Avatar: The Tale of Harry, Book 3: Unity

by stringdog

For 23 years the world has known peace and balance. However, after a request from a vanquished foe, events are set in motion that threaten this balance. Bitter foes unite in a common goal as the remnants of the Avatar's past enemies join forces to exact revenge. They will stop at nothing, use anything or anyone, to accomplish their goal. The destruction of the Avatar!

32. Chapter 31

Here is the thirty-first chapter in Book 3, on time as promised. I have completed the edits for the next chapter and the epilogue so the only thing holding them back from release is the set schedule for release dates but this story will be released and completed on time. This is good as it will give me time to continue my work on the draft of Book 4, which I will finish before it is released, as well as either start the draft for Book 5 or finish the short Regulus stand alone story depending on how I feel. There were no questions have been raised so no answers to give. Sit back and enjoy the 31st full chapter in the third installment of Avatar: The Tale of Harry. Book 3: Unity.

Disclaimer: As always I own nothing related to these two great works of fiction.

Chapter 31

It had been a week since the what was being called the Battle of the Banyan Grove had happened. Harry was not a fan of the name because he had fought in the only two significant battles in his lifetime, their victory in the Battle of the Academy and their defeat in the Battle of the Caldera 5 years later, and what had occurred in the Swamp was not a battle. The toll that both actual battles had taken on everyone involved had been immeasurable compared to the skirmish he had gone through against the Unholy Triumvirate so Harry felt that it was not the right term for what had occurred.

The Unholy Triumvirate was the name as the late union between the last Purist and the last two Enlightened was now known as by the media. unlike the name the media had given the skirmish, Harry felt that it was not an a bad name given what the trio had stood for.

The skirmish itself had only resulted in the loss of 3 lives, and they were the 3 members of the Unholy Triumvirate, hence why it was nowhere near as bad as the battles that Harry had been it. They had confirmed that Johannes was dead when Neville and Ron had fished his body out of the bog and laid with the others when the authorities had arrived from Republic City.

After documenting proof that all 3 were dead and therefore their movements were effectively dead with them, the World Leaders decided it was best to cremate the bodies and scatter their ashes in their home nations. This was to serve both as a reminder to the Southern Water, Foggy Swamp Tribes and the Earth Kingdom that their citizens can be capable of great evil, and to prevent their tombs becoming deified by future fanatics who wished to revive their beliefs and see them as martyrs to their causes.

As for Harry, his team, and his family, most of them had suffered minor injuries in the skirmish. Draco was treated for exhaustion, Scorpius for the lingering effects of bloodbending and Albus for that and a few other minor injuries from crash landing. All had been sorted out within hours and were cleared to be released from care. Only Harry and James required any extended help.

James because though he had managed to slow Cresswell's attack a little, he had still taken a blunt earth spike to the side and cracked a few ribs and had broken his upper right arm when he landed hard on a root. Ginny had healed him up fine but he was going to need a few more sessions for his arm, which would be in a sling for a few weeks, and made sure he stayed in bed for a few days.

Harry on the other hand had to be treated for a pretty severe concussion, the reason why he had fainted after crashing to the ground while saving his son, from the two blows to the head he had taken and that had required bed rest. He also had a few cuts, exhaustion and muscle strain from the crucifixion he had suffered and the move he had done to save Albus. He was not allowed to lift anything heavy until he had the all clear as his shoulders were still weak from the strain he had put them through.

Ginny had refused to let him leave a bed in the temporary camp the RCPD had set up in the Banyan Grove clearing for 5 days until she was certain he was ok to leave. Harry also wasn't to do anything stressful for at least 2 weeks before he could be reevaluated for the concussion he had suffered. Harry wasn't about to argue as they had won so he just went with it.

Now, though, they had all gathered for Bowker's funeral deep within the Foggy Swamp where his family buried their dead. Harry had felt it prudent to be present for the funeral of the boy who had lost his life trying to find his son. He needed some alone time with Albus anyway to talk with his son about everything and after the funeral was the best time.

