CHAPTER TWENTY B-LONG TALKS

"AHEM!" The clearing of a throat echoed through the sudden silence as Harry cringed at the very familiar tone.

"Uh, hi guys?" He had peered around stunned adults to see two very irate seventeen-year-old Gryffindors, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley. Everyone else had remained stunned after hearing War Mage Osiris was really Harry Potter, spent ten years in a new world training, came back to Hogwarts, deceived everyone, pursued one of the professors quite publicly before announcing his true identity, defeated Voldemort for good, admitted to saving Severus Snape from a fatal night, and silently admitted to being good friends with an heiress to a demonic world.

Sirius was the first to break the silence when he grabbed Harry into a large bear hug. His godson was moments from giving into honed instincts just before catching himself, allowing the breathless hug to continue, "Oh Merlin, Harry! I've missed you!" Upon releasing the young Mage, he smacked the poor man upside the head.

"Ow!" Harry rubbed the now sore spot, all the while glaring at his godfather, "What was that for!"

"That was for making us worry for nothing, young man!" Sirius opened his mouth to berate further.

But Harry had bowed his head in shame, "I'm sorry, Sirius, but I couldn't just leave. They helped me at first and then I knew it was the best decision to make at the time."

Remus really didn't care too much. The world was safe from a dark lord for now and Harry was back, explanations could wait. He pulled the young Mage into a hug, "We were worried about you, Harry. I'm glad you are back." Sirius swiftly joined the hug.

Lucas watched with an amused look. He shared equal glances with his other friends. Then, abruptly, he shoved his mate from his lap to stand. Eyeing the irate teenagers in the back of the crowd, he decided to run, "Well, I think my mate and I will let you catch up on lost time, my friend." Pulling the now stammering blonde Slytherin behind him, Lucas followed the hastily retreating team-mates, who were also willing to abandon their leader to his glaring friends.

Albus had then seen the irate Gryffindors, knowing they had a few things to work out, "Well, my boy, I'm sure you'll stop by for tea in the morning to further discuss this. Also, Ms. Granger and Mr. Weasley were the ones who happened to find your bodies in the forest." Harry knew an order when he heard one, knowing he was in for a long overdue conversation with the older wizard. Blank emerald eyes simply watch the older wizard herd the other protesting professors out the door.

Remus was quick to follow, grabbing Isis by her left wrist, "You, Isis, are coming with us. We'd like to discuss this heiress deal." Turning to Harry, "I hope to see you in the morning as well. We would like to continue this later." Sirius followed the rushing couple, though Isis threw back a helpless look when her mate had practically demanded the Mage to see the angry wizards by next morning to fully be berated for his disappearance.

Harry froze as he watched the approaching angry friends. He looked down as they began their tirades. "Merlin, Harry! What were you thinking!"

Hermione's tirade went even further, and louder, "Do you know what you have done to us? To me? Do you? Do you even know how much trouble I have been in these past two years, Harry? Did you ever realize that I have caused enough trouble with all the Professors for nothing!" Ron stared wide-eyed as his girlfriend continued, "We have cornered just about every professor more than once trying to find you! We even went as far as tricking Hagrid into giving us any information!" Her voice lowered to a hiss, "All we got from most of them were buckets of lies made and delivered by the headmaster! Those who didn't lie simply shoved us aside!"

Again her voice began to raise, "I even went as far as calling Professor Dumbledore a liar everytime we met or talked! We cornered Professor McGonagall every chance we had! I have been given and served more detentions with Snape than you ever have, Harry Potter!"

"Uh, Professor Snape, Hermione."

She whirled on him in a huff, wagging an angry finger in his shocked face, "Don't you even dare think of correcting me, mister! I forced Ron into helping me corner Professor McGonogall, our head of house, our Head of House, Harry! I almost made her cry several times! I knew she was hiding something but someone or something always got in my way! I scoured every book in the library for spells, anything! I even went to every magical book store I could find that might have helped! And then I find our were simply safe in some other world! What in Merlin's name made you decide not to give me something to calm my frazzled nerves! Or anyone's for that matter!"

"I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, mate. You had us worried and fearful for your life. Hermione knew everyone was lying to us and she still went for their throats. Bloody brilliant and scary at the same time though. We wanted the truth, Harry. You could have written or something."

Hermione opened her mouth to rave more when she saw the downcast eyes and trembling figure. Hurriedly, she slipped to his side. Wrapping both arms about her missing friend, she tried to soothe her anger for him, "We missed you. We worried about you, Harry. We almost thought Voldemort really did hurt you. I'm sorry for yelling but you deserved every word."

"I'm sorry. But I had believed it was the right thing to do at the time. I had to go through with it."

Ron sat on his friend's other side, completing the three-way hug. "We did miss you. Never do that again."

Hermione grinned with an evil glint in her eyes, "He won't if he knows what's good for him." Suddenly sobering her attitude, "Explain to us what happened. I want to know everything."

Harry smiled slightly, this was the curious Hermione he always knew. He could always count on her to be practical and dying to know more. "As I said, I was taken from my relatives and brought to a new world. I was healed, got the only chance to become more than a wizard, and took it. I trained hard to be who I am."

"It's a bit strange, mate. Seeing how you're older than us. We're almost eighteen and you're twenty-five. Even if I'm still slightly taller than you." All three shared a long lost warm laugh. Each remembering how Ron bragged about Harry being his newest little brother, literally since the green eyed male was shorter.

"I missed this."

Hermione smiled, sharing at look at her boyfriend before pushing her friend's tale further, "What about your uncle?"

Harry frowned, here was the only part of his memory that was still fuzzy. He couldn't quite remember much of the end of the fourth year and the time he woke up in the healer's care. Rarely did he make sense of the few pieces he did know, "I can remember being hurt badly. They said my beating was fatal, since Voldemort was in my head, encouraging my death. They had someone come break the connection so I could live. I know Uncle Vernon was saying something about an owl, ruined dinner, and offended guests. I'm guessing Professor Dumbledore sent a letter about my ordeal at the tournament to the Dursley's. I guess the owl must have fallen in the food or something, ruining an important client's meal. Guess he took the anger and such out on me for it."

Tighter, they held their trembling friend. Hermione could see that Harry didn't really remember that part of the summer. She could see it in his eyes and how he struggled to explain. She murmured nonsense in his neck to calm him, while Ron took a different approach to help his friend forget that pain.

"If you're here, Harry, where's Hedwig? I haven't seen her. I know you won't go anywhere without her being near."

Harry lit up at this, "It turns out Hedwig wasn't a real owl. She's really a Spirit Phoenix, Ilianya in fact, in disguise." At their stunned faces, "It seems she felt that I would have needed her and came here as an owl to try and befriend me until someone of her world, either a seer or She-Demon, would find me. Ilianya sometimes becomes Hedwig for me, especially those times I truly missed being home. I just wished she would have done something instead of being locked away each summer but she always did try her best to protect or help me."

For now, Harry was content to be held by his friends for a few moments longer before he had to find someone else. His friends were content to hold onto their lost friend for as long as they could. Although, Ron still didn't understand the attraction between his best mate and an evil git of a potions master. And Hermione still didn't understand why she didn't place all the few clues earlier that year together.