Unofficial Portkey Archive

Ron walked slowly down the corridors of Hogwarts, hands shoved deep into his pockets and his head down slightly. He needed to get away, he needed to think, he needed to be alone. Too many events had been happening lately and it had left him in a right state. Even after his mental battle with himself while Ginny had lain in the Hospital Wing had not improved matters much. For as much as Ron told himself over and over again that he was needed and he was a good wizard, he still didn't fully believe it.

He remembered Hermione mentioning briefly to him and Harry about Dumbledore taking the Four Heirs away to receive private training and the thought brought fear to him. He didn't want to be left at the school all alone. He didn't want his two best friends taken away from his along with his sister. Heck, he'd even miss Malfoy just because there would be no one to make fun of once he was gone.

Ron knew he was thinking ahead of himself with already assuming that Harry was the Heir of Gryffindor but really, was there anyone else? Hermione was now out of the question and there was no way that he, Ronald Weasley, would beat Harry at something as big as this. Ron was truly worried about Harry though and he could tell Hermione was too. November had finally started and with Malfoy finally showing himself to be an Heir, that left one other. Harry tried to put it off and ignored the obvious signs but Ron had seen him in their dormitory. Harry always stayed up late now and Ron often caught him staring for hours at the picture that was taking at his parents' wedding.

Harry had suffered so much already. He had lost his parents when he was only one year old. He had lived with those horrible people he had to call relatives for fifteen years. He had watched Cedric Diggory die before him and then Voldemort rise again in front of him. And then, last year, he had watched his godfather fall to his own death. Harry had experienced more suffering and death in his short life than most people experienced in a lifetime. How his powers had never been revealed before, Ron would never know. Ron knew Harry was almost pushed to the brink last year with Sirius' death. Who would die this year to make Harry go fully over the edge?

Ron was so deep within his thoughts he hadn't realized he had walked all the way up to the seventh floor. He found himself staring at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy being clubbed severely by a group of trolls. He turned to his left and stared at the blank wall before him, behind which held the Room of Requirement. Probably the most fascinating room in all of Hogwarts, all a person had to do was think of a place that fit their needs, and voila! the necessary room would appear.

"I could use a quiet place at the moment," Ron muttered as he started walking backwards and forwards in front of the wall space. He kept his mind clearly focused on a place where he could merely think. After the third time by the wall, a brass door handle appeared and Ron quickly grabbed it and pulled the door open, eager to step inside.

What greeted his eyes was a high-ceilinged room with very tall bay windows draped in dark red curtains. A large, brick fireplace stood across from the door with a fire crackling merrily within it. The floor was carpeted in the same color as the curtains with several squashy, large armchairs pulled up neatly in front of the fire. Gold colored pillows accented the chairs nicely. Bookshelves lined the two walls that were adjacent to the wall containing the fireplace. The room reminded Ron very much of the Gryffindor Common Room, minus the people and homework spread over every square inch of space. He stepped into the room, a calmness suddenly descending on him and he smiled. Exactly what I wanted, he thought.

As the door closed behind him, a noise to his left made him jump in surprise and he looked over to see none other than Luna Lovegood seated at one of the bay windows, a copy of The Quibbler in her lap, and her large, pale eyes staring at him intently. "Hello, Ronald," she said softly.

Ron took a quick step backward. Why was Luna Lovegood here? He specifically requested that he be alone. But with grudging acceptance he realized the room couldn't stop others from being there. Luna had obviously been looking for the same solitude he was and they just happened to have found it at the same time. "H..Hi, Luna," he finally stuttered in response.

"You were looking for a place to think," she stated simply.

"Um....yes," he said quietly, averting his eyes, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, just reading," Luna responded airily.

Ron raised an eyebrow at her and stepped further into the room. "Well, ah....I hope you don't mind, but well.....I sorta want to be alone."

"I'm sure you do," she said, flipping a page of the magazine and studying it carefully. She was obviously not moving.

Ron was starting to get impatient now and took a more determined step toward her. "The key word was alone."

"Yes, I heard you the first time," Luna said in that annoyingly dreamy voice, causing Ron to turn slightly red in anger.

He obviously wasn't going to win this argument. He swore, Luna could be as stubborn as Hermione sometimes and he hated it. He barely knew Luna but from the moment he met her in his fifth year, he had found her to be the strangest human being he had ever met. She effectively made his temper rise all the time and he was annoyed that he could never understand her. Ron often wondered if she had a crush on him but the mere thought was ridiculous to him and, in fact, made him feel a little sick.

