A/N: This has by far been my most popular story. Lots of reads already and more reviews and favorites than usual. However, I would really like to hear from those of you that do read. As you saw at the end of the last chapter, we finally get to see Harry. Things are going to pick up from here and so I would really appreciate you guys leaving a little review. If you have any questions or suggestions, ASK AWAY!

"Hello, Cho."

The words crawled down Cho's back like ice. For a few moments, she couldn't move. She was glued to the floor. Finally, when she got her wits about her, she slowed turned around to face him.

He looked so much like Harry and yet so different. It definitely was him, there was no doubt about that. However, she had changed so much. He was much thicker, like he had been working out. Even through the thick black cloak, Cho could tell that he was in fantastic shape. He had traded his traditional round glasses for a pair of newer, more angular glasses. The hair just above his temples was already starting to grey. Cho wondered if that was natural or because of stress.

She looked down and noticed that he didn't have his wand in his hand. Instantly, she felt herself release all of the air in her lungs.

"Harry." she breathed softly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked naturally.

In the past, Harry had always been bad at hiding his emotions. That was the past however. He either didn't have any emotions or he was doing a very good job hiding them.

"Harry, I think we both know what I'm doing here." Cho replied softly.

Suddenly, Harry stuck his hand into his robes and in a flash, drew his wand and conjured a table and two chairs.

"Sit." Harry ordered shortly.

Cho did as she was required and took a seat across from him at the table.

"To be perfectly honest, I didn't think it would take them this long to find." Harry said with a sigh. "Why are you here?"

"We need your help, Harry."

Harry gave a deep, throaty laugh before he replied.

"My help? Well all know what happens when everyone gets my help."

"Harry, you know that trial w-"

"That trial was all of wizarding England during their back on the one man who was brave enough stand in the way of Lord Voldemort! That trial was Kingsley, Ron, Hermione, and all of the people that I thought were my friends telling me that the war and all of its results were my fault!"

Now, this, this was the Harry that Cho remembered. A burning rage just below the surface, ready to explode at any moment.

"Not all of us supported it you know."

"Cho, when it came down to Marietta and me, you chose her, remember?"

Suddenly, it was Cho's turn to be angry.

"Harry, that was years ago! I was a child then and you would hold that against me?"

"We were all children! But we had to take care of things and you were too blind to see that! You stood there and defended the person who would have given us to the Ministry!"

Cho had to admit, albeit reluctantly, that he had a point.

"Harry, you're right." Cho admitted. "You're absolutely right. But we can't change that now, can we? We can only move forward."

"I have no interest in moving forward." Harry shot back. "Moving forward means going back. That's what you mean by my help don't you?"

"I do."

"Forget it, Chang. I'm not going back."

Cho stood up and began pacing the room. Suddenly, she came up with an idea.

"Can I at least see where you live?"

Harry looked shocked that she would even ask.

"Why?" he asked suspiciously.

"Two things. First, I would like to explain to you why you need to come home. Second, if I can't convince you, I want to be able to explain to Ron, Hermione and Arthur how you're doing and not lie to them."

Not lie to them. It was the kicker in there or at least she hoped it was. She hoped that Harry, who disliked lying as much as anyone she could remember, wouldn't let her become a liar as well.

Suddenly, Harry stood up and withdrew a pouch from his cloak, obviously full of Floo Powder. With another flash of his wand, the table and chairs were gone and he was approaching the mantle.

"Since it is already mid-day, I will take you to my home and allow you to stay for one night. I will listen to you and assuredly tell you to go home. Once you leave, you will not tell them where I live and you will not come back. Are we clear?"

"Yes." Cho nodded slowly.

"Fine. Take my hand." Harry said as he extended his hand to hers.

Cho quickly latched onto Harry's hand as he led to the two of them into the fire. They stood in the green flames for a second before Harry spoke.

"I hope you like it dark and cold." he said before pulling some Floo Powder out of his bag. Quickly, he threw it down and yelled:

"Barrow!"

Barrow, AK

4:00 PM

Cho opened her eyes and saw that they were in a small restaurant, eerily similar to the one that they had just left.

"Welcome to Barrow." Harry said next to her.

"Barrow?" Cho replied. "Where the hell is that?"

"Barrow is the northernmost inhabited location in Alaska. It's a small town, maybe 5,000 people. However, with it being early February, no one really gets out of their houses much. So, I kind of have free reign to Apparate wherever I please."

