Disclaimer: Harry Potter and everything related to him belongs to Rowling and various publishers. Janice Starling, Krsanthian race and everything related to them belongs to good old me, Lord Khuzdul, a.k.a. Mad Prophet.
Summary: Divert your eyes from the war between Light and Dark, represented by Harry James Potter and Tom Marvolo Riddle, and catch a glimpse of a war far greater than the one that was raging on the planet Earth. In this colossal conflict, the flames of which were blazing since the creation of the Universe itself, two sides very different from the usual Good and Evil clash. This war is between the three clans of Guardians: glorious and angelic White Dominion, commanded by the white winged Eternal Lady; skillful and majestic Crimson Council, with Divine Master in the lead; deadly and powerful Black Conclave, led by the Leader of the Triad, Lord Avatar; and their insidious foe: Void, Oblivion, Nothingness, led by the creature named The Beast of Oblivion, The Enemy of Creation, Voidlord Khanaruktha. What was the secret Lily Evans hid, even from her beloved husband? What did the title, Lady Death, mean? Who is the Lord Avatar? "All that is dark is not evil, nor cruelty always indicate a blackened heart, young one. Little deserve death, only those with a heart so evil that they spit in the face of true redemption, but many deserve pain, and it is our duty to give them what they deserve.",
Rating: R, both for violence (I like gore… I LOVE gore…) adult situations and for the view of God and religion that can be disturbing for some people. (I am Turkish, I live in Middle East, and I have a deep respect towards any form of life. I've had it enough with religious fanatics, and I sincerely hate any self-righteous idiot who spouts edicts of some religion or another ideal to justify murder of any living being, and this includes Americans jumping up and down with glee at the atrocities performed at Iraq.)
Ready or not, here we go…
Echoes of the Void:
Chapter 1: All That is Dark is not Evil
The Sorting Feast was a subdued affair, both because of the three missing students, and the new, Ministry-sent Defense against Dark Arts, Divination and Care of Magical Creatures professors. Fudge, after the revelation that Voldemort's return, announced a stance of martial law. He started destroying individual rights of the people, and with Daily Prophet under his control, he gained publicity by doing it. He shut down Wizengamot and silenced the Department Heads by conveniently placing people loyal to him at every important spot. He stuck his nose into Hogwarts business again.
Hagrid was fired from the professorship post, and barely succeeded in holding onto his position as the Groundskeeper, mostly due to Dumbledore's desperate pleas.
Firenze shared the same fate, and Sibyl Trelawney was forbidden to continue teaching.
Defense against the Dark Arts position was first offered to Remus Lupin, but Lupin too was forced to flee the Ministry Aurors to escape Werewolf Concentration Camps.
Dumbledore was still Headmaster, but with Wizengamot gone, and his power over his school constantly being chipped away by the Minister and his High Inquisitor, again Dolores Jane Umbridge and again in the Defense against Dark Arts position, he was no more than a figurehead for the Light.
Divination was taught by a short, balding man with a prim attitude. Walter Wimbourne.
Care of Magical Creatures was taught by a cruel, burly man who worked as an executioner for the ministry, Martin Brannagh.
And Harry James Potter was missing. Hermione Jane Granger was missing. Ginevra Molly Weasley was missing.
The Sorting Feast was sure a sad affair.
The doors of the great hall opened majestically to let the group of first years in. They lined up, and Minerva McGonagall walked up to the staff table and brought out the stool and the Sorting Hat behind it and placed it in the middle. As the first years lined in front of the stool and she took out the parchment listing their names, the doors of the great hall banged open. In walked three figures…
One was a black and midnight blue clad male figure, about six feet in height. He was broad shouldered, and his gait was predatory and fluid. He moved with an unnatural and deadly grace. His face was shrouded in shadows deeper than a moonless night sky under the cowl of his cloak. In the front, under his cloak, a breastplate was visible. The armor was made of some unidentifiable black metal, and was studded with glowing dark blue jewels. From the shadows covering his face, two tongues of emerald flame licked out. From his belt, hung two shards of crystal, apparently the same kind with the jewels decorating the armor. But the most interesting part of him was his aura. Although invisible, anyone near him felt the immense cold and dread filling the space around him. He smelled of death. Not the hate-tainted death of Avada Kedavra. Not the blood tainted death of weapons. Not the disease-tainted death of human illnesses. Pure, untainted, unchanging death.
The other two figures flanking him were obviously female. The taller one was around five feet eleven, clad in dazzling white. Under his cloak, a breastplate similar in design to the man's was visible, but it was sky blue in color and decorated with diamond-like white crystals. Under the cowl of her cloak, twin glows of dazzling sky-blue flame made it impossible to see her face. As the man, she had two shards of crystal hanging from her belt. Her aura was warm, calming, and smelled like… life. It smelled like a spring morning. It smelled like a mother holding her newborn child. It smelled like endless ocean where unimaginable amounts of life blossomed beneath the sapphire waves.