Ron remembered he had been intrigued by her those few weeks ago in the Hospital Wing but one incident wasn't going to change his opinion on her, he still found her completely, well, loony.

Luna's eyes followed him over the top of The Quibbler as Ron made a show of sighing loudly and marching over to one of the armchairs in front of the fire and flopping down into it with a huff. He crossed his arms over his chest and stared bitterly into the bright red flames, muttering incoherent words under his breath. The article on five-legged, snapping Shnorkles was no longer interesting to her and she continued to watch as Ron repeatedly ran his fingers through his hair until it was sticking up all over his head.

"Something the matter, Ronald?" she asked, setting the magazine down.

"Never you mind," he snapped back.

Luna was unfazed though and slid of the window sill and walked over to an armchair across from Ron, sitting down quietly and turning her head to him. He pointedly ignored her and continued to stare furiously into the flames.

"You can talk to me, you know, I'm good at listening," Luna said softly.

"What does it matter? Its not like you care," he said stiffly.

"Maybe I do care, Ronald," Luna replied in a much clearer voice which made Ron glance at her out of the corner of his eye, "There is something bothering you and since no one else is here but me, I can't see you telling anybody else, unless you think the fire will answer all your questions."

Ron sighed deeply and ran his hand through his hair again. A look of concentration fell on his face and he seemed to be pondering whether or not to spill some of his feelings to Luna. They weren't exactly great friends but he needed to talk to someone and Harry and Hermione were out of the question this time.

"I don't know," he said quietly, "I'm just a little.....confused right now, you could say. And I guess a little.....hurt. I feel very left out at the moment. All of these things happening, the Four Heirs suddenly showing up, one my best friend, one my sister, and most certainly my other best friend will be the last one. Then all these people dying because of it. Hermione lost her parents, and then Bill......Bill's dead, I loved him too. Bloody hell, I even feel bad for Malfoy that someone he cared for died." Ron paused to wipe a tear away. "And then, can you actually believe it? I'm jealous, jealous! How can I be? I'm being incredibly selfish! I have no right to be jealous of them." Ron stopped again and said, more quietly this time, "I just want to be noticed as well. Was I not good enough to be chosen by the Founders? Is this like a slap in the face, saying "Ron, you're not a good wizard"? What is it?"

He turned more fully to look Luna straight in the face, who was watching him with an expressionless face. "And then I'm scared, scared as hell for my friends. They all might die and I won't be there to say I tried to help, that I tried to save them. I have to just wait here like everybody else, waiting for news and wondering the entire time. It isn't fair!" He yelled, pounding the chair. "I want to help! I want to fight! But no, I can't."

Ron stopped his flow of words and looked once more into the fire. "I just love them all too much to let them do this alone."

He hadn't noticed Luna stand up and kneel down in front of him until she reached a hand up to his cheek and made him face her. He flinched at her touch but stared down into her eyes, blue meeting blue.

"They're not alone, Ronald, they have each other. Hermione, Ginny, Harry, they're all very strong. They were picked for a reason and I have no doubt in their abilities. And for you," she suddenly looked very stern, no traces of her normal, dreamy tone anywhere, "never have me hear again from your mouth that you are not a good wizard. Just because you were not chosen doesn't put your powers in any less regard. Are you saying every other witch and wizard not chosen is horrible in their powers? I would think not! Your time will come to prove yourself, maybe not right now, but eventually." She dropped her hand but didn't move from her spot on the floor.

Ron was astounded by Luna's moment of wisdom and he gaped at her in a very unbecoming way, unsure of how to respond. Luna finally stood up though, the unaware look once more passing over her features. "Well, Ronald, I must be going now. I have some homework to finish up." She turned away from him but Ron quickly stood up.

"Wait!" he said gruffly, grabbing her wrist and spinning her back around. Luna gave him a very surprised look but before she could open her mouth, Ron bent forward and kissed her right on the lips.

He didn't know why he was doing it but Ron had just found a sudden urge to kiss her. Yes, Lavender was his girlfriend but what he was feeling at the moment was indescribable. Luna was still strange, still Loony Lovegood, and this was completely out of his character to kiss her but he had to. He didn't know why, he just did. He finally pulled away from her to find her gazing at him blankly. Realization at his actions sunk in finally and he flushed bright red to match his hair.

