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Balance Factor Chapter 4

Year One

Truth

A/N: Wow, more than halfway done with Year One, huh? I realize this doesn't follow the books/movies exactly but that is because I changed some characters.

"Okay Potter, spill. What in Merlin's name was that?"

Draco had cornered Harry as soon as they got out of earshot of the teachers. Ron and Hermione both folded their arms. Harry sighed deeply.

"I'll tell you, but not right now. And certainly not after curfew," he said, moving towards Gryffindor Tower. Draco let him go but spoke.

"Fine. Tomorrow. I want a good explanation," Draco said. Harry rubbed his head.

"There's no point in hiding it now," Harry said. "I'll tell you two tomorrow too."

Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough for Draco. He wanted to know more about the creature called Harry Potter. He spent the entire night, tossing and turning, eventually giving up on sleeping. He entered the Slytherin common room, looking into the fire.

"You're up early."

Draco looked up and spotted Blaise Zabini. He sighed and shook his head.

"I never slept." He answered, looking back into the fire. Even now, he could picture Potter holding that spear. The supple smooth movements that rippled through the boy's body. As if he knew battle. As if he was trained for it.

"Oh? You're not tired?"

Blaise didn't know, of course. He didn't know that behind the emerald eyes of Harry Potter, there was a hidden warrior. He didn't know that Potter could knock out a troll with one sweep of the spear. Potter hadn't even used any spells. Draco couldn't believe how superior Harry Potter was above everyone else. He knew no one who was trained in that kind of battle. As his father would say, that is the muggle way.

But against a troll, was there any other way? Spells did minimal to no damage and Draco had yet to learn any spells that would help defeat a troll. If Harry Potter had not such a big secret, they would have all died.

Draco wondered if Harry could defeat wizards and witches with just that spear.

"Yoo hoo. Earth to Draco," Blaise called, waving a hand in front of Draco's face. Draco sighed and looked at him, leaning against the armrest.

"Blaise, how would you react if a very good friend of yours had been keeping this big secret from you?" Draco asked. Blaise blinked.

"What kind of big secret?" Blaise asked.

"Like… For example, they're a werewolf," Draco said, trying to come up with something similar. "How would you react? What would be the proper response to that?"

"I'd wonder how the fuck I didn't notice it before," Blaise said bluntly. Draco laughed, but shook his head. Talking to Blaise about it didn't help. He needed to talk to Ron. Or Hermione. Someone who knew Harry well, who also found out.

He debated sending a letter to his father, but then decided against it. It wasn't something you could simply explain in words. Draco had experienced it, so he knew. But his father would not understand.

-0-

Harry sat in the empty classroom. Ron, Hermione, and Draco were sitting around him. He looked at each in turn and sighed.

"In this world, there are two elements," Harry begun. "Light and Dark. Normally, these elements coexist. But when the balance is tipped, there needs to be a being to repair this." He paused and looked at the three. "It used to be done by my two Fathers. Ryuuko and Shirogane. The entities of Light and Dark. They would stabilize the boundaries in this world.

"These beings: The King of Light, Ryuuko, and the King of Shadows, Shirogane, did this for many years," Harry said, looking around to make sure he still had their attention. "They lived in Palaces in parallel worlds to this one. The Light Palace, and the Shadow Palace.

"However, as the population of humans grew, it became apparent that there was no way that one being on each side could balance the boundary. As a result, they took secondary Kings to their natures. Normally, people cannot see the entities, so it was not a problem for them to move in the human world."

"Wait," Draco interrupted. "You called these Kings your Fathers. But you're Potter. Harry Potter."

"Be patient, Draco. I am getting there," Harry said, looking at him briefly. He paused and then continued the story. "They took secondary Kings. The Light King was Shisui. I do not know who the Shadow King was.

"Time passed, but then they realized that having secondary Kings wasn't enough. They needed a being that embodied equilibrium to stabilize the balance and keep it stable. That was when I was created."

"Created? How do they create another being?" Hermione asked. Harry shrugged.

"Ryuuko and Shirogane are powerful. My first memory was with Ryuuko holding me as a baby and Shirogane giving me a bath," Harry said, looking at Ron and Draco. "I do not know how it was done. But it was. I grew up with the two as my Father living in the Light Palace. They taught me my duties as the Balancer. And my responsibility as their child. I was the only being that was created by both Light and Dark."

