Harry Potter stood and brushed the snow from his robes. "That didn't even hurt ..." He said in quiet disbelief. After readjusting his glasses he looked around at the snow covered school grounds. He could hear the parties going on in the castle above him and the thought of Hermione and Ron sharing the warm fire in the Gryffindor common room made his heart sink.
"Wait, why isn't it cold?" He pressed his warm hands against his face and looked at them dumbly. An unfelt breeze blew a scrap of parchment across the field of white in front of him and he didn't feel its chill bite. "I ... I'm ..." His eyes widened and he looked behind him.
What he saw caused his knees to buckle and he didn't feel the cold wetness that normally accompanies the fluffy powder that he fell in. Lying in a broken, bloody heap at the base of the astronomy tower was his body. The wind had already started to change the moistness around his eyes and mouth to a clear, white frost and as the blood left the gaping wound in his skull, his skin was turning an icy blue.
A hand rested on his shoulder and he spun in surprise.
"Why did you do that, Harry?" Sirius asked quietly, the sadness evident in his eyes. "Why'd you go and jump?"
"S-Sirius?" Tears were falling from Harry's wide eyes at the vision before him. He pulled off his glasses and rubbed furiously at his moistened face. Harry replaced his black rimmed spectacles and stared dumbfounded at his godfather.
"It's me, Harry." He said with a slightly lopsided smile. "But you shouldn't be here yet."
Harry closed the distance between them in an instant and pulled Sirius Black into a bone-crushing hug. "I thought I'd never see you again!" He laughed. "Are Mum and Dad here too?"
Sirius returned the hug from the young man then pushed him back gently. "Harry, do you realize what you've just done?"
Harry looked back to his crumpled, discarded shell. Then back to his godfather. "I've come to stay with the people who love me." He said matter-of-factly. "Nobody here does."
For the first time since Harry met him those three years ago, Sirius's temper got the best of him. "WHAT?! NOBODY LOVES YOU?!" He bellowed with a rage that had Harry back on his heels. "WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU THINK HERMIONE FEELS?! WHAT ABOUT RON?!"
Despite the fear that Harry felt with the sudden outburst, his own temper shot through the roof at the mention of his two ex-friends. "IF HERMIONE LOVED ME SO MUCH, WHY'D SHE TURN AWAY FROM ME FOR RON?!" He retorted with unbridled passion. "SNEAKING AROUND BEHIND MY BACK?! IS THAT ANY WAY TO SHOW LOVE?!"
Sirius' temper faded and he looked upon Harry with pity. "Things aren't always that cut and dry, Harry, and you know that."
"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Harry fumed.
"Look what everyone thought about me." Sirius said seriously. "Even you thought I killed Lily and James ... But after you stopped to listen and heard the truth ..."
Harry calmed down instantly and turned his back on the man who had once brought him more hope than he'd ever felt in his life.
"Hermione and Ron love you more than you realize, Harry." Sirius said quietly. "You were selfish to throw your life away like this. Do you even realize how many people you've hurt tonight?"
Harry didn't turn around but waved his hand at the lighted windows of the castle. "Do you see anyone hurrying out to see where I am?" He asked pointedly. "Do you see anyone who cares about me for me and not some weapon to save them from Voldemort?" He added bitterly. "All I am to these people is The-Boy-Who-Lived! The boy who defeated The Dark Lord when he was a baby. THE BOY WHO WILL SAVE THEM AGAIN!" Without another word he stalked off towards the front of the castle.
"Harry, you know that's a lie!" Sirius called after him. "You know that you have friends that look past the scar!"
Harry ignored the pleas and kept going until he reached the Whomping Willow. He glanced at the many dormant branches that at one time thrashed a blue Ford Anglia to near smithereens and remembered that he'd been afraid to die. With a shake of his head, Harry Potter disappeared down the hole that would take him to the Shrieking Shack.
"There's no place to go, Mr. Potter." An old man said calmly from the expanse of tunnel behind him.
Harry spun on the intruder and narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" He asked dangerously and went for his wand. He didn't feel the comforting presence of his precious instrument and growled menacingly at the man in front of him.
The old man smiled gently and kept his distance. "Some have called me the father of our kind. Others have referred to me as the tamer of the Dragon. I've been called Taliesin, the lost child of Atlantis and the rightful heir to Lyonesse. But, most fables and books refer to me simply as Merlin."