Finally once the service was over and Bowker's body had been sent back into the Swamp to nourish his homeland, the Tribe didn't bury their dead but let the Swamp reclaim them, Harry nodded to his wife that it was time. Ginny nodded back and helped usher everyone else away so that it was just he and his middle child in the deep, misty and slightly spooky Swamp.

"Albus, we need to have a talk." Harry said when it was just them left.

"Yes dad." Albus said not making eye contact with his father and Harry could feel the awkwardness around them. It was thicker than the mist. "We do."

"Um, did you know him well?" Harry asked trying to broach the subject. He had not expected it to be this difficult.

"Who Bowker?" Albus asked and Harry nodded to which Albus just shrugged. "I knew him from the Water House but he was the year above and a prefect so we didn't exactly hang out. He was a decent kid but one of those swampbenders who was ashamed of their home. As such he tried to ingratiate himself with the more popular kids so we didn't get along. I know that it is my fault he is dead though and I am sorry for that."

"Son, it's not your fault that an enemy tied to my past decided to use you for her own evil, twisted, gain." Harry said with a hint of sadness at everything that had happened because of his past. "She used you, ensured that you would run away, and required me to ask for help once we knew you were in the Swamp. Bowker died because of her, not you."

"Well when does that guilt go away?" Albus asked finally looking at him and Harry could see tears in his eyes. "When will I no longer feel like his death is my fault?"

His son was a gentle soul at heart and it warmed Harry to know that he had a son like that. James was more like him, driven by duty and willing to do what it took to win. That was why James couldn't be as empathetic as Albus was but then again healers had that advantage by the very nature of their gifts.

"I'll tell you if it ever leaves." Harry said with a sad smile after a moment's thought on his own feelings of guilt from the past. "Because I am still trying to answer those questions."

"What do you mean dad?" Albus asked with a look of concern on his face at Harry's answer.

"When I chose to challenge Voldemort almost 30 years ago, right before the Battle of Elemental Academy, I allowed students, teachers and members of the Order of the Phoenix to fight with me against his invading force." Harry said as he thought back to that fateful day. "Because of my choices 125 people who stayed to fight died and countless more were wounded, their families forever altered all because of a battle between me and a madman."

Harry paused and swallowed as he the other event of his past came to his mind. Albus had asked and Harry was going to tell his son all about the burden he carried from those two wars.

"I repeated it when I challenged Hermione 5 years later in the Fire Nation Capital." Harry said when he had regained his composure. "However that time thousands, many of them civilians, died because of her cowardice and my hubris in starting a fight that we were doomed to lose from the start, though I didn't know that going into that battle. I carry that guilt of both battles with me to this day. The guilt that my decisions put people in danger, got them killed and the fact that I survived when countless others didn't."

"Dad, I, I didn't know." Albus said shocked at what Harry was saying. "You never really spoke of the toll that taking down Voldemort and Hermione took on you."

"There was no need for you to know." Harry said with a shrug. "Back then we all fought and went through those horrors so that you and your siblings, your, cousins and friends, and everyone else could have a future of peace. I am sorry that the last remnants of my past caught up with me and brought you into it, I never saw that coming. In fact no one saw Delphini coming but that's beside the point. I should have been more careful and I know it."

"No dad, it isn't your fault." Albus said firmly to him. "I let my own insecurities and experiences that I was too cowardly to deal with dictate my actions. It made me an easy target for Delphini to exploit and almost kill you and end the Avatar forever. I put you in this situation and allowed your past to try and kill you one last time."

"But I never listened to you." Harry said looking at his son. "I was too busy with my duty to realize the pain you were in, the struggles you were facing as the child of the Avatar and the only one of my kids to inherit waterbending from Ginny and not my earthbending. I should have been there for you, I should have listened to the wisdom of Tenzin and I didn't and that is one of the reasons why we are here today"

"True and it doesn't help that James and Lily are prodigies in their subbending arts." Albus pointed out. "That was not you, that was them, and that was another factor that played into my insecurities that you are not at fault for. I was compared to them as much as I was to you at school and I did nothing to correct it."

