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SIYE Time:12:38 on 29th March 2024
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Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived
By Khrys

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Category: Post-HBP
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Luna Lovegood, Minerva McGonagall, Neville Longbottom, Nymphadora Tonks, Remus Lupin, Ron Weasley
Genres: General
Warnings: Death, Sexual Situations, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 28
Summary: This is my version of Book Seven. It picks up where Book Six left off, and follows Harry and his friends through their trials and tribulations. Everyone know that Harry has to defeat Voldemort, but does he have to do it alone, without love? All of your favorite characters are here. This story follows canon closely. H/G, R/Hr, and other pairings are included.
Hitcount: Story Total: 86754; Chapter Total: 7915





Author's Notes:
Chapter One includes the Prologue.

Author’s Note: J.K. Rowling created the world in which I work. Everything Harry is hers alone.




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Prologue

For the first time in the days since Dumbledore’s funeral, Professor McGonagall allowed herself a moment to break down and truly feel her loss. It was really everyone’s loss. She sat down heavily in Dumbledore’s ornate chair, feeling the weight and pressure of the decisions to be made. She alone was responsible for these decisions. Her shoulders shook quietly as the tears rolled down her cheeks. A tawny barn owl gently tapped his beak on the jewel colored glass. In the afternoon light the windows appeared to be beautiful painted renditions of a phoenix, with all of the bold colors shining on the cold stone of the office walls. The half-open window allowed a soft breeze to stir the message against the owl’s leg. The soft scritching sound brought Minerva back to the office where she stood. She removed the note from his leg, unrolled the parchment, and hastened to leave the office immediately after reading it’s contents.

The fading sounds of footsteps echoed throughout the office as the eyelids in the portrait slowly opened revealing a pair of gleaming eyes.

The first sight that swam into focus was the empty stand where Fawkes would normally perch. He noticed that he felt a little groggy and he shook his head in an effort to clear the dust that felt like it had settled there. He stared around in amazement at the portraits that lined the walls of his former office. Realization of his situation dawned on him almost immediately.

Suddenly there was a deafening silence. A distinct feeling of wariness accompanied the quiet that enveloped the room. It was then that he realized that someone must have been listening to the WWN. He heard the radio personality announce that in the past hour they had played the top ten hits for the week. The countdown was now at number one with a song by Cher. He smirked to think of all the muggles who thought she was a muggle herself. She was not only a witch, but an accomplished metamorphagus as well. He listened to the pleasantly low beginnings of the number one hit in both the wizard and muggle worlds.

When you’re standing on the edge of nowhere
There’s only one way up
So your hearts gotta go there
Through the darkest night
See the light shine bright
When heroes fall, in love or war
They live forever

This is a song for the lonely
Can you hear me tonight?
For the broken hearted, battle scarred
I’ll be by your side
And this is a song for the lonely
When your dreams won’t come true
Can you hear this prayer?
Cause someone’s there for you.



Dumbledore found himself lost in the images her lyrics provoked. The images grew stronger and more powerful as he dreamily hummed along to the music when the chorus started.

So let it find you
Wherever you may go
I’m right behind you
You don’t have to look no more


His eyes flew open as the images transformed into memories. He clung to the past ferociously until one memory began to repeat itself. As the end of the song neared, his eyes flew open. He was alert and his eyes gleamed from within. Had Harry been in the room to witness the sight he would have immediately recognized the glint in his former headmaster’s eyes.

The light faded from his eyes, ever so slightly, as the voices sounded in unison. They called from the depths of his mind; they called him to listen one more time.

“Verus Diligo”

Cassie’s voice was faint, echoing from another time. It was a time that was lost, a time that Dumbledore longed to forget.

The look in her eyes morphed to utter terror and then instantaneously back to peace and love. The red flash of light streaked between them, knocking Cassie backwards. She was violently thrown against the cold stone of the dungeon wall. She uttered a soft cry as she saw her attacker advancing toward the couple. He felt her power as she gathered the love in her heart and used it to push him out of harms way. He felt the second flash of light breeze by his neck, narrowly missing him.

For a fraction of a moment, he waited, daring to hope.

