Of Girls and Goddesses

Of Girls and Goddesses

Chapter IX

Madam Pomfrey kept Luna in the hospital wing for three days. She said she was concerned about the exhaustion caused by Luna's time traveling experience, but she also expressed concern about Luna being so pale and thin, and said she wanted to do some tests. Since Luna had always been slender and pale, Harry suspected that the nurse was simply tired of the dangerous goings on around Hogwarts, and was just paying Professor Croaker back by having Luna miss his class on Monday.

Harry had spent every possible moment at Luna's side, unable to forget the feeling of horror he had felt when he thought her gentle spirit had been lost in time. Rumors had quickly swept the school on Saturday night that loony Luna Lovegood had been seriously injured when Professor Croaker had attempted to teach Harry and Luna some dark arts spell that had backfired. A couple of Harry's former DA students, curious about the rumors that Harry and Luna were getting secret dark arts lessons from Croaker, had caught him as he was going down the corridor on Sunday morning. They had tried to question him as to what sort of spell it had been, but he had brushed them off and hurried back to the hospital wing. He was in no mood to discuss anything, especially false rumors. He was still quite worried about Luna, and he was very, very tired.

He'd had more strange dreams on Saturday night, after Madam Pomfrey had forced him out of the hospital wing and sent him back to Gryffindor tower to bed. In his dreams, he had been in Egypt with Luna again, as in the first one. They had been sitting by the river, which looked just as Luna had described it. A phoenix that looked just like Fawkes had flown past them, singing. The hot Egyptian sun had beaten down on their heads, and Harry had suddenly begun to feel faint. He had woken up to find himself tangled in his covers.

"Well, that explains the heat," Harry had muttered grumpily. He had gotten a drink of water and gone back to bed, but then he'd had another, very embarrassing dream. He and Luna had been standing in the bedroom of the Shrieking Shack, but she had been dressed in the white Egyptian linen robe. This time she had beads braided into her long hair. They had been holding each other tightly. She was touching him and kissing him in a way she had never kissed him before, even in his other dream. It was so real he'd actually been short of breath when he'd woken up. He'd been unable to get back to sleep for a long time after that one.

When morning had finally come, he had grabbed a quick breakfast and gone back to the hospital wing. Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Ginny had joined him at Luna's bedside, and he forgot about his dreams as they spent the better part of Sunday morning, first listening to the true story, then discussing it thoroughly.

Hermione had been unable to accept the goddess aspect of it, but had found the idea of time travel, since it was in her own experience, interesting, and everyone was curious about the idea of Dumbledore and Croaker teaming up to guard the scroll of Thoth from Voldemort. Ron was wildly jealous that Croaker had sat around with Harry and Luna drinking wine and talking as if they were best friends. Harry didn't know if Ron was more put out by the fact that Croaker was so interesting, or that they had gotten to drink in a teacher's office.

On Saturday night Ginny, had heard rumors from some of the Ravenclaw students in her year that Luna was dying, and it had made her think about her fractured friendship with the other girl. Even learning what had actually happened did not make her feel much better. As Luna lay in the hospital wing, Ginny had finally realized that Luna had not taken Harry away from her at all. She'd forced herself to finally admit that he had never really been hers. Everyone in the group had wound up, each in their proper place, and if she had been patient, Ginny suspected she could have saved herself a lot of heartache. She had been stubborn, and unable to see what was plainly in front of her. Ginny was determined to be a better friend from now on, to Harry, as well as Luna.

They all came back after lunch on Sunday to keep Luna company, since they knew they would be too busy with classes to be able to visit her on Monday. Croaker had not even exempted Harry from class. Apparently his guilt over Luna's experience and his respect for Harry and Luna's relationship did not extend that far.

"Well," Ginny said to Luna, "Madam Pomfrey says she's definitely going to let you out tomorrow night. That means you'll certainly be well enough to go to Hogsmeade on Saturday. Why don't we all go together?"

"I'll go just to get out, but I don't need anything from Hogsmeade," Luna said with a small smile. She glanced over at the wide assortment of items on her bedside table.

