Early the next morning, Harry opened his eyes wearily. He saw Ron grinning at him. "Oh. Hello, Ron," Harry said quietly, in case Ron was the first up.

"'Lo, Harry," said Ron, offering Harry a hand to help him up. Harry rubbed his eyes and stood up. Then, he saw that all of the other Gryffindors were up, and they all began applauding, and cheering.

Then, the room grew silent as the Common Room door opened.

Everyone saw was a flesh-colored blur race towards Harry, and it turned out to be Hermione.

She had Harry in a tight hug, her head on his shoulder. Tears streamed down her face. "I'm so sorry, Harry! I'm so sorry…" She was an emotional mess, which was odd, considering it was Hermione.

Harry turned dark red, and he wasn't sure exactly what to do. He started patting her on the back, saying, "It's all right, Hermione. You didn't mean too…"

"But you told us to be careful! I — I shouldn't have gone to my dormitory alone… I should've brought someone…"

"They couldn't have done anything, Hermione. Besides, you were under Voldemort's control… you didn't mean to do anything. I mean, you were looking up the counter curse for Hedwig," Harry said, conscious of all the male Gryffindors grinning at this. Except… Harry looked at Ron, who had a strange look on his face.

Finally, Hermione let Harry go, and wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.

She sniffed. "You were amazing though…" Everyone was listening intently, expecting her to tell what happened. She looked around, and saw everyone watching. This irritated her, and she said, more Hermione-like, "I'm not telling you all anything! That's none of your business." She added, "Unless Harry wants me to."

Later that morning, all of the Gryffindors went to breakfast.

When they arrived at the Great Hall, to Harry's surprise, a lot of the school began to whisper. Harry ignored it and calmly sat down between Ron and Hermione.

Before breakfast began, Dumbledore got everyone's attention. Harry noticed that Professor Somorum still wasn't there.

"Professor Somorum never came back?" Harry asked, looking at Ron and his brothers, who shrugged.

Dumbledore said, "As I am sure that most of you know, Harry Potter has returned from Voldemort and has successfully saved his friend Hermione."

Polite applause followed these words. Harry went red and turned toward the Slytherin table. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were sitting perfectly still and did not move at all.

Dumbledore went on, "Like last year, I ask that none of you ask Harry for details until he is ready to give them to you. He has been through enough."

Harry turned and saw Malfoy whisper something to Crabbe and Goyle, who smirked. Then, Malfoy turned and saw Harry, and shot a nasty look at him.

In flew all of the owls, delivering the daily mail. Hedwig had nothing for Harry, and just nibbled on his finger affectionately before flying off with the rest of the owls.

Hermione had gotten a copy of The Daily Prophet, and was reading it intently. She gasped. "Harry! Harry, you've got to read this…"

She shoved the paper in front of Harry, and Ron read over his shoulder:

PHOTOGRAPHS FOUND OF YOU-KNOW-WHO

In the wee hours of the morning earlier today, a single

owl flew into the office of Cornelius Fudge. It dropped off an

envelope, and took off again. Inside the envelope was a letter

and a roll of film, which was quickly developed. Fudge has

kindly allowed the Prophet to publish the letter:

Dear Mr. Cornelius Fudge:

I wish to remain anonymous, but it is imperative that

you develop these pictures upon receipt. They contain proof

not only that the Dark Lord is back, but also that he is joined

by Peter Pettigrew, and that Sirius Black is innocent. Peter

is an Animagus as well, and can become a rat.

These pictures were taken near Grodric's Hollow,

and I urge you to go there once you develop these pictures. I

will warn you: You-Know-Who looks different now, because

of Harry Potter.

The pictures were immediately developed, and were all

of two men. One looked suspiciously like Peter Pettigrew, who

was said to be murdered along with thirteen Muggles by Sirius

Black fourteen years ago. The other was You-Know-Who.

Ministry wizards were sent immediately, and the entire

area was searched thoroughly. A broken wand was identified

by Mr. Ollivander of Ollivander's wands to belong to He-Who

-Must-Not-Be-Named. A rat was found later, and turned out

to be Pettigrew in disguise. He was taken into captivity, and

confessed to framing Black, and murdering the thirteen

Muggles.

A surprised Fudge told the Prophet earlier, "I am just

shocked, but I believe it. I have retracted the right for my

Dementors to perform their Kiss on Black, and urge him to

contact the Ministry. I promise that this is no trap, and he

will be welcomed back by everyone."

No word from Black has come yet, but the Prophet

will keep its readers informed with the latest information.

Harry could hardly believe his eyes. Sirius was free. "Hermione! You know what this means?" Harry asked, grinning wildly.

