Chapter 5: Family
******Hogwarts, Headmaster's Office 1200 01 July, 1994******
Albus Dumbledore finished writing his letter and waved it a few times to dry the ink. "I think you are making a serious error in judgment, Albus," said his Deputy Headmistress from across the massive desk.
"I agree, wholeheartedly" said the diminutive head of Ravenclaw house. Flitwick stood from his chair and paced a bit before saying "Mr. Potter and Miss Granger have handled themselves in extraordinary situations their first three years. Acquitted themselves quite well I must say. You are assuming that you are right and that they need your assistance and guidance. You may well be assuming incorrectly," he finished with a stern expression and tone.
"Albus, I know these young people. If you push Potter too hard, he will push back. Granger, well," here McGonagall chuckled "Let's say that she would ford the river Styx to help Potter." Resuming her serious expression, she said "Do not push Albus. Be available. Offer help. But do not push yourself on him because you will lose."
Dumbledore looked at his two heads of house with amused incredulity. "Thank you both for your input. Minerva," he looked at the dark haired witch "I will need your assistance when Harry and Miss Granger return to Hogwarts in the near future. If they are uninjured, I will want them quartered in Gryffindor Tower. At least until we can return Miss Granger to her parents when they are found."
McGonagall regarded her superior with disdain. He hadn't listened to a word she and Filius had said.
Dumbledore continued, oblivious to the simmering Scottish temper of his Deputy, "Since I am young Harry's guardian now, I will place him with a family that I think will be best. Right now, I am strongly considering the Weasleys. I've been in touch with Molly and she is very excited about the prospect."
McGonagall and Flitwick traded looks and Minerva said, "Albus are you aware that Potter and Ronald Weasley had a falling out to the point where they almost traded blows? I think it very unwise to try and house Potter with the Weasleys," Flitwick nodded in agreement.
Dumbledore waved away her objections and said, "Teenage drama, Minerva. Nothing more. Now, on a serious topic, despite my guardianship of Harry, Gringotts will not allow me to set up a disbursement from any of his accounts - Trust rules I'm afraid." Nodding to the Gryffindor head he said, "Minerva, I'll need you to help me persuade Harry that he needs to help pay his way at the Weasley's." He considered for a moment, despite the fact that he already knew how much and then said, "Twenty five hundred Galleons a month should be sufficient."
Minerva Fraser McGonagall came unglued and stood in the blink of an eye with much greater effect than that of Filius Flitwick, "I will not be a party to theft and fraud Albus Dumbledore! And keep your hand away from your wand!" as she drew her own in a flash.
The Headmaster's hand had crept toward his own wand and when she called him out on it, his face betrayed his chagrin at being caught before he masked it with amusement. "Now Minerva, I never said anything about theft." He slowly picked up his wand and tapped the parchment he'd been waving, rolling it up and sealing it. Continuing in his amused tone, he said, "If you feel this activity is outside your Professorial duties, well, I'd have to agree with you. Forgive me for overstepping my bounds."
Looking back and forth between his professors, he smiled and said, "Thank you both for expressing yourselves so honestly" and he rose, grasped them lightly by the arms and started to walk them to the door. "I'll let you both know the moment I have word on Mr. Potter and Miss Granger" and almost shoved them out of his door, shutting it firmly behind them.
Minerva and Filius half stumbled as they exited the office. Minerva was so upset, she turned to re-enter and show Dumbledore that he was not the only Transfiguration master in the castle, nor the only one to have faced a Dark Lord, but the calming hand of her fellow head of house diverted her attention. Filius shook his head and they headed down the rotating stairwell. He motioned for her to follow him and when they had gained his office, he touched his wand to a rune stone in the doorframe, activating the privacy ward. Only then did he let go and began cursing a blue streak that would make a deck seaman proud.
Minerva smiled as if his venting was calming her down as well as him. Finally, he drew breath and said "I feel better now. Have you heard anything about them?"
Minerva nodded and reached into her robes and produced a small scroll, which she handed over, "I received this early this morning."
