Harry Potter and Gaining Momentum

Harry appeared in a small clearing that Dobby had directed him to, but he did not appear the way he had wanted. His invisibility was gone, and Harry could see why. He'd landed in a clearing that was blanketed with wards. He turned in a slow circle scanning his surroundings, but suddenly a high-pitched voice brought him out of his scrutiny.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," Voldemort said from somewhere outside the ring of Death Eaters that now surrounded Harry. "Do you like the new ward I've invented? I like to call it the Funneling Ward. It makes anyone apparating into a marked area end up right in the center. I had a feeling you'd try to apparate just outside the clearing," Voldemort said with a twisted smile. "I trust your little elf friend gave you word that your traitorous Potions Professor was in danger?"

"What did you do to Dobby?" Harry asked, scowling in the general direction of Riddle's voice.

"Oh, but how do you know he didn't help of his own free will? It's not hard to persuade a house-elf, you know. Just offer a free elf the chance to be mastered, and all previous loyalties go to the wind."

"Dobby was loyal, even though he was mastered by Lucius. What makes you think that I'd believe he'd betray me, especially to someone as disgusting as you?" Harry said scathingly. Harry tried to apparate to where he suspected Snape to be, but found he couldn't. This worried him. With his phoenix gifts, he could apparate even through Hogwarts' wards -- but now he couldn't apparate through Tom's.

"Manners, Potter!" Tom barked fiercely, but Harry rolled his eyes.

"Stop trying to play your games, Voldemort. You'll get no fear from me. I'll ask you again: 'What did you do to Dobby?" Harry said, trying to keep his voice as even as possible so as not to betray any emotion, especially anger. He was of course scared, too; but the strongest emotion he now felt was anger, that Voldemort was messing with those he cared about again.

"Not everyone has such a strong mind, Harry. Actually, magical creatures seem to be more prone to the Imperius than you might think. You'd do well to remember this if you happen to live through tonight, which I doubt you will," he answered.

"And why, pray tell, would it do me good to remember this small fact?"

"You'd be surprised what you can accomplish when in control of such numbers -- even if they are merely spiders and elves," Tom practically spat.

"Getting tired of trying to recruit wizards? I do have to admit, it was ingenious of Dumbledore to let me help in the fight in Hogsmeade. Without that little display of power on my part, many would have succumbed to your threat, and joined you out of fear," Harry said with a humorous tinge, smiling slightly. Voldemort didn't seem to find this as funny as Harry apparently did.

"I know what you have on your back, Harry," Voldemort said, changing the subject and obviously trying to make Harry squirm. "I do in fact know that you have stolen my heir-ship, and have been passed the Gryffindor line as well. This is why I had need of Severus tonight."

"Hmm," Harry replied, only half interested. It seemed that every time he and the Dark Lord met, Riddle seemed to do more talking than anything. It was obvious that he liked a grand show.

"Yes; in fact, I intend to get that back tonight. Severus has brewed me a very powerful potion that will help me succeed in taking not only my heir-ship back, but gain your tainted status in addition. I have no way of purging the essences between the two, so I must accept the filthy Muggle-contaminated line of Gryffindor also," Voldemort hissed in disgust.

"You know, I find it odd how you already seem to think it's going to work. You've no sure way of knowing that I'll even be in your power while you try to administer the potion. What makes you think you've already won?"

"Would you like your Professor back?"

"Let me think about it. I mean, of course it'd be the noble thing to do; but even Severus wouldn't be so stupid as to expect me to risk the Wizarding world for him," Harry replied logically. Voldemort, who had been circling around the ring of Death Eaters, suddenly stopped.

"I was informed that you two have grown quite close."

"Apparently your informant was off. I have recruited him to oversee other potions masters in a small research facility I own. But beyond business, our relationship is ... strained," Harry said in a fake stiff voice, as if he wouldn't be too fond of the idea of him and Snape actually being civil. "Apparently you hadn't heard of the duel?"

"Duel?"

"Oh, so I'm correct," Harry said, finding he quite liked it when he knew something Voldemort didn't. "In the first week of school, that is, when I became Dumbledore's apprentice, Severus challenged me to a duel. I won, of course," Harry said, as if it were obvious. "In fact," he began again, "as a small wager, we bet his Dark Mark. If I won, I would take it off so he couldn't be summoned by you any longer; and if he won, I wouldn't tell anyone that he was a groveling Death Eater."

