Understanding the Power the Dark Lord Knows Not

by Calamur

Harry is still confused as to how Love will help him win the war. He has nobody to turn too or doesn't he. One day, he meets the most unlikely teacher and from there things look up for him

I don't own anything! It all belongs to the great JK Rowling. I'm just playing with the characters

War is one of those things that lead us to believe that there is no hope for the world – be it the Wizarding World or the Muggle World. I can say that from experience. I lost everyone I love thanks to this godforsaken war. Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys, Sirius, Dumbledore, Remus, Tonks, my parents, Neville, Luna, McGonagall and Ginny are all dead, and I take each of their deaths as a part of me dying – especially Ginny's death.

We were supposed to get married that day! What I thought was going to be the happiest day of my life, turned out to be an absolute nightmare! Tradition says that I'm not supposed to see the bride on the day of the wedding! So, while everyone stayed at the Burrow to help Molly with the decorations on the previous day, I decided to spend the night at Grimmauld Place.

I woke up next morning, washed up, and got ready and apparated to Ottery St Catchpole. Apparation had never been my favourite mode of travelling. I hated as much as I hated the floo powder method, but I was running late – and that was exactly what I felt when I heard a number of loud pops and a crack that sounded like Mundungus Fletcher disappearing.

I was worried and began running towards the Burrow and suddenly I stopped!

The Burrow was in flames!

I knew who did it and why it was done! For the twenty years that I lived, Voldemort always insisted that he had the last laugh; even if it meant making my life a living hell! I went to see if anyone had survived, but to no avail. The bodies had been gashed. The Weasleys had burn marks all over them, Remus had lost an eye. Tonks' body was cut into pieces. I could recognise her from the strands of pink hair. Hermione and Ron were next to each other, hands touching. I'm so glad I pushed him into telling her how he felt! Now they're gone! And Ginny – my Ginny! She was mutilated. I'm sure that the bastard told his cronies to give her the 'extra – special' treatment. My fists clenched as I imagined what happened and I was out to get something I usually would never go looking out for – revenge!

oooooooo

It had been five years since those events took place. Voldemort and I were the only survivors left! I had destroyed his Death Eaters and the remaining Horcruxes. Voldemort didn't know that I still knew of the Horcruxes so I was still a step ahead in that part. The Death Eaters were killed when I would suddenly attack them when least expected before disappearing into the night. I realised that if I were to win this war, I was going to play as dirty as Tom and attack them when they least expected. In this period I managed to finish off Draco Malfoy and Severus Snape, and ensuring revenge was indeed sweet! After my wedding day ended, I went into hiding and trained myself in offensive and defensive magic and I knew I was powerful! It scared me, but I knew that this was the only thing that could avenge the loss of everyone I loved. I also learnt some more on Horcruxes and that it took more than a year to make one!

I had some useful contacts whom I had threatened with death if they wouldn't bring me up to date with what Tom was planning next. His Junior Death Eaters – stupid fools that they are would usually end up at the Leaky Cauldron, get very drunk and reveal the name of the next home to be attacked. This message would usually pass onto me. There were some attacks I would ignore, which would hurt me a great deal because of the innocent victims, but if I would attack them at every instant, the Death Eaters would anticipate my moves and be prepared. With my attacks, the Ministry had become a bit lenient when it came to Death Eaters and anyone in the Wizarding World was allowed to use the killing curse on them. I suppose that is what one gets when you have the name Harry Potter! I would write for the Daily Prophet once in a month assuring the people that I was alive and kicking and they were as important and instrumental for this war against terror to be won!

