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Latin References: .- William Whitaker
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A/N - This is my first fan fiction it is A/U. I hope most of the characters act in character. The exception of course will be Harry. He will be smarter and stronger then in the first set of books.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Summary: What is 'The power he knows not' and how did Harry get it? How did Harry survive the killing curse and what does Sirius Black have to do with it? Who is the voice Harry is hearing in his head?
Chapter 32 – An Unexpected Meeting
From the Last Chapter:
"What is that gold rock attached to it?" one of the Aurors asked.
"That is what is left of the Philosopher's Stone." came the reply. "It is of no use to anyone anymore." Nicolas stated, and with that, placed the stone and the amulet back on Harry's chest and covered it with his hands. After reciting what was the Flamel's house version of 'The blessing of the heir", he removed his hand to show that both the amulet and the stone were gone.
"The Ministry will need to exam that as evidence in an on-going investigation." Said the greedy Auror.
"What evidence?" Said Flamel with a gleam in his eye, not unlike the Headmaster's.
"Let it go Dawlish, there's nothing we can do about it now. Madam Pomfrey? Could you, Professor McGonagall, and Master Flamel please take Mr. Potter up to the infirmary for treatment? We will probably be the rest of the day down here, and there are several questions I would like to ask the Headmaster as to what the stone was even doing here in the first place.
Taking their leave, the small group of witches and a wizard gently levitated Harry out of the chamber. Master Flamel controlled the levitation spell, while Professor McGonagall led them out, and Madam Pomfrey started working on him as quickly as she could.
For the second time in a day, Harry found himself in complete darkness. However, this time he felt someone holding him, and playing with his hair, humming a children's song he remembered from talking with 'Ma'.
'Ma'? He asked. In too much pain to really be able to do much right now, and not even having the strength to open his eyes or raise his hands.
'Shh. Just rest now Harry. 'Ma's' not here any more,' came the quiet reply.
Not understanding what had been said, Harry slipped back into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Meanwhile, in the 'real' world, several things were happening.
Professor McGonagall and the rest of the school had returned from Hogsmeade and were now in the Great Hall. The students were reassured that the school was structurally sound, and classes would resume in two days to allow the DMLE time to finish their investigation, and for minor repairs to take place. In the meantime, they were to restrict their movements to their Common Rooms, the Great Hall, or the grounds around Hogwarts.
The Ministry was demanding an explanation as to what was going on at Hogwarts and the source of the explosion. When Minister Fudge heard that a fragment of the Philosopher's Stone had been spotted, and was now 'missing', he wanted to throw Master Flamel directly into Azkaban without a hearing or trail. That thought lasted until Master Flamel looked at Minister Fudge and growled.
In the infirmary, a growing group of people were waiting to hear the diagnosis of young Harry from the healers.
Healer Adams had rejoined Madam Pomfrey to help with her recently found patient.
Madam Pomfrey was sickened at the condition her young patient was currently in.
"Second degree burns from the bottom of both feet to his upper chest, except directly over the sternum and down both arms. Third degree burns to the palm of both hands. Internal organs show significant damage from spells and extreme heat. Multiple cuts primarily to the forearm and shoulder region. Face also covered with second degree burns. Overall, there is 90 percent of his body is covered by blisters being held in place by dead skin. If that skin were to be removed all at once, there would be no way to keep enough fluids in his body to keep him alive. And to top it all off, several broken ribs and severe head-trauma."
"Yes, I'd say he's even worse off than he was after this morning's accident." Healer Adams added.
"I take it Mr. Potter is one of your more frequent subjects here Madam Pomfrey?" Master Flamel asked.
"Oh, he's been in here more that most that's for sure, but after the injuries from this mornings Quidditch contest, Mr. Potter basically healed himself while we just sat back and watched. This time, there is minimal brain activity, and very little if any magical healing occurring with regards to him taking an active role in healing himself again.
The master alchemist thought for a as the two healers worked frantically on their very sick charge. After a few minutes, he asked Madam Pomfrey a question. "Would you mind if I gave Mr. Potter an old family cure? I will guarantee it will do no harm, and is of such a nature that can address the majority of his internal and external injuries. Perenelle and I have been taking this potion for years whenever we have an accident or are injured and it seems to cure most things right up."
"That would be most helpful Master Flamel! Can I ask the nature of the potion?" a very grateful and tired healer replied.
"I'm sorry, this is something that has been handed down in the family grimoire and cannot be disclosed outside family members."
"But you're willing to share it with Mr. Potter?"
"Yes. The Potter's and Flamel's have always been close one to the other. They have been our patron on several occasions, and I feel it is something I can do to help preserve the line of a truly Noble and Great family."
"I have no objections. Brian, do you?" Madam Pomfrey asked.
"As long as we can monitor his progress I have no problems with it," Healer Adams replied.
