A/N - Here is the next chapter of the story. It's mostly chat, but it's important chat.

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Oh, and I don't own either Harry Potter or Dungeons and Dragons. They belong to their respective creators. The only things that are mine are the story itself and any original characters I might come up with. Please read and review; I always appreciate feedback. Constructive criticism is welcome, however no flames please.

7 – TERRACE TALK

"Padfoot, Moony" said Bahamut, "please be so kind as to bring our guests to the back terrace. Darrani and I will meet you there soon."

"Yes Prongs" said Sirius. The two dragons turned around and left the room through the archway from which they had entered earlier. Once they had left Sirius and Remus both held out brooms to Dumbledore and McGonagall.

"You'll want these" said Remus.

"Is it that far?" asked McGonagall.

"It's around the other side of the palace" said Sirius.

"Surely we can walk" said Dumbledore,

"Headmaster, this a dragon-sized palace" said Remus. At that Dumbledore nodded and reached out to take one of the brooms.

Soon all four humans were flying through the rooms of Bahamut's palace. It quickly became clear to Dumbledore and McGonagall exactly how large the palace really was. If they had tried to walk the whole way to wherever they were going it would have taken a long time, possibly hours. The size of the rooms made the two professors feel almost like mice or even insects by comparison.

"I'm glad we're not walking" said Dumblefore from his broom, "these old bones of mine would not like such a long walk." Although they were flying at steady pace it wasn't so fast that they couldn't talk to each other as they flew along.

"No kidding" said Sirius as he remembered his first visit to the palace.

"So who else is Harry friends with?" asked McGonagall from her broom.

"Well" said Remus, "Augusta Longbottom is very good friends with Amelia Bones so Harry and Neville know Susan because of that. And where Susan Bones goes Hannah Abbott invariably follows along."

"He has several friends from Ottery St. Catchpole" said Sirius, "the Diggorys and the Longbottoms are long-time friends so Harry knows Cedric pretty well, even if Cedric is older than him. Then there's the Lovegoods. Harry and Luna are very good friends. And finally there's the Weasley twins, Fred and George. They, Harry, and Neville hit it off the very first time they met. They're great friends now – and pranking buddies." Sirius grinned as he said that last part. Professor McGonagall groaned.

"They sound like a new generation of Marauders" she said, "Fred and George Weasley are a handful as it is, but if you're going to add two others who like to do pranks with them? Hogwarts won't survive that." Sirius and Remus laughed.

"I am glad young Harry has so many good friends" said Dumbledore, his eyes twinkling, "but I'm curious. If Harry is friends with the Weasley twins what about Molly and Arthur's two youngest?"

"He's not really friendly with Ronald and Ginevra" said Sirius, now not smiling but not frowning either, "don't misunderstand me, they don't hate each other or anything foolish like that. The problem is that Ginevra has an enormous crush on Harry because of who he is, but is usually too shy to say very much to him. Ronald also sees him mainly as the famous 'boy-who-lived.' Harry doesn't much care for that."

"Neither of them see him as just Harry" said Remus, "they see the image rather than the person. If, however, they could get over that then they might become friends. They're not bad kids after all."

"If Bahamut and Daranni really intend to reveal the truth about Harry and themselves" said McGonagall, "that won't help. That will just confirm Harry's unique status to Ronald and Ginevra and make it harder for them to see the real person, er dragon and those two will hardly be alone in our world in thinking that."

"Maybe" said Remus, "no one says they have to be friends with each other. They were invited to the birthday party though."

"That's nice" said Dumbledore, "I imagine there are some other kids too?"

"There are" said Sirius, "we'll talk about it later. We've here."

They had reached the back terrace of the palace. It was dragon-sized, just like everything else in the palace. In this case there was room for several dragons to be there without any crowding. However it was clear that today at least, others would be using the terrace. There were several human-sized chairs on the terrace arranged in a circle around a human-sized coffee table. It was obvious who the chairs were meant for but since their hosts were absent none of the humans present sat down. McGonagall walked toward the edge of the terrace and looked at the scenery as it went sliding by.

