Battle scene very gruesome probably the worst you will see until the final battle

Truth

Harry felt himself slip deeper into the trance. It was Saturday, and Harry was alone in his bedroom. He took a deeper breath and allowed himself to lose his connection to his sense of reality. Another breath and he fell deeper; to the outside world, he looked peaceful. He truly was anxious, fearful, andscared.

"Harry?" A female voice called out from the swirling smoke.

"Mom!" Harry shouted.

He quieted his mind and the smoke slowly dispersed. Around him stood thousands of people, all mindlessly looking to the top of the hill. Harry pushed his way through the crowd trying to find his parents. The crowd became more and more rigid, not allowing him to pass.

"MERLIN!" Harry screamed. "Let me pass!"

"You cannot bring them back to life, Harry." Merlin's voice boomed around him.

Harry pulled out his wand and flicked it at the person standing in front of him. The person flew forward creating a path through the crowd. But Harry felt a presence fight back and the crowd closed the gap he had made. Harry performed the spell again, but the magic died before it hit the person.

"You need to move on." Harry stopped pushing. "They will always be with you, but you cannot see them again. Not yet."

Harry snapped back to reality. "Damn it!" He rubbed his temples. His wound from the wyvern had acted up again.

Harry sat in front of Leo yet again. "When can you start the process?"

"You're eager all of a sudden." Leo carried on writing down the information, namely the spells he had performed on him. Leo was checking Harry's vital signs among other things.

"Well?"

Leo looked up. "Madam Pomfrey sent the information by owl yesterday. I should get it by tomorrow…so I'd say in about four days." Leo waved his wand and the flashing numbers disappeared. "You can go. I'll tell you when I'm ready."

Harry nodded. "Thank you."

Harry left the room and once he was out of earshot, screamedin anger. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down. He was so close to seeing his parents, and yet so far. It did not bother him that before the wyvern, he had gotten mad that his magicks would have acted his anger out. Now, they barely even created a spark that jumped from his thumb to his middle finger.

"I take it he wasn't ready." Wyatt caught up with Harry.

Harry curtlynodded. "He still hasn't received the information from Madam Pomfrey. Bloody owls."

"Careful that Holly and Hedwig don't hear you say that." Wyatt replied in amusement.

Harry smiled. "I know. They are already angry with me for using Osiris to send that letter to Neville."

"Harry! Harry."

Harry stopped and turned around to see Ron and Hermione heading toward him. Harry grimaced; they looked angry.

"See you later." Wyatt walked off in the opposite direction.

"Gee, thanks Wyatt!" Harry shouted at the blonde's retreating back.

Hermione stopped in front of Harry, panting. "We need to talk."

"What? No good morning?" Harry asked sarcastically. "And I call you my friends."

Ron half-smiled. "There's no use diverting our attention."

"Where did you go last night?" Hermione promptlyasked.

Harry inwardly sighed. "Dumbledore wanted to see me."

"About what?"

"My lessons." Harry paused and looked at his two best friends' faces. Hermione tried to hide her excitement and nervousness while Ron openly showed his anger and fear. "…I started them. Wasn't all that exciting, we just talked about the war and stuff."

Hermione nodded. She pressed Harry for more information: "Well, you were gone three whole hours. There must have been important things discussed."

Harry started to walk down the hall. "I'm not allowed to say. It could place you all in too much danger." He finally looked them in their eyes.

Ron laughed. "How much more danger could we be in, Harry? We're the best friends of Voldemort's mosthated enemy. As long as you're alive, I don't think we could be any higher up on his death list."

Hermione continued. "We know that Dumbledore wants to keep these meetings a secret, even from the staff. If you tell us about the meeting, then we could be messengers rather than McGonagall or Snape?"

Harry shook his head. "If Dumbledore wants to find me, he has ways of contacting me. Yesterday was just a way to test McGonagall…I think."

Ron tried a different argument. "Well, then we can help you practice what Dumbledore teaches you in the meeting. I mean, that is why we went to the Academy."

Harry stopped dead in his tracks. "You went to…what?"

"Err…"

Hermione pushed them into an open room. She closed and locked the door and warded it all in a flick of her finger. "We have our own secrets, Harry."

Harry nodded angrily. "I know. You went to the Academy. The place where the Elders turn you into fighting machines for them!"

"You know about the Academy?" Ron looked bewildered.

"Of course I do. I read up about it in the Elven book Draco has." Harry heavilysat down in a chair. "Rather, I know it by name. I know that the inept magical users who are excellent fighters become the elite guardians of Magic School and the Academy. They have helped the Elves on numerous occasions to defend their realms. The Enluuned."

Hermione frowned. "Never heard of them…but I guess that makes sense. The powerfully magical graduates become slayers, though. That is what Ron and I are."

Ron nodded. "Kinda, we are not bound to serve the Elders. We were trained to become your bodyguards of sorts. To help you in your training and that sort of thing..." Ron allowed his voice trail off, watching Harry for a reaction.

Harry nodded and smiled slightly. He had suspected that Ron and Hermione had been training by themselves all of last year. They had hardly been seen by anyone except when they were doing homework or in class. "So that's where you went all the time last year. To the Academy?"

