164HARRY POTTER AND THE IMMORTAL BONDING
Summary: During the summer after his fifth year, Harry Potter must deal with the death of his godfather, the prophecy that Dumbledore revealed to him, and his own feelings for two female classmates and friends. Elsewhere, other Hogwarts students are also dealing with their own feelings. Meanwhile, a new prophecy is made that will alter Harry's destiny and unleash the "power the Dark Lord knows not."
Author's Note: This story incorporates a number of elements that have appeared in a similar format in two other stories (that I know of) on Fan Those stories are:
It's My Life! by rmanthei and Reign O'er Me by cts
I have tried to take the very basic ideas and expand upon them, and merge them with several original ideas as well. Still, the two concepts that I used from those two stories will be recognizable to any who have read it and ethically, its only fair that I point them out. Both are very good stories and I would recommend reading them.
I will also be borrowing from the Highlander series.
Please note that this fiction is an Alternate Universe story. It follows cannon up until the summer after 5th year, then begins to veer from what most fans seem to "think" the cannon series will look like in book six.
Chapter 1: Feelings and New Prophecy
Sixteen-year-old Harry Potter wiped the sweat from his brow and looked around. He had just finished eight hours of rather hard labor at a construction site near his Aunt and Uncle's home at Number 4 Privet Drive. It was now the middle of July, and Harry had been working at this job for the last three weeks.
When he first came home from Hogwarts, Harry had spent nearly three weeks in isolation, spending all his time in his room, grieving. At the end of last term, the Dark Lord, Lord Voldemort, had tricked Harry into leading his friends to the Department of Mysteries under the mistaken assumption that his godfather, Sirius Black was in danger. In reality Sirius was not in trouble; Voldemort used Harry's love for Sirius to lure him there in order to get his hands on a prophecy that was made before Harry was born. During the fight that ensued, several of Harry's friends were injured and Sirius had been killed.
If that wasn't bad enough, upon his return from the Ministry, Harry had learned the true reason for Voldemort's obsession with killing him. Professor Dumbledore told him the contents of the prophecy that Voldemort had been after:
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches…born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies…and the Dark Lord will mark him as an equal…and he shall possess a power the Dark Lord knows not…and either must die for the other to live…"
Harry had spent the first three weeks in a depressed stupor, unable to move past the death of his godfather or the fact that he was destined to do battle with Voldemort for the fate of the wizarding world. He didn't know how he would survive; Voldemort was so much more powerful than him.
All that began to change three weeks ago. The Dursleys had gone out for the day, leaving Harry with nothing to do. For some reason he decided to go downstairs and watch television, something he had rarely done before. He had flicked on the television to find a movie playing. It was about the son of a murdered Scottish landowner during the times when the English king ruled Scotland with an iron fist, instituting archaic and immoral laws. He watched as the man first tried to live a peaceful life, until English soldiers murdered his wife and he became a rebel.
He then watched as the man began to recruit followers and moved towards a field of battle where several thousand of his fellow Scotsmen had gathered to defy the English. Upon their arrival, these Scotsmen found themselves facing an army many times their size. Harry saw and felt the fear that they experienced; it was eerily similar to his own situation. Then he watched as the son of the landowner appeared, his face and the faces of his followers painted with blue paint and proceeded to rally the Scottish army. Even now, three weeks later, he could clearly recall the lines spoken.
"Will you fight?" Wallace asked.
"No, we will run. And we will live." A man said, the grumbling of many around him agreeing with him.
"Aye fight and you may die. Run and you may live…at least for a while. And how many of you, sitting in your beds many years from now would be willing to trade that day, and all the days in between for one chance…just one chance to come back here and tell our enemies…they may take our lives, but they'll never take OUR FREEDOM!"
Harry felt his hear swell inside him as he watched the gathered Scotsmen launch into cheer after cheer. And then he watched as the English army attacked the outnumbered Scotsmen. And the Scotsmen won. The movie then continued through the life of this Wallace, following every triumph and every defeat as he took on not only the English, but those within his own people who sought to exploit the common man, all leading up to his betrayal and execution by the English. Then he watch as once again, an army of Scotsmen, inspired by the courage and spirit shown by Wallace, once again met the English and won their freedom.
