Chapter 10. Healing the Past.
The start of this Hogwarts school year was for the students much like any other. For the new intake it was a little scary and very awe-inspiring, for the older students it meant new challenges and possibly the spectre of examinations to be faced at the end of it. For some there were new responsibilities as well. James Potter and Jennifer Lupin had both been selected by the Headmaster and both now had prefect duties to perform for their respective houses.
To James' surprise his sister had shown no fit of jealousy, or really any untoward reaction when his letter and badge had arrived. She had been politely encouraging and supportive, at this additional barrier that had arisen between them, not her usual self at all. Although the bond between them was far to intense to be permanently disrupted by run of the mill upsets like this Nat usually made at least lip service to a normal brother and sister spat, just to make things seem normal. Something had happened to her over the summer, James was sure of it, but despite the mental exchanges that were commonplace to them he could discern no reason for his thoughts, but he knew he was right none the less.
All the pageant, the complete panoply that made Hogwarts into the safe, secure environment that it was, followed its inexorable course. The students were sorted, installed, and instructed as they had been for over a thousand years. Hogwarts had become a symbol to many in the wizarding world as the one place that never changed, and apart from the unpleasantness surrounding a certain dark wizard, who for some still remained as 'he who should not be named', it never did.
In this castle that embodied all that wizards could be proud of, one wizard lay in his bed and pondered what his life would be from now on with no magic to fill the emptiness he felt. Neville was profoundly depressed, he knew his wife and daughter still loved him, he knew his best friends loved and cared about him as they had always done, but inside him without his magic he felt as nothing. He had never been that good at magic, he knew that, but the thought that he could no longer walk his greenhouses nurturing with a single touch, those delicate and difficult plants he was so fond of, took away his very existence. It is so sad that in depression one can only concentrate on the negative side of life, that Neville still had so much that was good mattered for very little, he was driving himself into a decline, that if allowed to continue, he may never be able to recover from.
Healer Jessup had insisted that Neville stay at Hogwarts, partly because she didn't want to fail in her treatment of him but also because most of his closest friends were near at hand and they were untiring in their efforts to help him. She knew that going to St.Mungo's would be a one way trip to the closed ward on the fourth floor; here he had a better chance. Of all Neville's visitors the one which caught the attention of the healer most was the youngest of the Potters' children. She would often come into the ward and sit at his side and just talk of insignificant things, but if there was already a visitor at the bedside she would go to the corner of the ward and sit quietly watching as if taking it all in, then suddenly, without making her presence known, leave looking very thoughtful.
Professor Glynis Honeybourne the potions mistress, known to most of the older male students as Professor Honey, but one has to say not to her face, sat in her office. For safety sake the potions classes were still set in the dungeons, but her office on the first floor of Dumbledore Tower gave her a splendid view out over the mountains that ringed the Castle and its lake. She was striving very hard to make her position at Hogwarts successful, but she was young and pretty and in some corners that was a disadvantage, however she knew her stuff.
Top of her class at Beauxbatons, she had graduated with the highest marks ever recorded at the school, and then she was given the opportunity to teach at Hogwarts which was just too great to miss out on. She felt fortunate to have been attached to Dumbledore House, Professor Granger the head of the House had a fearsome reputation from her part in the destruction of Voldemort, but in reality was one of the nicest people Glynis had ever met, along with her husband and the Headmaster, she was made very welcome, and settled easily into the old school's routine.
From the very beginning Glynis operated an open door policy for the students and never minded the interruptions that grew from this. So it was no surprise to her that Natalie Potter knocked on her door just a few days into the start of the term.
"Natalie, how nice to see you." Said Professor Honeybourne, her French accent, acquired at school, was hardly noticeable any more, "did you have a good summer?"
"Yes thank-you Professor," Nat answered, staring at the Professor. She was momentarily distracted by the thought that there was little physical difference between the appearance of the pretty potions mistress and an image of herself she had once seen in her bedroom mirror. It was all still a bit scary.
"You wish to ask me something?"