"Yes," Hermione smiled. "Leo realized that seeing as Ron and I were the only ones without the innate power to vanquish demons without potions. We were at a severe disadvantage! He enrolled us as students in the Academy and arranged it with Dumbledore to work our schedules around the classes at the Academy."

"So you're slayers?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Ron said excitedly. He was relieved that Harry had taken the information so well. "We graduated at the beginning of the summer. We just never found the right time to tell you…"

Harry shook his head. "No need to worry. I completely understand."

Hermione approached the subject tentatively again. "So can you tell us about the meeting now?" She held her breath.

Harry closed his eyes and let his breath out slowly. "I…I…I guess so. Dumbledore is training me to defeat Voldemort. He said he'd start the year off with telling me Voldemort's history and then we'd move on to other subjects."

"Sounds dull." Ron bleakly commented.

"Actually, it was very interesting." Harry stated. "Voldemort and I had some similarities between our childhoods. And Dumbledore had his Pensieve out, so as he told the story I watched the images of people's memories of the event float past." Harry went on to tell them all the information he could remember Dumbledore telling him from the night before.

"Harry, Wyatt, you're next." Phoebe called, not taking her eyes off the duel between Casey and Kyle. Kyle fired off a powerful Stunning Spell, knocking Casey off his feet.

"Expelliarmus!" Kyle shouted. Casey's wand flew out his hand and landed at Kyle's feet.

"Well done!" Phoebe congratulated both combatants as they stepped down from the stage.

Wyatt and Harry took their positions and waited for the green sparks to come out of Hermione's wand. Wyatt sent a wave of air at Harry; Harry redirected the air around him, forming a shield. Wyatt turned the whirlwind shield into a fiery tornado with a single spray of fire from the palm of his hand. Harry appeared behind Wyatt and kicked out. Wyatt went tumbling toward his own trap but managed to bring the whirlwind to an end before he reached it.

"Don't hold back, Harry." Phoebe admonished.

Harry closed his eyes and tried to summon vines to capture Wyatt before he recovered. He stopped when he sensed Wyatt behind him.

"It's getting worse!" Harry whispered as he dodged Wyatt's punch.

Wyatt blocked Harry's kick and flipped him in the air. "Let's hope nothing happens between now and tomorrow."

Harry landed on his feet, cartwheeling back once, before Wyatt sent him flying back into the wall. Harry dropped to his knees with his head pounding. "Stop."

Wyatt went over to help Harry back up. "You alright?"

"Yeah." Harry rubbed his head. "I just know that I won't be beating you until…" Harry stopped when he noticed Phoebe taking an interest in the conversation. "…Well I was beaten fair and square anyhow."

Phoebe frowned, staring at Harry but did not comment. "Last duel, Draco and Uur."

Uur and Draco's duel lasted a few minutes. Draco used a fireball to force Uur to retreat, but Uur retaliated by tripping Draco with a vine. Uur summoned Draco's wand to his hand and helped Draco up with the same movement of his hand. Everyone took his or her seats again and Phoebe wrote a spell down on the chalkboard.

"All of you are very capable in dueling." Phoebe turned around to face the class. "But you all seem to use basic defensive and offensive spells. You make your brunt attacks physically or using your powers. There's nothing wrong with that, and I'm sure all of you are not using some of the more…err…powerful spells because you are fighting your friends. But Dumbledore has asked me to inform you of some spells that will incapacitate or even kill your opponents. These spells are ONLY to be used as a last resort."

Ginny frowned. "So Dumbledore expects us to kill if it becomes necessary?"

Phoebe nodded wearily. "This is a war, and it's better to keep yourself alive and well rather than being noble." Phoebe stepped out of the way of the blackboard. "Sectumsempra is a very nasty spell that will cut your opponent deep enough for him or her to bleed to death. It is hardly ever that deadly since the blood usually clots before that occurs. But it will place the person hit by the spell out of commission for some time. You are to practice the spell on the dummy until the end of class." The students reluctantly stood, eyeing the dummy guardedly. "Sorry, no getting out of this assignment; it could one day save your life." Phoebe said when after a minute had passed but not a single spell had been attempted. "Get to work."

Wyatt tried his best to stop laughing. "You just need to concentrate."

Casey, who was spinning around in the air, cocked his head back, which sent him tumbling head over heels in the same place. He stopped the tumbling before shooting back, "Easy for you to say."

Wyatt grabbed Casey's leg and gave it a yank; Casey toppled down on top of Wyatt. Wyatt stood up and frowned at a laughing Harry. "Let's see you do it then, Mr. Omnipotent."

Harry stopped laughing. "Oh, don't be angry, Wyatt." Harry jumped up and levitated in the air for a split second before landing somewhat gracefully. "Happy?"

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "You're supposed to stay in the air for ten seconds!"

"Well, you know I can't do that as of yet." Harry said evenly.

Wyatt smiled evilly. "That's why you have to practice."

Harry returned Wyatt's smile. "If I could practice, then I'd not be wasting my time listening to you. Now would I?"

