§My lord,§ Regina hissed softly, lurking in the shadows. §There's a blond witch in the passage way.§
Harry threw down the garter with relief. The bloody thing was entirely too clever of an object. As a Horcrux Harry had no idea how to break it open so he could defeat the soul fragment inside. Obviously he couldn't fill it with his blood like the cup or with memories as with the diary. He couldn't even put a leg in it, which he tried, but the garter was not like the ring, a pureblood's finger would not release it. Not even if he was an heir to a pureblood line.
There was nothing he could give the garter, not love or courage. How could one give something inanimate courage? So while Luna's presence was unexpected it was a happy occurrence that gave his beleaguered mind something else to think about other then diplomats, horcruxes, or his… Hermione.
"Hello Harry," Luna chirped, skipping into the room.
"Luna, what brings you here?" he asked, graciously offering her a spot on one of the shabby furnishings.
"The tabittes told me you were stumped by a plover," she answered, throwing herself happily onto a couch. "Not to worry though, plovers are easy to manage. My daddy taught me all about them."
"You can call them Horcruxes, Luna," Harry said with fond exasperation.
Luna stared at him blankly. "I'm sure I've no idea what you are talking about."
"Right."
"Well, I don't," she repeated, tilting her nose up slightly.
Harry smirked. "And we'll say that I believe you. I will say I'm hurt. Don't you ever visit me because you miss me and not because strange critters tell you to do so?"
Luna turned serious, startling Harry. "Now, Harry," she informed him briskly, reminding him of Hermione. "You don't have much time with the seventh plover knowing what he now knows. You must get to work."
"I am," he grumped, stalking to the couch and picking up the golden garter. "This bloody thing hasn't nudged. Not once when I touch it has it zinged like the cup or buzzed like the others."
"That's because it senses you are not a threat."
Harry screwed up his eyes. "How do you reckon that? I destroyed its brothers."
"Because only a selfless act of bravery will kill it. The plover doesn't understand the courage it takes to willingly go into a losing battle. Just like with the last plover that dealt with love, the selflessness of placing another's desires and heart above your own just doesn't make sense. He has always looked out for himself, making sure he survives. Nobody else comes into the equation."
Harry took the garter back from her and sunk down on the derelict couch. "So you're saying I have to see that somebody survives something even if it might cost me my life?"
Luna nodded primly, reminding him forcefully of Hermione again. "Or your happiness."
Harry twisted the garter. "So Voldemort--"
"The plover," Luna insisted.
Harry nodded absently as she sat beside him. The couch sunk further down, stuffing oozing out of a hole at the other end.
"I have to do something to be worthy of the garter. Clever, Voldemort-- err the plover-- is challenging the history of the object."
Luna nodded, a familiar vacant expression drifting over her features as she stared off into the distance. "He doesn't believe anyone could truly do something so noble. His experience with human nature is not of its good side."
Harry snorted. "It's not like he goes looking for it."
"But you do, Harry," Luna said coming back from wherever she'd been. She grabbed his hands. "You always reach out for the good life can bring."
Harry pulled his hands back. "Yeah," he said defiantly. "Look what good it's done me."
"You have to let the hand life dealt you go," Luna replied. "Or it'll explode."
"Exploding Snap metaphors now Luna?" Harry asked bemused.
"Hermione is the best thing that's ever happened to you,' she said bluntly, with total clarity and conviction.
Harry glanced up at the tone in her voice. She gave him a defiant look of her own attempting to cow him.
"She's been crying ever since she gave you that ridiculous ultimatum. I would have stopped her, but even I don't know everything. Foolish witch."
"But Luna--"
"No buts, Harry," Luna replied, quelling his response. "She thought to force you to see the truth of the matter, forgetting you are just a boy and in normal situations it would be bad enough, but you have always been raised without love. It's hard for you to trust in it. You want too. Badly. But you're afraid of getting burnt.
"Hermione ending up with Daniel as she did was a fear you've always harbored-- and not even specifically about Hermione, but anyone you loved, you felt would follow suit with what others have done-- believe in Daniel, love Daniel, choose Daniel over you."
"Luna, please," Harry begged.
"No Harry, you've got to hear this. Now be quiet," she shushed him, taking one of his hands again. "As you are a boy and completely clueless, I will spell it out for you.
