Chapter 10: Purified
Thou shalt have the power, out of thy soul's judgment, to be reborn into the highest forms which are the divine
Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, On the Dignity of Man, 1496
******Redfields House, Avalon 0600 Arrival +9 Months******
"Block! Punch! Kick!" barked Marcus. Since their first lessons on how to fall and not be injured, Marcus had been building a hand to hand combat repertoire, one move at a time. From falling, they had moved to how to punch without breaking your hand or wrist. How to block and take a punch had been next. Their usual routine would consist of Marcus demonstrating the proper mechanics of the move very slowly. Discussing the mechanics and some of the reasoning behind the move as well would be next. He realized very early on that both of his apprentices were very intelligent and as such, would benefit from understanding some of the reasoning behind moves. Once they had discussed and understood, he would again perform the move at full speed. At this point his students would then take about five to ten minutes to practice their form on their own. They had a litany of moves performed every day. They started with basic falls, moving into punches, then blocks and so on. As different moves were added, they were added to the end of the litany. Every day, the moves were ingrained into their consciousness and muscle memory.
Today they were adding a sweeping leg kick. Both Harry and Hermione were right handed he was having them practice a left leg sweep. Since performing this sweep would leave them exposed, he was drilling them to be faster. He wanted them to go from a block to a sweep and back to standing in a blink of an eye. Or faster.
Pausing to catch their breath, Hermione asked "Master, all the maneuvers you have shown us, are they part of a particular system?" At his glare, she said "I am just curious."
After a moments thought, Marcus replied "No, what I am teaching you is the result of my accumulation of useful combat moves over my very long life."
At the phrase "very long life" Hermione couldn't help her curiosity being piqued. "May I ask how old you are Master?"
Looking the teens in the eye, he decided that they were ready. Marcus responded "I am 2608 years old. I was born in the lower Nile river valley during the reign of the Pharaoh Psamtik I during the 26th Intermediate Dynasty and I am a Dhampir." At Harry's puzzled expression and Hermione's surprised, he continued "A Dhampir is also known as a pure-blood Vampire. The term is a misnomer. There are very few similarities between us and the demonic monster that is a Vampire. A Vampire is the body of a person who has been killed and being animated by a possessing demon. For reasons unknown, the Vampire keeps the memory and some of the character of the person from before they were slain. A Vampire must feed on human blood and often. They have a lust for blood that can only be sated for short periods of time. Their lust for blood seems to be tied more to destruction, than feeding. They cannot eat food and cannot procreate in a conventional manner.
"A Dhampir" he continued placing his hand upon his chest "is a being unto it self. We are not demonic in any way, and do not need to feed on blood, although we can if we choose, but we need to eat food and drink to survive. Obviously" and here he looked up to the sky "we can walk under the sun to no ill effect. Technically we are mortal, as the lore is passed down; although no Dhampir that I am aware of has died of old age. Take my head, and I will die. Other injuries will heal at a rather rapid pace. We can procreate with others of our own kind and humans as well. Usually, we do not mate with humans because of the disparity in our life spans and do not court that kind of heartache on purpose.
"We are similar to Vampires in that we are very strong, fast and agile. Interestingly, where Vampires are traditionally aligned with the Darkness, Dhampir's are usually aligned to the light. Achilles, for example was a Dhampir, and no" his face took on the scowl that he usually displayed when the teens had been playing about "he was not shot in the ankle. You will find that some of the great heroes have been Dhampirs because we could contribute much, we felt that we ought to give of our gifts."
Harry was very taken up in Marcus' explanation. No wonder he always kicks my ass. I could never lay a hand on him. Surprisingly, he was not afraid of Marcus. Actually, he was very afraid of Marcus, but not because he was a Dhampir, but because he was afraid that Marcus would snap him in half if he didn't get this bloody leg sweep down quickly. "Thank you for telling us this, Master. We are honored by your confidences." At this statement from Harry, Marcus nodded and waved his hand, prompting the teens to continue their practice of the leg sweeps under his watchful eye.
Recently in their sparring sessions, they had moved from one-on-one with either Harry or Hermione fighting Marcus to a melee free for all. It usually ended with Harry and Hermione trying to subdue Marcus. They hadn't even come close yet and they didn't today either. Afterwards, Marcus helped them up and said "Good. Your attacks are becoming more fluid and you transition from attack to defense back to attack much better. You are beginning to use your bodies fluidly in attack and defense when we fight. We shall begin swords as well as hand to hand next week. Go, do the eight mile run up the Pine Tree Hill and you are dismissed."
Sirius and Minerva sat at the kitchen table and watched the teens start off on their run. Jamie was still asleep upstairs, as he had been up late preparing some upcoming lessons and Minerva took pity on him and let him sleep. He had moved in the day of their reunion, and for the Hogwarts students, former and current, it had been a bit odd seeing the persona of Mrs. Minerva McGonagall interacting with her husband, rather than that of Professor McGonagall, Head of Gryffindor house. She was much more relaxed, and laughed more than not. Humming and singing as she studied or worked in the garden were not out of the ordinary. As she told Emma one day, "I feel like I've been reborn. Given a second chance. I have my man back and life is good to my eyes. The last sixty years seem almost a dream now." The teens had taken to Jamie very quickly as he had a very easy going manner that was open and guileless. At the same time he had a steel about him that let all know that this was not a man to be trifled with. His dueling was superb; fast, fluid and powerful. Minerva had told them that Jamie and Filius Flitwick had been fierce competitors on the dueling platform, neither dominating over the other, and in the end became fast friends. Filius had been almost as distraught as Minerva when Jamie had seemingly perished in the fire.
Looking over at her breakfast companion, Minerva frowned. When they first arrived, Sirius had thrown himself into the study of warding and, by extension ancient runes. He was, in fact, going to ask the old woman to tutor him in the area if she had time. For a while, though, his spirits had started to improve, but the last week or so he had withdrawn and not been his usual happy self. "Sirius" she said "what's the matter?"
