Bonfires

20th of October, 1997.

Harry and Ron headed down towards Hagrid's hut that Monday discussing defence and the latest assignment from Severus. Ron had gotten a lot more serious about his schooling once they had done their OWLs.

"Is that Kato?" Ron asked as he saw a man standing by the hut next to Hagrid. A dragon the size of a large dog stood next to him and another dragon hung over his shoulders.

Harry smiled. "Yeah, looks like him. I guess he's back home," he said.

Kato turned his attention to the students walking up to them as they got closer. He bowed slightly. "Hello everyone," he said. "My name is Kato Peverell. I'm a Dragon Expert, Master Healer and Warder. Some of you might have seen me around the school before. Today I'm here to teach you a little about Crystalbacks." The dragon around his shoulders jumped down on the ground and grew in size to match his mate. "These are Yolliz and Golrii a mated pair. They are Size-shifting Crystalback or Choranaptyxis Cristallum Parvus. Until very recently they were believed to be nearly extinct. It wasn't until I together with Bill and Charlie Weasley as well as my apprentice Draco Malfoy found a large pack of them hidden within a large cave system in southern Africa." He went on to tell them more about the dragons and their rather unique lifestyle and abilities.

"How do you know so much about them?" Ernie asked towards the end of the lesson.

"I speak to them," Kato said.

"You can speak with dragons?" Hannah asked surprised.

"There are an intelligent species with their own language," Kato said. "I know how to speak it and I am teaching others. My apprentice as well as Charlie Weasley are slowly but surely learning from me." He looked at Harry. "As well as my dear cousin. As a matter of fact, Harry will be keeping Golrii with him. Please don't mess with the dragons and be respectful."

"What about Yolliz?" Ron asked.

"I will be handing her back to Draco," Kato said. "He has been caring for her and learning from her since this summer."

Ron gave him a strange look. "Really?" he said. "Malfoy is actually taking care of her? Are you sure that is a good idea?"

"As my apprentice, Mr Malfoy is quite capable," Kato said. "Now if there are any more questions I would love to hear them, however, class is over. If any other questions spring up please write them down and send them to me. Harry knows how to reach me. Have a good day."

Kato didn't say anything else before heading toward the school. He wanted to have a chat with Draco. He knocked on the entrance to the Slytherin common room. A younger student opened the portal and looked up at him. "I would like to speak to Draco Malfoy," Kato stated.

"Who are you?" they asked.

"Kato Peverell."

It only took a few moments before Draco opened the portal. "Master Kato," he said and smiled as Yolliz flew back over to him.

"May I?" Kato asked as he motioned to the common room.

Draco stepped to the side. "How did the lessons go?" he asked.

"Quite well I would say," Kato said. "I only had three. I missed the fifth and third years, but I simply do not have the time to hold another." They sat down together in a set of comfortable armchairs.

"Maybe we can hold some another year when they can participate," Draco said.

Kato nodded. "That is certainly possible," he said. "Now how are you doing?" he asked.

"Quite well," Draco said. "The assignments are tricky sometimes, but compared to this summer all of this feels mundane. I'm doing my best though."

"Good," Kato said. "Have you spoken to Harry yet? Yolliz complained that she hasn't seen much of Golrii."

"I guess I'll have to," Draco said. "He's a pretty good Headboy. He is fair and takes care of everyone. Most of the younger Slytherins look up to him."

"You wish that was you?" Kato asked.

Draco shrugged. "I honestly don't think so. I want recognition and respect. I don't want the masses to crawl at my feet constantly. Potter has it rough in that way. He is much better at handling it, and I don't understand how."

"You could always ask him," Kato pointed out. "The two of you do have similar interests. It shouldn't be that hard to speak to him."

Draco sighed. "Fine we'll work something out," he said. He rubbed his face and leaned back. He noticed how Kato's eyes were drawn away to a group of fifth-grade students. Among them was Astoria Greengrass.

"The young lady with the perfect badge over there, who is she?" Kato asked.

"That is Astoria Greengrass," Draco said. "Her sister is in my year."

Kato rose up and walked over to the group. "Hello I'm Kato Peverell," he introduced himself to the group of students. "I would like to speak with Miss Greengrass about something my Cousin Harry has brought to my attention."

