Scarlet Moon

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, but I do own J.K. Rowling… I'm joking and if you didn't know that then I suggest that you go to the Dollar Store and buy yourself a sense of humor; I hear that they're quite cheap these days ya know?

Chapter 1: Ritual of the Dea Luna

Thousands of years ago, even before Hogwarts was founded, there was a battle fought that changed the way all magiks were viewed. This battle had included no armies; just two wizards of old. But they were not just fighting for themselves. They were representatives for their chosen deities; one was a warrior from the God of the Sun, and the other came at the heed of the Goddess of the Moon.

Each fought spectacularly, but only could win. The man that had fought for the Moon Goddess died. And, thus, the Sun God won. Light magic became dominant, and the Dark was viewed as a type of taboo.

These days, the divide between the Magiks has widened; the hate delving even deeper. The Goddess of the Moon mourns three times every thousand years, for the one who had fought for her had been her Soul Mate. As such, the Moon cries scarlet; it cries when its Goddess cries and the tears are of scarlet in representation of the blood of Aaron's blood that was spilt. Aaron was the name of the Goddess' lover.

The Scarlet Moon can only be viewed when the Goddess mourns, and only on the grounds of which Aaron's blood was spilt. The grounds of the killing were built on top of by the Four Founders. The Scarlet Moon can only be sighted on Hogwarts' ground.

Nights, where the Scarlet Moon is in the darkened sky, are sacred. The Moon will boost the power of Dark Magiks, and rituals. One of the most famous rituals, but least used, is the Ritual of the Dea Luna… The ritual of the Moon Goddess.

The Ritual of the Dea Luna is a most extreme Magik, as it extracts you from one place to transport you somewhere completely different. It is life threatening when done improperly, but can find a person's Soul Mate. Out of all the Alternate Universes, different times, and realities; the Moon Goddess herself had found her own Soul Mate with the use of this ritual. Aaron had been precious to her.

When done properly, this Magik will not only locate your Soul Mate, but also take you to the general area of which that particular person is.

The Four Founders had chosen these grounds just for the purpose of enhanced Magik for those that they had wished to teach…

Harry stopped reading and looked up, through the fringe of his hair and over his glasses, at the two men who had insisted on him reading a passage in Hogwarts, A History.

"You're trying to get me to find someone else…" The young man started dangerously, but the two, much older, men were seemingly unaffected by his unspoken threat.

"Harry… Ginny is dead and yes you could have prevented her death" "Now Aberforth…" the painting started, but 'Aberforth' continued to talk over him. "But you didn't, and you can't. You have moped around for almost six years, and allow me to tell you that you're not only hurting yourself when you cut yourself off from the world. And I think that while it is great that you have found sanctuary in reading your brains out, it does not solve all of your problems! You must learn how to balance out your life, or you will never really live, and that ritual will help you with this." The old man finished and picked up a wine glass, which was filled generously with an amber liquid, and took a sip while the paint frowned at him disapprovingly.

Harry stared down at his hands, eyes wide in both shame and shock. "I am sorry, it is obvious, now, that I have caused you and others much unwarranted grief." The man stated, still staring at his hands.

The painting sighed morosely and replied "I apologize for my brother's blatant disregard toward your feelings, Harry, for it was uncalled for… I must confess, however, that he is right." He finished off in a delicate tone; as if he was dealing with a ticking bomb.

Harry looked up at the two, his face now an emotionless mask, and said "I understand."

And then Harry suddenly gave a small smile and said "And this ritual… It seems difficult, how long do I have?"

The painting smiled in relief, and Aberforth smirked "See Dumbledore? Sometimes being all pink and fuzzy doesn't help."

"Well Harry," Dumbledore started while ignoring his brother "It is difficult, but it shouldn't be impossible, and I do believe that you will appreciate the challenge…?" He asked.

Harry grinned with excitement, and nodded "Of course! And I have been practicing with runes and rites lately so I do believe I will be able to accomplish it, and I have refined all my other skills as well." He stated proudly.

"Good! Because your going to need those 'refined skills' to be able to perform the ritual soon." Aberforth retorted; smirk still evident on his time touched features.

Harry narrowed his eyes "How exactly soon is 'soon'?" he asked.

"Well, since it's just about impossible to really completely predict the occurrence of the Scarlet Moon, we can only tell you that it will need to be done on a Wednesday this month." Dumbledore said unabashedly.

Harry was confused "Why a Wednesday? And why didn't you tell me this before now?!" Getting angrier by the end of his sentence.

Dumbledore smiled benignly "Wednesday's Latin title means 'Day of the Moon' for a reason, Harry."

Aberforth snorted.

"Alright… I'll do it." Harry said, while picking up a worn book that Aberforth handed him, and walked out of the circular office with both a flourish and a smirk.

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The days afterwards found Harry pouring over the book, memorizing it all; down to the very letters. And as first Wednesday of December came around, he was ready and waiting out in the snow for the Scarlet Moon.

However, he was disappointed as the moon remained as it ever was; still luminous, but also only the uniform white as any other night.

So he waited another week, going over the ritual in his mind over and over. The anticipation grew as the next Wednesday came about. This time it was not snowing as he stood outside looking up at the moon, wistfully. But it wasn't there.

By now Harry was frustrated and took it out on others; relapsing as his hope began to die. He was so ready to be able to meet someone that was born just for him… Or maybe it was the other way around?

Regardless, Harry was impatient for the Scarlet Moon to appear, because only with the help of it can he be able to have the boost he needed in order to complete the ritual.

But he did not have to wait much longer, for as the third Wednesday rolled around he found himself staring in awe at the beauty of the Scarlet Moon.

He also couldn't help but commiserate with the Moon Goddess, as he felt the sadness radiate from the very air.

But he could not waste anymore time, so he started laying out candles in a symmetrical circle, mirroring the moon's shape itself.

He began to chant out the rites while using his wand to carefully write the runes for 'love' 'space' 'time' 'wish' 'stars' and 'moon' which ,when completed, he jabbed his wand at making the ancient symbols float to their proper places.

Cutting himself on the palm of each of his hands he finished off the rites, and as the last syllable past his lips the candles suddenly lit by them selves.

His last coherent thought as he found his vision blotching up was how the candles' flames matched the beautiful scarlet of the moon itself.

AN: O.K. that was pretty good, I think. Just to clear something up: Ginny had died after the 'Final Battle'. You will learn more as the story progresses but I cannot reveal too much or I will ruin the plot. So be patient… And…

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