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Balance Factor Chapter 24

Year Four

Purpose

A/N: I got halfway into this chapter and realized just how depressing it really is. Whoops.

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Ron smiled, explaining in detail about the second task. Harry was sitting on the mountain cave ground, his eyes closed, meditating. His Factor pulsed when he sank into the space, but then remained still. Harry checked the balance.

It was eerily still. Harry couldn't remember it being so quiet ever. Not even when Ryuuko was alive and Shirogane was patrolling the palace. He hesitated, before withdrawing himself out of his inner core and looking up at Sirius. This man… it was during last year when it all started. Was Sirius the reason for the balance? If so, would it benefit to tell him of the balance?

Sirius had returned to speak with them. Both Ron and Hermione were left to explain what was going on. Hermione told Sirius about Crouch's absence on the Second Task, as Harry didn't exactly pay attention. But then Sirius turned to Harry.

"So Harry? How about you? Are you ready to tell me about the tasks?" Sirius asked, munching down on some chicken. "Oh yeah, and you still owe me an explanation about Kou and Kazuki."

"Ah… You wish to know," Harry said softly. "I understand."

Sirius blinked, looking surprised. "Yeah… And who was that man anyway? Kou. You seemed familiar with him. He's an animagus, right? The white dog. I actually saw him on the grounds last year, but didn't approach him. Who was he?"

"He is one of my siblings," Harry said quietly. "Not Harry Potter's sibling. My sibling."

Sirius' brow furrowed. "I'm afraid I don't quite follow. You are Harry, aren't you?"

"I am both Harry Potter and Kazuki," Harry said, nodding. "When Voldemort attacked Harry Potter that night with the Killing Curse, it separated Harry Potter's soul from his body. Harry Potter's soul moved on. And I came to possess his body. So I am him, and I am me."

"So… Harry is dead?" Sirius asked, frowning now. "You're not James' son?"

"I am. But I am also my Father's son," Harry said calmly. "I am two beings in one. I possess Harry's vessel and his memories, as well as his magic. But I am Kazuki as well."

"So… You're an imposter?" Sirius asked. Harry shook his head.

"I am the epitome of equilibrium of this world," Harry said. "I am Harry and more."

Sirius now looked very confused. Hermione took pity on him and spoke.

"Look, it's like this. The world has both Dark magic and Light magic. Harry is the balancer for that," Hermione said, her hands in her lap. Sirius took a bite of biscuit and frowned a little.

"Harry, are you sure you didn't get hit in the head?" Sirius asked.

Harry shook his head a little. Perhaps he had been mistaken.

"My name is Kazuki. In my purest form, that is the name I possess," Harry said. "Harry is my vessel name." He looked up at Sirius and smiled a little. "What would it take to convince you of this?"

Sirius shrugged, not knowing himself. Harry held his hand out and gathered fragments of light. They collected quickly and formed his spear. Sirius dropped his chicken in shock.

"Whoa!" Sirius said, his eyes wide. "Is this for real? I'm not dreaming, am I?"

"This is the spear I used to slay the Horntail," Harry said. "It was created by the same beings that created me. I treasure it very much." He looked down at the weapon, watching Sirius touch it gently.

"So… that is one of your powers as Kazuki? You can summon this weapon from light?" Sirius asked. "You… Don't have your wand, do you? You didn't just make an advanced spell for this, did you?"

"No, Sirius. Here. You may hold it, if you would like. Just please… try not to get it dirty," Harry said. Sirius hurriedly wiped his hands off on a napkin and reached out to hold the weapon. It rested heavily on his hands.

"This is incredible…" Sirius said awed. Harry watched him, pleased. "But Harry, if it is true you are the epitome of equilibrium… then why are you here? Shouldn't you be… you know… Up there somewhere in Heaven or something?"

Harry looked away. His face paled a shade lighter. "I was up there. But someone killed my Father. For my own safety… I traveled to the Human World. To hide from my Father's killer. And to keep the balance. It is easier adjusting the balance here than it is from… up there."

This was a broad outline. Harry didn't want to give too much away, but Sirius needed to know. Especially if he was going to support him as Kazuki. And Harry needed more allies.

Perhaps it was paranoia. But if the Darkness was expanding and Homurabi was to be his enemy, then he would be anticipating a fight. Obviously, Homurabi had not been told of his existence. Harry wanted to keep it that way as long as possible, but it was quickly becoming inevitable. The Darkness was expanding, whether he wanted it to or not.

Harry didn't have Shirogane on his side right now. He had no one but these wizards. And wizards were weak in comparison to entities. It was still better than nothing.

It was times like these; Harry wished he possessed the full powers of his Fathers. He wanted to be able to change his friends into shin and rei, like Shirogane could. Like Ryuuko had. But he did not possess that power. He was not a King.

