Here is the final instalment of this story. One and a half chapters for the price of one (everybody has a sale at this time of year) I hope you enjoy it. S.A.
7. For Better or Worse
Nara was exhausted; she had been singing the song of creation for hours, and through all of this time the rain had poured down upon her, but still she sang. The blackness in the sky out to the west hadn't crept any closer, but neither had it faded away, and she wasn't sure how much longer she could carry on. She closed her eyes for a moment and steadied herself trying to keep her breathing in control. Tired as she was she had no intention of giving up just yet, she owed Harry that much, and so she let her voice rise giving refrain to one of the most uplifting songs ever heard.
* * *
Being dead was not quite what Hermione had imagined it to be and, had you asked him, it was not the way Harry remembered it either. As the young couple passed through the stone arch they walked out of one world and into another that, if anything could be, was weirder than the one they had just left.
They walked a little way in total darkness, slowly and with instinctive cautiousness they felt their way forward, but the only point of reference they had was their intertwined fingers, so each held onto the other tightly as they moved toward the unknown. Very slowly the darkness began to lift or at least their eyes became accustomed to it and each was glad now that they could see as well as feel the presence of the other. Far away, to either side of them, pin points of light began to appear out of the blackness, Hermione pulled herself close to Harry and she looked up.
"It's like standing out under the night sky Harry," she said in a whisper, "Isn't it beautiful?"
Harry didn't answer straight away; he had glanced down and found that below his feet more of the blackness that surrounded them was peppered with the brilliant points of light that twinkled back at him. He wasn't quite sure how to explain their predicament to her, that there was no floor beneath their feet, nothing at all and yet it felt as solid as the floor of the cave or a pavement in Diagon Alley.
"Umm, yes it is," he said, catching her eye and indicated with a nod of his head that looking down might be a good idea, or in her case possibly not as Hermione's vertigo claimed her when she did. She emitted a shriek of fear and clung desperately to Harry. "I think you could say we are standing in the night sky, rather than under it," he said kindly, but unhelpfully.
"Oh Harry what has happened to us, have we become part of the sky, is that what death is?" her tear-filled eyes looked at the young man in front of her. He smiled at her and tenderly brushed the hair from her face.
"Would it be so terrible to spend eternity here with me, shining in someone's sky like the star you are?" He kissed her gently on the lips and the tension in her body left her as she melted against him.
"No Harry being with you is all I want, and I suppose being a star would be rather cool, but…. it's just that I don't like heights." she finished plaintively. Buried in his arms she could feel Harry's shoulders shaking with silent laughter.
"Well," he chuckled, "if you can still feel afraid of things like that then I doubt that this is the fate Baiame had in mind for us. We still have a path beneath our feet," he stamped his foot to make the point, "I suggest we see where it leads us."
Hermione nodded still holding tightly to Harry they turned and began to walk. All around them, the stars shining so brightly, gathered and spun themselves into galaxies and then galaxies gathered and spun themselves into universes and amongst all of this a young man and a young woman walked and marvelled as the whole of creation was displayed before them. Their journey was like a dream, watching as stars were born and as stars died, all the while part of and yet separated from the spectacle that no living person had been privileged to see. Harry glanced back the way they had come but there was no sign of the path they had walked, only more of the same amazing vista that stretched out before them.
Hermione squeezed Harry's hand and he turned his attention to the girl by his side. "Can you hear it?" she asked.
Harry listened… nothing… he hadn't realised that all of the wondrous things that were happening around them had been doing so in absolute silence. Then as if from very far away he heard it, Nara's song, Fawkes' song, drawing them to it. "Yes, I hear it now, funny for a while I wasn't aware of it, but now it is there again. It's louder than it was in the cave." He turned slightly, "It's off in this direction," he tugged at her hand, "Come on," and he led her toward the sound.
Then out of nothingness the stone arch suddenly appeared in front of them. It looked the same as the one in the cave, the same as the one in the department of mysteries, only this time through the veil floated the sound of the song and a cool breeze that carried it.
* * *
Professor Guru was elated and frustrated at the same time. As far as she could see the world of the inapertwa, the muggles, was in disarray and its destruction was continuing according to plan, but she had yet to force the secrets of Uluru out of Pindari and that had now become a necessity. It was the only way for her to make her rule complete; if the old man died in the questioning so be it, it would be his fault, all he had to do was to give in and provide the information she required. She paced back and forth, stopping occasionally to looking out over the vast desert below now covered in a layer of water that jumped and splashed as the rain continued to fall. She was lost in thought, only vaguely aware of those around her. Her initial concern at the loss of contact with Marmoo was fading, she had tried using the enchanted cockroaches he had given her but without her ju-stick it was proving impossible to send them to him. Still he had been warned about the Granger girl and Potter, what could possibly go wrong?