I think Bellatrix was the last Death Eater that I killed. It took me a while, not because she was powerful, but because she killed Sirius. I easily disarmed her and tortured her for I can't remember how long, but it had the desired effect. I was grinning cruelly as she pleaded for mercy and squealed for help. I visualised Sirius's mouth opening in shock as he fell down that dreaded veil as I uttered the killing curse. I suppose I owed it to her for teaching me the primary step towards uttering an Unforgivable. I had absolute hate flowing through my system and I enjoyed her suffering and twitching in the process of torture. Although, she was dead now, I think she deserved a lot more than she actually received.

oooooooo

So, now it was just Voldemort and me! No more Horcruxes, no more Death Eaters! Both of us had lost everything and suffered for it in different ways. His magical aura had drained out! Knowing he didn't have a chance against me, he fled! Sources said Albania, while others said Burkina Faso, but I was very, very tired to trail him at the moment. It was near the end. The prophecy still loomed in my mind– physically and emotionally. I needed a break from everything. I needed to charge myself up and I needed to get away from this life! I needed to go underground, myself!

oooooooo

It had been a week since I had rented a small apartment in Muggle London (I exchanged my money for Muggle money at Gringots). The place, which was located at Bond Street, was a quaint little place, where I could eat and sleep. Every evening, I would take a walk and think of all that had happened through my life.

One of those days I walked reflecting on Tom's and my similarities. I was as much a murderer as he was and I no longer hesitated in killing his followers. I had enjoyed killing Bella, the Malfoys and Snape. I had hate in my heart. I felt that I would never love or be loved by anyone again; I had this gross feeling that people would fear the name 'Harry Potter' as much as they did for Voldemort and this made me sick to my stomach.

Pondering forever, I absentmindedly turned into an alley where I heard a scream. I immediately gripped my wand and saw to my utter disgust five children in their early teens picking on a kid who looked no older than eight or nine. They were shoving him around and jeering on. As I went further to investigate, I heard the term 'retard' being yelled out by one of the boys. I was strongly reminded of my cousin Dudley picking on the smaller kids in class and rushed to the child's rescue.

'Get your hands off that kid,' I bellowed, picking up a brick as I ran towards them. The children sensing that their fun was over quickly disappeared into the dark alley. I turned to examine the damage they had inflicted on the child.

The child – I though he was a child – was certainly older than what his frame suggested, had himself standing back to a corner wall of the alley. His growth was stunted probably because of premature development. His bottom lip was fat and had a huge cut. His cheek was scarred and there were bogies dripping down his nose. His eyes were tightly shut in fear that he would be attacked again. His hands and legs were grossly underdeveloped, which resulted in him having a slight hunch. However, he was wearing decent, branded clothes and I assumed he had gotten lost somewhere.

I slowly went up to him and said, "Are you lost, son?"

He still had his eyes shut so I thought I'd touch him to ensure that everything was okay. I slowly put my hand on his shoulder to ensure that everything was alright when he suddenly opened his eyes and gave an ear-shattering scream.

Fortunately, my reflexes had sharpened considerably over the years and I quickly shut him up with a wandless silencing charm. I was never good with kids; why did I go and stick my nose into someone else's business? But now, I wasn't going to leave him alone. I had some chocolate in my pocket and I took one out and offered it to the boy who reluctantly took it. He began devouring it, but was still staring at me suspiciously. I tried again. Removing the spell, I again asked him, 'Are you lost?'

He nodded his head and waited for me to ask him something else

'I had better take you home with me,' I said, not thinking of handing over the child to the concerned authorities at that point of time. I was too tired anyway that day. I thought that I'd give him a place to stay for the night and dump him off somewhere so that he'd be adopted by someone.

'Mama,' he yelled, pointing at the main road.

I looked around, but nobody was there.

'Do you have a mother?' I asked, hoping he would say yes.

He grinned at me, which made me feel extremely silly. Luckily, the topic of his mother seemed to grab his attention.

'Mama,' he exclaimed again, jumping up and down and clapping. As he did so, a piece of paper fell out of his pocket. Curious, I bent down and picked it up. It read 'Jonathan Slater, 12B, Wimple Street'

'Jonathan?' I asked, trying my luck. The boy looked at me and grinned, bearing his teeth. By the looks of it, he loved brushing his teeth. They were shining and his smile reached into his eyes. I knew the address as it was the building next to mine. So I offered him my hand and he took it without any hesitation and took him home.

The trip, which usually takes me five minutes to the alley, took me 45 minutes because the kid was restless and kept pointing at the most inane things around me. He was very fascinated by the cars moving at different speeds on the main roads. Various colours grabbed his attention. He would drag me to try and play with other children on the road whose parents looked at him with pity. It would take a lot to divert Jonathan's attention, which I successfully did by pointing to other objects. He thought it was a sort of game for him and for me – it diverted my mind from a lot of things.

