2. TALKS

Harry slowly opened his eyes but the light of the place blinded him and he had to close them again. He tried to stand but he fell back down, he was scared he didn't know where he was or if he was dead or alive.

"Harry" a voice called.

He looked up again, he knew that voice but the light was still too bright.

"Who are you? Where am I?" he called out.

"Wow he must really be out of it, I wonder why he is here," Said another familiar voice.

Another voice almost like Dumbledore but older came to him, "All will be explained in good time give him a chance to recover a minute."

Harry opened his eyes one more time and standing before him was an old man and woman with arms locked together. "My head hurts" was all he could say before he passed out again.

Harry awoke after what seemed like several hours later to find everyone standing around him again. This time he could see them all clearly.

"MOM, DAD, SIRIUS" he yelled as he leapt forward trying to run to them.

He was embraced in the warmest hug he had ever felt it was twice as good as a Molly Weasley hug but these were his own parents and godfather. It seemed like only seconds before someone cleared their throat to interrupt this happy reunion, Harry started to breakdown and cry.

"I must be dead then and Voldemort has free reign on earth now I have failed you all."

"Calm down my son you are here with us but for some reason you are still on earth as well. You have not died but I'm not entirely sure why you are here either."

"If I may interrupt Lily I may be able to explain it for everyone who hasn't already figured it out."

Harry looked up to see the same old man and woman from the last time he opened his eyes. "Let me introduce myself, my name is Zeus but I have gone by many names, Baal, Thor, and many more. This is my lovely wife her name is Gaia, also known as mother earth."

"It is a pleasure to meet the great Harry Potter" they said together.

Harry just stood there mouth hanging open trying to piece together the information he had just received.

"Just Harry thanks I'm only considered great because of my parents sacrifice and love for me that stopped Voldemort's first reign of terror."

"Typical Gryffindor never taking credit for his own achievements, always so modest" stated a voice from the back.

"Shut it Slytherin and leave the boy alone."

At the mention of Slytherin Harry's wand was drawn in an instant and scanning the group of people for the evil dark wizard.

"Put your wand away no harm can come to you here and although Slytherin may deserve a good hex you won't be able to do it till you enter the death realm permanently."

Slowly he slid his wand back up his sleeve and continued looking at the crowd.

"Well explanations are in order I think so let us all have a seat" and with a wave of his hand several elegant chairs and a large table appeared in the center of the room.

"Now Harry can you remember the last thing that happened to you?"

"Yes, I was struck by lightning."

Several gasps were heard throughout the room as well as people saying

"He shouldn't be dead then his body should be able to heal any damage from lightning with the right treatment and time."

"I see, curious, very curious indeed" said an old man at the end of the table.

"Excuse me" said Harry "but what's curious?"

Sorry Mr. Potter my name is, or was Titus Ollivander, I believe you have met one of my great, great grand children.

"Yes sir, he said the same thing to me when he sold me my wand. He said it was odd that I should be chosen by this wand when its brother wand gave me this scar."

"Keep going Zeus I believe I see where you are going with this."

"Very well, as Mr. Ollivander said it is curious that you wouldn't recover from this, just like you never recovered from your first attack when you were just a baby. The attack left you with a scar on your forehead did it not? A scar in the shape of something usually means something special, a power the dark lord knows not, I believe the prophecy stated?

"How did you know about the prophecy? Dumbledore said no one knew of it except him and I, even Sybil Trelawney couldn't remember it."

"Harry my dear boy we are dead, we know most of what is happening on earth, as such we can watch over our loved ones. However we can not tell you anything that is happening or anything that will happen in the future. Anyway I digress, why are you here? Simple really your body is changing. The power of the lightning struck you so deep it is affecting your magical core. It is multiplying your magical structure to such a degree that your mind sent part of you away so it could cope with these changes. The free part of you mind went in search of something you desired so greatly but you could never have. You ended up here with your parents and your godfather in their eternal resting place. Do you understand why you are here now Harry?"

"Yes, I think so, although I'm confused about why all of you are here if my body came searching for my parents and Sirius, who are all of you and why are Godric Griffindor and Salazar Slytherin here? And how long will I be stuck here if I don't get back soon someone from the order is sure to show up and notice my body. What will they do to the Dursley's when they find me they are sure to kill them and I won't be there to stop it." He laid his head down on the table and started to cry again. "I'm never there to stop it, it's all my fault, Cedric, Sirius, my parents, how many others will die because I'm not ready to defeat Voldemort because I'm too scared to kill or be killed by him. How can I live will all this death on my hands all these decisions, it's up to me it's all up to me the prophecy says so. I'm only fifteen soon to be sixteen, I'm just a kid."

