A/N: I wished I owned Harry Potter. Alas, I do not. Ms. Rowling, I'd be happy to take it off your hands
A/N: I'm back!
Chapter 55: Dealing With the Divine
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Harry woke in a dark space. Well, woke was as good a word as any. He shook his head a few times trying to figure out what was going on. He remembered the explosion and his shield obliterating the projectiles that would have pierced his classmates behind him. Then there was something else. His mind desperately searched, but it was all a blank after his shield went down.
He was trying his best not to let the abject terror of the black space all around him affect him. The total darkness was unnerving, but it was accompanied by the failure of all his other senses. He sniffed and smelt nothing, and his well-trained hearing didn't pick up the faintest sound. His tongue flicked out of his mouth, and he unsurprised to not taste anything. Harry also noticed he wasn't standing on anything, and he didn't even feel air on his skin.
"What the hell is going on?" Harry wondered aloud. "Well, first thing first." His hand went to his hip and he fumbled around, not finding his holster. That worried him. There were a few things he didn't love about his custom Hessler Holster, such as the placement on his hip. That was why, back in February, he had gotten an even better Holster that invisibly bolted to his wrist and required a quick flick of his wrist to send his backup wand right into his hand. Harry didn't wear the second Holster back at Hogwarts, but he had worn it with Nambung. His master was a stickler for proper preparation
But both holsters were missing, a literal impossibility. No one could summon them off him, and Harry could distinctly remember flicking the wand out of the holster to perform the shield in the infirmary. In an unknown situation Harry needed his wand. Something eerie was already going on. There was nothing to it, so Harry stuck out his hand, feeling around for something. Then inspiration struck him. Harry silently cast accio, but came up with nothing.
"Well, I really don't cast verbal spells, but hearing my own voice seems to hold down the terror," Harry mumbled. "Accio wand!" This time luck was on his side, and his familiar holly wand snapped into his hand. "Odd." Harry didn't question his luck too much. Now he could do something. Harry silently cast lumos and this time the non-verbal spell worked illuminating the space around him.
The glowing light from his wand only raised Harry's sense of unease. He was unnerved further by the blank space around him. What was now darkness was now white with light, but as far as the eye could see, there was simply blank space. Harry shoved down a bundle of nerves as he turned every which way, searching for something to help unravel the mystery of his current location.
"Harry Potter." Harry turned sharply, raising his wand as he looked for the person who had just called his name. He found no one there. The voice had been gravely, and Harry did not recognize it. Again, he heard his name, "Harry Potter." This time as he turned he saw something fleeting on the edge of his peripheral vision. "Harry Potter."
This time Harry did not turn instantly. He closed his eyes and extending his magic, feeling for any presence. Then a horrible feeling of malevolence and terror spread over his body. It took all of his considerable willpower for Harry to force down the fear he was feeling. He opened his eyes and turned, and finally saw the being behind the overpowering magic he now sensed.
It was not a person as Harry first thought. It was a being cloaked in shadow, literally. Its cloak was making it hard for Harry to focus on the being under the cloak. But Harry could make out the eyes, or at least the spot where eyes might have resided. In place of eyes there were only blank sockets of white. Bone, Harry realized.
The terror of the new creature's magic flooded over Harry, temporarily smashing his mental shields. This time Harry couldn't resist and was driven down onto his knees. Harry was not kneeling on anything, but somehow his knees touched some invisible barrier. Summoning something inside him Harry rarely used, he forced himself to his feet, rebuilding his mental walls and glaring with baleful bright green eyes at the cloaked figure.
"You'll do," Harry heard from the figure. "You'll do quite nicely." The magic power receded slightly, but Harry now knew what he faced, even if he did not know where he was or who was under the cloak. He was facing a true master. His master was a fan of Harry testing himself but he had given the English wizard strict instructions if he ran into a true master: to run. But there was nowhere to run and he was in serious trouble.
"No, I am not a master," the cloaked figure said with a chuckle. "Not in the sense you are thinking." Harry recoiled immediately.
"You read my thoughts?" Harry gasped. It was the only logical conclusion, but he not even felt the slightest touch on his rebuilt impenetrable mind defense.
"Oh, your mind defense is indeed impressive, especially for one so young," the cloaked figure explained, and Harry knew that again his thoughts had been scanned without permission. "But it is no defense against me." The figure gestured and a desk and two chairs appearance in front of him. The chairs were on opposite sides of the desk, and the cloaked figure sat in one chair gesturing to the other one. "Let's sit and chat a little while." Harry considered the invitation for a moment. After a heavy moment, Harry grabbed the chair and swung it around so that the back was in front of him and sat.
