Seo Gerecednis

Through the hole the fire had burned in the roof Harry could see that the sky had turned a deeper shade of blue in advance of nightfall.

"Professor, I --" he began, not even sure what he was going to say.

"Ain't nothin' doin'," Tolliver said. "Like you were told, wandless magic is dangerous business." She glanced up at the blackened ceiling and gave a nervous laugh. "That was somethin', though, I'll give you that."

"Maybe I shouldn't be doing this," Harry said.

"Oh, no, Harry," Luna said. "You need to now more than ever, don't you see?" Harry shook his head.

"She's right, son," Tolliver said. She sat down with a sigh and crossed her legs, then picked up the dulcimer again and cradled it to her chest. "My ceiling is undeniable proof of the sort of damage you can inflict without meaning to. You need to learn how to control your magic at the very least. And if you can harness it, even better."

She motioned for Harry and Luna to take their seats. Once they were settled, she smiled and held the dulcimer out to Luna. "Why don't you give it a try now, sugar."

She took the instrument as gently as if it had been a baby and examined it with rapt interest, her hands skimming across the polished surface as her fingers traced the delicate curvature. "My mum would have loved to hold this," she said quietly.

"Did she play?" Harry asked.

Luna shook her head. "She could sing, but she didn't know how to play any instruments. She just liked to touch pretty things. She said beauty was its own special kind of magic." When she looked up, her eyes were glistening.

"She sounds like a very wise woman," Tolliver said. Luna beamed, then ducked her head down and brushed her hair behind her ear. "Start whenever you're ready, dear."

Luna closed her eyes, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Harry watched in fascination as tranquility seemed to enfold her in its arms. Her limbs seemed to become boneless as tension leached out of them. He'd never known anyone could be so relaxed, least of all in the presence of others. When her mouth curved up in a smile, he wanted to ask what she was thinking of, and would have done, had a shushing gesture from Professor Tolliver not stayed him.

"You're doin' real good, honey," Tolliver murmured, leaning forward, her eyes bright with anticipation. "You're moving forward a mite too quickly though. Don't try to force it. Hit'll come all on its own. All you got to do is open the door." Luna nodded, but didn't break her concentration.

Harry's attention was diverted when he heard a rustling sound and saw a shadow of movement on the periphery of his vision. He turned towards it and saw the leaves of the Flutterby Bush trembling as though a breeze had just passed through its branches. At that moment a current of air as gentle and warm as a mother's kiss brushed past his cheek, ruffling his hair.

He lifted his hand to his cheek. The skin felt warm, and the tips of his fingers tingled at the contact. Harry studied his fingers in bemusement, holding them before his eyes and wiggling them. Warmth seemed to trickle through them. His chest felt strangely light. Soon his limbs began to tingle as the warm, good feeling spread throughout his body.

Luna sighed softly, breaking Harry out of his trance. Her face was oddly twisted, as though she was experiencing a multitude of emotions all at once. Concerned, he opened his mouth to ask Tolliver if maybe she shouldn't make Luna stop, but she silenced him once again with a gesture. Then she leaned forward and lightly touched Luna on the knee. "That's enough, honey. Time to let it go."

The breeze rapidly increased in intensity until it whistled through the hole in the roof and rattled the windowpanes. Luna's hair blew wildly around her face. The plants shook their branches. Beneath the desk, the dogwood stirred fretfully. Then suddenly the wind stopped and the air hung silent, bursting with expectance.

In that silence, a solitary note rang forth from the dulcimer. It was off-key, and barely audible, but it was a note nonetheless.

Harry nearly fell off his chair in amazement. Tolliver's expression was one of pure joy. Luna, however, looked pale and shaken, and if Harry hadn't reached out to grab her at the last minute, she would have fallen to the floor in a dead faint. "Professor!" he called out in alarm as he struggled to hold Luna up.

With economy of movement that belied her advanced years, Tolliver Summoned a dark brown bottle from a nearby shelf, uncapped it, and knelt beside Luna. "Support her head," she instructed Harry. "Stroke her throat to help her swallow."

As Harry did as he was told, Tolliver poured a measure of the bottle's contents into Luna's mouth. When she coughed at first, dribbling some of the liquid out of the corner of her mouth, Harry rubbed her throat more vigorously until he felt it convulse beneath his fingers. He drew his hand away when he felt Luna swallow again and saw her eyelids flutter open.

"There, there," Tolliver said. She set the bottle on the desk and helped Luna sit up, rubbing circles across her back. "That's my girl."

"Is she all right?" Harry asked. "Maybe she should go to the hospital wing."

"Naw, she's fine," Tolliver said. "She's just plumb tuckered out."

"From doing wandless magic?"

