Harry Potter and the Amulet of the Moon

Chapter 19

Repentance

Harry was in what looked like a one-room building, with bare walls that seemed to vibrate with magic--at least to his eyes; there were probably magically reinforced--and a hard wood floor. To his left were Hermione, still screaming in pain, and Ron, screaming in anguish for Hermione's torment. Voldemort moved his wand to focus on Harry, and Hermione now slumped over, exhausted. Harry could see their wands on a shelf behind Voldemort. He wanted to Summon them over to his friends, but their arms were well tied behind their backs, and he knew he couldn't do all the magic required without Voldemort stopping him cold. He accepted the fact that there was nothing he could do.

"Potter, thank you for coming," said Voldemort casually. "Oh, and I'm sorry that the Temporary Trace the Aurors no doubt put on you is now gone. I set the Portkey to eliminate all tracing spells or devices. I would not have called you here if I intended our time to be so short." Harry's heart sank; they were beyond help.

Voldemort flicked his wand, and Harry's flew out of his hand. He did a double-take, wondering how he'd been Disarmed so easily, then looked at the floor; there was a small field of magic under his feet. Harry assumed it made his magic less effective. He tried to move, but was held down, as if his shoes were glued to the floor. I guess that's the problem, he thought, of entering the room exactly where your adversary knows you will.

"Now, Potter, you will take a vow of allegiance to me. An Unbreakable Vow, I should specify."

Harry chuckled darkly. "I don't think so." The situation was grim, but he knew he couldn't do it, no matter what.

"I expected that answer, of course. I would force your obedience with the Curse, but I know that as Auror Leader, you can resist it. But I suspect that you will be open to another avenue of persuasion. Crucio!"

Hermione screamed and writhed again. Harry winced, in torment at the pain of his cherished friend, but he couldn't change his mind, even if he had to watch them be tortured into insanity. An Auror Leader beholden to an evil Dark wizard would wreak havoc on society. This is like a different version of the Auror Leader test, he thought. I have to watch my friends suffer, to do what's best for society. But how did he ever catch them? He must have caught their counterparts before the switch, but they would never be so careless...

"You bastard!" screamed Ron in fury over Hermione's screams. "Make it me instead!"

"How noble, Weasley. You are indeed a Gryffindor. But we always say, ladies first. Fear not, you will have your chance." Hermione continued to scream and writhe in the chair, which Harry thought must have been held down by magic, as Hermione's contortions didn't disturb its balance a bit.

"But I will do this for you, Weasley," Voldemort continued, raising his own voice slightly to be heard. "I will change from her to you... if you will urge your friend Potter to take the vow I demand."

Now Ron cringed, forced to put himself in Harry's place. Ron had to know, thought Harry, that Harry wouldn't do it for any reason, but Ron would still hesitate strongly to even appear to try to persuade Harry to do it.

Harry glared at Voldemort. "You really enjoy this? How diseased are you, that you can get pleasure from doing this?"

Voldemort didn't take his concentration off of Hermione as he answered. "It is not a disease, Potter. It is the purest expression of humanity: the desire for power. Early man desired power, as evolution urged him to do. Those who had power survived, and the will to power dominated humanity. That is who we are.

"Torture is an instrument of power," he continued. "If you agreed to my demands, there would be no more torture. You do not, so I use the most efficient means at my disposal to attain my goals. They suffer because of you, not me."

"You're the one holding the wand," Harry shot back.

"True, but you could stop it. That makes you responsible."

"Why don't you just kill me?" Harry dared him.

Voldemort tilted his head. "It may come to that," he agreed. "But my power would be much enhanced with the Auror Leader as my vassal. So, I will see if you can be persuaded. I have time."

* * * * *

Malfoy Apparated in front of what he knew was the Lovegood home, though there was nothing he could see. His wand emitted a sharp, loud whistle. "Luna!" he shouted at the top of his voice. "It's urgent! Apparate out here, now!"

She did, and he was slightly taken aback to see her wearing pajamas; somehow, they made her look like a child. "What is it?"

"The Dark Lord's got Harry," he said quickly; shock came over her face. "He got Weasley and Granger, and told him he'd kill them unless he came. The Aurors did a Trace on him, but the Dark Lord had a Portkey that can get rid of that. They're alone, and they're going to die... unless you do something."

"What?" she asked simply, her attention focused.

He handed her two largish tablets. "Swallow these. There's a tracking device in there. You need to Apparate to his location."

She took the tablets, but didn't swallow them. "I can't. I don't know where he is."

"You can. The necklaces you wear give the wearers the same type of magic as house-elves who can Apparate to their master's location without knowing where it is. Just focus on ending up where he is, and you will. But you need to know, the Dark Lord will have a anti-Disapparation field up."

"Then how can I get past that?"

"One of the tablets has something that'll help you, boost your power for a short time. Still, it'll be difficult. You have to focus all your power, focus on getting past the field. Think about your feelings for him. You can do it if you try hard enough."

She nodded, and swallowed the tablets. "After you're there, I'll go to Shacklebolt. He'll be able to trace you, but it may take them a few minutes to get to you." His expression was extremely serious. "It won't be fun."

She would have thought she'd be afraid, but found she wasn't. This was her chance to redeem herself, and if she suffered for it, that was the way it had to be. "I understand," she said solemnly. She concentrated, eyes closed, and after ten seconds Disapparated.

Or, at least, most of her did. Her legs, from the upper thigh down, remained, while the rest was gone.

"Luna!" screamed Xenophilius, running out the door of his home, which was still invisible to Malfoy. "What happened--"

From a distance of ten meters, Malfoy aimed his wand and shot off a Stunning Spell. The old man was blasted a meter back, and hit the ground hard.

* * * * *

Harry was startled to see a little over half of Luna suddenly appear a few meters in front of him and to his right. Voldemort grinned, and stopped the Curse on Hermione. Oh, no, Harry thought in dread. Not this. The woman he loved would be tortured, probably slowly torn apart before his eyes. He remembered how the Dursleys had died. But his mind rebelled whenever he even began to contemplate agreeing to Voldemort's demand.

"Well, Potter's lover, even better," gloated Voldemort, as he whisked her wand away with barely an effort. "Impressive, Lovegood, that you made it in this far. Even being Splinched, it is quite a feat." She looked at him serenely.

"I have told your partner that he must take an Unbreakable Vow of allegiance to me. Do you know what will happen to you if he does not do so?"

She answered calmly. "Nothing I'll like."

Voldemort let out a dark chuckle. "You should have been a Gryffindor too. Humor in the face of torment and death. Admirable indeed. Where do you come by such poise?"