He was looking down at the cup of coffee in his hand and his neutral expression didn't change as he said, just above a whisper, "I knew you were going to say something today. Don't know why, but I think you've had enough of my silence" and he looked up with a half-hearted smirk on his handsome face.
He reached out his hand and gave hers a squeeze and said "I want you to know, that I really appreciate everything you've done for me. Not only in school, but more importantly, here, for the last months. I've needed a good friend badly and you have been that for me. Thanks." As he finished his statement, he looked her in the eye for the first time and she saw something in Sirius Black that she never thought that she'd see: despair.
Squeezing back, she said "Sirius, what troubles you so? We've all seen it. When I was telling Jamie about you, he didn't understand the serious, somewhat depressed man you are, compared to the Marauder you had been. He didn't understand until I explained about Azkaban. Is that what is going on? Grief over your hurts from prison and before?" She finished with a gentle tone. Minerva did not want to hurt him, but he needed to talk. Licking your wounds is understandable, and she understood that as much as anyone, but enough was enough. Filius had confronted her when it seemed that she was drowning in her grief over Jamie, and helped her to build a new life. Together, they had applied to and hired at Hogwarts.
"I'm terrified Minerva, that I'll never get the spark back. That I'll be this depressed, depressing putz who is about as much fun to be around as Snivellus. Nothing burns inside me anymore. When I was first declared innocent, I had Harry to take care of and advise, and it gave me something on which to focus. Now, he is in automatic and doesn't need to be defended or shepherded, and I'm lost again. Unfettered. Before Azkaban, I loved and was loved. My woman, my brothers and my sisters. Damnit, I had fun! Now…" and he trailed off waving his hands in the air. "Wards are interesting, and I am enjoying the study. I think I could make a career out of this when we get back and Harry plants that snake lipped bastard. I want more though."
Minerva grinned to herself. When Filius had said to her what she was about to say to Sirius, she'd almost hexed him. That might be an improvement for Sirius. "Why Sirius Black, I do believe you are just feeling sorry for yourself! Get off your bum and do something! Prank someone or go to the castle and romance a woman and be slapped for your efforts. Damnit man, do something rather than feel sorry for yourself!"
At his nonplussed expression, she pressed her advantage "The spark you are looking for isn't going to fall out of the sky and hit you on your thick head one day saying `Here I am'." She continued much gentler, taking his hand back in hers "If you take the action, the feeling will follow. Not the other way `round. That's what I had to do, and when Filius had this same discussion with me I was so mad I almost hexed him into the next county. But he was right. And so am I. You are a good man Sirius Black, but it's time to build your new life. James and Lily are dead and Peter is gone. It's Ok to move on" and she rose, pulling him up and gave him a big hug, rocking him a bit as he held her in return.
When he pulled back she saw that his eyes were a little red and he said "I am going to prank you so badly Minerva McGonagall." With a small, tremulous smile he said softly "Thank you."
"So" he said as he turned and grabbed his coffee cup and moved to the window seat "how goes it with you and your great huge Scotsman? I assume it was quite awkward for a while. For you, he'd been gone for sixty years, and for him just a few weeks."
Shaking her head, He's incorrigible. One minute he's depressed and the next he's joking about my marriage. "Yes, it has been awkward on occasion. I've changed quite a bit since that horrible day so long ago. However, we want our lives together to work. Through it all, I still love him and he, to his credit, is an extremely open-minded man who is accepting the changes in me with grace. I too, have had to compromise on issues and preferences." At this point the object of their discussion came in and crossed to his wife and kissed her good morning.
"Thanks lass, I needed the extra sleep, and my Lord Black," the large red-headed Scot said while turning toward Sirius "Dinna let her lead ye astray. She does a might less compromising than I do being open-minded" he said with a very solemn face, though the twitching of the corners of his mouth gave him away. As the laughter died away, Jamie said in his deep voice "I think that what I'll miss most when we get back is being Laird. Looking after the clan, taking care of the widows and bairns. Dealing with the other clan heads can be amusing as well" he said with a somewhat wicked smile. "But I understand that a school is in need of a Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. I happen to be somewhat close to the Deputy Headmistress, and have a bone to pick with the Headmaster. I might be able to land the job" he finished with a laugh.
Dan and Emma entered to hear the last statement and laughed along with everyone. Pouring a cup of coffee, Dan said to all "so, who all is expected to this dinner tomorrow evening?" As part of their training, Carys had tasked Harry and Hermione to plan and execute a formal dinner, with Rhodri and Carys taking the place of the Minister for Magic and her husband. The cooking would be done by the castle staff, all else was to be planned and executed by the teens with Harry acting as host and Hermione as hostess.
Emma smiled and said "Just us and Rhodri and Carys. Hermione was all in a bother yesterday wanting to know if she ranked ahead of Minerva. Since, for the purpose of the exercise, she and Harry are married, did a Countess rank higher than the wife of a Laird?" Laughing, she continued "She was so worked up she went into one of her monologues where she realized that seating arrangements were easy enough around the table, but what about formal receiving? And then the toasts! Honestly, …" the whole time Emma had been doing an eerie impersonation of her daughter, her speech speeding up and hands waving at the end. Laughing, she continued "It's heartwarming to see them worrying about something so normal as a dinner party than the thirteen ways to quickly eviscerate your opponent."
Jamie smiled, "Aye, it is. They are good young people. Good together as well. By the way, a Laird is socially the equivalent of a Baron. There are no Scottish Barons as such, and a Laird is about as close as you get. Although, there are some that have actually been raised to the peerage as Earls, Lairds are not peers."