"I do have a few conditions before administering the potion: First, you will tell no one what I have done. Second, you will contact me AS SOON as Mr. Potter wakes up, and third, you will keep that nosey boss of yours away from Mr. Potter while the potion does its job. I'm quite put out at Albus right now, and do not intend to share any more of my work with him OR the Ministry at this point in time. Do we have an agreement?"
Looking back at each other, the two healers quickly agreed to Master Flamel's terms and watched as he poured a thick aqua blue liquid down the-boy-who-lived throat.
"Let's get Mr. Potter to a private room while I explain some of what this potion does."
After moving Harry out of the general populace area, Master Flamel continued. "If you look on your monitoring charm, you will see that the potion is slowly spreading throughout Mr. Potter's body. As it does so, it will attempt to rejuvenate the damaged area and repair the cells. If this can not be done, the potion will help the body create new, undamaged cells while the old cells are brought to the surface of the body."
"As this occurs, he will appear to form a chrysalis around him much like a butterfly does when it goes from the pupa to a mature state."
"Is that normal Master Flamel?" Poppy asked. "It is a bit unsettling seeing a patient in a cocoon like that."
"I can understand your misgivings Madam Pomfrey, the chrysalis usually only forms over the parts of the body where the injury occurs. For example, the arm or around the leg or something like that, but with the severity of the injury here I think we can expect Mr. Potter's covering to be almost totally complete."
"While he is in this stage, the potion will take care of all his needs, air, water, nutrition, and waste banishment, etc... When the chrysalis starts to crack, contact me immediately! Do not attempt to aid or assist Mr. Potter out of the shell. This is one of the last phases of healing where the body gets the muscles going and moving again. It is very important that this part of the healing process in uninterrupted. With the extent of the damage, it may take two or three days for the potion to run its course."
After getting things set up for Harry's care, Nicolas Flamel headed up to the Headmaster's office to talk to a certain Phoenix about making sure it did not help the Headmaster break into Harry's room while recuperating.
The next morning the Daily Prophet ran with this headline:
YOU-KNOW-WHO reportedly resurrected by using The Philosopher's Stone. Defeated again by The-Boy-Who-Lived!
Famed Alchemist Nicolas Flamel sited after 80 years of near isolation
The-Boy-Who-Lived said to be in grave condition after explosion At Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
Preliminary reports from the DMLE and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry state that yesterday afternoon, You-know-who was able to return to the land of the living by using the fabled 'Philosopher's Stone'. The Stone had been moved from Gringotts just prior to an attempted break in at the bank earlier this year. The Goblins would neither confirm nor deny this report, but simply told this reporter to 'Get lost and mind your own business'.
According to accounts, Mr. Potter, seeker for the Gryffindor House team, was also involved in some kind of accident at the conclusion of his match with rival Ravenclaw. It would appear that the snitch he had just captured, was somehow switched to a muggle device called a 'hand bomb', a hand-size explosive of some type. It had apparently blown up in or near his hand causing severe damage to his hand, arm, head and chest area. Afterword, Mr. Potter was also assaulted by a group of rogue bludgers that appeared out of nowhere and proceeded to attack him viciously.
Mr. Potter was taken immediately to the infirmary at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He was attended to by well known healer Madam 'Poppy' Pomfrey, assisted by healer Brian Adams from St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries specializing in head trauma.
It is unclear how Mr. Potter could have recovered from his injuries in time to face He-who-must-not-be-named or even how he knew You-know-who was in the castle after the Philosopher's Stone. All we know is that when Deputy Headmistress McGonagall reported an explosion at Hogwarts to the Ministry, all students were accounted for, with the exception of The-boy-who-lived.
Word somehow got to famed alchemist Nicolas Flamel, (who, along with his wife Perenelle, have not been seen in public in almost 80 years) that an attempt to steal their Philosopher's Stone had been attempted.
In a surprising move, Master Flamel accompanied Headmaster Dumbledore, DMLE director Madam Amelia Bones, and a team of Aurors back to the school, and was the first to enter the chamber where the confrontation between The-boy-who-lived and You-know-Who took place.
Several sources state that a fragment of the Philosopher's Stone was present upon their arrival, but came up missing moments later.
The-boy-who-lived is said to be in the Hogwarts' infirmary with second and third degree burns over 90 percent of his body. His condition reportedly, is extremely grave.
We will keep you posted as more information becomes available.
The students of the school where shocked to hear the cause of the explosion yesterday, and more than a few wondered how Harry could have been involved with it after what happened to him in the Quidditch field early that day.
Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Susan worried more than most.
"When he gets out of that hospital, I'm going to hook a harness on him so he can't just go off and try to get himself killed again!" Hermione stated.
"I doubt that would work Hermione," Susan replied. "I mean, everyone in the infirmary was knocked out before Harry left. That's six adults, plus the four of us. I'm sure he did it 'just to keep us safe' too."