"Eyep. It can be a mite hard on some folks. Nothing to worry about." She hugged Luna. "I reckon y'all've done enough for today. Why don't you come back here a week from now, give you some time to recuperate and reflect on what you've been through."

Luna still looked pale, but when Tolliver asked if she was ready to stand up she nodded. Harry hovered by anxiously, fearing another collapse, but color quickly returned to Luna's cheeks and she soon indicated she was ready to go. The Aurors seemed to have known instinctively that Harry and Luna would be leaving, or else they were adept Legilimens; they were standing just inside Tolliver's office, arms folded across their broad chests, feet planted shoulder-width apart, when Harry turned around. Were it not for the twitch of one man's nose when a fly lit upon it, they could easily have been mistaken for mannequins.

"You keep an eye on that one thar," Tolliver told the Aurors, indicating Luna. "She's feelin' poorly, so make sure she makes it home all right."

"I'll walk her to her House," Harry said. The shadows under Luna's eyes and her subdued manner worried him, although he was also hoping for a moment alone to ask her about what had just happened.

"Thank you, son. That's mighty kind of you." Tolliver patted him on the shoulder. "Y'all get on home, now. Hit's fixin' to be dark soon."

As they left the greenhouse, one of the Aurors took the lead, while the other followed behind Harry and Luna. Both men held their wands loosely, remaining prepared and alert should anything happen. Harry stayed close to Luna, keeping an eye on her in case she stumbled or needed assistance, but also watching for the right time to question her. He was desperate to know what the experience had been like -- what had gone through her mind, what emotion she had latched on to, what had made his skin tingle, and, perhaps most importantly, how she had managed to play the dulcimer while the best he could do was to set the roof on fire.

Luna was uncharacteristically withdrawn, however. She hugged herself tightly across her midsection as if she were cold, though the air was not chilly, and kept her gaze fixed on the ground before her feet. At one point Harry deliberately bumped her arm with his, just to elicit some sort of response, but all she did was mumble "Sorry" and move a short distance away from him.

He was just about to speak to her directly when a thunderous crack, followed by a low, roaring surge of sound that quickly increased in volume and intensity, erupted from the Forbidden Forest. Luna screamed, but before Harry could respond one of the Aurors had slammed both of them against the castle wall, shielding them with his body while the other stared into the encroaching darkness for the source of the disruption.

Whatever it had been, it had disturbed the thestrals, for Harry could see them circling above the treetops. Every now and then one of them would dip down, then ascend to rejoin the others. The ground beneath Harry's feet trembled as the wave of sound approached, and the Auror pressing him and Luna against the wall tensed his muscles in anticipation, making it difficult for Harry to reach his wand.

Movement by Hagrid's hut, underscored by a racket of snapping branches and underbrush, was matched by the sound of Aurors and professors rushing out of the castle and running towards the forest, wands drawn. Professor McGonagall called, "Get the children inside!" as she went by. From the direction Harry and Luna had just come, Professor Tolliver hurried from the greenhouse to join the other adults.

Before the Auror protecting them could usher Harry and Luna to safety, however, several trees near the edge of the forest burst into flames, driving several people back. Harry squinted to see what was happening inside the forest, but the flames and dense growth obscured his view. While Extinguishing Spells were aimed at the conflagration to bring it under control, Charlie struggled to lead two horses away from the danger. A tree exploded, sending burning limbs and sparks flying. The larger horse broke free and reared, screaming, before running away. Several people aimed spells at it to slow it down while Charlie tried to calm the other agitated horse.

"Go inside," the Auror said, speaking for the first time. "It is too dangerous for you out here." Then he ran to join his partner and the others as they fought to control the blaze, leaving Harry and Luna cowering alone by the castle wall.

Harry remained rooted where he was. Part of him wanted to obey, knowing the chaos was Voldemort's doing and anxious to get as far away from it as possible. Part of him, bristling at the memory of McGonagall's voice describing him as a child, wanted to join in, to show Voldemort that he wasn't afraid. The strongest part of him, however, was frozen with fear and shock.

In the thick of the fray Harry saw increased movement coming from within the forest. He tensed, anticipating the worst. This is what he had feared ever since he woke up in the infirmary yesterday morning, though he hadn't expected it to come so soon. Voldemort obviously wasn't content to rest on the laurels of his advantage; he would throw everything he had at the castle's defenses until he found a weakness.

A herd of centaurs, its numbers far greater than what he and Hermione had encountered last spring, stampeded forth from the trees. Driving them forward were at least a dozen trolls wielding clubs, torches and other weapons. One of the centaurs wasn't quick enough and came to a violent and brutal death when a studded mace sent it flying. Another centaur, a foal judging by its size, stumbled over a fallen limb and went down beneath the hooves of its terrified kin. Yet another was driven into the heart of the inferno.