"Yes but remember that they can't bend the other." Harry said. Albus looked confused at that so Harry elaborated. "James may be the best metalbender of his generation, if not the best in the world with a chance of surpassing Toph. Meanwhile, Lily surpasses all but Ghazan in lavabending prowess historically and will likely be better than him."

"How is this supposed to help?" Albus interrupted with a hint of annoyance. "Because it isn't helping at all."

"Patience Al, I am getting there." Harry said reproachfully and his son just grumbled and allowed Harry to continue. "Haven't you noticed that no matter how much Lily tries, she can't bend the most impure metal or glass and even struggles with sand. On the other hand, James can bend sand and glass but not to the degree I can, and he can't bend lava no matter how much he tries. You, however, inherited your mother's skills and can heal and you are a damn fine healer according to Regulus, who finally told me the truth of your skills. You can probably be better than your mother if you focus on it."

"You mean it dad?" Albus asked shyly amazed at what his dad was saying. "I was always a little ashamed of it because of it not being manly, though Master Regulus did help a lot with it."

"I do." Harry said with a smile. "Why did you hide it from me, from all of us? You know we would have accepted it and helped you grow it."

"Cos it's not seen as manly or proper." Albus said again. "It's traditionally a woman's art and rare in men, even if it does occur. At the Academy the more traditionalist benders frown upon it. Fortunately Master Regulus is primarily a healer so he understood but it would be seen as shameful for me to be able to heal as well as I could and not fight as well as anyone else in my family. I focused on it in private and honed it so I am good at it. At least my sword skills are pretty damn good however or else I would be seen as an absolute failure."

"Oh Albus." Harry said wanting to pull his son close but knowing that it was not the right time yet. "I understand how you would feel, I remember how the Academy was back in my day and it sounds like it hasn't improved much, but know that I would never think differently of you because you can heal. It makes you a better person because you can understand people's pain more due to the intimate nature of healing, just like your mother, and thus makes more caring and compassionate."

"I know it was just hard always being compared to you or mom or Uncle Ron and what y'all accomplished and how I was never seen as being able to live up to it." Albus admitted. "I tried though. Oddly enough because Delphini was playing me, she had to treat me as an equal and it really boosted my confidence. It was nice to be seen as my own person and not your son and it really helped."

"Well some good came from that bitch, sometimes an enemy can truly bring out the best in you." Harry said and they both chuckled at that. "But Albus, I don't think any less of you because you are a waterbender or a healer, or because you aren't like me when. It all makes you your own person. Besides, what you did last week against Delphini will make you a legend for years to come in your own right."

"Really?" Albus asked confused. "How?"

"Albus, you realize what you accomplished last week when you broke Delphini's blood hold right?" Harry asked. "You realize how big that achievement is?"

"Not really." Albus said with a shrug. "I have had a lot of other things to think about in the last week so it hasn't really hit me."

"Do you know how many people have broken a blood hold from one of Hama's line, the most powerful bloodbending lineage in existence?" Harry asked. "A line that includes Hama, Yakone, Tarrlok, Amon, Voldemort, apparently the legendary waterbender Slytherin, and now Delphini."

"Not many I presume." Albus said shaking his head. "Scorpius was always more into history than me."

"Including yourself, the number who have successfully broken a blood hold stands at 5." Harry said. "3 of whom are Avatars and Aang and I had to rely on the Avatar State to do it so we don't really count. Only you, Korra and Katara have done so without needing a boost. This is not including Mako resisting Amon long enough to get an attack off or Amon using his own bloodbending to overrule his weaker brother's. The former was didn't break Amon's hold so it doesn't count and the latter was related so again it isn't considered a true break."

