Anything for Harry: Chapter 7
Hermione closed the door to their room and knocked on the one across the hall. It was opened a moment later. The room was dark; Luna stood blinking in the light from the hall. She stepped back, giving room for Hermione to walk inside. Luna had left the lights off, apparently taking her literally about not touching anything. Hermione turned the lights on and closed the door. Out of habit, she locked it. When she turned back to Luna she was walking into the room. She pulled out her wand from her sleeve and laid it upon the desk. She kept walking until she was at the window where she sat in the chair.
Hermione took the chair from the desk and turned it to face Luna then sat in it. She glanced at Luna's wand on the desk beside her and picked it up. Surprisingly she felt it respond to her, not as well as her own or even Harry's, but she could use this wand.
Luna spoke first, "I am defenseless, not that I could out duel you. I just want to be up front and honest with you. This is the real me, not the one who hides behind her oddness."
Hermione sat forward in the chair and handed Luna her wand. She took it and held it off to the side, one pale blond eyebrow rose in question. Hermione snapped her wand to the ready and spoke coldly. "We will start with an oath, that you will not lie to me or I swear to God I will obliviate you and make you think you're a Crumple-Horned Snorkack for the rest of your days."
Luna's eyes went wide she briefly met Hermione's steady gaze. Inexplicably Luna smiled then closed her eyes and held her wand slightly aloft. "On my life I swear to never knowingly lie to Hermione Jane Granger." She shivered as the magic flashed through her.
Hermione sat back, relaxing her wand but generally keeping it pointed at Luna. On her life? Well that was a very serious oath indeed. "Thank you."
Luna took a slow breath, as though testing the fact that she was alive, and opened her eyes and tossed her wand onto the far side of the bed then nodded. "You just proved how smart you are, and how dumb those who sent me, are."
That was an interesting way to start. She lowered her wand to her lap and said. "Explain."
"The day before he died, Professor Flitwick brought me to see the Headmaster. The Headmaster, and I assume Filius, had concocted this elaborate prophecy/story. I had to feed it to Harry to get him to let me help in the Horcrux hunt. I was to be assurance, as Albus put it, That Harry not turn dark."
The absurdity of that thought made Hermione laugh. She covered her mouth quickly and stifled it. "Sorry, continue."
Luna smiled back, "It shows how little they understand him doesn't it?"
Hermione cocked her head, "You understand how impossible that prospect is?"
"Of course, I was assigned by Penny herself to evaluate that possibility in my first year. He is far too selfless to ever turn dark. Though there is one possibility which comes to mind. It has a fair, 67% chance of success in turning him dark."
That surprised her so much she said the first thing that came to her mind, "My death?"
Luna shook her head, "No that would just make him destroy, which though bad is not exactly dark. No, I see the only way would be if you led him there. He would follow you, and only you no matter the cost." She shrugged her slight shoulders, "Well there is a fair chance at least."
She would need some reason to go dark herself. Motivation currently lacking but the possibility existed. Who was this Penny to assign a first year such a task? "Penny?"
Luna bit her lower lip and hesitated. "This comes close to another oath. I am not authorized to explain fully but Penny is Perenelle Flamel."
Now it made at least some sense. She remembered reading an article about their deaths last year in the Prophet. "Nicholas's wife, they died recently, since the stone was destroyed and they only had a little elixir left. Continue."
Luna shook her head then stopped and looked away, clenching her hands into fists. She shuddered then leaned back in her chair gasping for breath.
Hermione leapt from her chair and leaned over her, her left hand went to the back of Luna's head and pulled it up slightly.
Luna was gasping and pale, her eyes were wild with fear. Her color returned quickly and she softly asked. "Water?"
A quick gesture and she silently conjured a chilled glass of water on the table beside Luna. Luna tried to pick it up but her shaking hands nearly knocked the glass over. Hermione dropped her wand onto the table and helped Luna drink for a minute.
When Luna seemed able to function on her own again Hermione let her hold the goblet and pocketed her wand. She lowered her hand gently to Luna's shoulder and sat on the edge of the bed, careful not to sit on Luna's wand. She kept her hand on Luna's shoulder. "Be very careful what you say. Thank Merlin you didn't say anything there and just made a gesture."
Luna nodded and took a long sip of the water. She put the goblet back on the table and took Hermione's left hand from her shoulder but held onto it tightly. "I'll give you a clue and you can reason it out. That should be safe enough. Define Immortality."