Hermione smiled. "Yes. You get to live with Snuffles now!"

Harry nodded. No longer would he have to face the Dursleys, and spend another horrible summer with them. He would no longer be isolated from the wizarding world all summer.

"That's great, Harry!" Ron beamed. He also looked quite pleased with himself.

There was only one thing that bothered Harry. Who had taken the photographs? Had Sirius known about that, and therefore rushed Harry out of there?

Then, the doors to the Great Hall burst open. Everyone's head turned as Cornelius Fudge walked in, looking extremely uneasy.

"Sorry for the interruption…" he mumbled, walking quickly to the Head Table. He bent down to talk to all of the teachers, and told them something too quietly for Harry to hear. However, he could see their reactions.

Most of the professors looked shocked and a little shaken. Professor McGonagall seemed close to tears, and Professor Dumbledore seemed greatly troubled.

There was silence for a minute or two, and then Dumbledore whispered something to Fudge who then turned, and left swiftly. The whole hall was silent. Professor Dumbledore then stood up.

"It is with great sorrow that I announce that Professor Somorum will no longer be teaching here."

The whole hall gasped. Some people even screamed. Hermione started to cry. "But- but she was so good!"

Dumbledore raised his hand for silence, and the hall quieted. "She is not dead, but tortured to insanity. She was found knocked out early this morning, and was insane when she was revived. She is in no condition to be teaching."

This didn't comfort Harry any. He suddenly gasped.

"What, Harry?" Ron asked. "What's wrong?"

Harry said nothing, but felt very sick to his stomach. Professor Somorum's face filled Harry's mind, and he heard her say, "I've got one more thing to do before I come back."

After breakfast, Dumbledore came up to him, and said, "Harry, Fudge said that this was found with Professor Somorum." He held out an envelope with Harry's name on it.

"Thank you," said Harry. Ron and Hermione followed Harry out of the Great Hall.

"Open it," said Hermione said.

"Hang on," said Harry. He unfolded the heavy parchment, and read:

Dear Harry Potter,

I am writing this in case I cannot come back from what I have set out to do. I do hope you'll forgive me for it.

I should tell you the story, the whole story. Let me begin long ago, on the train ride to Hogwarts in my first year.

I was sitting by myself. I hadn't met anyone, since my parents constantly moved. We had only been in England for a week. Your mother came in, and sat down beside me, and introduced herself. I'll never forget exactly what she said: "Hello! My name is Lily. You look lonely. Do you need someone to talk to?"

I said, "Yes! I do," and she sat down beside me. We talked for ages, even when your father and Sirius came in, and she introduced them to me. Lily and I became best friends in those few hours on the train.

That night, Lily was sorted into Gryffindor. However, when it was my turn to be sorted, I was placed in Slytherin house. I remember that I sat next to Severus Snape, your old Potions teacher. I was miserable.

However, Lily stayed my friend, and was my friend for many years. I still have boxes filled with nothing but the letters she sent me. I remember when she sent me one about when you were born. Times were hard, and she was starting to get nervous.

Finally, three months before Voldemort came, she asked me to promise that I would make sure you were taken care of properly if she and James died. She even asked me to perhaps raise you myself. I gave her my promise, and also promised to help her in any way that I could.

But, I failed.

On Halloween, fourteen years ago, I had dinner with your parents. Lily was more nervous than I've ever seen her before, especially about you.

After dinner, not knowing the horrible things that would happen soon after I left, I walked calmly out of the door. Your mother tried to get me to stay, but I had to go to work the next day, and couldn't stay all night. I was somewhat worried, but I thought that Sirius was still the Secret-Keeper, and I was confident that Voldemort wouldn't find them. I lived close by, so I walked home. I even remember passing a man in a cloak, just a block away from your house. I didn't even pay any attention to him.

You know what happened. I failed to protect Lily, and then I failed to fulfill my promise to make sure that you were all right. When I heard that Dumbledore had given you to the Dursleys, I was heart-broken, I swear it. I tried to persuade him that I should take care of you, but he insisted that you should be brought up away from our world, at least until you were old enough to come to Hogwarts.

I've tried applying for this job numerous times, but I never got it until this year.

I still am not able to fulfill my promise, because Dumbledore, I believe, has his suspicions about me. Also, I figured that you might not want me to be the one who takes you from the Dursleys. So, I figured I'd fulfill my promise a different way: give you Sirius.

Yes, Harry, I found Voldemort and Pettigrew after Sirius left with you. But, it was completely my idea. Sirius himself tried to dissuade me, but I wouldn't listen. If something happens to me, at least it was fulfilling my promise to your mother.

