Hey everyone,
This chapter is going to be PACKED! It's going to be full of conversations. A few conversations between Dumbledore and Lea's friends, a conversation between Lea's friends and one of the "guards" and a conversation between the two Pomfreys that is going to concern Harry, Lea, their relationship as well as the work of the Unspeakables when it comes to Voldemort. And maybe, just maybe, I'll add a conversation between our favorite couple.
HarryxLea for LIFE,

Venquine1990
PS. Please Square, find a way to put Harry Potter into Kingdom Heart 4, PLEASE! (yes, I know HP is owned by Warner Bros, don't care, I want this!)


Chapter 16
Conversations Galore

4th of November 1995
Dumbledore's Office, Hogwarts
Isa's POV

Remus told us about his conversation with Dumbledore the same night after it happened and while Lea and Sora had been furious that Dumbledore suspected Isa like that, had Harry been furious for another reason. "If he was so suspicious, why didn't he try to get Isa away from us? Why didn't he try to get Isa apart and question him? Why didn't he, oh I don't know, contact Madam Bones or get the whole Order together for a meeting and then discuss this? Why did he wait more than a month and an attack on my person before he came clean?"
And while this had apparently reminded some of his friends of something they called the McGonagall issue, which they explained to us later, did I decide to be the first of Lea's friends to talk with the man, just to alleviate his concerns. I even decided to take my Contract of Fealty with me and decided to just stay in Radiant Garden until Dumbledore had time for me. And while part of me is a little annoyed that this took a week, am I now ready to go meet him.
I have even visited Merlin and now have the ability to put my Claymore away somewhere without it disappearing into the ether. I have my contract on my person and am waiting outside the gargoyle statue which Remus told me hides the man's office. Yet Dumbledore had failed to provide anyone with the password to his office and while part of me wonders if this is some kind of powerplay, do I just decide to ignore this thought as the statue jumps aside and shows a staircase.
I get on and it takes me up and around inner wall of the small tower that is situated just to the side of the Great Hall. It reaches an ornate door with a griffin for a knocker, yet I decide to be a bit of a rebel and with a playful smirk on my face I simply knock. "Come in, Isa." The man says and I make sure to keep the playfulness in my smirk as I come in. And the sight of that seems to instantly make the man feel at ease as he asks:

"You have a bit of a teasing side to you, huh Isa?" And I smirk as I say: "Only my friends know how bad that side of me can get, sir yes." The man laughs softly and I notice that everyone Remus spoke of is here. Professor McGonagall, Mrs. Weasley and a tough looking wizard who also seems to be blinking a lot, making me wonder if he even understands why he's here.
The man notices me and an eyebrow is raised as he does, yet after holding his gaze for a few minutes do I already know one thing; Dumbledore's not the only one in the room who distrusts me. Yet I don't feel like giving either of them reason to voice their concerns and so I just simply walk over to the desk and lie the contract down on it as I say: "Just tell me when you want me to sign this." Before I turn around and take my seat in the chair offered there.
I notice McGonagall frowning at me, as if she thinks that I just showed the Headmaster some great kind of disrespect or something, but Mrs. Weasley, on the other hand, is smiling at me in pride and nodding as well. I smile back at her and Dumbledore says: "That will not be necessary, Isa." Yet I can almost clearly hear the word yet even if the man doesn't say it.
The man himself tips his fingers against each other and asks: "First off, this is Auror Dawlish. Now why don't you just explain to us – Mss. Kairi's fear upon first spotting you a few weeks ago." I sigh and mutter: "You want the long version or the short summary?" The man replies: "As understandable as you can manage, Isa." At which I nod and say: "Then I first need to explain a bit of the lore of our own homeworld." The man nods and both he and Professor McGonagall look intrigued.