Harry's eyes went wide for a moment then returned to their narrowed slits. "What proof do I have that you're who you say you are?" He asked suspiciously. "For all I know you could be a trick or a figment of my imagination!"
Merlin smiled in amusement. "It seems that a good deal of Hermione Granger has indeed rubbed off on you, my young charge."
"Young Charge?" Harry asked incredulously. "Since when have you been my guardian?"
"Oh, not guardian, Harry, you've many friends and relatives to do that." Merlin laughed softly. "I'm here for a different purpose."
"And that is?" Harry said hotly.
"I'm here to train you." The old wizard said simply.
"Train me? You're out of your ruddy mind!" Harry responded angrily. "If you hadn't noticed, I'm dead!"
Merlin laughed again and waved the statement away as if it were an irritating child being shooed away. "That's but a temporary condition, my friend." He looked at Harry seriously and seemed to grow in size. Harry felt himself cower before the countenance that was indeed the greatest wizard that had ever lived. "You will train, Mr. Potter. Your mind, your soul, your very essence will be mine to guide until I deem you are fit to return to your physical body."
Harry's courage returned to him when his anger boiled forth. "And what if I refuse?" He said evenly, his voice dripping with venom.
Merlin grabbed the cocky youth by his collar and growled fiercely. "This."
Harry found himself standing upon the precipice of a pit that stretched into eternity. Along the walls were people crying in agony and shrieking for mercy. There was a green glow that surrounded the entire place and a growing sense of dread and desperation began to fill his heart. The tortured souls reached for him and started tugging at his robes followed by grief stricken sobs of remorse and gasps for help.
"GET OFF OF ME!" Harry screamed in terror. He swatted at the hands that had begun pulling him towards the pit but they were stronger than he was. With wide eyes, his feet started slipping and he tried to backpedal but the force was too strong.
"BEHOLD THE PIT OF DESPAIR!" Merlin bellowed behind him. "Every soul who has passed into the afterlife for selfish reasons has ended up here." He explained softly in Harry's terrified ear.
Harry reached to grab hold of the wizard. "HELP ME! I CAN'T ... I'M NOT STRONG ENOUGH!" His hands fell through empty air and he fell to his stomach. Strong arms grabbed his ankles and he dug his fingers into the earth in a desperate attempt to stay away from the edge.
"No soul is strong enough to fight against his own sins, Mr. Potter." Merlin said distastefully from above him. "You can yet be saved from this fate ..."
Harry's legs slipped over the edge and he could feel ... everything. His flesh seemed to catch fire and at the same time were numbingly cold. Boils erupted across his skin and a maddening itch followed in their wake. Festering wounds flared to life and when he looked down he screamed in pure, unbridled fear when he saw the maggots and larvae of countless insects burrowing into his flesh.
"Take my hand and you'll be free, Harry."
His attention snapped to the woman bending over him. Fresh tears were rippling down her cheeks and her outstretched hand beckoned to him. He looked into the face of his rescuer and met the gaze of the green eyes that he shared. Lily Potter's auburn hair cascaded over her shoulders as she bent to him with a life-saving smile.
Harry reached for his mother's hand and screamed in agony as they transformed to talons then shredded his hand to ribbons. Gone was her loving face and in its place was the maniacal grin of what could only be called a demon.
"You're going to be a fun one to play with ..." He growled in ecstasy. "I love breaking in new arrivals."
"I'LL DO IT! I'LL TRAIN!" Harry closed his eyes and screamed as loudly as he could. He felt the ground give away and he fell. Instinctively he wrapped his head in his arms and screamed like he'd never screamed before but suddenly realized that the voice that was screaming wasn't his own.
Harry opened his eyes and found himself lying in the snow in front of the school. With a shudder of relief he checked himself over and realized that he'd imagined the grotesque state of his body. With an anxious glance, he stood to find that he was not at the edge of the Pit of Despair and smiled. He looked towards the castle and went for the doors but the hulking form of Hagrid caught his attention.
"'Arry! Oh, 'Arry! Say it ain't so!" The half-giant rose to his feet and cradled something in his arms. "Wha' happened, 'Arry?" He sobbed and ran as gently as he could to the front doors. Harry grimaced when he saw his unmoving body clutched in Hagrid's arms like a small baby.
"Hagrid!" He called after his large friend but Hagrid didn't hear him. His first wizarding world friend ran down the main hall shouting for help and bolted up the stairs to the hospital wing. Harry started after him but the hand on his shoulder stopped the young man in his tracks.
