Harry finds himself living his life as best he can after the return to Hogwarts. A new prophecy gets thrown Harry's way; can't Trelawney just stop unraveling his future! Dumbledore is made privy to Harry's plans.
A/N: I own nothing this is all J.K.R.'s, what a brilliant mind she has.
Chapter Twenty-Three - To The Future!
It was well into February and Harry sat on one of the beds in the Hospital Wing glancing out the frosted windows. He was waiting for Madam Pomfrey to finish up the now routine check up on his spine. She had insisted that if he were going to be playing Quidditch again that he had to be in perfect health first. Harry agreed with her, but this check up was pointless as he already knew he was fine.
Harry looked back at the medi witch and she gave him a skeptical look. "You've been exercising?"
"Yes, running," Harry answered honestly, why hide it? He was seen everyday. "And I started training again."
Madam Pomfrey shook her head dejectedly and breathed out in huff. "Harry I told you, no strenuous exercise until I say it was alright. It's been difficult enough healing you as it is. I don't want you to undo all that we have already healed. I still don't think that you realize how close you came to never being able to walk again."
"Madam Pomfrey, I do realize, but I haven't had any pain since the holidays. I can flex normally and I'm running faster and farther then I ever have before. Honestly, I feel fine, better really, since I started training again," Harry defended. "I don't want to stop my training, it's helping me, a lot. And I really would like to play Quidditch again," Harry added with almost a plea in his voice.
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips and glared at him. "You've had no pain? In your back, in your legs; not even a twinge?" she questioned.
"Nothing, as I said, I feel fine."
Madam Pomfrey crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes, she breathed out in a sigh. "Alright, you may continue with your training and Quidditch," Harry smiled and Madam Pomfrey smiled back before she pointed her finger at him. "But, if there is any pain at all, I want to hear of it, understood?"
"Yeah, yeah, of course," Harry nodded his head.
"Good, you may go. I'm sure Minerva is missing you in class right about now."
Harry thanked Madam Pomfrey overly much and left the Hospital Wing with his book bag swung over his shoulder. He was actually relatively happy this day, and he smiled as he walked the halls of Hogwarts. The last couple of months hadn't been fun for Harry. He had to learn that trust in him was rare, and that it was something that was going to take him a while to earn back. The Gryffindors had taken quite a while to warm up to him again, especially his dorm mates, but they had, slowly.
It had taken even longer for Ron to convince the rest of the Quidditch team that they needed him, especially because they had barely scrapped a win in the last game, and that was against Hufflepuff. Harry would be playing again for the first time in over two months, this weekend and he couldn't wait. Quidditch was the only joy he had left and nothing but death was going to stop him from playing, even if they didn't win.
The Slytherins for the most part left him alone, with the exception of a quick jab here or there, but nothing above normal. What really had surprised Harry was that none of the Death Eaters in the school bothered him at all, not even Malfoy. In fact, they steered clear of him whenever possible. It looked as if the young Death Eaters took his promise to kill Voldemort seriously, and they were determined to stay out of his way. Harry had to give them credit. This generation of Death Eaters seemed to be smarter, or at least seemed to have more self-preservation then the one before, and they were after all, just kids. Harry had gotten to know them and he couldn't blame them for their parents' decisions. Nott, was the only one Harry had seen a lot, that and occasionally Zabini. He couldn't say they were friends, but they didn't hate each other.
Harry was just reaching the Transfiguration corridor when he suddenly slumped against the wall in pain from his scar. He closed his eyes against the dizziness that now accompanied it and tried to ignore the images of death that washed over him with renewed vengeance. Harry took in a deep breath and pushed himself off the wall irritably, to continue walking to class. It wasn't that Harry didn't care what he saw, it was more that he wasn't letting himself care. He wasn't going to show Voldemort any of his weaknesses anymore.