"How do we know you aren't some crazy person?" one of Astoria's friends asked.

Kato smiled. "How about we head to Professor Snape's office. I'm sure he can keep an eye on me," he said.

"Only if we walk you there," the same friends said.

"As you wish."

Severus didn't seem overly excited when a whole group of students showed up outside his door. When only Kato and young Greengrass were to enter however he stepped aside and let them in. Kato wasn't the only one who had noticed something disturbing with Astoria. He rather quickly disappeared into his private lab leaving Kato and Astoria alone.

"As I said earlier I'm Kato Peverell," Kato said as he sat down. "I healed Neville Longbottom's parents, something believed to be impossible. My cousin Harry raised a red flag concerning you. He is worried something is wrong."

Astoria was looking down at her hands where she sat.

"I will speak to your parents about this if you would prefer that I take that route," Kato said.

Astoria shook her head. "That is fine," she said. "Mother and father don't like speaking about it." She took a deep breath and steadied herself. "Sometime back an ancestor of mine was cursed with a blood curse… It killed them young, but not before they had children of their own. For generations, no one was affected by the curse. Until I was born. Mother and father have tried everything. There is nothing we can do. I'm probably going to die young, but they don't want to talk about it."

Kato nodded slowly. "I see," he said. "Can I run a diagnostic?" he asked. He held his hands out towards her. Slowly Astoria reached out and placed her pale hands in his bigger ones. His eyes closed as a golden glow spread out over Astoria. He could feel the curse dancing at the edge of his consciousness. He couldn't quite grasp the construct of it. Bill could possibly help him with that. He moved back and stared at nothing for a bit.

"There is nothing you can do, is there?" Astoria said.

"I wouldn't say that," Kato said. "However I need some help from a colleague of mine. He specialises in curses. I will contact your parents and maybe we can see you just as the Christmas holidays start. It might be hard though. He is getting married at New Year's."

Astoria gave a small smile. She wasn't sure she believed him, but she was maybe a little hopeful. Her mother had once been friends with Alice Longbottom. He had healed Alice. Maybe, just maybe he could heal her too. He walked her back to the common room and took farewell.

"You are insane," Hermione told Harry that evening. "I don't know how you break the rules with no consequences, but I swear it is going to come back to bite you someday."

"That might be possible," Harry said. "For now it is a valid way of making sure no one realises that we aren't the same person. People aren't supposed to be in two places at once after all."

Hermione shook her head and sighed deeply as she prayed to the powers that be for sturdier nerves. Harry was going to give her a heart attack someday.

31st of October, 1997.

Hermione walked down the grand staircase towards the Great Hall. She hadn't found either Harry or Neville that morning so she assumed they were already in the Dragon common room. She found them in there leaning over a rune map that showed the grounds outside. "All ready?" she asked as she reached them.

"As soon as everyone else arrives," Harry said. "I had to make some changes, but everything should work out now."

"This hasn't been done since grandmother was little. She was so happy when I asked her for input," Neville said. "I have the plants at the ready. We just need Malfoy to look it all over so we don't miss something important."

Hermione nodded. She was nervous. They had been planning for days to get everything right. What if people hated it?

The door opened again and several Slytherin prefects wandered in with Draco in the lead. Neville called him over and pushed the rune map towards him.

Harry wrapped an arm around Hermione. "It's fine," he said. "We have it under control."

"What if I make a mistake?" Hermione asked. "The runes are important. I could ruin everything if I get them wrong."

Harry smiled softly. "Is that really going to stop you?" he asked. "I'll double-check it if you want, but all of us trust you and Draco with this. Don't worry so much." He walked up to Draco. "I've placed guiding lines for you to keep the pattern," he said.

Draco nodded slowly. "Don't trust us Potter?" he asked.

"Maybe I'm a bit of a control freak," Harry admitted.

"No one can argue the results you get even if you hover a bit," Pansy said sharply. She found their goal to be a good one, but she didn't agree on inviting muggleborn. Granger being part of the constructing team rubbed her the wrong way, but she didn't have the skill to take her role.