"The Mark has no counter, it's irremovable," Voldemort hissed madly.

"Look at his forearm, then," Harry said, still following Voldemort's voice with his eyes and shifting every so often to keep him within view should he decide to make an actual appearance. At Harry's last comment there was some shifting of leaves and breaking sticks until Harry heard a charm hissed. He then heard Voldemort hiss in frustration.

"How?" Tom asked simply.

"I do believe that we all have secrets we don't disclose, Tom. This is one of mine," Harry said calmly. He was actually trying to figure out a way to get to Severus and get out of there. He was grossly outnumbered, and he knew it. Add a wall of about twenty Death Eaters between him and Severus, not to mention Voldemort himself, and it made the task look utterly impossible.

"If you'll not willingly tell me, then I'll force it out of you. I did hope we'd have some fun before I took your power. I would like to introduce you to my apprentice, Harry," Voldemort said. "She's one of my finest and most loyal Death Eaters to date." A Death Eater stepped forward and lowered its hood. "Please meet Molly Moon." Harry couldn't help it; he openly gaped at his Defense teacher. "Of course, you'd probably know her better as someone else." As Voldemort said this, Professor Moon seemed to melt into another figure; that figure was the person that Harry despised most in the world: Bellatrix Lestrange. She smiled a sinister smile at him.

"Hello, ickle Harry," she said. Harry's blood boiled.

"Metamorphmagi have so many uses," Voldemort said. "You do know it's hereditary, don't you?" Harry couldn't answer. So many pieces seemed to click into place. Her treatment of him, her initial reaction to him while dueling, and the fact that it killed her to know she hadn't won. Even the interest in the tattoos upon his back made all the more sense now.

"But you're supposed to be in Azkaban," Harry said dumbly. "I watched you go!"

"Oh, Harry -- so naive at your young age. Did you truly think that Fudge was going to send her to Azkaban? He knew if he did, then I'd just raid the prison for her again; he's not stupid," Voldemort said. "Oh, no; Fudge and I made a pact, until your filthy Muggle aunt ruined that!" he spat. "He would leave my followers alone, and act as if he were doing something about the war; and I wouldn't set foot in the Ministry again."

"You're mad, Riddle. Completely out of your mind," Harry said. This was too much for him. After such a long day, his head was pounding from too many revelations at one time.

But Voldemort continued to ramble as though Harry never made a comment about the man's mental health. "I must admit that you foiled my first plan far too early in the game. It seems that your filthy blood has also affected your tastes. Bellatrix was supposed to be impregnated by you, and then to use the unborn fetus to kill you. It is a very rare form of magic that can be done as long as the baby hasn't been born yet. Of course, she understood that this would most likely mean her own demise also; but she is loyal almost to a fault. After it was seen that you prefer to ... veer away from the female population, we had to lean toward more ... conventional methods," he sneered.

"Disgustingly mad," Harry spat.

"Let me show you what mad is, Harry. Bellatrix, if you would do the honors?"

"Crucio!" she spat forcefully.

Harry waved a hand and banished the curse. She looked ready to spit fire, and many of the other Death Eaters began to murmur to one another softly. A wand appeared from between two of the Death Eaters, and Voldemort screeched in his own voice, "Crucio!" Harry tried to banish the curse again, but found that it did little good. It worked a little, but not to the extent Harry intended it to. Some of the power behind the curse was banished, but he still caught the major brunt of it.

Harry's world exploded in pain. Nerve endings were frying, and his skin was crawling with sparks, as if from a white-hot poker. He could feel his very mind cringing away from reality as the spell did its damage. After several painful seconds, the curse was lifted.

"The counter for the Mark?" Voldemort hissed. Harry looked at him defiantly, not wanting to reveal that he did it with Will Magic, and said nothing. He only stared in hatred.

"Crucio!" Voldemort screeched again; and as before, Harry's world exploded into unimaginable pain. He didn't know why, but he had never realized how powerful Voldemort really was. Harry was certain now that Tom could definitely give Albus a run for his money. It seemed that the longer his was able to live, the stronger he became. They had hoped that he had grown as strong as he'd ever get, back at the Ministry in June; but it was apparent now that Voldemort still had more ways to get what he wanted: power.