Afterwards, Harry spent several hours in his room, deep in thought. The movie had evoked much emotion within him. Slowly, he began to come to a realization; the fact of the matter was, despite the somewhat unique details, he was not the first person in the history of the world to be faced with a deplorable situation and impossible odds. In fact, the more he thought back to his days in a muggle school, Harry began to remember many such stories. All had a common theme: ordinary people, when faced with impossible odds, stood up for what was right.
It was then and there that Harry made a decision. He didn't know if he would ever be able to defeat Voldemort; but he would make his mission in life to try.
The next day Harry had gone out looking for a job. He did so for two reasons. First, it would get him away from the Dursleys. Second, he needed to build up his physical stamina. Luckily there was a series of new homes being built several blocks away and they needed extra help.
At night Harry began to review all the lessons he had had at Hogwarts. He figured he needed to make sure he understood everything from his last five years before he moved on. He also owled Dumbledore asking for more books, which the Headmaster had sent.
Unfortunately for Harry, once he had one problem solved, another one showed itself. For the last two weeks his thoughts and dreams had been filled with two of his friends…two of his female friends, Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger. At first the dreams started out innocently enough, most visions of the three of them sitting around Hogwarts and having fun. As time went on however, they became more intimate, progressing to the point where Harry would find himself having intimate with one of them. Then last night, the dreams became even more bizarre. In this dream, Harry found himself in bed with both Hermione and Ginny. What's more, they seemed to enjoy each other as much as they enjoyed Harry.
Harry had been struggling with these dreams and the feelings they evoked. Then this morning, his brain had reached the conclusion his heart had known all along: he was in love with Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley.
Unfortunately neither of them feels the same about me. He thought. True, Ginny did at one him have a crush on him, but she had since moved on. According to her statement on the train, she was dating Harry's fellow Gryffindor, Dean Thomas. And everyone knew that Ron and Hermione liked each other. Their fights (in the minds of most) were just an example of their flirting.
Oh well, Harry thought, No sense dwelling on what will never be.
Many miles away from Surrey, a bushy haired sixteen-year-old Hermione Granger sat at her kitchen table thinking. For many weeks now she had been having dreams that not only involved her best friend, Harry Potter, but her other best friend Ginny Weasley as well. Noticeably absent from the dreams was her other friend Ron Weasley, Ginny's older brother. The dreams had started just after she returned from Hogwarts and had been recovering from her injuries suffered during the battle at the Department of Mysteries.
At first they seemed normal enough, usually taking place somewhere in Hogwarts with the three of them sitting around doing homework or having fun. But then the dreams would become more intimate, starting out a first with Hermione kissing Harry and Ginny, and then proceeding to acts of a intimate nature with both of them.
Hermione had spent the last several days trying to figure out why she was having the dreams. After a while she was forced to admit that she had always had a crush on Harry. She was also attracted to Ginny. And as she thought about it further, she was definitely excited about the idea of being with both of them.
Unfortunately Harry only sees me as a friend. Hermione thought bitterly to herself. And Ginny only has eyes for Harry. She smirked at this thought; despite her redheaded friend's statements to the contrary, Hermione knew all to well that the girl still had feelings for Harry.
Ginny Weasley sighed as she tried to work on her summer Potions assignment. So far she was not having much luck. Her mind was distracted by thoughts of two of her friends, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger. Most of her family was aware that she had a crush on Harry; in fact it had been a subject of much teasing. What they didn't know; what Ginny would never dare tell them, was that for two years now she had also had a crush on Hermione. Both of these feelings were further increased by the friendship that had developed between herself and Hermione and had begun to develop between her and Harry.
Ginny thought back to her dream the other night and smiled. She had dreamt that Harry and Hermione had confessed similar feelings for her and each other and the three of them had engaged in a night of freewheeling passion.