"Oh." Albus said a glow of pride coming to him at Harry's words. "I didn't realize it had been that impressive. I was just trying to survive long enough to take out Delphini."

"How did you do it son?" Harry asked. Ever since Albus had told him he had broken Delphini's blood hold Harry had been dying to know how his son had done it but hadn't had the chance to ask until now. "Because if it can be replicated you will have revolutionized waterbending as we know it. If we can teach it to as many waterbenders as possible it will lessen the power and terror a bloodbender possesses."

"I just employed healing strategies as my defense." Albus said with as if it was nothing. "I was taught that bloodbending and healing aren't too different from each other as both require internal waterbending in a sense. I also know from my theory classes that bloodbending can be used to preserve a life by keeping the blood within one's body and the flow strong and uninterrupted if done right. I even theorized myself that a bloodbender who hasn't been corrupted by the bending could effectively keep someone alive long even of their heart has stopped but the corruption of bloodbending is too great apparently. That is the problem, bloodbending corrupts a bender's mind."

"So true." Harry said with a nod. "It is why it is the only banned form of bending, the side effects are too dangerous. So how did you overcome it with healing?"

"I internally healed myself." Albus said as if it was the simplest thing in the world." It is hard to explain exactly how I did it as it required me to focus on healing myself but basically when she had me in a blood hold, I internally bloodbent myself by using the same tactics I would while healing to heal my chi paths. That was what repelled her attacks, my blood was being healed faster than she was bending it."

"That sounds complicated and dangerous." Harry said as he listened to his son's explanation. "Especially the bloodbending part."

"It wasn't easy or straightforward but it worked." Albus agreed. "Had I fought her based on pure bending prowess or willpower she would have easily defeated me. That was why I didn't fight her but rather took her invasion of my body as a disease and healed it as such. It wasn't really bloodbending as it was internal and I didn't feel anything from it but it is a concern that I will have to look into if this is a viable defense to a bloodbender."

"Fascinating." Harry said and Albus glowed with pride at his praise. "I would never have thought about it like that, I don't think anyone has. Given the rarity of bloodbending until the Purity Wars it was never truly studied but perhaps it should be now."

"It is a rare ability and requires an certain mental state to even contemplate." Albus explained. "Either desperation, anger, or just straight up sociopaths use it as it does cause insanity. However, even when used in desperation or anger it can lead to the latter because of the effects, if the tales of Hama are to be believed. That is likely why it hasn't been truly studied. Until Voldemort, few every used it."

"You are right but that is no excuse for not being prepared when a madman or madwoman decides to use it in the future." Harry said looking at his son. "Albus, If you have the time to perfect it and are then willing to do so, would you be able to teach the technique to all the healers we know. Your ability is limited to waterbenders but it is still a new tool we can use to fight bloodbending and we need anything we can get to counter it. It is especially useful seeing as it is mostly women who are the skilled healers and it is women who are the prime target for abusers of bloodbending to abuse."

"I would be more than willing to help as best I can dad." Albus said with a determined look on his face. "It will allow me to show that I can aid people as healer in a way that even the traditionalists won't be able to argue against. That will allow me to show people that I am my own person and able to do something that even you couldn't do without the Avatar State."

"Of course son though you will have to be bloodbent to demonstrate it." Harry said amazed at his son's abilities. Albus truly did have the potential to be a great healer and Harry would do whatever he could to maximize it if that is what his son wanted. "There are 3 licensed bloodbenders in the world so it won't be pleasant but nothing ever is when dealing with bloodbending."

"After facing Delphini's bloodbending I don't mind experiencing it again if it helps others." Albus said before pausing as if thinking deeply on something. "Dad can I ask you something?"

"Of course son." Harry said with a smile. "I know we haven't always had the most open relationship but you can always ask me anything."

