The lockets and their two way mirrors
Chapter 11: The lockets and their two way mirrors
After his conversation with Blaise Harry feels much better. He can’t help but trust the other boy (or at least start to), especially after he helped Harry out of the pool of panic and memories that swore to choke him dead. It’s also nice to have someone who understands what it’s like to live with a family that hates you, and talking with Blaise had been so easy it was like they’d known each other for years, and it was amazing to see Blaise smiling and giggling, Harry had felt like he’d won a prize, the prize of seeing a Blaise without his mask of blank indifference.
And Harry is beyond excited to teach Blaise wandless magic. Growing up Harry had never had any friends, no one at primary school would speak to him, they were all too scared Dudley’s gang would attack them for any association with ‘Harry the freak’. So, he has always been alone…but he has always craved friendship, to have people that know him and want him, people who he can share things with.
Now with Blaise wanting Harry to teach him wandless magic, he finally has the chance to be able to share his knowledge and skills with a friend who seems to not hate him. Also harry can’t help but feel exited at the prospect of spending more time with Blaise (hopefully minus the mental breakdown next time) and he knows Solace will be pleased to hang out with Freya aswell.
He’s suddenly pulled from his thoughts as he turns a corner to see Luna wander through a set of double oak doors a little way down the hall he was about to walk down.
He speeds up, happy to finally see again. He pushes open the doors she went through and hurries into the room, only to come to an abrupt stop at the magnificent sight before him; It’s a library, a gazillion times bigger than the one near privet drive, absolutely huge with high ceilings and expansive dark oak floors, there are rows and rows upon rows of towering book shelves stacked to the brim with books of all kinds and surely featuring every subject imaginable, almost like all the knowledge in the world has been stuffed into one room.
Along the walls there are neat sets of wooden tables and benches that can easily fit small groups of students who want to study or read together, there are also tall windows all along one wall that look out into the Hogwarts grounds, the whole place has a comforting smell of old parchment and ink. Harry can’t believe his luck; he gets to study here in this ancient library where thousands of brilliant minds have learned and grown long before Harry ever stepped foot here. It’s amazing and brilliant and utterly unbelievable.
He spends a long moment gaping at his surroundings before remembering why he's here in the first place. Luna. He is here to find his friend. He can be astonished at the sight of the biggest library in magical Britain at a later date.
He rips his eyes away from the towering shelves and instead looks around for Luna. There aren’t many students in the library because classes haven’t started yet, so he quickly catches sight of his blonde-haired friend who is sitting at one of the many tables near a window, in her usual bright clothes, speaking to her fluffy white purple eyed squirrel, in an almost musical tone.
Harry quickly walks over to her and sinks down onto the bench opposite to her, Solace almost immediately after Harry sits down flutters of his perch on Harry’s head and lands in Luna’s hair, causing her to let out a tinkling laugh as her hair gets all messed up by Solace’s claw like feet. “Hello, Solace, and hello Harry.” She says happily.
Harry smiles at her softly. “Hi Luna, I missed you.” It’s so strange to say those words, he’s never had someone alive to miss until Luna wander into his life.
“I missed you too.” She smiles back at him tilting her head to one side slightly, her fingers tracing shapes into the table top. “I’m happy you didn’t forget about me.” She says with a blunt sort of honesty that Harry can only admire.
“Luna!” He exclaims in surprise. “How could I forget about you? You’re my first ever human friend. My best friend… if you still want that.” He adds uncertainly at the end, he probably shouldn’t be getting attached to people so quickly, it's only going to hurt more when they leave him in the end.
Luna’s face lights up with a smile so bright it could light up the darkest night better than the moon or a million stars. “Of course, I still want to be your best friend! You are my first human friend too.” Her smile dims then turns into a soft frown, “most people usually think I am strange or crazy. No one has ever really wanted to be my friend. Even though I saw you in my dream I was worried I was wrong, sometimes I read them wrong. I thought that perhaps you would find someone who is more normal to be your best friend.” She says, something sad and heavy lacing her usually floaty voice.
Harry reaches over the table and takes her hands gently. He knows how it feels to be alone and rejected by other children (and adults), he knows what it is to be considered a freak or to be known as crazy. He doesn’t want Luna to think he would ever think of her that way. “Luna. Listen to me; I have never and will never think that you’re crazy. You are the most special, kind, person I have ever met. On the first day I met you all I could think about was how extremely lucky I was that you had decided to be friends with me. If anyone ever says otherwise, tell me and I will get Fred and George to help me make them sorry they ever opened their stupid mouth.” He tells his friend (his best friend) firmly.