Harry shrugged. "So is everything looking good?" he asked Draco.

"Certainly," Draco responded. "Granger and I shall head out and start." He looked at Hermione with an expectant look on his face. "Coming?"

Hermione took a deep breath. Harry was right. She could do this.

While Hermione headed off with Draco, Harry Neville and Pansy walked over to the greenhouses. They had a few plants to pick up. With each cluster of runes, they would plant certain flowers and herbs that affected the ritual. Pansy was keeping track of the array while Harry and Neville did the digging.

By lunch, they were finished. Harry promised to look it over once they had eaten. Then all they could do was wait.

The sun had set half an hour ago. Harry and Hermione were standing outside. As Head Boy and Head Girl, they would lead the ritual. For a ritual, the Night of Spirits was a benign ritual that couldn't really go wrong. It could fail to work if the runes were ill-laid, but no one could get hurt. Slowly, people trickled out. The Prefects lead everyone else out along the runic pattern on the ground. Three bonfires had been placed within the pattern.

"Welcome to a night of remembrance," Harry said as people settled.

"Welcome to a night of farewells," Hermione followed up.

"We gather here together to honour those who had left us."

"In their memory, we join our hearts to pray."

Harry took Tanya's hand to his right as Hermione joined hands with Luna to her left. Chains were formed and they started moving along the pattern. A soft song with no words slowly spread. It rose and fell and with such a rise the bonfires caught fire and burned merrily. Similarly to the year prior words in a language no one seemed to understand accompanied the song eventually. The fires burned brighter and suddenly shapes seemed to take form. The dancing slowed to a stop, but the song continued.

Hermione's eyes widened as a woman looking very much like her mother stepped out of the nearest fire. Her grandmother had died of cancer when she was fairly young. This could be her. "Julie-Marie Warden," she said softly speaking her grandmother's name. From where she was standing she could see Harry. She could tell that he was still singing. She fell back into the melody as other shapes walked out of the fire. They only went away as their names were spoken.

The fires danced brighter as the song picked up. Many people were crying as the spirits of family and friends who had left them showed up before them. Standing with many of his Slytherins, Severus saw his mother stepping out of the fire.

'I'm sorry,' Eileen mouthed.

"I forgive you, Eileen Prince," Severus said too quietly for anyone else to hear. He wondered how Harry was making this happen because he was certain that this was Harry's doing. He could see him from where he was standing. His breath almost caught in his throat as he saw the fiery form of Lily Evans standing by her son's side serenely. She didn't seem to mind that he still had not called her name. Severus certainly hoped that Harry wasn't holding her in this world. He had heard stories about spirits forced to stay. It never ended well.

With every passing spirit, the wards of Hogwarts glowed brighter until the dome was visible to the naked eye above them.

Minerva looked up and smiled. It had been years since she saw such a strong reaction to a Night of Spirits. Her husband had been alive back then. They had been abroad. Some called the man who had led the ritual a Necromancer, but she had seen no signs that it was true. Once again Harry Potter was leading the students to something incredible. So much had changed. She was very proud of her students. Many of her young Lions had friends among all the other houses. The rivalry between the houses wasn't gone. That would most likely take years, but things were looking better.

"As the fires burn out," Harry spoke quietly, but his voice reached everyone.

"We take goodbye," Hermione said.

"We say goodnight."

"Tomorrow morning we hope you will awaken with a lighter heart."

"We hope you will face the darkening time with determination."

"Until next we meet."

"Until next year."

From his window, Albus watched as the students slowly headed inside again. He could see the prefects making sure that the fires wouldn't keep burning. He sighed as he walked away from the window. He had stopped celebrating this particular event after the death of his little sister. He wasn't sure he could ever face her. What if he killed her? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if that was the case. He had seen a response like the one the night before. Gellert had been involved. He had said it took power to get that kind of response. Albus wasn't so sure though.

If his students could get the same response then maybe it was love once again that made the difference. He wouldn't forbid the Night of Spirits, but he would never aid it either.

Harry walked into the castle after everyone else. He joined up with Hermione and Neville. From within the folds of his cloak, he brought out a strange black stone that still seemed to be glowing slightly. "I think I know what this does now," he said.

