A/N: Hello, this is my first try at writing fan fiction. Any mistakes, please forgive me and if you please, you can point it out and I will do my homework. Anyway, I would not be updating frequently since I have studies to catch up for, and writing, of course. I have my own original story to write. If this gets good replies, then I will probably set up a group for you to give suggestions. Until then, thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I own nothing. J.K. Rowling owns Harry Potter and Bloomsbury and Scholastic own the publishing rights.

Chapter 1

Life

This place holds memories of life. The noble Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry; a place where students once laughed, cried, smiled, even made friends and forge new alliances. Now, none of that was here for most have perished in the battle. The last battle was in the favour of the light side. Yes, Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Vanquished-the-Dark-Lord defeated Lord Voldemort, the most terrible Dark Lord for the last time.

With one last look at the castle, he turned his back and walked down the path. None saw the tears falling on his cheeks, falling from the eyes that held so much pain and sorrow. Too much for a person to handle, let alone an eighteen-year-old teenager. He vowed never to return to this world, to leave the pain and sadness the place held. He brought the wand above his head and disappeared with a crack. People had only discovered sometime later that Harry Potter had left the wizarding world when someone read the note left by him next to the nightstand of the Burrow at the Weasleys'. The Harry Potter whom they all knew finally decided to leave after leaving a big impact on the wizarding world. He had saved them from a terrible fate.

Harry Potter, at age eighteen has decided that enough is enough. He had transferred all of his money into a muggle account and lived somewhere in Westminster. He had a new life; away from the sorrow, the wizarding world reminded him. With all the money he had, he continued his muggle schooling without having to work. There, he studied until time passed and he excelled his studies with flying colours.

After college, Harry took another step forward in learning and went to university. By that time, he had reached the age of twenty. Studying medicine at university, Harry Potter spent most of his time studying, passing exams and as time wore on, withdrawn to himself. Harry knew that he was not completely withdrawn, though for he had friends, friends who know him as Harry Potter, not the Boy-Who-Vanquished-the-Dark-Lord. He felt thankful for this and prayed that it would always stay in such way. It was then, that he finally met the person to fill the emptiness of his heart.

Cathleen Clements, a friend of his, who happened to take a degree in doctorate, went to every class he attended. Harry thought she was the smartest person he had ever met since Hermione when he first laid his eyes on her. As days wore on, Harry and Cathleen became more intimate. It came as no surprise to Harry's friends when he did ask Cathleen out for a date one morning while heading to a lecture. They could see the way the two looked at each other was more than enough to reveal what was stirring under the gaze.

Cathleen's friends had also noticed the change in their friend. For them, it was a good thing that Cathleen had finally decided to settle in with a person since all she did was bury herself in her books, in other words, just what Harry Potter did before the two met each other. Harry Potter tried to hide his grief by keeping busy while Cathleen buried herself in books to avoid men after her boyfriend dumped her, back when she was seventeen. In a way, Cathleen found herself attracted to Harry Potter whom she first met in her first year. She seemed fond if not mystified by his aura of mysteriousness. She had longed to know more about Harry Potter, and not the Potter she met in everyday requirement. She wanted to be more than a friend to him. She wanted him as someone she could spend her life together.

Cathleen Clements thought of how her friend, Harry Potter lived his life. She could always see the startling green eyes shadowed by something she could never comprehend. In her heart, she wanted to be there for him, as if she could feel his presence tugging at her very being, begging her to calm the unsettled chaos stirring just beneath the surface of the mask. Oh, yes, Cathleen thought she saw her friend conceal his feelings in situations far too many times to notice. No one knew about this, though, for she kept her secret well guarded, never to spill any of it even the tiniest bit of information for she would never hurt a friend's feelings, especially one Harry Potter.

Harry Potter meanwhile was nervous and he had one big crisis –his hair. He tried to tame his wild hair but to no avail. In the end, Harry decided to make the most of what he has. After running in record time, he finally arrived in front of Cathleen's place. He was left breathless for he sprinted from his place in Westminster to the otherside of Westminster (quite pointless to say, but you get the idea of where they live).

The couple dined at half past seven at McDonalds. Throughout the date, Cathleen tried to coax the secret out of Harry but he did not seem too keen on letting her know about his past. At these times, she felt that she was not smart enough after all since she could not even coax it out of him. To add sugar to the icing, she was, and still is a top student no less. Despite all that, they still had a good time.

"So, Harry, where did you come from? I haven't seen anyone who resembles you or even you for the years that I've lived here."

"I came from Surrey. My aunt took care of me."

"What about your parents? Don't you live with them?"

"They died when I was one."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have brought this up." Cathleen had indeed looked sorry for she knew how it felt to lose someone even when you do not know him or her.