To anyone else this wouldn't have been normal, but to Harry, it was just another regular occurrence. At first, the week after the holidays, when this had started, Harry had run to Dumbledore every time he had the disturbing visions. But after the second week or so, he had stopped even telling Dumbledore. It was sad, but he had realized and forced himself to except, that there was absolutely nothing that he could do about it. Harry rarely knew where the locations were and even when he did, by the time they could send help to the victims of Voldemort's attacks, it was too late and there was nothing but clean up left to do. So Harry tried to act as if he had never started getting the visions to begin with.
So Harry tried his best to shrug it off again, but died a little more inside as he did, and entered into the Transfiguration classroom after waving sadly to Tonks, who was his companion for the day. His companions was what Harry had taken to referring to the team of Order members that followed him. They were there to watch him when his friends couldn't, and they rarely showed themselves, but Harry always knew they were there. Harry wasn't so annoyed with them as he once thought he would be, it was kind of comforting to know that he wasn't alone, that someone was always watching his back. It made him feel like he didn't need to constantly keep looking over his shoulder for death.
Harry quietly took a seat in the back of the classroom, as not to disturb the rest of the class by his tardiness. He pulled out his quill and parchment and started copying down the notes as he half listened to what McGonagall was saying. She was talking about animagus and metamorphic transfigurations and Harry was choosing not to listen. He had started on his assignment for the day, and was so engulfed in it, that he didn't realize that McGonagall was standing over him saying his name, until she had repeated it five time and students were snickering around him.
Harry looked up at her apologetically. "Sorry."
"Finally back to earth Mr. Potter. May I see you in my office for a moment?" McGonagall said quietly but sternly.
Harry put down his quill and stood to follow his Head of House. He couldn't, for the life of him, figure out what this was about, but figured it might have something to do with him being late. He followed her across the hall and into her office where she motioned for him to take a seat. He sat in one of the chairs in front of her desk, as she took the one in back.
"I apologize for coming in late, I was seeing Madam Pomfrey," Harry began but McGonagall interrupted him.
"This isn't about your tardiness, I already knew about your appointment. What I wanted to speak to you about is your metamorphic abilities," McGonagall said plainly, as she looked down her nose at him, through her glasses.
"My metamorphic abilities, I don't know what your talking about," Harry lied and clenched his jaw, he hadn't right out lied to anyone since before the holidays.
"Harry, there is no need to lie about this, I've seen you practicing. What I don't understand is why you didn't tell me. I could be helping you improve your abilities. With my help, you could very well be a full-fledged Metamorphmagus by the end of the year," McGonagall stated somewhat excitedly.
Harry looked away from her. He had given up on his human transfiguration after he found out he wasn't an animagus, which he had really wanted to be. He figured that he was going to die anyways, and that he had better things to do with what time he had left. "It doesn't matter, I gave up on it."
"You gave up! Harry you have a real talent for this, you shouldn't just give up. A couple extra lessons a week and…"
Harry stood up abruptly and slapped his hands down on her desk angrily. "Look Professor, I don't care about my metamorphic abilities. It's a waste of my time and I'm not doing it anymore," Harry yelled and then breathed in deeply, and sat back down with his head in his hands. "I'm sorry Professor, I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just tired. I wish that my fight with Voldemort was done with so I can finally rest, so I can finally have some peace."
McGonagall looked at him sadly and nodded in understanding, but she could never understand what Harry was feeling. He was on barrowed time, he knew it, but soon his time was going to come to an end, he just hoped that he had enough strength to destroy Voldemort before his time ran out. As much as Harry had resided himself to death, he really hadn't. There was still some sliver of hope that found it's way to shine through and tell him that he just might live through this. It was the same sliver that adamantly yelled that he did not want to die. But Harry's common sense told him otherwise and drowned out his voice of optimism.
A few days later Harry was walking with Hermione to the library, so that they could start on their potions essay. They were talking as they walked about how much better Professor Friedens was to Snape when Professor Trelawney, who rarely left her tower, came running around the corner, nearly knocking the two of them out of the way. She passed them as if not seeing them and continued down the hallway as if she was in a panic. Harry was just about to ask Hermione about what she supposed had gotten into her, when Trelawney stopped dead, and turned abruptly back around. She stared at the both of them with an intent expression. Harry stopped breathing when he heard her start to speak in a low hoarse tone that wasn't entirely her own, a tone that he had heard before.