"Professor Guru?" she looked around at the man who had entered the room it was Edi. A thoroughly distasteful man, she was aware of that from many experiences with him and his equally unpleasant friend Keli. Their repulsiveness was what had drawn her to them in the first place and they had been useful to her but that did not mean she welcomed the interruption now.
"What is it? I am busy," she growled.
Edi bridled at his greeting. 'Supercilious bitch,' he thought, 'She'll get hers, when the time is right," "To busy to know that Nara is up on the dayoorl, singing the making song," he said only slightly more politely than the tone of his thoughts. "And she has your ju-stick." He might just as well have poked his tongue out at her at the finish; he loved her as much as she loved him… not that much.
Guru was incensed, this must be Pindari's doing, that pathetic little girl could never have come up with this on her own. "Get Keli and meet me up there," she ordered. "Bring your makuwarta; I will have the girl's guts spread out on the dayoorl for this." Guru rushed off, and at a more leisurely pace Edi departed to look for his friend and to collect his lovingly sharpened broad-bladed spear.
Some ten or fifteen minutes later the two men followed Professor Guru out onto the rain lashed top of Uluru. Each was holding a large and deadly looking spear in his right hand with a confidence that suggested they had much practice with them. Their ascent to the dayoorl was not elegant, the sandstone was slick with water and all were soaked to the skin by the time they reached the edge of it.
Nara was still sitting cross-legged in the centre of the dayoorl singing the endless song of creation but the strength had gone from her voice. She was swaying from side to side as she sang, desperately trying to remain awake as fatigue claimed her. So tired that she did not register the presence of Guru and the armed men and the threat they posed. The song faltered in her throat and she fell back to lie flat on the dayoorl, only her shallow breathing showing that she was still alive.
"KILL HER, KILL HER NOW!" shouted Professor Guru, and the men, with no further encouragement needed, advanced on the exhausted girl.
At this point several things appeared to happen all at once, the rain suddenly stopped, the incessant noise it had made hitting the rock ceased, and in surprise the two men stopped short of their target. Before they could gather themselves and complete their grisly task the clouds parted and with a bright flash the sun broke through and riding on the beams of sunlight came a golden and red plumed bird streaking like fire across the sky and from its throat the song of creation that had faltered as Nara collapsed was taken on anew. The bird, as large as a swan, landed at Nara's feet and Edi and Keli took an involuntary step backwards.
Then, moments later, on the far side of the dayoorl a grey stone arch appeared, it's opening covered with a fluttering veil and from the arch stepped Harry and Hermione side by side and hand in hand.
The Auror and the young woman with him acted purely on instinct, an instinct honed to a fine edge after seven years of battling the dark arts. They gave Edi and Keli barely a second to come to terms with the situation, when two red bolts of magical energy streaked across the width of the dayoorl, struck them cleanly lifting them off their feet and smashing them to the ground. Harry finished the job as he spun ropes out of fresh air, binding the two men, then sending them reaching out for Professor Guru as she turned to run. Hermione's well aimed Petrificus totalus ended her flight and the ropes did the rest.
"Well," said Harry scratching his head with his wand, "There's a surprise." In fact there was more than one. They were alive to start with, which was definitely a bonus, they appeared to have beaten the bad guys, not something they always took for granted and there was Fawkes, his wings spread wide singing at the top of his voice. A sight that neither Harry nor Hermione ever thought to see again.
Then they saw the crumpled form of the young girl lying just beyond the phoenix, and they broke the hand contact that they had retained since those moments before stepping through the veil, and ran to her side. Nara began to stir, her exhaustion driven away by the phoenix song and she opened her eyes to see the blurry shapes of Harry and Hermione leaning over her.
"Take it easy," Harry advised the young girl as she tried to sit up, he knew from many experiences how fuzzy everything would be for her. Gently they helped her up and she looked in bewilderment at the tightly bound forms of Edi, Keli and Dr Guru, then she saw Fawkes and her face lit up with delight.
"He is so beautiful, and he sings so much better than I," she said with awe. "He is a fire bird, yes?"
"That's right," Hermione replied, "a phoenix, that's what we call them, his name is Fawkes and he is a very old friend of Harry's."
"Why is he still singing?" Nara asked.
"I think," said Harry with a sigh at the ache in his heart, as he watched Dumbledore's old familiar, "he is trying to mend the world."