And because I have been expecting this all week, am I ready for it and have I managed to think of a way to explain it to them in a way that sounds like lingo from their world. "Okay, in this world blood and cores are the most vital part of a witch or wizard's life, right? They are, more often than not, what determined whether a witch turns light or dark, whether they become an Auror or a Dark Lord? Well, in my world, it's the heart that does that.
In our world, we don't call magic either light or dark magic. We just refer to the Light as that, Light, and the dark as Darkness. And for us, every heart is born in Light, but, depending on either their nature, nurture or the world they grow up in, darkness can grow in their hearts. And if they give into the darkness, their hearts become Darkness." This seems to really confuse Dawlish, but the other three seem to still be able to follow me.
And while I already feel like Dawlish will not be one of the guards we will ever trust to work with us to keep Harry and his baby safe, do I continue: "Okay, here is where things get – well, strange for worlds who have never experienced this, so just bear with me. If one's heart gives into Darkness, their hearts change, they become beings that we call Heartless. However, if one has a strong will when this happens, their bodies get left behind; we call those Nobodies."

The two staff members nod in understanding and I sigh as I say: "Now onto my story. I grew up in one of the worlds that was basically in the center of the light of our universe. Our world was even called Radiant Garden and it was led by a man named Ansem the Wise. Master Ansem was both a leader and a brilliant scientist. Therefore, it was only a matter of time before he found out about all I just told you, before he started to study these facts.
It made him perform experiments, experiments that most would call – unethical. They even, from time to time, caused for screams to be heard from deep within the castle in which he lived, worked, ruled and studied. Just know one thing, before he started his studies, Master Ansem met a young man who was named Xehanort. And trust me, he is basically the Voldemort of our world." This concerns the two, yet they nod to indicate that I can continue.
"Xehanort was the one who first made Master Ansem curious about the Heart, Light and Darkness as well as the Hearts of the world. But after a while Master Ansem got his morality back on track and put a stop to the experiments. Only, while he was still undertaking them, one of them was on a young girl, one who had lost her entire memory and who only spoke a few words. And at the time, Lea and I were young, wild and crazily adventurous.

We thought it a blast to try and sneak into the castle, to learn what Master Ansem did when he wasn't helping our world into the future. We were curious as to why there were screams coming from the castle. And one day, before Master Ansem reformed himself, we found the girl. We felt for her and tried to befriend her. And the closer we grew, the more we wanted to free her as she was being held in a prison cell whenever the experiments weren't happening.
But then, one day, she just vanished and next thing we know Master Ansem stops his experiments. After that, everything went wrong. Master Ansem was said to have gone mad and vanished as well. Xehanort actually backstabbed him, stole his research and threw him into the Realm of Darkness. He then gathered Lea and I as well as the others who apprenticed under Master Ansem.
He talked into us and made us give up our heart; he manipulated us into becoming Heartless and Nobodies. And I went along with it all, because I was under the belief that he was the reason behind our friend's disappearance. I still wanted to save her, so I started working for Xehanort, or better my Nobody Saïx started working for his Nobody Xemnas. Yeah, Xehanort's Nobody even stole Master Ansem's name, just to get one more over him.

Anyway, Xemnas had plans, plans I believed would, at some point, lead back to the girl that I had lost sight of, the girl I wanted to find and save. He formed a group of Nobodies, thirteen to be exact, him included. He called us Organization XIII and I was # VII of them. But in order to find out more about the girl, I had to get closer to Xemnas. At first I was able to rely on Lea – or better said Axel – to help me with that, but, because all of what I just said happened so fast, Axel wasn't able to keep up with it all, not like me.
After all to him, we became apprentices one day, only for Master Ansem to up and vanish the next and for us to become Nobodies the day after and for us to be doing, as he called it, icky jobs for Xemnas the day after that. He himself, a few months ago, admitted that he just hadn't been able to keep up. And of course, I had my own problems growing as I stayed with the Organization. One of them – was Roxas and Xion."
This seems to really alarm the two, yet I sigh and mutter: "This is a sin of mine that I will never forgive myself for. Lea and I had been friends for years, stuck with each other through thick and thin, became Nobodies together. We were basically brothers. But, I saw him slowly but surely grow his heart back as Axel and Roxas and Xion joining the Organization helped with that. They were both Nobodies, who were born with hearts – and their hearts affected Axel's – and mine.
Yet where they touched and grew a strong bond of friendship with Axel, my heart grew jealous. Here I was, working as hard as I could and doing immoral things to get close to someone who was beyond untrustworthy just to get answers to a mystery that had haunted me since childhood and there was Axel, giving up and becoming friends with other people. It made me feel as if he had tossed us aside, her and me both.