Casey remained silent watching the two argue. He was unnerved by the power radiated by Wyatt, while Harry remained a magical void. They had all grown accustomed to having Wyatt and Harry's magic fight every time the two argued. This time, Harry seemed content to not even put up a defense.

Casey finally gathered up the courage to interrupt the debate. "What's wrong, Harry?"

Harry and Wyatt froze. The Gryffindor looked in Casey's direction fearfully before glaring at Wyatt. Wyatt shrank under Harry's glare and smiled apologetically.

"I'm having trouble concentrating." Harry said simply not meeting Casey's eyes. "It's been growing worse and it's affecting my ability to use magic."

Casey opened his mouth to respond but a blaring siren went off in their heads. "EVERYONE PREPARE FOR BATTLE." Dumbledore's booming voice hurt their eardrums. "BALROG ATTACKING WASHINGTON, DC." The ringing in their ears stopped.

"This is not good." Wyatt and Harry chorused.

A dark cloud had settled above the United States' capital early in the morning. Most meteorologists were baffled by the sudden appearance of the storm, and it was a storm. The air was boiling hot and half of the city was being baked with the blackout caused by the overuse of the air conditioning units. Capitol Hill sat with the center of the storm directly above it. Visibility was next to nothing, and it became impossible to walk by sight alone by midday.

The Lincoln Memorial was the first to take damage. A fiery lightning strike shattered the towering statue and killed ten people, leaving hundreds with severeburns. Within a few moments, the entire city looked like a nuclear bomb had struck. The White House was mere rubble with the President and most of its staff presumed dead. The Army was doing its best to coordinate an evacuation, but they could only go in on foot, which made things more difficult. The American Ministry of Magic Headquarters had been evacuated of all personnel besides for the fourth floor departments: Aurors, Magical CIA, and Muggle Protection.

"Dumbledore!" screamed the Minister of Magic over the howling wind. "CONTACT DUMBLEDORE!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

The Minister dodged the Killing Curse, but watched helplessly as it hit her head of security.

A black-cloaked wizard stepped into the view of the Minister. "I don't usually miss."

"Who the hell are you?"

The wizard laughed. "Voldemort's helper."

He pointed his wand at the Minister and with a flick, sent her tumbling backward into a boulder. The Minister slowly pushed herself onto her feet again, but she was lifted off the ground. The wizard had his wand pointed at her and was laughing.

"Voldemort said this would be a difficult mission…Avada Kedavra!"

The spell stopped in midair.

Harry stepped out from behind the boulder. "It will be."

Harry pointed his hand at the Killing Curse and sent it flying back into the caster's wand. The wand exploded and took the wizard's hand with it. The dark wizard screamed out in pain. Harry ignored him and helped the Minister back onto her feet.

"Get out of here." Harry whispered. "Once this is over they are going to need a strong leader to rebuild."

"What about the President?"

Harry shook his head. "Last I heard, they still have not found him dead or alive. McGonagall found his family and got them to Headquarters along with the Vice President."

The Minister nodded and Disapparated with a pop. Harry covered his head with his cloak's hood and took off looking for another fight. He found one in the ruins of the Washington Monument. A giant was busy demolishing the remainder of the Monument that had survived the lightning. Harry threw his hand out in front of him and the giant's club missed the Monument. He turned around and growled at the tiny human.

"Stop what you're doing and you'll be granted immunity." Harry repeated what Dumbledore told everyone to do if they met a magical being.

The giant simply drew his hand back and brought it with the club down on Harry's head. Harry stopped the attack with a telekinetic shove but his magic failed and the club missed him by a few inches. Harry got up only to dive out of the way of the giant's next blow. Harry pulled out his wand and waved it as if it was a whip; the giant howled in pain and clutched his right calf.

"Harry, get going!" Ron called from his right. Harry saw Ron and Hermione starting the ritual that would capture the giant in an unbreakable cage. "We can handle him."

"Where's Wyatt?" Harry shouted. The wind was picking up again.

Hermione fired a Patronus in the direction of the wind; it was howling so loud that they could no longer hear each other. Harry raced after the silver otter and ran straight into Kyle.

"Oooofff! … You alright?" Kyle got up and fired a spell at an enemy Harry couldn't see through the soot and smoke.

Harry dodged a red streak and nodded. "You?"

"Yeah." Kyle motioned with his hand and a giant piece of rubble went flying at the enemy. "Wyatt could use your help, though. He's a few more meters that way."

Harry nodded and ran in the direction Kyle pointed. He saw Wyatt, or rather the glint of light that bounced off Excalibur. Harry looked closer and saw that Wyatt was in the heat of battle with a towering, flaming giant. He rushed down the slope to help him. The demon struck Excalibur with its own huge molten red sword and Wyatt lost his grip; Excalibur dropped out of sight.

"Aqua Erupto!" Harry shouted the first spell that came to mind. The jet of water evaporated before it got near the demon, but it gave Wyatt enough time to retreat.

"Another useless human." The balrog's voice was sinister and hard. It rumbled out of its mouth like an exploding volcano.

Harry had reached Wyatt. "I'll show you how useless."

