Knowledge is Power

Disclaimer/Plot/Author's Note: SEE FIRST CHAPTER

Dedication: I'd like to dedicate this story to my good friends: my recommended reads are Saviour of Magic by Colt01, For Love of Magic by Noodlehammer, Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality by Less Wrong, Partially Kissed Hero by Perfect Lionheart, Harry Potter and the Daft Morons and Angry Harry and the Seven by Sinyk, Harry Potter and the Prince of Slytherin by The Sinister Man, Harry Potter and the Rune Stone Path by Temporal Knight, A Study in Magic and A Study in Magic: The Application by Books of Change, Dark and Light by Pleasedial123 and Harry Potter: My Life Is My Own by Sashian

Pairings: Eventual Harmony; Others TBD

Normal Speech

'Thoughts'

/Parseltongue/

Review Answers:

Calmzone1: I love him in practically every role he's been in, but what gave me the idea was seeing him in a series called The Mentalist: heard of it? If not, look it up and you'll see for yourself how amazing he is;

RFTL80: The road is long, friend, but it's full of twists, turns and more fun than you can wave the Elder Wand at, so enjoy what's coming;

Winged Seer Wolf: Indeed I am, old friend: now, I hope you enjoy what else is coming;

Cassandra30: That's still to come, but, for now, he's got something more important to deal with;

"Someone whom might be able to help you solve the mystery that is young Master Potter, Miss Granger," replied the old man, his voice tinged with pride and strength that betrayed even his ancient looks.

However, when Hermione learned the man's name, she didn't know whether to be honoured or just shocked by the identity;

"I am Nicolas Flamel and, fortunately for you and our young dreamwalker, I had other business to attend to here at Hogwarts…didn't I, Albus?"

Chapter 26: Questions and Answers: At Last

Darkness.

That was the first thing Harrison was aware of.

An all-encompassing darkness that seemed to close in on him from all sides, bringing with it a sense of curiosity and loss that seemed to reach out through the darkness, as though it sought to take hold of everything that he was and swallow it whole.

And yet, as weird as it sounded, there was something about this feeling…this darkness…this unknown wanting to devour him…something about it felt so familiar, it was eerie to even think about. Like a long-lost friend that had somehow managed to find its way back to him, Harrison felt a strong, but strange sense of calm from the darkness, coupled with an unusual feeling of belonging, if not wholeness that seemed to take hold of his mind, bringing with it everything that made him feel and realise he was conscious again.

Or rather, as awake and conscious as he could feel in this strange wonderland inside his own head, which Harrison realised was where he still was when he opened his eyes: instead of the Chamber of Pride or the Hogwarts Hospital Wing, he found himself lying on the floor of a dark chamber, which could have been described as a prison cell.

The floor around him was covered in blackened, burned straw, or perhaps hay, while a high window was set into the wall, covered with bars that offered very little in the way of comfort from what little light shone in outside.

It was only when he saw the window and the blackened flooring that Harrison's blood ran colder than cold when he realised he did know this place.

It was the same room the Millers had locked him inside of for hours on end; only, this time, there weren't any learning aides, handcuffs or demands to be the best.

There was nothing…but the darkness…

"Hello."

And a voice…

Huh?

As Harrison wheeled around, his eyes widened with surprise, if not disbelief, when he saw a small, golden-coloured light suddenly illuminate one side of the room, revealing a comfortable-looking chair, a small table next to the chair and, most-curious of all, a young boy.

A young boy with raven-black hair that was messier than messy could get, emerald-green eyes that were so full of life, it was impossible to predict that anything bad could happen to him and, to Harrison's amusement, what looked like a set of little kids' pyjamas covering his body, images of little dragons stitched into the pyjamas while, in his hands, the little boy had a small, plush dragon toy, which looked up at Harrison with empty eyes.

As Harrison stared into the eyes of the boy, he felt his tongue trace his lips before he whispered, "I…I know you…"

"I should hope so, Mr Boring," drawled the other boy, earning a soft laugh from Harrison, mostly because of the sound of the boy's voice.

