Moon Frogs
Harry had first seen this road in a memory. It was a quaint country lane boarded by short, skeletal hedgerows. Small leaves, browned by the changing seasons, crunched underfoot as they walked. A signpost had been stuck in the brambles, rendered illegible by time and weather, but Harry knew what it said.
“Which way do we go?” Sirius asked. They heard a lorry chugging down the road, and moved to the margin, almost standing in the hedge.
“Last time I was here was before cars were popular,” Harry said. “Little Hangleton is a mile ahead.”
“You’ve never been here before,” Theo said.
“The last time I saw it, then.”
The road curved and dipped into an idyllic valley, caught in the throes of autumn. The village had grown since Bob Ogden’s time, spreading further throughout the basin. Harry marked the church, and the graveyard. Across from them, on an opposite hill, was a rundown manor house slumped in a sea of overgrown grasses.
“I want to go to the shack first,” Harry said, starting down hill.
“If there was another one there, Dumbledore would have found it,” Theo said. “We’ve talked about this.”
“I know,” Harry said. “I just want to see it.”
Harry found the spot Odgen had gone through the hedge, though they had to clear a gap in it. The narrow dirt track it hid was also overgrown with decades of disuse.
“We could have apparated closer,” Sirius grumbled, having put his foot in a muddy pothole.
“Right,” Harry said. “No one lives there to be rude to. It’s just past these trees.”
The Gaunt shack didn’t look any worse than when Ogden had found it. Nettles strangled the building. The once grimy windows were now gone, broken over the years. The roof had given up on itself and fallen in.
“Are you alright?” Harry asked Theo. He had been up and moving for a few days, but Theo still had shadows under his eyes, and the drawn look of long illness.
“I’m fine,” Theo said, surveying the shack. “I know I argued for this as a plausible location. Dumbledore proved that. But after seeing this, I have doubts.”
“They’ve still got a snake on the door,” Harry said, pointing at the leathery figure.
“Is that what that is?” Sirius asked, using his wand to poke at it. “They must have done something to preserve it. I imagine Dumbledore removed any enchantments he found, but we’ll see if he overlooked anything.”
They spent some time searching around the shack, even among the trees.
“They didn’t have enough magic to take care of their own home,” Theo said as they forced the door open.
“They were too proud to do it the muggle way,” Harry said, remembering how Marvolo had shouted at Merope to use her wand to clean. “Where would he have even kept it in here? Just left it in the middle of the floor?”
Sirius came from checking around back. “I don’t think there’s anything here. This place doesn’t exactly scream Hufflepuff’s sole remaining artifact.”
“No,” Theo agreed. “It’s a Slytherin place. It’s what happens when you take his supposed ideals to extremes.”
“Back to the road, then,” Harry said, turning away from the shack. Did Tom Riddle ever have a chance at a happy childhood? Either raised by the Gaunts or raised in a poor orphanage during a war. His father had walked away from him before he was even born, and was his mother’s victim. Having been faced with the threat of love potions himself, Harry could easily imagine what that must have been like. Waking up with a strange woman in a strange room, far from home, not knowing how you got there, being told she was pregnant. The horror, disgust, self-hatred of understanding how that had happened. Of what had been done to you.
He shuddered as they reached the road again. “Let’s not walk through town. There’s a cottage I can apparate us to, where the gardener used to live.”
They landed on what was left of the lawn.
"You should have dropped us further away," Sirius said, frowning as he checked for any spells. "Who knows what surprises Riddle may have left for the curious."
Harry squeezed his eyes shut, annoyed with himself. "You're right. I want to get this over with. I had visions of Riddle here. He hated his father's family. They didn't want him."
"Homenum revelio," Sirius said. "Well, it seems empty. Let's be more careful, though it's possible Dumbledore checked here too."
In the years since the gardener, Frank Bryce, had been murdered by Voldemort and subsequently eaten by Nagini, the pristine lawn had been invaded by competing wild grasses. Dried seed heads slapped at their legs, burrs clung to their clothes. Harry startled a mouse out of hiding and it scurried away. It was the perfect place for snakes to hunt.
Riddle House had once been a gorgeous, stately manor overlooking the village below from its elevated property on the highest hill. Now the windows were boarded up, ivy choked the brickwork, and the roof tiles were cracked or missing.
"He only came here when he was desperate," Harry said.
They found a door that let into a boot room, a narrow servant's entrance. There was a bench with peeling paint, empty hooks for coats.
The rest of the house was equally empty, cleared of all furniture and belongings as ownership changed hands. Dust coated every surface, and the house reeked of damp and decay.
"He was in a room upstairs," Harry said once they found the staircase.
"Remember, be careful," Sirius said, holding his wand out.
