Chapter 1

"So it's over?" she whispered. She barely kept herself from trembling as a cold tingle travelled down her spine. "Just like that? Like the past three years never happened?" she continued. She dipped her head and allowed her hair to partially cover her face. Red silky hair flowed down all the way to her breasts. She could feel her eyes tearing up and desperately tried to will them back.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly, "I can't be with you any longer." His eyes were closed. She wished she could see those emerald green eyes of his. It always brought her warmth when she looked into them. She frowned and averted her gaze, unable to stare at his face any longer.

"Is there someone else?" she asked. Through her peripheral vision she could see him shake his head sideways immediately. "Then why?!" she shouted as she turned to face him once again, "We were doing so well. Just a couple of days ago we-". Her voice reaching further than the room they had secluded themselves in. Her boyfriend, with his eyes still closed, further bowed his head to convey a silent apology.

"Because I asked him to," interrupted a voice from behind her. She recognised it immediately. She grew up hearing that voice after all. It was her brother, Ron. She turned around and faced the newcomer. He was a tall man, with red hair as dark as hers. His face was turned away as he was unable to look at his younger sister. He didn't want to see the anguish on her face.

"You asked him to?" she whispered in a deadly voice. However, before she could continue they were interrupted once again.

"What is going on here? Why are you making such a racket Ginny?" came the voice of her mother, Molly Weasley.

"Well mom, seeing as my boyfriend is dumping me because his best friend asked him to, I figure I have a right to be upset," she said, her frustration showing through clearly in her words. "Add to that, since this has become group event instead one couple talking to each other, I think that gives me the right to be peeved," she continued with the same tone.

"Harry's dumping Ginny?" came the voice of Fred Weasley, another older brother of hers. "Why?" said George Weasley, Fred's twin. "Oh, this is just perfect!" Ginny exclaimed and threw her hands up.

Molly, however, wasn't paying attention to them. She was staring at Harry Potter, Ginny's boyfriend. He had opened his eyes once Ron had interrupted them. Now, however, he wished he had kept them closed. He couldn't look at Molly. She was like a mother to him and had treated him like he was her own child. He knew she was ecstatic when he and Ginny had gotten together. Now that things weren't working out, he didn't want to see the look of disappointment on her face.

"Harry," Molly whispered, "Is all this true?"

Harry kept looking anywhere but at Molly. He opened his lips, but nothing came out. His mouth was dry. He closed his lips and cleared his throat while also taking a gulp of saliva. "Yes," he whispered.

Immediately the noise in the room grew by a substantial amount. Harry felt as if he was back in Hogwarts, in the great hall during lunch hour. Fred and George were loudly complaining that Harry had finally lost his mind. Molly began to tear up all the while shrieking that whatever the problem was they could work it out. Ginny was screaming at Ron, asking him what the hell his problem was. Ron stood silently against the doorframe letting Ginny vent as much as she wanted to. He stayed impassive even as he felt Ginny was about to resort to physical violence.

"Enough!" shouted a voice that just entered the room, interrupting everyone once again. She had brown hair with soft curls that came down gracefully to her shoulders. Her face was set in a frown as she walked towards Harry and stood by him.

"Ron asked Harry to end it with Ginny because of reasons we cannot share with you," Hermione said in a steady voice. Seeing as all of them were about to interrupt her, she raised her hand.

"We cannot share this information with you because it relates to the events that took place two years ago," she continued. That shut everyone up real quick. Two years ago, was a historical moment for the wizarding world. It was the year Harry Potter and Lord Voldemort faced off against each other and Harry came out on top. The war between the pureblood fanatics that supported Voldemort's rise to power and the rest of the wizarding world was relatively short. However, it was brutal nonetheless.

Harry, Ron and Hermione were absent for most of the war. Occasionally popping up and supporting the resistance when they needed them most. But once their work was done they retreated. Many were angry that they were not taking a more active role in the fight against Voldemort. Some even called them cowards. The trio took the accusations silently and explained that the work they were doing in the shadows was more important and could effectively end the war. Many took heart from that, while some still remained sceptical.

