"Harry Potter and the Brethren of Ares"

By: Merusa

Spoilers: all books.

Disclaimer: See prologue.

Author's Note: I listened to my Evanescence CD while writing this, and, oddly enough, this is what appeared. Enjoy.

Chapter 9: The Kelinda

Harry found that the combination of extreme stress, holding Padma's hand during parenting class, quidditch practice, and, oh yeah, worrying about the very dormant war, made Christmas vacation come up very quickly. He also discovered that leaving Hogwarts to go to the Burrow was very much a mixed blessing. Seeing his friends leave the safety of the castle was not in any way comforting, but spending Christmas with his family was as good a reason as any to be happy about it.

Arriving at the Burrow was unbelievable.

"Welcome home, Harry!" cried Mrs. Weasley, while practically suffocating Harry in a hug.

Welcome home, Harry.

He had a home.

***

"Well, Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da-Day!"

"Uhh, Harry, are you still on that medicine Madam Pomfrey gave you?"

"No, Ginny- Disney movies."

On Christmas Eve, Mr. Weasley had brought out a resurrected television and a box full of movies for the teens to "play" with. Harry and Hermione had immediately gotten to work on sorting through the movies- Harry hadn't seen many, but Hermione- naturally- knew the majority of them.

"Oh, Casablanca!"

"Isn't that from America?"

"Yes, but in spite of that, it's quite good."

Harry shook his head at her. "I've only seen the ones I managed to hide behind the Dursleys' couch and spy on. I've seen 'Monty Python', 'Robin Hood, Men in Tights', and 'Aladdin'."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "'Robin Hood, Men in Tights'?"

Harry nodded, sorting through the tapes. "That's not here...let's watch Aladdin!"

Hermione rolled her eyes but complied. The Weasleys piled up on the couches around them- Percy, Bill, and Charlie were arriving tomorrow (Bill was able to take off from Hogwarts). Mr. Weasley was bouncing up and down in seat in excitement.

Hermione pushed play.

***

After a rather entertaining day of watching movies, the four youngest retreated into the kitchen to listen to music. Ginny and Ron were fighting over the station, trying to decide upon what both Harry and Hermione both would like. Hermione had finally grabbed the radio, set it to muggle music, and let it play.

Harry was feeling a bit upbeat, probably due large in part to the Butterbeer they'd consumed, combined with Harry's lack of ability to hold alcohol in any way, shape, or form. With a jaunty smile, he offered his hand to Hermione. "Dance, milady?" He batted his eyelashes, provoking laughter from his companions. "But of course, good sir." Hermione but her hand in his and he twirled her with some difficulty, before they set off doing a rather strange number, a mix of the fox trot, tango, and who knows what else. Ginny and Ron were in hysterics by the time the song finished.

Ron wiped at his eyes. "Oh, I could do better than that, Harry!"

Harry leaned on the counter next to Ginny, who had plopped down on it. "Yeah, right, Weasley. Prove it!" He spoke in a joking matter, but the underlying challenge was still there.

Ron swallowed a bit nervously, before offering his hand to Hermione. Hermione nodded at him, slipping her hand into his. He twirled her gently as a slightly slower song came on, and began to lead. It was as if the world was no longer there in the eyes of the two friends, as they danced together, looking not at all flustered or joking. Ron dipped her, and pulled her a bit closer.

Watching his two best friends, Harry realized that there was something between them. He'd noticed it before, but had never put much thought into it. It had been most obvious after the Yule Ball, but signs of it had never failed to show themselves. Another moment was when she had kissed his cheek before one of the Quidditch matches last year...he thought it was sweet, but a bit weird.

He was jerked from his reverie when he heard Ginny give a soft sigh beside him. He glanced at her, and noticed that she was watching the dancing pair with a smile on her face. She saw him looking at her. "What?" she muttered, no wanting to disturb them.

He smiled. "You look rather happy."

She sighed again, and shrugged. "I'm just hoping that someday I'll find something like they have. Although, I hope I realize it sooner than they do...."

Harry put his bottle of Butterbeer in front of his mouth to hide a snicker.