She watched Luna's eyes for any signs of distress but spoke without really thinking. "Never ending life would be the simplest definition." That would mean that for the Elixir to actually grant Immortality it would not need to be continually consumed. It would have been called oh, Elixir of sustaining, or something along those lines. "Very well, let's drop this dangerous topic for now." At Luna's slight nod Hermione continued. "Can we go back to what we were discussing? Why you are here and what Dumbledore and Flitwick told you to do. Are you bound by any oaths to them?"
"No, they did not require any, thus my comment about their un-intelligence." Luna finally let Hermione's hand go and picked up the goblet once again, though she did not drink. She stared into the glass at the shimmering water. "So, I was to find Harry and help him with the horcrux hunt. My cover story was a prophecy, made by Trelawney, that the, and I quote. Child of the moon, me, had to help."
"But that's far too vague! Even for a prophecy."
Luna shrugged, still not looking up from the water. "Agreed, but it-"
Hermione interrupted her, "Do you realize it could apply to Remus Lupin, or for that matter ANY werewolf?"
Again Luna shrugged, finally looking up and meeting Hermione's eyes. "To my knowledge it is not a real prophecy. It got me the secret to Grimmauld Place and an official story to let me help. I am here to help, I swear. You won't like this bit I'm afraid. The Headmaster, Filius had gone to deal with a school issue, gave me a love potion variant. He said that Amortentia had ultimately proven ineffective on you both."
Hermione's wand was pointing between Luna's eyes and she had stopped breathing.
Luna continued, as though nothing had changed. "I dumped it in the great lake, maybe a merman fell in love with me?"
Hermione sat, biting her lower lip pensively.
Luna's ethereal voice, the one she used at school floated around the room. "So, how did Dumbledore know that the two of you were immune to Amortentia?"
Her own sudden feelings for Ron and Harry's almost simultaneous interest in Ginny immediately came to mind. "The Manipulative Bastard! I'll find a way to resurrect him, just so I can kill him! Then I'll kill them!"
Luna leaned forward and put her hand on Hermione's knee. Her Loony voice was gone again. "I'm not certain that either of them knew. They will have to be questioned. Dumbledore could have dosed them as well." It took Hermione several minutes to calm down, during which Luna finished her goblet of water and sat patiently waiting until it was again safe to continue.
Hermione conjured herself a goblet of ice water and took several long drinks from it. "Am I going to need Fire-Whiskey by the time this is over?"
"Not likely, if that did not require it." Luna shrugged. "I'm mostly done. The only thing unexplained is how I knew where to find you this morning. Dumbledore told me I should send Harry an owl the week before his birthday, as he would be at his Aunt's home until then. I didn't plan on following that plan. I was going to go to Grimmauld place Saturday and start gathering information and doing what I could." She shrugged. "I don't know how she did it, but Penny told me, I had to walk from Kings Cross station to Grimmauld Place, this morning, and I would find Harry.
She was tempted to ask more details on that but after the last skirting of that other oath she decided to let it go for now. "I will not ever lie to nor keep a secret from Harry. We will discuss this further at a later time. For now you present an opportunity I cannot allow to pass. She began to lose her steel resolve as the next sentence hit her. "I will exact one more oath from you. The likely-hood of both Harry and I surviving is not very high. I put it at about 56%. He is slightly more likely to survive while I do not. Therefore the oath I will require is this. Should I die and he survive you will give him what I cannot, a mate."
Luna was a very pale girl to begin with. She went several shades lighter and her jaw dropped open. A moment later she snapped back to herself, "You are asking me for total emotional commitment now for a possible outcome?"
"What I'm asking is for you to support Harry, fully. I'm planning on have a baby I have no assurance of even surviving the birth. It will be in the muggle world with my parents' full knowledge. If I die there, giving Harry his son, you will need to pick him up as best you can and help him face Voldemort." Hermione stood, "Harry is the whole key to destroying Tom. Do you think he would care if he did anything if his heart died with me? Merlin no, he would tear the world apart but he would not care if Voldemort lived or died at that point. He must have a reason to live and move forward. He will have an emotional attachment to you if you stay with us. He may not be in love with you but he will count you among those he loves."
Luna looked down at her hands for a moment then looked back up to Hermione. "I thought I had courage coming here. You are far braver than I could ever be. I could not imagine saying those things to someone else who came between me and my husband."
Hermione smiled bitterly, "Courage is a relative thing. We do what we know we must in spite of how we feel about it. I'm not asking you to come between us. I'm requiring you to do anything in your power, if I die, to keep him functional. Ultimately yes, you would provide him a family when this is all over. There are no rewards that Harry would accept. He wants one thing in this world, to love and be loved. Can you make that commitment?"
Luna held up her hand, it was shaking. "Give me a little time to think, an hour or so would do."
