Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Author's Note: First off, I'm sorry it took me roughly three months to update – life got in the way. Second, due to much confusion in the last chapter, I want to say, Harry is not Voldemort's heir – I repeat, NOT! Third, which is connected to the second point, the scenes from the last chapters happened simultaneously. This means while Voldemort was fighting Harry, James and Sirius infiltrated Riddle Mansion…yes, got it? Great:)

Reunion

3/1/06 – 3/25/06

Voldemort's red-tinged eyes were cold and unforgiving as he leveled his wand at Harry's unconscious form. There were many ways he could end the boy's life without directly killing him – only a simple-minded fool would believe a simple bond would be able to keep him from killing the boy and reaching his ultimate goal.

The boy was nothing but a small obstacle in his plans – insignificant and worthless. It was almost meaningless to even bother with the child. He should just end the boy's life and…

"Don't listen to…him."

Voldemort's ruby-red eyes filled with vague amusement as a mixture of emotional and physical pain flickered across the boy's grim features.

"Tom…promise me."

All traces of amusement immediately fled from his eyes. His face remained perfectly neutral, betraying none of his inner turmoil, as the boy continued to murmur his muggle name again and again. Although he would never admit it to any one, it startled him to hear the boy whisper his name with such tenderness and…adoration. No one, except for his heir, had ever called him by his muggle name with such…love.

Pop.

Voldemort's eyes flickered slightly in thinly veiled annoyance as a silver-clad Death Eater unexpectedly apparated onto the field. As the Death Eater stumbled about clumsily to regain his footing, nearly tripping over himself, Voldemort found himself vaguely questioning his heir's intelligence (and intention) for recruiting such a bumbling fool into her inner circle.

The Death Eater, finally noticing the Dark Lord's presence, quickly quivered and fell to his knees – not out of reverence for his master, but fear for his own well-being. "M-Milord!" he cried as he buried his face into the dirt, hoping childishly that Voldemort wouldn't see him if he didn't see Voldemort.

"Did my heir send you?" Voldemort demanded coldly.

"Um, yes…well, no…sort of."

"Crucio!"

The Death Eater shrieked in pain as the feeling of being stabbed repeatedly by thousands of butcher knives rippled through his body.

"Did my heir send you or not?" Voldemort repeated, eyes narrowing into dangerous slits.

"N-No, it's Potter and Black." the Death Eater frantically blurted.

"They sent you." Voldemort deadpanned, making his inquiry sound more like a statement than a question.

"N-No! That's not what I meant!" cried the Death Eater as he cowered back in fear. "No one sent me! I came because Potter and Black broke into Riddle Manor."

"And my heir is…" Voldemort icily prompted.

"Injured?" the Death Eater squeaked.

Voldemort's face immediately darkened as his fingers subconsciously tightened around his wand. "Avada…"

"Milord, please…spare me!"

"….Kedavra."

Voldemort's thin lips pulled downwards into a deep frown as the Death Eater crumbled lifelessly to the ground. He had been merciful, too merciful – the Death Eater hadn't deserved such a painless death…

"Malfoy!" Voldemort barked, catching sight of the pale blonde a few feet away. "Give the order to retreat."

Malfoy's eyes widened slightly in surprise at the unexpected command, but didn't question his master's decision – no one did.

Voldemort's eyes strayed to Harry again – it would be so easy to end the boy's pitiful life now, but…"Bring everyone to Riddle Manor. Potter and Black are awaiting our return – we mustn't disappoint our guests."

Sheena's weary-worn face reflected both bewilderment and relief as the Death Eaters abruptly retreated on the orders to return to…

"Riddle…Manor?" she repeated softly, eyes widening marginally.

"It's as we've feared."

Sheena quickly whirled around, face taunt with fear and eyes wide with panic – only to feel immensely stupid when she came face to face with Lyon instead of the Death Eater she had mentally envisioned.

"If Voldemort really is Tom Riddle, then it would be in our best interest to evacuate this island as soon as possible." Lyon hoarsely rasped, ignoring Sheena's look of bewilderment.

"Yes, of course," Sheena quickly agreed, regaining her composure. "I'll go find Roselyn, Fatima, and Simon while you go round up the students." She didn't miss the look of irritation that flashed across Lyon's face, but quickly brushed it off as a trick of the light. "I'll meet you back at the castle."

"I need more gauze!" shouted Trey.

"Where are the ointments and salves?" asked Emily as she dipped her bloodied hands into a basin of water.