"I....uh.....well, um.....I g....gotta go," Ron stuttered before turning and fleeing the room.

And as the door slammed behind him, Luna raised a hand to her lips, her eyes glimmering with hope.

........................................

Harry was in his dormitory, pacing restlessly, his eyes darting everywhere but to the girl who was sitting anxiously on his bed.

"Harry, will you settle down! Your pacing is getting on my nerves," Hermione said in exasperation.

"I can't!" Harry snapped, "I'm so worried right now that I can't sit still." He ran a hand through his eternally messy hair and glared at Hermione, who sighed.

"Harry, you don't know if it's you," she said softly.

"Who else?! You tell me bloody well who else and maybe I'll believe it!" he yelled at her.

"Don't yell at me, Harry!" Hermione said, looking close to tears.

Harry's eyes softened slightly but he resumed his pacing. "Someone else is going to die because of me. Everyone keeps dying who's connected to me, I can't bloody take it anymore!"

"Oh, Harry, it's not your fault! How many times must Ron and I repeat that to you?"

Harry looked away from her and slumped down to the floor. "It is my fault," he whispered.

Hermione didn't know how to comfort Harry. She really couldn't blame him for his feelings for she knew she would feel the same way if she were him. She could understand slightly, she blamed herself for her parents' deaths. Well, she had blamed Dumbledore too. Hermione knew that Dumbledore wasn't the cause of it though, he had made a mistake but he would never cause pain to people. Hermione had just needed to blame somebody, anybody except herself. She had yet to apologize to Dumbledore but her pride kept her back and she felt ashamed. She had heard of the evidence left at her parents' home but that had just convinced her even more that Voldemort had been behind the suffering. That bastard will pay, she thought angrily, surprising herself with how deeply she wanted revenge.

Suddenly Hermione felt an odd sensation go through her once more and she froze. It was the same feeling when Draco had collapsed in Potions. Her eyes went immediately to Harry, who had gone rigid on the floor. But unlike the immeasurable pain Hermione had felt before, the deepest emotion she felt off of Harry was anger. Uncontrollable anger. Pain was there slightly but the hatred she felt almost made her pass out. She grabbed her head between her hands and squeezed her eyes shut, willing the pulsating anger to leave her head.

It only grew though and Hermione opened her eyes in fright to see Harry taking on a red glow. No screams were coming from him which left Hermione extremely puzzled. Wasn't he in pain? The red glow grew brighter and brighter but still Harry only trembled slightly.

And that's when Hermione remembered the Prophecy and the part containing the information of the Heir of Gryffindor: "The heir of Gryffindor would be stronger than the other three though, owing to the fact that Godric Gryffindor himself was extremely powerful. This heir could do more than the others and will be known as more of the leader of the four."

Hermione stared at Harry in awe as the red light finally vanished and the image of a roaring lion appeared over him and disappeared. That was the answer, Harry was the most powerful wizard out of all of them and he was to be their leader. The strength that Harry possessed had caused him not to react to the changes in the same way that herself, Ginny, and Draco had. Hermione had always known Harry would be a very powerful wizard but this cemented her belief.

She watched as he stood up slowly, shaking from the event but otherwise unharmed. Hermione still felt the anger radiating from him but a feeling of numbness was added to it, as if Harry had finally understood what had just happened to him.

"Harry?" she breathed, unsure of what to do.

He whipped around to stare at her, emerald eyes blazing in such ferocity that Hermione was truly scared and leaned away from him.

"Where's Ron?" he growled slowly.

Hermione had never in her life felt intimidated by Harry but right now, she wanted to be nowhere near him. She now knew why some students feared him so and skirted around him in the corridors. Harry looked, there was no other word for it, evil at the moment.

Hermione mouthed wordlessly at him for a few seconds before he grew impatient. "WHERE?!" he yelled, causing her to jump.

"I....I don't know.....In...in the Common Room maybe," she whispered faintly.

Without a word, Harry strode from the dormitory and swept out the door, Hermione quickly recovering from her shock and running after him. No one seemed to notice the fuming Harry until he barked out, "Where's Ron?"

The chatter died away immediately as everyone's eyes turned to Harry, who was glaring at them coldly, to Hermione, who was clenching and unclenching her hands, looking absolutely terrified. No one answered but at that moment the portrait swung open and Ron came rushing in, looking very white and shaky.