Hermione sat back on the bed with a grunt of frustration she laid there for a full minute before sitting back up and looking at Luna expectantly.
"You have his support and you support him. If I throw my emotions into this, what am I going to get in return? I am fully committed to helping. I have said so under your oath and my only other oath is one of secrecy. It has nothing to do with this quest."
Hermione had been watching her carefully. "The oath does not require your heart until or when I die. When this conflict is over I will gladly release you and you are free to pursue whomever you wish."
Luna laughed dryly. "That's the real problem isn't it? Why do you think I am here instead of Cho or Parvati?"
Hermione ticked off three reasons that came immediately to mind. "You were with us at the Department of Mysteries. Harry took you to Slughorn's party. Ginny had failed, as had Cho, to keep his attention. Obviously someone more intelligent was required. Padma might have been a better fit than Parvati." She stood and paced towards the door and back. "The real problem I have with all of this is that it seems like the Headmaster was trying to find someone intelligent to also help Harry emotionally. At no point was I ever consulted. Yet Albus Dumbledore was very aware that I was already committed to helping Harry, and supporting him. It has been foremost in my every action since Halloween of my first year."
Luna shrugged, "You may need that Fire-Whiskey after all. The Headmaster never mentioned you. When I asked about working with you he completely ignored my question."
Hermione began to see red, there could only be one reason for that, she didn't matter to him. "The bastard!"
A random spark came from Hermione's wand, a moment later Luna was hugging her. "Calm down. Control your magic! They'll detect that!"
Hermione dropped her wand on the floor and squeezed Luna tightly. She couldn't believe that the man she had looked up to so much had brushed her aside because of her blood status. He wanted Harry with a pure blood witch. She wasn't considered intelligent enough to help Harry! She channeled her rage, she would not cry. She and Harry would end these beliefs or destroy the wizarding world in the process! Now she understood Luna's comment about her and Harry becoming dark. She now had her motivation. Luna made no move to pull away from her. Instead she continued to hold on tightly, trying to comfort the older and much larger girl. When Hermione was again completely in control she let Luna go. Luna immediately stepped back and knelt to pickup Hermione's wand. As Hermione took it back she said. "Thanks. I didn't even realize I had my wand out."
Luna smiled oddly. "You pulled it so fast it could have been wandless magic. Just doing my best to help."
Hermione put away her wand again and ran her fingers through her hair, thinking for a minute, back to the task at hand. "So why are you here and not one of those other girls?"
"I already love him." No emotion showed during that brief confession.
Hermione scowled. The fact that Luna was still alive told her there was truth in that statement. "How, when?"
"Bill Weasley was my ideal friend. When I was growing up, he and Ginny often met with me in the woods and we played for hours. Bill was always sensitive to our feelings and never belittled us, even though he was in his sixth year of school when I met him. He even came over to my house, quite often, if I remember correctly. He liked to discuss potions with my mother and strange things with my father. Then mother accidentally killed herself, and my father wouldn't talk to him anymore. Harry I found was a lot like Bill. Always thinking of others and willing to help. No one has ever tried to help me. So why not fall in love with him?" She shrugged. "Anyway, the Headmaster figured it out at some point and here I am."
Hermione wiped sudden tears from her eyes. "Here's the deal. You take my oath and we'll settle our relationship after Tom Riddle is dead and this war is over. I'll talk to Harry about this, maybe he and I can accept this. It cannot be much of a distraction though."
Luna shook her head no, "Not yet. Let me think on it a bit longer? I know this frustrates you but give me until dinner?"
Hermione nodded and struggled to her feet. "Ok, I'm going to show you how this stuff works. Then I will go take a nap. We will all meet again for dinner at six. Then we can talk some more."
Luna sighed, "Have you done a pregnancy test today? Your moods are changing rapidly."
No she hadn't in the last two days actually. She pulled her wand and untucked her shirt and cast it on her lower abdomen. Immediately the area glowed a solid blue. It lasted only a few seconds, long enough that she knew it was not her imagination. She was too surprised to talk.
Luna said, "A son, congratulations."
Hermione shook her head to clear it. She focused back on Luna, dropping her shirt and slipping her wand into her front jean pocket again. "I'm not sure if I should thank you or curse you yet. The fact that you're alive in spite of the oath you made to me tells me I need to thank you, but I'll wait for your decision at dinner. Now, this is called a thermostat. It makes it warmer or colder in here. See these levers and the numbers…"
They spent nearly thirty minutes before Hermione was certain that Luna could operate all of the items in her room. She may not understand what caused them but she could turn on the tap and fill the bathtub or start a shower without burning herself. Luna's trunk was expanded and she thought that she could even use the phone for room service if necessary.