Finally we arrived at his house. I rang the front door bell and waited. I heard footsteps on the other end and a lady opened the door. Before I could get a proper glimpse of her face, she had flung herself on her son, covering his face with kisses.

She then looked up at me and said, 'Thank you for helping my son, Mr…. Harry?' she said, as her eyes widened with shock.

She had changed since I last saw her. Back at Hogwarts, she was this girl who was full of life. She was as pretty as ever, but there was exhaustion and sadness in her eyes, but when she smiled at me, after that initial shock, I knew she was Katie Bell. She always had that mischievous grin.

'Hi Katie,' I said, not knowing what else to say. It had been six years since I last saw her.

'It's fantastic to see you,' she said, pulling me into a tight hug, which I reciprocated by awkwardly patting her back. 'You're safe! Thank Merlin!' she muttered into my chest. I could feel a drop of water fall on my t-shirt. 'Great!' I thought to myself, 'I meet another woman who sees me and cries.'

'I'm sorry,' she said, releasing me from the hug 'It's just been so long and times are bad.'

'You don't say?' I said with a bitter laugh. 'I'm sorry,' I added, looking at the sad expression on her face. 'It's just that I feel really dirty and I need to clear my thoughts.'

'I understand Harry,' said Katie, smiling sadly at me. 'Thank you for bringing Jonathan home. Why don't you come in?'

'He's a good and smart kid,' I said looking over Katie's shoulder at the boy who had begun making something out of clay.

'You really think that?' she asked, hopefully

'Yes, I do!' I said, sincerely 'He diverted my attention from a lot of things that have been bothering me. He did that successfully for 45 minutes today and nobody has managed to divert my attention in this manner.'

Katie laughed. 'Yes, he has that knack of doing that, doesn't he? It's a pity his father never thought so.'

'Father?' I blurted out stupidly.

'Yes, his father, Johan is a Muggle businessman. He left us when he discovered that Jonathan was mentally disabled,' she sad bitterly.

'How come you married a Muggle?' I asked curiously.

She shrugged and looked sadly at me. I felt very awkward asking all these personal questions. I was never the one to pry on anyone's life, but Katie had something about her, which I could not picture that made me want to be there for her despite all odds. I thought that me speaking up or opening up to someone or them opening up to me was next to impossible after Riddle killed everyone whom I loved. Thankfully he didn't see Katie as a friend of mine, which she had been – if not a close one – at school.

'I got fed up of everything happening in our world,' she said, sighing. 'I ran away from everyone and everything after Angelina and Alicia were killed. I moved to Muggle London and worked as a waitress at a fast-food restaurant. I met Johan at some party and we began seeing each other for a while. He got me pregnant before we were married and walked out on Jonathan and me when he saw the boy's condition.'

I didn't know what to say. I was strongly reminded of Vernon and Petunia, but at least they had the heart to give me a home for seventeen years – even though those years were a living hell.

'I'm sorry, Katie,' I said, putting my hand on her shoulder

'Don't be!' she said, smiling at me. 'It's something of the past and I'm happy that it's Jonathan and me, only.'

'I know it's none of my business, but have you tried meeting other people?' I asked.

She shrugged. 'I have, but then when it gets serious, they want me to dump my 'retarded' son into an orphanage or a foster home. So I very politely ask them to fuck off.'

I couldn't help, but snicker at her last statement. She glared at me and said, 'What is so funny?'

'Such language from you, Katie,' I said, chuckling. 'I would never have thought.'

'Yeah,' she said, 'but I hate it when people claim it's a serious relationship after they sleep with me and then call my baby a retard,'

'Don't mind me asking, Katie,' I said, slowly, 'Did your seventh year incident have anything to do with the premature development?'

She looked at me in a very calculating way. 'How did you guess?' she asked. 'The medi – witch told me that the child would be deformed. She said that it was because of the necklace, but I refused to kill my baby.'

'A smart thing too,' I said. 'Does he have any magical abilities?'

'None that he's displayed as yet,' she replied, 'but then special children like Jonathan usually end up as squibs.'