As the talk devolved into reminiscences about past parties attended, amusing anecdotes and so on, the adults finished their breakfast, and as usual, awaited the teens to discuss the morning workout.
When Harry and Hermione finally arrived the group attentively followed the discussion of the new moves added, as well as, the revelation that Marcus was a Dhampir. Sirius nodded as if the news confirmed something that he had suspected for a while. He and Dan had started working with Marcus in the early afternoons so that they could get into shape and learn hand to hand fighting. "He moves much too fast to be human and his strength! Let's just say that I don't think Hagrid is as strong as our Marcus. But this is a good thing. If we can fight Marcus to a standstill, or even get close before he beats us, what do you think we'll do to a human opponent, eh?" Sirius went on to calm some slight fears of Dan and Emma about the possibility of Marcus hurting the teens. "He's one of the good guys. If he hurts Harry and Hermione, it'll be in the exercises, not with his fangs."
Breakfast broke up early as the teens had some last minute reading to finish up for the old woman. Later, in the library Hermione was finding Raja Yoga: Concentration and Meditation to be fascinating, while Harry was immersed in The Analects of Confucius. Taking a moment to stretch, Harry watched his girlfriend. She was sitting at the small table next to the stacks and was tapping her chin and worrying her lower lip as she read. She never changes. "Mione, why do you love to learn? What is it that excites you?" At her somewhat reproachful look, Harry continued "No, no, I'm not teasing you. I really am curious. So what is it, really?"
She sat back while taking a quick glance at the clock. Seeing they had enough time before the old woman was due she said "It's funny you should ask, because I've been meditating on this a lot for our Animagus studies. It's the last really big `knot' of my personality that I need to unwind and really understand. Part of it goes back to primary school and I had no friends so I found solace in my books." Here she looked down at her hands for a moment before continuing "The books didn't ever take the mickey or worse. So I had instant friends. Also, I've always felt that I was doing a good thing by getting high grades and being the best in courses." Now her cadence slowed, as if she was working out the thought as she spoke "If I was doing a good thing, then I was a good person by extension. Huh" she finished with a half frown on her face. "That can't be all of it. I do love to learn new things" she said leaning forward, concentrating. "When I comprehend a new idea or perfect a new skill, it's exciting, like opening the door to a new world an inch at a time, like finding buried pirate treasure" she said with a small laugh and a smile. Looking back at Harry, she said "I guess I have multiple reasons, some good, and others not so good. Then again, when does anyone ever have only one motive for doing anything?" and she shook her bushy head while smiling and went back to her reading.
Before she got back into her book, she noticed that Harry had crossed the room from his chair and stood next to her. Silently extending his hand, she took it and stood at his slight pressure. Looking into his eyes, she was pulled into a firm, loving hug. A hug of reassurance. A hug that promised friendship and companionship, respect and support, all the things that she needed as a young girl and even now in her Hogwarts years. Probably, she'd need it for years to come. He said into her ear "I love you Mione."
Smiling, with a warm feeling in her breast she replied "I love you too." They broke their hug with a small kiss and returned to their reading.
A few hours later, the old woman came into the library and sat in her chair. There had been a bit of a gaffe a few weeks into their stay when she had entered the library and Sirius had been sitting in her chair. The stern look she gave him made the wizard almost squeak as he hurried to vacate the chair. Today as she settled in and saw that her pupils were in ready attendance, she smiled and said "Today we begin to spar with our Mind Magics. This is the first time, so do not expect to be proficient, and do expect to need some of Madam Granger's excellent headache relief potion. Which of you shall be first?"
When Harry volunteered, she ordered him to enter his meditative state in the manner she had instructed them. After so much repetition over the months, Harry only needed to take a deep calming breath and close his eyes and his perception shifted. Upon reopening his eyes, not only was he seeing the physical world all around him, but also seeing what the old woman called the spirit world. Around every living being was a muted halo of light that he was told was that person's essence. For a magical person, their essence not only encompassed their consciousness, but also their magical core. For non-magical persons, their essence was only their consciousness, and thus their essence was dimmer than a wizard's or witches. He could see that the old woman was very bright, as too was Hermione. He'd seen Sirius' and the others essence, but couldn't see his own. The old woman and Hermione were far brighter than the others in the house.
Watching the old woman intently he was surprised when her essence coalesced and stepped away from her body, in the shape of her body. He had known this would happen, but it was still surprising. As her spirit avatar approached Harry he attempted to repel her through the force of his will. He remembered her instruction "Just like you must focus your desire and channel into your will to cast a spell, you must also focus your desire and channel it into your will to attack or defend in Mind Magics combat. You will see your attackers' spirit self approach, and you must use your will to repel them or counterattack in order to defend yourself. Desire into will and make the result happen. Just like Transfiguration."
The old woman's avatar smiled and reached out her hand in a grabbing motion and memory after memory of Harry's was played in front of his eyes before it abruptly stopped. He reeled a moment and then saw that her spirit avatar was retreating back to her body and, strangely enough, sitting back down while the two forms melded back into one. She shook her head to clear it and smiled at Harry. "It's much more difficult in practice than in theory to defend oneself, is it not?" At Harry's nod, she continued "Do not be too hard on yourself; this was your very first attempt Gryffindor. Remember, your will controls your spirit avatar. Eventually, your spirit avatar will combat your attackers avatar in defense and attack. It's as if you need to learn to walk again, or talk again. But differently this time, as you are `walking' or `talking' in the spirit, not the body. This is why your will is all important. Your magical strength will make your defenses stronger and your attacks more potent, but in the Mind Magics, will is all important. Practice, practice, practice is what is called for now. I want you to practice for one hour every day to practice moving your spirit form. It is the only means to improve. Now watch Mistress Granger and me, you may see something to your benefit."
