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The Veil
By Mutt N Feathers

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Category: Post-OotP, Holidays
Characters:Harry/Ginny
Genres: Drama
Warnings: Death
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 113
Summary: In the fall of 1996 Harry finds a book about the ancient holidays just before Samhain, or what has become Hallowe'en. Tradition says communication with the dead is possible. Harry enlists Ginny to help him find out if its true.
Hitcount: Story Total: 59021; Chapter Total: 2954
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
Hello, I'm overwhelmed by the response this story is getting. It's been a while since I wrote an HP Fic, and it feels good to be back among friends. Warning, my beta, Arnel, has not been through this chapter, so if you find mistakes, please let me know. This story is going to be my fic for the National Novel Writing Month in November, and I need to write 1667 words per day, so you're essentially going to get a chapter per day, fun huh? Thanks so much for reading and reviewing, MNF




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Chapter 3:

Help from Home


October 14, 1996

Harry and Ginny were alone in the Room of Requirements, research books were strewn across the table which the room had produced. Unlike the vast classroom it created for Dumbledore’s Army to practice and train in the year before; this was an intimate room with a large round table, four upholstered captain’s chairs, a long sofa and a fireplace to keep the place warm. A chandelier floated above the space to light their workspace in a soft, yellow glow.

Harry felt bad about not including Ron and Hermione, but he didn’t think either would understand or even agree with what he was attempting. Ron had always found it challenging to comprehend Harry’s need for the closeness of family — his own family. Ron was never without some member of his clan nearby. Conversely, Hermione understood his desire for family, as she missed hers; but she would attempt to convince him to stop. She was squeamish about using magic she thought was dangerous. Anyway, the two barely tolerated being in the same room and didn’t speak since Ron had made the Quidditch team and it had swelled his head. Harry didn’t have time for his nonsense, Hallowe’en was only seventeen days away.

“Some of these spells contradict each other,” Harry said as he forcefully closed another tome. He pulled Gratgat’s book to him and opened it to where his bookmark was.

“Basic binding spells are enough to call a spirit to you and enable you to speak to it Hallowe’en and All Souls Day. For a corporeal and a conversive spirit, a binding circle and several enchantments will be required.”

“Several enchantments!” Harry said with frustration. “What enchantments? Why couldn’t the author tell us more?”

“Probably so meddling Muggles wouldn’t attempt it at home. There are some darned curious Muggles out there,” Ginny said confidently.

“How do you know that?”

“Hermione. I wanted to find some things out about how Muggles celebrated Hallowe’en. They don’t have much of a clue about magic, but there are people who dabble, usually because they’ve found some old family spellbook full of sanitized enchantments.”

“What’s a sanitized enchantment? Do you clean with it?”

“No, you good. The Statute of Secrecy kicks in when someone finds an actual old family spell book. An MLE person will go and make changes to the family book so Muggles can’t try real spells.”

“Did someone do that to the Potter spell book or even the notebook Slughorn keeps mentioning to me?” Harry asked, sound only half as sad as the thought had made him.

“No, the Potter family book is most likely in your vault, your mum’s too. No one would touch a spell book from such an old family time. There are probably verses in it that date from when Hogwarts was formed.”

“Sometimes I can’t wrap my head around the idea I’m from this powerful magical family that dates back centuries and all that is left is me. I’m more at home with the idea that I’m just another Muggle.”

Before Ginny could reply, her family’s old, somewhat deranged, and blind bird, Errol, flew in and dropped a note for her into her tea. It flew out the way it came, through a very small window at the ceiling.

“Damn bird is a nuisance,” she said as she fished the small rectangle from her mostly empty cup.

“How did we end up with a window in here?” Harry asked. “This room is in the interior of the building.”

“That’s what worries you about this room, that it produced a window?”

“No,” Harry backtracked. “I mean, the room is strange, I’ll give you that, it’s just I didn’t know there was a window there.”

“Harry, given the room, it might not have existed until the bird needed it.”

“Wonky. Who is the letter from?”

“Mum. I wrote her to ask her about the spell she used to call relatives on Hallowe’en.” Ginny broke the wax and opened the letter and smiled.

“What does it say?”

“She says she hopes you can talk with Sirius and your parents, but wants you to know you always have a home with our family. She also sent a note to you, something we will need for her spell. Don’t open it yet. You can’t open it until the night we call them.”

“Well, that’s frustrating. What do we need for the spell?”

“First, we need to leave out a meal for the ancestors we’re calling; apparently, they can be hungry,” Ginny said with a laugh.

