Chapter 10
Alicia to the Action

Alicia's POV

"This can't be happening! This just can't be happening! No!" Goes through my mind like an endless mantra, starting over and over again as I barely notice how I free myself of the chaos that is the terrified crowd around me and run for the fallen form of my true love. Sirius, Sly and Carmelita do the same and Sly is the first to reach him.
I know I have Neville, Hermione and the twins running behind me, but I don't care as I only have eyes for the wide eyed look on my beloved's face and the cold, empty color they are now showing. Not wanting to believe that my beloved is really dead, I keep the mantra up, if only in hope of some life-saving miracle.

I finally catch up to where Harry is lying and scrape my knees as I land next to him, tears almost blurring my vision and my hands trembling as they reach out to him. Sirius and Carmelita seem too shocked to be wanting to touch the boy and Lupin seems completely gone – which confuses me as I know the man cares for Harry too.
Looking around, I look behind me and see him strangling a man with pale grey eyes, colorless hair and a chubby small body structure. The man seems already unable to breath and Lupin shouts: "MURDERER! WEREN'T LILY AND JAMES ENOUGH! HE SAVED YOUR PATHETIC LIFE! HOW COULD YOU?"

And instantly I realize who the man is strangling and shout: "Inspector Fox! That's him! That's Peter Pettigrew!" Instantly the woman has her shock pistol out and shoots, a ball of lightning flying from the end of the gun and scraping over Lupin's shoulder, who seems shocked enough to let go just as the ball of electricity hits his captive.
The man screams as the ball hits him and I see sparks of electricity fly over his body as he slumps down. He seems out cold and Lupin asks: "Actual electricity?" Carmelita nods and then turns her head back to the centre of our group, causing me to do the same as we both look at a site that breaks both our hearts.

Sly has his little brother on his lap, his hand going through his hair and then quickly shooting from his chest to his throat, before he whimpers and does it all over again. I feel new tears run down my cheek and whisper: "The Killing Curse. There is no cure and there is no spell that can block it. It's – it's just – instant death."
Sly lowers his head and I see Carmelita grabbing her heart. Having heard the rumors of the two being soul bond, I realize she must be feeling his pain and devastation and feel for both them and myself as Sly closes his eyes and a few tears fall on Harry's forehead. Knowing not what else to do, I smoothly wipe the tracks away.

Then suddenly, I feel his cheek move and pull back as if electrified by the shock pistol. I look shocked, not knowing how on earth Harry could have survived, when I suddenly notice something. Harry's Adam's apple, though smaller than the average male's is softly – ever so unnoticeably – moving up and down.
"HE'S BREATHING!" I shout and everyone looks at me shocked as I motion for Harry's Adam's apple. Then Sly's hand moves over the body part and he looks down, his eyes wide beyond belief and he whispers: "Car-Carmelita, I – I think she's right." The woman runs over and softly lies her hand on Harry's throat.
Then, as if by miracle, I see worry and confusion starting to shine in Harry's wide open eyes and to my delight, they blink. First once, then twice and then they close as Harry groans and whispers: "What Hippogriff just ran over me. Bloody Merlin!" Only for Sly to pull him in a bone-crushing hug, causing my love to squeal in shock.

Harry's POV

I don't know what's happening and I wouldn't be able to tell you if I tried, but one minute I see that traitorous bastard aiming his wand at Sirius and see him mouth the words: "You shall not stop the Dark Lord's plans." And the next I feel myself strangely waking up in the arms and bone crushing hug of my older brother, Sly.
The Raccoon seems intent on squeezing me to death and I ask: "Sly, what – what's wrong?" But before he can answer have I been ripped from his arms and am I being crushed, this time by a man with black hair and very thin, yet amazingly strong arms and I squeak: "Ehm, Sirius – need to breath, you know?"
But the man whispers: "Never! Do that again! You hear me?" And I nod as I ask: "Sure, care to tell me what I shouldn't do anymore?" And the man looks at me shocked. I look from him to the other men and women around me, all looking at me shocked and ask: "What?""You – you don't remember – what – what you did?"
"I don't remember doing whatever it is that makes you think it right to squeeze the oxygen out of my lungs? No, I don't. Should I?" I ask, now really wanting to understand why everyone seems to glad to see me talking and breathing and why so many of those around me are in tears, especially Alicia, who is standing next to Carmelita.

