A/N: I just watched Moulin Rouge and if Harry were a real person, I think he would be a lot like Christian. I mean, if he was older and all that, but it just seems to fit. Not in this story though, my DDNT Harry is too bitter. Okay, I'm off my little tangent now.

There will be more updates over the next week, which should make everyone happy. It's mostly due to the fact final exams are coming up and I won't have much time to post from June 9th to June 23. Also, the week of the 16- 20 I'm going to be in a play! We have rehearsals every night that week and the shows themselves are on June 21 and 22. Then it'll be summer and I can write whenever I want. Yay!

Thanks to litine; Ran: I love irony; Jewelclaw Lady of Wind; Drama Queen Me: Yeah, but you can never be too careful ;) pheonixrising: I may include flashbacks of Harry's training as I get into the story. We'll see; Teibairn; and BlackDragon!

Oh, and the chapter title is from the book of the same name by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. If you haven't read any of her stuff you should. They're great!

CH6: In the Forest of the Night

"Are you sure you understood the note correctly?" Severus sneered. The group - consisting of Severus, Sirius, Remus, Minerva, Cho, Fred, George, and Neville - were congregating in the Forbidden Forest. Trust me, they were not happy.

Cho shivered. "It's so creepy in here!" She kept glancing around as if something would pop out at them. "If Harry didn't want to meet here, I swear I'll hex you in so many ways you - " But she was cut-off.

"Come on, give my godfather a little credit will you. His brain is not entirely made of mush," a voice said from the shadows. The person said voice came from jumped out of the trees in front of them. It was Harry.

"Good to see you kid," Sirius said, hugging the hunter. He was followed by Minerva, Remus, and Cho, and handshakes from the rest.

"How have you been?" asked Minerva after greetings were exchanged.

"Pretty good. And congrats, Padfoot!" Harry replied. Sirius had a big, goofy grin on his face.

"Thanks! And you, too."

"Oh, " Harry turned to the twins. "Good job on that last Quidditch match. Neville wrote me. 380-0!"

"I don't want to talk about that! It was embarrassing!" complained Cho. "We'll never live it down!"

"She still a bit touchy about that one," whispered Fred conspiratorially. Cho whopped him on the head.

"Enough Quidditch talk," George interjected. "Tell us what you've been doing."

"You've certainly changed," Neville added, eyeing Harry's new ensemble.

So they did. Harry told them all about his life at Le Couer, at least what he could tell them. And the Hogwarts members filled him in on everything that had happened already this year(what Nev hadn't written in his letters). Harry especially enjoyed hearing about the twins pranks.

"Let me get this straight, y-you filled Severus's office with-with sheep!" Harry choked out. At the twins nod, he let out a fresh wave of laughter.

Severus was shaking his head. "Alright, alright, go ahead and laugh."

"I'm going to have to tell Draco and Edge about this one."

Severus opened his mouth to protest, but Remus changed the subject. "It sounds like you're having a good time there."

"It's the best."

"You're not coming back, are you," Minerva stated.

"No. At least, not yet," Harry responded. "I've got a good thing going on. And I don't know if I could do it all again." The Transfiguration professor shot him an understanding look.

"We figured as much. But I don't think the rest of the world did."

"Well, everyone lives with disappointment sometime."

"How are you going to tell them?" asked Neville, quietly.

"I'll think of something. We should probably cut this meeting off. Most of you have classes tomorrow and I..." He trailed off.

"You what?"

"I'm going out on assignment. I'm not sure where exactly, but Edge hinted we may be leaving England."

"Take care of yourself," Sirius said, echoed by the rest. With a final goodbye, Harry melted back into the shadows.

The next day, another letter appeared in the Daily Prophet.

It's me again. I'm sure all of you have better things to be doing than reading what a slightly cynical, 15-year old boy wrote, so I'll try to make it short.

Yesterday was my godfather, Sirius Black's, trial. And I'm sure it had some startling conclusions for you all. As you all are aware by now You Know Who is alive and as evil as ever, Peter Pettigrew is alive as well, and I didn't kill Cedric.

Well, that's all fine and dandy, but there is more you need to know.