To the left and right of the small group on the dayoorl, flashes of fire burst in the air and six phoenix each with a wizard hanging on to its tail appeared. The wizards some more flustered by their mode of transport than others grouped themselves around a tall dark skinned man and his untidy compatriot. The birds each as magnificent as the rest flew to perches amongst the rocks and like Fawkes spread their wings and joined in the song.
For those on the top of Uluru the sensation was truly indescribable the song so powerful with one voice was now sung by all seven of the birds, all of the phoenix that had ever existed. Fawkes drove his brothers to sing and as the song reached a crescendo, for just a moment, the earth stopped and the universe flinched. Then with a shudder that shook Uluru down to its lowest levels the world began to turn again.
For the moment there were other considerations for those left in the silence atop blood-red Uluru. As the world turned once more the phoenix had vanished, even Fawkes was gone. Dagoberto Williams took in the scene in an instant and sent his aurors off to gather up the bound men and a now wriggling Professor Guru who had been trying hard to free herself since Hermione's curse had worn off.
Kingsley Shacklebolt went straight to what he was sure was the centre of all the trouble. "Harry, where on earth did you go; we've been looking for you for weeks?" The chief auror looked down at the young couple kneeling by, and supporting, Nara. He knew these two of old, but now there was something different about them, they stood lifting Nara up between them, and then handed her over to a hovering auror. Harry's arm slid naturally around Hermione's waist and she repeated the manoeuvre, their bodies pulled tightly together, then Kingsley knew what he was seeing, and was happy for them both. He held out his hand, "Good to see you again boy," and smiled at Harry's ready handshake, "And you Hermione, I am glad you are safe."
"How could I not be," she replied hugging Harry closer still, as she shook Kingsley's proffered hand.
"So where did you go?"
"Ah… not really sure actually," said Harry, "somewhere other than here that's for certain. Main thing is I found what I was looking for, and I suppose you could say that our side came out on top." He looked out over the rapidly drying desert below, "Did we miss anything?" he asked innocently.
"Very nearly the end of the world Harry," said Kingsley, "but then I suspect you knew that already."
They followed the others off the dayoorl and scrambled down to the doorway that led down into the interior of Uluru. In the distance they could hear the sound of running feet and some shouting.
"Clearing up the last of Guru's cronies, I hope," said Kingsley, supplying the answer to Harry's unasked question. "When the phoenix arrived to bring us here, Dago's department brought all the dispossessed Uluruans back here and dumped them at the front gate. We felt it was better for them to sort out the mess considering the status of this place, kept our aurors out of it as much as we could.
"Who's Dago?" asked Harry.
"He's the head of the Australian Auror Department Harry; my opposite number out here." Kingsley replied. "He's that imposingly tatty fellow over there."
"Ah," Harry nodded understanding now, "The bloke on the park bench, down near the Opera House, good disguise."
"I think that is the way he normally dresses," said Kingsley quietly, "best not tell him eh?" Chuckling lightly Kingsley led Harry and Hermione back into the depths of Uluru where all the sounds of discord had now ceased.
They were escorted to Professor Pindari's office where the old man was receiving attention from a healer, he waved the young man away as Harry and Hermione entered.
"Ah! I see that my trust was not misplaced Harry, you found what you were seeking?"
Harry smiled, "Yes sir I did, thank-you."
"I knew you were a remarkable man Harry, and from what I have been told your young lady is no less so." Pindari smiled at the confused expression on Harry and Hermione's faces. "A fire bird appeared on my desk, imagine that, there, right in front of me, and he sang to me, just to me, and I felt so… so…" Pindari was lost for words.
"It's ok Professor," said Harry understanding, "we know exactly what you mean."
"You do?" Pindari asked, the memory of meeting Fawkes filling his mind; he shook his head to clear it. "Anyway the fire bird told me what you had done, both in the dreamtime and up on the dayoorl, you saved us all by your unselfish sacrifice but most of all you saved my grand-daughter, my little Nara."
At the sound of her name Nara appeared in the doorway having escaped the clutches of another healer. She still looked very tired but brightened instantly at the sight of the old professor. "Professor!" she visibly controlled her emotions, "Err… you are well now?"
Pindari held out his hand, "Come my child, our secret is out, and it should never have been hidden in the first place." Released from the restraints of their concealed relationship Nara ran forward to throw her arms about her grandfather.
At that moment Dago Williams and his aurors arrived, "The whole place is back in your hands Professor, all the troublemakers are locked up and your boys are guarding them. Once they knew that Guru wasn't going to be around to provide the wages they seemed to lose the will to fight. All of them are of your people, the Ministry will leave the decisions as to what to do with them up to you; we will not interfere unless you need us to."
"Thank-you young man, your Ministry has always been so understanding, where we are concerned."