He heard a loud ‘pop’ and slowly released the pent up breath he did not know he had been holding

“Cassie?” Dumbledore breathed, still clinging to the hope that she lived.

He crawled forward, searching for any sign of life, but the curse had hit its mark.

Cassandra Trelawney was gone.


As the memory faded, the brightness of the office intensified the colors glowing from the windowpanes. He was lost in his thoughts until a soft trill pulled him back into reality.

Dumbledore smiled softly at his oldest friend and constant companion.

“I believe they are ready, my old friend” Dumbledore chuckled.

Fawkes disappeared with a flash. No sooner had he gone, than Dumbledore urgently longed to call him back. He wanted to forget the silly ideas of an old man.

“But then,” he mused “they are ready.”

“I wonder how long it will take her to locate it?” he asked the question aloud, though he expected no answer.

***************************** **************************************** **************************************** ******
Chapter One: Charmed and Bonded

Everyone had left on the train earlier that day after Dumbledore’s funeral. Everyone, that is, except Harry, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Neville and Luna. Professor McGonagall had asked Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny to wait for an escort of Order members. Then she had turned to Neville and Luna to discuss their plans.

Neville had remained to help Professor Sprout tend to some urgent matters in Greenhouse 3. Neville had been delighted when Professor Sprout offered to let him stay in the small flat attached to the greenhouses. It was usually reserved for guests, but he needed to be close to the greenhouse to protect the plants from the Glumbumble. Professor Sprout had explained that they had an unusually large infestation of them this year. Without constant supervision, the Glumbumble can infect the plants with a melancholy-inducing treacle. This made the plants completely unusable for potion work. She had a very important, but rather quick trip she needed to make before the start of the next term. She had asked him to remain behind to protect the valuable plants.


Luna had remained behind because she had nowhere else to go. Her father was off on an expedition, chasing after the elusive Narglesap, Professor McGonagall explained. Until the members of the Order came to get Harry and the others, she was perfectly content to read the Quibbler in her common room. Ginny and Hermione had offered to let her stay in Gryffindor tower with them, but Luna had declined. She told them that she was afraid of being infected by the Horklump. She was positive that she had seen one near the Gryffindor tower the day before.

McGonagall had explained to the others that they would have to wait in the Gryffindor tower. The Order couldn’t spare anyone to guard the trip out of Hogwarts until the day after next. Harry and Ron were secretly thrilled, despite the sadness of the day’s events. They would have one more chance to fly on a real Quidditch Pitch.

The next day, in the light of the early afternoon, Ron awoke with a start. He had been dreaming of a Quidditch victory and celebration party, not unlike the one that Harry had shared with Ginny. The dream had been so vivid. The colors, the sounds, everything had felt like it was happening right then and there. He imagined that he could still feel her hands on his arm, her breath on his cheek.

After Dumbledore’s funeral, Harry had gone to bed on the tower long before Ron. He had left after tossing quietly for hours, which meant that Ron should be alone in the large room. He heard a noise; it sounded almost like the curtains rustling around his bed. He heard the noise again before it truly dawned on him that no one was in the room to make the noise. It was then that the terror began to build. His heart pounded wildly in his chest as he listened with bated breath for any sound of an intruder. He was slowly stretching to reach his wand before he was attacked, when he heard it. It was the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.

“Ron,” breathed Hermione, her tears soaking into his sleeve, "Don’t move yet.”

Ron felt as if his face would split in two, that his grin was enormous. He tried to move his arm to pull her close, but it wouldn’t move. He felt Hermione shift closer to him, awakening the nerves in his sleepy arm and sending shiver throughout his body.

It was the tingling sensation in his arm that woke him fully. Dumbledore’s funeral and the subsequent emotional hours had led to the current situation in which Ron happily found himself.

“Hermione?” Ron whispered, hoping she wouldn’t move.

“Mmm. Yes?” she mumbled with her face buried in his chest.

“Do you want to…” he started to ask.

“No. Never,” she answered before he could finish the question.

Ron had been about to ask her to move off of the arm that was asleep, but her answer did not fit in his mind.

