"… and I am so grateful for Minister Fudge's quick response in freeing my godfather and his diligence in ensuring justice has been meted out by punishing Mister Crouch for his role in Sirius's unjust imprisonment. Thanks to the Minister, I was able to rest easy and focus on my opportunity to learn the basics of warding from the Masters of the craft at Gringotts."

Harry was happy to know that his first interview with a member of the press was ending. He couldn't understand how Gilderoy could thrive amongst reporters. After half an hour and making sure to recite some rehearsed phrases about the Minister, he was exhausted and craved to never give another interview. On the bright side, he finally got to meet Gilderoy's girlfriend. Having spent nearly thirty minutes in a one-on-one setting with Rita Skeeter, he could honestly say he understood how the two matched so well. The main difference seeming to be that Gilderoy liked to steal stories he thought were accurate but attributed to the wrong person (aka Gilderoy), and Rita liked to have her Quick-Quotes Quill write inaccurate stories that were attributed to the right person (aka Rita's target). Thankfully, she had directed her quill to be complimentary of Harry.

Rita smiled broadly and nodded (Harry struggled to ignore how her elaborate blonde curls remained so curiously rigid) and looked over the top of her jeweled spectacles, piercing Harry with her eyes. For some reason, he found himself reminded of the feeling he had when he was in the Chamber of Secrets and he had his eyes tightly shut as he felt the basilisk gaze upon his body and preparing to strike. Idly, he wondered if he would need Fawkes to also save him from Rita.

Rita tittered lightly when Harry slightly shuddered, her smile taking on a sense of victory.

"I'm sure the Minister will appreciate your support, Harry. Now, one final question, we all know you are traveling the world with Albus Dumbledore and will not be attending Hogwarts this year. What the people want to know is, do you think you will ever return to Britain's finest school?"

Harry paused as he collected his thoughts. "Hogwarts… Hogwarts was the first place I ever felt truly at home. I have so many good memories of my time there. I have learned so much within its walls. Will I ever return? Well, I don't know what the future holds for me, as I haven't started studying Divination. But… I certainly wouldn't count out the possibility of my returning someday."

Rita smiled at Harry, staring at him for a long second. With a small laugh, she pointed her wand at the quill and her notes. The quill dropped down and everything was quickly packed away in her purse.

With an amused glint in her eyes, she spoke in a much friendlier tone than she had during the interview. "I can see why Gilly finds you to be such a frustrating client."

Harry ignored Rita's pet name for Gilderoy and simply looked at the woman in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Last night, when he was asking me to go easy on you, he mentioned that you never seemed to be overly interested in taking his course on speaking to the press. His other clients wouldn't have stumbled as much as you did."

"I stumbled?"

Rita laughed airily. "You left at least a dozen openings for me to dig for dirt and start destroying your reputation. As a word of advice, if you're going to try to mimic Albus Dumbledore's style of sidestepping questions, then you should get him to specifically tutor you in that skill. Or you can become so powerful that people will be hesitant to go all out against you until you've died. Or just take Gilly's course, he's as good at manipulating the press as he is at manipulating my…"

"RIGHT!" Harry interrupted quickly. "Right. I'll talk with Gilderoy, as long as you don't finish that sentence."

Rita smiled smugly.

Harry frowned in confusion. "Gilderoy asked you to go easy on me? Does he do that with all of his clients?"

Rita laughed mirthfully. "Oh, no… no no no! If he did that, I wouldn't love that handsome man as much as I do. He and Horace won't accept a client if they can't handle an interview with me. They'll give tutoring, for a sizable fee of course, but they won't put in the work of improving someone's image if the client is just going to destroy their hard work every time a reporter comes calling."

"So, why go easy on me?"

Rita shrugged. "Partially because you know his deep dark secret, whatever that is, and I gather you are blackmailing him. Partially because he warned me that Dumbledore is no longer holding himself back when it comes to protecting you, and only a fool takes on a wizard with that much power who is willing to use it. Mainly though…" Rita's eyes lit up as her face took on an expression of pure joy. "… my Gilly Water promised to make it worth my while."