"Well it is a local matter really, no impact on anyone else after all," said Dago.
Hermione looked at Harry and he smiled at her then lifted a finger and placed it to his lips in a code for silence. It was better to allow everyone to produce their own reasons for what had been going on, after all no one would believe what had really happened.
* * *
The following morning Harry and Hermione readied themselves to leave Uluru; in deference to their hosts they still wore their light robes with the circular designs on them. Hermione opened the door to her room to find Professor Pindari with his hand raised, just about to knock, and Nara standing in the corridor behind him.
"Oh!" she cried in surprise, and then she gathered herself. "Good morning Professor, we didn't expect to see you just yet."
Pindari smiled good naturedly, "I am sorry to startle you Hermione but we felt that before you go a final visit to the 'Chamber of the Seal', that is what my colleagues are calling the room with the wall paintings now…," he shrugged his shoulders at the vagaries of academia, "…would be in order."
"Of course Professor," Hermione replied, "Ok with you Harry?"
"Sure why not," Harry acquiesced. "Any special reason Professor?"
"Ahh… no Nara thought you might find it err….educational." he fluffed then turned and headed off down the corridor.
Harry and Hermione exchanged glances but said nothing more then they followed the others as they wound their way down to the room where as far as they were concerned the whole thing started.
A group of people were examining the wall paintings. "Guru kept this place much to herself," Professor Pindari explained, "This is the first time we have had a chance to really look at them, and I see that my old friend Professor Nungeena had wasted no time in getting started."
A tall, dark skinned, man who had been minutely examining the last panel, stood up, uncoiling his long frame and as he did so Hermione could not hold back the gasp of recognition. It was Baiame or at least this man was the form the One Father had adopted back in the cave, Hermione's grip on Harry's arm tightened as the man walked towards them. He inclined his head in acknowledgement of Pindari, his bow was slightly deeper as he greeted Nara and then he stood directly in front of Harry and Hermione.
"The picture from the last panel in physical form, my friends," he announced indicating the witch and wizard before him. "Something you will not see every day," everyone was staring at Nungeena in astonishment at his proclamation. "See if I am not correct."
The group at the wall looked first at Harry and Hermione then back to the wall, muted cries of excitement brought those studying other parts of the chamber over to crowd around the paintings on the wall, only Nara, Harry, Hermione and Nungeena didn't move. There were a few moments of excited babble and furtive glances over shoulders to stare at the couple and compare them with the paintings. Nara had seen the painting before, and she wondered how her two friends would react when they knew the significance of what they depicted.
The crowd of academics thinned as Nungeena led Harry and Hermione over to look at the painting. It seemed much as it had before but then Harry noticed that the final line of drawings looked fresher than the others and it had not been there the last time he had looked at it.
The young couple stared at the figures depicted in the pictogram, they told the story of the hunt and the finding, of Harry and Hermione together and the idyllic moments in the pool. Then the story moved on to the lovers in the cave and the joining of the souls and finally the sacrifice and the journey home. The final painting showed two figures standing side by side, framed in the arch, the veil fluttering behind them. The designs on the robes they were wearing were clearer than their faces but each figure unmistakably held a wand in one hand and their companion in the other, and at their feet was a phoenix it's wings spread out and shining like the sun.
Nungeena placed his hands on Harry and Hermione's shoulders. "You are truly what you appear to be," he said obviously alluding to the pictures on the wall and quietly so that only the two of them could hear him. "The joined souls indivisible now and forever."
"Thank-you," said Hermione and Harry together, not really understanding why but it seemed the right thing to say.
"No it is I who should thank you," and Nungeena bowed his head low to the couple, releasing them and turning to rejoin the group now gathered around the table, as if nothing special had just occurred.
They left the chamber to the academics still busying themselves with the paintings and walked slowly back to Hermione's room. She knew the path well and took the opportunity to study Harry. He had been rather quiet since meeting Nungeena and he had that slightly bewildered expression on his face that Hermione thought made him so adorable.
"What is it Harry?" she asked.
"Oh nothing really, I was just wondering what happened back there, and if Nungeena was who he appeared to be."
It was Nara however that answered his questions. "Nungeena? …He is a visiting professor, not sure where he comes from… but he pops up here from time to time. He seems a little strange but I think that is the way he is, I mean did you see the bow he gave me, very odd."
The rest of the morning passed all too quickly and soon Harry and Hermione found themselves at the massive door to Uluru. Nara and Professor Pindari were there to see them off and they waited while once again the professor searched for the Dreaming Track of the Rainbow Serpent.
