At the end of the fight with Ultear, I made it the way it is for a reason. That is all I'm going to say on the matter here. The rest will be at the end of the chapter.

Enjoy! ;)

79

"Sectumsempra..." The two attacks from Harry and Zeref soar through the air and straight to the dark-haired woman. Her eyes widen in fright, and she quickly jumps to the side, dodging both attacks; although, she did almost get hit by Harry's curse. She didn't want to take a chance with a spell from Zeref; hence why she was almost hit by the green-eyed wizard's curse. She looks back after hearing the spells hit a different mark to see the results of them. A tree has a clean hole through it and dying around the edges. The tree next to it has many gashes on its trunk that told Ultear that if she hadn't jumped to the side when she did, she most likely would be bleeding very badly.

"Accio: branch," Harry said as he points to a tree branch behind the Grimoire Heart member. She sees the branch coming toward her, not realizing that it's heading for Harry, and uses her arc of time magic to decay it. Just as that happened, she turns around in time to see another ball of death heading her way.

When Harry used the summoning spell on the branch, Zeref used its distracting nature to throw another death ball at her. Sadly, the woman was too quick. In a panic state, she lifted up her crystal ball to block the attack. The ball absorbs the magic, turning it black. Harry and Zeref watch as it falls to bits on the growth beneath her.

"Now that you don't have a weapon anymore," Harry said with narrowed eyes, "tell us who you are."

The woman glares at Harry, but a sneer forms on her face shortly after. "Who said I wasn't without a weapon?" The crystal ball reforms itself, going back to being blue in color. Harry feels like smacking himself for not thinking she could do that. Her magic is time; she should be able to reverse her ball's 'death'. "As for my name: it's Ultear Milkovich." With that said, Ultear throws her ball at Harry, but she sent it through time. The ball Harry is seeing, it the one in the future. He uses an exploding curse to destroy the ball again, but it had no effect. The ball goes through him, confusing the young wizard, but then the real ball slams into his gut, knocking the wind out of him.

Zeref sees Harry get hit, and cough up a little bit of blood, making him worry. Thanks to being worried about a life, Zeref's curse activates again. He clutches his head in pain, trying to suppress the death wave that is forming around his body. He knows that Harry will live, but the woman, Ultear, will not. He may hate her for what she did in the past, but he doesn't want to kill her. This way of thinking made it harder to control his magic. The wave lashes out all around him.

Harry recovers from being hit by the time traveling crystal ball and sees Zeref lose control of his magic again. When it spreads out in all directions, Harry spots Ultear try to run from or block the attack. Harry decides to use this situation to his advantage. Pointing his wand toward the arc of time mage, Harry casts a tripping jinx at her feet. She loses her balance and falls over. Harry doesn't see what happens afterward, because he along with the Grimoire Heart member are enveloped by the death magic. When it clears, Zeref is standing next to Harry in concern. He may know that Harry is immune to death magic, but that doesn't mean he is without doubt.

The two spot Ultear on the ground unmoving. They walk up to her to check to see if she is dead or just knocked out. When they get closer, they see that she is merely unconscious. Her chest is still moving up and down in an even rhythm.

{She must have hit her head on that rock,} Fawkes said, using his talon to point out the rock that is next to Ultear's head. Harry and Zeref look at it and sees a little bit of blood on it.

"It would appear that you're right, Fawkes," said Harry, and then straighten up to clap and rub his hands together. "Alright, now what to do with her...?"

Harry, Zeref, and Fawkes all tried to think of something on what to do with Ultear. They can't keep her here like this for more than one reason. One: she'll just get up and come after them again. Two: there are monsters on the island that would find her as a good snack, and three: she is a dark mage and should be behind bars. Unlike Zeref, she had become dark on purpose, so she deserves it.

"Why don't we just send Fawkes to deliver her to the Magic Council ships down there?" asked Zeref while pointing toward where they saw the ships.

Harry opened his mouth to reply his agreement, but Fawkes cuts him off with a shake of his head. {That might be a bad idea. The council might be here because they think we're hiding you on the island.}

"They might not though," Harry said. "They might have seen Grimoire Heart's airship and followed them here."