The other female was much smaller. Her petite and slim figure stood at around five feet four inches. She was clad in a crimson cloak, and her breastplate was like gold, studded with ruby-like jewels. Twin red-gold flames shone from under the cowl of her cloak, shrouding her face with dancing tongues of flame and brilliance. Twin red crystals hung from her belt. Her aura was the essence of strength, and a faint smell of brimstone followed her passing. It smelled like a volcano, holding immense power, yet sturdy, strong, unyielding. It smelled like the forges in the depths of earth, where eternal blacksmiths forged the deadliest weapons and strongest armors capable of stopping them. It smelled like mountains, where ages pass without leaving a single scar on the sheer rock faces.
The trio walked up to the staff table. As the aura of the man reached the table everyone except Severus Snape started to shiver. Even Dumbledore was unable to reach his wand, as a wave of intense cold and feeling of dread that can shame the most powerful Dementors washed over them. The face hidden under the shadowed cowl looked up.
"Hmm… Snape is unaffected. I guessed as much." He murmured. Then, he looked right into the eyes of the Headmaster. "Hello professor. How was your summer? Seems you're having problems with finding adequate staff members this year."
"Do I know you?" stuttered Dumbledore.
"Shame. I think you would recognize your favorite student."
"H-Harry?"
"Right in one!"
"How-what? Where were you? And those are?"
"Yep, Mione and Gin. We're back." With these words, the three lowered the hoods of their cloaks, and the flame in their eyes receded. They have changed. They have really changed, and for the better, much better it seemed.
Harry Potter was no longer the scrawny boy with tousled hair. His body was perfectly built, and his angular face was perfectly shaped. His skin was almost unnaturally pale, with a bluish tinge to it. His emerald eyes had an unearthly shine in them, which reminded Dumbledore one thing and made him shiver with dread: the Killing Curse. His hair, which cascaded down his back like a raven black waterfall, was tied in a loose ponytail. His face was adorned with a thrice braided, long goatee and an immaculate moustache. (A/N: modeled after my own beard and moustache) When he looked over the staff table, every one of the people he held under his gaze shivered as they saw their ends in the cold eyes. His aura slowly receded, and relaxed its chilling grip on the staff members, leaving the frozen witches and wizards near sobbing with fear on his wake.
Ginny Weasley had grown. Her babyish features were gone, and in their place stood a perfect woman with delicately chiseled features. Her skin looked like carefully cut and polished crystal. Her eyes lost its warm brown color, and changed into pools of swirling, molten gold. Her hair was no longer straight, but wavy, and looked like tongues of flame flowing down her back. When her gaze traveled over the table, every last one who looked into her eyes lowered their eyes under the intense, heavy, crushing stare of the girl less than half their age. Her aura was smothering, choking the wizards and witches sitting at the staff table. And then, the smothering aura left them with a feeling of tongues of flame licking their skin.
Hermione Granger had changed. Her hair, no longer bushy, but wavy, had streaks of gold and silver in it. Her features reminded everyone an angel walking the earth. Her skin was glowing warm white. Her eyes, once brown, were now a beautiful, heavenly sky blue. They held wisdom in the ways of all things living, yet they held the fierce rage of a mother tigress protecting her cubs. Her gaze wandered over the occupants of the table, and each one of them felt themselves evaluated, measured in their use of the great and generous gift of life. Most of them let their gazes fall to the ground, as they were found wanting. Only one not affected was Hagrid, surprisingly, who, after experiencing the evaluating look of the young woman, was awarded by a tender smile and beamed happily. Harry cast a pleased and amused look at his first friend in the wizarding world. 'If anyone was pure enough to please a Chosen, it is him.' he thought.
"We'll see you at your office after the feast, Headmaster." Harry turned on his heel, and walked down the hall once again. Hermione and Ginny followed, their auras dimming and their grips on the staff member relaxing. Then, Dolores Umbridge did the stupidest thing possible and called after them. "Mister Potter, Miss Granger, Miss Weasley, you will be serving detention with Argus Filch for the next week for violating the Hogwarts dress code." Everyone at the staff table cursed under their breaths as Harry Potter whirled around, his dreadful aura once again flaring full force and smothering all the happiness and will to live in them.
"Professor Dumbledore, I think Madam Umbridge does not know about the Hidden Charter of the Hogwarts Rules. Tell her about it and tell her not to bother me again."
Albus Dumbledore paled. However, Dolores Umbridge was not in the mood for understanding. "Mr. Potter, you can not ignore me. You must show respect to your betters." Albus tried to lean towards Umbridge and explain the situation to her, but Harry beat him to it.