"Katherine has it." Jason answered offhandedly. "Where do I put the bodies?"

"Don't do that, you idiot! Are you trying to burn down the castle?"

"I can't find the potion."

"Stella got bandages for master!"

"Someone go check on Harry, Shan, and Lance! They could be in trouble!"

"How do you cremate bodies?"

"Master, here are the ointments."

"Don't move around, idiot! You'll reopen your wounds."

"I'm going out. I need to find the others."

"I want this to stop! I'm scared!"

"I swear I'll break your legs if you take another step! I'd rather see you amputated than dead!"

Lyon took an involuntarily step back at the unexpected sight – it felt like he had escaped death only to step into hell.

"Master Lyon!" Katherine shouted exuberantly, finally noticing the solitary figure standing under the doorway. Echoed whispers of "Mater Lyon" immediately followed, coming from various corners of the castle as Lyon stepped fully into the Great Hall.

His eyes filled with pain as he gazed at his student's hopeful faces. They were all expecting the best of the situation, but there was no kind way to break the news - war was an ugly affair. "They have retreated for the moment…"

Trey immediately jumped up and whooped with joy as the Great Hall burst into happy chatter. They had won. They had won!

"But the losses were grave." Lyon grimly finished, eyes burning with a hollow sadness that seemed oddly out of place on his usually cynical and distrustful face. "They're dead."

"No…" Emily whispered, horrified.

"W-What?" Trey demanded, face turning a pale white.

Taking a deep breath, Lyon quickly moved aside, allowing the three levitated bodies to float into the room and settle gently on the ground.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Trey quickly raced forward and dropped to his knees beside Shan. Refusing to believe the worst, he quickly pulled up his friend's wrist to check for a pulse…and came up with nothing…

Aaron's head immediately snapped up when Trey, holding Shan's limp hand, suddenly started bawling – wailing and shouting curses in between vows of revenge. His heart pounded loudly in his ears as he took quick, but shaky steps towards his friends.

"Tell me you're joking, Trey!" he shouted angrily as he neared the red-head. "Don't lie to me…please...don't lie to me." he whimpered as frustrated tears shimmered in his eyes.

"He's not lying – Shan and Lance are dead." Lyon solemnly interrupted.

Aaron dropped limply to his knees. "This…isn't real." he murmured disbelievingly, shaking his head furiously from side to side.

"It's reality." Lyon harshly interjected, sounding cruel even to his own ears. "This is not the time for mourning - save your sorrow for the funeral. The most important thing at the moment is to tend to Harry and make sure he survives."

"H-Harry?" Aaron whispered, head jolting up in surprise. "He's not…dead?"

Lyon gave a short nod.

Trey was up and beside Harry in a second's notice, pressing his fingers gently to his friend's wrist to check for a pulse…

Nothing.

Digging his fingers deeper into Harry's wrist, he was just about to give up and declare Harry dead when he felt a dull throb under his clammy fingers. "Impossible," he whispered to himself as he quickly rechecked Harry's pulse again…

There it was again.

It was faint and weak, but it was there. Harry was alive.

Harry. Was. Alive. It took him a second to finally fully comprehend what "Harry was alive" meant…

"He's alive." Trey whispered breathlessly, his whole body humming with elation. "He's alive." he repeated, eyes welling with tears. "He's really alive." Feeling the agitation of his peers, he quickly lifted his head and shouted, choking over his words, "He's alive…he's really alive. Harry's alive!"

The room fell into excited jubilation as Emily quickly joined Trey in the task of tending to Harry's immediate life-threatening injuries. Then, as if suddenly remembering Shan and Lance's untimely death and realizing that there really was nothing to celebrate, everyone fell back into silence.

As minutes dragged into hours without a single word of encouragement from Emily or Trey, the tension in the Great Hall steadily grew thicker and thicker to the point of near-suffocation. No one dared to speak or even breathe loudly, fearing any sudden movements would result in Harry's death.

"We're going to need Master Fatima," Emily finally whispered, breaking the uncomfortable silence as Trey checked Harry's pulse again. "Every bone in Harry's body has been crushed or shattered in some form or another – both by magic and physical means. On top of that, he's suffering from severe internal bleeding due to a punctured lung and several broken blood vessels. At the moment, all that's sustaining his life is his magic, but I don't know how long that's going to last because as soon as that energy supply is depleted…Harry is going to die."

Snapping out of his daze, Aaron quickly whispered, slightly breathless, "I'll go get Master Fatima – she'll be able to heal Harry…She'll - She'll know what to do!"

