Harry and the Six Virgins

Chapter II

Friday, July 19, 1996

When Harry came down to lunch, he was surprised to find Dumbledore, Remus, Tonks, and six guests: Luna Lovegood; Hermione Granger; Ginny Weasley; Eloise Midgin; Susan Bones; and Daphne Greengrass.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, both puzzled and nervous.

When Dumbledore didn't answer, Hermione said, "The Headmaster said he needed my help in a special project."

"The same here," Ginny said. "Ron was rather . . . peeved he wasn't let in on it."

"Now THAT would have been awkward," Remus muttered to himself.

"I presumed it has to do with . . . fighting the Dark Lord," Daphne said in a hesitating voice. "What?" she demanded of the stunned faces. "Most Slytherins do NOT support Malfoy, let alone . . . You-Know-Who."

"Is that . . . we're not going to have to face. . . ?" Eloise asked in a frightened voice.

"No, no," Dumbledore said. "While this has to do with Lord Voldemort, I do not expect any of you ladies shall have to meet him . . . this summer, or possibly ever."

"Do you know why we're here, Harry?" Luna asked.

Harry glanced at Dumbledore, who nodded. "I've been having . . . dreams. No, not THOSE kinds of dreams," he protested to Ginny and Hermione. Hermione nodded, having just had enough time to read his letter before Dumbledore had collected her. "These are . . . dream fragments. Little bits and pieces, spread over history. They seem to concern, well, which name would be best?" he asked Dumbledore.

"Caswallon or Cassiwallan should do equally well," Dumbledore said. "Do any of you know the names?"

Harry and Ginny looked at Hermione, who flushed slightly. "Well," she said, wishing she had had enough time to do some research, "there is the legend of Cassiwallan. He has something to do with the downfall of the Druids, although the versions I've seen haven't said how."

"And wasn't Caswallon a teacher of Merlin?" Luna asked.

"Very good, both of you," Dumbledore said. "We do not know if this is a succession of individuals or a group of people, although they like to pretend to be one person . It is easiest to think of them as perhaps a succession of individuals. Cassiwallan the group has existed for more than two millennia. The legend says that the magical druids foresaw the Gauls and Britons crushed between Rome and the various German tribes. They tried to infuse one person, the original Cassiwallan, with the power to protect the Celts from these threats. Instead, Cassiwallan decided the Celts would be better off under Roman rule. Gaul was then invaded by the German tribes, and over the next sixty years, the area we would called France, and Belgium, and most of Switzerland and western Germany, was conquered by Rome, who had first expelled the Germans. Most of Britain was conquered between a hundred and a hundred and fifty years later."

"Three hundred years after that, the western Roman Empire was starting to weaken, and it would collapse within a hundred years. Shortly after the Romans withdrew from Britain in 410, a brilliant young wizard, whom we call Merlin, returned to the island. He said he had been dream-called more than ten years before, while he was in his twenties, by Caswallon. Caswallon shared some of Cassiwallan's power, although if Merlin knew how Caswallon acquired that power he never said to my knowledge."

"Since that time, no one, to our knowledge, has been called until Harry. However, the Valley of Cassiwallan was identified in the mid-Five hundreds. Dozens, perhaps scores, of wizards have sought power there. None has been granted any significant power, although a few have been granted small favors. The Hogwarts Founders made the pilgrimage, and Cassius the Wise sent them to the location of Hogwarts." Dumbledore glanced at Remus, who took the hint and picked up the story.

"To make the pilgrimage, the wizard must have an exact request, and must be in the company of, well, not to put too fine a point on it, at least six teen-aged virgins whom he likes and who like him," Remus told them, somehow managing not to blush. "A number of recorded pilgrimages ended with the wizard marrying one of the virgins, and on many occasions, one or more of the virgins came back carrying the current Cassiwallan's child, or didn't come back for a number of years, usually with a few children in tow."

"That has seemed to have been by mutual consent," Dumbledore added.

"Why haven't we ever heard of any of this?" Hermione demanded.

"It's not a story Binns is fond of," Dumbledore replied, "and the location is in the south eastern Swiss Alps, more or less between the St. Bernard's Pass and Saint Moritz. The smaller continental schools may mention the stories. And, of course, the results of the known pilgrimages have not been promising. Half have ended in the death of the wizard. One of the most recent was almost exactly a hundred years ago. At that time, there were seven wizards working in Germany and Austria."

"They had picked up on the various Muggle racial theories current in the mid-to-late Nineteenth century," Remus told the group. "One of the more charismatic leaders made the journey, and so angered the current Cassiwallan that he not only killed Hermann Eichmann, but two of the young witches, including one who was Grindelwald's youngest sister. He then visited a meeting of the group, killing five more of the seven leaders, and thirty followers, in an attack that apparently lasted all of three minutes. Had Grindelwald been at the meeting, he no doubt would have been killed as well."

"Of course, as best we know, none of these people were called," Dumbledore told them. "We think Harry has been called. He will likely be tested to see if his character makes him worthy to deserve help in our fight against Voldemort. We do not know if Harry needs to be accompanied or not, but, to cover the possibility, I asked him for a list of those he might wish to at least casually date, as the virgins must be . . . attachable to the wizard. All were acceptable, in terms of security. Two seem to be in more-than-casual relationships, however, and I eliminated them. One, alas, no longer met the minimum requirement, and two were traveling out of the country."

Harry had turned a very bright red while Dumbledore spoke.