"Oh yes, sorry," Nat got herself back on track. "Do you know of any potion that smells of toffee?"
"Well, let me think, there are several that taste of toffee, but all of them smell very different, usually quite revolting as I recall," she replied, opening a large and very tattered book on her desk, "but, as far as I can recall, there is only one that smells of toffee, caramel to be precise, it is very old and not in use now. Its effects, if I remember correctly, were so ghastly that its use was prohibited." She continued to thumb through the book, and then near its end she stopped pointing to the closely printed script on the page. "Yes here it is, Extorqueaserum, used in the late fourth century, by the Inquisitorial Court of the Russian Confederate of Wizards."
"What for?" Said Nat dreading the answer.
"As a substitute for execution, it says here," Glynis replied, then she read on. "Oh this is quite horrible, it seems that witches or wizards deemed to be unworthy or a danger to their fellows were given the potion, and it reduced them to the state of a 'kerst'janka', or 'kerst'jannin', a peasant," she looked up from the pages, "they mean a muggle."
Nat looked back, her face very pale and despair in her emerald green eyes. "Does it mention any cure, or a way to reverse the effects?" she asked with some desperation.
"Goodness what has got into you?" Professor Honeybourne asked in surprise, "anyone would think you know someone affected by this awful potion."
Nat was unsure whether to pursue this any further, then realising how close she might be to getting all her questions answered, put her gift to work and looked deep into the soul of the woman sitting before her. She saw only light no darkness and she knew that the Professor could be trusted. The Professor for her part gasped as her soul was peeled open and read by the young girl at her desk, then was filled with an unexpected joy as she passed the test. Professor Honeybourne put her hand up to cover her heart, she was quite breathless as if she had witnessed something very exciting. "What was that?" She laughed as she asked.
"I'm sorry Professor it's something that I could always do, even when I was very young. I needed to know if I could trust you. …Really trust you."
"And, what did you find?"
Nat smiled at her then asked "Did you know that my Uncle Neville is in the hospital wing?"
"I did not know you had an uncle, Natalie? Ah! I understand, you must mean Mr. Longbottom, from Thrubwell's?"
"Yes, that's right" said Nat. "Well he is, and he can't do magic any more," So Nat explained everything she knew about Neville's condition, and the fact that, even though she knew there were none about, she could always smell toffees whenever she was with him, and it had set her to wondering. "Now we know what the problem is we will be able to help him." She said brightly.
But Glynis was shaking her head, "No my dear, I am afraid the cure is even more obscure than the potion," she turned the book so that Nat could read the page. "See here," and Nat read.
"The effects of Extorqueaserum can only be reversed when the light of love hears the song of the bird that sits in the tree of life."
Nat stared at the page as if her very life depended on her fathoming out the riddle. "I think we need to talk to my Mum and Dad," she said, and gathering up the book and with a willing Professor Honeybourne in tow, set off to find them. They found them sitting with Neville and Ginny in the common room that Harry and Hermione shared as an office and formed part of the small set of rooms they occupied while at Hogwarts.
Situated in the main building close to the Headmasters office it was very like the rooms they had shared as head boy and girl all those years ago, but with one major difference. In those days there had been a very special room, bare on the inside unless it was asked to find the location of someone the viewer wished to see, then the room, the Speculator, would produce an image projected on its walls and where that person was would be a secret no more. That room, as with all the rooms that formed that very special place, had vanished the moment Harry and Hermione left the school to start their home in Godrics Hollow.
"So how does this potion produce its effects?" Asked Harry, once all had been explained.
Professor Honeybourne looked disheartened, "I am sorry Harry but I am afraid I don't know."
"Oh Harry sometimes you can be so dense," said Hermione in exasperation, "No offence intended Glynis," she said in an aside, "but Harry ought to know that the effect of spells and potions is often hidden in its naming. Extorqueaserum literally means a dislocating potion, it must separate the victim from his or her magic, it must use some form of barrier, for because once you have magic you can never lose it. Only by dying can you relinquish your magic, and even then I am not so sure it is that easy."