"Time will stopped and breath will be held and death will come swift to the one who fell," As soon as Trelawney's prophetic voice stopped, she blinked a few times and look around her. "What am I doing…?" she shook her head, hissed irritably and then disappeared down the hall with a shrug of her shoulders, as if nothing had happened.
Hermione gaped for a moment "What on earth…? That old bat; I wonder if she's been into the special water again," Hermione said with a smile, before she turned to Harry who had gone sheet white. "Harry, are you alright?" she asked with a concerned note to her voice.
Harry was still looking down the hall unblinkingly when Hermione touched his arm, bring him out of his own thoughts. He looked down at her with fearful eyes that changed instantly to a stubborn resolve. "She just told me I'm going to die," he said simply before he readjusted his bag on his shoulder, and leaving Hermione, stormed off down the hall.
Hermione tried to follow him, but lost him as Harry sped up and ducked behind a mirror that blocked an old collapsed passageway out of Hogwarts. Harry watched her go by and was just about to leave when he caught a glimmer of light down the dark passageway. Harry fought against his curiosity, but his curiosity won out. He pulled out his wand.
"Lumos," he whispered as the tip was lit and the hidden corridor with it. The twins had said that the passageway was caved in so he had never checked to see where else it might lead. Harry started walking in the direction that he had seen the light. He walked quite a ways. As he got closer to it, he saw that it was coming from a hole in the wall that was just at eye level. Harry's curiosity again got the better of him and he extinguished his wand. "Nox," Harry whispered as he looked through the hole. To his surprise, he was staring down into the Headmasters Office. Any normal day and Harry would have thought that it was interesting and then moved on, but today, Luminous was standing in the office and yelling at Dumbledore. Harry could do nothing but watch and listen as the topic was about him.
"He can not be trusted Albus, as much as you wish him to be! Merlin's Diaries have on them a specific magic. They do not just leave a descendent of Merlin. They only do it if they feel that the descendent is unworthy or has been lost to the dark!" Luminous shouted and Harry wanted to shout back, to defend himself, but Dumbledore was already doing it for him.
"Harry has beaten back the darkness, he has truly changed Luminous. Just because the Diaries haven't returned to him, does not mean that he his dark," Dumbledore said calmly.
"Just like his father was not dark?" Luminous inquired with a scathing voice.
"James Potter has nothing to do with this, he made his choices and he paid dearly for them!" Dumbledore's anger came to the surface in a way that Harry rarely saw.
"The Diaries abandoned him too and also never returned. And then he switched secret keepers at the last second. Don't you find that a little odd. I don't, he wanted Voldemort to come. He knew Harry would survive, he counted on it!" Harry had never seen Luminous act so coldly before.
Dumbledore stood up from his seat abruptly. "Minister, James switched secret keepers on my orders. I did not trust Sirius as I should have, and it got him and Lily killed. James was never dark, just cruel, and I'm sorry that you and Severus got in the way of his bullying too many times. The matter of James Potter is closed as is the matter with his son."
"I'll be keeping an eye on him. I don't believe that we have seen the last of the Potter Family Darkness as much as you claim that it is gone. Good Day Headmaster, I do hope that you are correct in putting your trust in Harry," with that said, Luminous moved to the fireplace and left with an angry bellow of 'Ministry of Magic.'
Harry slumped against the wall. Luminous had always seemed as if he like him. Harry didn't understand where all of the animosity towards his family was coming from, and what had he meant by the Potter Family Darkness? As far as he knew, his family had always been regarded as on the side of the Light. Harry shook his head angrily, what did it matter? He was going to die anyways. Let them all believe what they wanted to. He'd show them all by destroying Voldemort's powers.