"As you will see in the Hidden Charter, which is now open for the rest of the staff, I, and my two… associates…" Hermione and Ginny mock-pouted at this way of addressing them. "…have free run of the school, are exempt from most impractical school rules like dress code and curfew, and are allowed to leave and come back as we see fit. I must add that if you're seeing you as my better, you're grossly overestimating yourself. None of you here is my better." He ended with a venomous voice.
Umbridge turned to Dumbledore and started chattering angrily. "Surely that chapter can and will be overruled by the Ministry, be sure of that. Underage wizards such as them cannot be allowed the privileges they claim, especially irresponsible and deranged ones like Potter. Look at him, mouthing out against his elders, no respect, no respect at all. He must at least respect our knowledge and experience…" At this point, Harry exploded.
"You speak of knowledge, Professor? You speak of experience? I have journeyed through the darkness between the most distant stars. I have beheld the births of negative-suns and borne witness to the entropy of entire realities. Unto my experience, all you have built here on this chunk of rock is a fleeting dream. A dream I hope your precious government and ignorant population would never fully awaken, because if they do, they'll find themselves drowned in a greater nightmare. Only thing that stands between your fragile lives and that nightmare is us. Do not speak without getting your facts straight, Professor. You know nothing, absolutely nothing."
With these words, Harry James Potter swirled and marched out of the Great Hall, flanked by Hermione Jane Granger and Ginevra Molly Weasley. A feeling of tangible power left the room with them, and people in the room breathed.
After the Sorting, Albus Dumbledore walked to his office to find his three wayward students. 'I do not think they are students anymore.' He thought as he climbed the stairs. He entered his office to find the trio sitting in front of his desk. Fawkes was perched on Hermione's knee, and Harry was absently petting him. When he entered, Harry looked up to him. Dumbledore took his place behind the desk, and Harry spoke.
"I know you have many questions, Professor. Fire away, I will be open to you. You may wonder why I am being so open to you, so I will clarify that first. Many would think you were a manipulative man, after what you did last year. However, I know you better than you think, and I know you're only a concerned, misguided old man who wants the best for everyone, but is not completely in control anymore. I know you're sincere. I will not lose anything with being open to you, and more so, would gain a valuable ally with considerable influence."
"However, you must understand that we actually serve someone. Because of that, we can only reveal so much. Some things I can only say if I am allowed by my Master."
Dumbledore relaxed by the show of trust from the boy he came to see as a grandson, but was intrigued by his servitude.
"Who do you serve, Harry?" he asked.
"Do you know a race of beings called Krsanthi?"
"Krsanthi?"
"Thought as much. Hidden Chapter will reveal some clues about them, but I will not send you on a wild goose chase. Basically, Krsanthi are the guardians of everything that exists. They come from beyond the multiple universes that define reality. They were born at the depths of pure, unshaped existence. Basically, they are naked minds, or you might think of them as, souls, attached to an unformed blob of pure existence. These beings are not tied to the laws and limits of one reality. They can shape themselves as they see fit. Beyond that, they have great power and control on the facet of existence they're given control over."
"There are three 'courts' of Krsanthi as there are three facets of existence: creation, being, destruction. These courts are named White, Crimson and Black by the mortal followers of the Krsanthians. Despite what the meanings suggest, none of the Krsanthians are good or evil. Good and evil simply does not have a meaning for them. As you would understand, death is as important as life. Every reality has one member of each court as an overlord, and many lesser members as agents, distributed among the sentient beings of the species. Before you ask, we are not Krsanthians. Krsanthians are powerful, immensely so, leaps and bounds over mortals. Because of this, it is not always feasible for a Krsanthian to fight the battles of mortals. So they have the Bonded. Bonded are the servants and soldiers of the Krsanthians."
"As you might guess, Krsanthians do have a reason for their existence and power besides keeping the wayward mortal species in line. There is an enemy, an insidious and dangerous one: The Void. The Void is basically nonexistence. It is Nothingness, the direct opposite of existence. Krsanthians battle with agents of the Void, known as the Voidlords, who have followers like the Krsanthian Bonded, named Tainted."
"We serve the three rulers of the Krsanthian race. Ginny is bonded to the Lord of the Crimson Council. She is a Primus, most powerful of his mortal Bonded, as he lost all his bonded in the last war, which overlapped with the first war against Voldemort. Her master is a Divine Master amongst Krsanthians, highest of ruling ranks in normal circumstances. However, there are two ranks above Divine Master: Eternal, and Avatar. Hermione's mistress is an Eternal: She is the Lady of the White Dominion. Hermione is a Secundus, second in authority in the hierarchy of the Lady's bonded. Her Primus is Claire Granger/Starling, Hermione's mother. My master is an Avatar. He is the Lord of the Black Conclave. I am a Tertius myself, third in place among the bonded. Those above me are Primus Janice Starling, Hermione's aunt and Chosen Empowered, supreme commander of all Bonded in this reality, and my mother, Lily Evans/Potter, also known as Lady Death."
