Harry Potter

And the

Green Flame Torch

Chapter 7

Harry had now idea what to expect after he had packed enough clothes into a small knapsack and used the portkey. He had appeared on the front steps of a large manor home and after banging on the door non stop for nearly an hour, decided the only way he was going to get in was to find a way inside him self. Which was why he now found himself walking around the house searching for another way inside knowing that the house would have all kinds of wards and enchantments to keep intruders out, he knew he had to be careful or he could be seriously injured.

Finally just when he was about to give up, he spied a window that was already opened and with a great deal of concentration, levitated him self up to the second story window where he barely managed to squeeze through the small opening, which turned out to be a bathroom.

The site of the bathroom itself was another matter altogether. The entire room reeked from not being cleaned in quite sometime and not even wanting to know about the clothes scattered around, Harry frowned in disgust and with a wave of his hand had the room once again clean and smelling fresh, telling himself it was no wonder someone had left the window open as he left the bathroom and entered the adjoining bedroom.

Obviously the master bedroom, Harry frowned in disgust at the state of the room and once again began to cast cleaning spells as he made his way across the room and out the door. The rest of the manor was a bit better than the first two rooms, and Harry slowly made his way downstairs, not bothering to check behind the closed doors of the other rooms, for fear he would find more of the same. However the downstairs turned out to worse than the upper floor and it took quite sometime before he entered what seemed to be a study to find his father passed out drunk on the sofa.

Deciding from the rough and ragged shape his father was in, Harry decided it would be better to just let him sleep off all the whiskey he had ingested and after transfiguring the sofa into a bed and making James a bit more comfortable, Harry set about cleaning the entire house from top to bottom, taking several breaks to check on his father before moving to another a room.

It took the better part of the next day to finish cleaning the entire manor from top to bottom, making sure to dispose of any and all liquor that he found. The thought that his father might have developed a drinking problem was very probable and therefore Harry felt more than justified of sending most of stuff to his own place in New York. If his father proved that he did not have a drinking problem, then Harry would be more than happy to return all of the vintage wines, brandies and whiskey's. If he did however, Harry had a few friends that would enjoy them Harry thought to himself as he finished the last of the cleaning and began to sort through all of the correspondence that spilled over onto the floor surrounding his father's desk.

"Who the hell are you?" James asked gruffly as he woke up to a dimly lit room to find someone sitting behind his desk going through his things.

"Does it matter?" Harry asked as he rose to his feet and crossed the room.

"Drink this." Harry ordered as he held out a smoldering stone cup that held a hangover potion he had made earlier that morning.

James said nothing as the tall young man helped him to sit up and all but poured the potion down his throat. Sighing in relief as the room quit spinning and the little guy with the hammer stopped banging on the back of his head.

"You reek. Go get cleaned up. Dinner will be ready in an hour." Harry ordered as he strode from the room.

It never occurred to James to argue or not do as he was told as the smell of his own odor made him queasy and he headed for the stairs deciding that whoever the stranger was, must be a friend of his wife's and knowing how much she hated him not being on time for dinner sped up in his movements. Knowing the last thing he wanted was to get into an argument with Lily while they had company in the house.

Despite his intention to hurry, it was nearly twice the allotted amount of time before James made it downstairs to the kitchen to find the stranger waiting patiently for him to arrive before beginning to eat. Seeing that the young man already had the table set and the food ready, James took a seat across from him and it wasn't until they were finished eating that either of them spoke.

"So are you going to introduce yourself or what?" James asked feeling more like his old self now that he had cleaned up and eaten something.

"Does it matter who I am?" Harry drawled as he sat back in his chair and studied his father's face.

"After all it seems as if all you care about is yourself, and even then from the way you were when I arrived you don't care to much about that either." Harry added with a lot of sarcasm and just a tinge of anger in his tone.

"Of course I care about others!" James ground out angrily, wondering just where his wife was and why she had let such a rude young man into their home.

"Lilly!" James shouted out at the top on his voice, knowing that she would be able to hear him even if she were on the other side of the world by how loud he shouted.

"She's not here." Harry stated sadly as he rose to his feet and busied himself by clearing the table the muggle way.

"What do you mean she's not here?" James asked a somewhat angry yet controlled tone.

"Just what I said, Lilly is not here, and from what I understand, hasn't been for a few weeks. But you knew that of course, after all it was you that drove her away." Harry stated accusingly as he sent a scathing glare at his father.

James knew that if he had not been sitting down, he would have collapsed in a heap on the floor as everything came rushing back to him. Instead he buried his face in his hands as tears pricked the back of his eyes.