It didn't matter what people thought however, because of the 'Last Battle at Hogwarts'. Voldemort had long sought Hogwarts as his stronghold. He had spent close to four months preparing his siege on the ancient castle. With werewolves, giants, dementors and his loyal death eaters at his side, his victory was almost assured. His plans were foiled by Harry, Ron and Hermione. With clever use of the invisibility cloak and numerous concealment charms they infiltrated a number of the dark lords hideouts.

Once in the hideouts, they poisoned the food supply. This was no ordinary poison though, it was one of Hermione's creations. Once consumed, the poison did not activate unless they were in a high adrenaline state. This was perfect because as soon as the death eaters and werewolves assaulted Hogwarts, the poison would take effect. Although the giants consumed the potion, they were not as affected by it as the humans. Their movements were still sluggish however, which made them easy targets for the resistance.

With his army taken out, and anti-apparation and anti-portkey wards set in place, Voldemort had nowhere to retreat. He and Harry finally duked it out by the Hogwarts lake. Unknown to Voldemort, the destruction of all his horcruxes had severely weakened his magical reserves. It went unnoticed because the depletion occurred slowly over the past year. The destruction of his horcruxes was also extremely beneficial for Harry. Harry had become the Master of Death once he united the three hallows - the elder wand, the cloak of invisibility and the resurrection stone. He discovered a way to drain the magical power of the horcruxes when utilizing all three powerful artifacts.

The drained magical power significantly boosted his reserves. Harry found that he could throw around high level spells far easier now. He still had to train heavily in that area though. He constantly duelled Ron and Hermione simultaneously. Soon, he was able to hold his own against the both of them. He also came up with multiple spell combinations. They were spells he would rapidly use in succession to trap, immobilise or move his opponent towards a specific spot.

Harry was far less experienced than Voldemort, but he more than made up for it with his superior physique and larger magical reserves. He forced Voldemort into using strong and exhausting spells as he ran circles around him, preferring to dodge instead of using shields. All the while, he was pelting Voldemort with spells equally as powerful as the dark lord was dishing out. It came down to a war of attrition. Neither of them got careless enough to take a spell head on. However, Harry's magical reserves had long surpassed Voldemorts.

While the resistance battled what was left of Voldemorts army, Harry slowly started to push Voldemort back. Voldemort was used to battles, having fought in plenty. However, he was not prepared for constant, draining spellwork for two hours straight. Harry however, had trained and planned for this exact scenario for almost a year.

At the two hour mark, most of the battle in Hogwarts had died down. The resistance had won. Many came to see the battle between Harry and Voldemort. None, however, dared to interfere. They all had high hopes though, seeing as Harry had only a few scratches and bruises over his body. While Voldemort had even fewer injuries, his breathing was labored and they could tell that he was ready to collapse. Harry was also breathing heavily, but that was mostly physical exertion.

Everyone went silent as Voldemort dropped to his knees. His wand slipping from his hand. They could hear Voldemort say something about how Harry only won because he acquired that wand. Voldemort laughed and said it didn't matter because his immortality was assured. Harry then whispered something to him that made Voldemort furious. He lunged at Harry, but Harry calmly split his head from his body with a severing curse. He stepped to the side as Voldemort's body sailed past him and crashed into the ground. Voldemorts head rolled to his feet. With another flick, Harry set the head and body on fire and walked away. The crowd was silent for a few moments before they erupted in cheers.

Many had questioned how Harry had been able to match Voldemort so well. But, none of the trio would mention how exactly Harry accomplished it. These days, whenever the question came up Harry usually responded with silly comments like 'I just ate my vegetables daily' or 'I did a hundred push ups every day'. Kingsley Shacklebolt, the current Minister of Magic knew of course. He received a detailed report on everything Harry, Ron and Hermione did that year. He agreed with them that the information was too dangerous and should be kept between the four of them.

Ginny shook herself from the memory of that year. She had pestered Harry to tell her about his adventures that year. But he was adamant that no one else needed to know. She eventually gave up. Now, however, she wished she hadn't. Ron had walked across the room and joined Harry and Hermione. The three of them were facing the rest of Ron's family, waiting for them to react.

Finally Molly spoke, "That happened two years ago! What has that got to do with Harry and Ginny's current relationship?"

