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Albus Potter and the Deathly Hallows By JetLaBarge
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Category: Post-Hogwarts
Characters:Harry/Ginny, Other
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Humor, Romance
Warnings: Death, Intimate Sexual Situations, Violence, Violence/Physical Abuse
Story is Complete
Rating: R
Reviews: 77
Summary: Albus has his challenges during his first year. Cleopatra is obviously his soulmate, and has brilliant insights into magic, except she cannot do it like anyone else. Albus has to help her while keeping peace between the two brightest and most competitive students at Hogwarts, Scorpius and Rose. It doesn’t help that people are out to get Albus. Harry is not sure he can keep everyone safe. Then you have Ginny and Cleopatra.
Hitcount: Story Total: 145962; Chapter Total: 4223
Awards: View Trophy Room
Author's Notes: FriendofMolly came up with the names of the female centaurs. Arnel contributed some dialogue, and made me rewrite part of the story. Good helpers are a blessing, and make the story better.
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Friday, April the thirteenth, Albus had a note from Firenze asking to see him after class. Albus took Cleo with him as they entered his classroom. The classroom was on the ground floor, and had a door directly to the outside.
Albus knocked on the door to the classroom, and a deep voice said, “Come in.”
Albus walked into the classroom, over a stone floor until he came to magically growing grass. There in the grass stool a palomino centaur with blue eyes and white blond hair. The humans stood before Firenze, and he looked them over carefully before saying, “Welcome, Albus Severus Potter, Cleopatra Desiree Smith. Mr. Potter, do you still want to meet the centaurs?”
Albus said, “Yes. May Cleo come, too?”
Firenze said, “Yes, Miss Smith may come. I am going back to the herd tonight. Tomorrow, at nine in the morning, meet me at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. You are safe with me.”
“Does anyone else know?” Albus said.
Firenze said, “The headmistress knows. Neither the stars nor her eyes tell me if she approves, but you will not be in trouble for this visit. Do not tell anyone else.”
It was a beautiful spring Saturday the fourteenth of April. As they walked towards the forest Al said, “I have always wanted to talk to the centaurs. Dad and I talked about them. They are really interesting creatures, wise and solemn, but very distrustful of humans. They are listed as beasts instead of beings along with humans, house-elves and goblins, and that really bothers me. I want to talk to them and find out why.”
“Is it safe to go out in the forest to find them?” asked Cleo.
“Probably not. Centaurs do not attack young, and I figured we had better get out here and meet them before we get too much older,” said Al. “I figure with our wands, and with Firenze knowing we are coming, we should be all right.”
Cleo asked “Why are you taking me along? I’m not exactly, don’t look exactly, like a little child anymore.”
“I thought it would be good for a boy and a girl to meet the centaurs. And I want someone to share the adventure with, and who better than you? Rose and Scope find enough adventures in books, but you like real life as well as books. Besides, you are my best friend, as well as my soulmate, and I like sharing adventures with a friend.”
“Thank you, Al,” said Cleo with a big smile. “I like being your friend!”
Firenze met the pair, and said, “I will follow, but at a distance. The Elves are not invited this trip. If you call they may come and get you, but otherwise they are not invited.”
Frerin and Dis waited at the edge of the forest, as hidden as two Elves can be, blending into the edge of the forest.
So hand in hand, with the other hand holding their wands, they marched into the forest, past the grass, past the high trees and wide spaces at the beginning of the forest, deeper and deeper into the Forbidden Forest. There were lots of branching trails, but Al let Cleo take the lead. “My wand seems to be pulling me a certain way,” she said. They had walked about an hour when they came upon a clearing, and in the clearing were three female centaurs, one nursing a very young baby at the breast, another whose foal was bigger and was nursing at her udder.
“Excuse me,” said Al. “We will leave if this is private?”