"So the reason you're good with spells is…" Ron started, trailing off.

"They taught me magic. Not this kind of magic, but offensive and defensive magic. Something similar to Defense Against the Dark Arts," Harry said. "But with less wand waving. It was hard, but rewarding. During that time, my name was Kazuki. I was taught offensive and defensive tactics, as I was expected to fight any shadow beings that crossed the boundary into the human world.

"Hundreds of years passed, with me as the Balancer to this world. Until I felt one of my father's death. Ryuuko was killed and Shirogane vanished from my world. I was left alone in the Light Palace." Harry tapped his knee, thinking. "I fell from the Palace into the Human world, as Ryuuko had once told me to do if anything were to happen to both my Fathers. After I landed, I needed a vessel.

"Harry Potter was murdered by Voldemort that night," Harry said, ignoring the flinches. "His soul was gone, but his body was there. I took possession of that body and became Harry Potter. It is easier to stabilize the balance of this world from here, but it is also harder to draw on my full potential here. What you saw yesterday, was the weapon Ryuuko and Shirogane fashioned from love for their son. Kazuki and Harry Potter are one now."

He finished up the story and leaned back. "Questions?"

The three had been stunned silent from the story. Draco was the first to speak.

"You're telling me… you're the son of two entities?" Draco asked slowly.

"Yes," Harry said patiently. "Both of my fathers were entities and, as their creation, I am an entity too. I exist as a principle. A basis. You can see me because of my vessel. As I am trying to hide from Ryuuko's killer, it is the perfect camouflage." He said nothing about his Factor, or what Factors were. They didn't need to know that.

"I think that sums it all up," Hermione said, nodding. Ron grinned.

"Wow… Just, wow," he said.

Draco remained silent. Harry looked at him.

"Draco?"

"What will you do if the Dark Lord returns?" Draco asked suddenly, serious. Harry sighed.

"If he returns, I will not fight him unless he targets me. It is not my place to meddle in human affairs, but if he purposefully involves me, I will destroy him," Harry said casually. "I've killed many people like him before." Draco seemed satisfied with this answer.

"Right, well," he said, the sneer back on his face. "I think we should get working on that Charms essay."

Harry smiled.

-0-

Harry was seriously considering setting the whole teacher's booth on fire. His broom jerked again, pulling him higher and higher into the air. Maybe he should let go. He could see the snitch directly below himself.

So he did.

The screams were deafening, but Harry couldn't hear them over the roar of the wind. Dumbledore's wand was instantly out and he had summoned a giant cushion to cover his fall. Harry snatched up the Golden Snitch in his left hand and plummeted at least a hundred feet down. He bounced off the cushion and landed on his feet on the edge of the stadium. He held up the Snitch.

McGonagall looked as if she could kiss him.

-0-

"That was just bizarre," Draco said, frowning. "I don't think that Professor Snape was trying to kill Harry. Why would he?"

Ron shrugged. "But we saw him chanting something."

"Ron's right," Hermione said. Draco shrugged, sipping his tea.

"Maybe I'm biased then. I know Professor Snape doesn't like Harry very much. But that is hardly the reason to kill him." Draco looked up at the gamekeeper. "Hagrid, this tea is very good. But please don't try to bake anything again."

"What're you talking about Malfoy?" Hagrid asked, grumpy that the younger Malfoy was there. He had to admit, the younger Malfoy was a lot different than he had first thought him to be. "They're perfectly good rock cakes, they are."

"I know," Draco said, rubbing his cheek at the memory of trying to bite one.

"I don't know if it was Snape, or if it was anyone else. I was kind of tempted to set the whole stand on fire," Harry said, sighing. His shoulders hurt from trying to hang on to the bucking broomstick. Draco grinned.

"I heard that Professor Snape tried to get past a three headed dog on the third floor on Halloween," Hermione said. Hagrid almost dropped his kettle.

"Who told you about Fluffy?!"

"Fluffy… Hagrid, I'm not sure if you've noticed, but there is not one bit of fluff on that dog," Draco said, frowning. He had been there when Ron and Hermione had accidently stumbled onto the third floor.

Hagrid waved the younger Malfoy off. "Professor Dumbledore asked for him," he declared proudly. "Said he wanted him to guard the…" Hagrid was suddenly aware of everyone's eyes on him.