Harry winced slightly at the mental image he just had. "I see… well, I have another appointment, so…"

Harry stood as Rita's eyes remained unfocused as she was clearly enjoying her mental image. As he was about to exit the room, Rita spoke up. "Do you think you could tell me Gilly's deep dark secret? You see, we have a game where one of us tries to guess at the other's dark secret, and if the guess is wrong, the guesser must pay a forfeit. I just want to make sure I never guess correctly."

Harry shuddered. "Goodbye, Rita."

Rita sighed as Harry left the room. He, sadly, managed to overhear her speaking to herself as he walked away.

"Pity… I wonder if Gilly would like me to pay the forfeit on my editor's desk…"

Harry got to work locking that memory away under the heaviest chains, and then locking the key away under even heavier chains.

"Crystalia looked down at the Horn of Draconia, her expression inscrutable. With a rumbling sigh, that caused the innumerable crystals of the cavern to echo and tinkle a tune of regret, she looked up. Her eyes meeting the fierce and intelligent green eyes of her brood's savior"

"'I see I was wrong about you, Harry Potter. For that, I must apologize. I was a fool to believe in the lies told by the one named Morgan.'"

"Harry smiled at the regal dragon, the no longer angry leader of all the dragons of the Crystal Mountain. His eyes sparkled with mirth as his friend, Ruby, pranced and flew around the chamber in joy as she spouted the occasional gout of flame that formed rainbows of magical light when it shone through the crystals. Crystalia's youngest daughter had been a true friend on this adventure. 'Your majesty, the Dark Lady Morgan has many magical gifts, but her most dangerous gift is her ability to twist lies into seeming truer than the truth. I am just glad I was able to return your Horn, even if Morgan escaped yet again. I'll stop her… eventually!'"

"Draconia's lips turned up into the first smile Harry had ever seen her make. 'You have taught me the importance of looking below the surface, and my daughter has learned the value of friendship. The Dragons of the Crystal Mountain owe you a debt. How can we ever repay you?'"

"Harry smiled. 'Your friendship is the only payment I want or need. It has been wonderful meeting you and getting to know Ruby. But now I must take my leave and meet my teacher. Merlinus does not like to be kept waiting.'"

"With a final bow, Harry Potter left the mountain. As he left, he saw Merlinus sitting under a tree near the entrance, puffing on his ever-present pipe. Harry chuckled, as he was still unsure of how his teacher was able to appear whenever his current adventure ended."

"'Hello Harry, I see you have saved the day, yet again' spoke Merlinus in his calm and wizened voice."

"Harry smiled as he looked back fondly at the entrance to the mountain's caverns. 'And made some more friends' he spoke happily."

"Merlinus's beard twitched slightly, being the only indication that the mysterious wizard was smiling. 'Wonderful! Now, let us be off. I have heard rumors of someone else needing your assistance.'"

"The boy wizard groaned good naturedly. 'Here we go again!'"

"With that, Harry, Merlinus, and the tree disappeared from the base of the Crystal Mountain. Leaving behind a puff of smoke in the shape of a lightning bolt."

"The End"

Harry closed the book, entitled "The Adventures of The Boy Who Lived and The Dragons of The Crystal Mountain", and looked up to see the joyous faces of four young children as they erupted into applause and cheers.

After arriving at the Children's Ward of St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Harry had greeted the four children receiving care. Luckily, magical healing meant most children did not require any sort of care longer than an hour. The Children's Ward was specifically set aside for those children needing care that required overnight care. In this case, there were four patients ranging in age from three to nine years old.

Albus had taken some pictures of Harry with the children and then left to get them developed. For the next three hours, Harry read the entire Boy Who Lived book to the children. They all stared at Harry with rapt attention and faces in various forms of unadulterated joy, shouting in shock, laughing, screaming, and generally responding to the events of the story with immense enthusiasm. The oldest child, Marcus, was often mouthing the words of the book along with Harry. All four children had shouted "Here we go again!" with Harry, as that was apparently a catch phrase for The Boy Who Lived.

Harry waited until the applause died down before speaking. "So, did you like the story?"

A chorus of nods and affirmative responses greeted Harry's question.