"I just wonder how he knew You-know-Who was in the castle and after the stone. I mean, we've been with him most of the time, and something like that hasn't even come up that I can recall." Neville added.
"I think Harry is getting extra help." Ron stated thoughtfully.
"What do you mean Ron?"
"Have you ever noticed that when you're with Harry the stairs are always in the right place for you to get to your class? Or how the food around him is a better quality than what they have even at the teacher's table?"
"Only you would notice something like that Ron." Hermione commented.
"Ya, I know, but... how 'bout in the library? Is it easier to find the books your looking for when Harry's with you, or when you're by yourself?"
Hermione thought for a moment before her eyes widened suddenly. "Every time I'm with Harry it seems like I can walk right to the book I'm looking for. I've never had a problem finding anything when I'm with Harry. Are you saying that... Hogwarts... is helping Harry?"
"All I know is that Harry seems so happy here. It's almost like he's in love with a girl, but there's no girl that I can see, unless it's Hogwarts."
As Nicolas predicted, at the end of the second day the chrysalis around Harry started to crack. It took Harry nearly three hours to get all of it off. At the end he was exhausted and tired.
"Did someone get the number of that Hippogriff that just ran over me?" He asked to no one in particular.
On hearing a feminine laugh from the side of his bed, he turned his head to see a middle-aged (for wizards) couple sitting there. He didn't realize it at the moment, but he wasn't wearing his glasses at the time, but could still see them perfectly.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't know I had company." Harry said as he tried to get up, only to lie back down quickly. "I hope you don't mind if I sit here for a while. It's been a rough week." He closed his eyes again.
Another laugh from the woman in the room. "Oh Nick, you're right. He's almost as bad as you when it comes to trying to get right back up after a near-death experience."
"Excuse my manners Mr. Potter, my name is Perenelle Flamel and this is my husband Nicolas. Please call me Nell, and I'm sure my husband would let you call him Nick." Lady Flamel introduced herself and her husband to Harry.
"Um, just call me Harry. Flamel? Flamel... I normally don't have this much trouble recalling information. I know that name is familiar for some reason. Did you and Professor Dumbledore do something with ten pin bowling?"
This time both of them laughed at the disconnected information from the Professor Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog Card.
"Close Harry. We worked together on the twelve uses of dragon's blood."
"Oh, sorry. How can I help you?"
"Harry, I need to ask you: What was the last thing you remember before waking up just now."
Harry was still quite groggy from his recent ordeal. It took him a few minutes to think about what had just happened. Finding it difficult to access his thoughts, he answered as best he could.
"Um, I know we had a quidditch match against Ravenclaw, I think, and then something happened after the game and I ended up in the infirmary, but I had to get out of there because Tom was after the Philosopher's Stone..."
"Tom?" Nell asked.
"Oh, sorry. Tom Riddle. He calls himself... Voldemort? Ya, Voldemort these days. He killed my parents when I was a baby."
"But he died when his killing curse failed to kill you and reflected back to himself didn't he?" Nell asked.
"No, no... Not killed, more like... displaced. He's not a ghost, not even a spirit, but he's still around. Even after whatever happened when I fought him today, he's still around. I can feel him... well, I use to." Harry automatically moved his hand to cover his scar.
Both Flamels looked at each other with a concerned look on each of their face.
After a moment, Nick picked up the questioning. "Harry? How did you know the Philosopher's Stone was in danger?"
Harry half closed his eyes, trying to remember how he knew he needed to act. "Oh, she told me the stone was here and that Tom was trying to get it. But he couldn't make his move on it until he got Dumbledore out of the way."
"She? She told you? Who's she? The Stone?" Nell asked.
Realizing what he had almost said Harry tried to back track. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean 'She'. It must have just been a dream or something. Sorry."
But Nick wasn't buying it. "No Harry, someone, or something told you about the Stone and that it was in danger. You found her didn't you Harry? You found Lady Hogwarts?"
Ashamed his secret was out, Harry lowered his head and nodded.
"I can't believe it," Nicolas Flamel half laughed. "Eleven years old and has already found his way to the astral plane! It took me half a lifetime! I'm impressed."
"How long has it been since you've visited the true Hogwarts sir?" Harry asked.
"Oh, its probably been what a century or two? I don't get back here too often. Too many distractions and interruptions."
"Been seeing another woman behind my back Nick?" his wife of over five hundred years asked. "When were you going to tell me how to do that?"
"He couldn't ma'am. Each person has to find out how to do it on their own."
"Oh. Any hints?"
"Try to do it before you get your portrait painted."
Nick broke in again. "Harry, why didn't you retrieve the stone sooner?"
"Um, Lady Hogwarts said it was in no danger at the time, that we could wait awhile until Tom started planning to make his move."
"How did Voldemort get into Hogwarts anyway?"