Luna’s blue eyes are bright with unshed tears, Harry doesn’t know the emotion on her face, he thinks it’s care or maybe tenderness he sees it sometimes when petunia looks at Dudley. “Thank you, Harry.” She says softly, as she squeezes his hands affectionately. Then she smiles once more her sadness falling away as if it was never there, “I had a feeling I would meet you here. I brought you a gift.”
“A gift? For… me?” He asks in a small voice, looking at her with wide eyes. He’s never had a gift before, unless you count a lump of coal that Vernon gave him one Christmas.
“Yes, Harry for you. And me. It's a joint gift really.” She tells him happily her blue eyes sparkling, as she pulls out a small blue velvet bag, and places it on the table in front of him. “I asked my dad to look through my mother’s belongings, she used to invent things you know. He found these for us it will mean we can communicate with each other even when we’re far apart.” She looks at him expectantly. “Open it.”
Harry gingerly picks up the velvet bag and unties it carefully as if it will break into dust if he’s not supremely cautious. Inside are two round silver lockets, about the size of a two pence. One has a beautifully engraved raven on the front with tiny blue sapphire gemstone eyes. While the other has a snake intricately engraved, it’s eyes little emeralds. The lockets are threaded on separate silver chains.
“Luna, these are…beautiful.” He breathes out, as he reverently turns the lockets in his hands.
“Yes, most of my mother’s creations are.” She says smiling softly, a flash of grief dancing across her face. “Pass me the one with the raven and so I may you how they work.” Harry obeys and hands the raven locket over to Luna. She takes the locket and places it in her palm delicately, then she opens it, and the locket grows to the size of a compact mirror. “If you would do the same to yours, Harry.”
He opens the snake locket carefully, just like Luna’s did it grows, and inside there’s a mirror, in the reflection he can see Luna’s face smiling back at him. “Woah.” He whispers in quite wonder.
“These are two-way mirrors.” As she speaks her voice echoes through the snake lockets mirror. “We can speak to each other through them, since we are in different houses I thought it would be good to still be able to talk to each other even from a distance.” She informs him as he nods along in agreement. “There is a note in the bag, you can read it if you like.”
He gently sets the locket down on the table and pulls a piece of old parchment out of the velvet bag. He opens the note and reads:
For my beloved daughter Luna,
I had a dream that you would need these for your school years. And I thought I would leave them for you and write a note just in case I could not give them to you myself.
I made these lockets for me and my best friend Regulus when I was at school. They are two-way mirrors, and you can speak through them even if your worlds apart. If you tap them three times with your wand, they will turn invisible. I have a feeling your friend Harry will make good use of that feature just as Regulus did.
Look after them my darling and look after yourself, treasure the friends that adore every part of you good and bad.
All of my love, Pandora Lovegood.
Harry looks at the note astounded. “Your mother… she knew my name. She knew we would be friends.”
“Yes, she must have known from one of her dreams or visions. My dad found the lockets with the note, and sent them to me, this morning. I never knew she had a best friend called Regulus.” She strokes the raven on the locket gently. “He must have been a Slytherin, because yours has a snake engraved on it.”
“Yeah, they were just like us... a Ravenclaw and a Slytherin. Best friends.” He says on an exhale. “What did she mean about me making good use of the invisibility thing?”
Luna looks him directly in the eye. “You have a bad family they will not want you to have special things. I think maybe Regulus had bad family too. My mother must of made it able to turn invisible so his family would never find it.” She says in her floaty voice, but Harry can see anger in her eyes. Which is most likely directed at his relatives. Luna doesn’t know much about how bad his relatives are, but Harry suspects she has guessed, that it’s a lot worse than just not hugging him.
“Yeah, Luna I reckon you’re right.” He agrees with a sigh, seeing no reason to argue the point.
She looks at him with knowing blue eyes, and speaks softly but surely, “One day you will tell me about them. When you are ready.”
Harry exhales harshly. “Yeah, Luna, I will.”
She smiles at him again. “Let’s always keep the lockets on, if one of us opens a locket the other closed one will heat up. So, we will know if the other wants to speak.”
“Ok, and…thanks Luna. I will look after it, I promise.” He says sincerely.
“I know you will Harry.” She says without hesitation no doubt in her voice.