"It's just a muggle house," Harry said, stairs creaking under his weight. "It's not going to be fun like Grimmauld Place."
"Fun, he says."
Harry found the room he had seen, where Voldemort had tortured Wormtail, where Frank Bryce had said his wife would miss him. Voldemort seeing through the lie, the chair turning around, Frank Bryce’s screams.
“He was living off Nagini’s venom,” Harry said, pushing open the door. The room held the only piece of furniture in the house, an armchair sat upon a moldering rug.
"Do you feel anything?" Theo asked. "Your scar?"
"No," Harry said, looking around the abandoned room of a forgotten home. "Nothing."
They left Riddle House behind, choosing to exert caution and walk to Little Hangleton's cemetery. They had left their robes at home, only getting strange looks from the residents for not being locals, or being a handsome middle aged man with long hair, or two teenage boys holding hands. For the most part they were ignored. As far as Harry knew the only magical people of Little Hangleton had been the Gaunts, and he doubted any other magical families had wanted to live anywhere near them. Even decades later. Little Hangleton had little to offer witches and wizards.
The graveyard looked more neglected by the light of day; Harry hadn't wanted to see it again at night. It didn't look like it was actively being used as a graveyard anymore. The undertaker's shack was in nearly as poor a state as the Gaunts'. The headstones were cracked and mossy, crosses had tipped over, and footstones were tripping hazards half buried in dirt.
"There it is," Harry said, spotting the ostentatious grave marker of Tom Riddle. No senior, no indication he had a son. Just Tom Riddle. "That's where they tied me."
"The giant, covered up cauldron gave it away," Sirius said drily.
A tarp was draped over the cauldron Wormtail had used, dipping into the mouth of the cauldron with the weight of rainwater and old leaves. Pieces of moldy rope were littered around it.
"The locals must not have been able to move it," Harry said, not stepping closer. Not yet.
Theo walked around Tom Riddle's headstone, frowning. "They never sent aurors to clean this up. Fudge never wanted proof."
"Haven't heard much about Fudge since last summer," Sirius said, levitating the tarp. "Sense anything, Harry?"
"No," he said, turning in place.
"I think I see something in the grass," Theo called out. Harry spun towards him and hurried over. "It looks gold."
"You think he'd leave the Cup lying in the grass?" Sirius said, following Harry.
"I know what that is," Harry said, smiling as he bent down. "Can't believe they didn't come back for this, it's nearly as old as Hufflepuff's Cup."
"The Triwizard Cup," Theo said. "I'd forgotten about it."
"Me too," Harry said, still smiling despite himself. "Well, at least we found something. May as well take it with. We can put it on a mantle."
"Harry," Sirius said warningly, moving forward as Harry reached to take the Triwizard Cup. "Be careful with that thing."
Harry gave him a skeptical look. "It's already been used as a portkey. Nothing else happened when I touched it the first time. It doesn't look like anyone's seen it since. Riddle and the Death Eaters wouldn't care about it."
Harry grasped one of the cup's handles.
"That sounds like a terrible name for a—"
"Oh, shi—"
"Harry!"
Harry felt the unmistakable tug of a portkey as he was torn away from the graveyard. He didn't get to hear the end of Sirius' joke.
Theo and Sirius stared at the spot where Harry had vanished.
“He could be anywhere,” Theo said, clenching his useless wand. How could he have predicted an object last seen three years prior had been a two-way portkey? Theo knew Crouch had made it into a portkey to take Harry to the graveyard. Why would the spell have been used twice? As a trap for some unwary person who happened to pick it up? It could have been anyone. A muggle. An auror. A niffler. “He could be anywhere at all.”
“We’ll find him,” Sirius said, but Theo could tell he was panicking. “Harry’s smart. He can apparate. He has my father’s portkey. He has at least two wands on him. He’ll contact us. We’ll get him back. There are ways of finding people…”
A silvery-blue crow flew up to them, and Theo’s heart began to race. They listened to Harry’s voice give a rapid explanation.
Sirius stared at the dissipating patronus. “Harry’s going to be the death of me.”
Harry landed on his feet, still holding the Triwizard Cup, and was bombarded with noise. A cheer rose up, and his head snapped to the sound of flying brooms overhead.
He immediately understood where he was, and a sense of dread crept over him.
It was the Hufflepuff-Ravenclaw quidditch match. Uniformed players flew over the pitch, the same pitch that had once been a maze. The Triwizard Cup must have been charmed to bring the victor to the entrance, right under Ravenclaw's hoops.
No one had noticed him yet, all eyes turned towards the game playing out tens of meters above him. Or so he thought, until he glanced at the teachers' stand.
