A/N - Hello everyone. It's update time again. A word before the chapter starts. This chapter contains the scene from the preview however I haven't just pasted the whole preview scene here. There are some significant differences between the two. A lot of the preview was a big summary of what happened earlier in the story and there's no need to repeat that. Also there have been changes over time in this story so this scene will not be fully consistent with the preview version. The preview was like a first draft outline and this is the full story. As stories grow they also change. If you feel like comparing the two go right ahead. Lastly the preview was largely from Hermione's POV whereas this is from Harry's POV.
Now it's time for the reunion of the golden trio.
Disclaimer: The X-Men were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and belong to Marvel Comics. Harry Potter was created by and belongs to J.K. Rowling.
"Normal Speech"
"Telepathy"
34) REUNION
Now that Lightning had finally found his friends he was nervous about speaking to them. He took a curving route towards them so that he wouldn't walk right up to them directly. Instead he wound up approaching them from the side. Hermione was nearer to him than Ron. They were deep in conversation and hadn't noticed him approaching. He was practically on top of them and they still hadn't noticed him. He could hear them talking now. He was about to clear his throat to let them know he was there when he realized they were talking about him.
"I watched Lightning the most" he heard Hermione say.
"So did I" said Ron, "what is it with that guy? he controls electricity and he can fly! How cool is that?"
"Boys" muttered Hermione to herself which made Lightning smile. That was so Hermione.
"How old is he?" Ron asked, "it looks like he's our age."
"He is" said Hermione, "everything I've seen or read about the X-Men says so."
"And he's doing all that?" said Ron, "Bloody hell!"
"Language!" said Hermione, "why does he bother you?"
Now Lightning leaned back. 'Is Ron jealous of me as Lightning?' he wondered. 'I sure hope not.'
"What?" said Ron, "no, no, he doesn't bother me, it's just compared to him I'm – "
"Ron" said Hermione cutting him off, "don't be silly. He's a special case. Think how hard he must train to be as good as he is. You can't compare yourself to him." Hermione was always sensible Lightning thought but she continued to speak.
"Did you want to be helping during the fight?" she asked Ron.
"I guess I did" said Ron, "I know I couldn't have done much but watching him, the other X-Men, Dumbledore, Flitwick, Moody, even Black fighting those people, well, it makes me feel so, so useless."
Okay, thought Lightning, this has gone far enough. He cleared his throat.
"You shouldn't feel that way" he said. Hermione and Ron both looked up in surprise and saw him standing there. It looked like they were both going to stand up but he motioned for them to stay sitting.
"I'm sorry if I eavesdropped a little" he said, "but I heard you mention me and I couldn't resist. You shouldn't put yourself down. Everyone is special and useful in their own way whether they have super powers or not. You both have magic and you're learning how to use it. I'd say that's special and useful."
"Thank you" said Ron in a low voice. He looked a little dazed and Lightning knew why. He had seen the same expression that a lot of fans of superheroes, or just big celebrities in general had: some awe at meeting their heroes mixed in with nervousness about the same thing. Apparently Ron was now a fan of his. He had said he was 'cool' because he could fly. What would he say when he found out who Lightning really was? Lightning decided to talk to them a little bit first before revealing himself. He was curious to see if either of them (Hermione most likely) would recognize him before he did. Back in December he had been concerned that Hermione might recognize his voice. However recently it had started to change, signaling the onset of puberty for him so he was less concerned about that now. These days when he talked his voice tended to alternate between high and low, much to the amusement of Sirius and his teammates all of whom commiserated with him as they had all gone through the same process themselves.
"May I join you?" he asked them. Both of them nodded so he sat down on the ground next to Hermione. For the first time in ten months they were all together again even if Lightning was the only one who knew that for the moment.
"Lightning" he said holding out his hand.
"Ron" said Ron reaching over Hermione to shake his hand.
"Hermione" said Hermione shaking it after Ron.
"I remember you" said Lightning, "Angel and I helped you out in Central Park during the holidays."
"That's right" said Hermione, "are you British? You sound like it."
"Yes" said Lightning, "I was born here but I live in the States now. I've come back once or twice since moving there though." Hermione was staring at him with that look of hers that he remembered so well, the one which said that she was trying to figure out something she should know but it was eluding her. 'Give it a few more minutes' he thought 'and we'll see if she works it out.'
"Are you both all right?" he asked after a silence, "You didn't get hurt at all while Magneto was trying to take the school, did you?"
"No" said Hermione, "though I'm not likely to forget it any time soon, especially after seeing how he and his group took down the aurors so quickly. If you X-Men hadn't shown up when you did who knows what might have happened? But aren't you worried about getting hurt?"
"Yes" said Lightning, "I'd be an idiot otherwise. But you can't let fear stop you from doing what you have to do in the moment. You just have do the best you can to make sure that doesn't happen. "
"You were great" said Ron, "thank you so much for fighting off those other people."
