AUTHOR'S NOTE Sorry about the delay! I've been really, really busy in real life. Also, the scene in the living room shifts viewpoints a couple of times – sorry if it's confusing!

Thanks to my beta Lauren. Hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER Don't own any of them.

Martha Kent sat on her kitchen table, absently stroking Lana's hair. Jonathan was pacing back and forth, while Lex sat in the living room staring at the empty fireplace. No one had said anything since Harry and the others had left.

Suddenly, Lana looked up. "I think I hear something."

All four, even Lex, turned nervous eyes to the doorway. Within moments, Bill and Ron burst through the kitchen door carrying Clark between them. "Oh God, Clark!" Martha cried.

Harry plodded in after them, with Hermione and Gabrielle leading Cho in last. Lana jumped up from the table and ran to her sister. "Liza, are you okay?"

Cho stared at Lana for a moment, but nodded and wrapped her arms around her. "I'm fine. It's over."

Jonathan frowned. "What do you mean, it's over?"

"Bellatrix is dead," Hermione told him quietly. "The Death Eaters are gone. Your son is safe now."

As if on cue, Clark sat up on the couch, shaking his head and blinking. "Clark!" Martha said. "Are you okay?"

He nodded and gratefully accepted the shirt that his father offered him. "Now that I'm away from the meteor rocks, all the marks from the curses are going away." Martha looked alarmed and threw her arms around Clark. He chuckled. "I'm okay, Mom."

Harry approached Clark curiously. "I've never seen anyone recover from that kind of torture so quickly!"

Martha's face turned ghostly white. Clark climbed to his feet and led Harry to the foyer. "Try to keep the torture talk to a minimum around my parents, okay?"

Harry nodded. "Sorry."

Clark shuffled his feet. "Harry, I need to talk to you about something."

Bill, Ron, Gabrielle, and Hermione sat in the living room trying to calm Clark's parents and leaving Lana and Cho alone in the kitchen. Lana watched Cho worriedly as they sat in silence. Finally, Lana said, "Thank you for bringing Clark back."

Cho nodded. "No problem."

"Are you okay?"

Tears brimmed in Cho's eyes. "I killed her, Lana. You sure you want a big sister who's a murderer?"

Lana gripped Cho's hand. "That woman was not human and you are the only family I have."

Cho managed a weak smile. "How did you kill her?" Lana asked.

With a dry laugh, Cho replied, "I knocked a tree onto her."

Lana smirked. "Crushed by a falling object. Classic Smallville." She stood up. "Come on. I think Mr. and Mrs. Kent are taking this pretty hard."

Cho snorted. "I can't imagine why."

Lana and Cho entered the living room just as Clark and Harry did from the front hall. "Dad?" Clark said. "Can we talk for a minute?"

"Sure, son." Jonathan followed Clark into the privacy of the kitchen. "Clark, will you please tell us what's going on?"

"I thought Harry and the others explained it to you."

Jonathan laughed. "Well they did but come on, Clark. Witches?"

"I'm an alien."

"Yes, but that's not – "

"And I think it's time that I told them."

Jonathan gave his son a hard look. "Clark, are you sure about this?"

Clark nodded. "I nearly got them all killed. Again. They deserve to know the truth." He lowered her voice. "Besides, I talked to Harry and he promised to help."

"Help with what?" Jonathan asked.

Clark looked sad. "Help them forget. But they deserve a full explanation first."

With a sigh, Jonathan clapped Clark on the shoulder. "Okay son."

Clark turned and slowly walked toward the living room where his mother was still being consoled by Lana, Cho, Gabrielle, and Hermione. Harry caught Clark's eye and nodded. Clark took a deep breath. "Hey," he said. "I, uh, I have something to tell you all."

Martha looked at him, surprised. Lana, Lex, Cho, Bill, Ron, Gabrielle, and Hermione just waited expectantly. Clark sat awkwardly on the arm of an easy chair. "I should be dead," he finally said. "I was hit by that curse – the one that killed Whitney. I should be dead, but I'm not. I think you all deserve to know why."

Hermione took his pause as her opportunity to ask the question that had been burning in her mind. "What does Kal-El mean?"

"It's my birth name," Clark said.

Lana gasped. "You found your birth parents?"

Clark shook his head. "No. My birth parents are dead."

Lex was shaking his head, a confused frown on his face. "Clark, how do you know all of this?"

"When the Killing Curse hit me," Clark said, "I had a vision. Kind of like how people say your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. I heard my birth father's voice. He told me that I was the last hope for my people. And then the planet exploded."

He was met with stunned silence. "What?" Lana whispered.

Clark could not look at her as he continued. "The ship had a pre-set course. But when it landed, it landed amidst pieces of the destroyed planet. That was nearly thirteen years ago."

"The Smallville meteor shower," Lana said, her voice barely audible.