When Harry said the name, Albus Dumbledore was surprised. But she must be dead? When Harry uttered the title, Albus Dumbledore nearly fell from his seat.
"D-death? B-but, you know, Harry, she died. She protected you with her sacrifice."
"You're babbling, Professor. No, she did not die when she was hit by the killing curse. But at that time, her Shattering, which converts the mortal psyche to the separated existence of a Bonded, was not complete, and Voldemort was powerful. Her soul was banished. Coincidentally, her banishment overlapped with another great moment: the moment Lord Avatar, her master, then an Eternal, dealt the final, fatal blow to the Chaos deity Hsarus, who was possessed by a Voidlord. This caused His banishment and the destruction of His hold and bond to this reality. This event sent an immense surge of destructive energy from him, through my mother's lingering bond from her soul to her body, from her bond to me as a mother, and through my body and the bond Killing Curse created to Voldemort. As he was still very much Mortal despite all the rituals he performed, the concentrated burst of death shattered his body, but his soul lingered, due to the same rituals. I survived the Avada Kedavra, because when the destructive energy used my body as a channel, it destroyed the impure and fragile assault of the Killing Curse. I survived the burst of destructive energy surge, because I was not the endpoint, Voldemort was. If he had waited a couple of minutes more before casting the Killing Curse, he would not need to cast it at all; I would have died because of the deadly surge anyway."
"My mother's soul did not go to the Other Side mortals go when they die. She was banished, both by Voldemort's Killing Curse and her Master's banishment, to the Nether, the gray void between the stable regions of Reality. There, her master found her wayward soul, and bonded her to himself again to prevent her soul from decaying and her truly dying."
"When He came back, using Sirius, who fell into the Nether from the portal at the Department of Mysteries, and the bond his magic maintained with this reality, he brought my mother's soul back too. Then he simply reconstructed her body and resurrected her."
"Now, I serve Him… Lord Avatar… Divine Judge… and many more titles, even more than you have. And he is probably the most powerful creature to ever exist in this universe."
Dumbledore slowly regained his composure after shocking revelations about his favorite pupils. He asked another thing weighing in his mind.
"Where were you this summer?"
"Well, Dursleys did not react well to the Order's threats, I must say. Vernon started to violently beat me and torture me after he took my wand and locked my school items to the cupboard under the stairs. Fortunately, that treatment went on only three days. Three days later, the last person I expected to show up rescued me: my mother."
Harry snickered, but was still shaken from the three day hell, that much was visible. Hermione held his hand while Ginny was caressing his other hand softly.
"You should have seen Vernon's and Petunia's faces when she blasted the door in. Vernon was kicking me in the entrance hall when she came. She heard my screams, and like the firebrand she is, blew the door up with blackfire."
"She blew Vernon across the hall, and stunned Petunia. She immobilized Dudley while he was lumbering down the stairs to attack her. The best part came, when Lord Avatar, in disguise, ran in. He took a look at me, then my mother's eyes, and then he turned his gaze on the Dursleys.
"Do you remember what our gazes did to the people at the staff table, Professor?" Dumbledore shivered at the thought. He feared he'd lost his sanity at the sight of those eyes. "That is a mere fraction of what a true Krsanthian's gaze can do. Most mortals do not survive a Krsanthian's angry gaze with their sanity intact. That's what happened to the Dursleys. He turned their minds inside out. He destroyed their memories, their emotions, everything that makes them human."
"You can go to their house, Professor. There, you will find them, sitting on the couch, comatose. Aunt Petunia had probably died by now. Dudley and Vernon have more body weight to sustain themselves. They'll last longer. Before you run out of here to take them to St. Mungo's or anywhere, don't Professor. Nothing can reverse the damage done to them, except one of the Krsanthian leaders, and they will not reverse it. They won't go against the wishes of the leader of the Triad. And, they deserved it. Ten years in the cupboard. Fifteen years of resentment, emotional abuse. For fifteen years, whatever I do, I could not throw the feeling that I was worthless off me. They made me feel that. Their insults, together with the guilt of Sirius's death, nearly killed me. Then He came. Only one I will ever bow to. He gave me my mother back. He gave me Sirius back. Only for those, I would serve him for the rest of eternity. But he had done much more. He gave me the two women that love me. He empowered them, protected them, he made me realize my love to them, their love to me… He gave me "the power Dark Lord knows not". He dispelled all my insecurities. He righted nearly every wrong in my crappy life. He gave me a family. And for that, I would die a thousand times over for him. After what they've done to me, and after what he had done for me, I wholeheartedly support his decision to let them rot." Harry finished his sentence with so much venom in his voice that Dumbledore shuddered.