Harry flicked his hand while opening his fingers from a fist to fully-stretched. The demon fell back a step and shook its head as if to shake itself out of a stun.

"Already tried that," Wyatt hissed.

Harry nodded. "Ok…well…find Excalibur. I'll keep it busy."

Wyatt froze. "With your condition?"

Harry tried to blow the balrog up again. "We don't have much of a choice."

The balrog stretched out its wings and roared. Harry brought up a shield just to keep the superheated breath from melting him on the spot. Harry threw a fireball at the demon and then another and another. The balrog stopped advancing, but the fireball seemed to just get absorbed in a puff of inky black shadow. Harry was sweating from the stress of using this amount of magic; it was putting on his body and simply from the heat.

Wyatt jumped and orbed above the balrog and tried to stab it in the head with Excalibur. The balrog caught Wyatt in its fist and Wyatt yelled out as his skin blistered and burned. The balrog squeezed and Wyatt's screams became a blood-curdling shriek.

Harry's heart leapt when he heard Wyatt's screams. He felt a surge of power unlike any he had experienced before and in the next second, the balrog was lying flat on its face, unconscious. Harry found Wyatt lying near the demon's hand with most of his clothes burnt and covered in third degree burns where the skin still existed. Harry dropped down and concentrated. He found the warm feeling deep in his soul he felt when Wyatt or Leo healed him. He forced the feeling out of his heart and down his arms, into his hands, and then into Wyatt's lifeless body. Harry's hand's glowed but the glow faded away.

"DAMN IT!" Harry yelled in frustration. "LEO!" Harry choked back tears. "LEO! Wyatt's hurt bad!"

Leo knelt down next to Harry. "I know." Leo placed his hands over Harry's and started the healing process. Slowly, Wyatt's skin started to heal itself and then Wyatt took a deep, sudden gasp of air. Leo continued letting the healing energies flow into Wyatt until he was satisfied. He hugged Wyatt tightly.

"That was too close, Wy."

Wyatt, turning blue, nodded.

Harry sat dead still, staring at the unconscious demon.

"A little help!" Wyatt choked out.

Harry turned around, his eyes glazed over. "Leo, you're going to kill him."

Leo let go of Wyatt and hugged him again more softly. "What were you thinking?"

"It attacked me." Wyatt defended himself. "I couldn't just orb out…I tried."

"We need to vanquish this thing," Harry muttered. "Are the Elves here?"

"You, ok?" Wyatt asked.

Harry perked up. "Yeah, but there's still a battle going on." He was right; they heard screams in the dying wind.

"Yes, but there was only one balrog set free from its terrestrial prison." Uurande-tur said. He pulled out a vial from his pocket. "Step back. The fumes are toxic." They stepped back and Uurande-tur threw the potion. "CLEAN UP!"

Thirty fully armed Elves appeared out of the clearing air. They sent to work cleaning up the mess the vanquished demon left behind.

"We're sending the children back, Leo." Uurande-tur informed Leo. Leo nodded and waved his arm before either teen could argue. Wyatt and Harry turned into blue orbs and disappeared from the ruins of Washington DC.

They reappeared in the Entrance Hall of Phoenix Hall. Around them, the rest of their battered friends appeared in blue orbs or in swirling colors, telltale signs of a portkey. Harry looked around at the rest. All looked like Wyatt and he did; they had been through hell more than once. Kyle still had a freely bleeding cut over his right eye. Brendin was sitting with his left leg stretched out; Harry saw the swelling just below the knee that indicated that at least one of the bones were broken. Ethan's shirt was ripped by what looked like harpy claws and he sported a deep gash across his chest. Daelan was cradling his right hand and Casey's ulna had broken through the skin. Ron and Hermione were covered in minor cuts and burns, but nothing major. Draco was fighting to keep Dracola away from his wounded shoulder. Dracola looked outraged and finally settled to licking up the blood on the floor. Uur still had not returned most likely, Harry thought, because he was reporting to his father. Osric sat in a corner, his wounds already healed thanks to his super-speed metabolism; his clothing was still ripped showing he had not escaped unwounded. Ginny and Chris were in similar states as Ron and Hermione. Everyone was covered in soot and ashes.

Harry sat down in a chair and was joined by Cho. The battle was over; the Resistance and American forces had pushed Voldemort's forces back for now. The President had been found, though he was in critical condition and now lay in the Los Angeles branch of St. Mungo's. The adults were out still helping a bewildered and shocked American government, both sides, get back on its feet. Cho and a few other members of the Order had returned to patch the kids up and make sure they were all dealing with what they had seen and done.

"I…" Harry fell silent when Cho kissed him.

Cho broke the kiss. "It's not your fault. Don't go blaming yourself."

"But he could've died!" Harry just could not let himself off so easily.

Cho smiled sadly. "If you hadn't knocked that demon unconscious, both of you would be dead right now."

Harry remained silent. That was the other thing that bothered him; he had never felt such power before. Not when he broke free from Voldemort's possession or even when he got so angry that the whole Hogwarts castle shook. And yet, despite that much power, all he had been able to do was knock the balrog unconscious. "I don't know what I would have done if we had lost anyone."