"I have sins to repent."

"Ah, a martyr. Well, history is full of those, as well. You will get the Curse for a full five minutes, after which you will have a chance to repent your repentance. Any requests for your Leader?"

Gazing at Voldemort, she didn't look at Harry. "He knows what he mustn't do."

"As you wish." This time without the incantation, he pointed the wand at her, and the screaming began.

A few seconds later, to Harry's shock, Malfoy was suddenly standing a few feet from Voldemort. Voldemort didn't move, his eyes still on Luna, wand pointed at her as she flailed in agony, unable to fall to the floor, as her legs were elsewhere. "Malfoy!" screamed Harry. "Grab him!"

Malfoy grinned. "Why would I do that, Potter? I'm on his team now."

"What??" Ron and Hermione also gaped in amazement.

"I told her she had to come," explained Malfoy. "The Dark Lord needed a way to exert his will on you, after all. When this is all over, I intend to be on the winning team."

Fury grew in Harry as he listened to his beloved scream. "I don't think you will be."

Malfoy smiled. "Oh, I will. You can be sure of that." Through his anger, Harry noticed that his senses didn't detect any falsehoods.

"Draco," said Voldemort. "Did all go according to plan?"

"Yes, my Lord. I told her that what I gave her was a tracking device."

"Well done, Draco. You see, Potter, I also instructed Draco to find your friend Shacklebolt, and give him a false lead as to our whereabouts. They will be over an hour following that up. But we should not need that much time."

Harry had never felt so helpless in his life. He was beginning to feel that this was even worse than the Auror Leader test; at least that had been over quickly. This could drag out for hours, he thought. He glanced over at Malfoy, but couldn't stand to look at Malfoy's grin, reminding him of the betrayal he hadn't seen coming.

The seconds dragged by; it was the longest five minutes of his life. When Voldemort finally stopped, Luna gasped, catching her breath, struggling for air and balance.

"What do you have to say now, Lovegood?"

Dazed and still in pain, she looked over at Harry, and his heart almost broke on seeing how much she still loved him. "Please... don't blame yourself." He closed his eyes, unable to do anything else.

"Potter," said Voldemort, gazing at him intently. "Even as I torture her into insanity, will you still not change your mind?"

Harry wished he could surrender, but it just wasn't in him. "No, I won't change my mind."

Voldemort nodded. "I thought as much. I asked in order to check your answer via Legilimency, and you do not lie. You may change your mind, of course, but if you have the stubbornness needed to become Auror Leader, you are not likely to do so. So, we will put it to the final test."

He turned to Malfoy. "Draco, I told you before that you would be required to prove yourself, by ending a life. The time has come. Are you ready?"

"I'm ready, my Lord."

"Have you chosen the method?"

"Yes." He pointed the wand at Luna.

"Malfoy, don't!" shrieked Hermione. "For her, and for you!"

Malfoy shook his head. "Too late, Granger. I'm doing what I have to do."

Luna gasped and writhed. Harry didn't know what was happening, but Malfoy explained. "I chose something that wasn't instant, Potter, so you have more time to agree to the Dark Lord's demand. Water is filling her lungs; she's drowning on dry land."

Malfoy kept his eyes on Luna, never looking at Harry. Water started to pour from Luna's mouth and nose as she futilely gasped for breath. "She's got about one minute, Potter. What's it going to be?"

Harry struggled not to do anything or say anything. There was nothing he could do. Her words rang in his head: don't blame yourself. He knew rationally that it was true, but when a word from him could save her life and he refused to give it, how could he not?

She slumped over, head forward, as water dripped out of her nose and mouth. She didn't move or try to breathe. Harry remembered how he'd felt at the Auror Leader test; the feeling was devastatingly familiar. At least he would soon be following her. That was a comfort, though a small one.

* * * * *

She floated up to the ceiling, observing her own slack body and her tormented lover. She wanted to call out to him, to tell him that it would be all right, but she couldn't. He'd said he didn't fear death anymore; she hoped he could accept hers.

She saw the light, and it was as though gravity pulled her to it. She noticed a minor passage below, and knew that it was the escape path; follow it, and become a ghost. She had no desire to do that. The light was powerful, promising peace and relief.

Suddenly she was there, standing on an amorphous surface. Light was all around. From a few meters away--did distance even exist here?--she saw a very familiar face.

"Mother!"

The tall, striking blonde smiled beatifically. "Luna, darling. I have missed you."

Luna ran to hug her, and they embraced. "I'm very glad to see you."

"And I," said her mother. "I'm sorry to have left you so early. It was my path."

"I understand," said Luna. "Is this where we go?"

"No. This is what could be called a staging area. The place beyond is filled with wonders, limited only by your imagination. I look forward to being with you again. But you must decide whether this is your time."

Luna was surprised. "Didn't I die?"

"As we speak--to the extent that time can be said to exist--you are dead. But the time beyond which you can be brought back has not yet passed. If you follow me now, that option is foreclosed. Events may foreclose it in any case, but for now, it is your decision."

Luna thought, and a question occurred. "Mother... those dreams I had... did they mean what I thought they meant?"

Her mother raised an eyebrow in a way that suggested she wouldn't answer the question directly. "Listen to your dreams, my darling. If you learn to understand them, they will never guide you falsely."

"It is my fault that the dimension-switching started, isn't it?"

"It is not productive, my love, to think in terms of 'fault'. Your actions contained no malicious intent, and that is important. We all make mistakes. You must forgive yourself."

Luna nodded silently; her mother's words contained more impact than those of anyone who'd told her not to blame herself.

She thought of another question. "Are you my mother from this dimension, or the one I came from?"

Her mother gazed at her lovingly. "Both."

* * * * *

Voldemort pointed his wand at Harry. "I would have preferred you alive, but if this is the way it must be... at least, the prophecy will be fulfilled. Are you ready to die, Potter?"

He didn't want to say 'yes', but he was beyond caring. He had suffered enough. "You said you wouldn't kill Ron and Hermione if I came."

A short nod, as if acknowledging a minor point. "True. I keep my word; they will live. They will end up in St. Mungo's, keeping Longbottom's parents company." He saw his two friends share an alarmed glance.

Harry shook his head. Angrily, he said, "If there is a hell, like Muggle legends say, then you'll be running the place as soon as you get there."

As he spoke, Harry was vaguely aware of magical fields changing above their heads; indeed, above the ceiling. He glanced up, trying not to be too obvious. He had, before, 'seen' magic beyond physical barriers, and he had seen enough to know that these were overlapping anti-Disapparation fields. The Aurors were here. Ironic, he thought, that even if they can get in, they won't be in time. Maybe they can save Ron and Hermione, at least. Maybe I can get them some time. But how? He's a second away from killing me.