Flitwick took the scroll, hopped into the chair next to Minerva, and opened it. Scanning it quickly, he exhaled loudly and said, "This is a relief. She doesn't know when Harry and Hermione will be back, though. I guess we shall have to be on our toes." He paused for a minute and then shook his head, "I can't believe that Albus is being so foolish. I've always known him to be manipulative to the point of irrational, with his `grand plans for the greater good' and all, but this will come back on him like he has a tiger by the tail."
Minerva nodded and said, "Yes, I also didn't think that Molly Weasley was such a money grubber. I guess I was wrong." She shook her head sadly and took the cup of tea from her colleague. Sipping at the hot brew, she said, "I'm glad Gringotts was so uncooperative, that could have been catastrophic."
Filius nodded and said, "Yes, there is no way young Harry would have overlooked or forgiven that transgression. He will have a hard enough time with the imprisonment of his Godfather." He paused and then added darkly, "And his placement with his relatives." He sipped his own tea while they ruminated on the situation, what their role had been and will become.
Back in the Headmaster's office, Dumbledore took the newly sealed scroll and attached it to Fawkes' leg saying "Fawkes, please deliver this to Harry Potter and try to bring him back. If he resists, and Miss Granger is with him, bring her back, willing or no." He paused and then continued in a sad voice "He will come if she is here, of that I am sure."
Stepping over to his fireplace he initiated a floo call and stuck his head through. Once clear on the other end he said to the other person, "Ah, Severus, we have things to discuss. Can you come to my office, please?"
******Near the Feasting Hall, Tir na nOg, Mid Morning******
Harry and Hermione were running as fast as they could through the forest as a hind and a large dog chased them. They'd been running from the pair for the last forty minutes and their shirts were sweat soaked and their lungs burned for more air. Breaking out of the forest, they saw the river a hundred yards in front of them and in concert they broke into a dead sprint, right at it.
In the open, the pursuers were no longer hindered by brush or bush and began their own sprint after their human quarry. Closing the gap between the two groups rapidly, the dog began barking to try and intimidate the teens with the sound of the gaining pursuers.
Harry and Hermione reached the bank of the river and simultaneously jumped as high as they could. With a moment of concentration, Harry summoned a strong wind that carried them both over the river and away from the pursuers. They landed in a heap on the other side, and lay there, panting. Harry mumbled, "Need to work on landings. Little too rough." Looking at Hermione, he said between gasps, "You Ok? Landing didn't hurt you did it?"
Hermione shook her head mutely and looked up as Brigid stood over them. Smiling, she said, "Well done, you out ran us for quite a long time, but you need to get faster. We will continue this for the foreseeable future" here she turned as Sirius finished swimming the river and shook out his long black hair. With laughing eyes, she said, "Can you keep this up, Sirius?"
Sirius smirked, winked at Harry and Hermione who were already groaning in anticipation of Sirius' bon mot, looked at Brigid lasciviously saying, "Sweetheart, for you I can keep it up for a long time."
Brigid laughed merrily, shape shifted into the hind and cleared the river in a leap before running off into the trees. Sirius watched the goddess flit away with an amused expression on his face before turning back to the teens on the ground. By now they'd caught their breath and were sitting up. "Come on you two, I'm hungry and it's Moony's turn to cook," and they headed off to the small house the two bachelors were sharing. It was a good mile from Harry and Hermione's home, thatched and homely. They jogged down the path to cool down from the steeplechase earlier.
Despite his flippant attitude, Sirius was somewhat worried about Remus. He'd never tell the kids, but Remus had confessed to him a few nights before that he felt incomplete now that the wolf was gone. His heightened senses, strength, healing ability that being a lycanthrope brought, were all gone and after a few flagons of mead, he told Sirius that the world seemed a bit dull now.
Sirius had given him a mild bollocking, challenging him to pick between being free of Moony and being able to smell really well to which Remus smiled and said "I guess you're right, I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself." He took a deep breath and said "Don't get me wrong, I'm relieved beyond words to be free from the moon. Words just can't express what I feel. At the same time, my life as Remus Lupin is very different now, that's all. I just have to get used to it."