"Is the land moving?" asked McGonagall, "or is the palace moving?"

"The palace is moving" answered Remus, "it travels constantly among the first four planes of Mt. Celestia so you rarely see the same landscape."

"My goodness" McGonagall said.

"It's something, isn't it?" said Sirius.

"It is" said Dumbledore, "in all my years I've never seen anything quite like it."

They all watched the passing scenery for a few more minutes before they were joined again by Bahamut and Daranni.

"Sorry to keep you waiting" said Bahamut, "we had to see to a couple of things before coming out here. Now, please, sit everyone."

Both dragons took on their James and Lily forms and took two of the seats. The others sat down as well.

"May we offer you some tea?" asked Lily as a full tea service appeared on the coffee table along with a several other plates piled high with various finger foods and snacks. Once everyone had been served the two hosts leaned back in their chairs and looked at their guests.

"I know etiquette usually calls for some small talk before business" said James, "but we started our business back in the audience chamber and this is simply a continuation of it so let's dive right in, shall we?"

"It's your home" said Dumbledore as he sipped his tea.

"Very well" said James, "Daranni and I have talked a lot about Harry's education. You need to understand that there is not very much the standard Hogwarts curriculum can teach him."

"Dr. Strange did mention that" said Dumbledore, "he said that Harry could probably pass his NEWTs right now if he were to take them."

"That's right" said Lily, "but that's not all. When you take into account Harry's position in life both now and in the future there are a lot of other things he has to learn. Things involved in running a kingdom for instance, such as statecraft, politics, economics, defense, law, and all of the other things that go into ruling a kingdom."

"He's your heir then?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, and no" said James, "no in that he is not first in line to my throne if that should ever be necessary. I have other children who are older than Harry although he is my youngest child by several centuries and the only one who currently lives here at the palace. He does have his place in the line of succession of course but it is unlikely he will succeed me some day."

"However," James continued, "all of my other children have their own realms. Harry won't be any different. He will have his own realm to rule some day."

"Also" said Lily, "don't forget that, considering what he is, he'll someday also have clerics who will serve him and his worshipers. Of course my mate and I will also help him there."

"That" said McGonagall with a raised eyebrow at the thought of someone having worshipers, "is not something that Hogwarts students usually have to deal with – although I can think of one or two who have thought of themselves as being more than human."

"Indeed" said Lily with a nod, "also we haven't limited his education just to his dragon self. Since he was born human we felt it would be good for him to learn about his human side too. He's had a primary school education and I wouldn't be surprised if he eventually decides to go to a university on Earth."

"He's also learning human self-defense" said James, "he will not always be under our protection. Eventually he will strike out on his own. All of our children have. If he chooses to live in the human world for some of the time we want him to be able to defend himself. You know that Dr. Strange has been one of his magic teachers. He has also been learning blade fighting (sword in particular), hand-to-hand combat, martial arts – he specifically decided he wanted to learn Karate – as well as marksmanship, so far with archery but in future, although not for some time yet, he will also learn about guns."

"Guns?" said McGonagall in surprise, "you have guns on Mt. Celestia?" James laughed.

"No, we don't" he said, "Sirius and Remus will be arranging lessons for him on Earth when the time comes for that."

"All of that is a lot of stuff to learn" said Dumbledore.

"It is" said Lily, "but he's not learning it all at once. Everything in due time."

"But do you see now" said James, "why we say that there isn't very much he can learn from the regular Hogwarts courses that he hasn't already learned."

"I am starting to see that, yes" said Dumbledore, "that is a pity. We would have loved to have him come to Hogwarts."

"He still might" said Lily surprising both professors a little, "there is one reason why we would consider sending him, and that's so he can be around other kids his own age. There aren't very many of those around here. That's why he spends as much time on Earth as he does. Sirius and Remus usually look after him there though we're never out of touch with them."