Harry looked back at Sirius and spoke, "I can feel that something is coming. Something big. The balance is tipped, but I cannot feel it. Something is muffling the effects from me. It could be that, overall, though the balance is tipped in Japan, a counteracting effect tipped it back. Without physically being in Japan, I cannot tell. I simply look at the realm as a whole. I need allies to fight with me, when it comes time."

"Allies…" Sirius said slowly. "Why not ask Dumbledore?"

"He has a war he must prepare for," Harry said. "He is too Light. I am balance. I will corrupt him." Harry looked at Ron and Hermione. "Unlike all of you, who are fluctuating. His affinity is Light. Being around me too long with cause his affinity to change."

"Kazuki!"

Harry looked down at the sound of Kou's voice. Kou was looking into the two way mirror, his eyes a little wild.

"Kou?"

"Kazuki, we're going to enter the Shadow Palace."

Harry reeled back. "Kou… Now?"

"No… Not now… but we will soon. Shirogane's… getting impatient… And there is the matter of Aki's inheritance," Kou said. "He called us. We're going to meet… Shisui."

Harry paused before nodding slowly. "Alright. Please continue on keeping me updated… And if you die…" He gave him a pleasant smile. "I'll never forgive you."

Kou smiled a little, bowing his head a little. "I'll be sure to remember that. I'll keep you a secret, but I do not know how much longer I can. When Aki obtains Ryuuko's memories…"

"If he chooses to reveal me, I am fine with that," Harry said. "I will not hide from Shirogane or… Akira. If they wish to search me out." He closed his eyes and looked up into the blue sky, feeling quite lonely. "If not, I will travel back to the Light Palace when I graduate."

Kou smiled a little. "Aki will be Direct King, hopefully. He probably will be grumpy at your presence."

"If he doesn't like it, then he can get rid of me," Harry said, looking at the mirror. "Like you, I was created. Not born. It's easy enough for the Direct Kings to create another being to replace me if I am unsatisfactory."

"Harry! No! You can't!" Hermione looked shocked. Ron's eyes widened. Sirius stared at Harry, his mouth open in alarm.

"Hermione… Ron… Sirius… There is a reason why I refer to myself as created. My existence, though important, flies against the face of the whole purpose of reproducing. Body and soul," Harry said, looking at them. "That is why Shirogane never approved of my creation. He was persuaded." He smiled a little, though it was a sad smile.

"That's a cruel thing to do though!" Ron said, looking angry. Harry laughed.

"What is a little cruelty to entities willing to sacrifice the world for their battle, Ron?" Harry asked. "Shisui, like me, went into hiding to avoid being killed." He sighed deeply. "And Voldemort thinks he's the most powerful being on this planet."

Sirius cracked a smile. "But it won't happen, will it?"

"I do not know. Part of me wishes to hear the answer, but another part of me fears it," Harry said calmly. "It is a problem I will deal with later. I was created for stabilizing."

"What about all the stuff you've done though?!" Ron asked. "You stay up really late to balance the world! And you do it often! Are they just going to throw all of your effort away by getting rid of you when they don't need you anymore?"

"When the balance is stable, we don't need a Balancer," Kou said quietly. "I would not be surprised if Shirogane voted to get rid of you, Kazuki."

"Shirogane's your Father, isn't he?!" Hermione said, tears in her eyes. "He wouldn't just get rid of you would he?!"

"Yes… he would," Harry said, looking at the distraught girl. "If I have served my purpose and he does not wish my existence anymore, he would. If he needed a Balancer in the future, he could just make one with Akira, assuming that Akira agrees to this."

"Aki isn't heartless," Kou said, grinning. "I'm sure he'll like you very much. And to keep Aki happy, Shirogane will be forced to leave you alone."

"That might hurt worse than being killed by him," Harry admitted. "If it comes to that, I will approach him myself and let him kill me."

Sirius looked into the mirror. Kou had his eyes closed, shaking his head.

"But you like Harry enough to protect him, don't you?" Sirius asked the other. Kou looked at him.

"I am rather powerless against a Direct King," Kou said, shaking his head. "However… Kazuki probably isn't. If you fought Shirogane all out, Kazuki…"

"I would most likely lose," Harry said softly. "All Shirogane has to do is tip the balance far enough. The pressure would kill me faster than the overwhelming Darkness. The problem, of course, is that after that, he would have to tip it back. Which would be very difficult."

"Let's put our faith in Aki then," Kou said, smiling. "For all of our sakes. For Ryuuko's sake."

Harry nodded. "I look forward to meeting Akira, Kou. You must introduce me sometime."

Kou vanished. Harry placed the mirror back in his pocket and hummed softly.

