Disclaimer: I do not, in anyway own the wonderful world of Harry Potter, or Charmed. I am just dabbling in the world they left for us. Though I do own the plot...

Chapter 63...

A Destiny Revealed.

Halliwell Manor-

Harry's room:

Harry sat back from the desk he was at in his room and gave a sigh. "Why does this have to be so bloody difficult?" he vented to his empty room, throwing the pencil down as he did so. As the pencil clattered across the desktop he looked around his bedroom. Everything was the same, and yet everything was different. But it wasn't the room that was different; he had to keep telling himself, it was him. Ever since he had lost control and gone off the deep end and vanished, six days ago now, something inside of him had awoken, had made its presence known and now he couldn't seem to shake the feeling he got when he thought about those three days he was in the Underworld, killing anything and everything he came across or searched out. It wasn't good, it wasn't evil…it just was. If he had to put any title to it…he would call it power, pure and unbridled.

He had been told that he had the capacity for greatness by his family. Chris had told him that he had just begun to scratch the surface of what he was capable of. That in and of itself was a sobering thought. No, the real thing that scared him was what Ezekiel had told him not all that long ago. Told him about what he was meant to do in this world, what his "Destiny" truly was. He actually wasn't that scared or hesitant when he had been told what was going to be expected of him if and when he defeated the Dark One. Though somewhere inside of him, Harry knew this had always been the case. Well him against Voldemort at any rate, not…the other thing. This other thing he had been able to deal with, or at least he had had someone who had been able to help him deal with it. And now that person was gone.

Harry sighed and stood up from the desk and made his way back to his favorite perch by the window in his room. It had been this spot that he would retreat too when he first arrived to the Halliwell Manor last summer when he wanted to get away from the training, when he wanted to think. Back when he had first learned the truth he hadn't actually thought about what it really meant to be here. He was really just glad that he did have a family who wanted him. It wasn't until later that he had actually begun to question and really think upon what it truly meant. Most of those days were spent, just sitting and looking out the window at this new world around him. It had been new territory then, but now, he knew it like he knew the school that he loved so much. He knew quite a bit about the school, thanks to the Marauder Map, but even that magical artifact didn't know everything. And like his school, there was just still so much to learn about this new land he found himself in.

He had wanted so much to share and explore it with Ginny, but now that had turned into just a dream. 'Dreams which are finally getting better' He thought to himself. And there was something else…Ginny. It was only after he had has his talk with Hermione that he had begun to feel…something, anything, again. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as it had, but it still hurt. His heart still hurt. He had tried to explain it to his friend, later that day and then to his parents, but no one seemed to really understand or really have an answer for…whatever it was he was feeling. Hermione had done what she did best and that was rush off to find something about what he might be going through. It didn't surprise anyone to find that the only answers that seemed to be had would come from fictional novels or fantasy stories. Soul Bonds, love at first sight, the things of make believe…

It wasn't until Ezekiel had stopped by, after she had given her findings, that any sort of 'real', but still only guessing, answers came. He had done his best to explain what might be happening with Harry, but the terms of what he was pulling from were hazy at best. He spoke about his and Ginny's 'magic touching', or more simpler, and the more probable, that one of Harry's many powers had awoken when he had gone down into the Chamber that night and saved her life and that somehow, a connection had been formed. He had called it Empathy, the ability to sense emotions. This sort of went on to explain why he had gotten so defensive back around the holidays when his family had learned about his fire ability. As Ezekiel had spoken about what this ability entailed or could do, that it was brought up that this could have been the cause of his...losing control and why Chris had to get him out of the manor.

"The ability to sense another's emotions can be a great and terrible thing…until you can learn to control it, that is." The man had said with a smile before he had left.

Harry chuckled to himself as he remembered what Ginny had said about the man just before learning who he really was. 'The brilliantly mad, scientist' she had called him. He chuckled again. If only she knew who he really was. Ezekiel was a brilliant man and had done so many wonderful things. But at learning who and what he was really, Harry had been made to take an oath to never reveal the man's identity.

'No one can know until the time is truly right, my son.' He had said to Harry, just before he, Harry, was to be sent back to his family.

"What's so funny?" a voice asked from the doorway.

"Oh, just thinking…and remembering." Came his reply.

Piper smiled, "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

Harry shook his head and turned to face the bed upon which his mother had just sat down upon. "Nope, I've given up on doing what I was for the time being. I am all yours."

"Well, I actually don't have anything to do at the moment and thought I'd come and check to see how you were doing. What are you doing by the way?"

Harry sighed and then looked longingly at the desk that he had long since abandoned. "I was trying to work on a vanquishing spell for the dark tosser who considers himself a 'Lord'."

"And?"

"It's not going so well."

"These things…"

"Take time, I know. I just thought it'd be better than dwelling upon…well, you know."

"It is alright to think about her you know? I do it all the time. Think about your Aunt."

"Prue."

"Yeah, Prue." Piper nodded. "It took me a long time to even get to a place where I wasn't so mad at her."

"You were mad at Aunt Prue, what for?"

"I sometimes forget you actually don't know some things about this family still."

"What do you mean? I know all about her and how she died." Harry shuddered. "The Source," he spat, "had her killed. You vanquished Shax with the help of Aunt Paige…"

"And turned into a Fury in the process."

"What?"

"I was so mad for so long, at her for leaving me, for not holding on long enough for Leo to heal her after healing me. I had known her all my life and then in the blink of an eye, she was gone and nothing I did would bring her back. It took me a long time to come to terms with what Phoebe and I lost and I still grieve to this very day. The hurt has lessened, but it is still there. I am hopeful for the day when I can wake up and do as your friend so rightly suggested and think of how she lived, not on how she died."

"You heard that huh?"

"I did. I am sorry for invading your privacy by listening in, and my only excuse is that I was worried for you. I will always worry for you."

"I know, and I am actually glad that you do. Up until now I hadn't had a normal childhood and wasn't, and am still kind of not, used to being looked after or having someone treat me the way you all do. I like it, and I truly wouldn't have it any other way, mum."

Piper smiled and gave a breathy laugh and pulled her son off the love-seat he was on and took him into her arms, with a few tears falling as she did so. "I know your father told you this already, but we love you so much and are so glad that you came back to us."

"I love you too mum, and I am sorry about Aunt Prue. I know from the way you talk about her that you and Aunt Phoebe were close to her."

Piper gave her son another squeeze and let him go, though one arm was still wrapped around his shoulder as she guided them to the bed to sit down. She laughed and smiled again as she wiped the tears from her face, "And I know, with all my heart, that she would have loved you too." Harry smiled and Piper continued, "I know that she would have given anything to see you happy and do pretty much anything to protect you, and any of your friends, with her giving her life if it came down to it."

"Well I hope that someday I'll actually be able to meet her one of these days."

"And I will be there when you do. It would be good to see her again. But as Grams keeps telling us, now isn't the time and that day will come, but now is still not the time." Piper said with a slight huff.

Harry smiled, "I think that that day will come sooner rather than later." He said resolutely.

"Is this you just hoping or one of your "feelings"" She asked mockingly. "Like what happened with Phoebe and her beau?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Harry joked back. "Nah…was just trying to be positive."

"Uh huh, right."