Harry rubbed his aching temples as he saw the spirit world skirmish played out in front of him. He did notice that the old woman would settle her avatar before she attacked. That was information that could eventually be exploited. Quite a long time from now. When the two women finished their sparring session with the same results as his, the old woman addressed her pupils "You will continue to work in defensive realm only for right now. Once you can effectively defend yourself, then we will consider the realm of attack. Get extra sleep tonight as you will be very tired. One last thing that I want to talk about, but I need you to fetch the others please. Go, I'll wait here."
Harry and Hermione looked at each other with puzzled expressions before she shrugged and they scattered to gather everyone else up. About ten minutes later, they all rendezvoused in the library. The old woman opened her eyes and said "Thank you all for coming. I have seen an issue with Gryffindor here and his magic and wanted you all, his family, to be present for the discussion. As I understand your history" she said addressing Harry "when you were but a babe you were struck by and survived the killing curse, yes?" At his nod she nodded as well. "I can see that your magic is not coherent, it seems that either the process of surviving the curse or residual magic from this dark curse is impeding your magical core and causing your magic to fracture. Tell me, you can only manage high power spells in extreme emotional situations?" After a few moments thought, Harry nodded. "I thought so. Since this is the case, we need to purify or refine your core. Because you are still young, this is not a dreadful proposition. For adults, the process can be very dangerous. What we will do, if you accede to my proposition, is at noon on the Vernal Equinox next month, we will perform the purification ritual at the standing stones of Avalon. This place is a focal point of the Earth magic for this area, and combined with the magics of those that love you" and here she indicated the gathered crowd "we can set you free of this binding and scattering effect on your magic. I could see the foreign black magic swirling in your essence today when we sparred, this purifying will help you in many ways my Lord Gryffindor, I strongly suggest you undergo this ritual."
Harry was taken aback by the old woman's pronouncements, but her matter of fact presentation made the issue much easier to deal with. "What are the possible outcomes? What will happen if we don't do this? It sounds like this is something I want to do, but I would like to know exactly what I'm getting into."
She smiled and said "Good, I am glad that you are thinking this through. Well, if you do not undergo this ritual, it is doubtful that your magical core will grow and expand as it ought. There is a slight possibility that you could experience a regression in magical strength, but that is a very slight possibility. Either way is extremely prejudicial against you ever defeating this Dark Lord of yours. Now, if you do the ritual, you could have one of three results." Holding up a finger, she began "First would be no apparent change in your abilities. There is no loss or harm in this outcome. Second would be an unchaining and healing of your magical core that would result in a significant jump in your magical power. Third" and here she paused taking a deep breath "well there's no other way to say it, but you could die."
Sirius deadpanned "Well, isn't that special."
******Charon House, Cambria 1230 02 June 1995******
Alastor, Connie and Remus were meeting over lunch. Remus gave a small shake of his head and a quiet laugh as the other two members of his lunch party had gone into the kitchen to watch Rauri make their sandwiches and declined the already prepared soup which Remus accepted while smiling at the other two. Remus actually knew the most about the Floo network, as he had done some subcontracting work for a firm that was hired ten years ago to upgrade the master monitoring and control panel used at the ministry.
Slipping easily into his Professor mode caused a small smile on Connie's face "The Floo Network is designed to operate on principles that combine Portkey travel and the London Underground. Just like portkeys actually take the travelers out of realspace, into another dimension to travel from one point to another, so too does the Floo."
Alastor nodded and said "Otherwise you'd be running smack into trees and buildings and such. Same for Apparition."
Remus nodded and swallowing his bite said "Yes, exactly. The first Floo connections were just arranged point to point. There were very few, so there was no need for organization. Once the technology was purchased by Azazel Malfoy in about 1350, he began the mass connections of private homes and public buildings and businesses with this technology. Well, the Ministry got involved and saw that this was really a form of mass transit and started to organize the Network. They set up individual `lines' based on area. The Green line was originally for all of London. Individual connections were known as `Green14' or `Green254' and so on. In compensation, the government gave the Malfoys an unending patent on and the exclusive production of Floo Powder. It's one of the foundations of their wealth."
Connie nodded comprehending "So that's why you see other fires when traveling with your eyes open."
Remus nodded while chewing. "Since so many fires are hooked up to the Network, there are multiple lines nowadays. Also, these lines connect" here he paused meaningfully while looking at his companions "at nexus points. In fact, if two nexuses could be clogged, it would shut down the entire network."
Alastor nodded "There are two questions really that remain if we are to permanently incapacitate the Network. How do we either clog up those nexuses or damage them beyond the point of repair?"
Remus nodded and said "My thoughts exactly. Now for temporary shut down I was considering the monitoring and control panel. If we destroy that panel, the Floo is down for two to three weeks until a replacement is fabricated."
Connie took over "Well, then, a temporary shutdown is actually rather easy. I can arrange access to the panel" and she smirked to Remus, who was about to object "Not as myself of course. Can't have the Head Auror committing crimes now can we? From there, a few Blasting curses or even Muggle explosives and the panel is down. We could even turn it around and blame the Death Eaters" she finished with a grin. "Clogging the nexuses, that's quite a bit harder." From here, their conversation shifted to what requisite knowledge was needed to accomplish the mission.
Remus said that he would be learning as much as he could about the magic of Floo from the Hogwarts Library. That is if they didn't feel comfortable talking to anyone outside their group for technical advice. At the almost incredulous stares from his two co-conspirators, one of whom was somewhat paranoid and the other was the definition of paranoid, he said "Right then. Hogwarts it is." After Remus read back the notes he'd been taking to the others and they agreed on their plan, he said he'd write it up for Albus and also, he assumed, Amelia to read.
After Alastor apparated away, Connie turned to Remus with a determined look on her face and said "I've missed you. You just disappeared after James and Lily were killed. You never explained why you left. Why you left me" and she crossed her arms across her chest and waited.
