The Return of the Saviour.

I am Harry Potter.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own the world of Harry Potter in any form, as it belongs to J.K. Rowling. The lyrics in this chapter the song "Let her fall" were made up by me, and therefore, belongs to me. Do not copy and use without my permission!

SUMMARY: After Voldemort hits Harry with the killing curse in a battle at Hogwarts at the end of Harry's seventh year, Voldemort is forced to retreat, as his soul is once again ripped out of his body when the killing curse bounces of the boy-who-lived for a second time. However, life isn't all roses as Harry himself disappeared mysteriously when the curse hit. Three years later, Harry is back, but this time with a new identity and new powers. Voldemort has returned, and become stronger than ever in Harry's absence, and it is up to the boy-who-can't-seem-to-die to put a stop to the Dark Lord, once and for all.

PAIRINGS: Harry/Luna, Ron/Hermione, Remus/Tonks.

"Why?" Luna asked shortly, not looking up from the medical charts she was going through. Harry pulled a hand through his long, dark hair with a sigh and s light pout.

"Why not?" He countered. "It's a ball. If I have to suffer through an evening of dancing and spiked punch and Merlin knows what else, I should at least have some fun doing it. Please?" He begged.

Luna finally looked up, her silvery eyes glaring at him slightly. "We're just colleagues, James. Colleagues, who happen to be friends. Nothing more."

"I know!" Harry exclaimed. "So, let's go as friends. Or colleagues, or whatever. Just please…be my date for the ball?"

Luna's lips twitched at his puppy-eyed look. "Fine, I'll go with you. BUT only as colleagues slash friends. Nothing else."

Harry grinned and raised a hand into the air, palm facing her. "This, I solemnly swear," he vowed. He bowed. "I'll meet you at eight in the entrance hall, then."

He practically skipped out the Hospital Wing, not noticing Luna's thoughtful expression, as she stared after James, head cocked to the side, a serene smile on her lips.

The music from the wizarding band hired for the evening – the Weird Sisters – were already playing at full volume when Luna arrived in the entrance hall, half past eight. To her disappointment? Joy? She wasn't sure – James was still there, waiting, and his face immediately broke into a wide grin, as he looked her up an down, admiration in his eyes.

Luna was dressed in a silvery flowing gown, that, when the light hit it in certain places, or when she moved a certain way, would turn into an icy blue shade. Both colours complimented her eyes, hair and pale complexion nicely, giving her a sort of ethereal, innocent look, that spoke of a bright soul and wisdom beyond her years.

"I was afraid you'd decided to stand me up," he teased, taking her hand, kissing her knuckles, and Luna smiled awkwardly. The truth was, for a long time, she had almost decided to do so, but manners won out, and so, here she was.

"You look beautiful," James complimented as he lead her into the loud Great Hall, and Luna looked down, a slight flush on her cheeks.

"You too," she muttered. James looked very handsome, in dark blue dress robes, his hair tied into a low ponytail by the base of his neck with a ribbon the same colour as his eyes. She didn't understand why she was feeling like this – she liked James a lot. Maybe too much.

He was handsome, kind, funny, powerful, and he reminded her of Harry…and therein laid her problem. Harry. He wasn't dead – or at least she hoped so - but the longer he stayed gone, the harder it was for her to stay 'faithful' to his memory. James liked her, that she was sure of. She liked him too, but Harry…she still loved Harry as well. Or did she? Maybe she only loved the illusion of him? The dream of what could have been? He'd been gone for three years, after all… maybe everyone was right…was she foolish for hoping? She let out a loud sigh.

"What's wrong?" James asked, yelling to be heard over the loud music.

Luna smiled weakly. "Nothing," she said. "I'm just a little warm. Would you mind getting me some punch?"

"Sure!" James nodded, and squeezed her hand before disappearing into the crowd, in search of the refreshments.

"Miss Lovegood," a squeaky voice said, and Luna jumped and she turned to stare at her former Head of House.

"Professor Flitwick," she said, blinking slightly.

The short Charms professor bounced up and down excitedly. "Oh, please, call me Filius. We are colleagues after all!"

"Then I insist you call me Luna," Luna said, smiling.

"As you wish, Luna." Filius grinned up at her. "Where's your date?"

"Oh, we're not dating," Luna said hurriedly, a blush on her face. "James is just a friend."

The professor just smiled knowingly. "If you say so." His face suddenly grew serious. "Luna. Don't put your heart and life on hold because of what might-have-been's. You deserve better."

Luna said nothing. Instead, she fingered slightly with a piece of her hair.

"Harry would have wanted you to be happy, you know," Filius finished, and patted her elbow in comfort. "Maybe it's time you allow yourself to move on." He walked away, just as James returned with two drinks.