A look of relief passed over Harry's face and his shoulders sagged. Ron didn't seem to notice the tension and he scurried up to the dormitory without a backward glance. Harry's sudden relief left him as another thought hit him. "No..." he whispered, "no......it can't....oh please don't let it be true."

Harry ran from the Common Room and started sprinting down the corridors. Jumping down the flight of stairs leading to the entrance hall, he almost ran headlong into Professor Dumbledore. He skidded to a stop, panting. "Professor! Hagrid? Where is he?!"

"Harry, calm down," Dumbledore said, looking more upset than Harry had ever seen him, "I know this is difficult."

"Where's Hagrid?" Harry repeated desperately.

Dumbledore bowed his head. "Harry, I'm sorry......"

"NO! No, he's not dead! No!" And he fled from Dumbledore and out the doors, not even noticing the large raindrops hitting his face and blurring his glasses. Harry stumbled to his knees in front of Hagrid's hut, breathing hard and rapidly.

"HAGRID!" he shouted, hoping with everything within him that the door to the hut would open and Hagrid's great bearded face would be smiling down at him. The door remained shut though and no light twinkled out at him from the covered windows.

"HAGRID!" he shouted once more but this time knowing it was useless. He shoved his sopping hair out of his eyes, tears flowing freely down his cheeks to mingle with the water drops. "WHY?!" he screamed at the sky.

Harry felt the anger build once more and the new powers he had just received surged through his blood. Voldemort had finally gone too far. Sirius had been too far to begin with but now, now it was all about revenge. Red swam before his eyes as he imagined making Voldemort suffer and then watching him die a slow, terrible death.

The anger kept boiling within him and he found that the rain was beginning to fall in bigger gusts around him. The wind screamed by his ears and a bolt of lightening flashed across the sky and struck the ground a few hundred feet away from him. Harry gripped the wet grass tightly between his fingers, the violent wind never ceasing around him. The trees in the Forbidden Forest swayed and creaked against the onslaught. Harry could feel his control slipping, the wind becoming even fiercer. With a great amount of strength, he slammed his fist into the ground and the wind stopped abruptly, leaving the rain falling gently to the ground once more.

Harry shivered and glanced at the Hagrid's hut again. Lip trembling, he gave in fully to his emotion of sorrow and cried openly in the dark, never feeling more lost than he did at that moment.

And so all the Heirs had finally been revealed. They had all paid their price and the gifts of the Founders had now surfaced from within them. Their suffering was not over though, for now the fate of the world rested in their hands.

..........................

Author's Note: I am so flattered by all of the reviews. *blushes* You guys are just wonderful and amazing! Hugs and kisses and more hugs! I love you all and your support is just, wow! :)

Longer chapter for you guys here so I hope you like it. I hope you enjoyed my Ron/Luna scene at the beginning, I had to give them some love, lol. I hope I didn't make Luna seem real OOC but I always have some trouble with her character. I know she's a bit strange but I also imagine her to be very understanding as well, just my take on her.

I know that I also changed how Harry got his powers but since he already is powerful, I thought it would make more sense this way. I can't see him collapsing for some reason....hope you guys don't mind the change. And please, don't hate me for killing Hagrid, I almost cried when I wrote it but besides Hermione and Ron, Hagrid was the one other person that meant a lot to Harry and having him die was just the final straw for Harry. People have complained about him suffering enough and I hated having Harry lose another but it was necessary for my story. I feel bad for Harry too, but don't worry, all will work out in the end!

I wanted to say one more thing, I hope I don't sound rude about this because people are entitled to their opinion but some reviews I got recently from one reviewer were kinda nasty in my opinion and they hurt me. I take so much pride in my writing, it means so much to me and I pour my heart into it so much that bashing really gets me down. I love constructive critisim, it really helps me and I don't mind if people don't like my story if they are civil about it, but to say I've ruined things by having certain things in the story just hurts and makes me wonder if my story is worth anything. I don't want to sound mean or anything I'm just bringing across a point. I had another story of mine bashed before and I had to stop writing it for a bit because this person basically said my writing was crap and to never post again. I don't want that here. I hate to let things get to me but you know how it feels when someone trashes something that has come from your heart and mind, it hurts. So please, I ask everyone leave me reviews all you want, as long as they contain constructive words, not bashing. No offense to the person who wrote the reviews, truly I mean no harm to you, I just wanted to make you aware of what your words meant to me.

Thank you again to everyone and I hope you like this chapter. Please review!
Much Love,
PhoenixFirebolt