"No really. I mean come on, from what you and Aunt Phoebe keep telling me about her, is that when she sets her mind to something, there is nothing to stop her from getting it, not even Grams."

"As much as I happen to agree with you, I know what Grams is saying and I actually think she is right about this, at the moment at any rate. We just got you back and the thing we need to be doing right now is getting to know you even more than we do now. We have a long time to make up for and seeing her now…it would just complicate things. Besides, I think once things calm down around here we all need to take a vacation; one that celebrates the end of the dark one. Phoebe, Paige and I did that after we defeated the Source, so it seems only fitting that we keep it as a tradition, for your first 'Big' vanquish."

Harry gave an involuntary shudder as he listened to his mom speak. He had tried to hide it, but he also knew that she was way too perceptive for her own good sometimes. So it took him a moment or two…or three before he heard her ask if he was okay. When he didn't respond she began to rub his back and asked him again. He sighed and turned to look at her. He had been trying to find the best time to talk to everyone or to his immediate family at least, but as always with things in the manor being what they were, plans never did seem to happen as one would particularly want them too. He took a breath and exhaled slowly before answering his mother.

"I've been trying to find the best time to talk to you guys and I know my moping around didn't help things. In fact, I think that put me more behind than I know I should be."

"What do you mean, sweetie?" Piper asked, continuing to rub her son's back.

"What I had been working on before you came in, actually a bit before you came in was the vanquishing spell for…well, you know."

"I do, and I honestly hate to keep sounding like a broken record, but these things take time and he is a very powerful person and so finding the right words to use is going to be difficult. Don't rush it, for it will come to you in time."

"And that is the one thing I don't have." Harry said, trying to mutter under his breath. He wasn't successful.

"What do you mean? Why is time not on your side?"

Harry sighed again. "When the Dark Lord and I were dueling, something happened and I was very surprised when it did. So was he, as far as I could tell, but he ended up using it to his advantage. While everything was going on around us we ended up having, what I can only describe as a mind battle."

"You mean you and him?"

"Fought in our minds, yes, but that isn't what I need to tell you."

"Well go on, don't leave me in suspense." Piper prodded with a smile.

He knew she was only kidding with him and if it were under different circumstances…he would go along with it, but at the moment, he couldn't, what he needed to tell her was just too important to be left to not saying anything.

"We should go and get the others; they will want to hear this too." He said, trying to put off saying what it was he knew he needed to.

"Harry, what is it?" His mother asked seriously.

"Look, we really should,"

"No, you said you needed to tell me something important and so that is what you are going to do."

Harry cringed, she was right and he had brought it up, but he knew that as soon as she knew she would hit the roof or worry or…well to be honest, any number of things might happen and all at the same time, he mused, and so, with a great effort, he began to speak.

"While we were fighting, I got a bit of information. Whether he let it slip willingly or not, I do not know, but I found something out about him, who he really is." There he paused, and not because he didn't want to go on, but because he saw the slight shaking of his mothers head. He figured that she might figure it out. She was too clever not to. He absolutely hated what he was going to say next, but it needed to be said and he knew the fallout from this would be monumental, but he hoped that everyone in the manor would be able to understand that, no matter how badly, this was his fight and only he was going to be able to finally end it.

"You and your sisters did what you were supposed to do…"

Piper shook her head some more.

"And that was all you were supposed to do…"

"No."

"You three held him off for as long as needed…"

"Harry, please don't."

"Until I could come in and finish him off for good…"

"Harry, please…"