"No need to put something between me and you, Harry." Harry wasn't even surprised his mind was an open book at this point. "I don't feel the need to hurt you. And if I did, your chair back would not stop me."
"You have me at a disadvantage," Harry told the shadowy figure. "You know who I am."
"I guess I do." With a dramatic flourish the cloak was tossed away, and Harry was faced with something beggaring belief. It was a skeleton with bits of flesh dripping off the body. The only truly formed feature was the face, a harsh and cruel face, even though the eyes were simply bone sockets. "This better?"
"I believe so," Harry stated, forcing down his revulsion. "I guess this lends credence to my growing belief. I died?"
"Bravo!" Death applauded. "Most people take time to figure it out."
"I don't remember dying," Harry commented.
"What? No pleas to return to the living?" Death sniped.
"To the god of death?" Harry scoffed. "Would there be a point?"
"Most of the time? No." Harry perked up at that, and the darkness consuming his mind suddenly had a slimmer of hope. "But your case in quite unusual. Both in the circumstances around your untimely demise, the situation before your demise, and an unusual request from a friend."
"Sounds complicated."
"Very much so, and unfortunately I have to be the one to explain everything to you. Following the explanation, you get to have a…conversation with some important people. Then you will have to decide."
"Decide what?" Harry asked.
"Decide if you want to return to the living, of course," Death stated as if it was the simplest thing. Well, Harry realized, defeating death probably was a pretty simple task for the god who governed death itself.
"Wouldn't that be an obvious choice?" Harry mused. "How did I even die?"
"That's part one of my explanation," Death snapped. "Let me get it out, ok? Please save all questions for the end of my presentation." Harry nodded reluctantly. Sometimes Nambung did this too, so he was used to listening without interruption. But that didn't mean he had to like it, especially from someone acting like he was a god…even if that entity was indeed a god.
"So how did you die?" Death reached forward and a bony finger landed on Harry's forehead. Harry's mind was instantly jolted back to the past. He saw himself catch the arrow from flight and snap it. He saw Luna point the liquid out, and without the poison blurring his mind he recognized it. He curses silently. Death had asked for quiet and it did not do to contradict a god. Harry saw himself stumble and fall.
"You recognize that liquid?" Harry nodded. "Of course you do. The deadliest poison to a wizard. Achilles's Bane. It strips your magic and life force away, and there is no cure. Quite literally it erases your soul, which is composed of life force and magic for a wizard or witch. Awfully stupid of you. If you had taken a moment, you would realize you simply could have repelled the arrow. But you have always struggled with the small details."
"A horrible way to die." The bony hand sent Harry another vision, one he knew was the present. He lay in a bed in the infirmary. His friends were scouring books next to his pale body and Fleur was holding his hand, speaking to him. He saw the infirmary door fling open and Dumbledore walked in, right behind an implacable Li Min. Then the vision was gone.
"Right now you are clinging onto life, courtesy of yours truly," Death explained. "The moment I say so, the poison will consume you. Even phoenix tears won't save you as the poison is already in your bloodstream. If I send you back, you'll die."
"So I don't really have a choice."
"Did I say that?" Death chuckled. "Achilles's Bane is always fatal because it targets the soul, something that can't be healed. The core of who someone is. But now we get to the second part of my explanation. You are perhaps the second person who could ever survive this poison." Harry stopped himself from asking the obvious question.
"Yes, yes," Death continued. "I know I said it always fatal. But how do you think it got its name? Paris shot the arrow at Achilles with this poison, and it stripped his invincibility. Achilles was part immortal, and the poison took that of his soul from him. I don't know where that nonsense about impenetrable skin came from. Paris still put another three arrows his chest to put down the Greek demi-god. The story about his ankle was pulled out of thin air by a moronic storyteller. Achilles survived because the poison stripped his immortal soul but not his moral soul. Unfortunately, Paris put him down a few seconds later."
"Now, you are not the greatest warrior to ever live, though some of the other gods might name others as the greatest. For me it has always been Achillies, but at the moment this debate isn't super relevant, But you are not him, so you are also not part immortal. By all accounts your parents were extraordinary, but far from gods. But you have never been just yourself. In fact, had you not met Remus in the alley this summer and learned how to protect your mind, you no doubt would be aware of him."
