Ynunlle

Chapter III

Three elves were awaiting them in the reception hall of the gothic stone bridge. Harry greeted the elves and sent them ahead with the luggage. Ginny, and then Neville, both took the now-familiar blood oath with Harry. ("I, Harry Potter, swear Ginny Weasley is a friend to the House of Potter." "I, Ginny Weasley, am a friend to the House of Potter." "I, Harry Potter, swear Neville Longbottom is a friend to the House of Potter." "I, Neville Longbottom, am a friend to the House of Potter.")

At that point, Ginny led Neville across the covered stone bridge and down the lane leading to the castle. Hermione looked at the pair remaining. "What?" she asked. Then she realized. "You two have already . . . talked."

Luna smiled at Hermione, then nodded to Harry. "There are several levels of blood oaths," Luna started to explain.

"Like the one Carole took last year," Hermione, said, pointing out she got the idea. Carole was Edward's wife. "That one was 'I swear my heart to the House of Potter,'" Hermione added.

"That was, in a sense, still a mid-level oath," Harry said. "It may be used in place of the friendship oath, if it is meant. The higher oaths are usually only used in private. Once one of those is taken, then you can just swear the love oath without a Potter being present for the rest of your life, which is what Carole does."

"Really?" Hermione was always interested in such ceremonies. "What's the highest? Or can't you say?"

"One of the highest is for the women who love Potters," Luna said. "Carole couldn't do it, because she married Edward elsewhere, assuming she was a virgin at the time."

"What?" Hermione said. Then she thought about it. "Oh!"

"Another way is to use the blood of a male Potter child, along with the father and mother," Harry explained. "However, the love oath, by itself, means there is no need to have me, or Edward, with you to come and go for a month."

Luna held out her hand. Harry reopened the small cut on his hand, and said, "I swear Luna Lovegood holds the heart of the House of Potter."

He cut a tiny slice into the base of Luna's thumb as gently as possible. "I swear my heart to the House of Potter." They mixed their blood, dripped it on the oath stone, and Luna walked onto the bridge itself.

Harry then looked at Hermione, and Hermione felt her heart flutter. She knew what Harry was silently asking. She took the two steps she needed to come close.

Hermione took Harry hand and kissed the bleeding cut on his thumb, and then kissed him lightly on the lips. She stepped back a little. "I swear Hermione Granger holds the heart of the House of Potter," Harry said, as he cut Hermione.

"I swear my heart to the House of Potter," Hermione replied, and they performed the ritual as well.

Harry healed their cuts, and all three walked hand-in-hand towards the castle.

"Now that's unexpected," Edward Potter said in a very surprised voice, looking out of the main windows on the top floor of the front of Potter Place. Carole Potter, holding their four-month old infant, came to look.

"That Luna's a wild girl in some ways," Carole commented, watching Harry, Luna, and Hermione shared a group hug and kiss. "I mean, the three of them? Harry and Hermione are so . . . shy."

"Luna loves Harry totally; Hermione loves and adores Harry; Harry loves and adores Luna, and loves and needs Hermione." Edward shrugged. "Unconventional these days, but Luna must have decided this is what is best for Harry. Good thing she's not the jealous type!"

Carole gave a twisted smile. "Don't you get any ideas! I am the jealous type!"

"I know; I am, too," Edward admitted.

"Aren't you going to talk to him?"

Edward shook his head. "No. I promised him I would be his family, but that I wouldn't try to make myself his father."

"But people will talk! I mean, it's not exactly usual, is it?"

He frowned. "Actually, weren't many of the pre-Druidic cults polyamorous?"

"In pre-Celtic Europe, and some ancient parts of Polynesia, but not too many other places," Carole answered. Edward was a famous archeologist, but Carole was the better cultural anthropologist, especially when it came to the 'secret history' (ie unknown to Muggles) of the wizarding world. "Of course, many have been polygamous all over the world. But that won't stop the talk today!"

Edward grinned. "I don't think Luna, or especially Hermione, would put up with the term polygamy, even if that is how things work out in fact. They would both insist it is polyamorous, just to make it seem less gender-specific."

"True." Carole looked up at her husband. "Do you think it will hurt them very much when it gets out?"

"They're still in school," Edward reminded her. "It might not last too long."

"With ninety-nine per cent of students, you'd be right," she retorted, "but if those three have one quality in common, it's loyalty."

"Loyalty and bravery," Edward said.

"True." Carole looked at their child. "He's about ready to nap. I better let his god parents see him now."

"Neville, dear, your mouth is hanging open," Ginny commented.

"But . . . but. . . ."

"I know," Ginny said with a sigh. "It will take some getting used to, won't it?"

"But . . . but. . . ."

"Do you think any less of Harry?" Ginny asked.

"Well, no. . . ."

"Do you think any less of Hermione?"

"It's just . . . different!"

