A/N: This one is rated M to be safe... this one could get pretty dark. Harry won't die in this, but everyone else is fair game. And there won't be any Time Turning going on... so anyone that's dead, stays dead.
It's June 1997. Harry's sixth year at Hogwarts had come to a close. However, it was the most trying year to date. His two closest friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, were both brutally assassinated by suspected Death Eaters, and Voldemort had initiated his plan to take control of Hogwarts.
Harry had become desperate. He had lost his heart and soul. Without Hermione's sage advice, and without Ron's optimism and loyalty, he felt both lost and alone. His next closest friends, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and Daphne Greengrass, have implored him to restart Dumbledore's Army, but he didn't even know where to begin. It just wouldn't be the same without Hermione and Ron.
Daphne invited Harry, Luna, and Neville to the Greengrass estate for a private meeting, as she had an idea that could provide a badly-needed spark.
"Harry, your old friend Kellen Grimseth... he took last year off, did he not?"
"Yes, Daphne," Harry replied. "He went to a Navajo reservation in Arizona back in the States to study shamanism. He was convinced that it was a very potent discipline of magic..."
Daphne nodded. "We need to find him. He was an integral part of Dumbledore's Army, if memory serves. He was tremendously gifted at dueling..."
"He's tremendously gifted, period," Neville clarified. "He was top of our class five years straight... he was even kind enough to help me study for Transfiguration and Potions... I might have gotten expelled for incompetence if it weren't for him. Part of me thinks that if Kellen remained in Britain, Hermione and Ron would still be alive."
"His departure was necessary, Neville," Luna said. "And even if he remained, you don't know that he would have prevented their deaths." She looked at Daphne. "The powers of shamanism cannot be underestimated... if the body, the mind, and the soul are in perfect harmony, a shaman can control the elements, see the future with perfect clarity... even speak with the dead."
"Do you think Kellen is capable of such powers, Luna?" Daphne asked.
"Kellen is capable," Luna confirmed. "If he's in perfect harmony, the killing curse would pass through him with no effect."
"But we need him to train the next generation... he can't teach us shamanism because we can't learn it," Harry protested. "Hopefully he hasn't completely abandoned his wizarding heritage."
Luna smiled. "He has not. He may have traded his wizard robes for a shaman's poncho, but he has not forsaken his roots. He's a wizard at heart... his shamanism path serves only to augment his talents. I trust him with my life, as should you with yours."
"And how do we reach him?" Harry asked. "He's in the middle of the desert... maybe he's still there because he doesn't want to be contacted."
"You're going to have to go to the Navajo nation and find him, Harry," Daphne said matter-of-factly. "Any other method would be too risky - you may have to travel as a Muggle to minimize suspicion."
"That could take weeks," Harry said. "And even if I do find him, how would I convince him to come back to Hogwarts? Like I was saying, he may be hiding for a reason..."
"Kellen Grimseth is not a coward, Harry," Neville said. "He's one of the bravest people I know, in fact. He did what he had to do... he likely doesn't know that Hermione and Ron are dead, so I'd tell him that first thing. He'll want to avenge them."
"That would break his heart, Neville," Harry said. "He and Hermione were very close... they were dating until he left to study shamanism."
"He needs to know just the same," Daphne said. "If anything, that would only strengthen his resolve."
"D'you think that with his powers, we can communicate with the spirits of Ron and Hermione?" Harry asked.
"It's possible," Luna replied. "But he's a shaman, and not a necromancer. He can only talk to them - and for a limited duration at that - he can't bring them back to life."
"I would like to be there when that happens," Harry replied sadly. "I want to tell them how sorry I am for failing them... and that I love them, and that I miss them..."
"You didn't fail them, Harry," Luna assured him. "I know you feel guilty, but you're not responsible for their deaths - either directly or indirectly."
"I still feel like I could have done more," Harry replied, starting to sniffle a bit. "They were my two best friends... and when they died, a part of myself died with them."
"If he could communicate with the dead, they would tell you that they love you and that they want you to keep fighting," Luna said.
"How would you know? You're not a medium," Harry snapped.
"No, Harry, I'm not, but you were a faithful friend to them in life. Because you were always true to them, whatever they would say to you from beyond the grave will help you be at peace with yourself. You're not honoring them by having feelings of guilt," Luna replied gently.
Harry nodded. "I s'pose you're right. I just miss them... terribly." A tear rolled down his cheek.
"We all do, Harry," Neville said. "They were the core of Dumbledore's Army. But once we get Kellen back, oh Merlin... we're going to make Hermione and Ron proud. With you and Kellen leading the way? The very thought has got to make You-Know-Who nervous."
"I wish I had your optimism, Neville," Harry said with a small grin. And before I leave to find Kellen, I need to go to Godric Hollow to pay my respects."
"I'll go with you," Daphne offered.
"To Godric Hollow, or Arizona?" Harry asked.
Daphne smiled at Harry. "Both. You need the moral support, I can tell. Besides, someone needs to make sure you don't get all mopey and forget that we have a job to do..."
Harry returned the smile. "I can use the company, truth be told."