Summary: The story of how Harry got a second chance, to relive it all again. Everything will be irrevocably changed, but the same life it will be. The Lady in White has been waiting centuries for him; will Harry have the strength for what is to come?
Warning: There will be death, some gore along with swearing and some sexual content. Along the lines of sexual content, there will be slash in this story along with others if I deem it necessary, you have been warned.
Authors Note: It has been a long time since I have written a good story, so here's my latest installment. Please be nice, it has been a while since I have written anything, so if you do happen to see an error, leave a review! I would be happy to change it to make the reading experience easier for everyone. PLEASE R&R! I'm not doing this only for my own enjoyment so please keep your thoughts coming! Criticisms only please, if you have any qualms on the story please pm me instead of reviewing. Thanks so much and please enjoy my work!
Harry Potter's fifth year at Hogwarts had been difficult thus far. With the Tri Wizard tournament in full swing, Life in the castle had been hard to bear as of late. The second task was over, and everyone had breathed a sigh of relief. It was two months now until the final task would begin, and our savior in waiting had been dreading every second of its coming.
As Harry was wondering the halls that fateful night, his dreams had been plaguing him incessantly; he began to wonder if this was the life he was meant to have. Though fate had chosen this path for him, why did he have to walk it alone? Sure he had Hermione and Ron and even Dumbledore but real family was what he wanted most. Parents or even siblings would be enough, just someone to share a common past, share love or even just exist together.
It was early in the morning now, as Harry made his way back to the Gryffindor common rooms, he noticed a shadow out of the corner of his eye, following closely behind him. As he turned to look, he saw that it was none other than Victor Krum. Harry turned on a sickle, drawing his wand in the process, only to be stunned by the boy with his superior skills.
When Harry awoke, He looked around to find himself on the outskirts of the grounds, just on the border to the forest. He had been bound to a giant cross; he judged about seven feet off the ground. As he looked down, he saw that he was not alone. Surrounding him were men wearing dark robes and wearing masks of bone and silver arranged in a half circle around him. In the center of the circle was a large black cauldron, simmering to the brim with a pitch black liquid. One of the men stepped forward:
"Well it has been a long time Mister Potter, but I believe that the times for pleasantries are over." The man said as he removed his mask.
"How could I not guess that you would be here Malfoy" Harry said, struggling at his invisible bonds.
"It was not only I that brought you here, Potter, but another acquaintance of yours." The Malfoy senior said as he made way for the one who had brought him to his imminent doom.
"I thought you were different Krum, Now I see that you are just like the rest: dark, greedy and not worth the robes you're wearing." Harry spat at Krum, who had a virtual smirk plastered all over his face.
"Now now Mister Potter, I won't have you insulting my guest of honor at our little party," Malfoy said with smooth tone "I'm going to have to teach you some manners, CRUCI-"
"Enough, Malfoy!" Said another figure in the group "We haven't time to waste, and the master is anxious to return."
"Right you are," Malfoy responded while smoothing out his robes "Let us begin my brothers, for the master waits!"
And so they began, first those who were present began a slow mournful chant, causing the cauldron to begin to bubble. Krum shuffled forward; bringing a delicate silver knife out from his robes he began the spell.
"Now is the time, those who sacrificed shall now do so again." He said as the chanting group began to quicken their chant.
"By the bones of the dragons lost to time, you shall rise again." Krum pointed the knife at the ground, and a bone of pure white shot out and landed neatly in the cauldron, slowly sinking into its depths.
"By the flesh of those who serve you, you shall rise again." Krum took the knife and raised it high in the air, holding his hand above the cauldron. In one swift motion, Krum's hand landed in the cauldron and slowly dissolved into the black liquid of the cauldron. By now the chanters began an impossible beat, chanting now with the speed of a humming bird. The cauldron now began to vibrate, and the liquid within began to turn, slowly at first but then matched the beat the chanters provided.
Now Krum moved over to Harry, and reached for his leg. With the silver knife he easily cut a slit in his pants, and dug it deep within the leg, drawing a scream from Harry's lips.