"Hermione loves you, unconditionally, even if her rash behavior doesn't do her justice. She was desperate to be in your good graces again. You have to accept that you are loveable and that you deserve love. You'll also have to be the bigger person in the relationship and forgive her for things not under her control and for things that were.
"If you don't I'm afraid your stubbornness will win over what you're heart really wants. You deserve happiness and Hermione can give that to you and more if you would only let her."
Harry's jaw firmed in stubborn resolve. "She said I wasn't worth waiting for."
"She did not."
"She as good as," Harry insisted.
"Yes, and I say the moon is made of cheese. You can't honestly believe she meant it."
Harry glared. "Well--"
Luna returned to her dreamy state. "I'm glad you agree, Harry."
"Why do you do that?" Harry demanded suddenly. "I know you can act normally, why do you go all dreamy-eyed?"
Luna looked at him with a queer smile. "Dreams are lovely things."
"Oh, that explains everything," Harry groused, crossing his arms over his chest.
"It does, doesn't it?" Luna murmured, unfazed by his posturing and stood up. "Flitwick wants to see you; you should come up to the castle."
"Not a chance. I don't want a run in with Dumbledore. I'm not joining the Order so he can keep an eye on me while figuring out in his twisted lemon drop deficient mind if my actions prove me a good guy or a bad guy."
"Dumbledore is in the hospital wing. He's being supervised by Madam Pomfrey. He won't be getting out of bed for a while."
"Really?" Harry asked, astounded.
"Mmm-hmm. Plover got him. He's having trouble breathing. Some sort of asphyxiation curse gone awry. Lucky for Dumbledore or he'd be dead."
Subdued, Harry opened the secret passageway and followed Luna down . His snakes followed behind him, lining in the edges of the corridor. Harry shut the door and left his wand purposefully dark, when light flared from the tip of Luna's.
Harry threw up an arm, blocking the sudden brightness. "What about the garhoulees?"
"Oh, they're hibernating," Luna replied sweetly. "They said light wouldn't bother them. You can light your wand."
Harry flicked his quietly and the empty sconces aligning the walls flared to life. Luna turned off her wand and began walking, humming quietly to herself. The walk to the castle was long but Luna filled the journey with idle chatter, unconcerned that Harry didn't offer much to the conversation. He was after all going back to Hogwarts.
Was his father still petrified? Was his mother speaking to people again? What were his 'uncles' doing? What was happening with Daniel? And the school populace's opinion--had it changed? What about the other professors, where they still firmly in Dumbledore's camp of suspicions and ignorance or was Flitwick making him allies? And--
He shook his head, clearing away his rambling thoughts. He would only know the answers when he got there because Hermione had been his link inside the castle and since dropping all lines of communication with her he was cut adrift from the wizarding world. Everything he knew was centered around Horcruxes and Voldemort and trying to stay one step ahead--which from his point of view was barely working because Voldemort kept showing up wherever he went. Luckily he had always managed to escape so far… but for how long would his luck last?
That was the trick, Harry decided following Luna around the last dip and bend in the tunnel. Natural light filtered in through the opening under the Whomping Willow. Shadows danced along the walls, ceiling and floor.
"I hate that thing," Harry groused, bending down to pick up a fallen stick. Stick being the operative word when it was still struggling, trying to put up a fight; a snapped limb of the tree in question.
"Aye," Luna agreed with a cross expression. "It kills the whumplings that try to live in its shade. Horrid tree, its surly behavior is almost as bad as Professor Snape's."
Surprised, Harry laughed. "Why Luna, that I believe is the first negative thing I've heard you say."
"About the tree or Snape? Because if you listen you'll find I speak bad about Snape a lot. You just have to pay attention. Here we are!" she sang.
Harry prodded the base of a knot on the inside of the tree where Luna pointed and the tree stilled, even the struggling limb in his hand. Creeped out, Harry dropped it and followed Luna out through the hole. She sighed happily when they reached the sunlight.
Hogwarts weather charms were in full force, even with the balmiest of spring days they still should have been inclined to wear a warm jumper, but the charms retained the ground's temperature longer and they were reasonably warm. Harry followed Luna across the grounds to the entrance courtyard and into the Great Hall.