"He possessed the body of our Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, Quoromis Quirrell."
"And Albus didn't know about this?" Nick was a bit upset with this information.
"I don't know if he knew or not. Professor Quirrell always keep a turban wrapped around his head, and had a strong smell of garlic around him. You really didn't want to spend alot of time around him if you could avoid it."
"Just one more thing Harry, what happened in there?"
Harry thought about the experience he had just been through. He looked into the eyes of his unexpected guests and saw no hint of judgment, only genuine concern. For whatever reason, Harry decided to trust the Flamels. In some respects, he felt honored having them interested in him in general, and in this last experience in particular.
He felt that they, more than any other had a right to know what went on down there between Voldemort and himself. It was THEIR Philosopher's Stone that Voldemort went after. It was THEIR Philosopher's Stone that had apparently been destroyed. It was THEIR life that was hanging in the balance. Harry felt genuine sadness as to what it might mean to the Flamels if the Stone was truly gone.
Over the next hour, he told them what had happened, but could not tell them of the explosion itself. That would be something that maybe Lady Hogwarts would let him know in time.
"Thank you for sharing that with us Harry. I know it couldn't have been easy. There are a few other things that I need to tell you about how you were found." Nick started off, "I was the first person in the chamber and found you lying unconscious on the floor. I noticed you had an amulet hanging around your neck." Harry's hand immediately went over his heart where the amulet that stored he's parents trunk was.
Nick shook his head. "Yes Harry, I know what's there. I left it intact. However, what this means is that at some point in time during your fight with Voldemort, you were completely without ANY magic in your body at all. That is the only way the amulet could have become visible. At that point in time, you were nothing more than a squib and could have stayed that way or even died from that condition."
"When I picked up the amulet, I noticed that your mother must have done alot of work on the amulet as I could feel her magical signature on it. I don't know if you knew this, but Lily was a Charms apprentice of Nell's. We both worked with her for many hours over the two year period before you were born. In fact, the Potter's and the Flamel's have been very close over the centuries."
"There was something else attached to your amulet though: a piece of the Philosopher's Stone." Despite his current condition, Harry sat straight up in bed. Of course, the sudden decrease of blood flow to his brain meant that once his momentum stopped, he found himself blacking out and crashed right back into bed holding his head in pain. "You are still too weak to try to sit up yet Harry, but let me continue."
Taking out a small vial, Nick passed it to Harry who quickly drank it down. Slowly the pain went away, and he could pay attention to his visitors again.
Nick continued, "I knew I had to work quickly, so I hid the stone in your mother's trunk in the amulet and then hid the amulet so that no one could take it from you again before too many questions could be asked."
"Why would you do something like that Mr. Flamel? As I understand it, you and your wife still need the Stone to create the Elixir of Life from time to time."
Nicolas and Perenelle looked at each other lovingly and held one another's hand.
"We have decided that we have spent too much time in this plane of existence. It's time for us to move on to the next great adventure. However, we still have a few things that need to be taken care of first. That is one of the reasons we are here today. Harry, we would like you to be our heir."
Whatever Harry was expecting the Flamels to want to talk to him about, this would have never crossed his mind, so he did the only thing he could have done. He fainted.
"Well, I think he took that quite well." Nick expressed.
Nell hit him on the arm, "You could have used a little more tack with him dear."
"I suppose, but we really don't have that much time to spend with him. I know Dumbledore is just chomping at the bit to get in here and talk to the boy."
"Along with about half the British wizarding world."
'Well, let revive him and get as much of this out of the way as we can. We only have a few more hours left if we're to escape the Headmaster's company."
Reviving Harry, they tried explaining their desires one more time. After a while, they got back on track.
"Harry, we don't have much time before the Headmaster will be barging in here."
For the first time during the discussion, Harry smiled a crocked smile. "How much time do you need?"
"Days, weeks even, but right now we have less than four hours to cover as much ground as possible."
Harry grin again at the Flamels. "Do you think four days would help?"
It was Mrs. Flamel to answer this time, "Of course four days would be helpful, but using a time-turner to that extent could be very dangerous."
"I'm not talking time-turners; I'm talking time-dilation. Slowing down time to where four hours outside time is five DAYS inside."
"How?" was all Nick asked.
"Help me get my parent's trunk out of the amulet and I'll show you."
After casting more locking charms on the door, the Flamels and Harry took his training trunk out and expanded it to full size.
"Let me show you around the trunk first before we get started."
Harry showed them where he and his friends studied and trained. Then took them to the living quarters in chamber five. Upon seeing the copy of Potter Manor, both Flamels became a bit emotional. "I never thought we would see this again." Nell stated. "Just being here I expect to see your many-times Great Grandmother Elizabeth to come around the corner to greet us."
They continued the tour until they came to chamber eight. Now it was Nick's turn to act like a child in a candy store.