"With the blood of thine mortal enemy, you shall be free once again." Krum spoke this part in almost a whisper, as he dripped Harry's blood into the cauldron. The liquid turned into a rainbow of colors and began to turn even faster, creating a sinister looking rainbow of black, green, blue and red.
"Now at the hour of beginnings, the pact shall be made!" Krum shouted as he drew from within his robes a small looking figure, almost childlike. Without wasting a moment, he dropped the figure into the cauldron, and watched as the figure swirled deep into the cauldron.
As Harry watched the figure drop in the cauldron, a quite sense of dread washed over him. He knew what this ritual was meant to do, and if they succeeded, it would mean that the war would start anew. Countless lives would be lost, and even more if they could not succeed in killing Voldemort for good.
The chanters had not stopped since the figure was placed in the cauldron. Slowly but surely as they chanted, the cauldron began to shake. The liquid within began to slow and bubble as it did before. Cracks could be seen developing on the outside, as the chanters were fighting now to keep up their frantic pace. A few moments of this passed until, the potion in the cauldron abruptly stopped. A quiet hush fell over their little party as the chanters paused, holding their breath as they stared longingly at the cauldron. Time seemed to slow as they waited, and waited. A faint happiness bloomed inside of Harry's chest. 'Yes! They failed!' oh how wrong he was.
The cauldron began to shake, violently so that it was surprising that not a drop of the potion was spilled on the surrounding area. In an instant the cauldron promptly exploded, leaving nothing it its wake except a dark shadow that swirled around where the cauldron used to be. As the cloud swirled, the men surrounding Harry bend down on their knees, waiting patiently for their master to return.
As Harry watched, the cloud began to form; first it was the feet, the legs, the torso, arms, and finally the face of the man who would destroy him. Voldemort himself was now standing in front of him, as if he had never been dead in the first place.
"I was never dead, merely incapacitated in a moment of weakness" Voldemort hissed lightly as he turned to stare at the very bane of his existence. With a wave of Voldemort's hand, a dark could appeared and formed into pitch black robes and adorned themselves onto his very tall, lean body.
"It was you and your mother who brought about my down fall, and since your mother has already fallen by my hand, it is time you shared the same fate" Voldemort stated, inhumanly calm as he reached for the knife held out by Krum as he kneeled by Voldemort's feet. Taking the knife, Voldemort strode forward and in a few steps was standing next to Harry, Holding the knife against his throat.
"No famous last words?" he questioned "This is to be my final rise to power, and your inglorious defeat. Care to say anything as I gut you like a swine for your transgressions against me?"
"I have nothing to say to a monster like you," Harry said full of hate, anger and sadness "You who had every chance to be the greatest wizard who ever lived and now look at you."
"I am the greatest wizard who ever lived," Voldemort sneered "I who have conquered death, I who have thousands at my command, I who have more power than even the mighty Dumbledore! None can match me!"
"You seem to have it wrong Tom," Harry said with a sigh "All the chances of you becoming that wizard died when you chose to harm instead of protect, kill instead of save, hate instead of love." "Dumbledore was right Tom, Love might not be the greatest power, but it is the greatest power that we posses and I'm afraid you just don't have it." Harry spoke these words from deep in his heart for he knew that they were true. For all the power that Voldemort possessed it would always be defeated by that which he could not understand. Love.
Rage filled Voldemorts eyes as he drew back the blade for what would be the final moments of Harry's life. As the blade moved forward, a flash of light appeared of in the distance. It was Dumbledore and the staff, hurrying to come and save Harry.
Voldemort turned to see the party coming to rescue his prey. Turning quickly, Voldemort made for quick motions, cutting both of Harry's wrists and his ankles. Blood poured out of the wounds as if someone had turned on a faucet in Harry's body. Voldemort grinned "The deal has been set, A life for a life" and as a final farewell mentioned that the wounds he had given Harry could never be healed as long as Voldemort himself was still alive. And with that he took off to the edge of the forest, where he promptly dissaperated, leaving his generals scrambling to follow.