Harry beamed. Despite his dislike for his fame, it was hard to not to see this as one of the few bright aspects it brought to his life. "Well, I have one more thing to give you before your healers have to take you back to your rooms to get your potions and treatments. My teacher, Albus, has come back with our pictures. So, I'll sign the pictures with whatever you want me to write. So, first up, Cassiopeia why don't you come over here."

A three-year-old girl with curly blonde hair skipped over to Harry's chair and jumped up into his lap and gave him a hug with all her strength. Harry smiled broadly as he hugged her in return, careful not to touch the hand that was growing out of her left shoulder (a result of a miscast spell that would be cured by the morning).

"What would you like me to write?"

"Ummmm…"

Harry smiled as the little girl's face scrunched up in concentration. After a minute he spoke up. "How about 'To Cassiopeia, the brightest star I'll ever meet'?"

The girl giggled. "I'm not a star! I'm a girl!"

Harry nodded. "Of course, I don't know why I was being so silly. How about 'To Cassiopeia, the brightest GIRL I'll ever meet'?"

She smiled and nodded in response. Harry wrote the phrase and signed the two pictures (one of him with all four children and one of him with just Cassiopeia) and mouthed a thanks to Albus when he saw that the older wizard had made sure the photographs had been taken to ensure the extra hand was not visible.

The girl squealed in response when she got the signed pictures and kissed Harry on the cheek before being led out of the room by a healer as Harry told her to get better soon.

"Next up, Samuel come on over."

A four-year-old boy with straight black hair was walked slowly over to Harry (with the assistance of a healer). Harry didn't know what was wrong with him, but the boy was expected to be healed and walking normally by the following morning. With a questioning look to the healer, the healer smiled, nodded, and place the boy on Harry's lap. Samuel immediately cuddled into Harry's arms.

"What would you like me to write?"

Samuel grinned tiredly and whispered shyly into Harry's ear. "Can you say that I'm your best friend?"

Harry smiled in return, freed his right arm (while using his left arm to continue letting the boy cuddle into him) and began to sign the pictures. He spoke out loud as he wrote. "To Samuel, the best friend The Boy Who Lived could ask for."

After adding his signature, he handed the pictures to the boy. "There you go."

Samuel's eyes sparkled in amazement as he looked down at the signed pictures. "Thanks Harry… Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Did Albus replace Merlinus as your teacher?"

Harry looked up and caught Albus's eye before he smirked and whispered in Samuel's ear. "You know how Merlinus is, he doesn't show up until the end of my adventures. Albus is more like Ruby. Except, where Ruby didn't want to be called a baby, Albus wants to be called a teacher. So, I want to make him happy. But, don't tell him you know, he may start to puff smoke out of his nostrils."

Samuel looked over at Albus, who impressed Harry by actually managing to snort out a single puff of white smoke, causing the boy to begin laughing. As he was laughing, his healer lifted him off Harry's lap and walked him gently out of the room while Harry told him to get better soon.

"Let's see, Amelia, it's your turn."

A seven-year-old girl with wavy brown hair walked over to Harry. She had apparently already been healed and was ready to leave as Harry arrived, but he had invited her stay for the book reading. She stood nervously in front of Harry, clasping her hands together as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.

Her voice was even more nervous as she spoke. "Thank you for coming today, Mister Potter. I am grateful for your generous donation of your time."

Harry smiled kindly as he responded with a gentle tone of voice. "Amelia, you can call me Harry if you want. We're all friends here."

Amelia blinked as she worried her lower lip. After a few seconds she blurted out. "I know you're not the same as the boy in the books! I know you don't really fight giant monsters or cast wandless spells or anything like that."

Harry stared at the girl. There was something in the tone of her voice that practically screamed that she didn't want to believe what she was saying. Part of him wanted to thank her for understanding the difference between the books and reality, but another part of him felt like he was seeing a seven-year-old girl's heart breaking and he wanted to comfort her. In the end, it didn't take more than a second for him to know which part of him was going to win. He leaned forward and extended his hand, palm-up, in front of him. He waited for her to look down and then focused. A pool of fire formed atop his palm which coalesced into a globe of fire. The flame's magic was mixed with the magic for the flame freezing charm, creating a ball of flame that felt cool to the touch and would not spread. He had fond memories of Sirius's face when he had first shown his Frozen Flame Ball to the man, mainly by throwing the ball right at the man's face (he had thoroughly tested it with Remus first to ensure it was harmless). Whereas Sirius's face was an expression of humorous panic, Amelia's face held an expression full of wonder.