"Have you done any of the rites or rituals in this room yet Harry?"
"No sir. I'm still reading up on them, and waiting for my body to grow and mature so I can get the most benefit from them. So far all my friends and I have used this for is to slow time down so we can study and train."
"Smart lad, I may have a few books and old tomes that you may be interested in in about twenty years or so."
Calling Sassy, Harry introduced her to the Flamels and told her to help the Flamels any way she could. He then asked her to get a wizard's tent and supplies for them for four days.
When that was done, and the chamber activated, Nick addressed Harry again.
"With this time-dilation chamber we can take our time to explain what is involved in becoming our heir, but it also gives you time to recover. If you would like, I can help with getting your mind organized to where it will be easier to recall things."
Harry gave a little smile. He already knew about occlumency and how to organize his mind, but then he thought that he hadn't 'heard' from his 'Ma' or Durendal since being woke up. Right now, it was just too hard to concentrate to the point that he could enter his mind-scape again.
"Let me give you a dreamless sleeping potion so you can catch up on your rest, and hopefully, get to feeling a little better, and then, if we can use you elf, we can get everything we need to talk about when you wake up.
After Harry agreed and had told Sassy to follow the Flamels instructions as she would his own, Nicolas gave him a dreamless sleeping potion and sent him to bed.
The Flamels had Sassy and some of the other house-elves help them in moving most of the contents of their home and vault to Harry's mostly unused chamber 9. Even with everything shrunk as much as they could, it still almost filled the chamber completely.
The Flamels took this time to ask Sassy about Harry and how he had trained. She answered as best she could without betraying any of Harry's secrets.
The next morning Harry got up, feeling much better than he did before, but still only at ten percent of his magical power's capacity. He met with the Flamels as they went over some of the many things they intended Harry to look after once they were gone.
Shortly after lunch Master Flamel offered to help Harry with his Occlumency shields, and hopefully help him get his mind and memories organized.
Harry felt a little intimidated at the offer, but also felt he needed the help. After extracting a vow from the Flamels that they would not reveal any of his secrets, he agreed to his help.
Harry centered himself and concentrated on his mind-scape as Nicolas cast the Legilimens spell.
Harry and Nicolas found themselves looking at the mess that was Harry's mind-scape. All his defenses, buildings and even his 'knowledge sphere' were gone. The only thing still present were scattered books, tomes, and scrolls as far as the eye could see. After looking around for a minute, Harry started calling for 'Ma'.
"Who's 'Ma' Harry?" came the natural question.
"Before my mother left me the night Voldemort attacked, she was able to leave the 'essences' of her existence with me; her thoughts, experience, training and knowledge. She has comforted me as long as I can remember while I was at my Uncle and Aunt's house, and was the only reason I turned out half as good as I did. I've never been without her that I can remember. I don't know how I would act if I didn't have her around." He was feeling a bit panicked after thinking about life without 'Ma'.
'She is not here my champion.' came the response behind them.
Turning, Harry and Master Flamel found Lady Hogwarts holding her hands in front of her with a sad countenance on her face. 'She has sacrificed herself a second time to save you, and us all.'
Master Flamel looked at Harry, then Lady Hogwarts, and then Harry again. "How..."
'My champion had anchored his core to the true Hogwarts in the astral plane. It is how I could help him in his conquest. It was one of the sources I used to feed him power during his fight with Riddle. When his magic was exhausted, the connection was broken, and I thought I had lost my champion forever. Fortunately, when the first spark of magic reentered his core it sought me out, and found me. I was able to secure the anchor to Hogwarts and am now able to come to my champion as easily as he can come to me.'
Harry was trying to process what Lady Hogwarts had said about his 'Ma'. He could not imagine what life would be like without her to guide him along.
"What... How did it happen?" he asked with a shaky voice. "And where is Durendal? What happened to his castle?" Nicolas had come over to Harry to help him stand.
'I need to show you, my champion. Please, come with me back to the True Hogwarts. Yes, Master Flamel, you may come with us. I feel young Harry will need your support.'
In an instant, they found themselves back in the astral plane, standing before the True Hogwarts. Lady Hogwarts guided Harry and Nicolas into the Great Hall where the Founders and others were watching what had transpired just a few days ago.
All present approached Harry and hugged him or shook his hand, and slapped him on his back, thanking him for saving their school.
When Salazar approached, he gave Harry a long, heart-felt hug. As he broke the embrace, he slapped him on the back of the head. 'What did I tell you about talking too much during a dual? Fight first, talk later. You should have never let him get a spell off. I can't believe how close you came to losing this contest. Next time, just get in, kill him, and get out! Don't talk!'
Despite feeling so low at the time, Harry couldn't help but laugh.