"Voldemort! I want to know before I die. Why did you kill my parents?"

To Harry's surprise, Voldemort actually sighed lightly, and looked at Harry as if he'd expected better from him. "I will not be deterred by crude and obvious delaying tactics. Ask your parents to explain it to you in the great beyond; you should have plenty of time together." Voldemort raised his wand.

Harry suddenly saw other magic activate, and was stunned to see a Protection Shield go up around Luna's motionless half-body, still seeming to hover in midair. Who did that? Malfoy? What's the point?

As he was about to speak the words that would kill Harry, Voldemort noticed Harry's eyes, and he too glanced at Luna. From the look in Voldemort's eyes, Harry instantly realized that Voldemort too could see magic.

Malfoy had seen the look as well. To Harry's shock, Malfoy leaped at Voldemort, clearly hoping to swat away the wand. Malfoy had almost reached his target when a flick of Voldemort's wrist sent Malfoy flying the other way, planting him against the wall, a foot off the ground. Malfoy looked as if the wall was a surface holding him to it with gravity five or six times normal. He groaned as enormous pressure was put on his body.

Fire was in Voldemort's eyes. "No one has ever betrayed me as flagrantly as you have just done, Draco. Your death will be memorable... as painful as it will be slow." Malfoy struggled to breathe. "Lord Voldemort never forgets--"

The wall to Harry's right exploded with tremendous force, as if large amounts of Muggle explosives had been placed against it and set off. Wood and metal fragments went flying; a few pieces hit Harry as he was thrown back, no longer glued to the floor by Voldemort's spell. Luna was hit by many pieces, including two large ones.

When the dust settled a few seconds later, Voldemort, who had been knocked back as well, stood and faced what was now an open wall. Looking through it for the first time, Harry saw a dozen Aurors in the distance--and closer, about five meters outside the wall, over a dozen people. Justin, Dean, Corner, Angelina, Neville, George...

"Now!" shouted Neville.

"OBLIVIATE!" they shouted as one. They fired, and Harry saw their spells meet at about a meter outside the wall, fall in together, and become one. The bright, powerful spell headed toward its target. Voldemort had the Protection Shield up, and put up a blocking spell, which would have been more than enough to block any spell by any wizard. But he had never seen this spell before.

The spell crashed through his block; to Harry's vision, it was as if a small shield fractured into a thousand pieces. It continued on, powering its way through the Protection Shield, and plastering Voldemort against the wall he had held Malfoy against only seconds earlier. Voldemort crumpled to the ground.

Aurors started in as Harry staggered to his feet, as did Malfoy. "Pull her out of the Splinch!" shouted Malfoy to the first Aurors to enter; they got busy doing so.

Neville also came in. "Nobody kill him! If he's hurt, make sure he doesn't die!"

Malfoy took another step toward the gaping hole in the wall. "Healers! Did the Healers come?" Three green-robed wizards and witches quickly approached the opening in the wall, careful not to step on the debris. They bent over Luna, whose whole body was now lying on the floor.

His grief registered more powerfully now that it was over. "What the hell's wrong with you, Malfoy?" he shrieked. "She's dead! You killed her!"

"She can still be saved!"

"It's been too long!" a furious Harry shouted, trying to hold back the tears that suddenly threatened.

"It hasn't! They can--"

"God damn you, Malfoy--"

Malfoy grabbed Harry's shoulders; Harry resisted, but Malfoy's grip was like iron. "Potter! Listen to me! Before this happened, I gave her a tablet that keeps oxygen going to the brain even if the heart stops. If they can revive her, she'll be all right." The rage went out of Harry; his body slackened. Please, he thought desperately, let it be true. At the same time, he felt he couldn't dare hope.

Ron and Hermione walked over; Hermione regarded Malfoy. "You were on our side the whole time, weren't you. You knew he might tell you to kill Luna, and you picked the drowning spell to buy time."

Malfoy nodded. "That's right. You always were fast, Granger." He paused, and the worry in his eyes and in his voice was evident. "I just hope it was enough."

Harry's tone conveyed his feelings. "And if it wasn't..."

Malfoy didn't back down from Harry's gaze. "Then I'll have committed a murder, and nothing you can say will make me feel worse than I will already."

Knowing that Malfoy's words and feelings were genuine, Harry walked away, trying to look over the shoulders of the Healers without getting too close. He knew that they would say something when they knew, but it wasn't a good sign that it was taking this long. He felt as if a heavy weight was pressing against his chest.

Hermione spoke again to Malfoy. "What I want to know is, how did Ron and I get captured in the first place? Did you tell some story to our counterparts, lure them to where they could get captured?"

Malfoy shook his head. "I told your counterparts the plan from top to bottom. They knew the risks to her, to Potter, to you, everything. They agreed to it, and set themselves up to be captured."

"What??" exclaimed an aghast Ron.

Harry was stunned as well. Walking back over, he demanded, "Why did you have to bring Luna into it?"

"It was the only way!" said Malfoy with emotion, raising his voice. "There was no other way to get a tracking device in here--"

"Then you shouldn't have done this--"

"Look over there, Potter!" Malfoy shouted, pointing at Voldemort, on the ground, surrounded by Aurors. "He's Obliviated for life, he's done! That means it was a good plan! Yes, there were risks. But you're Auror Leader, and that means you have to be willing to sacrifice anyone for the sake of--"

Rage boiled over in Harry again. "I don't need to hear from you what Auror Leader means--"

Ron stepped between them. "Harry," he said gently, pushing his friend back towards Hermione, who took him by the shoulder. "Let's just wait to see how it goes with Luna. Healers are with her. If she can be brought back, they will."

Having left Harry with Hermione, he turned to Malfoy. "Malfoy," he said, lowering his voice, "we get why you did this, and I can see you're worried too. But however good the results end up being, now is not the best time to be telling Harry what he has to sacrifice as Auror Leader. It's an awesome and horrible responsibility, and one that you and I, luckily, will never face."

Malfoy looked at Ron, and for the first time, there was respect in his eyes. He took a deep breath and nodded, saying nothing. He turned and looked in Luna's direction. "Come back, come back," he muttered.

A few seconds later, there was a loud gasp, followed by intense chatter from the Aurors as orders were given. Harry and the others moved closer; a Healer stood to face them. "We have managed to start her heart, and she is breathing again."

Malfoy and Harry both took deep breaths of relief. "It is too soon to know about brain damage, but if she took an oxygen supplier, there should be none." The man turned to Malfoy. "I assume you were the one who broke into our supply and stole some?"

