"Hello High Councilor Dumbledore."
Dumbledore was brought out of his reverie to see the subject of his thoughts sitting in a comfortable chair across from him.
"Harry, where is my Phoenix?"
-Flashback-
July 31st
With that Dumbledore pulled out the wand he had received when he was eleven and cast. "Avada Kedavra".
There was a deafening collective scream from all the Death Eaters in the room as they all died painfully, smoke rising up from each of their Marks.
"This is all you Albus." Harry said tonelessly. He then had Rose transport him back to the outpost.
-oo00oo-
Harry appeared in the control room of the outpost, sighed, then walked out of the room. Rose monitored Harry but stayed quiet.
Harry entered the little apartment he had created in the outpost. He had set up an area where he could meditate in the corner of his practice area, that was where he went and settled into a lotus position.
He spent five hours that night meditating, sorting the memories and emotions of that day's events into a part of his mind where they wouldn't surface unless he wanted them to.
Harry was starting to get worried about his own mental health because, to be honest with himself, he wasn't overly affected by the events of that day. He didn't enjoy what happened, sure he giggled and laughed at Voldemort but it wasn't done in humor, it was to egg the guy and his followers on. -"Maybe it's just having the weight of the wizarding world off my shoulders"- he thought.
Harry spent the rest of the week in meditation. Being immersed in his center and mind made him feel at peace with himself.
"Harry." Rose called to him.
"Yes Rose?" Harry replied.
"I have located the Clavis that is linked to the American Astria Porta. It is located in a warehouse in the country called Russia. It is not being guarded, it appears to have just been placed there and forgotten."
"Transport it here. If it's in working order, I can connect it to the outpost gate and finally start exploring."
"Transport complete."
"Thank you Rose, I'll see if it is still functional." Harry walked out of his room and to the room he had set the gate up in. He had expanded this room as well. The gate was at the far end of the room with the door to the room warded to allow only him through. He had also set up a small work area near the door so he could tinker with the Clavis in his attempt to repair it.
Harry switched the control crystal out between the two Clavises and then connected power to it from one of the outpost power nodes. He pressed a few symbols on the Clavis and watched as the gate started to light up. He wasn't going anywhere just yet so he cancelled the dialing sequence.
One of the projects he had in mind for the future was to replace this gate with an upgraded version like they used on Atlantis and in the Pegasus galaxy. The designs for it were in the repository but until he had access to nanite constructors and a supply of raw materials he was stuck with this one.
Harry walked to the gate and placed his hand on it. He was starting to feel a better connection to it the more he tried. He again tried to activate the gate mentally and was surprised when it started to power up. He pulled his hand away since he didn't have a destination in mind when he touched it. He hoped he would be able to mentally dial the gate without touching it soon. He would just have to keep practicing.
Harry thought his connection to the Alteran technology was increasing the more and more he worked on his wandless magic ability and his Occlumency. Rose agreed with him when he brought it up to her. The Alterans were able to control their technology in part because of their mental and metaphysical abilities. Magic was different from those abilities but not by much.
Harry spent the next week working on his wandless magic and meditating more. He was making good progress but he was no master at it yet. He thought to ask Dumbledore about it but didn't want to see the man again just yet. Beside the repository had all the information the wizarding world had on the subject.
He worked through the Alteran knowledge on their abilities as well. He didn't seem to have any of their abilities, it appeared as if magic had replaced them all. The Alterans didn't have cores like wizards and witches did. Harry and Rose were still researching it but early results pointed to a distinct diversion of the genome due to the influx of human DNA.
By the start of the third week in August, August 14th, Harry was feeling a bit lonely. It was only two weeks until he should be returning to Hogwarts with his friends. He missed his friends, at least the ones that hadn't tried to poison his mind with potions.
It was at this point that Harry realized he couldn't do all this on his own. In the past he would have tried to go it alone, since he had only ever had himself to rely on. Now though, with all the knowledge he had, he knew he couldn't. He needed help and he had a couple people in mind.
Harry sent a mental command and image to the outpost scanners and received the information he requested back. "Rose, I'm going out for a while. Let me know if anything needs my attention."
"Okay Harry."
