Chapter 2 - No Easy Goodbyes

Hermione and Ron weren't together anymore. Not surprising really, as they had fought constantly when Harry actually bothered to see them. Harry went to Hermione's parent's house where she had been staying for a couple of years now. After everything that had happened, she really missed her family and it was probably fantastic for her to be back with them.

"Harry! Come in!" Hermione said. She was dressed as a witch who lived in a library, comfortable full robes and a book in hand. It fit her well and he had to admit she looked great now that she wasn't stressed about Ron or school, or anything besides learned really.

He just smiled at her and brought his old friend into a hug, "Good to see you, Hermione."

"Come this way, it has been too long. I have been meaning to Owl you but..."

Harry sighed with a shrug, "Me too..." Empty words from both, keeping the harder topics hidden for now.

They smiled and Hermione pulled him through her parent's house to her old room. It looked like a teenager's room. Hermione walked through it and knocked three times on a massive cabinet, an armoire. It opened and the clothing that was hung on the inside moved over and the drawers morphed into stairs. An archway of light brown wood held a walkway into Hermione's true home.

She brought him over for some tea and cake she had from her mom's birthday the other day. They sat in peaceful awkward silence, enjoying the drink. Hermione could feel his anticipation in wanting to say something, but she let the silence sit until Harry broke it.

"I am leaving Hermione."

"What, going on a trip around the world?" Hermione asked with a smile.

"More like leaving this planet."

She stared at him, eyes searching his face for what that could mean. Her smile slowly fell, "You're serious?"

"I am. I just don't feel like there is anything else for me here."

Her piercing gaze clouded, she was confused, "I understand that things didn't work out for you and Ginny, but-"

Harry just shook his head and met her eyes, "No, Hermione. It's not about anyone or anything but look at me. It's been 10 years and I haven't aged a day, I died once, but since that night..."

"You have definitely grown a bit, but I suppose I do see what you mean," She took another sip while inspecting him. "You are immortal, aren't you?"

He nodded, "I haven't really talked to you-"

"At all?"

"At all," He acknowledged, "But I am in contact with Death quite often...I was promised that there is a chance for a new life in another world."

She always had the most piercing gaze, like when her full attention was on something she would constantly analyze what she saw, "You really speak to Death?"

"Something like that," Harry evaded.

She took a sip of tea and the silence stretched out between them. She stared at him, believing his words, but still inspecting him.

"Talk to Ron at all?"

Hermione's eye-roll was nearly audible.

"Absolutely not. He cheated on me, you know. I just..." She shook her head, "It was probably never meant to be."

"Lavender?"

She sighed in acknowledgment.

Harry shook his head.

"Has there been anyone for you? Or are you still doing your magic practice all the time?" She asked.

"I do more than just practice magic...but no, I have no clue how to even start trying to find someone. It would either be a magic person that knows who I am already, or a muggle that I would have to hide things from," Harry shrugged.

"Why didn't we ever..?" Hermione asked with a curious expression on her face.

Harry exhaled in a huff of a laugh, "The closest we ever got was that night we danced in the tent."

Hermione laughed, "I didn't think you would make a move, but it was a perfect opportunity."

"No, I wouldn't have."

She stared at him, something taking over her gaze that he hadn't seen before.

"Hermione? Everything alright," Harry asked, suddenly nervous at her look.

"Harry?" Hermione asked sweetly.

Harry gulped, "Uhh, yes?"

"You are going to be leaving tomorrow?"

"Today."

"If this is the last time we see each other, then I am going to make it memorable."

Harry lost his voice, surprised at the sudden turn of conversation.

Hermione smirked as she stood and pulled Harry to her room.

Harry got to know one of his oldest friends in a new way, and he wasn't sure how he felt about it. They had fun for a whole night, and even he was surprised that the awkwardness between them had left the second they joined together. It was a hell of a way to say goodbye, but now he wasn't so sure about leaving.

Harry delayed his timetable to visit everyone to say his goodbyes until the next day. He offered to take her with him, then offered to stay. She denied both, "It was just a one-night thing...a morning thing too, I suppose. You really are in fantastic shape these days Harry."

He blushed once again, shaking his head at the events of the night.

His mouth was shut as hers met his once again. It was a harsh and passionate thing, filled with emotions that would never fit right between them.

"You will always be one of the closest people in my life. I love you, Harry James Potter. Now get out of here."

She pushed him out of the front door and closed it, wards coming back up.

Hermione shook her head and laughed out loud at her antics over the last night, "Talk about a bucket list."

~~o0o~~

Harry spent a good 2 hours drinking whiskey at George's shop, the upstairs having been wildly expanded. He was always welcome to drop by the shop and leaving the planet was as good a reason as any.

