Harry's POV Saturday Morning

Harry laughs along with his roommates as they head back up to the castle. He'd convinced them to wake up and play a pickup game of two-a-side quidditch. Dean and Seamus were a team, Harry and Ron had been a team, and Neville refereed. Harry and Ron had barely pulled out a win; the only thing saving them was Ron's keeping and Harry's agility on a broom. He was never meant to be a chaser.

"Next time, warn me that you suck! I thought you said you'd played quidditch before?" Ron teases him, punching his shoulder lightly.

"Hey, it's been a few years, alright? Besides, I played seeker!" Harry exclaims, elbowing Ron in the ribs.

"I'm picking Dean to be on my team next time," Ron says. Dean puts his hand up high, and Ron raches up and slaps it.

"You guys do that. That way, Harry and I can play it the Scottish way! Y'all will get decked so hard, you'll be seeing snitches better than Harry ever could!" Seamus says, shoving Dean to the side. Everyone laughs as they push each other around.

"Mr. Potter! You were to be in the hospital wing fifteen minutes ago!"

Harry whips his head up, and standing at the Castle's main doors is Minerva.

"Busted," Seamus mutters.

Harry rolls his eyes. As if they could be mad that he wanted to do something fun before they kill him.

"Yup, I'm dead," Harry says.

"You better get going before she takes away house points," Neville says, nodding his head to Minerva.

"Well, before I go, I just wanted to say, Seamus, I hope you break the record for most rum drunk before you pass out, and I hope you start that pub in Ireland," Harry nods to him and turns to Dean.

"I hope you get that football jersey signed by your team."

"Neville, I sincerely hope you find a plant that will help cure madness in the mind. If anyone can do it, it's you."

Harry lastly turns to Ron.

"I hope you meet the Cannons team, marry Hermione, and always remember that your sister is the best choice for a chaser if you ever need one," Harry nods at him, claps him on the shoulder, and then jogs away before any of them can question him.

"What did you say to them?" Minerva asks when he stops in front of her.

"I said goodbye without them knowing I was saying goodbye," Harry says, turning to the doors.

Minerva nods her head in understanding while they walk to the infirmary, or hospital wing, as the Brits call it.

"If it makes you feel any better, I doubt Albus would even let this be an option if he didn't think you would pull through."

It's Harry's turn to nod his head. He refrains from bringing up the fact that Albus would do almost anything for the greater good, even kill himself.

They make it to the infirmary quickly, and standing right outside the doors is, Sirius.

"Sirius!"

Harry runs up to him and gives him a big hug. Harry had been planning to get in, die, and, well, either stay dead and cause an uproar or come back to life and get back to work.

"What? Did you think I wouldn't come to argue with Dumbledore about the necessity of this?"

"And how did that pan out?" Harry asks with a chuckle.

"Bloody Brilliant," Sirius says sarcastically.

Harry squeezes him one more time before pulling away.

"Minerva, how bad was it actually?" Harry asks, turning to her.

"I don't think I've ever heard Albus scream, but I guess there's a first for everything," Minerva says, glancing at Sirius unapprovingly.

"Ready to die, pup?"

"The afterlife won't know what hit it," Harry says with a grimace. Harry watches as Sirius clenches his jaw and nods his head.

Here we go.

Harry opens the door and walks in. He holds it open for Sirius and Minerva before shutting it and warding it. No need for this to get out and into the papers, until they think up a good excuse for why he died suddenly.

Harry turns around and is surprised to see both Ginny and Poppy there. Harry trusts both of them completely, but he wasn't sure Albus would want anyone to witness Harry's death. Especially since it will be by his hand.

Harry walks over to the bed nearest to Albus and sits back against the propped-up pillows. He wiggles around until he's comfortable and looks at Albus expectantly.

"Are you sure about this, Albus?" Minerva asks.

Damn Minerva, you're going to make me cry! I knew you cared!

"Everything I know about Horcruxes has led me to believe that Harry is indeed a Horcrux. His mind is linked to Voldemorts like Ginny's was when she was possessed by Tom's diary. His scar is as prominent as the day he received it, showing a battle with another living virus in his body. If meditation and occlumency can't help him, then it has to be," Dumbledore says.