"Or they followed them to see if Fairy Tail is allies with them. I've seen what the council is like. Fairy Tail has been around for 100 years. The council has been trying to think of a way to disband you," said Zeref.

Harry and Fawkes look at the dark-haired mage. "How would you know that Fairy Tail has been around for 100 years and that the council has been giving us problems?" Harry asked.

"I was there when Fairy Tail was created. It was I that taught Mavis and her friends how to use magic. There was a guild called Blue Skull in Magnolia that killed people for fun half the time. Mavis didn't like this and wanted to change this. She found me, asked me to teach her magic, and well...you have seen the result." Harry heard this before, but he didn't know that their first master was taught magic by Zeref of all people. "As for how I know the Magic Council has been giving you problems... I own my own country, and had to deal with those idiots for negotiations. So, I know how they are like, and they think that you and I are not that much different. Mostly because my army is full of people that would fit in with your guild, and also because of my name there. Plus, I have a mole in there; I won't say who it is though."

"...Can you at least tell me what name you go by?" Harry asked.

Zeref turns to look at him with an innocent look in his eyes that remind Harry and Fawkes of Natsu. "Where is the fun in that? I think I'll just wait until you find out," he said with a smile.

Harry sighs and turns back to Fawkes - he still wasn't done debating with him yet. "I still don't see how there is a problem - completely - with just giving Ultear to the Magic Council. If we don't give her to them, then they will think we're allies - somehow. I don't see how they would though since they have to be seeing us fighting them. Anyway, if we do give her to them, then they'll know for a fact that we're not fighting together."

"I can tell you how they would still think you're allies, even if you're fighting each other right now," said Zeref. "They know that you're doing something here, right? What is it you're doing?"

Harry shrugs, "We're doing our S-class trails. I'm sure you know what that is, right?" Zeref nods his head to say he does.

"Well, then this makes my theory plausible. They will think your master called them here to test you for your trails."

Harry hates to say it, but Zeref's got a point.

{Not only that, but Harry, you do remember when we bumped into the Rune Knights a few days ago and how they were treating you like you were hiding some deep, dark secret?}

"Yeah, what about...oh..." Harry sees where Fawkes was going with this. The Magic Council is thinking they are hiding either Zeref or think they were hiding their alliance with Grimoire Heart. Harry sighs and rubs his head, feeling a headache form. The Magic Council will do anything or find any reason to get rid of them it seems. "Okay...I see why we shouldn't just go up to the council. They'll ask why I only send Fawkes to give them Ultear, but Fawkes won't be able to tell them, which then will make them think I'm hiding Zeref from not only them, but Grimoire Heart as well. Wait...how do we know that they know you're on the island?"

"They know thanks to my magic outburst. Anyone trained to sense magic would have felt that," explained Zeref.

"Good point..." Harry goes back to thinking on what they should do with Ultear. "Maybe we should tie her up, stick her into a tree, and then leave her there? It would keep her from following us, and also - hopefully - stop the animals and monster from eating her."

"It would be our best bet," said Zeref. The two look at Fawkes to see if he has any objections to this idea.

{Just hang her upside down. That will make me happy,} said the phoenix. Harry grins and point his wand at the dark-haired woman. Just as he was about to tie her up and hang her in a tree, Natsu comes out from behind them, startling them enough that Harry cast the stunning hex at him, but luckily for the pink-haired dragon slayer he was fast enough to dodge the red streak of light. The spell hits a tree, just missing Happy by an inch. The poor, blue, flying cat gave a yelp of fright when he saw just how close he was to being hit.

"Hey, watch it, Harry! You almost hit us with that!" Natsu shouted with a vein throbbing in his head.

"Well, don't go sneaking up on us like that!" Harry shouted back with a dark glare. That is when Natsu and Happy took notice of Zeref.

"Hey, that's the guy that attacked us earlier!" exclaimed Natsu.

"Aye!" said Happy.

Harry sighs, feeling another headache forming, or was it the one from earlier and it's just getting worse? Either way, Harry replies, "He didn't attack you. He just doesn't have control of his magic. He did tell you to run, didn't he?"

Natsu and Happy looked thoughtful and confused. "He did...?" Happy asked.

"Oh yeah...now that I think about it he did..." said Natsu.