"By him, I mean Voldemort of course. Did you never wonder how he stayed alive?" Death cocked an eyebrow.
"I know," Harry said, realizing Death wanted him to speak. "No one knows that I know. Dumbledore might know the reason, but the headmaster doesn't know that I figured it out."
"Oh?"
"He created a horcrux. A soul fragment. Though I destroyed the diary, so he should be dead…" Harry trailed off.
"Clever boy," Death told him. "Well, you are partially right. There are certain things I can't tell you, and certain things I won't. It's all too fun to see people like you stumble through life."
"People like me?"
"Harry, you have survived circumstances that you had no business surviving. A giant basilisk you stabbed through the mouth? More than 100 dementors where you went back in time due to your best friend having an illegal time turner device to save yourself? Don't tell me someone as bright as you thought you were lucky every time."
"There is no such thing as luck," Harry repeated stubbornly. That was one thing Hayashi-San had drilled into him over the summer. "You make your own luck through hard work and determination. I should know better than most. But I have been lucky up until now, as lucky as one can be if luck exists."
"It doesn't." Death stated matter of factly. "Of course it doesn't, but I am not done explaining your unique situation, so quiet again." Harry stilled. "Like I said, no godly blood. But in your blood there is more than just you. Tied to your lifeblood is the soul of Harry Potter…and one of those soul fragments the headmaster is secretly hunting."
"What?" Harry couldn't keep quiet at that. Both the revelation of the soul piece, and the confirmation that the headmaster did indeed know of the horcruxes, as well as the possibility that one had been in Harry's blood.
"There is another soul too, but we have yet to get to that," Death continued, ignoring Harry's outburst.
"I have a horcrux in my soul? Wouldn't it be trying to consume me, like it did with Ginny"
"You aren't listening," Death chided. "Your soul is your own. Your physical body is unique because you hold three souls. Your own, a part of Voldemort, and a third. The other two are in conflict, so Voldemort's soul inside you has never come in direct contact. The third soul has been protecting you because for some bizarre reason he seems to like you.
"Ok…Wait, I have a third?" Harry questioned, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that there was a horcrux in his body.
"Now we enter the final part of this explanation. My friend who asked for a favor. Your master's messed up over the summer. They took that soul part and crammed all your anger and hate into it, because they have probably never met someone like you before."
"You keep on saying that," Harry observed. "I'm guessing it isn't just because I have multiple souls inside of me."
"Well, the third soul is important here. It was given to you, precisely so you could fulfill that stupid prophecy. In this case the prophecy is true, from a true god, like me. So someone has been watching over you, giving you those stupid bits of luck to set you up for a confrontation with Voldemort. Granted, he can only give you the opportunity to succeed where you might not otherwise. Your victories still belong to you. But Voldemort will come for you, as he is very much alive in case you hadn't already determined it."
"Who is this third soul?"
"Me." Harry turned and saw himself. Well, not himself. His normal green eyes were red and Harry knew who he was looking at.
"Ares," Harry spat.
"Relax," Ares said with a chuckle. "I've given you multiple chances to stay alive, after all. If not your master's intervention over the summer, we would have met this winter solstice. In case you didn't know, that's when the realm of the gods is closest to the human world. I would have introduced my godly form then, and explained why a fragment was in your soul. But now, Death was kind enough to bring you here." Ares suddenly burst into flames and Harry turned away from the blinding light coming from the flames. When he turned back Ares was no longer there.
In Ares's place was a giant dragon. The wings were the size of the great hall. The horntail Harry had faced was large, but Ares's current form beggared belief. A gentle twitch of the god's wings sent Harry staggering. A tendril of smoke escaped from the beast's mouth, and Harry realized the god was laughing.
"Yes, this is my true form. I've had thousands of name in my life, but I prefer the divine dragon. For obvious reasons, I could not place more than a fragment of my soul in your body. You have been consumed the moment you knew of my presence. But Voldemort has corrupted the natural order of things, and when you were born I chose to create a prophecy to correct that. Before long he would challenge the gods, and we cannot interfere in mortal affairs. When the prophecy was uttered, I was asked to choose an instrument. It was between you…and Neville Longbottom."
"Neville?" Harry asked. "What does Neville have to do with this?"
"A boy born at the end of July, whose parents had defied Voldemort thrice and survived," the dragon said, and Harry nodded in realization. "But I determined your body would be more compatible, and that night, when Voldemort accidentally sent part of his soul into your body, I snuck in as well. Before your next confrontation with the Dark Lord, you will not be able to find all of his horcruxes. At that time, I will lend you the power to end it, once and for all."