Suddenly, he understood, and he felt like the world’s biggest git. “Hermione,” Ron’s voice almost squeaked in his effort to maintain his calm.

“Ron,” she whispered as her breath caught in her throat. She had taken the first step and now she had to wait for him.

“I, uh, never want to either.” And he truly didn’t. He never wanted to leave her comforting embrace. He knew then that he would never want to hold anyone else in his arms the way he was holding her.

Then, it was if a dam had burst inside his chest. Even if he had wanted to, which he didn’t, he couldn’t have stopped the words that gushed out of his mouth. He had realized that he needed to say them, just as much as Hermione needed to hear them. “I want to be the one to hold you, comfort you, protect you, and be everything to you. I love you.” It was all out before he had even had a chance to take a breath.

After a deep breath to calm her nerves, Hermione was ready to answer. “Don’t you want to kiss me?” she asked with a shaky voice, “You’re supposed to kiss the one who loves you.” Then without waiting for the shock to clear from his face, she turned her face to him and kissed him.

Ron’s brain was still playing catch up after discovering Hermione was lying in his arms, so it was a few long seconds before Ron realized the amazing moment of kissing Hermione. Abruptly, she pulled away, her face was flushed and she was breathing heavily. Ron was worried that she was embarrassed, until he recognized the expression on her face and the gleam in her eyes.

“When we kissed, I heard the…”

“But it was in my head and I…”

“Surely it couldn’t mean that…” She rushed to get the words out as both an explanation and an apology to Ron.

“Ron, I have to go. I have to see if…”

“I’ll be back.” She vanished from the room, not wasting anymore time on useless explanations.

Ron just lay across the vastness of the bed, enjoying the confusion that was usually so frustrating. This time was different, he might not know where she was going or what she was looking for, but he knew that she was on her way to find the answer to their problems. She would find whatever it was that would make everything work. He smiled to himself and thought about the time he called her an insufferable know-it-all, as he drifted off to sleep.

Hermione came rushing down the stairs, taking them two and three at a time. She barely registered the two figures slumped on the overstuffed sofa in front of the dying fire.

Hermione’s sudden appearance in the common room, and rushed exit through the portrait hole, did not interrupt the hushed conversation. Harry and Ginny were locked in each other’s arms. The idea of being anywhere without her was gone from his mind forever.

Harry had gone to bed the night before with the resolve to stay away from Ginny until it was safe for them to be together. He had lain in bed for hours, his cluttered mind overflowing with thoughts and emotions, staring at the ceiling. Frustrated, he closed his eyes in an attempt to clear his head. Eventually, he abandoned the attempt and went down to the common room to stare into the fire. The flickering of the flames comforted him with thoughts of Sirius.

He knew at once that his mind had led his heart astray when he saw Ginny crumpled on the sofa quietly sobbing. Without a word, he crossed the room, bent down and gathered her in his arms. The softness of the sofa was like sandpaper compared to the loose tendrils of her hair that tickled his bare arms. Minutes passed by and then hours, while he held her. Slowly, as her sobs subsided, he felt his sorrow fade.

Hermione raced through the corridors of Hogwarts. She swerved to avoid a cranky suit of armor that gave a wheezy chuckle as she barely avoided knocking it over. She prayed that she could avoid Peeves and his dastardly pranks. She didn’t want to spare even the seconds that it would take to shoot a spell over her shoulder as she ran. She rounded the last corner and saw the gargoyle statue that guarded the entrance to the headmistress’s office. Her luck held until she was under the tall stone archway that rose high above the statue. Suddenly it came to her. “Acid Pop,” she cried, not knowing how she knew that the gargoyles would spring to life and allow her to pass into the office.

Once inside the office, she was so absorbed with her task that brushed past the newest addition to the walls of the office. The portrait hung lower on the wall than the others, in fact, it hung right behind the stand that Fawkes had perched on when Dumbledore was sitting at his desk. Had she paid any attention, she would have seen Fawkes sitting there as she scanned the office for the bookshelf behind Dumbledore’s massive desk.