"Don't you worry about the Statue of Secrecy?"

"No." Harry replied shortly before leading her towards the door. As Cho walked across the room, she noticed that there was literally no one there.

"Why isn't there anyone here?"

"You'll see." Harry replied as he opened the door.

Instantly, a blast of air so cold that it nearly knocked Cho off her feet came rushing in. Harry, who hadn't even noticed, walked outside and left Cho holding the door to follow.

The town really was quite quaint. Small houses lined the streets and not a single vehicle drove the roads. It was like a ghost town. That's when Cho noticed something.

"Harry, why is it nearly sunset?"

"Because there's only sun six hours a day here at this time of the year." Harry replied as he pressed forward.

"Is that why no one comes out?"

"Yes. We have a large population of incredibly powerful nocturnal animals up here. Bears, wolves."

"What kind of wolves?" Cho asked pointedly.

"Both." Harry answered to confirm her suspicion. "Although they aren't as bad as the vampires."

"Is that why you moved here? After you saved that other village?"

Harry nodded his head before he replied.

"I still wanted to do good things. When I saved that village, Oxley told me of Barrow. Apparently, once every three or four years, a pack of vampires would come across the town during the month of darkness and just wipe the place out. So, I moved up here to help them defend themselves from the vampires. Of course, they don't know that."

Cho was amazed. Harry Potter, hero of the Wizarding World, angry at everyone, still saving people.

Suddenly, Harry turned down the path in front of a quaint little house. Obviously, it was his. It was a small blue house that looked like it probably could have used a couple months of repairs. However, Cho wasn't there to judge him or his house.

They stepped into the house and Cho was incredibly surprised. While she expected the house to be dark and empty save for a chair here and there, it was the exact opposite. The house was incredibly bright and well-lit. A matching furniture set with a rather large television set adorned the living room.

Suddenly, Cho saw something move out of the corner of her eye. She turned and noticed a picture of Lily and James Potter, hanging on the wall. Next to them was a picture of Harry with who Cho was sure was his godson, Teddy Lupin. However, the last picture on the wall surprised her the most. It was the same picture of the Golden Trio that had adorned the cover of the Daily Prophet.

"Why do you have this photo?"

"What? I'm not allowed to have a photo of myself on the wall?" Harry said as he sat in his recliner.

"No. It's not that. If you feel so betrayed by them, why do you keep a picture of them on the wall?"

Harry took a deep breath before he replied.

"Because that was the last truly happy day that I can remember. Everything after that, there was something political involved. The one year memorial, the trial, the lawsuit, my dismissal."

"Speaking of the lawsuit, how did you get the money to buy this place?"

"The Alaskan Ministry Office pays me a bit and I got some money from Andromeda." Harry said as he stared at the floor.

In that moment, Cho had never seen Harry so disheartened. He was embarrassed, distressed, angry, saddened, and guilty at the same time. Cho dropped into the couch next to Harry and took his hand.

"Come home, Harry." Cho asked of him. "We miss you."

Suddenly, the guarded Harry that she had seen earlier made a reappearance.

"We, Cho? I haven't seen you in years. How you be a part of we?"

"Because you saw what I was like at the Battle of Hogwarts. I know you did. I wanted to be alone with you to tell you that I was sorry. That I understood everything that you had been talking about."

"Too little, too late."

"I was right wasn't I?" Cho snapped at him. "You and Ginny didn't last much longer than a year. She didn't understand, did she?"

"No." Harry admitted shortly.

"Harry, do you know why I took the job as American Ambassador when it was offered to me?"

"Because it's a fantastic job."

"True. I also took it because I knew that Harry Potter was in the United States. When I got there, the first thing I asked the American Ministry for was for any sightings of Harry Potter to be reported. Now, it obviously didn't work because I just found out about a bunch of people that had seen you and never reported it. But, I wanted to be there person that when Harry Potter finally decided he was ready to come home, I would be the person he would come see."

The look on Harry's face was one that Cho had never seen on him before: shock.

"Thanks, Cho. I appreciate it. But you have to understand something. I'm never going home. Not after what they put me through."

"They need you again, Harry." Cho returned.

"They always needed me until they didn't need me anymore." Harry replied sadly.

Suddenly, Cho stood up and walked across the room and pointed at the pictures on the wall.

"You see these people here? Ron? Hermione? Teddy? Even your parents?"