On the way home, if Harry and Hermione hadn't been leading the way, they'd have seen an expression of realization on Sirius' face followed by amusement that even they would have recognized boded no good for anyone. As they got close to the newly dubbed `Marauder Pad', Sirius turned to the teens and said "You might want to be careful around here for a while. I think it's time I declare a prank war on Brother Moony to cheer him up a bit."
Harry looked at Hermione and then said, "I think we'll go home to eat, thanks," and they hightailed it through the trees to their house.
******Longbottom Manor, Kent, 1430 02 July, 1994******
Neville Longbottom was in heaven. For his thirteenth birthday, his grandmother had a small greenhouse built and given him a one hundred-galleon stipend to populate it with whatever plants he wanted. He had been sincerely touched by the gift and the wetness in his grandmother's eyes meant even more than the gift. She'd always been distant, both because of her age and because of generation gaps, or maybe because he never filled the imagined shoes of her son and his father, Frank. The greenhouse had seemed like the beginning of her acceptance of him being Neville and not a replacement for Frank. Their relationship had become incrementally warmer since that day last July.
The budding Herbologist had spent the entire morning and worked through lunch on his current acquisitions. He'd owl ordered a pack of cuttings from a tropical Herbology magazine. His grandmother had cast the appropriate charms in the morning, just as directed by the manual and Neville had fallen into the planting and grafting with zest. Straightening from his work, he stretched his back left and then right, groaning as he did so. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he was stunned at the lateness of the hour, hurriedly finishing his current planting he then cleaned himself.
He hurried into the kitchens, as his stomach was now vociferously informing him that he'd worked through lunch. Walking past the drawing room, movement caught his attention and he turned in horror. In the drawing room that his grandmother had spent the bulk of her life entertaining visitors, reading and writing long letters to family and friends and having various conversations with Neville, in this drawing room she was pouring her life's blood on the Persian rug. Over her stood Marduk, bloody claws flashing in the sunlight. It turned toward Neville, maybe scenting him or possibly hearing the beating of his heart, for it felt as if it would burst from his chest at any moment. Neville stared for a moment and then summoning every bit of Gryffindor courage he could muster he sprinted for the foyer and the main floo connection. Tears streaming down his face and grief warring with rage in his chest, he heard a `pop' behind him and the squeaky voice of Solly their house elf challenge the demon. A shriek notified Neville that the house elf had paid brutally for her bravery. Neville slid on the marble floor and almost fell as he jumped for the floo powder pot. Throwing in a handful, he yelled "Ministry of Magic!" and dove headfirst into the green flames as Marduk swiped at him, managing only to tear the youngster's robes.
******Harry and Hermione's Home, Tir na nOg, after breakfast*******
After a quick fry up breakfast, Harry and Hermione were lying in the grass of their front yard `observing' as they called it. Nuada and Brigid both had tasked the young Elementals to try to find their element in everyday life and replicate it the best they could. Hermione had been rather frustrated until Brigid said, "Don't look only for fire, but also heat." This comment had opened a world of new observations and discoveries for her. Both of them were beginning to feel a connection with their element on a conscious level vs. the instinctual reaction they had so far.
Currently, Hermione had filled a bowl with water from the brook and was alternately trying to freeze and boil the water. Heating it had been fairly easy. Her main problem had been one of control and she either made the water lukewarm or it flashed to steam immediately. Pulling the heat out of the water had been very frustrating at first and caused more than one exclaimed "Honestly!" from her before she tried feeling her way though the exercise rather than thinking her way through it. When at last she had a bowl full of frozen water she had cheered and run over to Harry, kissing him thoroughly. The fact that he had been using air to suspend three rocks over himself as he lay on his back had been unremarked and her cheer of triumph had quickly become a cry of indignation when the rocks landed on her bum.
Harry laughed and was repeatedly smacked on the arm and once on the back of the head until he called out "Ok, Ok, truce! I'm sorry, I'm an insensitive git!" Hermione relented at that point and he pulled her close while she maintained an expression of firm disapproval, "Now love, tell me what is so exciting."
