The Celestial Guidance

by FlyingPixie

Disclaimer: Everything in this fic belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling (save for my impersonations of Fate and my OC's). If I were her I would not be here writing on this site, I would be hurrying up and writing the next book!

A/N: This story takes place in Harry's sixth year, after OotP. H/G, R/Hr, PG-13 rating.

The Guidance Council

Don't be fooled by the calendar: there are only as many days in the year as you make use of. One man gets only a week's value out of a year while another man gets a full year's value out of a week.

- Charles Richards

Harry closed his Transfiguration book with a resounding slam. He had managed to finish three-quarters of the book, but after reading the same sentence twenty times he decided to call it a night. He yawned drowsily, and looked out the window. A half-moon was shining brightly at him through his window.

A quick glance at the clock on Harry's bedside table told him it was almost eleven. He did a double take, not believing that he had actually been reading for that long. His stomach began to grumble hungrily, and with a start he realized that he had missed supper!

Harry opened the door and walked quietly down the stairs, avoiding the creaky bottom stair. He made his way into the kitchen and made himself a light snack, consisting of two peanut butter and jam sandwiches, one apple and two large glasses of milk.

Once full, he made his way up the flight of stairs, across the landing and into his room. He didn't have the energy to rummage through his trunk, and simply fell asleep in what he was wearing. Too tired to clear his mind, his last conscious thought before going to sleep was a silent prayer to whatever deity that listened that he wouldn't have any nightmares...

"You're Fate?" Sirius asked incredulously.

"Yes we are," answered Lachesis. "We are here to bring you home," she stated, repeating her sister's words.

Sirius nodded dumbly, trying to process the information. Realizing that he had no choice but to trust them, he nodded once more, this time in understanding. He would give them anything they wanted if they could bring him back to Harry...

"So I'm not dead yet?"

"We have realized that Voldemort has been meddling in things that he should not have been allowed to have access to. This is why you are not quite dead, yet" Lachesis pointed around the white room they occupied. "You are in the Medius Plane, Between the World of the Living and the World of the Dead. We have to bring you back to the Mortal Plane before it is no longer in our power to do so. For young Harry's sake we must..."

"Harry? What does he have to do with this?" Sirius asked, baffled.

Atropos took over from her sister, "Your destinies are more intertwined than you can imagine. Your threads in the Pattern are so interweaved that if you were to be taken out completely it would cause a severe shift in the Tapestry. You are fundamental in allowing Harry to succeed, by guiding him and giving him the courage and faith he needs when he has lost the light. If he does not, darkness might reign forever... This is why we must bring you back."

She spoke in the convincing tone of one who knows exactly of what they speak. Their serious faces proved that they were not jesting at the severity of the situation. He did not doubt the enormity of their power. Sirius had, as a young wizard, heard stories of the three sisters. He had learnt of the Tapestry of Life, and the great majestic Pattern it depicted. A common thread (pardon the pun) in all of the stories was the fact that what they alone had the power to foretell the future in its entirety. If they wanted him alive, it would be done...

Momentarily forgetting to whom he was talking, and always the curious one, Sirius asked, "Why did you weave it in the Pattern for me to die if you only meant to bring me back again?" A slight blush tinged his cheeks as he realized to whom he had directed his blunt question.

Lachesis laughed, a laugh that rivaled singing birds, and it rang throughout the Plane.

"The Tapestry is alive and may change at its own will, though it is rare. We did not weave it, but it has happened. We are not sure why, but the evidence points to Tom Riddle, whom you know as Voldemort."

A slight shudder passed through Sirius at the mention of the name, but it was slight and didn't last long. The fact that Voldemort possessed enough power to mess with Celestial powers frightened him.

Sirius could not help but ask questions, even though he knew that he would not remember anything that went on here. The stories had, naturally, mentioned the Medius Plane. No Mortal who went through and managed to come back to tell the tale could remember what had happened. (Sirius wasn't sure how the Wizarding Society knew about the Plane if there was no one to tell about it, but he didn'texpend energy worrying about it). He decided that questions wouldn't hurt anyway:

"How did he do it?"

"We are not sure, but we fear that he has gotten hold of the Blood Raven Crystal, which grants the bearer immense power. It is imperative that Harry stops him before it is too late."

"Why Harry? He's so young. Wouldn't someone, older, be more suitable for the job? Perhaps with more experience?" Sirius was worried for his godson. Harry had enough of a burden on his shoulders as the Boy-Who-Lived, without having to add this to the mixture.

