The Brightest Black - A Dramione Fanfic

Family Connections

Dumbledore's lips quirked into a smile. "Incidentally, that common ancestor was a redhead and clearly from a Pureblood family wealthy enough to get them such a prime apprenticeship. Leading me to believe that he was a Prewett by birth, though a Weasley is also a possibility. They are the only two Wizarding families that carry red hair with their magic. Either way, you two," he gestured at Ginny and Harry, "are also distantly related. Extremely distantly."

Harry looked over at Ginny in surprise, she was turning a bit red in the face.

"That's uh, interesting..."

Dumbledore chuckled, "Don't worry about it. But it would explain your mother's family magic, and how it saved you. The Prewett's have always been protective, the Weasley's are also known for their dedication, and after several generations of it lying dormant either family magic would have become quite powerful with your mother's capacity to love. And that affected the blood wards. As you and Miss Black share blood, as well as love, the blood wards blossomed and mutated into something that was more than just protection. It forged a link between you two."

"Sir," Ginny began, "why don't more people use blood wards, if they're so powerful? Parents would never worry about their children if they did."

"A very good question, Miss Weasley. It is because a blood ward can only be established through a sacrifice. And a willing one at that. Lily Potter willingly gave her life to protect Harry. This action lingered on him. Eventually it would have faded, but I caught it in time, using wards to tie her sacrifice permanently to Harry's blood."

Harry remembered something Hermione had said once, "Sir, aren't wards made from runes? How did you tie them to me?"

Dumbledore sighed and his lips quirked a bit, "Harry, roll up a sleeve. He rose and pulled out his wand.

Harry bared his right arm with Ginny's assistance and held it out.

The Headmaster tapped his forearm with his wand and whispered a strange spell under his breath. It didn't sound like it was based in Latin, rather, it sounded older, more primitive. Instantly runes appeared all up and down his arms.

"They were quite a bit smaller when I put them there, but they grew with you."

Harry stared at his arms in amazement. A chain of runes started on the back of his hand and moved up his arm, loosely encircling it until it disappeared under his robes.

"It continues, forming a loop over your collarbones and then down the other arm.

Harry peaked into the sling and indeed saw runes on the back of his left hand, disappearing under the bandage, "How did I never know they were there?"

"I hid them under a very obscure spell. I didn't exactly want everyone to know what protections you carried. Even though Lord Voldemort has now taken your blood - negating many of the protections - I would still like to keep the runes hidden. It is better if he is unable to learn the exact extent of the wards."

Harry absently nodded as he couldn't take his eyes off the runes tattooed up and down his arm.

They were beautiful.

And now that he knew they were there, he could feel them, just like he could feel Hermione. But they weren't filled with pain; rather, he got a sense of love and peace from them.

Getting an idea, he carefully reached out with his mind and gathered up the feelings, then he brought it to his bond with Hermione. Slowly, carefully he began feeding her the pleasant emotions. Almost instantly he felt her pain lessen. It was still there, but more distant. She stopped fighting whatever they were using to keep her unconscious.