I grew jealous, I admit that, and it made me do everything in my power to break Axel, Roxas and Xion up, to make their lives in the Organization hard and to make the lives of their original selves, after Roxas and Axel became Sora and Lea again, as hard as possible. Yes, Roxas is Sora's Nobody, but that is a story you will have to ask him. It is not my story to tell." Dumbledore and McGonagall both look alarmed, yet they nod in acceptance all the same.
"Sora managed to take me out, allowing me to retake my human form. Yet I didn't accept this, as I still wanted to find the girl and still believed that growing stronger, that staying close to Xehanort was the answer. So I gave up my humanity a second time and allowed Xehanort to place a piece of his own heart in mine. It was all part of his plan and I desired to use that plan to fulfill my own. Yet this is why Kairi was so scared of me. Because when it all came down to it, it was her and Lea versus me and Xion, who we had forced onto our side as well.
Sora managed to get both Roxas and Xion back to their side, but then Xemnas took Kairi to Xehanort, who, as Lea told you, struck her down later. Sora, Roxas and Xion also struck me down and I became Isa again. And because Xehanort was struck down, unable to regain his own human form as he was already human, I decided to just give up. I do still believe that, at some point, I might find her again, but upon my regeneration, I awoke to a new purpose.

I finally – accepted that I could share Lea with others, that he could be my friend as well as the friend of others. Because of that, did I become friends with Roxas and Xion as well and we grew close in the few months before Lea's birthday, before his soul finally sought out Harry's and Harry became pregnant. And personally, I'm glad that I did that. I – I can only imagine what I would have done if I hadn't learned this obvious lesson before their souls united."
"Would you, perhaps, have attacked either Harry or the baby?" McGonagall asks, but I shake my head and say: "No, especially not the baby. I would have, if nothing else, considered it a new chance for me to regain my friendship. At the worst, I probably would have taken both Lea and the baby upon its birth and just left Harry behind for Radiant Garden. Though I know Lea well enough that he would never forgive me for doing so, so I doubt I really would go through with it."

This appeases both of the two staff members and then Dawlish finally speaks up and asks: "So, do I get to work with this guy or not?" Yet this voice sparks a memory within me and I glare at the man as I say: "Absolutely not." Shocking everyone in the room. "I may not have recognized your looks as you were obviously hiding yourself a few days ago, but that voice – I do remember that. You were there, during the attack."
I summon my Claymore from where it is leaning against the wall and aim its bulky end at the man with a raging glare of anger and disgust on my face as I snarl: "You were defending those attackers. You were the one who made them drop their disguise when they attacked. I even remember you casting a spell at the cutting curse that made it move even faster. You were part of that attack and I will not let you anywhere near my friends, near my best friend's child." The man is glaring at me, yet there is also a look of fear on his face.

"You – you can't prove anything." He stutters, but while I know that, in a way, he is right as he must have cast a dozen more spells since Tuesday, do I just smirk and say: "That depends. Do you think Madam Bones will take Lord Black seriously – when I tell him my suspicions and ask him to press charges? Or do you plan to continue being stupid and deny your guilt in such a way you're proving you have something to hide?"
The man takes a stand as if to draw his wand, but I rush at him and with a swift kick to his side cause him to drop down to his knees. I feel the energy within me growing stronger and work my hardest not to let that one ability that I got to keep even after going back from Saïx to Isa under control. "Don't bother, you. If you try to attack me now, just like you tried to attack Harry and his child –.""His waste of space, you mean." The man snarls.
This horrifies and shocks those around me in the room, but I just glare at him. And the man whimpers, just as I feel my power heightening to a new peak. I squint my eyes closed in order to keep the power under my control and snarl: "I will just tell you this once, bastard. Unlike Sora, Harry and the others, Dumbledore is right about one thing. I do have a power within me that, again unlike my friends, he does have good reason to fear.
But while I would swear on the bond I now have with Lea, Axel, Roxas and Xion that I would never use that power against them, did I also put one line in that contract. That I will always use that power to defend them. And that includes their rights. So consider this your last warning. Keep out of our lives or face my Berserker rage." And with that do I open my eyes again, Dawlish flinching and proving that my eyes flickered yellow long enough for him to see.