"Mum, I am so sorry. I really am, but the Dark Lord is in fact the Source."

~~~hpgw~~~

"You have got to be kidding me!" Phoebe practically yelled to the room at large. "Seriously, we sent his sorry butt to the wasteland, more than once I might add."

"Three or four times, but who's counting." Piper said sardonically.

"But we got that visit from the angel, the one who gave us the choice to give up everything and that was for defeating the source." Paige put forth.

"Yeah, makes me think that that offer might not have been legit." Phoebe added, as she stood and began to pace around.

"Leo," Piper began, "didn't you say that his offer was real and it was because of what we had done?"

"And I was told that it was. Look, I can't explain anything other than what I already told you last year."

"That is no help at all, Leo." Phoebe vented.

"Not to be a nudge, but would you mind explaining to us what exactly you four are going on about?" Molly Weasley asked, attempting to interrupt the flow so as to try and get on the same page that half of the other side of the room seemed to already be on. Piper nodded and then quickly spun the story out to the room at large so that they too could understand just how bad this was for them.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Halliwell, Piper, and please do not hate me for saying this, but it sounds like it is pretty much bad only for Harry." Hermione put forth. "Isn't this what you have been training for?"

"Yes and no. We gave him the training we did so that he would be able to better cope in the world that his father and I brought him back into. His magic had changed, adapted and we needed him to pretty much relearn everything so that he could be safer."

"But the prophecy…"

"Damn the stupid prophecy!" Piper yelled. She settled down only once Leo put a hand onto her shoulder. Piper gave a heavy sigh and was about to speak but was cut off by none other than her son.

"Look, there is no point in fighting over this because the decision has already been made."

"Harry, no."

"No, mum, you listen. The decision was made the moment you and dad decided to send me to the past. And not to pour salt in the wound, but," he paused, turning to his future seeing aunt. "Aunt, Phoebe, could you tell us what exactly it was you saw that prompted them sending me to the past."

"Harry I…"

"She doesn't remember Harry." Leo said. "She doesn't remember because we stripped her of that memory before we took you to the Potters back in 1981."

"Well then, mum, dad, would you please share what you know then."

Piper and Leo shared a look; finally Leo gave a short, almost unnoticeable nod. Piper adjusted herself on the couch and shared with everyone present just what it was that had made them make the decision to give up their son. "Phoebe saw a baby's nursery. She also saw someone standing in front of the crib and then saw that same person fall to the ground, dead." All the ladies in the room gasped, Piper continued. "She then saw someone, she couldn't tell who exactly, as they had a hood up, make his way over to the crib and then cast a spell at the cribs occupant. Just as the person…being…demon or whatever it was had cast the spell, Phoebe had said that there was a bright flash of the most brilliant shade of green she had ever seen and that her premonition, at the end, reeked of death."

The room was silent as they all digested what it was they had just been told. Some had looks of shock plastered across their faces; some had ones of pity being directed to the Halliwell family as a whole. The only one who didn't seemed fazed by this information was the one person, whom most would think should be, was Harry. "So," He began, "it's all there in her premonition."

"It is, and so do you see why it is we sent you to the past…"

"But her premonition came true." This time it wasn't Harry or Hermione that spoke up, but one, Ronald Weasley.

"What are you talking about?" Paige asked.

Ron turned to his best friend. "Did you never tell them, mate?"

Harry shook his head. "I guess I'd assumed they knew. But no time like the present, right?"

"Harry, what is he talking about?" Phoebe asked as she came to rest on the arm of the couch where Pier was sitting with Leo.

Harry sighed, "Its actually quite ironic…this is something that my pseudo family knows that my actual family doesn't. But that isn't the point. What Ron brought up was something that I didn't learn until my third year and what exactly a dream I have had all my life meant." He paused here and locked gazes with his mother and father. "When you left me with the Potters, I know you were trying to give me my best chance, but what you didn't know, was that soon after they became a target, The Dark Lord's target and he came after them, he had twice previous before you left me with them. I can't pretend to know why they hadn't told you about this when you asked for your favor. Maybe they thought that the charm would hold and they would be safe, but they weren't."

"Are you saying that…"

"I am, Aunt Paige. That Halloween, someone they thought was a friend betrayed them and gave their location up to the Dark Lord and he came to call on them later that night. I don't think he knew who I was, that I was the son of a Charmed ones, and besides, you didn't have your powers yet, and as you have said, he didn't know who you'd be, just that you would be, one day, a threat. Anyway, I am pretty sure that he just thought that I was what you two had planned for the world to know, that I was the Potters son. He attacked and killed James the moment he walked through the door. Lily was able to make it to my nursery, but it wasn't long before the door was blasted off its hinges."

"The person in front of the crib." Phoebe said aloud, though mostly to herself.

Harry nodded. "He asked her to step aside several times, but she denied him each and every time. He killed her, stone dead, after her last refusal. He then came and turned his magic on me. And the flash of light you saw, well that would be the killing curse."

At the seeing the looks of horror he was getting from his family, he tried to clarify. "I only learned of this memory in my third year, as I had said before. That year, there were some pretty foul creatures that had been set as the guards for the school. They make you feel as though you will never be happy again and rob you of any happy thoughts you may have. Most times, people simply feel these things and get a chill that settles into their bones, but I…I was a special case. When I got near them, they drudged up that memory and I got to see a firsthand show of what happened to the Potters that night, to Lily at least."

No one said anything for a long time. They simply sat there, lost to their own thoughts. Piper was quietly crying into her husband's shoulder, while he had a few tears fall roll down his face. Paige was simply staring off into space and Phoebe was trying hard to keep it together. Molly and Hermione had also teared up at some point, Harry noticed, while he had been telling his tale to his family. Finally, after what seemed like an age, someone spoke.

"So, us giving up Harry…us taking him to the past, was all for nothing?" Piper asked, her voice trembling.

"No," Harry said as he moved from his spot and over to his mother. Leo had moved over so that Harry could sit between the two of them and so that Harry could comfort his mother, while he, Leo, was there for the both of them. "No, you did what was right, instead of what was easy. You did what you thought was for the best and what happened, happened. And if there is one thing I have learned while being here, it is that everything happens for a reason. Even if it meant having to spend the many years apart from you that I did. That time apart was preparing me for you guys and vise versa. Besides, who knows what damage you could have caused to the timeline if you hadn't done what you did?"

Piper looked at young man before her and then to her husband…and then back to her son and in one swift movement, she grabbed a hold of Harry and pulled him into a hug. Leo soon followed and everyone watched as a family that had once been torn apart, came together again; this time for good.

No one knew how long they stayed like this, but the moment ended as soon a crack sounded throughout the room. At the sudden sound, everyone had gone on the defensive and all shared a slight chuckle when they saw who it was that had just appeared.

"Dobby, what are you doing here?" Harry asked as he moved to get on the elf's level.

Dobby merely looked around at those around him before he spoke softly to his favorite Wizard or at least what he thought was softly. "Is Dobby be having something on his tea towel, Harry Potter-sir?"

Harry smiled widely at the elf before him, as did everyone else in the room. "No, Dobby, why?"

"Well theys all be staring at Dobby." The elf answered as if this cleared everything up.

Still smiling, Harry replied, "I think you just caught us all a little off guard when you popped in. Now, what brings you here? I thought you were helping out at the school for the time being."

Dobby nodded vigorously, his ears flapping wildly "Oh and Dobby is sir. Dobby is just being delivering this message from the Head-Kitty. She is being saying it is urgent it is." With that said, Dobby held the rolled letter a little higher so Harry could see it.

"May I Dobby?" Harry asked, reaching out for the rolled parchment.

"Oh, yes sirs, the Head missus kitty say to be only giving it to yous Master Harry Potter, sir."

Harry as well as the rest of the room smiled at the little elfs name for the Headmistress, or rather, acting Head until such a time that it was determined that Albus Dumbledore would either get better or not. "Thanks, Dobby. Do you need to be getting back?" Harry asked as he began to read the note.

When Dobby didn't respond, Harry looked up from the note. "What is it Dobby?"

"Harry Potter must read all the note before Dobby can be leaving sir. That is what I is being told, sir."

Harry nodded. That would be just like his head of house to want a quick reply. So he read on. And as he read on, his face became darker and darker.

"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked, coming to stand next to her friend, with Ron not far behind. It wasn't long before Hermione gave a squeak that drew out the others. Only they stayed sitting and just asked for the details of what was being said, from where they were. Hermione and Ron looked to their friend, giving him the floor. As he looked to either of his friends, he gave a sigh and rolled the parchment back up.

"Harry, what does it say?"

"It says that the Dark Lord, the Source, is planning to march on Hogwarts within the day and has specifically called me out. McGonagall says, that he has said, that if I didn't show up at the appointed time, then he would start killing people, starting with the first years." Harry looked to his parents once he had finished explaining. "Mum, Dad, I have to go. I can't, won't let another person be killed by that Monster's hand. I won't let another family be robbed of someone they love like the Weasley's were robbed of Ginny. Like I was robbed of Ginny."

Piper looked at her son and saw the resolve that shown there. She then looked to Leo, who nodded only fractionally. As she was turning to look back at Harry, she saw the nods her sisters were giving. When she finally focused back upon her son, she too nodded. Harry gave a scary smile, though in that smile she detected something else, fear, sadness…what exactly, she couldn't quite tell. But in the next moment what she had thought she had seen, vanished, leaving her to say what she already knew her son knew she would…"Well then, it looks like we're headed back.

~~~hpgw~~~

Collin Creevey had just turned into the entrance hall, camera in hand when it happened. Bunches of blue and white lights filled the hall and began to spin faster around each other. Having never seen anything like this before, he raised his camera and looked through the view finder; finger perched above the button to take a picture of these mystical looking lights. He stood there, waiting, waiting for the perfect moment to snap the picture for who knows how long, simply watching the lights spin faster and faster as they moved in on one another. Knowing that he had maybe moments before the lights would disappear; he pushed down on the button and took the picture. When he took his eye away from the view finder, he was sad to see that all the lights were gone and in their place were a group of people walking towards him and at the front of the group were fellow Gryffindors, Harry, Hermione and Ron. He also noted that they were not alone. Along with the trio were two people, who Collin knew to be Ron's parents. And just to the left of them were people he didn't know.

"Hey Collin" Ron called out as the group moved past the shocked Gryffindor. The blonde boy could only nod as the group moved swiftly past him, a look of determination etched onto their faces. It wouldn't be until later, when he had developed the film, that he would see a sight that would take his breath away. Whereas he had missed seeing the arrival of his friends, his camera had not. The photo itself would show the lights spin faster and faster and then from within the lights, the group of people would be seen walking out from them, as thought they had simply walked through them and had not been brought by them. It would be this image that would see Collin on the fast track to achieving his dream of becoming a professional photographer for the Wizarding World's most read paper. Collin smiled as he watched the retreating backs of those who had just arrived. He, along with everyone else, had heard the rumors that had begun to flow throughout the school. The Dark Lord had called Potter out. There was no doubt in his mind, along with several others, that the Final Battle between the two legendary wizards would soon come to pass. And Collin would make sure that he would be there, at the front lines, this time with no camera in hand, standing amongst the throes of the other Knights, backing the one they knew who would come out the victor in the end.