"Luna, I'm going to take a nap with Harry. We will come get you for dinner at six. If we do not come here by six knock on our door. Can you manage until then?"
Luna nodded, "Yes. I have some thinking to do, books to read and my Occlumency to practice."
Hermione stopped in her tracks and spun to look at Luna. "You know Occlumency?"
"Yes. Do you two need help learning it? Honestly Harry projects so much he really should learn it."
"This is good news Luna. Yes, we both need to learn it. I've been reading Hileral's Occlumency but put off starting the lessons."
"I'm fairly advanced in Occlumens and a fair Legilimens. I'll teach you all I can. At least this is something real I can help with. I'm sure there are other things."
Hermione smiled and patted Luna's shoulder. "Harry will want to hear this. Don't get in trouble and be ready for dinner when we knock. Do not let anyone in this room but Harry or I. Understand?"
Luna nodded, "Certainly. Turn the lever and move the bar to lock or unlock. Look through the little eye to see who is in the hallway. Got it and I will lock it as soon as you walk into your room."
Hermione unlocked the door and pulled out her key. She quickly unlocked the door and turned to watch Luna close her door.
*
Luna took a band from her now expanded trunk and pulled her long blond hair back into a ponytail. She changed the thermostar, no stat Luna, thermostat to make it a little warmer and lay down on the bed. Quickly she slipped into her Occlumency trance to think through her current situation.
She had known when she came here some of what she was pushing her way into. She had no illusions with herself, she was the intruder. Harry's connection to Hermione was legendary among the Hogwarts girls. She had heard Cho complaining about her at the end of last year when they had broken up. As Cho had said to most of the Ravenclaw common room; `No chance girls. I don't know what she does for him but that Granger girl comes first.'
Luna could answer Cho's question now. She understood what Hermione did for him. She knew the stories and legends, for legends they were already, though it had only been a few years. Harry, Ron and Hermione preventing Voldemort from stealing the Sorcerer's Stone in their first year. Stopping the basilisk in their second. Escaping from Sirius Black in their third. She had even been the only one standing by him when the whole school had thought he had cheated to get into the Tri-Wizard tournament. Hermione was loyal to Harry, she supported and helped him.
Could Luna do the same? She had followed him to the DoM in large part that was to keep Ronald alive. She had learned from him during the DA sessions and certainly saw the nobility in him. She had been accepted by Hermione. That alone was no small accomplishment. Hermione scared the hell out of her. She seemed to have everything under control, yes there were things she didn't know but there would be very few of those that Luna knew when she did not. Occlumency appeared to be one of those. She could help them get the basics down quickly enough. Then what?
As Cho had discovered, she had no intention of trying to come between these two, because Cho had had no chance of success, none at all. Would she be content to stay with them and receive scraps of love? No, not content, the question was could she manage? Not for herself, but to help Harry win. She suspected he knew what the prophecy said now and it obviously had something to do with his beating Voldemort. Obviously some of Harry was better than none of Harry. She had never even entertained thoughts of them getting together. Harry had said he wanted to go to Slughorn's party with her has a friend and she hadn't read anything into his words.
It had not been lost on Luna just whom Harry had grabbed onto in the DoM when it got crazy. She had hoped Ronald would like her. He was Bill and Ginny's brother and they had passed. But, no, Ronald had failed. Ronald and Hermione had never seemed to get along. Ginny had told her about some of their rows. No Ronald had failed the Loony test and quite obviously he couldn't handle a girl with a brain. So her heart was free of Ronald. Now Harry had certainly passed the Loony test and there was no doubt he didn't mind Hermione's brain. Could he handle another brain? She wouldn't push him like Hermione did. Well maybe if she needed to. Hell maybe that was why she was here; to push him in a direction Hermione wouldn't think of.
She did not yet know all the details that Hermione did so couldn't really work on that puzzle yet. Back to her problem: Harry. She had easily fallen in love with him. Hermione, who knew him better than anyone had said he would count her among those he loved.
Could she do what Hermione demanded? Could she pickup a shattered Harry Potter if Hermione died? Could she help him continue and kill a Dark Lord? She wasn't sure she could do that at all. Hermione Granger could stand equal to Harry Potter and not flinch from him; she had seen it herself.
Maybe Ginny could do it. She had actually dated Harry. She was brave, but she couldn't stand up to Harry. He had ended their relationship. Ginny had walked away. She hadn't even fought to stay with him. He told her it was over and she left.