Harry tries to ignore the unsureness in Albus's voice. He puts on a brave face and nods his head.

"Two things. I've been through all your memories, I've been through genealogy books, and I even wrote an essay to make sure my claims were well-founded. I'm pretty sure I know what the other two Horcruxes are," Harry says.

Albus looks pleasantly surprised, and Harry licks his lips, "Well, he has an affinity for the Hogwarts founders, and the only relics he would need are Godric's sword and Salazar's family ring considering he already used the Hufflepuff cup and the Ravenclaw Diadem. The sword has been lost for ages, and I don't think he would use a relic associated with Gryffindor, so that leaves the ring. That ring has been handed down to every first-born male, or if there was no male to inherit it, the first-born female.

"With that knowledge, the ring should have ended with the Gaunt family, and I bet you can guess who is related to the Gaunts. Tom Riddle, of course! This makes sense because, assuming Tom Riddle found out about his past, around when he left Hogwarts, it lines up with the Gaunt family massacre. Tom killed his family and left no trace as to who did it and why.

"The second Horcrux has to be his snake Nagini. It's the only thing he's ever shown he cares about in my dreams. It's like the Diary, something personal, something potentially destructive. We can't kill the snake until the final battle, or else Tom will know that we know about the Horcruxes, and he'll hide away and make more or hide himself away behind a fortress," Harry says.

Harry watches everyone take that information in. Albus nods his head, and Harry is glad his explanations make sense to him too.

"Also, if I survive, I want to help find and destroy that ring," Harry adds.

"No, you don't need to put yourself in danger for no reason," Sirius says, jumping into the conversation.

"I agree with the boy. I will be taking him, and possibly Ginny to get the ring,' Albus says.

"You know I can't agree to either of them going," Sirius says.

"We'll discuss it after we get through today," Albus says, waving his hand in a forget-about-it gesture.

"Does anybody have anything else they want to say?" Albus asks, pulling a vial out of his robes and pouring its contents into a tube connected to a needle. Of course, he'd inject the stuff. Might as well just take a small knife and pour it on me!

"I came to say goodbye," Ginny says abruptly. Her head is down, and she's twisting her hands together.

"Thanks for seeing past my experiences and still being my friend."

Harry wishes she would look at him.

"Ginny, I said goodbye to your brother and my other roommates this morning, but can you say goodbye to Hermione for me, and if I die, apologize to her that I didn't say goodbye in person."

Ginny nods her head.

"And, Ginny?"

She finally looks up, and Harry is lost for words for a second. She's biting her lip, eyes misty, cheeks pink. Beautifully sad.

"Thank you for making this past week one of my greatest adventures. I've had quite a few of them in my life, including learning meditation in an ancient lost village in Northern China. So, thank you, for making my experience far better than I ever expected. I hope you become one of the greatest curse breakers ever, and I hope you find a connection with someone, and live happily," Harry clears his throat and nods his head. There's too much to say.

"Goodbye," Harry says. He nods to both Poppy and Minerva, smiles sadly at Sirius, and looks at Albus.

"Good luck, Harry Potter."

"In my experience, there's no such thing as luck."

"Star Wars," Harry finishes with a smile. Dumbledore chuckles sadly and then injects the needle into Harry's forehead, right next to his scar.

Harry winces in pain, the needle pinching his skin.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing," Albus mutters, pulling the needle out of his forehead.

Harry would have laughed if a sudden searing pain didn't start in his forehead and pulse through his brain and neck.

Harry lets out a primal growl and fists his hands into the bed sheets.

The pain is overwhelming; every time he tries to open his eyes, he sees white. He feels hot all over and like he's being burned from the inside.

Harry screams and then reminds himself he doesn't need to fight the pain; he only needs to succumb to it. Harry can feel his energy leave him as his fists unclench, and he slumps back.

Don't die with your last words being some lame-ass Star Wars quote.

"Can't believe you can quote Star Wars."

Sirius's POV (Let's see if I can make myself cry, huh?)

"Can't believe you can quote Star Wars."