"They'll be no need for that." a voice thick with negative emotions softly murmured.

Everyone's attention quickly snapped to the doorway again as Sheena trudged sullenly into the Great Hall with three levitated bodies behind her. Realization dawned on everyone like a falling boulder as Sheena gently laid the bodies beside Harry.

"We have to leave this island as soon as possible." Sheena added after a prolonged silence, allowing everyone enough time to process the additional deaths of Roselyn and Fatima.

"Why?" echoed through the room as everyone protested against leaving the castle – the place they had all come to consider as a home.

"We have to leave because of several factors." Sheena snapped irritably, looking on the brink of an emotional breakdown. "Voldemort might have retreated for the moment, but we don't know when he's going to come back again. We can't stand against him…we'll all perish!"

"Then we're going to run?" rasped Aaron, looking aghast at the idea. "You want us to run with out tails tucked behind our legs? How can you even insinuate that? This," he gestured, "is our home. These are my brothers," he motioned towards Shan and Lance, "They died to protect us and I'll accept nothing less than revenge!"

"Aaron…" Lyon grunted, shooting him a warning glare.

Ignoring the disgruntled look, Aaron quickly plunged on, "This island is my home and my friends are my family. Emily, Crystal, Katherine, Stacy, and Amy are my sisters. Just as Trey, Shan, Harry, Lance, and Jason (yes, even that prat) are my brothers. How can you expect me to act like nothing happened - that my brothers died for nothing?"

"Shut up!" hissed Sheena, eyes glazing over with tears. "You think I don't know how you feel? Do you think I'm a heartless coward? Let me tell you something, I understand pain and regret better than any of you! I lost most my friends - my family - to Tom Riddle's ambition 50 years ago. Like you, I was rash and hot-headed - I wanted revenge. I played directly into Riddle's trap…and Diana paid the ultimate price. She sacrificed her life…for mine."

"I…" Aaron trailed off, looking ashamed, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry to break the moment," Crystal interrupted, "but you better make up your minds now. Harry's dying." she murmured worriedly, jabbing a finger towards Emily and Trey, who's hands and clothes were soaked in Harry's blood. "Personally, I don't think anyone, even if he's protected by powerful magic, can survive without blood."

Wiping the residue tears from her tired eyes, Sheena quickly stated, "Crystal's right. We have to find treatment for Simon (who lost his left arm) and Harry quickly. I loath to leave this place as much as any of you do, but there's nothing we can do – we have to go. We have to leave this island."

"Where are we going to…go?" Emily asked softly as terror flashed across her face. "This is our home…where can we go?"

A pregnant silence followed as everyone nodded their heads in agreement – there was nowhere for them to go...

"We're going to London - the Wizard's Community." Sheena finally answered with resigned determination. "I don't want to hear any arguments – I am doing what I believe will be best for everyone. We'll come back here and reclaim our home…one day…I promise. But for now, we have to leave. It's no longer safe here – the wards have been torn down."

"How are we going to leave?" Lyon asked as he gazed sadly at his fallen comrades.

"How many of you have enough energy to apparate long distance?" Sheena asked briskly, setting her face back into stone.

Katherine, Jason, Amy, and Stacy tentatively stepped forward.

Sheena nodded her head in approval at Katherine and Jason, but felt a twinge of worry at the sight of Amy and Stacy (it seemed not even Dragon Riders were spared from the curse having dunderheads in their midst). But alas…"Trey will travel with Katherine; Emily with Jason; Crystal with Amy; and Aaron with Stacy. I will take Harry and Simon and the bodies of Fatima and Roselyn. Lyon will cover Odion and the bodies of Shan and Lance. Assemble the house elves and give them the order to wait for us at London."

"Yes, ma'am," everyone quietly answered in unison as Lyon wordlessly headed up the castle steps. He returned a few minutes later with Odion, who was still comatose, and gently laid him beside Fatima.

A tense silence settled around the castle as the house elves hurriedly apparated away with strict orders from Sheena to wait for them with their belongings in London. Once the house elves were successfully evacuated, Sheena quickly gave everyone a terse smile and a whisper of, "See you in London," before disapparating with a loud crack - taking Harry, Simon, Roselyn, and Fatima with her.

Sighing slightly, Lyon quickly redirected his attention to the students and almost grinned when he noticed the solemn looks imprinted on their faces, looking like they were preparing to apparate to hell instead of London. "It's a long distance from here to London." he stated, voicing everyone's fear. "But as long as you keep your attention focused on my energy signature, you won't get lost." Lyon gruffly assured before he was gone – taking Odion and the bodies of Lance and Shan with him.