She pursed her lips, but couldn't maintain the facade any longer and excitedly pulled him over to where she had been working to show him her ice. Harry nodded thoughtfully as she explained feeling her way through the event, rather than thinking her way through it. He put his arms around her waist from behind and said "That's hard for you, isn't it? Not relying on your incredible brain."
She turned her head and saw that he was not teasing her but rather serious. "Yes, it is" she admitted. Rather hesitantly, she continued, "I always tried to understand everything so that I could be in control of the situation." Shrugging, she said, "It also got mum and dad to talk to me." Moving apart she waded into the brook and squatted down, putting her hands in the water with a look of concentration. Almost a full minute later, she still hadn't changed her expression when suddenly she said "AH!" and jumped out of the water with a look of exhilaration and said "I can feel it!" and she ran back into the water like a small child at the playground.
Harry chuckled softly, realizing that she was getting more comfortable with the emotional aspect of discovering and developing her element. Leave it to you to conquer your fears in minutes that take the rest of humanity years if ever. On a whim, he tried something he had only just observed this morning. Concentrating, he closed his eyes and suddenly a small storm cloud coalesced over the house and it gently began to rain.
Hermione looked up at the sudden rain shower and then at Harry who was panting a bit and squealed again, ran to him and enveloped him in a rib crushing hug before crashing her lips on his. Tangling his hair in her hands, she pulled him closer as his hands began to explore her back and crept lower than they had before. She pulled back, looked into his eyes with passion, and groaned softly as he cupped and squeezed her bum. He kissed her with all that was in him, the storm picked up in its intensity, lightning flashed, and the wind began to whip the rain. He pushed her up against a tree, she wrapped her legs around his waist and he assaulted her neck and she his. By now the summer storm was a full blown tempest, and a quiet figure stopped at the corner of the house calling out "Children."
Harry and Hermione broke apart, panting harder than they had after their morning run and saw Nuada, watching them placidly from across the yard. He waved his hand and the tempest vanished, leaving the dripping water and dripping people as the only indication of what had transpired. Harry and Hermione looked at each other, red in the face and back at Nuada. The god beckoned them to the bench outside their front door and he sat on the stump opposite. When all were seated he said in a calm, knowing voice "That was quite a storm you two created."
Hermione and Harry were confused and he said "But I created it."
Nuada nodded calmly and said, "You called forth a small rain as an essay and it was well done. As you explored your passion for each other, both your powers built and stoked the rain." He looked at them, challenging them to solve the puzzle. A moment later, he was rewarded with an "Ohhh" from Hermione.
She looked at Harry and said "In nature, what causes wind?"
After a heartbeat, Harry grimaced at his slowness, nodded "Sunlight warms the earth's crust, in turn heating the air above it, causing high pressure systems", and waved his hand to intimate that he wasn't going to say the rest.
Nuada smiled, "I'm glad that you understand. This is one way in that your abilities can feed each other. You did nothing wrong" he reassured to the red faced teens. "Your feelings for each other are augmented by your maturation as an Elemental. You have probably already noticed a physical growth as well, yes?"
Harry and Hermione both nodded at that. Just this morning, they had used the Enlargement charm on their clothes for the third time as they were a bit snug in certain areas again.
Nuada nodded back and continued, "By my estimation, you are approaching eighteen or nineteen years of age. As far as relations with each other" at this point they both blushed beet red "I counsel patience. Your emotions and your bodies will drive you to consummate that which you feel. Soon, I feel that it will be right and natural for you to do that, but be patient. Talk with Brigid on this as well, she has great insight." The teens nodded mutely at that.
The King of the Tuatha De Danann stood, smiling and said, "You are both doing very well, continue to observe and we will discuss more tomorrow." Patting Harry on the shoulder, he strode from the house.
After he was out of sight, Harry snorted said, "Well that was fun. It was like your Dad and Professor McGonagall wrapped into one catching us."