"Wait, but I'm still dead." Death chuckled and snapped his fingers. In front of Harry was a face he recognized from a dream in the summer, before his mind defenses were completed.
"Harry, due to the request of another god, your friend here, I'm willing to transfer the poison onto the soul fragment of Voldemort. Achilles's Bane will consume that soul part, leaving you and the part of the divine's dragon soul untouched."
"Voldemort is an injustice that must be corrected. The part of my soul will speak to you when it is time. But we must allow mortals to resolve their own issues, and you will have to make the right choice." Harry nodded. "I understand it is a heavy task to be given, so I shall allow you this time to have what you want most." The dragon opened his mouth and a mist poured out. As the mist disappeared Harry's eyes went wide. He rushed forward throwing himself into the embrace of someone he had only seen in pictures.
"Oh, my son!" Lily Potter said, Harry's arms tightening around her. "You've grown so much since I last saw you."
"Hey son," Harry turned and his father joined the hug. Harry was unabashedly sobbing now "It's nice to see you."
"How is this…" Harry was stunned by the presence of the two people he had always wanted to talk to.
"Your time with them not endless, but with two gods acting in concert, there is not much we cannot do," Death said.
"Where to start?" Harry asked. A bench appeared and Harry sat, his parents on other side.
"Oh Harry, we have been watching over you," Lily said, giving him another squeeze. She seemed unwilling to let go of him, and Harry wasn't complaining. "We can see everything but cannot read your mind."
"Tell me about that snake!" James said with a laugh. "The giant one of course!"
"James," Lily lightly chided her husband. "While your exploits are impressive, even without the aid of the divine dragon, you did all that on your own. He did not lend you power or courage, but rather insured you were in the right place. Defeating Voldemort, driving away the dementors, that was all your power."
"But in the limited time we have, while I would love to talk quidditch, your mother would like to discuss something else. As you will discover, hopefully not for some time, happy wife means happy afterlife." Harry couldn't help laughing a bit at his dad's horrible joke. For just a moment, it felt like a normal family, bad dad jokes included.
"Speaking of happy wife, we want to know all about Fleur," his mom said. Harry's face lit up at the mention of the woman who had captured his heart. "Oh, that's so sweet. Even your face lights up at that mention of her."
"She is great," Harry proudly said. "I'm crazy about her."
"Do you love her?" James asked. Harry hesitated, then nodded.
"He loves Hermione," Lily said with a gentle slap. "What my husband means to ask is if you are love with her."
"I think so," Harry said slowly.
"Then why don't you tell her?" Lily asked.
"You know why," Harry said. "She is Veela. If I tell her I love her and she reciprocates, she will have no other. Also I think she will want to be more physical, seal our souls, and…" Harry blushed a little at the thought. "I don't know if I'm ready for that."
"My son, willing to turn down a Veela," James laughed and Lily lightly slapped him.
"And is it so terrifying? Being with one woman the rest of your life?" Lily asked.
"I knew the moment I met your mom, even if she took some time to warm to me," James said. "It was the same with your grandfather, my dad. He met Dorthea Black his third year at Hogwarts when she was a second year. Slytherin and Gryffindor didn't matter. From that moment, he only wanted her. They were married two days after she graduated. They would have married the day of her graduation if they had their way. It's always been that way for the family. A blessing and a curse all rolled into one."
"Yes, but I'm still not certain I will survive the year." Lily's eyes filled with tears at the statement from her son. "It's not fair to ask Fleur to give up her future when I don't know if I have one. Trust me, I'll give everything to make sure when I confront Voldemort that I am the one left standing when it is all over. But there are a lot of unknowns."
"One last thing," Lily said. "We know how your aunt and uncle treated you." Harry's eyes hardened. "Even if they are not blood related, the blood wards worked because Dumbledore accidentally tied them to the horcrux. Dumbledore did not know you had that soul part in him. It is why the blood wards stayed up even though you weren't there this summer. The soul piece was activated. Voldemort's death eaters couldn't harm you because they would have been harming them. With the soul piece gone now they will be vulnerable."
"Good," Harry said.
"We are not asking them to save them. Just to warn them. Don't condemn to the same fate they put you in. She was still my sister. She wrote to Dumbledore, asking to come to the castle as well when I went. How they treated you wasn't right, and I will have words with her and her husband when we meet again, but for now…" Harry sighed and nodded. Of course him mom knew him better than that.