Finding seats in the Hall, Harry and Nicolas watched the memories displayed on the ceiling of the Great Hall from the time Harry left the infirmary and 'slid' to the chamber holding the Stone. Nick watched in awe as an Eleven-year-old boy fought the most evil wizard in the last hundred years. He saw how Hogwarts was feeding Harry magical energy through his body, and his connection through the astral plane.
Together they watched as he dropped his sword so that he could hold Ravenclaw's staff with both hands; and how it touched the protective wards Harry was erecting around the room.
They watched as his core grew weaker and weaker. How 'Ma' dismantled anything she could that drew from his core so as to give him just a little more energy. In the end, the only two things left were herself, and the piece of tainted core of Tom Riddle he had been carrying for ten years.
Harry could see 'Ma' make her decision, and started saying 'No, no, NO 'Ma' YOU CAN'T DO THIS!' He fell to his knees and started crying as he knew what his... Mother... was going to do. As if hearing him, she said, 'I will always love you, my son.'
With that, she removed the shield from around the tainted core. Immediately Harry could see, and almost feel the evil knowledge start to escape, trying to take over his body as it had done three years prior.
Harry watched and saw the pain his Mother was going through as she picked it up and held it to her chest. Looking over at Voldemort, you could tell that his core was at critical mass, about ready to rupture. With the determination that only a mother could have, she raced out Harry's magic channels directly into Voldemort's core.
The reaction was instant. It was as if the Essences of Lily and the core of Tom Riddle were shot by a high powered shot into an over-pressured storage container. Riddle's core ruptured, destroying his body and sending all his pent-up magical energy out in all directions at great speed.
Harry's 'Alere Roboris' shield failed, but the protective shields held, drawing their power from Durendal. As the magical energy hit the shields, Harry noticed that it seemed to rush towards the sword.
Harry was being thrown back against the far wall as a result of the pressure and energy released from Voldemort's core. A physical object flew at him and hit him squarely in the chest. Everyone watched as the protection provided by 'The Blessing of the Heir' was ripped aside one layer at a time until none remained. As Harry's body settled to the floor, the amulet his parent's had placed on him as a child became visible. Stuck in the middle of the amulet – a molten fragment of The Philosopher's Stone.
'Hogwarts is built on a major ley line from which I draw my power. Durendal acted as a 'lightning rod' if you will, channeling the magic away from the building and down back into the ley line. This is the only reason over half the castle did not collapse.
'What happened to Durendal?' he asked.
Pointing back at the view before them, he saw how the sword of Prince Roland had melted due to the heat generated from the amount of energy that was flowing through it.
'I am sorry Harry,' Lady Hogwarts said, 'He did not survive the exposure.'
Harry could almost feel the heat from the room and the melted metal again as he watched himself lying there helpless on the floor, mostly dead. He thought back to what his 'Ma' had done. sacrificing herself, and in the process, ridding him of that corrupt core of Tom Riddle, never to be a source of temptation again.
'When your 'Ma' took the shields off Riddle's core, some of the knowledge he possessed escaped, and is included in that mountain of paper that is in your mind-scape.' Lady Hogwarts verified. 'You will have to be very careful in handling this knowledge as it can still corrupt your soul if you give in to it. But it can also be the source of great insight if you are ever faced with a threat like this again.'
Thinking of his loss, Harry began to cry again. It felt as if someone had cut out his soul with a wooden spoon. He couldn't help himself as he cried uncontrollably.
How long he cried, he didn't know. He knew there were people around him comforting him and giving words of encouragement, but he didn't hear any of it. All he knew was loss.
Lady Flamel had taken this time to begin to organize the books and artifacts that had been brought from their estate when she was interrupted by the sound of crying coming from the room her husband and Harry were using for their Occlumency session. Upon entering the room, she found her husband, gently placing Harry back in his bed. His eye's were red and puffy, and as he stood and saw his wife, he came over and hugged her as if he was never going to let her go.
Guiding her out of the room, and placing a Silencing Charm on the room, and they went further into the wizarding tent.
"Nick, what's wrong." she asked tentatively.
Still not trusting himself to speak, he summoned a pensieve and placed the memories of his time in the astral plane, and the events of Harry facing Voldemort.
When Lady Flamel came out of the pensieve, she too was crying. But not for the same reasons as her husband. She was crying for the love shown by Lily. For the strength, and courage it took to save her son – even if it meant loosing her 'life'. It was a sacrifice Lily willingly made without hesitation. Lady Flamel could relate to the feelings of that in a mother.
She had not been present when her own beautiful daughter had been attacked and killed by another dark lord many years ago; but she knew, if she had, she would have done the same thing for her daughter as Lily had done for Harry, not once, but twice. It is the kind of Love that only a mother can understand and truly appreciate.
"He's going to need a lot of help to get over this." Lady Flamel stated. "I knew Lily had a great capacity for love, but that was on the level of a Saint."