She threads the raven locket around her neck, and Harry does the same with his snake locket. The weight of it is comforting.
“Ok, now tell me about Ravenclaw. Are your roommates nice?” He asks, hoping they are. He would hate to get expelled for causing fights before classes have even started.
“I’m sharing a room with two other people, Hermione granger and Padma Patil. Padma hasn’t said anything to me yet, she seems quite anxious, but she hasn’t been mean, so that’s good. Hermione has spoken to me a little bit she lent me a lovely book on magical creatures.” Luna says.
“That’s good, Luna, really good.” He grins at her. “What about your common room? Is it cool?”
“Oh yes, it’s lovely! Ravenclaw dorms and common room is at the tippy top of a tower, and the door only opens if you get the riddle correct, and we have our own library room!” She tells him excitedly.
“Oh, that’s so cool! Ours just opens with a password. And we definitely don’t have our own library, but we do have a cool window that look out into the depths of the lake.” He shrugs.
“Is your common room nice, Harry?”
“Yeah, it’s great. The entrance is in the dungeon and through the window you can see fishes swimming around and I heard a fifth year say that the mer-people sometimes come up to the window too! And my dorm is great aswell, I have my own four poster bed! I’m sharing a dorm room with Fred George, and Blaise. Blaise is really cool Luna, and he has a red fox called Freya!”
“Oh, that sounds wonderful Harry. I think we are going to have a good time here, the next few years.” She says with a pleased hum.
“Yeah! It going to be awesome. I can’t wait for classes to start.” He says happily.
“I’m most excited for potions and charms.” She tells him thoughtfully.
“Me too! Potions is the one I’m most looking forward to. I just need to smooth things over with Professor Snape.”
“Why? Is he upset with you?” Luna asks curiously.
“Oh… that.” He says deflating slightly.
“What’s the matter Harry?” Luna ventures.
“Well… I had a meeting- ” he tells Luna the whole story, skipping over the bit about Blaise’s mother and how Blaise also gets Panic Attacks.
Luna listens steadily to his story and seems very interested about Selena’s magic sensing and past life. She doesn’t seem surprised about Harry being able to do wandless magic or the fact that he’s started having more frequent panic attacks.
“…and then I found you, and here we are.” He finishes the retelling of his past couple of hours.
She nods softly, “Thank you for trusting me, Harry. I think Professor Snape is just concerned; I think you will be able to sort it out with him. I don’t think he will be mad with you for running away from his office.” She says reasonably, and Harry hopes she’s right.
“Yeah, I hope so. I’ll try to speak with him later or tomorrow.” He sighs tiredly at the thought.
She nods again this time approvingly, before suggesting, “Shall we go to Lunch? There won’t be many people if we go now.”
“Sure. I could eat.” He replies, silently hoping he can get through a meal with less problems than he had last night.
They stand up from the table, Luna picks up her squirrel Panda and Harry removes Solace from her head and then they both head off together to Lunch.”
~~~
He spends the rest of the day with Luna, until after dinner when they part ways. Now Harry is heading back towards the dungeons, he’s almost at the wall that leads into the Slytherin common room, when he passes professor Snapes office door.
Harry stops in his tracks, stares at the door for a full minute, before admitting defeat with a world-weary sigh, deciding (probably very stupidly) that he should go in and sort things out with his professor. He lifts his hand to the door and knocks before he can change his mind.
“Enter.” Comes the professor's curt response.
Harry cautiously pushes the door and enters the room, already feeling immensely stupid and pathetically small, any courage he may of had before stepping inside the office has left him entirely. “Hello professor.”
“Mr Potter, I hoped you would return to speak with me.” Snape’s voice is calm, but Harry knows it’s very likely that the professor is hiding a mountain of anger behind the facade of calm. So, Harry does not let his guard down and keeps his back against the door, ready to leave the room at a moment's notice.
Harry takes a subtle breath in and steadies himself to speak, “I’m sorry professor.” Harry always starts any conversation with a potentially angry adult - with a solid apology, sometimes it helps them calm down when they see how sorry he is (it never works with Petunia though). “I didn’t intend to make you annoyed with me, I just don't like people asking those types of questions.”
“I am in no way upset or angry with you, Mr potter.” He states simply in a level tone. “However, I am experiencing concern as I fear your guardians are not providing you with the level of care that they are required to give. ”I was simply concerned about your welfare.” He admits with a steady gaze and a voice that as is still calm.
