Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to that. I am not JKR, though I sometimes wish I was.
A/n: And so begins the first chapter of a as-yet unnamed story. R&R. I hope and know you'll enjoy it. Hope you like the idea.
Only one couple were still battling, apparently unaware of the new arrival. Harry saw Sirius duck Bellatrix's jet of red light: He was laughing at her. "Come on, you can do better than that!" he yelled, his voice echoing around the cavernous room.
Page 805, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
Harry was already moving, even before his mind registered the beam of red light lasering toward his godfather. Sirius wouldn't be able to see it, and it was up to Harry to save it. It was his fault this damned trip had happened, and no one would die because of him.
His feet shot him to the spot where Sirius was gloating, totally unaware of the death red bearing down on him. Harry, with all the skill of a trained duelist and professional Seeker, threw his hands forward and took the spell straight into his chest.
In mid-jump Harry was propelled backwards, far enough that he was able to see Sirius horrified face before he hit the wispy covers of the Veil. He expected to have gone right threw, but the air seemed to catch him. It clenched him in a gentle, lover's embrace. Harry closed his eyes, smiling peacefully, and let the Death Veil carry him threw.
&
Harry woke up, rubbing his vibrant eyes, and stretched. He uncurled himself onto his feet, and looked around. There was nothing there. Harry shook his head, blinked a few times, and rerubbed his eyes. This time he looked, the landscape was just as empty, except there stood a man.
He looked to be a young man, yet it seemed like he had seen quite a lot. Almost of if Fate had forgotten to put an aging process into. His hair was in the mid-stage of gray and black. His eyes, a light brown like the bark of an oak tree, were young but were deeper and wiser than Dumblebore. He wore robes, and was carrying a staff that he leaned on but didn't seem to need.
"Good, good. Right on time," mused the man. "I loath when they are late. Right then, Sirius Orion Black, follow me please." He looked up, seeing Harry not move, and started impatiently tapping his foot. "Stubborn fool. Looking young, too. Considering how long you were in that blasted prison.
"Uh, sir. My name's Harry. I'm definitely not Sirius," Harry said. He wasn't sure where the hell he was exactly, but he intended to find out.
"Harry, are you sure, Sirius?" asked the man, who Harry decided to dub Brian, after his similarities to Dumbledore. "Dying seems to be a rather confusing process, you emulating your godson would not be a first."
Harry muttered an affirmative, and Brian frowned. "Damn, I hate when you damn noble types die early. You're supposed to have an extra 200 years to live. Guess you'll have to go to the waiting room. Maybe your opposite is already there. Ain't likely though.
Brian started to phase out into the nonexistent landscape, taking Harry with him. Phasing, for that was what Harry likened it too, was an odd type of movement. It wasn't like a portkey, floo, or apparation. At least Harry assumed it wasn't like apparation.
Harry phased through many non-scapes, and felt himself pulling together in a room full of people. As soon as he was fully together, Brian pulled him onto a raised platform. From here, Harry could see that there were about 20 people standing there. There was all types of people; females, males, Indian, Asian, White, and Black. Of course that meant they all had to be staring at Harry, then peering down at stacks of sheets in front of each of them.
"At right you noble lot," announced Brian. "You might see have one more in your midst, or one less. Now this boy is called Harry James Potter. Anybody have them on your lists?"
The "noble lot", as Brian called them, started staring at the papers intently. Then a blue blaze erupted from one of the white girls, and the papers burnt. All of the lot started at her jealously. "Come on down, Ariana Dumbledore!"
&
By the time Harry had hit the veil, Bellatrix had been hit by 3 stunners and 7 bone-breakers. Both wrists and both bones in her left leg had broken at least twice. She had collapsed soundlessly, and everyone twirled to look to see where Harry had landed.
All they was Sirius curled near the Veil, clutching a worn trainer to his chest. Tears were steaming down his cheeks, his eyes already red from the intensity of his cheeks.
Albus Dumbledore quickly brought up the pluck to ask him what was wrong. "Sirius, would you be able to tell me what's wrong?"
"Of, hic, I can, hic hic, tell you what's wrong," screamed Sirius. "Your god damn prophecy child is dead because you didn't teach him."
Sirius adopted a voice that sounded quite like Dumbledore. "I can't tell him the damned prophecy because he's, hic, too young. I can't teach him Occlumency because so Voldemort won't kill me through him. Can't have that happen I'm too important." Sirius sucked in a much needed breath. "Instead I'll have Snape teach him, because Snape hates Harry just because he looks like James."
Sirius obviously couldn't hold back his wall of grief any longer, because he screamed in anguish and broke down crying again. At this, Remus swooped down and broke. They had both just lost the last piece to their best friend.
Dumbledore, who had been going paler at every word, went paler still when he saw how completely Remus and Sirius had let themselves go. He nodded and pulled out his wand and muttered, "portus," at Harry's shoe. Sirius and Remus disappeared.
Tonks was crying, leaning against Kingsley and Mad-Eye. Both of the guys were staring at the greatest wizard of all time with different mixes of anger and confusion. Apparently, what Sirius had screamed had hit home.
Dumbledore announced, "Hermione, Ron, Luna, Ginny, and Neville have all been taken back to Hogwarts. I am sorry if you all have gotten hurt." He threw them each a lemon drop. "Simply suck on them and they shall take you back to your homes."
At this the whole room disappeared from the room where Harry Potter had died.