The bookshelf was flanked on the left by a picture of Armando Dippett, who had been headmaster before Dumbledore. On the right, it butted up to a locked cabinet. Steeling herself for a long search, she began on the top shelf next to the portrait. She continued along the shelf until she reached the end against the cabinet. A cabinet that Harry would have known contained Dumbledore’s Pensieve.

After the fourth shelf of searching, she grew fearful and frustrated, but she did not give up easily. She felt a surge of hope as her fingers brushed the cover of the next book on the shelf. It was a leather bound book that glowed brightly, as if it contained all the light of a rainbow between its pages. She could feel the power radiate as she slid it reverently from the shelf.

Wasting no time to verify her find, knowing for certain that this was the book in her vision, she hurried to leave the headmaster’s office. She stopped abruptly next to the closed cabinet. She saw Fawkes gazing at her from across the room. He let out a soft trill and she knew that he had provided her with the vision at the time when she had been most receptive to it.

A smile spread across her face as she remembered what Professor Flitwick had said during a particularly interesting charms class in her fifth year. She doubted that either Harry or Ron would remember the lecture, or recall the significance of the topic, but she was sure that they would tease her for knowing.

“A Phoenix has the ability to plant a vision in a witch or wizard’s head in order to guide them in their quest. The Phoenix Charm is very rarely performed and the phoenix must be convinced that the witch or wizard it pure of heart and ready to believe.”

“Believe in what, Professor?” asked Lavender.

“Does anyone know?” squeaked Flitwick. “Yes, Miss Granger.”

“The power of love,” replied Hermione, matter-of-factly.

“Very good, Miss Granger, 10 points to Gryffindor.”


“Thank you, Fawkes. You always know when you are needed most.” speaking mostly to herself.

She wanted to shout her thanks for the whole world to hear and she wanted Voldemort to cringe at her cry of hope. Soon, she thought, very soon everyone will be filled with hope and Voldemort will do much more than cringe.

She headed back to the common room, clutching the book tightly. She needed to gather Harry, Ron, and Ginny to tell them what she’d found. She couldn’t help but give a girlish giggle at the idea of a challenge. Ron did not find it exhilarating to search through books with information flying at you as fast as you could turn the pages. That was one of the reasons she had fallen in love with Ron, he knew how to have fun. As many times as she had scoffed at their interest in Quidditch, she secretly longed to have the ability to be out there on the pitch playing alongside Ron.

She was not lucky on her return trip to Gryffindor tower. She was hurrying down the last hallway, with the portrait of the Fat Lady in sight, when Peeves appeared with a cackle. He began to pelt her with bits of wadded up parchment, and she had a hunch that they were pieces of the first year student’s lost homework. She barely glanced at him, until he began singing a catchy song from a popular muggle movie. Only Peeves was changing the words as he saw fit to aggravate the already emotional situation.

Ding-Dong the Witch is Dead
Which old Witch
It’s Dumbledore
Ding-Dong Dumbledore is Dead.


“Langlock,” Hermione called out as she waved her wand angrily. What right did Peeves have to try and hurt them like that, she thought?

Suddenly the singsong voice was replaced with a loudly hummed version of the same annoying song.

“Pygmy Puff,” said Hermione absently to the Fat Lady as she swung open to admit her to the common room. Hermione had been downright delighted when Ginny had put her foot down and told Ron that there wasn’t a chance in the wizarding world that they were going to allow him to choose ‘Wronski Feint’ as the password to the tower.

Harry and Ginny were still on the sofa, only now they were laying down with their legs entwined and draped over the armrest. They were both sound asleep, lost in their dreams. Although it was already early evening, she understood that they were emotionally drained. Not wanting to wake them, Hermione dropped into a comfortable overstuffed chair and quietly magicked a small oak table near her knees to rest her feet on while she read.

She opened the book to the first page and began her journey of knowledge.

Ron ambled downstairs to see about some food. Still in a daze from the previous night’s events, he was too happy to be concerned with the sight of Harry and Ginny on the sofa. Hermione looked up from her book as Ron walked past the sofa shaking his head. She knew that he was heading down to the kitchens to nick some food. Some things will never change, even if you are in love. “Ron,” Hermione called out softly, trying not to wake the sleeping couple. “Are you going to get something to eat?”

