Harry and Hermione spent a good portion of the evening together. Harry read the book on the bed. Hermione simply sat next to him and watched; occasionally asking a question about the content of the book since she couldn't read the text. Harry was always calm when she asked about the spell and at times would even ask for her opinion on a phrase or instruction. At one point Harry was broken out of his reading by a soft giggle. He questioningly looked to his brunette friend with a slight scowl, "What?"
"Nothing. It's just strange to see you studying without me having to shove a book in your face."

Harry scoffed and buried his nose back in the book, "If they had material like this available I would study more."

Hermione shook her head with a faint smile, her brown curls bouncing with each slight motion of her head. The next hour passed in relative silence. Only the sound of breathing and Harry shifting the pages of his book filled the room. Harry began to lose himself within the book once again constantly studying spell after spell. Harry stopped on a new spell. It was an extremely simple that he should have no trouble performing, Mage Hand.

Harry took a deep breath and reached within tapping into his magical core. The core easily yielded the magic he needed. Slowly he began to craft it into the shape of a hand within his mind. When he opened his eyes a faint silver ghost hand was floating in front of him. Harry began looking around the room for something to use this hand on; his eyes first landed on Hermione. She was staring at the ceiling and hadn't noticed a change yet. His eyes roamed her body slowly and the hand began to move toward her slowly rising and falling chest.

The hand opened and its fingers wiggled. Shaking his head hard enough Harry was certain his neck would break. The hand stopped just centimeters away and began to move away careful not to touch her. Harry quickly sent the hand to his trunk to retrieve his wand. The hand came back in a matter of minutes. Harry took his wand and willed the hand out of existence. Harry was about to go back into the book when Sirius threw open the door causing Harry to jump and roll out of the bed. Once he managed to collect himself Harry shot a dagger filled glare to his Godfather.

Sirius' face was an odd mixture of humor and seriousness. It was as if his face could not decide on one expression and had instead decided to split his visage in half. The left side of his face was smirking with a barely contained comment. The right half was stuck in a scowl of warning. He finally stuck with a scowl and spoke, "You need to get out, Hermione. I managed to distract everyone up till now, but I'm out of stories to preoccupy them with."

Hermione nodded and quickly stood up brushing her shirt off as she hurriedly exited the room. She turned around and smiled at Harry who was busy hiding the book in his trunk, "I'll see you tomorrow, Harry."

Harry nodded and closed his chest walking back to his bed, "Yeah. See you tomorrow."

Sirius laughed as Hermione walked out. Closing the door behind himself he left Harry alone in the dark room. Harry sighed and laid back on the bed. Closing his eyes Harry began to take deep breaths to calm himself. A lot had happened today and he needed to analyze everything. After the third breath Harry was asleep. His mouth hung open slightly.

Harry's eyes snapped open and he was greeted by a remarkable view. Mountains, as far as the eye could see. The sky was perfectly cloudless. Harry saw why when he looked down. He was above the clouds. Atop a great snow covered mountain. His hair and shirt were moving in the gentle wind. Harry couldn't help himself as he cracked a great smile, "Where am I?"

"You are in my world, Harry James Potter. You are in the realm of a god," The voice was booming and guttural though not malevolent. It echoed around and through him and filled him with a sense of calm warmth and security. Harry turn around and gaped. Before him was a massive dragon. Its scales were platinum and its eyes were a deep blue. The dragon's snout was twice his size as the dragon sat upon, and almost dwarfed, a nearby mountain. The dragon stared down at him with the sun at its back.

Harry took a step back and gazed over the dragon's mighty form. He shuddered and spoke in a shaky voice, "Who are you?"

"I am Bahamut the Platinum Dragon God. I am the god of all things good: Honor, Protection, Nobility, and Justice! Long ago I was revered by all those who sought the ways of The Light. I was the master of the Metallic Dragons who guarded and aided man kind. However that time is long past. The Metallic Dragons are gone from your world leaving only the dragons you know today in their wake. Magic and Muggle alike have scorned The Light in exchange for their own desires."

"I'm sure humans haven't been that horrible. What of Dumbledore? He is considered the embodiment of Light."