-oo00oo-
Hermione Granger was sitting at her kitchen table going over some research she had been doing. Her parents were at work and the research was the only thing keeping her mind off of her best friend. He had been bait in whatever Dumbledore's plan was for Voldemort. When they awarded him his medal and he hadn't shown up, that really worried her. All her attempts to contact him had failed, even Hedwig couldn't find him. Hedwig had been staying with her for the summer since Harry wasn't sure what his uncle would do when he got home.
This summer had been one mystery after another for her. First the white light event. She had witnessed it first hand as many of her books had been taken and return right in front of her. Then the news of the defeat of Voldemort, she suspected Harry had a bigger part in that then what Dumbledore told everyone. It wasn't like Harry to just be bait and leave. He would have had to be in the thick of it from start to finish.
Now her inability to contact Harry. She had contacted Luna and Neville without any problem and they told her that they couldn't reach him either. She tried the Galleon they created for Dumbledore's Army, that hadn't worked. She wanted to try sending a Patronus message to him but couldn't because of the underage magic laws.
When she wrote to Dumbledore, he had just replied that Harry was fine and taking a bit of time for himself. She didn't believe him, not it the least. It just didn't fit in with her view of Harry.
Hermione slammed the quill she was using down in frustration, knocking the ink well over in the process. Just as she was getting up to get a towel to clean up, there was a flash of white light on the other side of the table from her. When her eyes cleared, sitting there was the subject of her frustrations.
At first she was stunned to see Harry sitting there with a goofy grin on his face. When her mind finally kicked back in, she hurriedly got up, rounded the table and grabbed Harry in the tightest hug she could muster. When she let go is when the inquisition started.
"Harry James Potter, where have you been? What was that white light? I know you had more to do with Voldemort's death, tell me? Why couldn't Hedwig find you? Harry James Potter you better start talking mister."
Harry just started laughing, a full body laugh, filled with mirth, to the point he was actually having trouble breathing.
Hermione, for her part stood there with her fists on her hips and stomping her foot. "Harry! It's not funny, stop laughing."
Hedwig choose that moment to fly into the kitchen and take Hermione's side by landing on Harry's shoulder with a wing swat, she then started pecking his head and ears. 'Hoot… hoot… bark...'
"Ok..ok…okay Hedwig, I'm sorry I've been away… I know you couldn't find me… I'm sorry… Awe come on Hedwig, you know I'd never leave you behind, you're my first friend."
"Hoot… Bark…"
"Yes, I have treats for you." Harry pulled a handful of owl treats out of his pocket and held them up to Hedwig. She barked once more, nudged his head and starting eating out of his hand.
"Harry James Potter, don't you pretend to talk to Hedwig to ignore me. Start talking mister." Hermione stomped her foot again.
Harry thought of Hermione as his best friend but she could really get out of control of her need to know everything… People had secrets, she had no right to those secrets… It's not like he wasn't going to tell her everything anyway. He wanted to laugh and get angry at the same time. He decided to chuckle again.
"Hermione… Just because you're my best friend doesn't mean you get to know all my secrets."
"Yes it does Harry, friends tell each other everything…" Hermione started.
"If that's true Hermione, I guess you should tell me what color knickers you're wearing?"
"That's none of your business, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.
"But Hermione, friends tell each other everything." Harry parroted her words back at her. Hermione just started sputtering, not knowing how to respond to that.
"Hermione, listen, everyone has secrets, individuals, groups, governments. Would I like to know all those secrets, sure, is it really any of my business, nope, not unless it directly affects me."
"But Harry, what happens to you, does directly affect me. I worry and…"
"I was going to tell you everything Hermione, even the color of my underwear if you wanted to know. Just next time ask, don't demand, okay? Wait a second, you worry and… what?"
Hermione looked like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car. It took a minute for her to answer.
"I care about you Harry, that's why I'm always wanting to know what's going on." Hermione smiled sheepishly.
For his part Harry was surprised by her admission. "I care about you too Hermione." As he said this he got up from the chair and gave her a hug. When the embrace was over, Harry looked her in the eyes. "You ready to learn all about my adventures?"
Hermione surprised by Harry initiating a hug just nodded her head.