"The counter-spell?" Harry said nothing, only panted. The curse hit again.

It seemed to Harry as if the treatment went on forever. Voldemort finally stopped when Harry was on the verge of passing out. Wanting to see the look on his nemesis' face when he was stripped of his magic, Voldemort stopped the torture. That was a very grave mistake -- for as soon as his wand was no longer trained on Harry, a griffon and a lion pounced on several Death Eaters and came to a halt in front of Harry. The chain of Death Eaters was broken, and Harry could finally see Voldemort looking around wildly for the intruders. Next to Riddle's feet, down on his hands and knees and looking much the worse for wear, was Severus Snape. Harry thought that Voldemort probably expected Dumbledore to enter the scene about now. But Voldemort, seeing no one appear immediately after the two felines showed up, trained his wand on both of them, seemingly ready to do away with the small intrusion. That was a dreadful mistake also.

As soon as Tom raised his wand, spells seemed to rain down on the circle of Death Eaters. The two felines crouched over Harry to protect him, as spells rang out overhead. Harry raised his wand between his two protectors, and with a barely mumbled spell, he felt the ward shatter. Voldemort was screeching for the intruders to reveal themselves, as his followers kept casting spells in all directions. Harry realized with horrid fascination that those spells were only coming from four people who had surrounded the entire group, but were casting in quick succession. They were no doubt using their now well-honed wandless skills. Several Death Eaters were now on the ground, bound and stunned, or generally just incapable of movement, as both sides ceased fire. Harry looked up from between the two cats to see a thin girl in Voldemort's clutches: Luna.

"Ah, what do we have here?" Voldemort said, holding a bony hand wrapped around Luna's fair neck. The lion dug his paws into the ground and growled fiercely.

"Let her go, Tom," a voice from the brush behind Harry said calmly. Harry's head spun, (which forced him to remember the splitting headache he'd developed,) to see Ginny reveal herself from the foliage that had concealed her from the Death Eaters.

"A Weasley," the familiar voice of Lucius Malfoy sneered. Ginny merely raised an eyebrow at him before turning back to the Dark Lord. She was now standing in front of Harry and the large cats.

"You dare to use that filthy Muggle name to me?" Voldemort hissed furiously before clutching Luna closely to him and pointing his wand at Ginny.

"Don't you remember me?" Ginny feigned innocence.

"I don't associate with Muggle-lovers," he hissed.

"You didn't seem to have that problem when you possessed me," Ginny bit back calmly.

"Ah, that Weasley."

"Yes, that Weasley," she repeated.

"You were but a means to a resurrection, nothing more."

"Is that so?" Ginny said, taking a step closer. Voldemort steadied his wand at her reminding her that he was armed. Harry was awed by her courage and her calmness; even he didn't seem able to be that emotionless in the presence of Riddle. "I seem to remember a lot of the conversations we had. How you were shunned by the others in the Slytherin House for your Muggle blood. How you longed to meet your father at first to prove to him that wizards weren't the freaks he thought us to be. What happened to that boy, Tom? Why did you never search?" Ginny continued to question him. Voldemort looked beyond murderous now.

"No such thing ever happened. I'm bound by the way of Slytherin, as Slytherin's heir. No matter what my beliefs, it was my duty to continue his work."

"But you're wrong, you know," she continued casually, "He didn't want all Muggles and wizards lacking pure blood dead at all. He merely wanted them segregated for cultural reasons. Most can even understand this. You took the job, the meaning, too far," Ginny said. She cocked her head to the side and looked at Riddle intently for a second. "You knew this, didn't you?"

"What? You speak lies and rubbish, little girl. You'd do well to learn your place," he said furiously before he raised his wand at Ginny once again. This time, Ginny didn't move, but Luna did. She shoved away forcefully and Harry was amazed to see she had a wand in her hand. She fell to her knees just in front of Voldemort, but still managed to raise her wand at Ginny.

"Protego!" she shouted at Ginny. The blue shield shimmered before Ginny, and Voldemort's curse died on his lips as he turned to the girl that was now at his feet. He aimed his wand once again, but this time at Luna.

"Avada --" he began, as several other curses rang out once more. Both the lions had also jumped up now to reposition themselves better around Harry.