Their friend, their Leader, Harry Potter.

~~~hpgw~~~

"Did you see the camera Collin was holding?" Ron asked as they maintained their current speed in the direction they were heading.

"I have a feeling that that picture is going to be one that the world, the magical ones at least, will be talking about for an age." Hermione put forth with a smile of her own.

"I have a feeling you are right Hermione." Harry said, shaking his head, though he too was smiling. "Collin and his camera…you know I bet he was born with that thing in his hands. I bet he took a picture of the doctor as he came out."

"Harry," Hermione never got to finish what she was going to say as they had reached their destination. She watched in fascination as Ron went to speak the password, only to have the stone gargoyle jump out of their way before he had even uttered the first syllable. "Maybe she told it to expect us?"

Harry didn't comment, instead, he turned to face his family and the Weasley's. "Would you all mind going to check in with Professors Flitwick and Sprout to see if there is anything that you can do to help?"

It looked like Piper wanted to protest, along with her sisters and Molly, but the two men, Leo and Arthur, grabbed their respective wife's by the arms and pulled them away. Harry couldn't help but chuckle slightly at the amount of protesting that they were doing, along with his aunts. He stayed at the foot of the gargoyle, watching their retreating backs, even after he couldn't see them any longer.

"Harry, we really should be getting up there. We're being rude by leaving the Headmistress to wait on us."

"Hermione's right, mate, and I for one don't want to make her more frustrated than she already is."

Harry turned to look at his two friends and gave a nod and then quickly took to the stairs. Once to the top, he rapped quickly against the door. When a soft "Enter" sounded from within, Harry turned the handle and walked into the office he had been to so many times before. Harry wasn't all that surprised to see that it looked exactly as it had on his most recent visit. He knew that his Head of House was unlikely to change anything seeing as the Headmaster was still in the school, not matter his state.

"Ah Mr. Potter, or should I say, Mr. Halliwell…thank you for coming on such short notice, we do indeed have much to discuss." McGonagall said as she waved her wand and conjured another chair so that they could all sit in front of her. "Please forgive me for pulling you away from your family and the time you were taking to grieve. I feel that I can speak for all of us when I say that we all have felt the loss of Miss. Weasley and we are sorry that you and your family must bear the weight of such a loss."

"Thank you Headmistress…"

"Acting Head, Mr. Potter…sorry, Halliwell. MY, that is going to take some getting used to." The woman before the trio said.

"Potter is fine ma'am. While you and the Weasleys now know this, and unfortunately, as does the Dark Lord, I would like to keep this information, my true name, between us, for as long as we can."

She nodded. "As you wish Mr. Potter; now, we have much to discuss. The most pressing being the attack the Dark Lord attempts to bring upon the school. We have ancient wards to protect the school itself, and while he cannot hope to breech its defenses, and make it into the school itself, he can however set foot upon the grounds, as we are all too aware."

"Well that's one thing we've got going for us then." Ron said. "We can mount our defense from within the school."

"It is, unfortunately, not that simple Mr. Weasley. The school can protect us, yes, but even it can fall."

"But you just said,"

"I know what I said, Mr. Weasley, but there are other factors to consider." She replied. Standing from her chair, crossing around to came to a halt at the front of the desk. She leaned on it slightly and continued. "Even something as great as Hogwarts School can be taken down, it would only be a matter of time. Time we may have at the moment, but we are losing precious time."

"What do you mean, Professor?" Hermione asked, sitting at the edge of her chair.

"She means that without the Headmaster to recharge the ward-stone, the school will fall. Without the Headmaster alive and well, the school is exposed. Or will be once the summer starts and it would be then that the Dark One would attack." Harry said, as he too stood and began to walk around. He came to stand at Fawkes's perch, which itself stood empty.

"What does Dumbledore being out of commission have anything to do with it?" Ron asked.

"At the end of every school year, Mr. Weasley, the Headmaster makes his way down to the room in which the ward-stone is kept. It is there that he uses his magic, his very being to recharge the school wards. It is during this time that the school is emptied of everyone, save for the ghosts and peeves. It must be emptied so that the current Headmaster can work the ancient magick along with his personal magic to see that the stone is properly charged for the next school year. We must leave the school, every living being, so that in the case of a magical backlash, we would be safe."

"Excuse me professor, but can't you go and ward the stone, seeing as you are the Headmistress now?" Hermione queried.

"It is not that simple either Miss. Granger. You see, only the current Head of the school can affect or tweak the wards. And as I am Deputy-Head, I am only partially linked to the magick that governs these rules. Only upon the retirement or…Death of the current Headmaster can the Deputy step in and complete the task. The only other way I can even reach the stone is if the Headmaster leads me to it and allows me to help in checking the settings and power outputs. And even then, that is all I can do."

"When you say the only way you can reach the stone…"

"It is just how it sounds. Only the current Head of the school knows the location of the ward-stone. And one can only reach it by the permission of the Headmaster and even then, once you leave the location of the ward-stone, all memory of it, save for knowing that it exists and is safe, is wiped from your mind."

"And with the Headmaster out of commission…"

"You can see my dilemma then, at least, the one of many I have to bear at the current time."

"I thought you called me, us, here to discuss the threat of the Dark Lord." Harry said, turning from the phoenix perch. "It sounds to me as though you want my help to find a way to help the Headmaster."

"I am very much aware of your loathing of the man, Mr. Potter, and while I can see and agree with you on several points, I am still the Deputy- Head of this school and still am honor bound to help the Headmaster in any way I can. There also remains the fact that while he has much to answer for, there is much that he has done that has been only for the better of the Wizarding World at large. He may be the villain in your story, but there is still the wider arc to think about. Add to the fact that I know how much he has hurt you and it pains me still, to wish that I had acted upon what I knew to be the better option for you, but I, like the headmaster, am simply human. I make mistakes, and so did he. It is not your right to judge him. But if what Mr. Stone says about you is the truth, then you yourself are honor bound to help him."

Harry visibly flinched. On some level, he knew she was right. He knew that it was he, and not the spell that Voldemort had cast, that had incapacitated Albus Dumbledore. Part of him felt bad knowing that he had caused an innocent man, an innocent, pain. Though something his head of house had said stuck out to him. "He's been here. You've spoken to Ezekiel?"

She nodded. "I have."

He sighed and made his way over to the bay window that opened up to a balcony, a balcony that looked out over the grounds of the school. There was a nice view of the Quidditch pitch and as well as the Black Lake. Harry marveled at the beauty in sprawling in front of him. This had been his first ever, or at least what he considered to be, home. He had been thrilled to be shut of the Dursely's and even though he had to go back to them every summer up until this most recent one, he had longed to see his beloved castle again. There was just something about it that called out to him. Sure it had been the first place that he had found that truly felt like a home to him, but it was something more. There was something deep inside of him that stirred at the very thought of the massive castle that stood where it had for over a millennia. There was something about this place, a feeling, that he quite couldn't put his finger on. With a heavy sigh he turned back to face the room and found every eye on him. "Ma'am, if you would be so kind to excuse me. I think I need to go for a walk." At seeing his two best friends stand to go with him he put up a hand and said "A walk that I need to go on, alone. I need time to think and besides, you two need to stay here, especially you Ron."

"What, why me?"

"Because out of the three of you, though maybe our head of house could give you a run for your money, have the mind of a strategist. You are the best chess player I have even known and I think we may need your help in the end to coordinate with everyone when the time comes. Neville may be my second in command when it comes to the Knights, but you are my best friend and I wouldn't trust anyone to do this job."

"But Harry…"

"No Ron, you can do this. Seriously, you got us through old McGonagall's chess board and one step closer to saving the stone, back in first year. Sorry m'am." He had said what he did at the end as he realized that he had just called his head of house old, and right in front of her to boot. She simply nodded and gave a slight smile.

"Look, I need to go and think for a bit. There isn't much time to come up with something that will at least give us some advantage and I'm counting on you guys to figure it out. But right now, I need to go."

The three of them; Ron, Hermione and Professor McGonagall watched as Harry turned back around, opened the door and then head down the steps. They didn't know where he was going, and even if they wanted to follow him, they also knew he was right. He needed some time. There was a lot to think about. And with a battle looming over their heads, they knew he needed to be in the right frame of mind. With that final thought, they all turned to face each other and began to plan. War was coming to Hogwarts and they knew that Harry would need all the help he could get.