"Anyway, they took me from Privet Drive and took me to The Halls at the Core, together with other initiates, one Hermione Granger and one Ginevra Weasley. Krsanthians choose the ones they will Bond with one simple thing in mind: Willpower. Not the simple kind of willpower that throws off the Imperius or creates Occlumency barriers. The kind of willpower that throws off possession, shatters walls of the mind, and brings one back from death. It is not found easily. This kind of willpower has two ways of manifesting in someone: it can follow bloodlines, like Hermione here, whose mother and aunt are both Bonded, and her ancestor from beyond one hundred millennia still lives, courtesy of the Triad, or can manifest as the result of an extraordinary event that affects one's mind strongly, like Ginny, whose will held Voldemort at bay for months before collapsing. I have both, my mother was His servant, and I acquired it during the ordeals Voldemort put me through. Anyway, I'm getting off track: There, in the ceremony of Rebirth, we were recreated in new forms. Our souls and bodies were restructured by the power our Masters held. We were born anew, perfect."
"We trained and I tried to get used to the feeling that I have a family. During this period, we realized our love to each other, all three of us. Well, I must say, our Masters were greatly amused with this result. By their blessing, we entered a soul bond. I can say that Hermione Jane Granger and Ginevra Molly Weasley are both my loved and loving wives. I know this sounds like an Arabian prince and his Harem, but I am sure as hell not complaining. Yesterday, we came back from the Core, and the Triad set up a new headquarters near here. They are watching the conflict against Voldemort closely. After the last war, agents of the Void are still keeping a low profile, so Krsanthians decided to try and keep mortals in line. And now, greatest danger originates on Earth, unlike last time, when it came from beyond and targeted Earth."
"Voldemort…" guessed Dumbledore.
"Partly… There is a shadow looming just beyond our reach, someone once again invoking the Lords of the Void. But, we do not know who it is until they reveal themselves. I do not know even if it is Voldemort or anyone else. Voldemort is dangerous. He holds way too much power. You are nearly at the limit where mortal ends and the area of personal power Krsanthians police, begins. Voldemort is beyond that. So we watch him. Also, there is the prophecy. Lord Avatar knew it, they can see the strands of fate, and interpreted it better. There is one thing about Mortals: They could not speak about Krsanthians if they are not one of us. Not even in trances and prophecies. This is the reason prophecy is so vague about the power. Anyway, my Lord saw the strand of fate which binds me and Voldemort, and saw that if he continues his original plan, and the plan of the fate, the final part of the prophecy will be true: in the final battle, we will be evenly matched. You see, I was meant to be bonded to another Krsanthian, named Furiath. He changed the plan, and bonded me to himself instead. By doing this, he made me a Tertius instead of a Primus, but made me leaps and bounds above Voldemort when the final battle comes."
"Well, how do you know that Prophecy will not make Voldemort your equal?"
"Krsanthians exist outside time and fate. The changes they made to existing prophecies and circumstances, do not affect the events that were meant to happen, which are not about the being they interacted with. Basically, what he did only affects me. Voldemort was meant to reach the power level of the primus of a High Master, which Furiath was. That would put him on par with me. He was not meant to reach the power level of a Tertius of an Avatar. Long story short, if I get him, I can just rip him to bloody shreds and scatter him to the four winds without even breaking a sweat."
Dumbledore was flabbergasted. "Harry, can you give me an arbitrary comparison of the power you were meant to have and you possess now?"
"A Hufflepuff first year and you, Albus."
"Merlin!"
Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the greatest wizard alive, is officially shocked and humbled. He knew Voldemort was powerful, and he guessed Harry now surpassed him, but he never expected this. He nearly had power equal to the sum of all Wizarding World. Hesitantly, he asked, pointing at Ginny and Hermione.
"And you two?"
"I am a fraction below Harry's power; I am higher in my own hierarchy, but my mistress is an Eternal, she is nowhere near an Avatar. My being a Secundus puts me in a comparison like the one between Sirius and Remus. They're essentially equal, but Remus packs more a punch when directed. Ginny is below me the same margin. She is a Primus, but her master is a Divine Master, below mine and Harry's. She has one advantage, however: if she is forced to summon her master, he will definitely come. Mine and Harry's might not appear personally, they are more inclined to sent powerful servants: My mother for me, and Aunt Janice and his mother for Harry. Heh, after what happened at the Dursleys, many would hope Lord Avatar would not appear in full battle glory. Disguised, masking and suppressing his power, he completely smashed three people in one gaze." Explained Hermione.
