Harry Potter 1. To Wish Upon a Star

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters that you recognize. I know this type of story has been done before, but this specific plot is mine and any characters you don't recognize are mine as well.

Harry Potter and the Luna Liberi Society

One: To Wish Upon a Star

The moon shone brightly through the October night sky, covering Godric's Hallow in its ethereal glow. It was October 31st, a day of celebration throughout much of the Wizarding world. One could look at the houses along Godric's Hallow and see all the lights glowing in the windows and hear singing and festivities going on amongst their occupants.

October 31st was likened to a type of Independence Day in the wizarding world, as it was the day that a great evil was defeated. Not only were pumpkins carved into funny faces in honor of Halloween, but toasts were given in honor of the great Josh Potter, champion of the Wizarding world and conqueror of Lord Voldemort.

Josh Potter himself was having a great time indeed on this Halloween night. His parents had invited many friends to their home to celebrate as they did every year. Josh was given loads of presents and much attention was paid to the young Potter on the anniversary of his night of victory. Yes, everyone was having a great time on this night…everyone that was, except for a certain black-haired, green-eyed little boy by the name of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter sat alone in his room, as he did every Halloween, as his parents and twin brother celebrated downstairs. No one had bothered to include young Harry in the festivities. In fact, no one really even remembered that Josh Potter had a twin brother, aside from the Potter family themselves and the twins' godfathers Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. Many of the Potter family's friends would be quite shocked to know that there was another little boy living in Potter Manor, as there was almost no evidence of Harry being there.

No pictures of Harry lined the hallways or mantles -that space was taken up with smiling pictures of Josh and his parents. Whilst Josh's room had a big sign on the door proclaiming who resided within, Harry's room had nothing and was often thought to be a spare bedroom by visitors. When the Potters spoke of children, they would always speak of how wonderful Josh was and what great thing Josh had achieved that day. No mention of Harry was ever heard in their conversation.

This was the way that young Harry had lived ever since the fateful night of October 31st 1981. Voldemort had been hunting down the Potters after hearing of a prophecy which could lead to his destruction. The Potters had gone into hiding under the Fidelis Charm and made a close friend-Peter Pettigrew- their secret keeper.

On that Halloween night in 1981 the Potters found that they were betrayed by Peter, as Voldemort smashed through their door and confronted them. Lily and James knew that Voldemort was after their sons and fought to protect them. Voldemort quickly disarmed and immobilized the elder Potters, not wanting to waste energy with actually killing them- he wanted to handle the children first. He would later torture the parents with the thought of the murder of their children before disposing of them.

Heading upstairs Voldemort found the twin Potter children lying in their crib, awake from the commotion downstairs. For reasons unknown to anyone, Voldemort failed that night in his attempt to kill the baby Potters.

All that was known is that when the two elder Potters woke up and rushed upstairs to their sons' room, they found a wide awake and giggling Josh and a sleeping Harry. The only remains of Voldemort were the smoldering robes that he had been wearing.

Young Josh had a two-inch wide cut along the left side of his forehead. It was a slightly curved diagonal cut-somewhat resembling the letter 'J'. It was nothing too spectacular, but the elder Potters took that cut and Josh's being awake as a sign that he had done what not even the great Albus Dumbledore could do; he had defeated Lord Voldemort.

If the Potters had taken the time to look at their other son, they would have seen the faintly glowing lightning bolt shaped scar along his right shoulder blade and taken note of the magical exhaustion that was present in his aura.

Harry had known about the truth of that night all along. He remembered Voldemort coming in and casting that deadly green spell. He also remembered wrapping his brother in his arms to protect him and somehow creating a shield around them. He remembered the shield holding the brunt of the curse back and then a small bit of it breaking through to make the scar on his back and the one on his brother's forehead. Harry remembered the spell being rebounded as the shield broke and being thrown back to Voldemort, who screamed and became nothing more than a shadow, fleeing from the house.

Harry remembered looking at his five-minute younger brother to make sure he was OK. He remembered assuring himself that his brother was fine and then passing out from exhaustion over the extent of advanced magic he had used.

Harry didn't know how, but he remembered. Yes, Harry knew the truth, that although his brother was proclaimed the Chosen One, the Boy Who Lived, Hero of the Wizarding World, it was really he -Harry- who had defeated Voldemort that fateful night. Harry also knew that no one else would ever believe him. His parents had never taken notice of the faint scar that lined Harry's back, but fussed much over the scar that Josh carried.

For five years Harry had lived in his brother's shadow. Whenever the Potters went anywhere, Harry was always in the background. Whenever another family wanted to have a play date, it was always Josh who got to play with the other kids, while Harry had to stay in his room, with his books as his only companions.

Josh was an outgoing, happy, brilliant child in his parent's eyes. Harry was a quiet loner who never smiled and never did much of anything. This was what Harry Potter became known as. On birthdays he never got much of anything, his only presents coming from his godfather Sirius and his parents. Josh would be thrown a huge party every year with lots of people coming to give him gifts and good praises.

On Christmas, the tree was filled with many gifts that were labeled with Josh's name whilst Harry would only ever have two or three small ones at most.

Although Harry always got the short end of the stick, he was always grateful and happy whenever he received a gift from his parents or Sirius. He felt that if they took the time to at least find him one thing-no matter how small- it meant that in some way they were thinking of him and so they must love him somewhere deep down- right? Harry had grown accustomed to living with this small amount of what he saw as love, and thrived on what he could get of it.

Now it was Halloween night again, but the year was 1986. The festivities of the night had long gone on and were almost over. Young Harry was still in his room looking out at the night's moon. When he heard the guest starting to leave he decided to go downstairs and see if there was possibly any cake left over for him.

Harry went down the stairs to the kitchen where he saw there was indeed some leftover cake. He could see where there were small bits of the original lettering: 'To Josh Potter, Our Hero!'. Harry could hear his parents talking in the living room and decided he'd just cut a small piece to take up to his room- he wouldn't bother them.

As Harry was cutting a piece of the cake, Josh walked into the room.

"What are you doing with my cake?" Josh asked indignantly.

"I was just cutting a small piece." Harry answered. "I noticed there was some left over and thought I could maybe have a piece."

Josh went over and took the piece that Harry had cut.

"No! This is MY cake. It has my name because I'm the Chosen One. Not you." Josh glared at his twin

Harry bowed his head. "I just thought I could take a small piece, it's not like you could eat it all anyway."

Harry looked at his brother and felt intense sadness. He remembered a time when they shared and they loved each other. Now Josh's ego had taken over and he loved to torture Harry with his fame.

"Well guess what?" Josh asked Harry. Harry looked at his twin with a questioning gaze.

"You thought wrong." Josh finished. "Why don't you just go back up to your room and stay out of my way. Nobody wants you around here Harry. If they did, why would they give ME all the presents and celebrate only me? Nobody even knows that you exist, so just get lost!" Josh finished and took the piece of cake that Harry had cut, throwing it into the trash before walking into the living room with his parents.

Harry stood there for a minute absorbing what his brother had said. He threw the knife down and ran upstairs to his room. When Harry reached his room, he went to his bed and started sobbing. As hurtful as it was, he knew that what his brother had said was true. Nobody wanted him and nobody cared. Even his parents didn't pay any attention to him and the rest of the world didn't even know he existed. He hated being where he didn't belong and knew he couldn't take living there anymore.

Harry went to the windowsill and looked out at the night sky, tears still falling from his eyes. He noticed something streaking across the sky…a falling star! He knew that if you wished on a falling star whatever you wished for was supposed to come true. Harry quickly closed his eyes and wished with all his heart that he could go somewhere where he was wanted and loved.

'Please take me away from here. I wish I was some place where I will be loved and people will actually want me there. Please don't let me stay here any more. I just want to be loved…'

With this last thought Harry lay on his bed and almost immediately fell asleep. To his unawares, his wish was being heard and the purity of his heart was making it come true. Harry Potter would wake up in a place where he would be loved…

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Lily Potter had just tucked her son Josh into bed and made sure he was sound asleep. Josh's room was right next to his parent's, so that they could make sure he was OK during the night. Lily had not seen her other son all night and wanted to make sure he had not gotten into any trouble while the party was going on.

Lily went down the hall to Harry's room and noticed that the door was slightly ajar. 'Strange' Lily thought, as she had known Harry to always sleep with his door closed. Lily went into the room and looked to the bed but saw no one there. Feeling just a hint of anxiety Lily reasoned with herself that Harry must be in the bathroom or downstairs getting something to eat, after all if he hadn't come down to the party then he must be hungry by now.

Lily first checked the hall bathroom and, finding no sign of Harry went downstairs. James was just getting ready to come up.

"James" Lily called to her husband, "Have you seen Harry?"

James gave Lily a quizzical look as he joined her on the stairway. "No" He replied. "Isn't he in bed by now?"

Lily began to get a little anxious as she realized her son wasn't downstairs either.

"James, Harry's not in his bed and he's not in the bathroom and not down here either. I haven't seen him since lunch time James!" Lily clearly held a note of panic in her voice. She was beginning to fear for her eldest son.

"Come on Lils calm down." James tried to assure Lily. "He's probably just playing some game of hide-and-seek to try and mess with us. We'll find him in some closet or something and I'll give him a talking to about scaring his mother like this. Come on now, let's go find him."

As the Potters searched the hall closets and other rooms of the house, they began to realize more and more that each place they looked was another place Harry wasn't. When they started getting to the last few areas panic really started to rise. James looked in another hall closet and Lily looked in the only place they hadn't yet looked, the kitchen pantry, and both were quite frazzled when no Harry appeared in either place.

Lily quickly became very panicked and anxious as she realized that her son was not in the house. James was also quite panicked, but tried to keep a cooler head.

"Come on Lils, don't be so upset. He has to just be hiding somewhere we forgot to look. Don't worry. I'll get the map and we'll solve this thing for sure. Don't know why we didn't do that in the first place." James was referring to the map of their house. It was charmed to display the entire property and surrounding area and anyone who was on the property. It showed the true identity of people and where they were currently located.

James went up to the Master bedroom and retrieved the map from a drawer. He went back downstairs to his wife and opened the map.

"Now look, we'll see where he is, get him and give him a stern punishment for all the trouble he's caused tonight. No worries, the map doesn't lie."

James gave the password for the map to reveal itself and looked at it intently. The dots named James and Lily Potter were in the living room, the dot marked Josh Potter was in his bedroom. But there was no dot marked Harry Potter to speak of.

Harry Potter was missing.

A/N: Ok so I've had this story in my head for a long time. I know it's been done before but I've never seen it finished and I wanted to add my own twist to it. You'll see that in the next chapter. So please tell me what you think and any comments or advice are very appreciated. Chapter 2 will be coming shortly.

Update 7-20-2010


	2. To Wish Upon a Star Pt 2

Disclaimer: I don't own it

A/N: Thanks for the reviews; the positive feedback really helps me move the story along. This chapter is like a side along to the first chapter, so it's happening as the events of the first were occurring.

Two: To Wish Upon A Star Pt. 2

October 31st, 1986 was a day of celebration across the Wizarding world, just as it had been since that day in 1981. Festivities were being held in Wizarding households everywhere. This included the Weasley Household.

The burrow was full of excitement all day and all night long as the inhabitants of the house celebrated. Mrs. Weasley had prepared a great feast for her family, in honor of the day that the Dark Lord was defeated.

Mr. Weasley saw that day as a day of relaxation, where he could tinker with his muggle artifacts all he wanted. The two eldest of the Weasley children were attending Hogwarts at the time, but they were feasting in a similar fashion. The last of the Weasley children still at home decided to make a day of it, playing and being merry all day.

The twins Fred and George played many pranks on their older brother Percy, and youngest brother Ron-including telling Ron there were sweets hidden in a jar they had, when in reality it was a jar full of spiders. Little Ron nearly had a heart attack and Mrs. Weasley gave the twins a vehement scolding.

The youngest of the Weasley clan, and the only girl, Ginny was to be found trailing after her brothers, begging them to let her join them in their fun. Being the big brothers that they were, they would of course always refuse.

When the boys decided to go and have a fly around the quidditch pitch (with play brooms of course), they refused to let Ginny join them and made her look on as they had fun. Ginny pouted and watched as her brothers threw the toy quaffle around.

Ginny was used to getting treated like this, but that didn't mean she wasn't sick of it. Being the youngest in a family with seven kids left no room for one to really be their own person. Her parents were very over protective of her, and her brothers would always dismiss her.

The Weasley boys saw their younger sister as somewhat of a nuisance. They couldn't understand why she would always follow them around and annoy them. They thought she should stick to playing with her dolls and stay out of their way. Being so young, and being boys, they didn't understand that Ginny was just looking for somebody to feel close to, and somebody to accept her.

As Ginny sat watching her older brothers, she could barely keep back the tears that sprung to her eyes. They never wanted her around. They never played with her. They always told her to get lost. And although she knew her parents loved her, instead of trying to get the boys to let her play, her parents would tell Ginny to leave her brothers alone and go play on her own.

No one understood how boring it was to play by oneself. No one could understand how she felt being the only girl in a family that had so many sons. She didn't want to play with dolls or slave in the kitchen with her mother (as if her mum had time to teach Ginny to cook anyway). Ginny wanted to play quidditch and hide and go seek and jump around with her brothers. She didn't want to be the exception to the rule, but no one could understand that.

Everyone told Ginny to behave like a good young lady, but she was sick of having to stay cooped up in the house whenever the boys went out. And she was sick of everyone telling her she was too young when Ron was only a year older than her. Ginny was fed up with being treated unfairly and she just wished that there was someone out there who could understand her.

She wished there was someone who could understand what it felt like to be alone and unneeded. She knew her family loved her, and she loved them, but she hated being treated as just another kid; a kid who couldn't even play with the others. It was hard growing up in this large a family where the love had to be stretched so thin. That's not the way it was supposed to work. Everyone should be loved equally for whoever they are and she shouldn't be forced to be someone she wasn't.

Ginny had these thoughts and many more running through her mind as her mother called she and her brothers into the house. It was dark outside by now and the moon was shining brightly in the night sky.

As Ginny entered the house she heard her mother asking the boys how they enjoyed their flight.

"It was great mum." Ron responded. "Except for Ginny over there pouting the whole time, because she already knew she couldn't play."

Ginny glared at her older brother as Molly went over to her and patted her shoulder.

"Now dear," Molly started, "You know you can't be out there playing quidditch with your brothers. It could get too rough and you're much too young for all of that." Molly tried to appease her daughter.

Ginny just looked at her mother and all the thoughts from earlier came rushing back.

"How can I be too young mum, when Ron is only a year older than me?" Ginny pleaded with her mother to see the reasoning.

"Ginny I'm a boy." Ron cut in. "Everybody knows that boys are much stronger and can take a whole lot more than girls can. No matter how much time I'm still older, so I can handle more."

Ginny continued to glare at her older brother as he used the same big headed 'boys are better' lines that he always did against her.

"Although I wouldn't have said it quite like that," Molly turned a sharp look to her youngest son, "Ron is right Ginny. The boys can handle rougher things, but you, being a young lady are more delicate, so you need to concentrate on more delicate things. Perhaps I can get you started sewing or starting a garden? I'm sure you'd like that and it's a much nicer thing than quidditch."

Ginny gave her mother a defeated nod and a mumbled 'sure', before ascending the stairs to her bedroom. It seemed that no one would ever understand her. Ginny flopped onto her bed as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

Just as Ginny was going to wipe the tear away Ron barged into her room.

"Hey Ginny you forgot yo…" Ron stopped mid sentence at seeing the tear in his sister's eye. "Heh" Ron smirked, "Now you see Ginny, that's exactly why you can't play with the boys.

"You're nothing but a big cry baby Ginny. If you played quidditch all you'd do is cry because you can't keep up." Ron shook his head at his little sister.

"Here's your doll you left downstairs. Why don't you stick to playing with that and stop following us guys around? Playing with dolls is all you'll ever be good at anyway." Ron threw the doll onto Ginny's bed next to her and left, closing the door behind him.

Ginny looked at the place where her brother had been and then at the doll lying next to her. She grabbed the doll and threw it across the room into the opposite wall. Ginny was filled with anger and a great sadness over what her brother had said, and over how her life was.

Ginny was angry at her brother for being so mean and pigheaded. She was angry that no one could understand her. She was also sad over this fact. The one thing she wanted in the entire world was to have somebody who understood her, and would give her a chance to be herself. She was sick of living in the shadow of her brothers and she wanted a chance to prove that she was worth something more.

Looking out at the night sky, Ginny knew that she could never live peacefully in the Burrow, because she would never be taken seriously, and she would always be dismissed as just Ginny. Just a girl. Just the youngest. She wanted to be more.

Tears of rage and grief flew down Ginny's face as she thought of the years ahead. Would every day be like this? Would it be a progression of days spent crying and aching for someone, anyone to understand? She had been living like this since she could remember and she didn't think she could take it any more. Being best friends with yourself was hard to do and Ginny couldn't take the strain. No child should have to.

The ethereal light of the moon shone through Ginny's window and Ginny decided to go look at it. Maybe there was someone out there looking at that same moon at that very moment. Maybe that someone understood the kind of pain she felt, and that someone didn't want to be alone anymore either.

As Ginny watched the moon she suddenly saw something bright streaking across the night sky. It was…a falling star! Ginny had heard how if you wish on a falling star, then your wish will come true. Ginny had wished for things so many times in her life that had never come true that she almost let the moment pass. But something told her to give wishing one last try.

With eyes shut tight and silent tears streaming Ginny wished with all her heart that she could find someone to understand her and accept her for her. She wished to be in a place where love didn't come with exceptions.

'I wish I could find someone to understand and love me for me. I want to be where people will see how strong I can be and not knock me down just for being a girl. Please. Let me find someone who understands…'

As the star flew away and Ginny's wish ended Ginny felt aware that something was different about this wish. She went back to her bed and lay down, hoping that her wish could come true. As Ginny fell into sleep and the moon shone on her bed, far away her wish was heard and the purity of her heart let it come true. Ginny Weasley would find someone who understood her…

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It took only until breakfast the next morning for the Weasleys to realize that something was not right. After a quick observance of those present at the table, all noticed that Ginny was not there. There were many searches by the entire family both in and around the house, but Ginny was nowhere to be found.

Molly Weasley was in a deep panic during the search but when the third attempt turned out nothing she went into hysteria. Arthur suddenly had the idea to check the family clock and could almost hit himself for not thinking of it earlier.

The family rushed towards the living room, and Molly being the first to get there gave a great cry before passing out. Arthur, catching his wife, stepped to the clock to confirm what he already knew to be true.

Ginny Weasley was missing.

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(A/N: We have now reached the point where events have caught up to each other. Everything from here on is currently happening)

Albus Dumbledore was not a young man. He was quite old indeed, yet one could hardly notice it with the twinkle that was always present in his eye. Now, however, that twinkle was absent. It was November 3rd and it had been three days since he had received two calls that had rocked his world.

First the Potters had called in hysterics saying that their oldest son, Harry, had gone missing. Dumbledore had tried to reassure the family that everything would be OK, but after many failed tracking spells and locating charms, it was proven to be true that Harry Potter was indeed missing.

If this first loss wasn't enough to bear, Albus received not long thereafter, a call from the Weasley family, informing him of their youngest child and only daughter having gone missing. The same result as Harry's search turned out and Ginevra Weasley was also found to be missing without a trace.

Albus' age began to show as he sagged with the weight of having lost two children. Both kids were in the Hogwarts registry, but now seemed to disappear from the book altogether. That two young children should be taken in the same instance was simply tragic indeed. Albus would need to inform the Weasleys in attendance at Hogwarts of the unfortunate event, and a publicized search, no matter how futile, would need to be arranged.

Maybe if it went public that the kids were missing, their captor would return them, or if, Godric forbid it, the kids had run away themselves, perhaps they would be influenced to come home.

It was strange that two children who had never met each other would disappear at the same time. The cases seemed so related yet not, in some way.

Albus sighed as he turned the light out in his office and went to his sleeping quarters. Hopefully this matter would soon solve itself.

A/N: Ok so there's chapter two. Tell me what you think. The next chapter will reveal where Harry and Ginny were taken and the after shock of their disappearance.

Updated 7-20-2010


	3. Regret

Disclaimer: Not mine

A/N: Thanks for the reviews. I'm trying to keep the updates near and frequent, but I do have to work for the rest of this weekend, so this may be the last update until Monday.

This chapter will go into the past a few days, so I will be posting the dates at each phase in the story.

Three: Regret

November 4th, 1986

James and Lily Potter were seated on the bed in their eldest child's room. Harry Potter had been missing for four days and there was no trace to be found of him. The first two days were spent crying and doing public speeches informing the nation about their missing child.

The disturbing thing was that the majority of the Wizarding World was not most shocked by young Harry's disappearance, but more so by his very existence. Of course the world knew of the Great Josh Potter and his father and mother, but most had never known that Josh had a brother, let alone a twin. It was always assumed that Josh was an only child.

The hardest part of the press conferences for Lily and James was not the re-telling of the night they found their child to be missing, but rather the fact that they had to show the world how little they cared for their son before he disappeared.

When asked to provide a current photograph of Harry, so that people would know who to look for, the Potters weren't able to come forth with a picture more current than when Harry was 3, and even then he was just in the background of a picture of Josh.

Harry was now six years old and the Potters felt awful at the realization that they had never bothered to take a real picture of their baby boy.

After the first days still turned out nothing, James and Lily lost a fire in them that had once burned so furiously. Although they had never taken any real notice of their oldest son, the loss of him had taken away some of their spirit.

Nights were sleepless in the Potter household and often found Lily waking up crying out for her lost child. James would try to console his suffering wife, but would find it hard to get over his own grief.