Cho smiled. "I do. You'd have carried on the fight and defeated Voldemort to avenge all the lives he took and destroyed."

Harry leaned in and kissed Cho briefly. "That's I why I love you so much…you have more confidence in me than I do."

Harry found himself rooted to the spot. He threw all his weight forward, but nothing happened; it was the same when he did it to the back. He stopped struggling and looked around him. There was fighting everywhere. He spotted Cho and tried to call out to her, to tell her that he was stuck, but his mouth did not respond to his brain's commands. He stopped and concentrated on using his magic to break free of whatever curse he was under. That like all his other attempts, failed.

Harry watched helplessly as Wyatt ran straight past him. Wyatt blew up a demon only to have three replace it. Wyatt vanquished the first of the demons with a flick of his hands. He redirected a fireball into another before stabbing the third with an athame. Nine demons replaced those he had vanquished and he was beginning to tire. Wyatt raised both hands out in front of him and released an amazing amount of power; six of the nine demons exploded. Two of the remaining three were easily finished off with energy balls. Wyatt was exhausted and he resorted to fighting the last demon defensively. The demon attacked and attacked, driving Wyatt against a wall. It then threw a fireball, which Wyatt ducked only to have moved into the athame the demon had attacked with. Wyatt collapsed against the wall; he was still breathing. The demon let lose another fireball that went straight through Wyatt leaving a smoking hole. Harry yelled out in anger, but no sound came out.

The Power of Five were the next to go. A cloaked wizard killed Casey and Ethan with the same Killing Curse. He knocked Brendin off his feet and plunged a black sword deep into the fallen teens chest. He quickly decapitated Daelan before setting his sights on Kyle. Kyle waved his wand around in a complex motion that knocked the wizard to the floor. The wizard came back to his feet without ever truly hitting the floor. Kyle blocked the sword strike and returned with one of his own but lost his arm. The wizard did not bother to allow Kyle to fully register that his arm was gone. He drove his sword right through the youngest Potter and let the body fall to the floor. Harry felt as if it had been him who had taken the sword in the chest.

Nihilus killed the rest of the Halliwell family while Leo was pierced through the heart by a Darklighter's arrow. Voldemort was battling a failing Dumbledore. Dumbledore's movements were hindered by age and he was not fast enough to dodge Voldemort's Killing Curse. The old wizard crumpled to the floor, dead.

Harry looked out at the battle. Lupin lay dead at the feet of Greyback. Eyad was killing the last of the Weasleys. Hermione was struck by a poorly aimed Killing Curse. Soon the only person left whom Harry loved was Cho. Cho was backed up in a corner fighting six demons who seemed reluctant to use their powers. Voldemort approached the crowd and the demons moved out of his way.

"Say hello to Harry's parents for him." Voldemort hissed. "Potter, kill her!"

Harry stared in anger and confusion as the cloaked wizard who had slaughtered Kyle, Brendin, Casey, Daelan, and Ethan, removed his hood. The wizard was Harry, except his right eye was no longer there and the right half of his face was scarred almost beyond recognition. His left eye turned black and angry flames flashed across the pitch black eye.

Cho screamed in fright. Cho struggled to remain standing as she pushed herself deeper and deeper into the rock wall. She stopped trying to back up and pleaded, "Please, Harry...Don't, Harry…I love you."

The evil Harry laughed. "You're the one who did this to me."

"I had to protect your son from you." Cho whimpered.

She had lost the defiant tone in her voice that told Harry she had given up. Harry tried to move against his bonds. He tried to protect his love from himself and Voldemort, but he could not. He listened and watched in horror as the scene played out in front of his paralyzed body.

"You chose that little piece of useless flesh over me!" Harry spat. His voice rose in anger. "You'll pay for it. And then…so will he!"

Harry grabbed Cho by her throat and forced her to stand up straight so they were staring into each other's eyes. Harry squeezed and Cho's eyes grew wide.

Harry sat up in bed breathing sharply. His heart was racing and he felt faintly ill. He calmed down after a few moments of sitting in the darkness of his room. He gestured in the general direction of the light switch and the light turned on. He climbed out of the remaining covers and sat cross-legged on top of his bed. His scar was itchy and he felt the vague feeling of being extremely angry at the incompetence around him; he felt himself take the life of at least two people before he was able to break the connection. Harry decided to try contacting his parents one last time before going to see Leo.

He was sinking deeper into a calming meditation when a knock on the door snapped him back to reality.

"Harry, are you ok?" Harry heard Cho's voice. "Are you decent?"

Harry smiled. "You can come in Cho."

Cho entered, looking worried but visibly relaxed to see Harry just sitting on his bed in pajama bottoms. "Put on your robe and let's go sit outside in the moonlight."

"Are you insane? It's like, below freezing out there!" Harry exclaimed.

Cho smiled. "So it's a good thing you'll be there to keep me warm."

Harry stuck out his tongue but nonetheless got off his bed and wrapped his cloak closely around himself. He grabbed his jacket and put it on before following Cho out of his room and the center courtyard.

"So, what woke you up?" Cho asked nonchalantly.