"True," Ginny acknowledged. She took Neville's jaw in her hand and made him face her. Ginny put her arms around his neck, and kissed him deeply. When she was finished, she laid her head against his chest. "Never think that I want that, Neville. I love you; I want to be with you But if this is what they want, good for them. But we don't mention it to anyone until they go public, if ever." She looked him in the eye. "Okay?"

"Okay," Neville agreed, a slight quiver in his voice. "If it doesn't bother you, it won't bother me!"

"You know, I feel a little tired," Ginny said to distract Neville. "Maybe after lunch, we can all take a nap."

Neville grinned.

After lunch, they did just that. Neville and Ginny had rooms on the next-to-top floor in the upper turret that Harry used for himself to themselves.

Harry had been rather protective of his privacy the previous Christmas. None of his friends had asked to come up to see what, if anything, he had done with the top floor, which was his domain. The previous Christmas, Luna had shared Harry's room, while the other couples had also stayed together on the floor below.

Hermione was very interested in seeing Harry's domain, now that he had had some time to decorate it. The stairs led to a large, open circular room, much like the common area on the floor below. The trio stood on the landing. A window looked out from the side of the castle. The stairs continued on up to the top of the battlemented turret. Harry pointed to the doors, starting to their left, "Spare bedroom, bathroom, and then our suite -- bath, bedroom, and what's supposed to be a dressing room, but what's currently set up as a den -- and then the study."

The furniture in the setting area was still much like downstairs as well -- old, well-built and well-conditioned Victorian sofas and captain's chairs. There were a number of old tapestries, non-magical and none listing any family trees. The one personal touch was a series of nine racing brooms, arranged in a vertical display. Even Quidditch-ignorant Hermione recognized Harry's Firebolt.

Hermione walked over to the display. She saw each had a little plaque. Two had belonged to James Potter. One each of the other brooms belonged to Harry's grandfather and great-grandfather, Sirius Black, Harold Potter (Edward's older brother), Edward's father -- and Ron Weasley. (Harry had bought Ginny a Nimbus 2001 the previous autumn, so she hadn't needed Ron's broom that spring.)

"Nice," Hermione said.

"Carole arranged it for me," Harry said simply. "Err, Hermione. . . ."

"Yes?" Hermione asked.

Luna linked her arm with Hermione's. "Come on, let me show you the suite."

Luna wisely took her into the den rather than directly to the bedroom. There was a desk, half-empty bookshelves, a long library table, comfy chairs, and plenty of space. The bedroom had several wardrobes, two chests of drawers and a vanity, Harry's trunk, almost empty bookshelves (just a few wizarding photos), three chairs, and a huge canopy bed. Hermione swallowed nervously.

Luna whispered in Hermione's ear, and she shook her head 'no.' "Harry," Luna said, "why don't you go into the bathroom for a few minutes."

Harry looked puzzled, then blushed as he moved quickly into the bathroom. He was out, wearing only his boxers and hoping he had not misunderstood, in less than three minutes.

He hadn't. Luna and Hermione stood in the soft sunlight, fully nude, embracing and kissing deeply.

Harry kicked off his boxers, which drew their attention to him. "You are both . . . so beautiful," he whispered in awe as they turned to face him.

Hermione blushed while Luna held out her free hand to him, smiling.

The five friends gathered at 5:30. Ginny and Luna kept up the conversation, as Harry, Hermione, and Neville all felt suddenly rather shy, since they all had a rough idea of what all the others had been doing.

No one was therefore paying much attention to whom was in the solarium until they were all well-inside. "Professor Dumbledore!"

Harry's surprise caught the other four's attention, and they quickly echoed it -- all five had thought his appearance today was less likely than on Saturday for some reason. Besides the Potters, the others present were Professors Lupin and Flitwick, as well as Remus' Auror girlfriend, Tonks.

"Happy Birthday, Harry," Dumbledore said, which the others echoed.

"Shall we open your presents now, Harry?" Edward asked.

"No," Harry answered politely, "I think Professor Dumbledore has something to ask or tell us first."

The adults all shifted uneasily. "It could wait, if you wish," Dumbledore finally said.

"No, sir," Harry replied seriously, "I'd rather get this out of the way." He moved to sit down, and everyone found seats.

Dumbledore nearly sighed. "Miss Granger, Miss Lovegood, are either of you familiar with the legend of the land of Ynunlle?"

"It's a type of dream world, isn't it?" Luna asked.

"Exactly," Hermione agreed, "a dream world believed in by some of those shadowy magical cultures that preceded the Druids. There are some parallels with aboriginal Australian beliefs."

"Very good, and as accurate as any student is likely to be," Dumbledore said. Hermione looked offended. Luna smiled gently.

"If you go on to study ancient cultures and beliefs at some place like Glastonbury," Carole said, referring to the various learning associations that took the place of universities in the wizarding world, "you'll find out a lot more about these things."