"It's what we do" said Lightning saying it simply as a statement of fact without bragging at all, "Magneto is – we've fought him before more than once. He's pretty bad."
"No kidding" said Ron, "and those others with him – I'm really glad you guys beat them."
"Thank you Ron" said Lightning, "I appreciate you saying that."
There was a silence as the three of them sat together. Ron was still looking at Lightning with awe while Hermione was still staring at him. It didn't seem like she was figuring it out so Lightning decided it was time to tell them the truth. 'Let the fun begin' he thought to himself before looking around at the Hogwarts grounds.
"Hogwarts" Lightning said, "it doesn't look any different from the last time I was here."
"You've been here before?" asked Ron in surprise. The penny was in the air. Time to let them have it.
"Well" said Lightning with a grin, "considering that you and I shared a dorm room for two years you could say that I've been here before – close your mouth Hermione before something flies into it or you get caught by a hook."
The penny had hit the ground. Hermione's jaw dropped open and Ron looked at him with unusually wide eyes as they finally figured out just who was under Lightning's mask.
"Ha – " Hermione began to exclaim when Lightning covered her mouth with one hand and held the forefinger of his other hand to his lips.
"Shh" he said, "yes Hermione it's me. I know this is a shock for you but I'd appreciate it if you didn't shout it out so loudly." When he saw Hermione get herself under control he took his hand away from her mouth.
"Harry?" she asked in a low voice, "is that really you?"
"You're Lightning?" Ron asked in just as low a voice but sounding as if he couldn't believe it, "is this what you've been doing for the last ten months?"
Lightning nodded before glancing around and seeing that nobody else was nearby and no one was watching them. He reached up with both hands and pulled his mask up past his eyes showing them his full face, scar included, for a few seconds before lowering it back down again showing them definitively that yes, he, Harry Potter, was Lightning of the X-Men.
"Dumbledore said it was okay to tell you now" said Lightning, "but I'm only telling you two, no one else. And I expect you to keep it to yourselves."
"Dumbledore knows about you being Lightning?" asked Ron.
"He knows everything" said Lightning, "and he knew it right from the beginning."
"Of course he does" said Hermione in exasperation, "he made it clear that he knew where you were the whole time but he refused to tell us anything. Why shouldn't he know about you being an X-Man too?"
"That's our beloved headmaster" said Lightning with a grin before looking at them both with a serious expression, "it's good to see you both again. Hermione, when I met you in Central Park last December you have no idea how terrified I was that you'd recognize my voice if I said anything to you. At the same time I so very badly wanted to pull off my mask and let you see me – but I couldn't, not then anyway. I finally can now."
"I thought you were just shy" said Hermione, "but why did you pretend that you didn't know us just now?"
"I wanted to give you a few minutes to figure it out first" said Lightning, "it looked like you were trying to but you weren't getting there so I just sped things up."
"You don't sound the same mate" said Ron.
"Yeah well my voice is changing" said Lightning, "it happens to all of us."
Lightning stood up and gestured for his friends to do the same.
"I know you have lots of questions for me" he said, "actually, Hermione, I'm kind of surprised you aren't already firing them at me like you normally do. I suppose the shock hasn't worn off yet. Well if you can please hold off on the bombardment until I've had a chance to actually speak I'll tell you what I couldn't tell you in my letters and that just might answer a lot of your questions before you ask them. I finally have permission to tell you both the whole story and I'm going to do it – but just you, no one else. Okay?"
"All right" said Hermione.
"You got it mate" said Ron, "even I'm smart enough to know that this is important."
"Thank you" said Lightning not liking how Ron put himself down, "now let's take a walk around the lake. Once we have more privacy I'll begin."
Ron and Hermione followed Lightning as they began walking. They walked in silence for a few minutes as both Ron and Hermione noticed the changes that they could see in their friend since they had last seen him ten months ago. He walked with more confidence, that was clear. He was taller by several inches although not as tall as Ron. He had also bulked up and his muscles were visible under his uniform. Hermione wondered a little to herself what he would look like without his uniform on before blushing a little and wondering why he wasn't wearing his glasses.
"I want to start" Lightning said as they walked "by apologizing to you for leaving in the way I did and not telling you that I was going before I left. The headmaster and my mentor asked me to keep it all to myself back then. I started writing letters to you two once I knew I wasn't coming back for third year for two reasons. First, I missed you guys and I wanted to stay in touch. Second, I remembered how concerned you were that summer after first year when Dobby was stopping my mail. I knew you'd worry if I just disappeared and I thought that if you at least heard from me regularly, even if the letters were brief and there were a lot of things I couldn't tell you, that you wouldn't worry so much." Lightning stopped and turned to look at his friends.
"Even so" he said, "I know it can't have been easy and I'm sure you worried anyway. I apologize for that too. Hermione, you may slap me once if you wish, and Ron, you may punch me once." He looked at them in an expectant manner as if waiting. After a moment Hermione did slap him, not too hard but with enough force to mean it before she grabbed him and began hugging him as if her life depended on it. Ron punched him lightly on one of his arms before hugging him from his other side.