Snape was looking directly at him. The new headmaster slowly rose from his seat. Other professors noticed too. McGonagall's hand went to her mouth. He saw Sprout saying his name. Flitwick leapt up, wand in hand. The Carrows had yet to see him.
"Bloody hell," Harry breathed, his words coming out as mist in the frigid air.
He watched Snape hesitate, then take out his wand.
Harry started to run.
He raced to the broomshed near the changing rooms, spelling the door open and summoning a broom. Spells were already coming at him, the casters too far away to land a hit. He didn't stop to check the broom model, it didn't matter. The cheering had turned into directed shouts, people screaming his name. He mounted the broom and flew towards the gates, slowing down as he remembered this was a Death Eater controlled school. He doubted students would so easily escape. Cursing, he swerved away, towards the Astronomy Tower. He didn't have time to look back. Whoever's side Snape was ultimately on, he would have no choice but to try to capture Harry.
Harry leapt off the broom, abandoning it on the tower, and ran down the steps. If he could get to the fourth floor…
He slammed into someone and scrambled back, wand at the ready.
"Neville?"
"Harry? What are you doing here?"
He saw Neville was with Ginny and Luna. "Why aren't you three at the game? Never mind, I need to get out of here."
"How did you even get here?" Ginny asked.
"Did you get new glasses?" Luna asked.
"Portkey, no time to explain!"
"Wait! We have—"
Harry ignored them and ran off again, "Don't follow! They'll be looking for me!"
He rounded a corner and all but fell down the stairs, racing through familiar corridors, pounding down secret passageways. He knew the castle better than almost anyone, he hadn't forgotten it.
Harry passed Sir Cadogan, who amazingly didn't issue a challenge. He was still the only portrait in the fourth floor corridor. Harry dove through the mirror, hoping he hadn't been seen, only stopping once he reached the room the DA had once trained in.
He collapsed onto his knees, grabbing the stitch in his side. He didn't know if this secret passageway was safe. He had to keep moving.
But he was in Hogwarts. There could be another horcrux nearby. He put a silencing charm around himself, eyes watching the path he had just taken.
"Dobby!"
The eccentric house-elf appeared. Someone had forced him into the standard Hogwarts toga. "Harry Potter! Dobby was—"
"No time, Dobby. I want to hire you."
Dobby's large green eyes began to water. "Harry Potter wants to hire Dobby?"
"Yes," Harry said, panting. He needed to calm down. He needed to think. "I'm not coming back to school. I have an important mission I must complete. I'll pay double whatever Snape's giving you."
"Oh, no, sir! Dobby couldn't accept two galleons a month!"
"I'll make it four."
"Sir!"
Harry smiled indulgently. "We can work it out later. I need to leave before someone discovers me."
Harry thought of asking another house-elf to search Hogwarts for Hufflepuff's Cup, but he knew the rest answered to Snape now. He hoped Dumbledore would have searched the castle himself. He didn't know. He could always come back, if he had to.
Harry stood up. He knew they would scour the entire castle for him. "You can tender your resignation to Snape later. We need to go."
Dobby kept up the chatter while Harry continued walking through the passageway, checking over his shoulder for pursuers. Neville had the Map, he could head them off. He sent a patronus to Theo and Sirius, letting them know what had happened.
"Where is Harry Potter going?" Dobby asked.
"I came to the school by accident," Harry said. "I've been meaning to contact you."
"Harry Potter wanted to contact Dobby!"
"Of course," Harry said. "This war affects house-elves too. There are plenty of things a free elf like you can help with. It's all secret though."
"Dobby is proud to keep his master's secrets!"
"I'm your employer," Harry said, "not your master."
"Employer Harry Potter!"
Harry realized he still had the Triwizard Cup in his hand. The shock was wearing off, and he was starting to feel hysterical. Portkeyed into the middle of a quidditch game at Hogwarts. If he had held onto the Triwizard Cup back then, could all of this have been avoided? But no, Pettigrew had attacked him almost as soon as he had appeared.
Harry stopped right before the passage let out into the cave and started laughing. Dobby smiled at him, clearly used to humans behaving oddly.
He couldn't imagine how they would explain his abrupt appearance in the middle of a school quidditch game. Snape might be punished for letting him get away. Harry could explain what happened to Neville and Luna later. Everyone else would wonder why the Boy-Who-Lived had shown up at Hogwarts and just as soon left. It wasn't as if he'd meant to come…
Harry looked back down the dark passage. Now that he had time to think, the immediate danger having passed, he considered staying at Hogwarts for a bit. He could break into the headmaster's office, demand answers from Dumbledore's portrait. Assuming the portrait even knew anything. Phineas was frustratingly tight lipped. Like the house-elves, the portrait was bound to the castle and obligated to keep the headmaster's secrets, to follow his orders.
