Prologue

Harry was enjoying himself for a few days, visiting New York City. He had never been there before, and he was currently watching children play in Central Park. He laid his head down, closing his eyes and basking in the sun. He smiled slightly, hearing a child nearby him giggle. He turned his head and cracked his eye open to see a cute little boy, about seven years old smiling at him.

"Hello," Harry said. The little boy smiled and waved. "Having fun out here today?" The little boy nodded, but he still did not speak. Harry smiled and nodded. "Ahh, you aren't supposed to talk to strangers, are you?"

The little boy nodded in the affirmative. Harry smiled again and sat up, facing the little boy.

"Well, my name is Harry Potter," he said. The little boy's eyes widened in amazement when Harry told the little boy his name and Harry shook his head in exasperation. "Oh so you know who I am?"

"But, Harry Potter is supposed to be a big tough hero," the little boy said. "You don't look like a big tough hero lying on the grass like that."

"Oh? What should a big tough hero be doing then?" Harry asked with a grin. The little boy got a far off look in his eyes.

"A big tough hero like Harry Potter should be battling evil at all times, and he would always be saving people," the boy said. Harry chuckled and shook his head.

"But do you think that Harry Potter should get a break once in a while?" Harry asked with a grin. The little boy smiled and laughed.

"But who would catch the bad guys if he was resting?" the little boy asked seriously. Harry smiled and answered him.

"Well, the Aurors would help out while he took a break," Harry said. "I happen to know that one of Harry's best friends is now an Auror and a darn good one as well."

Harry looked at the boy and grinned and he made a show of brushing his hair back so his scar was visible. The little boy had followed his movements carefully and had seen the scar. The little boy was dumbstruck as he started at Harry.

"You really are Harry Potter," the little boy said. He walked forward and hugged Harry. "My name is Jack." Harry awkwardly patted the boy on his back.

"It's nice to meet you, Jack," Harry said. 'Someday I will find a place that no one knows who I am,' he thought to himself. "Jack, your parents are nearby, right?" Jack nodded and pointed to a couple who were playing with a small dog. "Go on back to your parents, kiddo. I'll make sure no bad guys come after you while you're here."

Jack ran happily back to his parents and promptly whispered to them that he had met the Harry Potter. They looked over to where he was pointing to and Harry gave them a small wave. They waved back and continued their activities.

Harry was laying back down when a shadow of a plane passed over the park and he noticed it was quite low to the ground. His heart fell into his stomach as everything seemed to run in slow motion, watching the plane plow into the World Trade Center. Jack had watched it as well, and he turned his head to see what Harry would do, but Harry was already running through the park in the direction of the building.

Harry found a densely wooded area and apparated as close as he could get. He arrived in time to see several wounded people trying to flee the area. He grabbed the nearest person's arm and guided them towards the police officers. He herded a few more wounded before the rest of the police had come to assist. He turned and ran for the towers, despite the police yelling for him to flee as well. Harry had no intention of listening, as he saw a man pointing his wand at a blocked door, trying to get into the building. Luckily, the entrance was in a secluded spot and the muggle police were too busy with other injured people to notice them.

"Need help?" Harry asked as he drew his wand. The wizard nodded without looking at him. Harry noticed he was wearing a badge and the uniform he was wearing looked similar to the ones that the muggle police were wearing.

They managed to get the large slab of cement away from the door and it flew open as a dozen wizards that were in uniforms poured out of the door. Harry helped the wounded ones to get away from the building. Harry was convinced that this was the Auror office for this area. He returned to the door to see a couple of Aurors arguing about returning for the ones who were trapped.

"I know it's not the right thing to do, but we can't get to them!" one of them shouted. The shorter one opened his mouth to argue, but he was cut off. "They are too far in there, and we can't apparate without running the risk of appearing in the wreckage!"

Harry shook his head and started for the door. They didn't notice him until he was about to enter the door.

"HEY!!" the taller one shouted. "Don't go in there!" Harry did not turn around, but he answered the Auror.

"And why not, as there are injured and trapped men in there?" Harry asked quietly. The Auror growled at the audacity of this kid.

"First of all, you don't have clearance to enter our headquarters, and plus, it's a suicide run! You'll never be able to free them!" The Auror yelled as he advanced towards Harry. "It's impossible to get to them sir." Harry laughed a dry humorless laugh.