"Oh Harry" Hermione said, her voice sounding a bit thick, "we did worry even though we got your letters. They never said much and neither of us knew if you were really all right even though it was Hedwig who was delivering them. Please don't ever do that again."
"Yeah mate" said Ron, "especially having to put up with everyone asking us where you were and Malfoy crowing that you must have been too cowardly to come back and were gone for good. By the way that howler your sent him was wicked."
"Oh the heck with Malfoy" said Lightning with some exasperation in his voice as he disentangled himself from his friends and started walking again, "what does he know? He's just a spoiled brat who's been handed everything in his life on a golden dish and yet he still thinks he's better than everyone else and that the world owes him something just because he was born. Did you see what he did during the fight? He was so sure of his 'Pureblood Superiority' that he snuck out of the castle and tried to challenge Magneto by himself!"
"Yes we saw that" said Hermione, "I dare say everyone saw that. Professor Snape had some pretty choice words for him when he returned to the Great Hall. Even though I don't like him I'm still glad you saved him from Magneto."
"I guess I am too" said Lightning, "of course he didn't thank me. I saw him again later and he offered to reward me by allowing me to become his servant."
"He didn't!" said Hermione.
"Kind of says it all about him, doesn't it?" said Ron. Lightning held out a hand and his friends watched in fascination as tiny bolts of electricity danced above his open palm.
"You know I could kill him with one lightning bolt" he said, "I won't, but I could – and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. He just doesn't seem to have the sense not to tempt fate. Well maybe someday." He let the electricity dance on his palm for a little longer before letting it fade away.
"I'll remember" said Ron as he and Hermione walked alongside Harry, "by the way, why do you call yourself 'Lightning?' Is it because of your scar?"
"Oh God no" said Lightning grimacing a bit as he explained to Ron and Hermione how he got his code name
"That's still one hell of a coincidence mate" said Ron "if our world ever finds out about you they'll never believe it's a coincidence."
"I'm well aware of that" said Lightning, "especially Fred and George I'm sure."
"Then we'll have to make sure they don't find out" said Hermione, "right Ron?"
"Right" said Ron.
"Who's your mentor?" Hermione asked Lightning, "and how did you meet him?"
"Let's go a little further and I'll tell you" said Lightning. The three of them continued walking.
"What's with the uniform?" asked Hermione.
"It's my school uniform" was the reply, "didn't you see that we all wear one? Well Iceman doesn't but he's the exception. It's also the team uniform obviously."
"Wait" Ron said sounding surprised, "the X-Men go to school?"
"Doesn't everyone our age?" said Lightning, "our school is just a little different and what we wear reflects that, just like with you at Hogwarts."
"Interesting look" said Ron eyeing Lightning up and down.
"I like it" said Lightning, "it's easy to move in and that helps in a fight. No disrespect to Hogwarts but wizarding robes wouldn't work nearly as well."
"So it's a school for superheroes?" asked Hermione.
"Mutant superheroes" said Lightning, "we're all trained to control and use our powers as best we can. You ought to see our practice room some time. Then you'd understand just how serious our training is."
Not long after that they reached the far side of the lake from Hogwarts Castle. There they stopped and Lightning turned to face his friends.
"Now then" he said, "I'll tell you what I couldn't say in my letters but you must keep this stuff to yourselves. There's a reason we hide our identities when we're in the field and if one of our enemies found out you knew who we were they might try to get to us through you. Do you still want to hear the story?"
"Mate, it's not like that's any different with You Know Who" said Ron, "people know we're your friends. It's the same thing."
"He's right" said Hermione.
"That's true" Lightning admitted with a nod before he stood for a moment in silence, thinking about what to say.
"You're probably wondering" he began, "that if I have these powers why I never used them when I was at Hogwarts?"
Hermione and Ron both nodded.
"I didn't have them back then" said Lightning, "I found out later that for most mutants their powers don't show up until puberty..."
Lightning told them almost everything that had happened to him starting with the Chamber of Secrets where his powers had first manifested themselves. He told them about the days after that when he couldn't yet control his new powers, how he was introduced to Professor Xavier (whom Hermione had heard of) who told him he was a mutant and invited him to America, about meeting his teammates, his training, his reasons for staying in the U. S. to join the X-Men and why he had to keep secret where he'd gone and what he was doing. He told them how Dumbledore had arranged for him to enroll at Ilvermorny as a part time student so as to not neglect his magical education as well as how hard he'd had to work to catch up with his mundane education (Hermione looked like she wanted to question him about that but held her tongue), and how eventually Sirius and Remus had come to visit over Christmas and Sirius had stayed with him when Remus had returned to Hogwarts.
"Why did they get to know about you before we did?" asked Ron, a little upset that he and Hermione weren't the first ones to know besides Dumbledore.