With a collective sigh, the eight remaining students quickly followed suit; praying fervently that they'd land in the right place without splinching themselves or their partner in the process…

In one collective pop, all eight students were gone – leaving the castle barren and empty and the grounds littered with Death Eater corpses…

…They were going to London…

…Home of the Witches and Wizards…

…A place they had once called home before their initiation…

…The homeland of Voldemort.

Remus Lupin sighed tiredly as he stepped heavily out of Flourish and Blotts with an armful of old and battered books on Defense Against the Dark Arts. Although the books weren't the newest or the best, it was all he could afford…and they had decent information of the counter-curses he was researching. Although it was almost definitely impossible to find a counter-curse to the Killing Curse, he strongly believed that where this is a hope, there is way…

Sighing again, Remus silently resolved to aid his friends, who were constantly knocking at death's door, in any way possible. He had even volunteered to speak to the other werewolves once, but James and Sirius had passionately objected, arguing they would rather have him in one piece without the werewolves help than having their help and having him in pieces. Of course, seeing as his friends were James and Sirius, this objection quickly led to the inevitable discussion of whether werewolves ate their own brethren and whether werewolves were even edible…

Smiling slightly at the memory, Remus was just about to apparate home when a collective loud POP interrupted his concentration. He, along with the rest of the witches and wizards shopping at Diagon Ally, gaped openly as a horde of house elves (numbering about 57) suddenly appeared out of thin air, each carrying two trunks of baggage.

"House elves?" sneered one of the wizards as he towered ominously over a little, blue-eyed house elf. "What are you doing here…and what do you have in those bags?" he demanded, eyes gleaming wildly at the thought of innumerable riches hidden within the trunks.

Remus could understand why the wizard was suddenly so interested in the contents of the trunks – anyone who owned more than three house elf had to be rich. For any one person to own more than ten elves was…preposterous, unless they were royalty or filthy rich (or belonging to a large school or organization).

"Starry can not tell you." the blue-eyed elf retorted, turning up her nose in disdain.

The wizard, flushing a furious red at being dismissed by a house elf in front of a large crowd, quickly lunged at the small creature. Centimeters before the wizard could grab the house elf, the wizard found himself suddenly flung backwards by an invisible force.

"Master gave Starry orders to let no one near. I is not sorry for hurting sir. If good sir comes near Starry again, Starry will have to kill sir."

"You impertinent dwarf, how dare you mock me!"

"Sir, Starry is no dwarf – Starry is a house elf. Dwarves live in caves in the land of…"

"Stupefy!" the red-faced wizard shouted, flinging the elf backwards. "That'll teach you to…"

Pop

Remus blinked in surprise when an ancient-looking woman, who's skin seemed to be practically dangling off her flesh, suddenly appeared in the midst of the house elves with four levitated, bloodied bodies in tow. A minute later, another pop sounded beside her – revealing an elderly man (just as old as the woman) with three more bodies in tow. Seconds later, four children apparated onto the scene…

Eyes bulging slightly, Remus gaped in open shock as the group of 10-year-olds stumbled around blindly to regain their footing.

"I think I'm going to barf." a red-head mumbled as he clutched his stomach.

"I'm feeling kind of woozy too." agreed the girl beside him with a slight shake of her head.

"Did I loose a leg?" asked a boy with platinum-blond hair as he clutched his head in agony.

"No, they're both there, you prat." the red-head snapped.

"Who you calling a prat, dork?"

"Well, seeing as there's only…"

"Trey - Jason, stop your foolish bantering!" the old lady commanded, looking slightly peeved.

"Yes ma'am!" they answered in unison before simultaneously adding, "but he started it." They shot each other an irritated glare before quickly turning away with a loud huff.

"Is everyone accounted for?" the old man gruffly barked.

"No sir," Jason promptly replied, shooting Trey a smug look.

"Amy and Stacy, who are taking Aaron and Crystal, are not here!" Trey piped in, not to be outdone by his rival.

Blinking his eyes rapidly to clear his vision, Remus gently massaged his throbbing temple as he tried to sort out what he was seeing. First, a horde of house elves appeared seemingly out of nowhere with enough luggage to fill his entire cottage to the brim. Then, two ancient-looking people suddenly apparate onto the scene out of nowhere, levitating seven bloodied/comatose bodies behind them. Then, four children stumble onto the scene as if apparating at their age wasn't illegal! What was the world coming to?