Malfoy nodded. "It wasn't that hard."

"We will keep that in mind," said the man, with a wry look. "Was it also you who sent the Howler?"

Again, Malfoy nodded. To the others, he explained, "Just before coming back here, I went to St. Mungo's and let loose a Howler, telling them that they had to send specialists to Auror Headquarters, and prepare to revive someone who had drowned."

"We will be moving her to St. Mungo's shortly, as soon as she is stabilized," said the man. "Leader Potter, she is to you..." He trailed off.

Hermione answered. Gesturing to Harry's necklace, she said, "She's the one wearing the other half of this."

The Healer raised his eyebrows, understanding what it meant. "We will keep you informed of her condition, and let you know when we move her." He moved off.

Harry wandered away, moving toward the far wall, opposite the one that had been blown apart. He leaned against it, feeling emotionally exhausted, not knowing what to do or say.

Hermione approached. She faced him, reached out, and took him in her arms. Not quite knowing why--Luna would be all right, after all--he began sobbing into her shoulder. She held him tighter and rocked him lightly.

* * * * *

Twenty minutes later, at St. Mungo's, the Healers finally allowed him into the room to see her. He sat in the chair at the side of the bed and held her hand.

She gave him a weak smile. "I'm glad you're okay."

Surprised, he responded, "I should say the same thing about you."

"I know. But it was worse for you than it was for me."

He found he couldn't deny it. "Just a few minutes ago," he said, "I was out there thinking that I should break up with you and never have a wife or girlfriend in my life." He paused. "Then I came in here, saw your face... and I know I couldn't do that."

She gripped his hand in sympathy. "I can understand why you'd think that. But I hope you'll keep in mind that this isn't exactly going to be happening all the time."

"It better not. I don't think I could take it."

"I'm sorry," she said sincerely. "I know you wouldn't have wanted me to come. But I knew what Draco was doing, and that it was probably the only way to get Voldemort."

"You knew in advance?"

"No, not in advance. But when he pretended to be with Voldemort, even when he drowned me, I knew it was an act. I could just tell. I was a little surprised Voldemort couldn't."

"Well, I sure couldn't."

"That's more understandable," she said. A thought seemed to pop into her head; he eyes went wide. "Oh! I just remembered something from when I died." She paused to reflect. "Funny thing to say. But anyway... I talked to my mother, kind of like when you talked to Dumbledore after you almost died that time. Not for long, but... I know what's going to happen with the switching."

"Really? What?"

"From what my mother said, I realized that my dreams were right. It's like an arc, or maybe we could say, an arch. The times the switches take start slow, pick up speed, then reach the maximum point at the top of the arc. At the top, we're here for almost all the time, and on the island for only a few seconds at a time. Then we start coming back down the arc again; we spend slightly more time on the island, then it picks up again, as we spend more and more time there..."

Harry found he understood. "So, the way it worked from the beginning of the switching until we're here almost all the time... after that, it's a mirror image of that. We spend more and more time on the island, until we're finally back there permanently."

"Exactly."

"How sure are you of this?"

He knew from her eyes before she said it. "I'm sure."

He smiled. "Good enough for me."

"So," she said, thinking, "Terry and Hermione will have to do the detailed calculations, but I'd guess that we'll reach the top of the arc in early March, then it'll reverse itself... and we'll be fully back on the island by August."

"Just in time to go back to England," he mused. "Some training."

"Well, they can train over here," she pointed out. "And with real Aurors, which won't be a bad thing."

"As long as nothing else bad happens."

"It won't," she assured him.

"Did your mother tell you that?" he teased her.

"No. I just have a feeling."

The door opened, and Malfoy walked in. Harry glared at him. "I had a locking spell on that door."

"Yeah," said Malfoy offhandedly. "You need a better one."

Annoyed, Harry exhaled. "Malfoy, we're--"

"No, I want him to stay," said Luna firmly. Harry silently surrendered as Malfoy conjured a chair and sat on Luna's other side.

Malfoy took a deep breath, then spoke. "Luna... I'm very, very sorry that I had to do what I did. If there had been another way, I would have done it. I hope you know that."

To Harry's surprise, she reached out and took his hand. "I know. Please don't feel bad, Draco. There are three people who aren't going to die tomorrow because you did what you did."

"I told myself that," said Malfoy. "In a way, I knew it was right. More than anything else, I had to persuade the Dark Lord that I was on his side, and I had to pretend that I was happy to watch him torture you all. I tried to remember that. But when I had to do that to you..." Malfoy's voice became noticeably heavier, and he gripped Luna's hand a little harder. "It was all I could do to make myself do it. I tried to think of those three people. I knew I had done everything I could to increase the chances that you'd survive. But it was still tough. I'm just glad that you made it." She nodded, and let go of his hand.

What Malfoy said made Harry recall something he'd forgotten. "You put a Protection Shield on her just before the explosion. How did you know it was going to happen then?"

"I saw you looking up," Malfoy replied. "I realized that meant you were seeing the Aurors putting up their fields, which meant they would be in soon. I could guess which way they were coming, and I knew Luna would be in the path of the explosion. Without protection, she'd have been ripped apart. I thought I could get away with doing it and not having the Dark Lord notice, but you kept looking at it, which made him look at it. I knew I'd been caught, so I jumped at him in desperation, on the off chance I'd catch him off guard."

Harry felt as though he'd been accused of tipping Voldemort off. "Well, it was just so bizarre, I couldn't imagine why anyone would put a spell on someone who was dead."

"I know," agreed Malfoy. "That kind of thing was part of the problem of you not knowing the plan. Of course, I couldn't tell you, or Weasley and Granger. It was crucial that you not know, so the Dark Lord couldn't force it out of you. Only I could know. You had to be persuaded I'd gone back to him."

"How could you know he wouldn't know you were lying to him? After all, he is a good Legilimens."

"I'm a good Occlumens."

"You were that sure you could fool him?"

"No. I thought I could, but I wasn't certain."

"And if he saw through you?"

Malfoy scoffed, as if it were obvious. "An extremely grisly death, of course. I mean, after what you've been through I wasn't going to dwell on it, but this wasn't without risks for me, either."

"Then why did you do that Protection Shield then? You put yourself in huge danger, knowing he could notice."

"Peer pressure," Malfoy half-joked. "You all were being so noble, so it must've rubbed off on me. But I also knew it had the effect of distracting him from killing you, so it worked in two ways. So, you know, it was worth almost getting my larynx crushed." Malfoy moved his neck around to humorously emphasize that he was still suffering from his admittedly mild injuries.