~~~hpgw~~~

He knew that he could have orbed out, portkeyed out or even used his fire ability and flashed out of the office that he had just left. No, he had done enough magic over the last week, to last a while. And while all of that was great to use when he could, walking simply gave him time to think…to be a little more normal. 'Ha, normal' he thought to himself as he stepped from the stairs that led to the headmasters office. He didn't know where he was going; he preferred letting his feet guide him.

He passed a few people on his walk through the corridors, and for once, they didn't stop to stare or point. In fact, they hadn't even looked toward him once. He smiled to himself at the fact that this was probably the first and last time no one paid him any mind. 'Oh, if only...' Harry thought to himself as he rounded a corner, coming to the entrance hall.

He had just passed in front of the doors when he had to stop and do a double take. There, filling the hall, were people of every shape and size. Knights, professors, students and what looked like to Harry, your run-of-the-mill-wizards and witches. He didn't know how long he stood there and it wasn't until someone approached him and had begun to speak that he was brought out from his musings.

"Can you believe how many people are here?!"

"What did you say?" Harry asked, turning to face one of his aunts.

Phoebe smiled, "Lost to your thoughts again?" When he gave only a nod in response, she continued. "You seem to be doing that a lot lately."

"We'll I have a lot on it, lately." He replied with a smirk. Phoebe smiled back. "What is everyone doing here?"

"We'll they've all come to help in any way they can." His aunt answered with a smile. "And as they should. For the talk that is going around, we're going to need all the help we can get."

Harry shook his head. "They shouldn't be here. I can...the knights can handle things. There is no point in others getting hurt. I won't allow it."

Phoebe frowned. "You won't allow it...? Harry, they are here because they want to be and have just about as much right as you do. To say that you won't allow it...you don't have control over them. You don't own them."

"You're right; I don't own them, but..."

"But what?"

Harry shook his head. Phoebe's frown deepened. "More secrets. You're starting to carry too many Harry and before you know it and without your control, they will come out and can you really afford to not be in control when they do?"

Harry sighed, "I wish...I really do wish I could tell you, but...there is something being asked...I..." Harry paused; he couldn't find the right words. Even after a moment, he was still having trouble so he just decided on finding his footing as he went.

"There are things at work here that if I were to tell you them now, then it would be too soon. Please trust me when I say that all will come out soon enough and you can bet it 'will' be on my terms and no one else's."

Phoebe shook her head. "Now you're starting to sound like Ezekiel."

Harry smirked, but didn't respond, as he continued to look at those assembled there in the hall. Some were starting to look their way, with the mass of others following suit. Harry sighed. "I will not allow there to be more death than there already has. I can't let them fight."

And without a word, he stepped forward and with a wave of his hand, conjured a box upon the ground which, as soon as he stepped on it, it raised a few feet. As soon as he was sure that the majority of those present could see him, he began to speak.

"You have all come here today to defend what was once your home. And from what I know and see here, you have all come to stand by your, boy-who-lived. I thank you." The people in the room smiled as he spoke, but those smiles were soon wiped from their faces when he continued.

"I stand before you today to tell you that you cannot hope to be here when the Dark Lord gets here, as you will surely fall, by his or his followers hand. I will not let you place you or the ones you love in danger. I am sorry, but once the Dark Lord, Voldemort, gets here, the castle will be put into lockdown."

There was a cacophony of noise at this. Everyone had begun to yell at this proclamation and none were too pleased. One of the more vocal ones had stepped forward and looked Harry right in the eye as they spoke.

"We are all here not only to support you, but to protect the land of our children's future and not to mention, our respective families future. If we do not fight, then we are sure to lose. You cannot take away from them, or us, the right to defend our loved ones. If they are not allowed to defend themselves and this land, then we should just hand it over to the Dark Lord now."

Harry frowned at the speech the potion's professor had given. Harry didn't look at her and instead looked out to the crowed, most of who were nodding. When he didn't say anything, Professor Sparks went on. "What do you think will happen if the Dark Lord wins and gains control over the school? He would then have a seat of power and none would be able, much less willing, to go at him head on. We cannot give that…thing, any more power than he already has. The result would be disastrous."

Everyone waited, with bated breath, as they watched the young man before them and despite how adept he had become at controlling and thusly, hiding, his emotions, he still had some things to learn. For it was clearly evident that there was an internal battle going on within him. Finally, one side won out and Harry began to speak.