I look at my Quidditch buddy and the one person that helped me when the school turned against me in First and when the Hufflepuffs turned against me in second and suddenly, as I tilt my head, I see a beauty in her that I have to admit having never seen before as her brown eyes seem dark and hurt with the pain she is apparently feeling.
Feeling like I should comfort her first, I pull loose from my godfather's embrace and walk over to her, lying my hand on her cheek – and barely able to believe how soft her skin feels, covered in the tear tracks like they are and ask: "Alicia, what's going on? Why is everyone so happy to see me? And why are you crying?"
The girl still cries, but I can somehow understand that these are tears are out of happiness and not pain and she says: "Harry, I – I don't know how – how you did it – but – you – you survived the Killing Curse – again." I look shocked and then realize that Pettigrew tried to kill Sirius and that I must have jumped in front of the spell.

This makes me shake my head and I ask: "But – but how?" And she asks: "You don't know?" I shake my head and say: "All I know is that everyone is happy to see me, that Pettigrew tried to kill Sirius and that my scar's not hurting for the first time in months. I don't recall anything from when I jumped in between Sirius and Pettigrew at all."
The girl sighs and hugs me as suddenly an old voice says: "I might have a theory on it, Harry, but I would like to discuss it with you privately." I look behind me and see Dumbledore, the man seemingly more relieved than the others and nod as I say: "Alright Professor Dumbledore, we'll be down to your office in a minute."

The man nods, while his eyes roam over our group and I say: "They all care for me, Sir, they all deserve to know. I won't keep secrets from my true family." Another curt nod and the man leads me out the stadium, together with Alicia by my side and Carmelita and Sly right behind me, the ancestors behind them and Sirius and Remus at the rear.
We walk out of the Quidditch Pitch, over the grounds, past the Suspension Bridge and Clocktower Courtyard and through the Grand Staircase to the Entrance Courtyard, where Dumbledore leads us to the statue guarding his office and says: "Chocolate Frog." Which causes for the statue to move out of the way and for a moving staircase to appear.

We take the moving staircase up to the man's office and there the House Elves seem to have already realized how many people there will be in the headmaster's office as there are couches and chairs stationed around the office enough to seat 13 people. I don't know why, but out of instinct, I go and sit with Alicia on a two-sitter.
Then I see Sly smiling at me with a raised eyebrow and suddenly realize an important possibility. Looking at the one girl out of my year who has still been my friend and confident for the last three years, I can almost see us graduating together and suddenly see myself proposing the – I now realize – gorgeous older girl.
Feeling my heart beat at the sight of her smile, I smile back and – tentatively and with a small gulp – lie my hand on hers, which lies on the couch in between us. She looks down at it and I actually feel confident enough to give the hand a soft, comforting squeeze, instead of turning red like I would have done around Cho Chang.
The girl looks up as she feels my squeeze and smiles at me, before she looks at Dumbledore and I push myself to focus on the man as well, under the happy gazes of all my ancestors, who must have realized the same thing Sly helped me realize. Namely that Alicia Spinnet is the soul mate with the fox form for me.

Sly's POV

To know that I have my little brother back is a blessing unlike any other, the only thing coming close to the feeling of happiness that I feel now is when I realized that Carmelita really loves me. Still, I keep my eyes on my little brother very closely in fear of something happening to him – no matter how happy I am for him.
He finally seems to have found his own soul mate and I wonder who this tanned girl with brown eyes is as Harry never really talked about her during the last week, but I can easily see my little brother in his Raccoon form with the girl in a lovely fox form sitting next to him, something that makes me smile in the confirmation of my beliefs.

I then whisper: "Guess Harry won't need my help finding a soul mate." Carmelita looks at the couple too and asks: "Are you sure?" To which I whisper: "Positive. I can almost see them in original form and that girl has the same fox form as you, just less beautiful than you are." Which makes the woman smile at me.
She then kisses my cheek and asks: "Should we be chaperone?" I shudder and say: "Let's share that responsibility with Sirius. He is Harry's godfather and knows the rules of courting in this world better than we do. And he deserves some time with Harry before the little guy grows up." Carmelita nods, but I know we think the same.