"Greater love hath no man, or no woman, than this, that they lay down their life for their friends." Master Flamel paraphrased.
"Nick, after seeing what Harry has just been through, I can't just dump all this on him and leave him to cope with it. He needs time to heal, to mourn, and accept his loss so he can move on."
"Do you mean your not ready to shack off this mortal coil yet dear?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying dear. I mean, if Harry is agreeable with it, we can still 'disappear' from the wizarding world and stay right here and help the young man. Just think of the fun you could have of having another young apprentice who is smart, hard working, and wouldn't take advantage of you like some have had in the past. And with this wonderful chamber, I could even teach him in Charms and Transfiguration like his mother before!"
"But are you sure you want to get that close to him Nell? The Stone IS broken. There will be no more elixir of life to keep you as young as you are now?"
"So we begin to age at a normal rate. That still gives us a good forty to sixty years with him. I'm sure by that time he'll be more than ready to get on with his life. And it's not like we have to spend ALL that time with him. There are still places I would like to see before I'm gone."
"All right, what about his friends then? I'm sure he would still like to bring them down here to train once in a while."
"Well, if I remember correctly, this trunk has a wooded open space in it. When was the last time you practiced your animagus form?"
"Yes, that would be a good use of the space, and our time."
"So, it's settled then. We ask Harry if he'd like a couple of old fossils to help him with his grief, and to train him."
"That sounds about right." her husband replied.
The emphasis of their planning changed greatly from that point on. They were still going to give Harry everything they had, but first, they were going to help him learn to live with his loss and how to move on from it.
When Harry woke up later that day, the Flamels comforted him, and talked to him about the love his Mother had shown for him once again. Lady Flamel told him some stories of his mother while she had been her apprentice, and of the friendship the Flamel's had shared with Potters of other generations. Harry slowly came to accept his loss and to build his memories and mind-scape again. However, when he created an avatar to help him sort through his mind, he specifically stayed away from one that looked anything like 'Ma'. He didn't think he could take seeing her like that again.
At the end of the period in chamber eight, Nick and Nell asked Harry if he would like them to stay and help him learn and cope better.
Harry was overjoyed at the prospects of having both of them with him and learning, not only magic, but about his family as well.
"There's just one more thing I'd like to ask you Harry. Do you know if a person can stay in your trunk when it is being stored in the amulet?" Nicolas asked.
"I think so. I mean, there are animals in chamber seven all the time while I'm wearing the amulet, but to be on the safe side let's ask Sassy."
Harry called for his first friend in the magical world and asked her the Flamels question.
"Of course it's safe for any being to be in the trunk when it is shrunk and in the amulet. Why, that's how all us house-elves get around when we're moving from Hogwarts to Lupin Manor. It's great to have our 'Master' lug us all around after all the messes we have to clean up after him." she joked.
The Flamels were shocked at the attitude Sassy took with Harry, but were even more shocked when Harry started laughing and pulled the small house elf in to a loving hug.
"Thanks Sassy. I need to be put in my place every once in awhile."
Harry left the trunk, and placed it back in his amulet, while the Flamels went to chamber five and placed one of the bedrooms there under a Fidelius Charm so only they and Harry would know where to find them should his friends be in the house.
As soon as Harry returned to his bed the door opened and the Headmaster entered with Madam Pomfrey on his heels.
"Nicolas, Perenelle, I must insist you stay..." He looked around the room to find Harry was the only occupant.
"Where did they go? The Flamels where did they go to?" the Headmaster was looking around frantic to find his old mentor. "Harry do you know where the Flamels are? It is imperative that I have an opportunity to speak to them before they leave!"
"I'm sorry Professor, but they have already gone. Sorry. Now I think Madam Pomfrey need to check me to see if I can get out of here before too long."
Professor Dumbledore spent several minutes casting reveal charms around the room trying to find the missing witch and wizard, but to no avail. Finally, he left so Madam Pomfrey could give him an exam.
After being released, as soon as he stepped out of the infirmary, Harry found himself engulfed in a five way hug as all his close friends started to congratulate him and ask him questions as to what happened after he disappeared three days ago.
Harry told them that they would have to wait until the train ride home to get any answers; that he was still recovering and needed some time to himself. They accepted his conditions and let him know that they were glad to have him back.
Harry went to the 'Room of Knowledge' and brought the Flamels out of the trunk and introduced them to the portraits of Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. The Founders were very pleased the Flamels, and even more pleased that they were going to be helping Harry for the foreseeable future.
Rowena looked up at Harry and spoke, "Harry, I know Lady Hogwarts left my journal out to show you the relationship between the staff and my diadem. I think you've earned the right to read the solution to the problem for yourself."
Harry excused himself from the discussion between the Founders and the Flamels and did indeed find Ravenclaw's diary open to a certain page.
'I have found that knowledge, by itself, is neither good or evil. It is the application of that knowledge and the intent of the magic that dictates whether something is good or evil.'