"Dumbledore?" The Dragon scoffed releasing a jet of sapphire blue flame from its nostrils, "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore is a shadow of the man who was last my champion. The great wizard Merlin. Merlin was like a god among men. He was generous and righteous. He punished darkness where ever if reared its head. When he lived, times were good. Light touched all the world and all were happy. Then, my champion was murdered by a woman named Morgan le Fay. His last work, a book addressed to you, has emerged in the world. You have the potential, Harry James Potter, to become the greatest embodiment of Light since Merlin himself; you also have the potential to become an embodiment of darkness more fearsome then Gellert Grindelwald and Tom Marvolo Riddle. You, Harry James Potter, could save the world or destroy it, and your friends will follow you in every choice you make. Harry James Potter, do you know the meaning of Justice?"

"Yes, I know the meaning of Justice."

The dragon scoffed again and leaned down. Its head crossed the gap between the mountains with ease, "Does Tom Riddle deserve to die?"

Harry stopped himself before he responded. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was another layer to this question. Shaking his head slightly Harry looked into the eye's of the dragon god, "Of course he deserves to die."

The dragon scoffed again and blinked. It huge blue eyes darkened and misted over, "Look into my eye and see the past of the man you so easily condemn to death."

Harry looked into Bahamut's eye and immediately felt an immense pain in his head. Images swam before his eyes like a movie being played on fast forward. Thousands of pictures. Millions of words and sounds. Information and knowledge flooded him in a single crushing wave. And as soon as it had begun, it stopped. The pain faded in an instant and all that was left was information and memories. Memories of a boy in an orphanage. A boy tormented and teased and abused. A boy named Tom Marvolo Riddle. Bahamut's eyes cleared up once more and the light returned to them, "What do you think now, Harry James Potter? You have seen the past and the pain of your mortal enemy. Must he still die?"

"Yes," Harry responded on shaking legs, "A terrible past does not excuse what he did, what he is doing. There is no Light in him."

Bahamut seemed to chuckle as smoke came in wisps from his nostrils, "You are indeed correct. Justice must be dealt from those who stray from the path of Light. However, not all that is good was always good. Look once more into my eye and see the past of the man known as Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

Harry stared into the dragons eye and braced himself for the pain. It took everything Harry had not to scream as the visions dragged on and on. Longer then Voldemort's past. Dumbledore was old and there was clearly much to see, much to know. It hurt like nothing else, but Harry embraced it. The Dragon God would not waste his time if it was not important. When the images stopped Harry was shaken. He couldn't believe what he had scene, what he had learned. Who Dumbledore had once been, what he had thought, what he had done. The dragon's booming voice rose him from his thoughts, "What of Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore? Does this man deserve death for his actions and his inaction?"

Harry shook as he spoke, he was unsure of himself but he felt he knew the right answer, "No. No, he doesn't deserve death. He strayed, but he returned extremely quickly. He does his best to serve the Light and repent for his mistakes. He regrets everything he did, everything he thought, everything he didn't do. He regrets them every day he lives. He is being punished everyday for straying from the Light and he accepts his punishment knowing that he earned it."

The dragon rose it's massive head back and looked down at Harry. For a moment Harry feared he had answered incorrectly and that the dragon might attack, but he was relieved when the dragon nodded its head letting loose more wisps of smoke, "You are indeed a boy who knows what it is to walk with Light and with Honor. Your mother was much the same way. I never gave her this test. I never got the chance."

"You knew my mother?"

"I know of all humans. I am a god. However, your mother was a human after my own heart. She was as pure as they came. She was noble and honorable and strong and generous. She walked with the Light every day she lived. She could have done much better then your father. Much better indeed. However, that was her choice even if I silently disapproved here in my realm. As it was her choice to die."

"What do you mean it was her choice to die?"

"When you were young, just a newborn, there was a prophecy spoken to Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore from your Divination teacher. It said that Tom Marvolo Riddle would be defeated by the child of those who thrice defied him, one born as the seventh month dies. That neither can live while the other survived. When Tom Marvolo Riddle learned of this prophecy he decided that the child was you. I knew he would go to kill your parents and you and so did Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore. He hid your parents away. However, as you know, they were betrayed and given away. The night before the attack I appeared to your mother and told her of the prophecy and that I could hide them away and redirect Tom Marvolo Riddle to the other family that fit the prophecy, the Longbottom family. All she would have to do is become my champion in the world. Take up the role Merlin once held and fight to restore Light to the world with my blessing. She refused. She refused to sacrifice anyone else for herself. She told me she was not afraid to die for the sake of those she loved. She apologized for not being able to aid me, but she said that she could not murder her friends like that. I granted her wish. The next night I watched as your mother and father were slain to defend you, and I watched as your mother's sacrifice allowed you, a mere infant, to defeat a great evil. Never forget Harry James Potter, your mother was an angel who gave everything she had in the defense of those she loved."