It was his voice, quite literally, albeit younger in terms of age, most-likely somewhere around eight or nine years old, and yet it sounded as well-read and proud as Harrison himself.

But still, as he looked at the small boy in the chair, Harrison couldn't help but laugh again as he said, "I can't believe I'm saying this, whether this is all some weird dream or not, but…it's nice to see you again, Harry."

"Don't you mean Harrison?" asked Harry, earning a scoff from Harrison before the small boy hugged his toy dragon to his chest as he added, "I know this seems like a dream too, but it's real: we made it real, don't you remember? The fun island up there, this dark cave…"

"And Zeus," said Harrison, a note of delight in his voice, as well as realisation, almost as though the memory had come back to him, though not before he indicated the toy dragon in the little boy's hands as he added, "Our Zeus: the little dragon who'd take us away from the nightmare and let us be free to fly through the air with the greatest of ease."

Looking to Harry, who nodded in response, Harrison let out another laugh, which made three more than he could really remember letting out, as he added, "I…I remember now: I used to make you up…my…my best friend, my only friend was myself because the Millers…"

"The Enemy," insisted Harry, earning a nod from Harrison.

"They wanted to take away my fun…" explained Harrison, though as he did so, he trailed off suddenly, a dark, ominous look filling his green eyes as he added, "But then, one day, when they took my innocence and locked me up like an animal, I…I forgot…I let myself forget…"

"You grew up," said Harry, looking down to the dragon, Zeus, in his hands before, returning his attention to Harrison, he went on, "Even though we both promised one another we'd never let them make us grow up. We'd fight, we'd break free and then, when we knew why we were so different from everyone else…"

"We'd make it our own, like a gift from the Marvel Comics we…I used to read in the orphanage," finished Harrison, though as he did so, his hand moved shakily towards his cheek when he felt something warm and wet roll down his cheek.

To his surprise, he was crying, with tears of genuine childish warmth and loss, for perhaps the first time in…in…well, he supposed it had to be two years, give or take a few months, but the point was, he couldn't really remember the last time he'd had a good cry.

As the tears splashed onto the ground, Harrison's eyes widened when he saw fresh, bright-coloured flowers suddenly spring up from the ground, turning the dark cave into a small, but beautiful-looking flower garden; at the same time, Harrison noticed the walls slowly melting around him, giving way to the same fields and forests he'd fallen away from before.

As the walls crumbled and melted away around him, Harrison's eyes widened again when he saw the castle from before now rising up above him.

Only now, he realised he knew the castle.

How couldn't he? He'd spent the better part of the last five months learning the ways of the wizard from teachers inside of it.

"Hogwarts?" asked Harry, looking at the large, familiar design of the school while he swallowed hard, awe, wonder and curiosity in his voice as he asked, "All this time, all these years, my…my fantasy castle…my escape from my pain and…and what they did to me…it was Hogwarts?"

"That's right," said Harry.

"But…how?" asked Harrison, a note of disbelief now adding to the other emotions that filled his words as he explained, "I…I never even knew of the place before my meeting with Master Filius and Professor McGonagall, so how could I call such a castle my fantasy island?"

"Because it's where you would be safe…" said Harry.

Or rather, Harrison thought his strange representation of his inner child would have said that, but when he turned to face the boy in the chair, Harrison almost fell over his own feet stumbling back in shock when he saw that the boy in the chair was gone.

In his place, there was a tall, proud-looking gentleman with the same wildest-of-wild-styled dark hair and bright, cheerful brown eyes that shone with warmth and love. He was dressed in a suit of Hogwarts robes that were trimmed and marked with the Gryffindor House Crest while, to Harrison's wonder, when he stared at the man, he realised, as with everything else he'd realised thus far, he knew this man.

And why wouldn't he?

"…at least, we always hoped you'd be safe here, Harry…excuse me, I mean Harrison," explained a smiling James Potter, his eyes filled with pride and wonder as he added, "And thank you for finally letting me in, little buck: you have no idea how long I've been waiting for this."