'I have decided I must protect my knowledge, and so have decided to preserve it in my most precious item – my diadem. I have further protected this knowledge by transfiguring my diadem into a staff. Only my heir will be able to wield the staff or find this passage in my diary to learn how to recover it.'
'Place the staff on the desk; place your hand in the middle of the staff and repeat:'Wit beyond measure is Man's greatest Treasure.'
'If you are a true heir, you will be able to retrieve the crown.'
'Place it on your head and learn what it means to be Ravenclaw... but I recommend you sit down for this part. To return the diadem to a staff, just think of summoning the staff again, and the enchantment will be removed from it.'
Harry took Lady Ravenclaw's advice and sat in a chair before placing the diadem on his head.
He was assaulted by the amount of information and knowledge contained in it and was quickly overwhelmed.
When he came around, he noticed a very concerned couple looking at him.
"I must say Harry, that crown looks very fetching on you." Lady Flamel said with a snicker. Her husband also had trouble keeping his laughter in.
Thinking of the Ravenclaw staff, the diadem disappeared, and the staff appeared in his hand.
"Be very careful Lady Flamel, I have a staff and know how to use it." he said jokingly.
Finally the students found themselves on the train heading back to London.
True to his word, as soon as everybody was situated, Harry took his friends into his trunk to tell them about what happened. To their surprise, instead of going directly to chamber eight, they entered wooded area in chamber seven.
Once they were there, they noticed some new animals playing in the fields. A rough-legged hawk, and a thompson gazelle came over to Harry and his friends.
"These are gifts from the Flamels to help keep me company while I'm recovering. The hawk is named Nick, and the gazelle is named Nell."
He then invited his friends to sit down and told them about how he faced Voldemort. In the precess he had to admit to Hermione, that, yes, he was 'The Protector', and he admitted to Ron that yes, he had been getting help from Hogwarts.
After listening to his story, there wasn't a dry eye in the group. After explaining to them how important it was to keep this information secret, each vowed to not discuss this meeting with anyone not already present.
Coming out of the trunk, Harry and his friends spent the rest of the time playing exploding snaps and talking about what they were going to do during the summer.
After the train pulled into the station, Harry made it a point to meet each of his friends family and thanked them for having such fine children. Things were a bit comical when he was reintroduced to the Weasley family. Molly just wanted to suffocate him with her hugs and thanked him over and over for all the help he'd been to the family that year.
He was a little embarrassed in meeting Ginny again. After all, his version of Lady Hogwarts looked a great deal like what he thought Ginny would look as she grew older.
Finally meeting Sirius and Remus, Harry was ready to go home now.
"Ready for the summer Harry?" Remus asked.
"I think I am Uncle Remus, I think I am."
FINI
A/N – So that's the end of this story for now. Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing. I was trying to have it ready by September 11th, but that just didn't happen.
If I were to do a sequel, it might be something like this:
2nd year – Harry learns from the Flamels and gets to know Ginny. She still gets the dairy, opens the Chamber only to find it has a new owner (Harry) and no big snake. Ginny still almost loses her life, but Harry is there to save the day. This time, she has someone she can count on to help her recover from Tom's possession, and comes out much stronger because of it. She may also get introduced to the Flamels.
3rd year– With Sirius is already out of prison, the bulk of this year would be with growing closer as a group (now including Ginny and Luna).
4th year – Standard Tri-Wizard mess. Harry entered, kicks butt and takes name. Cedric doesn't die. Voldemort doesn't make it out of the graveyard (have to find a new death-eater to help him get his body back).
5th year – Dementor's still try to get Harry – with disastrous results. He is brought into court for destruction of government property. Dumbledore wants #12 cleared up, Harry calls Ty and everything is done (rebuilt)before Dumb-as-a-dore can stop him. Molly and Sirius will clash as to how Harry is being raised. Umbitch is still there, Harry and the others make short work of her. More trouble with the Ministry. A different trap set for Sirius – does he live or does he die?
6th and 7th year – What book 6 & 7? These are the reason why there are so many Fan Fiction stories. Everything after year 5 is a POS in my opinion. Have you ever noticed how many of the FF stories start at the end of the fifth year?
On a different topic.
I have loved music of most styles for a long time. I found one song by Shania Twain that is a great tongue-in-cheek song regarding the state of the economy in the USA.
It's called 'Ka-ching', like the sound an old cash register would make when the cash drawer comes out. See the original video at:
watch?v=iEe3hBXZEyI
A remake (Ms. Twain w/o the red dress) is at:
watch?v=AUnmTE6ljRg
The song actually has a great message, but I can see why it didn't get a lot of airtime when it came out in 2002. You don't have to like the music, but you can't disagree that Ms. Twain is easy on the eyes. Even if they are both a little over-the-top.