"Yes." Harry replied with a growl.

"They're all going to die if you don't help."

Harry opened his mouth as if to speak before letting the words that Cho spoke settle in. For the next few minutes, he made a few attempts to speak. Suddenly, he was able to find one word.

"How?"

Finally.

"A group of international terrorists are ripping through Europe. For some reason, they've selected us as their next target. We've managed to capture one of them but the other is..."

"What?"

"Let me put it this way: Ron went one on one with her and the only reason he's alive is that she left him to die."

"WHAT?"

"She and her team killed every single person at the Czech Ministry and then set a trap for Ron. Ron fell in perfectly and ended up in St. Mungos with enough injuries that they couldn't heal him all at once."

"Wow."

"Ron is a Senior Auror. In fact, he is probably going to be the Senior Auror soon and this woman waxed the floor with his blood."

"What does this have to do with me?" Harry asked.

"The Frenchman, Bruno Christoph, is the one we captured. He said that he would talk, but only to you."

"Why me?"

"Because you're Harry Potter." Cho said with a joking smile. "Honestly, I have no idea. He just wants to talk to you."

"Well, that won't happen." Harry replied abruptly. "I told you, Cho, I'm not going home."

"Harry, your godson, your best friends, and the memory of your parents will be slaughtered if you don't come back! Your godson, Teddy, when was the last time you saw him?"

"Leave him out of this." Harry grumbled.

"How old is he?"

"I said...leave him out of this."

"He can't be out of this!" Cho yelled. "He still lives with Andromeda just outside of London. Hermione and Ron live in London. I don't know what these people plan on doing or why they're doing it. That's not my job. All I know is that the possibility of everyone you've ever known or loved dying is there!"

"Why should I care? They don't love me!"

"Harry, you don't know that. They're asking for your help. Go there, if they still seem like they're against you, then you can leave but we need you goddamn help!"

Harry stood up and got directly in Cho's face and it was at this point that she realized that Harry had gotten much taller and much more menacing. His green eyes seemed to pulse with rage as he leaned in and got within inches of her face.

"My help got me blamed for the death of 127 people at the Battle of Hogwarts and lost me 987,000 Galleons and my fucking job!"

"That was four years ago, Potter! Things change, people change! You have to be willing to forgive people sometime!"

"I still haven't forgiven you!"

"Then maybe you aren't as grown up as you think you are." Cho said before turning around and sitting on the couch behind her.

Harry stormed upstairs and slammed a door. He wouldn't come down for the rest of the night.

6:31 AM

"Wake up."

Cho rolled over in her sleep to see the face of Harry Potter staring at her.

"What do you want?"

"They're here."

"Who?"

"The vampires." Harry whispered.

"What do you mean they're here?"

"I have a bunch of security wards around town. They can sense whenever they come around. They're on their way into town and we need to move now."

"You do it by yourself every other time. Why do you need me now?" Cho asked him.

"Because the whole tribe is coming. It will be easier with two of us."

Instantly, Cho jumped to her feet and pulled her jacket on. She ran across the room and picked up her white overcoat and threw it over her. Within it, she pulled her wand out and was ready to go.

Harry silent rushed to the door and yanked it open. The wind had died down from the previous night although the frigid temperatures remained. Harry slowly checked the streets, looking for an attacker, before he jumped off his porch and sprinted out into the streets.

Whatever Harry did in his free time, it had made him a phenomenal athlete. He sprinted down the main street of town in heavy winter boots that would have slowed anyone but the most fit of people down. Cho did everything she could to keep up with him. However, just when she thought that he would get out of side, he stopped.

Cho hurried up to him and stopped next to him.

"Where are they?" she asked in between huge breaths.

"There." Harry whispered softly, nodding in front of them.

His eyes must have been trained for everything because she saw nothing...for a moment. Then, she saw them. While most vampires in Europe and certainly more temperate areas chose to live closer to society, these obviously did not. They had fully accepted their lives as beasts and they appeared to be more monster than man. They wore only a black cloak, not dissimilar to the one that Lord Voldemort had been famous for wearing years earlier. Their eyes were blood red and their skin was the palest of colors with red veins lining their body.

They stumbled more than walked and their minds had apparently been completely taken over with a lust for blood.

"Don't think." Harry said slowly.

"What?"

"A long time ago, they may have been people. However, that was before they chose this life. We have a number of remedies that can reduce the thirst. They chose this."