Harry couldn't rely on portraits for answers.
He rubbed at his forehead, surprised his scar hadn't started hurting yet. Maybe Snape and the Carrows were wary of summoning Riddle back without Harry already in hand.
"Is Harry Potter feeling well?" Dobby asked after the laughter had gone on a bit too long.
"I'm fine," Harry said, forcibly calming down. "I've just had a long day."
The problem with Dobby was that other house-elves didn't like him.
Kreacher was slamming around in the scullery after having heard Dobby was now on the payroll. The only one on the payroll, as it were. Harry wasn't sure what Kreacher was most offended by. Winky was friendly enough with Dobby, having bonded over being free elves though with drastically different reactions to it.
"He'll be staying at Nott Manor," Harry told Theo and Sirius, loud enough for Kreacher to hear. After being swarmed at the front door, Harry had been firmly escorted to the kitchen to explain himself.
"I don't care about Dobby right now," Sirius said, gripping his mug of coffee so hard the ceramic was beginning to squeal. "You were taken. Again."
"The Triwizard Cup must have been made a portkey before Crouch got to it," Theo said. "It was an accident."
"We cannot afford accidents!"
"It's my fault," Harry said. "You told me to be careful and I wasn't. I know better. I only thought that since nothing else happened the first time I touched it, besides it being a portkey, it would be safe. I didn't know portkeys could be made to go to two different locations."
They all looked at the Triwizard Cup, currently a centerpiece on the kitchen table.
"No," Sirius said, no longer strangling his mug. "As Theo said, we could not have expected this. It looked like a cup, we've been searching for a cup, it had been left there for years…"
"You weren't hurt," Theo said. He hadn't let go of Harry since he'd apparated back to Grimmauld Place. "You were seen, but not hurt."
"I think the other professors must have stepped in," Harry said, taking a sip of his now tepid tea. He concentrated for a moment and warmed it up again. "I was down on the pitch. Everyone was distracted by the game. No one had time to react fast enough."
"These things always seem to happen to you," Sirius said wearily. "This is why I never wanted children. They prematurely age you."
Harry snorted. "Don't tell Walburga or Phineas that. They'll just rant about continuing the family line."
Harry sat up. "Phineas! I can ask him what happened after I—”
A plate slammed down in front of him. “Young Master will eat first,” Kreacher said. “Young Master was very reckless today.”
“I’m sorry,” Harry said, curious about what was underneath the crust of his pie. “I didn’t intend to be.”
“The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” Kreacher sneered.
Harry watched wide-eyed as the elf crept back into the scullery. “He just used a muggle expression. Where did he even learn that? He must be really out of sorts.”
“Eat your food,” Sirius said, draining his coffee. He walked upstairs, muttering about teenagers.
“Phineas.”
The frame remained empty. "Fine. Professor Black?"
Still nothing.
"Uncle?"
"What, child?" Phineas snapped, striding into view. "Headmaster Snape is in a very important meeting right now!" Phineas narrowed his eyes at him. "You were seen at Hogwarts. He has the entire castle searching the grounds for you."
"Clearly I'm not there. It was an accident. You can tell Snape that."
"Headmaster Snape!"
"Whatever. What meeting?"
Phineas had a calculating gleam in his painted eyes. “Some foolish students were caught breaking into the headmaster’s office. The headmaster believes you were a distraction.”
“Really?” Harry asked, already suspecting who it was. “What were their names? Why were they breaking in?”
“That silly Weasley girl, that idiot Longbottom, and that oddity Lovegood,” Phineas said with a cruel smile. “What claim does that Weasley girl have upon the sword? The headmaster caught them carrying it down the staircase. She deserves his punishment, as do the others!”
“What punishment?”
Phineas looked nearly as mad as Bellatrix. “Banned from Hogsmeade. Detention in the Forbidden Forest to do some work for the oaf, Hagrid.”
“Oh,” Harry said, relieved. “A fitting punishment indeed. Wait, the sword of Gryffindor? Why would they steal that?”
“For you, you ignorant child. The timing of your arrival is incredibly suspect. Those three weren’t surprised to hear you’d been running around the school.”
“It was an accident,” Harry repeated. “Thanks for telling me what happened.”
As Harry walked to his brewing station, Phineas called out to him.
“The sword is being removed from the school now,” he said. “Given to Bellatrix Lestrange.”
Harry shrugged. “No one seems to understand how the sword works. If I need it, it will present itself, or to any worthy Gryffindor. Trying to steal it was pointless, giving it to Bellatrix is equally pointless.”
Phineas watched him set up. "What are you making now, child?"
"Euphoria elixir," Harry said. "I've developed a dependency."