"Never underestimate the young. They often have different views of the world that the elders have long forgotten." Clotho answered, a playful smile gracing her beautiful face.

"I apologize for asking so many questions, but why can't you simply weave the Pattern to allow Harry to simply win the battle, or to have Voldemort die?"

"Do not be afraid to ask questions. If people did not ask questions then the world would not be as advanced as it is today. Unlike what most mortals, like yourself, believe, we do not have so much freedom in what we weave. We, as Fate, have the power to See the entire Pattern; Past, Present and Future: from the Beginning of Time to the End of the World. People are generally close-minded, and think only of the Present circumstances. They blame Fate for their problems, when we must See everything and weave according to this. Many people also do not wish to believe in what they call Destiny because they feel as if this leaves them no choice. We, nevertheless, know that your experiences up until the present day guide your decisions. It isn't that you have no choice but that we know what choice you will make (before you make it), and have woven it into the Pattern. As you can see, we don't have much choice proffered to us in what we weave."

Sirius' head was spinning from all the information his brain was trying to process after that long-winded answer to his original question.

When Lachesis saw that he wasn't going to say anything for a while, she stated, "We don't have much time. Time passes differently here than in the Mortal Plane. Several months may have already passed since the last time you saw the ones you loved. We must bring you back before you can no longer return. Are you ready to go?"

Without waiting for an answer, the three Fates each took hold of his arms. Blue, red and purple lights danced around each of the sisters before intertwining around Sirius. The lights seemed to be alive, dancing around in circles, pulsing faster and faster, breaking through the crystal whiteness of the Plane before disappearing entirely. Only three drained, yet satisfied, sisters remained in the Medius Plane.

To put it simply, Harry was freaked out. He was standing in a mysterious room he had never seen before; filled entirely with unfamiliar, strange items whose purpose he could not yet fathom. However, this was not the only cause of his apprehension.

Harry could not move a muscle. It was as if he was locked in place, while the outside world continued to move. Proof of this was the large basin directly in front of him. The unknown emerald-colored liquid in this basin was flowing in violent ripples, almost a blur. In truth, he had never seen any substance move so fast.

Harry tried, without success, to move. What was wrong with him? Could Voldemort possibly be behind this? He didn't doubt this in the least. It was this thought that drove him to try to move his muscles more.

Slowly, he felt an odd sensation sweep through his entire body. It was an indescribable feeling, but slowly Harry felt all his muscles begin to twitch and come alive again. The sensation was over as soon as he it had come. He heard several of his joints crack in protest before he could move around with nothing hindering him.

He crept around the large room stealthily, treating every corner as if his enemy would be lurking behind it. Harry's hand gripped his wand tightly inside his pocket. He mentally went over all the useful spells he could think of as he examined every inch of the room for signs of an attacker.

Harry relaxed a bit after he had completed his search of the room two times, and began instead to look at the objects the room held. He did not, however, loosen his grip on his wand, and he was still wary. He had just begun to look into the mysterious basin and the emerald liquid when ten people appeared in front of him.

Harry jumped back and took out his wand, ready to begin firing spells at any moment. An elderly, majestic man at the center of the group stepped forward. They didn't look like Death Eaters, but he still didn't trust them.

"Welcome Harry. Glad to see that you arrived here in tip-top shape."

"Who are you? What do you want?"

Harry still had his wand extended in front of him, pointed directly at the wizened man, not trusting him in the least. He knew from experience that looks could be deceiving.

"My name is Merlin, Harry. We are going to be your Guidance Council, to train you to defeat Voldemort."

The coolness with which he stated this startled him. He began to lower his wand, but did not remove it completely, and he still had his eyes trained on the man. He did not know many followers that would openly say the name Voldemort, let alone talk of defeating him, but it could be a trap.

"Merlin? Merlin died a long time ago. Who are you really, and what do you want with me?" Harry asked his question again, hoping to get a more believable response. Who did he think he was?

As if to prove his point, the second the words were out of his mouth, his wand went flying into the old wizard's hands and Harry was placed in a full-body bind.

Harry was taken aback by the sheer amount of power it must have taken to do what he just did. The sorcerer had just wandlessly performed two spells back-to-back, and still he appeared totally calm and collected, as if the magical feat he had just accomplished was not out of the ordinary in the least. He took the body bind off, and threw Harry his wand back. Seeker-reflexes allowed him to catch it without a second's hesitation.

