Chapter 10

"Headmaster,

I will not be taking the Hogwarts Express to school this term. I have important matters to attend to beforehand and I shall arrive sometime during dinner.

HJP"

Albus Dumbledore looked up to face the Order and the children. "This worries me," was all he could say. "Harry has spent over two months in isolation somewhere, doing Merlin knows what. To hear from him just now is quite disturbing concerning what he has written."

Hermione frowned as Ron, her boyfriend of three weeks tightened his arm around her shoulders. He had finally packed up enough courage to ask her out at the beginning of August and she accepted of course. They had spent all of their time together, getting around their new relationship and even went around the place she saw Harry last a few times together. They never saw him again though.

"How is that disturbing?" Remus Lupin asked, scowling back at the others' scowls. "Merlin forbid that Harry should have some privacy."

"It's because he ran off!" Molly Weasley shrieked. "How could he do that to us?"

Tonks spoke up nervously, "No offense Mrs. Weasley, but Harry's not a part of your family. Aside from blood that is."

Mrs. Weasley looked scandalized. "Of course he is my family, he's like my son!"

Remus shook his head. "Harry has only one mother, and she's long dead Molly. Anyone that knows Harry well enough knows that he will never look for a replacement, not then, and especially not now that he's lost what he considered his second father, Sirius."

Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth but closed it after several seconds of silence.

Remus looked around the table with a sad look on his face. "I may not know Harry more than Hermione here, or even Ron," he announced, getting up on the proverbial soap box. "But from what I knew of him when I could, he was an immensely private person. Perhaps the Dursleys beat it into him. Harry learned to be quiet, out of the way and invisible for the worse part of ten years of his life. It's part of him now. No one here can change that, even the wolf inside me knows. Harry is not used to receiving help, or asking for it. He will always go off on his own, and I know that his escapades these past five years can prove it. He's always been off on his own. It's his way."

Dumbledore sighed heavily, though the wolf in Remus could detect an undercurrent of fury. Remus looked around the room casually, as if searching everyone's eyes to what he had just said and noticed Bill Weasley, the twins and Tonks looking back at him with the same feeling on their faces.

"For now we shall leave Harry alone. He has evaded our and Voldemort's detection for so long, he will continue for another week I suppose. Though I will have words with him when he comes to Hogwarts." Remus could smell the fury even more when Dumbledore said 'words'. Something was not right.

The meeting finished and Remus saw the new couple walk up to him. It still confused him as to why Hermione would choose Ron over Harry. Since he wasn't a thick teenager, he knew who was made for who, and these two definitely weren't.

"He'll come back, won't he?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Of course he will," Remus said reassuringly. "Harry has never abandoned anyone."

"Like this summer?" Ron snorted. "He hasn't written us or anything! Probably having a good laugh in one of his castles or something."

"Ronald Weasley you are damn lucky that it isn't the full moon," Remus snarled, his amber eyes lighting up.

"Ron!" Hermione scolded. "We're so sorry professor, aren't we Ron?"

"Yeah," Ron said not too truthfully. "Come on; let's go up to my room."

They left hand in hand and Remus snorted loudly. "Disgusting."

"Wotcher Remmy," Tonks' voice said. He turned around to see her and three red heads.

"Don't call me that Nymph," Remus growled good-naturally. "What brings you lot here?"

Bill rolled his eyes. "I'm a curse breaker Remus," he said. "My eyes are trained to spot every little detail." He looked around to the room to make sure it was clear. He even cast a few detection spells. Finding a plethora of listening charms, they moved to Sirius' old room. "Is it me or did Dumbledore give off something rotten, and I don't mean old man smell?"

"We agree," George said. "We get this weirdest vibe whenever he's around Harry…"

"And his mind reading trick really annoys us," Fred finished.

The older ones stared at them. "You know he does Legillimency?" Remus asked in shock.

The twins nodded. "For the greatest wizard of all time, he sure doesn't know everything," Fred said.

"Magical twins share thought patterns," George explained. "Dumbledore gets terrible headaches when he tries to read one of us, and the other knows right away."

"He's tried it about four times before giving up," Fred smirked. "We've never trusted him since."

"He seemed really interested in Harry's affairs," Tonks said, flipping her long chestnut hair over her shoulder as Remus watched in fascination. "As an auror, I'm naturally suspicious. He doesn't take that much interest in any other students' business."

Remus gave them all a long hard look. "I am going to trust you with something I have never told anyone…"

Sept. 1st…

"And without further ado, tuck in!" Dumbledore said cheerfully. The tables filled with food and the students, new and old, began to dig in. One student, however, was missing. The Gryffindor table had one MIA lion, and the empty spot on the table next to Ron and Hermione clearly showed it. Harry Potter wasn't there.

"Hey Ron, where's Harry?" Dean asked, his fingers intertwined with Ginny's.

Ron shrugged indifferently. "Bugger if I know," he said. "Said he was coming later, probably from some shopping spree or rubbish."

The forest was alive, alive with screams and battle cries.

"Harry sent us a letter last week," Hermione explained to the others, who had listened in. "He said he would arrive during the feast, since he had some business to do."

"Sounds like Harry," Pavarti said with a nod. "He's the head of two families now, that's a lot of Wizengamot work."

Everyone stared at her. "My father has a minor chair on the Wizengamot," she said, flipping her hair back. "So a girl's got to know."

A shining blade coated in crimson blood whistled through the air, slicing into flesh.