"Cito (activate)," Luna bellowed as loud and as forcefully as she possibly could when there was suddenly a clear spot between her and Harry. Harry's eyes widened as her spell hit him in the arm and traveled around to his back, just below his neck line. The spot began to burn fiercely.

"Kedavra!" Voldemort finished. The green light hit Luna in the back and she dropped to the ground -- dead. Harry felt his world suddenly crash for the second time. He had lost another that was like family. He wanted to crawl into a hole and die. He felt shame, pity, and rage. Then something odd happened that made his thoughts pause.

A strange light began to emanate from Luna's dead body. At first, Harry hoped that she was going to reflect or rebound the curse; but then, like some ghostly spirit, a misty substance rose from her body and began to take shape. It hovered in front of Voldemort for a moment before floating towards Harry and stopping just in front of him. Harry had no idea what it was, but he wondered if it had anything to do with the spell that Luna had just cast upon him. It was then that he realized what the shape was: an eagle. The bird looked mystified at Harry for a moment before it flapped its transparent wings a few times and wrapped them around Harry. Warmth engulfed him, making him feel blissfully better. No further pain tingled in his bones and muscles. The substance began to settle, making him glow for a moment, before he could feel his very skin absorb the ... magic. It was magic, he could feel it. It had no signature; it was almost as if it were neutral magic. But as it seeped into Harry's body, he could actually feel his body marking the magic as his. His chest began to burn with a new intensity; it was worse than the Cruciatus curse. Harry had been on his knees, but he fell back onto his hands again. The pain seemed to be gaining momentum. His veins were frying with magic that wasn't supposed to be in his body, and it was seeping into his core -- he could feel it. The pressure in his chest seemed to reach its zenith, and in a moment of climax, Harry's world exploded.

Raw magic flowed off him like an atom bomb, and flattened everything in its path. Death Eaters, friends, trees, Dark Lords -- they all fell to the ground due to the blast. Harry's vision was swimming, but he didn't care. He was screaming in agony and wanted it out, it burned too bad! What had Luna done to him? Just as fast as the pain came on, it left; and Harry felt like he never had before. Everyone around was getting back to their feet and Harry noticed that the only person that hadn't moved was Luna. At first, he hadn't known what happened, but now he could feel it clearly: his dam of magic had burst, and was now freely moving about his body. He was surprised he wasn't glowing; he felt so much raw magic within him. Apparently he wasn't the only one who felt it, because the Death Eaters were backing away from his radiant aura.

Voldemort was ranting again, and his followers looked scared, because they too were confused as to what was going on. Ginny still stood in front of Harry, Neville and Ron. Hermione and Draco had still yet to reveal themselves. Harry looked around while the Death Eaters cringed at Voldemort's every word. Snape was still on the ground, and Harry could tell he was bleeding heavily. Taking a chance, because he was feeling a bit better after the strange exchange between him and Luna, Harry turned on his gift of sight. He looked around inconspicuously, trying to find Draco and Hermione's auras, and was beyond relief to find them just outside the broken ring of followers, in an empty space, disillusioned. While Voldemort carried on about incompetent research by his followers, Harry whispered to his two feline protectors.

With the last amount of effort Harry could manage, he stood slowly, so as not to gather too much attention, and pushed the sleeves of his robes up. He could feel each one of the cats follow his directions and felt it as they both pushed up a pant leg and bit into his legs firmly, but softly enough to not break the skin. Harry raised an inconspicuous hand and put it on Ginny's neck, but she only slightly flinched. He looked to his right and gave a knowing look to Hermione and Draco, and saw the look of understanding come over Hermione's face as she nodded almost imperceptibly. With his hand by his side, hidden from Voldemort's eyes due to Ginny, Harry held out the number one. Then he put two fingers out, symbolizing the number two.

Three.

"Accio Severus!" Harry bellowed, making Voldemort stop mid-rant and turn to him -- but it was too late. Severus shot through the air so fast that Ginny had to do a quick duck as Harry grabbed him by his robes to stop him from knocking everyone down. He grabbed Severus' limp hand and Ginny spun around and quickly wrapped an arm around Harry's neck. The free hand that Harry had managed to keep slightly extended for Draco and Hermione was now occupied by two water-like apparitions.