"I don't cast wandless spells, really? Are you so sure?"

Amelia's eyes widened as Harry handed her the ball of frozen flame. She rolled the ball in her hands, her mouth opening and shutting in silent shock. As she rolled the ball from one hand to the other, Harry signed her pictures.

"OK, Amelia, it looks like your mother is ready to take you home. She probably doesn't want you to bring that home, so…"

He waved his hand while releasing the magic for the ball. He didn't need to wave his hand, but he felt it gave a better show for Amelia as the ball disappeared. He handed her the signed the pictures, which read "To Amelia, never stop believing in the impossible".

"Thanks Harry" she spoke as her mum walked her out.

"Be good for your mum, Amelia."

"Thanks Harry"

He chuckled as her mother had to stop her from walking into the door frame, her attention being solely focused on the signed pictures in her hands.

Harry then looked to the final boy, Marcus Smythe. It was his room that they were in, extra chairs having been brought for Harry's visit. Harry stood and walked over to Marcus's bed, sitting down next to the blonde-haired boy. Marcus had been in the room for the past month, with no guess from the healers on when or if he might be cured, and he was the reason Harry had come to visit.

Harry had received several letters from Marcus over the past month, along with one letter from his mother. Marcus was a humongous fan of the Boy Who Lived books, and happily told every person he met that he was Harry's Number One Fan. After receiving Harry's first letter, his mother wrote to Harry to thank him profusely and said that Harry's letter had meant the world to the sick boy. Once he knew he was coming back to England, Harry had Gilderoy arrange the reading with the hospital and Mrs. Smythe.

Harry looked at the exultant expression Marcus had, as the boy leaned against the pillows he was propped up against. He glanced over at the healer, holding a potion vial, and nodded when she mouthed the words "one minute".

"Hey, Marcus."

"Hey, Harry! That was awesome! You're the best! Mum didn't think you would come to visit when I wrote you, but I knew you would. Because you're the best!"

Harry's eyes misted as he smiled. "Thanks Marcus, but of course I had to come. You're my Number One Fan, right?"

"YEAH!"

"So, you need to take your potion soon, but I wanted to give you something. Your mum told me you love to read and already have all the Boy Who Lived books, and you have read the entire series a dozen times, so I couldn't get those for you. I know you have to avoid casting any accidental magic, but I thought you might like to learn some magic that you don't cast. So, we gave your mum the Potions books for all seven years at Hogwarts."

Marcus looked over at his mother, she smiled and nodded.

"Wow! Thanks Harry, I'll read them all!"

Harry grinned. "Good. Maybe I can write to you and get some advice on the homework I get from my tutors. Also, since your mum told me that Ruby is your favorite companion, we got you this."

He handed a lightly wrapped package to the boy, who quickly tore off the wrappings. He then gasped when he saw a plush Ruby the Dragon doll about the same size as Marcus's torso.

"Whoa! Thanks, Harry!"

"Well, Albus here is pretty good at enchanting, so he added a couple of features. Tickle her belly."

Marcus did so and cheered as the doll puffed smoke out of her nostrils.

"Now, pinch her tail."

"WHOA!" exclaimed Marcus as the doll flapped her wings, flew up into the air, circled twice, and then landed where it had been resting.

"Finally, put your finger on the underside of her jaw and run it down her throat."

When the dragon yawned, curled into itself, and began to snore lightly, Marcus wrapped his arm the doll and cuddled it for all he was worth.

"Just run your finger up her throat when you're ready to wake her up. Now, it's time for your potion."

"OK, Harry." Marcus drank his potion without complaint, though he did grimace at that taste. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?"

"Sure, mate, you got it! So, who is your second favorite companion?"

