Disclaimer: I don't own HP or RotG

IMPORTANT NOTICE: I changed the title of this fic from The Guardian of Magic to A New Guardian. When I started writing this story, I was torn between these two titles. Now that I've gotten farther along in the story I feel that A New Guardian is a better fit. I'm sorry if this caused any confusion. Just trust me, after you read the next couple of chapters you'll understand my need to change it.

Chapter 3

Harry had to admit, he was a bit confused. When he walked into Voldemort's camp in the Forbidden Forest he was fully prepared to die. He trusted Neville to make sure Nagini was killed and he believed in his friends to finish off Voldemort in his stead. He had accepted his death. After the short reunion with his family using the Resurrection Stone, he wanted to finally join them in the afterlife. So why was he in King's Cross train station? And what was Professor Dumbledore doing here? Harry was so focused on questioning the Headmaster and the Headmaster was only concerned about advising Harry that neither noticed the silent presence of the Man in the Moon.

MiM didn't watch or listen in on the two in the train station. He had no need. He had watched Harry Potter, as he watched all children, since the day he had been born. No, right now he had more important things to do. Curse Destiny for setting him up in this mess. MiM could just picture the smug look on Destiny's face as she laughed at him. Every now and then she got in a horribly annoying teasing mood. Usually MiM tried to avoid her when she got like that but this was too important.

The realm this train station was situated in was the in-between, the no-man's-land, separating Life and Hereafter. It was where souls went when they died but before they completely passed over. The period in which a soul can reside here can be as short as the time it takes them to board a train to as long as what equates to years in the Land of the Living. Sometimes, a soul can be revived from this realm and return to the Living. Other times a soul can do nothing but wait until it's time for them to depart. It's from here that the Resurrection Stone projects souls into the Land of the Living. There can also be some instances, as is the case between Harry and Dumbledore, where one who has fully departed may visit a soul.

It was in this realm that MiM had collected Jack Frost to make him the Spirit of Winter. MiM had prepared himself to collect Harry here as well, whether Harry was killed at the hands of the Dark Lord or if he had dropped into unconsciousness after his victory. The irritation MiM felt towards Destiny was this meeting between Harry and Dumbledore. He could not take Harry until the conversation with Dumbledore was over. That left MiM with only a small window of opportunity between the time Harry stepped onto a train and the time when the train leaves the station. If he missed that window, if the train leaves before he can collect Harry, then MiM will not be able to retrieve him.

MiM paused momentarily to see if Harry and Dumbledore were still talking. It only took less than a second, similar to checking the time on a wristwatch. They were discussing Harry's choices, whether he would go back or go on. MiM cursed under his breath. His time was up and he hadn't finished. He followed the conversation with baited breath as Harry made up his mind… and sighed with relief and wiped his brow when Harry chose to return to the Land of the Living.

That had been close. If pressured to take Harry prematurely, MiM could have made do with what he had accomplished so far. Now he had the time to iron out the details. Until the fall of the Dark Lord, Harry would remain Destiny's guardian. Once the prophecy was fulfilled, he would become a Guardian of Childhood.

As Hagrid carried Harry's body out of the forest and across the grounds of Hogwarts, a wave of despair radiated out to all the magical people in the Wizarding World. The witches and wizards on the grounds and in the castle felt it like a cold shiver down their spines. Those strong enough to resist the loss of hope worked diligently to restore faith in the others. The creatures in the Forbidden Forest and in the lake paused as if they sensed a predator in their midst. Throughout the Wizarding World, witches and wizards quickly going about their days, the goblins in their bank, the house elves in their masters' homes all stopped as they felt the despair press against them.

Although still alive in Hagrid's arms, Harry began to feel horribly tired. Not the usual sleepy tired that lulls you to your bed. Harry felt the bone deep wariness that comes with burnout, the kind that just makes you want to lie down forever and never get up. 'It will be over soon. I just have to beat him and then I'll be done.' Harry thought to himself. It wasn't as motivating as he wished.

As Harry faced off with Voldemort in the Great Hall there was a moment just before they cast their spells when Harry felt his magic swell up inside of him. It was more than the exhilaration from outwitting the Dark Lord. At that moment, the children in the Wizarding World were all whispering in their dreams 'Harry Potter will save me. I know he will. I believe in him.'

When the spells were cast and Harry finally defeated Voldemort, the energy he had felt inside drained away like water in a bathtub and with it went whatever strength the adrenaline had been keeping him from collapsing in exhaustion. As everyone in the Great Hall crowded around him to congratulate and celebrate everything finally being over, Harry had a desperate need to get away. He could have kissed Luna with gratitude for her distraction that allowed him to slip beneath his invisibility cloak.