"Because they're my family" said Lightning, "or the closest thing that I have to one. Sirius is my godfather and Remus is my honorary uncle. If it were you instead of me wouldn't you want your parents and your brothers and sister to be the first to know?" Put that way Ron decided that he was right.
The only thing Lightning didn't tell them about was just how large his family fortune was. They both already knew his family was well off and he didn't see any reason for them to know exactly how rich he was. He knew Ron was sensitive about his family being poor and didn't want to exacerbate that and Hermione – well he didn't know how she would react but he figured that since his family was so secretive about their wealth he would continue that policy. There was no reason she, or anyone else, needed to know that anyway.
"The biggest down side to my staying in America" he finally said, "was knowing I'd have to leave my friends behind, especially you two. Considering that, thanks to dear cousin Dudley, until I came to Hogwarts I never had any friends that was hard. That's why I kept writing to you so regularly. It was the only way I had to keep in touch with you, and I have missed you and everyone else – well not Snape or Malfoy but you get the idea.
"So that's where I've been. I learned to control my new powers and how to use them effectively. I discovered I could fly – "
"Yes, how do you do that?" interrupted Ron eagerly.
"Advanced telekinesis" said Lightning simply, "and I have to tell you that it's wonderful. It's easily the best part about being Lightning. You both know how much I loved flying on a broom when I was here? Well now that I can fly without using a broom I have no words to describe what it's like. What's even better is that as long as I'm in my X-Man uniform I can go flying in public!" He took off right then and there and climbed up to about 15 feet in the air before starting to circle above his friends who both looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Woohoo!" yelled Lightning.
"Woohoo!" Ron yelled back as he waved up at Lightning who gave him a thumbs up. Hermione just shook her head but she had a smile on her face as she watched her friend.
After circling above them a couple more times Lightning landed again and they could both see the huge grin on his face.
"Sorry for showing off a bit" said Lightning, "I couldn't help it."
"That's okay mate" said Ron, "I wish I could do that."
"I wish I had a way to share it with you" said Lightning who took a deep breath as he calmed down again.
"Well" he finally said, "just being able to fly was only the beginning of things. Eventually I was skilled enough to use both of my powers while I was flying. That came in very handy today."
"We saw" said Hermione.
"I've also been learning how to fight without using my powers or magic" said Lightning, "when we started doing missions it was very helpful stuff to know. You may have noticed that I also switched to wearing contact lenses instead of glasses?"
"I noticed" said Hermione, "less risky in a fight?"
"Less risky period" said Lightning, "the same goes for my wand." That led into a discussion about wandless magic. Both Hermione and Ron were impressed when Lightning performed a lumos charm without a wand but they were more impressed and surprised to learn that wandless magic wasn't nearly as difficult as they had always been led to believe.
"Any magical can do it" said Lightning, "if they're willing to put in the effort and have the strength of will to pull it off. Sirius is learning to do it now. Professor Xavier recently told Dumbledore about this and he was very intrigued since he'd only ever heard the same stuff we'd all heard about how hard wandless magic was supposed to be. I know he intends to further explore it, and he'll probably start encouraging others to try it too, maybe even start up a new class for the higher years. Both of you can do it if you really want to."
"I can?" asked Ron.
"Sure" said Lightning, "try it for yourself."
"Uh, okay" said Ron who held up his right hand.
"Lumos" he said. Nothing happened.
"Try harder" said Lightning, "you can do it."
Ron tried again. He tried to put everything he had into the spell.
"Lumos" he said again. This time a small light appeared at the end of his finger and grew brighter. It held for a few seconds before going out.
"You see?" asked Lightning.
"I did it" said Ron, "I really did it!" He was grinning a large goofy grin.
"Never doubted you for a second" said Lightning smiling back at him, "and you shouldn't doubt yourself."
"What?" said Ron with a blank look on his face caught off guard by the statement.
"Ron," said Lightning, "I saw the way you were looking at me earlier before you knew who I really was. You looked like you were in awe of me, as if I was some kind of amazing figure from a legend almost. I'm not. I'm just Harry – yes, I'm Lightning too but I didn't become Lightning out of the blue. I didn't wake up one morning and say 'oh I think I'll become a superhero today.' As Hermione said earlier it was a lot of work, first to get my powers under control and then to be able to use them effectively. Our training was, and is, very intense and I've been doing it for months. Even now there's still a lot for me to learn and it'll probably always be that way. Don't compare yourself to me. You're not me, you're you – and there's nothing wrong with that!"
Ron began to open his mouth but Lightning stopped him.
"I know" said Lightning, "that you have a lot of self-doubts. The first time we met you told me about having five older brothers, remember? You told me that because of that nothing you did really mattered much because one of your older brothers had already done it. You're wrong. It does matter. Even if it doesn't matter to anyone else it should at least matter to you because YOU did it. Do you understand me?"
Ron was silent this time. Nobody had ever talked to him like this before. Not receiving a reply Lightning went on.