"Butterly." Sheena stated as she thrust a pouch of rubies towards the head house elf. "Find a suitable home and get everything settled. Then go and locate the whereabouts of Crystal, Amy, Stacy, and Aaron. Report to me at St. Mungo's with full details after you accomplish everything."

"Yes Master!" the house elves chorused before promptly disapparating in a collective pop.

"Sheena, let's go. Simon and Harry need treatment immediately." the old man probed impatiently.

"I know, Lyon - I know." Sheena answered tiredly as Trey checked Harry's pulse again.

"He's still alive." Trey announced; his voice laced with relief.

"I know none of you have ever been to St. Mungo's, so it will be hard to get there. I've never actually been there myself either," Sheena began, twisting her hands irritably, "but it's supposed to be a large building labeled 'St. Mungo's'. It's a seven-story building with…"

Remus blocked out the rest of the elderly woman's description of the hospital as he turned his attention to the levitated bodies. There were four elderly men and women – three out of the four stained in blood – and three children – one of which was…James?

Crack

Remus quickly snapped out of his daze when the odd group of mismatched children and adults suddenly disapparated with a loud crack. He was surprised a ministry member hadn't arrived yet - children were strictly forbidden to apparate. Then again, those strange people didn't seem to have used wands…

Shaking his head slightly, he decided he'd mull over the strange occurrence later. He was probably just seeing things – that boy couldn't have been James and there was probably a very good reason why those people had seemingly apparated without a wand. They had most probably hid their wands inside their long, robe sleeves or something...

Lily bit her lips worriedly as Alice handed her a steaming cup of tea. Despite Sirius's assurance that Voldemort wouldn't be there when they infiltrated Riddle Mansion, she still couldn't help but feel something very big…and life-changing was going to happen soon.

"Lily, will you stop worrying and enjoy your break? James and Sirius will be fine – they'll be back safe and sound by the end of the day." Alice promised reassuringly. "Plus, if something does happen to them – not that I'm saying that anything will happen to them - you'll be the first to know."

"Thanks Alice…" Lily murmured absent-mindedly.

"Lily…"

"Emergency up at the front desk! Emergency at the front desk!" a loud voice shouted with the aid of the Sonorous Charm. "Calling Healers Potter and Stalwarts to Room 27A and Healers Smith and Young to Room 32B. I repeat, calling Healers Potter and Stalwarts to Room 27A and Healers Smith and Young to Room 32B!"

"I got to go," Lily murmured as she quickly shrugged on her medical robes, "I'll see you later, Alice."

"Be…careful." Alice waved as Lily swiftly hurried down the hall, dodging patients and nurses who got in her way.

"What's the matter?" Lily demanded as she walked briskly into the room. Glaring irritably at the nurses who were crowded around the patient and openly gawking at him as if he were some new specimen of a lost race, Lily hotly ordered for everyone to move aside and give the patient some air.

"Lily, your not going to believe this," Vanessa Stalwarts, a fellow Healer, murmured softly.

"What is it?" Lily asked fearfully as she stepped towards her colleague, knowing Vanessa wasn't the type of person who would gawk at patients or joke about their conditions.

"Besides the fact that it's almost definitely impossible to save him…" trailed Vanessa, looking truly perplexed, "he looks exactly like your husband…James Potter." Without leaving Lily time to demand an explanation, Vanessa quickly stepped aside, allowing Lily a full view of the patient's face - the face of a young, ten-year-old boy with remarkable resemblance to James Potter…down to the last strand of messy, black hair.

Lily felt her throat constrict painfully as she fell heavily beside the patient, allowing the shock to temporarily immobilize her body.

"Do you…know him?" Vanessa asked tentatively after watching Lily stare uncertainly into space for two minutes. "Is he a nephew or…"

Lily furiously shook her head from side to side as her eyes glazed over in pain and regret. "He - He's my son." she finally sobbed, cradling the boy's bloodied cheek in her hand. "I don't know how or why, but I know he's my son…my little Harry…" she whimpered softly as pained tears streamed down her cheeks.

TBC

Author's Notes: I am so sorry the update took so long! I promise to be quicker next time (I hope)! Also, I hope the confusion in the last chapter was cleared up. If not, sign in and drop me a review stating what you don't get and I'll answer the question via the reply…thingy (yes, I know, real intelligent).

I promise I'll have the next chapter up by Easter Break at the latest! (It's probably going to be more Harry-centered and etc).