'Can I see the two of you again?' I asked 'It'll be great to catch up on old times and Jonathan will be great fun to hang out with.'

'I'd love that, Harry,' Katie replied beaming at me. 'You're still the same cute kid I knew back at Hogwarts'

'I'm not longer cute or a kid,' I muttered. Turning to Jonathan, I said, 'Hey kiddo, you up for some swimming at the pool downstairs.'

'But he can't swim,' protested Katie, with a very worried look on her face. 'Besides, the other children will make fun of him,'

'Not when I'm around,' I said, 'you can keep a watch on us from your window and be assured that I won't let anything happen to him.'

'Alright,' she said, but I don't think she sounded very convinced.

'Good,' I said, grinning, 'what time to I get him'

'Ate!' croaked the boy.

'Ate?' I asked him, slightly puzzled

He slapped his forehead and had a look on his face that I was idiotic. He then pointed his five fingers on his right hand and three on his left.

'Oh! Eight?' I said, feeling very silly. 'You're a smart boy, you are! We'll be great friends.' I said, kneeling down and ruffling his hair. He laughed and it was a beautiful laugh, which sounded very musical and lifted his hand and slapped me with full force. I staggered back and fell on my backside. Looking at my awkward predicament, Jonathan began to giggle some more.

'Jonathan!' admonished Katie, 'That was disgraceful behaviour. Apologise to Harry right at this moment,'

I assumed that Katie didn't scold the boy too often because immediately after that he went into a tangent and began screaming the house down.

'I'm sorry, Harry,' said Katie looking very embarrassed.

'Don't worry about it, Katie,' I said, grinning, 'I have the ultimate solution for this. Only he can hear himself scream.' With that I muttered the wandless silencing charm again and there was silence.

'You know wandless magic?' said Katie, shocked at my revelation.

'Lady, to survive a war, you need to know everything from a Wingardium Leviosa to a killing curse,' I said bitterly.

Katie looked sheepish. 'I'm sorry Harry!' she said, sadly. 'I keep forgetting how much you lost in this battle. With Ron, Hermione and Gin... '

'Don't!' I snapped! 'Let's not talk about that!'

There was an awkward silence for a moment and we both turned towards Jonathan who had stopped screaming and looked very happy that the world had heard his voice.

I quickly removed the silencing charm and turned to Katie. 'Sorry about snapping at you! The memories are still very painful for me.' I said, blinking the tears away. The last thing I wanted was for her to see me cry. 'I'll see you guys tomorrow morning,' I said, as I opened the front door to walk out.

'Wait!' said Katie 'Where do you live?'

'Across the street,' I replied with a small smile. 'Need anything, don't bother to hesitate.'

oooooooo

The next few weeks were probably some of the best I had in my life. Jonathan and I would go swimming every morning. He would insist on shoving his head completely under water, but I wouldn't let him. He would react by splashing water on me. I eventually got him to slowly move with the current of water. I would gently hold his hands and pull him towards me, while he would constantly kick the water really hard. Eventually, he built up enough stamina to do the whole length of the pool twice.

Sometimes Katie would join us and both mother and child would have a fun time tormenting me. She with her subtle jokes and inane humour and the kid with his sudden physical assaults and mock-wrestling matches were quite the dynamic duo.

Jonathan, Katie and I would then go once a week to some part of London to show the boy around the city. It would be wonderful seeing him pointing at everything on the street and giving it some rude gesture or blowing a raspberry on it, which would result in me bursting into laughter much to Katie's disgust. We were walking across the river Thames one evening when he began his ridiculous antics again. I laughed aloud and applauded when he picked up a giant pawn and put it a place in front.

'Stop encouraging him so much,' she said.

'He's just a kid,' I protested, 'Let him have some fun.'

'It's not that, Harry,' she said.

'Then what's the issue,' I asked, frowning slightly.

'He's giving you more attention than he's giving me,' she said quickly and looked very embarrassed.

My heart sank. I knew something like this would pop up sometime or another. My temper, which I hadn't lost for a long time, was rising slightly.

'So, what you're trying to say,' I said with forced patience, 'is that you're upset that I'm giving your kid time?'