They were silent for a while before Hermione answered hesitantly, "An incident took place when we were looking for artifacts that could assist in defeating Voldemort." Seeing as everyone was waiting for her to elaborate she went on, "The incident itself doesn't matter anymore and we can't speak of it anyway. However, after that took place we noticed something." She took a deep breath and looked at Harry. Seeing him nod she continued, "Harry changed. And we don't know the exact extent of his changes."

Everyone was quiet for a while until George broke the silence. "Are you impotent?" he asked.

"George!" Molly screamed indignantly, as she turned to face him.

"What!" Ginny yelled at the same time and faced George. "No, he isn-" she continued, but abruptly shut her mouth as she realised what she was about to say. She was too late however, as Molly realised what her daughter inadvertently revealed. Forgetting George for the moment, she turned towards her youngest and directed all her ire at the situation towards her.

"No, I'm not," Harry said calmly, before Molly could yell at Ginny. He was used to the Weasley twins antics and wasn't bothered by their line of questioning.

"Are you sterile?" Fred asked.

Molly once again directed a furious look at another child of hers. Ginny, while glad that Fred had taken some of the heat off of her couldn't help but be curious. If Harry was sterile, she wouldn't care in the slightest. She could assure him it didn't matter to her and they could still be together.

Harry was expecting a comment like that from Fred. He wasn't however expecting a hopeful look from Ginny. 'What the hell is that about?' he thought to himself. Nevertheless, with a frown on his face he answered, "No, I'm not."

"Quick on the draw problems then?"

"Could be possible brother dear, but unlikely. Harry always waits for the most opportune moment to strike."

"Stamina issues, then?"

"No, it can't be. He and Voldemort were at it for two hours straight. Ginny should be satisfied with that level of performance if it even overwhelmed the darkest lord of all time."

"Never know, brother dear."

"Oh! Maybe it's Ginny who can't keep up with Harry. That would make more sense."

"Aha! Then the answer is simple. Harry should just get a mistress."

"She can't be a mistress! Harry and Ginny aren't married yet."

"Then what do we call her? Tramp seems a bit too much, especially since she's helping Harry and Ginny out."

"I think she's just a regular side chick."

"That's kinda boring, don't you think?"

"Enough!" screamed Molly and Ginny simultaneously. While the twins' back and forth was sometimes hilarious, it wasn't helping the current situation. Harry was rubbing the bridge of his nose in irritation while Ron was struggling to contain his laughter. A slap on the head from Hermione quickly quelled that.

Ginny turned to Harry. "Whatever changes you are going through we can work it out together Harry," she said.

"It's not that simple Gin," Ron spoke, "We don't know whether Harry is affected temporarily or permanently and whether or not it affects the people around him. And until we figure out a solution, Harry won't be able to be with anyone else."

That drew everyone's attention. Ginny felt slightly relieved that Harry wouldn't be dating anyone else anytime soon. She immediately felt horrible for thinking such a thing. The relief however, still remained.

"So, Harry won't be seeing anyone in the near future?" Molly asked in a quiet voice. Her concern for her daughter now shifted into concern for her 'son'.

"Yes, it seems so," Hermione answered.

"For how long?" Molly asked.

"We don't know."

"But, you can't stay alone forever. You will figure something out eventually, right?"

"We don't know."

"But-,"

"We can't be certain because that artifact is as powerful as it is ancient. And with something like that, a solution will not be easy."

Everyone went silent at that. They were not satisfied with the answers Harry, Ron and

Hermione provided, but they understood that this decision had not been an easy one. They continued talking throughout the day. When Arthur came home from the Ministry, he was informed on everything that happened. He too, joined in their discussion. Eventually, while none of them agreed with Harry's decision, they understood that it was his choice. Ginny was still upset and had secluded herself in her room.

Harry talked to her through the door, trying to get her to come out and talk to him. He eventually said his goodbye's and left the house. Ginny would later regret not saying what she felt at that moment.

It had been close to 40 years since that day. Harry was now an elite auror field agent. He was still very close with the entire Weasley family. Ginny was now happily married to a French wizard she had met while visiting Fleur's family. They had two lovely kids. It tore Harry apart watching them together. He had never had any feelings for another girl after Ginny. Even if he did, he could not act on them. Still, he was happy that she found happiness. Ron and Hermione were very supportive during their wedding and were constantly checking up on him.