"Do you think he'll continue with the DA?" Seamus asked in a hushed whisper. "I've talked to everyone in the group, they all aced their OWLS!"

"Even me!" Neville exclaimed excitedly. "Me!"

"What are you lame lions whispering about?" Draco Malfoy sneered as he and his two henchmen sauntered up. Well Malfoy did, Crabbe and Goyle shuffled as their brains could not stimulate enough nerves to make them saunter.

The blade rested by his side, all opponents on the ground. The blood covered bodies then turned to ash, and he sheathed the sword and continued on.

Ron looked apoplectic. "Piss off snake!" he spat.

Malfoy waved him off. "I was talking to them," he snapped, waving to the others. "You know, people who can rub two Galleons together Weasel."

Suddenly, the massive doors to the Great Hall blew apart, raining wood and steel upon the students as they covered their heads. When no more apparent danger was heard, everyone looked towards the doors, which remains were barely hanging onto the hinges. Dumbledore and the other professors had their wands at the ready.

For several tense seconds, nothing was heard. Then… a faint whistling noise appeared and grew louder.

Suddenly, a flash of shining red flew through the door, revealing a spinning sword that blew down the middle of the Great Hall, landing into the stone floor with a loud thunk right next to Malfoy, the sharp side of the blade inches away from his groin.

It was a Japanese katana, with blue leather wrappings. The blade was absolutely letting a river of blood flow to the floor.

Another sudden noise alerted everyone's attention – minus Malfoy, who had fallen on his behind and started inching away from the blood stained blade – as a figure walked into the great hall, his boots clicking with every step. He wore a slate grey robe, accented with white stitching and the hood was drawn up so no one could see his face. 'He' was definitely a 'he' since 'he' had broad shoulders and the form fitting robe showed off a masculine figure.

What was even more shocking was that when he walked through the doors, and onwards, every piece of wood and steel flew into the air around him, making for a scary cyclone of sharp objects. Each piece then flew back from him and amazingly, reassemble the doors. It was an incredible feat of power, and by the time the mysterious person stopped in front of the sword, the door was back to normal, looking – for all intent and purposes – brand new.

"Show yourself!" Dumbledore thundered, bringing fear into everyone's hearts with the power in his voice. But the person remained unfazed, as he set a strong hand on the handle of the sword.

"By your treachery," his deep voice rasped. With an almost effortless tug, he pulled the sword out of the stone floor.

"Drop that weapon!" Dumbledore bellowed. "Expelliarmus!"

The mysterious person batted the spell away with his sword, as if swatting a fly.

"By your treachery," he repeated, advancing on Malfoy. The long blade glistened brightly in the candlelight, all traces of blood having slipped off the polished steel.

"Stupefy!"

This time, a burst of wind created a vortex around the person, as the very wind itself caught the lance of light in its grasp and everyone watched as the red spell spun round and round the stranger before being jettisoned towards Professor Snape.

Luckily – or unluckily in the students' case – Snape brought up a shield before the spell hit him.

"By your treachery," the voice said darkly, as Malfoy got to his feet and fired off a weak Reductor curse. The stranger merely used his sword to flick it away. "You carry his mark."

And in the blink of an eye, the stranger was now behind Malfoy, blood coating the blade once more. For several seconds, no one moved, no one understood, but when Malfoy started screaming shrilly, they did.

The smell of burning meat filled the air and everyone looked on in horror as a burning red line of fire – like the color of searing hot coals – drew itself around Malfoy's elbow, and when it finished, his forearm fell off.

People screamed. First years fainted. Almost everyone retched. Malfoy continued screaming as the professors ran up to help him. All were stopped by a long blade that snapped up horizontally in front of them.

"By your treachery," the stranger said, fury in his voice now apparent, "You came here to kill."

"No, wait!" Malfoy whimpered, cradling what was left of his arm.

The stranger crossed his left hand over to his waist, where opposite to the scabbard was a wand holster on his right side. Drawing the wand, he pointed it at the sleeve-covered arm.

"Evanesco," he hissed. The sleeve disappeared and everyone gasped in shock as the Dark Mark stood out clearly on Malfoy's pasty white flesh. The flesh where the cut was had been cauterized instantly.

"I will not kill you today," the stranger said silkily. "I'd rather have the honor of taking your life on the battlefield. The aurors will take you from here. Pray that you never see me again Malfoy, for I will be the last thing you ever see if you do."

With that, the person slashed his sword down to his side, and in doing so flicking the blood off the blade. Bringing his arm up, his twisted his fingers and the sword spun in his hand, until he was holding it reverse grip, with his knuckles facing downwards as he held the sword. The blade was now facing his left side, and in the same smooth action, he sheathed it. His wand followed shortly.

"Who are you? Show yourself!" Dumbledore roared as the aurors collected a catatonic Malfoy. The figure turned its head towards Dumbledore, though his face was downwards. Long ebony hair fell out of the hood.

With a slow motion, the person raised his hands to the hood and pulled it down. Dumbledore and the teachers gasped, while McGonagall fainted.

All Ron and Hermione could see was shining black hair that reached down to the man's well-defined shoulder blades. His hair tapered from the sides, going from several inches at the sides, to longer until it was down the middle of his back in a point at nearly two feet. Every lock looked professional styled, and spiky, yet wavy.

Having received no response from the professors, the man turned around and Hermione fainted dead away.

The face had changed, looking no more like James Potter, but those eyes would always be recognizable as Lily's. And now that his face looked more like his mother's, Harry James Potter resembled Lily Potter more than ever.

Harry had returned.