Sirius stumbles forwards with a cry of laughter and then more sobs. Watching Harry cry out from pain was worse than he could have imagined. His poor boy clenching the sheets, veins popping out of his skin, and sweat dripping from his face in exertion.

His poor boy, his pup, lying dead on the hospital bed. He has to live. Harry had always been a survivor. He'd faced Voldemort three times! He sees him in his dreams! He's moved around his whole life. He lost his parents, he lost a surrogate father, and he's been stuck with him.

Sirius had tried raising Harry like he thought James would have, but the only example of good parenting he'd seen was from James's parents during the summers and when he'd left home. Remus had done such a great job, and then we lost him too. I couldn't save another one of my best friends, and Harry was all he had left.

But, now, Harry might not come back. Sirius would be left with nothing. Voldemort will have taken everything from him. Voldemort took his family, three of them. He took Regulas and his parents. He'd taken Peter, James, and Lily, and now he'll take Harry from him too.

"He still has a chance."

A hand lays on his shoulder, and he looks through blurry eyes at Minerva.

"He's had so many chances. I've had so many chances to keep him safe, and I've failed. I've failed every time. Harry has had to save himself too many times. Where was I when James and Lily needed me to save them and keep Harry from being cursed? Where was I when a rogue Impedimentia scout kidnapped him and almost killed him? Where was I when Peter kidnapped him and raised Voldemort from the dead? Where was I? Minerva, why did I let this happen? He was in pain! Why do I always let him take the pain? When will I be selfless enough to take it for him? Minerva when! Where!"

Sirius chokes on his sobs and leans back till his head is facing the ceiling.

"How will I face them? How will I explain my failures in raising their boy? How can I face Remus with how I was when he died? How can I face Harry when he realizes I failed him?

"Sirius! He's not dead yet!" Albus says sternly.

Something inside Sirius snaps. It's abrupt, and he feels it in his very core.

"NOT DEAD?" Sirius screams, getting to his feet. Through blurred vision, he watches everyone take a step away from him. Good. People should stay away from me.

"DOES HE HAVE A PULSE? IS HE BREATHING HEADMASTER DUMBLEDORE? IS THE BOY I FAILED TO PROTECT NOT LYING ON THAT BED DEAD!"

Sirius turns his eyes to Harry, and his anger vanishes into something worse.

Shame.

Sirius just wouldn't learn. He had to wait for Harry to be killed to figure it out. Harry had always taken care of himself. He only needed Sirius to watch his back while he lived; he needed Sirius. He needed someone he could rely on, and Sirius knew himself. He knew that he was an unreliable person and always had been. His aunt could have done better than him. At least she had a motherly instinct.

Sirius put Harry on a broom as soon as he could walk because, hey, if the kid can walk, then surely, he could fly, right? Sirius let Harry choose what they ate, because, hey, Sirius likes Mac and Cheese too. Sirius dropped him off at self-defense classes and left him there for hours so that he could work. Sirius dragged him all across America and even fought off the wild to find some ancient village to learn meditation! Harry almost died from snake venom!

And how did Sirius repay him for going along with all of his craziness? He let his headmaster inject him with more snake venom, the deadliest snake venom known to mankind!

Sirius looks away from Harry and turns to Poppy. He needs something desperately. A drink laced with something, anything.

"Poppy, you wouldn't happen to have firewhisky with a little extra kick, would ya?" Sirius rasps.

"What kind of show do you think I'm running here?" Poppy asks, looking at Sirius with raised eyebrows.

"You're right. You always kept wine. The good stuff too. Think I could have a glass? You can water it down with whatever potion you want. I'll take anything," Sirius begs.

"Do you want to sleep?" Poppy asks.

"If it's the death kind of sleep, then yeah, sure," Sirius says.

"Sirius, Harry will wake up," a new voice says. Sirius turns his eyes to a young red-haired girl. Her hair is different than Lily's, and she has freckles. But she has courage, kindness, and intelligence in her eyes. A new wave of tears falls from his eyes.

"Potters and their redheads," Sirius says with a chuckle.

"So. I've heard."

"You must be Miss Weasley," Sirius says with a sigh. He finds a seat next to Harry's bed and sits with a low grunt. Auror's work was easier when he was twenty.