“Stupid humans,” said the one who was not nursing. “What is private about feeding a baby? You go about with everything that makes you an animal hidden under those horrible clothes. Some mothers do not even feed their own babies but use horrible artificial breasts instead. What is the reason for having it,” and she pointed at her own breasts, “if you do not use it. Stupid humans.”
“I think my grandmother Weasley would agree with you, and probably my mother too. I know they nursed all their babies,” said Al.
“And you live in those horrible houses, and enslave other creatures and make them stay in houses instead of running free. Why are you here? You’re not supposed to come into this forest. You may be attack by dangerous wild animals like us,” said the same centaur, the one not feeding a baby.
“Thank you for the warm welcome,” said Al. “We came looking for you. I want to make things right for all the intelligent creatures of the world. My dad and my Aunt Hermione have been working hard on house-elf rights, and made some progress. I guess worldwide progress is partly waiting for some big wizard who is going to change things, which I think is stupid. In any case I want to help. Since you are supposed to be the wisest and most far seeing creatures in the world, I came to ask your help.”
“Wisest and most far seeing? Most wizards complain that our answers are too vague, that we say yes and no at the same time. How are you any different?” said the same Centaur.
“Because we are young and nave?” Albus asked.
“Albus Severus Potter,” said the centaur. “Yes, I know who you are. You may be young, but you are a long way from being a nave, innocent, little boy. Cleopatra Desiree may be innocent and nave, although she is not a child. You, Albus, you are a schemer. You want to make friends with all the intelligent creatures in the world. How will that help us?”
“Maybe you can tell me,” said Albus. “I know you are prophets, and at the Battle of Hogwarts you did help, and that you are good and gentle creatures who deserve respect and to be left alone. I want to be able to help, and excuse me, but I thought that I could help more if I knew you better.”
“You do not mind that I’m naked,” said the Centaur.
“No,” said Albus.
“You do not even know my name,” said the Centaur.
“No,” said Albus. “I would like to know your name, please.”
“Alexa,” the centaur said. “It means ‘defender.’ You are not going to leave us alone?”
“No,” said Albus. “I see Cleo is talking to the mothers. What are their names?”
“Demetra has the oldest foal,” Alexa said. “Her name means earth mother. Her child is called Chara, which means happiness. As she grows she may be given another name. Selene’s foal is the baby. Selene means ‘moon.’ Her foal is Timo, which means honour. Because of her parentage she will probably keep her name.”
Chara had come over to Cleo, and Cleo was rubbing its head. Cleo said to Demetra, “My name is Cleopatra. What is your name, and what is your child’s name?”
Demetra said, “My name is Demetra, and my foal is Chara.”
Cleo said, “I love mothers, and mothering. I was placed at another home and my memory was wiped when I was five, and I do not know my own parents. I noticed how you love Chara, and I think children should all have a loving mother.”
Demetra said, “The whole herd loves the young, but there is a special love for the mare that bore you, and for your own foals.”
Cleo said, “Albus has the nicest mother and grandmother. I want to be that kind of mother.”
Demetra said, “Cleopatra, you will become mother to many, and beloved by many more.”
Just about this time four male centaurs came into the clearing. The largest seemed to be the leader. He had very long, very grey hair, and there was grey hair on his chest, and grey on the horse part of his body. He said, “How did you come to be here, humans?”
Albus said, “I am Albus Potter, and this is Cleopatra Smith. Cleo’s wand led us here.”
The centaur said, “Why did your wand lead you here, Cleopatra? This was not the easy path, nor the obvious one.”
Cleo said, “There were MOTHERS here, and babies. I love mothers and babies and couples. Mr. Centaur, you are married to Selene, and Timo is your baby? What is your name, Mr. Centaur, sir?”
The centaur said, “Mr. and Mrs. are for beings, not beasts. My name is Apollo, and I did not want the existence of mares to be common knowledge, nor to have you come here.”
Cleo said, “You have to reproduce! I can see, in the dimensions beyond our three, the love between you and Selene, and the human part of you has human type love. There is another love more tied to the horse part of you, and love of the herd and your kind. It is real complex, and tragic at times, but beautiful.”