Harry nodded with a faint smile on his face. He had always been told how amazing his mother was, but he had never known, no one had ever known, that she was as amazing as what Bahamut had told him. Harry couldn't stop himself from asking his next question, "What about my father?"

Bahamut let loose an angry roar that shook the mountains and made snow fall down the sides of the mountains as avalanches, "Your father was a dreadful man. A trickster who toed the line of Order and Chaos at every chance he got. He would not hesitate to play whatever pranks he thought fitting on those who stood in his way. What your mother saw in him I will never know understand. His only redeeming quality was his sense of honor."

Harry couldn't help but smile and chuckle at the Dragon God's disapproval of his father. It seemed many people, and non-people, thought the same things about his father to a certain extent. Harry looked up at the blue sky and let loose a long sigh in the silence of the mountains, "What now? Is there more I must know?"

"Harry James Potter, you will never known enough. No one ever truly knows enough. However there is more to tell you. One more story, and one final choice to make. Many centuries ago, before even the time of Merlin, there was a man by the name of Ryth Goldblade. A warrior after my own heart in a time when my name was but a whisper on the winds. I searched the world for a champion worthy of being my first. Then I found him. In the beginning his name was Ryth Haroldson, he was a knight in the service of a local lord on the coast of England.

One day their village was attacked by a large bandit group. The knights were outnumbered greatly and there was no time to call for help. The lord had retreated to his home and locked himself safely inside leaving the people to be slaughtered. The knights fought the best they could. However for every knight that fell two or more ran to save their own hide. All except Ryth. He stood his ground to defend his village to the death, and his wish was granted. He was slain after a long and drawn out battle. Many enemies fell to his blade and the bandits were forced back as the people rose up under the effect of his heroism.

I approached him as he lay in between the realms of Life and Death just outside of the reach of that woman, The Raven Queen, and so still able to return to life. I offered him the title of my champion and he accepted. He swore to take up his blade in my name to vanquish evil from the world. I marked him and returned him to his body while mending his wounds. He set about making good on his word immediately. First by hunting down the bandits that first slew him and killing each of them.

Then he did something I did not foresee, he formed an organization, The Dawn Authority, dedicated to the worship of myself and all that I stand for. The Dawn Authority stood for many centuries and fought alongside King Arthur many times. Merlin was the last member of The Dawn Authority and when he died they fell into myth and soon disappeared from history all together. Ryth Goldblade was my first champion, and my greatest, a one of a kind paladin. Harry James Potter, will you take up the mantle of Head of The Dawn Authority and be my first Champion in over a millennium?"

"Yes," Harry knelt as he had heard was custom, "I, Harry James Potter, shall become the Champion of The Platinum Dragon God, Bahamut."

The dragon nodded and leaned down once again pressing its snout against Harry's forehead. Harry felt heat fill his body as his arms began to burn. The burn was painless, rather instead it felt amazing. It filled him with confidence, with a feeling of power. When the burn subsided the dragon pulled its head back, "Look at your left arm, Champion."

Harry looked down at his left arm and grinned, burned into his arm was a platinum spiral in the shape of a dragon. Harry ran his fingers over the brand in amazement. It was rough around the edges from where skin had melted and peeled away, but the inside was smooth like glass and upon closer inspection Harry could see that the platinum color was made from small scales. Harry looked back to Bahamut, "What now?"

"Now you awaken and go about your life. Tell no one of what you have learned here. The time is not right."

Harry nodded as the world went white. His body was floating as if in water. Warmth covered his entire form. Harry's eyes snapped open and he gasped for breath. He was looking up at a ceiling. The ceiling of Number 12 Grimmuald Place. Harry could hear Ron sleeping next to him and birds outside. It was early in the morning. Harry sat up in his bed and rubbed his arm. The brand was there, but it was no longer rough. The skin and scales had merged.


Author's Note: I am sure some, if not most, of you recognize the name Bahamut. He is a summon in Final Fantasy, or at least that is where the name is most known from, however Bahamut is also the name of a god from the table top RPG known as Dungeons and Dragons. I was using the D&D version of Bahamut and did my best to represent how I believed a god who represents the things Bahamut does would act.