"Protego!" Ginny said, pointing at an oncoming curse that one of the Death Eaters had cast now that they were out of their stupor. In a rush of hot flames, they were gone and had reappeared in the Suite. Everyone dropped off of Harry, panting and swearing. Harry nearly passed out from the draining experience. Sure, he had done that plenty of times before; but never had he done it after such an experience.

Harry realized he had just let Severus fall to the floor unconscious; and he bent down, wearily, to check on him. Harry could tell he was at the end of whatever energy reserve he was tapped into, and promptly turned into his primary phoenix form. He hopped gracefully onto Severus' chest and cried in the man's mouth, making pearly tears slide through his thin lips. Severus choked slightly, but swallowed all the same. He then move about the pasty man's body, fixing what he could, before he stood on the Professor's exposed forearm (where the Dark Mark would have been) and whisked them away to the infirmary.

"Madam Pomfrey!" Harry yelled after he transfigured back. The medi-witch came bursting out of the store room, looking around wildly.

"What happened?" she asked harshly, as she practically sprinted to Severus' bedside.

"Voldemort," he answered shortly, trying to get his emotions and heartbeat under control. "I've healed him the best I can, but there's nothing I can do about any internal damage."

"Yes, yes," she said busily. Harry backed up to give her room as the hospital-wing door burst open, making Poppy snap her head up from her patient's care.

"Harry, what happened?" Dumbledore asked, urgently striding down the wing towards them.

"Voldemort happened. As it turns out, he had an end-of-the-year-plan after all," Harry said heatedly.

"Where was he?" he asked, referring to Voldemort.

"In the forest; he had Dobby under the Imperius, and had him tell me Snape was in trouble. I tried to floo you, but you weren't in your office. Neither were McGonagall or Flitwick. I didn't know who else to trust!" Harry said, now getting angry and taking on an accusing tone. He was glad now that he had not trusted Professor Moon -- or rather, Bellatrix.

"How long ago?" he asked, striding to the window of the ward to look out at the forest.

"We've been back not even ten minutes," Harry said. Dumbledore hung his head.

"Too late. He'll be outside of the wards now," he said, more to himself than anyone. He looked back up at Harry like he just realized something. "You said 'we've.' Others accompanied you?" Harry hung his head a bit at this.

"I don't know how they knew. I guess Dobby told them before he told you. They appeared there and saved me just after Voldemort finished torturing me with the Cruciatus. Luna didn't return," he answered, as all the grief came flooding back. He flopped down on the bed, now able to recall the event properly.

"Harry," Albus said urgently, "You must tell me, did she do anything unusual?" Harry looked up sharply with a tear-stained face.

"What?" he asked in almost a whisper.

"Did she do anything unexpected ... to you?" he asked, boring his piercing blue eyes into Harry's.

"What did she do?" Harry replied. "There was mist and a bird, then some kind of magic came from her body and into me. I think my dam of magic burst because of it. What did she do?" Harry asked, starting to sound frantic. He saw relief in Albus' old eyes.

"She gave you a gift ... a great gift," Albus said, taking a seat next to Harry.

"Gift?"

"The blue rune on your back was a Marker rune. She marked you with her magical signature. This is why you could not find an explanation for what the rune meant. It was unique only to her. Everyone has one that symbolizes their magical signature."

"How was this a gift?" Harry asked, getting confused by Dumbledore's half-answers.

"Harry, throughout history, when an heir of a great line wanted to pass their line of magic onto someone who was not officially in their line, they marked them with their signature. By doing this, when they died -- that is, if they activated it before doing so -- they passed the magic of themselves and their line to another. This method was usually used when someone never bore children, or when they wanted to claim a step-child before death," Dumbledore explained.

"Oh, so I should feel honored that she thought she was going to die, so she marked me?" Harry said bitterly.

"Harry, her mark is more than you know. She gave you the same gift Tom did when he attempted to kill you at birth. You have the magic of another founder in your blood now. Luna was the heir of Ravenclaw," Dumbledore said, looking at Harry for a reaction.

Harry was stunned. She had never said anything before. Why had she hidden it away from everyone? It did explain a lot, though. Her aura, her power, intelligence, ease with magic. Harry hadn't even ever expected something of this nature. He looked at Dumbledore blankly for a second before he stood abruptly.