George wasn't as sad as Harry thought he would be. Since the war ended, Angelina Johnson - now Angelina Weasley, had moved into Diagon Alley together and had a child. They lived in the upstairs expanded house above Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes together, their second child on the way.

Angelina wasn't joining them for whiskey as she was pregnant and watching over little Fred Weasley II. Their next child was expected within a month or so, a daughter that would be named Roxanne.

George was anything but sad as his family, business, and outlook on life all grew. WWW's had become an international sensation, with locations in nearly every magical town or city on Earth. It brought the culture and joy that magic in Britain should have always been.

It forced people to recognize that not everything is light or dark. Sometimes things just exist. Harry felt proud of George and his family and it only made saying goodbye more difficult.

Regardless though, time moves on and Harry found himself leaving with a lifetime supply of 'goodies' from George. The internally expanded duffle bag had an obscene amount of stuff, but Harry just thanked him and put it in his Trunk. He then shrunk the storage trunk and put it back into his moleskin pouch, tucked safely under the basilisk armor and combat robes he wore.

Visiting Ron and Lavender was the same as visiting the Burrow as they lived there with much of the family. Ginny no longer lived here, and he didn't bother with her. Ron had never been one for words, so it was just hugging and back-patting as Harry said goodbye to him and the rest of the Weasleys. None of them really understood that he was leaving for good, maybe they didn't want to.

The more he thought about it, the more he liked it like that.

Harry stopped by the Longbottom Manor, saying goodbye to Neville and his wife Luna Longbottom. Harry had a lot of regret with those two, whether from not giving them his full attention back before the war, or just never giving them enough time to develop serious friendships. But it was too late for that now. Luna saw through everything he was doing and said he would find people to save in his new world. People to love, even.

Luna gave him a small box as a gift, telling him to open it once he gets to his new world. It could maybe fit an orange within it, but it felt pretty heavy. Neville gave him a bunch of dried herbs and enough saplings to start an apothecary's garden. It took longer than it needed to since Neville refused to hand over his gifts without one of Harry's House Elves personally agreeing to take care of the plants for him.

A very happy Chancey had agreed to take care of Master Harries plants. She even gratefully took a quick guide that Neville scribed with his wand in a matter of minutes on the proper care, continued growth, and proper harvesting times and techniques for the different plants.

Harry visited everyone he could think of, saying goodbye to all of them. It all felt empty as so few had made it through the war against Voldemort and even fewer had bothered to stay in touch. That was just as much his fault he supposed.

The very last visit he saved was a tough one. He went by Andromeda and Teddy's house. It was out of school for summer so Teddy was there, but it wasn't as awkward as he thought it would be. Andromeda was cold on the surface and deeply caring underneath, as usual. He surprised them by handing them slips of paper showing the transfers to their accounts, ensuring that they had everything they needed for a lifetime and more.

The house they stayed at was officially one of the Black family's properties, but Harry had moved it over to Andromeda entirely when he ran by Gringotts, her signature pending. It was another hard goodbye, trying to explain that he wouldn't be coming back. That it wouldn't be possible, but she promised to take care of his godson and ensure that he lived a loved-filled life.

Harry ran by the last of his properties that couldn't be shrunk down in a trunk, one gifted to him by Sirius. 12 Grimmauld Place was still standing, along with piles of dust and other disgusting things. No one had been here since the Order of the Phoenix fell. Looking around, it took all he had to not just ignite this place in a swath of Fiendfyre.

It was connected to muggle houses though, so he didn't. He was about to leave when a small spark appeared and turned into a flame. He feared that his magic had subconsciously enacted his will to destroy this place, but that was quelled a second later.

In front of him, not 2 meters away, a fiery Phoenix came into existence from a ball of flame.

Harry looked closely at the beautiful bird as it landed on an armchair, its mere presence lighting up the room.

"Fawkes?"

The phoenix eyed him with what looked like amusement in his eyes. It nodded once.

Harry smiled lightly and shook his head, "How the hell are you, Fawkes? You look good!"

The bird didn't respond this time, but its eyes seemed to bore into Harry.

"You alright?"

It didn't stop staring at him for a while, and it felt like he was searching for something. Harry raised an eyebrow when Fawkes hopped up to his shoulder and then inspected his upper back.

That was where the mark of him becoming the Master Of Death, or Death's Champion as she so liked to say, took the form of a glowing tattoo. Fawkes made a weird yet clearly satisfied grumbling sound and hopped back to the chair.

"What?" Harry asked, now fully confused by the phoenix.

He raised his wings and flapped until flames formed into a portal and another phoenix hopped through. Harry took a step back as a dark black phoenix with metallic silver wings and highlights made a curious sound.