I also want to apologize for making you nervous. Dumbledore mentioned to me that you realized that you were being stalked. I asked the person that I am training to replace me to follow you. I have also written to them, and they shall reveal who they are.

I also would like to return something that I had them take from you, because I wanted to keep my past secret. I apologize.

I regret to say that I may not return to Hogwarts, but I want to tell you that I wish I could. Be careful, Harry. Take care of Ron, Hermione, Ginny, and your stalker. Good luck with your future, I'm sure it will be wonderful.

Fondly,

Amoria Somorum

Harry was in shock. A picture fell out of the envelope, and Harry picked it up. It was the picture from his mother's diary. It was a picture of Lily, eleven years old, with her arm around another eleven-year-old girl with long, dark hair, and a beautiful smile. She looked exactly like Professor Somorum. If Harry had seen this picture, he would've known immediately that Amoria was Professor Somorum.

"Oh my god…" Ron whispered. He looked in shock. "No wonder she followed you around."

Harry was just staring at the letter, shaking his head.

He heard footsteps coming towards him, and he saw Jessica.

She was shaking slightly, and Harry saw an envelope like his in her hands. She was biting her lip and shaking.

"Harry? I want to tell you something," she said slowly.

Harry's knees gave out, and he put his hand against the wall to support himself. It was too much for his mind… Professor Somorum was his mother's friend… she'd gotten herself attacked while taking pictures to free Sirius… and now Jessica…

"Sure," said Harry, although he knew what Jessica was about to say.

Jessica took a deep breath, and said, shaking, "I followed you. She told me to. She was training me to replace h-her…and she said that she wanted to make sure that you were all right… she also told me to take the picture out of that diary."

Hermione and Ron gasped. Harry just shut his eyes tight. He couldn't believe it was Jessica. She was too innocent. He opened his eyes again and saw her lip quivering. He realized that she really hadn't meant to hurt him.

"That's all right, Jessica," said Harry, receiving stares from Ron and Hermione. "You didn't know what you were doing. Just, do me a favor, all right? Don't follow me anymore."

"Thank you, Harry. I — I'm really happy to be on the Quidditch team," she said, and she raced off.

Ron shook his head. Then, he turned to Harry. "What was she being trained for?" Harry didn't respond.

That afternoon, Harry went alone to Dumbledore's office, despite protests from Hermione that someone else should go too.

As soon as Harry knocked on the door, Dumbledore said, "Harry, you don't have to strain yourself knocking. Just come in."

Harry let himself in, and saw Dumbledore sitting at his desk, and Fawkes the phoenix perched on his desk.

Harry sat down, and Dumbledore stood up. "Before I begin talking to you, I feel there is something you must do."

At first, Harry stared dumbly at Dumbledore, but as he began to understand, he said awkwardly, "No, sir… really, that's… all right…"

Dumbledore put up his hand for silence. "No, Harry. You'll feel better. Trust me. Now, I will step outside of my office. I will wait there patiently until you're through, and you can tell me when you're ready. And I promise your secret will be safe with me." With that, Dumbledore gracefully walked outside, and shut the door behind him.

Harry sighed. This was stupid…

Fawkes flew over, and landed on Harry's knee. He then turned, and looked into Harry's eyes. This struck Harry as odd, but he kept his eyes on Fawkes.

And there they sat: Harry and Fawkes. They stared at each other for half an hour before Harry could start what Dumbledore had wanted him to do. A single round tear fell down Harry's cheek, and to his lips. He tasted it. It was salty, but not salty like anything he'd tasted before.

And that tear was followed by another, and another, and another. Soon, Harry was openly crying. He felt better with each one of those tears. He cried for each time the Dursleys had been cruel to him, he cried for Professor Somorum, for Cedric's death, and for the times that Voldemort had nearly killed him. He cried for the people Voldemort killed, for those he would kill. He cried that he couldn't go anywhere without someone hating him. And, for the first time that he could remember, he cried for his parents dying, that they weren't there to comfort him.

He cried for nearly half an hour, and then the tears began to slow. A few more fell, and then no more came. Fawkes still stared Harry right in the eye, and Harry could almost swear he saw Fawkes smile proudly at him.

Harry stood up slowly, allowing Fawkes time to realize that he had to find a different perch. Fawkes landed on the desk, and watched as Harry walked over and knocked three times on Dumbledore's door.

"Ready, Harry?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, sir," called Harry, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. He really felt much better, but he also felt rather odd.

Dumbledore came in, and ushered Harry back to the desk.

