An attempt, is all that could be made, and he didn't want to put the stress of it all on her, so he casually approached her and broached the subject.
"This is going to sound pushy, but, do you think I could come visit your parents this summer?" he said to her.
"Well," she said through a bite of breakfast, "where else would you have gone? I already assumed you'd be coming to my place."
"Oh. Oh! Well, great! They won't mind?"
She laughed. "You bet they'll want to meet the boy who's the reason for me staying for Christmas. Don't worry, mum is sweet as custard, and dad is just worried sometimes, that's all."
"All right. All right. Wow, it's a bit much, now that I know."
She shrugged. "You'll be just fine, they'll love you. And if they don't, I'll just elope."
"As romantic as that is," he said laughing, "I think I'd rather just get along with them."
He watched her satisfied smile over her food filled puffed up cheeks with some admiration. Simple things could just be simple. And he would make sure he'd use the boon he was given to keep that smile alive.
Severus took him aside before their Defense Against the Dark Arts exam and handed him a vial. A replacement for his use during Moody's interview. He tucked it away in an inconspicuous inner pocket of his robes.
"Thanks."
"You never told us much of what happened."
"Well you have to give it to him, he had the right scent," Harry said, shaking his head. "But your antidote threw him off, that and me being a bit forthright. Anyway, if he comes back, it'll probably be at the point where it doesn't matter."
"You keep saying something like that, is it really coming? You're sure?"
Harry nodded. "It's not easy to put into words, but it's all I can say. It's like a clock ticking down. Sorry, I imagine you think I'm going crazy."
"No, it's not that. I've just been… brushing up on my astronomy recently and there's a few interesting coincidences. Did you know there was a lunar eclipse not long ago? It was a month after Pettigrew's disappearance."
"You think that's relevant?"
"I don't know, but some wizards read a lot into those kinds of signs. And as I said, some other things I was working on brought it to my attention. There's a blue moon coming, right in the middle of our summer break, so… I don't know, stay alert."
"Thanks, will do."
If Severus mentioned it, there could be truth to it, too many coincidences were happening all at once.
Harry still being doubtful about his ability in potionmaking had asked Severus and Lily to coach him. After Harry brewing seven different hand-picked potions, he was a lot more confident. At the end of it Severus just gave a shrug, and said it was more than good enough. Really Harry was looking for something to occupy himself, as the ticking in his dreams had only increased.
Their revising soon ended, and they distilled the knowledge they'd acquired over the year instead. Still, he took the time to spend some with Lily. The weather was warming up, and allowing for pleasant walks along the lake. The giant squid could now be seen hunting for birds in the afternoons. They both sat in the grass lazily observing the tentacles beneath the waves. Frogs and small lizards could be seen doing their own hunting for insects. A swallow caught a dragonfly in its beak and the crickets sung their song.
He felt lazy, with Lily lying against him, her cheek against his. "I'm worried," he said without much thought.
She sighed. "Harry..."
"Don't you get worried? You know, thinking about stuff?"
"I don't let it bother me."
"How?" he said, kissing her cheek.
She looked at him and goofily puffed up her cheeks. "It's just no use, is it? You worry and worry and… just relax."
"Right, sorry."
"What I mean is… well you think that dragonfly would've been better off if it worried? I don't think so. You can plan and prepare and do what you can, but, bad things happen."
She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. "So if something were to happen, there's nothing we can do about it. I'm happy I have what I have. Aren't you?"
Luci's words echoed in his mind. Nothing's ever good enough for us. And while he was Slytherin, he had spent most of his time as a Gryffindor, and maybe, he could be happy right now. "I've never been this happy, but yeah, I can be happy that I'm happy."
"It's fine to be a bit greedy, but being greedy means taking advantage of the moment as well."
He would be a fool not to follow his girlfriend's advice, and so he did. He took advantage, of the moment and drew her into a long kiss. A rookie mistake, since that left them both horny and restless at the very public lake.
By the next morning, the paper arrived, and since he was sitting at the Slytherin table, Lily called him over. He was curious why she seemed so agitated.