"I know this is really too much to take in at once, Professor. Take your time and if you have anything to ask, you know where to find me. I think I can even arrange a meeting between you and my Lord. Ah, before I forgot, my mother, Hermione's, and other servants of the Triad will stay nearby, at Hogsmeade this year. Two of them are known to you beforehand, and not pleasantly at that, I must say. Do not be alarmed if you see me or my friends in the company of Bellatrix and Narcissa Black."
"Bellatrix Black? Narcissa Black?"
"Yep, the same ones with Bellatrix Lestrange and Narcissa Malfoy. Lord Avatar's spies in the inner circle of Voldemort. His banishment shattered their mental defenses, and they were put under Imperius by their respective husbands, whom they controlled before. Now that their master is back, they have returned and redeemed themselves in his eyes."
"Is it safe to trust them, Harry?"
"You speak like you did not understand anything I told. You can not lie to a Krsanthian. They read your mind like an open book. No occlumency or any other defense can stop them. Period."
Dumbledore dropped his head, aching from too much information input. "Correct me if I am wrong, Harry, but you met some beings that can resurrect the dead, hold power that can kill gods, destroy with a gaze, and bestow unimaginable power. You're talking about Mortals, so I think they're immortal too."
"Correct, except these facts: we are immortal too, they can destroy worlds, and now we have power to snuff Voldemort like a candle, and probably have another over-powerful, megalomaniac, mad bastard this time with Void aid at our hands. I do not think Voldemort is the source of this Void assault looming at the horizon. However, I prefer to work first come first served. Snuff the resident idiot first, and worry about the next one after that."
"Remember this, Professor. There had been no wizard tyrants wielding the power of the Void for nearly three millennia, and the last one was destroyed before it could cause any serious harm to the world. If one comes during our time, know this: it will make Voldemort look like a child's tantrum."
"Another thing. This power we now hold has nothing to do with magic. The rituals strengthened our magic, but we are still only above average wizards at best, not in the same league with you or Voldemort. Also we did not learn any magic during our training this summer. We would like to continue our magical education like normal students."
"Of course, Harry. As you wish." Answered Dumbledore, concluding the conversation.
"We'll see you later, Professor." Said Harry, and the trio rose and left the office.
Albus Dumbledore leaned back in his seat. He is torn between relief and fear. Relief, because after these revelations, Voldemort was practically six feet under. He remembered Voldemort in his prime. Power rolled off him in waves, but it was nowhere near the immense aura Harry was displaying. He did not fear Harry would turn dark. Harry was as dark as it gets now. He was the incarnate of destruction. However, Albus Dumbledore did not fear his young charge turning evil. He saw his companions. He saw what Hermione Jane Granger and Ginevra Molly Weasley became. He saw the look in their eyes when they were looking at Harry. It was pure, true love, it was no mistaking it. Dumbledore's fear was the new danger Harry pointed at the horizon. If what Harry said was accurate, they had an even more dangerous "Dark Lord" at hand.
Dumbledore massaged his temples lightly. Too much information… He needed a lemon drop.
The trio walked to the Gryffindor common room and sat on the sofa in front of the fireplace, Harry in the middle, Hermione and Ginny at his sides, leaning to him. Like their relaxing breaks at the lounge of the Halls… He would sit on the couches crafted from the very air around them, looking like crimson smoke, more comfortable than possible with any solid thing. Hermione and Ginny would sit next to him, Ginny at his left, Hermione to his right, and he felt warm between their comforting presences. Others would sit around them, always the usual crew: Janice, Primus of Lord Avatar, a golden haired tall woman with dark blue eyes like a razor's edge and pale, bluish tinged skin like a vampire's, cool and awe inspiring most of the time, but with a mischievous streak a mile wide among friends, a mountain of a woman, he heard his mother call her. She claimed the title of Chosen Empowered. Kind Claire, Hermione's mother, Primus of Lady Eternal, a soft spoken woman of mediocre height with wavy blonde hair and warm, baby blue eyes, he still remembered the loving look when she caught the three snuggling. He feared that she would be angry with their three-way love, but she had only winked and told them that if they were happy, she was game. Lily, his mother, Secundus of Lord Avatar she was, he learned, and held a much, much colder and less glorious, but more fearsome title: Lady Death. Her emerald eyes sparkled when they fell on her son and his two lovers, cold green steel filled with loving warmth when she spoke about her baby. More than anything Harry had wished for his mother. Black sisters, Narcissa and Bellatrix, he nearly leaped at their throats when he first saw them, but that phase passed quickly when they told their tale, he saw nothing but the love of an aunt from them afterwards. Bellatrix was the fun aunt, the one that brought you present every time she came and spoilt you rotten with gifts and games. With her, you could not help but smile and rejoice life, she was hyper nearly every moment of her existence, and she lived life to its fullest extent. Narcissa was the wise and supportive one, the one you went to tell about your first love, you sought when you needed a shoulder to cry, at least lean on, when you needed someone to hug you and tell you everything will be all right. And Narcissa did all that. They were the Nightmare Duo, Lord Avatar's bonded war generals, Lady Blade was the title Bellatrix claimed, and Lady Hammer was Narcissa's. Then there was the second great gift Lord Avatar gave him: Sirius, whose falling through the Veil at the Department of Mysteries, which Harry now knew was the sole portal to the Nether, triggered a chain of events no one foresaw. Harry was bordering on suicidal at the Dursleys, ready to die during the last beating. And, after that, during the journey that took them to the Core, everything changed for Harry.
