Wishmaster

Chapter Eight- Misconceptions

For a moment, Harry simply sat and looked at the small object glinting in the cool sunlight filtering through the clouds. The Resurrection Stone was, in appearance, like one of the small stones that muggle fish zoos sold in their shop at the end of the walkaround. It was small, black, and brightly polished. Inlaid into the curved surface of its oval shape, the sign of the Hallows, the triangular eye, blinked up at him as the sun momentarily shone through a tear in the darkening clouds overhead. Slowly, not noticing the light droplets that fell about him, Harry closed his fist and his eyes. He tilted his head back and opened them again, smiling.

He had them. He had all three of them.

Suddenly, as if he’d been holding back a flood, excitement swamped him and his heart seemed to swell with joy. With a cry of triumph that set the seagulls screaming into the sky, Harry leapt full into the air, the stone clenched in his upraised fist.

His feet hit the sand.

"...YES!...YES!...OH YES!..."

Almost frenzied, he whirled in circles as the rain began to patter more heavily around him and Luna watched bemused from where she had come to see what he was doing. Harry didn’t have enough breath for words so he simply grabbed her hand with his empty one and whirled them both around. Luna laughed and took hold of it with both hands, balancing the two teens out so that they span ever faster on the sand until gravity regained control.

"Ooof!"

Harry sucked the breath back into him as Luna rubbed her lower back, grimacing. For a moment they simply sat there panting as the rain drummed the sand and made the sea plink, then Harry turned to Luna and held out the Resurrection Stone.

"I’ve got it - the stone, I mean - it was in the snitch"

Luna looked at the stone curiously then held out her hand.

"May I?"

Eagerly Harry dropped the stone into her hand and watched as she held it for a moment with her eyes closed.

A faint shadow fell over them and Harry gasped as the figure of an old woman materialized in front of them. The woman was bent with age and her cloths seemed old fashioned, almost Victorian. Luna regarded the apparition calmly, and Harry realised that there was a similarity between them.

"The ring you left was never found," Luna told the dead woman seriously.

"It fell and rolled under the chair near the window," The apparition replied in a voice that
Harry could only imagine the original sound of before mortality had given it its hollow overtone. Luna nodded.

"Thank you," She said as the spirit faded back into nothing.

Realising that he had been holding his breath, Harry let it out in an explosive gasp and then grinned widely as Luna handed him back the stone smiling. With a companionship that he knew only Luna possessed, she hugged him happily.

"You were right!" She laughed.

"I thought I was mad!" Said Harry, laughing also.

Luna's face became serious.

"Are you going to unite them?" She asked.

Harry stopped laughing. Was he? Did he want to vanquish death, whatever that was? He could live with his parents! With his mum and dad and...

‘...But she was separated from him as if by a veil...’

The pages of Beadle the Bard seemed to rustle inside Harry’s head and he looked at the stone, the joy inside of him draining away slowly, leaving a cold emptiness behind.

‘...And so death claimed the life of the second brother...’

"No," He shook his head, trying to explain.

"The dead aren’t meant to be here, in this world, I mean -"

"But then, what will you do?" Harry jumped as Hermione's timid voice spoke from somewhere behind him. He turned.

Hermione stood next to Fleur, to the side and a few feet Ron, Dean and Bill. Both she Fleur and Dean looked apprehensive, Ron was biting his lip, a worried frown that Harry would have usually expected to see on Hermione creasing his brow. Bill was scowling. Luna rose to her feet and Harry did the same as Bill stepped forward. For some reason his heart was racing; was something bad about to happen?

Thunder rolled in across the waves, around them the plant life rustled in agitation as the wind picked up. Harry tucked his now wet fringe out of his eyes; he hadn’t noticed how heavy the rain had gotten.

"Give me the stone Harry."

Harry raised his eyes to Bills and felt his heart twist; he looked first at Ron then Hermione.

"We weren’t supposed to tell -" Ron looked away and Hermione stared fixedly at the ground.

"They didn’t know what else to do," Bills voice was gentler than he had expected it to be. "I can keep secrets, and if I can help someone I will, you’ve been on for too long with this - obsession with these Hallows. Give me that stone Harry."

Harry shook his head, acutely aware of how he had just been acting. He knew they must think he had finally cracked.

How long had they thought that?

"It’s for your own good"

He saw Ron’s wand rise to aim at him from the corner of his eye, heard Luna begin to yell something but then he was flying backwards and the sand was hard and gritty as it hit him. Dazedly, he shook he head, trying to fight off the stunning spell. Boots crunched softly on the wet sand next to him and a hand forced open his clenched fist. Struggling to his feet, Harry watched with disbelief as Bill threw the stone into the ocean.

"That won’t work," said Harry emotionlessly as Hermione helped him up "It’s mine now."

It was strange how easily he could do it. As if finding the stone had somehow connected him to it, Harry could feel it beneath the waves. It flew back to him and he could feel the energy between him and the stone as they physically reconnected.

Behind him he heard Hermione gasp. Bills face became thunderous.

"What is that?!" He demanded. Then Bills eyes grew wide, "What did you plan to do with it?" The red haired man demanded angrily. "Death isn’t meant to be played around with Harry, its intended use can’t be good."

Harry became aware of Luna's hand gripping his tightly just as he registered that they where all pointing their wands at him. Spells flew at him from the wands of the people he had trusted but then Luna twisted and he twisted with her.

The darkness closed in.


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Authors Note : Readers! Your opinions are relevant!...especialy to me since I genualy cant seem to get into my writing mood without feedback (hint hint)