Days were spent going into Harry's room and surveying his meager surroundings. He had very few toys spread about the room and nothing covering his walls –completely opposite of Josh's room which had many posters on the walls and enough toys to fill a walk in closet.

Lily would pick up a book that Harry had apparently been reading and marvel at the intelligence of her son to be reading such advanced material that was obviously meant for a Hogwarts student. James picked up the fake wand that he and Lily had gotten Harry for his birthday and felt ashamed that that was the only gift they had gotten him, when Josh had received at least 10 top of the line play items.

Now the Potter parents sat on their son's bed, their bloodshot eyes again looking around the room they had hardly left for the past four days. Each parent made a silent promise that they would do better. If Harry were found then they would show him all the love that he deserved and Harry would know that he was missed.

Somewhere deep down Lily knew that her son was alive out there. The idea had come up in one of the press conferences of Harry's possible death and Lily had immediately refuted the thought. She didn't know if it was mother's intuition or just her mind refusing to believe otherwise, but she knew he was alive.

James was lost in the whirlwind of his own thoughts. He couldn't believe that he had treated his own flesh and blood the way he had. He vowed that he would be a better father, and he would start by not spoiling Josh as he had before. He had known that his son was spoiled rotten and had an ego to boot, but James never allowed himself to acknowledge and fix the problem. Now that his eldest son was missing, he wanted Josh to know that people should be better. He didn't want his son growing up arrogant and treating others the way they had treated Harry for far too long.

James and Lily weren't the only ones suffering from grief in the Potter household. Young Josh was having troubles himself. The connection he had had with Harry was severed. It was something that he ignored most of the time, when Harry was around, but now that his twin was missing he felt that a part of him was missing as well.

Josh had spent the better part of his life lording over and tormenting his older brother. He knew that his parents cared more for him than for Harry and he used that to his advantage. Josh would boss Harry around and not allow Harry to play with any of his toys. He was the great Josh Potter and Harry was a nobody, so why should he care?

Those feelings had now changed, however. Josh felt a sense of loss deep within him. The absence of his brother was something tangible. Josh felt sorry for all the trouble he had caused, and knew that it had to be his fault that his brother was gone. He was only six years old, but he knew what wrong was, and knew he had been wrong.

It was then that he made a vow to be nicer to people. If he was the hero of the Wizarding world, then he had to act like a true hero and not treat others so unfairly. If his brother ever returned, Josh would show him a new side. He would show Harry love and understanding. He would truly be his brother.

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The Burrow had been quiet and subdued for four days, unusual for a house normally bursting with noise and movement. Now there was no one playing outside and no explosions to be heard from the twins' bedroom. There was no laughing and no raucous behavior. There was no Molly scolding the children and no pots and pans noisily moving about in the kitchen.

All of the magic just seemed to have left the place.

Molly refused to leave her bedroom and could often be heard crying out in the middle of the night, longing for her lost child. She wouldn't let anyone near Ginny's room, saying that she wanted it to be exactly the same when Ginny returned. No one had the heart to tell her that the possibility of Ginny's return was very improbable. Ginny's hand on the clock had gone from 'missing' to and area not marked, indicating that her aura no longer displayed her status.

For Arthur the days went by in a routine fashion. He would get up and cook breakfast in Molly's absence, wake the boys and make them eat, clean up, and then go to one of the press conferences that Dumbledore had scheduled for the Weasley and Potter families. It seemed that James and Lily Potter had also lost a child that Halloween night.

After the conference Arthur would go to work and concluding that, go home to cook dinner and finally go to bed. He had tried to console his grieving wife, but found that nothing could cure her broken heart. He found it hard to go on himself. Nothing compared to the loss of his only little girl.

Bill, and Charlie, the two Weasleys who were at Hogwarts at the time, took the news of their sister's loss pretty hard. Bill especially found it hard to concentrate on anything but the grief he felt over losing his baby sister. Bill had adored Ginny from the day she was born and had vowed to always protect her. The fact that he couldn't protect her from whatever happened that Halloween night tore at his heartstrings. He blamed himself for being away from her.

Charlie was having a hard time dealing with the loss, but was able to control his grief much better than Bill, who had been closer to Ginny. Charlie found it unbelievable that his little sister wouldn't be there when he got home.

The two Weasley brothers weren't allowed to leave Hogwarts to visit their family just yet, but were going home for the Christmas holidays. They knew that the family needed to be together and gain support from each other at a time like this, especially their mother.

Percy Weasley, the third child in the bunch, was finding his sister's absence quite hard to comprehend as well. Usually the studious one-often locked up in his rooms with his books- Percy made an effort to be around his family more in those four days. He knew that they would need to stay close to get through this hard time. He only hoped that Ginny would return home soon. As much as it surprised him, he missed the raucous atmosphere of his home.

The Twins were far from their normal selves. They hadn't played a joke, laughed, or even cracked a smile for the past four days. Ginny's loss hit them hard and they felt sorry that they hadn't treated her better when she was around. They used to think of her as just their annoying kid sister, but now they wanted to go back to when she was there and let her play with them as much as she wanted, even if she wasn't one of the boys. All they wanted was their youngest sibling back.

Ron took Ginny's loss to heart. He hadn't told anyone of his last words to Ginny and often found himself waking in the middle of the night from horrible nightmares, with dark figures blaming him for the loss of his sister. As much as he wanted to deny it, Ron knew that it was true he was to blame for Ginny's absence. If he had never been so mean, and said the things he had, then Ginny would still be here. He knew that with all of his heart. Ron made a vow that if he ever saw Ginny again he would hug her and tell her that she was the best sister in the world. He would let her play with him and even let her ride his broom whenever she wanted. He wanted nothing more than to take those words back and wake up from this nightmare where the seventh Weasley child didn't exist.

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November 1st 1986

Harry wasn't sure how, but he knew even before he opened his eyes that something was different. He could sense that he was waking up somewhere completely different from where he had gone to sleep last night. The soft bed and pillow that he now lay on was definitely not the same mattress he had fallen asleep on.

Harry opened his eyes and noticed that he was in a room much larger than his own. He was lying atop a huge bed with soft green covers and wonderfully soft pillows. Harry reached to the bedside table where he could make out the blurry image of his glasses. Putting his glasses on Harry took in a better view of his surroundings. The room he was in had a fireplace in the far corner that had a brightly burning fire. The fire accented the rich wooden floors of the room. Harry noticed that the walls were painted a deep green color that matched the color of the bed.

Turning in the bed to look further Harry was stopped mid gaze as he noticed that he was not alone in the bed. Lying a couple feet away from him was a small red-headed figure. Harry slowly crept up next to the figure to get a closer look and saw that it was a young girl, about his age. Harry thought that maybe the girl could tell him where he was and decided to try and wake her.

Harry gently shoved the girl's shoulder and waited to see if she would wake. When the girl didn't budge Harry tried again, this time a little more forcefully. This time the girl began to stir. When the girl finally opened her eyes and sat up she let out a small gasp.

"Where am I?" the girl questioned herself, not yet realizing that there was another occupant of the room.

Harry realized that the girl had no idea where they were either and decided to try to find out who she was instead.

"Excuse me" Harry said quietly. The young red-head turned to him and let out a small cry.

"Who are you?" the girl demanded. "Where am I and why did you bring me here?"

Harry looked at the girl honestly and replied, "I don't know. I had the same question and I thought you'd know, but since you don't, I guess we'd better try and figure this out together. My name's Harry Potter by the way."

Ginny first looked at Harry skeptically but then got a look of familiarity when Harry mentioned the name Potter.

"You mean Potter like Josh Potter?" Ginny asked Harry in awe.

Harry frowned slightly but then nodded, "Yeah, he's my twin brother. James and Lily Potter are our parents."

Ginny looked stunned for a second before responding. "Wow, I didn't know that Josh Potter had a brother" she looked at Harry with admiration.

"Don't worry," Harry replied bowing his head "Not many people do."

Ginny could tell that she had hit a sore spot and decided to change the subject. She introduced herself.

"I'm Ginny Weasley. I don't know where we are but I agree that we need to find out."

Harry looked at Ginny, thankful that she had decided to change the subject. He smiled and nodded. Harry got off of the bed and helped Ginny off as well. Just as the children were heading towards the door on the other side of the room, it opened itself.

A tall figure dressed in grey robes entered and looked at the children. "Follow me." the figure stated simply and started to walk forward.

Before the figure could leave the room Harry stepped forward questioning it hurriedly.

"Hey, wait! Where are we?" Harry asked. The figure stopped and turned towards Harry and Ginny.

"All of your questions will be answered in time. Please follow me and I will lead you to the answers you seek."

Harry thought that it was a weird response, but decided that if it was the only way he was going to get any answers, he would follow. Harry turned to Ginny and gave her a questioning look. Ginny shrugged her shoulders and started walking forward. Harry took the rear as the children followed the figure down an illuminated hallway…

A/N: Yeah so that's chapter 3. I know I left you kinda hanging there, but I wanted there to be something left to explain in the next chapter. Tell me what you think. Your reviews really do inspire me to write better and update quicker. Thanks a lot J

Updated 7-20-2010


	4. The Luna Liberi Society

Disclaimer: I'm not J.K., I don't own it.

Four: The Luna Liberi Society

November 1, 1986

Harry and Ginny followed the strange figure down a long illuminated hallway. They had no idea where they were or where they were going, but knew that if they followed the figure it would lead them somewhere that they could get some answers.

Just as Harry was getting bored of walking, and was about to ask where they were going, the figure stopped. They had reached a rather large two door entrance. The doors were closed and they each had strange designs on them. Looking closer, Harry could see what appeared to be moon phases engraved upon the surface of the door.

The figure turned to the two children. "We have arrived at the Hall of the Elder" It said. "The Elder will answer your questions, but be aware that you are also being judged. The Elder must be shown the utmost respect and he will give it in turn."

Harry and Ginny nodded at the figures words, although they were still very confused.

"Do not be afraid to talk to the Elder." The figure continued "He has seen many things and knows how the read the truth in a persons heart. Do not lie or try to edge around the truth. The Elder knows all."

Harry and Ginny were starting to feel a little intimidated and afraid of this 'Elder' they had not yet met. They each nodded and looked nervously at the door that would lead them to the Elder.

The cloaked figure nodded with approval at their understanding and then turned back towards the large doors. Harry then noticed that there were no handles on these doors, and wondered how the figure was to open them.

The figure reached up to the full moon that was engraved on the right door. At least Harry had thought it was engraved. He watched as the figure turned the moon as if turning a dial, and then heard a click.

Harry looked to Ginny to see what she thought of this strange door and saw that she was in awe of it as well. The figure looked at Harry and Ginny and gestured for them to step back. The three did take a few steps back and as soon as they had, the doors began to open outwards. It appeared that someone was opening the door from the inside.

The great doors finally slammed open and the kids were allowed their first look at the Hall of the Elder.

The Hall was huge. They could see other figures draped in the same gray cloaks standing on either side of the hall. There was a long walkway from the door going straight down the middle and it stopped at the raised throne at which an elderly looking man was seated.

The other figures had all turned to look at the door when it had opened and Harry could feel many unseen eyes watching him, and knew Ginny must feel the same.

The figure that they had been walking with gave them a gentle push forward and urged them to start walking toward the throne in which the old man, whom Harry assumed to be the Elder, was seated.

As they started forward Harry looked up to see how high the ceiling was and noticed that there was none. The building was structured so that it reached very high up and then there was an open top, so that a view of the sky outside was present. Harry could see the many millions of stars twinkling in the night sky, and could see the bright moon shining its rays down upon everyone.

Harry nudged Ginny to show her what he was seeing. Ginny, who had been nervously looking around at those figures that were staring at them, looked over to Harry and realized what he was looking at. She let out a barely audible 'wow' as she looked at the expanse of the structure and how the architects had made the ceiling.

Ginny recognized the ceiling as the same type that was in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. It wasn't actually open to the outside elements, but just appeared to be. She had seen and asked about it when her parents and she had gone to Hogwarts to visit Charlie in the hospital wing after he had got into an accident during a game of quidditch.

The figure that they were with nudged the pair forward again and the children realized they had stopped to stare at the ceiling. Walking forward again, the pair finally got to the foot of the throne.

The man seated there was undeniably he who the cloaked figure had called the Elder. The Elder was wrapped in fine white robes and was seated upon a throne carved out of some kind of black stone. He had a silver chain with a crescent moon pendant around his neck and he held a glowing staff across his lap.

The Elder himself was something of an intimidating sight. He had a long white beard hanging down that matched the long hair upon his head. His hands were long and wrinkled and they rested on the armrests of his throne. His face was also wrinkled with lines that showed a great many years of living. The most shocking thing about the Elder was his eyes.

Great pools of metallic gray stared at Harry and Ginny as they approached. There was no black pupil, just a completely gray iris assessing the two children as they finally reached the foot of the throne and stood before him.

Harry had never seen anyone like the Elder before. He looked so old, yet so strong. He sat straight upon his throne and not crooked as Harry thought an old man would be. His strong and expressive eyes held such knowledge and power as he looked upon the two individuals standing before him.

Harry had no idea what to do, or what to say, to a man such as the Elder. He remembered that he must show respect, so he decided he might as well introduce himself first. That's how any polite conversation with a new person would start after all.

"Hello Sir," Harry started nervously. "My name is Harry Potter." Harry looked over to Ginny and saw that she was very nervous as well. Ginny, seeing it was her turn spoke up.

"I'm Ginny Weasley" She said shyly.

Harry looked at the Elder who had yet to respond and continued.

"We were just wondering where we are Sir. See, I woke up here instead of in my own bed, and I guess Ginny did too, and we'd really like to know where it is we are, and if you could help us Sir we'd greatly appreciate it."

The Elder who had sat watching as the kids spoke to him finally smiled kindly and responded in a kind yet powerful voice. "I am Aldous Luna. As I am sure Zesiro there has informed you," the old man pointed to the figure that had lead Harry and Ginny there, "I am the Elder."

"Now to answer your question I will first tell you who we are, for only then can you understand where it is you are." The Elder again fixed his gaze on the two children and they nodded to him letting him know he could continue.

"We are the Luna Liberi Society" the Elder stated. Seeing the confused look on the kids' faces the Elder chuckled and continued.

"Translated, we are the Children of the Moon Society, or as we prefer it, just the Children of the Moon. We are an ancient magical society, much like the one you come from, that has existed for over a millennia.

"We co-existed with the Wizarding World you come from a long time ago, but our beliefs are very different in some aspects. We acknowledge the Moon as our ruler, answering to Her call and incorporating Her bidding into our daily lives. I believe you would see this as something similar to religion back where you come from.

"We are a very family and community oriented people and we believe in the right of the individual. Our society is structure such that everyone has the opportunity to freely be who they are, yet still have a responsibility for the well-being of the community. We believe that it takes a village to raise a family, and we are very protective of our home and people."

The Elder smiled as he talked of his people and what they were about. He could see the curiosity and wonder on the children's faces as he explained.

"We are also an Elite society. Our warriors are strong and our training is intense. We pride ourselves on being a strong, courageous race of people. It is not our intention to start wars or conflict, for we prefer to enjoy peace, but if the need ever arises when we must fight, our soldiers are always ready."

Harry's eyes brightened when he heard this. This society seemed to have everything-it seemed to be the kind of place he'd dreamed of, from the description. Why hadn't he ever heard of such a great people?

"You are probably wondering why you have never heard of us." The Elders smiled knowingly at Harry as the boy's eyes widened.

"We have been around for quite a long time, as I have previously stated. I myself have lived over two centuries and the Elder before me died at 327 years of age. We are a long living people and so we live through many things. We have seen the world evolve and become what it is today."

The Elder's expression hardened as he continued.

"This world has become a place of hate and selfishness. It is no longer a place where families can exist, with their main purpose to love and show others that love. There is war, and crime, and discrimination, and so much hatred that the earth trembles with the great pain She carries."

"We have always been a people who are of pure hearts. We are one with nature and we live by the glorious rays of the moon. I am not saying that we do not have our own disputes- that we do not know of anger and hatred, but we do not let that anger consume us and degrade our civilization. This is why we separated ourselves from the rest of the world."

The Elder looked very saddened as he continued on, explaining about the breaking off from the rest of the world-both magical and non-magical.

"Sometime before I and the one before me were born, our society Elder decided that he was tired of exposing his people to the hate filled place the world had evolved into. He did not want his people to suffer the sins of greed, hatred and destruction. It was especially worrying that the world seemed to want to increasingly judge and discriminate against his people. He took his people and moved them to a place where they could not be found.

"We are veiled by ancient magic that allows only we who live here to know of our location. I could not tell you of the location of our home, because you would not understand it, as it is not recorded and its presence is rather _felt_ by those of us who live here. To tell you in simpler terms I will just tell you that we call this island on which we live 'Luna Insula' or Moon Island."

The Elder had finished his explanation and looked at the two children to see their responses. They both looked as if they were still processing what they had been told.

"So…" Ginny began "You're telling us that we're on some ancient island, with a bunch of people we've never heard of, and this island can't be found by anybody that's not from here?" Ginny gave the old man a skeptical gaze.

The Elder gave a slight smile and then a nod. "Precisely." He answered.

"Right..." Ginny stated, clearly confused still.

"OK." Harry said. "So we're on this island, got that. You like the moon, got that. But what I don't get, is why _we're_ here." Harry pointed between Ginny and himself.

The Elder gave a wide grin as he prepared to answer Harry.

"Now that is a question that I can answer much more simply."

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November 4th, 1986

Sirius Black was not a man who let the small things in life get him down. He was constantly smiling and always had an easy going demeanor. He was that kind of happy-go-lucky guy that you just had to love.

Sirius had been friends with James Potter since childhood and when the news arrived that James was to be a father, Sirius was overjoyed. He had been the Best Man at James and Lily's wedding and so it wasn't surprising that Sirius was asked to be the Godfather for their child. Ever since the day he'd heard the news he had started planning pranks he could teach the kid.

When the news came that Lily was delivering twins, Sirius was excited that he could share being a godfather with Remus, who really deserved something uplifting like that.

Sirius had instantly fallen in love with little Harry. He would carry the baby around, telling him how someday the green eyed boy would be a great prankster. He adored Harry and had made a promise to himself that he would always look after him and be the best uncle in the world. Whenever Harry got to those teen years when parents were unbearable, he'd always have Sirius to go to.

After that fateful Halloween night in 1981, Sirius became aware of a change in James and Lily. They no longer acted as though they had two sons, as Josh was the center of their attention. They would dote on Josh and give him everything he could ever want, while little Harry got close to nothing.

Sirius was aware of the Potters' neglect of their eldest son, and he wanted to do something about it. But he could never insinuate that his best friends were bad parents. He would often have to sit and watch as his godson was left forgotten by his parents.

Sirius would always buy Harry gifts on birthdays and Christmas, but if he ever paid too much attention to Harry, without noting Josh, Lily and James would often become upset and accuse Sirius of not appreciating Josh like he should. It got to the point that Sirius would only visit occasionally and would not stay for very long.

Now, with Harry gone missing, Sirius was wallowing in a pit of self blame and depression. Harry was his godson and Sirius had made a promise to protect him. But he had broken that promise before Harry went missing. He had broken it when he allowed himself to sit by and do nothing as Harry was mistreated and neglected. He had failed his godson, which to him was just like his own son.

It had been four days that Harry had been gone. Sirius had gone to Potter Manor, to see what he could do, and had found Lily and James in much the same position as he was. Sirius was disgusted with himself and with his best friends. How could they allow Harry to live as he had, and now, only when he had disappeared, see that what they had done was wrong?

They didn't have the right to see Harry again. Sirius knew in his heart that Harry must have run away from his life of neglect, and he blamed himself for not stepping up and stopping it before Harry left.

Now, bottles of Fire Whiskey lined his bed-side table, and Sirius was left in a world of useless, drunken days and sleepless nights as he became a shell of his former self. There were no more smiles or easy going laughs escaping Sirius Black.

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Remus Lupin had not really known Harry Potter very well. Of course he had visited Lily and James often and seen the children, but he was Josh's godfather, and so he mostly concerned himself with Josh. Before October 31, 1981, he did remember showing Harry a little more attention, but afterward, the majority of his attention went towards his little hero.

Remus guessed he just never really paid any mind to Josh's brother. Harry was Sirius's godson, so Remus knew that Sirius must be spoiling the boy rotten and trying to teach him pranks galore.

When Harry came up missing, Remus was rather surprised to find that not many people knew of him. He had known Harry since his day of birth, and although Josh was the star, he thought it was at least known that Josh had a twin brother.

Remus would go to Potter Manor to look after his godson after Harry had gone missing. James and Lily weren't in a position to be looking after a child full time at the moment. There was just too much hurt from the loss of Harry. Remus would try to find the words to console them, but didn't know what to say. He had no idea how it felt to lose a child and so couldn't imagine what they might be feeling.

Remus became aware that James and Lily's hurt stemmed mainly, not from just the loss of their boy, but from the fact that they hadn't treated him like they should have. Remus was a smart man, and though his judgment and perception of things had been clouded before, he now realized that little Harry had been neglected.

Remus recalled all the times he would visit. He would see the pictures on the wall and not one held Harry's face. When Remus would be playing with Josh and talking to Lily and James, Harry would be nowhere in sight. The Potters never talked of their other son.

Remus could now understand why Lily and James were hurting the way they did. They missed the boy that they had never bothered to show true love to. Remus loved Lily and James. They were his best friends, and he thought they had a right to make a mistake just like anyone else. He just wanted to see them better. He hoped that Harry would be found for the sake of his friends' spirits. He wanted his best friends back.

A/N: Well that's chapter 4. Tell me what you think.

Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. No matter how small, they always make me feel good, or give me some advice on how to make the story better. Thanks and I'll see you next chapter.

Updated 7-21-2010


	5. Prophecy

Disclaimer: It doesn't belong to me.

Five: Prophecy

November 1, 1986

Harry and Ginny watched the Elder closely as he smiled and began to tell the children why they had arrived on Moon Island.

"You are here because you wish to be." The Elder responded simply.

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look then looked at the old man as if he had two heads.

"OK…How could we wish to be here, if we don't know where here is and we've never even heard of 'here'?" Harry asked with a disbelieving look.

Some of the hooded figures in the crown bristled at the attitude that the young boy was showing their Elder. The Elder held up a hand to silence the figures, signaling that it was OK. The Elder smiled kindly at the two children as he answered Harry's question.

"I believe that you will both recall wishing upon a certain falling star not too long ago."

Ginny and Harry looked at each other quickly and then back at the Elder.

"I heard that if you wished on a falling star your wish would come true." Ginny said "But I didn't think anything would actually happen. I was just angry and sad…I didn't think it'd do anything."

Ginny looked a little shocked and scared. It was clear that the thought of her wish coming true was a little much to take at the moment.

"I wished on that star and I hoped with all my heart that my wish would come true." Harry stated with his head slightly bowed. "I didn't believe that anything would happen either…but I wanted it to."

The last part was barely above a whisper, but the Elder and Ginny had heard it. Ginny looked at the boy beside her slightly shocked. Sure she had wished to be away, but she didn't actually want to go so far away, it was just something she did in a time of intense emotion. Could the boy next to her actually wish to go away and mean it? Did he really want to leave his family like that?

Ginny understood being angry and sad, and feeling like she needed to get away from it all, but she couldn't imagine really leaving and going so far. The news that she had been taken so far from home shocked and scared her, yet Harry seemed to be pretty OK with the idea.

Ginny looked at the Elder and spoke again. "So you're telling us that by wishing on a star we got sent here? Why? Does everyone who wishes on a star get sent here? And if so what happens to them?" Ginny asked all of this with some panic evident in her voice. The situation was very strange to her.

The Elder sat back as he thought of how to explain his answer. He could tell that the young girl was very panicked and fear was beginning to set in. He didn't want to scare the child and he wanted her to understand what he was about to say. The boy was harder to read. Harry didn't seem as bothered by the fact that he had been taken away by his wish. He seemed a little shocked, but overall a sense of…content calm had overtaken the young boy.

"I will explain as best I can." the Elder said.

"You both wished upon a falling star last night. Unknowingly, you put a large amount of raw emotion and energy into your wishes. We Children of the Moon have a strong connection to nature and the human spirit. A large amount of our magic has to do with the balance between the natural world and the connection to the spirits of living things. We were able to hear your wishes and feel the purity of your heart and emotions."

"It is our mission to find pureness in this world and try to uphold that purity. It has been a long time since we have felt such purity as we felt last night when you two made your wishes. We knew that we had to answer whatever it was you wished, as that purity and the Great Moon demanded it of us."

The Elder leaned forward and spoke directly to the children now. His metallic eyes seemed to read into their very souls.

"You both wished to be taken away from that which caused you pain and hurt. You wanted to be somewhere with love and acceptance. Where you would be free to grow in love and find out the person that you are with no one there to tell you who you _should _be. We answered your wish and brought you here. To a place where love and understanding are the very principles that we live by."

Harry looked at the Elder with hope in his eyes. He could hardly believe what he was hearing. Could this place really be all that great? He didn't know these people or anything about them that the Elder hadn't told them, but he wanted to find just how much love they had. Did they have enough for him? He knew he'd do anything to stay and find out.

Ginny had apprehension written all over her face as she looked at the Elder. She was forced to turn her head downwards with the weight of the conflict arising in her mind. This 'Elder' spoke of things that she had often dreamed of. She had always wanted a chance to be herself and not have people always telling her who she should be. She was smarter and tougher than her family thought she was and she wanted the chance to prove that. But love…Well she already had a lot of that. She knew she had fights with her family and got mad at them, but she also knew that she loved them and they really loved her. When the Elder said that they were taken so far away because they wished it, Ginny was frightened that she had done something horrible, that she would never see her family again.

Ginny could barely handle all the emotion running through her. And the thought of never seeing those that she loved again almost filled her up with horrible panic and grief. The Elder turned his silvery eyes to Ginny and looked straight into her brown orbs, which were slightly glossy with un-shed tears.

"Do not worry little one. You can return, if that is your wish." Ginny looked up hopefully at those words.

"We do not go about taking people against their will. We simply give people an option—another choice. I realize that you have a family who you love and who loves you and I would never want to separate you from that unwillingly."

Ginny looked at the Elder gratefully and now that she knew she had a choice she felt much better.

The Elder eyed both the children again before continuing.

"There is another reason that we were compelled to bring you here, however. We have not brought any outsider to our home for many centuries. We listen to the Will of the Moon and we only answer the wish of someone not born of our land when She demands it. It is then that we can feel the purity of that person's soul and decide how we shall answer their wish. For you two, the Moon had already deemed centuries ago that you would come here."

The kids looked up again at the Elder, disbelief apparent once more on each of their faces.

"When you two made your wishes it had already been known by us that you would come here. It was prophesied centuries ago that two Children of Light, with hearts as pure as the rays of the Moon, would wish upon a falling star and that their wish would be answered by the Children of the Moon. The Prophecy states that these children are essential to bringing balance and purity to the world, in a time of great unrest and imbalance. It says that the children must make a choice and that that choice will affect the outcome of our world. The two must decide if they will stay together here and become part of us and learn our ways, or if they will separate and one would continue life as a human in the outer world and one stay here to join us. The outcome of either decision is unknown, but it is clear that there will be much different outcomes with whatever decisions the two make.

"The only things clear to us are that the two must make their decision on their own, and at least one child would stay no matter what. This was prophesied long before I was born, but the time has come for the words to come to life. It is clear to me now that the Children the prophecy spoke of are the two of you."

Ginny and Harry had paid rapt attention to the Elder as he spoke. They had wanted to know of the full reason as to why they had been brought here. They didn't want there to be any catches. But as they heard of the prophecy and the last words stating that they were the two children spoken of, they took it to be a bigger catch than they could imagine.

"Wait a second," Harry said "This is getting weirder by the minute. First you tell us we're here because we wished on a star. Now that's a little weird, but I guess I can believe that, I mean I see magic every day. But now you want us to believe that we're part of some 'prophecy' that was recorded hundreds of years ago?" Harry looked at the old man skeptically.

"Yes" the Elder responded simply.

"Are you off your rocker?" Harry said disbelievingly. "How do we know that you're not just a bunch of crazies who kidnapped us from our homes and looked inside our minds and came up with this crazy story to get us to stay? I can't believe that I actually believed you for a second there. This is just crazy." Harry looked around the room at the hooded figures and nervously noticed that a lot of them were shifting in place and mumbling under their breaths. They clearly didn't like what the boy had to say.

"How dare you speak to the Elder in such a way?" One of the figures-a man- had stepped out of the gathered group and yelled at Harry. "You need to show some respect you little human brat!" The man was walking toward Harry.

"Stop!" The Elder stood up and ordered the man. "You are out of line Oran."

"But, Sir, he…" the man tried to speak but the Elder stopped him mid-sentence.

"I will decide how respect is shown here and you, Oran Oldmoon, would do well to remember your place. Now I believe the boy was talking to me."

"I apologize for my ignorance Elder. Please carry on." The man the Elder had called Oran stepped back into his place in the crowd and said no more.

The Elder again turned to Harry and looked him directly in the eyes.

"I assure you that I am perfectly sane young man. I know that this may be a little much for you to take at the moment, but I assure you of the truth of it all. You two were chosen to come here because the Moon willed it to be so. You would not be here otherwise. Only a pure heart mixed with the Will of the Great Moon can turn the Children of the Moon to dealing with the human world. You two are capable of a many great things, and the choice rests with you whether you will stay or leave. None but you can decide that."

Harry and Ginny again looked into the old man's expansive eyes and they saw in them truth. They knew that what he told them was true and they were stunned by it. How in the world could they make that much of a difference? Ginny wanted to tell the man that although his prophecy was probably true, he must have the wrong girl. She wanted to be great but knew that she was simply Ginny Weasley.

"Do not lie to yourself!" The Man suddenly turned to Ginny. "I can see past the lie and it doesn't do to deceive oneself so. You are more than what you tell yourself and you know that. Why do you think you made that wish in the first place? You know you can be more and that no one else would see it where you were. Do not blind yourself from it now, when the sight is so important."

Ginny bowed her head as she processed the old man's words.

"I can see that this has all been a lot for you to take in. I haven't been fair to unload all this information on you two so quickly, but one can forget that you are only children, with the wisdom that you both show."

The Elder looked pensive for a moment as Harry and Ginny stood before him.

"I will make you a deal." He finally stated. "You can choose to leave now and I will not try to keep you if that is what you decide. Or, you can stay here among my people for a few days. You can get to know each other and see how the Children of the Moon live. After you have stayed for a few days you can then come to me with your decision. If you want to leave after having stayed with us, then I will immediately send you home. And if you would like to stay then you will become one of us and your training will begin. I will not interfere with your decisions either way."

Harry looked over to Ginny to see what her reaction was. She looked like she was having trouble deciding. Harry knew from the conversation with the Elder that Ginny had a home where she loved and was loved in return. He knew that it would be a hard decision for her, with the opportunity that she had wished for standing in front of her and the family she loved standing behind her.

For Harry there wasn't as much of a decision to make. He knew that he wanted to experience what true love could be like. He had felt it once before, before the whole mess with Voldemort and the Chosen One, and he wanted to feel it again. He immediately knew that he would be the one to stay. The only person that held him back slightly was his uncle Sirius, he knew the man had cared for him a little, and he hated to be leaving him. He also wondered if his parents were hurt at all by his disappearance.

'Probably not' Harry thought to himself. They probably thought it was better with him gone. Now they could give everything to Josh without having to waste a second on Harry. That thought sealed it. Harry was definitely staying.

Harry turned toward Ginny. "I know you can't really decide now" He told her. "I know that it's kinda hard for you. But since you don't know now, why don't you just stay for a few days? We can find out what this is all about. And afterward you can still go home. That way you'll see what this place is like and get to go back to your family."

Ginny looked like she might be falling for the idea but still looked a little skeptical. "Come on Ginny" Harry said. "You could learn some stuff while you're here and it'd be like a mini-vacation you know? You owe it to yourself to at least see what it could be like. And plus…I'd like it if you stayed for a few days."

Ginny looked up at Harry and saw the truth in his eyes. He really did want her to stay. 'Well…' She asked herself, 'What could it hurt to stay for just a few days to see what happens? Then I can think more about this prophecy and get to know Harry too.'

"OK." Ginny said aloud. Harry's eyes brightened as Ginny announced that she would stay for a few days.

"OK." Harry turned and said to the Elder, smiling.

The Elder smiled at the children as he sat back upon his throne and gave a satisfied look. "OK."

* * *

A/N: There's chapter 5 for you. Tell me what you think. Thank you so much for all of the reviews. I never expected such a great response. You guys are awesome and you don't know what it means to me to get all this positive energy. Thanks a lot. See ya next chapter.

-Virgo

UPDATED 7-21-2010


	6. Decisions

Disclaimer: Not Mine

Six: Decisions

November 1, 1986

After speaking with the Elder and coming to an agreement, Harry and Ginny were led out of the Hall of the Elder by the same cloaked figure who had led them in- Zesiro was the name that the Elder had addressed him by. No one talked on their way down the long corridor. The children were busy thinking of what they had agreed to and what kind of things they would see on this 'Moon Island' the next couple of days.

When they reached the entrance to the room that the kids had woken up in, Zesiro turned left instead of entering the room. "This way" he beckoned the children.

Harry and Ginny followed Zesiro down the new corridor.

"Who's room was it that that we woke up in?" Ginny asked her cloaked guide.

"That was the room of the Elder." Zesiro responded. "The Elder allowed for you to rest there before meeting him. It was still night when you arrived, but now it is early morning. Come along and I will show you our city as it is just waking up."

Zesiro led them down the corridor and then the trio made a right turn. This led them to an opening where the light rays of the morning sunrise could touch upon their faces. Harry and Ginny stepped out of the building that housed the Elder and gazed upon Moon Island for the first time.

They were on a hill overlooking a great city. There were many tall structures made of stone and many buildings that looked to be homes. The children could see some buildings coming to life as people began to exit their homes and walk about the city. Zesiro began walking down the long stairway that led down from the elders building and into the city.

"Come and I will show you." Zesiro beckoned to the kids. Harry and Ginny quickly followed him down the stairs.

As the trio entered the city the kids found themselves staring in awe at their surroundings. The ground was made of cobblestone and there were great stone buildings towering over them. There were shops spread out in different areas, selling items such as food, clothing, jewelry and accessories, toys and a few selling various weapons.

This city was very different than any the kids had been to before. The smell of the food was different. The style of clothe was different. The people in general were different.

The children had gotten their first look at the inhabitants of Moon Island as they stepped into the slowly waking city. The people they saw all looked to be in excellent physical shape. They carried themselves with an air of self assurance and great strength. The children didn't know what it was, but they knew that there was something about these people that was different from the people they knew back home.

The people of Moon Island, or Children of the Moon as they were called, had a style different than that of Harry and Ginny's world. They wore flowing cloaks of some material that the kids didn't recognize. Their clothes were loose and flexible looking. Harry, who was more of an observer, noticed that everyone except the small children of the island had orb shaped necklaces that glowed different colors on different people.

As Zesiro led the kids into the city the inhabitants smiled at them and made way for them to walk through. They seemed to welcome the foreign children into their home.

"This is Market Street." Zesiro explained to the children. "Here is where you can buy pretty much anything our city has to offer. The merchants here work hard to make sure their products fit the needs of the people."

"The tall structures you see," He pointed to the tall stone buildings "are the different offices we have that keep our city running smoothly. There are training buildings where we store the armories and battle uniforms, a library, a bank, and many other offices. We do not have what you'd recognize as a government here; we all abide by what the Elder commands, for the Elder is the one gifted with the power to speak directly with the Moon. You will find that our societal structure and living style is quite different from what you are used to in some aspects."

Harry and Ginny looked around in awe as Zesiro showed them his city.

"Why do you wear your cloak to cover your face like that?" Ginny asked Zesiro, looking up at him.

"Oh, I apologize. I'd forgotten I had it on" Zesiro answered. "We wear these cloaks in this fashion whenever we have an important meeting with the Elder. It is a sign of respect and ceremony to cover our faces. This way our facial expressions are masked-which is good- in case someone were to secretly disagree with the Elder or with what is going on."

Zesiro removed his hood. Where there had previously been a black void that emanated the voice of Zesiro, there was now a sharp looking, handsome face. Zesiro looked young, maybe in his twenties. He had straight, chocolate brown hair that slightly hung over his piercing blue eyes. He had a straight nose and a squared jaw. Around his neck he too wore one of those strange orb necklaces, his glowing orange. He smiled down at the children.

"That's better." He said "Now I'll introduce myself properly. I am Zesiro Orangemoon. I work for the Elder and the Oldmoon Council- which is that bunch of people who were gathered in the Hall of the Elder. It is my duty to show you two around and answer any questions you may have that are within my ability to answer."

Zesiro straightened up and beckoned the children forward. "If there are no questions for the moment, we will continue our tour."

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Harry and Ginny flopped into two plush chairs in the guest room. They were wiped out. Zesiro had just spent the whole day showing them the entire city. It was amazing. There were the great stone offices and the vendors on Market Street. Then there was the great coliseum in the center of the city. Zesiro had told them that the coliseum was used whenever the inhabitants had a city-wide ceremony and feast. The entire population would gather in that coliseum and enjoy the festivities. The coliseum was also used in between these great celebrations to host friendly duels between the people. The trio had stopped to watch such a duel take place.

The kids were amazed at the speed with which the fighters dueled. They held their weapons with such ease and used them with such skill. And when weapons failed, a fighter would use his bare hands to get by. The fighter would use a type of magic that didn't require a wand and they would incorporate this magic with their martial arts movements. It was simply amazing to watch. After the duel they were watching was over the winner thanked his opponent for a good duel and invited him to lunch, the winner saying he would pay. The strength and kindness of these people was outstanding.

After leaving the coliseum Zesiro led the children to the housing area of the city. Most of the homes looked somewhat like the houses back in their world, but they were made of stone and ranged in size and structure. As the group went further into the housing area they arrived at an area where Zesiro showed them several houses that were actually made of the living forest growing behind the city.

The trees were huge, reaching further up than the kids could see. The trunks were very wide, and this was where some of the inhabitants had made their homes. Zesiro explained that some of the people had been so in touch with nature that they preferred to live within it rather than build a stone structure to shelter them. They had used magic to carve openings in the wood, without actually harming the trees. Apparently the people had used their connection with nature and to the trees to make their homes without disturbing the life-force of the tree they chose to live in. Harry and Ginny didn't completely understand all of it, but they were amazed nonetheless.

Zesiro hadn't taken them further into the forest, saying that the children weren't allowed into the forest further than the tree-homes. He explained that the forest was easy to lose oneself in and the pair could not yet communicate with nature as the natives could, so they would be unable to find their way out. Harry and Ginny didn't understand because they thought it should be OK since Zesiro was with them, but they didn't argue and followed Zesiro away from the forest.

Zesiro then took the children to the beach that made up the entire Island's coast. They observed families enjoying themselves and children playing in the sand. Zesiro showed them a fog way off in the distance. He explained that that fog was what clouded their world from the other. None on either side could look past that fog into the next world and so they sat side by side, with Harry and Ginny's world having no knowledge of the society that lived so close, yet so far away.

The children hadn't eaten all day so Zesiro took them to a late lunch, letting them get a taste for the native foods. The kids loved the food and were grateful for it because they were near starving. After they'd eaten, they returned to the coliseum to watch another duel. This one was between a large graying man with a stern brown-eyed stare and another man who was a bit smaller than the first and had light blond hair and gray eyes.

The large man won the battle quickly and Zesiro informed the kids that that man was the one who had spoken out against Harry earlier; Oran Oldmoon was his name. He was a very strong man judging by his performance and very proud. He shook hands with his opponent and then left in long, fast strides. Harry could see that this guy wasn't someone to mess with.

Zesiro explained that the Oldmoons were a group of individuals who had great power and who had a very close connection to nature and to the Moon. Most of the Oldmoons lived in the tree-homes that they had seen earlier. The Oldmoon Council was the group that had attended Harry and Ginny's meeting with the Elder. Zesiro explained that this group was something like advisors to the Elder. They helped him decide matters that had to do with the city and the people unless the Elder got specific orders from the spirit of the Moon. Anything ordered by the Moon must be obeyed, no matter what.

The Oldmoons were given almost as much respect and reverence as the Elder himself. They were the most powerful warriors on the Island and had been chosen for their positions in a special ceremony held whenever the Moon demanded that a new council was to be chosen. Oran was a known hard head and he just needed time to warm up to people, Zesiro explained to Harry. Oran Oldmoon was immediately suspicious of anything different or out of place. He took his job very seriously and saw the protection of his city and his people as the only thing that mattered.

Harry had asked Zesiro about the glowing orbs that everyone was wearing around their necks. Zesiro briefly explained that the orbs signified the power level of the person wearing it. Each person got one during a special ceremony that brought out the true power of the individual. This ceremony took place when a child reached adolescence and whatever level of power they were would glow in the orb around their neck, showing others their level in society. The darker the orb, the greater the power. Anyone with a blue or darker orb was considered an Elite and went through extra training to control their power. Zesiro himself had an orange orb and so he told them how this affected his title. His orb color meant that he would be addressed as Zesiro Orangemoon. He said that he had a twin brother, Segundo, who was also an Orangemoon. He stated that before he had become an Oldmoon, Oran had been a Greenmoon, one of the Elite Class.

After they left the coliseum they had headed back to the building they had first woken up in. Zesiro explained that this building was called Moon Tower. It was at the top of a hill and gave an excellent view of the night sky when standing in the courtyard or garden outside of the building. Not only did this building house the Elder, but it was also the meeting place of the Oldmoon Council and the home of the Great Library, which housed the ancient scripts that only the Elder and the Chief Oldmoon were allowed to view. There was knowledge both ancient and powerful hidden within the tomes of that library.

The trio had returned just in time for dinner. They had eaten with a few of the Oldmoons who had been around, and the Elder. Aldous Luna had asked the kids how they had enjoyed the city so far and the kids had excitedly recalled their day. After dinner and desert the Elder requested a performance for the children. A man and a woman had come out and performed for the kids. The man played a flute-like instrument that gave a hauntingly beautiful sound, and the woman had danced to it. The children were amazed at the pair's skill and clapped loudly in appreciation of the show.

Zesiro had led them to a spare bedroom off of the Elder's room and told them that this is where they would sleep for the next few nights. When he had left Harry and Ginny had immediately fallen into two stuffed chairs, exhausted from their day, and this is where they lay now.

"Wow." Ginny said. "That was a great tour of the city."

"Yeah." Harry responded looking over at Ginny. "This place is awesome. Zesiro is pretty cool. I hope we can hang out with him and go play in the city again tomorrow."

"Yeah." Ginny replied tiredly. "I can't wait." She said with a yawn, before nodding off in her chair and falling into a contented sleep.

Harry smiled at his new friend, glad that she had had as much fun as he. He thought tiredly of what it would be like to live here permanently. His smile remained as he fell into an untroubled sleep.