Apollo said, “Was this prophesied? Did the herd agree to this?”
Firenze said, “It has been prophesied that Albus would become friends of the centaurs. I have not seen a prophecy directed to us about Cleopatra, but if you meet with Albus you meet with Cleopatra. They are soulmates.”
Apollo said, “This is not the errand you were called to, Albus Severus Potter. We will show you another clearing. Bane, you may stay with Alexa, and Magorian, you may stay with Demetra and Chara. Ronan and Firenze will come with me and the humans.”
Firenze said, “The prophecies are strong about you, Albus Severus, and about you, Cleopatra Desiree. Soulmates, come with me. Albus, I need to show you where your father met Tom Riddle and decided to come back to life. That confirmed many prophecies, but changed many other ones.”
Al and Cleo walked about half an hour back towards the castle. They finally came to what was once a clearing, but now was beginning to become overgrown. They could see markers, and when they read them they saw that they were markers for where Riddle stood, where Albus’ father had stood, where many other people had been when Riddle threw the Killing Curse at Albus’ father Harry Potter.
Firenze said, “There is a stone here, the Resurrection Stone. We have not been able to find it. It must not fall into the wrong hands. Can you find it?”
Albus took out his wand and said, “Accio Resurrection Stone.”
There seemed to be a stirring in the debris on the forest floor. Albus went over to where the disturbance was and said again, “Accio Resurrection Stone.” A dirty black object with a crack down the middle flew into his hand.
Albus put the stone in his left hand, and pointed his wand right at it. He then said, “Reparo Resurrection Stone.”
The stone started to glow, and Albus took out his handkerchief, put it on the ground, and put the stone right in the middle.
“I could not hold it,” Albus said. “It is not hot or cold, it just really doesn’t want to be held.”
Cleo said, “A lot of it is in a lot of other directions and power dimensions. It is not safe at all!”
Something else seemed to fly into the handkerchief, as the stone continued to be in sort of a glow or fog. Finally everything settled down, and there was a ring on the handkerchief, with a translucent black stone in it. Albus picked it up for all to see.
“The ring no longer has part of Tom Riddle’s soul in it, but it is still important,” said Firenze. “Do not show it to anyone or tell anyone about it, even your father, your friends, until the time comes; you will know the time. Do not put it on your hand or wear it until then. It is very important that you keep it with you, but never use it except to help someone in dire need!
“I need you to come and visit us, with Cleopatra, from time to time. To do this you will need the Invisibility Cloak. Tell your father that Firenze and Ronan spoke to you, and that you need the cloak to come out into the forest and speak to Ronan and the others. When the ring glows you will know to come and visit. Go back now.”
All and Cleo walked silently out of the forest. No one saw them go into or come out of the forest, except for Frerin and Dis. They knew that they were lucky, and that they would need the cloak if they were going to continue the visits.
*
The last Saturday in April was the second Quidditch game of the season for Slytherin. Gryffindor’s games were over, but Slytherin would have one more match. Harry and Ginny came to the match to watch. Young Frank Longbottom also came; he and Roxanne were an item, and Frank wanted to see Roxanne again. After the match Al went up to his father and said, “I met Ronan the centaur last weekend. He and Firenze want me to keep meeting with the herd, but they say that I need to have your Invisibility Cloak to go into the forest without being seen. Is there any way you can see if that is true? I really want to learn from the centaurs and earn their trust, but do not want to do the wrong thing.”
Harry thought about this. Al and Rose, Scorpius and Cleo, seemed to be the smartest and best behaved students in the school, almost like four Hermiones. Yet Al had Dumbledore’s wand, Ginny’s Firebolt broom, and was asking for the Invisibility Cloak. At least he did not have the Resurrection Stone! He finally decided to ask Dumbledore, so he found Minerva and asked if he and Al could go up to her office to talk to the old headmaster. She readily agreed. Cleo was hanging around, although everybody else had left, and Al asked if Cleo could come, or if she should go back to the Gryffindor common room. Harry said Cleo could come; it was looking more and more like the tapestry was right, and even at this young age it was going to be hard to separate those two.