Luna whimpered. Harry turned to her and saw blood on her lip where she must have bitten it. Instinctively he put his arms around her, turning her face toward him to shield her eyes from the sight.

At the sound of thundering hooves he crouched down, trying to protect Luna even though he knew it would be useless against the charging herd of panicked centaurs. The hoofbeats slowed and came to a stop, however. Then Harry heard a familiar voice say, "Here is not safe for you, Harry Potter."

He looked up and saw Firenze standing over them. The centaur had a quiver slung across his back and had already notched an arrow in his bow. "What's happening?" Harry asked as he helped Luna up.

Firenze looked in the direction of the forest. A full-on battle had ensued, with witches and wizards with their wands and centaurs with their bows and arrows barely holding their ground against the rampaging trolls. "He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has probably invited the herd to side with him, and they have refused. For that, he is driving them out of the forest."

"What will happen to them? Where will they go?" Luna asked.

"Dumbledore will offer them sanctuary in the castle, as he did for me when I was banished." His gaze dropped. "They will not accept, however."

"Because you're already there?" Harry wanted to know.

The centaur shook his head. "Because Bane will persuade Magorian that it is wrong to be indebted to a human. They will instead lead the herd to safer ground."

"They can't," Harry insisted. "There isn't any place to go. Voldemort's got Hogwarts surrounded."

"Yes," was all Firenze said, but Harry understood what he could not bring himself to say: that Bane's pride and distrust of humans would lead to the herd's extermination if wiser heads could not prevail.

"Come, Harry Potter," Firenze said, using his hindquarters to herd Harry and Luna towards the castle. "It is not safe for you to remain out here."

Harry let Firenze escort them to the castle entrance, taking care to position himself between Luna and the mêlée on the edge of the forest; while he couldn't shield her ears from the screams of fury as spells and arrows hit their targets or the sickening sounds of centaurs and humans being crushed or incinerated, he could at least prevent her from seeing as much of the carnage as possible.

He turned when they reached the heavy oak doors leading inside the castle, intending to thank Firenze and wish him luck. A flash of color apart from the mayhem around the battle distracted him. He looked closer, peering into the gloom of night and smoke. There, standing just inside the forest, nearly hidden by a tree trunk, stood two women, one dark, the other fair. Harry recognized them at once.

"Firenze," he said. When the centaur turned to look at him, Harry gestured in the direction he'd been looking. "Death Eaters."

"Do not be alarmed," Firenze said. "They cannot breach the charms surrounding the castle."

"Why not? The trolls did."

Luna laid her hand on his arm. "He's right," she said. " The centaurs could get out, but not the trolls. The forest is holding them back."

Harry turned back in disbelief to prove how mistaken they both were, but as he watched the fight he was forced to admit that he was the one in error; while the trolls handily dispatched any centaur or human who dared move past the line of trees and brush that marked the edge of the Forbidden Forest, they could not themselves leave the forest. Even their weapons seemed to be deflected by an invisible barrier. Those fighting on the castle grounds, however, were able to hit the trolls with deadly accuracy. The tide had turned, and casualties were mounting.

Nor were they immune to the thick smoke that billowed up from the burning trees. While the worst of the flames had been doused, much of the wood was damp and green and produced thick, black, acrid smoke that made Harry's eyes water even from this distance. He reckoned it was much worse for the trolls, trapped in the thick of it, prevented by magic from moving forward and probably unwilling to retreat and face Voldemort.

He felt a tug at his sleeve. "C'mon, Harry," Luna said. "Let's get inside."

"Okay." He looked over his shoulder one last time as he ascended the steps. Narcissa and Bellatrix were gone.

Firenze remained at the bottom of the steps, watching to make sure Harry and Luna went inside. As the door began to close, Harry saw him wheel and canter to the edge of the forest, where the battle seemed to be drawing to a close. Harry wondered if the other centaurs would accept Firenze's presence, or drive him off as they had before.

When Harry turned back to escort Luna to Ravenclaw as he had promised, he nearly jumped out of his skin to find himself facing what seemed to be the entire student body. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"We were about to ask you the same thing," Ron said. "All we know is that there was some bloody great kerfluffle outside that had all the Aurors and professors haring off without any explanation, but when we tried to help or even to find out what was happening, Firenze ordered us not to leave the castle."

"Voldemort sent trolls to drive the centaurs out of the forest," Harry explained to a chorus of gasps.

"He did?" Ron asked. "What on earth for?"

"Firenze reckons he wanted them to agree to side with him, and when they refused he had them tossed out. It looks like he's trying to burn down the forest as well."

"Blimey." He raked his hands through his hair. "Listen, mate, is there anything we should be doing? I've got the whole D.A. here, plus a bunch of other people who want to join." A murmur of assent rose up from the gathered students.