Harry feels briefly taken aback by pure confusion, “but I left your office without you telling me I could go.” Harry shakes his head trying to clear his head and understand, maybe there’s some sort of hidden message in Snapes words that he’s just not understanding.
“I was asking questions of a difficult nature, Mr potter.” The professors' lips twitch up ever so slightly in the corners in the shadow of a smile, “You are not the first person to vacate my office in the middle of a welfare check.” He admits wryly.
“Oh.” Because what else can Harry possibly say to that other than; oh.
Then the professors face turns entirely stoic once more, “I apologise that I am unable to remove you from the Dursley residents, due to-” Snape’s dark eyes flash for a split second with anger though is expression remains neutral. “-unfortunate circumstances. However, I do have some suggestions, as to how we can make your time at home safer.” The professor informs him with the same steady calm he has shown throughout most of this conversation.
Harry stares at the professor for a few long moments, searching his face for any hint of an ulterior motive, but he finds none; Snape seems entirely sincere in his desire to help Harry survive living with the Dursley’s. Despite this Harry still refuses to tell the Snape any of what goes on in the Dursley household. However, Snape has already made guesses and woven his own assumptions (albeit very accurate assumptions) about Harry’s life; so, Harry decides he can work with that, and use Snapes ideas that he comes up with based on his own assumptions, without Harry ever having to admit to anything.
So, with that in mind, Harry nods slowly to the professor, “What are your ideas, Sir?”
“I will write a... carefully worded letter, to your aunt and uncle; that should assist them in behaving like rational and sane adults.” Harry almost smirks at that. “I will also gift you a charmed lunch box, that you may take with you when you return home; it will refill with food twice a day, which should provide you with the proper nutrition that a growing child such as yourself, requires. Additionally, you may write to me on any day at any time during the summer holidays if you are ever in need of emergency assistance.” Professor Snape summarises with his brow drawn together in thought.
Harry takes a moment to mull that over. He knows that no letter on the planet (even if it's carefully worded (aka full of threats) by one of Vernon’s worst fears; a fully grown ‘freak with magic’) will stop Vernon Dursley from beating Harry whenever he feels like it, but... it could get Petunia to lay off him a bit and the lunch box would be extremely useful. So, Harry nods at Snape, accepting the idea.
The professor inclines his head in... thanks? Why he’s thanking Harry for being more of a burden than a normal student, Harry does not know. “This next idea is non-negotiable; you will take this potion daily.” He pulls a small bottle out of his desk, inside is a thick green potion. “It is a nutrition potion.” He says answering the silent and wary look Harry was directing at the bottle. “It will assist you in giving your body the necessary nutrients, that your relatives have deprived you from over the years.” He informs Harry calmly.
Harry bristles at Snapes words, and resists the urge to sprint from the office for the second time today, forcing his feet to stay in place and his back to stay firmly against the door.
“Calm yourself, my speaker. You cannot be strong enough to defeat your relatives one day, if your body fails you. Take the potion.” Selena hisses from his wrist, where she has probably been listening to the conversation the entire time. He thought she was asleep, but apparently not.
He takes a steadying breath and reaches to his wrist, to pet her scales softly. He can’t deny the facts. He is weak, pathetically so. It is a logical and smart idea to gain some weight and muscle on his thin frame; so he reluctantly agrees, “Ok. I’ll take the potion, professor.”
Snape relaxes slightly in his chair, and nods at Harry in approval, “Thank you for letting me assist you, Mr potter.”
“Oh, err… no problem?” He says as more of a question than a reply, adults don’t usually want to help him or thank him, so the professor’s words are strange and entirely new to Harry’s ears.
The corner of the professor’s lips twitch, as if he had to stop himself from smiling. “Do you take an interest in potions?” Snape asks, swiftly changing the subject (which Harry is glad for as he was probably a moment away from making himself look even more stupid).
Harry brightens at the question, some of the tension in his shoulders softening. “Yes, I do! I’ve read all the assigned textbooks for potions and I even bought separate books from flourish and blots, that went into to more detail on ingredients and stirring techniques!” He tells the professor proudly.
The professor seems to lose his fight with stopping his smile. His lips turn up ever so slightly in a faint smile. “I am pleased to see you take such an interest in the subject. I have a book on advanced potions ingredients if you would like to borrow it?” He suggests, his mouth still ticked up at the sides.