Harry had exhausted Hedwig Saturday evening and Sunday morning, sending her back and forth into town for sweets, flowers, magazines and Egyptian theme jewelry, which he'd had delivered to Luna at various intervals during the night and day. The loyal owl had finally had enough and hidden herself in the top of the Owlery for a good long sleep.

"That's a good idea," Neville agreed.

"We can all go out for lunch," Ron enthused. 'Speaking of food, by the way, it's time for dinner! Are you coming, Harry?"

"In a few minutes," Harry told them, as they all got up to go. "I'll wait until Luna gets her tray before I go down to eat."

When everyone else had gone, Luna shook her head. "Harry, I'm all right. I'm really, really all right. You don't have to watch me like a hawk, and spoil me like this."

'I almost lost you. I'm not going to lose you again. You have no idea how I felt when you collapsed in that office!"

"Well, at least now I know how to get attention from a boy. If I'd known how successful falling at a boy's feet would be, I'd have done it a long time ago." She smiled mischievously, and Harry had to laugh as well. It was nice to be smiling with someone you knew trusted you completely.

The six friends all met in the Great Hall on Saturday for their trip to Hogsmeade. Luna was the object of many stares of curiosity. None of the six had told anyone else the truth about what had happened, and Professor Croaker certainly had not. Because they had not gotten any explanations as to what had really happened, Luna had spent the last few days receiving quite a lot more attention than she was used to from her classmates, and she had found it tiring. She was even more distressed when she realized, just as Filch was checking them out, that she had left her wand in her room, in her hurry to get downstairs and meet the others.

"Don't worry about it," Harry comforted her. "The rest of us all have ours. If you need anything, just ask."

When they were finally off the Hogwarts grounds, and heading for the High Street, they began a spirited debate about where to go first. Harry and Ron wanted to go to Zonko's, because Fred and George had asked them to keep an eye on the competition. The owners recognized Ron and treated the group very coolly. When they found nothing unusual in the shop that they felt Fred and George would be interested in, they decided to leave. Luna was relieved when they did, as she had become uncomfortable at the number of people who were again pointing at her and Harry and whispering. It wasn't that she was totally unused to that sort of treatment, but this was more excessive than usual.

It was much the same when they went to Honeydukes. Harry left Luna with Ginny and Neville, and stopped by the counter to thank the owners for their prompt service on Saturday night. He had sent them a frantic note and some gold galleons, asking them to send back something nice to give a girl. They had risen to the occasion, filled Harry's order with a vast assortment of delicious sweets, and returned Hedwig to Hogwarts within an hour.

The short, bald proprietor smiled. "Glad to do it, Mr. Potter. It's always nice to see a young man getting old enough to start sending chocolates to the ladies. Don't know what you did, but whatever it was, that box should've made up for it!" He winked.

Harry blushed, and went over to Ron and Hermione who were picking out peppermint toads. Ron had apparently finally gotten tired of chocolate frogs and given up on ever getting a Ptolemy card. Neville and Ginny were debating about whether or not it would be a good idea to buy levitating sherbert balls. Ginny found Neville's clumsiness endearing, but knowing him as well as she did, she had no urge to see him floating around Hogsmeade. Harry noticed that Luna was no longer with them, but standing off to the side like a deer caught in headlights, and rushed over to her.

"Are you feeling all right?" Harry asked her, taking her hand.

"I feel fine. I just wish everyone would stop staring and just pass me by as they used to do."

"It's an occupational hazard of being close to me," Harry whispered in her ear. His breath was warm and tickled, and she managed a laugh. Harry then called over to Ron. "Where are we going for lunch? The Three Broomsticks?"

"Sounds good to me," Ron answered, as he and Hermione paid for their purchases.

They managed to get a table off to the side, so lunch was a more relaxed affair. Harry couldn't help thinking back to the lunch they'd all shared at the Leaky Cauldron right before the term had started, and everything that had happened since then.

After they had eaten, Ginny and Hermione decided that they wanted to go to Gladrags and look at the new line of spring clothes that had just come out. Ron, Neville and Harry looked horrified. They had absolutely no interest in sitting around while the girls tried on outfits. They also knew full well that they would be asked their opinions, and that no answer would suffice if that happened.

Luna was horrified as well. She liked shopping with Hermione and Ginny normally, but she knew the shop would be full of nosy girls today, and she'd had her fill of being an object of curiosity.