"That's not your concern right now." Sirius said sadly. "It's not a good idea to see them grieve over you, Harry."
Harry shrugged out from under his godfather's hand. "I need to let them know that I'm alright." Harry said urgently. "If I'm going to train to fight Voldemort they need to know I'm going to come back."
"You have but a few minutes, Harry." Merlin said quietly from his right. "Go to your friends, you'll know when your time is up."
Harry nodded and immediately ran into the castle. He was running as fast as he could up the staircases to the entrance to his house's tower and could feel the time ticking away.
"I won't make it in time!" He growled angrily when something dawned on him. With a desperate plan firmly crawling from the pits of his mind, Harry closed his eyes and concentrated on Hermione. Within a few heartbeats he found himself standing in what was obviously one of the rooms in the girl's dormitory. More to the point, he was standing in front of a particular bed that held the most wonderful sight he could remember. Hermione was sleeping soundly and he smiled at the disarray her hair was in as cascaded softly over her pillow. She had a serene look on her face and his heart broke as he remembered that this beautiful young woman had rejected his love. He shook his head after he realized his time was running short and bent down to her exposed ear. "Psst. Hey, Hermione!"
"Hmm? Harry?"
"Aren't you going to open your eyes?"
Hermione opened her eyes and looked up. She saw Harry sitting quietly on the edge of her bed smiling at her.
"Harry? How'd you get into the girl's dormitory?"
He smiled at her and ran his cupped hand over her cheek lovingly. "I flew in through the window." He said with a grin.
"Harry, you know you can't be up here, if McGonagall catches you ..."
"Don't worry, Hermione, I'll be fine." He said softly. Hermione looked into his eyes and he stiffened. She sat up and took his face in her soft hands and pulled him in for a kiss. With a lump of sadness settling firmly in his stomach, Harry pulled away from the tempting situation.
"Harry?"
He looked at her sadly. "I'm sorry, Hermione, but I've got to go ..."
"What? Why do you have to go?" She asked curiously. "There's nobody else here and Ginny sleeps like a log."
Harry laughed quietly. "I know she does, it seems she's inherited the same snoring gene that Ron has ..." His smile faded and he tried to explain just how much he loved her though his gaze. "Watch over Ron and Ginny for me?" He asked simply.
"What?" Hermione's face was blanketed in confusion. "Harry come over here and tell me what you're talking about!"
"Harry ... You're running out of time ..." A familiar voice echoed from somewhere outside.
He smiled at her longingly but shook his head. "I have to go now. Mum's calling me." He looked out the window to the twinkling Dog Star that was still visible. "I'll tell Sirius you said hi."
"Harry! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Hermione shouted fearfully. He saw her try to get out of bed but he willed her to remain where she was.
"Just remember that I love you, Hermione, I always will." He said softly and faded from sight.
He opened his eyes again and found himself straddling his trusty Firebolt. He shook his head and grinned. "It seems that Ron even dreams about Quidditch." He barked out a laugh and turned to find his red-headed friend when a bolt of green and silver shot past him in a fast climb.
"Harry! Go for the snitch, we can't let Malfoy win!" Ron screamed from across the pitch.
Harry glanced at the scoreboard and smiled widely at the tied score. He followed Malfoy's path and caught sight of the elusive golden ball that seemed to be taunting him to catch it.
"Well, one last game can't hurt, can it?" Harry shot into a climb and his hand was stretched forward to catch the snitch as he pulled up next to his nemesis.
There was a collective gasp as Malfoy pulled his wand and banished Harry's broom causing the up and coming Quidditch star to plummet to the ground.
"HAAAAARRRRRRYYYYYYY!" Ron shouted and left his post at the goals.
Harry grinned and decided that he wasn't going to let the prince of Slytherin win quite so easily and concentrated. He miraculously pulled out of the dive and shot with tremendous speed to capture the snitch before Malfoy knew what had happened.
Holding the struggling ball in his hand, Harry looked down at Ron with a grin. Just as their eyes met Harry watched as the lanky Weasley collided with Sloper and the two of them crashed to the pitch below.
Harry blanched and shot to the ground in the blink of an eye. With just a few, quick strides, he found himself kneeling next to his unconscious friend. "Ron! Ron, wake up!" Harry shook him gently. "Are you alright? That was a nasty hit that you and Jack took."