Of course it was only a dream. She thought to herself. There's no way it would ever happen. Harry's too absorbed with Cho, even after the disaster last year. And everybody knows Hermione and Ron have feelings for each other.
Headmaster Albus Dumbledore was sitting in his office reviewing the options he had with regards to Harry. Now that he knew the contents of the prophecy that was smashed in the Department of Mysteries, something had to be done.
Harry had written him earlier in the summer requesting textbooks to help start preparing himself. Pride swelled up within Dumbledore at how well Harry now seemed to be handling everything. But he knew that even dedication and books would not be enough. In order to defeat Voldemort, Harry would need extensive training and they would need to discover what the "power the Dark Lord knows not" was.
A knock at his door brought Dumbledore out of his thoughts.
"Come in." he said. The door opened and Sybilll Trelawney, the Hogwarts professor of Divination walked in and sat down. "Sybill, what can I do for you?"
"Headmaster, I want to know why Mr. Potter has been removed from my class next year." She demanded.
"He was removed at his own request, Sybill." Dumbledore said.
"But why?" she asked. "He shows such great –" Suddenly she sat up rigid and began speaking in a strange voice. Dumbledore immediately recognized it as the same voice that gave him the prophecy prior to Harry's birth.
"The balance has shifted. The Dark Lord is too powerful for any one person to defeat. In order for the light to triumph the child of prophecy must join with his immortal bonded…one shall become three, three shall become one. Betrayal by the one closest to them shall set events in motion…dreams will become reality…
The blackness of death shall attempt to steal them, but fail, unleashing their power…The three shall return…more powerful than ever…and the Dark Lord shall finally know Death…"
Chapter 2: Happy Birthday Harry
Harry awoke to the sound of tapping at his window. He picked up his glasses from his nightstand and put them up. Outside he saw Errol, the Weasley family owl, hovering near the glass. He got out of bed and walked to the window and opened it. Errol flew into the room and landed on his desk. He carefully untied the parchment from its leg and opened it.
Hey Mate,
I've got good news, Dumbledore told mom that you could come over to the you know where this weekend, if you could get away from that job you started (I still don't understand why you want to work in the first place). Let me know if you can and Dad will come get you.
Listen, there's something I need to talk to you about. I've been doing a lot of thinking and well…I realized that I like Hermione. She's coming over the Burrow tomorrow and I'm going to ask her to be my girlfriend. I hope you're okay with that.
Ron
Harry grinned at the first paragraph. He had tried to explain to Ron why he felt the need to work (without, of course, revealing the prophecy) but as always, his friend didn't get why anyone would want to do more work than they had to. A wave of excitement went through him as he read the part about leaving the Dursleys, even if it was only for a weekend.
The initial thrill of excitement Harry had on learning that he would be able to leave for a few days drained out of him as he read the rest of the letter. Though he (like everyone else) knew that his friends fancied each other, and had occasionally Ron about it, he had never really believed that Ron would ever have the guts to admit it to himself, never mind to Hermione. But now it seemed that Ron did.
Just wonderful. Harry thought to himself. Its bad enough Hermione doesn't feel about me the way I do her; now she's going to be going out with Ron. Why does he have everything I've always wanted? He has a family and now he's going to have Hermione.
A second later Harry chastised himself for his anger. Ron was his best friend and he deserved to be happy. Harry picked up a blank piece of parchment and scribbled a reply.
Ron,
Yeah, I can get away early on Friday. Can your dad come get me around two o'clock?
Of course I would be okay if you and Hermione started dating. It would be a little weird at first and take some getting used to, but if it makes you both happy, I'm fine with it.
Harry
"Hermione, can I talk to you upstairs?" Ron said, his palms sweating. Hermione had arrived at the Number 12 Grimmauld Place an hour earlier and had been spending the time since then talking with Ginny. Hermione and Ginny looked up from their conversation. Ginny saw the look of nervousness on her brother's face.