"Have you now," Phineas said blandly, seeing through the lie.
"I like the pretty colors. Also Calming Draught, Draught of Peace. As it turns out, living under a totalitarian regime is stressful."
Harry eyed the frozen ashwinder eggs he'd gathered in the past, in a jar and shelved with other preserved ingredients. It was an ingredient in Felix Felicis, but the potion took six months to brew, was incredibly difficult to make, deadly if made incorrectly, and was toxic in large quantities. He didn't have the time to monitor such a delicate potion, however useful it would be.
Sighing, Harry broke off a sprig of peppermint and dropped it into the cauldron.
Dumbledore had willed him the sword of Gryffindor. Three of his friends had tried to steal it for some reason. Harry thought Ginny must have learned it had been willed to him. The question remained, why had it been?
Harry had been left to find and destroy the horcruxes and ultimately kill Voldemort. He had killed a basilisk with the sword. Somehow Dumbledore destroyed the Peverell ring horcrux, but the Resurrection Stone was preserved.
"Did Dumbledore ever use the sword of Gryffindor?" Harry asked, stirring his potion.
“I believe the last time was when Professor Dumbledore used it to break open a ring.”
Harry frowned to himself. Dumbledore could have told him that at any point between destroying the ring and his death, and he chose not to. He was cryptic and oblique, and expected Harry to die.
He skinned a shrivelfig and began juicing it aggressively, Phineas silently watching on.
Harry sat at the table he had set up in the stablery, duplicating letters he had written, wrapping them around vials of diluted potions. He added the small bundles to a basket left out for Fawkes, messages he hoped would reach muggleborns and convince them to hide in one of the safehouses they had set up. Sirius had rented some more muggle houses, with Lupin layering them in protections.
Fawkes was usually enough. Either people recognized him as Dumbledore's phoenix, or considered phoenixes naturally trustworthy creatures. Harry signed his own name on the letters, hoping that gave them a final push.
With a wave of his wand, he finished tying the messages up, then put his head in his hands.
Nagini was gone. That left only Hufflepuff's Cup, unless Riddle had made more horcruxes. It was madness to make one, much less six, and for the number to have any magical significance he would need to make six more for thirteen. Thirteen was bad luck, in both the magical and muggle worlds. The thirteenth card in the Major Arcana represented death, which Riddle sought to avoid. Riddle might not even retain enough rationality to make that many. No, he wouldn't make more horcruxes, not when he believed the others were safe. The ring, the locket, the diadem, the cup.
Someone was coming up the stairs. Harry turned around to see Theo. He smiled tiredly at him.
"I've just come from the manor," Theo said, walking over to him. "Dobby returned with his report."
"Has he?" Harry asked, sitting straighter. "What did he find?"
"Evidence they are using Malfoy Manor as a headquarters. They have regular meetings there. The only people who actually live in the manor are Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband and his brother, and Peter Pettigrew. They have Ollivander in their dungeon."
"He's still alive?"
Theo nodded. "Dobby also heard that Bellatrix has placed the sword of Gryffindor in her vault at Gringotts. Some goblins have left the bank in protest and are on the run since the Ministry has taken the bank over."
Harry drew Theo closer, wrapping his arms around him. "Gringotts. The day Hagrid gave me my letter he said it was the safest place in the world to keep something, except for Hogwarts."
Theo ran fingers through his hair. "You're thinking a horcrux would be there?"
"Where else?" Harry asked, looking up at him. "We've been through it a dozen times. We've checked all the places we could. I don't know if Riddle would trust the goblins to keep it safe, but given Bellatrix just put the sword of Gryffindor in there…"
"If Dumbledore believed you needed the sword, and Snape is working for Dumbledore, why give it to Bellatrix?" Theo asked.
Harry stopped playing with Theo's waistband and looked up. "Hm?"
"It places the sword out of reach."
"No, the sword will come when needed, I've explained it before."
"It fell out of the Sorting Hat, it didn't materialize in your hand."
"And the Sorting Hat is still in the headmaster's office, presumably," Harry said. "Get the Hat, get the sword. Should I tell Neville to steal the Sorting Hat next time? And Snape couldn't know what Bellatrix would do with the sword. She could have put it on display in Malfoy Manor."
"Too much room for error," Theo said. "I was thinking it might indicate something else was in her vault. Though how either Dumbledore or Snape could know that eludes me."
"Who are his most trusted Death Eaters?" Harry asked. "From what we've learned from your father, Snape and Bellatrix. We don't even know if Snape knows what a horcrux is, or if Dumbledore told him about this quest of ours. Regulus found out on his own because he was clever. Bellatrix is less rational than Riddle. She is the most devout, though. If he was to entrust another Death Eater with a horcrux, it would be either her or Snape."