"You knew!" Harry roared. Dumbledore put up his hands to stop Harry, but Harry ignored him. "You knew she marked me, and you said nothing. You knew she expected to die around me somewhere, and you never mentioned it to me!" Harry was beyond pissed now. "YOU TOLD ME YOU WOULDN'T KEEP THINGS FROM ME!" he yelled once again, making three of the closest windows in the hospital wing shatter. Madam Pomfrey shrieked and covered Severus' eyes from the flying glass.

"Harry, please," Albus pleaded with a grave expression, but Harry wasn't listening.

"You lied! You knew and you lied! Just like last year, just like this summer. You should have told me so I could have been more careful!"

"Harry!" Dumbledore said a little louder and Harry stopped and plopped down on the bed again and began sobbing. "I didn't know, I only suspected. Actually, I didn't even suspect it was her until tonight at the Order meeting. That's where all the professors were when you tried to contact us. We were meeting about Severus' sudden disappearance. We were also in a room within the school that is under the Fidelius Charm, which is why Dobby probably went to your friends instead of me: he couldn't find me. While we were meeting, Fawkes appeared with a letter from Luna. It said that you all went after Severus, but didn't say where. We had no idea where to go. At the bottom of the parchment, she had scribbled the rune under her signature. That was when I realized what she'd done. To say I was surprised would be an understatement. It's very powerful magic for such a small girl; but the line of Ravenclaw was great and prestigious," he finished.

"Professor Moon was Bellatrix Lestrange," Harry said. "She's a metamorphmagus."

"I figured something similar. She was recommended by the ministry not long before the term. I didn't suspect her as anything but an ex-Auror until tonight. When she didn't show up for the staff meeting, I began to wonder where she was. I put two and two together, and realized that there was a lot of Death Eater activity tonight -- and figured if she wasn't here, then she was involved. Azkaban fell tonight. About a hundred Death Eaters attacked the fortress and overran the guards. That's what Amelia was here about earlier. She'd heard rumors of an attack to take the prison. Severus' sudden summoning seemed to solidify that rumor. We didn't have time to react to the attack, but we didn't expect anything further from Tom, because even then I suspected that Severus was only summoned to help get some souls back. There are very dark potions that Severus can make that had the possible effect of giving the 'kissed' followers their souls back," Albus explained.

Harry only continued to sob silently, barely listening to Dumbledore. He didn't know what else to do. He'd lost another friend, another member of his family, because of Voldemort. His friends knew he wasn't ready, and came to his aid. Luna even went so far as to give him more magic -- more power -- to make sure he succeeded. It was probably one of the most intimate gifts that Harry had ever received. It showed how truly loyal, how truly dedicated to the cause she was. Most would probably be baffled by all the thought she had put behind this, but Harry wasn't. He had always kept an oath not to tell anyone what he experienced when he was in others' heads. But when he was in Luna's -- well, for the short time that he was -- he saw things that made her more human in his eyes. He felt slightly ashamed that no-one else knew the same person he did. Even Neville, Luna's boyfriend, didn't know. This gift, as special as it was, should have been given to him, if to anyone. Neville should have been given something that was this eternal, this priceless. He was brought out of his thoughts as more people entered the wing.

"Harry!" Draco said, striding as fast as he could, barely keeping from running. Hermione and Ron were right behind him, and Ginny and Neville brought up the rear. Ginny had an arm around a tearful Neville.

"Are you hurt?" Hermione asked, looking him over. Draco seemed to be doing the same, but not too conspicuously. Harry just shook his head 'no.' Harry took his face out of his hands and looked up at Neville again before standing. Neville raised his eyes to meet his, before Harry strode forward and wrapped his arms around Neville's neck and started apologizing while hugging the boy. Neville was shaking his head 'no,' but couldn't say anything through his own sobs. Before Harry knew it, they were all huddled together in a great hug. Ron and Draco seemed to be the only ones partially keeping themselves together, though they were barely managing it. Both Hermione and Ginny were now sobbing openly, but neither was doing so as loud as Neville.

Dumbledore and Poppy stood aside and allowed them their space to grieve. Poppy, having finished with Severus, quietly walked away, tears in her own eyes, to the store room. The door opened and several more professors walked in rather noisily, but at Albus' raised hand, they all stopped just beyond the door and stared at the group of children who were wrapped in themselves and openly comforting one another. Poppy walked back into the ward, carrying a tray of vials that were full of purple potion, and sat them on Severus' bedside table. Dumbledore finally spoke up.