"Yes?" Ron prompted.

"I can't tell yeh. That's strictly between Professor Dumbledore and Nicolas Flamel."

"Oh, okay," Harry said easily. "Sorry for prying."

Hagrid looked proud of himself. It was almost enough to make Harry guilty of the information he had just gotten out of him.

Almost.

-0-

"So… who's Nicolas Flamel?"

Draco looked at the trio. Harry shrugged.

"No idea. But whatever Fluffy's guarding, Professor Snape wants whatever it is, though," Ron said, shrugging. Draco paused.

"I'll ask my father to see if he knows anything," Draco promised.

"Your father is a wealth of information, isn't he?" Harry asked, amused. Draco shot him a dirty look and shoved him off the chair.

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Boys."

The Christmas holidays passed. Harry could barely remember it because he had been meditating the whole time. He had neglected his duties for quite some time during the school year and now he was regretting it a little. The balance had shifted towards light.

More often than not, it was darkness that shifted the balance. Occasionally though, light would tilt the equilibrium. Light was more problematic than darkness.

Harry tried out his new invisibility cloak. It was silvery, flowy… and it reminded him of Ryuuko's and Shirogane's hair. It rendered him completely invisible, though it did not hide footsteps or breathing. It also didn't hide his presence. Really, apart from its appearance, there wasn't really much it could do for him that he couldn't do already in his rei form.

Ron also stayed back, but his schedule consisted mostly of eating and sleeping. That was all well and fine with Harry. It gave him more time to work.

Harry meditated in the empty classroom before he felt eyes on him. He paused, withdrawing out of his inner world to look around, trying to see who was there. There was no one there.

Harry jumped off the desk, looking around the room, but did a double take when he saw the mirror. Ryuuko was looking back at him, his hand on his hair-Kazuki's hair.

Harry slid to his knees, tears welling up as he saw Shirogane leaning against the wall behind him. What was this? Was this some cruel method to try to weaken him? He whipped around, trying to see if Ryuuko and Shirogane were here. With him.

It was an empty classroom.

Harry turned back to the mirror, his emerald green eyes wet. He covered his mouth and started to sob, his tears trailing down his pale cheeks. For what he had lost. For the being who should never have been erased from this world. For Shirogane, the counterpart, who had to suffer losing someone so dear to him.

Ryuuko knelt on the floor next to him, embracing him tightly. Harry cried.

Harry returned to the mirror the next night. His eyes were dry, his face was set. But he couldn't help the tenderness that crossed his face as he approached the mirror and saw Ryuuko's face again.

"Back again, Harry?"

His body stiffened. He glanced behind himself, spotting Albus Dumbledore walking slowly towards him.

"No. This time, I wanted to just say goodbye," Harry said, turning back to the mirror. Ryuuko smiled back at him, his ruby eyes warm. Shirogane was leaning against Ryuuko's shoulder, smirking.

"This mirror, can you guess what it shows?"

"…"

Dumbledore turned to Harry. "To you… It probably shows you your family."

Harry nodded a little. "Yes. But it is not the truth. My family will never return fully." He looked at Ryuuko and touched his hand against the mirror where Ryuuko's hand was. "I came… to say goodbye."

Ryuuko's eyes softened. And he gave Harry a very kind smile and a nod. Shirogane looked a little put out. Harry moved his hand to Shirogane's but Shirogane in the mirror pulled away. So he simply touched his cloak.

"And to you too," Harry said, smiling contentedly. "It was good seeing you two again."

Ryuuko and Shirogane nodded to him and turned. They vanished in the mirror and Harry sighed.

"You are wise, Harry. Men have wasted away, longing for what exists in the mirror," Dumbledore said, looking tenderly at Harry. Harry shook his head.

"That is nothing short of foolish. The past is the past and the future is the future. No amount of wishing will obtain either," Harry said. "Professor Dumbledore, this mirror is dangerous, is it not? Why is it in Hogwarts?"

"Harry…" Dumbledore said softly. Harry turned fully to him.

"You said it yourself. There aren't many other students who can take seeing their desires projected so clearly and yet, nonexistent."

"I do know that," Dumbledore agreed. "That is why it will be moved to a new home. I trust you will not go looking for it again."

"I have no interest in chasing empty dreams, Professor."

-0-

A/N: Read and Review!