Harry stood up suddenly, causing Theo to stumble back.
"What is it?" Theo asked. "What did you realize?"
"I wish I had a Pensieve," Harry said, annoyed with himself. "Riddle talked a lot the night he came back. I didn't pay attention half as well as I should have."
"You'd just been used in a ritual."
"Still! He mentioned the Lestranges. He said he would reward them beyond their wildest dreams because they went to Azkaban rather than claim they were under Imperius, like Malfoy and your father. Giving them a founder's artifact is pretty bloody wild."
Theo took Harry's face in his hands and kissed him softly. "It's the best lead we have right now. Capturing Bellatrix Lestrange will…escalate matters."
“Then I’ll speak to Snape first,” Harry said. “I’m sure Riddle hasn’t learned that it was Grindelwald who took the Elder Wand, I would have felt something. He’s been searching for it for months at this point, he’s committed to it. Either because he learned our wands share a core—mine was reported on in the Daily Prophet for the Tournament, and he kidnapped Ollivander, it wouldn’t be that hard to figure out—or because he wants another powerful weapon to use against me. Especially since I’ve killed Nagini.”
Theo gave him a blank look. “You want to go back to Hogwarts?”
“It’s almost winter break,” Harry said. “If they let students go home, the school will be mostly empty. We’ve got the cloak, we’ve got the secret entrances, and we’ve got Phineas Nigellus Black, the most hated headmaster in Hogwarts history.”
“I think the cloak is getting bigger.”
“Harry, please be quiet.”
The students going home for the winter holidays had taken the train that morning. Dinner in the Great Hall was over. Harry was somewhat surprised that Snape agreed to meet with him, though perhaps the threat of randomly showing up and running around the school again was more effective than he thought. Harry knew well the consequences of failing Riddle, and Harry Potter evading capture would exact the strongest. If Snape didn’t willingly agree to meet, he would have forced him to.
The gargoyle already stood open, so they headed in, up the staircase, to the closed office door.
“Come in,” Snape drawled, and the door swung open. Harry left Theo under the cloak and stepped in, looking around the room. The portraits were pretending to be asleep, except Phineas, who trained his eyes on Harry.
“What’s up?” Harry said, taking a seat without being offered.
“You stupid, insolent, conceited boy,” Snape said, glaring at him. "What madness has driven you—"
“You’ve had plenty of chances to kill me over the years,” Harry said loftily. “I’m protected by the late night ramblings of a drunk woman. You know that.”
“Potter—”
“I’m not a student anymore,” Harry said, slouching. “I don’t give a shit. I only wanted to check something and I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Did you now?” Snape said, visibly controlling his fury. There was no doubt he remembered the things Harry had said to him the night Dumbledore died.
Harry pulled a small gold cup out of his pocket. It had a badger stamped on it. He carefully watched Snape’s reaction. Sirius, the best among them at transfiguration, had conjured it based on Harry's memories.
“Do you recognize this?”
Snape glowered at the cup. “No.”
Snape was nearly impossible to read, but if he had been given Hufflepuff’s Cup by Riddle to protect, or if Dumbledore had given him information on horcruxes, Harry felt there would be some reaction. Anger, fear. Something.
Harry tucked the fake cup away and stood.
“Alright, that’s all I wanted to ask.”
“As usual,” Snape sneered. “Your presumption knows no bounds. What is that object?”
Harry shrugged and offered a partial truth. “I’m not entirely sure what it does. I haven’t tested it yet.”
“Tested?” Snape got up too, now showing some anger. “What testing do you speak of? What was the purpose of this ill-advised meeting?”
“I think the better question is why neither of us has attacked the other,” Harry said, smiling. “I’m sure that portrait pretending to sleep knows exactly why I’m here. He can tell you if he wishes. I’ll see myself out.”
Harry turned and walked to the door, which appeared to have opened on its own. He knew it was Theo.
“Potter,” Snape snarled at him.
Harry paused at the door and looked over his shoulder. "Unless you explain everything, I have no interest in listening to you. You can keep plotting with Dumbledore, and leave me the fuck out of it."
Harry left the office, ducking under the cloak with Theo and silently making his way out of the castle.
Something was shaking him.
“Harry, it’s one of your mirrors,” Theo said softly. “She’s been calling your name.”
“She?”
Harry wormed his way out of the blankets and stumbled sleepily to the dresser, patting around until he found the mirror, belatedly casting a lumos to see. “Luna? What’s wrong?”
“Good morning, Harry! Or should I say good evening? I’m not quite sure what time it is.”
“Either works.” Harry squinted at her. “What’s going on?”
“I’ve been kidnapped,” Luna said cheerily. “I’m being held hostage for what daddy’s said in the Quibbler.”
