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Chapter Four

Realizations and Revelations

Harry walked out of the door and once again walked away from Hogwarts, the difference this time was that he was going to be coming back. Changed, whether for good or bad he did not know, but he would be back. The Unicorns could do anything from denying him or asking him to pay the ultimate price, his life, for what he was going to ask of them.

Taking Unicorn Blood gave the taker a cursed life, a half-life so to speak as he remembered from first year, but if they gave you the Blood it would do wondrous things to the recipient of it. He would pay whatever the cost to heal him, Harry had no doubt in his mind about that fact. He shivered in the cold night but did not stop his steady gait into the Forrest. As the last sight of Hogwarts disappeared and Harry entered the heart of the Forrest he could not suppress the panic that was rising in him.

His breath came in gasps now and it had nothing to do with the exercise he was getting. He couldn't hold the panic down. It threatened to overcome him and he was sure that if it did then his trip here was for naught and Draco would die. Stopping in the middle of the path he closed his eyes, hung his head, slumped his shoulders, clenched his fists, and took deep calming breaths. Minutes later he had the panic once again under control and he opened his eyes to resume his search for the Unicorns.

As he opened his eyes he found that he was staring into the wise eyes of one of the beautiful creatures he was here to see. The bright intelligent blue eyes caught him but not before he caught a glimpse of the magnificent creature that had come to meet him. Pure white, gold and silver twined horn, mane of sparkling rainbow colors, the unicorn before him was pure beauty. He felt himself fall into It's old eyes.

Everything that he felt that he was, wanted to be, and feared to be, was laid bare in that gaze. Harry jerked but did not break eye contact. The pressure started to build in his head and he moaned at the pain. He refused to close his eyes, not really sure that he could close them in the first place.

Soon the pain got to much to endure and Harry grabbed his head in his hands trying to somehow block the creature from invading anymore of his mind that It already had. It was pointless though, nothing he did would block the Unicorn from walking through his mind. Harry groaned loudly again and fell to his knees his eyes still not able to leave the eyes of the wise creature before him.

His lip bleeding from where he had bitten it he knew not how long ago, his legs and arms trembling, and his breathing harsh, he stayed on his knees trying to remain conscious as the creature of pure magic rummaged through his mind. It brought up everything, good and bad, joy and sorrow, love and hate, and finally it found the reason that he was here and what he had come for.

-----flash of green light then a scream...

-----flashes of growing up with the Dursley's from his cupboard, to the many taunts and hits he had received...

-----skipping a few years there were flashes of Ron, Hermione, Neville, and all the other Gryffindors and his eyes flooded with the tears of grief at the ones that were gone...

-----flashes of hate and anger that soon turned to something he could not understand as he fought with one he was suppose to hate but couldn't remember why...

-----flashes of the deaths he had watched and then the ones he himself had caused...

-----flashes of Hermione's and Snape's wedding right before was broke out...

-----flashes of smiling faces...

-----flashes of tears...

-----flashes of cold dead eyes that stared into nothing...

-----Cedric, Hermione, Neville, Dudley, Parvati, Blaise, Greg, and countless others that had died...

-----Albus Dumbledore's death brought a quiet whimper from him as he was forced to remember the pain and anger of it...

In the seconds this had been going on Harry could do nothing but moan with the pain, the pain in his head from the invasion his mind was being subjected too and the pain in his heart from reliving all those deaths. And then came the greatest pain of all, It had found his memories of the last battle, the battle where he had killed Voldemort and after finally killing the creature that had made his whole life a life filled with endless pain, humiliation, and hurt, he had turned around to find the man he had loved secretly for over a year laying on the cold ground, dying.

-----flashes of crying, pain, blood, on his knees, screaming out a name, reaching out and doing something, something that he couldn't remember but had drained him of every bit of magic he had had left...

-----waking up days later, dealing with those that were alive and those that were not...

-----the dreams, the nightmares, the sleepless nights, the crying, the screams, and then finally the small scrap of peace...

-----flashes of an angry face, harsh words, and silver-blue eyes glaring in hate...

-----flashes of the months he had taken to even begin to speak again...

-----the finality he felt when he walked into the room and knew what he would have to do to save the one he loved and knowing that no matter what happened here tonight, he would never know...

-----the last thought of being here even knowing the consequences was the last thing the Unicorn focused on...

Harry groaned at the intense pressure he felt as the Unicorn before him learned of his reason for being there. The pressure building in his head felt as if It were trying to pull his brains out by his nose. It hurt so much!

He now had no strength to keep both hands pressed to his head. He had fallen forward and was bracing himself from falling face first on the ground with his hands. He still maintained eye contact with the Unicorn, how he was not sure, It must have moved to keep eye contact when Harry could no longer remain upright. Finally, the Unicorn found whatever it was that it had been looking for. Shaking Its mane, It let out a neigh and the pain got so intense that he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. He screamed as the Unicorn blinked and the eye contact that they had shared was abruptly severed.

Harry fell to the ground sliding into the blackness that was waiting for him with another quiet scream.

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He woke hours later as the sun was rising and pushing away the darkness around him and inside him. As his vision cleared the first thing he saw was the vial that had been in his pocket sitting so that it was the first thing he would see when he regained consciousness. Struggling to sit up he took the vial gently in his hand and brought it up to his face to stare in wonder at the full vial of Unicorn Blood he had in his hands. The light blue vial that was full to the top with a dark liquid. Harry let out a sigh of wonder and hope, they had given it too him.

His head felt like it had taken on a hippogriff, and lost. His eyes were stinging and burning. His arms and legs were weak. His mouth was dry and he could feel the dirt clinging to him. He forced himself to his feet and turned slowly to walk back to Hogwarts. His heart, for the first time in a long while, was light.

He had taken but two steps when his way was blocked by another Unicorn, this one was even more beautiful than the one he had previously encountered. It's coat was more silver than blinding white, the horn was completely silver, and It's silver eyes drew him in. This time the invasion was, though painful, something he could deal with. The creature walked to him and gently pressed It's horn to Harry's chest right at his heart.

As the Unicorn pressed on his chest, and also into his mind, Harry could feel a lightness start in him. It traipsed through his mind quickly and found all the hate and sadness, all the fear and loneliness, all the joy and love and took it all and made it better. Harry felt himself start to silently cry as he realized what the Unicorn was doing.

They had given him the Blood. And now they were giving him a life. A life without the panic that had controlled him for the last year of his life. A life without the panic that serving out death had brought him. He was a healer and healers who killed suffered more than others.

As the Unicorn continued to press on his chest he felt It withdrawing from his mind. As It withdrew all the way Harry felt a faint tingling on his chest and looking down he saw the Unicorn's Horn glowing a bright silver light. As the light faded the Unicorn stepped back and tossing It's mane It turned and walked away. He stood there until he could no longer see It and then he started to walk again.

"Thank you." He whispered his step lighter than when he had walked into the Forrest.

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Thank you all for your lovely reviews. It is much appreciated. Sorry I can't answer the questions that some of you asked because that would give it away. But just know there IS a reason the story it called what it is and it should be some what apparent in this chapter.

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