Harry looked at them, seeing their nervous but eager faces, and shook his head. "No. They've got it well in hand out there. We should just return to our Houses."

"But --"

"I said no, Ron!" Harry shouted with greater volume and vehemence than he intended. At Ron's look he lowered his voice. "Look, there's no reason to get anyone involved in this."

"We're already involved, you git," Ron said. "Doesn't matter whether it's now or later."

"Not if I have anything to say about it."

"You don't."

Harry glared at Ginny, but refused to rise to her challenge. Instead he said loudly enough for all to hear, "Show's over, everyone. They're just putting out a few brushfires out there. You might as well go on back where you came from." He made a shooing motion with his hands.

Several students grumbled in protest. Zacharias Smith was the loudest, but Ernie Macmillan and Wayne Hopkins steered him out of the entrance hall and down the staircase that led to Hufflepuff. Soon only a few students, nearly all of them Gryffindors, remained. Harry pointedly ignored them as he asked Luna if she still needed assistance. She was still quite pale, but seemed to have regained some of her strength.

"That's so sweet of you, Harry," she said. "But I think I'm okay. I'll just walk back with the other Ravenclaws." She gave them all a slight wave and then followed her housemates to their corner of the castle.

"Damn," Harry said, remembering he'd wanted to talk to Luna about her experience with wandless magic. He took a few steps in her direction, until a hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Where d'you think you're going?" Ron asked.

"I just wanted to ask Luna something. What's got your shorts in a bunch?"

"I reckoned you would have had enough of Loony Lovegood by now."

"Don't call her that!" Ginny snapped.

"Why not? She is a bit mental, even you have to admit that."

"I don't have to do anything of the sort." Before Ron could muster up a retort, she turned on Harry. "You have got to call a meeting of the D.A. as soon as possible. If the other night wasn't enough to convince you, the fact that all of them were down here waiting to be put into action should be. The time for pussyfooting around is past."

Harry shook his head. "No. Absolutely not. Not after everything that happened in June."

"Stop being such a stupid, noble prat," she said, her face set in grim determination. "You can't protect us. At least show us how to protect ourselves. Kingsley and Tonks will probably only teach us so much. We need you to fill in the blanks."

"She's right, Harry," Neville said. "It's clear we can't simply rely on others to keep us safe. What if those trolls out there were just supposed to be a diversion to get the Aurors outside so Death Eaters could sneak inside the castle? We need to continue our own training. We need to be prepared."

"I agree," Ron said. "This has gone beyond you and... You-Know-Who. We've all got a stake in this. It's time to call the D.A. together."

"And what if no one comes?"

Ron looked at him as if his eyebrows had just sprouted blue feathers. "Did you see how many people were here when you came in?"

"They probably just wanted to see what was going on. Just because they were here doesn't mean they were ready to go out there and face down a dozen trolls."

"Ready, no," Ginny said. "But they were willing."

"They need you to make them ready, Harry," said Neville.

Harry sighed and shook his head slowly. "Look --"

"No, mate, you look," Ron said. "We're going to do this whether you want us to or not. Yes, the battle at the Ministry was a right awful disaster, but we've learned from our mistakes." He pulled up the sleeve on his robe and shoved his forearm, criss-crossed with dozens of thin white lines, in Harry's face. "See these scars? I got them because I got too cocky and dropped my guard. I know better than to do that now."

Harry thought of Hermione, and glanced at Ginny; the look on her face told him she'd had the same thought. "If you hadn't insisted on going in the first place you might never have been attacked by those brains at all. You could have died!"

"I would have died if not for the little bit you did teach us last year."

"You got lucky. We all got lucky. What if I agree to this, and we're not so lucky next time?" He looked at Neville. "Your own parents were Aurors, and that didn't help them at all! If their training wasn't enough to save them, what chance have I got?"

"If, if, if! Is that all you ever think about?" Ginny elbowed Ron aside and got right up in Harry's face. "You're stuck with us whether you like it or not, so you might as well give in. And since you're so bloody worried about us getting hurt, or worse, then help us be better prepared to defend ourselves."

"Harry," Neville said quietly. Everyone turned to look at him. The anguish on his face was heartbreaking. "Being Aurors may not have saved my parents from Bellatrix Lestrange, but at least they're still alive. I'll gladly take that over not having them at all."

"Listen to him," Ron said. "You-Know-Who's going to come after us no matter what, and he's going to plow through everything in his path to get to you. We're all targets. If I'm going to go down, I'd rather do it knowing I put up a hell of a fight until the last."

Harry slumped against the wall and slid down it until he was sitting on the floor and buried his face in his arms. "Okay," he finally said after a long silence. "I'll do it."