Harry was now fully awake. “Who took you? Where are you?”
“I’m not sure who it was,” Luna said in that dreamy way of hers. Harry marveled at her composure. “But I did see Draco Malfoy when they put me in the dungeon. He looks so sad lately, don’t you think?’
“I haven’t seen him in months,” Harry said. “But I’ll take your word for it. So you’re in the dungeons at Malfoy Manor?”
“Mr. Ollivander is here too,” Luna said quietly. “He’s asleep.”
“Great, I’ll be there soon, to pick you both up. Unless you wanted to stay in a dungeon for a while?”
Luna thought it over. “I was looking forward to spending Christmas with daddy. There are freshwater plimpies we make soup out of. I like to go fishing for them at Bortons Bridge.”
“We should go together sometime,” Harry said. “I need to get dressed. Is there anything else I should know?”
“I don’t think so…”
Harry set down the mirror. “Did you hear all of that?”
He turned around to see Theo getting ready. “Of course. I’ll be coming with.”
"Fantastic. I'll leave a note."
Harry and Theo apparated to the grounds of Nott Manor. This late at night, on this forgotten part of the Isle, it felt like they were the only two people in the universe.
"We should get Luna's dad too," Harry said, voice low. "I know they live near the Weasleys."
"They can stay here," Theo said. "Father has proven useful, but he is expendable."
"We'll work it out later," Harry replied. "Dobby?"
"Mr. Harry Potter!"
"Just Harry is fine, Dobby, you know that."
"Yes, sir!"
Since leaving Hogwarts, Dobby had begun dressing in multiple colors and fabrics again. He looked much more like himself. Given how happy he was to be working for Harry Potter, Harry felt a little bad he hadn't told Dobby about Grimmauld Place. He wasn't sure if house-elves were an exception to the Fidelius charm, and he was wary of testing it out by calling for Dobby while there. The power of house-elf magic could be easily abused if it got into the wrong hands.
"You are going on a rescue mission, Dobby," Harry said. "You are familiar with the dungeon at Malfoy Manor?"
"Dobby is! Dobby was threatened with the dungeon many times!"
"Excellent. There are two people in the dungeon I'd like you to bring here. Luna Lovegood and Ollivander the wandmaker. Can you do that secretly?"
Dobby vanished. A moment later he returned with an amused Luna and a prostrate Ollivander, who was just waking up.
"Where am I? What is happening?"
“Dormio.”
Ollivander went back to sleep. “Hey, Luna.”
“Hello, Harry! Hello, Theo!”
Luna looked no worse for the wear, though a little tired given the late hour. Theo nodded at her.
“Did they take your things from the train too?”
“No,” Luna said, “They forgot those.”
“We’ll deal with it later. We don’t think it’s safe for you to go home, so we’re going to collect your father and bring him here. You can stay here, it’s safe.”
“Where are we?” Luna asked, looking around.
“Nott Manor,” Theo told her. “My family estate.”
Luna’s eyes widened in wonder. “It’s lovely here, though it is rather cold. Perhaps the moon frogs will come out tonight? The moon is waning.”
Harry looked at the sky. The moon was, indeed, waning. “Dobby can show you a room. Theo’s father is here, please avoid him. We’re…well, we’ll deal with him later.” Looking down at Luna, he said, “I know you live near the Burrow. I can look into your mind and see your home, if you’d let me.”
Luna turned her large, pale eyes to him, smiling.
“Legilimens.”
Luna had a clear image of what looked like a giant rook in her mind. A castle. The gate warned him to keep off the dirigible plums.
Harry pulled back. “I’ll make sure not to puncture any.”
“Thank you, Harry!”
“Dobby, if you could?”
Dobby took Luna’s hand and they walked to the long shape of Nott Manor.
“Why is it called a manor when it’s clearly a longhouse?” Harry asked.
“I’ve wondered that myself,” Theo said. “What are we doing with Ollivander?”
Harry frowned at the old man. He had been held captive for over a year. He was dirty, dangerously thin, stained with old blood.
“He needs a healer,” Harry concluded. “We’ll take him to Andromeda, then we can find a place for him.” Harry checked his watch. “They aren’t going to be happy about being woken up.”
Harry knelt down to take Ollivander’s arm, then apparated to Andromeda’s house.
Harry landed in a freezing mud puddle in the back garden. Theo appeared next to him.
“Lovely,” Harry said, levitating Ollivander and cleaning them both off. He noticed a light on in the kitchen, and the back door was opening.
“Who’s there?”
“Tonks, it’s me, Harry.”
“Prove it!” Tonks said, sticking her wand out of the door.
“Your husband is a git.”
The door flew open, lighting the garden. “Harry!”
