Chapter 2

The Awakening

It was cold outside. A young boy was being chased about the neighborhood by his overly large bully of a cousin and his friends. Running for his life, or so it seemed to the young boy, and concentrating all his effort in getting away from the gang bent on roughing him up, he suddenly found himself on the roof of his primary schoolhouse. He bent over at the middle from the feeling of being squeezed through a hosepipe and was still breathing hard from the running when he heard what sounded like a small explosion coming from the air just above him.

Fawkes flashed into view above the schoolhouse at the time he hoped was correct from Harry's memories; after the accidental apparition but before the Bobbies were called and little Harry was rescued from the roof and taken home to be punished by his relatives.

Little Harry was frozen at the sight before him. A large bird came out of that explosion! He wasn't sure how he came to be on the roof of his school, but he thought that paled in comparison to the magnificent bird sitting serenely before him.

"Thank you Young One, your compliment is appreciated."

"Did you just talk to me?" Harry asked the bird as if it was an everyday occurrence to be conversing with animals of unknown origin.

"Quite right I did Young One" said Fawkes. "I am called Fawkes. Will you trust me? I have much to tell you and we have much to do."

Harry, very skeptical as with most abused children, thought it over for a bit, but realized all the odd happenings occurring around him these past few years were seemingly leading up to something big. He figured this was it, and almost resignedly allowed to the strange but wonderful bird that he would in fact trust him, for now.

"I will be blunt Young One; I am here to help prevent a great tragedy from befalling this world. I am a fire-phoenix and I come from a great many years in your future. You and I know one another in that future. In fact, you could call us best friends. It may be easier if I pause here and tell you about your heritage first so you will understand a little better what will happen to you in just a few moments."

"Harry, your parents were magic users that humans call witches and wizards. They were murdered when you were but a babe, killed in their own home by a man who if not then, later became evil incarnate. He represented everything good and decent humans, magical and non magical alike, abhorred. He killed without regard, maimed without conscience, destroyed without a second thought.

Your parents defied this man, refusing to join him. In doing so, they fulfilled a part of a prophesy previously foretold by a seer. When he killed them, it left a mark upon you fulfilling a second part of that prophesy. I am here to ensure the third part of the prophesy is fulfilled in such a way that it minimizes the cost, real and emotional, to the world and especially to you." Fawkes finished and nodded at little Harry that he could ask questions.

Harry was stunned. It was quite a lot to take in, but he accepted the words from the phoenix without much umbrage. The only question he asked aloud was, "How are you going to do all this?"

"I have come with your future soul intact within me. I would like you to allow your future self to merge with you so we can re-bond."

"Can I speak to... um… myself?" the younger Harry asked.

Harry was listening to the conversation, but was unable to actually see himself. He was still in Fawkes' mind which was currently showing him scenery from Hogwarts grounds before the school was built. But Fawkes told his younger self he could converse with himself after a fashion. He told the older Harry to just speak his answers and they would be relayed to his younger self. He thought it convoluted, but allowed that it would work out fine as long as the phoenix thought it would.

The first thing the younger Harry did was test the connection by asking a question only he would know the answer to. "What is the name of your pet?" he asked.

Harry had to think about that for a minute. At that age, he didn't recall a live pet. His first pet was Hedwig and he knew she wasn't in the picture yet. Then it came to him. He pretended to have a pet at this age so his days in solitude in the cupboard under the stairs wouldn't be so lonely for him. He'd named that imaginary pet unknowingly after his godfather's nickname, not quite getting it right, but it was close just the same.

"Pafoo," Harry replied, using Fawkes as mediator, "and I can't wait to show you what it really means."

The young boy's eyes widened and all thought of talking with himself any longer vanished. He figured he would get the answers he wanted after the merger, though there was one more question begging to be asked. "Will I still be me after you merge with me?"

Fawkes had to answer for Harry as he really had no idea. In fact, he was waiting on the answer just as expectantly as they hadn't really gotten around to talking about it before. This actually shamed Harry a bit. Not thinking of what it could do to his younger self, what kind of reaction would that get out of himself at that age. But what was said next surprised him.

"I don't really mind if I'm not, I don't have much of a life anyway, if I could I would toss myself over this wall. Not like anyone would miss me anyway." This last was said with barely any sound, but the bird's sensitive hearing picked it up, and along with it, he sensed the surprise coming from the older Harry.

He trilled a happy melody bolstering both Harry's spirits. Both smiled in that quirky lopsided way and both said Thank You to Fawkes at the same time.

"Young One, your life is precious. I cannot take a life. This process will not completely get rid of you; rather, it will give you memories from your older self. You will still have to learn from those memories as you grow up. You will have another advantage; your magical power will be unlocked for you at an earlier age since your soul will be merging with the one from the future. His is a powerful soul, and as such, will enhance your natural magical abilities. In fact, you will gain all his abilities and knowledge of magic with the merger."

Both were satisfied and the younger Harry spoke his satisfaction, "Well, I'm ready when you are. What do I have to do?"

"Grab my tail feathers and I will take us to a more appropriate place." said Fawkes.

As he stood, he grabbed the proffered tail feathers with one hand and instantly felt as if he were weightless. He thought it was exhilarating! The next thing he knew, there was a flash of fire and he was transported to an empty house. Somewhere he didn't recognize, but within which he was very comfortable. It was as if the house was familiar with him and not the other way 'round.