"Ah, you know me," she says, grabbing a chair and pulling it to the foot of Harry's bed.

"From multiple sources, including your father. Wonderful man, Arthur is," Sirius says.

"The best. You remind me of him," she says, offering a kind smile.

"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, Miss Weasley."

"Ginny. You can call me Ginny."

Sirius nods his head.

"You're both family men. You love your family unconditionally, and you're loyal and passionate," Ginny offers another smile.

Sirius swallows a lump in his throat and nods his head. It's quite the compliment considering his godson is lying dead next to him.

"That's kind of you to say. You remind me a lot of Lily Evans. Both of you have red hair, different shades of course, kind, smart, beautiful, and intelligent. You can't blame the poor boy for being infatuated with you," Sirius compliments.

Sirius looks over at Harry. His hair is a mess and in dire need of a haircut. Of course, Harry never liked getting his hair cut. His skin is paler than usual. He got his father's skin tone more than his mother's. The girls would always drool a bit after they'd see him at the beginning of the school year. Sirius loved watching heads turn as five-eleven, Harry Potter, messy hair starting to grow itself back out, tan skin, and brilliant white teeth marched on the school grounds.

Harry always had the ability to make an impact on people's lives. Most of them were good impacts, but sometimes Harry would lose his head, and the controlled Harry, would start a fire and let it burn. Figuratively speaking of course.

"He was really overwhelming the first few days," Sirius hears Ginny mutter. Sirius tears his eyes from Harry and turns back to Ginny. Ginny has her hands on Harry's shoes and is playing with the laces.

"He was everywhere, always putting his nose in places I didn't think it should be," she says with a small smile. She undoes the laces and takes his shoes off. She puts them next to the bed and waves her wand over his socks, casting what Sirius thinks is a refreshing charm. Sirius watches her as she absentmindedly takes care of Harry, straightening his pants and smoothing the wrinkles out of the bed's sheets.

"He would stare at me, whenever we were in the same room. It's been kind of hard. After this summer, I didn't like the feeling of being watched, and of course, since Harry was always watching me, I was uncomfortable around him," Ginny looks up at Sirius, and he sees her eyes start to tear up.

"But when I'd look around and catch his eye. He would always smile, and his eyes would just sparkle like catching eyes with me was his goal all along," She puts her hands back on Harry's feet and squeezes. A pang goes through Sirius's chest. He wishes Harry could feel it. Feel that they're here and they care. Sirius follows Ginny's example and takes one of Harry's hands in his.

Harry, come back to us. I love you, and there are so many others that care.

"After he took care of me Wednesday night, he mostly left me alone. He would still watch me, smile at me, and laugh when we were a part of group interaction."

Sirius tilts his head to the side. That is news to him. When Harry wants someone, he practically burns with the desire to help them, love them, and care about them. He's surprised to hear he backed off.

"At first, I thought I'd actually gotten through to him and gotten him to give up and back off, but I was having tea with Minerva, and she said she was surprised Harry had actually taken her advice and taken a step back," Ginny laughs softly and looks Sirius dead in the eye.

"If he doesn't wake up, I'll regret so many things. Did you know that he actually yelled at me for not acknowledging the connection we have? He tore into me," Ginny's smile fades, and her face reminds him of the one he'd see in the mirror after Remus's death.

"I wanted to tell him that, yes, I do feel the connection, and I can admit it's there," she sniffles, and Sirius's heart goes out to her. Moving on with regrets is more difficult than he can ever describe to anyone.

"But I don't know; I didn't want him to do anything dramatic."

"I'm afraid he got that from me," Sirius says sadly. What if Harry never gets the chance to give that impression ever again? Will he be the guy saying his boy used to be like that? Everything involving Harry will be in the past tense. Sirius will never get to say, I love you, good job, or I'm proud of you. Nothing, ever again.

"I wish I told him how much I loved him. How much joy it brought me to take care of him," Sirius blinks the tears away and holds back a pathetic sniffle.

"He'll wake up. He loves you too much to leave so soon, not when he might have the chance to come back," Ginny says.

"He looks at you like James used to look at Lily," Sirius tells her. He catches her eye and tries to convey how serious he is.