Remus sighed. He and Connie had been very seriously dating throughout their seventh year at school and for the next two years afterwards. Most people in their circle of friends assumed they were the next to marry. None of the current anti-werewolf legislation had been enacted yet, there were no legal impediments. "I know, and I'm sorry. I was a coward" he admitted as his shoulders slumped and he hung his head. "With the apparent loss of four of my best friends, I was crushed." After a moment, he looked at her and straightened up and said "They were the first people who ever really accepted me for myself. Not even my parents did that for me after I was bitten."
Connie interrupted with an impatient wave of her hand "Remus, I know all this. This is unfortunately true, I know, but are you saying that you left me after the three best years of our life because of the Halloween tragedy?" she finished with some heat.
Shaking his head, he explained that the whole time they were dating he had been harassed by the unrelenting feeling that not only was he unworthy of Connie, but that in the end, he would hurt or kill her because of his lycanthropy. The murder of the Potters and the arrest of Sirius and the disappearance of Peter where the proverbial straws on the camel's back.
"Did you love me?" she questioned with some force. She stared into his face with a burning look. Her hands reached out and took his and he straightened up so they were directly facing each other. At Remus' stricken expression she pressed on. "Answer me, did you love me?" and gave his hands a firm squeeze.
He looked down at his feet, tears pooling in his eyes. "Yes. You, always it's been you."
Connie closed the gap between them, reaching up to the taller man's chin, she lifted it up, looked him in the eyes and leaned in and firmly kissed him. He kissed her back while his hands entwined in her blond hair. After a few moments of connection, she haltingly broke the kiss and still in each others embrace said "Remus, I have only loved one man in my life and it's been you, but this self-pity crap has to go. It split us before and will again if we give us another go. I won't be crushed like I was before." She stepped back, out of his embrace, but still holding his hands. Looking her former lover in the eye she said "It took me over five years before I would leave my flat for more than food and work. Let me know when you are ready and I'll be there. Don't get me wrong" she said looking into his amber eyes with her green eyes "I want you. I want you in my life and in my bed. But get over this crap. It's time." With this final pronouncement, she squeezed his hands and walked out of the house to apparate away, leaving a sad yet hopeful Remus Lupin thoughtfully looking out into a beautiful afternoon in Cambria.
******Redfields House, Avalon Arrival 0630 +9 Months, 1 Day******
As Harry and Hermione were on the outbound leg of their five mile run up into the hills, there was quite a bit of time for thought and reflection. They were taking it easy as Hermione was still nursing a sore ankle from the sparring session that morning. She had been shocked when her left leg sweep successfully knocked Marcus down. So shocked that she stood and stared for a moment allowing him to trip her up with a reclining leg sweep of his own. As the Dhampir stood, brushing his hands, he smiled slightly and said "It is poor form to gloat. Remember, if an opponent cannot stand, he cannot fight - usually" he finished with another smile.
They rounded the bend in the path and headed up the steep part of the path and Harry thought again about the proposed purification ritual. To be honest, he hadn't thought about much else. Sirius and Jamie had taken him out to the garden last night for a chat about it. Jamie had put forth that he really had no option but to have the ritual. "If you don't" he said thoughtfully "well, Voldemort will probably defeat you. If the worst does happen in the stones" here he paused "it's really the same end, isn't it?" As Harry ran up the hill, he began to agree with the red-headed Scot. He really didn't have a choice. As they got to the top of the hill, he caught Hermione by the elbow and they stopped.
"Can we talk for a minute?" he asked.
"Sure, let's talk and walk back" she responded.
Harry then related what he and the other two men had discussed in the garden and how he was coming around to their point of view. "What do you think? Do you think I should undergo the ritual?"
Hermione paused to think. "I'm scared. On an intellectual level, forgetting that you're my Harry; I think you should undergo the ritual. Then the emotion comes rushing back and I want to scream and hold you and not let you go up that hill to the stones."
Harry thought a moment, then "Have you seen my essence? I can't see my own. How bright is it compared to say, Sirius or the old woman?"
Hermione frowned a bit while thinking and said "Your essence is slightly dimmer than Sirius'. Why?"
Harry groaned. He knew he had to walk into the stones now. He had to or Voldemort would kill him with ease. "Your essence is about as bright as the old woman's. I have no idea, but I assume that Voldemort's is at least that bright as well. I have to do it. I don't have a choice if I want to succeed, otherwise he'll snap me in half like a twig. Crap." He took her hand, gave it a small kiss and they walked hand-in-hand the rest of the way back to the house.
At breakfast, Harry announced that he would undergo the ritual. Sirius, Dan and Jamie all nodded in concurrence, as did Minerva. Emma looked slightly worried, but didn't say anything. They began to chat about small things. Sirius had managed to convince the old woman to instruct him in Ancient Runes and Arithmancy and he was looking forward to his first lesson today. As breakfast finished up and all the dirty dishes vanished, Harry stretched his back and looked up to the ceiling. Right in front of his eyes a ball of flame burst into existence and before he could exclaim, out of it flew Fawkes and …
"Hedwig?" It was his familiar and oldest friend. She flew around the room a few times and then settled on his shoulder with a soft barking snuffle.
"Crookshanks!" exclaimed Hermione. Sure enough, looking at Fawkes he had in his claws was a pet carrier and inside was the unmistakable ginger fur of the half-kneazle. Fawkes hovered at Hermione's side and she took the carrier saying "Thank you so very much Fawkes. I've been missing Crookshanks and I know that Harry has been missing Hedwig. Thank you for your help"
"Yeah, thanks Fawkes" said Harry while stroking the feathers on Hedwig's chest. "Here, I'll get you a bowl of water." Hedwig flew to the back of an empty chair and as Harry moved towards the sink with a bowl in hand, the Phoenix gave a short trill of song, swooped once around the room and disappeared in a ball of flame.