While he did attend the wedding, he didn't stay for long. None of the Weasley's made a comment on it though and he was grateful for that. Molly was still pushing him to forget about whatever that artifact had done and just live his life. He smiled at that thought. Even though he broke her daughter's heart she still looked out for him. He always wondered if his mom would be exactly like Molly Weasley if she was alive. Probably, Sirius did always mention that Lily had a fierce temper.

Even Ron and Hermione had urged him to start casually dating. Hermione had concluded that whatever the three hallows had done to Harry, it would affect only him and no one else. Ron was very vocal in this decision. He felt very guilty for breaking Harry and Ginny up. Harry wasn't interested though. He had only ever loved one girl. After Ginny, he didn't feel any attraction towards any girl. The possibility of having a long term relationship with any woman was also impossible because of the hallows.

While his personal life was quite depressing, his professional one was very rewarding. Ron had long since retired from field work. It was around the time he and Hermione were expecting their first grandchild. Hermione had said that it was high time he gave up such a dangerous career. He was now the Head of the Auror Department. While Harry was officially an elite auror, many in the auror force considered Harry and Ron to hold the same authority.

Harry understood why though. He had as much experience as Ron and like Ron, the entire auror force was trained by them or by someone that trained under them. Together, the two of them established and efficient workforce. Harry often wondered what the war with Voldemort would have been like if they had the current auror task force to contend with Voldemort's death eaters. It would have been a hell of a lot easier, that's for sure.

Most of the auror's worked in teams of three. It helped develop a camaraderie that strengthened through time. Experienced teams knew each others habits and mannerisms better than their own spouses. This level of teamwork was a great boon in field ops and was praised multiple times in the Daily Prophet.

Harry had no current team though. He and Ron had formed an efficient team that lasted for a good 25 years. When Ron took up a desk job, Harry opted to work solo. His superiors were initially reluctant but knew that he could handle himself. So, eventually they agreed. Harry was now every auror's role model for bringing in over 500 criminals single handedly. He also had over a 100 kills under his belt when detaining criminals was no longer an option. Most retired aurors never went close to that number. Alastor 'Mad-eye' Moody was known to have killed just shy of two dozen criminals.

Right now, Harry was on the trail of a cult suspected of practicing blood magic. While this magic was frowned upon, it was not banned by the Ministry of Magic. Minister Granger had implemented a strict set of rules for all those who wished to study dangerous magic. All magic under this category was strictly controlled and those wishing to research these fields had to accept and follow strict regulations. While they basically lost all privacy under these rules, access gained to research materials more than made up for it.

Harry had finally received a tip from one of his contacts on the cults base of operations. He had signalled for back up and proceeded to gather intel on the base. He wasn't planning on engaging the cultist until backup arrived. The tip was unexpected, so he had no teams on standby. He figured that once his message was received, it would take about twenty minutes for a team to suit up into battle gear and move out. That was plenty enough time to map out the base and estimate the number of targets.

Harry calmly walked down the large halls of the cultists manor. He was cloaked in an invisibility spell of his own creation. He had also masked his footsteps and smell. While there were other ways of detecting him, Harry was confident he was safe. Wizards rarely delved into obscure ways to detect people. He was on the second floor corridor near a door he suspected would lead him to the main hall. Or at least the balcony that overlooked the main hall. It would be easier to spot and mark targets from above. He strongly suspected everyone had gathered for a ritual since the hallways were empty.

He quietly opened the door and slipped in. It seemed he was right. He could see the entire hall from where he was, as well as all the cultists. He wasn't on a balcony though, because the second floor covered the entire main hall and had a huge rectangle shaped hole in the center that showed the first floor of the hall. There were around three dozen cultists as far as Harry could figure out. He spotted several cultists he had been following for the past couple of weeks. Their hoods were off and he could see everyone's faces. 'Typical cultists,' he thought, 'Always with the fancy red robes and a hood.'

That train of thought immediately ended however as he looked at the center of the hall. From his vantage point he could easily see the huge circular pentagram drawn in chalk that encompassed a stone altar. From a cursory glance, it looked like some form of summoning ritual. Those were always dangerous. He didn't care for figuring out exactly what type of summoning ritual however, as his eyes rested on the altar. Or to be more specific, what rested on the altar - a child.