"If he makes it, he will love you, cherish you, protect you, and make you smile more than you ever thought possible. He will fight for you in every way. He's the kind of man to read a book because you said you liked it. The kind of man to do his chores quickly so he can help you with yours. The kind of person who will take every opportunity to spend more time with you. And if you let him, he'd sacrifice himself for you."

"That's exactly what I don't want," Ginny says sternly.

"You don't want to be loved?" Sirius asks, confused.

"No! Of course, I want to be loved; what I'm saying is, I don't want someone who loves me, or someone I love, to sacrifice themself for me. I don't want to risk losing them."

"If there is no other option, then sometimes, sacrificing yourself is the only way," Sirius says. He studies GInny's face and watches as her eyes widen at the realization of what Sirius is referring to.

"I don't need to talk to Lily to know that the sacrifice she made was awful but worth it. Harry grew and experienced so much. He got fifteen more years. He got to live life for a short while, and I bet Lily has loved and hated every second of it."

Ginny nods her head, and Sirius follows suit. He's said all he can on the matter.

The door to Poppy's office opens, and out comes Albus, Minerva, and Poppy.

Poppy makes a beeline to him and hands him a glass of red wine. It's filled more than etiquette would usually allow so, Sirius assumes she's laced some type of potion in it.

"Thank you," Sirius tells her. He takes a tentative sip and smacks his lips. Calming Draught.

"How long are we giving him to wake up?" Sirius asks.

"If he isn't awake within twelve hours, I'm afraid Harry couldn't defeat the impossible."

Sirius nods his head and takes the time to stare at everyone's faces. Dumbledore, usually spry and full of energy, looks haggard. Sirius had never noticed the number of wrinkles Dumbledore had. Sirius has the urge to remind the man about the importance of moisturizer but was it really the time? Not the time, you insensitive bastard.

Sirius turns to Poppy, who is as stoic as ever. Her lips are tinted red, which makes Sirius think, she drank a glass while she was in her office. Sirius should be kinder to the healers he deals with. They deal with loss and failure so often that having to deal with Sirius's impatience whenever he's in a hospital has to be infuriating. Sirius thinks of all his injuries over the years and how rude he was to those healers. Was he too arrogant to be appreciative of what they'd done?

Minerva was a locked vault. Her emotions were guarded, never to be seen unless on purpose. Sirius knows Minerva to be a very loving woman and has few doubts that she is worried about his godson.

And Ginny, Ginny sits three meters from him. She's three meters away, and he can't see what he expects. He'd been told Ginny had a fire. Many people spark something in others, but from everything Sirius had heard of her, Ginny is a flame that when you get close, you ignite with her, and Sirius doesn't see any of that. She looks like the ground after a wildfire, dead, dark, but your eyes are drawn to it. She stands out. You want to know how to make that ground turn to its original color. You want to stay and watch the growth. You want to help it along.

Harry would quote a movie if he knew what Sirius was thinking. Sirius tries to remember every film he's seen and say something that fits.

Sirius doesn't notice the time passing as he sifts through his memories, trying to find the perfect quote that fits Ginny. Harry could probably have come up with more than one hundred in the time Sirius had been thinking. Harry had been a spitfire of a child, and Sirius already missed him.

"Is there a reason you've been staring at me for the past hour?" Ginny asks, breaking Sirius from his contemplation.

"Harry quotes films every so often," Sirius starts slowly. Ginny mutters something under her breath that Sirius thinks was, you mean all the bloody time, and Sirius smiles. Yes, Harry quotes films all the bloody time.

"And to get that way, he watched hundreds of films, and I'd sit and watch with him when I wasn't working. It was good bonding, or I thought it was, anyway; I've been trying to think of a quote that would describe you, and I'm pulling a blank."

Ginny nods her head but doesn't say anything. Sirius takes this as acceptance of his explanation and continues his memory search.

Sirius thinks for most of the day. Off and on, of course. Ginny had resorted to reading textbooks and various dueling books while Sirius did catch up on paperwork and studied potential case files.

It's after they eat a quick dinner that it comes to him. In a film called, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the character, Jessica, says something along the lines of, 'I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way.'