"It's okay. I didn't remember them anyway." 'Well, except when a dementor comes near me." He left that unspoken.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask you this. Who are you really? I can see doubts and shadows surround you whenever I see you and sometimes I can feel that you are hiding something from me; from everybody else."

"It's nothing, Cathleen."

"Don't tell me that and please, call me Lynn. Please, I want this to work out for us. Even for a short while. I need you to trust me."

"Trust isn't something to be given freely. I've lost it once and I'm never going to lose that again," said Harry, his voice void of emotion.

"I know. I've experienced the same thing, too. Please, Harry. How about this, I'll give you time to think. When you decide to tell me, you can always find me after class or call me through my window of my house."

They agreed silently and walked home. After two days of thinking, Harry decided that he would take a step further in his relationship. He would be willing to take the risk. 'I would tell Lynn this afternoon. After all, this afternoon, both of us are free as there are no classes.'

That afternoon, Harry told Cathleen of his life, his heritage, everything there is to do with him. Cathleen was nevertheless shocked. At first, Harry thought Cathleen would not believe in his revelation and thought him crazy. His fears were unfounded because after a while, she looked into his eyes and smiled a sincere smile as she held out her hand for him to hold. As his relationship with Cathleen grew, she began to accept him as he is. After a year, they were married.

In the midst of it all, time had passed. At a house in Notting Hill, lived a man in the name of Harry Potter. Now, at the age of thirty-one, he lived a perfectly normal life, away from the abnormality he had embraced at the age of eleven. Just thirteen years ago, he had defeated the most evil, not to mention insane Dark Lord of his time: Lord Voldemort.

Leaving the wizarding world had not been easy. There were times when he had even reconsidered returning to the wizarding world. Sometimes, he felt guilty for leaving his friends but at the same time, he felt the need to leave it. He could still remember the time he left the wizarding world. The people still mourned for their loved ones and the people whom he hold dear had mostly died. After Dumbledore's funeral, Harry had decided to leave the wizarding world and start a new life in the muggle world.

Harry Potter, now a man of thirty-two, had been married when he was eighteen just after he had finished his education at Hogwarts. Harry, then a quiet and lonely man found himself falling for a woman named Cathleen Clements at twenty whom he met at the very university he enrolled in, studying medicine. When he met Cathleen, she was the inquisitive person, asking him questions, curious about the mystery that surrounded him. Eventually, he decided to tell her about his true self. Before all that, he continued his muggle education and found his interest in medicine, treating patients. After two dates in three days, Harry and Cathleen found themselves in love and after a year, they were married while still in university. It is quite early for someone of this age to wed so to speak.

Now, their children, both at the age of ten are likely to attend Hogwarts next term. The twins, although born just a day apart, one on July 30 and the other just seconds after twelve midnight on July 31 are inseparable. Harry Potter, now a doctor lived a life away from his friends to lock his grief away, instead of confronting them. None of the letters left replied and soon, the letters ceased to arrive. He finally thought he could settle down and live a happy life with his family. Despite all that, Harry and Cathleen had wisely told their children about their heritage from Harry's side and thankfully, they had been okay with it. They knew that they eventually had to attend Hogwarts. Everything was perfectly fine. In just a matter of time, this was going to change.

Harry looked out of the window. The weather was fine with blue skies and birds singing. It gave no indication of anything eventful was likely to happen on that day. Harry went down the stairs. As he tied his tie, he walked to the kitchen to have his breakfast only to find his wife already finished with her cooking as usual. He went to sit on one of the birch chairs at the kitchen counter and ate his bacon as he always had in the morning.

"Good morning, dear. I hope you had a good night's sleep?"

"Good morning, Lynn. As an answer your question, I had. With no calls at night and sleeping next to my sweet wife really did a number."

"Are you trying to flatter me, Mr. Potter?"

"Do you think I am?"

Suddenly, their daughter, Irene and William came through the kitchen door.

"Have you both finished teasing each other? If you are, then we had better finish our meal. I think we're running pretty late, don't you think?" said Irene.

"Okay, children, finish your breakfast and we'll be on our way. You both remember that you have a big test ahead of you, don't you?" "And Lynn, do you mind going to work by yourself today? I've got an appointment with a patient this morning."

"Yes, dad," the twins chorused.

"Not at all, dear. After all, the clinic is just around the corner." Cathleen had collaborated with her friend from university to open a clinic the previous year.

"I trust that both of you have been working really hard to push your grades up?"

"Of course we have, dad. If what you're saying is pushing an A to an A plus, that's not a problem." (If this is incorrect, please tell me so that I can rectify my mistake and please leave the correction in your review).

"Yes dad. We had mom to help us, remember?"

"I know. It is just that I don't want all of you to be over confident. Always try to do your best in everything you do."