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November 5, 1986

Harry and Ginny had spent three days on Moon Island. They had gotten to know a few of the native children and spent time exploring the different things on the island. The Children of the Moon were thrilled to have the kids there. They had asked Harry and Ginny questions about their world and tried to teach the two things about Moon Island.

In their time there, the kids learned a little of how the natives connected with nature. A friendly old man named Fetu Oldmoon had taught them a little bit of how to open their senses and their mind. He led them in meditation so they could feel the nature around them and listen to it. The kids had felt very calm and at peace when coming out of the connection. They began to understand a little why the natives were so calm and peaceful, and why they could carry themselves in such a strong and self-assured way.

The native children had shown Harry and Ginny some of their games. They would go to the beach and play hide and go seek, but the native kids would use their connection with nature to ask the sand and water to hide them, so Harry and Ginny never won, but they had fun nonetheless. They would also have play-sparring matches, and the native kids would teach Harry and Ginny moves to use against their opponents. They never won at this either, but learned a lot of cool things.

Harry thought the best game they had was one where the players would sit on these big balls of moving air, but they had to use their magic to hold themselves up. The balls would spin and rotate around, and the players had to try to get to their opponent's goal without falling off of their ball, while trying to knock their opponent off their ball. It was difficult to learn at first because it took a bit of concentration to stay on the ball and try to knock his opponent off of their ball, but after a few practices Harry soon got good at it and even beat a few of the lesser-skilled locals. Ginny didn't like this game as much because she was often knocked off of her ball. The game reminded Harry a little of the sport of quidditch and he really enjoyed it.

Harry and Ginny had spent a lot of time playing along the beach and having fun with the other children. They found all types of things that they considered cool that had been washed onto the beach, including sea shells, shiny rocks, and even a creature or two. They had gone to the forest homes and climbed with other children into the trees as far as they could, and found they could still not see the top. They thought that the trees must reach into forever here, and they were amazed and thrilled with the idea. They went to the coliseum to see the small duels that would be occurring at different intervals during the day. They would buy food, with money that Zesiro had given them, from the vendors on Market Street and delight in the exotic tastes of the island sweets.

After their days of staying out and exploring the city, they would spend nights at dinner with the Elder and Zesiro. They had also had a chance to meet Segundo, Zesiro's twin, and even Ginny who had identical twin brothers was amazed at the exactly identical features of the brothers. Harry was a twin, but he and Josh were fraternal and looked nothing alike. Harry had his father's messy jet black hair and his mum's emerald green eyes, whilst his brother had his mum's straight red locks and his dad's almond brown eyes. Also, Josh did not wear glasses and even at their young age, it was clear that Josh would stand a few inches taller than his older brother.

The twins Zesiro and Segundo were exactly identical. Their eyes. Their hair. Even their smiles were exact copies of each other. Segundo had come to dinner one night to meet Harry and Ginny. He worked in the city library and came up often to visit with his brother and the Elder. The twins being together meant a lot of fun for that night. Zesiro was a lively man and he smiled often enough, but when his brother was with him he was downright jovial. He and his brother would crack jokes and laugh identical hearty laughs and use that infamous twin trait of finishing each others sentences.

The Elder seemed a much less imposing figure at these dinners. He would laugh along with everyone else and even had a joke or two of his own. And during desert he would tell the children ancient stories and myths that had been passed down through his people's existence. The children would go to bed full and happy with the day they had spent. They had never known such happiness and peace.

But on this, the fourth day Ginny was starting to miss her family. The antics of Zesiro and his brother reminded her strongly of the twins. Seeing families playing together along the beach reminded her of her parents, who must surely be worried about her. The kids reminded her of all her brothers and it seemed that even with all this happiness, the images of her family would possess her and dampen her spirits.

Harry had agreed that they would talk to the Elder today after Ginny told him she was homesick. They needed to know all they could about the prophecy and their place in it. It was with this in mind that Harry and Ginny went to visit the Elder in his office on this day.

Harry knocked tentatively on the door when they reached the Elder's office.

"Come in children." The voice of the Elder spoke out from inside the office.

The kids opened the door and entered the room. They had never been in this room before and were surprised to find it looking like a normal office. It was nowhere near as extravagant as the Hall of Elders or even the Elder's room. There was simply a large desk, with the Elder sitting in a chair behind it, two chairs placed in front of the desk, facing the Elder, and a window to the left of the Elder looking out upon the hillside and the cloudless sky above.

The Elder had few things upon his desk. Just a few papers, a quill and ink, and a large book, which was laying open, that the Elder seemed to be studying before the kids had arrived.

"Please have a seat." The Elder instructed the two children.

Harry and Ginny sat in the two chairs that were facing the Elder.

"I've been expecting you." The Elder started. "I assume you are here to talk about the prophecy?" Harry and Ginny nodded in affirmation.

"Well, let me start by telling you that no matter what the prophecy says only you can truly decide what is right. In my way of thinking, prophecy and fate are only tools that help guide you. They can present a clearer way to see the things that you are able to accomplish."

"But this doesn't mean that you must live by what these things tell you. You always have a choice, and choice is what shapes an individual. Some people of prophecy live by what someone has told them _must_ happen for them. And these are the people that never truly enjoy life, because they feel they never had a choice in what they did. The people who truly live life are the ones who are willing to step into the unknown, those that believe they have choice and make their choices along the path, instead of going along silently with what has been laid out before them.

"Just remember that you have the freedom to choose what you want to do with your life. Prophecy does not define who you are to become."

The children listened as the Elder spoke to them about their choices and nodded in understanding.

The Elder held the children's gazes for a second more before continuing.

"Alright then. Now, the Prophecy of Unity, as we call it, was made long before I was born. It has been recorded in our history, along with all other prophecy concerning us, in this, The Book of Ages." The Elder pointed to the large book that was lying upon his desk.

"The Prophecy of Unity was delivered from the Moon Herself. She used the Elder of the time as a vessel to carry her message and it was written into this book. Any prophecy is considered special and rare, but a foretelling by the Great Moon is something very rare and something that we Children consider very important and sacred indeed. And this prophecy in particular is of great importance.

"When the Children split away from your world, we assumed that we would never be returning. We thought that the evil and corruption in your world would never be vanquished, and so we would never exist peacefully. This is why we moved away in the first place. But this Prophecy speaks of uniting the two worlds again. It states that there will be balance, purity and peace between the Humans of your world and the Children of the Moon once more."

Harry and Ginny were a bit surprised to hear this, after learning from Zesiro that most of the Luna Liberi wanted nothing to do with the world that Harry and Ginny came from. They believed that world to be full of evil and corruption and none wanted to return to such an environment.

"The Children who were around when the Prophecy was spoken could hardly believe what was being foretold." The Elder continued on.

"But they knew that the events outlined in the prophecy would someday occur, and so the Book has been passed down, with the Prophecy of Unity always being protected and retold by the current Elder and the Old Moon Council to the incoming Elder and Council.

"I will now read you the prophecy."

The Elder looked down into the large book and began reading to the two children who were paying rapt attention to every word.

**_As the New Moon approaches and the tenth month fades, Two voices will in harmony wish for freedom. _**

**_The Children will hear and grant freedom from the snares of human carelessness and bring the Two to the Island of the Moon._**

**_One will assuredly remain having heard the Elders claim. _**

**_The Second will feel much grief and will make a hard decision. _**

**_The Two together have the power to unite the worlds once more, bringing purity, love, and kindness into the hearts of Man and Child again._**

**_The Unity of the Two will vanquish darkness and bring on peace, but the Second must decide._**

**_The Children will teach any who remain and the Battle will be waged at the First coming of age in the world from whence they came._**

**_The Second must decide and the Two will save each other._**

**_The Unity of Worlds is at hand, when the New Moon approaches and the tenth month fades and The Two are granted freedom._**

The Elder looked up from the book and back at the children sitting before him.

"Not all that much like any other prophecy I have read, but pretty to the point as far as the literal text goes."

Harry and Ginny looked somewhat confused. They didn't really understand what the whole thing meant, and didn't know what the Elder meant by 'literal text'. The Elder noticed the children's confusion and elaborated further.

"What the Prophecy clearly tells us is that on October 31st -the end of the tenth month- on a night when the New Moon is almost at hand, which is after the end of a full moon, two people will make a wish and the Children of the Moon will answer that wish. October 31st, 1986 was such a night and you two made such wishes.

"The Children have answered, just as the Prophecy stated and you two were brought here. Harry, am I right in assuming that you have decided to remain here with us?"

Harry nodded his head in response to the Elder's question, looking somewhat sideways at Ginny. Harry was sure from the moment he had finished speaking with the Elder on that first night that he would be staying. There was no way he wanted to go back home. So that meant that Ginny was the Second, and she had to decide. It seemed her decision was much more important than the two had first thought.

Ginny was surprised by the whole prophecy. It was so accurate as to what had occurred, and it also put her under a lot of pressure. She knew that in some way, she could help to bring peace back to the two worlds. She found it pretty hard to believe and it also scared her that her choice was between going back home to her family whom she loved, or staying here and training to save the world. It was a terrible and hard choice to make.

The Elder looked sympathetically over at Ginny. He could see the turmoil within her and knew that the prophecy was a very heavy burden to be put upon a child, no matter how intelligent and seemingly strong that child was. The Elder could see that Ginny was in quite a dilemma, her home life not being near as bad as Harrys, thus warranting her difference in feelings toward remaining on Moon Island.

"Ginevra, you have a hard decision to make, but it is you who must make it."

The Elder looked down upon the little girl before him and felt sorrow over having to be the one that put her through this.

"Remember what I told you before," the Elder remarked. "You always have a choice and you do not have to live your life according to prophecy. Remember to follow your own heart and make your decision from there."

Ginny- who had her head down-nodded slightly at the old man.

"I…I won't be able to go home again if I stay here, will I?" Ginny asked softly and looked up at the Elder.

"No, you won't be able to for some time." The Elder answered truthfully as he looked Ginny straight in the eye. "But that doesn't mean never. When the time is right you two will return to the world from whence you came."

Harry frowned slightly at this. He hadn't thought about returning ever again. But he guessed it was necessary if he was some part of uniting the two worlds. He still didn't like the idea of going back very much though.

The Elder noticed Harry's look and explained further.

"Yes, you will be returning, but when you do so you will be changed."

The children both looked on with questioning glances and waited for the Elder to continue.

"If you choose to stay then you will become a Child of the Moon. You will no longer be a part of the world from whence you came. When you return to that world, you will be different people and have little in common with the families you once knew. When you return, they won't recognize you."

Both Ginny and Harry looked hesitant about this new information. They didn't really know who they were yet, as they were only children, but they didn't know if they wanted to change so drastically as to not even be recognized by their own families.

Harry quickly decided that change was a small price to pay for freedom, and if the change made him as powerful and sure of himself as the people he saw walking around Moon Island, then that was OK by him.

Ginny was feeling more and more unsure by the moment. Although the last thing the Elder had revealed was a bit unsettling and even a bit scary to think of, Ginny was a little interested by the prospect. If she became one of the Children, then perhaps she could be strong like them. Perhaps this was a chance to prove herself. Even if her family didn't recognize her at first, she could show them the person she'd become and she'd still be able to be with them again. But the question of how long she had to be away worried her.

"If we stay, how long will it be for?" Ginny asked the question that bothered her most.

The Elder pointed to a section of the Prophecy.

"Here it says that '_The Battle will be waged at the First coming of age.'_

We believe that this indicates when you are to return. The words 'Second' and 'First' are always referred to as people, like names. This indicates that the one to remain, Harry, is the First that the Prophecy speaks of, and so going from that, you are to return when Harry comes of age. I believe that age is seventeen in your world, correct?"

The children nodded in response.

"Well then that means that should you choose to stay, you will remain on Moon Island for eleven years. I know the decision will be hard, as it seems a very long time, just remember to follow your heart. I will leave you to make your decision."

Ginny gave a small nod and didn't say anything for a long while. The Elder stood and politely excused himself from the room and closed the door behind him.

Harry knew that Ginny was thinking and didn't say anything to interrupt her. Harry himself was thinking about what his life would be like for the next eleven years. He could partially understand Ginny's concern. Eleven years was quite a bit of time in their eyes, as they hadn't even been born for eleven years yet. It was especially hard for someone like Ginny, who had a family who really loved and cared for her and whom she loved back.

Harry secretly wished that Ginny would stay with him on the Island, but knew that it was her decision to make and he couldn't try to persuade her in any way. He just sat in companionable silence as Ginny tried to make a choice.

Ginny was waging war inside her mind. She was thinking of everything that had happened to her since the night of Halloween and she couldn't believe that so much had happened. Now she was faced with a really hard decision that was sure to have great effects no matter what she chose. If she chose to go home then she would be with her family again. But she would also be more watched after than ever before. She would never be allowed to become her own person. But she did love her family very much.

If Ginny chose to stay, then she would not be able to talk to or see her family for eleven whole years. That was a pretty long time to be away. But if she stayed she could become a stronger person who could look after herself, and she could possibly help Harry to save the world.

There were so many 'buts' and each possible choice had both a good and adverse side effect. Ginny looked over to Harry who sat staring out of the window. Harry had lived in her world. He was the brother of the Boy Who Lived, yet he had been more than willing to drop his other life and decide to stay here. He pretended to be so strong, but Ginny noticed the hurt in his eyes whenever anyone mentioned his family, and when he'd see children playing happily with their parents.

Harry didn't really have anybody. He was too shy to talk to the other children without Ginny first approaching them and he seemed to only really open up when she was around him. Ginny had made fast friends with Harry, as each other were the first people they had seen when waking up in that strange bedroom a mere four days ago.

Ginny thought of leaving. Of leaving Harry. Harry who had nobody. Harry who she knew wanted her to stay. Harry who was so strong and so sweet and so…alone. She thought of leaving him to face the Prophecy alone. The Prophecy had said that the two could bring peace back to the worlds and get rid of the evil, but it didn't say anything about what happened if Ginny left. If she didn't stay would that mean that darkness would continue to take over? She loved her family, and she wanted to help Harry…

Ginny looked inside her heart as she was told to. She had finally come to a decision. She just hoped it was the right one.

As the Elder returned to the room seemingly right on time, as it had been just seconds after Ginny had made her decision, Ginny looked up at the old man with determination present in her eyes.

"Can I say goodbye?"

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UPDATED 7-21-2010


	7. Goodbye, Hello

Disclaimer: It is not owned by me

Seven: Goodbye, Hello

November 5, 1986

The Burrow:

Arthur Weasley sat upon his favorite chair in the living room of the Burrow. He could see the sky darkening through the living room window, and with the passing day he felt another piece of him passing as well. His daughter had been gone for five days now. There was absolutely no trace of her and the clock in the Burrow's living room had yielded no sign of where the young girl could be.

A glass of Fire Whiskey sat on the table in front of Arthur, barely touched. He had thought the sting of the alcohol could help him release some of his pain, but Arthur wasn't a drinking man, and the thought of his missing little girl could not be erased from his mind.

The other residents of the misshapen home had all retreated to their rooms earlier. Molly, the matriarch of the family had hardly left her room at all since Ginny's disappearance. The Burrow had descended into a mellow stupor in the past five days, and it seemed as though nothing could change this.

Arthur sighed heavily and leaned back into the chair. He tried hard to be the strong one in this situation, to put on a brave face for his family. He wanted to show them that although things were hard they could get through it and everything would turn out all right. But Arthur himself was finding it difficult to keep up his facade and with each passing day his resolve weakened. He knew that the family could see this and were in turn disheartened by it. Arthur just wished there was something he could do to change things. To go back in time to that night and make it so Ginny had never left.

Of course there were ways to go back, things like time-turners could make the task possible, but the use of such items was restricted and Arthur knew that there would be a price to pay for changing the past should he try it. All in all, the whole idea was useless. There was no way he could go back. No way to change things. No way to bring his little girl back…

As Arthur was thinking this and slowly drifting off into another troubled nights sleep, there was suddenly a bright flash in the room that jolted him awake. He jumped out of his chair and brandished his wand at whatever was creating the light. He had to cover his eyes with one hand as he looked to the center of the room and saw the source of the brilliant light.

There was a small figure standing there, the light slowly washing away from it. As the light receded Arthur slowly uncovered his eyes and held out his wand to the figure.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Arthur demanded of the small figure.

The figure stepped forward and Arthur could finally make out features. It looked to be a child. It had skinny legs, a petite figure, small hands, a slightly round face, and…bright red hair.

Arthur took in a startled breath. He could hardly believe what he was seeing and thought he must be dreaming some harsh, cruel dream. Surely he would wake up at any moment and the world would come crashing down upon him again. Reality would yield an empty living room, a solemn household, and no red-headed, freckled little girl standing before him.

The little girl who looked so much like Ginny stepped forward again.

"Daddy?" she inquired, and looked around as if checking that she was indeed in the right place. She smiled a very familiar smile and ran up to Arthur and gave him a very familiar hug.

Arthur immediately dropped down to hug his daughter, sure that this was no dream, and that his little girl had indeed returned.

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Grimmauld Place:

Sirius Black had existed in a drunken stupor for the past four days. He had rarely left his room and had eaten very little. He still couldn't believe that his godson was gone; that it had been five days and not a sign had been seen of him. Sirius felt somewhat lost. He wished there was more he could have done and just knew deep down that if he had been around more, maybe even stood up to Lily and James, that everything would be different. He knew that the little boy he loved so much, but mostly from a distance, was mistreated at home, and that Harry must have finally given up on his so called family.

That a child should have to make the choice to leave the people who gave him life, those who were supposed to love him, was a very sad occurrence indeed. Sirius knew what it was like to be mistreated by parents. He knew what it felt like to want to escape. He had sworn that he would never treat anyone like his parents treated him, least of all a child. But he now realized that through his inaction, he had enabled Lily and James in treating Harry much as he himself had been treated in his youth. Maybe Harry wasn't tormented by his parents and hated by them, but negligence and non-concern could feel like the worst thing in the world in a young child's mind. Sure Harry was very smart for his age, but in the end, he was still just a six year old child.

Sirius lay back upon his bed and covered his eyes with an arm. He was beginning to get a headache and his throat burned. The physical pain he felt from his days of alcohol abuse seemed trivial in comparison to the emotional pain he felt. If only there was something he could do. If only he had done something when he had had the chance. If only…

There was suddenly a bright flash of light throughout the room. Sirius fell off the side of the bed in his shock. He was too disoriented to think about pulling his wand out and simply held out his hand calling out, "Who's there?"

The light was slowly fading and Sirius could make out a small figure coming from where the light had been. The figure slowly walked forward and looked around the room. As it walked closer Sirius could make out that the figure was what looked to be a small child. It was kind of pale, skinny, had a round childish face and wore round wire framed glasses. It had emerald green eyes…and messy jet black hair…

"Harry?" Sirius slowly stood up and walked toward the figure. "Harry, is it really you?"

The young boy stepped all the way forward and looked at Sirius with those shining emerald eyes of his. He let a small smile show as he answered.

"Yes uncle Si, it's me."

Sirius rushed forward and gripped the small boy in a hug. Tears were slowly streaming down his face and he could hardly believe what was happening. Harry returned the hug and grinned at his godfather.

"Harry…I can't believe it. Where've you been kiddo?" Sirius asked Harry with a teary smile.

"Your mom and dad are gonna be so surprised…so happy to know that you're back."

Harry's smile faltered and he stepped back as Sirius said this. Sirius gave Harry a questioning look as the child backed off at the mention of his parents.

"Hey kid," Sirius stated "I know it was rough before, but you'll see, they've changed. They've really missed you. We all have." Sirius looked down as he continued. "Look Harry, I know we messed up pretty bad. Me too, because I never said anything, and I know how you must have felt, but me and your parents really do love you and things _are _going be different."

Harry just stood there with an unreadable expression before quietly responding. "I'm not coming back…not now at least."

Sirius looked at Harry quizzically. "What do you mean you're not coming back? You _are_ back. Everyone's been going crazy the past five days you've been gone. What are you talking about cub?" Sirius looked as if he was very confused, the after effects of the Fire Whiskey along with Harry's appearance and strange statement causing his head to spin.

"We can go to see my parents." Harry looked back at Sirius who smiled again and was about to say something before Harry cut him off. "But I'm not staying. I came back for a reason, and I wanted to make sure you all hear it. Don't try to change my mind uncle Si, it's already made up."

Sirius didn't know how to respond to this. He just stood looking at his godson who looked too harrowed and resolute to be so young. Sirius nodded his head and said, "All right then kid, lets go."

The older man had an idea in his head that when they reached Potter Manor, he and Harry's parents could find a way to make Harry stay. He felt it should be easy to contain the young boy and convince him that with his family is where he belonged. Sirius had no idea of where his godson had been for the past few days, but he was determined that Harry not return there.

Sirius waved for Harry to follow him and went to the fireplace across the room. He told Harry to go first. He threw some floo powder into the fire which in turn shot up bright green flames. Harry stepped forward and shouted out 'Potter Manor' the flames engulfed Harry and he was sent spinning through the floo network. He soon landed quite haphazardly upon the white rug in the Potter's living room. No one seemed to be there at the moment. Harry stood and stepped aside as Sirius came falling through the fireplace.

Sirius stood up and seeing no one in the living room, called out to his long-time friends. Lily and James soon came rushing down the stairs, clad in their pajamas, robes and slippers, panic clearly written on their faces.

"Sirius what's wrong? We heard someone coming through the floo, and then you yelling and we thou…"

James stopped mid-sentence as he and Lily reached the landing of the living room. He had spotted the stone faced little boy standing next to Sirius. James Potter could hardly believe his eyes, and found himself suddenly letting out the breath he felt he had been holding for minutes, when it in fact had only been seconds.