"Okay, so let me understand this," said Harry. "You got the idea for this when he asked you to join him again?"

"Yes. And by the way, Potter, you absolutely should have as well. You failed miserably in this regard--"

"Listen, Malfoy--"

"No, you listen. You're the Auror Leader, probably more brave and noble than anyone who's come down the pike for the last hundred years. You can plan an operation and do it well, and you made the right decision yesterday, about Lestrange. You inspire people, and I can see why.

"But Potter, you have got to learn how to be devious, to be tricky. It's not just a chess game, it's also a mind game. There are levels within levels. When he invited me back, he had to know there was the possibility I'd try to trick him. I knew that he knew, and I planned for that. When I got that owl, the possibility of this plan was so obvious, it was staring me in the face. I couldn't believe you didn't see the opportunity it represented. Now, in a way that was good, because I could do this and you wouldn't know, which was essential."

"Why was it essential that I not know?"

"Because," said Malfoy earnestly, "first of all, you're a bad actor. You couldn't have fooled the Dark Lord. Secondly, you wouldn't have agreed to it. Weasley and Granger were the bait; it had to be them. He wouldn't have agreed to the plan with anyone else, because no one else would guarantee that you'd come. Except Luna, and she couldn't be the bait, because she was necessary later. Those necklaces... the plan couldn't have worked without them. They made it possible for her to bring in a tracking device in a way that no one else could."

"And almost got her killed," pointed out Harry sternly.

Malfoy sighed. "I know. Look, Potter, I don't know what to tell you. I told her that if there was another way I'd have done it, and I meant it. Every one of us--you, me, Weasley, Granger, and Luna--was at very serious risk. I put together the plan as best I could, considered every contingency, maneuvered the Dark Lord into accepting it, or at least, the modifications I introduced. When I planned this I talked to Snape, who told me that the Dark Lord had been talking to him about this kind of plan. I proposed it to the Dark Lord knowing that, which made him more receptive to it.

"Anyway, the point is, it was a highly dangerous plan. I knew that. But I'd been thinking for weeks about possible plans, and come up empty. That owl yesterday was a huge opportunity, and I couldn't let it slip by. This was the best I could do, and I knew it had a decent chance of success. You would sacrifice yourself to stop the Dark Lord; I know that, because you did it before, in your dimension. I didn't doubt for a second that Weasley, Granger, or Luna would do the same. This dimension's Weasley and Granger agreed to it, knowing they and their counterparts might well die. So, then... tell me why what I did was so morally wrong."

Harry said what he thought, knowing it was an inadequate argument. "I would risk myself, but not them."

Malfoy had the correct response. "But you don't get to make that decision for them. Sorry, Potter, you know I'm right. I get why you hate it, and I know what it put you through--"

"No, you don't," Harry responded hotly. "Not until you've watched the woman you love die before your eyes do you know what I've been through."

Sighing lightly, Malfoy looked down, not meeting Harry's eyes. "I meant I understood it intellectually, in the abstract. I'll concede the point, and maybe I shouldn't expect you to not see it emotionally right this minute. But the plan was good, and it worked. You have to concede that."

For the first time in a short while, Luna spoke. "He's right, Harry," she said sympathetically. "Ron and Hermione--okay, the other ones, but it's still them--heard the plan and thought it was good enough to volunteer. I suspect that our Ron and Hermione would have agreed, but Draco couldn't tell them, because they had to not know when Voldemort was holding them. You went voluntarily, knowing you could very well die, just to save them, not even knowing about the plan. I went to save you; I also realized there was a plan, though I didn't know the details. The point is, we all went voluntarily, and Draco told people the plan to the extent that he could. It really does seem like the kind of thing that you might have to do as Auror Leader in the future. You might have to put people's lives at risk. Those people might not know the plan, but you know that they're willing to sacrifice their lives if they have to. Those people have loved ones, like you and I have each other. It's the price of being an Auror, of protecting society.

"I think you're arguing with Draco because as you said, you watched me die, and that's traumatic. You watched your parents die in the Auror Leader test, and you were super-angry at Kingsley, even though later you understood his actions. It's an emotional reaction, and I'm sure Draco wouldn't begrudge you that. But I think you're also angry with him because he was the one that did it, it was at his wandpoint that it happened. You have to remember that he didn't want to. Voldemort was in control of that situation, and he was responsible, no matter whose wand it came from. You have to understand that, and accept that in your heart. You might not be able to immediately, but I hope you will."

A confusing mass of emotions swirled around in Harry's head. He thought he could never forgive Malfoy, but here was the woman he had almost killed, doing so. Not knowing what to say, he looked down.

Malfoy spoke again. "Potter... first of all, none of this conversation, except for the details of the plan, is to be repeated to anyone. I'm talking like this because I respect you, and it's understandable that you're angry. It's not exactly the same, but if, say, you had done a plan like this, and my mother was in Luna's position, I'd be furious.

"Everything Luna said was right. I just want you to know that I did everything I could to minimize the risk to her. I was hoping he'd ask me to do it, because the drowning gave her the best chance to live. I was afraid he'd just decide to do it himself, in which case I was planning to ask him, to plead to be allowed to do it. There was also the risk that the Aurors might take too long, and she'd actually die. To be honest, I was pretty scared of that. I got into this situation because I didn't want to kill Dumbledore. The last thing I wanted to do was to kill her."

"I know," said Luna gently. With a glance at Harry, she added, "Harry does too. He just needs some time."

Malfoy nodded. "Yeah. Well, I should get going." He stood, and looked down at Luna. "I mainly just wanted to see how you were doing, and say what I said when I came in."

She reached out to take his hand one more time. "You did good."

There was a rare vulnerability in Malfoy's eyes. "It means a lot to hear you say that. Thank you." He gave her a last look, glanced at Harry, then turned and left.

Neither spoke for a minute. Finally, Harry said, "I'm not sure I'd be as forgiving as you if I were in your position."

"I can't know," she replied, "but I think you would be. All I know is that it looks different from my position."

"Why did you say you had sins?" he asked.

"You know the answer to that," she said gently. "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for me, my carelessness. You don't want to admit that, but it's true."

"That doesn't mean you deserve to suffer."

"It does mean that if anyone's going to suffer, I'm a good candidate. But I think that you suffered more than me."

After another silence, he said, "I wonder what would have happened in this dimension. I mean, Malfoy decides not to kill Dumbledore, but the switching doesn't happen."

"Interesting question," she agreed. "I'm sure there's another dimension in which that happened."

He was surprised. "How many dimensions are there, then?"