Harry pinches the bridge of his nose and closes his eyes. 'Of course Natsu would forgot something like that.' He looks back to Natsu and Happy, and then says, "Why are you here? I thought you would be looking to fight one of the Grimoire Heart members."

Natsu, no longer looking confused, answers, "I was following the scent of that old guy. You know that one back on Galuna Island?" Harry nods to confirm. "Well his scent led us to here."

{Does he mean Ultear? Now that he mentions it, she does how the same life force as that old guy,} said Fawkes.

Harry points to the woman, who is still knocked out. "Is she the one you're looking for?"

Natsu looks to where Harry is pointing and points dramatically while shouting, "AHH, THAT'S HIM! BUT WHY IS HE CROSSDRESSING?!"

"I believe that he is really a she, and she was using transformation magic," said Zeref. "Back then, did she smell like a girl?" he asked.

Natsu nods his head. "Yeah, he did. You mean to say that she was cross-dressing then and not now?"

Without missing a beat, Zeref says, "Yes Natsu, that is exactly what I mean." Harry is impressed with the tone of the dark mage's voice. He didn't sound sarcastic at all, but instead sounded like an older brother or father praising their son/younger brother - in this case: brother - on answering a question right. If that is how Zeref is going to handle Natsu, who is he to complain? Harry decides to play along with this.

"Natsu, since she is not able to fight, shouldn't we be looking for someone else to fight?" Happy asked.

"Yeah, you're right," said Natsu, "but I still need answers here." He turns back to Harry and Zeref. "Harry said that you lost control of your magic. I believe him, but why is your magic causing the death of plants? That is some scary magic, dude."

Zeref sighs, having figured that this was coming. "It was death magic. I didn't pick this branch of magic on my own. It was placed upon me by the god of death. I have no control over it unless I have no value for life, which doesn't make much of a difference, since I would still be killing everyone around me due to not caring," he explained.

Natsu makes a face. "Man... that has to suck. Is there a way to get rid of it?" Zeref shake his head no. "Well, then we'll just have to find a way! I'm sure everyone back at the guild would be happy to help you out," he said with his trademark grin.

Zeref looks surprised by this. "Hold on. You don't even know me. Not only that, but I know that some of your members would hate me as soon as they find out who I am."

Happy smiles sheepishly. "Oh yeah, we never did ask what your name is, did we? I'm Happy, and this is...wait...how did you know Natsu's name already?"

"Harry told me," Zeref said with a shrug. "As for my name..." He looks over to Harry. {Do you think I should tell them?}

Fawkes nods his head. {Trust me, it will be easier for them to know now than later,} he said.

Harry nods his head in agreement, and so Zeref turns back and tells them his first name. As soon as his name left his mouth, Natsu looks shocked. "YOU'RE ZEREF?! You are so not what I expected. You are such a crybaby!"

Now it is Zeref's turn to look shock. "Crybaby? You would be too if you lived my life. I've lived for 400 years with this curse and tried to create demon strong enough to kill me." He sighs, "Alas, none of them came close to succeeding."

"You mean you made those monsters just so they can kill you?" Happy asked with a look of horror.

"Yes, but when they failed I sealed them away in books. Sadly, as I'm sure you noticed, they were unsealed by dark mages that wish to take control of the world. I didn't ask for this."

"Okay, that explains the demons, but what about the Tower of Heaven?" Harry asked.

Zeref looks at him with a raised eyebrow. "The what...?"

{The R-system,} Fawkes clarified.

"Oh, that! The R-System was for bring back...my brother...I scrapped the idea though after finding out I needed not only a lot of magic, but also a lot of lives. I couldn't do that just to bring him back," said Zeref, not meeting any one of their eyes.

"You have a brother?!" Natsu questioned in shock. "Did you succeed? Where is he? What's his name?" Harry cast a silent spell at the dragon slayer.

"Natsu, knock that off. Yes, he did succeed in bring his brother back, but he isn't ready to talk about that at the moment," Harry said, following what Zeref was telling him through their minds.

Natsu nods his head in understanding, which makes Harry, Fawkes, and Zeref grateful. Harry canceled his spell.

"Can you not tell anyone else about who I really am for the time being? I don't want to have to run from not only Grimoire Heart, but Fairy Tail too," Zeref requests.