I take a deep breath to calm down and hear Dumbledore say: "I am very grateful for your actions, Isa. And I apologize. I did not know that John had been a part of the attack. I do not know why Amelia didn't take him along when she arrested the others or why she hasn't come back for him yet, but I can only assume that they didn't feel like ratting him out." I nod at the man and ask: "So, should I sign that contract or –?" But to my amazement, Dumbledore shakes his head.
"No Isa, there is no need for that. I have seen, beyond a shadow of a doubt, why Lea trusts you around Harry, why you are the one who is mostly around Harry in between classes. If you had been an Order member when he arrived, you would have been my first choice at guarding Harry as well. I know Remus offered me the chance to have my men help you guard Harry, but – now that I have truly met you, I no longer feel that need."
I look at the man and in his eyes I can see that he is genuine about his words. I smile at this and decide to bring back the humor with which I entered. "No more hidden guards, okay?" I ask, winking at the man to prove that I don't mean this in any rude or condescending manner and the man chuckles before he says: "You have my word, as long as you make sure to keep to this level of protectiveness when it comes to young Harry and his unborn child."
I nod, turn around and dismiss my weapon. Yet as I reach the door, do I decide to grant the man a bit of a prize, to prove him that we really do appreciate his efforts to try and trust us and gain our trust in return. "You know, sir. Sirius believes that, because there was so much distance between Harry and Lea, that Harry might not be pregnant of just one child, if you know what I mean." And to two shocked gasps, do I leave the room.

Later that day
Pomfrey's Office
Poppy's POV

"How are you, sis?" I ask as my older sister makes her usual entrance through the shadows and I feel a hint of amusement at how this must be annoying Albus every time she does so. "A little wary. We managed to get almost all of the bits that make Riddle immortal. It wasn't easy. We had to work around Dumbledore's little Fidelius over his Order Headquarters without him knowing and even had to work secretly with a few Gringotts Goblins."
This shocks me something fierce and Pepper sighs as she lets herself fall down in the comfortable, fluffy chair that is on the other side of my desk, showing a level of exhaustion that I hardly see of her. Yet I also take great pleasure in the fact that she feels comfortable enough to let her guard down like this as she says: "To be honest, the only reason I'm able to come here and relax, sis, is because we just took one of those damned bits out of this poor castle."
Instantly I fear for Harry and his baby as I remember what she told me about his scar, but Pepper waves her hand in reassurance and says: "Don't worry, it was well hidden. The enchantments of the room it was hidden in alone were enough that its magic couldn't reach Potter, much less affect him. And my colleagues already left with it anyway." This makes me sigh in relief and my sister sighs with a hint of a growl sounding through her voice.

"I'm not going to lie to you, sis. We're all feeling pretty crappy right now. It's been a week since Halloween and all of us at Unspeakable Headquarters have been wanting to end him on that night so badly. You know what we're like, sis, how much we love a good iconic death and whatnot. And him dying on the night he was supposed to die so long ago – it would have felt so good." This makes me smile and I say:
"You did say that there is a 97% chance of you lot taking Riddle out by Christmas, right?" And to this my sister answers: "Make it 125%, newest calculations made by our Top Unspeakables when it comes to Death and Prophesies. We're just trying to plan around the last of those atrocities. It's in close proximity to Riddle, so if we want to take it out, we need to be ready to take him out right after, like within seconds of taking it out. And the fact that it's a living thing isn't helping." This really worries me, but then I say:
"You would make Harry's year if you could offer him evidence of Voldemort's destruction by Christmas, you know that right?""Yeah, it's why we've upped our ante after realizing we wouldn't have him mortal by Halloween. This is my first break, bar that quick visit a few days ago to check on Potter, since I shook his hand." This really worries me, but Pepper smiles at me and says: "It doesn't matter. I only need to work this hard for another two months max."

This astounds me as I learned enough about the Unspeakables from my sister to know what those words mean. "Wait –." My sister nods and says: "Yeah, I'm retiring as soon as Voldemort is gone. Though I won't be part of the group that will take him out. I work with those that make him mortal, but I won't be part of the group that destroys him. We all know that, when that happens, the people will want a hero, but they'll never admire Unspeakables like that.
But if I retire and it becomes known that I was part of the group that took him out, I won't have any rest. They'll treat me the same way they have been treating Potter this past year. So once I help take out that last bit of garbage, I'm going to Obliviate myself. I will only remember shaking Potter's hand, nothing else. That way I can gain plausible deniability and prevent people from wanting to haunt me for something I didn't do."

