Flame of the Phoenix

Child of the new Dawn

Disclaimer: don't own don't sue

A/N yes I know it has been forever and no I am not giving up on this fic. I hate to leave things like this unfinished so I am determined to finish this fic before school starts for me. The chapters from now on won't be as long or as detailed as some of the others and the plot is going to move on much faster. I want all of my work to be of decent quality and I won't just dash out chapters without looking them over some. Thank you so much to those who have stuck by me with this fic and I hope you will continue to enjoy!

Dawn


Great Changes

Harry waited in the dark, as he had waited for the last three weeks. After the first challenge he had begun to get used to his new lifestyle. The second task had barely been a week ago and he had to admit that the likeness between the Hunter's maze and the Tri-wizard tournament had left him shaken and the nightmares of Cedric had resurfaced in earnest, the only difference being the flapping of Nightghausts' wings in the background with other nameless creatures that he had faced in the maze. But, somehow, he had made it through the second challenge and the first round of the third.

But something kept calling him back to this lonely spot up on a ridge a good mile or so from the Keep. Now that he was allowed to explore the island, he often found himself wandering with or without Frost, Rekem, and rarely Takara.

'This is stupid' he thought as he continued to wait, 'I'm wasting my time sitting here…' But he couldn't leave… he thought he had seen… no he knew he had seen Padfoot's paw prints… he just knew it… and he could have sworn that as he rose to leave a day ago, there was a rustling in the nearby shrubs when he called out.

'Sirius is gone, admit it. You'll never make it out of here if you spend every night sitting out here in the cold.'

Yet no matter how many times he told himself this, he could not find the strength to rise and walk away from a chance no matter how slight, to see his godfather.

Harry jumped to his feet, a reaction born of the training he had received, when there was a loud rustling and a hoarse voice said, "Harry?"

Harry felt a hard lump grow in his throat and he could feel every beat of his heart as his godfather, Sirius Black, looking exhausted and dirty, but otherwise he was just the way Harry remembered him last.

"S-Sirius! How did you… I thought you were gone!"

Sirius limped towards him and said, "I don't know what happened, I just found myself here and… what is going on?"

Harry made a small sound of joy and moved to embrace Sirius, but stopped short. There was something… wrong… Sirius looked just as if he had strolled out of the veil not moments before but there was something clinging to him… almost like a smell. Wrongness… the smell of something that did not belong.

Harry froze and Sirius looked at him in confusion, "What? What's wrong? What is it?"

Sirius made to reach out, but Harry moved back out of reach. Harry felt like lead weights had been piled onto his back and shoulders. His exhaustion, which had been building up during these long nights, hit him right at this moment. He looked into the eyes of his godfather and knew that the real Sirius Black was gone… that Voldemort had done the most loathsome thing his could think of, he created this… thing with his godfather's face and sent it to him, tantalized and tormented him it.

"You're not Sirius." Harry said quietly.

"Harry what are you-" the creature began in Sirius' voice.

"Stop it! What are you?" Harry yelled his voice a higher pitch than normal.

The fake Sirius smirked and now Harry could tell that this really was some horrid creature hiding behind his godfather's body. Sirius was dead. A swoop of hot anger rushed through him quickly turning into boiling rage.

The fake Sirius sighed, "I had hoped you would go along with this a little while longer, but I suppose the fun can't last forever. Very astute, I'm obviously not your precious Black, he is long gone."

"So what are you then?" Harry spat out, gripping one of his daggers.

The creature just smiled, "Now, now, I wouldn't be so hasty with those daggers if I were you. This is your dear godfather's body after all. If you destroy his physical body, his soul would be trapped in this world forever, wandering aimlessly through the abyss of time, never knowing true peace again. But, from what I have been told about poor Sirius, I think he should be familiar with that feeling." The creature's grin widened to show pointed teeth.

"Liar!" Harry shouted, pulling out his dagger completely, "You don't have Sirius' soul! It passed on, I know it did!"

"But would you risk Sirius' eternal suffering on it?" The creature purred, before lunging at Harry.

Harry barely had enough time to roll out of the way before the creature whirled on another attack. Harry raised his dagger to defend himself, yet all he could see was Sirius. The creature was using some-kind of magic to make itself morph back into Sirius' weary face, Harry could tell that much.

He cried out in surprise when the creature managed to send a cutting hex across his side and flung the dagger at him leaving a cut on his right cheek. The fake-Sirius raised his hand to the wound and looked at Harry in disbelief, saying in Sirius' voice, "Harry? Harry, why are you attacking me? What's wrong with you, don't you recognize me?"