"Do I tell you all about it here, or are you allowed to go out for a few hours?"
"I can go out, mom and dad won't be home till around dinner time." Hermione replied "Where do you want to go?"
"Well I was thinking about Antarctica." Harry grinned at her and before she could reply, Hedwig and the two of them were engulfed in white light.
-oo00oo-
If there was one person in the universe that could run in multiple directions while asking questions at a hundred miles per hour, it was Hermione. It only took her about 5.3 seconds after arriving in the outpost for the first of the questions to start.
"Where are we Harry? How did we get here? What is this place?" Hermione started
"Hoot. Bark" Hedwig hooted and barked.
"About fifteen hundred feet below the ice of Antarctica, matter energy transporter, a fifty-million-year old outpost built by our ancient ancestors that came from another galaxy." Harry answered in order.
At that point Harry had to wonder what it was about those answers that would cause a person to faint. At least Hedwig stayed awake. She flew over to the perch that Fawkes used and settled in next to the Phoenix, said Phoenix was laughing his head off.
Harry picked Hermione up and took her to the medical bay as it looked like she hit her head pretty hard on the floor when she passed out. He placed her on the medical bio bed and let it check her over.
The bio bed reported that she had not received a head injury. She did have a couple foreign substances in her system but at reduced levels compared to what had been found in Harry. It also reported a few foreign magical signatures on her in several places. It was able to determine that one of the signatures belonged to Albus Dumbledore in the form of tracking charms.
The other was also a tracking charm but the computer didn't have a reference of the signature on file to tell who placed it there. Harry pulled his wand and removed the tracking charms. It was easier for him to do it than to have the bio-bed do it.
The potions in her system, Harry suspected where the same as the ones found in him. That they were at such reduced levels just indicated that she hadn't been dosed since the end of the school year. Hermione hadn't had reason to go over to The Burrow this summer, nor had she been invited yet.
Harry could have the bio-bed remove the last traces of the potions but that would take several hours, he decided to wait until Hermione was awake to find out what she wanted. Five minutes later Hermione opened her eyes and quickly sat up on the bio bed. She looked around and spotted Harry standing against a wall.
"Harry, you were kidding, right? This is a joke, right? And where are we now, this isn't the same room we were in?"
Harry chuckled a little. "No it is not a joke and you are in the outpost medical bay, I brought you here after you fainted to make sure you were ok. The bio-bed says you are mostly fine." Harry knew he was poking a volcano by saying mostly fine. In fact, he felt the first tremors of an impending eruption with Hermione's next question.
"What do you mean... 'mostly fine'?!"
"Well, what do you want first, the good news, the bad news, or the really bad news?" Harry asked.
"Give me the good news first." Replied Hermione, her eyes squinting a bit in suspicion as she waited for Harry to answer.
"Well the good news is you are perfectly healthy for a sixteen-year-old partly human female that has 56.98% Alteran DNA. The Alterans were, are, our ancestors." Harry answered smiling. No new Hermione volcanic tremors with that statement.
"Ok, I'll ask about that later. What's the bad news?" Hermione asked to calmly.
"Well, you had seven tracking charms on you, six from Dumbledore and one from an unknown source. I removed them all." -"Here comes the minor eruption"- Harry thought.
"Tracking charms! I am going to have words with Dumbledore, who does he think he is tracking me. Wait till I see him! And wait till I find out who the other one belonged to." Hermione was rightfully pissed off.
"Hermione, go easy on the Professor, he was probably worried about your safety, being friends with me and me having a psychopath trying to kill me. It was a reasonable precaution." Harry tried being Dumbledore's advocate. Hermione just huffed and folded her arms over her chest.
"Fine, what's this really bad news?" She finally asked. -"Mount Hermione is about to explode"- Harry thought and could hear rose in the back of his mind laughing at his commentary.
"The really bad news is that there are traces of two potions in your system, I don't know what kind, but I can guess, love and loyalty. They have faded to the point that they shouldn't be affecting you anymore. I had the same potions in my system when I came here. They were tied to Ginny and Ron Weasley. My guess is that you haven't been dosed since the end of the school year." -"5…4…3…2…1…"-
"Ronald Weasley, wait till I get my hands on you!" Hermione screamed into the air.