Ron blinked his eyes and gazed in amazement at The-Boy-Who-Lived. "What in bloody hell was that, Harry?!" He barked in confusion. "Where do you get off being able to fly without a broom?!"
Harry blushed as he extended a hand to help his friend to his feet. "That's only a recent development." Harry said quietly. "Listen, I couldn't let you lose to that git of a ferret but I've got to go."
"What are you talking about, Harry?" Ron asked curiously. "WE JUST WON THE HOUSE CUP!!" Ron caught him in a bear hug and laughed triumphantly. Harry laughed and forced Ron to put him back down.
"Listen, Ron, I need you to really listen." Harry said seriously.
Ron looked at him blankly. "Harry, what's wrong, mate?"
"I can't stay much longer, Ron, I know about you and Hermione."
Ron blanched. "How?! I-I mean ... Harry ..."
Harry put up a hand to silence him. "Ron, don't worry about it, I'm not going to be in the way." He said seriously. "You have to promise me that you'll watch over her and keep her safe."
"Of course I will, Harry, but you'll be here to do that too ..." Ron looked in Harry's eyes then his went wide. Ron tried to put a hand on Harry's shoulder but he fell short. "Harry, what's wrong, mate? You can tell me ..."
"Ron, I'm going to miss you, you've been like a brother to me, you realize that, don't you?" Harry said compassionately.
Ron blinked furiously for a moment. "Of course I do! You're my best friend and it's like you've always been in my family ... Harry, why are you telling me this?"
Harry smiled wanly and looked to the sky. "Because I have to go, Ron. I'll tell my Dad about our Quidditch games, he played for Gryffindor too ..."
"Your Dad's dead, Harry ... Are you going to visit their graves?"
Harry shook his head. "Take care of Hermione, Ron. I love you both ... I'll tell Sirius you said hi ..."
Harry felt a pull and he knew it was time to leave. Within a few moments, he found himself standing outside the castle again but he was far from alone.
"Harry!" He was bowled over by an embrace that he'd only felt when Mrs. Weasley had hugged him and the face full of auburn hair brought tears to his eyes.
"Mum!" He cried as he returned the tight hug and felt her shake with laughter and tears in his arms.
"You're here much too soon, Harry!"
Harry looked up and through his tear-filled eyes he saw the half-blurred form of his father smiling at him. "Dad!" Within seconds, the three Potters were in their first group hug in fifteen years. When they broke apart it was all Harry could do to keep from breaking down.
"I never thought I'd see you again." He choked out. He looked at the lone figure standing to the side and without another word closed the distance and hugged Sirius to him in a manly embrace. "I'm sorry I reacted the way I did, Sirius." He said with a sigh.
"Crossing over does that to people, Harry." Sirius said with a quiet chuckle. "You should have seen how I reacted when James pranked me when I arrived."
Harry looked to his father who scratched his head and had an enormous grin on his face.
"Here I was fighting Bellatrix when she casts a simple stunning hex my way." Sirius said with a laugh. "When the curse wore off, I found myself dressed as a clown hanging upside down in a tree ..."
"It was one of my more brilliant plans ..." James said with a laugh. "Just try to find a squeaky nose in the afterlife ... not an easy task by any means!"
Harry couldn't help but laugh at the mental image this all brought up. He looked to his mother who wasn't laughing with everyone else but was looking at the ground sadly. She wasn't just looking at the ground, but the spot where his body had lain just a short while ago.
He walked up to her quietly and pulled her into a hug.
"Why did you do it, Harry?" She asked quietly. "You know Hermione loves you, don't you?"
Harry sighed. He didn't want to get into that particular argument again and he just shrugged. "She was quick to turn me down and go back to Ron." He said quietly. "I took that as Hermione seeing me as nothing more than a friend ..."
Lily Potter pulled back and shook her head. "You're as bright as your father, Harry. And let me tell you, he was blind when it came to me like you are with Hermione." Harry looked at her in confusion.
"Harry, it's time to go." Merlin stepped forward and gently took his arm. "It's not going to be an easy time, lad, but you'll be better prepared when you're finished."
Harry looked to the old wizard pleadingly but the stern look he received ended his thoughts of staying any longer. With a quick kiss and hug from his parents and a hug from Sirius, Harry found himself tumbling through a tunnel of swirling colors and deafening winds. He landed with a thud in a large meadow that he didn't recognize and with a quick glance around, got to his feet.