"Well I have been thinking about it all week." Albus began hesitantly and clearly the topic had changed from Albus's healing prowess and to something that he had been internalizing for at least a week. "And it has prevented me from sleeping well all week so I know it is something I should talk about and I know that you will understand. Dad, I still feel guilty about killing Delphini. I know she would have killed me otherwise and I don't regret what I have done, I would do it again in a heartbeat, but still I can't help but feel guilt for taking a life. Is that normal?"

"For a sane rational person like yourself it is." Harry said with a kind smile at his son. "It means you are human and value a human life even if it is someone like Delphini. It is another sign that you will make a great healer but also a great warrior if you chose that path."

"How so?" Albus asked with a mix of confusion and worry."

"You know the value of life and don't want to take it but preserve it." Harry began as he thought over how Luna had explained it when she had been having similar issues following the Battle of the Elemental Academy and had meditated on it to find answers. "However, at the same time you know that there are times when you have to defend yourself and in the course of that defense you might have to take a life to save yours and potentially others. You didn't hesitate with Delphini, you knew what you had to do and did it. That is why you will be both a great healer and a great warrior."

"But how do you and the rest of Team Avatar cope with it?" Albus asked still clearly concerned about it. "I know y'all have killed during your conflicts, and with the exception of Aunt Luna, you have all killed many times. I am just asking do you handle the guilt so that you are able to continue on helping people in the future and not let it consume you."

"The easiest way is thinking of the victims who now have justice." Harry said after thinking on Albus's question for a moment. "And those we have saved from future suffering because you ended a person's evil. Of course this isn't license to be a vigilante and go after those who do commit heinous acts, but in fair combat, when you are trying to bring someone in, and they are going to fight to the death to avoid it then it is ok. I always try to take people in alive but that is not always the case."

Harry paused for a moment as he collected himself. It was clear that Albus needed to hear this and he wanted to talk to his son about it after what happened but it still took a moment. When Harry was ready he continued.

"Son, I have taken many lives as the Avatar, too many to remember." Harry began. "Both on my own and with the aid of other. From Quirrell back when I was 14 to Cresswell last week and let me tell you it never gets easier. Always remember why you had to do what you did and those who will benefit from what you were forced to do to end a threat to innocent people. If you actually enjoyed it or felt nothing then I would be worried but this means that you are human and a good one at that."

Again Harry paused. He wasn't sure what else to say but he knew he had to say more to help Albus out in his current time of need. Clearly the fact that he had taken a life was weighing heavily on Albus and Harry wanted to do what he could to help him.

"Perhaps it is because you are a healer it is harder for you." Harry said, taking a stab at the problem and hoping it would work. "As such your empathy is greater but your mother never seemed to have much of a problem after her first kill in Ba Sing Se. Then again, often the fuckers wanted to rape her before killing her, and sometimes they didn't want that but to keep her as a sex slave, so she was in a different boat."

"You don't remember how many you have had to kill?" Albus asked surprisingly not shocked at Harry's revelation even it was realizing for the first time how much his father had done for the world.

"No I don't." Harry said with a sigh. "I used to keep a count and honor all those I killed so that they would find peace in the next life but after the Battle of the Caldera I lost count. I know that Ron and Ginny have the tattoos to remind them of the lives they have taken but, well, I had an event that ensured I wouldn't know how many I truly killed."

"The stand in the crater in Freedom Square that you and Pyrites took?" Albus asked referencing one of Harry's most infamous moments that had already become legend. "That near mythical stand is why you don't remember the number?"

"Correct." Harry said with a nod. "It wasn't the only event but it is the one that I know I killed a lot of people in. To this day I can barely remember that fight or how Pyrites and I pulled that shit off. That battle was so hectic that we had to keep moving afterwards and we couldn't trust any reports from Hermione in the aftermath as she had a habit of ignoring facts that didn't fit her narrative. As such I cannot remember the precise number as that and other fights are just a blur to me these days."

"Do you at least remember the ones that truly mattered?" Albus asked. "You know, the ones who were truly evil and who's deaths meant that countless lives were saved."