Lily stepped forward slowly, tears springing to her eyes as she quietly asked "Harry?"

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Over One Month Later:

December 13th, 1986

Harry Potter stood in the center of the Hall of the Elder. He was facing the Elder's throne and the Oldmoon Council was convened around the Hall much as they had been the first night that Harry and Ginny had arrived and spoken to the Elder. The moon was full and shining down upon all who were gathered in the Hall.

On Harry's left stood a youngish couple who were facing the Elder as well. They both looked to be in their late twenties. The man's frame was tall and wiry. He had straight, long black hair that was held together in a low ponytail. He had playfully brilliant ice-blue eyes, and a warm smile. The woman was at least a head shorter than her companion. She had shoulder length, wavy, light brown hair and sparkling hazel eyes. Her smile was kind and loving. The orbs around their necks indicated their power level. The man was a Bluemoon, and his wife a Greenmoon; both of the Elite Class.

The trio was all dressed in Luna Liberi ceremonial robes. The robes were pure white and had a crest on the left chest side. The crest differed depending on what family the Children of the Moon were in. Their last names indicated their own power levels, so the Children used middle names and family crest to distinguish who was in which family.

The crest that the two adults beside Harry wore had a black backing with a silver shield. The shield bore an 'A' composed of flames and there was a spear shooting up from the back of it. It stood for the family Andrew, whose natural meaning meant 'Warrior'. Harry bore this crest as well.

The ceremony in which Harry was participating was an adoption ceremony. He had spent over a month on Moon Island, and had lived in Moon Tower with the Elder. Now he would be adopted by the couple standing next to him. He would truly become a Child of the Moon.

The Elder had allowed Harry time to make his decision. The old man had explained about the changes Harry would undergo upon his adoption and bonding with his new parents. The Luna Liberi weren't like the humans of Harry's old world. There were physical differences that set the two peoples apart, though they were very subtle and in most cases unrecognizable.

Harry hadn't taken much time to decide. He liked Moon Island and all the people he had met there. Rakesh and Shandra, the couple who were to adopt Harry, were really nice and had fun personalities. Rakesh was 28 and Shandra was 26. They had been married for 5 years and were happy to volunteer to adopt Harry as an addition to their family.

The ceremony would include a bonding and a name change. Harry would truly become a Child of the Moon, along with his new best friend.

Harry looked to his right at Ginny. She was dressed similarly, except her crest had a deep blue backing. There was a shield broken into quarters that were shadowed by a silver 'A'. Her crest stood for the family Alastair, meaning the Protector. The top right quarter held a sword, the left a closed fist. The bottom right held a clawed paw, and the left held an image of the Moon.

It had been little over a month since Harry and Ginny had said goodbye to their pasts'. The decision had been harder for Ginny, but it had been hers. They had both gone to their past homes one last time to say goodbye to those people who once influenced their lives so greatly.

Ginny had first seen her father and then her mother, the twins, and Ron had come rushing down the stairs at Arthur's frantic call. It had been hard for her to say goodbye, especially to her mother who had cried the whole time, but Ginny had decided that the prophecy and what it contained were important. She may have been a child, but she was wise for her age, and knew that her role in the prophecy affected the outcome. She would stay and train. She would help Harry and hopefully, together, they could restore the worlds. Then maybe one day she would be able to join her family again, and they would see her as the smart and strong individual that she was.

It had taken Ginny a while to explain the situation to her family, and they didn't really understand. They thought that Ginny had simply run away for a few days, and come up with this strange story to get attention. Ginny knew that they wouldn't believe her, and it made her leaving all the more hard. She stopped trying to convince them and just got on with the good-byes. The Weasleys were confused by Ginny's resolute attitude and the way she seemed to seriously be saying goodbye.

Ginny had picked a round orb out of her pocket. The inside of the orb glowed as if on fire. "As long as it glows, you'll know I'm okay." Ginny had stated as she placed it in her mothers hand.

When the same white light that had brought Ginny there started to appear around her again, the Weasleys were finally convinced that the young girl was serious. Molly let out a fresh wave of tears and Arthur looked shocked. Ginny's older brothers looked confused and saddened and Ron…well he looked stricken. He had actually let a few tears escape and he looked terribly guilt-ridden. Before the light could completely overtake Ginny and send her away Ron had went to her and gave a tearful apology, saying he was sorry for everything and he would miss her. This was something Ron had never done before and it almost made Ginny think twice about her decision.

As the light began to envelope the room Ginny told her family one last time, "Don't worry, I'll be all right and I'll be back some day. As long as it glows you'll know…." With these last words she was taken away by the light. The Weasleys left in the Burrow were forced to cover their eyes from the brightness of the light. When they opened them, Ginny was gone.

Harry's departure had been similar, with Josh apologizing to him and both his parents and Sirius letting tears flow. Harry had given them an orb like the one Ginny had given her parents. He hadn't been as reluctant to leave as Ginny had. He couldn't really believe his parents' grief. He had grown up with them not caring about him since he was one year old, and he was hardly convinced that they should care now that he was gone.

Sirius' tears had been a little harder to watch, but Harry was too excited by the prospect of the love and freedom he would have on Moon Island, plus the idea that he had a responsibility concerning the prophecy. Harry had left Potter Manner with a stony face and words that the three Potters and Sirius would never forget, "I'll be back someday, and maybe you'll be different."

Now Harry and Ginny stood in the wide hall, witnessed by hundreds, about to be adopted into new families. Ginny was somewhat reluctant to call others family, as she had been much closer with her real family, but she had decided it would be better for her to truly become a Luna Liberi in order to help Harry to fulfill the prophecy to the best of her ability.

Ginny's adoptive parents were named Kalavan Graymoon, and Candrima Redmoon. Kalavan was average sized and had short curly brown hair and vivid gray eyes. Candrima was almost the exact same height as her spouse and had long dirty-blond hair that trailed her back. Her eyes were a dark blue and seemed to sparkle in the moon light, like stars. Both adults were in their early thirties and had warm, kind smiles.

Many families had volunteered for the honorable role of adopting Harry and Ginny, but in the end the kids were the ones to decide who they wanted to raise them for the duration of their childhood. Harry had chosen Rakesh and Shandra for their very visible love of children and their playful attitudes. It never really occurred to him that they were a bit like his parents when it came to their fun personalities. His sub-conscious just told him they were the right ones.

Ginny had chosen Kalavan and Candrima because they were a bit older than the rest of the candidates, something that she was more comfortable with, plus they had a son. He was ten years old and Ginny had instantly felt a sibling-like connection to the boy. He would teach Ginny and Harry tricks to the Island games and take them around the city to the most fun places. His name was Nyx. He was tall for his age, despite his parents' average heights, and he had short hair like his fathers, but it was a darker shade of brown and his eyes seemed to be a mixture of both his parents' eyes. He had a wide, bright smile and seemed to always be ready to have fun. He had already taken both Harry and Ginny under his wing and was delighted that Ginny would soon be his sister.

As the Elder, who had been chanting some kind of magic over two stone basins at the foot of his throne, finally looked up and waved the group forward, Harry looked over to Ginny again and smiled. The girl returned the smile timidly and nodded at the boy with the midnight colored hair.

Harry walked forward with Rakesh and Shandra to the bowl nearest them, as Ginny did the same with Kalavan and Candrima. The stone basins seemed to be filled with sparkling water, but as Harry looked closer he saw that his basin was empty. The Moonlight shone down into the basins and created a wonderful luminescence that appeared to be rippling water.

The Elder smiled as he looked upon the six people before him.

"Family is the greatest gift that a person can be given." The Elder began. "True family is the people who will stand beside you even in the roughest of times. They are those who will love you for your talents, despite your faults. True family are those who are not afraid to tell you the truth about yourself, even when the truth hurts, because they care enough about you to protect and forgive you when you take your anger out on them. Family will always be there for you whenever they possibly can and they will love you when you feel that no one else cares."

Now the Elder stepped down to the level of the six standing before him. He placed his hands on Harry and Ginny's shoulders and looked at each of them in turn before continuing.

"Adoption is a truly great thing. It is the joining of what will become a great family. The bond created in adoption is unique and very special indeed. That we have two adoption ceremonies taking place this night is a very special thing, and that the adopted are from that world beyond the fog is very rare and astounding. We Luna Liberi do wish that you will come to love your adopted families as if they were with you from the start, and that you will come to call Moon Island home and its inhabitants your friends. Now let us begin the ceremony!"

The gathered people cheered as the Elder said this, and then became quite silent as the Elder instructed the two couples and the children with them to surround their separate basins. As Harry made a sort of triangle around the basin with Rakesh and Shandra forming the other points, the moonlight shone down upon him and into the basin.

The Elder handed Rakesh and Kalavan small knives and instructed them on what to do. A small cut was made into the couples and the kids' thumbs, just enough to draw a drop of blood. Harry knew from the Elder that this was to happen and wasn't too worried by it. The three members of each family were to then press their thumbs together for ten seconds, while the Elder continued his ritualistic chanting.

Harry could feel something hot speeding up his arm and spreading throughout his body. This feeling was different than any he had ever felt before. The thing that was spreading felt hot, yet there was no pain. He felt hot and cold at the same time. Weak and strong. Confused and sure. But most of all, he felt an overwhelming sense of happiness. He seemed to feel all of this in the short seconds that the three were connected.

The Elder then instructed the families to each place their hands into the stone basins. Harry did as instructed and was awed as he felt a cool liquid embrace his hand when he placed it into the basin. The basin still appeared to be empty but Harry could feel the liquid sensation running over his fingers. He looked into the moonlight a realized that the luminescent glow was the cause of it. He didn't know how it was possible, he just knew. As the children and their adoptive parents ran their hand through the basin and the liquid light of the moon, the small cuts on their thumbs healed over and closed up. There were small barely noticeable scars where the incisions had been made.

Harry suddenly felt as if he had been washed away by a giant wave. Everything went dark for a moment and when the light returned he felt…different. Everything looked blurry and this prompted Harry to take off his glasses. His sight was vastly improved. Harry looked to his adoptive parents who were smiling down at him. But somehow, they seemed closer than before. Harry looked back into the basin and could see his reflection. His hair seemed darker, if that was even possible. It was so black it almost looked blue in the light. His eyes were different too. They still had that vibrant green color, but there were many other colors mixed in. There were flecks of gold, gray, blue, and hazel. It was like looking into a kaleidoscope.

Harry looked over to where Ginny was standing with her adoptive parents. He could see that she went through some changes as well. She too seemed a bit taller than before and her hair was a darker red with brownish-gold highlights. She looked over to him at the same time and he could see her eyes. Instead of the deep chocolate brown they had once been, Ginny's eyes were now sparkling amber orbs flecked with gold.

The Elder had stopped the chanting and instructed the two new families to stand before him once more. It was time for the declaring of names. The Elder would announce the kids' new names to the Oldmoon Council and these names would be their new identity on Moon Island. The names had already been chosen much like they would have been had Harry and Ginny been native to Moon Island. The parents would get to know the child before naming him or her and the Elder would council with the Moon to determine if the name was truly right for the child. The names the parents chose were almost always in agreement with the Elder and the Moon. The name would then be announced to the Oldmoon Council and a new identity would be born on Moon Island. The child would be known as a Newmoon until its thirteenth birthday, where it would ascend and find out its true power level and finally be able to wear the orb around its neck that signified its coming of age.

The Elder had the families face their back towards him and look out into the gathered crowd. He introduced Harry first.

"I am proud to introduce to you Donovan Andrew Newmoon, Child of the Moon."

Harry, or Donovan as he would now be known, stepped forward to the cheers of the Council. He was soon followed by his new parents who clasped him on the shoulder and gave broad grins over the reception of their new son. Ginny was next.

"I am proud once more, to introduce to you Celena Alastair Newmoon." The Elder stated and clapped along with those gathered around them.

Ginny, now known as Celena, stepped forward with her adoptive parents and gave a timid smile to those who were congratulating her and her new family. She turned to Harry and saw the happiness in his multicolored eyes. She gave a bigger smile at his happiness. She then looked up to the two adults smiling down on her and she finally felt truly at ease. She now knew, more than ever that she would find happiness here.

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As Donovan lay down in his new bed in his new home later that night, he thought about what had brought him to this moment. His past was painful, but in a way it enabled him to be here. He thought about what he would do with the rest of his life, and if he would be as great as the Elder thought he could be. In the end he reasoned that it really didn't matter. The time for judging children based on their potential power was over. Here he was going to be accepted whether he was a great success or not. Here he would truly be loved.

It was time to say goodbye to the past, and hello to the present and the future that awaited him.

* * *

A/N: Thanks for all the great reviews. Don't worry; you'll get some action soon. Thanks for sticking with me through it all…I absolutely LOVE you guys. See ya next chapter.

-Virgo

UPDATED 7-21-2010


	8. Ascension

Disclaimer: J.K. owns it, not me.

Eight: Ascension

July 30th, 1993

Lily Potter bustled through Diagon Alley, shoving past other shoppers, just finishing up her last minute shopping for her son's birthday. Josh Potter would be turning thirteen the next day. As Lily was walking out of Quality Quidditch Supplies, she suddenly heard a name that made her freeze.

As a woman rushed past, calling out a name Lily hadn't uttered for seven years, Lily turned towards where the woman was heading and saw a dark haired figure running ahead of the woman. Lily could hardly breathe. It couldn't be… could it? Had he really returned?

Lily rushed after the woman, barely able to keep track of the woman's silver handbag. As she reached an alley that she had seen the woman turn into, she could finally see the woman and the dark haired figure up close. The woman was berating a small boy who looked to be ten or eleven. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. No glasses. Lily turned away and walked a few paces from the alley before heavily leaning against a building wall and letting out a dry sob.

Of course it wasn't Harry. Harry Potter hadn't been seen for seven years, ever since he had disappeared from Potter Manor with a cold look and harsh words. He wasn't there to get his letter from Hogwarts, wasn't there to enter the magical school for the first time, with awe and wonder present in his eyes. Harry wasn't there to enjoy quidditch games, House Cup competitions or coming home for Christmas. He wouldn't even be there to celebrate his thirteenth birthday.

Harry and Josh Potter were as different as night and day, not only in the way that they had interacted with people when they were younger, and the way their parents had treated them, but most visibly in appearance. Harry had dark, jet black hair and vibrant green eyes that had at one time betrayed the loneliness he felt. Lily remembered him as small and skinny, perhaps even a bit too small for his age. Josh, on the other hand, had fiery bright red hair, and sparkling chestnut eyes. He was tall and well filled out, even at a young age.

Despite the obvious differences in her sons' attitudes and appearances, every time she looked at Josh she was reminded of Harry. Harry's name had not been said aloud in the Potter home for several years, but he had been thought of almost every day. The small similarities, like the way Josh quirked his eyebrows when he was confused and the way he ran his hand through his hair as he read, reminded Lily so much of Harry. She hadn't noticed these traits of Harry's when he was around, but his disappearance had caused small snippets of memory to come to the surface.

Lily slowly peeled herself away from the wall, ignoring the odd looks from the many people passing by. She gathered her belongings and started to head back to the Leaky Cauldron, thinking to herself that if Harry ever returned…when he returned, she would show him that the Potters were different people.

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Donovan Newmoon stood at the alter in the Hall of the Elder. He was wearing the same type of white robes that he had worn seven years previous, at his adoption ceremony. He also wore a clear orb around his neck. It was the night of July 30th. When the clock struck twelve midnight, and brought in the new day, Harry would ascend.

It was Luna Liberi custom to go through two ascension ceremonies. The first ceremony was held when a Child turned thirteen, the age of adolescence and a more mature level of understanding. This ceremony was when the Child would gain its power level and status in the society. The next few years would be dedicated to learning how to handle this new level of power and to beginning training with the class and skill the Child now belonged to.

The second ascension would take place three years later, when the Child turned sixteen, the normal age of adulthood in the Luna Liberi Society. This is when the Child would come into its full powers; having trained and learned to control the amount of power they had initially been given.

Since it was Harry's first ascension, his close friends and family were allowed to be in attendance. The Oldmoon Council was present as always, the Council scribe documenting the ascension of yet another Luna Liberi.

Harry could see his mother and father in the crowd, his mother holding the hand of his four year old sister Lucine. Standing next to his family was the family Alastair. Ginny and her older brother Nyx were standing next to their parents, smiling encouragingly at Harry. Nyx had gone through his second ascension little over a year ago, and so had spent the past few days encouraging Harry, telling him how simple it would be.

Harry could also make out two other friends of his, standing next to their families. Mizuki Haward Bluemoon, and Blake Conan Newmoon were Harry and Ginny's best friends. Together the four were known around Moon Island as the Troublesome Foursome. Everywhere you saw one of them the other three weren't far behind. When Nyx decided to join them in their Island games and misadventures, the five could really have fun and get into some trouble. Harry considered his family and his friends as his greatest gift and would do anything for them.

Mizuki was a short, brown haired girl with ocean blue eyes that sparkled in the moonlight, and a fiery attitude. She was the oldest of the four and had gone through her first ascension the previous November. She had tried to scare Harry into thinking it was a painful process and that he was required to battle one of the Elite to gain his power, but Harry wasn't fooled and just laughed it off.

Blake was an average looking boy, with short black hair and granite-gray eyes. He was the least outspoken of the group, but if there was ever any trouble he would be the first to stand up for his friends.

Harry felt less nervous with his friends and family present. He knew that whatever happened, they would be there for him. He felt especially happy that Ginny could be there, as she was his very best friend and the person he felt the closest connection to. Harry remembered how just before the ceremony started, she had been the one to give him comforting words.

"Don't worry Harry, everything will be fine." She had consoled him. "Whatever happens, we'll all be there for you." She was the only one who still called him Harry and he called her Ginny in turn. It made them feel that despite everything else that had happened they were still connected to that other world somehow.

Harry snapped back to the present as the Elder stepped forward and placed a goblet in his hands. The cup was filled with the same luminescent liquid light that Harry had run his hand through at his adoption ceremony. Harry peered nervously down into the cup. He knew that this ceremony would alter his life. Sure he would still have his friends and family to support him, but he would soon begin training, and he knew that that would take up a great deal of his time. The freedom that he had enjoyed for the past seven years would suddenly be restricted.

He remembered when Nyx had had his first ascension. The older boy hadn't been able to play very much with the group anymore. His life had been taken up with training and learning to control his new powers. Nyx was a Greenmoon, one of the highest of the Elite, so his training was very time consuming. He had only recently gained most of his freedom back with his second ascension, but by then he was considered an adult, and the kids' games didn't amuse him as much anymore. Even Mizuki wasn't able to hang out with her friends very much anymore. She was considered an Elite as well and so had harder training.

As Harry once again pulled himself back into the here and now, he realized that the Elder had already started the ceremony. He started by addressing the gathered crowd and reciting the usual things about how great and important ascension was. How this was Harry's first step into adulthood and it would pave the way for the rest of his life.

Harry didn't really pay attention to the rest of the words. He was more concerned with what would happen when he drank the liquid in his hand. He was to drink the liquid at twelve exactly. The ceremony was always timed perfectly. After consuming the contents of the goblet, Harry would immediately enter a meditative state in which the power in his magical core would be released. When he awoke, the orb around his neck would be glowing with the color of his new power level.

There were nine basic power levels. The darker the orb, the more powerful the individual was. The first level was Whitemoon. This is when the orb took on a white foggy color. It meant that the individual didn't really have any battle skill or impressive magical power, but Whitemoons were always very powerful Seers. Their lack of power was made up for by their ability to read the future like books.

The next level was Yellowmoon. This was the weakest of the power levels that was actually considered to have an acceptable amount of magical talent that didn't involve Seeing. The next levels were Orangemoon, Redmoon, and Purplemoon. Bluemoon was the lowest level of the Elite. The Elite were the strongest in battle skill and raw magic on the Island, save for the Oldmoons.

Bluemoon meant that the individual was very competent in higher forms of magic and that his or her body could withstand a higher degree of battle training, though not quite as much as the higher power levels. Bluemoons were oftentimes very advanced in the healing magics. Following Bluemoon was Greenmoon and Graymoon. There were very few Graymoons in the Society as the power level was so high and the raw energy was hard to control. Ginny's adoptive father Kalavan, was a Graymoon and was respected very much within the society for it. There were only two other known Graymoons currently in the society and they had both been promoted to Oldmoons.

The only known level stronger than a Graymoon was a Blackmoon. This level of power was very rare. There were only a few in all of Luna Liberi history and each of them had achieved incredible things with the amount of power they held. A Blackmoon hadn't been seen for a few hundred years, and they were likened to something of a myth. Though the Oldmoons were considered the strongest on the island, this was only because a Blackmoon was not present. There was no match for a Blackmoon who could control his or her power to its full extent, but that in itself was a problem.

The hardest part of being so powerful was controlling the amount of power given. A Graymoon had to go through an extensive amount of training in order to control his or her power, but a Blackmoon would have to dedicate the majority of his or her life to training and learning how to contain their powers. Although the historical Blackmoons achieved much, many of them never went through second ascension. Most of the time, the amount of power they held was too great and overwhelmed them. They would never have been able to control the full power they would attain through second ascension.

It was 11:58. Only two minutes until Harry would drink the concoction that would determine what his life would be like from then on. Everyone now had their eyes on him. The Oldmoon Council looked like many creatures of the night with their eyes glowing beneath their gray hoods. Harry suddenly felt more nervous than he ever had before.

'_Come on Harry you can do this.' _Harry coached himself on in his mind. He addressed himself by his old name just as Ginny did, in order to feel some connection to his world of birth._ 'It's just like going to sleep, but when you wake up, you'll just be a bit different.' _

On the outside Harry put on a strong face. He was good at masking his true feelings, except from Ginny and his mother. They always knew what he was really feeling. He looked up and could see them both giving him encouraging looks. Harry gave them a small smile in the form of one of the corners of his mouth rising a little, and then he looked back to where the Elder was standing before him.