The few students milling around gasped at the sight of him and started whispering heatedly to each other. Luna leaned into Harry and said under her breath, "Don't pay them any mind, you're the new celebrity. They're merely curious about you, at last. It's about time that charm of yours was wearing down."
She frowned looking at him harder. "Though it seems you're maintaining it even more fiercely. No matter. Let's go find Flitwick."
Harry cocked an eyebrow at her. "You keep mentioning this charm."
"Curse really."
"Curse, then. What are you talking about?"
Luna shrugged. "Haven't got the foggiest."
Harry gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, lead on."
Luna and Harry crossed to the stairwell and began climbing, changing their path as the staircases moved. They cut behind the portrait of Felix Summerbee using the password, "Cheerfully Cheerful," on the third floor by the Charms classroom to get to Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. They appeared in the hallway midway between his office and the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room.
Knocking on Flitwick's door, Harry stuck his hands into his pockets and scuffed his toe against the ground. Luna smiled serenely and knocked again a little harder when he didn't answer.
"He's working with sonorous charms and blasting charms. He has to keep earmuffs on the whole time. I think Professor Sprout gave him the pink ones from Herbology that nobody ever wants to wear."
"Has he tried weather charms? What about making a thunder clap? That could be real useful in battle."
"That's what he's trying to harness," Luna said, "but first he's examining the properties of the other spells using an Arithmacer's diagnostic charms and Wenlock meter."
"Well he's either not here or he's charmed the earmuffs with more protections then what he adds when fixing them up for Mandagora's."
"If you can reverse his locking charms be my guess," Luna invited.
Harry smirked and rolled up his sleeves. "Piece of cake."
"More like a pumpkin pie."
"Whichever," Harry agreed easily and started to pick apart the wards surrounding the Charms professor's office.
All of the wards were meant to keep mischief makers out of the office. There was one that if someone desperately needed him, especially one of his Eagles, that it would alert him in the staff room, his private quarters, inside the office, and open the door immediately. Too bad they weren't hurt or in danger, Harry left that ward intact and picked apart a ward that was so ingenious he was sure his prankster Uncle Sirius would sell the family mansion to learn it and then employ it on Snape. It wasn't painful, but it was humiliating.
At last the lock wards and charms were removed as well as the prankster punishment ward. Harry opened the door and bowed Luna into the room. She laughed at his antics and followed inside, where Professor Flitwick had indeed been. They watched the absorbed wizard poke at the dials on the Wenlock meter and jot down a few notes.
Harry tapped him on his shoulder and Flitwick shrieked in surprise. Harry smirked and Luna grinned at their Professor's reaction. Flitwick tried to glower at them, but found it useless in squashing their impish glimmers. He took off his earmuffs.
"Hello Harry," Flitwick said, indicating him to sit down. "Luna if you don't mind."
"Not at all Professor. I'll see you later Harry," she said turning and leaving the office.
Flitwick examined what was left of his charms and wards in dismay. "That'll take two weeks to repair. How did you get it down so quickly? I should have heard an alert."
Harry pointed to the corner where a silenting charm had been dropped. "Though I honestly didn't think it would matter because you didn't hear us knocking."
Flitwick looked a little sheepish. "Yes, well, aha… I wanted you here today Harry because a few other professors wished to help you with your independent studies."
"Who?"
"Professor Snape for one."
"Snape?" Harry asked dubiously. "He's about as likely to want to help me as he is to wash his greasy hair."
"Is that what you think?" the wizard in question asked silkily stepping through the doorway.
"I'm a Potter," Harry reminded.
"Your brother said your father would be disowning you when he woke up."
"Ah," Harry replied. "So now that I'm the black sheep of the family… or more of one, you suddenly want to lend your esteemed services."
"Anything to hurt Potter," Snape agreed, not hiding his reasons.
"So you don't like me," Harry stated.
"Hardly."
"Good," Harry responded. "I wouldn't have believed you if you said you did."
Flitwick rolled his eyes. "Moving along."
"Filius tells me that he gives you Outstandings on all of your potion work."
"You would too if you weren't such a tight ass."
Snape glared at Harry. "Your skills in the art of potion making are dubious."
Harry smirked at the challenging tone. "You've had me for six and a half years. I get marked down only when I try to better a potion and since I try to always better the potion and change the instructions to make the potion more efficient I barely scrape Acceptables."