"At first, I thought, only two," she said. "My mother taught me about the 'twin dimension', which was how she understood it. But now I'm pretty sure there are infinite dimensions, but we have one spirit, and all these different versions of us are... part of the same spirit. On the other side, I asked my mother if she was my mother or the other Luna's, and she said, both. So now, I think the spirit is... I guess we could say, multidimensional."

He shook his head. "It's a bit much. Or, as the Muggles say, it doesn't compute."

She smiled. "I know. We have a lifetime to work it out."

He met her eyes, but he still couldn't smile yet. I just hope, he thought fervently, that we get that lifetime, all of it. I'm not afraid of what's beyond... but as long as I'm here, might as well get the most out of this life as I can. And one of them is spending years with this amazing person I'm looking at. She smiled again, and he wondered if she had somehow known what he was thinking.

The door opened again, and this time it was Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny. They all said hello to Luna, and Hermione walked over to Harry. "I need you to stand up."

"What for?" asked Harry as he stood.

She pulled him into a hug. "I think you need another one of these."

Finally, the corners of his mouth turned a little upwards as he hugged her tightly. She kissed him on the cheek, then released him. Standing behind her, Ron then hugged him as well. "I'll skip the kiss on the cheek, though," joked Ron, slapping Harry on the shoulder instead. Again, Harry couldn't help but smile a little. Neville and Ginny then took their turns.

"We met Malfoy outside," said Ron, "and talked to him for a minute. He said, 'Potter's going to be a while getting over this.' We knew that, of course. I'm still surprised that our counterparts agreed to this."

"I'm not, in a way," said Hermione. "I mean, you have to give this to Malfoy, it was a good plan. Knowing the whole thing in advance, I could imagine agreeing to it. It was a gamble, but the odds weren't going to get any better. I would feel terrible knowing what it might cost Harry, of course, but we all know that you have to take risks to do the right thing. Quite a few people now won't die who otherwise would have."

"Weird to think of Malfoy saving lives," said Ron, shaking his head. "Of course, he got into this first to save his own skin."

Luna told them what Malfoy had said about peer pressure. "He was joking, but I do think that being around people makes them rub off on you. There's a certain... integrity, a good feeling in knowing that you did something to help people, that you saved lives. I think that Draco understands that now."

"I was surprised," said Ron, looking at Ginny and Neville, "that so many of you had the group spell. I'd only heard that it was five or six. Is it everybody now?"

Neville nodded. "Almost. Cho hasn't been practicing it with us, and at first, not everyone was. But when six of us got it, that energized most everyone else to join, to start trying. Over the last few days, more people started getting it, and just before the switch--wow, it was just over an hour ago--was the first time we all had it, all the trainees. Just in time, apparently."

"The Aurors didn't think we'd be able to blast through that wall," added Neville. "Voldemort had secured it well with stationary magic; they thought it would take at least twenty minutes to magically dismantle, but they agreed to let us try. I talked to a few of them afterwards, and they were pretty shocked. They're going to be wanting to learn that."

"I never thought of Obliviating him," said Ron. "That was a good idea."

"Kingsley told us it was Malfoy's idea," said Neville. "He said Malfoy gave him a note with details of the plan. Apparently Malfoy somehow knew that a lot of us had the group spell, and he had somebody--I'm not sure who--use the Galleons to get us together with the Aurors."

Ron nodded, impressed. "He thought of everything."

Harry understood, and was also impressed, despite himself. It had been important not to kill Voldemort because two Horcruxes still existed, including the one in the other Harry. Obliviating him guaranteed that he would live, but remain harmless forever.

"So," said Ginny, "Voldemort's going to end up like Professor Lockhart now?"

Neville nodded. "Even more so. The Aurors checked him; he's pretty much a blank slate. They're not sure he even knows how to speak. Of course, there's never existed such a powerful Memory Charm. They think it may have utterly erased everything he knows or ever knew. The Aurors are holding him in maximum security. They know his memory isn't going to come back, but they're not taking any chances."

"So... that's it," said Ron, as if just realizing it. "We won."

"Yes, we did," said Harry, whose tone indicated that he was far from happy in spite of the triumph.

Ron and Hermione exchanged a look. "We should get going," she said. "We just wanted to come by and say hello. Luna, I assume you'll be out of here by tomorrow?"

"I think so. Really, I could leave now, but you know how Healers are. I'll be lucky if they let me out tomorrow. Thank you all for coming by. We should have dinner together soon, the six of us, like we did before we went to the island."

"I'd like that," agreed Neville. They agreed to do it soon, and the other four left.

Harry and Luna were alone in the silence, and Harry found he could hear the others speaking outside the door. "You were right," said Ron.

"About what?" asked Ginny.

Hermione answered. "The Aurors told Ron and me that they were having a... I don't want to say party, more like, informal celebration, now that we have Voldemort. They told us to let Harry know, if it seemed like he could be up for it, though they knew that he probably wouldn't be."

"I hoped he could do it," said Ron, "because he deserves to celebrate, and I know they'd like to have him there. Hermione said he'd never be in the mood to, and of course she was right. I guess what he needs right now is to just be with her."

Harry turned to her and took her hand again, looking into her eyes, which sparkled with humor. "I suppose he's right," she said.

"Who?"

"Ron. That we need to be together."

His eyebrows went high. "How did you hear him?"

"Through you." He just looked at her. "Didn't you know? The necklaces. We can look through each other's eyes, and hear through each other's ears."

"We can? How?"

She shrugged. "You... just have to listen a certain way. It's difficult to explain. Sorry, I thought you knew for some reason."

"Well... it was nice of them, but celebrating isn't anything I want to do right now. Like you said, and they said, being with you is the best thing."

"Until the St. Mungo's people come and throw you out, saying I need my sleep," she joked.

He grunted. "If they do, I'll tell them I'm not leaving. If they don't like it, they can try to have the Aurors throw me out. See how that works."

She grinned. "I guess there are advantages to being Auror Leader."

"That would be one advantage I would actually find useful."

He was starting to feel a little better. After a few minutes, Harry could hear a small disturbance outside, and down the hall a fair distance.

"Please calm down, sir."

"Calm down?" The voice was unmistakably that of Xenophilius Lovegood. "I'll calm down when I see that Malfoy boy up on charges! He comes to our home, is so loud he could wake up the dead, calls my daughter outside. I go to the front door, and I see she's Splinched! Only her legs! I go out to help her, and he Stuns me! I'll have his head!"

"We have to check you out, Mr. Lovegood. It seems like you'll be all right, but we want to be sure."

"He sounds fine," said another voice sardonically.

"Did they get my Luna out of that Splinch?"