From the moment Harry, Sirius and Ginny had found a way to cross the barriers his father had placed around him and his wife, everything had gone horribly wrong. First Harry had disappeared, then he and his father had argued to the point they had almost come to blows. Then Sirius and Remus had all but turned their backs on him because he let the position of being elected minister go to his head. Then when he thought things could not get any worse Voldemort had attacked and the entire wizarding world blamed him. On top of all that Lilly had informed him she was pregnant. That argument had ended with him accusing her of trying to replace Harry and implying that the child was most likely not his anyway. She had left him to drown his sorrows in a bottle of cheap whiskey and packed her bags.

Everything that happened after that was a drunken blur until he woke a few hours ago and found a tall strange young man in his house ordering him around like a two year old.

Watching his father sob his heart out, made Harry feel as if his own heart was being ripped to shreds and he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to the man and rose to his feet.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" James asked a good while later after he had managed to regain a bit of self control.

"I'm here because of several reasons." Harry sighed as he and his father headed into the library.

"First and foremost because I care about what happens to you; Second, but no less important because believe it or not there are a lot of people out there that despite what you might think care as well. I can not and will not fight a war by myself and since you're the minister of magic and second in command with the Order of the Phoenix, it would help quite a bit if you stepped up to your destiny in life and helped me out a bit." Harry explained as he sat down and with a wave of his hand stoked the embers in the fireplace, restarting the fire.

"I'm not the right choice for either of those of positions." James sighed as he leaned back closing his eyes.

"All I manage to do is foul everything up." He admitted.

"Well I have to admit, from what I have seen, that's true, however, you're the one in charge and like it or not that's the way it is at the moment." Harry stated as he watched his father, wondering what the reaction to his words would be.

"I have learned though, if you sit on your arse and do nothing about it, life will suck just as hard tomorrow as it does today. So the question is what are you going to do? Sit here and feel sorry for yourself or start taking the steps necessary to get your life back on track?" Harry asked.

"What do you know about my life?" James asked wondering just who this stranger was, yet in the back of his mind, feeling that he knew this person.

"I know more than you think, but not as much as I would like too." Harry said softly as he stared down at his hands.

James for the first time took a good hard look at the young man sitting across from him. The feeling that he knew this person was growing stronger with each passing moment, yet at the same time, he knew that this young man had the life experience of several men. It showed in the way he moved, always on his guard as if he expected someone to appear at any moment and challenge his right to live. Every move was made with grace and a sense of confidence that James himself had never achieved.

"It's late, think about what I said, I will return in the morning." Harry said as he rose to his feet and disappeared with a silent yet bright flash of light, that left James frowning and wondering exactly who this young man was.

Harry was not sure why he had felt such a sudden need to jump to the Elven realm, but after arriving and seeing his great grandfather suddenly appear at his side, he took it for granted that it was because the man had wanted to see him for some reason, and smiled as he was enveloped in the man's arms.

"I knew you would come." The king of the elves said as he hugged Harry.

"I was kind of in the middle of a conversation." Harry said as he stepped away and they begin to make their way through the castle to his great grandfather's private quarters.

"I know that is why I called you." The king stated.

"I felt a need to tell you that despite what you have just seen, that your father is really a good man and has never before given in to some of the more harsh things in life." He explained.

"He does have a bit of a mean streak, but it only shows when he feels his friends or loved ones are being threatened, however, his heart is good and that like you, he has had a lot to live up to since the moment he was born."

"I can just imagine." Harry sighed as they made them selves comfortable, settling in for a long chat.

"Living up to the expectations of not only his father, but knowing it was not himself that would be the hero, but his son, is a hard thing to accept, especially as his only role would be that of a father. Albus along with everyone else thought it would be James that defeated the dark lord. It was something of a shock to learn that it was his son and not himself that would do this." His great grandfather explained.

"Once Albus learned this, he pretty much forgot that James existed, striving only to match him up with the best possible wife. Albus put James through hell in his quest to procure the perfect wife, especially since his heart already belonged to Lilly."

"Oh God." Harry whispered beneath his breath as he buried his head in his hands. Hearing all of this gave him a new understanding of what life was really like for his father while growing up and Harry felt anger at Albus for seeing his son as only a weapon to fight against the darkness, rather than his child who he was supposed to love and cherish no matter what.

"How can someone do that to their child? Your supposed to love, cherish and protect them with your life. Not manipulate them for your own means no matter how good the intentions might be." Harry sighed.

"My dear child, your heart is so pure and full of love that you could not do anything but that. However most people don't see what they have until it is gone, which is where your father is now. He has begun to realize just how much his family means to him and how much he has lost, that is why he is in such a state. I have been watching you through the seeing stone and know that you have yet to reveal to him who you are." His grandfather said softly as he reached out to place a hand on Harry's shoulder in reassurance.

"Why is that?" His great grand father asked.

"I don't know." Harry groaned.

"Every time he asks, I want to tell him, but at the same time I don't." Harry groaned in confusion.