Harry nods his head enthusiastically, “Yes, please that would be really cool! Thanks, Professor.”
Snape rises from his chair and sweeps over to his bookshelf. He selects a small book with a grey cover, and hands it over to Harry. “I hope you find it intriguing, Mr Potter. Now... you should head back to your dorms before curfew begins. Do not forget the potion, I shall send a fresh one to your dorm every evening, it is best to drink it on an empty stomach before you go to sleep.”
Harry moves towards the desk and picks up the potion, and clutches the book to his chest. “Thanks again, Sir. Goodnight.”
“Good evening.” Snape replies with a curt nod.
Harry turns to open the door and leaves the office, this time at a much slower pace. Feeling fairly satisfied, that he didn’t muck up that entire conversation too badly.
~~~
Severus's Pov:
Severus strides towards the headmaster’s office in a seething rage; because Lily’s boy is being abused in the one place Albus swore he would be safe.
Admittedly Severus was sure the boy would be just as big headed and useless as his father was. He had firmly believed that Harry potter would arrive at Hogwarts, only to be sorted immediately into noble Gryffindor the second the sorting hat touched his head. Then the boy would strut around the school like a puffed-up peacock causing chaos and migraines for all the students and staff.
Severus was prepared to hate the boy just as much as he hated Potter and his gang of so-called marauders.
That stayed true up until the moment he saw a small anxious boy, sitting at Sly Slytherin’s table instead of noble Gryffindor’s.
When he saw Harry potter it was easy to see past his looks that are so similar to James potters, when his eyes- big green, emerald eyes -are exactly like his mothers. Severus realizes now, that he is not capable of hating Lily’s child. James Potters child yes… Lily Evans child? Never.
When he realized that the boy appeared half-starved and flinches every time someone spoke or moved to fast… he was quite rightly enraged. Even more so after the meeting he just had with the boy, where the child quite literally ran from the room when Severus asked if his family hurt him.
So now he marches into Albus’s office, practically spitting the password (jellybeans) at the insipid stone gargoyle that guards the entrance, and does not bother to knock on the office door.
The old man sits at his desk swirling his wand through a pensive. He looks up in vague surprise when Severus storms into the office. “Ahh, Severus my boy! To what do I owe this unexpected visit.” Albus says with his usual grandfatherly deminer, smiling with kind twinkling blue eyes.
Severus could strangle the old man; in this moment of rage, he could kill Albus and enjoy it.
“The boy.” He grits out through clenched teeth.
The wizened old fool, chuckles heartily, “Oh Severus, don’t hold onto your childish rivalry. Harry is as much Lily’s as he is James’s.” The headmaster says with sickening fondness, clearly misinterpreting Severus’s statement.
“You swore he would be safe.” He says in his most deadly quite tone. “You told me it was the safest place for him.”
Albus’s eyes stop twinkling and his smile drops slightly. “Whatever do you mean my boy.”
“Do not act like you don’t know.” He says with vitriol. “You are a Gryffindor, are you not supposed to be brave? ”
Albus stays silent for a few moments, steepling his fingers on the desk and looking at Severus with calculating eyes. “It is the safest place the boy can be, I do not make these decisions lightly Severus.” All the previous warmth is gone from the man, his eyes cold, his voice stiff.
Severus huffs out a laugh, that is entirely void of amusement, “How- if you would be so kind as to enlighten me -is living in home where he is being abused, the safest thing for him.”
The headmaster sighs, he sounds so old and weary, but Severus does not care. “When Lily sacrificed herself for him, she enacted an ancient blood protection, Harry will be safe as long as he lives with someone who shares Lily’s blood. So, Petunia Dursley, is my only option.” Albus says, unwavering.
Blood wards. Damn it! Severus should have known. “Even so… what use are they if the boy’s family kill him.” He sneers down at the man in front of him.
“Do not speak of such things Severus, the Dursleys are unkind, but they are not evil, they wouldn’t hurt Harry to that extent.” Albus’s admonishes firmly.
“You are an old fool Albus. You don’t understand the damage family can do.” He says harshly. “Move the boy elsewhere. Use one of the old order safe houses, or hell even keep him at the school, but do not send him back there.”
“I will not move him Severus. It is the safest place he can be.” The headmaster says sadly and with an air of finality.
Severus realizes that there is nothing he can say to make the man change his mind, all Severus can do is try to help Potter survive the house. He is powerless against the headmaster; he is powerless to save Lily’s son.