They all just sat there staring at him most had tears in there eyes and some were looking very pale and shocked. He felt a hand on his shoulder then a voice whispered in his ear, "I don't blame you Harry, there was nothing you could have done, you didn't kill me it was Peter Pettigrew that spoke the killing curse and Voldemort's wand that he cast it through."

He looked up and found he was staring into the gray eyes of Cedric Diggory. "There is nothing you could have done, but you can avenge my death by getting rid of Voldemort and his followers. Also by helping my father and Cho deal with the grief they are suffering through, following my death. They are very proud people, and are taking it very hard still. You are a student leader for your house Harry as well as many other students in other houses, people look up to you Harry and they will fight with you when the time comes. They will need to be trained up though you will have to forget some of these petty rivalries and unite the houses under a unified banner, you had a good start with your DA group last year, many lives will be saved this summer thanks to it, but many lives will be taken as well. You need to expand on this group and invite more people. Take chances on people and give second chances to those who fail you because everyone makes mistakes."

"He's right you know" another voice said. Turning he was looking at his father and Sirius.

"If we had judged Severus Snape as a man instead of by what his father was, things may have turned out different. In the old pureblood families, to go against the head of a household is punishable by disinheritance and sometimes death. So many children of death eaters are forced into the lifestyle against their will. Years later they think there is no way out but death and continued service till it comes. Don't get us wrong many people believe in Voldemort and his beliefs of purity of blood and they follow him willingly but most aren't the die hard fans and blind followers he desires. That is why he rules them by fear, he threatens them into submission by the death of loved ones and many simply are pushed into it because of a desire to be better than they are. Their thirst for something better and to be more powerful drives them towards him as well. So don't be hasty to judge people by what there parents are or have done, give them a chance to prove themselves to you, and they may become great allies."

Zeus stood up and walked to him "well that is a lot to think about but I'm afraid we are running out of time here. I can already feel you starting to drift back to your own body, so we need to hurry and give you what we can to help you in your quest before you leave us and return to your world."

"Give me, you have already…."

"Well Mr. Potter we didn't bring you here so that is not a gift from us is it? No, the gift I will give you is the gift of knowledge. I have been here since the beginning of magic so the knowledge I can share with you is my greatest gift."

He touched his head and a golden light grew in his hand, as he touched it to Harry's head it flew into him knocking him back down into his chair. Slowly the light faded and the room stopped moving and Harry could see again. Images slowly played out in his mind and spells he had never heard of came to him flashing through his mind.

"It will take a few days getting used to it as your mind sorts everything out but as you work on the spells they will come to you easier. Remember practice makes perfect. You can review them in your dreams that will help as well."

The next person that came to him was Gaia. "I have looked into your soul and I wouldn't give you my gift if it weren't for your pure heart and love for others. My gift to you is the gift of the elements. You will be able to speak to earth and the air, they will obey your call and answer your questions, they can also move you where you want to go. Fire will obey you as well as water, you simply have to call it up in your mind and it will appear in your hand throw it where you want it and call it back when you are done."

She placed her hand on her heart then placed it against his the same light came then went away.

The next people to come up to him were Godric and Salazar accompanied by two lovely women.

"We are the Hogwarts four, the greatest of our time, we also have gifts for you. In the castle there is a room that can be anything you want it to be, I believe you have been using it for your DA meetings last year, you are now its master. The room will only open for you, and it can be opened from anywhere in the castle, all you have to do is place your hand against the wall and will it to be there. In this room there is also a map of the castle, a complete map, not that helpful little piece of mischief your father and his friends created, a full map of the grounds, the forest, and the town of Hogsmeade. It will show you people and place as well as show the status of them if you desire. Also the castle will recognize you as its master and doors and passageways will open up for you without passwords, and stairs will move to give you shortcuts." Harry was starring open mouthed at her just blinking when Godric started speaking.

"I give you my ability to talk with animals, magical and non magical, you need only look at them, and speak they will hear you, and you will be able to understand them clearly. They can teach you many things, and help you a lot during your life, however I would avoid being to close to the first dragon you speak to, they become very irate when you speak to them when they are sleeping. That is how we came up with our motto, everyone thought it was funny when it happened except for me and it stuck over the years."

The rest of the room burst out laughing and Harry could only smile when Lady Ravenclaw approached him.

"I also have a gift for you, it is my gift of intelligence and language. I can speak many different languages, including goblin and troll and many of the lesser creatures as well. You will be able to learn things much faster and recall them easier as well as speak and do spells in many languages this is the gift I give you." Again she touched her hand to her head and then to Harry's and the same light appeared and then went away.