Harry wrapped his arms around Cho and placed his head gently on hers. "Nothing. A bad dream." One that I won't let come true.

Cho looked up into the sky and sighed. "It had nothing to do with the balrog attack?"

Harry let out a single humorless laugh. "The only thing it had in common with the battle was the fact that I was so exhausted from the battle that I couldn't wake up."

Cho giggled. "But it did wake you up."

Harry stiffened; the image of Cho being choked to death flashed across his mind. "Let's talk about something else…what are you doing up?"

"I couldn't fall asleep. I was practicing my sword fighting when I noticed your light turn on."

"You were practicing out here?" Harry hugged Cho tighter.

"The fresh air relaxes my mind," Cho said softly, letting Harry's presence sink into her. "And it's not that cold! You big baby."

"So what if I am?" Harry said indignantly. "It gives me an excuse to be near you."

"Since when did you need an excuse, Mr. Potter?"

Harry sighed and remained silent for a moment or two. "Since you became a teacher…don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic that you're part of the staff. But doesn't it strike you as just a bit weird to be marrying your student?"

"It…did bother me at first…" Cho leaned farther back into Harry. "But then I realized that it shouldn't matter. I mean, everyone here knows we're engaged, and since when have either of us been the ones to care about what others think?"

"You're right." Harry kissed Cho's head. Cho turned around and kissed him.

"Mr. Potter, Miss Chang," a silky, sneering tone echoed across the courtyard, "this is no place to be expressing your utmost devotion toward each other. Especially when one of you is out of bed after curfew."

Cho and Harry sat up and Harry zipped up his jacket. "Snape, I can do as I please in my own home."

"Not according to the Headmaster," Snape spoke in a deadly whisper. "Curfew was set for all the students at this school, not just those who decide to obey the rules. I think a detention is in order."

Cho stood up. "Harry is in the company of a teacher Professor, so he is not breaking any school rule I have heard of."

"Just because he was able to seduce you, Miss Chang," Snape was smiling now, "does not give him the right to be out of bed at one in the morning. Detention, Potter, today in my classroom at five o'clock."

Harry glared at the Potion Master. "I won't be showing up, Professor. I'll be studying with Leo on magical healing."

Snape sneered. "Yes, I heard about yours and Wyatt's near fatal mistake. When will you learn, Potter? You tried playing the hero once before, to the demise of your beloved godfather."

Snape had gone too far and he knew it. Harry raised a single hand and the greasy haired slime ball slammed into the oak tree. "If you ever talk about Sirius again," Harry seethed, "I will kill you, Snape!"

Snape got up and brushed his cloak off. "Detention for a month, Potter!" Snape strode back to the door he came out of. "And I don't listen to empty threats."

Harry yelled but Cho grabbed his arms before he did something he would regret. "Relax, Harry." Cho whispered into his ear. "He is a idiotic flea bag…he is beneath you…don't let him get to you."

Harry was still breathing hard but his shoulders slumped and relaxed. "You're right. You're always right."

Cho continued to whisper into his ear. "I'll get Dumbledore to waive your detentions. Snape deserved to get thrown into that tree; he provoked you." Cho stroked Harry's hair until he calmed down. They both went back inside and Harry went straight back to sleep.

Harry lay down in the hospital bed. He was too weak to sit up, but just waiting was killing him. Cho had left an hour before to teach the Charms class. The only visitor Harry had since she and Wyatt left had been Dumbledore. Dumbledore had not stayed long; he was in a rush to join the Elves on an information scavenging expedition. He simply wanted to know if he had told Ron and Hermione about his lesson. Harry told the headmaster yes and Dumbledore smiled sadly.

"They don't know what they're getting into."

Harry responded with as much anger as he could. "They know exactly what it meant when I warned them. They are in no more danger than they were in before."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, but now they will sit with this information in their hearts. They have no need for it and it will only distract them from their duty in this war."

"Their duty, sir," Harry cringed at the mounting headache, "is to be the best friends they can. They wanted to know so they could help me and so I told them. I'd prefer to have friends after this war is over, Dumbledore."

Dumbledore did not reply but got up and smiled. "Rest, Harry. This war is moving faster than either of us anticipated."

Leo came out of his office looking over a piece of parchment. He seemed excited, but at the same time afraid. Harry's problem emanated from his connection to Voldemort and no amount of magic could remove that spell on his mind. Leo had removed three spells in the morning and was going to remove a fourth when Harry fainted.

"Feeling any better?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "What do you think, Leo?"

"I need to remove the last two spells and your eye correction."

Harry noticed the contact case in Leo's hand. "How long did you say?"

"A month before I can replace all the spells." Leo looked over the lists again. "But you should be back to your old self after a good night's sleep."

"Like that ever happens." Harry snorted.

Leo nodded. "I noticed that. Parts of your brain are very stressed because of that."

"I know," Harry stated. "I probably have half the life expectancy as anyone else of Britain."

Leo frowned. "Let's begin."