"Ron, you're not any of your brothers" he said. "You're not Bill Weasley the curse breaker, or Charlie who works with dragons, or Percy who you've told me wants to go into the ministry, or Fred and George who will probably open a joke shop or something. Obviously you're not Ginny." Ron smiled a little at that.
"You're RON Weasley" continued Lightning, "you have to figure out for yourself who that is. Who is Ron Weasley? What does Ron Weasley like to do? What does Ron Weasley want out of life? What kind of career does Ron Weasley want? Does Ron Weasley want a family of his own? That's not for others to decide, it's your decision. I know your mum wants you to work in the ministry after you're done with Hogwarts. If that's what you want then go for it. But if it isn't then don't. Despite what you may think you're not stupid. You know how I know? You're an excellent chess player. It's impossible to be good at chess if you're stupid. It's just impossible. Have you ever thought about entering a chess tournament? I don't know if they have them in the magical world but they do in the muggle world. The only difference between magical and muggle chess is that muggle chess pieces aren't alive. It's exactly the same otherwise. If you entered a tournament you'd probably do well. You were the one who got us past McGonagall's giant chess set in first year, not me, not Hermione, you. I could easily see you becoming a champion.
"The upshot, Ron, is that you should live your own life the way you want to and don't let anyone else pressure you otherwise. Decide what you want to do and go do it. You'll really need to work hard to achieve your goals but you can do it if you really want to. Just think about how happy you'll be when you succeed."
There was a long silence when Lightning finally stopped talking. Ron and Hermione both looked a bit shocked.
"Harry" Hermione finally said in a small voice, "when did you get so wise?"
"Eh" said Lightning making a dismissive gesture, "fighting bad guys, facing death, and getting tortured into unconsciousness tends to change your outlook on life." Hermione opened her mouth to respond to that but before she could Ron grabbed Lightning and gave him the fiercest hug anyone had ever seen him give. Lightning responded a bit awkwardly having not expected that reaction but he did hug Ron back.
"Thank you" Ron said when they split apart, "no one's ever said anything like that to me before. Mum's always telling me I need to be more like Percy or Bill, the Twins are always making fun of me. Oh, I know everyone loves me. There's plenty of love in our family but there's not much encouragement if you know what I mean and I've never been told that I can do whatever I want with my life. Mum does want me to go into the ministry, same with Fred and George, and she wants Ginny to get married and be a mother like her. I know Fred and George don't want that. I don't know what Ginny wants, or really what I want now that you say it to me. Mum won't listen to that though and it's hard to stand up to her. You know what she's like."
Lightning just shrugged. He didn't have an answer to that. He could tell Ron to stand up to his mum and live his own life but he couldn't force him to do it. Ron would have to figure it out for himself. He just hoped he would.
"Do they really have chess tournaments in the muggle world?" Ron was asking now.
"They really do" said Hermione, "all the way up to world champion level."
"Wow" said Ron as he took that in and began to imagine the possibilities. There was another silence before Hermione roused herself.
"I think we've gotten a bit off track" she said, "weren't we talking about wandless magic?"
"Yes we were" said Lightning snapping his fingers "okay Hermione it's your turn to try it."
It went quicker for Hermione who got a brighter light on her first try. She still seemed very surprised that she could do it.
"There you go" said Lightning to both of his friends, "just keep working at it and it will come. A wand's good for learning a spell but once you have it down you can learn to do it without one."
"That must really help in a fight" said Ron.
"It does" said Lightning, "although I don't use magic in a fight very often. I keep it held back as a sort of secret weapon for when I really need it. It got me out of a tight spot not that long ago."
"That makes sense" said Hermione.
"So that's how I became one of the X-Men" said Lightning, "today you saw us in action. I'm sorry it was here though."
"Wow" said Ron, "what's it like being an X-Man?"
"I love it" said Lightning, "yeah, it can be dangerous at times and I won't say it's fun but I think we really help people. Stopping someone like Magneto, or the Vanisher, or Blob, or any other bad guy before they can really hurt people is, well it's a good thing, you know?"
"Kind of like stopping You Know Who or the basilisk" said Ron.
"Yes" said Lightning.
"What are they like?" asked Hermione.
"They're great people" said Lightning with a smile, "Professor Xavier is very wise and he really cares about all of us. Cyclops is really serious almost all of the time and very focused on what we do and he's a really good leader. Iceman is more fun. He's the second youngest. He's 16. The others are all 17 or 18. Angel is from a rich family but he's nothing like Malfoy. He's the one I'm closest to. Beast is a lot like you, Hermione, he's brilliant, studious, loves learning and uses a lot of really big words. Marvel Girl is like the big sister I never knew I wanted. And they're all kind, loyal, very supportive, and really great friends. A lot like you are." Lightning's face then got more serious.
"Also" he said, "if Voldemort ever does come back, the X-Men will be there to help fight him."
"Really?" said Hermione, "that's great but why? He's not an evil mutant."
