CHAPTER 8 – THEY'RE ALIVE!

Harry was in a really foul mood. Now he knew what his Father was trying to say, Be wary of your feelings. He kicked his table and slump down on his couch in his room. He buried his face in his hands. He really needed to take it out somewhere. He wore his robes and a cape draped over his shoulders. He made sure his sabre was with him everywhere he went. He then called for one of the house elves to get ready his horse.

He went downstairs, ignoring the greetings by a few death eaters. He saw his horse outside, in the garden and immediately got onto it. He nodded to the house elf who then disappeared after doing his job.

Harry rode as fast as his horse could take him. He rode to the vast fields, filled with greenery and scenery. Stopping for a while beside the lake, he led his horse to for a drink.

He stroked it, sighing, 'You're the only memory left of my father, Blaze.' Tom had given Harry, Blaze, a white horse for his homecoming.

'I'm always here for you, Harry,' Blaze replied. Being half elf, Harry was able to communicate to animals.

Harry stroked Blaze again. Suddenly, his vision stirred. There was no more lake, no more field, no more Blaze. Instead, his father was standing right in front of him.

'Father…' Harry breathed, 'You're alive!'

'I wish my boy… that I was.'

'No… but you're here…'

'Yes Harry… but my time is short…' Harry wondered why his father would say that.

'Why…' Harry was cut off.

'I have to tell you a few things… But you must be ready to accept it. Are you ready?'

Harry nodded.

'Alright… remember I told you about the elves? That they did not exist?'

Harry nodded once more.

'I lied to you Harry and I'm truly sorry. These elves were banished from the kingdom when they refused to serve their king. They believed that one day, their true king will return. And it is you. You are the sole heir to the throne that was once lost. I came to tell you this because you will need their help.'

'But I'm strong enough father,' Harry said.

'No Harry… not strong enough for the Order. You alone cannot defeat them and that is why you need the help of these elves. They was and are still the best warriors the Elven race can produce. However, they are very aggressive. In order to control them, you must trust them with your life. And your life is your true name.'

'You mean Harry Achilles…'

'No… not that… your Elven name. It is Sparrowhawk.'

'Sparrowhawk?'

'Yes… that's your true name. Let no one know for they can destroy you easily with the killing curse. The name Sparrowhawk is a contradiction. Sparrow, means kind, gentle, words used to describe the light side. Hawk, however, are words to describe evil. You have the gift of choosing what you want to become…' Voldemort started to fade, 'Become… who… you… were born… to……be.'

Voldemort faded…

'No… father… come back!' Harry shouted to no one. Just then, he felt as if he was being pulled back into reality. Harry's eyes flung open. He sat up and breathe hard. He was back. The lake, field was still there. Then he remembered Blaze. He felt something lick him. It was Blaze.

'Are you alright, Sparrowhawk?' Blaze asked.

'How did you know my true name?' Harry asked quickly.

'All the animals that live in the forests know your true name. It is the elves that told us.'

'Elves…' Harry muttered, 'Blaze, why didn't you tell me my true name?'

'We couldn't tell you Sparrowhawk, you had to figure out for yourself, or in other words, your father telling you.'

'You said something about the elves Blaze. Do you know where are they?'

'I thought you'd never ask…' Harry smiled and got onto Blaze. Blaze rode as fast as possible to the forest.

They ventured inside it, trotting slowly. Harry kept his guard up. He took out his sabre and ignited it, just to be sure. He had a funny feeling that they were being watched. He sensed someone behind him. With a quick move, he turned around swiftly, ready to attack, when he saw 2 human-like elves drawing their arrows.

'You have trespassed our lands for the penalty for that is death.'

'Are you the banished ones?' Harry said.

'It is none of your concern, human!' The second one replied.

'It is…' Harry kept his sabre, 'For I am Sparrowhawk.'

The 2 elves quickly kept their bow and knelt down to their king.

'Forgive us, your highness.'