"You really believe that."

Harry turned to her slowly.

"You have to."

Suddenly, he turned and marched toward the crowd of beasts. Cho did a quick headcount and saw that there were at least 50. She could certainly say that she was terrified. The man who had destroyed 14 Romanian terrorists single-handed probably wasn't.

He stepped forward and leveled his wand at the vampires.

"Lumos Maxima!"

Instantly, the brightest blast of light Cho had ever seen exploded from Harry's wand. Suddenly, Cho realized that she was actually there to help. She stepped forward next to Harry and followed his lead.

The combination of the two light blasts forced the large center of the group back, cowering in both pain and fear. Cho was incredibly proud to be there, standing next to Harry Potter, fighting the good fight. She hadn't been there for him in the past and now, she thought that she was doing everything she could to make it up to him.

She was proud until she realized that Harry turned around and attacked behind them. Cho glanced a look behind her and noticed that there was an even larger group approaching them from behind.

"They knew we were coming." Harry replied simply. "This could be problematic."

Suddenly, the two of them broke formation and started blasting away at random vampires. As they got closer, they seemed to realize that these were two people with blood to feed on and rushed quicker. It did make recognizing the ones who were closer easier. However, it was rather disconcerting to see vampires running directly at them.

The accuracy and power that Harry showed was remarkable when you considered that he often fired three or four times for every one of hers. However, power and accuracy was slowly losing to numbers. They kept getting closer.

"Harry, what do we do?" Cho said as she blasted the head off of a vampire that had been approaching her.

"I'm not sure." he replied as he took out three different ones with a blasting curse.

Suddenly, someone brushed the back of Cho's neck and she turned around to see a vampire within inches of her. She quickly launched him back several yards before finishing him off but the damage was done. Once they saw that they could get in close, they all rushed simultaneously.

"HARRY!"

"Cho! Let's go!" Harry said as he took off while still firing curses and hexes left and right.

Cho followed him and continued to attack. They ran away from town so no one would see them. After several minutes of running, they ran into a glacier wall.

"Harry. It's a dead end." Cho said softly.

"I know." he replied as he turned back to face the vampires. "At least we'll be able to see them all coming this way."

"Great. I get to see my killer before they eat me."

"Oh, they won't kill you." Harry replied shortly before leveling his wand and firing again.

The rush of vampires finally caught up to them and despite whatever Harry and Cho tried, they couldn't force them back. They kept getting closer and closer. First, they were several meters away. Then, they were only one meter away.

Finally, one grabbed Harry and another grabbed Cho, pulling her to the ground. Just as Cho closed her eyes and expected the bite, a blast of light just as large as Harry's had been. In fact, it may have been the brightest light Cho had ever remembered seeing.

The result of instantaneous. The sound of the light searing the skin of the vampires echoed through the frozen tundra as the vampires ran in both pain and fear. Cho didn't dare open her eyes, fearful of both Harry's fate and the identity of their protector.

Finally, when she got brave enough, she took a peek. Harry laid next to her, staring at her and breathing deeply but otherwise unharmed. Suddenly, they realized that they weren't alone.

Cho turned and saw their protector. He was an incredibly tall man dressed in a perfectly tailored black cloak. His angular features mixed with his blonde hair made him very attractive.

"Thank heavens." he said softly as he approached us. "I thought I got here too late."

Suddenly, Harry jumped to his feet and leveled his wand at the attractive stranger.

"Who are you?"

In a strange response, the man simply smiled.

"Calm down, son. My name is Noah, I live here in Barrow studying vampires."

"Studying vampires? The vampires that Harry has to stop from attacking the town?" Cho asked harshly.

"Yes. You see there are usually two or three tribes out here that wander towards town. I observe their tendencies and then report back to Anchorage with my findings."

"You don't think that stopping them is important?" Cho asked again.

"I do. I tend to watch from farther out of town. I didn't know they were getting this close."

"Well, they are." Harry replied coldly. "Let's get back to town. We're all going to my house."

"Sounds good."

An hour later, they had returned to Harry's house and they were listening to Noah tell his story. He had graduated from the American Witches and Wizards Academy in 1991 and instantly had gone to work for the American Ministry. For the first few years he had worked there, he had been working to cure lycanthropy. However, when their facility was attacked by vampires, he found a new obsession and moved to Barrow, one of the most infested areas in the world because of the polar twilight each January.