"Yes, I do however remember all the significant kills I have had to make." Harry admitted, he would never forget those names or their crimes. "I remember all the senior Death Eaters, Purists, Chosen, and other criminals who I have killed. It never gets easier son but think of Bowker and what Delphini did to him and his family when she killed him and how they now have the closure that his murderer has been brought to justice. Pyrites is a little different even if he was also her victim so he doesn't count. Above all else, think of what she would have done had she succeeded in killing me and restoring Voldemort's legacy. Don't think about her, think about her victims and those who you saved from her."

"I'll try dad." Albus said with a small, sad, smile at that. "And thanks for saving me. I honestly thought that the only way to end her was to sacrifice myself even if mother would have killed me for it."

"I know which is why you will have to tell your mother the whole thing, she will understand." Harry said which caused Albus to groan but Harry continued. "It's not like she hasn't done something suicidal in the past. I nearly lost her that night at Jang Hui so she will forgive you but I don't think she'll be quick to forgive you a second time."

"I don't intend or foresee there being a second time where I may have to sacrifice myself to end a great threat to the world." Albus said with a smile. "Or to save my friends and family, but I will tell her as she does deserve to know. It will also explain why you were hurt worse then you should have been."

"Good boy." Harry said with a laugh before getting serious again for a moment. "There are times when self-sacrifice is needed, I was once saved because General Moody sacrificed himself to allow me to escape and reach Hogsmeade and make contact with Aberforth but it should only be a last resort. Remember that and hope you never have to make the tough decision to sacrifice your life and only make it when you are sure that it is the right choice."

"I will keep that in mind just in case." Albus said just as seriously.

Harry didn't respond but allowed the Swamp to swallow their words for a moment. They stood in a much more comfortable silence than before. Harry knew that they both needed a few minutes in the quiet mist to absorb and digest what they had just said spoken about.

They hadn't yet addressed the elephant rhino in the room but they had repaired a lot of their relationship already, a near death fight with extremist would do that, but they still had to address one final thing; their overall relationship. That meant addressing the argument that they had had that had made Albus run away in the first place. It was what had set these events in motion and one of the biggest regrets of Harry's life, not even Delphini's machinations absolved him of his failures.

"Son I need to apologize to you for what I said at the start of your break." Harry said after he felt like enough time had elapsed. It wasn't easy to say this but he had to get this out now while their relationship was rebuilding so that they could start on a strong foundation with the past behind them. "I didn't mean what I said to you. There is nothing that I can say to apologize for what I said, nor is there anything that can justify it. It was my failure as a father to see what problems you were facing and all that it has caused you being my son."

"No dad, I am sorry for what I said." Albus replied after a moment, the remorse evident in his voice. "I was frustrated and it had been building for a long time. After years of not being able to show my true talents and allowing others to compare me to you or mom or James and Lily rather than facing my problems head on it all finally came to a boiling point. It has been hard being the son of the Avatar and I let my anger at it all fester without explaining it or seeking help."

"Well we both have to improve going forward." Harry said. "Because I never tried to see your problems, I just reacted to your anger with my own because I couldn't see where you were coming from. I shouldn't have because I have read the biographies of Kya and Bumi, the elder kids of Avatar Aang, who struggled with being the children of the last airbender of the old Air Nomads. I didn't heed their warning or their advice as to how they mended their family in the end."

"I know dad, I have read their works as well." Albus admitted. "I read them at the Academy to try and understand where they were coming from so that I could see if they were in the same boat as me."

"Did it have any help?" Harry asked.

"No because I didn't really have anyone to talk to about it." Albus said sadly. "All I had was Scorpius. Neither of us were like our fathers despite being expected to be like you or in Scorpius's case like Draco so there wasn't really anyone to talk to. It was hard dad, really hard."

"I know son and from now on I vow to try and be better." Harry replied. "I will try to understand you for who you and not expect you to be like me or your mother. You are a waterbender and very different to James and Lily who are earthbenders and like me so it wasn't easy for me either. We know that elements have their own personalities and you are the quintessential empathetic waterbender while your siblings epitomize their respective subbending abilities. Can you forgive me?"