Nat regarded her mother with a new respect; it was possible that even with the extra instruction Eleanor had given her, Hermione was still smarter than she was.
"So," said Harry, not in the least abashed by his wife's reprimand, "all we have to do is break down this barrier, and I suppose that this light of love and bird of happiness has something to do with that."
"It's the bird that sits in the tree of life, Dad, not the bird of happiness," said Nat sounding rather like a young Hermione.
Harry actually had the grace to wince this time. "OK, …sorry, but whatever light or bird we still don't know what they are."
"Harry," this time it was Ginny who spoke, "look at this." She had on her lap a book filled with pictures and paper cuttings from her years at school. She and Neville were looking through it in the hopes that something would spark his magic again.
It was a cutting from the Quibbler, the paper was a little yellowed, but the picture was a bright as the day it had been taken. Six young witches and wizards were sitting and standing around an old garden bench with a blaze of golden light surrounding them which pulsated brighter and brighter. It was the Tyr, their picture taken in the Weasley's garden so long ago. The caption below it read 'The hope for the future and the light of love.'
"At least that's something," Harry said closing the book, unaware as he did so that the last four words faded from the caption under the picture. "We better send a message to Ron and Luna, it looks as if we will need the whole Tyr for this." Then he sniffed the air. "You know, you're right, there is a smell of toffees, I always thought that was me."
The Tyr was together again, their lives may have led them in different directions but the bonds formed at the very beginning were as strong as ever. They were all walking in the grounds of the school, grouped together discussing what they were about to attempt.
"But we still don't know about this bird," said Ron, "could be anything."
"I am sure it is a Phoenix," said Hermione, "I found some references in the …."
"Library?" suggested Ron, with a grin all over his face, "honestly Hermione, sometimes I think you will never change."
The banter continued, serious but light hearted at the same time, in an attempt to keep each others spirits up. They were acting on an idea that had come to them as they talked, walking to the place where they hoped their questions would be answered. None of the adults knew where this idea had come from, but a dark haired green eyed girl was hoping that she was correct.
A little way behind the Tyr James and Nat were deep in conversation, but not a word was being spoken.
'Are you sure you need me for this?' James asked his sister, 'I don't see what I can do.'
'You are as much a part of this as I am; we need to be there, that is all I know.'
'OK if you're sure,' he looked around, 'where are we going?'
'Down to the Forever Stone; Mum didn't want to go that much, I think it holds some sad memories for her.'
'All the kids know it's AH's grave, he was the only student to die in the battle, so Mum must have known him, I can understand that she would be sad.' James thought.
Nat didn't reply but in her own mind thought "Oh James, if only you knew why Mum and Dad glossed over that part of the story." Merlin's gift had changed Nat in many ways, and the knowledge of her own past was not the only result, she smiled at her brother and wisely she kept her own council.
The two children watched as their father arranged the small group around the red granite slab that lay on the bank of the lake. The surface of the stone was as clean and bright as the day Harry and Hermione had created it, the gold lettering which had given it its name shone in the sunlight. Students who visited the Forever Stone in the winter swore that even when the snow was piled high around it the granite block was left uncovered. This simple grave had become one of the most magical places in the school.
The Tyr stood as they had on the day they had helped Neville find his parents. Flanked by Harry and Hermione, Neville stood in the centre of the group with Luna, Ron and Ginny behind him with their hands on his shoulders. It was with a sense of disappointment that they realised that nothing was happening, the love was there, but the magic was not, something was wrong. If they could not rekindle the magic the power of the Tyr would be finished, they would never again be able to combine their abilities, Nat knew she had to do something. She hoped her parents would forgive her for what she was about to do, as she stepped forwards onto the Forever Stone raised her hand and held it against Nevilles chest. Nat looked once at the shocked expression on her mothers face and turning her gaze to Neville spoke to him.
"Uncle Neville," she said, as if she was a teacher talking to a recalcitrant pupil, "for the magic to be real you have to believe." Then in her mind to her brother she thought 'James, take out your wand and make it sing.'