"F…F…F…Dad?" asked Harrison, a part of him wanting to address the man nobly, by calling him Father, but no matter how much he might want to say it that way, he couldn't do it.

"In the flesh," replied James, his eyes filled with the same warm glow Harrison remembered from the pictures in the photo album that Hagrid had sent him over Christmas.

Only now, those eyes were really looking at Harrison with fatherly affection and pride.

"How…" asked Harrison, looking back to his dream-Hogwarts-wonderland as he asked, "Is…is this still a dream? A fantasy?"

"No and no," replied James, moving towards his son before, standing proudly next to Harrison, he explained, "It's time you knew everything, Harry, so if you'll follow me, I'll give you the details."

Even though he wanted to correct the man's use of his less-formal name, Harrison couldn't bring himself to argue.

So, instead, he followed the taller man into the strange Hogwarts.

Knowledge is Power

Hermione didn't know what was more-surprising.

The fact that Nicolas Flamel, the world-famous alchemist and borderline-immortal sorcerer, was standing right there in front of her, or the fact that said man was actually here with the answers that everyone else, even Headmaster Dumbledore, had been trying to find ever since the first day they'd met Harrison back in September.

As she watched the wizened man make his way over to Harrison's bed, however, Hermione felt a shiver run through her when she saw Nicolas glare at Dumbledore with an expression that could have been described as disappointment, if not a parent scolding their child.

Even stranger than that was the fact that Dumbledore shrank back from the look, which was something Hermione never would have thought was possible, allowing Flamel to walk past him as he reached the spot where Hermione was watching over her apparently-sleeping best friend.

When he reached the bed, Flamel took a few minutes to assess Harry personally: he checked the boy's responses when he lifted Harrison's arms, only to let them fall onto the bed again; he opened Harrison's eyes and peered into them with a lit wand, like a doctor or optician might do. He also ran a single finger down the length of the boy's body, a puzzled, but also-curious look on his face as he looked from Harrison to the witches and wizards around the bed.

Finally, after pulling away from Harrison's body, Flamel cleared his throat before he spoke, "Miss Granger?"

"Y-y-yes, sir?" asked Hermione, both humbled and shocked to be addressed so casually by such a legendary figure of magic.

"Am I right to assume that young Mr Potter's current condition was the result of a fairly-terrifying magical outburst?"

"Yes…yes sir," replied Hermione, rubbing the back of her neck while she cleared her throat as she explained, "Harrison…he…he was meeting with the Headmaster and…and they talked about things; things I…I promised I wouldn't talk about without his permission, Harrison's, I mean. Anyway, as they talked, Harrison revealed things and…and they made him angrier and angrier, even when the Headmaster tried to calm him. Things started breaking and…and the air was so ripe with magic and then…then Harrison, he…well, he blew his top and…he screamed, Mr Flamel…I've never heard a sound like it. It wasn't even a scream; it was more…"

"Primal?" asked Nicolas, earning a stunned look from Hermione before Nicolas added, "Perhaps something that you might describe as being similar to what you might hear if you were hearing Magic herself scream in fury?"

"Well…" Hermione began, swallowing down her fear and shock even as the memory of Harrison's roar echoed through her thoughts, including how others had said they heard the scream themselves, though the damage had been limited to Dumbledore's office.

As the memory came to her, Hermione bowed her head as she replied, "Yes…I…I guess that would be how you'd describe it."

"I see," said Flamel, holding an old-looking wand over Harrison's chest before, to Hermione's awe, the man seemed to conjure a veil of golden light from the tip of the wand, which draped itself over Harrison's body as though he was being wrapped in spiders' webs.

As the veil touched his body, however, Hermione let out a gasp when she saw Harrison's body glowing with the same light before the webs began to disintegrate, leaving nothing but the sleeping boy on the bed, much to Nicolas' surprisingly-resigned expression, given how the ancient sorcerer closed his eyes and breathed out a long, slow sigh. "So…I was not mistaken…"

"Sir?" asked Hermione, earning a curious look from Nicolas while Hermione swallowed hard as she asked, "What…what was that spell? What…did something else just happen to Harrison?"