Hermione squirmed and said "Harry, about earlier…"
Harry's face fell. "Hermione, I don't regret one single thing that we did. I thought it was brilliant in so many ways." He paused and a flash of fear went across his face as he said "Oh, no. Was I pressuring you to do something you didn't want to do? I swear Hermione, I won't do it again, I'm so sorry."
Her finger on his mouth cut off his ranting. "I'm not sorry, and I didn't feel pressured at all. I was just worried you thought that I was… well, you know, easy or something."
Harry looked at her incredulously and said, "That literally never entered my mind." She smiled, her face flooding with relief and he pulled her close, saying, "You're my Hermione, I have a hard time imagining you doing anything wrong" to which she smiled again and rolled her eyes.
Sensing a lightening of her mood he stood and pulled her up and said, "Come on, let's take a little walk, we can dry off as we go." At that moment, Fawkes flashed into the clearing sounding his clear trilling call.
They both watched him circle the clearing and then alight on the bench they had just vacated. Harry frowned and said, "He's got a note. Looks like the Headmaster found us" and he bent to retrieve the parchment.
Hermione grabbed his hand saying "Don't touch it, it could be a portkey." She fished out her wand, said, "I'm sorry Fawkes, it's not you", and cast a weak Cutting curse, severing the string that held the scroll to the Phoenix's leg. At this point, she looked back at the Phoenix and was caught in his depthless eyes. They stared at one another for a full minute before Harry began to get worried.
He said "Hermione, are you …" and was cut off as the living flame burst into existence from her hands. Fawkes gave a trill of triumph and joy that lightened their hearts and filled them with a ferocious courage they'd never felt before.
Hermione blinked a few times and turned to Harry with a scowl on her face. In an indignant near-shriek she said "Dumbledore told Fawkes to take me by force back to him to get you to come to Hogwarts!"
With his face contorted in a strange combination of fury and dismay, Harry growled, "He did what?"
Hermione only nodded in return. She started pacing which Harry had learned not to interrupt. After a full minute's pacing she absently said, "Oh, yes, Fawkes also wanted me to tell you that he was proud of how you handled yourself in the Chamber."
Harry nodded and turned to the Firebird saying, "Thanks." Turning back to his girlfriend he said "How do you know this?"
She shrugged, "He's the Creature of Fire. He said he'd tell the Creature of Air that the Elemental has awakened, whatever that means" and she continued her pacing. After a few more minutes of walking and worrying her lip, she said, "Do you think we should go back to Hogwarts next year?"
Harry blinked at that. "I don't know. Now that you mention it, I'm not too keen on being under Headmaster Whiskers' thumb any time soon." He thought about it and said, "Let's talk to Sirius and Remus about this and get their opinion." He reached out to take her hand and said "They may also know a way to tell if that" he nodded to the scroll "is a portkey or not." He said to the Phoenix, "Fawkes, we'll be back in a few hours. Hedwig is inside and feel free to share her perch. Water is inside as is a dish of treats, help yourself" and they headed to the Marauder Pad.
******Ministry of Magic, Auror Headquarters 0800, 03 July, 1994******
Neville Longbottom was in despair. He'd shot out of the floo in the Ministry Atrium yesterday afternoon screaming his head off. Once someone could interpret what his was saying between screams, sobs and shouts the Aurors were dispatched immediately to Longbottom Manor and Neville taken to Auror Headquarters where a new recruit Auror got the task of taking care of him. She'd taken him home with her at the end of the day and fed and clothed him, all the while he was borderline catatonic. Nymphadora Tonks called her mother and Andromeda flooed over to help with young Neville.
Andromeda clucked and cooed over him, as a mother should and it began to break through the cracks in his defense. Between Nymphadora's joviality and Andromeda's mothering, after dinner he found himself on the second hand couch in Nymphadora's living room sobbing softly into the older witch's shoulder while the younger one held them both in a tight hug, rocking the whole ensemble.