"I thought that if you got that out of the way, we could talk long enough for your eyes to loose their red color," said Dumbledore wisely. "And no one will ever know that you have been crying, except me. And I will keep your secret." He leaned back in his chair. "First of all, Harry, is there anything you wish to ask me?"

Loads of things, Harry thought. But, he decided that he should first ask, "Why would Professor Somorum do that for me?"

Dumbledore smiled. "A great deal of people would, Harry. You have remarkable popularity among our world. Many regard you with a great fondness. Professor Somorum, like everyone else, wanted you to be happy. And so, she did what she could to achieve that. She was a remarkable woman. However, it wasn't entirely because of you. I think, personally, she felt as if she had let down your mother, and she wanted to relieve that pain, even if she didn't remember having it afterwards."

"You seemed to be hesitant to let me go to the Weasleys' house. Why was that?" Harry asked.

Dumbledore hesitated for a while. Then, he replied slowly, "When you were a baby, I feared that someone would be able to find you, either Voldemort himself, or one of his supporters. So, I performed the Fidelius Charm on the house, so that you would be unable to be found."

Harry was stunned. "What? But — who's the Secret-Keeper?"

Dumbledore looked at Harry, surprised, and Harry understood.

"Thank you, sir," whispered Harry. "Did you really believe everything that you said to Fudge?"

Dumbledore sighed. "Well, perhaps not at the exact moment… I only brought up the possibility that Voldemort might have tried to kill him to prove a point, but I proved it to myself more than him, I believe... Now, of course, his opinion's changed a lot though."

Harry thought hard, and then asked, "Professor? Do you think that Professor Trelawny could have known about Professor Somorum? Professor Trelawny's been behaving oddly all year."

"More than usual? Yes, I think that it may be possible," said Dumbledore.

"Sir, do you believe in Divination?"

Dumbledore thought for a moment and then answered, "No, Harry. I do not."

Harry asked, "Then, no offense, but why do you offer it?"

"Because, Harry, some people are afraid of the unknown. And the future is certainly unknown. Some people feel confidence from knowing what will come. And I offer the class to those people who wish to believe that they can tell. Do you know why Divination isn't reliable, Harry?"

Harry shook his head.

Dumbledore said, "Because it is only one possible outcome. All the times that Professor Trelawny has predicted your death, she is predicting only one possible outcome. Also, it takes into account only what has happened up to that point. Everything constantly changes, Harry, and everything impacts the future, no matter how small. So, it is impossible to tell what will happen, because so much can happen."

Harry nodded, not truly understanding it, but sort of.

Then, after a few moments of silence, Harry asked the question he had been most concerned about. "Do you really think that there'll be a war?"

Dumbledore was silent for a few moments, and then said, slowly, "Yes, I do, Harry. Both you and Lord Voldemort are growing in power… as he becomes stronger, so do you. I don't believe that a war between such power is possible to avoid."

Harry was stunned. "But, why should people stand behind me? I mean, I'm just a fifteen-year-old boy."

"A fifteen-year-old boy who has done the seemingly impossible!" said Dumbledore hastily, surprising Harry. "Don't you see, Harry? You cannot die, at least not in spirit. Voldemort thinks that everything will go back he way it was before you if he kills you, but he won't. Even without you, he has lost power. Because, from now on, whenever anyone is worried about Voldemort, they will say to themselves, 'Maybe I'll live, like Harry Potter.' Your friend's grandchildren will tell their grandchildren that there was a boy who lived when no one else had, and not just once.

"You see, Harry, you haven't just lived, you've escaped. Albeit you've gotten assistance, you've used it to the best of its ability.

"You have a destiny, Harry. A destiny to stop Voldemort. You may not kill him, but you will stop him from killing like he did in the past. I've feared that ever since you were born, because it didn't seem fair. I didn't want you to have the world in your hands; I feared it was too much for you. However, everything I've done to 'save' you from your destiny is quickly being undone by Voldemort himself. One of these days, Harry, you will have to face your destiny. You will simply do what you were meant to do. You will perform feats unmatched by any wizard before you, and after you. You will have to show an unimaginable amount of bravery. And you will. I have confidence."

Harry couldn't think of anything to say to this, so he said nothing.

"Well, if there are no more questions, I am afraid I am going to have to send you off… I have to prepare for the graduation ceremony tonight… Misters Fred and George Weasley invited you and your friends, no doubt?" said Dumbledore, rising.

Harry nodded, and walked alongside Dumbledore to the door.

"Yeah… I'll be there," said Harry, waving goodbye to Dumbledore as he walked out of the door, which closed loudly behind him.