'I didn't say that, Harry!' protested Katie

'Well, it certainly sounded like that,' I snapped.

'Fine!' she yelled, 'If you really want to know the reason why I'm slightly jealous, it's because kids like Jonathan don't live beyond nine years of age and right now he's five.'

My jaw dropped. I felt like a complete idiot and I knew I had to make up with Katie at that very moment. She had her back turned towards me. I slowly walked towards her and turned her around to face me. She still had her head facing the ground. Slowly, I tilted it up and looked her in the eye. There were tears that had been blinked away by her, but that didn't matter – Katie was no Cho Chang. I slowly leaned forward and kissed her gently. I immediately withdrew and looked to see if she was okay with it

'What was that for?' she asked, with a small smile playing on her face.

'To apologise for being an ass,' I said, sheepishly.

She reciprocated by kissing me back. I don't know how long we were holding each other, but we stopped when Jonathan grabbed my jacket to get his attention.

Reluctantly I let Katie go to see the kid holding a stray puppy in his hands. The puppy looked to be around 3-4 months old and had the most adorable pair of eyes. Fortunately, Jonathan was holding it correctly, which made Katie breath again.

'Where did you find him?' I asked.

He pointed to some place, which looked like he found the puppy on the river bank. I looked uneasily at Katie who looked like she would faint. It would be a pain looking after both the kid and the dog.

'I'll stay at your place for a while,' I offered, 'I'll assist you in looking after both of them.'

'What about your rent?' she asked, concerned.

'I'll pay it off and move out,' I said.

'Thanks, Harry! I really appreciate that,' she said and leaned over and kissed my cheek.

'Alright, I'll go and get those things sorted out once we get back,' I said

oooooooo

Jonathan and the pup – which Katie named Shadow – were inseparable. For one week, the kid and the dog would look so ridiculously adorable together, which resulted in me spending more time with Katie. We got to know each other again. After a lot or persuasion and some arguments, which she eventually won, I told her about all that happened in my past – including the prophecy. She was a patient listener and she never spoke in between, for which I was really glad. She wouldn't give her personal opinion either, which when I look back, I really appreciate. She had gone through her fair share of hell as well. Her family members had been victims of the war. She had joined the professional Quidditch league and lost her best friends when Death Eaters launched an attack on a Quidditch match and killed all the players except her because she was on the injured list and was sitting at home. That was the final straw for her and she packed her bags and left the Wizarding world for good.

'Do you ever plan of going back there?' I asked, as she played with my hair. I was in her room, lying down on her lap and having another conversation on life, the universe and other things.

'I have thought of it sometimes,' she said, 'but I have nothing to go back for, Harry.'

I sighed. She was right, of course. I didn't know what my fate would be in this war, either. I could have asked her to come and be with me, but it would be selfish on my part. I had nothing to offer her, but misery and danger! Voldemort would be active soon now – I was surprised that I didn't feel any twinge in my scar and none of my spies told me about his return. So, while he bided his time, I waited. I knew that from my monthly articles to the Daily Prophet, people had begun fearing him a lot less and would refuse to join them – unless they completely wished too. I was pretty sure that I had eliminated that party of people who wished to serve him out of pure loyalty.

'You're thinking again, Harry,' teased Katie.

'Yeah, I know,' I said. 'Nothing too important, I assure you.'

'Tell me,' she said.

'Nothing, Katie! It's just this war and everything we have lost! I feel dirty and I want to finish this off soon. He's bidding his time somewhere and I'm ready when he is.'

'Why didn't you follow him?' asked Katie.

I knew that I could have. I could have ended the nightmare once and for all, but why had I given him time to recuperate? Something stupid and reckless again on my part, but I knew that I was more powerful than he was.

'I don't know,' I shrugged, 'I wasn't sure I'd win at that time. I was exhausted and needed as much of a break as he did. And I couldn't come to killing someone weaker than me despite him being so evil.'

'Which is what makes you so different from him, Harry,' said Katie, as she kissed my forehead. 'In your place, he would kill the weakest even if they had no role in the war. You killed for revenge. People have done that in the past, but your revenge was on a bunch of mass-murderers who have been on the Ministry of Magic's wanted: dead or alive list forever, now. You did the right thing, Harry. They only deserved to die. Azkaban was too good a place for them.'