"I am sorry, but I..." But he didn't get to finish. As he went to respond, there, at the front of the crowed, just next to his mother, was once again, the ethereal looking form of one, Ginny Weasley. Harry paled and the box he was standing on vanished, causing him to fall to the ground in a slight heap. As he regained his footing, he looked to where he had just seen her, only to find the space empty once again. A shiver ran down his spine. This time, instead of just looking at him from some distance away, in the darkness of a cave, she seemed to be shaking her head. At what, he didn't know. What he did know was that he needed to get out of there. To where, he didn't care. And in the next moment, his body was engulfed in flames, pulling him out of the crowed that had begun to form around him, his mother at the front of said crowed, next to his potions professor, with a sad look upon her face. This was the last sight Harry had, before he was all but torn from where he stood.

~~~hpgw~~~

He appeared moments later, still on the ground, kneeling and it took him a minute or so to get his bearings. Once he did however, he was not pleased with where he was; the hospital wing. Not wishing to be here at the moment, he tried to flash out again. That didn't work. He then attempted orbing, that failed too. He had even tried to blink out; as Neville had taught him, though...well…he still needed to work on that one.

With all his attempts, of magical nature, to get out of the wing proving fruitless, he decided to try and walk out. He smiled smugly to himself as he began to reach for the doorknob. He was sure that he could have made it out too, if it weren't for the rustle of something behind him. Looking back, he was sure that had he tried to turn the handle, he would have found it too, working against him. He would also say that, looking back, he knew he was supposed to have been there. For when fate begins to mess...it is sometimes best if you do not fight it. Though in this instance, he wanted to fight it with a passion. For before he had even turned his head in the direction of the noise, he knew what or rather, whom he would find.

He walked slowly towards the partition that had been raised around one of the beds. Each step he took echoed off the stone walls. He had just reached for the screen when a sound of air escaped from what was behind the curtain. He jumped slightly at that, as the hall had been silent when he had come to stand at the curtain. With an outstretched hand, and breath held, he took a hold of the curtain and pulled it aside. The breath that he had been holding, pushed past his lips only to be sucked in again as he gasped.

There in front of him was the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. This wasn't a surprise as he had been the one to land the aged man here in the first place. No, that hadn't been the cause of his gasp. What had been was the appearance of said headmaster. For at the moment, he looked deathly pale and seemed to barely be breathing. Only the rise and fall of his chest, every so often, though not as often as one would like, gave evidence that the man was still alive.

Without realizing it, Harry had come to stand next to the headmaster. It was as he was gazing upon the old man in front of him that he found himself falling backwards into a chair that had appeared out of nowhere. As soon as his backside hit the chair he leaned forward, head falling swiftly into his hands. "Why?" Harry asked, his voice muffled by the hands covering his face. He looked up, tears flowing freely, eyes boring into that of the Headmasters prone form. He quickly looked away.

"Why does this always happen?" He called out to the room at large. No answer came. He hadn't expected one. He sighed and looked back at the headmaster. As he sat there, his mind was drawn to his life up to this point. Why? He didn't know, but as he had nothing to else to do, nor the will to fight the onslaught of memories, he let them in. Some good parts he found, and some not so good.

"But that's life, right?" Harry asked the unmoving man in front of him. "There's good and then there's bad. And I bet you'd agree that I've had more than my fair share of the bad. I mean, seriously, just when I think I've got the lay of the land, someone or something comes along and changes the terrain. It's been like this for five years. Ever since I joined your world and you've been at the heart of every one of those bad times for me." He stopped and glared at the slow rise and fall of the headmaster's chest. Oddly it seemed to calm him, but only just.

"Ever since you left me at the Dursleys, you knew the life you would be committing me too. A life of misery, pain, and abuse...no matter that it was emotional, but there were those times that I thought Vernon might simply slide past the mental and go right for the physical kind. He didn't, and for that I am grateful. But how can I be mad at you for that? You were only doing what you thought best, even with the counsel you were given by my, now, Head of House. But no, you took it upon yourself to place an infant child on the front porch, on one of the coldest nights of the year, with all but a thin blanket and a letter. Still, you were going on what you thought you knew...how could I fault you for that?" Harry, as he was talking, he stood up and began to pace around the small area that surrounded the Headmaster.

"Maybe I can't fault you for that. Though perhaps I could blame you for my first year at Hogwarts School...hmm...could I blame you for that? I mean, how could you not know that my arrival into the Wizarding world, your world, would prompt some sort of response from the Dark Lord? How could you speak to your friend and mentor and offer to keep safe a stone that was more than safe in his hands than it was in yours, and then hide it in a bank vault only to have it removed when you sent Hagrid to reintroduce me to the world of magic. Not only that, but you then hid it at said school I would be attending behind defenses three first years were able to bypass...perhaps you wanted to test me...perhaps you really did think the stone would be safe...so maybe I can't fail you for that either." Harry had come to a stop at the foot of the bed now, gripping the metal frame so tightly, that his knuckles were becoming white.

"What about my second year with the Basilisk or my third year with Sirius? You could have given him the benefit of the doubt and given a trial. You were and still are the Chief Mugwump of the Wizengamot, which is the highest form of office you can get, this side of 'Minister'. You could have, no should have, stepped in when they threw him to the Dementors without a trial. Fair shake he got...seeing as all those Death Eaters who were captured either got a trial, or pled "Imperious", getting off scot free. But then," Harry paused, as he began to walk back around the bed, "maybe I can't fault you for that, either...perhaps your hands were tied. There was a lot of corruption, back then, I was told. But that's not even worst of it, Dumbledore..." Harry cried out exasperatedly.

"After my abysmal third year, you have the blasted tournament during my fourth year, and Umbridge in fifth year, a year that you never looked at me once...and after all was said and done, after Sirius was made a martyr, you had the nerve to pull me into your office and tell me the reason James and Lily Potter died that night, all those years ago...especially after I asked you that very question...(why?)...back in first year...and to top it off, there was this last summer...you tried to stun me, because I, your little weapon, was showing the first, true, signs of independence and you couldn't have that now could you? But then again, perhaps I can't fault you for that either. You were, after all, doing what you thought was right, what was seemingly for the "greater good"."

Finally Harry came closer to the Headmasters side and sat down on the edge, eyes once again fixed upon the man right in front of him. He was about to speak again, but found his words caught in his throat. He sighed and hung his head, looking away from the man lying in front of him. The gleaming light that had been in his eyes through his tirade, gone. His shoulders slumped, his hands in his lap, defeated. All fight gone from him. He sat staring at his hands for quite some time, unmoving. When he finally spoke, it was in such a small whisper that had the headmaster been awake, he too, would have had to strain to hear the young man speak.

"I loved her, you know, I really did." Tears began to fall, dropping into his open hands. "I thought that I had found the one person I was going to spend the rest of my life with..." He sighed, pausing to collect himself.

"The Dursleys never showed me love. It's fine that they didn't. I've gotten past that now. But this past summer, something happened that allowed me to learn what love really meant, the love of family. It's actually a crazy tale and perhaps one day, when this is all over, I'll be able to tell it to you in its entirety. But suffice it to say that over the summer, I found my true family, my true parents. I only know of the 'what' they did, not the how, but somehow, they saved me and the magic they invoked brought me back to them. I'm sure the Potters were nice and loved me for the short time they had me, but Leo Wyatt and Piper Halliwell...now there are two people that I am proud to call my parents." He smiled slightly through the tears, but continued,

"They showed me what it really meant to be loved. It wasn't until I came back for sixth year, that I found myself falling for an amazing witch. It took me long enough to realize it. The sad part is...was, that I never actually told her how I felt. I don't know why I didn't. Maybe I was afraid of being happy; knowing that every time something good seemed to happen, there would be something there, waiting, to take away my happiness. So I didn't tell her. Oh how I wish I did."

He took a second to wipe his eyes, and as his hand lowered back into his lap, he went on. "Maybe you are to blame for everything that has gone wrong in my life since that fateful night you left me on that front porch...though, at the same time, maybe you aren't. I don't know. What I do know, is that if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would do everything the same...save for one thing." He sighed as new tears began to fall.

"I would tell Ginny Weasley how much I loved her and just how important she was to me and how..." Harry started, but he was interrupted. Not by anyone coming into the wing. Not even the slow rise and fall of the Headmaster's chest. No, what had caused Harry to speaking was the image that now swam before his eyes.

Harry stared in awe at the warm golden light that was emanating from his hands. In fact, he was so enraptured by the glow surrounding his hands, that he completely missed the fact that his hands were directed towards his chest and the soft, golden glow was dancing across it. As the light moved across his chest, Harry found himself becoming calmer, as though most of his worries were slipping away, being replaced by a peace that he wished he'd had several days ago. Harry smiled and then, as if on instinct, moved his body and turned to face the Headmaster, placing his hands gently on the slumbering man's chest. The effect was almost immediate. The golden light that was emanating from his hands began to spread quickly across the prone man, covering him from head to toe.

Soon enough the glow had spread to encompass all of the man in front of him and as it did so, Harry became aware of some sort of bell, chiming in the distance. He didn't let this stop him in his work; nor did the gasp that came from behind him when the Hospital wing's head, Madam Pomfrey, came around the corner of the curtain. "Mr. Potter!" But Harry pressed on, fully focused on his task. Not a minute after the hospital matron came upon the scene before her, the light surrounding the Headmaster and is hands, went out, leaving a very stunned Poppy Pomfrey, and a somewhat drained Harry.

Lowering his hands, he turned to face the newcomer. "Run whatever tests you'd like, but I believe that you will find the Headmaster's in the clear and will make a full recovery." As he turned to leave, he stopped and sent a contemplative look towards the now healed man. Nodding to himself, mind made up, he made his way back over to the Headmasters side and bent down and spoke softly, knowing that the Headmaster, though asleep, could hear him.

"I want to tell you this now; no, I need to tell you this now, in case the worst should happen when I go and face Voldemort...and to be honest, I didn't see myself doing this, but I know that it is the right thing to do." Harry paused to collect himself and without a glance to the woman who was nearby watching, he said..."I forgive you."

It was as Harry stood and turned around that he saw something which, for once, didn't cause him to fall to his knees. There, only visible to Harry, standing next to a flabbergasted Madam Pomfrey was the ethereal form of Ginny Weasley, with a smile spreading itself across her face. This time, instead of losing his composure, Harry did the exact opposite. He stood a little straighter and smiled widely. And after a slight nod in her direction, he was swept away in a swirl of blue and white lights.

After Harry had gone and Madam Pomfrey began bustling about and running all the diagnostic spells she could think of, a clearly female figure stepped silently from the shadows, a smile upon her face. She had appeared here herself shortly after Harry had appeared in the hospital wing and watched proudly as the young man had set aside all the hate and frustration that he had, so that he could do what needed to be done. But what Harry didn't know, something which the then invisible woman did, was that not only had he healed Albus Dumbledore, but he had also healed himself. After another smile, the unknown woman turned and began to head, silently, to the doors that led out of the hospital wing and just as they reached the doors, the person was swept up by a swirl of blue and white lights of their own.