'It's alright… please… arise and lead me to the others for I need your help.'

'Yes, as you wish,' the first elf whistled and 8 others appeared, together with a few animals their owned. They knelt down and greeted their long awaited king.

'This, you highness, are the royal pets. They belong to you and will protect you at all cost.' There were 2 lions and 2 lioness.

Harry reached forward and stroke them.

The lions purred as Harry stroked them.

'We are glad to have you back, Sparrowhawk,' the lion said.

'Yes… it's great to be back again,' Harry answered.

Harry paused for a while before saying, 'Come… the forest is no place fit for my protectors. Into my manor, we shall retreat.'

The others nodded and followed him. Back inside the castle, and into his room, Harry broke the silence.

'So… Father told you about me… Maybe you could start introducing yourselves?'

'Of course… I'm Aries,' a tall elf who looked like his foster Father,' However, I go by a human name. And that is James.'

Harry's smile faded.

'James? As in James, my foster father?' Harry asked, half angry and half hoping that it was a joke.

'Yes Harry. I'm Lily and these two are Sirius and Remus,' a slightly shorter woman said.

'M-Mum? It that you?' Harry said, not believing a single word they are speaking.

'Yes Harry… it's us…' Lily said softly.

'I don't believe you!' Harry shouted, 'Get away from me!' The order sent you… Dumbledore sent you to kill me!'

Remus quickly silent the room while Lily went to Harry, trying to calm him down.

'Harry… let us say our peace please… after that, you can do whatever you want. We won't stop you,' Lily said soothingly.

Even though Harry's mind doubt those words, his mother's tone calmed his down. He eventually nodded.

'Good… we'll start with our heritage. Your father explained to you that James was half

Vampire and I was half elf. That's what makes you immortal, but Tom didn't explain to you what were our heritage, our background. He thought it was best if we explained it, might be less complicating.'

Harry gave a small smile, and the thoughts of his father flowed back into his head.

'All of us here are heirs of Hogwarts. Sirius,' Lily inclined her head, 'is the heir of Slytherin, with your father. Gryffindor's heir is James, Hufflepuff's is Remus and I'm Ravenclaw's heir. You, are the now the prince of darkness since you have taken over Tom and also the heir to Hogwarts, which is very ironic because Merlin predicted that the heir would bring peace to the wizarding world. It seems that not only his heir is the Prince of Darkness, he is terrorizing the world.'

'They forced me to do it! You don't understand what I went through in my life. No one does! So don't try to understand me when you don't!' Harry screamed, tears flowing down his red cheeks.

He took a deep breath, at the same time clearing the blockage inside his nose, then started, 'Dumbledore took everything from me and sent me to an abusive asshole's home. I lived in rags and thought that I was a poor boy who never gets any presents of anything in return except for scars,' he looked out the window and leaning against it.

'I never told anyone about it even though they could help me. Cause Dumbledore won't believe. It's the same story every year: term ends, next stop: Dursley's home,' he ended with a sarcastic high pitch.

'The welcoming committee was always the cupboard or Dursley's belt,' Harry paused and looked at his mum with his sparkling green eyes. Lily was already in tears. James, Sirius and Remus were trying not to let their own tears fall and hit the brown carpet that covered the floor.

'Mum,' He started quietly; 'I really wished that I died with you and James…'saying that, he quickly ran out of the room, tears streaming down again. Getting on Blaze, he rode into the night.

Lily let out a wail and dropped to the ground. James quickly help her up as Sirius and Remus darted after Harry's trail.

'Don't…' James said, 'Let him be… He's taken in too much. This time… we are in the wrong.'

Harry ran out into the heavy downpour. He managed to climb onto the root top and screamed his lungs out. He felt so lost without Tom. He felt so cold, not due to the rain but because there's no one there to guide him.

'Father… please… help me…' Harry shouted to the sky, his clothes dripping wet and the cold rushing to his body, 'help me… I dunno what to do…' He screamed into the darkness before it engulfed him.