'But Nat I don't know how.'
'Just ask it, ask it NOW!' the last thought was a shout that everyone gathered around that stone heard, and at its command all eight reacted.
The air around them began to vibrate as the power that now flowed through the members of the Tyr was directed inwards to help one of their own. Ripples on the surface of the nearby lake raced away towards the Castle at its far end, and then the air was filled with a song so beautiful and clear that it washed away cares and doubts and filled eight hearts with the desire to succeed. The explosion of light that erupted from the Tyr paled even the sunlight that had been shining down on them, Nat lowered her hand and stepped back to stand next to her brother. The pair stood in wonder as the light pulsated up and away from the six, all of them shining in the full power of their magic, and then the children looked at each other and smiled, for of the six the two that shone the brightest were their Mother and Father.
Nat heard a noise behind her and spun round to see what had caused it, standing just within the trees was a tall slightly grey haired wizard, and he was staring intently at her, he inclined his head in recognition then bowed imperceptibly and disappeared. Nat felt the blood rush to her face and by the time she had composed herself again and turned back to the scene in front of her the glow of love from the Tyr had dissipated and it was just the six old friends standing together once more.
They talked about what had happened endlessly from the time they retraced their steps back to the castle to the time Harry and Hermione insisted that Nat and James head off to their respective dormitories for the night.
Nat had been forgiven the discretion of standing on the stone for understanding that James' wand held the feather of the Simurgh, the fabled bird that, once Hermione had sorted through a few heavy tomes, the others discovered, lived in the tree of life.
They had all wondered the source of the power that infused them at the beginning, but once Neville had said that he clearly saw Solomon standing in the trees Nat was only too glad to let them believe that he was the one who did it.
It was a few days later that Nat discovered that her Uncle Ron had gone off to Durmstrang in order to follow the trail of the potion, but by the time he had returned lessons were well underway and she had to do a little surreptitious fishing to find out what he had learned.
"How did it go Ron?" asked Harry. They were sitting in the Potter's common room eager to hear what Ron had found out.
"Pretty good really," he replied, "I'm beginning to warm to these Durmstrangers, always thought they were a bit strange, but they were very helpful. Oh by the way Hermione, I ran into an old friend of yours, Vicki Krum, remember him, he sends his love." He said with an almost straight face.
"It was all a long time ago Ronald," said Hermione with a slight edge to her voice and a little pinkness in her cheeks.
Ron wisely didn't pursue that particular topic any further. "Well anyway, they certainly knew of the Extorqueaserum potion, they use the making of it as a test for some special award in higher potions studies but they always destroy it afterwards," he said. "Although it's not exactly illegal to make it I think I managed to persuade them to choose a different potion, but goodness knows what they will pick."
"What about Draco, any sign of him?" asked Harry.
"No not directly and not at the school," said Ron, "but I did some snooping in the village close by and they did have a 'foreigner' there for a while, some time ago now. Sneaky sort, didn't give his own name, so they said called him Laska, which apparently means weasel, so it sounded like Draco but the description was all wrong."
"No other name to go with Laska?" asked Hermione.
"Funny you should ask that," said Ron, "I followed the trail that Laska left when he moved away, and found the wizarding inn he stayed at that first night. He had signed the register so he was not trying to hide his movements, and he had used the name Laska Yoflam. Weird name isn't it?"
Hermione gave Ron a look that he recognised immediately. He had seen that self same stare countless times during the years they had spent together at Hogwarts, and it meant that he had missed something glaringly obvious. "What?" He said, waiting for the axe to fall.
Harry started to laugh. Hermione rolled her eyes, something she had always been able to put a lot of feeling into.
"Ronald," she said patiently, "write out the name Yoflam, then write it out again backwards."
Ron did as he was asked, "Wow!" he said, with as much child like wonder he could manage, "It spells Malfoy….Oh bloody hell!"
"Wizard logic," said Hermione, "working as well as always. I suppose this Laska Yoflam disappears off the face of the earth?"