"The decision is yours to make, but remember this right now your father is lost and floundering to find some reason to keep going on. His friends have been pushed away to the point that they have already begun to move on with their lives. Your mother is an emotional mess and is no help to him until she comes to terms with her own demons. This could happen at anytime, however the question is will it be too late by the time she understands just how much she loves your father. If you truly want James to survive and have a chance to develop a relationship with him that could create a bond that no one could ever break, then now is time as all of his defenses are down and once this chance has passed, it will never be there again. You will have lost him forever if you can not take a chance that he will accept and get to know you for who you are." His grandfather said, knowing that if Harry did not take what was being offered, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

"But what about Voldemort? How can I let myself truly care and get close to anyone? If he finds out, he will target them and I don't know how much more death I can take." Harry said as he blinked back tears.

"He will target them anyway. Death will come no matter what, but if you live your life with this way of thinking, then it will be one lived alone, not even Megan will be able to get close to you. You will become hardened and your chance for a family and a life without Voldemort will be lost. Even if you do take Voldemort out, he will have won. Don't let Voldemort rule your life, when the time comes to the final battle with Voldemort have no regrets about your life or you will never defeat him. Go into battle with a pure heart and one full of love and you will be the victor." His grandfather said as a tray filled with food and drinks appeared.

"Now enough about that, tell me how is your singing career going?" His grandfather asked as he reached for a sandwich.

"Actually it's going really well. I have been approached to participate in a Holiday concert that one of the major record companies is hosting. The money raised goes to charity and the entire thing is going to be live on television." Harry said as he reached for a cup of coffee.

"Are you going to do it?" His grandfather asked.

"I don't know." Harry admitted.

"And why would you not?"

"Because at the moment I am working in the position as Defense Professor and I hardly have a moment to myself, much less a place and the time to practice with my band, none whom I might add, know anything about the wizarding world." Harry added.

"How is Merlin's plan working? Are the students getting along?"

"Don't get me wrong, Merlin's plan is a good one and for the most part is coming together just as planned, however none of us counted on the fact that most of the students that attended Hogwart's previously would be the problem that they have become. Add to that there are simply not enough Professor's to teach and I along with all the others have more than we can handle. I am not sure how much longer we can all keep up with the current schedule without exhausting ourselves." Harry admitted.

"Perhaps I could help you out a bit there." His grandfather offered.

"How so?" Harry asked.

"I could send Gretchen and Grayson back with you." His grandfather offered.

"Are you sure?" Harry asked hopefully as he missed his two friends terribly and as it had been almost a year in Elven time since he had seen them.

"Of course, they have been driving me crazy ever since you left and though they are not as good as the others in your band, perhaps they could help you out a bit there as well." His grandfather suggest as he rose to his feet and beckoned for Harry to follow.

"Daddy!" A small blonde haired blue-eyed little girl screamed in happiness as Harry and his great grandfather entered the room and she came running toward Harry with her arms thrown open.

"Hey Snidget!" Harry laughed as he scooped the toddler up into his arms for a much needed hug.

"I've missed you daddy, please don't go away again." Megan cried as she buried her face in his shoulder, hanging on to Harry tightly.

"I've missed you too Snidget." Harry sighed as he hugged his daughter tightly.

It broke his heart every time he was forced to leave his daughter behind, but it was for her safety and his peace of mind that he did.

"We will leave you too alone." His grandfather sighed as he beckoned his wife to follow him from the room after catching sight of the tears streaming down Harry's cheeks.

The scene before her ripped her heart in two and Windspirit said nothing as she followed her husband from the room, wishing desperately that there was something she could do to make just a tiny part of Harry's life more bearable, but knowing for now all she could do was promise to take care of his daughter and keep her safe.

It had been decided long before her own daughter passed away only a few hours after Megan had been born, that because of Voldemort, Megan would remain in Elven Realm until he no longer posed a threat. That idea seemed best at the time, however seeing how much it tore Harry and Megan up every time Harry had to return to the wizarding world, Windspirit had to wonder just how much more the two could take.

Harry spent every moment with Megan until it was time for him to leave and then the child had to be literally torn from his arms.

"I love you Snidget, and I promise I will be back as soon as I can." Harry whispered into her ear as he hugged her tightly before reluctantly handing her over to Windspirit.

"Take care of her." Harry sighed as he watched the tears stream down her cheeks and gripped the traveling stone tightly in his hands.

"Be careful child." Windspirit said as she pressed a kiss to his cheek before he stepped back and shimmered away.

Harry appeared on the front lawn of Potter Manor, oblivious to the rain that poured from the sky above.

"Damn you Voldemort." Harry sighed as he slowly sank to his knees. Returning from the Elven Realm always left him a bit tired and weak kneed. But after several moments of deep calming breaths, Harry stood and slowly made his way inside. The sooner he cleared the air with his father the sooner he could return to Hogwarts and began to prepare for the final battle with Voldemort.