Harry Potter and the Ritual of Love's Memory

Chapter 5

The late-spring sun shone brightly in the clearing where Harry landed. He immediately covered his eyes, accustomed to the low light of the vault as he was. A thicket of trees lay a few dozen yards away, and Harry quickly made his way toward them. He drew deep breaths, marveling at how fresh the air smelled. He was not meant to live underground, that much was certain. He wouldn't have called it optimism, hope, or even happiness, but he did feel somehow lighter now that the subterranean world was behind him.

He crouched down behind a tree so that he was obscured by the trunk and some shrubs growing near it. He directed his wand towards the dozens of small punctures and cuts on his forearms and legs. While he could be reasonably assured that he'd never be able to cut it as a professional healer, his wounds had soon closed enough that he wouldn't leave a trail of blood droplets wherever he went.

Harry had apparated a good half mile from the pond. He hoped it was far enough away to keep anyone who might be monitoring the Weasley's property from being alerted. He looked around for landmarks so that he could get moving.

A little ways off, he noticed the plot of land where Bill and Fleur had said their vows less than a year prior. Memories of the night came flooding back unbidden.

Fred and George setting up a prank that they later sprung on Ron. Bill's happy tears as he watched Fleur walk up the aisle towards him. Mrs. Weasley smiling warmly while straightening her husband's tie. Mr. Weasley resting his hand on Harry's shoulder while chatting amicably with some distant family member. Ginny beaming as she danced back down the aisle after the new bride and groom had left.

Harry shook his head quickly from side to side, trying to dispel his memories. He needed to press onwards to meet up at the pond, and he needed to do it carefully. He didn't think this could be an ambush, but he wasn't about to let down his guard.

He grabbed into his pocket for his DA coin. A moment later, it warmed in his palm as the words "safe at pond?" materialized. He was grateful to feel it warm again less than a minute later, with the words "yes. you coming?" etching themselves into the metal. He quickly replied, "be there soon" before he pulled his invisibility cloak from his pouch and covered himself.

Through the underbrush he crept. Months of living on the run had helped train him to step softly and to avoid anything that might betray his position if stepped on.

Harry stayed on the side of a gentle hill as he moved silently toward the pond. A little ways away, he was able to catch a glimpse of the clear water pool as the sunlight glinted across its rippled surface. A silvery hare hopped back and forth near the water's edge. Though he couldn't see Luna herself yet, her Patronus somehow seemed to warm his insides, as if a tiny dementor that had been hovering over him had been chased away.

His fears of an ambush were dispelled, and Harry began to run forward. The sudden, overwhelming need to see another human being, an actual friend, bubbled up inside him, and he was sprinting towards the pond before he fully had time to comprehend what he was doing.

The hare looked up from a patch of grass it had been examining and cocked its head to the side. While Harry was still a few steps away from it, he felt a pull at his ankle. The world was suddenly upside down, and he watched his cloak float down to the ground that was a good six feet below him.

"Luna! It's me! Are you all alright?" The rush of blood to the head combined with the panic of being upside down suspended by his leg reminded him, albeit too late, that rushing into a clearing based solely on an ethereal rabbit wasn't the wisest decision.

A jet of red light struck him in the chest, and he felt his wand fly out of his hand. Harry kept one hand on his face to keep his glasses from falling off as he frantically looked at his surroundings.