Flashback
Harry was in awe, like the first time he saw Hogwarts across the lake, when he caught sight of the place his mother spoke of during the entire journey: The Halls of the Elders at the Universal Core, swimming in raw, unformed reality, with clouds of shifting matter and energy surrounding it and cloaking it from mortal sight most of the time. Beauty of the cloud formations swirling around the Core was breathtaking, but it did not even hold a candle to the glory that was the Halls. The building… world… was formed around a blinding spot of light, and most of its structure weaved around the light like an ornate, spherical cover of fine spider web. The multicolored dazzle of light poured out of the web like it was barely restraining it, and painted the structure in a plethora of every color imaginable, and many unimaginable. As they neared the structure, Harry noticed a knot at the middle of the side facing them. The knot was barely visible from the distance, because it was not shadowing the light behind it, but filtering it, exploding in multicolored beams of glory from its many spires.
"This is the First City." spoke Lord Avatar next to him. He had discarded his human disguise, and was now wearing the true form all Krsanthians wore in this universe: the form of a black winged, silver haired, angelic man with blazing, pupilless ocean blue eyes clad in midnight black armor studded with blue-black jewels. "I and my two comrades created this city at the starting conflagration of this universe, moments after our own creation. This is the heart of the Krsanthian realm in this reality."
"How old are you, my Lord?"
He chuckled, a sound so human somehow foreign to this dignified creature. "Quite old, young one… I believe the scientists of your world already calculated the age of the universe?"
"Yes, my Lord. Fifteen billion years, I remember."
"Something around that, give or take a couple million years, I think. Humankind is amazing in its resourcefulness, especially the ones that do not hold magic. I was one of the first beings to take form in this Universe; second one, actually. First was the one your religions call the Creator, or God. Do not look at me like that, young one. Yes, God exists, but It does not concern Itself with the squabbles of one race on one planet. And It does not send poetically written Holy Texts to anyone. There are a number of deities which bond themselves with the spirits of certain stars and planets, young one. The actual one that sent those texts is one of them. And he is not It. It is more interested in keeping the universe together and flows of existence from the Well balanced."
"The Well?"
"The light you see beyond the city is the Well of Existence, the core and lifeline of this universe. Every living universe has a Well at its centre, supplying it with fresh building blocks from Deep Existence and souls from Seas of Mind. With the flow from the Well, universe expands. Excess matter bleeds off the borders of the Universe to the Void. Young universes, like the one we're in, have living, breathing, vibrant Cores, like the one you behold now. Older, balanced universes have much more subdued Cores, which supplies the Universe enough matter to repair the damage done to it by the Void at its borders, and not a speck more. Sometimes, a universe moves from the Well that supplies it with its life. Those universes eventually wither and die, over the course of many billion years. Their cores are dark, and Core cities at their centers mourning. The endless Nether out of the borders of stable Realities are littered by many dead Cores, with broken spires and shattered webs. Krsanthian scouts sometimes search those Cores to reclaim the artifacts of our kind and recover them before the beasts of the Void reaches the power they possess. Maybe one day, you can see them. However, those of us bonded to living Cores are not at a liberty to leave and enter our Universes at our leisure. Our bond and oneness with the spirit of the Core makes it very hard for us to pierce the Border without damaging it."
"You spoke of the God as It, my Lord?"
"Yes. It does not have a gender; does not have the changes in temperament and inclination that makes our soul a male one or a female one. It does not need them. It has perfect understanding of both sides of spiritual being. There are no other beings like that. All others must choose a side."
"Did you ever leave this universe, my Lord?"
"Once… It was the starting of the chain of events that led to this day. If that night did not happen, you would come here much earlier, probably before your tenth year of life. Your mother told you the events of that Halloween night. After my banishment, I wandered the Nether until now, because without a bond passing through, I could not reenter the Reality without using brute force and damaging the Border. And I could not risk it, right at the aftermath of a great battle against the Void. I found that bond earlier, and managed to follow it back to this reality. I think you will like the one that supplied me the bond I sought."