-oo00oo-
It took Harry another half hour to get her to calm down. He asked if she wanted the potions removed which would take several hours on the bio-bed or did she just want to let them fade on their own. Hermione opted for the second option since they weren't affecting her anymore.
Harry then gave her a tour of the outpost. He started in his living area, showing her everything he had done. Hermione was very impressed with the spell work Harry had done and asked about where he got the knowledge. Harry said he would explain later. Then he took her to the control room and started to explain the chair and the repository. That's when Mount Hermione blew a second time.
"And you have been keeping all this knowledge from me, Me, Harry!" Hermione exclaimed with her normal malevolence when knowledge is kept from her. "Harry James Potter, please tell me you are going to teach me to use that chair right this instant."
It was at that moment that Rose decided to make herself visible. "Hello Hermione."
Hermione jumped back from the woman that appeared in front of her.
"Who… Who are you?" Hermione stuttered.
Laughing a bit Rose replied. "I am the Artificial Intelligence that runs this outpost. It is very nice to meet you Hermione; Harry has told me all about you. It's nice to see that Harry's descriptions of you are accurate." Rose smiled. Hermione scowled in Harry's direction.
"I see, and what exactly has Harry told you about me?"
"That information is current classified by order of the Alteran High Council, but I can say it has all been good information."
"Who is on this Alteran High Council?" Hermione asked.
"At this time that would only be Harry." Rose responded.
"Oh really. Harry…?"
"Hey, my personal thoughts about you should come from me not the computer. Besides if there was anything bad, do you think you would be here right now?"
"Well I guess not but you are going to tell me what you told her eventually. Now how do I use the chair?" Hermione gave Harry another look that made him laugh again.
"Ok, Ok. Rose, how about we see what she can learn?" Harry chuckled.
"Well Harry, Hermione has 56.783% Alteran DNA, so she can use the chair. The problem is, like Dumbledore, she has not completely unlocked her mind's full potential, like you have. She is close to doing so and using the chair could push her over the threshold. There is a 29.773% chance that downloading the full repository will cause brain damage and a 70.227% chance that it will push her mind to unlock fully." Rose reported.
"I don't like those odds Rose. Side effects?" Harry asked.
"I cannot say. If she does unlock her full potential, there could still be some severe side effects." Rose responded.
"Hold on, what are you two talking about?" Hermione asked.
Rose turned to her. "Everyone uses a certain amount of their brains full potential. For instance, normal humans on Terra that have no Alteran DNA use between ten and twenty percent of their brains. Once Alteran DNA is introduced, that potential starts to increase. Harry has 76.463% Alteran DNA; the highest amount I have been able to find on Terre. He has also unlocked the full potential of is brain and currently uses 94.4%. Following me so far?" Rose asked. Hermione looked at Harry with a bit of awe on her face hearing he used so much of his mind. She then turned back to Rose.
"Yes, I have read studies on the human mind and I know enough about DNA to understand you so far." Hermione answered.
"Good. Now you have 56.783% Alteran DNA and you are currently using 68.54% of your brain's potential. In comparison, Albus Dumbledore uses only 47.33% of his potential and was only able to download a small and specific portions of the repository. By Alteran standards you have to be at 75% of your potential to handle the entire repository and even then there are risks."
"So you are saying that if I use the repository, I could download it all and either have my potential unlocked or risk brain damage? What if I only download some of it like Dumbledore did, could that unlock more of my mind and negate the risks?" Hermione asked. "And what side effects are you talking about?"
"You have a 70.227% chance of unlocking your full potential but only if you download the entire repository and a 29.773% chance of permanent brain damage and eventual death. If you do unlock your full potential, since it will be forced by the repository, there could be other side effects. As an example, you may end up only being able to speak Alteran, losing the ability to speak any other language. Your mind could start working in a way that it only thinks in the higher math's, again you would lose the ability to communicate in anything but math. You could become blind or have your vision changed. It all depends on which part of your brain is damaged in the process." Rose explained.