“But, they’re ghosts.”

“Think about Nearly Headless Nick’s deathday parties, there’s food there.”

“But the ghosts don’t partake of it!” There was a new level of ridiculousness he just couldn’t abide.

“I’m just repeating what’s written, Harry,” Ginny said with a giggle. “Now, you need to provide a meal for the ghosts.”

“Not hard, I’ll just call Dobby to do it.”

“Yes, he will do whatever you want, although he’s a touch annoying sometimes.” Harry nodded and then indicated she should continue with a motion of his hand.

“You’ll need to gather some pictures of the dead and put them inside a circle of candles,” Ginny continued.

“My book from Hagrid and the picture Sirius gave me last year should do. We go to Hogsmeade this weekend, we can get some candles then. Does is specify colour or size?”

“Yes. We need two lavender for the calling of the spirits, two yellow for the intention of the spell and one white and one black to protect your spirit as well repel any negative spirits which might like to join. Wait, the black one needs to be red on the inside. Mum says she’ll make one and send it to us. Reversables can be expensive.”

“Your mum knows I’m rich, right?”

“Yes,” Ginny frustratingly replied while slapping the letter on the table. “She just wants to help, okay?”

“Ginny, I didn’t say it to make you feel bad. I’d give up all the gold I have and live in abject poverty if it meant I could have my mum and dad with me. I just don’t want to put her to too much work.” Ginny suddenly felt stupid for thinking Harry was reminding her of how little her family had. Harry wasn’t Dean, who did feel the need to remind her that he could buy her things she couldn’t afford for herself. At least with Bill in the country now, if she did run low on money she could ask him or one of the twins. She always hated going to her father for gold for simple things like quills and parchment. She knew her parents didn’t have much extra to spare.”

“I know you didn’t, Harry. I’m just a bit touchy about the subject because of Dean. He likes to remind me how much he has to spend.” Harry thought about this for a minute.

“Huh. When we first met, he told me how he and his mum had to scrape by sometimes, since his dad was out of the picture.”

“He’s flush with gold now. Anyway, back to this spell. We’ve got the six candles, and we arrange them in a circle, the black closest to you. Your family pictures go inside. Then you need to tell stories about your family. That must be what the note from Mum is about, she knew your dad from the time he was born. Who else can you ask stories from?”

“Remus, definitely, he might even have some better pictures of Sirius than the one of him with the Order from the first war. Professors McGonagall and Slughorn — he talks about mum all the time when I’m in class. Professor Dumbledore. Would you say something about Sirius, please?”

“Sure. I’ve got a great tale to share.”

“Then we have the simmering cauldron which we’ll need to put in the very middle. Mum sent along a spell for pink flames —”

“Did you just say pink flames?”

“Yup, pink flames. Somebody created the spell, someone your parents and the Marauders knew in school. Anyway, the pink flames won’t burn anything, but they will keep the cauldron at a simmer. Cool charm. In the cauldron, we need wormwood, monkshood, willow bark, mandrake, bay laurel, lavender, marigold, thyme, and elderberries.”

“I’m worried about getting the monkshood,” Harry said. “The root is deadly. Does it say if we need the root or the flower?”

“The root,” Ginny said sadly.

“I’ll have to see if I can get Professor Slughorn to give me some, or maybe just steal it. He isn’t as fastidious in his care of the supply closets as Snape was.”

“Fastidious,” she said with a giggle. “You’ve been chatting with Hermione too much.”

“Bugger off, Gin. Bay laurel?”

“It’s a cooking herb. Ask Dobby to bring us a leaf or two from the kitchens. I don’t know what a marigold is.”

“It’s a Muggle flower. They are little orange-ish puffs of flowers. Aunt Petunia grew them in her front yard. Perhaps Remus can get us some.” Harry’s heart clenched every time he thought of Remus living alone in Grimmauld Place except when he was off with the other werewolves. Thankfully Remus had always kept in touch with Harry, through a secret method only he knew about. Harry wanted to tell Tonks Remus was okay, but he was sworn to secrecy and Remus was the last of the family he had.

“Okay, then we just need some willow bark.” Ginny laid the letter aside with the last of the ingredients was considered.

“Now that I know how to paralyze the darned thing, we can approach the Whomping Willow for it.”

“Good. Hermione told me about her ride. I don’t want a similar one.” A chime was heard in the room. “That’s the supper bell. We’d better get going.” Harry and Ginny left everything where it was, knowing the room would keep their research safe.

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