Being honest with herself nothing was going to come between them. But maybe she could compliment them in some way. She didn't have much to offer. Hermione's body was much more developed than she was and as smart as Luna was she knew Hermione was smarter. She would open herself to them, for as Hermione had said she had to accept Luna before Harry would. Merlin! She would try!
Loony was dead she realized. There would be no more hiding behind a false personality, not now nor in the future. Pity, she had liked her.
Well that seemed to settle everything. She had puzzled it all out and had no more to think. She woke from her trance and sat up on the bed and spoke towards the carpet in a stage whisper, "Weepa!"
A moment later and the familiar house elf was there, one ear taller than the other and one eye blue with one green. She wore panties Luna had given her for Christmas, "Yes Misses?"
She whispered to her, "Please tell daddy I will be with Harry and Hermione for some time and not to worry."
Weepa saluted and said, "Yes Misses."
Luna smiled at her and said warmly, "Thanks, Weepa. I love your help."
Weepa vanished.
She looked at the numbers on the clock by the TV, 2:55. Well she had a lot of time until dinner. Let's see what's on this magical, no not magical… Um, what was the word Hermione had used? Eclectic, no electric! Yes that was it. Let's see what's on this electric box. She picked up the remote, pointed the end Hermione had directed towards the TV and hit the button that said PWR.
*
Harry woke slowly. His right arm was asleep, fingers tingling, that's what was waking him. The rest of him was very contentedly warm. He hadn't even opened his eyes yet but he knew he was holding Hermione, his nose was in her hair, his left arm held her close. It took him ages to actually comprehend it. His brain started kicking in, something made him stop his initial reaction; to jerk awake, likely Hermione's presence caused that as well.
He had been reading that tedious book on Occlumency while Luna and Hermione had gone to talk about him…He suddenly remembered a very important conversation with Luna at the end of his 5th year. She had helped him start to come to terms with Sirius's death.
His brain stopped at that name. Tears were coming, he couldn't move away from her to hide it. He started trembling, Hermione moved, she turned to face him, concern on her face. He jerked her against him and sobbed. His arms wrapped around her and he held onto her.
He tried to control his sobbing, Hermione freed her hand and caressed his wet cheek, "Let it out."
He buried his face against her chest and the tears flowed freely. Ten minutes later the tears stopped. He whispered, "Thanks," into Hermione's ear then lay on his back. With his right arm he pulled Hermione to him, she was already sliding closer. He said, "Thanks. It was Sirius again. Nothing specific this time, I just remembered he was gone." He choked up for a moment, "Is that wrong of me? To forget he was dead?"
Hermione said, "No. It's part of healing." He started drifting off again when she continued. "I left Luna thinking in her room, she has until dinner, about an hour, or I'll obliviate her and have Dobby take her home."
"What is she thinking about?"
She rubbed her hand in a slow circle on his chest. "Loyalties. She has a secrecy oath, something to do with Perenelle and Nicholas Flamel. She hinted that they were still alive. It almost killed her."
He half sat in surprise but her weight kept him down. "What happened?"
"I recounted the article in the Prophet last year about their deaths. She shook her head no and couldn't breathe for a minute. She recovered quickly though and seemed fine when I left her a few hours ago. I think they are both alive and have faked their deaths."
"What's with everyone faking their own deaths?"
She laughed. He felt it go through his own chest. "Probably more to do with Tom than you love, I think there is more going on that we do not understand."
Maybe they should try and get help from the Flamel's? They couldn't have lived so long without learning an awful lot. "Do you think Luna could get us a meeting with the Flamel's?"
"Not sure about that. That could be a risky question to ask her. She couldn't reveal that they were alive. How could she answer yes without causing her own death? I'll think about a way to word it."
"Maybe a letter to them? Just hand it to her with his name on it? She wouldn't need to tell us anything, just deliver it."
"Yes that has good possibilities though I think we can just bypass Luna all together and have Dobby deliver it. I doubt owls would get through."
"So tell me about your conversation with Luna."
"Well, first I made her take an oath never to lie to me. She-"
"Wouldn't that be detected by the Ministry?"
"No. Girls can take oaths from age twelve. It dates back to the Middle Ages and their wedding oaths."
He shuddered. "That's wrong, marriage at twelve?"
She shrugged. "Back then most people died before they were thirty. Girls were having children as soon as they could get pregnant just to keep up with the deaths from war, famine, and pestilence. I don't like it either but that won't stop me using it to our advantage."
History must be a fascinating thing, all these reasons for people to do things. When this was all done he would learn some of what she found so interesting. "So she couldn't lie to you. What did you learn?"