"I would suggest not attempting a full download. I would suggest selecting a topic and specializing in a field of study. After that, there are other ways to increase your potential but they take time, and you may gain more potential as you get older." Harry suggested. "All this knowledge is not worth risking brain damage and the odds, while ever in your favor, aren't that good."
Hermione looked at both Harry and Rose.
"Harry is right; I also recommend what he has suggested." Rose interjected.
Both Harry and Rose could see Hermione was thinking about what they had said. Harry could tell that Hermione was having a bit of a war with herself. Knowledge, no matter the risk was something Hermione lived for. The question was, was she willing to risk her life for it. Harry was relieved when she finally answered.
"As much as I want to sit in that chair and learn everything there is to learn, I don't think I could take the risk of brain damage and dying. I may be a Gryffindor but I'm not stupid."
"There is one more thing to consider Hermione. If you use the repository in full or in part, you can't return to Hogwarts. I don't think you will want to return anyway but I thought you should know."
"Why wouldn't I want to return, our education is very important and what do you mean I can't?" Mount Hermione looked ready to go off again.
"Because Hermione, you'll have a full education through the repository, both magical and technical. As to why you can't, I can't have you at risk because of the knowledge you'll be carrying. There are still people out there that if they found out about the knowledge you carry in your head, you would be at risk. There are people that will want that knowledge to use for themselves, and others that will try to keep that knowledge from ever getting out. You could and would be hurt by either group." Harry explained.
Hermione took a few breaths then relaxed. "I see your point. How much magical knowledge does the repository have?"
"All of it as long as it was written down, all the way back to about three thousand years ago. I know there is older magic out there, like the Egyptian's time of the Pharaohs, but that's been lost to time. Maybe we can go try rediscovering some of it, later."
"Hermione, you will be able to download at your current potential, 43.95% of the repository. The magical portion is only 3% of the total repository. What else would you like to learn?" Rose asked.
"I…I don't know." That was a first for Hermione.
"I suggest languages, history, but not a full download of it, just the major highlights, ethics, the Alteran basic student requirements, then we'll see what you want to do and how much room you have left." Harry suggested. "The history would take up 15% if you got the full thing."
"Okay, when can we get started, how long will it take?" Hermione was excited now.
"We can start right now; we have a couple hours until you need to be home. You can come back tomorrow for more." Harry answered as he led her over to the chair. "Just sit down and Rose will do the rest."
Hermione got in the chair, leaned back and she was out. The download starting.
"Harry?"
"Yes Rose?"
"I like her."
"Me too." Harry smiled. "I'm going to go rest for a couple hours, maybe practice with the gate a bit too. Let me know when she's done and I'll take her home."
-oo00oo-
Luna sat on the steps leading up to the door of the Rookery waiting, the white light wisps were coming for her today. She couldn't wait to learn all about her ancestors and travel among the stars. She was giggling thinking about all the new creatures she could write about in her daddy's newspaper. Maybe her and daddy were looking in the wrong place all along for the Crumple Horned Snorkacks.
When the white light had come the first time, taking and replacing all her books and daddy's newspapers and other writings, she had tried to catch it. At first she tried magic to catch the white light but it was always too fast for her. She finally tried to just grab it with her hands each time it got close to her, but again it was always too fast.
Her and daddy had written several stories in the Quibbler about the white light. She had even named the white light, white light wisps and called them a new kind of fairy never seen before. In the articles her daddy had attributed the new fairy's to a Ministry fairy breeding program being conducted in the Department of Mysteries.
Lune knew the truth though; the new fairies were the result of Harry Potter releasing them from captivity in the ancient place he had found. She was so excited to meet the new fairy queen. She really hoped the white light fairy would show up soon and take her to the ancient place.
-oo00oo-
"Harry, Hermione is ready to go home, reluctantly." Rose informed Harry.
"I will be right there." Harry replied as he pulled his hand away from the gate. He was getting much better at connecting his mind to it. He was actually able to run the gate diagnostics and receive the results mentally. He could also dial the gate now. He hadn't dialed any planet side gates yet though.
When the gates were first created, a test gate was positioned in an empty expanse of space in the Milky Way that didn't have any stars within twenty light years of it. This was the gate Harry was dialing as he practiced.