"This is the home where you were born Young One. I find it is always easier to accept changes where you feel most comfortable, and what could be more comfortable than the nest from whence you were hatched?" Harry could feel the smirk from the phoenix, but of course, the bird couldn't actually grin at him.

Harry looked around for a while and Fawkes just sat and watched patiently. It wouldn't do for the Young One to become frustrated or tense in any way.

Harry looked upon furniture, pictures, knick-knacks, and other household items belonging, he supposed, to his parents. There was a picture of a man who looked startlingly like Harry in a picture above the mantle. He looked down upon the child and scaring Harry, said "Well, now who could this be but young Harry Potter! Welcome home son. I am your grandfather Harold Potter, your namesake I daresay. You need to reset the wards young man. It would not do to have just anyone in here you see. For now, that barmy old man I used to call friend is here at least once a year scrounging around upstairs for who knows what. He never even talks to me! Acts as if I don't even exist! The nerve of that man, I tell you Harry, if I were alive, he'd be acknowledging me, or he'd acknowledge the spells coming from the point of my wand!" Grumbling, he trailed off talking to himself, but Harry thought he would have to come back and get answers to the plethora of questions that rant just stirred up within him.

"All your questions will be answered by the merger Harry." said Fawkes as if he was voicing his thoughts out loud. "Let us proceed, please sit on the couch and relax. I am going to sing so you can fall asleep. When you wake, it will be finished."

Harry did as he was asked and within moments of Fawkes starting to sing, he was asleep. Fawkes re-entered his mind to speak with the older Harry. He told him what to expect again and what to concentrate on. His soul would be pulled in two ways during the transfer; one way would be toward the next adventure of course, the other way would be toward his younger self. It would be hard to guess which would be stronger, but Fawkes warned that no matter which one was stronger, he had to concentrate on merging with his younger self.

The feeling of floating came back to Harry as it became dark all around him. Then suddenly he was out in the real world again. He could see the house around him; feel the comforting presence of his familial ties to the house. He could see his younger form resting peacefully on the couch before him. Contrary to what Fawkes told him however, he felt no pull to go anywhere. He heard Fawkes trilling his song, but since he wasn't feeling a pull, he lingered. Staring at himself, he moved closer to get a better look. He could see the taint of the scar within the younger Harry. Knew it to be the touch of the Dark Lord, and knew instantly what needed to be done to remove it.

He hesitated only a moment then reached toward the boy with shaking hand and touched the scar. Light and dark swirled around in his head; visions of the horrible things Voldemort enacted prior to murdering his parents flew through his mind. The corporeal Harry opened his eyes and stared up at him with a pained look on his face. Harry tried to remove his finger from the scar, but it wouldn't budge. He now saw a smoky visage rising from the point where he was touching the scar. It took shape slowly, hissing continuously, and as soon as he recognized the form of Voldemort, it started to turn fuzzy as if it were glass resonating and about to burst from sound waves. Suddenly, that was exactly what seemed to happen. It just exploded and disappeared in a whirlwind of dark particles. As he saw the last of them leave, he was sucked forcibly into his younger self and promptly lost consciousness.

Sitting up he thought it was as if he were two people in one body. Fawkes told him that would be the case for a short adjustment period he remembered. "Well, I personally don't remember, but my soul remembers I guess." he thought.

"Are you ready to re-bond Young One?" Fawkes asked him almost immediately.

"Yes, I'm ready… Will you change colors after?"

"I will. From our bond I will allow the magic to color me as it chooses."

Fawkes didn't wait any longer; he initiated the bonding process with Harry once more. This time however, Harry stayed awake and noticed the magic of the bonding being re-absorbed within them both. The change to the phoenix was instantaneous. He changed from a bright red with black tips to a darker more Gryffindor-like color and he now had golden tipped feathers.

The physical changes to Harry were not noticeable all that quickly, but there was a dramatic change he felt right away. His eyesight was completely fuzzy. He could no longer see anything clearly. Worriedly, he removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes and put the glasses back on. No change. He started to panic when the soothing trill from Fawkes suggested he try to see without the glasses.

Skeptically, Harry closed his eyes and removed the glasses. He opened his eyes slowly and was pleasantly surprised to find he was able to see perfectly!

"The bonding between us has initiated a leap in your magical maturity Young One. This maturity allows you to heal a lot of imperfections, some heal instantaneously, and some will take time. For example, your eyesight is clear, however the fact that you are smaller than most children your age will gradually fix itself by magic as well as a better diet and regular meals."

As Harry remembered the talks he and Fawkes had about magical maturity and its effects, he glanced outside and noticed it was getting dark. "Should we call it a day then Fawkes, I'm tired." He was tired. He started the day running all over the neighborhood being chased by Dudley and his gang and finished it by becoming one with himself and bonding to a magical bird. Actually, maybe he was just in shock at the turn of events in his life.

Fawkes just trilled his answer allowing Harry drift off to sleep while he watched over his charge. After a time, Fawkes too settled down and fell asleep. As daunting as his task seemed at first, he relaxed a little, knowing the first of many hurdles for the young boy was over for now.