"Well actually, Miss clever clogs," said Ron gathering together as much of his self esteem as remained, "He rented a room in Knockturn Alley, Tonks found out that only yesterday, as a matter of fact."
"And then?" Hermione asked, her eyebrows raised in anticipation.
"Err…he disappears of the face of the earth." said Ron dejectedly, resigned to another bout of eye rolling.
It looked as if Hermione was about to retort with more than just facial expression when Harry butted in.
"OK you two, that's enough," then he laughed, "I can see a Granger-Weasley argument brewing here, it's just like being back at school," then he regarded their surroundings. "Well I suppose we are,… I think I have missed the three of us being together, how about you?"
"Sorry Ron," said Hermione.
"Sorry Hermione," said Ron.
"Great", said Harry, "now that is all sorted out, we need to get this description of Laska 'whatshisname', to Julie Burford, seeing as we have connections in the muggle world, we might as well use them as well as the wizarding ones.
While the adults slowly picked their way through the trail that Draco in his disguise had left behind him, the younger members of the Potter family were working through some slightly different problems, James had began having dreams. Like everyone else he had dreams most nights, and like everyone else they faded quickly and were lost to the memory, but now his dreams stayed with him or a least one particular dream did.
It didn't come to him every night but each time it did, it was the same. A long corridor with a large double door at its end bolted and barred. A corridor and a door that would have been instantly recognised by either of his parents, and from behind that door was a faintly heard cry for help. In his dream, no matter how hard he tried, James was unable to open that door, spells didn't work, the patented Weasley Lock Pick, "Available to Hogwarts students at a discount", didn't work either. He knew he needed help to do it and after a while it occurred to him that it was his sister who could provide that help.
By the time James sought out Nat the term had moved on, and the first Quidditch matches had been fought out, Gryffindor had narrowly beaten Ravenclaw, that very morning. Nat was with Jennifer, both still in their match robes looking a little hot and tired, but happy.
"Did you see your sister, Jimmy?" asked an elated Jennifer, "that last dive, I bet even your dad wouldn't have been able to pull that off."
James laughed, "Yes I did, but I bet you didn't see mum's face, did you Nat? I am sure dad was holding her wand hand down, I reckon she was going to send you direct to the hospital wing before you hit the ground."
"She always worries too much about me; doesn't she know I am the best flier in Hogwarts?" Said Nat.
"Yes she does," said James, "and she knows you know, and that's why she worries."
Nat gave a snort that suggested that she could look after herself, but was secretly pleased that her mother cared.
"OK I'll be more careful. What was it you wanted by the way?" asked Nat.
"How did you know I wanted something?" said James suspiciously.
"Oh err… you just looked as if you did," said Nat lamely, trying to hide the fact that she had picked the thought out of her brother's head without him realising. She would have to be more discreet in future.
"Humm… well actually I did." And so he explained his dream to both his sister and his girlfriend. Nat followed his explanation both in his words, spoken for Jenny's benefit, and in his thoughts, making sure that he knew that she was in his mind this time.
She recognised the corridor straight away, not from her own experience but from the images she had seen when her Mum and Dad had regaled the story of the defeat of Delores Umbridge. It was one of those tales that only the immediate family were told, and Nat could remember every detail as clearly as the day she had first heard it, but James obviously did not. Was this another sign of the differences that were coming between them, her inner older self knew it would all be fine in the end, but her outer younger self wished it was not all so complicated.
She didn't really lie to her brother; she was just a little economical with the truth. "I know I have seen that corridor somewhere before," Nat said, scratching her head "It was in some other story I'm sure. Let me think about it for a while, and then we'll work out what to do."
She left it a week and then disturbed James and Jennifer when they were working close together, as usual, in the library.
"I've remembered," she whispered, "It's a corridor in the Ministry, and the room is the one that had the ball of souls in it."
"Of course!" said James loud enough to receive a sharp look from Madam Pince.
"Can't think why I didn't recognise it before," he continued in a much quieter voice. "Now all we have to do is work out who is calling for help and what we can do about it."
