said Luna with a shrug, "it's a start." Then she was off to join the circle, gratefully accepting a hand-drum from Ernie.
More and more of the students were drumming along now, and Harry saw no end of familiar faces: Neville, Seamus, the Creevey brothers, even Cho Chang, looking happier than he'd seen her since before Cedric's death. Draco Malfoy stood in a crowd of other Slytherins, doing their best to look disdainful and pointedly not participate, but Harry couldn't bring himself to care. They didn't get it, and if anything he felt sorry for them because of that. They'd never know what they were missing.
At that moment, Ron broke off from the crowd, spotted the two of them, and waved frantically. "Harry! Hermione! Get over here and get a drum!"
"Shall we?" he asked her, smiling hugely.
"Oh, I believe we shall," Hermione laughed, grabbing Harry's hand and pulling him toward the circle.
The End
Author's Notes: And that's a wrap. I would be remiss if I did not give thanks at this point to those who've been my Muses for this story. First is my wife Rachel, who is my Calliope, first and greatest amongst Muses, and the inspiration for the Epic that is marriage and family. Other Muses, in no particular order, have been Nancy Lorenz, Cy Panache, Prongsphile, Goldy, Maple Mountain, Demosthenes, Carondelet and Anne U (you may all feel free to discuss amongst yourselves which of the other eight you are). Thanks go out as well to all who have read and posted words of appreciation and/or encouragement. This was my first sustained narrative in years, and it felt good to get back to it.
Incidentally, I realize in retrospect I should have used the spelling "bodhran" rather than "bodhram," this being a story set in Britain and all, but… oh well.
Thanks also to Portkey and fanfiction dot net for providing a place to do this sort of thing.
Traditionally, at the end of every story I give a recommended soundtrack. This time, however, I think that part has been made pretty self-evident… =)
Last, but not least, thanks to JK Rowling for creating such an amazing world. Book Six, here we come!