"What did professor Flitwick want to talk about?" He wondered, taking a sip of the punch. He frowned as he noticed the tears in her eyes. "Is something wrong?"

Luna smiled shakily. "No. Everything's fine." She swallowed the punch in a single gulp, before throwing the paper-cup into a nearby waste-bin. "Let's dance!" She insisted, and despite James' protests, she managed to drag him onto the dance floor, where she proceeded to lose herself in the fast beat of the music, laughing loudly at James, who, despite doing his best, looked decidedly out of place and incredibly awkward. For once, for the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to be truly happy.

When the music switched to a slow, seductive song, and many people left the dance floor in favour for the refreshments and talking, Luna visibly hesitated. The only people left dancing were couples, and Harry smiled.

"Want to go sit down?"

Luna bit her lip, looking uncertain for awhile, before taking a deep breath. "No," she said, to Harry's surprise. Luna smiled wryly. "Maybe you'll do better in a dance with less movement."

Harry chuckled nervously as Luna placed her arms around his neck and leaned her head against his shoulder. Harry slowly put her hands on her waist, his heart beating wildly against his ribcage as they both swayed slightly to the music.

Love long gone.
A heart so young, yet frozen.
Want to move on.
But she's afraid to get broken.

Let her fall against you.
Let her lean on your soul.
Catch her gently when she's crumbling, baby.
Kiss her softly as she cries.

Show her how
To smile again, to love you
Help her to breathe
To live again but for you too.

Let her fall against you.
Let her lean on your soul.
Catch her gently when she's crumbling, baby.
Kiss her softly as she cries.

Let her fall against you.
Let her lean on your soul.
Stop her completely from crumbling, baby
Kiss her softly everyday

Let her fall against you.
Let her fall again.
Let her fall for you.
And catch her gently when she does.

The music slowly faded and Harry pulled away carefully, wishing the song would have lasted longer. He frowned as he got sight of Luna's face. Her eyes were closed, but tears were slowly falling from beneath her eyelids down onto her slightly red cheeks.

"Luna?" His voice was hoarse, barely more than whisper, and he used one of his thumbs to wipe away the tears from her face. Luna's eyes fluttered open, her lips slightly parted, and Harry gulped, leaning down slightly.

Their lips met in a soft kiss and Luna's eyes fluttered close again, her body trembling. Harry couldn't tell if it was from passion, excitement, fear, or something else. Maybe all of the above.

"Stop." A soft voice said quietly, and Harry slowly pulled away again. Luna's eyes were now wide open, her eyes brimming with tears that were falling from her eyes in a stream that refused to stop flowing. They shone brightly in the candle light around the Great Hall, and everything had gone quiet around them. Harry had a feeling they were the centre of attention. "I can't," Luna said, choking slightly. "I'm sorry!"

"Luna, wait!" Harry called, but Luna had already taken to flight, running from the Hall as fast as her legs would carry her, and her dress allow her.

Harry cursed wildly, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down, before he followed her, yelling her name. "Luna!"

Luna was almost unable to see because of her tears as she rushed out onto the grounds, finally coming to a stop by a secluded stone bench behind some large bushes. She sank down onto it, crying desperately, wishing the pain would stop. She couldn't breathe!

How could she do this? She still loved Harry, no question about it, and yet, she'd just allowed another man to kiss her! And worse, a part of her had enjoyed it. Too much. She took several deep breaths, trying to get herself together. Finally, she managed to calm down, only to burst into fresh tears. She hadn't ever cried this much, not even after the last battle and Harry's dea – disappearance. She'd been in too much denial to allow the tears to come.

"You can't be gone!" She cried out to the night air. "You can't be dead! I won't let you! Come back! Please, come back!"

She buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking. It wasn't fair! She's finally found whom she thought was the man in her life, only for him to vanish. And now, another man arrived, about whom she was starting to have feelings as well – feelings that she'd been sure she would ever only have for Harry.

Was she giving up on Harry? Had she – or a part of her – somehow, someway, started to accept that he was gone? And if so, was that the right thing to do? Was it time to let Harry go? She didn't want to believe that. And yet, she did, at the same time.

It was all because of James. His appearance had thrown her for a loop. Her life, which she'd had under hard wraps and complete control, had taken a turn of its own. And the worst part was that she didn't know if she minded.

"Luna!"

Luna closed her eyes as the reason for all her troubled thoughts appeared, panting slightly, his hair having escaped the ponytail.

"Go away," she mumbled. "I just want to be alone. No, I need to be alone."

"Too bad," James said, smiling softly, and sitting down beside her. "Because I'm not going anywhere."

Luna glared half-heartedly. "James, please."