Harry began to hyperventilate and found himself unable to move as the creature pleaded with him to recognize him. He tried to block out of the voice that was begging him to save his soul.

He didn't even see the creature move.

There was a loud clang and the scrape of metal against metal just behind Harry's head. He was shoved to the ground as the creature and Jaegar locked swords, using each other's weight to move them, trying to get them off balance. Jaegar broke away and with a burst of white light, sent the creature cursing away into the lightening darkness.

It was almost dawn.

Harry just stared blankly at Jaegar as the man sheathed his sword and turned towards him. The hunter looked at Harry for a long moment before sighing, "It is time for you to go."

Something dimly registered in the back of his mind, "But I'm not done with my training yet."

Jaegar turned towards the rising sun and said in a quiet voice, "There is no more time left. You have progressed greatly in your time here and that was the main point." He turned back towards Harry, "You will be given the title of Hunter and be allowed use of any connections we have available. We always choose the first opponent of our tournament to determine this; the rest is merely for ceremony."

"Was that really Sirius?" Harry asked in a small voice.

Jaegar gave Harry a hard look, "Sirius' soul has passed, you said so yourself. That abomination is simply wearing his face. What Voldemort did is inexcusable, and monstrous. I can understand why you were unable to attack, but it does not make your inability to do so acceptable. You must look past his appearance to the demon he truly is."

Jaegar sighed, "Now that Voldemort knows he has one of your weaknesses, he will exploit it often and not just towards you. That is why you must go back now. You must destroy that creature before it hurts any others. Its blood is linked to you, only you can do this."

He handed Harry a leather bag and Harry could feel the metal of two daggers inside, "Your winnings," Jaegar said shortly, "and your belongings. I'm taking you to the gate now, we'll give you a portkey to the outer gates of Hogwarts, and they are expecting you. Recover and then finish this. Find the Breaden Tree and seal it before we are all consumed by it. Return to the temple, you'll find your way from there."

Harry found he could only nod.

He was going home.

Harry was in a fog as he said goodbye to the few Hunters who were already awake or who had risen to say goodbye. Before he knew it, he was handed a piece of paper and vaguely recognized Dumbledore's loopy handwriting before feeling the familiar tug behind his navel.


The grass on the very edge of the grounds near the Forbidden Forest was still damp from the morning's dew and Harry's shoes were soon soaked. A small group of people were waiting for him near the gates to the castle, but other than Hagrid's huge profile, Harry could not pick anyone out.

He suddenly realized that he was still shaking, must have had huge bags under his eyes, and could feel the scratchiness of his chin from not shaving. He murmured a few quick refreshing charms and left it at that, thinking at least he wouldn't frighten anyone from his appearance.

Remus met him halfway, with Tonks and Hagrid right behind him, and Harry was content to let them hug him, though he was sure a few ribs cracked from Hagrid's hold. He found himself going in and out of their chattering, occasionally nodding or smiling.

Remus was silently watching his charge closely and it was obvious that Harry needed a good sleep and meal before he did anything else. Harry seemed perfectly comfortable being incased by the small mob of people who had come out to great him, Minerva, Albus, and Mad-eye included, but Remus noticed the subtle way Harry glanced around the entrance, taking in everything quickly before moving inside with the others.

After a few comments to the others, Remus managed to get Harry away and back to his rooms. He hadn't even finished his suggestion that Harry get some sleep, before Harry had promptly lain down on the sofa and was out like a light. Shaking his head in sympathy, Remus transfigured the sofa into a bed and covered Harry up before leaving him to get some sleep.

Remus felt relaxed for the first time in months to see Harry safe. He had changed quite a bit in the time he had been gone and Remus had been concerned by both Harry's exhaustion and the look on his face before Remus had hugged him in greeting. While Jaegar had told them Harry was coming back early, he gave no reason why and told them to expect Harry to leave within the next week or so to work on something on his own.

Deciding to leave Harry in peace for now, Remus mentally made a note to tell Harry that he had meet all of Hogwarts' requirement for graduation and he could now take his NEWTS early if he so wished. Remus sighed, he knew Jaegar had been referring to Voldemort when he had said Harry would have to work on something else, as had Dumbledore. Albus had been the one to arrange that Harry graduate early so that-

Remus pinched the bridge of his nose. Harry needed to leave school early so he could figure out a way to stop the world from being destroyed by demons. Lovely.

With another sigh, Remus left his rooms to go to breakfast and tell Ron and Hermione that Harry had returned.


A/N hoped you like the chappie next one up in the next day or so! Dawn