Hecate's champion
As darkness descends upon him the young man lets out a slow even breath. No panic, no worries, no stress. He is finally free. Free of expectation, of fear, of hate. Free to fall into the afterlife and finally join his parents and godfather. A final, small smile rests upon his face.
Harry Potter was finally free.
He feels himself floating, almost like a soft cloud carries him into the sky. The dull ache that had been in his bones for as long as he can remember finally eases. The sharp sting from his cuts fade. The searing agony of his broken ribs is gone. Smiling he finally opens his eyes to take in his surroundings.
White. Everything is white. And yet nothing is at all. There is nothing around him except this brilliant whiteness. No walls, no floors, no ceiling, no sky. Just pure white all around him. And yet he is standing. He's not entirely sure how death works but he just wants to see his family. He's been asking for this since he was 18 months old, and he was dropped off with his relatives.
Hearing a throat clearing behind him, he eagerly turns looking for the face of his mother or father.
He's disappointed.
Standing before him is a beautiful woman, dressed all in white. Though somehow it stands out from the glow around them. Her hair is charcoal black and falls in soft curls to her hips. Her eyes are forest green, her lips cherry red. While she was beautiful, all Harry wants is his parents.
Down hearted he speaks up.
"Where am I? Am I finally dead? Where are my parents?" A rapid string of questions, almost too fast for a human to decipher, yet this beauty manages to, with a small chuckle.
"Calm yourself Harry. You are in Limbo. The place between life and death. So, in answer to your question, yes and no. While the body that you resided in for 80 years is dead, your soul has so much that it needed to do. I am Hecate, the goddess of magic. I am here, against the wishes of my sisters, Fate, Destiny and Time to give you a choice. Death and I have watched over you. You are our chosen. Our champion. Because of that, we are going to give you two choices. You can go through the door to the afterlife. See your mother, father, godfathers and friends that you have lost over the years."
"Yes!" Harry answered immediately, the chance to go and join those that he had lost. Mum, Dad, Sirius, Remus, Fred, Hermione, Ron. So many people that he had loved and lost. He just wanted to stop. Stop fighting for everyone else, stop grieving for those that have passed. This was his chance.
Hecate looked amused.
"Yes, I rather thought that you would want that option. But please allow me to give you the second choice before you decide."
"What is there to decide? I want to see my family and friends and now I can. I've been waiting for this for decades! I just want to rest. Please just let me go home!" There was a desperation to his voice that tore through Hecate's heart.
"I understand young one, but there is much that you need to know first. Let's start with those friends that you are so desperate to meet first, shall we? Since September 1st, 1991, the welcoming feast at Hogwarts to be specific, you have been dosed weekly with loyalty potions. They are keyed towards; Ronald Weasley, Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore and Molly Weasley."
Harry stood in shocked silence. This can't be real, it just can't! They were his best friends, his surrogate family, his in-laws! She was lying, she must be.
"You're wrong! You're Lying! They were my best friends, my family. They wouldn't have done this to me, they love me! I married Ginny for goodness sake!"
"Are they? Do they? Think about it. Think hard Harry. What exactly have they done for you over the years to show their friendship, their loyalty, their love? Do they take you out for meals, do they invite you to their house? Do they plan surprises for you, do they take your wishes and wants into consideration? When was the last time they did something that YOU wanted to do?"
Incensed, Harry decided to humour the Goddess. He thought back over the last 60 years, looking for all of the times that his friends had shown him that they loved him. He looked at his birthdays first, surely, they had done something that he wanted to do on one of them.
No. He was hit with the horrifying reality that they had never chosen to do something that he wanted to do, even on his birthdays. All he ever wanted to do was have a nice, relaxed family meal at home, watch some movies and just chill out with his friends and family. Instead, he was dragged to different parties, galas, balls and restaurant meals every year. He was forced to face the public every year, the one thing that he absolutely loathed above all else. Friends, family would never force you to do something that you hated, especially on your birthday.
Come to think of it now that he was looking back at their past interactions. Every hope and dream that he had ever had, he hadn't completed. Even though he had the means to do so. He wanted to travel, since he never got to do that with the Dursleys. But he's still never been out of Britain. He wanted a massive family, at least 8 or 9 kids (blood or adopted he didn't care) yet he only had 3. He wanted to help care for people, his dream as a child was to be a doctor, a healer once he joined the wizarding world. He can't even pinpoint when that desire 'changed', but it must have been before 5th year when they had those meetings with McGonagall.
With horror he realised, his whole life had been rewritten by his friends and surrogate family.
Seeing the look of horrid realisation on Harry's face Hecate knew that he understood what had happened.
"This wasn't supposed to be your life Harry Potter. You were supposed to become a strong, able healer, you were supposed to save many lives doing so, far more than you have as an Auror. You married the wrong person. Your life was changed by a meddling old man who has more greed than he does power. There are a lot more horrible truths that need to be aired. That is why Death and I want to give you the chance to fix it."
"What do you mean fix it? How can I fix it, I'm dead?"
"We, Harry Potter, want to send you back in time. We want you to go back, with all of your current memories, and fix that which has been damaged. So many lives lost that needn't have been. So much damage to all of my children. I am fading Harry; I'm losing my powers. The last of the magical children will be born in the next 30 years. I need you to go back and help bring about the old ways, the rituals and offerings of thanks for the gift I give you all. Magic will end if you don't do so. But it is still your choice, you can cross over and meet your family. Or you can go and save the future. Do it all over again and save the lives of so many people, your godfathers included."
Harry stared at the Goddess. On one hand, his family was behind a simple door. He could finally be at peace. Hug his mother and father. Talk to Sirius and Remus. Laugh with Fred and Tonks. On the other, he could stop most of them from dying. (He wasn't stupid, he knew that he couldn't save his parents) He could help thousands of people keep their magic.
It was no choice really; everyone had always said that he had a saving people thing.
"Tell me what I have to do to save the magical race"
Hecate gave him a beaming smile; she had chosen her champion well.