"How can a man be so cruel towards his own son?" Hermione asked, looking very upset. She was crying into a spare napkin. Harry placed his hand on her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"I refer to myself as his son," Harry said quietly. "Because Ryuuko referred to me as his son. To Shirogane, I may just be a creation. I don't think I've ever heard of Shirogane refer to me as a son or as his creation."

"That doesn't make it any less true!" Hermione cried. Harry shook his head.

"Hermione, thank you, but really. It's not that big of a deal," Harry said. "If he does kill me, I will likely be reborn. Not as the Balancer, but as a normal human. Such is life." He looked at Sirius and Ron. Ron still looked quite unhappy, but Sirius looked thoughtful.

"Do you think if I threaten to curse Shirogane, he'll change his mind?" Sirius asked.

"I think there may be more than one head rolling if you did," Harry said, laughing. He paused and then leaned forward. "Tell me more about Barty Crouch. I saw his name on the Map."

-0-

"Harry… I'm glad you came," Dumbledore said softly. Harry blinked slowly and sat down in front of Dumbedore's desk. "There are a few things I wish to show you… which may prove to be important."

Harry was dumped into Dumbledore's memories. He wondered where he could get a Pensieve himself before halting to a courtroom. He watched Crouch sentence his own son to Azkaban, cruelly turning him away. Then the scene flashed to a teenage Bertha Jorkins. Dumbledore pulled him through another memory of Karkaroff accusing Snape as a Death Eater and Dumbledore defending him.

By the time Harry was pulled out of the Pensieve, his mind was reeling with the thoughts. He shook his head and looked at Dumbledore.

"Why did you show me this?" Harry asked. Dumbledore smiled, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Because I believe the disappearance of Bertha Jorkins, Barty Crouch Sr., and a muggle named Frank Bryce are related to Voldemort," Dumbledore said quietly. "Sirius told me that I should share this information with you."

"He's getting stronger then," Harry said quietly. "More bold. And taking more risks. But he's not in full power, it seems. He lacks something."

"Indeed," Dumbledore said. "Until we know more though…"

"I won't tell anyone," Harry said, nodding, knowing what Dumbledore wanted. "It'll be foolish to show our hand so early in this little game Voldemort is playing."

"You are wise, Harry…" Dumbledore said, looking at him above his half-moon glasses.

"I am also older than you," Harry said pleasantly. "Much, much older. We do not age physically. I do not anymore, since my existence was completed."

-0-

"POTTER!"

Harry turned to see Draco storming up to him. Draco stopped right in front of him and grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him roughly.

"You're not planning on dying are you?!" Draco demanded. Harry blinked through the rattling of his brain.

"What? No. I'm not," Harry said. "Why? Who said I was planning on dying?"

Hermione and Ron looked at each other guiltily. Harry groaned.

"Seriously?"

Draco looked a bit ruffled, seemingly unsettled by the news. Several times he had opened his mouth to talk, but then shut it again. He didn't look any happier when Harry finished explaining what had happened in the cave.

"Some people just don't appreciate my existence. Take Voldemort for example," Harry said. "At least he cares for my education, if not for my life."

Ron snorted.

-0-

The Third Task was a maze. Harry was half glad it was. It meant that under the cover of darkness, he would be able to use his powers if he needed to.

Harry flipped his black and white scarf around his neck so it was a little more secure. He watched other families gather and congratulate them on how far they got. Of course, the Dursleys would rather see him dead and Shirogane was absolutely out of the question.

"Harry!"

Harry turned to see the Weasley family run up to him.

"Hey Harry! Ohhh, you're much too thin," Molly Weasley said, embracing him. Harry smiled a little, shaking his head.

"I'm fine, Mrs. Weasley. You came to see me in the Third Task?" Harry asked, half glad someone had come.

"Yes, Ron told us all about the other two tasks," Molly said. "I'm so glad you're safe!"

"I'll give you a tour," Harry said, grinning. "I bet it's been a while since you've seen Hogwarts!"

"Of course, Harry, dear!" Molly said, smiling. "Harry, you've met Bill and Charlie, haven't you?"

Harry smiled. "Yes. Nice to see you two again."

"Ron told us all about it. You're the fourth Champion. The only person in Monochrome University, right?" Bill asked, shaking Harry's hand. Harry smiled, nodding.

"I'm kind of sad you killed that dragon though," Charlie said, sighing, but shaking Harry's hand. "She was beautiful."

"You can say that when you're about to be eaten by her," Harry said, grinning. "It was either kill her or get squished by her. The flames were hot," Harry said, looking at the morning sky. "Let's get on with the tour! The Third task will be tonight. It might actually be the last night you see me alive."

"Don't make tasteless jokes like that," Bill said, looking at his mother's now worried face.