Tonks had already started to show, and was inordinately pleased about it. Harry’s disdain for Lupin grew as he heard from Sirius how the man constantly whinged about his future child being half-werewolf and other stupid things. Harry didn’t know how Tonks put up with him.
“Sorry for coming by so late."
"It's no problem, I was up making tea. Who's that with you?"
"Ollivander."
Tonks' hair turned shocking green. "No!"
"We've recovered him from the Dark Lord's base," Theo said. "He needs healing, after which he will be relocated."
"Bring him in," Tonks said, gesturing frantically. "I'll go wake mum."
After settling Ollivander in a guest bedroom and having a tense conversation with Andromeda, Harry made to apparate to Luna's house. Theo stopped him.
"Don't take us directly there. It's possible they left a Death Eater with him."
Harry nodded. "I saw some hills near their house. We'll be cautious."
Harry crouched on a snowy hill near Luna’s house. It did look like a large chess piece, though he wondered why they hadn’t chosen the horsie or bishop.
“It’s called a knight,” Theo said to Harry’s inquiry. “Are you going to use that revealing spell?”
“I’m thinking about it,” Harry said. “The problem with it is the people revealed feel the spell. It's like cold water running through you. Whoever is in there will know someone is using the spell, and that they want to know who’s in the house. They may cast it in turn."
After a moment Theo said, "It looks quiet."
"It's nearly four in the morning."
Theo nodded, then started walking towards the house. Harry quickly followed.
"I'll knock," Theo said. "You stay back. Put on your cloak."
"Yes, sir," Harry said, draping himself with the cloak.
"None of your cheek, Potter."
Harry smirked and hid among the dirigible plum bushes, watching as Theo knocked on the door. He noticed there was a faint light in the house. Xenophilius must have been unable to sleep.
There was an amazing racket as someone moved to the door, and then the door whipped open.
"I told you!" Xenophilius said in a desperate tone. "I'll do it! I'll write anything you want! Anything, for my Luna!"
"Mr. Lovegood," Theo said. "Good morning."
Xenophilius blinked and looked up at Theo. The man was clearly a wreck. He had a rumpled nightgown on that looked like a selvage quilt, likely made by Luna, and his thin white hair was in a frizzy halo.
Harry cast the revealing charm. No one else was in the house.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
"My name is Theodore Nott, sir. I'm acquainted with your daughter. She was able to contact someone for help and we've taken her to safety."
"Theodore Nott. Theo…yes, my Luna has mentioned you." His eyes focused on Theo again. "Safety? But the Snatchers…"
"She had a device she used to contact us, similar to a Protean Charm. She is safe, and we are here to relocate you. If you'd like to pack your things and hers, we can take you to her."
"We?"
Harry put his cloak away and walked out of the dirigible plums. "Me, Mr. Lovegood. Harry Potter. I got a message from Luna not long ago, and we rescued her."
"Harry Potter," Xenophilius said, eyes growing as large as Luna's. "My word."
"We should hurry," Harry said. "We've got her in one of our safehouses. She's waiting for you."
Xenophilius stuck his head out to look around, then motioned the two in.
"Maybe we should have brought Luna with us," Harry said as he watched her father running around.
"Where is Luna's room?" Theo asked. "We can help pack up."
"Upstairs," Xenophilius said, doing something to a large printing press.
Harry and Theo headed up a spiral staircase. Harry was surprised to see a mural with his own face on the ceiling.
"That's amazing," Harry said, looking at the portraits. Luna had painted him, Neville, Ginny, and Theo.
"I didn't realize she thought of us as friends," Theo said. "There's a picture here of her and her mother. She looks taken care of."
"They must have fallen apart without her," Harry said quietly, picking up the picture. Luna looked very much like her mother. "Luna has never told me her name, just that she died during one of her experiments."
"There's an erumpent horn on the wall downstairs," Theo said. "I hope he doesn't intend to bring it with."
"He can keep it outside."
Harry examined the room. It was clear Luna loved this place. It was filled with her art, and trinkets collected on journeys with her father. He frowned at the empty wardrobe, realizing her clothes must have been left on the train with her other belongings. She was probably missing her wand as well.
"We'll take the picture for her," he said, picking it up. "Lupin can put some protective spells around the house in case the Death Eaters retaliate. We can buy or make new things for her."
They went back downstairs to find a still frantic Xenophilius. The printing press had been packed up somehow.
"You can always come back," Theo said.
Xenophilius' head snapped up. "Yes, of course."
"Luna told me the moon frogs may be out tonight," Harry said.
"Indeed," Xenophilius said. "The moon is waning."
Harry smiled at this. Luna really did take after him. "Come on, let's get you back to your daughter."