Harry relaxed and tried to keep his mind black, void of all thought. Images of his dream kept flashing through it. Harry just hoped that he would be able to rebuild his Occlumency proficiency soon. With Snape on the rampage, the last thing he needed was the Potion Master ripping through his memories. Harry squirmed as he felt Leo pull what felt like a worm out of his eye. It was to say the least pleasant and damn painful.

"Last one," Leo said.

Harry felt the worm being pulled out by the gentle magic of Leo. This time, Leo decided to remove the spell via the ear canal. Harry heard the high pitched hum and the rushing of a thunderous waterfall for ten seconds before the worm popped out and then all he heard, felt, and saw was ear splitting pain. He slowly felt the warmth of Leo's healing spread through his body and he was able to see clearly again.

"Now for the eye correction." Leo pulled out a peculiar looking needle. It was bent at irregular places and angles.

"You're going to stab me with that thing?" Harry questioned, reasonably concerned for Leo's sanity now.

Leo shook his head. "This allows me to drop the solution that will dilate your pupils without the fear of you blinking and wasting the solution."

"Gee, thanks for showing some trust in me, doc."

"Don't call me doc!" Leo said jokingly.

Leo placed the needle onto the top of the solution bottle. He put one yellow drop in each eye by putting the needle close above the corner of Harry's eyes nearest his nose. He told Harry to look the other way and then the other for the other eye. He checked Harry's eyes again to make sure he chose the right prescription and then sat Harry up. The removal of the eye correction spell was not as painful as the other ones, but it still was not the most pleasant experience in Harry's life.

"All done." Leo smiled.

Harry closed his eyes as seeing blurrily and then to top it all, his pupils were dilated was giving him a migraine.

"You'll have to wear sunglasses for the rest of the day and then I'll show you how to put your contacts in tomorrow."

Harry nodded. He put on the provided sunglasses. "Can I be discharged until then?"

"If you're sure you can handle it." Leo said with concern. "I'll write a note that excuses you from any of your remaining classes."

"That'd mean Potions. Snape won't be pleased."

"From what I heard, he was about ready to duel the headmaster when Dumbledore waived your detentions this morning." Leo looked out the window. "I don't think I trust Snape."

Harry nodded. "He seems different, but don't let Dumbledore hear you say that."

"…Ok Harry, here's your note and don't do anything too taxing quite yet." Leo looked at his watch. "I have to attend the Elder's meeting. Wyatt will be able to fetch me if anything happens."

The weeks flew by and before Harry knew it, they had been at school for almost two months. He had gotten all the spells replaced the day before and while he was happy to not have to wear the damn contacts, the procedure had left him feeling like he had a major hangover. He was happy that he did not have Potions or Transfiguration today and that was the only thing stopping him from knocking himself out with a big rock.

His magic had, like Leo said, returned almost immediately although some spells took more effort than they had over the summer. His control of the elements was still not up to par and Uur had offered numerous times to train him. Harry had so far refused, although he had made a promise with Wyatt that if he did not catch up by Christmas that he would allow Uur to become his instructor.

He and Cho spent more and more time together as they settled into the idea of being engaged. They both realized soon after that night that they had used the teacher pupil problem as an excuse. They both were scared out of their wits about being engaged and getting married. Harry was now very accomplished with a sword and had beaten Cho in their last two sparing sessions. Everything had settled into a routine; even America had recovered somewhat from the massive attack.

"Harry!" Wyatt called urgently.
Harry kissed Cho good-bye and turned to face Wyatt. "What?"

Wyatt grabbed Harry by the arm and led him out of the Phoenix Hall and into the front gardens. "Do you sense that?"

"Sense what?" Harry was getting annoyed.

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Focus! Something is about to happen."
"Something good or something bad?"

"What the hell do you think, Harry!" Wyatt snapped. "Stop talking and concentrate."

Harry sighed and closed his eyes despite the fact he thought Wyatt was just overreacting. What he felt shocked him to the core. He shuddered and opened his eyes. "They're coming!"

"Here!" Wyatt orbed his wand to him. "What do you think they want?"

Harry saw the wards glimmer and shimmer as they revealed their presence because of pressure. He looked back at the Manor and made up his mind. "Let's go meet them."

"Are you insane?" Wyatt was gazing at the wards.

Harry started walking toward the wards. "I'd prefer to stop them from getting to the Hall."

Wyatt followed Harry with stiff legs. "If I die—"

"There's no concern of that." Alpha appeared just outside the again invisible wards. "We only want to talk."

Harry sneered. "Where's the rest?"

"I speak for them all." Alpha replied politely. "We feared that if anymore came, you would not hear us out."

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Like we believe that."

Alpha lost his patience. "I don't care what you believe about that, Halliwell!"

Wyatt drew up to his full height and glared at Alpha. "We should just kill you here and now then."

"You and Potter both know that you have to keep us alive." Alpha said coolly. "You need us as a backup in case you can't take Voldemort and Ash Goth on your own."

Harry backed Wyatt. "Yes, that was our first idea, but now we believe otherwise."

"We do?" Wyatt hissed in Harry's ear. Harry just stared down Alpha.

Alpha bowed slightly. "I was mildly surprised when we heard we had won you over so easily. Now I see that you have forgotten just how dire your situation is."