"Children, as hesitant as I am to say this, we really must know about everything that has happened." Poppy looked almost shocked that Albus would propose such a thing, but said nothing. "Just after you finish, I want you all to take a Calming Potion, pick a bed, and rest. We will contact your families while you're resting. But for now, we need to know what Voldemort wanted," he finished gravely. Neville flinched at the name, and Harry wanted to swear. It had taken Harry a whole year to get Neville to shed the fear of hearing or saying that name; and in the last hour, it had returned ten-fold.

Though reluctantly, they all separated themselves from one another and sat on a bed. They were still holding each other's hands, but no one dared say that Dumbledore probably meant different beds.

"Now, please begin with the message Dobby gave you," he said, inclining his head to Harry.

Harry proceeded to tell him everything that Dobby said, and how he was acting strangely; but Harry had passed it off as nervousness. When he was done, he looked over to Ron, who he believed could take up the story easier than the others. Draco was the one who spoke up, though.

"Dobby appeared in my dorm room just as I was about to go down to the Great Hall for dinner. He was hysterical about something, and it took a few minutes of coaxing on my behalf to get him calmed down enough to get the situation out of him. I immediately went to Hermione, who had been in these spots with Harry before. When I got to Hermione, the others were with her in the library. We knew we'd be too late if we tried to look for them in the forest, so Dobby made us a Portkey," he said, looking around at the professors as if he were challenging them to say anything about the illegal transportation. Dumbledore merely nodded. Hermione then took up the story.

"Apparently, Dobby came to us out of guilt and distress for not being able to find you. He was beside himself, and wanted to come along, but we couldn't risk him getting in the way. After we portkeyed there, Draco and I disillusioned everyone, and we cast Silencing charms on our feet so we could surround the group of Death Eaters. Luna ended up being the closest one to Voldemort," she said. Neville flinched again, and fresh tears streamed down his face.

"Voldemort summoned Luna," Ron said, taking up the story. "I was in front of Harry when he did it. He didn't even use an incantation, just flicked his wand; and she was revealed and rocketed towards him. He's grown more powerful, I can tell -- and I haven't even faced him before."

"So it seems," Albus said, bowing his head a bit before looking back up at Harry; but he didn't comment. Ron finished up the rest of the story until Harry took off to the hospital wing. Everyone was quiet for a moment before Neville spoke up, though he did so quietly.

"We didn't even get to bring back her body," he said, ending it with a hiccup. Hagrid, without saying anything to anyone, turned and left. Flitwick and McGonagall, knowing what he was going to do, were following behind him without saying a word. Neville watched them go, and Harry could tell he was grateful for their efforts. Harry, on the other hand, wasn't sure if her body would even still be there. Knowing Voldemort as he did, he suspected he would use it for some grotesque purpose.

"Well," Albus said standing, "I think it's time for you all to pick a bed and get some rest while I contact your parents. With them all being in the Order, they'll need to be informed immediately of the recent situation. I'll also have to contact Mr. Lovegood and speak with him. Perhaps you'd like to sit in on that meeting, Harry, so that you can be there when I tell him of your gift from Luna?" Albus suggested. Harry's neck got hot at this. He didn't want to tell his friends of the 'gift' yet, but it looked as if Albus planned on giving him no choice.

"Whatever," Harry whispered. He stood and moved to another bed.

"I'll Floo Poppy when he arrives," Albus said, looking over his glasses at Harry, but Harry refused to look back at him. Poppy quickly handed out the potions and retreated to her office to wait for Albus' floo.

As expected, after Albus closed the door to the hospital wing and Poppy was in her office, someone spoke up. If it weren't for Neville being the one to do so, Harry probably would have lashed out.

"What did she give you?" he asked quietly.

"Her magic." There was a moment of silence after this.

"Why?" Ron finally asked, staring up at the ceiling. Harry sat up on his bed. If they were going to have this conversation, he didn't want sleep taunting him.

"Because she wanted to make sure I had enough power to defeat Voldemort -- or, at least, that is my theory," he said. He began to pick at the blanket nervously. Ron also sat up at this.

"Lovegoods are that powerful?" he asked. Harry shrugged.

"I don't know -- are they?"