&
Harry stared at her shocked. Dumbledore! Questions were running through Harry's head faster than his Firebolt could fly. How was she related to Professor Dumbledore? Sister? Mother? Grandmother? Higher than that?
She started walking up to the elevated stage where Harry and Brian stood. Harry, being a completely normal 15 wizard, stared at her the whole time. Her hair wasn't the long, white, smooth hair of Albus Dumbledore. No, instead it was a curly light brown. While Hermione's hair could also be considered the same thing, Ariana's was a tightly curled fountain of mahogany hair.
She was definitely attractive. She was most likely 16, and she had started a long while ago to gain her hot curves. If Harry had thought Cho was beautiful, Ariana was the sun to Cho's candle.
She was about half way up stairs before Harry could pull himself away from her body and stare at her face. It was a face so beautiful that he believed that muggles could never achieve. Her face was obviously refined by magic, but not by any spell, merely being around magic.
And then he found himself drawn like a summoning charm. His vibrant green eyes found her proud twinkling blue eyes. Her eyes were a direct link to Dumbledore, but with such an obvious feminine quality, Harry wondered how they could ever be compared to Professor Dumbledore's.
Ariana had by now reached Harry and Brian. He took both Ariana and Harry by the hand and shifted away. They reassembled back in what might be called Brian's office. Harry immediately let go of Brian's hand, but it took him a second to let go of Ariana's.
"Sit, please sit," asked Brian, in the tone of voice that was very clearly an order. The two magical teenagers did as told. "Now, Ariana, you know what's happening, but I shall have to explain it to poor, brave Harry Potter. Oh, and Ariana, when you return to living, Harry shall explain everything that happened since you died."
"I can already see a question on your tongue. Please hold them all to the end. To start with what has confused you, yes, you have most definitely died. As has Ariana. What you need to understand is that noble people who give up their lives before their time is up to safe someone's life whose is up is a most important penance. If and when you do this, you get another chance at life," explained Brian. He heaved in a breath and went on.
"However, ancient laws require that you go with a most compatible person. Which is you, Harry and you, Ariana. Your magics and personalities are extremely compatible. It is a safeguard so you will always have someone to talk about your experiences here."
"Now because you have changed your history, you changed your life, the person you saved, and your mate you would have had. I shall tell you what would have happened with them, and some of what will or has already happened."
"Ariana, you saved your brother Aberforth. He wasn't destined to do anything with his life when you saved him, because he drank too much after you died. However he will have an important role in the new war if you convince him. Your mate would have been Harry's great-great grandpa. He married Atlanta Bones instead, and you see the product now. As you have figured, your most likely mate would be Harry. If it doesn't work out, there will be another person for you; however we shall not disclose his name."
Brian stopped to look at Ariana's reaction, and when she didn't even bat an eye and smirked at her, apparently humoring her, and moved on.
"Harry, because of the fact that all the people you left are still alive, it complicates mattes for you. Harry, you saved your godfather, Sirius. He will marry an old girlfriend of his and have three kids. He will die old. Your mate was to be Ginny Weasley, and you would've had three children. As I told Ariana, the two of you shall probably mate. However, if you don't, Ginny is your second in line. Do not worry about Ginny's love life over much, she will marry a school-mate of yours, and they shall have 2 children."
"Now children, because you died the death that so few actually do nobly, you shall be granted some rather nice powers. It shall not be an easy life, however. Now before I tell you your new powers, I have something to tell your Harry."
Brian took a deep breath from his monologue and began, "Harry, you are a prophecy child. You have not been told the prophecy and without my interference, you would not until the beginning of your 6th year. It is the reason Voldemort wanted you at the Hall of Prophecy. It is:
THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD APPROACHES…BORN TO THOSE WHO HAVE THRICE DEFIED HIM, BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES, AND THE DARK LORD WILL MARK HIM AS HIS EQUAL, BUT HE WILL HAVE POWER THE DARK LORD KNOWS NOT…AND EITHER MUST DIE AT THE HAND OF THE OTHER FOR NEITHER CAN LIVE WHILE THE OTHER SURVIVES…THE ONE WITH THE POWER TO VANQUISH THE DARK LORD WILL BE BORN AS THE SEVENTH MONTH DIES…"
Brian stopped talking after this, letting Harry sort out his feeling. Tears started to stream down his cheek, and his first impulse was to scream and yell and terrorize. He got out, "Why The Hell Didn't…" he stopped. He had seen the look of terror on Ariana's face. How could he possibly scare his possible mate so badly?
Through his tears, he could barely make out Brian make a respecting nod and Ariana relaxed immensely. Maybe she just had had some bad memories of angry people.
Now that Brian had seen that Harry was as fine and dandy as he was going to get, he moved on. "Harry, Ariana, you both will have two powers. One I will tell you about, the other will be yours to tell everyone else about. Harry, you shall be able to unlock a person's magical potential. If they have a hidden magical gift you can give it back to them. Ariana, you can now bring up the power levels of those of the people you love permanently. However, they are consequences and negatives; they are yours to figure out."
"Harry, it is time to go back to the scene of the crime. Ariana, to go back to the world of the living. Good luck."
With those ominous words, the two shifted in an un-shifting like way and reappeared in the Ministry of Magic. They were greeted with the pop of apparation and they were left alone.
A/n: Hoped you like the first chapter. Please review. Whatever you have to say, I'll take it. Thanks for reading. Hopefully the next chapter will be up quite soon.