"What is that?" Hermione asked.

Harry waved her and Neville over to a room. "It is the Resurrection Stone," he said as he summoned his parents. He walked up to his mother and hugged her.

"We're so proud of you," Lily said softly. "Don't forget that."

Harry smiled. "Thank you," he said.

"My son is a Prince and he can talk to dragons," James said. "I'm glad you decided to stick around. The people around you need you."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Thank you," he said.

Hermione took his arm. "This isn't right," she said.

"Listen to her, my son," Lily said.

"I know mother," Harry said. "I just wanted to show them how it worked. Rest now."

"Goodbye son," James said as Harry deactivated the stone.

2nd of November, 1997.

A strange air had settled over the castle after All Hallows Eve. Not everyone participated. The students who hadn't sat listening to half-told stories and strange explanations. Mostly they were told, "You had to be there."

Hermione looked over at Harry. "What happened to the Stone?" she asked.

"I went home to Ennerdale and locked it up," Harry said. "It isn't safe to keep around, but I think I'll bring it if I ever attend a Night of Spirits again. I don't think it is good to keep a magical item like that locked up and forgotten."

Hermione nodded slowly. She wasn't sure she agreed with Harry, but she was glad he had locked the Stone up. It couldn't be healthy to use. A part of her wanted to take it from Harry too in fear that he would keep summoning his parents.

"I know what you're thinking," Harry said as he smiled at her. "I'll talk to Healer Green about it, okay?"

Hermione nodded slowly. "And if they say you shouldn't keep it?" she asked.

"Then I'll have a long talk with my Clan about what to do with it," Harry said.

Satisfied with that answer, Hermione didn't push the matter further. Instead, she considered what Harry was going to do with Severus that day. He had already warned her that he would be leaving the school. "I don't like that you're going alone tonight," she pointed out.

"Please don't worry, we'll head to Ennerdale. Both Sirius and Remus will be there," Harry said. "I'll be fine."

Hermione worried because he had been talking about duelling Severus. She would feel better if it was an official duel because those had rules, but he had told her that wouldn't work. She understood why. Death Eaters weren't going to follow duelling rules if he ever had to fight them. That didn't stop her from worrying, however.

Harry made sure he had everything he would need for later after quidditch practice before heading down to the common room. Hermione was going over their Runes work. They had been working together, and she wanted to go over it one more time before they turned it in. Harry watched her for a while as she worked. She kept moving a lock of hair away from her face.

Hermione looked over her shoulder at Harry who was staring into the fire absentmindedly. She knew he had been watching her. She leaned back and sighed. She didn't like that he was going alone. Did she expect Severus to hurt him? Of course not, but she was still a little worried. "I wish I could go with you," she said.

Harry smiled and turned to her. "I get it, but then I would have to worry about you. I'll be fine," He smirked. "It is bad enough that I might have to deal with Sirius or Remus mid-fight."

Hermione tapped him with their homework before standing up. "I guess we should head out on our round now," she said.

"Will do," Harry said as he stood up. He would be leaving halfway through, but he could at least help her to begin with.

They walked out of the common room and wandered around the seventh floor before heading down. Harry poked his head in an empty classroom and snorted loudly. Ron met his eyes over Lavender's shoulder and he motioned. He wasn't surprised, and he wasn't going to give them a hard time. He headed back out and waited for them. "Just head back to the common room," he said as Ron passed him.

"No snitching," Ron said.

Harry rolled his eyes. "Why would I?" he said. He headed towards the end of the corridor and turned around it. Hermione met up with him before they headed down to the next floor.

In the entrance hall, Harry said farewell to Hermione and headed outside. Just past the wards, he waited for Severus to catch up with him.

"Ready?" Harry asked as he offered Severus his hand.

"Don't get cocky," Severus bit back.

Harry chuckled as he disapparated them. The pop was barely audible as they landed. He had taken them to a part of his property that was hidden from the house by some trees. They were building the dragon pens in the area. It was slow work, but it would be worth it.

As soon as Severus landed he disappeared in the darkness. He cast several charms to hide him from sight both mundane and magical. He moved quickly.