Sirius's instant reaction to finding something that fits Ginny's aura is to tell Harry, but he shuts that thought down immediately. It had been ten hours, and without any distractions, Sirius's mental state had been slowly derailing.

The calming draught had lost its effects a while earlier, and Sirius wishes he'd stopped all of this. He was Harry's guardian first and foremost. Fuck the greater good, Harry was his first priority, and he gave up. He should have stopped Dumbledore, he should have stopped at nothing.

The doors to the hospital wing open, and Ginny slowly walks to her seat and sits.

"Find everything you needed at the Library?" Sirius asks.

"Yeah, Minerva lets me get things from the restricted section whenever I want, so I always have interesting things I can read. Any change?" She asks hopefully.

Sirius shakes his head and squeezes Harry's lifeless hand. Dumbledore had told him that, reasonably, Harry should have woken within the first few minutes if others' experiences were anything to go by. How wrong he was.

"What does it mean if Harry's dead? For the war, I mean," Ginny asks.

Sirius shakes his head. He doesn't want to talk about it. Harry will come back, he has to. The prophecy said they had to kill one or the other, right? Or was it, no. Harry could be gone. Forever.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have asked," Ginny says.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Sirius says lowly.

Sirius glares at the bed and fists his hands, to keep himself from doing something he could regret later.

Within thirty minutes, Ginny falls asleep, and Sirius rolls his eyes. Why was she here if she was just going to sleep? His godson needs all the support he can get. He has to come back.

"You have to come back," Sirius whispers, looking at Harry's pale face.

"Harry, it's not your time yet!" The tears start to pour from Sirius's eyes and Sirius doesn't try to hold them back.

The clock reminds him that if Harry doesn't wake within the next twenty minutes, Harry really won't come back.

"Please come back! I know you want to stay with them, but please! Please choose to come back to me! Please, if you have a choice, pick me! No one ever stays! They always leave me! I can't lose you too!"

In the back of his mind, he hears Poppy, Albus, and Minerva, come out of Poppy's office, but he doesn't acknowledge their presence. He's too lost in his grief.

"Harry, I promise I'll be a better guardian! I'll protect you better! Merlin, I'll let you drop out of school if you want! We can go hunt Voldemort together! I'LL DO ANYTHING IF YOU COME BACK! PLEASE!" Sirius screams. He falls out of his chair and to his knees, as he sobs and begs for Harry to come back. Sirius ugly cries, sobs, being choked on with the excess saliva, snot running out of his nose, and absolute wails of despair.

"Harry, I still have so many things to make up to you! I will never shut you out! I'll be by your side wherever you ask me to!"

"You still need to go to races, you still have to fall in love and get married! You need to come back and have those two kids you always dreamed about! You need to come back and watch more films! There are so many things you haven't done! Please come back!" Sirius takes Harry's hand in both of his and pulls it to his mouth.

"Please, anyone, please save him. You can't take him from me too. You can't take him from me too, please," Sirius pleads to the ceiling. His head falls to the bed, and he prays. He'd never done it before. Wizards aren't the religious type, but in America, religion was a big deal, and he doesn't know what he's doing, but he'd do anything for Harry.

Anything.

Harry's POV

Harry squeezes his eyes tightly, as an overwhelming white brightness consumes him.

When the light is no longer overwhelming, Harry tentatively opens his eyes and then blinks multiple times when his eyes instantly water.

When he gets his vision back, Harry takes in his surroundings, and his breath catches.

He's in the backyard of the house he'd lived in when he was eight.

The house in Texas.

The last place he lived with both Remus and Sirius.

"Harry?"

Harry spins around at the sudden voice and takes in the sight of his parents. He knows it's his parents because who else would they be? He sees their features every time he looks in the mirror.

"Mom? Dad?"

Harry stays rooted in his spot. He knows he died, but he thought, well, honestly, he didn't actually know what was supposed to happen, but he didn't think he'd be in Texas, looking at his parents.

"You're all grown up," James says with a smile. Lily smiles at James before taking his hand and shrugging at Harry.

It's all he needs to get his feet moving. Harry rushes to his parents and wraps them both up in his arms. He squeezes his eyes shut and exhales shakily. His parents squeeze him, and Harry can't believe he's there and actually hugging his parents.