He's finally going to tell her. She thought bitterly. And of course, once he does, she'll tell him she likes him as well. Just bloody wonderful. Then she chastised herself for these thoughts; Ron was her brother and Hermione her friend; they deserved to be happy.
Hermione looked at Ron and also saw his nervousness. She glanced at Ginny and caught a flash of something in her eyes, but couldn't identify it. Pushing it out of her mind, she excused herself and walked upstairs with Ron. Reaching the third floor, Ron led Hermione into a vacant bedroom.
"What did you want to talk to me about, Ron?" Hermione asked. Ron blushed slightly.
"Hermione," he began and then faltered. Hermione looked at him expectantly. Gathering up his courage, Ron continued. "I don't know if you noticed, but I like you a lot. I've been scared to say anything up till now, but I can't hold it back, Hermione. Would you go out with me?"
Hermione caught herself before she gasped. She suspected since fourth year that Ron might have an interest in her, especially after the way he acted when she attended the Yule Ball with Viktor Krum. But she never really thought he would act on it. Actually, she hoped he wouldn't. She didn't like him like that. Her heart belonged to two others.
How am I going to tell him? She thought. With his jealousy, if he knows that I have feelings for Harry, he'll flip. And if he finds out I also have feelings for his sister, he'll really blow his top.
"Ron, I'm very flattered." She said kindly. "But I…I don't like you like that. I'm sorry. I hope we can still be friends."
Up till now, Ron had been excited and happy. He had spent all day working himself up to asking Hermione out and Harry's letter had given him an extra boost. He had been relieved that his best friend was okay with him asking Hermione out; his worst fear had been that Harry had feelings for her. But as Hermione made her statement, he felt the wind come out of him. His grin faltered slightly.
Hermione watched Ron's grin falter and saw the conflict in his eyes. After a few silent, tense moments, he smiled again; albeit not as bright as it had been.
"Sure." Ron said, silently hoping that he might be able to convince her eventually that he was the one for her. Hermione walked over and hugged him.
"I'm sorry." She said again. "Don't worry, there's someone out there who will give you the love you're looking for. You're a great guy, Ron."
"Uncle Vernon?" Harry said, approaching his uncle. For the last several weeks the Dursley's had pretty much ignored him, perhaps scared off by the threats from the Order of the Phoenix at the end of term.
"Yes?" he asked, slightly rudely.
"I just wanted to let you know that my friends are coming to pick me up at two." He said. "Since today's Friday, I'm probably going to stay the weekend and won't be back until Sunday night." His uncle just grunted.
Harry turned and walked away, heading towards the kitchen. Once there he walked over to the refrigerator and grabbed a can of soda. He opened it took a drink, and then looked at the clock. It was fifteen minutes to two. Taking his soda with him, he went back upstairs and packed for the weekend.
When Harry returned downstairs, he found Uncle Vernon staring daggers at Mr. Weasley.
"Hi Mr. Weasely." He said. Arthur turned to him.
"Hello Harry. All set?" He asked. Harry nodded. "Well, then grab hold of the port key." Harry took hold of the boot that Arthur was carrying with one had, his bag in the other. After a second, he felt a familiar tug at his navel.
Moments later he and Arthur reappeared in an alley near Number 12 Grimmauld Place. They both thought of the necessary phrase and the house appeared. Arthur opened the door and he and Harry went inside.
"Where is everyone?" Harry asked. Arthur shrugged and led Harry into the parlor.
"SURPRISE!" Several voices shouted. Harry looked up to see the rest of the Weasely's, Hermione, Neville, Luna, as well as several members of the Order and Dumbledore, all of them grinning at him.
"Happy birthday mate." Ron said coming up to him, shaking his hand. Despite his outwards appearance, however, Harry sensed that something was wrong with him. He resolved to ask him about it later.
"Thanks Ron." Harry said. Ron moved to side and Harry saw Hermione standing there. He had to fight down the urge to stare at her.