Harry was done. Now all he wanted was to rest. He didn't want to be bothered by those that had survived the Battle of Hogwarts, or by the press that he knew would be in his face once everything settled down, and he especially didn't want to deal with the raw emotions of his friends or the Wesley's. He just needed to be alone for a moment. That's all he wanted was a few hours to try and get some sleep and process everything before he had to go face the world he had saved.

After explaining everything to Ron and Hermione, they parted ways in the hallway outside the Headmaster's office. Harry made his was through the deserted corridors. Evidence of the battle was littered everywhere: stone rubble, portrait frames askew and damaged, signs of spell fire, traces of blood here and there, and the occasional body that had yet to be taken down to the Entrance Hall. He had been planning on going up to his dorm and passing out in his four-poster bed but he dreaded the thought of people being able to find him so easily. So instead of turning down the corridor that would lead him to the portrait of the fat lady, he continued straight down the hallway.

He wished for a second that he had the Marauder's Map in his pocket. If he could see where people were then he would know which spots to avoid. The sun had fully risen now and shined through the windows along the corridor. Maybe the Room of Requirement was still functioning despite the Fiendfyre Crabbe had cast. Even if the room was accessible there were still two problems that Harry could see, the first being that there was no way to secure the it from people coming through the back entrance or through the tunnel from the Hog's Head and the second was that it was all the way on the other side of the castle.

As these thoughts fluttered through his brain, Harry came upon a the shadowed entrance to a staircase that he hadn't noticed in all his seven years in Hogwarts. His thoughts were so fuzzy that Harry really could not recall if he'd ever even been down this part of the corridor before. How had that happened? He hadn't turned off the main corridor and it was right down from the common room. The main route was usually the one he'd just come from, the direct route between Gryffindor Tower and the Great Hall and most of the classrooms. Harry shrugged. He was too tired to keep up that trivial line of thought and this placed seemed as good as any.

Harry turned and made his way to the stairway and started climbing. Out of habit, he counted as he went: 1, 2, 3, 4… 37, 38, 39… 63, 64, 65, 66. It was around this time that Harry regretted choosing to come up this tower but he really didn't want to go back down 66 steps and spend who knows how much time trying to find another spot. Was this the 107th step or the 108th? Just as Harry was about to start again from 1, his head collided painfully with a trap door. Bloody hell, now he had a concussion to add to his list of injuries. He groaned loudly at the thought of having to set an alarm to wake him every hour. How counterproductive to the whole resting plan.

Lifting the trap door and giving a mighty push to loosen the rusty hinges, Harry was slightly surprised and very relieved to find that it opened into the centre of a circular shaped room that looked to have been used as a living area and study. With the exception of all the dust and cobwebs the room looked ready to be lived in. Almost like the common room, there were comfortable looking chairs and couches circled around a fireplace on one side of the room. The other half was occupied with a good-sized office desk facing the room with bookshelves on the wall behind it and a brass telescope to one side. Looking up, he thought for a moment that the ceiling was gone. On closer inspection, Harry found that it was enchanted similarly to the Great Hall. The only difference that he could tell was that the morning sky was dulled as if being filtered though a huge lens of pair of sunglasses. Good thing too because Harry wanted to be able to sleep. Although at this point he was so tired he doubted that even having the sun shining directly into his eyes would stop him from falling asleep.

Making a final turn to look behind him he found himself standing before a day bed. Harry stubble frantically towards it as a man dying of thirst would race towards water. He tripped over his own feet in exhaustion and landed on his knees beside the bed with his head and shoulders resting on the mattress. He wasn't praying despite the pose he was in but at that moment he sent out a silent thank you to anyone who was listening and dragged himself fully onto the bed. He ignored the cloud of dust that bloomed up from underneath him. He was too tired to bother with cleaning spells and he was filthy any way. Rolling onto his back, he only paused long enough to take off his glasses before he fell deeply to sleep.

Being midmorning by that time, MiM didn't have the full strength of his power. Instead of rushing to collect, MiM waited until the sun had set before he met Harry in the in-between realm. The time had come for Harry's transition.

A/N: This chapter took longer to write than I thought. I had to reread HP and the Deathly Hallows to make sure I had the facts straight. Then I figured everyone should now it already so why spend a lot of time repeating things unless I wanted to shed a different light on things. I kept it short just so you wouldn't be kept waiting so long. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed to my story. It's been a few years since I've written anything so when I first posted this story it was something I did for myself. I honestly did not expect such a positive response and the reviews I've gotten so far have been fantastic. So I'm going to give you some teasers and answer some of the questions posted in your reviews.

Yes, Jack will make an appearance but this story is Harry centric so you're going to have to wait a bit. Never fear, once he enters for his first scene he will be a prominent character for the rest of the fic. I love him too ;-)

And yes, Harry will meet the Guardians.

If I haven't answered your question it's because I don't want to commit to anything and I also don't want to ruin the surprise. Just keep reading to find out.

~*~ Sundance-gurl