"Thanks dad." Albus said.

There was a slightly awkward pause before Harry pulled his son into a tight hug in the misty Swamp. After a few minutes father and son broke apart.

"I forgave you after I had a vision in the Swamp." Albus added after they had broken apart. "It really helped put a lot of things into perspective."

"Really?" Harry asked. "You had a vision while you were here? The Swamp allowed you to travel the Path of Remembrance and Revelations?"

"Yeah isn't that what one is supposed to have when they venture into the Foggy Swamp?" Albus asked a little confused. "Delphini said that was how she found out about her destiny and that a Swamp vision was essential to find out who you really are. Well that or finding the Swamp telling you what you really need to know."

"Off course she would have a vision." Harry muttered shaking his head. "Likely it was what set her on the path that she ended up walking and venturing out of the Swamp. That being said, the Swamp only grants visions to those who it deems in need of them."

"I figured as much." Albus said. "That has been the general consensus."

"That is because the phenomenon is well documented." Harry said. "It was the Swamp that allowed Korra to find Toph and as such find herself again after Zaheer's poisoning. Before Korra it was the Swamp that showed Aang how to find Toph in Gaoling so that he could learn earthbending from the right instructor. The Swamp doesn't always grant visions, there are swampbenders who never leave the Foggy Swamp and die without experiencing it."

"Have you had a vision like in the Swamp dad?" Albus asked curiously. "Seeing as your predecessors did, surely you have as well."

"Alas no I haven't." Harry admitted. "I am the first recorded Avatar since Roku to not have one in the Foggy Swamp and that's not for lack of trying. I have been to the Swamp several times over the years but never have I had a vision. Perhaps it is because when I first ventured into the Swamp I had already defeated Hermione and been married for over a year so there was little the Swamp could show me at the time. I wish I had managed to have a vision while here but apparently the Swamp has little to teach me at this moment in time."

"Did mom or Uncle Ron have a vision when they came into the Swamp after their third year at the Academy?" Albus asked. "I know they came here back then for the first time so they might have had one, though neither have ever spoken about it."

"You mother didn't." Harry said thinking back to all those years to when he had spoken with his then girlfriend and his best friend about their first trip into the Swamp. "She was already in touch with the spirits by that point and on the path to becoming a healer so the Swamp likely felt it had little to teach her. Ron on the other hand did manage to have a vision. Something about Luna giving him a very seductive striptease I believe. I think the Swamp was trying to show him what was right in front of him seeing as they both fancied each other back then but couldn't admit it. That or Ron's imagination was playing tricks with him."

"Did Ron get the hint?" Albus asked with a laugh at Ron's vision.

"Spirits no." Harry said shaking his head chuckling. "Ron was the most clueless person when it came to Luna. She put him out of his misery a month or so later if I recall. I do know that after she learned of that vision she has since replicated it for real but that is apparently an average Tuesday for them."

"That is a story I have heard a lot about." Albus said with a smile. "Rose is fed up of hearing it and is now inflicting it upon us."

"Yeah I think Rose, Lysander, Lorcan, and Hugo may need to see someone about their mother's bluntness and how it has affected them." Harry said remembering how blunt Luna was and how it might have a problem when said to her kids. "Anyway son, what did you see while in the Swamp? If you don't mind me asking."

"I saw you and mom holding me after I was born." Albus said with a slight blush. "It showed me your conversation about my eyes, the reason behind my name, and what being your son would mean. It made me realize how foolish I had been when I ran off and how sorry I was for all I had just put you through. However, by that point it was too late because I was almost at the Banyan Grove tree and while it was a great place to meditate under, we were only there for a few hours before Delphini came and showed us her true intent."