"Dumbledore and Flitwick sent her. The prophecy story is false. She knows the secret to Grimmauld Place. She knows Occlumency and Legilimency and will teach us both. We were dosed with Amortentia, most of last year. Apparently it didn't work so Dumbledore gave Luna something stronger to use on you but she dumped it into the lake. Oh, and she is in love with you.
"Huh?"
"I had a lot of trouble with it all at once as well, one piece at a time then? First she told me that Dumbledore told her that you and I proved immune to Amortentia. Now at the beginning of last year, from about the time I went to the Burrow, I was obsessed with Ron. It finally faded after Dumbledore's funeral. You were suddenly obsessed with Ginny and again it faded after the funeral. I can only assume that he was somehow drugging us but when he died no one continued it. We immediately reverted to our feelings prior to the potions. Thus here we are, a bit behind where we would have been without his meddling."
"Why?"
She sighed. "I think he saw us getting too close and wanted you with a pureblood witch, thus Ginny and now Luna."
He was trembling but had to ask. "How do we know this is real?"
She calmly replied. "I'll brew a purgative to clean out our systems as soon as we are in a place I can. I'll tell you right now that I've loved you for years."
He remembered precisely when it had happened. Ginny had been just a friend until the moment he saw her and the monster in his chest and he wanted her all to himself. "The monster in my chest?"
She nodded, her head still resting against his shoulder. "It could feel like that. Mine was more of a longing. I desperately wanted him to tell me something, anything, nice about myself. Maybe it affected me differently because I was already in love with you. Maybe it made me trust you less. Thus I kept belittling and complaining about your ideas. I really hope so but I can't just blame it for my actions. I was terrible towards you last year."
She was crying onto his shoulder now. He pulled her tighter and used his left hand to brush her hair back from her face and tucked it behind her ear. He couldn't really look at her the way they were laying. "Hermione, if there is one thing, just one thing, that I believe in, it's you."
She lifted her head to look at him, her eyes were puffy red. All he saw was the brilliance and dedication clearly shining in her eyes. She didn't speak but seemed to be looking for something in his eyes. He tried to open himself to her as he returned her stare.
"If you told me I had to take that time turner and go back and push Sirius through the veil with my own hands. I would, simply because I know you wouldn't tell me something like that unless it was critical."
She shook her head. "I would-"
He covered her lips with his fingers, cutting her off. "Don't tell me you wouldn't. You and I both know we will do things we don't want to during this war. The only line I won't cross is you. I will not hurt you and I will protect you with my life." Only then did he take his fingers away from her lips.
She licked her lips, blinked away a tear and gave him a slight nod. Then she was kissing him hard. She was on top of him, struggling with his belt. He tried to help her but she growled and sat up. He saw her wand flash and their clothes shifted three feet to the right. He watched, fascinated, as they crumpled into a pile on the floor. He looked back at her and the words he wanted to say wouldn't come out. She was gorgeous. The time turner swung between her perfect breasts, he reached up and caressed them. She moaned and grabbed her long hair to twist it up on the back of her head then jabbed her wand into it, holding it in place.
"Handy that." Meaning of course the spell she had used and the way of keeping her hair out of the way.
She growled at him, "Shut up and shag me!"
He squeezed her breasts and answered, "Yes ma'am." Then he did as he was told.
*
They knocked on Luna's door promptly at 6pm. He heard her say, "coming" then a few moments later the locks were undone and he saw Luna open the door. She said, "Ready for dinner?" Hermione nodded yes and Luna flipped the light off and pocketing her key stepped into the hall and pulled the door closed. "Where to?"
Harry said, "Let's go to the pub across the street. They had a good menu."
Luna answered brightly, "Sure," and she skipped down the hall to the elevator where she pushed a button and looked back at them raising an eyebrow in question.
Harry looked at Hermione who shrugged at his questioning look and started walking after Luna.
Dinner was full of small talk and Harry learned that Luna's mother had gone to school with his parents. She also whispered that her mother had been a potions mistress, before her death. By 7:30 they were in Harry and Hermione's room with locking and privacy charms erected.
Hermione got right to the point. "Yes or no, remember you're still under that oath to me."
Luna sat in one of the chairs and had kicked off her shoes. She looked nervously at Harry while twisting a stray lock of hair. He recognized a longing in her eyes that he had often seen in the mirror. Luna looked at Hermione. "Yes, though I don't think anyone but you could do as you ask. I will try."
Hermione looked relieved. He debated saying anything about this but decided he trusted Hermione and that kept him silent.
Luna pulled out her wand. "Would you like me to take another oath now?"