"The sun makes my body act differently here." Clark looked embarrassed. "I'm really fast and really strong. I can see through anything except lead and nothing can break my skin."

"Except when you're around those rocks," Bill pointed out. "Why?"

Clark shrugged. He looked at Lex and Lana, wondering how they were taking the news.

They sat in silence for a long time. Lex in particular looked shaken to the core. "I didn't image you saving me then," he finally said. Clark shook his head miserably. "I hit you on the bridge," Lex said slowly, as if trying to comprehend his own words. "And then pushed you into the water. You ripped off the roof of the car and dragged me out."

"Yeah," Clark said softly.

"Why did you never tell me?" Lana asked.

"I'm so sorry, Lana. I wanted to a million times, but I thought it was too dangerous."

Her stony expression did not change. "Does anyone know?"

"My parents." Clark blushed and mumbled, "Obviously."

Cho leaned over to Harry. "Why is this so hard for them?" she asked. "He's still the same person."

Harry shook his head sadly. "No, he isn't. Trust me, when people find out that you're different than they are…" His voice trailed off. Gabrielle reassuringly squeezed his hand.

"So you really can't be hurt?" Lex asked.

Clark relaxed slightly when he heard that Lex's tone had shifted from shock to curiosity. "The meteor rocks hurt. As far as I can tell, they're radioactive pieces of Krypton."

"Krypton was your home?" Hermione asked.

Clark nodded. "Its explosion was what eventually caused the meteor shower."

He saw Lana's hand fly to her throat, where her necklace would normally have been. "The meteor shower," she repeated.

Again, Clark nodded miserably. "I am so sorry about your parents, Lana. Every day I live with knowing that it's my fault they're dead."

Lana was quiet for a minute, then reached for Clark's hand and said quietly, "It really isn't your fault. You didn't cause the explosion. I mean, how could you; you were just a baby, right? You must have been." Then she realized that she was rambling and stopped talking.

Clark coughed to clear his choked up throat and said simple, "Thank you."

"So you're really strong and superfast and impervious to harm and you have X-Ray vision," Ron said, changing the subject. Clark nodded. "Can you do anything else?"

Hermione smacked him on the arm. "Ronald! As if those things weren't enough!"

Clark laughed. "Nope, that's all. Although the X-Ray vision came recently way after the other stuff, so who knows what else will show up?"

Everyone laughed. But then Clark saw his parents share a worried glance. He looked at Harry and said, "I think it's time."

Harry sighed and stood up. "Okay."

Lana looked between Clark and Harry, alarmed. "What's going on?"

Clark stood up and helped Lana to her feet. "Lana, I've wanted to tell you my secret since the day I met you."

Lana gripped his hands. "And I'm so glad you finally did."

He pulled his hands away and avoided her eyes. "But the reason I never told you is because everyone who knows my secret is put in that much more danger."

"Clark, what are you saying?"

Harry cleared his throat and pulled out his wand. "Clark has asked me to erase your memories of the things he's told you and the things that you've seen him do."

Lana's jaw dropped. "What?" she cried.

Cho glared at Harry angrily. "You're going to Obliviate my little sister? Over my dead body!"

"Liza," Clark began.

"My name is Cho!" she cried as tears unexpectedly gathered in her eyes. "I mean – I'm not sure."

Lana ran to Cho's side. "I don't care what your name is! I just don't want to forget you!"

Cho wrapped her arms around Lana. "I will never let your forget me. I promise."

Clark nodded. "Harry told me that you'll only forget the things about me."

Lana looked at Cho for reassurance. Reluctantly, Cho glanced at Harry and Clark, then at Clark's parents, and knew that it had to be done. She looked back at Lana and nodded. "I promise. If it will make you feel better, I'll do it myself." She looked at Harry, who nodded.

Lana looked back at Clark. "Is there any way to talk you out of this?"

He shook his head. "Lana, you get targeted enough as it is. I couldn't live with myself if you were in even more danger because of me."

Lana tried to smile as she started crying. "Maybe one day you'll trust me enough to tell me for real?"

He nodded. "One day." Then he turned to Lex, who was merely watching the exchange silently. "Lex, you're not going to fight me on this?"

Lex laughed dryly. "Clark, I ran you off a bridge and you ripped the roof off of my car. I'd be crazy to fight you on anything."

With a small smile, Clark said, "I wish you'd at least remember that."

Cho stood up and stood beside Harry, her wand out. "Lana, Lex, sit down on the couch."

They did as she said. Bill, Ron, Hermione, and Gabrielle herded Mr. and Mrs. Kent into the kitchen. Tears streamed down Lana's cheeks. "If I forget," she said.

"You won't," Cho said.

"If I forget you," Lana insisted, "make me listen to you again."

"Absolutely." Cho smiled sadly. "Are you ready?"

Lex and Lana nodded. Cho and Harry shared a look, then pointed their wands at the two in front of them and said together, "Obliviate."