You need to hear the story of the man who spent 12 years in Azkaban for supposedly betraying and killing his best friends. You can apologize all you want for the pain and anguish you caused him, but you need to find out how he felt.

You need to hear about the man whose entire world was shattered on a day everyone was celebrating. A day when he lost all he cared for - his friends, his family. And how he didn't have much to begin with since he was shunned for being what he was.

And, hell, you even need to hear about the boy who lost his parents, was sent to a family who didn't care for him, and was outcast from society for trying to do what was right.

Before you can even hope to defeat darkness, you need to understand the repercussions. You need to listen to the stories, hear from the mouths of the survivors themselves. So many people had their worlds torn apart all those years ago. You have to fight so it won't happen again.

If you have noticed, I'm saying 'you'. That's because this isn't my war anymore. I've found my own cause to fight for. You have to do this one on your own.

It's been a long, hard...14 years for me. And before I finish my time in your world, there are a few things I need to say.

To the people who believed in me:

Sirius - You finally got your wish. I know we always wanted to be able to be an actual family, but I don't see that happening right now. But I do want you to now, no matter how things turned out, you are a great godfather.

Remus Lupin - Take care, Moony! I still owe you for teaching me the Patronus charm. I'm going to find a way to pay you back for that. Oh, and make sure you keep teaching. You're the best DADA professor I ever had!

Minerva McGonagall - Bye, Min, and stop being so strict all the time. I know you can smile. It's not just a myth. It's also okay to break the rules sometimes. Or at least severely bend them. Remember a certain first year Seeker...(I'll stop now since I know you'll get back at me for everything I say next time I see you. I don't fancy spending anytime as a pincushion or a chair!)

Severus Snape - Thank you, Severus, for getting me my new job. You know what I'm talking about. I know we never got along (it must have been hard for you to help me) and most people think you're a greasy git, but you're not that bad. And, Draco says hello.

Neville Longbottom - Nev, you've been a good friend to me the past six months and I wish we could have hung out more before. Make sure you write!

Cho Chang - Thanks for letting me unload on you what happened that night and for being there for me. I know you, of all people, understand. Thanks again.

Fred, George, and Bill Weasley - You guys are like big brothers to me. Thanks for watching my back. And George, Fred, if I hear that you are not inventing things, I'll personally come and curse you. Keep on pranking!

Everyone else:

Albus Dumbledore - You always did look out for me. I guess I always knew that wouldn't last. But it still hurt. I was so dependant on that constant, the fact you were always one step ahead of whatever problems there were, I had a hard time without it. You did teach me a valuable lesson though, nothing is forever.

Ron Weasley - Somehow, I wasn't surprised when you turned your back on me. You were never the type of person to take the hard route. Or believe in their friends.

Hermione Granger - I think you abandoning me hit the hardest. You were my best friend, the only person who believed I didn't put my name in the Cup, the one who cheered me on at Quidditch matches and cheered me up when something bad happened. The one who helped me year after year, in school work and fighting evil. Even saving Sirius! You captured Rita Skeeter in a jar when she wrote all those fake articles, for heaven sake! I'll miss that Hermione.

And, Minister Fudge, I heard that you told Minerva the Dark Lord would be back 'when pigs flew'. Guess what? It's migrating season.

Alright, this was a little longer than I wanted, but what am I going to do. Everything needed to be said (well, most of it).

Good luck,

Harry Potter

All over the country, witches and wizards read the article. It wasn't pleasant when they realized they lost their hero. And realized the mistakes they made.

At Le Couer

Harry, Draco, Edge, and Flame walked along the halls of the Council building. The three apprentices were dressed in Muggle clothing on Edge's request. She had said that 'they didn't want to stand out'.

The group reached Quentin's office where they'd be briefed as to their new assignment. The settled into chairs in front of the Head Watcher's desk.

"We are short of help in one of our more active zones," Travers began. "The demonic activity rate has been going up for weeks, the Slayer can't handle it all." Recognition dawned on the faces of the three young Vampire Hunters.

"You mean - " Draco started, but Edge butted in.

"Yup," she grinned. "You're headed of to Sunnydale, California. Home of the Hellmouth."

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It's means he wrote Voldemort's proper name, but I don't think they'd actually print that.