Harry drew his wand. He knew Severus wasn't going to make this easy on him. He would give him a couple of minutes to get ready. There was a tingle running up his spine and out to his fingertips. He was excited about this. Severus had to be a good fight. He hadn't felt this way since last time Rashall-dar and he spared. It felt a little strange yet fitting to compare Severus to the sneaky Khajiit. A smile had spread across his face as he started moving. He whispered a Thu'um to detect all life around him. Then he was off. He was hunting. Underneath his cloak, he was wearing his armour and he pulled the hood up and attached the mask over his mouth and nose. Kali was running next to him at first before she snuck off into the underbrush.

Severus was doing his best to project his presence in another direction, but no matter how hard he tried Harry was heading straight for him. He dropped his outer robes and started firing spells past the trees. A shimmering blue shield appeared in front of Harry. He wasn't returning fire yet though. Severus moved around him in a half circle and aimed a slew of harmful spells in his direction, some he had made himself and some he had found over the years; many of his spells were dangerous and largely unknown. None hit but he had forced Harry to dodge.

Harry moved towards the spell fire when suddenly a trap went off. He dodged the near-lethal spell that had been set but couldn't avoid the secondary spell. His voice was gone. He could probably fix that, but he didn't have the time. Severus wasn't going to let up. He covered his own eyes before flashing a magelight as bright as he could. Then he rushed forward to the place where Severus had last been. The man wasn't there, but Kali quite clearly marked the way he had gone. Harry followed her as she ran out of the forest. An ice spear was charging in his hand as he rushed past the treeline. He threw it as soon as he had a shot at Severus. The ice turned to water before it hit. Instead of staying on the defensive Harry was casting quickly, alternating between magic and magicka as needed. Kali snuck around the fight to catch an opening her human couldn't see. Her black fur made her almost invisible in the dark.

Harry had sent a letter to Remus warning him that he would be bringing Severus over for a duel that day so he hoped both he and Sirius were staying inside. He should have known better though.

"What in Merlin's name are you doing attacking my godson, Snivellus?" Sirius growled as he finally reached them.

"Stay out of this, Black," Severus said in a harsh tone as he dodged a chain of lightning.

Kali had stopped focusing on the fight in favour of making sure her human wasn't interrupted and made her way over to Sirius as quickly as she could. She bared her teeth at him and growled.

"What the fuck is that?" Sirius said as he took a few steps back, away from Kali.

"Harry's familiar," Remus said calmly. "I thought I told you to stay out of this."

"Why the fuck would I let Snivellus here even raise a wand against Harry. It is my job as his godfather to protect him," Sirius said angrily. "I'm not just going to sit back as that arse throws dark spells at my godson."

"Yes you are and Severus is not an arse," Remus said. He drew his wand. "I will put you in a body bind if I have to. Harry was very clear that he didn't want to be interrupted."

"And you are just going to agree with that?" Sirius asked as a fireball passed right by him and he focused back on the fight still raging beside him and Remus. He watched as Severus cast spells he had no clue what they might do if they hit Harry. He took a step forward without even thinking about it. Kali growled and Remus did just what he had threatened to do. Sirius' body hit the ground. Then Remus called Winky and asked for a chair. Now that they were out there already they might as well watch. He asked Winky to keep them safe as he got Sirius into the chair and forced him to stay in it.

Harry had barely been paying attention to his godfather and Remus on the sidelines. He knew Remus could handle things. His movements were quick as he dodged one spell after another. Fire burned and ice left large marks on the ground as his spells missed their mark. He raised a shield in front of him and charged several runes before placing them out. Kali was no longer watching over Sirius; she had gone back to prowling. Slowly, Harry let Severus push him back. He wasn't too obvious about it, but he did his best to force his opponent to trigger the traps.

Severus wearily placed his feet as he pushed closer to Harry then out of nowhere a roar pushed him forward. He stumbled and runes in a language he didn't know appeared beneath him, moments before lightning danced across his skin. He broke out of the trap and raised a shield so Harry wouldn't be able to use his moment of weakness to his advantage. He shook the effects of the lightning off before casting yet again. This time, however, he grabbed a potion vial from his belt and threw it over Harry before hitting it with a well-aimed exploding charm.