God she looks so beautiful. He thought to himself. She had really begun to blossom in fourth year and now was the picture of absolute beauty, in Harry's opinion. "Hi Mione." He said, opening his arms as she walked forward to hug him. He had to force himself to stifle the feelings that ran through him as he felt her body against his. "It's good to see you."
"Happy Birthday." Hermione said. She pulled back to see his lopsided grin appear on his face. She had to restrain herself from jumping him right there. Good he's really changed. He's got a lot more muscles than he used to. Realizing she was lingering, she moved aside.
"Happy Birthday Harry." Ginny said as she rushed up to him and hugged him. Once again Harry felt himself stir. Like Hermione, Ginny had also begun to blossom. And while her development wasn't quite as far a long as Hermione's, it was still enough to evoke strong feelings from him.
Get a hold of yourself. He thought. Or everyone is going to know that you fancy them. Ginny pulled away as the rest of her family came up to great him.
"Harry, may speak with you for a moment?" Dumbledore asked, interrupting the conversation he was having with Remus. Harry nodded.
"I'll be right back." He said to Remus. Dumbledore motioned for Harry to follow him. The pair walked out of the parlor, into the hall, and then into the kitchen. Dumbledore sat down at the table; Harry followed.
"First, let me extend my congratulations on your 16th birthday." Dumbledore said. "You have grown into a fine young man. Your parents would be very proud.
Next, I must offer you an apology. Before they went into hiding, your parents asked that if anything happened to them, and the rest of the Marauders were unable to, that I look out for your interests. When your parents died, I feared that if you were to remain in my care, you would not have the chance for a normal childhood."
"But you knew of the prophecy." Harry stated. "Why didn't you keep me or place me with a wizarding family so I could learn?"
"Yes." Dumbledore answered. "I thought it would be better for you to grow up a normal child. I feared that if you stayed in the wizarding world, it would run the risk of you developing with only the prophecy to define you. I was afraid you would be treated as a weapon. It was a mistake placing you with the Dursleys and in the muggle world, despite the protection it offered. Alas, it was the first of many I have made when it came to you.
As I explained at the end of last term, I fell into the trap that I had desperately tried to avoid. For that I offer my apologies. And if you will allow me, I'd like to try and rectify as much of it as I can."
"Professor, I accept your apology." Harry said. "And I apologize as well. I had no right to destroy your office."
"It is alright Harry." Dumbledore said. "I would probably have reacted the same way, in you shoes."
"Professor, how am I supposed to beat him?" Harry said, voicing the concern that had been running through his head.
"I'm not sure, Harry. I have not made very much progress towards finding out the power that the prophecy speaks of; I still believe it has something to do with your capacity to love, but beyond that I'm unsure. However, while we may not know the specifics of your power yet, there is much we can do to prepare. You have already begun through your reading and physical training this summer.
I have spoken with Minister Fudge and he agreed, after some persuasion, that Voldemort's return has caused the need for some changes. As of today, you, and your friends, are excluded from the restriction on the use of underage magic. Further, I believe we should begin training yourself, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, and Ms. Weasley." Dumbledore said.
"When do we start?" Harry asked. Dumbledore smiled.
"I shall make arrangements for the four of you to come to Hogwarts before the end of the week." Dumbledore said. "I would suggest that at that time, we reveal the prophecy to them. It will help to share the burden, Harry." Harry nodded. "Now there is another matter which requires our immediate attention."
"What is it Professor?" Harry asked.
"In addition to getting Minister Fudge to lift the restriction on you and your friends, I've also managed to convince him of Sirius's innocence. As a result, his last will is now valid." Dumbledore said. Harry paled slightly at the mention of Sirius. While he had gotten over his guilt for what happened, and had moved past the overwhelming despair, he still missed him a lot. "I know its difficult Harry, but we must attend a reading of the will tomorrow." Harry nodded, the sadness creeping into his mood at the thought of his godfather.
"Is there anything else, sir?" Harry asked. Dumbledore shook his head.
"No Harry. You may go re-join your friends and enjoy the party." Dumbledore said.