I shrugged. 'Anyway, it's time for Jonathan to sleep,' I said, 'I'll bring him in and go to my room,'

'Yeah, I suppose,' she said, looking pretty disappointed. I had insisted that I slept in the guestroom. My nightmares were still haunting me and waking Katie and Jonathan up wasn't my primary goal right then. I had cast several silencing charms around my room, knowing that my screams when I dreamt of that day at the Burrow wouldn't be heard by anyone and those were memories that I wasn't ready to share as yet. Fortunately, Katie understood and never asked me about what happened that day.

oooooooo

I unlocked the door to Katie's apartment one afternoon after doing some shopping and was surprised to see her weeping. Dropping my bags, I went up to her and said, 'Katie is everything alright?'

She looked at me, completely torn. 'It's Jonathan!' she said

'What about him?' I asked, very worried, 'is he okay?'

'He's fine, but Shadow isn't,' came her reply

'What do you mean?' I asked, hoping I wouldn't hear what was coming next.

'Jonathan killed Shadow ten minutes back!' said Katie, sobbing into my chest.

I don't know how long I held her nor don't I know why I didn't cry for the death of an innocent puppy. I guess death was something as relative as pain and suffering. Now, at this point, I was immune to all three. I held onto Katie, until she stopped crying and then asked, 'What prompted him to kill the pup? He loved it!'

'I'm part to blame, actually,' she replied sadly. 'I refused to give him another chocolate bar. In a fit of rage, he took the remote control and repeatedly smashed it on Shadow's skull.'

'You're not to blame, Katie,' I said, 'it's not your fault!'

She nodded to ensure that she heard me well.

'Where is he, anyway?' I asked.

'He's in my room with Shadow's body. Will you speak to him, Harry?' she asked, pleadingly.

'I'll try and see what I can do,' I said, moving to Katie's room.

I slowly opened the door and saw Jonathan sitting at the head of Shadow, trying to put the blood back into the skull, as if fixing him up.

'That won't work, kid,' I said, sitting next to him.

He merely grunted and kept on sweeping the blood back into the head. His hands and clothes were blood- stained and his nose was running extra-fast.

'There is nothing you can do about it, kid,' I said, looking at him. 'Shadow will never come back to us.'

I suppose he realised the consequences of his temper tantrum and he started to cry. First time deaths are the worst to experience. I still remember when Cedric fell at the graveyard and I couldn't do a think to save him. Jonathan was experiencing the same thing at a much younger age. He did feel responsible for his actions, which made me feel all the more worse about it.

I put my arm on his shoulder and he cried into my lap. I don't know how long he wept, but he dozed off soon after that. I did a silent banishing charm for the pup, hoping that Jonathan would forget about it soon.

Katie came in soon after with a cup of hot chocolate for us. She mouthed a silent thank you for watching her kid and sat on the bed.

'What did you tell him?' she asked me.

'Nothing!' I replied, quietly 'He figured out what he did, himself.'

'You're a good influence on him, Harry,' she said.

'I'm not going to around forever, you know, Katie,' I replied, shrugging slightly.

'What is that supposed to mean?' she said, frowning at me.

'It means,' I replied, with a hint of impatience in my voice, 'that I still have to face him and I don't know what fate holds in store for me. I was never good at Divination, you know?'

'Well, I believe in you Harry,' she said, 'I have always believed in you.'

'Thanks!' I said, smiling, knowing what else to say.

'Will you come back to us, once you finish him off?'

I sighed. I knew she would ask me this sooner or later. I had planned on killing him and finishing myself off after all was over, so I could meet everyone else beyond the other life – that was before Jonathan and Katie came into my life. I knew that Jonathan had only a few years left to live. Katie loved me, but never said it aloud and I felt the same way too. But I never told her because I was selfish and wanted to take the easy way out after all of this was over. I looked at Katie's hopeful face and it made me feel worse than ever. Here were two people, who made me believe in myself again, gave me the strength to fight and the ability to love and I was pushing them away.

'I don't know, Katie,' I replied, slowly. 'I can't promise you anything, but I'll try and come back.'