The song ended, and Ron and Hermione stepped away from each other, avoiding the other's eyes.

Ginny and Harry exchanged an amused look.

"You were right, Ron." Harry grinned. "You can truly sweep a girl off her feet."

***

(Ladies and gentlemen.....the POINT of this chapter!)

After tearing through the presents and consuming a lot of cookies, the Weasleys (including Bill, Charlie, Percy, and a very pregnant Penny), Hermione, Harry, and Remus, who had joined them for dinner, settled down around the fire for contented conversation, reading, and, on Mr. Weasley's part, looking through the videos.

Harry was half asleep when an owl swooped into the room and landed on his stomach. He jumped. "Jezebel was the only queen in the bible to be eaten by dogs!"

The Weasleys stared at him.

Harry blinked sleepily at the owl on his stomach. He sat up, and cautiously untied the package from its leg. The eagle owl immediately took off to fly out the open kitchen window.

Remus and Bill both leaned forward with their wands out as Harry carefully undid the brown paper that was wrapped around the oddly shaped parcel. The wrappings fell to the floor, revealing a UFO-shaped black metal item with a hole in the top, revealing a hollow interior.

Everyone but Harry immediately relaxed. Bill nodded. "Good, just a Kelinda."

Harry blinked. "Come again?"

"It's like a video-phone, Harry," explained Hermione, "you point your wand at it and say 'Speak!', and a sort of hologram of the person who sent it appears. You can speak to the person, and they speak back."

Bill winked at Hermione. "Full marks."

Hermione blushed.

"Oh." Harry frowned. "But who sent it?"

The others shrugged. Mr. Weasley took it from Harry and set it in the middle of the coffee table, where everyone could see it. "Go on, Harry, speak."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the choice of words, but nonetheless pointed his wand at the Kelinda. "Speak!"

He gasped when a swirl of rainbow lights came out of the whole in the metal, revealing a standing figure. A miniature version of a man stood in the circle, sneering at Harry. The man had light, long blonde hair pulled back into a neat ponytail. He wore fashionable black robes, accented with a cane that concealed his wand with a silver serpent's head. Lucius Malfoy stood in all his glory.

"Ahhh, Mister Potter, a pleasure to speak with you."

Harry was furious. "Damn you, Malfoy! You should be locked up with a hungry dementor!

Lucius laughed. "Manners, my boy, but I'm afraid where I am is none of your business." His voice was slightly higher and more scratchy than normal.

Harry pulled out his wand. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't blow this thing up!"

Lucius smiled. "Well, for one thing, you won't know why I wasted a Kelinda on you."

Harry faltered.

Lucius nodded. "Very good, my dear boy." His tone became impeccably business-like. "Well, I've called on you to discuss the Prophecy, of course."

Harry froze. He heard Remus give a soft gasp next to him.

"W-what prophecy?" Harry managed shakily. He wasn't a very good liar.

Lucius snickered. "Nice try. The one involving you and the Dark Lord!"

Harry sighed. "Why do you give a damn about it?" His tone was oddly calm, while his mind was racing.

"Well, we decided to propose a truce. Live, and let live. Forget, lest not forgive."

Harry stared at him. "Azkaban really turned you loony."

Ron nodded vigorously. "Yeah, pushed you off your rocker. Now, Harry, what prophecy?"

Harry flinched.

Lucius was laughing again. "They don't know, Harry?"

Harry glared at him.

"Well, why don't I tell them, Mister Potter?"

In an instant, Harry's wand was out and pointing at the Kelinda again. He was breathing heavily in anger. "Don't. You. Dare."

Lucius shook his head. "Well, I may as well tell them, this meeting won't go well without them knowing. It was a dark and stormy night-"

"OBLITERATE!"

The powerful pink light that burst from Harry's wand destroyed the Kelinda completely. He was frozen there, the green in his eyes practically ebony with anger, wand pointing quite steadily at the pieces of the once communicator.

Remus roughly grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back on the couch. "You didn't tell them, Harry?"

Harry looked at Remus. "You knew? You knew, and you never told me? In all your letters, never?!"

Remus frowned. "Albus believed it was best-"

Harry cut him off. "Well, Dumbledore keeps a lot from me for the best, now doesn't he."