Dan looked at his wife with a stunned look on his face. Obviously, he had never seen a bright red and gold swan appear out of a ball of flame above the kitchen table carrying a pet carrier while an owl flew in tandem with it, sing a song that lifted the heart like nothing he'd ever experienced and then disappear in the previously mentioned ball of fire. No big deal. "What was that?" he asked weakly.
As Minerva explained about Phoenixes and Fawkes in particular, the teens took the time to catch up with their familiars. Hermione had moved into the drawing room, cuddling Crookshanks, while Harry went outside with Hedwig, to let her stretch her wings and just to watch her. Having her here was very reassuring for some reason. She was a true familiar for him, not just a pet. Over the years, they had developed a kind of rapport. He knew if she was in need, and she knew if he was in need. It was probably why she was always there for him when they were at the Dursley's for the summer. Sometimes you didn't have a choice, did you girl? I'm really glad you're here for the ritual.
******Head of DMLE's office, Ministry of Magic 1545 02 June 1995******
Albus Dumbledore approached Amelia Bones' office with a furrowed brow and a busy mind. He had been more active in fighting Voldemort in the last week then he ever envisioned. He had, for many years now, seen his role as that of a passive mentor to train the next Champion. Now, he was hip-deep in the machinations and activities of preparing the Government to fight the Second Voldemort war. The fighting had already broken out, with casualties on both sides.
It is entirely possible that the oath of support I made is driving my behavior. It could be my regret and shame for my behavior towards Harry spurring me to action he thought. Or I could just be doing my best to do the right thing. Or all of the above he finished with a small smile. In the end, does it matter why?
He was shown into Amelia's office by an assistant and greeted the DMLE head warmly. His affection was not feigned, for he genuinely liked Amelia Bones. "Amelia, how are you this beautiful sunny summer day?" he asked with a smile while shaking her hand.
With a dour look on her face, Amelia shook the elder man's hand and replied "Oh, I've been better Albus. It seems that Voldemort has assassinated the muggle Home Secretary."
Albus stopped mid-shake and his face became grim. Motioning to a pair of chairs he said "Shall we?" After they sat, he steepled his hands and said "Tell me." It seems that the Home Secretary was making an appearance at a Railway Workers Union dinner the evening before and in the middle of his speech a man in muggle clothing stood, pulled out a wand, and used the Killing Curse on the Secretary before apparating away.
"It's been a nightmare. Stephens over in the Obliviation squad has been pulling out the little hair he has left trying to track down all the muggles present. The perpetrator was described as 5'9", brown hair and brown eyes, slightly overweight with no discriminating marks or characteristics. He's either `everyman' or a Death Eater under a glamour or polyjuice. Either way, the description is useless. Probably used a Notice Me Not charm on himself. Interviewing the people sitting with him came up with nothing; none of them knew him by sight or name. He left the wand behind, which confounds trying to track him down by wand signature. Off the grid wand of course" she said referring to the unregistered nature of the wand. "All in all, we are bollixed. Nowhere to go with this one so far. We'll keep working the forensic angle, but the residual magical signature has come up zero so far. Probably intentionally sent a hitter with no record for this purpose."
Albus listened attentively. "What about the Prime Minister and the Cabinet? Their reactions?"
Amelia shook her head in frustration "Apparently, Cornelius never informed the PM about Voldemort's return" here Albus' face fell in disbelief "so the PM was rightfully shocked. He went from shock to incandescent rage in half a second when Fudge finally got around to explaining about Voldemorts return. I was there by that point, Cornelius had Floo'd for me, and when I explained that Voldemort had been resurrected on the 24th of May and the subsequent attacks, well, I thought he was going to kill Fudge. He looked him in the face and said `There has been a psychotic terrorist loose in my country for over a week. He's been attacking and killing Britons the whole time and you have not found it necessary to inform me?' I won't be forgetting that any time soon. The PM has this easy going persona with his pretty wife and children. At that moment, I was afraid for Cornelius. He then banished him from the office, saying that any further updating he would get from me. I see him every day at 0730 for a briefing over breakfast. He also now has a constant wizarding protective detail. One Auror at all times. We talked about the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but decided against it. It's unlikely, at this stage, that Voldemort will try to kill him. He is talking to the Queen" and here she looked at her watch "right about now. Explaining what's going on, and recommending that She, the Duke and the Prince of Wales take a security team as well. He'll let me know tomorrow morning." Both occupants of the office were now shaking their heads slowly in disbelief.
Albus looked thoughtful. "What about wards, Amelia? Is Number Ten warded? And the Palaces in residence. They too should be warded: anti-apparition, anti-portkey, `the works' as they say" he finished with a small smile. As he had been talking, Amelia made a note to get the Goblins to ward the official government residences; she didn't trust the Department of Transportation. Musing aloud, he continued "We may want to pay the Goblins to see if they can develop a ward that keeps out anyone branded with the Mark. I don't know if it can be done, but it can't hurt to try." Amelia nodded at this valuable suggestion and made another note.
"The only motive we can think of right now actually is an advantage to us. We believe that Voldemort has become aware of the ongoing joint investigations between MI-5 and the Auror Division. As such, he is attempting to bully MI-5 into dropping the investigation." Amelia said with a small smile.
Albus nodded his head in concurrence. It made sense, for many years Voldemort had successfully capitalized on the populace's fear of his very name. After 1975, he didn't have to kill half of the people that he had previously, he merely had to send a message and the parties in question folded like an old piece of parchment. The muggles didn't have that fear, and to be honest, had dealt with threats that were more far reaching than Voldemort. However, at the rate he was recruiting, his arm was growing very long indeed.
For a moment they were both quiet, caught up in their thoughts about what had just been revealed. Amelia then stirred "Albus, I've been thinking about your offer to effectively second the Order to me to carry out missions of a dubious nature. I'd like to accept that offer. We need to limit who knows about this arrangement. If it gets out, we'll both be in for it, as well as, destroy any utility the Order brings."