Hermione bit her lower lip. "No. You would be dead if that had been a lie."
Luna nodded and put her wand back into her pocket.
"I wish we had a Pensive."
Hermione flipped her hair behind her ears, "We could ask McGonagall if we could borrow Dumbledore's"
Luna's asked, "What do you need to see?"
Harry pushed his glasses up and looked over at her, "No I need to show the two of you things, lots of things. I just realized I have two of the smartest witches in the world to help me figure out what I need to do to kill Voldemort."
Hermione added, "Remember that prophecy from when we went after Sirius? Harry has heard it from Dumbledore. One of the lines says that he will have the power the dark lord knows not. Dumbledore seems, sorry, seemed to think that power was his capacity to love."
Harry chuckled, "Pity, it looks like we can rule out sex. Bloke would be dead several days ago already."
Hermione put her hand on his shoulder and gave him that wicked smile, "We'll keep trying."
He grinned back at her but then looked at Luna and dropped his smile.
Luna turned decidedly pink at that comment but remained quiet.
Harry continued, "Well anyway the thought I had was this. If I can share my memories with the two of you about everything I learned about Tom Riddle, Horcruxes, and each of our encounters. Maybe, just maybe something will occur to one of you to help me kill him. I keep running around in circles in my head and I don't think the answer is in here." He tapped his temple.
Luna sat forward in the chair, "We could do something like that with Legilimency. I know just enough to get into someone's head and look for something specific, so long as they are not trying to block me."
Hermione said, "Well, I think that's a good place to start. I need to write a letter to my parents for Dobby to deliver. I think you should try to read some of his memories. That will serve several purposes. It will probably be faster than us trying to tell you everything from scratch."
Luna shook her head, "I'll have to cast Legilimens, and I'm under age until October. Maybe we could go somewhere they wouldn't notice, like a wizard house."
Harry and Hermione both said, "Grimmauld."
Luna offered, "What about Hogwarts?"
Harry nodded, "We do need to go there and do some searching. Let's ask McGonagall if we can move into the Room of Requirement for a week or two."
Hermione stood, slipped her shoes on and went to her trunk, she put the Occlumency tome inside and shoved it closed then shrunk it. Harry had slipped from the bed and closed his trunk. She shrunk his as well. "Well, let's go get your trunk Luna; I'll side along you then Harry to Hogsmeade. Should I go check us out of the hotel or keep the rooms?"
Luna slipped her shoes on from under the chair.
Harry said, "Keep them; we could apparate back here if we need to leave the school."
She nodded and followed Luna to the door.
A quick Alohmora from Hermione and they were out the door. Harry picked up the two shrunken chests and put them into the backpack. He wasn't sure if he should wait for them to come back or follow them. Before he could make up his mind; Hermione apparated into the room.
She asked, "Ready to go?"
He decided to tell Hermione how he was feeling about Luna while they were alone. "Um, just a minute. I want to talk to you about Luna."
Hermione looked at him sharply, "Go on."
He sighed, "Well I think its fine hugging her and such. I think she can certainly help us with Occlumency and maybe some other things."
Hermione stepped closer to him and put her arm around him, "But you don't want to have sex with her."
He nodded, "You mean too much to me to risk hurting you. I find her very similar, in many ways, to you, but no, I don't want to and I think I know your plan. I don't agree with it but this just doesn't feel right. What should we do?"
Surprisingly she looked relieved then she said, "We'll tell her the truth Harry. If we start lying to her, she will lie to us. I believe that she is only trying to help. Besides, you're mine!"
He smiled broadly at her, "I love it when you say that."
"Good, I'll do it more often then. You got the trunks?"
"Yes."
She moved her arm to his waist. Apparition took concentration so he dared not distract her with a kiss no matter how much he wanted to. He was greatly relieved that Hermione was not going to force him into anything with Luna. He really didn't think that with Hermione around it would be possible. Maybe that's what their agreement meant? Was Luna just supposed to hang around to keep him going if Hermione died? He vowed then and there to begin training in earnest for all possibilities; Occlumency, physical fitness and dueling practice. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt the now familiar squeeze and they were standing on the dark train platform in Hogsmeade. Luna was waiting on one of the benches. She stood when they arrived.
Harry started walking towards the gates of the castle, "So how do we get in?"
Hermione strode along with him and said, "Dobby!"
The little elf appeared beside them and started walking along with them towards the castle. "You called Mistress?"
"We're going to go talk to McGonagall and stay at the school for a little while. Can you tell her we're coming and let us into the grounds?"
Dobby nodded vigorously, "Yes Mistress." He popped away.
"Like that Harry."