"Take a look at this," Remus said, tossing him the paper. The article was on page three, and had a picture of who Harry recognized to be Harold Minchum, the Minster for Magic.
Dark Lord gone: fantasy or fiction?
Following up on the news of the cessation of acts of terror in Magical Britain, Minister for Magic Harold Minchum took the time to give a press conference under heavy Auror guard. The opinion of the Ministry seems to be that the leader of the Dark Rebellion has either fled or come to an unfortunate end at unknown hands.
This most recent fabulation was met with much disbelief by both the public and the press, lacking any necessary evidence. The new hard-liner Minister has long touted his reckless acts and proposals as a means to end the war. The man now claims to be the reason for this latest development, despite there still existing evidence of rebel activities, albeit not violent. One faithful source within the Ministry cited that a shipment had been stopped from being moved by stealth broom delivery through the Straits of Gibraltar, following an operation in cooperation with the ICW.
Suspects detained and questioned admitted to working under the umbrella of the Dark Rebellion. However this fact was readily ignored by the Minister, and when questioned, he refused to comment. Following is a transcript of the press conference:
"
Dear Wizards and Witches, it is of the Ministry's opinion that the campaign of decisive action and necessary measures has led to the exile, or demise of none other than He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
We shall continue to root out any support for the miscreant, headless or not, until such a time our Community can be safe again. I continue to ask for your support in our noble fight, and congratulate every brave soul that has faced the evil we've been confronted with.
Let today be known, as the first day of our march to victory, of a new day, where us Magicals may live in peace once more. The road will not be easy, and it will not be short, but I urge everyone to look out for a brighter future, a future we paid for in blood.
"
"Well that sounds like a load of political hogwash," Harry said.
"But it means you were right," Lily noted.
Harry sighed. "Yeah, I suppose. It also means that what we've feared is probably true. Something's keeping him busy, for now. And whatever is important enough to keep him busy must be pretty bad on its own."
"You'll tell us, if you find out anything?" Remus asked.
"Yeah, of course. It's all I've been waiting for, although I'm not in a hurry to find out."
The news had done nothing to calm his mind. Never mind what was coming, the last thing he hoped for was the Ministry lowering its guard. He wondered what Moody would say, although he had a hunch the Prophet's mystery source might be the man himself. He would be the first to keep the Ministry on its toes, even if he had to feed the press.
Exams continued under a more doubtful mood. History of Magic still was one of his sore points, but with Lily's help he was on track of at least passing that one. At least he didn't fall asleep during the exam this time. Herbology went without a hitch, and he spared a thought to Luci who had reportedly aced her NEWT examination. "Why that girl is in Slytherin, I will never understand," Sprout had grumbled. Harry though, understood perfectly.
Next up was Charms, and while he didn't lack focus and spellwork was one of his strong points, Flitwick kept giving him nervous glances throughout the exam. He had no idea whether that was because of the interview or his admission of using empty classrooms for things Flitwick would probably faint at. He doubted his decision to tell Lily about the interview at the time, because she kept winking at him during the exam, making Flitwick do a double take as he went from table to table.
It was probably the most relaxed exam period he had to date. The last exam was coming up, Potions and his head wasn't really in it. He sat revising some notes he'd taken during their cram session on the dungeon couch. One by one the students bid him good night, Regulus warning him to get enough sleep.
The fire crackled low embers in the warming ebbs of summer and the moonlight shone eerily into the darkening common room. He didn't really read his notes, his mind drifting to other things. His eyes got heavier, and he told himself he should go to bed, but before he could move, his torpor drew him into a starlit slumber.
A lone figure stood in the chamber, now lit by candlelight. He was hooded, and beside him was another figure, smaller, in the same hooded trappings. She was carrying a dagger, its jagged blade reflecting the light. Careful steps guided her to a girl, dishevelled and exhausted, crying silent sobs through a cloth gag. She was bound to a lopsided cross in front the mural of a great maw.
Hewn stone echoed the careful paces of the hooded woman, methodical, ritualized. She exhaled a careful breath and turned to the other, taller figure.
"Now," he whispered.
"Accept this sacrifice, one changed by fate," she recited, and brought the blade upwards.