My sister says the second to last word while making quotation marks with her fingers and I laugh at this as I say: "Well, once you're done, you're more than welcome here. To be honest, I've been trying to find an assistant, to help me learn what I need to help Harry with his pregnancy and with the day he gives birth." Yet to this my sister groans and says: "For goodness sake, Poppy, I chose the DoM for a reason, to not be a Healer like you."
I laugh again and say: "Just promise me that you'll be there to celebrate the birth with me when it happens. And that we'll spend Christmas together, okay Pep?" My sister shows a loving smile that also holds a sign of fatigue as she says: "As long as you'll let me relax between then, I'll be happy to promise that." She takes a deep breath to regain her strength and gets out of her chair as she says: "I'll see you when it's over, sis."
Yet then suddenly it hits me. I jump out of my own chair and rush around my desk, grabbing her wrist just as she wants to exit through the shadows. My sister turns her head in confusion and I gently beg her: "Promise me, Pepper. Promise me that you will come back from that alive. I won't ask you to come back unharmed, I'll heal whatever injuries you get in the process, just – come back to me. I can't lose you too, sis. Not after losing mum and dad to him."
Pepper turns around and wraps me in her arms as she whispers: "Pop, I promised when mum and dad were buried that I won't let him take me from you. Remember that. I'll be back, I promise. I won't promise that I'll come back perfectly healthy, but I will come back. We'll celebrate Christmas together, you'll see." And while the terror Voldemort inflicts in me fights with the trust I have in my sister and the Unspeakables, do I nod.

In another room
Harry's POV

"I wonder if he's gone yet." I mutter to myself as I lie on my bed again, my arms again wrapped around my stomach, which is becoming slightly bigger every day or so, even if only by a little. "Who?" Lea asks, running his hand through my hair, which we discovered is something that helps me relax and I mutter: "Voldemort, the man that killed my parents. The Unspeakables said there was a 86% chance he might die by Halloween. I wonder if they succeeded."
"Do you have any way to find out? A way to contact that sister of hers?" Yet this shocks me and I turn to him as he explains: "She came to check up on you after the attack, while Madam Pomfrey was healing you. I think she came to support her sister and to make sure you and our little one were alright." At which I smile and yet the smile vanishes as I sigh and mutter: "No, I don't really have a way to contact her, but I guess I can always ask Poppy."
Lea nods and I turn my face down to look at my stomach, the fact that I am actually looking as if I have been eating too much sugar for too long just bringing it even more home with me that there is life growing within me every time I look down. This makes a melancholy smile grow on my face and Lea softly asks: "What's on your mind, love?" I turn to look at him, the thought of Voldemort filling my heart with a sense of fear and whimper:

"Lea, promise me something. Swear it to me." The ginger looks at me with great concern on his face and I go on: "Promise me that, if by the time I am too big to take care of myself, that if the Unspeakables are wrong and Voldemort won't be defeated by Valentine's day, that you will take everything we own and open a corridor. That we will go to Radiant Garden before I become unable to defend myself against him, defend our baby."
And instantly I am encased by all of Lea's body as he pulls me as close against his form as possible. This in turn makes me feel the same way I did the first time he hugged me little over a month ago and Lea solemnly whispers: "Don't you worry yourself, love. I will not let him anywhere near you or the baby. I will not even give him the chance to approach you. You will be long gone before he can try to." Yet then suddenly, as I move my head to lie it on his shoulder, do I spot something, something that makes me react out of instinct.


Wait, what happened!
To be honest, I really just wanted to keep this to a romantic moment, but I also don't want to make it look like Voldemort is going to go down without a fight. And just for the record, at the point of me writing this, I will still doubtful of my skill in writing fight scenes and was of the mindset not to write the final fight between Voldemort and the Unspeakables. However, as this story progressed, a plan came to mind that I felt confident I could put on paper and the results for that
You will see,

Venquine1990