'Where could he have gone to?' Lucius asked, 'It's pouring outside.'

'We can't conduct a search now, it's too risky,' Bella said.

'Bell's right…' Remus said to Lily who was crying in James's arms.

'Oh Harry… What have I done…... '

'Don't worry Lily,' Sirius started, 'first thing in the morning, we'll look for him.'

'Lily… Harry's a big boy. He can take care of himself,' James said soothingly.

The next morning, Snape, Luc, Bell, Remus and Sirius formed small groups to search for Harry. Sirius transformed into his animagus form and sniffed for Harry. Almost an hour later, they met up at the grounds again.

'I can't find him,' Remus said, panting. The others nodded their head and began to catch their breath. Just then, the lions began to encircle the north tower of the manor.

'He's on the roof!' Snape shouted as he rushed to the lions.

'But how do we get up there?' Remus said.

Sirius lay in deep thought… then, he snapped his fingers.

'I've got an idea' He said hurriedly, then stuck his thumb and finger into his mouth and gave a long and sharp whistle. It echoed through the forest and slowly… very slowly, the song of a phoenix approached them. Sirius held out his arm as the bird came into sight and landed.

Sirius pointed to the roof before giving the bird a slight lift to the roof. They waited patiently before the phoenix returned with Harry.

'Thanks Fawkes,' Sirius said before the bird led them into the Manor, gently carrying Harry's soak body.

'Harry!' Lily gasped as Fawkes laid the body down.

'He's having a fever and cold. It must be the storm last night,' Bell said as she placed her hand on Harry's forehead.

'Here… make him drink these. They are pepperup potion for the cold and faught's fever cure potion,' Snape said as he handed James the vials of potion.

'Come on, make him sit up. He needs to drink this,' James said as he held on to the pepperup potion and holding Harry back.

Remus forced open his mouth and forced a bit of the potion down his throat but it was of use.

'It's no use. He wouldn't drink it unless we wake him,' Sirius said.

'Wait…We could use the muggle way. I've seen it. They've got some sort of needle and they inject it into the person's body. We could use it,' Snape said.

'Right… and how are we going to find one like that? Luc said coldly

'Conjure one you moron!' Snape replied, slightly irritated as he conjured a syringe. He carefully absorb the potion inside the tube and gently inject it into Harry's body. Finishing the liquid, he then injected another round, this time it was the fever cure.

'Don't worry Lily, Harry will be fine,' James consoled Lily, 'He better be,' he said to Snape.

'Are you questioning my expertise?' Snape said in a dangerous voice.

'Yes Severus. I am…' James stood up.

'James, Sev, not in front of Harry, guys. He wouldn't want that,' Remus said quickly, struggling to restrain his friend.

'Remus is right,' Lucius said to Sev, 'Don't do it. Remember what you promise Harry. Both of you! For Harry's sake, work together.'

'You're sure that there's such a way of consuming cures?' Sirius asked hesitantly.

'Yes Black, I'm positive for the tenth thousand time,' Snape snapped at Sirius.

'Right… Just checking…'

Harry woke up and found himself in a empty room. He alone was there and in front of him was a door. Was he dead yet? He asked himself if he was in heaven but it felt too good to be true.

'Well… you're not in heaven but at least you get to see me,' a figure stood out of the bright light.

'Father!' Harry ran towards his father and hugged him.

'Oh I imagine how much you have missed me, son,' Tom said.

'I've missed you Father and my mum too.'

'Yes but if I'm not mistaken, she's with you now and James, together with Remus and Sirius. I admit it was hard for me to persuade Remus the truth.'

'I don't get it, dad. The protectors. They're my mum and James, Sirius and Remus.'

'Let's take another walk, shall we Harry?' Tom suggested, leading Harry out of the door to the beautiful garden.

Harry nodded and followed behind.

'You see Harry, your mum was right. Merlin did predict that you will restore peace to the wizarding world, not only peace but justice and fairness,' Tom said to his son.