"I think the Swamp knew what you had been through and were about to faced and wanted to make sure you could find forgiveness before then." Harry said thoughtfully. "Then again the Swamp could just be showing you how happy your mother and I were when you were born. We still do not know why this place does what it does and we likely never will. When the Swamp wants you to find something it will call to you or capture you but otherwise it will remain dormant. As with many things in our world, it acts in mysterious ways."

"I don't think we will ever know but it is something I wouldn't mind studying if I have the time one day." Albus said then paused for a moment's thought. "Dad, what happens now?"

"What do you mean?" Harry asked back as he stared out into the fog that gave the Swamp it's iconic name.

"Well now that the Unholy Triumvirate has been defeated and their respective philosophies ended what happens?" Albus asked. "What do we do in the wake of recent skirmish?"

"Ah well first there the standard clean up." Harry said with a slight laugh. "We did the same after the Battle of the Elemental Academy and then 5 years later after we defeated Hermione."

"What does the clean up entail?" Albus asked.

"It starts with us investigating, round up, and if necessary charging the remaining elements of their groups." Harry said thinking back to the last 2 times he had faced a significant threat. "That usually takes years, a little under 5 for the Purists and 17 for the Chosen if I recall. However this time all we dealt with was a lone group who were set on revenge and were the last vestiges of their respective ideologies so the clean up shouldn't take too long this time. There will be an investigation into how Johannes avoided suspicion for 4 decades but that will be it."

"That doesn't sound too bad." Albus said. "At least compared to the past."

"It shouldn't be but these things tend to drag on a bit." Harry said. "There will also be the preparations for Ron's inauguration, my speech recapping the events that I will be expected to make right after Ron's speech, and then we go back to our lives as we know it. Well with a few changes like Ron being President."

"True that is a big change." Albus admitted. "What about me?"

"You?" Harry asked confused before thinking on it a bit. "You have a lot of work ahead of you son if we are to find out how to perfect your healing ability against bloodbending. That will likely become your focus at the Academy going forward."

"Will this happen again?" Albus asked as he smiled at his father's praise. It had been a much needed talk and while there was still a lot to be done to truly heal their relationship they were well on the way. "Will there be another global threat that will require you to face off against a madman or madwoman for the fate of the planet?"

"We never know where the next threat will come from." Harry said looking at his son. "It may not be in my lifetime or it may raise its ugly head within a year but when that comes we will be ready to face it, as a family."

"You mean it?" Albus asked a mix of eagerness and worry in his voice. "We will aid Team Avatar in the next threat?"

"Y'all proved it against the Unholy Triumvirate so I don't see why not." Harry said knowing it was the truth even if he would always worry about his family's safety. "But enough of that. Now you have a lot to explain to your mother while I have to deal with the bureaucratic bullshit that comes with being the Avatar after a global threat has been thwarted. Well that and the upcoming inauguration of the first new President of the United Republic since the end of the Purity Wars."

Albus smiled as he and his father left the ancient graveyard of the Foggy Swamp Tribe and headed back to where they were staying in Huu, the Tribes capital. It was a bit of a walk and one the father and son did in silence as they both had a lot to think about.

Their relationship was on the mends and now that Albus had revealed his calling and his father had accepted him he could devote himself to his healing so that should another threat arise he would be not be a patsy like this time but rather be there on the front lines with his father and his family. There was still a lot to do but for once Albus was looking forward to the future.

Well that turned out longer than expected but it was a dialog heavy chapter and that usually adds more as I flush it out during the edits. This was actually one of the only chapters I have ever written that is almost entirely dialog between two characters with limited points of description as there was almost no need for it. This chapter, at least the dialog to some extent, mirrors events towards the end of Cursed Child and is designed to show that Harry and Albus have begun the long process of mending their relationship. There is still one more full chapter left and an epilogue so stay tuned for them, the next chapter is pretty obvious but the epilogue is not so get ready for them. That is all for this long post chapter note, as always please like, favorite, follow, review, this story and any questions asked in reviews or PMs will be answered at the start of the next chapter. Until next week.

Stringdog