They pull away and Harry loses the ability to hold back tears when he sees both of his parent's tear-streaked cheeks.

"I didn't know you could cry in heaven," Harry says, chuckling as he wipes his tears away with the back of his hand.

"We're not in heaven, sweetie," Lily says, wiping her own tears away.

"Then are we in Texas?" Harry asks, taking his surroundings in. The house is exactly as he remembers it. It's the only house with grass instead of rocks for a yard. It has a small garden that mostly holds the ingredients for wolfsbane and other herbs you would use in the kitchen.

"We're in an in-between area. You're not dead, dead. Not yet. A lot of the time, people's bodies are too damaged to return to right away. Your body is still releasing the toxins from the basilisk poison so you can be here for up to twenty-four hours, probably.

"Will I go with you guys after twenty-four hours then?" Harry asks.

"No son. Well, you could. You have the choice to go back or go forward," James runs his fingers through his hair, and Harry smiles when his mom smacks his hand.

"What happens to the prophecy if I go with you guys?" Harry asks. His mind is calm for the first time in his life. He doesn't feel a single thing. It's a nice change.

"Voldemort's plans will change I can only assume, and the war will end with someone killing Voldemort, or Voldemort taking over," James says with a shrug.

"So I could just leave? I don't have to kill him? He can die from someone else's hand?" Harry asks, excited.

Harry smiles and feels adrenaline run through him at the thought of that particular responsibility being lifted.

His smile fades when his mom shakes her head.

"The chances of anyone else killing him is low. If you come with us, many more will die," Lily says.

Harry stubbornly shakes his head. He isn't responsible for other people's lives. He shouldn't be!

"Do you not want me to come with you guys?" Harry asks. Why else would they make him feel guilt? He finally had peace; for five seconds, he felt complete peace. Now, it's gone.

"Of course, we want to be with you, but now's not your time," Lily says, her tears returning.

Another pang of guilt runs through him when he realizes he made his mom cry.

"You can't see us, but we're with you," his dad says. His dad throws an arm around his mom's shoulders and pulls her to his chest.

"Always," his mom adds.

Harry shakes his head. He doesn't want to leave. He has so much to say. So many things to ask.

"Do you want me to leave right now?" Harry asks.

"Not yet. Not while we still have time."

Harry nods his head and then walks over to the house's patio and sits on a metal chair. He gestures for his parents to join him, and they do.

"Where's Remus at?" Harry asks. He's surprised Remus isn't with them. Did he not want to see him?

"We tried to get him to come, but the stubborn wolf kept saying he had seven more years with you than we did, and we deserved to have you to ourselves," James says, shaking his head.

"Well, tell him I love and miss him, and so does Sirius," Harry says.

"We will, but we can only stay with you for a few hours. I'm afraid that Sirius will shatter if you don't go back within twelve hours," Lily says.

"Twelve hours?"

"It's the time they're giving you to come back before they make any decisions on what to do next."

"I can't believe I forgot about him," Harry says guiltily.

"You were overwhelmed; it's okay. But when you go back, tell him that all of our deaths, weren't his fault and that we forgive him for telling us to change secret keepers. He needs you more than you realize, Harry."

Harry nods his head. Sirius always seemed to get the short straw. Something Harry always hated.

"So, tell us about Ginny! I've been dying to hear your thoughts!" James exclaims. Harry laughs. His parents are more amazing than he'd ever dreamed.

Still Harry

Saying goodbye to his parents had been difficult, but when Sirius's voice broke through whatever barrier had existed, he knew it was time to leave. Listening to Sirius beg him to go back, was enough to make not only him, cry, but both of his parents started crying.

Now, Harry's only problem was he didn't know how to get back. His parents had told him he needed to find his own way, but how does one resurrect himself? He's no Jesus.

Harry bites his lip and looks at his watch. He needs to get back soon before the people waiting for him, decide he's really dead, and cremate his body!

Harry paces the length of his old backyard as he thinks.