"Well, impossible is just another day in the park for me," Harry said as he turned around. He nodded at the shorter Auror and stared hard at the taller one.

"Merlin, it's Potter," the taller Auror breathed. Harry nodded and turned to the door again.

"Sir, you can stay here and wait for your men to die, or you two can help me," Harry said. "Either way, I'm going in. I refuse to leave anyone behind."

Harry climbed through the door and he found himself in a destroyed office. He looked around and saw that a couple of Aurors had died from falling debris, and he dragged them out. After conjuring sheets to cover the bodies, he rushed back in to find others. He managed to get into the back offices, where he heard someone calling for help. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see the shorter Auror nodding his head. They cleared the debris from the hallway and Harry managed to pry the door open with his hands. He didn't want to risk any spells, as some of the debris was being held up by the door frame. The frame creaked loudly as the door opened, but it held.

They found that it was the precinct Auror commander that was trapped. He was under a large section of wall that had collapsed from the impact of a part of the first jet that hit the towers. The first jet had not been going as fast as the second one, and some of the plane's wreckage had fallen outside of the building, hitting the Auror offices.

Harry levitated the section of wall, enabling the short Auror to pull the commander out. After conjuring a stretcher, Harry and the Auror loaded the commander onto it and they got him out. After they got the Auror commander out the two of them went back in, this time followed by four others to help. They worked for about an hour, they heard something happening. There were Aurors outside were yelling for them to get out as fast as they could, and Harry cursed loudly. He was just about to reach another survivor when he heard them yelling.

The short Auror grabbed his arm and tried to drag him towards the door, but Harry wouldn't move. Harry reached down through the ruined wall and grabbed the witch's hand, telling her he would not leave without her. The short Auror was trying to get Harry to let go, but Harry would not let the woman's hand go.

"I'M NOT LETTING HER GO!" Harry yelled as tear formed in his eyes. He could hear a loud sound rapidly approaching. He felt the Auror wrap his arm around Harry, and Harry tightened his grip on the woman's hand.

The Auror shouted for Harry and the witch to focus on the empty alley, and with a loud crack, Harry had to shield his eyes from the sudden change in lighting.

They landed in a heap in the alley as the Auror raised his wand and created a dome shield around the three of them. Harry raised his wand as well as he watched in horror as the building came crashing down. Their shield barely held, but Harry never let go of the woman's hand. She gripped his hand a choked back a sob and looked up at him.

"Where's Kyle?" she asked as fresh tears formed in her hazel eyes. Harry looked down and he felt his heart break. "My fiancé Kyle was right next to me! KYLE!" She continued to yell for her companion, but no answer came. "Please God! KYLE!"

Harry hung his head and cradled the woman's head to his chest as her body shuddered with painful sobs. She was gripping his shirt, holding onto Harry as she sobbed. He just sat there, sharing the woman's grief, and the Auror left them be as the witch's heart breaking wails echoed in the alley. Harry felt his eyes sting as tears found their way down his face.

Harry didn't know how long they sat like that, but it was long enough for the Healers to have to pull him apart from the woman so they could work on her injuries. He stepped back as they worked on her and looked at his hands, which were covered in dirt and blood. He looked up to the rubble that used to be their headquarters, and he saw a bloodstained badge that was sticking out of the debris. He fell to his knees and wept.

He clenched his hands into fist and threw back his head and let out a cry of rage and pain that got the attention of everyone in the alley.

Harry shot up out of bed with a yell, waking Hermione suddenly.

"Harry?" Hermione asked. "Bad dream?" Harry nodded and shook his head trying to clear it. He could still hear the echoes of the woman's cries in his ears.

"Bad memory," he said. He laid his head back down, but he could not fall asleep again. Hermione cuddled up to him, laying her head on his chest. She was still awake as well, and she sighed. It was the third time in the last two weeks Harry had a memory surface in his dreams, turning it into a nightmare. 'The bad thing is, it's always the same' Harry thought to himself.

Hermione tightened her arm around Harry and sighed nervously. She had a bad feeling something was coming, but she could not place it. Harry had felt it too, and they had discussed the possibilities last week. They had asked Ron, but he had told them that things were quiet, and they had heard nothing that would put the Aurors on alert. But Harry had a feeling that his life was going to become interesting again.