~~~hpgw~~~

Scottish skies allowed a ray of sun or two to filter through the clouds and dance along the tops of the greening trees in the Forbidden Forest, but the light would not penetrate below. Trees gave way to boggy fields still pockmarked in places from their recent battle. The destruction and signs of recovery dotted the grounds right up to the stone walls of Hogwarts Castle.

Through the 1930's stained glass style picture windows, Harry felt everything looked small, as usual. Sitting on a dark brown parlor style love seat with an Afghan across his knees, he let his eyes roam over the scene outside as his familiar room surrounded him on the inside. His bed was pushed up against the wall to his right. His desk sat disheveled beside it while his night stand stood on the other side with the lamp turned on and the contents of his pockets spilled in its watchful light. His dresser was on the opposite wall and straight across from him was the door that normally led to the 2nd floor hallway of the Halliwell Manor. Today, that door would lead out of the Room of Requirement and into the ringing corridors of his first ever home.

He treasured these moments that he could have a little piece of each of his favorite places together. If someone had said a year ago that he'd be asking the Room of Requirement to emulate his bedroom outside of Hogwarts so he could be alone, he'd have laughed in their face. But that was the Dursley's, a shadow of a life. There was no home for him besides Hogwarts then. Not now. Now he had not only one but two homes, one on each side of the world.

And each equally in danger from the forces of evil.

Harry sighed and trained his eyes on the light playing on the tops of the swaying trees.

The sound of the door opening didn't startle him at all. Two sets of familiar footfalls crossing the wood floors made him smile slightly despite his general melancholy. The bed creaked as one of the two sat upon it while the other came to stand at the end of the couch and lean against the window frame. The weak sunlight flared into the window for just a moment, reflecting off Ron's pale skin. Ron continued to look out the window, content to wait.

Hermione, though, fixed Harry in her sights and wouldn't let go. Harry could feel her eyes pulling at him from her perch on his bed. He couldn't help but look her way. When he finally did, she locked her eyes with his and cocked her head to the side in her owlish way, considering him. After a moment, she let a small smile touch her face and went to stand beside Ron. All three took in the grounds of their beloved castle for a breath, then another. Finally, Harry moved his Afghan and stood. Walking to the nightstand, he began to gather his belongings. Ron walked to the door and held it open for Hermione, both waiting for Harry to shut off his lamp.

After turning off the lamp he made his way over to where his friends were. When he reached the door Harry stopped and turned back around, eyes searching. It didn't take long however for as soon as he looked into the room, his eyes locked onto the thing that kept making appearances, despite not being alive anymore, Ginny Weasley; her ethereal looking form glowing in the sun's rays through the window. She smiled widely and gave a slight nod of her head in his direction. At seeing the smile and the nod, Harry stood a little straighter and nodded himself.

He didn't know what it was, or what she was for that matter. He could simply be imagining, seeing what she 'used to be' in his mind's eye, but he didn't care. What mattered was that her image alone gave him hope. Hope that all this would turn out alright. Well as close to alright as one could get at any rate.

His gaze lingered on the now fading image only a moment longer and once it was gone from his sight, he turned back to face his friends. Hermione, at having given his hand a slight squeeze brought his eyes to hers; we're he saw a sad smile residing. He gave a small smile to his female friend and pulled her into a hug. No words were exchanged. He turned and looked at Ron when he pulled away from Hermione and nodded. And with a quick turn of the heel, they left the doorway to the Room of Requirement and began to make the long trek from the seventh floor down to the Entrance Hall.

As they reached the second floor, Harry became aware of the sound of several doors being opened and the rooms occupants stepping out to look at the three friends. Harry smiled and gave a nod of recognition and continued on his way. It was as they stepped onto the ground floor that he became aware of several other sets of feet slapping against the stone floors behind them. Turning to look he saw all those whom he had just seen on the second floor walking behind him. Harry frowned slightly, but when he felt a hand slide into his and give it a squeeze, he stopped frowning and turned to face Hermione, who only gave the barest of nods herself. Harry gave a sigh and nodded to her and turned to continue walking.

He didn't miss the look Hermione shot to Ron as they continued to make their way to the double doors that led out of the castle and onto the sprawling grounds. He smiled slightly at their antics and focused himself on the task at hand. As soon as they rounded the corner and came into the Entrance Hall, Harry stopped short, eyes widening to take in the scene before him.

There, pouring out from all directions, were a multitude of people and just to make room for them all, they began to line the walls. It wasn't just the huge amount of people that had begun to fill the hall that had stopped Harry where he stood. No, there at the end of the hall, standing just in front of the massive double doors amongst the throngs of witches, wizards and the Knights of Salem, both old and new, were his parents.