If he hasn't already.

Alicia's POV

Harry seems to have accepted me as his as his hand is on mine and he smiles at me with a small hint of love visible in his eyes, big enough to be seen, yet small enough to make me know he has only just fallen for me. This makes me very happy, but the fact that he survived the Killing Curse again still has me crying softly.
The hiccups and me being short of breath is luckily over, but tears are still ever so frequently falling down my face as I look from the boy I love to the Headmaster, who has claimed to have the answer as to how my true love has survived a curse that should have taken him from us for the second time in almost thirteen years.

I feel dread as the man doesn't seem to be waiting for us all to calm down and listen, but seems to be stalling, as if questioning himself on whether or not this is a good idea and then Sirius asks: "So, you had an explanation?" The man sighs and with that confirms my dread-filled suspicion that he was stalling before he says:
"I suspected this when I first saw Harry's scar. I wasn't sure, of course, and I truly wished that Voldemort had not lowered himself into Dark Arts as dangerous and illegal as these, but Harry's scar was the first hint I had that he had. Then, two years ago, I received another hint that Voldemort had dwelled down to those arts."

He opens his drawer and to my confusion pulls out a small black diary with large hole in the middle of the page. Harry and Ron seem shocked as they look at it and Dumbledore says: "This diary. When Harry told me how he had seen Riddle – Voldemort – rise from its pages and how Riddle had looked and felt to him, my fears grew worse.
They were as good as confirmed and now, now that Harry has survived the Killing Curse again, while his scar no longer hurts him, I have all the terrible confirmation I need." To this Tennessee Kid Cooper asks: "Is there a point to all this?" The man sighs and I can't believe he is stalling again. He then looks up and says:

"Lord Voldemort has Horcruxes." I tilt my head and Harry asks: "And those are?" This makes the man smile shortly before he says: "Horcruxes are items – sometimes even animals – that contain a piece of someone's soul. If you commit the worst of crimes, murder, your soul is split apart and with these arts you can pull your soul from your person."
I feel absolutely horrified that magic such as this exists and Sly says: "And I thought Mss. Ruby was a scary Voodoo mistress." He shudders and hugs Carmelita close as he asks: "But what does this have to do with Harry surviving that Killing Curse?" I wonder this myself and look at Dumbledore as the man lowers his head and says:
"Harry survived the Killing Curse, because his scar is – or rather was – also a Horcrux." Instantly all sound is taken from the room as Carmelita gasps and Harry asks: "My – my scar?" Dumbledore nods and then Harry shouts: "SO THAT'S WHY!" We all look at him shocked as tears of anger run down his face and he shouts:

"Ever since first year have we both known that Voldemort is after me! Heck, he tried to kill me in the middle of a crowded stadium of Quidditch fanatics! But I survived him and I always thought it was my survival skills that made you believe you didn't have to train me to fight against him! But that's not the reason, my scar is!"
Tears are running down his face as quickly as the words run from his tongue and he spats: "This whole time you have refused to train me, putting me up against Voldemort whenever the man was after me or someone else and else giving me no information on him, why he was after me or anything else! And now I know why.

You never cared." The man whitens as he hears these words and he says: "Harry, that's not true. I care deeply for you – I –." But Harry turns away and says deadly: "No, you don't." Dumbledore seems at loss and Harry spats: "You don't, because this whole time you have been putting me up against Voldemort – just to let him kill me."
My heart stops a beat and Lupin says: "He wouldn't." But Harry glares at him and aims a finger at Dumbledore as he goes on and says: "He doesn't, because all he cares about is Voldemort killing me so this can finally be destroyed! What's one life more or less? What's my life worth when my soul has already been condemned!"
Tears are now running down my face and all I want is for Harry to stop talking, but the boy lowers his head and says: "My whole life, I've waited for someone to care and for someone to actually want me to live. But now, now that I know this. I might as well walk right up to Voldemort myself and give my life to him. At least that will save everyone else."