"I'd much rather go for a walk," Luna said tentatively, and the boys immediately seized on this suggestion.

"Let's walk up the hill to the Shrieking Shack," Harry said quickly. "Luna's never seen it."

"Good idea," Ron said, sounding a bit relieved. "We'll just have one more drink before we go up there." He looked from his sister to his girlfriend imploringly. "You two can meet us at the shack after you're done at Gladrags, all right?"

"Oh, very well," said Ginny. "You have to take our packages with you, though. We want our hands free."

Thinking that this was a small price to pay for avoiding being subjected to the entire spring line, Neville and Ron agreed hastily and Harry ordered another round of drinks.

"Won't they wind up waiting for us too long?" Luna asked tentatively, accepting her second gillywater and onion.

"Are you kidding?" Ron stared at her incredulously. "If I know Ginny, she'll try on every single thing in the store, even if she can't buy anything. We could have ten drinks and we'd still wind up waiting for them."

"Oh, I wouldn't want ten," Luna said seriously. The boys all laughed and Harry put his arm reassuringly around her shoulders.

Finally, they couldn't delay any longer. They had finished their drinks and the people who were waiting for tables were giving them dirty looks. The four friends got up, Ron and Neville juggling their girlfriend's parcels, and left The Three Broomsticks. There was no sign of Hermione and Ginny on the path. Harry was holding Luna's hand, and smiling down at her, when a flash of red light came from a clump of trees to the right of them.

Two voices had shouted, "Stupefy!"

Ron and Neville went down, hitting the ground hard. Harry almost tripped over the packages the other boys had dropped in front of him. He scrambled to pull out his wand, but when he looked up it was too late for that. Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange were standing on the path, both of them pointing their wands at Luna, who stood very still, looking at them curiously.

Harry hesitated. His wand would not work against Voldemort's wand, but Voldemort was certainly capable of hurting Luna with that wand. If Harry had tried to cast a spell at Bellatrix, he had no doubt that Voldemort would have retaliated against the girl.

They all stood in the road for a moment at an impasse. Then Voldemort spoke in a cold, familiar voice. "I thought you would be coming this way. I've been waiting for you, Potter. Are you going to see the scroll of Thoth?"

"You know about that?" Harry asked, stalling for time, hoping that Ginny and Hermione, or someone would come along.

"Of course. You told me. I've been reading your thoughts and searching your dreams, and very tiresome they were at times," Voldemort said. He looked at Luna with a leer, and Harry felt a rush of rage and embarrassment, wondering which dream the Dark Lord was referring to. "They were useful, though. I saw that the scroll was in this miserable house, and I found out about your little girlfriend here. I don't know what her connection is with the scroll, but I know there is one."

He looked Luna up and down carefully, and frowned. "You don't look like much to me, but you are wearing Ravenclaw colors, so you must have some intelligence, and you must have considerable power if Croaker has singled you out for private lessons in the Dark Arts. He is a fool, but a talented fool. We shall soon see if you are smarter or more powerful than you appear to be."

"Well, actually..." Luna began conversationally, but Voldemort silenced her.

"Be quiet. You will speak only when spoken to. We are going into the house, and you are going to open the casket and get the scroll for me. I know you can, because he knows you can." Voldemort jerked his head in Harry's direction.

"Master," Bellatrix whined, "what of these?" She pointed at Ron and Neville. "They have defied you before, and I have no doubt they would do so again if they could. Should we not kill them? I would be happy to do so."

"Not now, Bella," Voldemort said coolly. "I wanted to kill Potter, but I must admit the fact that he still lives has proven useful. Just leave them. They may yet prove useful. You will go back to headquarters now and prepare for the Osiris ritual."

"Does she get to cut you up and put you back together again for that?" Luna asked, interestedly. "Because if she does, you should have a magnificent feast first, like Set did. You should have mead, and dates, and lotus roots. They used those like potatoes. And you should have duck, definitely, and probably lamb. Nothing with eggs, though. They didn't domesticate chickens until the Late Kingdom. So, if you make bread, it should just have honey and wheat flour and salt. You could add beer, though. Beer bread would be good, and very appropriate. I know how to make a fig cake. Do you want me to show you how to make a fig cake?"