Harry walked into the control room of the outpost and saw Hermione going a mile a minute with Rose. "Umm ready to go Hermione?" he interrupted.
*Harry, this is so amazing. * Hermione replied in Alteran.
*Don't forget to switch back to English when you get home, Hermione. I think you would freak your parents out it you only spoke in a language they have never heard of before. *
*I know; I am just practicing while I'm here. *
"So, are you ready to go?" Harry switching back to English.
"I don't really want to go home yet but I know my parents will worry if I'm not there. Beside I need to let them know I won't be returning to Hogwarts this year. I'll tell them… I don't really know what I will tell them." Hermione looked a little distressed.
"Well you can just pretend to go to Hogwarts. After they drop you off at the train station you can just come here instead. I can expand the apartment and build a second bedroom." Harry suggested.
"No Harry, I don't like lying to my parents. I'll think of something."
"Ok, then let's get you home." With that both Hermione and Harry disappeared in white light.
Hedwig and Fawkes just looked at each other on the perch then Hedwig flew over to the chair activating it. Rose just stopped being surprised by the antics of the two birds. Fawkes looked at her and squawked.
"Clever birds."
-oo00oo-
After dropping Hermione at home and promising to transport her to the outpost tomorrow after her parents left for work, Harry went to see another of his friends.
In his now customary flash of white light he appeared in front of his friend's house. Even before the transport was complete, he braced for impact as a flying Luna was heading in his direction. As he hit the ground with Luna on top of him, he heard her.
"Damn it, missed again."
"Umm, hi Luna, what did you missed?" Harry spoke while trying to catch his breath from being plowed into the ground.
Luna looked down at him from her perch on his chest. "Oh, hi Harry. I was trying to catch the white light fairy that brought you here."
"Umm, the what Lune?" Harry asked while still trying to catch his breath, which was hard to do with Luna still sprawled out on top of him.
"You know Harry, the white light fairies, they came and took our stuff then returned it, and they have been helping you travel all over the place. They even took all the Death Eaters way. I am so looking forward to meeting the Fairy Queen in the ancient place you found."
Harry started sputtering. "Luna how do you know all that?"
"What? Oh the Nargles told me all about it. They have been talking nonstop for the past couple months."
Harry stared up at Luna for a moment. -"I am not even going to ask, nope, not going to ask."- "Luna, do you think you could possibly, I don't know, maybe let me get up?"
Luna looked down at him again. She had been looking around the area trying to find the fairy. "Why Harry? You are very comfortable to lay on you know." Luna then wiggled a little.
"Luna!"
"Oh all right but can I use you as a lounge chair again sometime?"
"Luna!"
"Oh poo. Ok." Luna got off of Harry and pulled her wand out. As Harry was getting up she cast a cleaning charm on his clothes since they had grass stains now. "Thank you Luna."
"No problem Harry. Are we going to meet the fairy queen now?" asked Luna in that voice that just made Harry smile.
"Sure Luna, is it going to be a problem with your dad?"
"No, I already told him I was going to be gone chasing White Light fairies and that I wouldn't be back for a while. I've already sent a letter to Hogwarts letting them know I was withdrawing and being home schooled."
"Luna… how…"
"Nargles Harry, the Nargles told me. Come on let's go." Luna was bouncing on the balls of her feet with her hands behind her back.
Harry laughed and held out his hand to Luna. If there was one person on the planet that could make him laugh it was Luna, though Hermione seemed to have the same effect on him. Maybe he was experiencing some side effects from the repository. He hadn't laughed as much as he had today in his entire life.
Lune took his hand; in a flash they were gone.
-oo00oo-
"Welcome Luna to the…" Harry started.
Luna looked around for a second then started jumping up and down in excitement. "You brought me straight to the Fairy Queen's Heart. Fairy Queen, where are you?" Luna called out.
"Rose, come say hi to Luna before she bursts a blood vessel or something." Harry called out. Rose appeared in front of the young girl and if she could be tackled she would have been. Instead Luna just started hugging her.
"Thank you Fairy Queen for saving Harry." Luna thanked Rose even though you could barely hear her since her head was buried in Rose's clothes. Rose was made of what was called hard light, so she could interact with the world around her, so she was solid which allowed Luna to hug her.