Harry threw up a shield above himself and ran out of the way while casting a magelight to light the area up. He was tired of fighting in darkness. He hissed in pain as a spell cut through his armour. The armour knitted back together and Harry returned fire quickly, but he was hurting. He pushed the pain aside as he moved determinedly. Kali was getting closer to the fight and he sent a burst of chain lightning through her. Severus cut the lightning off and cast a barrage of curses Harry's way as he also got another potion ready. The acid-like substance ate its way through Harry's armour and into his skin before his magic wiped it away. He cast several spells back at Severus who blocked them with a few well-aimed waves of his wand. Harry's eyes narrowed and he dodged the next exploding potion before rushing forward. His skin shimmered with a shield, and he layered a protego with a ward spell.

"What is he doing?" Sirius said, sounding confused. "Getting closer is a really bad idea if Snape has potions on him isn't it?" His eyes widened as Severus staggered backwards with a sword sticking out of his back. "He bloody well skewered the arsehole," Sirius said happily and started laughing.

Remus looked concerned. He certainly didn't want to witness Harry killing someone. He started walking towards them quickly. "Harry!" he called.

Harry didn't move, didn't look over at him. Remus picked his pace up. As he reached them he could see the golden glow emitting from Harry's hands as he slowly pulled his sword out of Severus. He was supporting his teacher's weight on his shoulder as he worked.

"Not a word," Severus hissed as he noticed Remus watching them. He was both surprised and pleased that Harry had essentially killed him. Though, he certainly wasn't too happy about his current predicament. The sword finally left his body and Harry made sure he had healed him fully before stepping away from him.

"That was a good fight," Harry said. He put his wand away.

Severus nodded slowly as he uncorked a vial and handed it to Harry. "You need to get that on the burns as quickly as possible," he said.

Harry undid the clasps of his armour and pulled it off so he could access the acid burns on his arm and torso. They didn't look good. He accepted the vial that Severus was handing him and coated the burns carefully.

The harness holding his glamour stood in stark contrast against his fair skin. His scars had faded some over the years, but the one on his back was still as angrily red as it had always been.

He turned slightly showing the scar to Severus as he did his best to cover the burn.

"Do you want something for that?" Severus asked.

Harry looked up at him. "What?" he asked.

"The scar on your back," Severus said. "There are several potions that could help reduce it."

"Thanks but no," Harry said. "I will never go back to Skyrim, but I won't bring dishonour upon myself regardless. Those scars I cannot heal in any way shape or form they must stay as they healed."

"Doesn't it impact on your range of motion?" Severus asked.

Harry shook his head. "Not at all," he said. "I couldn't heal it through magic, but I could train afterwards. I made sure that I wouldn't have any issues with movement once I healed." He grabbed his armour and started walking towards the house. "Want a drink?" he asked Severus. He didn't stop to check if the man was following him as he walked up to Sirius and released him from his bindings. He kept going without saying a word to his excited godfather. Sirius might have thought his victory over Severus was the best thing ever, but he knew just how close he had actually gotten to killing the man.

Thankfully, Remus stopped Sirius from following Harry as he headed for his study. He brought down a bottle that Lucius had given him a while back and opened it. He heard the door close and filled two glasses before turning around. He handed a glass to Severus as he motioned for him to have a seat in one of the comfortable armchairs standing in a corner. "What do you think?" he asked as he sat down.

Severus drank from his glass and rested his gaze on the bookshelf across the room. "I think that you will be a very dangerous foe to face for many people," he said. "I wasn't holding back and I assume that neither were you." He rubbed his chest. "At least I know that had we fought for real I would be dead now."

Harry nodded slowly. "I have made some progress with your marks. I'm hoping to work some kinks out still. It will have to wait until after I have finished my NEWTs."

Severus nodded slowly. It was understandable that Harry wanted good grades in light of everything he already knew. He couldn't blame him. It was going to be strange teaching Harry's class on Monday knowing just what Harry was capable of. He had clearly shown that he knew everything he would need to pass both his DADA NEWT and defeat if not Voldemort then many of his Death Eaters at least. They certainly lived in an interesting time.