'Don't try!' she said 'Either give me a 'yes' or a 'no'.' she then got up and left me alone with Jonathan in the room. I felt guilty, but my mind was made up. I could hear the voices of the Ginny, Ron, and the other Weasleys, Hermione, Remus, Sirius, Tonks, my parents and Dumbledore calling me every night to them. I had enough. I wanted to be with them too.

oooooooo

'Potter, I'm ready,' hissed the familiar voice.

'I was wondering where you went off to, Tom,' I replied with a lot of venom. 'It's so like you, isn't it? Running to save your ass when everyone around you is dead and can't do your dirty work?'

'Shut your mouth, you insolent boy,' spat Voldemort. 'I'm more powerful than you can ever imagine yourself to be.'

'Were, Tom,' I said, smiling at him. 'You were powerful, but now you're no longer that force of nature you were. People aren't afraid to use your name anymore. They are ready to defy you and help me restore peace once again.'

'We shall see, fool!' he bellowed at me.

'It'll be my pleasure to watch you die, Tom,' I said andI woke up suddenly. It hadn't been a dream. My scar burned with a lot of intensity and I knew he was back in the country.

oooooooo

'I'm leaving tomorrow!' I said at breakfast the next day, knowing the reaction I was going to get.

'He's back, isn't he,' said Katie looking at me. I nodded silently as I ate my toast.

Jonathan looked at me with a mixture of anger and sadness. He suddenly picked his piece of toast and flung it on me and ran into his room, slamming the door behind him. My heart sank, but this was something I had to do.

'Leave him alone, Harry,' said Katie, holding my hand and squeezing it gently. 'He'll get over it soon,'

'I seriously hope so,' I said, shrugging my shoulders. 'Thanks for everything, Katie.'

'You don't have to thank me for anything, Harry,' she said. 'I should thank you for treating my son as a normal kid.'

I didn't know what to say to that. I think the primary reason I connected with Jonathan is because he didn't gape at my scar. He, like me was a victim of being bullied by a large crowd. I think the primary similarities were enough to get me to warm up to him. He also had this uncanny habit of making me laugh with his inane acts. He would laugh himself at these small things and hearing him laugh at his predicament would result in me guffawing like an idiot. I knew that I lived my life in this world and I wanted to live the next great adventure. I was going to miss both mother and son.

'I'll miss you two,' I said, slowly.

'So, you aren't coming back?' said Katie, who had expected me to say 'no' a long time ago.

I didn't say anything.

'I expected you wouldn't,' she said with a sad expression on her face, which tore me. 'But promise me one thing, Harry,'

I looked up at her, questioningly.

'Promise that you'll give that bastard the treatment he deserves,'

'I'll do my best,' I said, smiling a bit.

'And remember always that I love you and I always will, Harry,' she said kissing me on the forehead.

'I know, Katie,' I said, pulling her into a hug.

oooooooo

The fateful day arrived. I got my trunk ready and went to say goodbye to Katie. Jonathan refused to speak to me all day yesterday and he was hiding somewhere in the house where I couldn't find him.

'Goodbye, Katie!' I said 'Look after yourself.'

'You too, Harry,' she said. I sensed that she had cried all night. I wanted to comeback to them, but I had nothing to come back for. She would live her life to the fullest once Jonathan would leave her in a few years.

I turned and opened the front door when I heard a familiar voice say, 'Har?'

Turning around, I saw Jonathan coming slowly towards me. I knelt down and pulled him into a hug. For the first time in five years, I felt the tears fall down my face again – something I didn't expect to happen for a long, long time. This kid brought out the best in me. His mother had a helping hand in it, but it was this special kid who was a major factor for the light side to win the war. He gave me the power the dark lord didn't know of. The power of love, which Dumbledore had tried to explain to me and many others after him finally made sense to me and the person who did it was a five-year-old, special child – who I personally thought was a brilliant genius for putting something so simple through my thick skull.

'Be good and don't trouble your mother,' I whispered into his ear. 'I'll see you in a few years,' I said, my voice choking a bit.' I then got up and walked away to meet and fulfill my destiny, and explore the next great adventure.

oooooooo