The young girl had her hands and legs tied with a rope. She looked to be about 13 or 14 years old. 'They probably needed a virgin', he thought. Missing children were high priority cases. Adults were less troublesome to kidnap. There was also a waiting period before you could register an adult as missing after all. She was unconscious for the moment, however, whatever spell they had her under seemed to be wearing off. He could see her stirring.

His focus shifted to one of the cultists. He looked like the leader. He was chanting in a language that Harry vaguely recognised as ancient greek. He hoped backup arrived ahead of schedule. He wanted to engage them before that man completed the ritual. If he had to, he would engage them alone but he was not confident that he could subdue all of them on his own.

Before he could plan out a strategy, his attention was drawn towards the altar. A magical circle was forming in front of it. It was as big as the altar itself. 'Crap,' Harry thought, 'Too late! Whatever it is their messing with, it's coming over right now!' With that final thought Harry burst into motion. He vaulted over the stone railing while drawing a second wand. He had tagged several people while surveying the room. It was a support spell that aided in aiming. As he was falling towards the first floor he sent several stunning spells at all the people he tagged. He softened the floor when he was about to land.

Around a dozen people simultaneously fell to the floor as he landed. A third of their comrades falling to the floor drew the attention of everyone in the room. The lead cultist immediately spotted Harry and drew his wand.

"Stop him! He cannot interrupt the ritual!" he shouted.

Harry was already in motion. He raised both his wands and pointed to a specific point above his head. With a silent chant he sent a powerful shockwave that knocked down all the cultists. He didn't have time to deal with them. His priority was the girl. He sent a strong summoning charm to her. He smiled as the charm took hold and she moved towards him. He lost the smile however, when the girl smacked against an invisible shield and fell to the ground. She groaned in pain, which further unravelled the sleeping charm she was under.

Harry cursed under his breath and moved towards the girl. He stopped in his tracks when a deep rumbling laughter permeated through the entire hall. The magical circle in front of the altar flickered and a demonic hand came up from the ground. The laughter continued as a behemoth lifted itself up and turned to face Harry.

"That flesh belongs to me, Gor'om haguul!" the demon roared baring its teeth at Harry. It was at least ten feet tall, and had red leather-like skin with huge six inch claws on both hands. A short tail that reached to its knees swished lazily as it stared at Harry with a smirk. Multiple spikes of various sizes protruded from its tail, back and head. Its muscles bulged as it flexed them experimentally. Harry figured he didn't get out much.

Harry's mind was quickly trying to figure out his options. 'This isn't good,' he thought, 'These fuckers have gone and summoned at least a 5th level demon.' Harry eyed the summoning circle drawn around the altar. 'They couldn't have had the power to summon a being of this level,' he pondered, 'unless…,'. Harry eyed the girl. She was only a couple of feet away from the demon, yet the creature made no move to collect her. Harry ran the demon's words through his head. His eyes widened as he realized what they had done. 'She isn't a sacrifice, well, at least not in the traditional sense,' he thought as he ran his fingers through his hair, 'These fuckers have tied her life force to the demon. As long as she lives the demon will remain in this realm. To banish the demon all the cultists have to do is end her life.' Harry cursed, 'They must have a way of killing her without entering the circle.'

'This keeps getting worse by the minute,' thought Harry as he eyed the recovering cultists. 'Okay, break this down,' Harry calmed himself, 'The girl is in no danger because the demon needs her alive. The cultists however, can kill her through their failsafe, if they even have one.' His thoughts picked up speed, 'The demon can't leave the circle so it's stuck for now. The cultists are the immediate threat. I'll deal with them and then figure out what to do with the demon.'

Harry breathed out a sigh while absentmindedly tilting his head out of the path of an incoming curse. 'Looks like I can't afford to subdue them in this situation,' he thought as he readied himself for a tough fight, 'I need to end this quickly. I don't know what type of connection the demon shares with the girl. Whatever it is, it can't be good for her.' Harry stowed both his wands as he rolled out of the way of a barrage of spells. He reached deep into his robes and ran his fingers over an invisible rune. Upon activation the rune spat out a fifteen inch black wand that Harry expertly caught. With a flourish a transparent shield popped in front of him and blocked all the incoming spells.