Harry's eyes began to droop as the group made it to where his body was hanging. Surprisingly it was Dumbledore who made it to Harry first, considering his advanced age. With a swift wave of his wand, Harry crumpled into Dumbledore's arms, and then laid him gently on the ground. People began to swarm Harry as Dumbledore began casting spell after spell, trying to heal Harry's wounds. After about a minute of this, Dumbledore's usually serene face was now plastered with worry and desperation as he saw the life blood slowly drain from his body.
"Harry my boy, I'm afraid that this is a fate I can't save you from," Dumbledore spoke solemnly, silent tears running down his face "I'm so sorry."
"After all the saving you've done for me in the past professor, I think I can let this one slide." Harry said jokingly as painful cough wracked his body.
"Harry I…." Dumbledore began, only to be interrupted by Harry
"Please Professor, I don't have much time left, and I have something I want to say." Harry said tiredly "I just wanted to say I forgive you for all the hurt you caused me over the years; leaving me at the Dursley's, leaving me in the dark about my destiny and everything. Now that my luck has finally run out, I understand why you did it and I forgive you." And with that, the life drained from Harry's eyes and he was gone. Dumbledore began to smile through the tears and he reached forward and slowly closed his eyes. As a last thought, he whispered into the early morning air "If I could, I would have traded destinies with you Harry, if only to ease the pain I put you through."
In that moment, it seemed that the world stopped turning. The birds stopped their morning songs; the breeze was no longer floating lazily by. Dumbledore looked up from the body of the boy he always thought of as his grandson to see a sight he hadn't seen in an age. Before him stood The Lady in White, the very embodiment of nature and magic. She was tall, almost seven feet, with hair as black as the night sky and skin as brown as the earth. Her eyes were the color of young evergreens, and her dress seemed to be made of clouds. Dumbledore had only met her once before, on the day when he defeated his greatest enemy and friend, Grindlewald.
"It has been a long time Carrinfel, I almost didn't recognize you with that delightful beard of yours" the Lady said, her voice light and musical. She looked down at the body of the boy who lived, a deep sadness setting in on her features. "The boy had such a good heart and a kind soul; his fate should not have been this dark."
"My lady if I may ask why have you come here?" Dumbledore said, "You came to me years ago and told me that my task would not be over until the sun rose on the day he fell" (Dumbledore had assumed that 'he' meant Voldemort)
"Yes I did say that, but you misunderstand, it was not the he you are thinking of" She said "I came to you that day, out of all times and places to warn you to watch over those you loved. Today is the day I had feared would come. In all other realities, it is Voldemort who wins the war, and draws the world into a state of permanent darkness." The Lady explained "The only future that had the promise of light was this one, and now the chance it had is gone. But there is a light at the end of this tunnel, for I now know for sure that this boy is who will do my work in this world." The lady said with a pearly white glow starting to surround her "If you are willing to give your life and your name for this boy, I can give him a new chance at life. He will remember nothing of this world and its woes, but he will be subject to darkness all the same. Are you willing to give that up?" The Lady stared deep into Dumbledore's eyes as he nodded his agreement. It would be a hefty price to pay, but for his transgressions against the boy in this life, he was willing to give it all up to give Harry a second chance.
"Then the deal is sealed, grasp his forearm Carrinfel, the deed must be official." The Lady said, moving forward and grasped his other arm. As they grasped both of Harry's lifeless arms, both The Lady and Dumbledore began to glow in ethereal light. From their hands grew veins of pure white power, branching down from their arms to Harry's making their way to his eyes. Upon reaching them, Harry's eyes flew open and began to glow white along with everyone else.
"I, Carrinfel sacrifice my name and my life so that it may be used to save the life of one Harry Potter." Dumbledore spoke the ancient pact and with that, all three of them disappeared in a flash of white light.
Time began to turn again as the teachers looked around to see where both Harry and Dumbledore had gone too. As they began to search the grounds, they turned to see the sun and the sky turn red as blood, and fire began to rain from the sky. Panicking the teachers began to run back to the school, but it would not matter. In mere moments the entire world became extinct, and the world went black.
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