During their talk, the sphere of air that supplied them during their much-faster-than-light journey under Lord Avatar's power drew closer to the knot-city. Harry's eyes were once again drawn to the wonders of the place: the knot was much larger than he first thought, probably the size of an entire planet. It was roughly shaped like a convex lens; its surface was carved intricately with uncountable spires, canyons, plains and mountains which looked like completely random at the first glance, but settled into a complex symmetry and harmony after taking it as a whole. At the centre of the city, rose a magnificent tower, which expanded into a series of buildings and outlying smaller spires at the bottom and blended perfectly into the cacophony of shapes at the city's surface after a while. At the top, the tower was a dizzying array of crosswalks, graceful, impossible archways, balconies, and branching, smaller towers. After examining the building for a couple of minutes, Harry realized that the tower was in fact three towers that wrapped and interlinked around each other. At the topmost point, the three towers blended into one and crowned by a massive, palace-like building of colossal proportions. They sped at an opening at the side of the gilded castle which reminded Harry more a masterpiece of art than a fortification or dwelling, and looked like it was built from blown glass. As they glided through the opening, Harry noticed four people waiting them in the hall they entered. All of the shapes were familiar, but the one that drew Harry's eyes more was the last person Harry expected to see alive and well: Sirius Black. Harry jumped down from the platform, and shot directly at the older man, grabbing him in a bear hug of legendary proportions.
"Sirius Black, whom fell through a portal to the Nether, supplied me with the link I want, with the bond of his magic to the spirit of Earth, Harry. And I brought him back with me. Happy early birthday, I can say."
End Flashback
Harry sighed softly. Hermione and Ginny snuggled up to him, and Harry felt them fall asleep; they did not yet throw off the weariness the hectic journey from the Core caused. Harry wrapped his arms around them and squeezed gently. Ron looked at them, an indescribable glint in his eyes, and sat across them.
"So, Harry, where were you this summer and what did you do with my baby sister?"
"If I tell you the place we've been, you'll lock me in a padded room and throw away the key, Ron."
"Y're kiddin'."
"Nope. I, Mione and Gin were not even on Earth."
"Blimey! What kind of a situation did you land yourself this time, mate?"
"Best kind of a situation…" answered Harry. "Sirius is alive and well, my mother is alive and well, and I gained a mentor that overpowers even Dumbledore and Tommy with a big, huge margin."
"Who? How? What?"
"I can not tell you the entire story now, Ron. But know that I… we, Hermione, Ginny and I, serve beings far more powerful than anything magic can reach… Divine, nearly… And I must ask you not to blow up, but I am with Ginny… and Hermione."
An unreadable expression passed from Ron's face, but his smile returned a moment later. "Good for you, mate." He said, but it sounded forced to Harry. He then rose from his seat, and walked up the dormitory stairs.
Harry reflected his friend's reactions for a moment, and started to recognize the first flickers of jealousy. He reflected upon this discovery for a moment, and then shrugged. 'Whatever happens, happens.'
Next morning saw the three teenagers curled on the couch in front of the fire in the Common Room. First to wake up was Hermione. She blinked a few times, and realized that they were not in their bed at the Halls, but in the Gryffindor Common Room. Something warm was under her head, something familiar… Harry's shoulder. She looked across his wide chest to the young woman lying on his other arm. Ginny opened her eyes and smiled at the sight of the woman she loved. They both leaned and put a small kiss on the opposite cheeks of the boy they loved. Harry woke up, and smiled at them. All three then rose, and walked out of the common room to breakfast.
The Great Hall was full when they entered, and eyes followed the trio. Many faces in the Slytherin table held malice, most evident one belonging to Draco Malfoy. Harry sat at the end of the Gryffindor table, and proceeded with his meal, Hermione and Ginny sitting next to him. A moment later, Severus Snape approached the trio, and spoke to Harry, with an old wound evident in his eyes. His voice was full of anguish.
"Harry… Do you know of a Krsanthian Lady named Shakura? A Halfbreed she was. Midnight blue hair, black feathered wings, and black eyes…"
Harry's gaze rose to meet Snape's. A flicker of remembrance shone in them, then it was drowned by sadness.
"I know of her, Professor."
"How is she?" enthusiasm filled Snape's voice, emotion never known to touch the grim potions master. "Why didn't she contact me for fourteen years?"
A deep sadness echoed in Harry's voice.
"She's dead, Severus. She fell to a Leviathan in the final battle of the Chaos War, fourteen years ago."
Severus Snape's face, first time in many years, betrayed another emotion than contempt. Boundless anguish distorted the normally expressionless face of the stoic man. A howl, torn from the deepest recesses of his consciousness echoed in the great hall, and Snape collapsed to the arms of Harry Potter.
A/N: A load of questions. Well, they all will be answered. Be patient.