"How can we forget about that, dad? You always tell us to not be overconfident but at the same time, trust our own ability and mom always tells us to work hard to achieve our goals. You will never get that out of our head. Not after you've practically drilled it into our heads."

"Good. Now, let's go. We don't want to be late," Harry said as he and the children got up to clean the table.

Later, he arrived at the hospital after dropping the twins at school. Checking his schedule, Harry smiled. The first patient he would have an appointment with would be Miss Georgina Fernando in one hour. While waiting for the appointment, he decided to check on Mr. Fritters and Miss Fernando's medical history. Right at that moment, his head starts to ache and his vision swam. After taking a few deep, although shaky breaths while closing his eyes to lessen the pain, he felt a little better.

Dr. Jesse McKinnon observed from afar how his assistant fared. Harry had looked pale all day after he saw him massage his temples. He began to worry about Harry's health. He first started to observe Harry when he saw him sway while walking down the corridor. He could see that Harry had had frequent headaches and coughing and all Harry did was dismiss it as work stress. 'Well, it looks like I am going to have to confront him about this.'

Harry was having an appointment with Miss Fernando when his vision started to swim. He was not aware of his surroundings nor was he aware of Georgina calling his name or his nurse rushing to get Dr. McKinnon. After that, his vision went black.

Moments later, he finally woke up only to find Dr. Jesse McKinnon standing next to him, giving him a check-up. He tried to get away, stood abruptly, and saw white spots dancing in front of him.

"Hey, Harry. I want you to rest for a while. You have fainted just over a half an hour ago. Just take it easy."

"It's not a big deal. I really need to get back to work. I have appointments with lots of patients today."

"Harry, I'm not going to allow you to do that. As a doctor, you should know by now not to dismiss any symptoms and immediately go for a check-up when it is obviously necessary in order to keep yourself healthy. How are you going to treat your patient when you yourself don't even take good care of your own health?"

"I just thought it was the stress."

"Even if it was stress, it would have looked severe enough for you to go and ask for a medical advice. You practically live here, so why not use the free times you have to ask about the symptoms. I noticed that your health have deteriorated for the last three weeks. You look pale, Harry. Now, I want you to tell me anything that you have experienced for as long as you can remember."

"Let me see, coughing fits, breathlessness and fatigue as well as light-headedness. I think that is all I can recall. Oh, my, I remembered that I coughed up blood yesterday if I'm not mistaken." Harry's face turned white as he remembered the incident.

Jesse paled. "All right, I'm going to run you through some tests to confirm my suspicion. Laura, would you be a dear and help Dr. Potter up, slowly if you please?"

Laura, the nurse who had been busy with her work quickly came over and helped Harry up slowly.

"You know, I think this isn't necessary."

"Harry, please do this. If you don't want to do this for yourself, then do it for my sake and your wife and children's sake. I have been worried sick about you. For days, I see you getting paler and look sick. You look like you are on the verge of collapsing. Please, Harry," said Jesse. She knew it was a little harsh to use his wife factor but she also knew that Harry would always think of everybody before himself.

"All right, Jesse," said Harry, silently appreciating the thoughtfulness of his friend.

Harry saw Jesse approaching him. 'Oh, Merlin, please don't let this be a bad news.' "I'm so sorry, Harry."

"What is it?"

Jesse seemed to hesitate for a moment before he reconsidered his judgment. "It appears that you have cancer."

"Oh."

"Harry, I need you to relax. Now, I am not going to give you false hope but there is little chance of you surviving this. It seems that the cancer had started to spread. If you follow the treatment, there might still be a chance for your survival."

"I know. However, the thing is that I have been trying to convince myself that there is not any possibility that I could be having cancer. The truth hurts harder than I thought."

"I have faith that you will be able to accept this. You have a strong will. However, what I am concerned is about your wife and children. They will need to be told."

"I know. I hope that I'll have the strength to tell them about this."

Meanwhile, deep inside the recesses of his mind, his thoughts and emotions whirled. 'I will have to tell my wife and children. Nevertheless, the main issue remains with the part where I have to tell my friends. I cannot leave them without saying goodbye. Except that the only way I could tell his friends about this is to go back to the wizarding world. No, there is no way that I'm going back.'

One evening, Harry Potter went to a bakery shop after work, as usual. His mind, completely jumbled up from the news of his illness. He contemplated his feelings about telling his family and friends about the news.

"I'm very sorry, ma'am."

"Oh, it's okay."

Harry helped her collect the things the woman had dropped when he bumped into her. As she looked up, his heart stopped. 'It can't be!'

"Harry? Is that really you?"

After a moment of silence, Harry cleared his throat. Finally finding his voice, he barely whispered, "Hermione?"

END CHAPTER

Coming up next: Harry and Hermione will have a chat. In addition, Harry will let his family know about his illness. Other than that, you will have to wait for the chapter to come out for you to read. Until next time, cheer up!