"The information is too dangerous to even have in the 'restricted' section of the Hogwarts library," Edward added.

"So this Ynunlle is real?" Ginny asked.

"Very real, in most senses of reality," Dumbledore said. "It is a parallel world. In some ways it is similar to ours, in other ways very different. The Cawg culture, the Sharuk culture of north Africa, and a few other Magical societies flourished at the dawn of agricultural culture. That would be some seven to five thousand years ago, even slightly earlier for the Sharuks, who were that culture Edward, Carole, and their friends were investigating in Chad before Edward's return."

"And the Cawgs were in Europe. Weren't they the ones that built the first versions of Stonehenge and the other earliest circles?" Hermione asked.

"Exactly," Dumbledore agreed. "These cultures had probably visited this dimension much like the Australian Dreamwalkers visit similar dimensions even today. Some Muggle Hindu and Buddhist mystics do as well."

"Now, between six thousand three hundred and five thousand seven hundred years ago, these cultures discovered a way to create physical portals to this other world, and they went around Africa, Europe, central Asia, and greater India looking for places to build them." Harry's attention perked up. "Thanks to the expedition to the Sharuk magical cities, we now know the reasons for building so many arches, and exactly where they were."

Edward took up the tale. "Entering Ynunlle via trance creates a parallel body, a parallel you, in fact. They learned quickly that you can enter Ynunlle safely three times in a trance. The fourth time, however, your body here fades away quickly and you are trapped there forever."

"Why would they want to go there, then?" Harry asked.

"It's a very beautiful, very magical world," Dumbledore said, "even more so than our own."

"And these people built these portals so they could come back here?" Harry said eagerly.

"Don't jump ahead, Harry," Edward warned. "They also learned that the portals didn't fully work both ways. You could enter them, but still couldn't exit them. They could move non-living things out, but they couldn't get people out."

"Oh," Harry said, disappointed.

"They built these, hoping to find a place where the magical boundaries were weak enough to allow exiting," Edward went on.

"They built how many, exactly?" Dumbledore asked.

"Seven-hundred and twenty-nine," Carole said. "They were a bit obsessive."

"The Sharuk listed the number and their locations," Dumbledore told the group. "Investigators believe they have tracked them all down."

"Of the Seven-hundred twenty-nine, a hundred and twelve are listed as destroyed," Edward told them. "Three hundred and twenty-seven are totally non-functional. A Hundred and thirty-eight now simply would kill you."

"Like the one in the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked.

"Exactly like that one," Dumbledore said sadly. Remus and Edward both dropped their eyes when they saw Harry's disappointment. "Go on, Edward."

"Oh, and seventy-eight now would take you to very dull parallel dimensions where you still can't get back, and a dozen take you to dull places where you can get back. The other sixty-two seem to work."

"Where's the one that's listed as destroyed, but isn't?" Hermione asked.

"Very good, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said. "Now. . . ." He trailed off as Harry held up his hand to stop the Headmaster.

"Let me guess," Harry said, thinking hard for several moments. "Three guesses, anyway. One, it's here at Potter Place and you need two Potters to do whatever it is you need to do; two, it's a Godric's Hollow and you need me for some reason; or three, it's built into the Chamber of Secrets, and I'm the only Parseltongue you know." Harry looked at the Headmaster.

"Very good," Dumbledore told him. "It is partially reason three. It is built somewhere into the Chamber of Secrets, as best we can tell. Tom Riddle, when he felt he could no longer loose the basilisk, found the arch there. While he spent his last year and a half plotting to gain the prophecy, he did have other plans. One was to mount an expedition into the land of Ynunlle. For that, he needed two things, one of which was access to Hogwarts, so that he could use the arch at the Chamber of Secrets to bring something out."

"And the other reasons?" Harry asked.

"We need five young people," Dumbledore answered.

"Why?" Neville blurted out.

"A skilled individual may enter the realm from any location on Earth, but only at an equinox. A group may enter mentally if near a portal. Two of the restrictions of any group mental expedition are that there be no more than nine individuals, and that at least half be under eighteen." Dumbledore shrugged. "There may be some reason for this, or perhaps it was created as a safeguard. The reason is lost. Voldemort was planning his own expedition; Draco Malfoy was supposed to be recruiting a group to help out on it."

"Go on," Harry said, suspiciously.

"Simply put, there is a jewel that exists in Ynunlle. Common laws of science do not always apply there," Dumbledore added as an aside to Hermione, "and it grows in a cave. Facets of three carets or so slough off every so often. In Ynunlle, they are merely pretty. Here, well, if a person held a good-sized piece of the crystal, say the size of an ostrich egg, and planted one of the smaller pieces on someone. . . ." He shrugged. "That person would control the other's mind totally, even more perfectly than under the Imperius curse."