Eventually, the young wizard fell off asleep and Nymphadora covered him up in blankets and cast a privacy ward around him so she and her mother could talk and not wake the lad. He needed his sleep. She went back into the kitchen and sat across from her mother who was pouring a cup of mint tea, her favorite for afters. Sipping and cradling the cup in her hands, she looked her mother in the eye and said, "What are you thinking mum?"
Andromeda smiled and said, "Now why would you suspect that I am thinking of anything in particular, young lady?"
Nymphadora snorted and said, "Because you have this look on your face that screams `plotting', because you're a Black and they're always plotting and because you're my mother and I know you. So" and she waved an amused finger at her mother in mock reproval "what's the scoop?"
Andromeda fiddled with her teacup and seemed fascinated by the stain in the wood of the table before she finally said, "I really should speak to your father first" to which Nymphadora raised an eyebrow in curiosity.
Eventually, the young witch wheedled it out of her. "You know how much your father and I wanted to have more children." Nymphadora nodded at that, but after the accident when she was three, her mother couldn't have any more children. "Well, Neville needs a family" here she looked at the doorway with a longing expression. "He needs people who love him to help him. Also, I think that we can help him with his head of house status." Despite having been disowned by her uncle for marrying muggleborn Ted Tonks, she was still raised as a scion of one of the purest of the Pureblood houses and knew the ins and outs of society's politics.
Snuffling a tear, Andromeda continued, "Most of all, he needs someone, a family to love him.
Nymphadora smiled into her tea. Her mother had always been a caring, giving woman. Many of her friends at Hogwarts had been brought home to the loving warm hearth of the Tonks residence when their family was out of town during hols. She always wondered why her parents had never adopted a child, but it looked like they were going to go for a thirteen year old boy. It would be good to have a little brother.
The young metamorphagus looked across the table to her mother and said "While you work on Da, I'll talk to the child placement services. A girl who was a year ahead of me in Hufflepuff works there."
Andromeda flooed home to gather an overnight bag while Nymphadora Transfigured an armchair into a full sized bed. After getting ready for bed herself, her mother returned and asked, "Did he wake up yet?" They had talked about it and Andromeda had told her daughter to expect Neville to wake up, possibly screaming, several times that night. She'd collected a vial of dreamless sleep potion from the all-night apothecary just in case it was needed. She didn't like the potion, many people became addicted to them, but if they used it just this once, it couldn't do much harm.
Looking over the sleeping Longbottom with concern, Andromeda shoo'd her daughter to bed and took up her watch in the living room. Thrice that night Neville had awoken, screaming his lungs out each time before collapsing in sobs. The first and last time he had been calling for his Gran, but the second time he'd been calling for Solly. He wept bitterly for her loss.
Each time Andromeda took the lad in her arms and let him scream and cry until he was either hoarse or asleep. Eventually, she gave in and gave him a small dose of the sleeping draught and he fell into the deep sleep of the drugged. Before she curled up on her bed, she kissed the young man on the forehead and said "Good night sweet Neville."
The next morning, Andromeda woke Neville with a gentle shake on his shoulder. As his eyes focused, Andromeda saw an innocent young man morph into a violated and scared person. Neville saw her sitting on the side of the sofa and said, "I'm sorry I kept waking you up last night, I didn't mean it" and a tear began to trickle down his face.
Andromeda pulled him close and said "Don't you worry your head one bit about it young man, it was my pleasure to look after you. I'm sorry to have to wake you, but you are needed at the Ministry for identification and the wards at your home or some such thing. Isn't that right, Nymphadora?" Neville heard a growl from the kitchen and smiled. He'd already been clued into the identity of She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the banter between the two women had been heartwarming on a day of death and destruction.
What Andromeda had said finally clicked in his head and his eyes rounded. Turning to the older witch, he said, "Will you please come with me? "
Smiling, she said, "I'd love to. Let me grab my bag while you get cleaned up and we'll be off."
Since the younger Tonks witch had preceded them to the Ministry, Neville walked next to Andromeda who had drawn herself up to her aristocratic best posture. She kept a hand on Neville's shoulder to let him know that she was there as they wended their way through the maze of offices and corridors to the Auror Headquarters.