The Elder gave Harry a small nod and a smile. It was time. Harry could hear the city clock strike twelve; the bell starting to ring. Harry raised the goblet to his lips and took one deep breath before drinking down the liquid.

Harry could feel the cool liquid running down his throat and he suddenly felt very light, as if he were floating. As he finished the drink his eyes drooped closed and then he was asleep.

As Harry fell into a deep slumber, everyone else waited in anticipation for him to start to stir again. The sleep usually lasted anywhere from fifteen to thirty minutes. Everyone settled in for the wait.

After forty-five minutes had passed by, people were starting to worry. Harry hadn't even stirred. The Elder didn't indicate to anyone else that anything was wrong, but he was starting to feel a little suspicious himself. After an hour had come and gone everyone was starting to get more than a little anxious. Harry's parents were very worried, but they knew that they weren't allowed to disturb the process.

Ginny was very worried herself. '_Come on Harry. Wake up!' _She coached within her mind.

An hour and a half passed by and things were looking serious. Harry had shown no signs whatsoever of waking any time soon. It was very unusual for anyone to stay in the ascension slumber for any more than half an hour. Some of the Oldmoon Council had approached the Elder, speaking with him in hushed voices, but each time the Elder had waved them away, focusing his gaze on the sleeping boy.

Hushed conversations and speculations were spreading throughout those gathered as two o' clock chimed, indicating that Harry had been in his induced sleep for two whole hours. The Elder would not allow anyone to intervene by trying to wake the boy. Aldous believed that whatever was happening was not to be stopped. That the Moon knew what She was doing.

As three o' clock came, something changed. The orb around Harry's neck was starting to glow. A change in the orb's color was usually the first sign that the Child was about to wake, but none of the Luna Liberi present had ever seen an orb glow as it was for Harry.

The light of the orb slowly grew, engulfing Harry and the area surrounding him in its light. As the light finally covered the boy completely, it suddenly exploded outward.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Harry had just finished drinking the luminescent liquid. He felt light and airy as he drifted into sleep.

Harry suddenly found himself in a clearing. It was night-time and a full moon shone down upon him. There was a forest filled with tall trees in the distance, a bright beam of light shining from within it. Harry looked around, but could only see the clearing he was in and the forest beyond him. He started walking forward, towards the forest and the light when he suddenly noticed a pair of eyes watching him.

A black wolf walked forward from the edge of the forest. A normal human would have been afraid of a beast such as this, but Harry was not a normal human. He was a Luna Liberi, a Child of the Moon, and that title held a deeper meaning.

"Hello Brother." Harry addressed the wolf that was now standing before him.

The wolf looked up to Harry, its emerald green eyes looking up into Harry's kaleidoscope ones. '_Hello Harry Andrew. Also known as Harry Potter.'_

"You know my true name?" Harry asked.

'_I know everything about you. I know what you think, what you dream, what you wish, and what you regret. I know your past and your present. I am your future and the very essence of you.'_

Harry looked at the wolf knowingly. "You are my spirit." It was a statement, not a question.

'_Yes.' _The wolf answered in one word and said no more.

"What is that light that is coming from within the forest?"

'_It is where you will find yourself.' _The wolf never seemed to say any more than what was needed for the question that was asked.

"What do you mean 'it's where I'll find myself'? Harry didn't understand this part.

'_It is your core. There you will find yourself.'_

Unexpectedly, the wolf walked away. "Wait!" Harry tried to yell after it, but it just kept walking away until it disappeared beyond the shine of the moonlight.

Harry looked apprehensively towards the forest before taking a breath and walking into it, towards the light.

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Those gathered in the Hall of the Elder slowly took their hands away from their eyes. The great light that had engulfed them just seconds before had receded. They all looked to where Harry had been sleeping.

Harry now stood before them, wide awake yet clearly disoriented. Every eye fell shocked upon the orb around his neck. Even the Elder carried a look of surprise as he walked forward to announce Harry.

"My Children," The Elder began somewhat haltingly, "I present to you, Donovan Andrew…Blackmoon."

A/N: Hey guys, sorry this chapter is shorter, but I decided to break it up so that the other half is in the next chapter. Here's a little give away though: The next chapter is titled – Return.

See ya next chapter

-Virgo

UPDATED 11/16/12


	9. Return

A/N: Some changes in this chapter. Please re-read if you haven't yet, as these changes affect the rest of the story. Thanks and enjoy.

Disclaimer: The Harry Potterverse is sooo not mine.

Nine: Return

August 6th, 1993

It had been one week since Harry had been announced a Blackmoon—the first in several centuries. Those present at his ceremony had been quite shocked, including the Elder. They had all stared at the orb around his neck, which had once been crystal clear, but was now as black as coal.

Harry had awoken slightly disoriented and complaining of a headache, not really taking in the fact that he was now something of a living legend—a Blackmoon.

Harry understood what his position meant now though. Every time he left his house there were people staring and gawking at him. They never did it outright, but he could feel them looking from the corners of their eyes, keeping watch of him wherever he went. It got to the point that he no longer wished to leave the confines of his room. People were always visiting now, claiming they were just coming to chat with his parents, or discuss business, but Harry knew what they really wanted—a glimpse of Donovan Blackmoon, the Island's new star.

Staying locked up in his room gave Harry a lot of time to think about his life. He thought about the life that he had left behind seven years ago; a life lived in the shadows, no one knowing of his existence. He thought about his life now, how he was suddenly famous for something he couldn't control. His power level seemed something of a curse to him. He thought about the brother he once had; was this the kind of life that Josh Potter suffered through? Harry felt a little remorse for his once-sibling, but then reasoned with himself that Josh was probably enjoying life in the spotlight, just as he always had. Josh Potter probably never thought of fame as a burden.

Harry sighed as he lay back in his bed. His training would begin the next day. He was already feeling the extent of his power and knew why it was that not many Blackmoons went through second ascension. It was a strain to hold back his power. The first few days, his parents had had to repeatedly repair dishes and furniture that Harry's raw magic had destroyed without him even trying.

Whenever Harry felt any emotion, his magic would react. It would unleash itself and both destroy and create. When Harry felt frustrated or annoyed the magic would lash out, destroying items around him. When he felt happy, his magic would create things like flowers, and in one instance a tree full of fruit blossoms sprouted in the middle of his living room when his sister had said his name right for the first time (instead of calling him Davin).

This was another reason for Harry's seclusion. He felt that he was a danger to his friends and family. Ginny, Blake and Mizuki had tried to come over and comfort him, to get him to come outside, but he had declined every offer, claiming he was tired and needed to think.

The few times that he had gone outside, those first few days after the ceremony, Harry had become so frustrated with all the people staring at him and treating him like a freak-show, that he had accidentally broken some of the street vendors wares, and at one point caused the street to crack straight down the middle. This display didn't help with the staring, and his father had had to pay for some of the broken items and help straighten out the street.

Rakesh and Shandra had tried to console their son, telling him that everyone had some kind of trouble controlling their power at first, especially the Elite, but Harry hadn't been convinced. He knew that no one had ever split the street and grown trees in their living room before.

Harry was afraid to start his training, he knew that it would take up most of his time from now on, and he wouldn't be schooled with Ginny and Blake anymore (Mizuki had already begun her training and so was schooled with those of similar power level). The biggest thing Harry was afraid of, however, was again his power. Although his power had been awakened in his ascension, when he began training, his power would really be released. He didn't want to hurt anybody.

Rolling over in bed, Harry let loose a heavy sigh before slowly falling into a fitful sleep.

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August 21st, 1993

Harry had been in training for two weeks, and with each passing day he seemed to get madder and madder. He couldn't seem to control his power at all. The most simple of tasks would not come to him. He couldn't even meditate properly, without his magic spinning out against his will. When he tried to focus it, the magic seemed to lash out even more, as if mocking him. Whenever his magic lashed out, Harry would get angry, which would in turn cause his magic to lash out more, making Harry even angrier. It seemed to be a vicious circle of anger and destruction.

Ginny's birthday had come, and this was a day Harry was determined not to miss, despite his training. He and Ginny hadn't missed each other's birthdays since they had known each other, and he didn't want to start now. He hadn't been able to stay long though, as his magic started spinning out of control when he saw Ginny hugging one of the island boys, Badar, who was Harry's age and had come to celebrate Ginny's birthday as well. Harry couldn't explain the sudden anger and frustration he had felt, but his father had noticed the signs of his magic lashing out and excused them from the party before things got too out of hand.

Now Harry left training with a scowl, trying to contain the anger and magic that swirled within him. He felt like there was something inside of him that was causing him to be angry all of the time. Anger was a dangerous thing for one so powerful.

When he got home Harry went straight to his room as usual. A little later his father came in.

"Donovan." Rakesh began in his deep yet kind voice. When his son didn't acknowledge him, Rakesh sighed and sat on the edge of the bed that Harry was lying on.

"Donovan, I know things are difficult for you right now. I can't say that I know exactly what you're feeling, because that'd be an outright lie, but that doesn't mean you have to go through this all alone. Myself, your mother, your sister, all of your friends; we're all here for you and we want to help you."

Harry still hadn't moved or made any other sound than a small grunt to indicate that he was listening.

"Come on Don, you're being selfish. You think that you're the only one affected by this? Every time you push one of us away, you hurt us. Your power may be hard to control but we can handle a few outburst of power better than we can stand not seeing you, and you being angry all of the time. If you ju-"

"It's more than that Dad!" Harry now sat up with a frustrated yet sad expression on his face.

"Every time I lose control, someone could get hurt. You don't know what it's like knowing that if you let out the tiniest bit of emotion the person standing beside you could suddenly end up hurt by something you did. You don't know what it's like to feel this power, and all the anger of not being able to control it." Harry sighed and looked straight at his father.

"I'm tired dad. I'm tired of being angry. Tired of having to deal with all of this. I can't stand not being around you all, but what if I accidentally let something slip? What if Lucine is around? What if she gets hurt dad?! It'll be my entire fault, and there's nothing I can do about it."

Tears were beginning to well up in Harry's eyes. A cup that was sitting on his bedside table shattered, and the boy suddenly broke down with sobs.

Rakesh grabbed his son in his arms and held him tightly. "We love you son. That's all that matters. Nothing will happen to us, because you won't let it happen. I know it seems as if you have no control right now, but if that were the case someone would have already been hurt. You do have control and you display that when you prevent your magic from hurting those you love. You just have to keep your love strong son, and it will always conquer. You mustn't push us away Don, or you'll really be lost."

Harry wept into his father's arms until no more tears could come. It felt good to get rid of all the pain and hopelessness he had been feeling for the past few weeks.

"Don't worry son, it'll be alright. I'll make sure of it."

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August 23rd, 1993

Harry sat in the Elder's office, in the same place he had sat seven years ago, when deciding his fate within the Luna Liberi Society. He now sat next to his primary trainer, Qamar Oldmoon, once known as Qamar Graymoon. Harry's father had set up this meeting to beg the Elder's advice for Harry's power control problems.

Qamar and the Elder had spoken for a bit, then the Elder had asked Harry questions about his power and what he was feeling. After this, he had thanked Qamar and told him he could leave.

"Young Donovan, a heavy burden has indeed been laid upon you shoulders." The Elder said to Harry once the other man had left the room. "I must say that even I was surprised by the turnout of your ascension. A Blackmoon has not been recorded for several centuries.

"I understand that your powers are hard to deal with and you are feeling overwhelmed at this time. This is why your father contacted me, and why I will give you a gift. Call it a late birthday gift."

The Elder leaned over and reached into one of his desk drawers. He rose again, holding what seemed to be two black bracelets in his hand. When he placed them on his desk, Harry saw that they were actually two thick black bands, made of some kind of seemingly light metal.

"These are called magic bracers, or power constraints." The Elder answered Harry's unasked question. Harry looked at the two bands interestedly.

"They were made not too long ago, modeled after the kind of bands used for prisoners on trial in your old world. The difference with these is that _you _will still be able to use your magic. People in that world rely on wands, whilst we rely on focusing our raw magic without any kind of filter, such as a wand. These bands will act as such a filter, and diminish the amount of power you can use and release."

Harry looked both excited and wary about the bands. He _did_ want to stop his magic from getting beyond his control, but he didn't want the bands to take it all away.

"Don't worry young Harry, these are only meant to help." Harry thought the Elder always had a way of knowing what he was thinking, and confirmed that belief further when the Elder highlighted upon his fear.

"The bands will not drain you of your power, they will simply channel it. You will train with these and learn to control the amount of power you have. When you feel that you have control of the power with the bands on, then you will take them off during training, and learn to control the extent of your magic. The bands should help you get a grasp of what your power is like, and when the time comes to train with your full power, it should be much easier to handle."

Harry had a look of extreme gratitude upon his face. He didn't quite know what to say. 'Thank you' didn't seem quite enough. The Elder smiled as he handed the bands to Harry. The bands were made of a light metal, just as Harry had thought, and they were a plain black color, with no distinguishing marks or engravings. Harry thought they looked unappealing and unattractive up close, but reasoned that it made sense for something that was to hold back such a destructive power to not look good.

"Just one thing before you put them on Donovan." The Elder counseled. "The bands will give you a false sense of control. They will make it easier to wield your power, but you must still learn to control the extent of your true power. You must have absolute control, so that when the time comes to take the bands off, you will know your power intimately and be the one in control of it, instead of it controlling you. Do you understand?"

Harry looked down at the bands held in his hands. He knew that they would give him a large part of his freedom and his life back. He could already feel the constant surge of power that flowed within him begin to ebb, reacting to the bands he was holding. He looked back up to the Elder.

"Yes Elder, I understand. I will train to control the power, so that I may ascend and fulfill my promise."

"Very good." Was all that the Elder stated. Harry smiled and put the bracers on. They clipped around his wrist and settled themselves onto him as if they were made specifically for him. Immediately the boy felt at ease. The tension and residual anger he had felt for the past few weeks appeared to roll away. He felt that he was in control at last.

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August 12th, 1994

It was the day after Ginny's ascension and also the day of her birthday party. A lot of Luna Liberi were concerned during her ceremony; they thought that perhaps the part of her and Harry that were connected to their old world disturbed the process of ascension. But Ginny had stayed in her induced slumber for thirty-five minutes—a rather normal time frame, and awoken as Celena Alastair Bluemoon.

Harry had been waiting all day to get a chance to give Ginny her present. He wanted to give it to her in private. He finally got his chance after desert, when everyone was sitting around talking and she wouldn't be missed. They went to her room so no one would interrupt.

"Hey Gin, first I wanna say congratulations, since I really haven't had the chance to yet." Harry immediately reverted to calling her by her original name.

"Thanks Harry!" Ginny smiled and gave Harry a hug. Harry let out a huge grin before separating from her.

"I wanted to personally give you your gift. I hope you like it." Harry pulled a small package from his pocket. It was something wrapped in tissue paper. He handed it to Ginny. Ginny took the package from his hand and undid the tissue paper. From it she gently pulled out a silver bracelet. It was a charm bracelet with little silver charms strung all around it. Ginny looked at it with surprise.

"I…I saw it at the market and thought that you'd maybe like it. If you don't, I can take it ba-"

Harry's sentence was cut off as Ginny suddenly grabbed him in a hug. "I love it Harry."

Harry grinned at these words. He didn't know why, but Ginny saying that she loved his gift made him extremely happy. Happier than he had felt in a while. He hugged her back, still smiling.

"Do you want me to help you put it on?" Harry asked Ginny as he slowly pulled away from the hug.

"Yes." Ginny answered softly.

Harry took the bracelet and gently put it around Ginny's left wrist. He made sure that the clasp was hooked on tight and turned the bracelet so the charms were facing up, a lighting bolt charm right in the center. He looked up and found his multi-color eyes looking straight into her golden amber ones.

"Harry, I..." Before she could say another word, their lips were connected. Neither of them quite knew _who_ initiated the kiss, but they each knew that they felt happier, more _right_, than they had ever felt before.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

September 1st, 1997

For the third time in his life, Donovan Andrew Blackmoon, aka Harry, sat in Elder Aldous Luna's office. Sitting next to Harry was his girlfriend (or his mate as they were known in the Luna Liberi culture), Celena Bluemoon, aka Ginny. It seemed as if they had gone eleven years into the past and they were sitting in front of the Elder, deciding their fate once again. Except this time, they both knew what had to happen. They had to go back.

The Elder had just finished explaining the situation to them. Voldemort was back. It was known between the three that this would soon happen, but the actuality of it now was still a bit surprising. Harry had defeated Voldemort when he was a child, but he had only gotten rid of a part of him. Voldemort was no longer human enough to be destroyed by something like a rebounded Avada Kedavra, no matter the intent of the spell to kill.

It was for this reason that Harry and Ginny had been beckoned by the Elder and why the three had spent many hours discussing the teens' return to their world of birth. It was needed for them to go back. To not only fight Voldemort's forces, but to also form an alliance with the people of that world, so that one day the two worlds could again rejoin in peace.

Both Harry and Ginny had already gone through second ascension on their sixteenth birthdays. Harry was now considered an adult in both worlds, but Ginny was still considered underage in the Wizarding world. This meant that while they were in the Wizarding world, she would have to follow the regulations put forth for witches and wizards who had not yet reached the age of seventeen.

Both teens had requested that their two friends Blake and Mizuki join them, insisting that the Troublesome Foursome couldn't be broken up and the Elder had grudgingly granted them their request. This meant that Blake would have to come back to the Island in little over a month to go through his second ascension—he being the only one of the four having not yet reached the age of 16.

As Harry and Ginny left the Elders office for what seemed to be the last time for a long time, they processed what they would have to do. Returning was something Ginny looked forward to and Harry dreaded. They'd be going back to the place that they had been absent from for over a decade. They would return to the world where they had families who didn't know who they really were. They were to go back to the place where, had they not chosen to leave eleven years prior, they would be known, not as Harry Andrew Blackmoon—Elite Commander and Master Magician, and Ginny Alastair Bluemoon—powerful Elite soldier and Master Healer; but as Harry James Potter, not special in any way and useless enough to neglect, and Ginevra Molly Weasley, the fragile little girl who couldn't do anything for herself, and wasn't good enough to play with the boys.

Although Ginny knew that she wasn't supposed to reveal her identity to the Weasleys until the right time came, she was anxious to see them. She wanted to know how they were doing. She loved her family on Moon Island, but she also loved the Weasleys and missed them greatly.

Harry was reluctant to run into his once-family again, but knew that it was inevitable, seen as where that whole other world believed Josh Potter to be the amazing 'Boy who Lived'.

The teens prepared to leave the home they had known for eleven years. They would be gone the next day. It was with mixed feelings that they got ready to say 'hello' again to their past.

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September 2nd, 1997

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Ron Weasley was enjoying his dinner in the Great Hall, and also chatting up his best friend Josh Potter, disgusting a major portion of the Gryffindor table while doing so. It was right after diner and just before desert that Headmaster Dumbledore stood to make an announcement.

"My dear students, if you will pause for just a moment so that I may make an announcement. It is with great pleasure that Hogwarts accepts four new students into its midst. They are exchange students and are all in their seventh year. I ask you to take them in, show them around, and accept them, but please do not pester them. We will now take a brief moment to sort them."

Dumbledore then sat down as Professor McGonagall stepped down with a stool and the Sorting Hat. Everyone looked on as the doors of the Great Hall opened and four people stepped in.

The quartet quickly walked down the length of the Hall to where McGonagall was, not even acknowledging all of the stares and whispers that their presence had caused. The students of Hogwarts were amazed by these four new people. They were all in very good shape and held themselves with an air of great power. But the most breathtaking thing about them was their eyes. They were the most powerfully expressive eyes that any of them had ever seen, even more so than Dumbledore's eyes. There was definitely something different about these people. Ron stared dumbly after the two girls who swiftly passed by him, his mouth open in awe—a sight which would have further disgusted more of his classmates, had they been paying attention to him.

The four new students got to where the Deputy Headmistress was standing and halted. They stepped to her side, so that the stool and Sorting Hat were in full view of the entire hall, and waited for her to commence with the sorting.

"Celena Alastair will be our first to be sorted." Professor McGonagall announced, knocking much of the student body out of its stupor.

Ginny stepped up to the stool, sat down and put the hat on. She displayed no emotion as the sorting hat started to speak in her mind.

"_Well, well. I had wondered when I would finally get to sort the last Weasley."_

"_You know me?" _Ginny questioned the hat in her mind.

"_Of course I know you child. I have access to all parts of your mind. But not to worry my dear. I will not reveal your plans." _The hat assured her.

_I see your intentions, and I also see that you have plenty of ambition and a need to prove yourself. You will achieve your aims well in _'SLYTHERIN!'

Most of the guys at the Slytherin table were cheering and making cat calls as Ginny made her way to her new house table. The girls were glaring openly at her. Ginny simply ignored it all and took a seat near the end of the table. There wasn't much applause at any of the other house tables—showing how little the Slytherin house was liked by the majority of the rest of the Hogwarts student body.

Next to be called was Harry. As he took a seat on the stoolhe was scowling slightly. He had seen evidence as to why he definitely did _not_ want to be here, but reluctantly said nothing in order to fulfill what he had come for.

"_Well hello Mr. Andrew. Or so you say."_ The hat immediately said as Harry placed it on his head.

"_What are you talking about?" _ Harry asked the hat gruffly.

"_I can see very clearly what it is you are hiding. You need not fear though. It is not my place to reveal the secrets of those whose heads I look into, and I am actually quite supportive of your goals. I wish you luck Mr. Potter and hope that your courage will serve you well in '_GRYFFINDOR!'