"NO!" We all shout and my heart breaks as Harry says this, but then Dumbledore says: "Harry, dear boy, please! Don't do anything rash! Let me explain everything first!" To this Sirius glares at the man and says: "You better! And you better explain to me why you didn't go see the Goblins with what you knew about this too."
The Headmaster seems confused and Harry asks: "The Goblins?" The man nods and says: "Yes, because if anyone is willing to learn about all kinds of magic it's those little critters, meaning they know of ancient dark magic like that and thus have probably had the magic required to stop it as long as you've had your scar."
Harry looks shocked and Sirius turns to Dumbledore furiously and says: "Something anyone with knowledge of Goblins could have guessed, so why you didn't take Harry to them the minute you started believing that scar could have some of Voldemort's soul in it, I will never understand and I will never forgive you for either."

Everyone looks at the man and I can personally just not believe that the man didn't think of this when he saw the scar on an infant's forehead. Looking at the man I know Harry once considered his grandfather-figure in life, I wonder how much else Dumbledore is willing to risk of Harry's life for that of other people.
Deciding I won't let that happen, I stand up and say: "I've dealt with arrogant Gryffindors unwilling to lose to Slytherin and counting on one First year and I've dealt with Hufflepuffs too angry with their last victim to think clearly about their actions concerning the life and health of a second year, but this tops it all!"
Everyone looks at me and I say: "I've been protecting Harry against the biased behavior of others his fame bring with it, but that even you believe in that whole Boy-Who-Lived shenanigans enough to put an 11 and 12 year old up against his parents murderer just to get killed because of one piece of flesh on his body? How could you?"
I stand before the boy now and glare as I say: "I will gladly travel forward in time with Harry to where his brother has their home and stay there with him if it means taking you and your ridiculous, uncaring plans down. You – and all of Hogwarts – won't touch Harry anymore. And anyone trying to prove me wrong will seriously regret it."

Harry's POV

I look at Alicia in pure shock, having never known how much she has cared for me or how much she has done for me over the years. Grateful beyond words, I suddenly wonder how I could not have fallen for her when I first met her and think: "She's the one. She's my Carmelita. My soul mate – and she found me!"
This makes a large smile appear on my face and I hug the girl from behind, believing in the possibility of our future enough to initiate the gesture myself. Alicia looks behind her and smiles at me, glaring at the Headmaster before turning around and hugging me tightly, obviously with a love she must have been holding back for years.
I then suddenly realize she must have fallen for me when I was just an eleven year old and instead of being disgusted by this, do I think: "It's Sly and Carmelita all over again, only this time is Alicia like Sly and am I like Carmelita in this." This makes me smile and I happily cuddle with my new girlfriend and hopeful soul mate.

Still as I do, I can't help but wonder if Dumbledore will do anything with her as long as Voldemort still has his other Horcruxes. Yes, while the others were raging and after I had decided that – with the Horcrux out of my scar – I didn't have to turn myself in with Voldemort, I started thinking everything through silently.
The fact that Voldemort looked nothing like Tom Riddle when he started his 1st war – as Dumbledore told me – meant he already had his Horcruxes set. And knowing how much Voldemort loves the Purebloods, their traditions and beliefs, he probably had about six or so, maybe five with two possible candidates left behind for later.
Either way, Voldemort is now back down to five, as the Diary and the Scar are gone and I know that, as Voldemort probably wants to use this Tournament to get to me, I don't just have to work on surviving the Tri-Wizard Tournament, I have to work on my training and study up on ancient artifacts Voldemort would surely be interested in.

I take a deep breath and say: "Alicia, let's go." The girl looks at me and I say: "I have a lot to do before this Tournament is over and I am going to need you by my side." The girl nods, while Neville and Hermione seem shocked that I want the girl to join me and I smile at her before offering her my arm to guide her out.
But I simply don't care and while I know Ron will throw a fit when he hears I am dating the hottest girl in Gryffindor Sixth year, have I also come to realize that – while holding myself back to help my friends along is a noble thing – it won't help me and I really have to start showing all I am capable of if I want a chance to survive all of this.