Wyatt threw the first blow. He blew off one of Alpha's arms. "Take that."

Alpha looked down at his arm and it reappeared unharmed. "If I need to prove it through a fight, I will."

Alpha moved his finger in a circle. Harry flew ten feet in the air before landing thankfully on his feet. Wyatt drew out his wand and with a 'swoosh' blasted a hole in the ground under Alpha causing the Avatar to fall. Wyatt then covered the hole up with a wave of his free hand. Harry arrived next to Wyatt in time to see Alpha burst out of his earthy prison. Alpha pushed outward with both hands; Harry and Wyatt countered the telekinetic shove with one of their own. The attacks met and created a temporary whirlwind that died as quickly as it started.

Wyatt let loose his most deadly attack, lightning. He struck Alpha in the chest and the Avatar dropped to one knee in pain. Harry pushed Wyatt's hand down when Wyatt didn't let up after a minute.

"Enough!"

"Harry, he's a demon!"

Alpha got up panting. "I guess we're still your backup plan after all, Harry."

Harry glared at Alpha. "No, but the more enemies Voldemort has the better."

Alpha frowned. "We are not anybody's enemies. We only want to bring about everlasting peace." He disappeared before Harry or Wyatt could respond.

"When do you think Dumbledore will call you in for another lesson?" Ron questioned. They were sitting alone in the library looking up information for Transfiguration.

Harry shrugged and kept his head buried in the textbook. "No idea. Why?"

"No reason." Ron wrote something down. "Why are we studying the art of wordless human transfiguration? When are we ever going to use this stuff?"

"No idea."

"You alright?"

Harry's head snapped up. "Yes!" He picked up his dropped quill. "Why?"

"You seem to be a little out of it." Ron rolled up his parchment. "That's all."

"Japan and the Koreas folded this morning." Harry muttered. "Voldemort now controls three quarters of the world."

Ron nodded, but did not seem convinced. "That isn't it. If you don't want to say it, then say so."

"Wyatt and I were attacked by a demon a few days ago."

"So?"

Harry bit his lip. "This demon said some things that struck a nerve and then this morning's newspaper just confirmed some of the things h…it said."

"What are you planning to do about it?" Ron was now worried.

Harry smiled. "Nothing. We all need more practice before any of us can go face Voldemort."

"Strategically we're already way behind, Harry." Ron stated. "We can't afford to take too much time."

Harry nodded gravely. "Doesn't mean we have to act precipitately. And it's not like we're just laying around wasting time."

Ron packed away his book. "Then we better use the time as best we can. Every second Voldemort is still in power makes it that more difficult to dethrone him."

Draco and Harry went at it. Draco threw four fireballs in quick succession trying to simply overwhelm Harry and force the Gryffindor to back up. Harry caught the first two fireballs but had to dodge the last two. He landed squarely on his feet after rolling under a fifth fireball Draco had thrown. He retaliated by sending the empty desk flying at Draco. Draco blasted the desk with a glare before charging Harry. Harry backed up with two back flips and brought his wand out in time to deflect a minor curse.

"You're a bit out of it, Draco." Harry commented when Draco's curse missed him by a full meter.

"Not all of us can stay up half the night studying potion books and still be perky the next day." Draco growled. He fired a Stunning Spell to keep Harry on the defense.

Harry waved his hand and the Stunning Spell ricocheted off the stone wall before burning out. Harry sent a telekinetic shove in Draco's direction as he fired off a Disarming Spell of his own making. Draco dodged the Disarming Spell despite being thrown through the air. Draco kicked off the wall and rolled to a crouched position before being hit by Harry's Stunning Spell.

Harry watched in amusement as Draco fought off the effects of the Stupefy he had hit the Slytherin with. He readied his wand to perform the Shield Spell if Draco managed to beat back the blackness. Harry's instinct served him well and his shield faded, but Harry did not see Draco. He ducked his head just in time to have Draco's fist graze over his head rather than it hit directly on target. Harry kicked back but his leg never found the body of mass he was looking for.

"Sorry." Draco whispered. "And here I thought I was the one out of it."

Harry dropped to his stomach and rolled out of Draco's range before pushing himself up with a blink of his eyes. Harry caught Draco's next punch in his hand and he twisted the hand so Draco gave in. Harry punched out and was surprised to see Draco catch it in a similar fashion.

"So…giving up yet?" Draco sneered.

Harry allowed his magic to react defensively and it shocked Draco like it had his uncle the summer of his fifth year. "Not quite yet, Draco."

Draco shook his hands to get rid of the numbness and retaliated with a telekinetic shove of his own. Harry caught the attack with both hands and was slowly pushed toward the wall behind him. They were in a shoving match and evenly matched. Harry gave an extra push and the same time as Draco and they both flew in opposite directions.

"Think that's enough for today?" Draco asked rubbing his head.

Harry also rubbing his head, nodded. "No use killing each other."

AN: Here's another chapter :-). Next chapter is done and going through revisions before being released. I hope that you enjoy this story and that you feel compelled to review, not matter what your thoughts are.

Next Chapter:

Enluuned, vampires, and lessons! And of course the dreaded Halloween battle.