"I'll give them a warning. But hopefully Voldemort is done with sooner than later." He would do it to honor his mom. But then he would be done with them for good
"Of that we have no doubt. We know you can do it son," James said with a smile. "We'll see you in a hundred years or so. Make sure to have a lot of kids. Your mother and I want to see at least three."
"Do say hi to my real mother for me, and tell her I knew and forgive her. Never forget that your father and I love you so much Harry." Harry blinked away tears at the simple statement, but when his eyes were open, he sat alone on the bench.
"Cruel of your parents," Death commented. "Like you said, she is Veela. More than 2 will be tough, and they will likely be girls."
"You could change that!" Harry said with a sudden realization. "You talk to the divine dragon god, I assume you can talk to the god of fertility, or love, or something like that."
"Of course I do," Death replied.
"Then get her to change Fleur's Veela powers when it comes to children. If we marry, or even if we don't, have her change Fleur so she can have as many children as she wants, with a 50/50 shot of a boy or girl. Like everyone else."
"I could do that," Death acknowledged. "Why would I? You are marked by the divine dragon. I have no interest in your life."
"How about a trade?"
"What do you have that I might be interested in?" Death laughed, but Harry smiled sinisterly.
"Oh, so I guess you don't want the wand, the cloak, and the stone?" Death's eye sockets seemed to contract.
"Don't tease me boy." The divine dragon's tail coiled around Harry.
"Harry, do you know what you are giving up? Just for the chance at a few extra children with a woman you may not spend your life with?" The dragon god asked.
"Of course," Harry said. "I'm giving death back his artifacts. Or at least two of them. He'll need me to stay alive to get the third one. Besides, I have to hand them over willingly. Like you said, gods can't interfere in mortal matters. I'll collect them, and I'll give them to you. I'm giving you Voldemort as well. For that, Fleur has as many children as she wants and you don't kill me. Let me live my life after Voldemort. If I die then so be it. But you don't interfere."
"You know where my treasures are," Death confirmed.
"The wand and the cloak," Harry answered. "I assume after I get the wand, I can figure out a way to find the stone." Death looked at Harry's protector, and the dragon seemed to shrug even though the dragon form did not have shoulders. "They don't belong in the world of man anyways. I will miss the cloak, as a Peverell it is my duty to eventually return them before you claim me. Though you will treat me as if I still have it…as well as those around me."
"I guess we have a deal. Now then" Death extended his bony hand and Harry shook it. He felt his soul tremor. "There. Voldemort soul is gone. I'm be careful with your spell work for a while."
"So I'm returning now?"
"If you want. You can stay with your parents," the dragon said. "I will not hold it against you."
"No, they don't want me here for a while," Harry said with a smile. "I'll honor their wishes. Man, I don't know Fleur will forgive me this time. At least it wasn't my fault."
"Very well." The dragon said. "You will return now. Try not to die before I get you to face the Dark Lord."
"I'll try my best, but you know how I am," Harry shot back. The smoke billowing from the dragon's mouth could have been anger or laughter, but he figured it wasn't best to stick around to figure out. "Oh!" Harry stopped for a second. "If I died did…" Harry was bound by an oath, so he shook his hands "is it still on?"
"It?" The dragon asked.
"Oh," Death said. "That is interesting." The dragon growled in seemingly frustration from being kept in the dark for one of Harry's biggest secrets, something kept between him and Nambung alone. "I'll tell you later. No one with…those has ever returned from a near dead state. I'd check though. Another reason to be careful with your spell work. If they are gone, don't want to kill someone with a stunner." Harry nodded seriously. "Well, time for you to go back." Harry nodded and he felt his body begin to spin.
-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O—O-O-O-
April, 1995
"What about this?" Victor added, shoving the book in front of Luna.
"No, it was a darker shade," Luna confirmed, looking at the picture. Victor could tell the stress was getting to his girlfriend, and kissed her on the forehead. She must have had 100 pictures of poisons shoved in front of her the past 30 minutes. The potions master had still not returned, nor the headmaster and Victor was one minute away from finding him and dragging them back by wandpoint. The door smashed open and Victor saw a harsh-eyed woman staring around the room before entering.
"I must protest!" Dumbledore called from behind her. "This is my school and…"
"What did you do?" The woman murmured, looking over Harry. Her expression softened the mystery woman ran a hand through Harry's hair. Fleur, crouched over Harry's bed seemed to grow angry. "Calm yourself girl. I am Harry's best chance."