"You are very welcome Luna." Rose looked at Harry and mouthed 'Fairy Queen?' Harry just shrugged. Luna finally let go about a minute later and looked around the room. As soon as she spotted the chair she ran over to it and threw herself into it.
Harry realized a second too late to stop her from activating the chair. "Luna! Stop…" It was too late the chair leaned back and started glowing and Luna passed out with a smile on her face.
"Rose?" Harry exclaimed.
"Harry, she initiated a full download at full speed. I cannot override a command from the chair. She will be finished in a few minutes."
"Rose, what's her potential and DNA level?" Harry asked with a lot of worry in his voice.
"Luna is slightly higher in both than Hermione is, 63.485% DNA and 74.952% potential. I can almost say with 98% certainty that she will unlock. I just can't say what side effects she may have. I did read an unusual energy signature from her while she was hugging me. I am not sure how that will affect the outcome."
Harry stood next to the chair looking down on Luna with worry written all over his face. -"What had this girl been thinking jumping in the chair like that?"-
For as long as Harry had known Luna, she had always had this weird air of something around her. He could never put his finger on it though. There were two things that stood out about her, now that he had time to really think about it. She always seemed to be twenty step ahead of everyone else, and she was the only student he knew, though there could be others, that had private lessons with…
"Oh Merlin, Rose why didn't I see this before…" Harry spoke out loud.
"What Harry?"
"Rose, Luna is a Seer. She sees the future and from what I can tell, based on observation only, she must be a powerful one." Harry told her.
*You are correct, High Councilor, I am a Seer. I can see the future, it is ever changing though, possibilities coming and going, different paths based on the choices of those I see. I can nudge it here and there, influencing people or places in ways toward the best possible outcome. * Luna spoke from the chair.
"Luna! Are you alright? Why did you do that?" Harry asked in a very worried voice. "Can you switch back to English?"
*I can't Harry, it was one of the possible consequences of the action I took. I saw this happening, I saw the many paths that you could go down, in every one where I did not join you here, you died. This was a nexus point in the timeline. It was a choice that I had to make. I could not see beyond this point until that choice was made. *
"Oh Luna…, what about your dad?" A lot of worry still evident in Harry's voice.
*I will just have to teach him Alteran the old fashioned way. I love daddy but since mom passed away, he hasn't been himself, he does not see me the same way he did before. I know he loves me but… * A single tear rolled down Luna's face. *He… will never be able to be a dad. Maybe with a lot of psychotherapy… He could one day. *
Harry couldn't believe what he was hearing, Luna had just intentionally and for his sake, made herself an orphan. He could see it in her eyes, she would try to go back for a while, but already knew that in the end she wouldn't get her daddy back from his psychosis.
Harry picked Luna up bride style from the chair. She immediately wrapped her arms around his neck and started to cry. Harry wasn't very good with crying girls but he could at least comfort her. He took her into his lounge room and sat down on the couch, Luna still in his arms. She eventually cried herself to sleep in his arms.
-oo00oo-
After Luna feel asleep, Harry shifted her to the couch and got up. He needed a bedroom for her and her own private space. The outpost designed similarly to the Atlantis City ship looked like a five-point snowflake from above with a central core. The top level had the Control room in the center, the Medical Bay, Gate Room, a Conference Room, and two Storage areas, each in their own petal of the snowflake.
Harry had already shifted everything from one of the storage areas to a storage area on one of the four lower levels to make room for his apartment. Most of the areas in those four lower levels were taken up by drone weapon storage and weapon magazines. There were four empty storage rooms and two small science labs also down there. Harry hadn't explored to much of it in person. There weren't any experiments running in the labs and once you see one storage area you've seen them all.
Harry mentally sent a command to Rose to have all the stuff in the second storage area transported to the lower levels. He then got to work enlarging the storage room and getting it ready for Luna and Hermione to share.
-oo00oo-
August 15th
The next morning without instructions from Harry, Rose scanned Hermione's home. She found that her parents had already left and Hermione was pacing around the living room. Since Harry had forgotten to give Hermione a way to contact him or the outpost, Rose decided to just transport her.