Finally, the idea to walk through his old house comes to him. Harry jogs to the back door and pulls the sliding door open. He races through the kitchen and into the living room. He ignores the painful memories the house brings him. For some reason, his head starts to ache, and with every step, he takes to the front door, the ache spreads.

Harry's knees buckle when he reaches the door. He reaches out and catches himself on the doorknob.

He's overheating, and the pain in his head makes him forget what he was trying to do.

He curses himself for being weak.

If Judi Dench can make it through cat school, he can surely open a door.

Harry finally gets the doorknob twisted and pulls the door open. Harry collapses through the door, and everything goes black.

Did he do it?

Harry stiffens when a shockwave of pain courses through him. His skin feels like ice, and someone is pressing needles all over him! His skin feels like ice, and someone is pressing needles all over him! He can't get enough air into his lungs. The all-consuming pain that flows through his body leaves him sticky with sweat, and he groans loudly.

Hands steady his shoulders, someone has his hand, and there are hands on his feet holding him down. He wishes he could shake off all the hands, or scream and tell them to not touch him. He's being overstimulated. The pressure of their hands on him leaves his bones feeling like they're going to break.

Someone forcefully pulls his mouth apart and pours a nasty liquid into his mouth. He tries to spit it out, but his nose is plugged suddenly, and he can't get any oxygen. He can't breathe.

I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I CAN'T BREATHE!

Harry throws his body to the side with all of his strength and ends up cracking his back painfully. Luckily the liquid comes out of his mouth, but when he tries to take in oxygen, he chokes on the remaining liquid in his mouth. Whoever was pinching his nose, releases it, and Harry greedily takes in air. He chokes his way through, mouth full after mouth full of air.

Suddenly, it's like someone turned a dial. His pain decreases, and he can stop clenching every muscle in his body, and that's when he hears them. There are voices all around him. There are people yelling at each other, people still trying to hold his body to the bed. The noise is overwhelming. He wishes he could leave the pain behind but still have his eardrums in tack. Is it too much to ask?

"Stop!" Harry gasps. His head is ringing, it's hot, and his bones still feel like they're going to break.

"Please stop," he gasps again when their voices stay at the same volume but are directed at him.

"No more, please, no more," Harry groans. He tries moving his arms, but with every movement, his bones ache. He feels like he's burning; his bones must be blackening and turning brittle. Like the charcoal, after the fire is put out, if someone adds just a little pressure, he'll crumble.

Their voices continue their loud ministrations, but are once again directed at each other and not him.

He catches bits and pieces until suddenly the room is silent. The sudden peace that falls on the room makes Harry feel infinitely better. He can now focus on taking the pain. He can take the pain, he'd done it too many times to count. The cruciatus, torture, captivity, loneliness, he's taken it all.

The pressure on his hand increases but then decreases when he groans. The pressure on his feet is gone and slowly, so is the pressure on his hand.

Only left with the ache in his bones, the burning feeling of his blood being on fire, Harry can spend less time groaning, and more time gasping, focusing on breathing. As long as he inhales and exhales, he'll be okay.

"Harry."

The voice is soft, and it's comprehensible. Simple.

"I'm going to pull your head up, and it's going to hurt, but you need to drink the potion I put to your lips," the voice says.

Harry inhales again, and when he exhales, he lets out a shaky, "Okay."

Is he crying, or does he just sound that pathetic when he's in pain?

A hand slides behind his head and pulls it forward, causing harry to groan again. Whoever holds his head is being gentle, but it hurts. Harry whimpers, but takes it as a bottle is put to his lips. The person tips the bottle, and Harry sips the liquid. When the pain in his head lessens significantly, his sips become greedy.

The person takes the bottle away and lays his head back on the pillows. He can feel his breathing even, and panic he didn't know he felt, leaves him.

"Go to sleep." The voice says.

The voice. Harry tries to open his eyes and see if it's just his mind playing tricks on him, but when his lids finally start ascending, the person rests their hand over his eyes and pulls them gently down again.

"Sleep."

Harry inhales, and the pleasant scent of flowers has Harry relaxing back in the bed.

"Ginny," Harry breathes. He finds the energy to smile before he lets the darkness overtake him, and he blacks out.

We love a good blackout to end a chapter.

-Ace