“I was going to see about dinner. Do you want something?” Ron whispered, still very sleepy and obviously startled to see Hermione buried in the chair.

“Could you bring something back for all of us?” she asked quietly. “I think we are all going to need something to eat…”

“Mione, I thought you were still looking… What should I bring back?” Ron asked, a little too loudly.

“Whatever the house elves have made for the staff. I don’t want you asking for something that causes them any extra work, Ronald.” she accused. Sounding more like the Hermione he knew and loved. Ron left the common room mumbling about Hermione and house elves. She wasn’t sure what he said, but she thought she heard the word ‘nutters’ somewhere in his rant.

Harry and Ginny began to stir lazily as the smell of the food reached them. By the time they reached the table, Ron and Hermione had started to eat. “Nice table, Hermione,” remarked Harry.

“And, thanks for conjuring chairs with cushions,” added Ginny. “They are so much more comfortable than the benches in the Great Hall.”

Hermione smiled to herself, it was a nice bit of spell work, she thought.

Harry, Ginny, Hermione and Ron ate in silence until Ron remembered Hermione’s sudden departure from his arms earlier. “Hey Mione, did you find what you were looking for?” he asked with great curiosity.

He had just noticed the radiant rainbow of light coming from the book that sat in the overstuffed chain less than a foot away. It shone brightly in the dimming light of the early evening. The fire had been lit and the candle on the walls glowed faintly, but their light was meager compared to the light emanating from the book.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione prepared to explain everything. She launched into her explanation, expecting tons of questions. When she got to the part about the Phoenix Charms, she saw Harry frown, but he said nothing. Ron, she noticed, was smirking at her. She continued talking for the better part of an hour. She kept waiting for someone to interrupt her, but everyone was listening carefully and they seemed to be following her plan. It was a mark of their closeness that no one called her a know-it-all when she told them that she would have to create the location and write the incantations herself. It was partly because the level of trust within the group was very high, but mainly because they knew that Hermione would never present an idea that she hadn’t analyzed to death. They would all have their parts to play; her part was to show them the way.

When she finished talking, she looked at Harry, then Ron, then Ginny, and back to Harry trying to gauge their individual responses. Harry looked determined to succeed, while a small smile played on Ginny’s lips. And Ron, Hermione wanted to giggle, Ron looked like that mad knight they had met while looking for Professor Trelawney’s classroom. Sir Cadogan, she thought to herself. He had all of the bravery in the world, but he was completely clueless.

“There is just one more thing I haven’t mentioned,” Hermione told everyone, “but I think it will come as a pleasant surprise when we are allowed to discover it for ourselves.”

Try as they might, they could not convince her to share her secret with them. After some questioning from Harry, that turned into cajoling from Ginny, that lead to veiled threats from Ron, she was still maintaining her silence on the matter.

“I do believe that it will blow your minds,” was the only thing that she would say as a pseudo explanation.

Even thought it was still early, all four agreed that they needed a good night of rest before they attempted such complicated and powerful magic. Both couples headed to the boys’ dormitory since it was the only place, other than the common room, that they could all sleep in close proximity. Hermione and Ginny enlarged the beds and moved them close together. The respective couples fell into bed exhausted, each thinking their own private thoughts. Had any of them been skilled in Legilimency, they would have known that they all shared the same concerned thoughts. The prevalent thought was one of hope, and it outweighed the fear by far.

They all drifted off to sleep, slumbering peacefully until the light of morning awoke them. The heavy curtains could not filter all of the morning’s bright light. As they managed to open their eyes, they heard a single note from Fawkes. The sound brought them hope and knocked the sleep from their heads. The mood was upbeat as they dressed for the day. Hermione laughed at Ron’s protests as she conjured an opaque screen to change behind. She laughed even harder at the look on Harry’s face when Ginny joined her a moment later.

Once downstairs, they were met with a heavenly smell coming from a four-foot tall stack of woolen hats. The smell was the breakfast that the house elves had sent up. They had taken it upon themselves to send every one of their favorite foods. Dobby was the walking hat rack, and he was scurrying about trying to put the finishing touches on the feast and preparing to greet his guests.