"So, since Voldemort is gone, who is going after this jewel?" Harry asked.

"We've recently learned that Regulus Black is planning his own expedition," Dumbledore said. "Still, we do not have enough direct evidence to bring him down. We cannot allow him access to the crystal. We must destroy the cave, or at least the spout."

"How dangerous is this?" Harry asked.

"You can feel hurt, but you can't actually be hurt," Dumbledore said. "If any of the expedition are injured or become ill, they will be returned to our world. However," he warned, "you can be killed there. It would have to be a very sudden death; serious injury that leaves you alive for even a second or so would send you back here."

"So something like the Killing curse would work?" Harry asked.

"Exactly."

"It sounds like we'd be gone a long time," Hermione speculated.

"Yes and no," Dumbledore said. "The time intersections are not consistent, varying with the time of year, although they do tend to even out. If you go early Saturday morning, every day you spend in Ynunlle would correspond to an hour here."

"Then what's the rush?" Harry demanded. "Why this Saturday instead of some weekend this term, when we'd have had time to study what we're getting into?"

"After the equinox, the time relations are reversed until the solstice," Carole explained.

"We have also just learned that Black is sending a scout in, to check out paths, et cetera, on the next equinox," Dumbledore added. "It would be best if the cave is destroyed soon."

"And Regulus has access to a portal?" Harry asked.

"He will by late December," Dumbledore replied. "He has not assembled the younger members of his expedition, however. He will probably do so by blackmail. Again, something we hope to prevent."

"How dangerous would it be, if we weren't automatically transported back?" Harry asked.

"Fairly dangerous," Dumbledore replied. "There are many more magical and dangerous beasts there than in our world today. The people, descended from those trapped there, live what we would consider a medieval life-style. They are magical, but while we retain our full powers, those trapped there slowly lose part of theirs. Most of their descendants are also fairly low-powered. Some are very intelligent, however, and have learned short-cuts we don't know here. So again, they can be dangerous. One small group is very powerful, although they are located far away."

"None of the natives like strangers," Flitwick put in, speaking for almost the first time.

"You've been there?" Ginny asked.

"Albus and I have both been there twice," the charms master said.

"Which is why we dare not go this time," Dumbledore told them.

"Who would the four adults be, if we go?" Harry asked.

"Myself, Remus, and Tonks," Edward said. "I'm not sure who the fourth would be."

The teens looked at Carole. She shook her head. "Harold," she said simply. Everyone nodded their understanding. "Like the Headmaster and Filius, however, I will be with you in the Chamber. There are ways to communicate, and we'll be able to give you advice. At least one of us will be there at all times."

"And we have the best route well-mapped out," Flitwick added.

"If we can solve a logistical problem, Hagrid will go," Dumbledore told them. "If not, I have several other candidates in mind. Professor McGonagall is handling the problem."

"To go back to your original important questions," Flitwick added, "daytime is somewhat dangerous. You shouldn't have to go near the known villages, and you are all more able than anyone you should find there. It's nighttime that is really dangerous."

"At least there aren't any werewolves," Remus said drily. The teens all looked at him.

"No moon as we know it," Carole explained. "There is a small ring, and several shepherding moons, like at Saturn, but they don't trigger the curse."

"Remus will actually function as an animagus there," Dumbledore added.

"A much less painful transition," Remus agreed. Seeing the looks that garnered, he admitted, "I've been once before, although to a very different area. Still, I know something of the customs, which should help."

"There seems to be something, some aspect, everyone is dancing around not saying," Luna stated.

"Ynunlle is the native land of the Dementors," Flitwick told them. "One reason they are so difficult to kill is that they don't really live in our dimension, but in that one. They still feed on emotions there, but are fully material. There, they may be killed in any manner anyone can be killed in."

"The souls they steal are transported to Ynunlle," Carole continued. "There, they fully manifest a physical presence until they are killed in either dimension. The Dementors try to enslave the people they Kiss in our world. They often succeed, especially with Muggles. They feed off the emotions, and also suck on their blood. They and the vampires sometimes war over the human population."

"So, if Barty Crouch Junior hadn't been turned into a zombie, and then destroyed last January, he would be alive in that dimension?" Harry asked.

"Exactly," Dumbledore agreed. "All those officially Kissed in the last twenty-five years or so were turned into zombies by Voldemort and Black last autumn, and they have all been destroyed. Anyone Kissed longer ago has already lost some twenty to fifty percent of their power."

"And anyone not officially Kissed?" Neville asked.

"We don't have a record of any these last twenty years," Dumbledore told them.

Harry stood. "I think we should discuss this." He looked at his friends. "Out in the courtyard?"

The other four stood, and then followed him out.

"He feels manipulated," Edward complained. "I can't blame him."

"I know," Dumbledore acknowledged. "I wish there was a better choice."