Like it was asking if it made it to the right place.

Fawkes grumbled something back and looked offended. The smaller dark phoenix actually shrugged and hopped up to where Fawkes was sitting. Harry had his mouth opened wide in shock. He had only heard of what is called a Twilight Phoenix before, seeing one is not something he would have expected, but here it was all the same.

He stared at the bird and got a feminine feel from her aura. It was different than Fawkes and more graceful if that could be said like her weight wasn't really bothered by gravity, as she merely graced the world by allowing it to hold onto her.

"Hello there," Harry said, feeling the gaze of the new bird.

A few fantastical notes of musical chirping left her beak, immediately sending chills down his body. It turned into a quick song that echoed through him. It was a wave of euphoria as she spoke in her musical language. Once again he was left speechless, his mouth looking like a baby bird wanting to be fed as it hung open.

Tears fell from his eyes before he even realized it.

"That was beautiful," Harry said.

She seemed pleased.

"Is she your..." Harry led on while looking at Fawkes.

He rolled his eyes and shook his fiery head.

"Alright, alright...well, either way, it is nice to meet you," Harry bowed to the beautiful dark phoenix. "I will be going as Hadrian Peverell...going forward. So it is the first time I get to introduce myself as such. It is an honor to meet you."

The bird looked surprised at his manners but bowed back at him, as much as she could without losing balance.

The two magical creatures seemed to be in conversation and he didn't want to interrupt. His mind went to his Parseltongue and wished that there was a language for birds.

It was then that he had felt a chill and a bit of laughter echoed in his mind.

"Enochian is the language, and it encompasses more than just birds, but also has its origins in the divine. Here you go," Death whispered in his ear.

He felt a rush of not just knowledge, but more like an unlocking of an ability. His head and hearing were all stopped in their tracks as the ringing sound in his ears just kept growing. It reached the maximum threshold before dying down nearly turning into white noise before stabilizing.

Harry's vision cleared and he heard the phoenixes speaking to one another.

"And you are sure he is leaving?"

"Well, he's a fellow immortal now, he certainly isn't dying and he certainly isn't staying here," Fawkes said.

The way in which he understood their speech was strange. It wasn't just audio, but also how the magic flowed around them. Something to do with intent and auras. He didn't quite understand the means, but he could communicate all the same.

"You know that isn't what I meant," The Twilight Phoenix said, her voice feminine and as beautiful as she was.

"I do believe he is not long for this world, all the signs are there! If you still wish to leave then he is your means of doing so!" Fawkes said.

"My intentions haven't changed," She said, her stern voice echoing through the room.

Fawkes sighed, "I know they haven't, I promised your father that I would always give you a means of escape should the worst happen."

She looked sad at the mention of her father but spoke again, "You aren't going to come with me?"

Fawkes seemed to smile, "It doesn't matter what happens in this world, it will always be my home. I know you can't look at it like that anymore, but you will find peace should you dare to try."

"I have no idea what to do, here or anywhere...I am lost."

"Not yet, follow this Immortal, Shimmer. You will find peace and happiness, don't lose hope now," Fawkes said.

There was no response, so Harry cleared his throat, "Forgive me."

Both phoenixes jumped as they realized Harry had spoken to them, IN Enochian.

"I wasn't meaning to listen in, but I just learned how to..."

"How to speak Enochian, in the middle of our private conversation?" Fawkes asked. His tone reminded him of Dumbledore when he already knew the answer but was smiling as he asked regardless.

"Ahem... yes, sorry."

"So then," Shimmer asked, "You are leaving this world, will you take me with you?"

"I don't know why, but if you wish to then I have no problem. Taking you along, that is. It is nice to meet you by the way, Shimmer, was it?" Harry asked.

The beautiful silver and black phoenix nodded once then asked, "And...you will make me your familiar?"

Harry's eyes went wide, "You want to be my familiar?"

She looked sheepish as she looked anywhere but at Fawkes or Harry.

Fawkes had laughter in his tone as he spoke, "That is a fantastic idea, Shimmer! I will set the ritual up if you wish."

"Before we agree to anything, can I hear more about this bond? How does it work?" Harry asked.

Fawkes explained that the familiar bond lasts as long as both parties consent to it lasting. The bond can grow in strength as well, starting as empathetic before reaching fully telepathic as it grows. The ritual would tie the two with blood and magic, all connected by a soul pact. It was very complicated magic, the kind that only a very old being like Fawkes could produce.

"I can't promise you anything, but there are a lot of things that I wish to accomplish in this new world. I don't know what it's called or what it will be like, but I can promise that I will always have your back if you wish to continue with the bond," Harry said, making a firm choice.