"Yes," Ginny answered, sitting up also. "You saw how quick she caught on to everything that Harry taught us." Hermione sat up at this.

"That doesn't mean that she was powerful, it just means she was intelligent. She was in Ravenclaw, after all," she said logically.

"Yeah, but you're intelligent, and you were the last one to catch on to the wandless magic," Harry pointed out.

"That's because I didn't have any theory, and I couldn't understand what I was doing."

"Well, to put your theories to rest, she was very powerful," Harry said, summing the conversation up. Draco sat up now.

"How do you know?"

"Because she was an heir -- of a founder, that is," he said. They were all silent for a moment. "Ravenclaw," Harry said, answering the unasked question.

"I would have never though that," Ginny said, furrowing her brow.

"Well, she didn't really show any of us who she really was. I think Neville and Harry knew her better than we did," Draco said.

"She acted the same way around me as she did when she was around all of you. You knew her just as well as I did," Neville admitted. He had yet to sit up.

"I saw things while inside her mind, but it was only a glimpse of her true character," Harry said, studying the blanket again.

"What was she like?" Ginny asked.

"Even though she's not here," Harry began, swallowing hard, "I still refuse to break the oath I made that I wouldn't tell anyone else what I saw in any of your minds."

"That's very admirable," Draco said.

"It's the least I can do," Harry said. The 'because it's my fault' part didn't need to be said.

"Harry it's not your fault," Hermione said; but Harry looked up at her sharply. Hermione didn't say anything more. Ron broke the tension by speaking again.

"So ... now you're the heir of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw?" Harry looked at Draco and Hermione for a second before Hermione gave him a little nod of encouragement. Harry heaved a heavy sigh.

"No, actually. I'm the blood heir of Gryffindor, and the magical heir of Ravenclaw and Slytherin." Ron's mouth fell open along with Ginny's, and Neville rolled onto the floor when he turned to look at Harry too quickly.

"Slytherin?" Ron said in a slightly disgusted voice. Harry helped Neville back into bed and got back on to his own. Now everyone was sitting up.

"It's not my fault," he said bitterly. "You know that when Voldemort tried to kill me, he gave me some of his magic ... almost all of it. All he had left was what he lived off while he was in Albania," Harry said.

"And how did Luna make sure you got hers?" Hermione asked.

"She marked me, much the same way Voldemort did; though she didn't leave a scar, but a blue rune," Harry explained. Hermione's eyes widened at this.

"That explains so much," she said. "I think I've read about this. It's been use throughout history to bring someone into a family when someone actually in the family line dies," Hermione said. "The rune was her magical signature? That would explain why we couldn't find it."

"From what I gathered with my conversation with Dumbledore, yes." He proceeded to tell them about the conversation, and what Luna did after she wrote her rune-signature on the letter to Dumbledore.

"So she knew she probably wouldn't come back?" Neville said.

"I think she was preparing for that," Ginny said in a small voice. "She had a strong feeling that she would die tonight. That's probably why she took the position so close to Riddle. You said she cast a spell on you before the Killing Curse hit her?"

Harry nodded. "Yes; it made the area where the blue rune was, feel like it was burning." Hermione bounced on her bed.

"That probably means it turned into the Heir Rune for Ravenclaw!"

"Which also means you probably have another animated tattoo," Draco said, looking at Harry meaningfully. "Do you?" Harry shrugged and stood. He shed his robes and pulled his shirt off over his head. He then turned around. There was a shocked silence before anyone finally spoke.

"Harry ... it's beautiful," Ginny breathed.

"What's it look like?" he asked.

"The Heir Rune of Ravenclaw is now where the blue rune was; and on top of the griffin's back is a bald eagle -- only, instead of having a white head, it has a bronze head," Hermione said.

"Is it animated?" he asked.

"Yes," Ginny giggled slightly. "It looks to be preening the griffin's mane." Harry smiled slightly at this. Leave it to Luna to make the tattoo do something odd. Harry pulled his shirt back on and sat back on the bed.

"I'm tired, guys. I'm going to have a little nap before I have to sit in on that meeting," he whispered. No one argued, just nodded in sympathy. After Harry lay down, everyone else followed suit. Harry was so exhausted that he didn't even remember closing his eyes.

[latest edit 5/30/04 -- David305]