"Good morning Hermione." Rose greeted her when the transport was complete.
"Good morning Rose, where is Harry, I thought he was going to come pick me up?"
"Harry is still in bed sleeping, there was a bit of excitement here last night after you left. He was up most of the night. He needed to create a new apartment for you and Luna since she will be staying here permanently and you will most likely be here for long periods of time." Rose informed her.
"Luna? What is Luna Lovegood doing here?" Hermione sounded a bit frustrated finding out Luna was there.
*Harry wanted a couple people close to him that he knew he could trust, that was you and me. * Luna spoke from the door to the control room.
"Luna! I'm sorry I didn't mean that to sound the way it did." Hermione stammered.
*It's ok Hermione, I know you like Harry, I do to, maybe we can share. * Luna giggled. *The Nargles think it would be a good thing. *
"Luna!" Hermione blushed. "I… I think of Harry as a friend… nothing more…"
*Ok Hermione, you keep telling yourself that, maybe you have a Wrackspurts infestation. Rose maybe you should scan her. *
"What is a Wrackspurt, Luna?" Rose asked
"They are just imaginary creatures that Luna believes in, they aren't real…" Hermione protested.
Luna ignored Hermione. *They are very tiny creatures that infest the minds of people, making them indecisive and forgetful. It's a very wide spread problem in the magical world. * Luna explained to Rose.
"I understand Luna, I will make sure to adjust the outpost scanners and tune the shield to keep them out." Rose responded.
*Thank you Rose, maybe that will clear up Hermione's infestation. *
"Luna! There is no such thing as a Wrackspurt or Nargles." Hermione exclaimed.
Rose stepped between Hermione and Luna facing Hermione. "Hermione, to Luna these things do exist. Nargles are her way of explaining her extreme seer ability and Wrackspurts are her way of explaining difficult emotions. Please do not lose your temper over something you do not understand!" Rose was defending Luna to the hilt.
*It's ok Rose, I'm used to people not understanding me. * Luna explained.
For her part Hermione was looking at the floor in shame. "I'm… I'm sorry Luna, I didn't know."
*It's ok Hermione, Harry was the only person who figured it out. He just accepted me for me. *
"Still, I shouldn't have gotten frustrated with you. Why are you only speaking in Alteran?" Hermione asked trying to change the subject.
*It is the price I paid for getting a full download of the repository. I'm ok with it though, the Alteran language rolls of the tongue much easier. *
Hermione gasped. "You did a full download, why, how, what were you thinking…?"
*It needed to be done. This was a nexus point in the future time lines…" Luna started to explain.
"Luna, What's done is done. You are alive, which I think you knew you would be. I still feel bad that you gave up so much though, for me…" Harry spoke from the doorway.
"Harry James Potter, how could you let her put herself at risk like that? Why did you let Luna do that…?"
*Don't blame Harry, he didn't know I was going to just jump in the chair. I had to do this. The Nargles are really happy with me. *
Hermione opened her mouth to start ripping into the two of them when Fawkes started singing and calming everyone down.
Harry looked at Fawkes on his perch on the back of the control chair. "Thank you Fawkes." Fawkes just gave a squawk and flew out of the room.
"Well Hermione, would you and Luna like to see what I did last night before you go climbing into the repository again?" Harry smiled.
Luna was already bouncing on the balls of her feet again in anticipation. "Ok…" Hermione smiled.
Harry led the two girls into the new room he had been working on all night. It was set up a lot like his own apartment but had to bedrooms. He showed them the lounge area, kitchen, training area, and separate full size bathrooms. He hadn't put a lot of furniture or décor in though. He was going to leave decorating up to the girls. This was going to be there home for awhile, at least until Harry decided to go to Atlantis or find another Alteran outpost to work out of.
As the girls explored their new living quarters, Harry was thinking about what they needed to accomplish first. He really needed to gain access to some constructors, nanite or otherwise. He needed to go visit Heliopolis, to see if the man that went there through the American Stargate was still alive and to try contacting the other races of the Great Alliance. He also needed to investigate the Veil of Death at some point.
He figured the next few months would turn out to be very interesting.