"I have passed away Harry, and this Council consists entirely of spirits. Presently, you are in a Dream World, created by me."

"So I'm sleeping?" Harry asked, not understanding what was going on, but beginning to believe that they were not Voldemort's followers.

"Yes, and no. You are in the stage of sleeping when you are just about to wake up, and are neither fully asleep nor fully awake. Both your conscious and subconscious minds are here in my World. Your subconscious mind allows you to accept what you see as a reality, because your conscious mind alone would reject this Dream World entirely. However, if only your subconscious mind were here, and I preformed the spell when you were in deep sleep, then your mind would treat it as a dream, and you would lose all critical judgement (which isn't very helpful if we want you to train to defeat Voldemort). It will also allow you to remember everything that happens here when you wake up! Absolutely brilliant, isn't it?" Merlin said, looking very smug with himself.

"Quit your bragging, you old goat! You're giving the rest of us a headache," a tall, slim man in green robes at the back of the room stated.

"As if you don't do it all the time," countered the man next to him. The others in the group laughed, and it seemed that the somewhat playful bickering was not uncommon between the two.

Merlin decided to put an end to the teasing before it became an all out war, by sealing their mouths shut with another spell. Both looked infuriated at this, and stopped glaring at each other to begin glaring at the older wizard.

Merlin began to speak as though oblivious to what the others were doing, "Before we continue I would like to introduce you to everyone here. This is Nedra and this is Kael."

The two in question walked up so that Harry could get a clear view of them. The two looked like exact opposites of one another. Kael was a dark-skinned, extremely tall (standing at 6'7") and very muscular man. Nedra was of average height, and very slim. She had very pale skin, and her chestnut hair was tied back to keep the hair out of her face. Both faces, however, held neutral, emotionless expressions.

"Kael will be in charge of improving your physical endurance and strength, and teach you Battle Tactics. Nedra will improve your speed, agility and train you in the Martial Arts. The next two are Nalani and Mandara, who will teach you self-control and discipline, and will improve your Occulmency skills."

The crowd parted to allow the aforementioned to step forward. Their outward demeanor made them seem calm, and they, too, held neutral expressions. The similarity between the two showed that they were sisters, perhaps even twins. They seemed completely at ease, and when they walked it was in the most graceful manner possible.

"I am sure you have heard of the four Hogwarts' founders. They will instruct you in the arts of Healing, History, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms and Defence Against the Dark Arts."

Harry stared at them in shock. Each was dressed in robes of their house colors, he noticed. He now recognized the two who had begun to squabble as Gryffindor and Slytherin themselves. Harry couldn't believe that he would be trained by the Founders themselves. HArry's thoughts were turned from the Founders back to Merlin as he spoke again.

"Ryder will help you to develop your animagus capabilities."

Ryder looked exactly like the elves he had seen in his History of Magic textbooks. He was tall, had pale skin and entrancing blue eyes. His long, blond hair was tied back in a ponytail. He had sharp, yet delicate features, and, of course, had pointed ears.

Harry's gazed moved from Ryder back to Merlin, who began to talk again.

"Do you have any questions?"

In truth, Harry's mind was still reeling from all the information he had to process. He did believe everything that Merlin had said: it was too convincing not to. He was about to say that he didn't have any, when he suddenly remembered when he had first arrived.

"Why did I freeze up when I first got here?"

"I apologize. I should have explained that right away. You see, one of the additional beauties of my Dream World (coughing could be heard coming from the back of the room) is that time travels by eight times faster in this World than it does in yours. Your body, however, needed time to adjust to the change, which is why you were moving much slower than everything else was."

Happy with this explanation, Harry nodded.

"We will begin your training tomorrow."

Merlin waved his hand, and the world began to fade away. When Harry awoke in his room at Privet Drive, it was with a smile on his face.

Thanks to all those that reviewed: Phoebe-H, Serena24, voxenking, dishantpandya, magic-powers, and Lady of the Dragons2. Your reviews really meant a lot to me!

voxenking: I'm sorry that you don't agree with me bringing Sirius back to life. I agree that J.K. Rowling probably won't bring him back (she has some reason for killing him off), but for my story it works to bring him back! Thank you for continuing with the story anyway!

Please REVIEW! Your feedback really means a lot to me! I love to know what people think of my chapters! The more who review the faster I post!