"Who says we only fight evil mutants?" replied Lightning, "Cyclops was the one who put it best when he said 'Harry, you're an X-Man now and we stick together. Your problems are our problems, your enemy is our enemy.' The magic world has some new allies against Voldemort and they don't even know it – well Dumbledore knows it, and you know it, and a couple of other people know it."
"Who's worse?" asked Ron, "Magneto or You Know Who?" Lightning scoffed a bit.
"Apples and oranges" he said, "or maybe I should say 'Potions and Charms.' You can't really compare them, they're too different – and before you ask I have no idea which of them would win in a fight." Ron laughed and admitted he was about to ask that. The three friends were silent for few minutes as Hermione and Ron took in everything Lightning had told them.
"So when are you coming back to Hogwarts?" asked Hermione finally breaking the silence. Lightning looked away.
"I'm sorry Hermione" he said in a low voice, "I'm not coming back to Hogwarts."
"Why not?" demanded Hermione as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.
"I don't belong here anymore" said Lightning looking up at them again, "I'm an X-Man now and that's where I belong."
"But mate" said Ron, "we miss you so much. It's just not the same without you. Gryffindor hasn't won once at Quidditch since you've been gone." Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Boys" she muttered.
"Don't ever change Ron," said Lightning with a chuckle, "and I miss you too."
He paused for a moment before going on.
"Do you know what happened on my first day at Ilvermorny?" he asked them. They both shook their heads.
"Nothing" Lightning continued, "nothing at all..." This led him to explain just how unimportant the wizarding war and his status as the Boy-Who-Lived was in America.
"To them I'm just Harry" said Lightning, "and I can't tell you grateful I am for that."
"But you're still famous" said Hermione, "in fact you're more famous as Lightning than you ever were as the Boy-Who-Lived."
"That's true" admitted Lightning, "but there's a big difference. Who knows what really happened when Voldemort attacked me? Did I really defeat him? Who says it wasn't something that my mum did that protected me? I don't remember much from that night and no else was there so no one really knows. Why should I be famous for that? As Lightning I'm famous for things I've actually done and am freely choosing to do. Also when I take off my mask and uniform and go about as myself no one knows I'm Lightning. It's very nice that way."
Neither Hermione or Ron had an answer for that. Suddenly Lightning laughed.
"Speaking of fame" he said "I've got to tell you about this..."
Lightning told them about his encounter with the Dursleys, although not about his breakdown afterwards. At the end of the anecdote all three of them were laughing together. It was almost as if Harry had never left Hogwarts.
"Well" said Lightning when they stopped laughing, "Dumbledore invited the X-Men to stay for dinner and we are but that's not for a while yet. It's been wonderful to see you both again and I'm glad you're both well but if you don't mind I'd like to take some time to wander around Hogwarts and see the castle again. Will you tell me the Gryffindor password?"
"Sure mate" said Ron, "it's Phoenix Fire."
"Thanks" said Lightning, "see you both at the feast." He took off and flew out over the lake. He circled back for a moment and waved to his friends before turning away and flying back toward the castle.
Ron and Hermione watched in silence as Lightning flew away from them. Finally Ron spoke.
"He looked... happy" Ron said.
"He did" said Hermione, "I can't remember ever seeing him look so happy when he was here. Not even when he was playing Quidditch or just flying on a broom."
"You're right" said Ron, "after the X-Men leave do you think we'll ever see him again?" Before Hermione could answer both of them they heard a voice in their heads.
"Of course you'll see him again" said the voice, "the whole reason the X-Men stayed at Hogwarts for so long after the fight was so that Harry could reconnect with the two of you."
"Who is that?" Hermione said out loud, "where are you?"
"Please think your answers" was the reply, "we'll be able to talk more easily. Now, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Charles Xavier and I'm Harry's teacher and the founder of the X-Men. I believe he told you about me?"
"He did" said Ron, "how are you in my head?"
"Harry did tell you I'm a telepath, did he not?" was the answer, "and as the X-Men's mentor I am always with them. I apologize for surprising you like this and I haven't been spying on you but I heard your last thoughts and I had to reassure you. Harry missed you a lot. He has other friends now but he hasn't forgotten you. When I sent the X-Men to Hogwarts Harry wanted a chance to see you two again. Do you really think after he went out of his way to see you two again that he'll let you go from his life now? At the very least you can expect more visits from Hedwig. And who knows? Maybe over the summer he can visit you, or you can visit him."
"That would be wicked" said Ron, his eyes lighting up, "I've never been to America."
"I'm pleased to hear it" said Xavier, "just remember to keep what you've learned to yourselves. Harry showed a great deal of trust in you when he told you about the X-Men. That should tell you everything."
"I will" said Hermione.
"So will I" said Ron.
"Good" said Xavier, "then I look forward to meeting you both in person in the not too distant future. Goodbye for now." And with that he was gone from their heads.