******Marauders Pad, Tir na nOg, Lunchtime*******
"Fuck that guy!"
Harry and Hermione had just finished relating what they had learned from Fawkes when Sirius shot out of his seat and began a rant.
Remus looked at his oldest friend with amusement, "Padfoot, I didn't think you batted for that team."
Sirius rolled his eyes at Moony and gave him the two-fingered salute. Turning his attention back to Harry and Hermione he said, "I don't want you guys going back to Hogwarts. We'll get the best tutors on the planet when we eventually leave here. There's no way in hell that I want you under that man's thumb." By now, the dark haired wizard was pacing fiercely like a caged lion and Harry shot an amused look at Hermione. She half smiled and shrugged at him.
Harry stopped his Godfather's pacing with a shouted "Padfoot!"
To which the escaped convict replied with a shouted "What?"
Now both Remus and Hermione were chuckling while Harry was smiling broadly. "We agree with you, we just wanted to get your opinions as well. You know, to double check ourselves." He turned to his former Defense professor and said "Professor" which elicited a glare from the former werewolf. Shaking his head ruefully, Harry restated "Ok, Remus. You've been pretty quiet, what's your opinion?"
Remus looked down at the floor and tapped his chin, gathering his thoughts. "Well, I must admit, that I believe that Albus is trying to control you so that you can successfully fulfill the prophecy and destroy Voldemort once and for all. That, in and of itself, seems to be a good thing. However, when I consider the fact that he completely discards the means for the ends, well…I don't trust him. I think in the end, none of us trust him, isn't that enough?"
Before Harry could reply, he heard the whisper of cloth moving from the doorway and looked over his shoulder. There stood Morrigan, looking her most forbidding. She looked the teens in the eye, and said "Son of Air and Daughter of Fire, you must return to your school. Your foe approaches and the true prophecy is close to fulfillment. The meddler is of no consequence, the snake lord is your foe and a mighty one at that. He commands demons and slaves. He is coming for you both" and she nodded at Hermione to show her inclusion.
Her countenance softened a bit and she said, "Despair not, the brother and sister will aid you significantly in your task and other help will come, unlooked for. Be wary of deceit but open to assistance; for you will have both offered to you when you leave us." She walked up to them, said, "I give you this gift for your struggle against evil", and put a hand on each of the teens head. At once, they were enveloped in gold light and when it faded, both teens fainted.
Morrigan said to the men, "They are well; merely sleeping and should awaken around dusk." With that, she turned and walked out of the house.
Harry woke as the sun was intersecting the horizon and saw that he was lying on Sirius' bed. He shot out of bed, staggered a bit and then ran out of the room to find Hermione. Colliding with Remus, they both ended up on the floor. Remus smiled and said, "I see you're awake. Hermione just woke as well and is in the loo." They both stood and Remus said "Are you hungry? Dinner will be up shortly."
Harry nodded to Remus and thanked him for the invite. Now that he had a moment to think, he was assaulted by knowledge and he reeled on to a bench by the fire. Images, words, actions, even smells washed over him and through him burning themselves into his mind. He felt dizzy and even nauseous as this assimilation progressed. Sitting there, he held his head, was clammy and shivered like he had a fever. The crescendo of information reached a peak and he firmly believed his head was going to split open when suddenly it was over and he felt fine. Better then fine, he felt great.
Hermione walked into the room, followed by Sirius. Harry caught her eye and could tell by the expression on her face that she had gone through the same assimilation. "You Ok?" she asked.
Harry smiled broadly, "Never better."
She returned the smile and they snuggled up on the bench he was sitting on. Sirius sat on a chair opposite and said, "We'll save explanations for after dinner, but for now, are you two Ok?" When they both nodded, his face relaxed from the worried expression he'd had into his normal half amused look.
They ate a simple meal of stew with bread and cheese, chased by mead. Wiping his mouth, Remus said "First off, while you two were napping" and he smirked at them amusedly "I apparated to your place and investigated this scroll" which he then pulled out of his robes. "It was a portkey after all which I disabled" to which the other three persons at the dinner table scowled. Handing the scroll to Harry he said, "It was addressed to you, so I didn't open it."