When they got to the office Dumbledore was stirring on his chair. “Hello, Harry,” said Dumbledore, “Hello, Albus Severus, Hello, Cleopatra.”
Harry said, “Hello, Albus” and Al said, “Hello, Professor Dumbledore.”
Cleo just looked at the portrait, until Dumbledore looked at her again and said, “I’m just a magic portrait, Cleo. You are much braver than you let on. Just say hello to me.”
Cleo shyly and quietly said, “Hello, Professor Dumbledore.”
Harry said, “Al has started to talk to the centaurs.”
“Your son has begun to talk to the centaurs, Harry. Do you think that is a good thing?” asked Dumbledore.
“I do not know. It probably is,” said Harry. “They asked that I give Albus the Invisibility Cloak so he could sneak out and visit them.”
Dumbledore got a big smile on his face and said, “Who could ever think that giving an eleven-year-old an Invisibility Cloak, even if it had been owned by his father, even if his father had used it at Hogwarts, could be a good idea? Can you think of any other eleven-year-old that had an Invisibility Cloak?”
“You gave it to me when I was eleven,” said Harry.
“And I remember another troublemaker who could sneak around Hogwarts from his first year, and finally after he graduated he showed this same cloak to me. Do you know who that was?” asked Dumbledore.
“My father,” said Harry; Dumbledore had told him the story.
“Did you have a question for me, Harry?” asked Dumbledore.
Harry looked at Dumbledore, but he was closing his eyes. He looked at Al. How could he get mad at Al? No detentions, the best marks in the school, polite, all he was doing was asking for and getting his mother’s fifteen thousand Galleon broom, The Elder Wand, and now the Invisibility Cloak. Harry did not know if he should be terrified or proud; in the end he though both emotions were probably justified. He knew what Dumbledore expected him to do, and what he would do, but he still felt uncomfortable doing it.
Harry and Al and Cleo must have stood looking at the portrait for about ten minutes before Harry finally said, “I will be here sometime during the next week with the Cloak. Once you have it do not go anywhere without it on you. And except for Cleo, Rose and Scorpius, do not let anyone else know you have it.”
“Thank you, Father,” said Al. “I do not know why all these things are happening to me. Your support means the world to me. I have such good parents.”
“You are not altogether innocent, Al,” said Harry. “You walked into the forest to meet the centaurs. You asked for your mother’s broom. I saw you in the potions room practicing wand magic when you were six, just after you got permission to use wandless magic from the Ministry. I think you started practicing with Draco’s wand when you were five.” Harry shook his head. Al hung his head a little ashamed, but only a little.
“And what about you, Cleo?” asked Harry. “Were you with Al? Is he corrupting you?”
Cleo was still a little afraid of the famous Harry Potter, even if he was Al’s father, and this question was almost too much for her. She said, “The centaurs said that I could be innocent and nave.”
“And Al? What did they say about him? Innocent and nave?” said Harry.
“No,” said Cleo.
Al said to his father “I’m trying to be good. Did I do the wrong thing trying to see the centaurs? Am I doing anything wrong trying to learn so much about magic?” Harry just shook his head. He is going to end up being as much trouble as I was, Harry thought. At least he is a good kid.
Harry thought about the dotted golden line between Al and Cleo on the Tapestry. It was beginning to look like Cleo was going to be as much a part of Al as Ginny was of him, or Molly with Arthur. Life had been too good and predictable the last few years. Now with Al, and with a new baby on the way, Harry thought that life had already begun to get very interesting again.
Harry told Ginny about the Invisibility Cloak that night. She was more worried than Harry, but could not give Harry any reason why.
Tuesday night Harry went over to Hogwarts, and met Al and Cleo after dinner, and in a location where no one could see them gave Al the Invisibility Cloak.
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