The Final Year, Harry Potter Year 7

20. Xenophilius Lovegood

Lilly's POV
So, Hermione's anger did not degress, so the lads and I decided to exchange stories throughout the day. Eventually, we escaped Hermione's anger and we're talking a bit.
Ron was going off about something, "... and how did you find out about the Taboo?" he asked Harry.
"The what?" Harry asked.
"You and Hermione have stopped saying You-Know-Who's name!"
"Oh, yeah. Well, it's just a bad habit we've slipped into," said Harry. "But I haven't got a problem calling him V-"
"NO!" I shouted. Hermionie sent me a glare and I continued ignoring it, "The name's been jinxed, Harry, that's how they track people. Using his name breaks protective enchantments, it causes some kind of magical disturbance-it's how they found us in Tottenham Court Road."
"Because we used his name?" Harry asked.
"Exactly! You've got to give them credit, it makes sense. It was only people who were serious about standing up to him, like Dumbledore, who ever dared use it. Now they've put a Taboo on it, anyone who says it is trackable-quick-and-easy way to find Order members. They nearly got Kingsley-"
"You're kidding?"
"Yeah, a bunch of Death Eaters cornered him, but he fought his way out. He's on the run now, just like us."
Ron scratched his chin thoughtfully with the end of his wand. "You don't reckon Kingsley could have sent that doe?"
"His Patronus is a lynx, we saw it at the wedding, remember?" I replied.
"Oh yeah..." replied Ron.
Harry asked, "Who sent the doe, Lilly? Do you know?"
I sighed replying, "I did, but my powers are weakening. I can't connect to some of them as much as I could. I'm sorry, I don't seem to be as useful as I should be."
He replied, "Lilly, you kept Ron live, that's more than useful."
I smiled at him nodding. We moved farther away from the tent and Hermione. "Harry, Lilly... you don't reckon it could've been Dumbledore?"
"Dumbledore what?" I asked.
Ron looked a little embarrassed, but said in a low voice, "Dumbledore... the doe? I mean," Ron was watching Harry out of the corners of his eyes, "he had the real sword last, didn't he?"
I sighed internally, that wasn't the best person to bring up right now.
Harry shook his head. "Dumbledore's dead," he said. "I saw it happen, I saw the body. He's definitely gone."
I added, "Anyway, his Patronus was a phoenix, not a doe."
"Patronuses can change, though, can't they?" said Ron. "Tonks's changed, didn't it?"
"Yeah, but if Dumbledore was alive, why wouldn't he show himself? Why wouldn't he just hand us the sword?" Harry answered.
"Search me," said Ron. "Same reason he didn't give it to you while he was alive? Same reason he left you an old Snitch, Hermione a book of kids' stories, and Lilly nothing?"
"Which is what?" asked Harry, turning to look Ron full in the face, desperate for the answer.
"I dunno," said Ron. "Sometimes I've thought, when I've been a bit hacked off, he was having a laugh or-or he just wanted to make it more difficult. But I don't think so, not anymore. He knew what he was doing when he gave me the Deluminator, didn't he? He-well," Ron's ears turned bright red and he became engrossed in a tuft of grass at his feet, which he prodded with his toe, "he must've known I'd run out on you."
"No," Harry corrected him instantly. "He must've known you'd always want to come back."
I added, "Dumbledore knew the costs that came to this, he knew us better than ourselves. He knew what we were going to do before we did it. That's why I think, he didn't leave me anything. He knew erasing memories would be too difficult for me to do, faking my death was the only option; and he knew that."
Harry asked, "Speaking of Dumbledore, have you heard what Skeeter wrote about him?"
"Oh yeah ," said Ron at once, "people are talking about it quite a lot. 'Course, if things were different, it'd be huge news, Dumbledore being pals with Grindelwald, but now it's just something to laugh about for people who didn't like Dumbledore, and a bit of a slap in the face for everyone who thought he was such a good bloke. I don't know that it's such a big deal, though. He was really young when they-"
"Our age," said Harry and something in his face seemed to make Ron decide against pursuing the subject.
A large spider sat in the middle of a frosted web in the brambles. Harry took aim at it with the wand Ron had given him the previous night, which Hermione had since condescended to examine, and had decided was made of blackthorn. "Engorgio."
The spider gave a little shiver, bouncing slightly in the web. Harry tried again. This time the spider grew slightly larger. I looked away, I hate spiders ever since Aragog died.
"Stop that,"said Ron sharply. "I'm sorry I said Dumbledore was young, okay?"
Harry had forgotten Ron's hatred of spiders. "Sorry- Reducio."
I looked up again and the spider did not shrink. Harry looked down at the blackthorn wand.
"You just need to practice," said Hermione, who had approached us noiselessly from behind and had stood watching anxiously as Harry tried to enlarge and reduce the spider. "It's all a matter of confidence, Harry."
I knew why she wanted it to be all right: She still felt guilty about breaking his wand. Everything seemed to be fine, but when Ron gave Hermione a tentative smile, she stalked off and vanished behind her book once more.