Marcus curled his fingers around Harry's hand when he placed it next to the snoring Ruby doll.

"That's easy. Flames, the baby phoenix."

"Why?"

The boy yawned before he began giving Harry a deep analysis of why Flames was so great (but not as great as Ruby, of course). After four minutes he trailed off as the potion finished putting him to sleep. Harry waited another minute before extracting his hand from the boy's loose grip, making sure that Ruby remained firmly cuddled under Marcus's arm. After standing, Mrs. Smythe sat in the chair and began to gently run her fingers through her son's hair. She kept her eyes fixed on her son as she spoke quietly.

"Thank you for this Mister Potter. I haven't seen Marcus looking so good since this all started. He didn't even make a fuss about taking his potion. Thank you."

Harry felt his heart ache as he was reminded of why Marcus was in this room in the first place.

"Please, call me Harry. If you don't mind my asking, have things gotten any better?"

Mrs. Smythe shook her head slightly, never moving her attention away from Marcus. "No, it's gotten worse. Every time he casts some accidental magic, he starts to scream in horrible pain. The pain seems to get a bit worse every time. He needs to be here so the healers can respond immediately, but being here makes him frustrated, which makes him cast more magic. The healers have no idea why this is happening. They keep saying this should be impossible. Nothing they try makes a damn bit of positive difference!"

Mrs. Smythe paused and took a deep breath. Her voice had been growing louder but was now back to a calm and quiet level. "Today was the first time we have managed to avoid a single magical incident, and I think I have you to thank for that Mister… Harry. Thank you!"

Harry wiped a tear from his cheek. "Well, tell Marcus that he can write to me whenever he wants. I'll make sure to write back as soon as I can. Actually… Albus will give you his address. I'll get your letters quicker if you send them to him."

Harry could see tears forming her eyes as she responded. "Thank you, Harry. You're a good young man."

"Do you want us to stay?"

She shook her head again, her eyes never leaving her son, nor did her hand stop stroking his hair. "That is kind of you, but my husband will be arriving from his work at the Ministry soon. Luckily, our other child, Terrence, is in his sixth year at Hogwarts, so we are both able to spend the night in the other bed in the room here. Thank you again Harry… Headmaster Dumbledore."

Albus, who had stood silently in the corner of the room nodded solemnly. "Of course, Cynthia. I have left my contact information on the table next to the door. Give George my regards when he arrives. Come along Harry."

Harry gave Marcus one last look and then walked out of the room with Albus, looking back over his shoulder as Mrs. Smythe cared for her son, not even acknowledging their departure.

Harry, before leaving, made sure to leave Marcus's signed photographs on the table next to the door. They were signed "To Marcus, you are my hero!"

Harry picked at his early dinner, mechanically taking the occasional bite without thought. Albus, Sirius, and a haggard Remus (last night having been a full moon) sat silently at the table. Sirius and Remus had asked earlier what was wrong, but Harry had dismissed their questions with a hasty "nothing" and they had remained quiet for the past half hour.

"Did you see anything?"

Harry broke the silence, startling and confusing two of the men. Albus had apparently been expecting the question, as he responded easily.

"His magic was clearly doing something, but I couldn't see any signs of foreign magic causing his pain. His magic didn't appear to be flowing chaotically, or anything else that would tell me something was amiss. I did talk with the healers, Harry. They were already aware of everything that I had seen. Sadly, while I am more than passable in an emergency, I am not a trained healer."

Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly. "I just thought… with all you can do… a part of me thought we would just walk in, look at his magic and immediately provide the cure. Well, maybe not me, but definitely that you would."

"Harry" Sirius spoke, putting his hand on top of his godson's hand. "Albus told me and Remus how much you made all those kids happy, especially Marcus. Going out of your way to bring a ray of joy into someone's life, that was pure Lily. Of course, feeling like you didn't do enough is also pure Lily. Your mother helped your father to grow more thoughtful of how he could help those around him. She definitely tempered his… our crueler pranks. Likewise, your father helped your mother learn how to accept the small victories she could claim. You did good today, accept the victory."

"Both of your parents would be so proud of you" rumbled Remus through a hoarse voice. "We're all proud of you."