Once the shield activated he switched the power source from the wand to his left hand. His wandless capabilities were very limited but supplying power through one hand to maintain a spell was pretty easy. He raised a wide and tall wall behind the shield to hide behind for extra security. Now that he bought himself some time he started conjuring. All the cultists were focused on him, which was good. He didn't want them getting rid off or interacting with the demon. Right now the cultists had the number advantage. They realised that it was only one person they were facing and not a squad. This made them confident. He didn't want that.

He needed to eliminate the number advantage as well as get rid of their confidence. He wanted them scared. He wanted them to panic. A few moments later, Harry was breathing heavily. Exercising such powerful magic in such a short time was tiring. It was like sprinting at top speed for a couple of minutes. He still had energy, he just needed to catch his breath. The cultists had given up throwing spells at his shield and were trying to flank him. 'Too late,' Harry thought as a vicious grin stretched across his face. With a wave of his wand the wall separating him and the cultists vanished. He also stopped supplying power to the shield.

The cultists didn't attack however. They were frozen in fear. The demon, who had only been observing everyone silently grinned in amusement. Harry stood in front of over a dozen creatures he had created. They were all made from a magnesium alloy Harry had conjured and then shaped into various beasts. Notable among the creatures were a werewolf, a grim and a house elf with boxing gloves on. The elf was happily bouncing on his toes while lightly tapping his gloves together. That tap however, made the sound of two swords clashing together.

On the third tap, all the summoned beings raced forth towards the cultists. Most of them immediately turned and ran to seek cover. Some started throwing curses as fast as they could. They were untrained in combat, so it wasn't anything impressive. The werewolf slashed its claws with reckless abandon, dismembering cultists by the bundle. The elf was quick, the quickest of all the summons. He zipped between cultists delivering bone crushing blows. The grim barked in happiness, a cultists arm hanging from his jaw as it bounded through the mini war zone. A spider pounced on a nearby cultist as the huge dog passed by. It sank its pincers into the cultists neck as he screamed in agony.

Harry merely watched the chaos while looking for the true troublemakers. The only cultists that were making a good stand were by the lead cultist. The leader itself seemed to be performing a long chant. 'Well that can't happen,' Harry thought as he engaged the group. The leader immediately stopped, cursing Harry under his breath, while sending the darkest spell he knew.

The engagement was quite pitiful. Harry easily overpowered the small group. Before long, the battle had ended. The lead cultist was gasping for breath as he held his severed wand arm. He was trying and failing to stem the bleeding.

"Help me!" he whimpered pitifully, "You need me to get rid of the demon."

"That remains to be seen," Harry replied cooly. The grim came to his side and bared its fangs at the cultist. "How do I get rid of him?" Harry asked.

The cultist was openingly crying now. "I can kill the girl from here. Once she is dead, the demon will go away," he cried out, "Heal me and I'll tell you how."

Harry's expression darkened. "Killing the girl isn't an option."

The cultist's eyes widened. "But...but…, that's the only way to get rid of the demon. There's no way we can kill it! He's from the 7th realm" he cried out in dismay.

Harry was no longer looking at him. "You're right," he said without any emotion, "You can't kill him." While Harry was impassive in his gaze, he was inwardly cursing the cultists. He was hoping the demon was only from the 5th realm. He'd handled one of those before. But this was new territory for him. A 7th realm demon was almost unheard of. He could count the number global incidents where a demon was summoned from the 7th realm with only one hand.

He stepped over the cultist and slashed his wand behind him. The cultist gasped in pain as his neck was cut open. Harry felt cruel for doing that but if he stunned the cultist he would simply bleed out. He also didn't have time to heal the man right now. A sharp inhale of breath drew his attention.

The girl was conscious now, and by the looks of it, had been for some time. Her breathing was quick, like she was on the verge of a panic attack. Her eyes were wide as she looked at him. He supposed he was quite the sight right now. With over a dozen deadly creatures around him and his casual violence, she must think him quite the monster. He was also covered in the blood of the cultists. He couldn't focus on that right now though, as he shifted his gaze to the demon.

This was going to be a tough fight.