“Good Morning, Dobby,” Harry said.

“Thanks for bringing us breakfast,” said Ginny gratefully.

“Yeah, thanks Dobby. All my favorite foods are here,” Ron chimed in.

“Thank you, Dobby. You really didn’t need to go through all the trouble of bringing us each our favorite foods,” Hermione scolded him gently.

“It is no trouble. Dobby is honored to serve Mr. Harry Potter, his Wheezy and their Misses!” Dobby squeaked, excitement in his voice and his large eyes shining.

Everyone finished eating quickly. Ron paused to grab another piece of bacon as he swallowed the last of his orange juice.

Hermione had instructed them to wear their dress robes for the ceremony, so they left the common room to change. She couldn’t explain the feeling, she just knew that it was an occasion that called for special attire. After dressing hurriedly, Hermione and Ginny desperately tried to tame Hermione’s hair. She didn’t have any Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion left, so she had to trust Ginny to fix it with magic. She allowed her to twist it at the nape of her neck and secure it with a magical clip. Her hair was still bushy, but it was controlled and away from her face.

They rushed downstairs as they heard Ron yell for them to hurry up. When they got to the bottom of the stairs, Ginny stopped short and Hermione collided with her.

“Ouch, Ginny. What?” Hermione gasped.

“Look at his hair,” Ginny hissed at her.

“RONALD WEASLEY! You get back upstairs and comb your hair. I can’t believe…” Hermione yelled at him, reminding him of his Mum when she was really upset and winding up to go on for hours. Yet, he could have sworn that he heard her voice tremble slightly.

His face resembling a cherry tomato, he cut her off mid-sentence, “Mione. I do want to look my best. I’m going up right now,” his voice dropped so only she could hear his next statement. “Don’t yell, I’m worried too,” Ron said quietly as he walked over to her and put his arms around her shaking shoulders.

Harry was still not down from getting dressed, and Ron promised that he would bring him down after he combed his hair.
Hermione and Ginny sat gingerly on the edge of the plush sofa, trying desperately not to wrinkle their robes.

“You must really love him,” Ginny mused.

“I do,” Hermione admitted for the first time, “but, why are you asking?”

“Well, you know that I love Ron, but if I were you and he called me Mione in front of someone, I would hex him into the next room,” Ginny explained.

“Ah, that, Hermione replied, blushing prettily, "I think it’s really sweet.” Her voice dropping lower with each word.

Hermione was saved from any further embarrassment by the appearance of a flustered Ron and an impatient Harry. Harry practically yanked Ginny and Hermione off the sofa by their wrists as he urged them towards the portrait hole. No one even gave the common room a second look as the climbed out through the hole. They all chattered nervously as they made their way down the hall. Hermione was leading the way.

In the distance, Harry heard a soft song. With each step he took, Harry felt his heart lighten and his smile grow. Without turning to look at his companions, he knew they were smiling too. He also knew without asking that they felt the same way. He had heard this song before. He couldn’t place where, but he thought it was beautiful. It swelled his heart with hope and love, long before he saw the source of the music.

Fawkes was hovering in front of the stretch of wall that he knew was the secret entrance to the Room of Requirement. Hermione was the one to pace in front of the door, concentrating on what they would need for the ceremony. She opened the door, just as they had decided the day before. Even Ginny was a little surprised at how complete and accurate Hermione’s spell work had been. She had even been able to produce the chalk circles and the stand for Fawkes, everything they would need for the charm to work.

“Shall we begin,” Hermione asked. Then without waiting for an answer, she just plunged into the details. “The Phoenix Charm will take several hours. It will also consume a great deal of our strength and most of our magic reserves.” Hermione sounded like she was quoting a textbook she had committed to memory. “Does everyone have the incantations? Make sure that you have the right one. I wouldn’t even know where to look to put things right if something got swapped,” she prattled on nervously, checking everyone’s parchments as they held them out for her inspection. The parchments had been crisp and new when Hermione handed them to everyone. Now, both Ron’s and Harry’s were crumpled and slightly damp.