Harry nodded slowly. "Well, he really was happy, wasn't he?"

Albus smiled. "I doubt he could have been any happier. And, I'm sure he'll be excited by the idea of you writing back quickly."

Harry felt his morose mood dissipating. "Then I'll make sure to write him twice a week. And, Albus, you'll contact people to see if anyone has any ideas?"

"Of course."

With that, Harry felt his appetite return to him and began to dig into his dinner with gusto. "Did you see Gilderoy's face when I told him again that I didn't want him getting my hospital visit into the newspaper? I can really see why Rita says I'm such a 'frustrating client'".

With that, the atmosphere at the table turned jolly.

An hour later Albus apparated Harry to their destination. He wasn't sure where they were going, but Albus assured him that he would appreciate coming. They walked out of the alleyway, followed by Sirius and Remus. He looked around and saw it appeared to be a small rural muggle village, surrounded by open countryside.

"Where are we?"

Harry looked up at the adults, seeing sad expressions on their faces. It was Albus who responded with "Godric's Hollow".

As they began to walk down the road, towards an obelisk in the town square, Harry frowned in confusion. "Why does that sound familiar?"

As they neared the obelisk, it transformed into a statue. A statue of two familiar people holding a baby.

"Are those… my parents?"

Albus put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "I felt it was well past time that you had the chance to come here. This village was your home for a time, it's where…"

Albus trailed off, but Harry understood. He touched the feet of each of his parents and then let himself be led down the road towards a decrepit house. HIS home. The home where he last lived with his parents. The home where he had last been held by his parents. The home where his parents made the ultimate sacrifice to give him a chance at life. His eyes teared up as he read the graffiti covering the plaque posted in the front, all supporting him and his parents.

After some time (Harry had lost track) he was led past a church into a graveyard, towards a specific plot.

Albus broke the silence in a soft and gentle voice. "Dobby and I have laid down wards to give you your privacy. Remus and Sirius visited earlier and will be keeping guard to ensure you remain undisturbed."

Remus and Sirius held their wands as they split off to take up opposite positions ten feet from Harry, making sure no one broke through the wards. Albus walked Harry to the foot of the grave.

"Hello James. Hello Lily. I'd like to introduce you again to your son. I know it has been much too long a wait for his first visit. I hope you can forgive me for my many mistakes in his care. I want you to know that I am doing my best to make up for… everything. James, I have been working to make sure that Harry has begun to learn what it means to have the heart of a prankster. I know you would have taught him that if you had only been given the chance. Don't worry, Sirius is here to make sure he gets some proper Marauder training. And Lily, don't worry, Remus is here to make sure it is the seventh-year kinder mindset of the Marauders. Oh, Lily, you would be so proud of Harry. He has taken to exploring the mysteries of magic with such a fervor, I sometimes feel like I am listening to you as you passionately theorize on some obscure branch of magic. He seemed to be particularly fond of the metaphor you once told me of paths in a dense jungle… which I just realized I forgot to mention you were the one to tell me that particular metaphor. Alas, while I am a man of many flaws, when it comes to Harry, a finer young man you could not find. Why he…"

Albus sighed deeply. "But this evening is not for me. Harry, I'll go and take up a guard position. We'll give you your privacy, but you need only call for us if you want company. Take as long as you want."

Harry stood silently at the foot of the graves of his parents, as Albus walked away and drew his wand. He had been touched by Albus's words, but that was only at an intellectual level for the moment. At the current point in time, his focus was solely on the grass and shared headstone in front of him. He tried to open his mouth countless times, but the words would not come. At some point, he didn't know when, he found himself on his knees, unable to see through his tears. Suddenly, he felt a spindly pair of arms reach around his chest and gently squeeze.

"Dobby being here for Harry Potter sir. Harry Potter sir's family is being here for Harry Potter sir."

Harry felt a sense of comfort fill his heart.

"Thanks Dobby. Please stay with me."

He then looked at the graves again. And there, kneeling on the ground, being hugged by the world's most unusual House Elf, Harry finally found his voice.

"Hi mum. Hi dad."