Harry rolled his eyes as he took the hat off. He handed it to Professor McGonagall with a forced smile before stepping down so that Blake could take his place.

Blake wasn't really concerned as he placed the sorting hat on his head. All of the houses held intrigue to him. He had done a lot of reading up on Hogwarts prior to coming, and he was quite looking forward to his experience in the foreign world.

"_Hello Mr. Conan. I see that you are here to lend your aid. Very good. You have a great mind and outstanding loyalty. You would do well in either Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff. But I think the best place for intellect such as yours is _'RAVENCLAW!'

Blake smiled politely as he handed the hat back to professor McGonagall and made his way to his house table among polite applause. Mizuki quickly took a seat upon the stool, and the hat had barely touched her head for a few seconds before shouting 'HUFFLEPUFF!'

As the fourth and final new student took her seat at the Hufflepuff house table, Dumbledore addressed them all. "Welcome to Hogwarts! I'm sure you will have a wonderful time within these halls." The old man said before announcing that that was all and desert could now be enjoyed.

Harry looked around to the Head Table, eyes briefly focusing on the black haired man with round glasses and the red haired woman sitting next to him, before turning back around and muttering, "Wonderful time indeed."

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A/N: As I'm sure those of you who have previously read this chapter can tell, I've done some revising. I had to change things to fit with the story line I had originally planned out. The first time through I had rushed this chapter out and forgotten the original plot. Now it is all fixed and this is how it is meant to be.

Thank you all for your wonderful support. I'll see you next chapter (in which there will be more changes btw).

-Virgo

UPDATED 11/16/12


	10. Acquaintances

A/N: There are a lot of changes in this chapter, as set up by the last chapter. Please make sure to read the changes in both this and chapter 9 before continuing, as not doing so will most likely cause you to be confused with the story line. Thank you and enjoy.

UPDATED 11/16/12: I know a lot of you were confused as to why the Moon Island Foursome were at the same and common room based on my last round of updates. The explanation for this was that I had uploaded all the new chapters up to 9, and chapter 10 had yet to be updated and so did not reflect the changes from the revised chapter 9. I apologize for the confusion this may have caused, especially since it's been left that way for so long. You can now see that chapter 10 will include the changes made from previous chapters. Also, in case you're ever wondering again, I post the date in which a chapter was uploaded/updated at the end of it, so you'll know in future whether a chapter has been updated with the rest or not. Thanks.

Disclaimer: I don't own it.

Ten: Acquaintances

Harry and his friends were the first to get up from their tables when dessert was over. They headed for the doors to exit the Great Hall, but were stopped midway by a girl with bushy brown hair and a shiny gold badge pinned to her robes.

"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger." The girl introduced herself to the quartet. The four looked surprised at the unexpected introduction and just stood there.

"I already know who you are of course," Hermione continued. "I'm Head Girl and also a member of Gryffindor house. If any of you have any questions concerning the school then you're welcome to ask me.

"Celena, Blake, and Mizuki is it?" Hermione questioned the two girls and Blake, but didn't give them time to confirm.

"If you follow your prefects—those are the people wearing the gold badges with your individual house insignias—they will lead you to your proper common rooms. I hope you will enjoy your stay here at Hogwarts." Hermione then turned away from them and towards Harry.

"Since you are in Gryffindor, you can follow me to our common room. It's right this way."

The girl then turned and started walking away obviously expecting Harry to follow her and the other three to do as she said. Harry turned to his friends with a quirked eyebrow, shaking his head at the odd girl. Blake shrugged at the girl's antics with a smile on his face.

"Guess we'll talk later?" Mizuki said, giggling a little.

"Yeah." Harry replied.

Harry waved goodbye, then turned and followed the bushy haired girl, leaving his friends to meet their own housemates.

Hermione led him up many twisting stairways and through a few corridors before arriving at a dead end. On the wall before them was a portrait of a large woman. The portrait, like all of those at Hogwarts, was a moving one and as the two approached the woman talked to them.

"Password dearies?" The woman in the painting asked.

Hermione walked up to the portrait then turned back to Harry. "This is the Fat Lady," she said. "She guards the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. You'll need the password to enter and the password this week is 'Phoenix fire'."

"Correct." Responded the Fat Lady as her portrait swung forward, revealing the Gryffindor common room.

Hermione led Harry through the portrait hole. They entered the common room and Harry looked around for the first time. There were plush sofas sitting in front of a fire, study tables at different intervals around the room, large windows showing a view of the school grounds below, and two sets of staircases on either side of the room. Everything was decked out in either red or gold, and there were a few banners spread about the walls of the room.

"Welcome to Gryffindor Tower." Hermione said to Harry with a large smile. "This is the common room, where you can do your homework and study, come to sit by the fire and read a book, or just lounge about with friends while you talk about classes or upcoming exams."

Harry could tell that Hermione was very into her studies. The only thing she sounded like she used the common room for was studying and homework.

"The stairs on either side lead to the dormitories." Hermione continued. "The girls are on the right, boys on the left. The sign on the door will indicate which year each dorm is. You, of course, will be in the seventh year dorms.

"There is no wandering the castle after hours, the Forbidden Forest, as I'm sure you can guess by the name, is forbidden, and classes start tomorrow. If you have any questions or need help with anything, you can ask me anytime. If that's all for now, I'll leave you to get settled in." Hermione finished with another smile.

"Thank you for your time and courtesy. I'm sure I'll be fine from here." Harry gave Hermione a grin, making the girl blush a little before she replied that it was no problem and made her way up the staircase to the girl's dormitories.

A few people were starting to trickle into the common room, finally making their way from the Great Hall. It wasn't very late, but many were heading up to their dorms in preparation for the first day of classes in the morning

Harry climbed the steps to the boy's dormitories until he reached the top, where there were seven doors that had signs indicating which year was sleeping there on them. He walked to the end of the hall, reaching the seventh year dorm and entered.

It seemed that his short tour with Hermione had allowed time for more people than he'd thought to return to the tower, since his dorm mates were already present.

"And then she sa…" Josh Potter was just discussing something with five of the other inhabitants of the seventh year boy's dormitory. He stopped mid-sentence as Harry entered. He looked around the room quickly, observing the six four-poster beds spread about with a trunk at the foot of each, the several posters on the walls, and the five boys standing before him. The boy that Harry least wanted to speak with was the first to introduce himself.

Josh Potter walked forward, extending his hand in greeting, a polite smile on his face. "Hi, I'm Josh Potter, nice to meet you."

Harry looked at the boy in front of him. He was the same as he remembered, just with height and a few years added to him. He had straight, neatly trimmed, fire-red hair, chestnut eyes, a smile that mirrored his fathers, and of course, a slightly 'J' shaped scar on his forehead. Harry could tell Josh was starting to feel a bit nervous from Harry's lack of response. Harry decided to play it cool and not give away how he truly felt for the boy he once called 'brother'.

"Donovan Andrew, and the pleasure is all mine." Harry responded with a flawless, yet forced smile. He was then introduced to Neville Longbottom, Seamus Finnigan, Dean Thomas, and Ron Weasley. Harry paused for the slightest second when he came to Ron. He quickly sized up the brother of his girlfriend. The boy had shaggy Weasley red hair, crystal blue eyes, and a smile that Harry recognized— one he had seen practically everyday for the past eleven years.

After the introductions were over Neville pointed Harry to his bed. Harry walked over and pretended to get ready for bed. He had to talk to his friends later and wanted his dorm mates to think he would be in bed sleeping. He occupied himself with unpacking his things, ignoring the others in the room. This didn't stop them from talking to him though.

"So Donovan, where did you say you came from again?" Ron asked him.

Harry suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. He of course had never mentioned where he came from, and didn't like that Ron was nosing into his business, but he knew that his dorm mates would be curious about why he and his friends had suddenly appeared out of nowhere in their seventh year, and so decided to humor the bunch.

"I was actually born here in Europe, Scotland to be exact," Harry decided to tell a partial truth, "But my parents decided to move when I was a small child. I lived in a small village just outside of Europe for most of my life, but there was pressing business here that demanded that my family and I return."

"Well if that's the case, then why did those other three come too? You don't have the same last names and you don't look alike, so I'm assuming you aren't related, unless you were adopted?" Neville asked him.

Harry grinned inwardly. Neville just didn't know how right he was as far as that adoption bit went. "Actually, we all moved together. Celena, Blake, Mizuki, and I all grew up together. Our parents are in the same profession you see, so we've known each other practically our whole lives."

"Oh." was all Neville said in reply.

"Well as fascinating as this has been, I'm going to have to say goodnight. I'm a bit tired from the trip you see, so I will see you all tomorrow." Harry said this as he pulled back the curtains of his four-poster.

The other five boys bid him goodnight in echoes of 'Night Donovan', before continuing the conversation that Harry had first walked in on quietly.

Harry sat on his bed quietly, feigning sleep. He waited until the other occupants of the room finally settled down and departed to their individual beds. When he heard light breathing and snores surrounding him, indicating that the other boys were asleep, Harry quietly removed himself from his bed and exited the dorm room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After bidding goodbye to her boyfriend and her best friends, Ginny made her way down the winding pathways to the dungeons, following a group of Slytherins in front of her. A lot of the girls in the house continued their glaring campaign from earlier. The boys were gawking at her as she walked past them.

After a few minutes, the line of Slytherins finally stopped. They were standing in front of a wall with two lanterns spaced a few feet apart from each other. This wall looked the same as the others except for a section where the stone was lighter than in other places and a small snake was carved. The prefect at the front of the line gave the password to the small snake: "Dragons Blood"

The section of wall slid back revealing a walkway into what was obviously the Slytherin common room. As Ginny stepped into the room she looked at her surroundings in obvious distaste. She was in a low-ceilinged room with greenish lights glowing from a few corners and a fire that seemed to exude very little heat burning in the fireplace. There were a few dark green sofas scattered about, and chairs with skull patterns next to low tables with similar patterns. There were two openings on either side of the room that obviously led to the dormitories.

'_No wonder the Slytherins have such a bad reputation.' _Ginny thought to herself as she took in her dreary surroundings. '_Anyone would start to develop a less than pleasant demeanor if they had to live in here all the time.'_

As Ginny was taking in her surroundings she felt someone coming up close behind her. She turned around just as a boy with a pointed face and platinum blonde hair was reaching to grab her bum. The boy stopped, surprised that Ginny had turned around and caught him.

"Can I help you?" Ginny stated sarcastically, glaring at the blonde and the two hulking boys who were standing behind him like body guards.

"Yes, as a matter of fact you can." The boy answered smirking. "And I intend to help you. Seeing as you're new here, I've decided to take it upon myself to show you around. You know, get you acquainted with the castle."

"Oh really?" Ginny replied, arching an eyebrow in disbelief (a habit she had picked up from her boyfriend).

"Yes, really." The boy and his goons walked a bit closer now. "The first stop on our tour will be the many wonderful broom closets and empty classrooms that Hogwarts has to offer. And if you're lucky, we may make a special visit to my bed." The boy and his guard were all smirking evilly now…well the blonde one was—the other two looked as though they were trying to swallow lemons.

Ginny stopped herself from punching the obnoxious blonde. She decided to play with him a little first. She moved closer and ran her hand along his arm. This obviously had the desired effect, as the boy and his cronies got big, arrogant smiles on their faces and Ginny could see the lust building in the blonde's eyes.

"And by what name do I call my guide?" Ginny asked, her voice a bit more husky and seductive. The boy audibly gulped at her tone.

"M-Malfoy. Draco Malfoy." The boy answered with a slight frown, as though Ginny should already know who he was, though the lust he was obviously feeling didn't allow him to get indignant.

"Well Malfoy," She said with forceful inflection on his name, using the hand that had previously been running along his arm to grip his wrist painfully tight. "I think it's _you_ who will be learning something here tonight."

"YOW!" Malfoy let out a small cry of pain as Ginny held his wrist in a vice tight grip. Crabbe and Goyle bumbled forward to try to help their leader as Malfoy tried using his other hand to release the girl's hold on him.

"Ah ah ah" Ginny said teasingly, revealing her other hand with her wand pointed right at Malfoys crotch. "I wouldn't try anything if you value the continuance of your family line." She warned.

"STOP!" Malfoy half shouted to his cronies, all the while holding his other hand up in complacence. He held a look of both fear and loathing on his face as he stood, helpless, under the red-head's control.

"The first lesson is: Being a sleaze gets you nowhere." Ginny said, making a pointed gesture with her wand, which was still aimed at Malfoy's lower half.

"The second is: Never underestimate your intended prey." Here, she tightened her grip on him a bit more, to which the boy let out a slight whimper.

"Lastly—and I'm sure you'll remember this for days to come: Don't talk the talk if you can't walk the walk." She let go of his wrist, pushing him back into Crabbe and Goyle who both just stood there oafishly as the blonde boy stumbled.

By now, a small crowd of Slytherins had gathered around, at first wondering what the commotion in their common room was, and now observing to see how their self-appointed leader would handle the situation with the new girl. They didn't interfere of course—that would be very un-Slytherin of them.

Malfoy looked incensed as he stood there, red-faced and delicately holding onto his rapidly bruising wrist.

"You filthy little whore!" Malfoy spat vehemently. "You have no idea what you've just done! You obviously need to learn a little Slytherin etiquette and realize who's in charge around here. In future, you'll learn to take care of who you decide to anger." Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles menacingly at the blonde's words.

Ginny met Draco's eyes and, to his dismay, let out a laugh.

"No Malfoy, I think you will find that things will be _very_ different this year." She said, smirking. "And I'd be careful of who I went around name-calling if I were you. You never know what kind of repercussions your words could have."

With that said, Ginny turned around and made her way through the parting crowd, headed to her dorm room. All the while Draco Malfoy glared at her retreating form. A girl who had facial features rather like a pug ran up to him, taking hold of his wrist in what she thought was a tender way.

"Ouch!" Draco yelped a bit, as his attention was pulled to the girl next to him. "Pansy!, what.."

"Shh! My poor Drakey. Now now, don't you worry dear. We'll take care of that stupid little wench." The girl—Pansy—glared hatefully in the direction that Ginny had left. "She'll soon know the price of messing with us."

Draco rolled his eyes at the girl's antics and use of the word "us". But he allowed himself to smirk a little. After all, Pansy _was_ the new girl's dorm mate, and when it came to revenge, Pansy was dedicated to getting her way. He supposed he could take more of her annoying—and somewhat painful—doting, so long as his goal of getting back at the new girl was achieved.

Meanwhile, Ginny had made her way to the 7th year girls dormitory and found her trunk at the foot of the bed closest to the wall on the right-hand side of the room. As she was unpacking some of her things a female voice interrupted her.

"You're either really brave, or really stupid. Neither are traits of a Slytherin."

Turning around Ginny saw a girl with shoulder length blonde hair and icy blue eyes, leaning against the entrance to the dorm. Although her statement seemed to imply some arrogance, the girl had a carefully blank look upon her face.

"I don't know," Ginny replied, crossing her arms, "Those two thugs hanging around like body guards behind that Malfoy bloke seemed less than brilliant in my opinion. As a matter of fact, that whole lot seemed rather dim witted. Your standards for Slytherin may be a bit misjudged. "

If the blond was offended by Ginny's comment, she didn't show it.

"It's true, some…unlikely individuals have somehow made their way into this house. But still, I'd be careful around Malfoy if I were you. Not only does he have powerful Daddy Lucius to run to when his ego's been deflated, but Draco has a very twisted mind of his own and he, unlike the buffoons he hangs around, is actually intelligent enough to use it to his advantage."

"Thanks for the warning. I'll be sure to watch my back here."

"Good." The blonde nodded offhandedly. "I must admit though, it was quite entertaining to watch Malfoy and his goons get shone up for once. Seems the only ones who ever stand up to them are Potter and his group. Maybe this will stop Draco from prancing around like the Prince of Slytherin for at least a few days." A small smirk graced the blonde's face. She walked over to the bed next to Ginny's, pulled out some night clothes from the trunk at the end of the bed and opened her bed hangings. Before shutting them she looked over her shoulder at Ginny.

"I'm Daphne by the way. Daphne Greengrass." The girl then turned back and shut her hangings without another word.

Ginny stood there for a moment more, shaking her head slightly at the blonde girl's antics, before continuing with her unpacking. She had quite a story to tell the others later.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

As his friends departed, Blake looked around to see if he could locate one of the Ravenclaw prefects that that Hermione girl had mentioned, to help lead him to his new home. As he was looking, he suddenly felt someone tap him on the shoulder from behind. Turning around, he saw a short, platinum blonde haired girl standing there. He was sure that she was not there a moment ago, and was somewhat surprised at the girl's ability to sneak up on him.

"Hello there." The small girl greeted him airily. Her expression seemed mildly dazed and far-away, her eyes wide and her smile soft and subtle.

"Erm, hi there." Blake replied rather inelegantly. He smiled awkwardly back at the small girl.

The girl tilted her head to the side as she studied Blake. Blake stood there confused as the blond assessed him.

"Erm…" He began.

"I never knew wargs had such pretty eyes" the girl cut him off rather offhandedly.

"W-what?" The girl still had the dazed look on her face and her smile didn't falter. Blake wondered if the girl was on some kind of potions. What she said did concern him, however. _'Warg' was another name for_—

"I said you have very beautiful eyes." She cut into his thought process. "Those three others do as well. I always expected wargs would have a more menacing look about them. But you all seem very docile, as magical creatures go." The girl said all this quite simply, in her airy tone, as if discussing the weather or some other such mundane topic.

"I-I…What?..How?.." Blake trailed off, speechless. His eyes were bugged out in disbelief at the girl before him, and he couldn't think of any rational response to her statements. Altogether, the small blond girl had completely stunned and disarmed him with just a few sentences, and she didn't even need magic to do so.

"Luna, what are you doing to the new guy?" A brown haired boy of average height was walking over. He had a golden badge pinned to his chest, so Blake assumed that the boy must be a prefect.

_Thank the Godess_, Blake thought to himself. '_I don't know how this could have gotten any more awkward, but I'm sure this girl could have found a way.'_

"I'm simply informing him that I think his eyes are quite beautiful. And he's much nicer than I would have thought. Most creatures are nicer than we think when we get to know them though."

The brunette boy had reached them and he glanced at the dazed girl with a somewhat fretful expression, though he didn't seem much surprised by her behavior.

"Right. Well we should all be heading to the common room now and I have to show Blake here how to get there, so let's get going." The boy took a moment to stretch out his hand for Blake to shake, while introducing himself.

"My name is Terry Boot. I'm one of your fellow Ravenclaw housemates, and also Head Boy this year." Blake shook the boy's hand and offered him a smile.

"Blake Conan, though I suppose you already knew that." The other boy nodded and gestured toward the blond beside them, who was now staring dreamily off into the distance. Blake now noticed that she seemed to be wearing radishes as earrings.

"You've already met Luna Lovegood, another member of our house." Terry frowned slightly as he glanced briefly at the girl. "I can introduce you to the others up in the common room." That said, he started heading out the doorway, Blake following close behind, and Luna trailing dreamily afterward.

As they made their way through halls and up the shifting staircases, Terry informed Blake of many of the things he would encounter at Hogwarts, as far as classes, teachers, and fellow students went. He noted a few interesting objects such as portraits of importance or known shortcuts as they passed by them. Blake paid rapt attention as the older boy talked. Although he already knew many of these things from his reading of _Hogwarts: A History_, he felt it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some firsthand information from someone who had already been attending the school for six years.

Terry led the trio up to the fifth floor, and then further up a tightly winding spiral staircase that led to a single door with a bronze knocker in the shape of an eagle.

"This is the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room" Terry explained to Blake. "Unlike the other house common rooms, which require passwords to open, our house requires the use of our wits." At this point, the Head Boy reached out and lightly thumped the knocker.

"_Good evening students, fine time for a riddle." _A voice spoke to them. Looking closely, Blake could see the eagle's beak moving as it spoke.

"_My life can be measured in hours. I serve by being devoured. Thin, I am quick. Fat, I am slow. Wind is my foe."_ Its riddle done, the knocker sat silent, waiting for an answer.

Smiling, Terry turned to Blake. "Want to take a crack at it?"

"Sure." Blake nodded, smiling back. He loved riddles. He took a moment to review what the knocker had said, before smiling wider. "Got it! You're a candle."

"Quite right. What an intelligent young lad." The knocker complimented before the door swung open, revealing the Ravenclaw common room.

"Good job." Terry said, leading the other two into the room. "As you can tell, we Ravenclaws put a high value on intelligence, and we like to sharpen our minds at any opportunity. Our founder, Rowena, wanted to make sure only those with the brightest minds would make a home in her tower."

As they entered, Blake's grey eyes scanned the room in quiet delight. Ravenclaw Tower was wide and circular; it's common room decorated in the blue and bronze colors Ravenclaw was known for. The carpet was midnight blue, and decorated with stars, much like the ones painted onto the big, domed ceiling above them. There were large, arched windows that provided a spectacular view of the mountains beyond the castle's walls.

Bookcases lined the walls of the room, and there were tables and chairs spread about where the students could study and chat together in small groups. Directly opposite the entrance, Blake could see another door, of which he knew from his readings led to the dormitories. Beside the door was a plinth upon which stood the life-sized white marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw wearing her famous diadem.

Terry briefly showed him places of note in the common room, like where the message board was located, before leading him to the door to the dormitories. Luna had wandered off trough the passage as soon as they'd entered the passage. She'd left them with a wave and a few words: "Goodnight, I hope the gloomikins don't bite!" before running off to her dorm room.

Terry had shaken his head at her exit. "Luna is…eccentric. Don't mind her."