"And that brings us to a proposal that we have" said James, "Harry can attend Hogwarts and be sorted like any student would be. But we will continue to oversee his education. If you're willing to allow it we will send several of his teachers to Hogwarts with him. They will continue Harry's training there."

"Would the other students also be able to learn from Harry's teachers?" asked Dumbledore, his eyes sparkling with interest.

"Oh yes" said Lily, "that is the other reason we are proposing this. There's a lot of older magic that Earth has lost that we can bring back. The Hogwarts students can be the first to learn it."

"It would be voluntary" said James, "but I like to think that many of your students would avail themselves of the opportunity we would present to them."

"I think they would too" said Dumbledore, "especially the Ravenclaws."

"What would they be learning?" asked McGonagall.

"Many things" said James, "we will give your more specific information before you return to Earth but I guarantee you will not be disappointed."

"We will be around too" said Lily, "quite a lot I think."

"What do you mean?" asked McGonagall, "parents do not usually join their children at Hogwarts."

"Yes, well" said James, "I intend to create a semi-permanent portal between here and Hogwarts so that Daranni and I can keep a close eye on Harry. With the truth about him and us about to come out we would feel better having the extra security."

"But why are you going to reveal yourselves?" asked McGonagall, "it seems to me that you'll be complicating all of your lives if you do that."

"Because sooner or later it's going to happen anyway" said Lily, "Harry is a celebrity. Although the press has been kept away from him so far it will be a lot harder to do that once he starts Hogwarts. We don't want some reckless reporters sticking their noses in where they don't belong and spreading rumors about him based on half-truths and misinformation. If the truth must come out then let it come out in a manner over which we have some control."

"In addition" said James, "it has been centuries since Daranni and I publically visited Earth. If we reveal ourselves and show that we are in fact real and not legends it will give Harry a certain amount of diplomatic protection. As for physical protection we are going to be sending some of our people to watch over him at Hogwarts. This is not a slur against Hogwarts security but he is our son and I won't take chances with his safety. Don't worry about his guards; they are very discreet and won't be in your way. Most of the time you won't even know they're there."

"All right" said Dumbledore, "but I hope you're sure about this. Like Minerva said, it may very well complicate things for all of us."

"It may" said James, "but what's life without a few complications? They spice things up."

"That is definitely James Potter talking" muttered McGonagall, "and not Bahamut."

"Now that we've squared all of that away" said James, "we need to talk about Voldemort and how he survived."

The atmosphere on the terrace immediately changed. It got a lot more serious as McGonagall sat up with a small gasp and Dumbledore's twinkle disappeared.

"He's alive?" McGonagall said.

"You could say that" said James, "if you want to call it living. I would prefer that he stopped living altogether."

"So would I" said Dumbledore.

"Then you know how he survived?" asked Lily.

"No" said Dumbledore, "I've suspected that he did but I don't know how."

"Well we do" said James, "and we'll tell you, but you won't like it at all."

(To Be Continued)

A/N - That's that for now. I stopped it where I did because the conversation of Voldemort's survival would mainly be a rehashing of stuff that was talked about in Chapter 3 and would be redundant.

I will not be bashing Ron or Ginny in this story however that doesn't mean they're going to be friends with Harry. It was implied in this chapter that Harry is aware of his fame but although he accepts it he doesn't really care for it. Ginny was a huge fan-girl at this point and when Ron and Harry first met in canon Ron acted a lot like a fan would. Remember that in book 1 Mrs. Weasley warned Fred and George not to ask Harry about Voldemort and the night his parents died. Mrs. Weasley may often be overprotective and overbearing but in this case she was absolutely right. Yet when Ron meets Harry on the train what does he do? He asks Harry about his scar and what happened that night. So in this story whether or not Ron and Ginny become his friends will depend on if they can learn to see Harry as just Harry and not as an icon. Unfortunately the pending release of his true heritage won't help but we'll see.

Until next time...