In the Melancholy Moonlight, Part 5: Dark Matter

Chapter 270: Out of the Woods

HARRY:

"Harry, could you help me with something?" Hermione asked from where she was curled up on an armchair with The Tales of Beedle the Bard in one hand and Spellman's Syllabary in the other. "I'd ask Lucy, but she's really the best person to keep watch during sunset, with the light playing as many tricks as it does."

I nodded and set aside the dish sponge. "What's up?"

"This symbol," she muttered.

"I never took Ancient Runes, Hermione," I said as I dried my hands on the nearest rag and crossed the room.

"I know that, but it isn't a rune and it's not in the syllabary, either." She pointed to the top of a page. "All along I thought it was a picture of an eye, but I don't think it is! It's been inked in, look, somebody's drawn it there, it isn't really part of the book. Think, have you ever seen it before?"

I studied the symbol for a moment. "I think that's the same symbol Luna's dad was wearing around his neck at the wedding."

"I was thinking that, too!" Hermione replied.

"Well, then, it's Grindelwald's mark."

Hermione blinked at me. "What?"

"Yeah, I talked to Viktor about it at the wedding," I said with a nod. "Grindelwald apparently carved it into a wall at Durmstrang. People thought it would be cool, or something, to wear it or copy it down, so Viktor saw it a lot when he was, er, teaching said people otherwise. I don't think the Lovegoods really know what it means, they don't strike me as the Dark Magic type, but it is most certainly Grindelwald's mark."

"I've never heard that Grindelwald had a mark," Hermione said with a confused frown. "There's no mention of it in anything I've ever read about him."

"Well, according to Viktor, it was on a wall at Durmstrang and he was under the impression Grindelwald carved it there when he was a student."

"That's very odd. If it's a symbol of Dark Magic, why is it in a children's book? What kind of person would ink it in?"

I shrugged. "Beats me. It's certainly strange. And you'd think Scrimgeour would have recognized it when he looked through the book. He was Minister, he ought to have been expert on Dark stuff."

"You'd think. He must have thought it was an eye, like I did. All of the other stories have pictures over the titles."

Hermione returned her attention to the book, and Lucy ducked into the tent only a couple seconds later, her pale face barely visible beneath the scarf she'd wrapped around the bottom half of her face and the Benny hat tugged down over the top half.

"I'm sorry, but it's so cold out there," she managed through her chattering teeth.

"Merlin's pants, don't apologize, no one wants you to freeze to death out there," I chided, rushing over to the stack of blankets in the corner and wrapping the thickest one around her. When that did nothing to still her shivering, I rubbed my hands up and down her upper arms. "Where's your temperature-changing shirt?"

Lucy yanked down the collar of her coat to reveal that she was, in fact, wearing it. "It doesn't do much good for anything other than my upper body."

"Well, you're welcome to grab one of the jars of Hermione's bluebell flames, or you can help me with dishes if you'd prefer hot water to hot fire," I replied.

Without another second of hesitation, Lucy dropped into the nearest armchair and extended a hand, wordlessly summoning one of the jars to her. She curled around it, pulling her knees to her chest and the blanket tight around her, then glanced up at me with a pleased look.