Hermione appeared to be waiting for something, and the longer she waited the more nervous she became. Then, quite suddenly, Fawkes appeared on his stand in the center of a giant circle drawn in white chalk on the roughly hewn wooden floor.

There was a smaller circle inside the larger one, just big enough for the four of them to stand an arm’s length apart and press the palms of their hands together. Hermione told them that everything was ready for them to begin.

“Right then, let’s go,” Harry said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.

As they stepped into the outer circle, four symbols appeared both on the chalk line of the inner circle and on the parchment they were holding. They stepped onto the matching symbol and the parchment floated in front of their faces at eye level, making it possible for them to read the incantations without holding the parchment in their hands.

And so it begins, Harry thought. In unison, Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione spoke quietly but firmly. “From the Four Corners of the earth, we pledge our lives and our love to create an everlasting bond.”

According to Hermione’s instructions, Harry knew that he was to go first. “I, Harry James Potter, take my rightful place at the North, and my position as the leader, accepting myself, and trusting in the bonds of love.” He pressed the palms of his hands together, at chest height.

“I, Ginevra Molly Weasley, take my rightful place at the South, and my position as the warrior, accepting myself, and trusting in the bonds of love.” She pressed the palms of her hands together, mimicking Harry’s gesture.

“I, Hermione Jane Granger, take my rightful place at the East, and my position as the teacher, accepting myself, and trusting in the bonds of love.” She too pressed her hands together.

“I, Ronald Bilius Weasley, take my rightful place at the West, and my position as the guardian, accepting myself, and trusting in the bonds of love.” He pressed the palms of his hands together and hoped.

“Ego Diligo,” they cried together. A rainbow of light illuminated their palms. It seemed too soon that the light faded, and Harry began again. “I stand in the True Direction and call upon all of the powers of true love.” Harry waited for Ginny before moving.

“I stand in the Pure Direction and call upon all of the powers of true love.” Once Ginny had stopped speaking, she and Harry moved their hands so they could press the palms together.

“I stand at the Beginning of All Things and call upon all of the powers of true love.” Hermione stood still, waiting for Ron to finish.

“I stand at the End of All Things and call upon all of the powers of true love.” Ron and Hermione reached out to press their palms together.

“Verus Diligo,,” they called out, not as four individuals but as two couples. A band of rainbow light encircled their hands, keeping their palms bounds together.

While Harry had convinced himself that he was ready for the next step, when the time came he was shaking a little. It was the warmth of Ginny’s palms that brought him back and gave him the courage that he needed to continue.

“I have been blessed with the gift of Courage to bring my parents to me, to open the channels of communication and love.” As Harry finished, the echo of his parents, Lilly and James Potter, appeared behind him in the outer circle.

“I have been blessed with the gift of Intuition to bring my parents to me, to open the channels of communication and love.” As Ginny’s voice faded, the echo of her parents, Arthur and Molly Weasley, appeared between her and Ron.

“I have been blessed with the gift of Knowledge to bring my parents to me, to open the channels of communication and love.” Once she was done speaking, the echo of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Granger, appeared behind her.

“I have been blessed with the gift of Strategy to bring my parents to me, to open the channels of communication and love.” When Ron spoke the final words, they all pulled their hands apart, ceasing to be two couples.

“Parentis Diligo,” the four projected boldly. Their voices were growing stronger with each new level of the spell.

The outer circle had grown to accommodate the presence of six people. As the four connected their hands together, so did the echoes of their parents behind them. The four emerged as a singular unit, standing on the chalk line of the inner circle.

It was then that Harry had his first chance to look at his parents. While it was comforting to see their dense, shadowy figures, it took him back to the graveyard where he had dueled with Lord Voldemort. They had appeared to him that night, gray and ghostlike in appearance, they had protected him after the resurrection of his greatest enemy. His heart was heavy, but he gained new hope as he prepared for the next incantation.

“I call upon the power of Air to bring my true family to be encompassed in our undying bond.” At first Harry was worried when nothing happened, but he waited patiently like Hermione had instructed.