"Who are you?" Dumbledore snapped.
"My name is Li Min," the woman said, and Luna gasped. "Oh, has Harry told you about me?" Luna nodded. "Interesting. I am second in command of the Mibu Wolves, and I have brought help." The woman drew a crystal from midair and shattered it on the floor. There was a pulsing light, and then a man stepped through. He was short and wearing a weird shaded form of glasses. "Save him."
"Hmph." The man drew a wand and waved it over Harry a few times. Every student in the room held their breath. "Well, that's tough."
"Tough?" Li Min's voice was tinged with a threat.
"Nothing I can do," the mystery doctor said.
"Nothing?" This time the threat was overt.
"Nothing," the doctor confirmed. "By all accounts, the boy should be dead. Recognized the poison instantly. Someone wants him dead real bad. Don't know how, but he got in inside. The Bane of Heroes." Li Min's face paled.
"The Bane of Heroes," Dumbledore asked the question on every mind. Pomfrey gasped and everyone looked at her.
"That's just a rumor. It doesn't really exist, does it?"
"Poppy?" Minerva asked. "What happened to my grandson?" The healer just shook her head.
"It exists," the old man said. "Commonly called Achilles's Bane. It's impossible to craft. Actually impossible. There is a limited supply in the world. Rumored to be have fallen from the sky thousands of years ago. Hundreds have died for a drop. Guaranteed death to a wizard in minutes. Even rumored to strip the soul from the immortal Achilles. Where it got it's name form." The room was shocked by confirmation that Achilles was real. But one person cared not for that fact
"It's been 30 minutes," Fleur said, desperation in her voice. "Harry's still alive. Maybe he is immune?"
"Impossible," the old man said. "It attacks the soul. Eats away at magic. But he is alive." A few more waves of the wand left the old man frustrated. "Sorry Min." Li Min held out another crystal and cracked it. The man walked into the mist and disappeared with a crack.
"Apperating willy nilly into and out of Hogwarts isn't even a big deal anymore," Minnie said, stroking Harry's hair. There were tears in her eyes. "Poppy, what can we do?"
"That man was right," the healer said sadly. "I don't know much about the poison, but if it truly exists, Harry should have died within seconds of it entering his blood."
"That's enough for me," Li Min said. "An attempted murder of a member of the Mibu Wolves has occurred." She snapped her wand up and Karkaroff flew across the room into her arms. Another wand movement and he was trussed in rope. "I'm taking him for questioning."
"Hold on one moment!" Everyone turned to see a group of aurors walking into the room. "Albus, we came as soon as we heard. Please tell me Harry Potter is not dead."
"Rufus." Dumbledore looked distinctly unhappy at the auror presence. "It's just a matter of time I'm afraid. I must ask why you are here."
"Students tossing around deadly curses?" The acting head of the DMLE stared at Dumbledore. "Surely you will not say this is an internal school matter. These kids should be read the riot act."
"They are students and as such I will be exercising my prerogative as headmaster. Under the charter with the ministry, all punishments to students will be handled by me."
"Albus, they could have killed someone," Professor McGonagall complained.
"Then if you are headmistress you may give them to the aurors!" Albus roared. "But I am still headmaster!"
"Not mine," Minerva said. Everyone stared at the transfiguration mistress. "You had better find a new transfiguration teacher. I am formally tendering my resignation, effective at the end of the year. I will not be the reason my grandson stays here."
"Minerva!" Dumbledore snapped. "Absolutely not!"
"You can't keep me here," Minerva said sadly. "I will not be a part of an institution that protects would-be killers. Without the intervention of Ms. Delacour and Mr. Thomas we might have found ourselves a few students short today, and I will not be a party to it."
"If you want to quit, quit." A familiar voice had a few students in tears. "Don't quit on my account." Harry slowly sat up in bed and seemed to shake his entire body. "Woah. I feel weird."
"Harry."
"Min?" Harry looked at the Chinese woman in surprise. "What are you doing here?" The woman simply turned her wand on Harry and fired two quick spells. Visible magic seemed to flare around Harry, and he caught both of them on his skin. Harry looked as surprised as the people around him, and he flexed his fingers experimentally.
"You seem… improved. I'll take my leave."
"Yeah, ok?" Harry managed to get out as she strode out of the infirmary, Karkaroff dangling behind her. Rufus and Albus looked at each other and then rushed out after the woman taking the ex-headmaster to places unknown. "So I guess I missed a lot?"
END OF ARC: The Board Clears