'But mum… she said,' Harry was cut of by his father.

'That you were terrorizing the wizarding world? Well, part of Merlin's prediction was right, the fact that you are indeed the heir to the Founders and Merlin which makes you the savior. However, Merlin didn't expect you to… well… shall we say, accept the truth of your past. I am aware that Lily tried to tell you about James, Sirius , Remus and herself but it didn't go very well,' Tom looked to Harry, who merely nodded.

'You know, when I first came here, to this place. I was still filled with hatred and anger but Merlin and his four most trusted wizards and witches enlightened me of their ways and now I have come to tell you what they taught me.'

'Tell me Harry, how did you feel, what made you accept your heritage?' Tom asked his son.

Harry did not know why his father suddenly asked him that but gave his truthful answer, 'I felt desperate and in need of someone who is willing to love me and I wanted to seek revenge on those who made my life a miserable one.'

Tom gave a small smile, 'Funny, that was almost the same answer I gave Merlin when he asked me. Harry,' he paused, 'I know I haven't been a good father and when I was among the living, I had you exposed to the dark arts. However, after death, when Merlin and the rest came to me, it was then that I realize you were following in my footsteps, plunging into the dark arts.'

'I don't understand. What are you talking about father?' Harry questioned.

'Harry,' Tom said, 'you were born to bring peace to the wizarding world. You, being the heir to the 5 greatest wizards and witches, are not fulfilling your destiny. It was my mistake to have you plunge so deep into the dark arts. Do not follow what I did because they are wrong. I want you, my son, to become the hero this world needs so badly.'

'But… Dumbledore,' Harry began.

'Dumbledore is the spark that started this war, Harry,' another voice rang out. The blurred figures began to walk towards them when Tom gave a great bow. This was the first time that Harry had seen the former dark lord bow to anyone.

'It's a pleasure to see you at last, Harry.'

'Merlin?' Harry stared in disbelieve, 'And Godric and Salazaar, Helga and Rowena. I don't understand. What's going on? What's happening?'

'Come Harry, we shall let your father catch up with his friends,' Merlin guided Harry away from Tom and the founders.

'I believe you are in need of explanations, Harry.' Harry nodded.

'Harry, what your mother and father said to you, is true. You are plunging too deep into the dark arts. It was Riddle's mistake to expose to you and now he has explained to you his mistake, wishing you not to follow in his footsteps. You see Harry, the hatred and love all started when Riddle tried to kill you. Your mother save you, and thus you had the power of love but when you accepted to reunite with Riddle, all the love was replaced by hatred. Riddle has admit his mistake, therefore he has the Protectors to guide you. If I'm not mistaken, they are your mother, James, Sirius and Remus. Your father spent a decent amount of time persuading Remus and he even had to summon me to convince him,' Merlin gave a light chuckle.

Harry finally muster courage to ask Merlin, 'Sir, what is it about Dumbledore that you said?'

'Yes, coming to that. You do know that you are Hogwarts's heir and my heir?'

'Yes.'

'Now, Dumbledore may be the greatest wizard of all time but I never did like him that much. You see, this war is actually due to one person's fault: Dumbledore. He wanted to make you feel the hatred for your father so that you may end up getting rid of each other. He managed to convince most of the wizarding folk his truth. Now Harry, I believe that you should know the facts from us instead of… other sources. I'm not saying Dumbledore is a bad person but his actions cause the wizarding world to have this war, a war which is possible to avoid. His manipulative ways have cause most of the Order to believe that you and Tom are bent on world destruction,' Suddenly his face turned serious, 'That is why Harry, that you are destined to bring this war to an end and return it to it's rightful place. The Death Eaters are at your command but there is very little you can do as there are few, but remember Harry, remember your Protectors. You have them, thus proving that you were meant to bring this war to an end. This is your mission Harry. The fate of the wizarding world lies in your hands…' Merlin started to disappear and Harry felt his soul resting in his body once again.