"I don't know...The others should know..." said Natsu unsure.

"Natsu, think of how Gray would react? He isn't going to listen about the whole 'Zeref is a victim of a god'. Gray will think that he is lying to us, and we're foolish to believe it. Not only that, but Erza would back him up."

"But since he is still alive, Erza should realize that he never told anyone to create the Tower of Heaven then. He never needed it to begin with!" Natsu said, believing that they can at the very least convince Erza to listen.

Zeref and Harry shake their heads in sadness. "Due to what she went through, she will be too angry to listen," Zeref said. "Besides, it is my fault in the end. I should have destroyed my creations instead of just hiding them. Maybe then, no one would have suffered, and no one would come after me, or use my name to kill."

"It may be too late to change the past now, but you can change how people see you. Instead of hiding away, maybe you should start helping others," Happy said.

"That's the problem, Happy," said Harry. "With his lack of control, he can't get near people without them almost dying. I'm the only one here that can survive his magic."

Happy and Natsu are silent. They didn't know how to really help the mage in front of them. They now know that Zeref didn't become dark on his own free will, but with his curse, he can't do much about it. That fact makes them sad for him, but also angry for not being able to help him.

"So...Potter can survive Lord Zeref's dark magic, can he?" The three magic users and two animals freeze for only a second, and then spin around toward the owner of the voice. Ultear has woken up and is now standing again. "I'm sure Master Hades would like to know how you do that," she said with a slightly crazed grin. "Maybe I should take you too."

Harry makes a face that declares that he's not impressed. "Why is everyone trying to kidnap me? The first time was because I was too close, the second was because I can talk to snakes, and now because I am immune to death magic. This is really starting to get on my nerves," he said in annoyance.

"Harry, you and Fawkes get Zeref out of here. I'll take her on," Natsu said.

"Hey, wait a minute..." Harry started to say, but Zeref lays a hand on his upper arm. He turns to face him with a confused look.

"Natsu can handle her. We should get out of here so you can recover your own strength," the older-than-he-looks mage said. Harry knows that he's right. His magic is still not fully replenished, and Natsu can take care of Ultear, he's beaten her once, he's sure the dragon slayer can do so again.

Harry gives a slight nod of his head. "Alright, we'll leave." He turns back to Natsu. "I'll make sure no one take Zeref away, or harms him. Granted, I doubt anyone would be able to with the kind of magic he has."

"I'm more worried about you, Harry," said Natsu, who then meets Zeref's eyes. "If any harm comes to Harry, be ready to be introduced to my iron fist. I see him like a brother, so take care of him. See this as your first trail of proving that you're not all bad."

Zeref's eyes widen in surprise for a fraction of a second, before they show happiness and gratitude. With a fond smile that Natsu doesn't really take notice to, he says, "Don't worry; I'll prove to you that he is in safe hands."

"You better!" Natsu called out just as he charges at Ultear with a iron first.

Zeref grabs hold of Harry and starts to pull him away. "Let's get out of here. We'll only be in his way if we stick around." Harry makes a sound of agreement and follows Zeref away from the battle happening behind them.

TBC

I'm not a big fan of Ultear as you can see, so I had her defeated in the most pathetic way I could think of. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next chapter is going to have Voldemort in it, but just a little.

Voldy: Finally. *eyeroll* It has been a while.

Harry: Why do I get the feeling we'll be seeing him more in this arc than we had in any other chapter?

Zeref: Did you forget where he was last time?

Natsu: Oh yeah, he was with Grimoire Heart!

Harry: That means I'm going to be fighting him soon, aren't I?

Enj/Dark: Well, you need someone to fight in this arc. Your fight with Ultear was just my fingers not stopping the flow of progress. -_-'

Voldy: Get ready, Potter. I'm going to kill you soon. }:3

Harry: No you're not. -.-

Zeref: You should know that Enjali is not going to allow you to kill him, right?

Voldy: A dark lord can dream, can't he? :(

Enj/Dark: That you can do. Unless I'm in control of that. ;)

Voldy: I hate you sometimes... -_-

Natsu/Zeref/Harry: Don't we know it.

Enj/Dark: Please review! ^-^