Disclaimer: I don't make money off of this story. I don't own Harry Potter and Co. I just like to play with them. I also do not own the song used.
Chapter Notes: Complete AU after Goblet of Fire.
We Are One
Harry slowly woke up after a hellish night of nightmares about Cedric and the Tri-Wizard Tournament that happened last month. After the graveyard episode and the talk with Dumbledore, he realized his life had only one direction in life, and while he was unsure to what extent his role in the whole war was, he wasn't sure if he wanted to follow it. He knew he was crucial, but just how much did they need him. He understood a little better about the war than he did when he was younger.
Everyone looked to him as a savior, even Ron at times. Harry never missed the look of awe in Ron's eyes, even though they shared a dorm and rooms at the Burrow and now Grimmauld Place. Ron grew up with stories about him, and Harry figured it was hard to break that habit, no matter how much Harry hated being looked at with awe, or pity, or anything really. He just wanted to blend in and be normal.
Harry crept into the kitchen where his godfather, Sirius, was talking and laughing with his favorite Professor, Remus, and the Weasley twins. Mrs. Weasley was cooking more food as some of the previous batch looked blue and purple. It looked like they pranked everyone's plate as Ron looked a bit put out at the color of food on his. Ginny was trying to stifle a laugh, and Hermione had her hands on her hips, but wasn't reprimanding the Marauders and the twins.
Harry smiled at their antics, but felt weird inside. He didn't have a place with them. He was an outsider. It seemed like the war hadn't affected them at all, although he knew it did. He felt like he belonged with them, but he didn't at the same time. Everyone meshed together perfectly and looking on the outside, there he was.
They looked happy together.
He was about to go back up to his room when a wrinkled hand landed on his shoulder. Harry jumped and spun around, wand drawn.
"Sorry, Professor." Harry mumbled. Dumbledore chuckled and smiled. The other people in the kitchen stopped and was watching the interaction.
"Quick reflexes are a great thing to have, my dear boy. Shall we take a walk?" the old man asked. His eyes twinkled. Harry nodded and allowed himself to be steered out of the kitchen and into the study.
"As you go through life and live as long as I have, you'll see there is so much that we don't understand. Professor Snape, for example. In my years, I have never been able to make him smile, no matter how many Lemon Drops I've asked him to have. Even with a cheering charm on him, he won't smile. The only thing we know is things don't always go the way we planned, like when he spelled my candies to be extra sour." Harry laughed and Albus smiled, then continued.
"But you'll see every day that we'll never turn away, when it seems all your dreams come undone, or when you do something that maybe you shouldn't have." Harry blushed. "We will stand by your side filled with hope and filled with pride throughout your choices in life. We are more than we are, we are one big family, and most importantly, your family."
Harry nodded and thought for a second.
"If there's so much I must be, can I still just be me? The way I am? They all fit together well and I feel like such an outsider a lot of the time. Can I trust in my own heart that I still belong, or am I just one part of some big plan?" Harry asked quietly. He wanted to fit in somewhere, anywhere. He wished he still had his parents. At least with them, he would have had somewhere to really call his home and someone to call family.
Albus saw the sad look and knew the boy was thinking about his parents, "Even those who are gone, such as Lily and James, are with us as we go on. I can see James with Sirius when he pranks someone, similar to the food in there. They pulled off the same prank in the Great Hall in their sixth year, same meal, I believe. I can see James' smirk in my mind when Sirius pulls something they did together in school." Harry flicked his eyes from the floor to his headmaster who was smiling contently. Harry always wondered if his dad flew by him during his Quidditch games, or if his mom was there smiling when he finally made it to the library.
"Their journey is over, as for some other people who are getting to be my age, however, your journey has only begun. There will be many tears of pain, and tears of joy, but there is one thing nothing, not even Voldemort, can destroy. That is our pride and love, deep inside. We are one, and that includes you." Albus stood up slowly and held out a hand to Harry to help him get up. They walked back to the kitchen and stood in the doorway, looking at the other dysfunctional occupants in the house. Dumbledore leaned over and whispered to Harry
"We are one, you and I and the rest of them. We are like the earth and sky. We just fit together and you fit as son to Sirius, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, cub to Remus, my grandson, Severus' 'insufferable Gryffindor and thorn in his side', Ron's twin, and Hermione's best friend and brother. We are one family under the sun. All the wisdom to lead after this war is over, and all the courage that you'll need for life you will find when you see we are one. We'll never leave you, my boy."
Harry looked back at the headmaster and noticed that as quietly he appeared, he left. Harry turned back and saw Sirius looking at him with the concern of a father, and Remus, of an uncle. He walked in with a smile on his face and plopped into a sit between Ron, who was waving him over, and Sirius.
"Are you alright, Harry?" Sirius asked softly. Harry noticed that Remus was listening too. He grinned.
"Yeah, we are one," Harry replied before digging into the untainted food.
-Fin-
A/N: Okay, so I was singing along to this song when I pictured this. I know Dumbledore didn't talk to Harry in the fifth book, hence the AU. It's just Harry's realizing that he does have somewhere to belong. The song is "We Are One" from The Lion King II: SImba's Pride. I'm a huge fan of animated Disney films hehe. The ending with Harry's vague answer to Sirius is from F-r-i-e-n-d-s. It's the episode in the first season (I believe it's the pilot) when Monica asks Ross "Why are you so happy?" and he says "I just grabbed a spoon." then leaves, in reference to his talk with Joey and Chandler earlier that day. Hopefully someone will know what I'm talking about lol.