Shimmer had a moment and fully inspected Harry, "I am all alone in this world, outside of Fawkes."

Harry let the silence go for a moment, "I lost my family as well."

"I feel like I can no longer exist here and I wish to be away," Shimmer said. "I will join you in the familiar bond until one of us decides to break it or one of us does things the other wouldn't approve of," Shimmer said.

"I agree, we should respect each other's boundaries," Harry agreed.

"Right then, Fawkes assures me of your character and I have heard much of your exploits, so I wish to form a familiar bond with you," Shimmer said with all the formality in the world.

Harry smiled and looked at Fawkes, "Then I guess we need some help with a ritual, Fawkes."

Fawkes spread his wings and the dust on the floor began to burn. It spread out into a figure-8-style pattern with intricate runes having been burned into the wood itself. "Each of you in one circle," Fawkes instructed as the circles continued to grow.

Shimmer gracefully stepped down into it, and Harry sat crisscross-style across from her after a quick Scourgify for the dust.

"Now a drop of blood in each of those minor focusing arrays," Fawkes said, gesturing with a wing.

"Here?" Harry asked, pointing at a small opening in the ritual circles that had a corresponding one on Shimmer's side.

"Indeed," Fawkes said.

Harry held his left hand out and made a slicing gesture. A small slice appeared on his palm allowing a drop of blood to leak out before the wound sealed.

Shimmer bit a spot on her left clawed foot and let a single drop of blood fall into her circle.

"Push your magic into the circle and it will reciprocate," Fawkes said.

Harry let his magic leak out and fill the circle. It lit up nearly instantly and moments later Shimmer's half of the circle did the same. The difference was obvious though, Harry's circle contained green deathly magic that looked like the killing curse. Shimmer's looked like dark flames that reflected silver in odd flashes, like slashing blades in the dark.

It was then that the magic flowed between the two, lighting up different parts of each circle like some sort of Ying-yang symbol.

Fawkes began humming a deep and pure song that resonated with everything in the ritual. Harry let his heavy eyelids close, and he entered a sort of meditative state.

Shimmer did likewise and the two minds and magic were brought together.

On Harry's left hand, an artistic vision of a black and silver phoenix appeared as if partially in flames. It looked like a living tattoo and Harry could immediately feel the connection.

At the same time, a small green symbol of the Deathly Hallows appeared on the bottom of Shimmer's foot and she too could feel the connection.

Harry felt a myriad of emotions immediately. Coming through the bond between them was worry, fear, sadness, and hope. Worry that he wouldn't accept her, fear that he would accept her for the wrong reasons, sadness at the loss she felt, and hope that he can help her get away from this disgusting world.

Harry had an idea that it was her parents or something along those lines, and he didn't bring it up, "It's okay." He said this knowing that she felt a plethora of his own feelings: doubt, worry that he was letting in something that he shouldn't, fear at leaving everything he knew behind, excitement at the prospect of finding a new place in a new world.

Their heartbeats began to sync up until the faster-beating heart of the smaller creature left his behind. "I feel your emotions...and I might not know everything about it, but I have felt those feelings before. I will not take advantage of your trust, I promise."

The beautiful phoenix nodded and burst into a column of black and silver flames. It was beautiful until it rushed at him.

Harry quickly put his hand up and was shocked to find that the flames entered the tattoo. Shimmer was the tattoo.

"It is oddly comfortable, resting here within your magic, Harry," Her smooth and feminine voice said in his mind. She sounded like some regal queen being surprised at the comfort level of their surroundings.

He laughed as the communication was telepathic, but he instinctively knew that this wasn't what Fawkes meant when he said they would be able to speak telepathically one day. This was one being resting within another's magic and the connection would not be telepathic unless they were in this situation until the connection grew. Eventually, they would be able to truly speak telepathically, regardless of the distance.

He let his words reach her magically, "Will you be fine traveling like this?"

"You mean, traveling to another world?"

"I do," Harry said.

Shimmer gave him the mental equivalent of a nod and Harry looked over to Fawkes.

The old phoenix looked sad and happy at the same time.

Harry immediately knew why, "You still miss him don't you?"

Fawkes looked down, "Always. He was a troubled man, burdened with a great amount of things, but a friend no less."

Harry let the silence sit for a while, neither him nor Shimmer could find any words. "I never saw your mark on Dumbledore."

"It had been gone for years, but that is between us. You two have your whole lives ahead of you, go."

Harry waited, "You sure don't want to come?"

If Fawkes could smile, he did, "I'm sure."

With a nod and a last look around, Harry and his new companion disappeared with a crack.