"You could blow yourself up--" Snape justified coldly.
"So you say," Harry interrupted casually. "But if you ever took a look at my notebooks you'd see I know more about the properties of ingredients and the mechanics of potion making than most Healers. A year of work coupled with a revolutionary potion I could easily beat you as the youngest wizard to receive his Potions Mastery. You're angry I'm not a Slytherin and angry that I was born a Potter or you'd have tried to mentor me long ago."
"Touché, Harry," sneered Snape.
"We don't like each other and that's fine. But if I let you tutor me you're going to be a help and not a hindrance or I will continue on my own with Flitwick overseeing my grades."
Snape stared coolly at him. Harry held his gaze, keeping his Occlumency shields up. He felt a tickle of wind against his neck and smiled devilishly.
"And you won't try to steal into my mind either."
"I'm surprised," Snape replied, recalling his probe.
Flitwick teetered on the balls of his feet. "You two behave like children."
Snape stared at Flitwick and merely flashed some teeth. "Merely setting up the boundaries of Mentor and Student."
"Sure," Flitwick said, winking broadly at Harry. Harry grinned back.
"Be sure to see me in my office twice a week. Never on weekends and never on Wednesdays. I administer all my detentions on those days."
"Were I to show up, you'd surely set me to work mindlessly cleaning out cauldrons with my tongue," Harry supplied.
"Goodbye Filius."
"Severus."
When Snape left Harry flicked the door closed with a casual wave of his finger. The use of soundless wandless magic no longer surprised Flitwick. His curiosity had Harry perform on previous occasions several differently powered spells on demand. Intrigued, Flitwick, Harry guessed, probably took more notes on Harry's magic than on the dozens of notebooks dedicated to the sound charms scattered over every surface.
"Who else did you say wanted to tutor me?" Harry asked curiously, taking a seat even as Flitwick moved to do the same.
"Aha… well you see, Professors Vector, Babbling, and McGonagall."
"No."
"No?"
"I won't be tutored by McGonagall," Harry replied. "For six years she's been the fair teacher, the stickler for equality and friendship. Suddenly her little Lions are in trouble and she's worse than Snape. Snape's been upfront since he started here, dishonest and cruel. I know what to expect. McGonagall is a wild card and she's liked me less than Snape, if that's possible. No."
"As you wish," Flitwick acquiesced. "Her behavior is aha… most troubling."
Harry shrugged. "No more than Dumbledore's waffling indecisions when it comes to me. I'm Order material one day and Voldemort's lackey the next."
"He's been hospitalized," Flitwick mentioned.
"So I heard."
"He also wants to see you."
Harry glared. "No."
Flitwick shook his head. "You know no is not an option, Harry."
Harry grumbled, "I figured you'd say that. I won't see him today, but I'll come back tomorrow. I have things to do today."
"As you wish, Harry," Flitwick replied as Harry stood to leave. "Your punishment for breaking my wards is to make me new ones."
"Crafty bastard," Harry grumbled.
Flitwick laughed.
---
§Tell me why I'm doing this again?§ Harry groused to his advisors as they slithered along beside him.
§Because, Milord, you do not want giants in Hogsmeade,§ replied the python sensibly.
Harry looked at Oorjit. §I concur, sire. That is a complication you do not want.§
§This is ridiculous though. An errand of futility. Giant dynasties rise and fall like the wind. Insubstantial and unmemorable until a fierce howling storm marks them. Then it's just messy. If I should gain the current Gurg's favor who is to say I will have it of the next or the next?§
§Milord,§ Aston the ashwinder said patiently. §Despite the severe setbacks under the alliance with Voldemort decades ago, they are still creatures to be reckoned with. Alligning with their Gurgs will help our fight against Voldemort. There is only so much a snake can do.§
§You mean a fire-snake, I can do much, I assure you my liege,§ the self-important anaconda murmured.
§But why are we climbing a mountain?§ Harry grumbled, massaging his right calf muscle. §Why not jump into their midst?§
§Because they would kill you instantly?§ Oorjit suggested dryly.
§Ah,§ Harry replied. §I knew there was a good reason; got to stay alive to meet Dumbledore tomorrow. Lead on.§
º«««º»»»ºEnd Chapter 43º«««º»»»º