The muffled screaming became more desperate, to no avail. The blade was sunk into the ragged girl's chest with surgical precision. Cries turned to gargling gasps for breath, and as the bound girl breathed her last, the hooded woman took steps back from the sculpted maw. The other did not move. Sounds of drizzling blood like spilt water flowed though the chamber.
Dying wails returned to silence, until the calm was cut by a deep breath seeming to emanate from the stone itself, and the cackling of the man hooded in robes. Candles flickered, and atop the maw, two eyes shone silver as moonlight, and a clack broke the seal of stone. Air a millennium old flowed from a hidden chamber.
The maw split, and out of it came a creeping flow of darkness, momentarily obscuring the man in the robes. In surprise, he stepped back now as well, and the breath of the stone now settled into a measured, satisfied rumble. Where the maw was, now stood a gaping hole where no light could penetrate.
The man's cackles grew wilder and he lifted his arms towards the aperture. "Serve me now, I, who freed you. Recognize your master!"
The darkness stirred and for a moment there was silence. The darkness bid its time, listening.
"I said, Serve Me!"
The anger was met with icy silence and patience. The man threw his hood open, revealing the man who had stood before in the same chamber, his serpentine features fraught with frustration.
"My Lord, you shouldn't –"
"Silence! I said SERVE ME! YOU WILL SERVE ME, I FREED YOU! THE TROUBLE I SPARED TO OPEN THIS TOMB WILL BE REPAID!"
The temple, or tomb, was shaken by something emerging from the darkness. Into the light of the candles appeared a five clawed limb, each serrated half moon spike the size of a man, and following it was a white mist, filling the chamber. The hooded woman was breathing faster, and a look of terror came into the man's unnatural red eyes.
"Bella! I can't – move – do – something!"
The woman, equally petrified, whimpered. Then out of the mist came the shape of the moon, a great silver sphere moving in the dark. A Great Big Eye. The candles revealed its source, a maw much larger than that carved in stone, shinier, scaly, dark as the darkness it came from. Teeth dark yet gleaming and the mist coming from between them. The moon-shaped eye turned to the hooded woman and a low pleasant tremor filled the chamber.
Cutting through the air, a second clawed limb lifted from the darkness, and pointed one finger at its prey. Dextrously it traced a practised pattern in the air. The woman's breath was panicked and short, hyperventilating. It then stopped, and in a sudden burst, blood, bone, sinew and viscera splattered where she stood, leaving nothing but giblets and a red mist hanging in the air.
The man's own helpless moans were overpowered by an earth-shaking laugh coming from the great dark maw. The moon-shaped eyes dilated in pleasure, and narrowed as it turned to the man.
"You can't – kill – me!" the man defiantly tried.
The claw it just used to obliterate the woman was interestedly tapping on the stone floor, providing a rhythm to the slow-paced carnage. The other monstrous hand traced more unknowable symbols in front of the man, breathing a low hum as it did.
It took its time, and at first, a single spear of light appeared from the man's chest. It continued, then another one appeared, and another one, each punctuated by a musical hum from the beast. On the final fifth time, five spears made of light stuck out from the man's chest, who now was shouting screams of panic.
"No! No! It's not – it's not –"
"Possible?" came a seductively deep voice. "A fun little teaser to celebrate my rebirth, but petty tricks nonetheless."
"Rejoice, slave," said the voice as the beast's eyes narrowed, "I was the one who brought you to me, so know that in the end, you did obey your true master like a good little servant."
The man, now stuck between anger and despair, did something that surprised all eyes watching. He started to sob.
"Yes, that's quite enough I think." Eyes turned to the source of the vision and seemed to smile. "Are you enjoying the show, dear Harry? I thought you might. I've been watching you ever since you came. You're the one who freed me, not this sack of bones. Did Keldran tell you that? No matter, we will meet soon enough, once I am well and stretched out of my slumber. I've been waiting. A very, very long time."
The claw came down on the man with a final swish into his chest and he screamed like no man should have been able to scream. One by one the spears of light flashed away, and finally, when the last one had disappeared, a scorching light enveloped the man whole, burning flesh and bone to ash in an instant. And all was dark.