Albus nodded, relieved that Amelia had agreed. Now it was a matter of moving forward. "Good, I have people generating a plan to deal with the Floo situation…" and he briefed her on his plans in motion and in gestation. "I also, have a quasi-guard on the Potter/Voldemort prophecy. I am stationing disillusioned people in the hallway outside the entrance to the Department of Mysteries. That in and of itself isn't illegal, as you know" he said with a smile. By the way, I've had every member of the Order make an Unbreakable Vow with me to never support Voldemort in word or deed. Also, to screen for the Imperius we are performing random Legilimancy sessions" he paused for thought. "Three people have decided they no longer have a role in the Order of the Phoenix as a result."
Amelia nodded thoughtfully at the small scale trial of what she envisioned for the Ministry, if she could get it through the Wizengamot.
******Standing Stones, Avalon Arrival 1150 +10 Months******
Hermione shivered in the breeze. It was actually a fairly warm day, but the breeze combined with her nerves, were enough to give anyone the shivers. Looking around she saw his fellow travelers. Hedwig circled overhead and Crookshanks was ensconced in her left arm. He had refused to be left behind and was therefore here. The old woman, Minerva and Sirius were a few yards away having a hushed conversation, last minute preparations probably. Dan and Emma stood silently, holding hands and watching the magical people. Hermione was holding Harry's hand so close on his left side that if they were sitting she'd be in his lap. Jamie sat, looking down the hill and admiring the view. The stones were at the top of one of the tallest hills on the isle and the view from the top was spectacular. In the distance to the west they could see in the ocean. From the northern face of the hill they could see Camelot in the distance and from the south; they could just make out the lake by Redfields.
Harry was unshod, wearing a white tunic and trousers and would need to take his glasses off for the ritual. The stones were set up in a rough circle in pairs. Some of the enormous stones had another on top that connected the two, others did not. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason for their arrangement or orientations. When she got close enough though, she could feel and even hear the magic field channeled through the stones buzzing like a hive of bees. In the center, a large white pentagram had been drawn on the ground using salt and arrowroot, the better to channel magic into his body and facilitate the expulsion and containment of that which is evil, or so the old woman told them.
She heard a throat clear and the old woman indicated with her hand for Harry to go stand in the middle of the pentagram as they had discussed. Hermione transfigured a small rock into a medium sized pet carrier to put Crookshanks into. No one wanted the cat to run into the circle of stones during the ritual. Harry handed her his glasses, got a patented Hermione Granger rib crushing hug. "Hey, I'll be Ok" he said to her. "Nothing but a thing, we'll be headed back to Redfields for our afternoon lessons on House successions and lordship inheritance rituals." His distraction job worked and he was rewarded with a small smile.
The old woman took up her place between the two largest stones that seemed to be the head of the shape. Sirius was to her left and Hermione to her right between their own stones. Jamie and Minerva completed the setup and the magical persons formed a rough pentagon within the ring of stones. Dan and Emma took a few steps back to be well clear of the stones. Slowly the old woman began to chant very softly in a Celtic language. Either Gaelic or Welsh, Hermione couldn't tell as she was almost whispering. She lifted her arms to the sky with her eyes closed. This was the signal, and the other four lifted their arms as well and waited. Suddenly, the buzzing of the stones leapt into a crescendo of sound and in an instant winds whipped around them in a gale force, threatening to throw them to the ground. "Hold! Hold your place!" the old woman cried out through the cacophony. All of a sudden, blinding white light leapt out of the stones in beams and lanced into the center, into Harry. Hermione then heard something she'd never wished to hear in her life; Harry Potter screaming in agony. He had been facing her when the ritual started and she saw his face contorted in agony. He pulled at his face as if it burned and screamed as if the hounds of hell were rending him to pieces. He fell to his knees and now blood ran down his chin when he lifted his head.
"NO!" screamed Hermione. All her fears and late night terrors were coming true. Harry was dieing, and she would lose him forever and there was nothing she could do to save him. So she ran. She ran into the circle. What she was going to do, she didn't even know, but she knew that she had to get to him.
"HERMIONE NO!" was screamed by Sirius and Minerva which she ignored and continued running. She reached the center and without thought entered the pentagram and held Harry to her breast. At once she was caught up in the purification as well. Agony shot through her bones. Her blood boiled and her skin cracked. She felt as if she was going to die. Death would be a blessing, and then it was over.
She lay there, groaning, panting and holding Harry. Don't be dead, oh please Harry don't be dead.
I'm Ok Mione. Hurts like hell, but I'm Ok.
Oh my. Are we…?
Yep. Oh my indeed.
Can you stand?
Yeah, I think so. Padfoot must be going out of his mind. I'll help you up, c'mon.
Harry stood up, somewhat unsteadily. Once he settled, he gave Hermione a hand up and together they walked over to the knot of very worried adults with their arms around each other more for physical support than affection. Emma had tears running down her face and was being held back by Dan whose face was white as new linen. Sirius, Minerva and Jamie had looks of desperate fear on their faces and the old woman had a combination of anger and fear on her face.
"Are you well?" she said after Hermione had been released from Emma and Dan and Harry from Sirius.
"Well enough" Harry responded. "Really sore, kind of like after the Cruciatus, but not so fiery. After the Cruciatus, it felt like ropes of fire had been woven around my bones. Don't have that now, but the rest is still there" he finished with a smile at his half-joke.
At this point there was a trill of Phoenix song and everyone looked around for Fawkes, instead there was a white Phoenix gliding down towards Harry. It alighted on Harry's outstretched arm and trilled a few more notes, calming everyone else down. Harry looked into its amber eyes and recognition followed. "Hedwig! What happened girl? Holy Shit!' and he looked her over to verify that she truly had transformed into a Phoenix.
