The Good Race Pt. 4

Disclaimer: Harry Potter, all related characters, locations, and events, are owned by Warner Brothers, J.K. Rowling, and multiple parties. No infringement is intended, nor should it be expected. Fair use only.

One-Shot: The Good Race Pt. 4 - Second Chances And The Mistakes That Follow...

July 31st, 1998

There was a loud crack as Harry Potter appeared in the middle of the room, his side still smoking from where the curse had smashed through his defenses. The other occupant of the room had barely enough time to gasp before Harry crumbles, crashing to the floor like a puppet with no strings.

"Harry!" She yells, rushing to his side, flipping him over.

There is already a pool of blood forming beneath him, every beat of his heart another splash of blood.

"Damnit, Harry!" She curses, already casting spells at the wound. "Come on!"

Spell after spell flashes against the wound, but none seem to work. She whips her wand over her head, and a drawer opens in the distance, a small glass vial flying through the air to land in her palm. She rips the stopper out with her mouth, preparing to pour the liquid on the wound when Harry's hand snags her own.

'Tonks...It's too late...don't waste the tears." Harry whispers, his eyes just barely open.

"H-Harry, please...Let me at least try." She whispers.

"Carnem Mandu…" Harry whispers, "Not even the Pheonix Tears…"

Tonks seals the bottle once more, setting it down, before pulling Harry up onto her lap, holding him.

"I'm so sorry Tonks…" Harry says, staring up into her eyes.

"You should have let me come, Harry. I could have protected you." Tonks says, brushing the hair from his face. "I could have saved you."

Harry groans, clenching his eyes shut as the pain ramps up, the spell continuing to eat him alive.

"You...you have something more important...to protect Tonks…" Harry whispers, his voice getting quieter and quieter. "I couldn't...let you come."

Tonks frowns down at him, shaking her head, as her hand lightly touches her stomach.

"I'll...I'll do better next time...Tonks," Harry says as she hugs him tightly.

"I know you will Harry, I know you will." She whispers, kissing his forehead.

July 31st, 1991

A loud boom echoed through the small cabin, shaking it by the foundation. Another boom and the door smashed open, letting the storm that raged outside now in. Harry, whose eyes had just opened, makes it to his feet in time for Hagrid to step through. The events that followed were like clockwork, the Dursleys's arguing with Hagrid, who really wanted little more than to wish Harry Potter a happy birthday. However, today was anything but a happy birthday for Harry.

As hagrid set the birthday cake down, he got his first good look at Harry. "Yeh alright there Harry?"

Harry wipes his eyes, feeling the tears that had formed for the first time, tears for another life wasted, another love lost to the tangled web of time. He nods, thanking Hagrid for the cake. Another argument, and with the gun removed from the situation, the rest of the night went exactly as he had expected.

Yet as Harry closed his eyes for the second time in so few hours, he wished he could still feel Tonks lips on his forehead. He would wish for a great many things in this lifetime, but few things he would wish for harder.

Diagon Alley

Another uneventful trip, following the same path as before, with one small divergence. As Hagrid left the train station, the soft crack of apparition was unheard in all the noise.

Hogwarts

With a soft pop of air Harry appeared just a dozen feet from the grand gates that greeted all visitors to Hogwarts. He pulled out his wand, and with his mind full of memories, he whispered. From his wand white mist formed, before slowly solidifying into a small dove.

"Go to Dumbledore, tell him 'Tempus fugit autem nusquam meminit'." Harry said as he releases Hedwig, and then shrinking down his items.

He began walking towards the gate, and just a few feet away they begin to slowly open. As the energy of the magic that laced the very air washed over him, Harry couldn't help but feel that he was home once more.

The revolving stairs at last stop at the top, a large door the only thing stopping his entrance. He reaches out to knock but finds that the door is already sliding open, allowing him into the room. Harry walks in, looking around at the shocked faces of all the previous Hogwarts Headmasters before his eyes settle on the shocked face of the only one still living.

"Headmaster," Harry says, nodding politely as he sits down in one of the squishy armchairs.

"Explain, please," Albus asks, spreading his hands wide in a welcoming gesture.

So Harry did. Long into the night, Harry spoke, answering question after question on the topics of time travel, Fae, and a monster once known as Tom Riddle. Of how a man with the means could cheat death, and the objects that could allow it. Where the bones of the father lay waiting, where the flesh of the servant could be found, hiding in plain sight. On and on Harry spoke, of deaths, preventable and not. Of past failures and successes. Albus's face grew more and more grave as Harry spoke, each new sentence like a hammer blow. At long last, after a few moments of silence, as the first rays of sunlight trickled over the horizon, Harry stood up.

"Harry?" Albus asked, "Where are you going?"

Harry paused his back to the only man he could ever trust. "I'm leaving, Albus."

"Leaving? Harry, to where?" Albus asks, standing now as well. "I'm more than happy to let you remain at Hogwarts permanently."

"I'm sitting this one out, Headmaster," Harry whispers. "I've died enough for this war. I need a moment's peace."

"Harry...how many times have you traveled back in time?" Albus asks, a slight tremor in his voice.

"...counting the first time, I have died twelve times. Each no better or worse than the last, no closer to winning. This is the fourth time we've had this conversation."

With that Harry reached the door, his small hand holding the handle. Above him, the soft sobbing from several portraits was the only noise to keep the pounding of his heart company.

"Good luck Headmaster." He says, as he opens the door and walks through.

For a moment, as he stood on the top stair, he thought that they wouldn't begin to take him down. That Albus would refuse to let him leave, refuse to give him his first lifetime of peace. As the seconds droned on, the worry truly set in, till at last, they sprang to life. It would seem that in the end, the Headmaster felt he deserved it as well. The journey back to the gates was a fast one, not a single soul awake at that hour to oppose him.

As Harry stepped through, he couldn't help but a sad smile to form on his face. As hard as it would be to walk away, he knew that he needed this more than anything in the world. A twist, a pop, and he was gone.

A/N: Welcome back! Hope you're enjoying the one-shots, I know I am! For those not in the know, I just moved AGAIN. Moving sucks, but I made it! Fingers crossed that all this free time means I can get back to writing more. I have somehow managed this chapter, so hey, we've got that going for us!

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