After taking in the scene before him and finally getting his bearings, Harry took a step forward and then another, until he finally found a pace that saw him moving down the hall swiftly. In no time flat, he came to stand in front of those who had literally given up everything just so that he could be protected. He stood there for a moment, simply content to just look upon his family; a family that had taken him some time to find. And despite all that he had been through, said and done, he found himself in awe that they would continue to stand by him.

That thought alone made him stand a little straighter and smile a little wider. And so it was with great pleasure that Harry took another step forward and pulled his parents into a hug, allowing himself to be lost in the comfort he found there. It didn't last long and when he pulled away from them, he found his aunts standing next to them; he smiled at them and moved to give each of them, Phoebe and Paige, a hug. After he pulled back from their embrace, he looked around at those gathered around
him.

There were Witches and Wizards of all shapes and sizes. Families, friends, Knights of Salem, and many more that he was sure he didn't know from Adam. Part of him wanted to protest. Part of him wanted to tell them all to leave; that they would be safer far away from him. But then there was something that stopped those thought stone dead. Somewhere inside of him, in what sounded like Ginny's voice, something was telling him that they stood here to support him, regardless of the consequences.

"You can find love anywhere, you just have to look and it will be there, waiting. Maybe not in the way you expect, but it will be there none the less. You are a light to those who find themselves in darkness, Harry. You give them the hope they need".

Harry smiled inwardly at that small voice inside of him. Whether it came from his own musings or if something more was at work here, he didn't know. All he knew was whatever it was, it was right. So with that in mind, he gazed about the room, locking eyes with those he knew and even with the ones he didn't and nodded. The relief he saw shine from their eyes made him smile.

He then turned and with only a gesture of his hand, opened the double doors and made his way outside and down the steps. Despite the number of people following him, they moved as one. The crowed wasn't huge and neither did it rival that of the Dark Lord's, which they could see, making their way up to the school coming from within the Forbidden Forest.

From what they could see, Voldemort had gathered his full force. And it was one to be reckoned with. After only a quick sweep, Harry tallied up the numbers in his head and he knew that they were outnumbered. As his gaze took in the oncoming force he felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder. It startled him slightly and he turned to look at the source of the hand and smiled as he found his eyes coming to rest on his father. He didn't know what it was, but he found strength and a love within them that helped him to stand, once again, a little straighter.

It was as they stood watching their enemy, which was the Dark Lord, Voldemort, Source of all evil, that Harry's mind began to wander over all that had brought him to this point. So much had happened. From being left at the Dursleys, to finding two amazing friends, and to finally being reunited with his true family. It had been a long journey for him and yet, he knew it wasn't quite over. He still had a job to do…a task to complete.

It didn't seem all that long ago that he had met with the mysterious man, Ezekiel Stone, who ran the Department of Mysteries along with everything else he did. And it didn't seem all that long ago that he learned what it meant to be who he was. His family, the magical community in the States and UK and even Ezekiel himself, at one point or another, had called him the Twice-Blessed-Child. He honestly thought it was a ridiculous moniker, but as with everything in his life, he went with it. It wasn't until he came back from the Underworld and his Demon killing spree after Ginny's death, that Ezekiel had set him down and explained to him….everything. At the time, he was still in such a state that he didn't fully comprehend what he was being told. But it was over the course of the last week, more so the event that had happened in the Hospital wing not four hours earlier, that Harry had come to fully and truly accept his destiny along with who and what he was meant to become.

He was Harry Halliwell.

He was also Harry Potter.

He was The-Boy-Who-Lived.

He was the Chosen One.

He was the Son of a Charmed One.

He was the Twice-Blessed Child.

It was this last one, the Twice-Blessed title, which had once given him pause. Not because he didn't accept it, but because he hadn't understood what that title meant. Out of all the ridiculous titles he'd been given over the course of his life, this one confused him the most. Mainly because all the others and their meanings were easily deciphered, while this one was anything but. Ginny had thought it meant he had been blessed to be loved by two exceptional families. His parents and aunts said it was because he was born of a Witch and a Whitelighter and that their Union had been blessed by the Elders and thus his birth blessed, making him the most powerful force of good the world had ever seen. No, none of them had been correct…or at least, right on the mark. Harry had come to believe, and somewhere inside of him he knew that he was right, that being Twice-Blessed meant that he was born of both worlds, the magical ones at least. He may have been born of the Wiccan world, but his being taken in by the Potters changed him even more. It had awakened within him another part of his ancestry, enabling him to master both aspects of magic. The Wanded and Wiccan. When he spoke to Ezekiel about this, he only got further confirmation.

'You will be the bridge that spans the gap separating both magical worlds. You will do what none before you have managed and you will, one day, reunite us all under one banner, ushering in a new era. A Golden Age, if you will' Ezekiel had said with a smile.

"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked from his left as she watched the smile move across her friends face. Harry only smiled wider as he took her hand and then turned to Ron, who was on his right and took his as well.

"Nothing, just thinking."

"And smiling…" Ron began, "And might I say it is refreshing to see you smiling again."

"How's that?" Harry asked curious.

"For the last five years, even on the good days, you would walk around here with what seemed, judging by your face anyway, the weight of the world on your shoulders. And to be dead honest, it just seemed to peak after we lost Ginny."

"Ron…"

"Wait, let me finish. We've been through a lot, you, Mione and me and seeing you smiling now, at what could very well be the end, it gives me this hope that it's going to turn out alright. That for once, things are going to go our way, and more importantly your way, and we will finally have the life we were all meant to have. I can't be happier than I am now. You give me hope, Harry."

Harry smiled, his gaze switching between the two, "We have faced a troll, weathered deadly plants, Hermione you were petrified, a Dark Lord found a way back to terrorize the world again and through it all, you two have been by my side. You have proven yourselves a hundred times over and a hundred times again. I truly am honored that you are with me, that you still stand by me, even here at the end. And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Hermione, not being able to contain herself, stepped away from Harry's side and came to stand in front of both him and Ron and reached out for them both. Only it wasn't just her arms that did so. At her movement, both Harry and Ron did the same and all at once, the three friends shared a hug, each holding onto the other. When the hug did end, they all shared a look, as no words were needed and slowly they moved back into their original positions. Once again, Harry grabbed a hold of his friends' hands and as he did so, a horn rang out in the distance. Voldemort and his cohorts were closing in quickly. Harry's face hardened into a look of determination and shared one last look with his friends, each giving him a slight nod.

With a nod of his own, he turned back to face his oncoming enemy and said,

"It's time to end this."

A/N: Well there you have it...chapter 63 and it is aptly titled...A Destiny Revealed. It is also the name of this story. It has all been about getting the story to this point...this chapter. Harry's Destiny was finally revealed...to him at least, via Ezekiel. However, there is still way more to come...along with a few more 'BIG' reveals...

I do hope you liked it. Major shout-out to my amazing friend RoseMarieLynn who talked me through this chapter...and even agreed to write a scene for it! The next chapter is the battle and I will warn you now that it will be shorter than this one was and shorter than the one that will follow it. It is just the nature of the beast, I'm afraid. Please, let me know what you think...

Also, as a point of note...I am able to tell you that another update shall be coming within the next couple of weeks...maybe a little sooner. *wink, wink*

Only two more chapters to go and then the Epilogue...so until that epiloge...keep reading, and keep enjoying!

Mudbloodpotter.