While everyone was staring at the newest Phoenix, a large dark shape padded up to Hermione and nosed at her and growled softly. Hermione looked down distracted and saw an enormous great cat. Probably in the range of six hundred pounds and ten feet long from nose to tail, the dark black cat had orange stripes on its back, like the inverse of a Bengal Tiger. With a squeak, Hermione jumped back but upon further inspection of the docile cat, she said "Crookshanks? You too?" and the cat came up to her and nuzzled his mistress while getting a hug and his ears scratched.
With a flick of his wand, Sirius conjured a rope, muttered PORTUS and then said "Alright everyone, saddle up. We can continue this back at the house." Looking at the Phoenix, he said "Hedwig, can you get Crookshanks back for us?" when the Phoenix trilled and took off to land on the scruff of the great cats neck, Sirius held out the rope and looked at the old woman. At her nod, everyone grabbed hold and they went back to Redfields.
Back at the house pain relieving potions were produced and administered by Emma and then the old woman took the teens into the library and kicked everyone else out in order to look over her pupils and determine what the aftereffects of their joint purification were.
As the old woman took a deep breath and began to look over Harry, he looked at his girlfriend. Should we tell her?
She nodded. Yeah, I think we should. What about everyone else?
"Stop talking like that in front of me. It's rude. And yes, you should tell the rest of your family" the old woman snapped at them and shifted her attention to Hermione.
Chagrined, Harry apologized and awaited her verdict on their soundness. "Well" she said a few minutes later to Hermione "you have no reason whatsoever to be alive right now, but you are fine. Your magical core has had an increase in it's reservoir, but as it is still recharging, it will be a while yet before we know how much stronger you are Mistress." She paused and said in a small voice "Don't do that to me again, my child. I almost died when you ran in there." Turning to Harry she said "My Lord, you too are well. The dark magic I could see before is gone and your magical core is in much better shape than before the ritual. Like Mistress Granger here, you are recharging your magical core as well. Do you both feel drained magically, but still whole? Undamaged?"
At the teens nods of affirmation she said "Good. I can also see the bond of your lives between you. When you arrived here, this bond was already there, but very weak. You probably could sense emotions or maybe an undercurrent of thought from the other, but very remotely, yes?" Continuing on without a response she said "You can mind speak with each other now. I want to wait a few days, but I think you may also share a magical core. That could have many implications, but none are deadly. I am unsure whether it's the case, as I have never seen this before, but I want to check. I have seen what is commonly called `soul bonds' between lovers. It is a very basic magical bond which you two were forming when you arrived. This, however" and she indicated to Harry and Hermione by waving her hands "is much more than that. To be honest, I don't know what it is. But I can hear you speaking" she finished with a smile and a waggle of her finger at them.
After the old woman left to give the basic results of her evaluation to the other residents of the house, Hermione burrowed into Harry's side as they sat on the couch. Hey you.
Yeah?
Love you.
Love you, too. What's up, you sound down or maybe just tired?
I was so scared that you were dieing. At this she began to cry and Harry tightened his hold on her and making soft cooing noises as he held her while she cried. Sirius entered the room a minute later and looked at Harry with raised eyebrows and a hand motion as if to say "Can I help?" After a head shake from Harry, Sirius nodded, pointed to his watch and left.
A few minutes later the new and improved Crookshanks ambled into the room and nosed Hermione a few times. When she gave in and petted him causing the great beast to purr like a Harley-Davidson, Hedwig arrived in the distinctive burst of flame. She circled a few times and perched on the back of a chair. She began to sing a song of loss and of finding. A song of pain and healing and finally of love. At the end, the human residents of the room felt whole and at peace. Hermione finally found her voice and said "Thank you Hedwig, we needed that very much indeed."
Sirius and the Grangers entered soon thereafter followed by the McGonagalls. Once everyone was settled, Sirius said "Ok, the old woman said you're not going to die on us, but the rest had to come from you. So spill" he finished with a wave of his hand.
Harry then explained with some supplements from Hermione. When they described the mind speak, Minerva smiled. "Try not to have your test answers match word for word when we get back you two."
As the much needed laughter subsided, Hermione looked at her parents "I'm Ok mum, dad. I'm sorry that I scared you. I didn't even think, I just had to get to him. I was convinced he was dieing and I just reacted. I'm surprised no one hit me with a body bind" and she looked at Sirius with a cocked eyebrow.
He snorted "Like I had time to think. One minute you were on the other side of the ring from me, and the next you were like Bongo the Amazing Running Rabbit and in the middle of the circle screaming your guts out with Harry here."
Harry looked at Hermione and they paused for a minute. Sirius looked at Jamie and said "They're doing it. Right now they are talking to each other with their minds with us in the room. Nice. I feel loved, don't you Jamie?"
At the conclusion of the laughter, a red faced Harry said "Sorry, we're still getting used to this. I think we're going to go kip out for a few hours before supper. Pretty drained after being turned inside out on top of that hill."
Hermione got away with only one more firm embrace from her mother. One hell of a day, eh love.
You bet. I hope we don't have to work out with Marcus tomorrow. Maybe we'll just send Crooks out to break the news we're having a day off.
At her smile he said with trepidation Want to join me for our nap?
In your bed?
Well , yeah, that's kind of the point. Just sleeping, no hands or snogging or anything.
She paused and looked at him. Ok, let's go.
A/N
1) I own nothing
2) No, Dumbledore did not send Fawkes with the familiars. Fawkes is upholding his end of the oath and brought Hedwig and Crookshanks because he knew they were needed.
3) Recommendation for the chapter is Erasing History by padawan lynne. Really good story. Not a lot of `direct' Harmonian goodness, but, well. Just go read it. It's on FF.net
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