Harry thought back over the other disclosures of the morning. They had discovered the fate of Guru and her accomplices. Guru was stripped of all her power and sent to live with one of the most isolated desert groups, to fill her days with the menial tasks that would give her time to reflect on the error of her ways. Edi and Keli were considered too dangerous to be allowed the pseudo-freedom granted to Guru and permanent incarceration was the only other alternative. A stay in Azkaban would be a sinecure compared to the fate awaiting the two thugs. The only other player in the recent pageant that Harry wondered about was the spirit Marmoo. Someone they had never met but had earned himself a place in Harry's list of least favourite entities when he learned of the viciousness of the attack on Hermione's parents.
As Professor Pindari's search continued Professor Nungeena arrived to join the group, he smiled at Pindari's efforts and with a concealed wave of his hand directed the tip of the professor's ju-stick to the correct spot and the portal magically opened. Harry gave the man a hard look who acknowledged the scrutiny. "You are right Harry, but not all the time and Nungeena is quite unaware. Most of the time he lives a quiet existence in his home on the coast far from Uluru and he is happy to do so. There have been others in the past and I suppose there will be others in the future." He sighed, "it is the nature of things," he said sadly.
"What of Marmoo," asked Harry quietly, while he watched Hermione saying her goodbyes.
"He is contemplating the unfairness of it all at the moment, and will do so for the foreseeable future, which in his case could be for a very long time indeed." Baiame answered. "Do not worry about him, you have a far greater adventure awaiting you and I can guarantee that he will not spoil it for you."
"A greater adventure?" Harry asked, "What do you mean?"
"Life Harry, just life," the one father in his guise of a tall dark skinned man shook Harry by the hand, "you have someone to be with you, a soul who is joined to you in a way few, if any, on this world would understand. You have much to look forward to."
Harry Potter followed Baiame's gaze and there was Hermione looking back at him, the light shining in her eyes and he knew that Baiame was right.
* * *
Epilogue.
The great red engine released a cloud of steam with a whoosh and it's whistle gave one short blast. Harry and Hermione stood together close to one of the carriage windows and blew kisses to the children inside.
"James!" called out Harry, "you will remember to look after your sister won't you?"
"Of course he will," Hermione answered for her first born. "You fuss too much Harry."
"I know but it is her first year, and your first year can be scary," said Harry, "Nat needs looking after," his concern for his daughter was getting the better of him.
Hermione gave him a scathing look, "Perhaps you ought to go up with them if you are so worried, you could enjoy Hogwarts all over again and relive your childhood."
Harry froze as that thought percolated into his mind, "Err... no, on second thoughts I am sure she will be fine," he said hastily. "Much as I love her I don't think I could go through that again." He slipped his arm around his wife's waist and hugged her to him. "Besides I am having much too much fun as an adult."
"What is the matter with you Potter, can't you keep your hands off this poor young woman for a moment," called out a voice that rose uncomfortably over the noise of the now departing steam engine, and cause a few head to turn in their direction.
Harry laughed, "No Ron not for a moment. How's the family?"
"Oh fine two packed off to Hogwarts two at home with Steph and the latest doing well, due soon," he answered brightly.
"Due in two weeks Ronald," said Hermione with mock annoyance, "as well you know. Make sure to tell Steph that I will come over on Wednesday as usual."
"Yes Ma'am," Ron responded throwing Hermione a cheeky salute.
Harry suddenly had a very strong feeling of déjà vu, and his mind flew back over the years to a dream he once had about being on platform 9¾ with Hermione and Ron. This time however things appeared to be much more to his liking, he looked at the wonderful young woman he had married sixteen years ago and he remembered the words of Baiame. The one father had been right this was the greatest adventure he had ever had and despite being surrounded by parents waving goodbye to the departing train Harry swept Hermione into his arms in an embrace so complete that you could not have slipped a hair between them; engaged in a kiss so passionate that even Ron blushed and turned away again.
"You ok," Harry murmured to Hermione when their kiss broke. She was breathless with the excitement he had released in her and in answer plunged back into a second kiss just as passionate as the first.
They released each other just enough so that they could see each others face, Hermione smiled, "I have never been happier in my life, Harry. I love you Mr Potter."
Harry smiled in return and gently brushed away a little of Hermione's wayward hair that had fallen over her face, and as he gazed at her his emotions caught hold and he felt a tear well up, there was nothing he could do to stop it and he let it fall. "That's good Mrs Potter, because I love you too."
* * *
Well there you have it. I have tried to make this story as original as possible and for the moment I have written all I can about our hero and heroine. I have learned never to say never again, for the world created by JKR is rich and easy to continue, but for now another story is calling me. I will let you know how it goes. Until then be well.
Solomon Aegis
Wiltshire 2009.