"We could tell Mum and Dad," murmured Nat.
"We could," muttered James as he watched Madam Pince disappear behind some bookshelves. "But it wouldn't be half as much fun as working it out ourselves."
As Nat regarded the expression on her brother's face she knew this was going to lead to trouble, but there was enough of their parents disregard for doing the sensible thing in the both of them for her to smile back, and so the adventure was set.
Two weeks before the end of term, early on a Sunday morning, three Hogwarts students had a clandestine meeting at the top of the Astronomy tower. Not two boys and a girl as it would have been some twenty years before but two girls and a boy, but this group, as had the other, were about to break more school rules than you could comfortably write down in an evening's detention.
"You don't have to come Jen." said James, "We'll understand."
"My dad wouldn't though," Jennifer replied, smiling and shivering at the same time. "Let's do it, it's perishing up here."
So all three held hands, Jennifer relaxed preparing herself for the transfer, James and Nat concentrated and without a sound the three peragated away from Hogwarts. When Jennifer opened her eyes the deserted corridor was there before them and at its end the locked and barred door.
They walked to the door still hand in hand as if they were seeking reassurance from each other. Doing this sort of thing may have been commonplace for Harry and Hermione in their time at school but for Nat, James and Jennifer this was a first.
"I can hear the voice quite clearly now, can you?" said James, Nat nodded, but Jennifer shook her head. "Umm, it must be speaking to me up here." James continued tapping the side of his head with his finger. "That's why Nat can hear it as well."
Jennifer was only a little jealous of Nat's ability to share her brother's thoughts, she just hoped he didn't share all of them with her, and to her embarrassment began to blush at the idea.
"How do we get in," Jennifer asked, quickly shielding her reddening cheeks by allowing her long blonde hair to fall forwards, hiding her face.
"Err… peragate I suppose," said James, both he and Nat were examining the bolts and bars closely and it hadn't even registered with either of them that Jennifer was fighting this small internal battle with her emotions.
"OK then," said Nat, grabbing hands again. "One more time."
Inside the room it was very cold; almost filling it was a large transparent ball, which at first appeared to be empty. Then as their eyes became accustomed to the dim light they could see that floating in the centre of it was the grey, thin figure of a Dementor.
Jennifer stifled a small scream and Nat had a look of disgust on her face, but James let go of the girls hands and stepped up to the surface of the sphere and placed his hand flat against it.
"What is it you want?" He asked the floating form in front of him.
"Help me, let me go," a voice spoke in reply. It came not from inside the ball but from the throat of the young girl behind him. James spun around to see Nat staring at Jennifer whose eyes were blank and unseeing, though they were fixed on the daemon trapped before her.
"LET HER GO," shouted James.
"Soon," came a whispered response, "She is in no danger, I will not harm her. Your mind and that of your sister are too powerful for me to use. This girl allowed me in, once I had explained myself."
James controlled his anger with difficulty while Nat regarded the creature before them more closely, she began to realise that something was not as it should be.
"Tell me," said Nat to the spectre in the glass prison, "tell me why we should let you go."
"More than a thousand years ago an evil that has existed since the very beginning of time, entered our world," Jennifer's voice whispered, "an evil which worked insidiously and trapped my race to produce the being you see before you. In the long years before, my race lived on the thoughts of man, not on the thoughts he needed but the thoughts he threw away each morning, we lived on his dreams. We lived with man, we complemented him, and we saved him from his nightmares. Then the evil came and corrupted my people with spells and enchantments too powerful for us to break free from, we were always ethereal, our magic never very strong, and he turned us into what you know as Dementors." Jennifer's voice gave rise to a long despairing cry of hate and revulsion. "Now we had the power to take thoughts from man at any time and survival drove us to turn and use the power to our advantage, we became despised, unwanted, and visible to wizards. Man still could not see us, but even he hated what we could do, bringing unhappiness and despair to his world even when he was awake. Our descent into evil was complete," Despair, utter despair, clouded the Dementor's words. "Then when Harry Potter destroyed Voldemort the enchantments and spells began to lift. But my race had sided with that of the Dark Lord and those that survived were imprisoned, here in this sphere, isolated from the thoughts of man, to starve and die. Now I am all that remains, as my brothers died, the enchantments on this prison weakened and the thoughts of man leaked in. There are a few minds far stronger than others and to one of these I sent my plea. To you James Potter I sent the dreams, I ask for help, I ask you to heal me, because the evil has not completely gone from this world and it must not rise again."