Harry took the scroll, muttered "Excuse me" to the table and opened his note. His eyes immediately narrowed and then he threw the parchment on the table in disgust. He picked it back up and in an angry voice said "Listen to this:
Dear Harry,
I am very glad that Fawkes was able to find you and hope that you are well. I must tell you, my boy, that you are not safe wherever you are and must immediately come to Hogwarts. If Miss Granger is with you, she may come as well until we can reunite her with her parents.
Harry, I am sure that you are very upset and maybe even distraught since the tragic demise of your relatives, but keep hope, I am here for you. I have petitioned the Ministry and been approved as your guardian so I can tell you with good faith that things are looking up for you!
I have been putting serious consideration into where you should live. For a short period you can stay here at school, but the school rules prohibit full time residency. Therefore, I have contacted the Weasley's and they have agreed to take you in and even adopt you if that is to your liking. You don't have to pursue that option in the near future, just consider it. The Weasleys are good people and I'm sure that you can help them as much as they can help you.
Fawkes will bring you and Miss Granger straight to my office and we can start this new life of yours with a bang. Seeing you soon
A.P.W.B. Dumbledore
Headmaster, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot
Supreme Mugwump, International Confederation of Wizards"
Harry threw the parchment on the table again and Hermione picked it up to read it again. "I'm surprised the old goat even wrote anything on the parchment, it was a portkey after all" he said.
Without looking up, Hermione said "Anti-Portkey wards."
Harry goggled at her seeming non-sequitor when Remus came to her rescue, "If you received the note under an anti-portkey ward, it wouldn't have worked and it would have seemed very strange to get a blank piece of parchment."
Nodding, Harry said "Ok, so Dumbledore is as treacherous as we thought. He obviously wants me to share my gold with the Weasley's, be a good little soldier for him and ignore my best friend, girlfriend, fated mate and overall good person that is my Hermione." He was smiling by the end, hoping to laugh himself out of the funk he was finding himself falling into.
Hermione kissed him on the cheek and pulled out her wand. Raising her eyebrows in question he nodded back at her and she cast a spell at him, muttering the incantation. In front of him in flaming letters appeared "18 years, 5 months, 6 days, 12 hours, 6 minutes."
Sirius immediately wisecracked "What, no seconds?" which earned him a smack on the arm from the witch in the room.
Hermione said, "Well, as we see, his `guardianship' is a non-issue, but the overall attitude he is displaying will be at best annoying and worst a severe hindrance."
Sirius had been sitting there, silent when his face split in a big smile and he said, "I've got it" and then elaborated to everyone his plan to deal with `the meddler' as Morrigan called him.
Harry smiled and said "I like it" and looked to Hermione for her opinion and saw her smiling as well.
Sirius said "Ok, now what the hell happened with Morrigan and that glow? You two scared the crap out of us."
Harry took a deep breath and sighed. Hermione looked to her boyfriend and let him take the lead. "She gave us knowledge. Warfare, intelligence, weapons, targets; you name it, if it relates to warfare we know it."
Hermione said, "Pretty much any weapon you can imagine, we know how to use it. Any opponent, we know the best way to subdue or kill them."
Sirius stared at Hermione, then at Harry and then back at Hermione. "Holy shit, that's quite a gift."
The teens nodded and Harry said "No kidding."
Remus spoke, breaking his long silence and said "It's too bad you will need that knowledge."
That observation left a chill on the company as the teens headed back to their home and an uneasy sleep.
A/N
1. I own nothing.
2. You may notice that I'm not dating the headers for Tir na nOg, that's on purpose as time flows differently on top of their rapid maturation as Elementals.
3. The Creature of Fire and Creature of Air will be explained more in future chapters.
4. For the Portkey readers, I apologize for the funky layout of Chapter 4. I got Office 2007 for Christmas and the site only takes 2003 docs and I screwed up the backwards compatibility save. Sorry.
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