Hermione and Ron stood where they were for a long moment before they roused themselves and began walking back around the lake to the castle.
"You know" said Hermione, "there seems to be something very appropriate about Harry being one of the X-Men. This makes it three years in a row that he's been involved in dangerous situations defending Hogwarts." Ron laughed.
Lightning flew back across the lake toward the castle. It had taken a long time for him to tell Ron and Hermione his story and answer all of their questions and it was now late afternoon. When he was nearing the castle side of the lake Angel flew out to meet him.
"Everything okay?" Angel asked him.
"Yes, thankfully" said Lightning, "how are the rest of you doing?"
"We're fine. People are still coming over to meet us but it's better outside than in the entrance hall. Still I'm glad to spread my wings and get away from it for a bit ."
"You want to put on a show?" asked Lightning, "let's play aerial tag. We haven't had our game today."
"Sure, it would be a good way to unwind" said Angel who tapped Lightning on the arm, "you're it!" He took off flying away from Lightning who pursued him.
"Better go fast!" Lightning called to his teammate. They both flew up higher in the air where they could easily be seen by everyone who was on the Hogwarts front lawn. They then proceeded to give a virtuoso display of aerobatics as they spun around each other and then dived down quickly before rising up fast again. After several minutes Lightning finally tapped Angel.
"Now you're it" he said and flew away from his teammate.
They chased each other around for several more minutes before they decided to stop. They landed near where the other X-Men were as well as some of the crowd that had been watching who immediately began applauding.
"That was bloody awesome!" a familiar voice yelled. Lightning turned to see George and Fred Weasley standing nearby with Lee Jordan next to them. They all looked as if they'd found their new gods.
"Thanks" said Angel in response, "as you can see we love to fly."
"How do you manage to fly without brooms?" Fred (or was it George?) yelled before adding "I can see how you manage it" this was to Angel, "but what about you?" this was to Lightning who just shrugged.
"It's easy if you know how" he said with a grin.
"He uses telekinesis" said Marvel Girl.
"Fine" said Lightning with a pout, "spoil my fun."
"Of course" said Marvel Girl with smirk as she floated several feet into the air before coming back down, "I can do it too, I just don't do it as much."
"You could" said Lightning.
"Yes I could" agreed Marvel Girl. She then opened up a mental link between her and her fellow X-Men so they could talk privately.
"Did it go all right with your friends?" she asked Lightning.
"Yes" said Lightning, "how have things been here?"
"We've been managing" said Beast, "although I admit this is one time I wish I could fly too what with this crowd. It's nice to be appreciated though."
"It is" said Cyclops, "Harry, is there anything else you want to do while we're here? Dinner isn't for a while yet."
"I'd like to wander around the castle for a bit" Lightning said, "none of you have to come with me."
"That's fine" said Cyclops, "Jean will tell you when you need to get back for the feast."
"Thanks" said Lightning, "see you all later."
Lightning took off again this time going straight up until he was high enough to see the tops of the towers. He headed over to the top of the tallest one and landed deciding he would start here and work his way down. He took a few moments to admire the view first. He could see all of the Hogwarts grounds spread out below from the Quidditch pitch to the greenhouses to the lake to Hagrid's hut to the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He felt a little nostalgic looking at it all but it was mixed with a new feeling of pride as he remembered that all of this land actually belonged to him. He supposed it might be like how a king would feel surveying his domain right after he first takes the throne. After a few minutes he turned away and started down the tower stairs.
He emerged from the bottom of the staircase into a long corridor on the top floor of Hogwarts. No one was around so he started walking. Eventually he passed a painting of a man apparently attempting to teach trolls how to dance ballet. He stopped to look at the painting for a few moments wondering just who on Earth would have had the bright idea to try to teach trolls how to dance and how did that person ever convince the trolls to wear those pink tutus? He snickered a little and moved on down the hall to where there were no paintings around.
"That's a very bizarre painting, isn't it?" a dreamy voice said from behind him taking him by surprise as he hadn't heard anyone walking nearby. Lightning turned to see a girl standing there. A rather odd looking girl who was several inches shorter than him. She had straggly, dirty-blond hair which ran down her back and was carrying her wand tucked behind her right ear. Around her neck was a necklace of butterbeer corks and she had a misty, somewhat dazed expression on her face.
"I'm sorry?" Lightning said.
"Oh did I disturb you Harry?" she said. Lightning froze when he heard his real name and his eyes assumed a deer in the headlights look.
"I'll go away if you like" the girl said and started to walk away.
"No, no, wait" he said and she stopped and turned back, "what did you just call me?" he asked now.
"Oh I'm sorry" she said, "you probably don't want me to use your name right now."
"Who are you?" Lightning asked, "and how do you know who I am?" The girl smiled.
"I'm Luna Lovegood" she said, "second year Ravenclaw and you may wear a mask but your true face is obvious to anyone who can see it."
"My... true face?" asked Lightning, perplexed, "what's that?"