“I call upon the power of Light to bring my true family to be encompassed in our undying bond.” Ginny stood, waiting for something to happen.

“I call upon the power of Earth to bring my true family to be encompassed in our undying bond.” Hermione waited knowing what would happen after Ron spoke.

“I call upon the power of Fire to bring my true family to be encompassed in our undying bond.” He finished his incantation in time to see the echoes of Fred, George, Charlie, Bill, Percy and Sirius appear behind them and spread out within the outer circle. The circle once again enlarged to accommodate the six new people.

“Prosapia Diligo,” as one, their voices raised in excitement.

Their parents separated their palms allowing the new arrivals to enter the ring of people. Everyone reached out their arms, bring their palms in contact with the person on either side. As the final palms touched, an arch of rainbow light formed a towering dome above their heads encouraging them to maintain the bond.

Once again, the foursome chanted together. “We summon the ones that we hold dear, and call to us our closest friends here. Complete the circle and join us in our never ending bond of love.” The echo of Luna appeared first, followed closely by Neville’s echo, then lastly Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks’ echoes. They fanned out behind the people in the inner circle.

“Vestri Amicitia Diligo,” the four shouted together. Growing anticipation was pushing them to finish the spell.

Once again, palms were separated as everyone in the outer circle took a step back to accommodate the new arrivals. The inner circle vanished, and slowly, Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny slid their hands upward, towards the ceiling never breaking contact. The symbols appeared under the feet of their owner. The light brightened considerably and then began to pulse as the echoes around them chanted as one. “From the lands of the Living and the planes of Immortality, we pledge our lives and our love to strengthen and protect this newly formed bond.” The light stopped pulsing as if preparing for something to happen.

They all prepared for the part that Hermione told them would be the most difficult part of the spell. They had to maintain the bond while completing the last of the incantations. This is where there was a possibility of them depleting their magical reserves too soon and breaking the bond. As Harry stared into Ginny’s eyes, he vowed that he would not let the bond break.

“Vinculum nos et Unus,” Harry felt the echoes pulling away from the group, and he fought to maintain the contact he so desperately needed with Ron and Hermione.

“Servo nos Universus,” Ginny and Ron felt overwhelmed; their magical reserves were being drained fast. Ginny could barely feel Ron’s hand against her own.

“Lunctum nos et Diligo,” Just when Hermione was sure that she couldn’t hold on any longer and was gong to cry out, the pull subsided. The light brightened and danced across the walls.

In a flash, the light brightened from all of the colors of the rainbow to pure white. Through barely cracked eyelids, Harry caught a momentary glimpse of Dumbledore’s echo standing next to Fawkes. He had his arms raised to the ceiling and for a moment Harry had the idea that he was strengthening their bond by giving them his wealth of knowledge and adding the last of his magic to their bond. The light from his magical bond gone, they disappeared from the center of the circle.

It was then that light erupted from where Dumbledore and Fawkes had been, in the middle of all things. The light penetrated every nook and cranny in the castle and pushed its way out into the night. It illuminated the sky briefly with its beacon of hope. Then all was dark. Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione collapsed on the floor from the exertion.

It was as if nothing had happened. There were no signs that they had performed a powerfully ancient magic spell in that very room. The chalk drawn circles and symbols were gone, the floor appeared untouched. The echoes faded quietly into the night. There was only one sign that the charm had worked.

Harry had a small scarlet and gold phoenix on his right shoulder. In the same place on her shoulder Ginny had a bright silver unicorn. On Ron’s left shoulder, a shocking white albatross had appeared, and Hermione had a matching brown and gold eagle.

Hermione could not have known about this lasting mark that would be left by performing the Phoenix Charm, after all, the last time the Charm had been attempted, it had not been completed. To bear the marks also held a great significance, of which she was unaware.

She had been right about something. When Harry, Ron and Ginny learned of their new abilities, they would be pleasantly surprised. And when she learned the scope of their new powers, she would be the most shocked of them all.

Ginny began to stir on the hard wooden floor of the Room of Requirement…

Author’s Note: J.K. Rowling created the world in which I work. Everything Harry is hers alone.

Chapter Two: Beyond the Imagination

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