"So you've been here for three years?" Harry asked.

"Almost. It will be three years in May." Noah replied.

"Where do you live?" Cho asked.

"Actually, my back yard touches Harry's." Noah answered as he stood and pointed out the window to a house just behind Harry's. "That one's mine."

Suddenly, Harry turned to Cho.

"Can I talk to you in the hallway?"

Cho, unsure of what Harry wanted, nodded and followed him outside. Once they were out of an earshot of Noah, Harry turned to her.

"I want you to leave."

"What?" Cho replied in shock.

"I'm not going home, Cho. They will have to figure something out without me. I'm happy here."

"Then why can't I stay for a bit?" Cho asked.

"Because I'm incredibly suspicious of this guy. Maybe that's just my nature but something about him feels wrong. If something goes down, I don't want you in the crossfire."

"Still trying to save everyone, Harry Potter?"

"Not everyone, just you."

"Harry, I can take care of myself."

"I know." Harry replied. "That's what worries me. It worries me that you'll try and step in if something happens."

"Harry-"

"Cho, I want you to leave. This isn't a request." Harry said, suddenly firm.

It was at this point that Cho realized that she would need to change tactics. However, she was going to need to move quickly if she was going to get the people here she needed here before Harry decided to pick up and leave town.

"Fine, Harry." Cho replied unhappily. "But I'll come back for a visit eventually."

"I'll let you know when it's safe." Harry replied with a smile.

"Take care of yourself, Harry."

"You too, Cho."

Suddenly, Harry pulled her into the most surprising hug that she could remember. Now, she could really feel the developed musculature that Harry had put on in his time away. Harry or not, she certainly couldn't say she wasn't enjoying herself.

When Harry let her go, she gave a brief smile before turning and walking out the door. Once she was out, she quickly made her way back to the bar they had come in and using some of the Floo Powder she had taken from Harry, she transported herself back to Anchorage and the Alaskan Ministry.

Once she was back in the Ministry, she ran out of the Ministry building and found the first telephone she could find. She needed to talk to Hermione Granger instantly and the best way to do that was to call her. Since Granger was a Muggle-born, she had some technology that no other wizard used.

And Cho knew that Hermione Granger had a telephone in her office, powered by magic, that she could use in emergencies. Instantly, she called the number and waited. Suddenly, the line picked up.

"Who is this?" Hermione growled suspiciously over the phone.

"Hermione, this is Cho."

"Cho! Oh my goodness! Is everything alright? Did something bad happen?"

"Hermione...I found him."

Barrow, AK

7:51 AM

Harry watched Cho leave with a combination of relief and regret. Relief that he was alone again in his sanctuary but regret that he had just forced one of the few people who knew him that he didn't had out of his door.

However, that wasn't important at the moment. What was important was the man in his living room. Harry turned on the spot and went back to him.

"Alright, Noah, spill it." Harry said.

Instantly, the man dropped his act.

"I figured as much. You are far too observant to not have noticed."

"No one has lived in that house for the entire time I've been here. I personally checked each and every house in town when I got here. Now, are you actually living there?"

"Yes, I am."

"Why?"

"To watch the great Harry Potter of course."

So, the man did know who he was. That was disconcerting but not unexpected. Harry hadn't hid who he was once he got to Alaska. It's just that since the town was most inhabited by Muggles, they didn't particularly care who he was.

"Are you here to kill me?"

"Mr. Potter, if I was here to kill you, I would have simply left you to the vampires. No, I'm here to help you."

"Help me with what?"

"Your friend there is right. Everyone you have ever known and loved will be killed if you don't return to help." Noah replied.

"Is that a threat?"

"Not really, no. It is simply a fact. No one can stop The Jester. No one but you."

"So you're going to help me with that?" Harry asked skeptically.

"Yes."

"How do you plan on doing that?"

"Well, before she was corrupted and became The Jester, I knew her simply as Azoli Vindogradoff."

"How did you know her?"

Noah suddenly looked very sad. Harry didn't particularly care why.

"I was an American studying in Moscow. There, I met Azoli. She was beautiful, smart, engaging. Then, she changed."

"I don't need your story. Why do you think that I need to go home and why do you think that you can help me?" Harry demanded.

"You need to go home because you are the only wizard talented enough to stop her. And to answer your second question, I can help you because I know her strategies inside and out."

"How?"

"Because when I was in Moscow, I taught them to her. She simply perfected them."