Harry had just gotten up to leave when he heard two familiar female voices come from the office. Harry sprang back to the wall and looked down at Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, both the girls, had tears in their eyes and Ron held a worried expression.
"Miss Weasley, Miss Granger, what is wrong?" Dumbledore asked with concern looking between the two emotional girls.
"Professor Trelawney had a vision," Hermione gasped out in a sob and Ron wrapped an arm around her. "She told Harry and me that Harry was going to die. I think he believes it."
There was silence for a few moments before Ginny spoke in a soft voice. "Harry is going to die."
"Miss Weasley, what makes you think so?" Dumbledore asked placing a hand on the girls shoulder.
Ginny wiped the tears out of her eyes and looked up to Dumbledore. "Harry's mother left him something. He showed me on Christmas. He plans on using it against Voldemort, but it will kill him," Ginny managed to hold her voice steady and Harry admired her strength, even as she was betraying his secret.
"What is it that Lily left him?" Dumbledore asked seriously as Ron and Hermione looked at Ginny incredulously.
"A pendant from the Castitas Magus Project; he plans on absorbing all of Riddle's Pure Magic into himself," she whispered and Hermione stifled a cry.
Dumbledore put his head in his hand and after a long moment, he looked back up to the three Gryffindors. "Where is Harry now?" Dumbledore asked.
"We don't know, I lost him somewhere on the fourth floor," Hermione said with a sniffle in her voice, but Harry was no longer on the fourth floor, or even in the hidden corridor, he was climbing the stairs into the Headmaster's office.
Harry didn't even knock as he came in and stared at Dumbledore. "Please except that my life is over. Once I do this, anyone will be able to kill Voldemort."
"Harry," Dumbledore began but Harry stopped him with a stubborn shake of his head.
"No. It's pointless for you to argue against this. I've already made up my mind." Harry looked up at the portraits, he wasn't sure if the portrait was even still there, as he had told Dumbledore a while ago about it. But he spoke to all of them in general, as he didn't know which one was linked to Voldemort. "Whichever one of you has the connection to Voldemort, tell him something for me. Tell him I'm going to stop him and that I hope death is swift for the both of us, not that we deserve such courtesy." Harry turned to leave but turned back to Dumbledore. "Tell Luminous I'm sorry and that the Potter Family Darkness is gone, whatever that is." Harry shook his head and started to leave again.
"Harry, where are you going?" asked Ginny.
Harry didn't stop walking. "To get something to clear my head and then I've got a potions essay to finish."
Harry walked with determination down to the dungeons, he needed a drink and nothing as diluted as butter beer. He turned down the corridor to the Slytherin common room and came to a stop at a section in the wall. They wouldn't have been stupid enough to leave the password the same but Harry didn't need a password as he had found out a while ago.
"Open," Harry hissed in Parseltongue and the door was revealed. Harry walked right in and grabbed the nearest Slytherin. "Where's Nott?"
"How did you get in here?" The fourth year asked none too politely.
"Part of me belongs here, where's Nott?" Harry asked again and this time the Slytherin pointed towards the dormitories.
"Thank you," Harry smiled and left the common room. Harry walked the ways down the hall and then opened the door to his old dorm and walked in. He slumped down on the bed beside Nott's. "I need a drink," he sighed.
Nott snorted and got up and walked over to one of the small cabinets that didn't belong in the dormitory. "Life getting too much for you again, Potter?"
"Death is getting too much for me," Harry answered dryly and accepted the mug of Firewhiskey. This wasn't the first time he had found himself doing this since the holidays. Harry held his mug up. "Cheers, to the future."
Nott shook his head and held up his own glass. "To the future, Potter, to the future," Nott repeated and Harry downed the glass without so much as a stop for breath.
Harry was going to have one hell of a headache in the morning, not to mention Nott and Zabini were going to have to help him back to Gryffindor later that night, but at least he could drown out his inner voice for one night. He was sick of hearing it cry, it only showed that he was weak and for what he was going to do, he couldn't be weak.
A/N: Two more chapters to go. :)