The last of the founders approached him slowly looking him up and down as if evaluating him closely looking into his soul. "I too will give you a gift of knowledge. Potions from death to life, I have researched and invented, you may like the advanced wolfsbane potion for your friend the werewolf, although it will not cure him completely it will give him complete control over his transformations and become like an animagus form to him. I also give you my knowledge of Parseltongue spells, some you will need a snake to cast or an emblem of a snake will do like in my chamber. Also you will be the master of that as well only you will be able to enter it unless you allow someone else in. Also, by the dungeons there is an entrance to my personal potions lab it is five times the size of the one you use now for classes it is now yours as well, and you are the room's master. It will only allow access to you and those you allow the room to admit. Be careful who you allow access to this room, some of the ingredients and books found within are very dangerous to the average wizard, and some are even illegal to have."

After several seconds another man approached. Harry didn't recognize this man but the man smiled at him with a twinkle in his eye and held out his hand.

"Pleased to meet you Mr. Potter my name is Av Ada Kedavra and your dead!"

In an instant Harry pulled his wand and aimed it at the man ready to fire a curse. The man looked around the room at all the laughing people and so did Harry.

"Gets them every time" the man said. "Yes that is truly my name, and I invented the killing curse, however it was used as a death sentence by ministry officials only in my day, and not by every evil wizard in the world. Just like you, I can not control the actions of others however my Imperius Curse can control the weak minded and my Cruciatus Curse could torture answers out of any criminal, they weren't the best spells I ever invented. I have a gift for you as well, so put your wand away, you have all ready been told you can't do magic here. I have for you ten silver rings, they will block the effects of these curses, and they can only be taken off by the one who put them on. Only ten were created, and they can't be duplicated, so choose whom you give them to wisely. Once they are on they will disappear into the skin and only you and the wearer will be able to see them. You are already immune to the killing curse, as is Voldemort, so you will not need one for yourself. There are other ways to die though, Mister Potter, so you will have to find another way to defeat the dark lord. Good luck and I will see you again some day when you reach this plane in your own time."

Harry was already running names through his head of who he might give them to when an elf approached him.

"Hello my name is Giddy, sir I am the first of all house elves. I have been watching you for a long time and watching your treatment of my kind. I also have a gift for you. I give you my knowledge and history of the elves, so that you may understand us better. I give you the knowledge of how our magic works and why it does so you may complete your relationship with Dobby and also give Winky some assistance as well. Sometimes popping is an easier way to travel and less dizzy. It is also soundless and you will be able to go around some wards easier than others."

Harry was staring at the elf wondering what was so special about his relationship to Dobby and how he could help him because he already set him free when the bright golden light touched his head. Again for the fifth time that day he felt a little dizzy then he understood more than he had before about different creatures, spells and how their magic worked.

He saw another creature approaching him and knew what it was immediately. He bowed deeply and then kneeled in front of the goblin and said "goblin king tell me how I can serve a noble such as yourself in the living world when I go back?"

The goblin was taken aback by his show of respect and courtesy. He had been dead for over two hundred years and was the last king of the goblins but hearing it spoken in his own language was very rewarding. He remembered the knowledge of tongues that was passed on to him by the others and bowed back to Harry and kneeled before him.

"I have but one humble request for you Harry James Potter last of your line and noble to the realm. Your family owns a large half of Gringotts, and they have fought to give goblins and elves freedoms around the world, I ask that you continue to do this when you go back. My people took Voldemort's side in the last war because of the ministry of magic and their restrictions on us as a magical people. There is a goblin in the Wizengamot right now but there are none in the ministry, I ask that you try and change this. Without a representative in the ministry our people will forever be seen as lesser than wizards and not as equals."

Harry stood and bowed again, "I will do what I can for your people but I am just a child, and although I believe every magical being is here for a reason and has a right to a say in laws that are placed over them, I may not be able to do very much."

The goblin king stood bowed again and placed his hand to his head then to Harry's and the light came again as well as the dizzy sensation, as the goblin placed the knowledge and magic of the goblins in to Harry's mind.

He sat back on the ground as Zeus and Gaia walked back over to him.

"One more gift from us and that will be all the time we have. As you can now speak with all animals magical and non you can also now become all animals magical and non you Harry are the first ever full animagi. Until we meet again, many years from now, on your final resting day, good day, good luck and have some fun."

His mom and dad gave him one last hug, as did Sirius before winking and saying, "a pretty red haired witch would make a great girlfriend."

He felt himself sliding back into his body, as a smile crept unto his face and his cheeks started to get a little red.