"Nothing more than what has been happening ever since the day he became such a renowned figure in our world, my dear girl," answered Nicolas, looking from Hermione to Dumbledore, who seemed to shrink back from the other man's whitish-coloured glare as Nicolas addressed him. "Surely you would have suspected what my spell has just revealed to be true, Albus?"

"I…I never got the chance to assess it like you just did, Nicolas," replied Dumbledore, a faint blush actually showing on his cheeks as he lowered his eyes as the Headmaster went on. "Ever since…since his first day here, Harrison has always shown a very strong reluctance to have anything to do with me. I…I admit, I tried once during his Sorting and…and again when he met me prior to a…an interesting, if not revealing bout against the Heir of the Malfoy Family, but…until today, I haven't had much of a chance to bear witness to anything that might…might suggest what he is capable of."

"So, then you didn't know he's been the unfortunate victim of a semi-successful Three-Stage-Cross-Unification Ritual?" asked Nicolas, earning an alarmed look from Dumbledore before the old man shook his head, earning a sigh of disbelief and regret from Nicolas.

As for Hermione, she swallowed hard once more before she asked, "Um…Mr Flamel?"

"Call me Nicolas, Miss Granger," argued the ancient sorcerer, earning a stunned look from Hermione.

"Nicolas," said Hermione, looking again to her young friend before she asked, "Um…what is a…a what you said?"

"A Three-Stage-Cross-Unification Ritual," said Nicolas, earning a nod from Hermione before the old man sighed deeply, rubbing the bridge of his nose as he explained, "It is a form of very dangerous, but also very powerful Blood and Soul Magic that should only ever be performed by those who are proficient in said arts, or with the same persons present at the rite to ensure nothing goes wrong."

"Blood and Soul Magic?" asked Hermione, earning a nod from Nicolas before she asked, "Aren't those…illegal?"

"Only in the minds of certain Ministry officials," answered Nicolas, his eyes never leaving Harrison's body as he went on, "However, in the case of loopholes in the legalities and the ramifications of being found using said magic, there is an exemption in the art and practice of Blood and/or Soul Magic providing the practitioners declare it as what is commonly known in the far east as Kekkai Genkai or, to use a more-European turn of phrase, Family-Specific Magic: in other words, magic unique to certain families and bloodlines."

"Like…like Harry?"

"More like Harrison's ancestry," said Dumbledore, earning another nod from Flamel as though he knew what Dumbledore was going to say even as the Headmaster said it. "You see, Miss Granger, Harrison is actually the last living descendant of a very old family who specialised in Soul, Blood and, indeed, the Magic of Life and Death itself: The House of Peverell."

"And it is this magic that has made the rite semi-successful, but not completely," explained Nicolas, looking now to Hermione as she gave him a curious look before, as though anticipating the question, Nicolas smiled softly before he nodded once.

Then he said several words Hermione would highly doubt she'd ever be able to forget, even if someone used a Memory Charm on her later;

"With this magic, someone, and I have my suspicions as to who they are, but someone has tried to unite their mental, physical and spiritual magical energies with young Mr Potter: in other words, Miss Granger…"

"Someone else's mind, soul and magic live inside of Harrison?" asked Hermione, earning a surprised look from Flamel.

Before he nodded slowly, his eyes filled with a mixture of pride and amusement even as he looked away from the thunderstruck youth;

"Oh Albus, I like this one."

Chapter 26 and, yikes…no…strike that: HOLY SHIT!

Harrison's secret…the secret to his power…his knowledge…his ability…is that someone lives within him?

How the bloody hell did they manage that?

And if the rite was only semi-successful, what needs to be done, if anything at all, for it to be fully-successful?

And what will happen if and when it is?

Keep Reading to Find Out

Next Chapter: Harrison gets the truth straight from the Thestral's mouth, but he's as disbelieving as Hermione, even though he gets more than just brief explanations, all of which will definitely change his life from here on in;

Please Read and Review

AN: Portrayal

James Potter: Chris Pine