James just whistled an innocent tune, and Luna couldn't help but snort. "Fine. Be that way. I'll leave instead." She stood up, only to have her wrist grabbed as she tried to walk away.

"Luna, wait." James sounded tired. "Let me talk to you."

"I don't really want to talk to you, James," Luna hung her head, and wrenched herself out of his grip.

"Give me ten seconds," James begged. "Please. It's all I ask."

"Fine. Ten seconds."

"Would you look at me?" James sounded frustrated, and Luna turned around with a sigh, arms crossed.

"The ten seconds are running out fast so you better start talking," she said, knowing she was rude for no reason, but her mind was all jumbled and her emotions all messed up…

"Look, I know I shouldn't have kissed you," James said nervously. "But I love you."

"You barely know me!" Luna protested. "We've only just met!"

"I can't help what I feel," James said, annoyed.

"And I can't help what I feel, and therein lies the problem!" Luna exclaimed, throwing her hands up. "I have all these confusing feelings for you, that I used to have – and should have – for Harry. It feels as though I'm betraying him, and the fact that you remind me of him doesn't make it better, in fact, it makes it worse!"

James – who had just been smoothing down a piece of his hair in front of his forehead, in a move that was decidedly Harry (he'd always used to do that – pulling his fringe over his scar) – froze and brushed his hair out of his eyes, looking uncomfortable.

"Yes, well…there's an explanation for that." He hesitated. "You might want to sit down for this."

Luna looked highly confused for a second, before her eyes narrowed and she gave him a highly suspicious and distrustful look. "I'd rather stand, thank you," she said coldly.

James sighed. "I really shouldn't be showing you this…"

'Leonora is going to kill me…'

"Show me what?" Luna snapped.

"The reason I am so much like Harry Potter…"

Luna's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, as James' hair shortened into a familiar messy black haircut, his blue eyes turned a brilliant green, and a lightning bolt scar appeared on his forehead.

"…Is that I am Harry Potter," James – no, Harry – finished.

For several seconds, but for what felt like an eternity, Luna just stared in a mixture of incredulity, mistrust, amazement and joy.

Harry smiled shakily. "Say something?" He begged.

"…Harry?" Luna whispered, stroking his face in wonder, as though she couldn't really believe it was true he was here.

"Yeah."

SLAP.

"Oww!" Harry cried out, touching his now red cheek where Luna had hit him. "You slapped me!"

"Serves you right!" Luna exclaimed, but she was grinning tearily. "You big jerk. You let me believe you were gone, all this time, when you were right here! Why didn't you tell me!"

"I wasn't supposed to," Harry said. "Still not supposed to, really. You can't tell anyone, and I mean anyone. As much as I'd like to, the more people who know, the bigger chance is it for the secret to get out. I can't take that risk. I need the element of surprise over Voldemort. Hopefully, the shock of seeing me will make him drop dead on the spot," he joked.

Luna, however, weren't smiling. "So you have to face him again?"

"I have to. The prophecy wasn't fulfilled last time. And it has to come to an end. I'm more powerful now, don't worry."

"So is he," Luna said.

Harry shrugged. "It doesn't matter. No one but me can finish it. I need to finish it. That means we have to meet again."

Luna nodded, resigned. "Well, I believe in you," she said. "I always have." She stood up on her toes, and their lips met in their second kiss of the evening, this time, with no lies and secrets between them. "And I promise I won't tell anyone," Luna said breathlessly, as they finally pulled away, both their appearances flushed, their hair messed up (well, more messed up than usual, in Harry's case) and lips slightly swollen.

Suddenly, Flitwick came running towards them, and Harry quickly changed his appearance back to that of James Ruoivas, glad that it was dark out.

"There's an attack, on Hogsmeade!" He yelled. "Most of the other professors are already on their way there. Luna, Albus asked you to stay behind with him in order to protect the students in case the attack is a diversion." The small professor kept running towards the gates, without stopping.

"It seems like the time's come sooner later than later," Luna whispered miserably, clutching the front of Harry's – now James' again – dressrobes.

Harry squeezed her shoulders gently. "I promise I'll be careful," he said, placing a kiss on her forehead. And then, he was gone, and Luna was gripping nothing but air, staring at the spot from which Harry had disapparated. The fact that it was supposed to be impossible to do so from Hogwarts grounds didn't even cross her mind. Nothing Harry did surprised her anymore.

"Somehow, Harry Potter and 'careful' are words that never sounds quite right in the same sentence," Luna mumbled to herself, but she smiled, closing her eyes, feeling that everything would turn out okay.

She had faith in him.

If you want to listen to the song "Let her fall" (written, composed and sung by me, which makes it copyrighted to me) it will be put up on my profilepage within the month. I will also put it up on my website.