"Uh... yes, sir, they did. Your daughter's fine."

"Good, good," Xenophilius said, calming down. "But I will have words with that boy's father. He is a bad element!"

Harry looked at Luna; they exchanged a wry glance. He knew what they were both thinking: if he was that angry at being Stunned, imagine his reaction when told that Malfoy had filled his daughter's lungs with water.

"I wish Draco hadn't done that," she said unhappily.

He raised his eyebrows slightly. "You can forgive what Malfoy did to you, but you're not happy about--"

"I know," she said, her tone implicitly conceding Harry's point. "But my father didn't know what he was getting into," she pointed out. "I did."

"Well," Harry pointed out. "If Malfoy hadn't Stunned him, your father might have found someone to try to pull you out by your legs, and--"

"I know, I know," she reluctantly agreed. "I wasn't saying that you didn't have a reason to feel how you felt, you know. Just that Draco had to do what he did."

Harry nodded, ever so slightly. Maybe he did, he thought. But even if he did, it's not something I can bring myself to say. Or think.

* * * * *

Harry ended up conjuring himself a bed and sleeping in the hospital with Luna all night, and did in fact refuse to leave when ordered to do so by the Healers. He wasn't able to sleep well, but did get about three hours, which would be enough to see him through the next day; the switch would be at 10:00 p.m. the next evening.

The next morning's Prophet had the headline and basic story of the last night's events, but not details about what had happened inside the structure. That story would have to be told today, for the next day's Prophet. Harry called a meeting of all Aurors for 11:00 a.m. He considered making it earlier, but realized that some Aurors had drunk in celebration the night before.

He faced them all in the lounge; some were sitting, others standing. "First of all, I want to thank you all. For your efforts yesterday, and in general since I took over as Leader. It hasn't been easy. At least, now things should be getting back to normal.

"And with that in mind, there's something I need to tell all of you. Only a few people know, and for the time being, I'd like it to stay in this room. I am the Auror Leader, as my forehead will attest; I took and passed the Leader test. But the circumstances were... highly unusual." He took about ten minutes to tell them the story of the dimensional switching, why they were on the island, what had happened to this dimension's Harry, and how he'd become persuaded that he should take on the role of Auror Leader in this dimension. The Aurors listened silently and attentively.

"So," he concluded, "I feel like I've misled you all. In some ways, my not being from this dimension could be seen as a technicality. It's still me, the same person, just with different memories. I suspect my counterpart would pass the test if he took it, though some random elements would be different.

"But in some ways, it might not be considered a technicality. I could have told you all this from the start, but I didn't. I thought the emergency justified it. I don't know if that was the best decision or not, but it was the one I made. The point is that in one sense, I'm not really the Auror Leader, or at least, not yours. Now that the emergency is over, there's no more reason to hide anything.

"After I finish talking, I want to leave the room for a while, go back to my home. I want you all to talk about it. If there's wide sentiment that I shouldn't be Leader here, then I'll give up that role, and probably explain it to the media. If it's thought that I should stay Leader, then I will, at least for as long as I'm in this dimension, however long that is. Anyway, I'll go now. Come get me when you're ready." He Disapparated.

At Grimmauld Place, he read the mail that was starting to pour in congratulating him; he wondered if Malfoy was getting mail as well. He was annoyed that St. Mungo's hadn't seen fit to release Luna yet, even though she'd said she felt fine in the morning.

After twenty minutes, Kingsley Apparated in. "You can come back."

Back in the lounge, Mel stood. "I designated myself as the spokesperson. I'll try to give you the sense of the conversation we had after you left.

"When we found out that you'd become Leader, we were, not to put too fine a point on it, shocked. You're way too young, or at least, that would be the conventional sense.

"But over the past few weeks, we've gotten a new perspective on what leadership is. It has nothing to do with age, or bureaucracy, or even experience. It's when you know you can follow this person because he does the right thing, because you know he would die for you if it came to that. It's the root, the essence, of a person. Since you took over, we've seen you work hard, take your responsibilities seriously, and use good judgment. The fact that you're not from this dimension, and may well get back to yours, only makes it more impressive: you could have just decided it wasn't your fight--you'd done this already--and sat it out. But you didn't; you geared up for the fight again, and almost gave up everything you had for it. Well, if that isn't a Leader we can follow, then I don't know what is. So the answer is that we consider you the Auror Leader for as long as you're in this dimension. If you stay, then it's for life. If you get back, then we hope your counterpart takes the test. That is our unanimous answer."

Harry choked up, and struggled to push down the emotion he felt. A joke popped into his head, and he decided to go with it. "Unanimous?" he deadpanned. "Is Hedghorn not here?"

This got a big laugh, as many heads turned in Hedghorn's direction. Hedghorn stretched his arms above his head. "Sorry, Potter, I've been napping for a while. What's been going on?" There was more laughing, and a few good-natured insults thrown in Hedghorn's direction.

Now loosened up, Harry felt he could say what he wanted to say. "Seriously, thank you all very much. It means a lot to me. Now, is there anything anyone wants to say before we break here?"

Kingsley spoke. "About the Prophet today... some of us were thinking that when talking about what happened yesterday, it'd be better if we said publicly that it was Voldemort who drowned Luna, not Malfoy, and tell the rest of the story exactly as it happened. Voldemort did order it, and Malfoy wasn't in a position to refuse, but that's a detail that'll fly over a lot of people's heads. He might be seen as a murderer, unfairly, for the rest of his life. What do you think?"

While he hadn't made his peace completely with what Malfoy had done, this was to him a separate issue. "That's fine with me, but I'd like you to go talk to Malfoy, make sure he's on board."

"I already did," said Kingsley. "His attitude was, whatever. He did say that he didn't want that done if anyone who was in that room had the slightest reservation about it. I got the sense that he didn't want to shirk his responsibility."

Harry shook his head. "I'm okay, and I suspect Ron, Hermione, and Luna will be too. I'll talk to them."

"I've done that too," said Kingsley. "You're right, they have no problem with it. I'll go talk to the Prophet as soon as we're done here. They said they're sending Skeeter."

"Oh, good," said Harry sarcastically, again drawing laughs. "Well, no job is perfect." The meeting broke up, and he chatted with some Aurors in ones and twos. For the first time since working with these Aurors, he felt as though he truly belonged. It was a very good feeling.

* * * * *

Later in the afternoon, around three o'clock, Harry was relaxing on the sofa at Grimmauld Place. The fireplace lit up, and to Harry's surprise, it was Malfoy, who walked toward him, holding a piece of paper. "What the hell, Potter?"