"So, I must ask you six witches if you are willing to travel with Harry to Switzerland. I do not know what you may face, although I do doubt you are in any true physical danger. If the mission succeeds, Voldemort will be stopped, and stopped soon."

Luna smiled, and said, "Harry, may I please accompany you?"

Harry tried to answer, but coughed instead, choking on the words. He managed to nod. Hermione rolled her eyes and poured Harry a glass of water from the water set on a near by table.

"I don't know about any seduction or matchmaking, but I'll go," Daphne said.

"It does seem to be the right thing to do," Susan said.

"Do you really want me . . . to go with you?" Eloise asked in a meek voice.

"If you would like to," Harry managed to say without spilling the rest of his water.

"You should know me well enough to know I'll go," Hermione told him.

"You don't all have to look at me!" Ginny protested. "I'll go!"

"Then let's have luncheon," Dumbledore said with a smile, gesturing them towards the dining room. "Remus is free, and I managed to get Miss Tonks here, who is an auror for those of you who don't know her, assigned to help us."

"Is our . . . virtue really an issue?" Susan asked Dumbledore over lunch. "I mean, well . . . not that, well. . . ."

"If any of you six are not . . . technically virgins, you had best let me know. Whatever you may think of the requirement, I do not believe this is the time to tempt the powers of an ancient order. If any of you are merely . . . not totally innocent, it shouldn't matter."

"When will we be leaving?" Luna asked, pushing away her mostly-full plate and reaching for a small dish of banana custard.

"Why immediately after lunch, of course," Dumbledore said, to the seven teens' shock. "No reason to wait. We have arranged a special long-range portkey to take you to a chateau near a small town called Cresta, where you will spend the night. First thing in the morning, you will be portkeyed to a home near a wizarding village approximately twenty miles away. The entrance to the Valley of Cassiwallan is six miles by broomstick."

"Broomstick?" Hermione asked, shuddering.

"It will not be a difficult flight, Miss Granger," Dumbledore assured her. "It is, however, best to do all this quickly and undercover. It would not do to have any of Voldemort's agents catch wind of this."

"How long will we be gone?" Daphne asked, ignoring her pudding. Seeing Luna eye it, she handed it over.

"There is no way to know. As best we know, most are usually with Cassiwallan only a day or two, a week at the most. Harry may be asked to stay longer, for training, if he is accepted. Now, you will need a little help, so I have arranged for two elves to accompany you. They should have the proper clothes and equipment ready for you."

"What exactly am I supposed to do? What are they supposed to do?" Harry asked.

"If I knew, I promise I would tell you," Dumbledore said. "While their memories do not seem to have been modified, those who have made the journey can not be induced to talk about any of the details, just the over-all course of events. One of your dream fragments told us more about the confrontation with Eichmann than anything else we've discovered. As for the ladies, I am hoping they are not necessary. However, it is likely we will only have this one real chance, and so I thought it best to ask you all along."

Ginny turned to Hermione. "Ron will have a fit, for several reasons."

"Has your friendship with Mister Weasley crossed into a relationship, Miss Granger?"

"No," Hermione answered in a hesitating way that plainly hinted that she wouldn't terribly mind if it did. "I'm not committed to anyone."

"Is there anyone here who would not, under the right circumstances, wish to have a least a casual dating relationship with Mister Potter?"

"Harry would be my second choice," Hermione answered.

"I don't have them listed," Daphne said a little snidely, "but of course it would be difficult for us to date considering all the House rivalry. If You-Know-Who IS defeated, maybe that will become easier."

"You know, sir," Susan said to Dumbledore, "it would be easier to overcome those Inter-House rivalries if we had more chances to meet outside of class. Harry and I had Herbology together for five years, and we probably said about twenty sentences to each other, not counting the DA last year."

"And do you have a solution, Miss Bones?"

"Perhaps we could have an informal dance one Saturday night a month?"

"Perhaps," Dumbledore mused, "once the Dark Lord is finally gone."

Susan blushed a little, and turned to Harry. "I, well, I haven't dated anyone, Harry. I wouldn't mind having a dance with you."

"You haven't seen him dance," Ginny said with a grin.

"But why me?" Eloise asked Harry. "Hermione is one of your best friends; you're close to Ginny. Rumor has it Luna went with you to the Ministry. Daphne is about the prettiest girl in Slytherin, Susan in Hufflepuff. Why me?"

"Why not?" Harry asked. "Aren't you one of the nicest girls of our year?" Actually, Harry had sometimes thought Eloise might be a bit like Myrtle before she was killed; a nice, sweet, not very attractive girl, who was treated badly by many of the other students. Harry knew what it was like to be disliked. He would never tell her that, of course.

Eloise blushed at the compliment. "I wouldn't mind a dance, either."

"I wouldn't like one," Luna said, drawing everyone's eyes. "I don't like to dance. Maybe a walk by the lake?"

Harry smiled. Ginny snorted.

"Enough of these pleasantries," Dumbledore said. He stood and pulled out a length of rope. "If you could all stand and take hold of this?"

The nine travelers stood. "The house elves will be waiting for you. Have a safe, and successful, trip." Dumbledore moved to touch his wand to the rope, but just before he did, the seven students disappeared.

At Harry's place setting was a sheet of parchment.

My Dear Professor Dumbledore

The young folk seemed to be anxious enough without having to wait another twenty-one hours, so I decided to take them now. I shall take good care of them. With luck, I shall be able to return them early next week, unless they would like to stay longer. The six virgins were not necessary, but welcome. Hopefully, a few of them may wish to stay. They all look delicious.

Cassiwallan
The Last Druid