He sighed dramatically, "It must be nice to have such a big brain."
She said in a very playful tone, "Git!"
He cringed, "Oy, not that. C'mon Granger is that the best you got?"
She laughed and shoved his shoulder. He stumbled dramatically but kept walking. She said, "That's Potter to you mister!"
He twisted to face her and gave her a sloppy salute, "Yes Ma'am!"
They kept a light banter up for the rest of the twenty minutes it took to get to the gate. He was in a rather giddy mood by the time they got there. Dobby was standing there with two other elves, they were dressed in Hogwarts uniforms. When the elves saw them they touched the gates which swung open.
Harry said, "Thank you," as he walked through the gates. The two uniformed elves bowed slightly but remained silent. His mood changed dramatically as he walked through the gates and the walk to the front doors of the castle was in silence. The funeral was still very raw in his mind though he himself had proposed pretty convincingly that Dumbledore was still alive somewhere.
They reached the main doors and again Dobby was waiting, this time with Headmistress McGonagall. She greeted them as they came up the stairs. "Welcome, Harry, Hermione, and Miss Lovegood is that you?"
Harry jumped when she mentioned Luna; he had completely forgotten she was with them.
Luna answered smoothly, with no hint of her usual tone, "Yes Headmistress. I'm helping Harry."
McGonagall nodded thoughtfully, "Let's go talk in Firenze's classroom."
Harry said, "Sure," and headed inside towards the classroom.
When the four of them were seated in the pleasant forest, and Dobby had provided chilled pumpkin juice for everyone, Hermione spoke up. "We're on a mission from Dumbledore. Harry started it last year with him and we, along with Ron, Bill, and Fleur, are trying to finish it. Harry is going to tell you some secrets, we don't know if Dumbledore shared any of this with you but he and I decided you need to be brought up to speed on it."
Harry cleared his throat and pulled Slytherin's locket from his pocket. He held the locket up by its chain and said, "Horcruxes." He let the locket drop onto the grass. "Tom Riddle made six of them. Dumbledore destroyed one last year; that cracked ring he was wearing on his dead arm for a while. I destroyed one in second year; the diary of Tom Riddle. The night Dumbledore was killed he and I had gone to retrieve this one, unfortunately this one had been replaced with a fake one. Hermione and I found. Sorry; Dobby found this one for us today at Grimmauld Place. Dobby also informed me that there are two more here inside Hogwarts, one in the Ravenclaw common room and one in the trophy room. I have Bill searching Riddle manor for Helga's chalice."
He had ignored the shocked and stunned expression on Minerva's face as he forged through the full tale. She recovered slowly then said, "That's why he didn't die."
Harry nodded. "We need to stay here for a few days, maybe a week."
Minerva nodded so Harry kept going. "Professor Dumbledore had a pensive and some stored memories about Tom Riddle. I need access to them. We will live in the Room of Requirement while here and will not take them off the grounds."
Hermione asked, "Are you alright Ma'am?"
Minerva looked at Hermione and shook her head, "This will take some time to absorb. I think I have it all though. Six Horcruxes in total, two have been destroyed, two still in the castle, one missing and one here. It was not even believed possible to create more than a single Horcrux. What are your plans while here?"
Again Hermione answered her favorite professor's question. "First we are going to search through Harry's memories about Tom Riddle and all of his encounters. Luna will be helping Harry and I learn Occlumency and the basics of Legimancy." She pointed at the locket in the grass, "We need to find out how to actually destroy one of those things. I am hoping to find something in the Room of Requirement, as that information will be one of the requirements of its summoning. I figure we will be here a fortnight or so."
The conversation with her favorite student seemed to have restored her ability to think. She stood up and said, "An unusual situation we find ourselves in. We have only three teachers here currently, Filius, myself, and Septima. I will have Dobby find Filius and we shall retrieve the other Horcruxes within the castle then join you at the Room of Requirement."
Harry stood and said, "Thank you for not trying to tell us we should go enjoy our summer."
"Mr. Potter those days have long passed. I have been attempting to get Albus to change things here for the last three years. There will be some serious reforms enacted by the governors before the next term begins. We have already had two meetings about re-structuring the entire school. I will fill you in over your stay here."
Hermione stepped closer to McGonagall, "May I-"
McGonagall held up her hand to stop Hermione, "I have presented your list of changes and currently all of them are still on the table Miss Granger."
Hermione smiled broadly and said, "Thank you. Please keep me informed; I could be present at one of your meetings to help answer questions if you like."
"I will see if that can be managed. Now go, I will rejoin you all soon." She shooed them towards the door.
-->