Harry's eyebrows went up. "Nice to see you too, Malfoy."

Annoyed, Malfoy read from the paper in his hand. "Draco's plan was amazing, far better than anything I could have come up with. His life was on the knife's edge of danger, and his performance was excellent; he completely fooled You-Know-Who, not to mention the rest of us. He's primarily responsible for saving the lives of those who might have been killed in the future, and he's earned the greatest respect of all of wizarding society. He completely deserves to be awarded the Order of Merlin, First Class." Malfoy put down the paper and glared at Harry accusingly.

Bewildered at Malfoy's attitude, Harry decided to go with sarcasm. "Well, yes, I admit it sounds insulting when you read it that way, but--"

"Very funny. Why did you have to say all that crap?"

"You know, Malfoy, I never would have thought I'd have to say you were gullible, but now I do. This is Skeeter, remember?"

"So, you didn't say any of that?"

Harry sighed. "Some of it. I definitely didn't say it in one long sentence like that. A lot of this was stuff I said in response to three or four different questions, which were leading questions designed to get me to say good stuff about you. I said... let me see that." He took the paper from Malfoy. "I said your life was in danger, but I never used the phrase 'knife's edge.' That's one of her embellishments. I think I said your acting was good, and she changed it to 'performance was excellent.' Then..." He looked again, and rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Malfoy! Do you really think I said 'You-Know-Who?' Give me a break!"

"Okay," admitted Malfoy. "I should have caught that one."

"You bet you should've. The Aurors make jokes about how annoyed I get when anyone says that. Let's see... primarily responsible for saving lives, I did say that. Hey, it was your plan, it was true. I said you deserved respect, didn't say 'greatest.' About the Merlin First, she asked if I thought you deserved it; I said, sure, some people get it for a lot less good reasons. Somehow that became 'completely deserves.' You get the idea."

"Bitch," muttered Malfoy.

Harry still didn't understand. "Yeah, she raked you over the coals, all right--"

"It isn't funny, Potter!"

"Well, what's your problem?"

"You really don't get it, do you?"

"Not until you explain it to me, no."

Malfoy took another piece of paper from his pocket. "They gave me a current draft of her article, and it's all like that. It's bullshit! I'm not this person she seems to want to create!"

"I found that out in fourth year, if you'll recall. Not to mention, I got canonized when I was announced as Auror Leader. But why does it bother you so much? Most people would be happy."

Malfoy finally sat, on a chair opposite the sofa. "If I have to spell it out for you... you were very unhappy with what I did, what I had to do, when we talked last night at St. Mungo's. As it turns out, I'm pretty unhappy with it too. For you, emotionally, it was as if I'd killed her. Well, for me, it was too. I didn't sleep at all last night. I feel like I killed her. I think I feel like I would feel if I had actually done it. I know I shouldn't feel that way, she said I shouldn't, but I do anyway. I figured that would just go away after a while, and it probably will. But it makes it twice as hard when she writes crap like this."

Harry sat back on the sofa and looked up, a little over Malfoy's head. It seemed ironic that he and Malfoy were both suffering the aftereffects of Luna's near-death, just in different ways. He knew that Malfoy wasn't as responsible as he felt, but Harry also knew that even if he felt he could say that, it wasn't what Malfoy needed to hear.

"Yeah, I can see that," Harry finally said. "No question about it, Skeeter's annoying as hell. Normally, you'd have no choice but to let yourself become her flavor of the month. But you have an advantage that other people don't."

Dubiously, Malfoy responded, "And what's that?"

Harry shrugged, as if it were obvious. "Tell her that you'd like the article to be balanced, not to make you look like a hero. And... imply that if you're not allowed to see and approve the article before it's published, it could become public knowledge that--"

"Animagus!" Clearly annoyed with himself, Malfoy banged the arm of the chair he was sitting in. "Idiot! Why didn't I think of that?"

"The older Auror Leaders often warned the future ones about this. 'Emotion gets in the way of rational judgment,' I think is what they said."

Malfoy grunted. "That observation is probably as old as human history, but I suppose, no less valid. Good idea, but I'd rather not have to do it myself. She'll try to flatter me, I might have to get nasty with her... might end up bad. I don't want to alienate her, either. She's powerful."

Harry wondered why Malfoy didn't see what he was about to say, and again, decided it had to be his feelings clouding his judgment. "Invite her to the Manor for the interview. You're upstairs; your father and Mr. Blackstone greet her, and sit down with her. They explain what you want, and make the threat, tell her she should follow the lead from your tone--"

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. But then I have to tell them how I feel, which I haven't done yet."

"I think they'll understand," said Harry.

"Yeah. Guess so. Okay. Hey, listen, can I get a memory from you, everything you said to her? I want them to be able to say, this is what Potter said, and this is what you wrote..." He conjured a glass cylinder to hold the memory Harry would give him.

"Sure," agreed Harry, putting the wand to his head and extracting the silvery thread, which he deposited into the cylinder. "She'll have to make someone else the hero now, though. Probably Luna."

"She's pretty even-keeled," said Malfoy. "She can handle it."

Harry knew Malfoy was right, though he also knew that Luna would have her own reasons for not wanting to be considered a hero. "Knowing her, she won't even be angry at Skeeter."

"No, she's not the angry type," agreed Malfoy. "Okay, thanks, Potter," he said casually, and left through the fireplace. Only now did it consciously occur to Harry that most of his anger at Malfoy had dissipated since the night before.

* * * * *

Back on the island that night, the first hour was spent celebrating Voldemort's defeat. While he still wasn't of a state of mind to celebrate with abandon, Harry was improved enough over the night before to at least be present for the party, Luna at his side. He thanked them for their role in rescuing them, and talked to them about the group spell. He tried to spend some time talking to each person individually; being with the other side's Aurors had given him a better sense of the kind of feeling and camaraderie he hoped for in his side's Aurors. At the end of the gathering, he told them that within the next week they would begin training at the Park, and he would be asking experienced Aurors to work with them.

Afterwards, Harry and Luna went back to Harry's tent. Inside, they had a long hug. Then he kissed her; first a short kiss, then a longer one. They looked into each other's eyes. Suddenly he knew, and he knew that she knew. She had said that they would know when the time was right.

The time was right. Without a word, they headed for the bed.

* * * * *

Chapter 20, Back to the Island: Harry faces the prospect of doing to his counterpart what infuriated him when it was done to him.

From Chapter 20: He would send Kingsley to Australia again, and he would make inquiries again through Foster. He left the other Ron and Hermione a Pensieve message to this effect, and got no reply. It appeared to him that they were washing their hands of it. It was his problem now.