James was switching his gaze back and forth between the Dementor and Jennifer, not really sure whether he should believe the creature his father had assured him was evil and not to be trusted. He went over to Jennifer and held onto her shoulders, putting himself directly in her line of vision he shook her gently trying to gain her attention. She blinked once and staggered forward into his arms and held him tight to her.
"Are you OK?" he asked, his mouth was close to her ear and he whispered quietly.
"Yes I'm fine." the response was sighed down through his open collar and he felt her breath on his bare skin. "It may look awful on the outside but inside its mind is beautiful." 'Please help it James.'
'Are you sure you want me to help it Jen?' James closed his eyes hoping for the reply to come to him as before.
'Yes.'
'Look at me,' Jennifer raised her head and stared at the deep brown eyes of her boyfriend. 'I love you.' The words were there and the words were James' but he did not speak them.
Nat watched the exchange and she could not help the tear that came to her eye. For her it was the final piece that gave her the freedom to move on when she wanted, her brother would be OK, and so she turned her thoughts to the being that had brought this about.
'How and why did you do that?' she asked the Dementor, 'think at me, not her.'
'A thank you for letting me in,' the creature's physical appearance was indeed repulsive but the mind was soft and smooth. 'My magic is weak as I said but it can be profound. She was very close to doing it on her own; I just made the right connections so it happened quicker. Her love for him is very strong, this will only strengthen it, she needs happiness.'
'You could read so much in just the first fleeting connection?' Nat was impressed.
'When you have read emotions for as long as I have it will be as easy, and you have all the time in the world to learn.'
'Fine just don't spread that thought around, it's not common knowledge yet,' Nat advised.
'As you wish,' the velvety thought floated back.
Nat turned her attention back to the two still huddled in each others arms. "If you two could spare a moment we still have things to do," she said, and then throwing the thought casually across, 'Welcome to the party Jen.' And she gave her a great big grin.
"How can we help the Dementor? Mum used the power of her necklace to get through the barrier, we have nothing like that." said James.
"Yes we do dear brother, mum's necklace is concentrated love, and we have that. I just hope we have enough." Nat replied.
"Did I miss the bit where you got all smart?" asked James of his sister.
"Yeh," she grinned. "Actually everybody missed that bit. Now hold hands, love each other and walk forward."
Which is exactly what they did, and to their surprise the wall of the sphere posed no barrier at all. As they stood with the Dementor floating not three feet from them there was a tremendous crash as the double doors to the corridor burst open, seven bodies piled through the doorway, Arthur Weasley was in the lead and the Tyr was close behind him. There must have been a lot of frantic shouting going on, but the children couldn't hear anything, Nat knew her parents were trying to use telepathy but she blocked their efforts, hoping they would think it was the ball doing it. The she saw her mother fumbling in her robes for her necklace; they would have to be quick now.
"James use your wand, touch it to the Dementor's forehead and make it sing again." she instructed.
Out in the room the shouts had stopped as the adults watched in horror as the one remaining Dementor bowed his head towards James, it looked for all the world like it was going to perform the kiss and Hermione started forward, the blazing jewel held in her hand. But before she had moved two steps it was all over, James' wand made contact and the song of the Simurgh rose and filled the whole Ministry building. The tattered form of the Dementor fell away and in its place was a faint blue presence glowing with light which bowed once to the children and vanished. As the light faded the crystal sphere around the children vanished as well, and the full force of The Minister for Magic and what was worse, their parents, descended upon them.