Voldemort stared at Luna as stunned and appalled as if she had just grown two heads. "I told you to be quiet!"

"I was just trying to help. There's no need to be rude," she said, serenely.

"Could you be any more annoying?" Voldemort snapped.

"Probably," Luna said, looking at him wide-eyed. "Yes, I think I could, if you really want me to, but how would that help?"

Frustrated, Voldemort looked over at Harry, totally flummoxed. "This is what you have taken to your heart? Sirius Black was bad enough, but the fact that you would risk everything for HER is beyond my understanding! Is she always like this?"

Harry blinked, and Luna looked at him and smiled. It was the first time Voldemort had ever talked to him as if he was something more than a thing to be used and it surprised him. What was Luna trying to do? If she could confuse Voldemort, perhaps he would get uncomfortable enough around her and give them a chance to escape.

"Usually," Harry answered honestly, "but I've gotten used to the way she thinks. She's very loyal and kind."

"Potter, you must be totally mad, if you're really willing to risk everything to keep this girl." Voldemort turned back to Bellatrix, who had been watching Luna, with an expression on her face that was a mixture of fascination and horror.

"I will go with these two and get the scroll. When I have it, I will return with all of them, and then you can do what you wish with them. Except for Potter, of course," Voldemort looked at Harry with a grim smile. "He's still mine."

"No, he isn't," Luna interjected, but they both ignored her.

"But master..."

"Go! I will be there in a few minutes! Do not argue with me!"

Bellatrix looked sulky, but vanished.

Voldemort, keeping his wand firmly pointed at Luna's head, said to her casually, "I want the scroll of Thoth. You will open the casket for me. You will do it of your own free will, or I will force Potter to do it. I can, you know, and he knows it. I have that power, and Potter has felt it before. Do you want to see him bent to my will? Do you want to watch him die?"

"Certainly not," said Luna calmly.

"Then let's go," Voldemort said, poking her in the head with his wand. Luna looked insulted, and smoothed her hair back down with her hand.

They went up the path toward the Shrieking Shack, each step taking them further away from the village. The shack looked as creepy as ever from the outside. The windows were still boarded up, most of the shutters were hanging half off, and the garden was as overgrown as ever.

Harry was walking a pace behind Voldemort, who was pushing Luna along, one hand firmly on her arm, and the other just as firmly gripping his wand. Harry did not even consider trying to escape on his own. He would never leave Luna alone in Voldemort's hands. Harry didn't have any idea of how they were going to get out of this mess, but he certainly wasn't going to leave her, no matter what happened.

Voldemort had been in his thoughts and his dreams, and knew what Luna meant to him. Harry had no doubt now that the Dark Lord would kill Luna in a moment if Harry attempted to give him any trouble. She was in his heart, just as she had said he was in hers, and Voldemort knew it. He had probably known it before Harry had even been ready to admit it to himself.

He hoped that Ron and Neville were all right. Voldemort had been unbelievably stupid about them. Harry knew he had Luna to thank for that. The fact that Luna had confused Voldemort so completely that he had gotten tetchy with Bellatrix Lestrange and sent her off was a definite plus. If they were lucky, Ginny and Hermione would find the boys soon, and be able to bring them around. Knowing as they did about the scroll, Harry was convinced they would follow him. They might even go for more help. Harry was just worried about how long that might take. If the boys were still lying there just off the path at the bottom of the hill when Voldemort got back with the scroll, then they were all dead.

It would all be over if that happened, but for the moment, Neville was alive, and so was Ron. As long as they had life, and they could tell someone where Harry and Luna were going, there was hope. Harry thought about Mrs. Longbottom and felt a pang of sorrow. She had lost so much already. He didn't want her to lose Neville, too.

Harry had no idea what Luna was thinking. She was just walking along, with her head held high, as if she were simply out for a stroll, enjoying the crisp air. She didn't look panicky at all, but then Luna never did. It was one of the things Harry loved best about her. He had no idea of what she had been thinking when she'd started that crazy conversation with Voldemort about the Osiris ritual and Set, either. Harry continued to wonder if perhaps she had a plan. He hoped so, because he certainly didn't.