"You're a hero of course" said Luna in a dreamy voice, "not that you could ever be anything else."
"Um, thanks" said Lightning, "you're not going to tell anyone about this, are you?"
"Oh no!" she reassured him, "I understand why you conceal your identity. I would never put you or anyone you care for in danger. I'll keep your secret."
"That's a relief" said Lightning, "have I met you before? You look a little familiar."
"You might have seen me talking to Ginny Weasley now and then" she said, "we live near each other and we're friends. I never actually met you until now though."
"Well then" said Lightning sticking out a hand which Luna shook, "pleased to make your acquaintance Luna. You already know my real name but when I'm in uniform like now please don't use it. Call me Lightning instead. That's my code name."
"I know" said Luna, "I saw you and your teammates fighting those other people. The Brotherhood I think they were called? They're really infested with wrackspurts. You had some floating around you last year but they're all gone now."
"That's – good?"
"Oh yes" said Luna, "wrackspurts enter into a person's head and make their thoughts go all fuzzy."
"Do they?" said Lightning, "then it's a good thing they're gone from me." He wondered how one could detect a wrackspurt. Their behavior sounded a bit like something a telepath could do to a person. He'd have to ask Professor X about that.
"You're not like other people" said Luna after a short silence.
"What do you mean?"
"Usually when I tell someone about wrackspurts" said Luna, "I get told they don't exist."
"In the past ten months" said Lightning, "a lot of unusual things have happened to me. I've met numerous people with incredible powers which aren't magical, I've discovered that I myself am such a person, I've been up in orbit around the planet, and I've had a drink with an actual god. Under the circumstances I'm quite willing to admit that such creatures as wrackspurts might exist even if I've never seen one." Luna nodded.
"Thank you" she said, "I'd better get downstairs. The feast will start fairly soon. Hopefully they'll have pudding. Do you like pudding?"
"Some types" said Lightning.
"Well maybe they'll have one of those types" said Luna smiling at him before turning away and walking off down the hall. Lightning stared after her until she was out of sight before shaking his head as if coming out of a trance.
"What an unusual person" he said to himself as he started walking again.
He wandered around several floors of Hogwarts but didn't run into anyone. It seemed that everyone else was still downstairs or outside. He passed many of the classrooms but they were all empty. At one point he also passed the library and looked in. It looked just as he remembered it but it was also empty. Not even Madam Pince was there. Eventually his wanderings took him toward Gryffindor Tower and he found himself standing in front of the portrait of the Fat Lady who looked at him with interest.
"Hello dear" said the portrait, "you're new here. I don't believe I've ever seen anyone dressed like you before."
"You probably haven't" said Lightning, "there are only a few of us that I know about and this is the first time we've ever been here. Is anyone in the tower?"
"No" was the answer, "but I can't let you in without the password."
"That's all right" said Lightning, "I have it. Phoenix Fire." The Fat Lady's eyebrows went up in surprise but she swung open anyway. Lightning climbed through the hole into the Gryffindor common room and looked around. It looked the same as always with big squashy armchairs, couches, low tables, carpet, and a roaring fire in the fireplace. After standing there for a moment he crossed the room and began climbing the staircase to his old dorm room. When he got there he went inside.
For the most part the room looked the same. Ron's bed and area was as messy as ever while Neville's was neat and Dean's and Seamus' were somewhere in between. There was one major difference though. There were now only four beds in the room. This, more than anything else, brought home to him that he was no longer a student at Hogwarts. He sighed a little wistfully. Regardless of all of the things that had happened to him at this school he had liked attending it. This was the place that had first gotten him away from the Dursleys and he would always be grateful for that. But it was true what he'd said to both his fellow X-Men and Ron and Hermione. He didn't feel like this was his place anymore and he realized that even though he could return as a student he didn't want to. He liked his life as it was now. He loved being one of the X-Men and he really loved being able to fly in public without causing a scandal or getting arrested for breaking the Statute of Secrecy. Yes, all in all his life was better now and he was glad of that. As the school's owner he'd probably return someday in the future to help run it but for now his time at Hogwarts was over. He turned around and exited the dorm room, shutting the door firmly behind him as he went.
(To Be Continued)
A/N - That wraps up chapter 34. If anyone thinks that Ron and Hermione should have reacted more strongly and been more angry at seeing Harry again please remember that he's been in contact with them all along as they have regularly exchanged letters each month. Also Harry has been honest with them that he couldn't tell them where he was or what he was doing because it wasn't just his secret to tell. Dumbledore confirmed this and Hedwig delivered the letters. It's not as if he had just disappeared for ten months without a word and they never heard from him at all before he suddenly showed up again. That would definitely have gotten a stronger reaction.
That's all for now. Next time is the feast and other matters. Only 2 more chapters left in Part 1.
Please take a moment now to leave me some feedback. Constructive comments are always welcome but no flames or trolls please. As always, thanks for reading and stay safe and well. Cheers!