Remus looked away.

Harry sighed. He had a bigger problem to tackle. It was as if he was stranded in the middle of the ocean, with only one solution.

He looked around at the quiet faces of his family.

Water, water, everywhere, but not a drop to drink.

"Okay...I..." he looked around again. He saw more than one eager look in the eyes of his companions. Remus was still looking down at the floor, but more pensively now.

Harry swallowed, and began to speak.

"Well...on the night that- on the night- when we were at the Department of Mysteries, we saw a prophecy glass ball thing, and it was about me and Voldemort. Later, Dumbledore told me the prophecy." He swallowed again, his tongue felt like sandpaper, his throat parched.

The sodden desert.

"Hermione- Trelawney isn't an old fraud. She gave the prophecy- Dumbledore saw her. I don't remember it word for word, but I know the gist of it. A person born at the end of July whose parents defied Voldemort three times would be the one to defeat him- umm, 'neither can live while the other survives', I think the verse is. It was either me, or Neville. It's me. I have to kill him, or be killed."

He lapsed into silence while the others thought about it. Bill was staring into the fire, Percy was gripping Penny's hand, and Mrs. Weasley had buried her head into the crook of Mr. Weasley's neck.

"Well- we'll bloody help you!" Ron stood with his outburst. "I'll help you! You're not going after him alone, and we won't let him kill you-"

"What in the hell would you do, Ron? This is my fight. It has to be that way. The way I see it- best case scenario: I live, Voldemort dies. Worst case scenario: He lives, I die. Even both of us dying would be better than that-"

"No, Harry, you can't die-"

"We'll help, there has to be a way-"

"You're not alone in this, Harry, we're here-"

"Stop."

Harry looked around, visibly upset and, for once, not trying to hide it. "This is why I didn't want to tell you. You don't get it- you don't."

The room again lapsed into silence. A moment later, Harry broke it.

"It's happening before I turn 18."

"No, Harry."

Harry had silently vowed this, and he expected a negative reaction, but not from Remus.

The young but somehow aged professor had finally spoken, with an almost crazed look in his eyes. "No, Harry, you won't, I absolutely forbid it, you won't be trained enough, just- just- no."

Harry paused before speaking, and when he did, his voice was eerily detached. "Are you my father, Remus?"

Remus was taken aback, as was the rest of the room. "No, Harry."

Harry took a deep breath. "Remus, are you Sirius?"

A silence penetrated the room. Remus's face looked oddly shuttered. "No, Harry, I'm not."

"That's right, you're not."

Silence.

"So stop trying to be."

Harry stood, and walked from the room.

Water, water, everywhere, and not a drop to drink.

***

Author's Note: I DID IT! I had major writers' block with this chapter, and a problem got in the way of me concentrating.

School.

Yes, evil though it is, mine starts for me on September 2nd. I'm going to have a very busy year, with Student Council, dance class, choir, voice lessons, soccer, and Confirmation, so I know that updates will not be as often. Once a month, maybe, I'm not sure.

Review Responses:

PhoenixPadfoot89- Lol, yup.

Facade1- You can kiss him in your own story! Lol.

Little Elflet- I love the song too. Thank you! Just you wait; Harry and Padma are not over, far from it.

Night Spear- I'm assuming you liked Cell Block Tango? Yes, ff.net is weird with updates; you can trick the URL into showing a newly placed chapter. Hopefully I can post this soon, currently I can't log in because of the new version of AOL!

Samantha- Better than 'Weasley is Our King'? You're just saying that!

Mella deranged- ^^;

Hermione 'DB' Granger- Of course "The Songs" would be a rock band! They'll be a mix of soft rock and punk rock, I think. I've already begun planning it out. Thanks for the input about the new stories! Now, go update Harry Potter and the 2nd Servant! Wait, you're the one writing that, right? Oh, I'm getting the stories mixed up again...x.X

EriEka127- A good thought! Hmm, I think she'd get in trouble for doing that. However, I'm not going into detail with the fundamentals of the after-life because I don't want to offend anyone.

I love you all, even you silent readers! Muah!