Now, the two boys walked up the small set of stairs found on the right after entering through the door—the way which Terry said led to the boys' dormitories. At the top was a short hall with several doors along it. Terry left Blake at the one that said '7th Years', explaining that his own Head Boy dorm was a few doors over. Wishing Blake a goodnight, Terry had then departed, leaving the black haired boy to meet his new year-mates on his own.

On the other side Blake found a modest room of the same coloring as the rest of the house, with six beds arranged along the walls, trunks at the end of them. There were a couple a bookshelves as well as a wide bay window, giving a brilliant view of the night sky.

There were five boys sitting around chatting, while getting prepared for bed as Blake entered. Making quick introductions Blake found that his dorm mates were Michael Corner, Stephen Cornfoot, Kevin Entwhistle, Anthony Goldstein, and Morag MacDougal. After answering the expected questions of where he had come from and so forth, Blake bid goodnight the others as they all entered their individual beds and pulled their hangings.

He took the time to reflect over the people he had met thus far, and smiled with the anticipation of learning more about this foreign world. When he was sure his dorm mates were all sound asleep, he slipped out of the room, eager to share his first night's experience with his friends.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX

"Welcome to Hogwarts, and to Hufflepuff House." A girl with blond pigtails smiled warmly at Mizuki as she held out her hand. "My name is Hannah Abbott and I am one of the prefects for our house."

"Hi, I'm Mizuki Haward" Mizuki replied brightly, shaking the other girls' hand. The blond seemed friendly, and the Moon-islander was happy to start getting acquainted with the occupants of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. "Nice to meet you."

"It's rather interesting to have exchange students coming in. Especially four at a time. That's something that we haven't seen here at Hogwarts yet." The prefect seemed as though she wanted to ask more, but was either too polite or too shy to pry.

"Yeah, our parents work in the same field and we all grew up together." Mizuki replied with a smile. She knew she would get questioners about her and her friends' odd arrival, but they had all already decided what they would tell anyone who asked. It was the same story that Headmaster Dumbledore had received: Their parents were involved in a secret research and defense program and had been abroad so many years working on several different breakthroughs in wizarding development. Now, with the dark lord back and a new war started, their parents had been called back to Europe, and their children had to be enrolled in Hogwarts to complete their education while the parents worked with the ministry to help the war effort.

"We just hope we'll be able to quickly adjust and find our way around here."

"Well I hope that your transition goes well and that I can help with any questions you or your other friends may have." Hannah replied kindly. "If you'd like to follow me and my friends here, we can lead you to our common room."

"Sure thing." Mizuki was then introduced to Hannah's best friend and fellow prefect, Ernie Macmillan—a blond boy who seemed nice but kind of full of himself—and Susan Bones, a girl with a firm handshake and red hair plaited down her back.

As the group exited the Great Hall, they went to the right of the main staircase in the Entrance Hall and descended down a different stairwell. As they walked, Mizuki asked the other students about their interests and what fun there was to have at Hogwarts. Hannah and Ernie gushed about their chocolate frog card collections, and Susan informed her of the various clubs there were around, as well as quidditch.

Mizuki had always been the most forward of her friends, thus she had no problem keeping up conversation and blending in with the Hogwarts bunch. Two others—Justin Finch-Fletchley and Megan Jones—joined them as they made their way down the staircase. Megan was a part of the Hufflepuff quidditch team, and Mizuki struck up a conversation with the girl about what she thought their chances for the season were. At the end of the staircase was a single still life painting on a wall.

"This is the entrance to our common rooms," Ernie told her. "The painting opens up when we give it the right password. Our current password is 'humble wumble'."

As Ernie said the words, the painting slid across the wall to reveal the entrance to the Hufflepuff common rooms. Mizuki was shocked by the amount of yellow she saw all around. It made sense, as yellow and black were their house colors, but it was still a lot to take in.

_'No wonder everyone here has such a cheery disposition.'_ She thought to herself. '_Hard to be angry with such bright surroundings all the time.'_

There were plush looking armchairs placed all around the room, along with plenty of tables and a fireplace. Hannah and Ernie gave Mizuki a brief tour and introduced her to some other Hufflepuffs while the others went to say hello to some other friends before heading to their own dormitories to get ready for bed.

After saying goodnight to Ernie, Hannah led Mizuki to a small staircase on the left side of the common room that led downwards. They came to a room with several tunnels leading down into what Mizuki presumed were the girls dormitories. Each tunnel had round tops, like a barrel and had a number by them, indicating which year belonged to which tunnel. She followed Hannah through the one labeled '7', and soon entered a cozy circular room with four beds.

At the foot of each bed were the girls' individual trunks, and the bedding and walls kept with the theme of yellow and black—the walls and linens being a butter yellow, while the hangings were black. There were no windows, as they were down beneath the school at this location, but there were portraits of beautiful valleys and rolling hills dotted with wild flowers and brilliantly blue skies lining the walls.

Mizuki stayed up for a while longer chatting and laughing with her new dorm mates, and as they all finally decided to retire to their individual beds, she had a bright smile on her face.

_'I think I'll have some fun here.'_

She waited until she heard the other three girls asleep before she left to meet up with her friends.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Blake was the first arrive within the shadows of the Entrance Hall. There were a few prefects and professors on patrol in the halls but they were easy enough to sneak pass using his senses and stealth training. He waited in the darkness for his friends to join him.

Harry was there within a few minutes, greeting the younger boy with a nod.

"Looks like we're left waiting for the girls once again." Harry joked, rolling his eyes. Blake chuckled and shook his head.

"No surprises there." The two boys waited in silence, until Mizuki joined them minutes later, slipping through the shadows without a sound.

"Hey guys." The girl said brightly. Harry arched an eyebrow in wonder at her apparent excitement.

"Having a good time there Zu?" He asked the older girl. She shrugged , still smiling.

"What can I say? These folks are kind of nice."

"Nice enough to hex." Came the response from Ginny out of nowhere. She joined the trio in the darkness, an unreadable look upon her face.

"There you are." Harry said. "What's wrong?" He took hold of the red-head's hand, trying to read the problem in his girlfriend's expression. She shook her head slightly.

"Nothing I can't handle. Though I will say I may not make it through this term without putting most of that house in the hospital wing." Harry frowned, but Mizuki just laughed.

"That bad huh?" Ginny rolled her eyes and blew out a puff of air.

"What do you say we head out for some fresh air to discuss things?" Blake suggested while gesturing towards the doorway leading outside. The others nodded their agreement and headed out to walk under the stars.

The stars shone brightly in the night sky, reflecting off the great lake, making shine with an ethereal glow in the darkness. The quartet headed towards a stand of trees near the entrance to the Forbidden Forest.

"Nice forest they have here" Mizuki commented lightly.

Harry nodded in agreement. "Yeah, this will definitely make things easier."

"So" He continued after a few moments, "How're things looking?" The group stopped, leaning against the trees so they could report their individual findings.

"Well, like I said, I think these folks are rather nice. The Hufflepuffs at least" Mizuki responded first, with a smile. "I fit in pretty smoothly with my house-mates, and seemed to accept me without a problem."

Harry nodded, looking to Blake for his own assessment of the Ravenclaw house.

"The Ravenclaw house as a whole seem an intelligent bunch, no surprises there. They were helpful, but overall maybe a bit stuck up. There is this one concern…"The boy trailed off, unsure of how to bring up his odd encounter earlier.

"What is it?" Ginny asked? Harry was looking at him in rapt attention.

"Well. There was this girl." Blake started.

Mizuki let out a giggle. "Ooo, Blakies got a crush!" She exclaimed, poking the subject of her outburst in the shoulder.

Swatting the older girl's hand away, Blake replied with consternation "It's nothing like that!" He glared daggers at Mizuki for a moment before continuing. "It's just this girl, she was very odd. And she said something. She said I have very pretty eyes,"—here Mizuki cut in with another laugh—"for a **warg**." Blake continued forcefully. Mizuki stopped laughing abruptly. Harry had a deep frown on his face and Ginny looked equally concerned.

"How could she even know that name?" Ginny inquired.

"I don't know. Her whole demeanor caught me off guard. She said she hoped the Grumpikins didn't bite as she waved good night…not to mention the radishes…" The last part was mumbled.

Harry's frown was now spotted with confusion. "What in the world is a Grumpikin?" He asked.

"You're asking the wrong guy." Blake replied. "Apparently, Luna is known to be eccentric. I just don't know how she could have come up with the name warg like she did."

"Luna, huh?" Mizuki commented. "Interesting name." The others nodded their agreement.

"I say we keep an eye on her. It's unlikely she's any real threat, but better safe than sorry, yeah?" Harry was in Commander mode. It was obvious the information about the Ravenclaw girl unsettled him a bit.

"Right." Blake responded. "I'll keep her in my radar, and maybe try to dig deeper and see if she actually knows anything." Harry nodded, before looking to Ginny.

The unreadable look appeared on the girls face again. "Well, I can say that Slytherin definitely keeps to its reputation."

The other three were staring at her, waiting for her to continue. "What does that mean?" Mizuki finally asked her.

"It's filled with stuck up jerks who think they own the place, is what."

"What happened?" Harry's voice carried a bit of an edge in it.

Ginny squeezed her boyfriend's hand gently, giving him a small smile to ease the tension. "Like I said, nothing I couldn't handle. Some git named Malfoy thought he would assert his dominance. I taught him otherwise." Harry was still frowning slightly, but the corners of his mouth were turned in as if wanting to smile. He knew all too well what his girlfriend was capable of, and if she had taught this Malfoy bloke a lesson like she said she did, he imagined there would be bruises involved for the other boy.

Ginny shrugged as she continued. "Nothing too surprising though. For the most part the house is full of entitled snobs. There was one girl though, Daphne Greengrass, who seemed to not fall into the status quo." The others nodded, making note of the name as someone to look out for as a potential ally here at Hogwarts. "I may have potentially knocked over the hornet's nest though. Seems Malfoy and his thugs have a following and don't take embarrassment well. I may have some fires to put out, we'll see." The red-head seemed unconcerned with the possibility of Malfoy trying to retaliate.

"If he gives you any kind of trouble we'll take care of him, Troublesome Foursome style." Mizuki said, grinning. The others grinned wolfishly along with her. It had been some time since they had played a good prank.

Harry sighed before giving his own report. "Not much to tell about the Gryffindors. The Head Girl seems a bit of a control freak, but nice enough. My year mates were understandably guarded with a new guy in their midst, but equally inquisitive…and nosy." Harry rolled his eyes at what the others assumed was some memory from earlier.

Ginny looked at her boyfriend intensely for a moment, trying to gauge his thoughts through his facial expression, but he wasn't letting anything show. He hadn't mentioned anything specifically about his brother, and she worried how he might really be feeling about the reality of living with the boy again for the first time in eleven years. She also secretly wondered what kind of reception her own brother had given. She was interested to know what kind of person he had grown into.

Not elaborating any further about the Gryffindors, Harry continued. "I think it's pretty easy to tell that the houses are really divided. Maybe the first night isn't enough to get a really good idea of the extent, but I say we take notes over the next week and try to see what we can find out.

"Mizuki and Blake, it seems you too have already made some good impressions in your houses, so just keep talking to people and building those relationships." The younger boy and older girl nodded their understanding.

"Ginny, see if you can find out more about this Malfoy and his group, and try to see if the Greengrass girl will be a helpful ally after all." The red head agreed. " I'll make my way in with the Gryffindors and try to find out the situation around here from their perspective.

"And let's not forget that we need to find out more about the war itself as well. I know several of the students have family members and contacts on both sides of this thing. We need to find out who supports who, and what Dumbledore is up to. I know the Potters will be involved in this in some way, so we'll need intel on them as well."

It was the first time Harry had mentioned the Potters directly, and the others could see his expression sour as the name crossed his lips. None of them was particularly looking forward to this part of the mission. With Josh being the believed Boy who Lived, he and his parents were integral parts in the war effort for the side of light. In order to gain more vital insight into the war, the group would have to find out more about the Potters, which undoubtedly meant talking to them more at some point. Ginny gave Harry's hand another squeeze, to which he responded with a short nod to let her know he was alright.

"If that's everything for tonight, let's head back." The quartet made their way back up to the castle and back to the shadows of the entrance hall. "I'll see you guys in the morning." Blake and Mizuki waved their goodbyes before slipping through the shadows back to their individual common rooms, leaving Harry and Ginny alone.

Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry's waist, laying her head on his shoulder. He responded in kind, wrapping his arms around her and leaning back against the castle wall.

"Are you alright?" She asked after a few moments. Harry sighed deeply, which Ginny could hear pass through him as she felt his chest rise and fall.

"Yeah. I suppose it hasn't really hit me yet. It's nothing like I thought it would be, coming back." He twisted a piece of her long hair between his fingers idly.

"What did you expect?" She looked up at him with questioning eyes.

He shrugged. "I don't really know. I guess I didn't expect thing to be so…normal. The people just seem to be living their normal daily lives, and that just seems so weird. Josh…he seems like some normal teenager. Not at all what I expected from the Boy Who Lived." Harry chuckled darkly.

"Yeah, I suppose normal is kind of weird." She hadn't gotten to see much of her own older brother, though she knew he was in Harry's year and house.

"What about you?" Harry asked her then. "You have your own past here as well."

"I don't know. I haven't really gotten to even seen Ron tonight, much less talk to him, so I don't know what to think yet." She relayed what she had just been thinking.

"I met him briefly earlier. He seemed pretty normal too…bit nosy though." Ginny giggled at that last part.

"This whole thing is so surreal, isn't it?" She asked him, looking into his beautiful eyes. "Being back here, so many years later. Everything is different for us, but for them it's just all status quo."

"Yeah it's definitely going to take some adjusting to." He sighed. "We'll worry about our mission first and try to deal with the other things as they come along, alright?"

"Sounds like a plan." Ginny responded, grinning up at him. Harry bent down and placed a light kiss on her lips, smiling at the contact before unwrapping his arms from around her.

"We should call it a night. We have some exploring to do in the morning before training."

Ginny rolled her eyes at her boyfriend playfully. "You're such a slave driver" she teased. Harry chuckled before kissing her one more time. The two went their separate ways to get some sleep before their first day back in the wizarding world.

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POSTED: 11/16/12


	11. First Day

A/N: Just another reminder that chapter 10 has been revised, so if you haven't already done so, you should read that update before continuing on with this chapter. Thanks and I hope you enjoy it.

-Virgo

Disclaimer: It's not mine

Eleven: First Day

September 3rd, 1997:

Before even the sun or the morning birds were up, Harry and his friends were up and ready for the day. They were each decked in the training clothes that they would wear back home as they silently exited their common rooms and made their way out of Hogwarts and onto the quidditch pitch. Mizuki had suggested the pitch as the perfect place to train whilst they attended Hogwarts. It was large and gave them an opportunity to spread their training around.

Harry, being an Elite Commander back home on Moon Island, quickly took charge of the training session. He and his friends first worked on physical training. They stretched thoroughly before running several well paced laps around the pitch. They then stretched again before alternating between several different forms of physical exercise, ranging from push-ups to martial arts.

Harry then had the group pair off for weapons training. Ginny and Mizuki were paired, since they were of the same power level, and Blake being a GreenMoon, went to train with Harry.

"You've got them on right?" Blake asked Harry warily.

Harry knew that Blake was talking of the power bracers that Harry always wore around his wrists. Everyone on Moon Island knew the intense power of a BlackMoon, and Harry's friends knew very well what he could do without the power bracers on.

Harry smiled wickedly at his friend, making the steel eyed boy even more nervous. Harry then lifted a sleeve, revealing the black metal band surrounding his wrist.

"Of course I have them on, you infant." Harry laughed at his friend as the boy let out a sigh of relief. Blake quickly stood straighter, glaring at his older friend.

"Just _who_ are you calling an infant?! You'd be worried too if you had to battle someone hundreds of times more powerful than you, no matter if its only training!" Blake responded heatedly.

Harry just continued laughing at his friend. He of course knew that Blake did have a reason to worry, but still found it funny how the younger boy had practically wet his pants at the idea of challenging Harry.

"Whatever. Shouldn't we begin training now, _Commander?_"

Harry just shook his head in mirth before conjuring a sword to practice with. Blake did the same and they each took on the starting stance before engaging each other in a practice battle. When the swords had been broken in half and daggers had been thrown aside, and many other quickly conjured weapons either broken or tossed away, the two began using battle magic.

Although Blake was an excellent Weapons Master and could keep up with Harry enough to get by when it came to battling with weapons, he was no match for Harry when it came to magic. Whatever form of magic it was, be it battle magic or a simple household charm, Harry was a master at it. Even though all of the Children got some tutelage in how to use magic to aid your body in battle, Harry had mastered the art more than any other. He would use magic to enhance his speed and agility. Use it to increase the height of a jump or even, when it came to hand to hand combat, increase the distance and impact of a punch. Donovan Andrew Blackmoon wasn't called Commander and Master Magician for nothing. He knew his stuff, and Blake knew that he didn't have a chance against the clearly more powerful boy.

Almost as soon as they began adding magic into the fight, it was over. Harry would usually pull his punches when they got to fighting with magic, in order to give Blake more practice, but today he was feeling mischievous. Harry quickly disposed of his friend with a type of banishing charm that sent the other boy flying across the ground, landing in a heap halfway down the Quidditch pitch.

Harry winced as he saw his friend come to a rough halt in the dirt. Blake would be steaming mad when he was finally able to get up. Harry shrugged before looking to where Ginny and Mizuki had been practicing. The two had just finished their duel, and Ginny had a slight scowl on her face as Mizuki, smiling, offered her a handshake. It was clear that Mizuki had won this round. The two of them always practiced with each other and the turnout was never easily determinable. Half the time Ginny won and the other half Mizuki did. There were even a couple of instances where the two were tied. It was clear that the two were quite an even match.

The two girls joined Harry's side, laughing as they watched Blake pick himself up. They abruptly stopped as they saw the look on the boys face. There was murder in his eyes. Blake stood, wiping dirt off of himself as he stomped his way up the pitch, back to where his friends were. When he finally reached them, he stopped directly in front of Harry, who tried to affix a look of apology on his face, but was failing as looks of mirth and small snorts of laughter escaped his countenance.

"Look mate, I'm really-" Harry began but was cut off by Blake holding his hand up to silence him. "But I didn-" He tried again to no avail.

"You're a right bloody prick, you know." Blake uttered darkly before stomping off to the locker rooms.

Harry turned to the girls beside him with a raised eyebrow. The girls looked as if they were going to explode with laughter, and the three quickly descended into bouts of giggles and chuckles before making their way to their respective locker rooms to shower and change into school robes. Half an hour later the group was standing in the entrance hall of the castle.

"Who wants to explore?" Ginny suggested with a wicked smile. The others smiled and the Troublesome Foursome quickly moved forward to explore every nook and cranny they could of their new surroundings.

By the time eight o'clock rolled around, the four had a very good idea of the layout of the castle. They found several secret passages and learned which staircases were tricky. They had even managed to find a hidden room on the seventh floor that seemed to provide whatever the occupants wanted.

The castle was awake with students when the group made their way into the Great Hall for breakfast. They chose to sit at the Gryffindor table this morning. They picked a secluded corner of the table to sit at and talked in low voices while they ate.

"I didn't think this place would have such interesting features." Mizuki said. "It's got a ton of secret passages and the forest looks great."

"Yeah, not to mention the library. Although it's nowhere near the size of the one back home, it's got some interesting books on spell work and theory." Blake responded happily. "There's also lots of old tomes in the Ravenclaw common room."

Mizuki just rolled her eyes at the boy. "Bloody bookworm." She muttered to herself.

Blake glared at her, but before the two could get to arguing Harry intervened.

"I think that secret room on the seventh floor will be of great use to us." Harry stated with a serious look. "I sensed that it had an unplottable charm around it. We can use it for training while we're here, instead of putting a security charm around the whole quidditch pitch."

"Good idea Don." Mizuki smiled. "This way we won't have to be out in the cold. This place is nothing like home. I frankly don't understand how the people can stand it here." The girl shivered.

The others just shook their heads and laughed at her antics. Mizuki was always the first to complain about unsatisfactory weather conditions. Whether it was too hot or too cold, you could always count on Mizuki to complain about it.

As they were finishing their meal a girl came up behind Harry and cleared her throat. It was that Hermione girl who had showed them to the common room the previous night.

"Good morning" Hermione said smiling. "I just wanted to give you all your class schedules before you head off. It's great to see you all sitting together. As seventh years, our lessons will be combined with four houses attending at once. Make sure you arrive to each class promptly as to avoid detentions and loss of house points. If you have any questions at all, feel free to ask me." She handed them each a sheet of parchment before waving goodbye and walking back to her seat at the table.

"That girl sure can talk a lot." Blake commented before looking over the piece of parchment Hermione had handed him.

Harry smirked and checked over his own parchment. His smirk quickly turned into a frown and he groaned in frustration.

"What's the matter Don?" Mizuki questioned. "I know you can't be groaning over the schedule. This stuff'll be a cakewalk for us, you especially."

Donovan shook his head before answering with a frustrated sigh.

"It's not the classes Zu. _Look _at whose teaching them, specifically Defense and Charms."

All three of Harry's friends looked closely at their own parchments. There it was. Next to the classes were listed the instructors' names. J Potter was the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor.

"Oh." Blake said simply. Mizuki also nodded in understanding.

"But who is L Evans?" Mizuki inquired about the Charms Professor.

Ginny decided to answer for Harry seeing how frustrated he was getting about the schedule. "That's Lily Potter's maiden name." Ginny said to Mizuki in an undertone. The older girl eyes went wide for a second before she once again nodded in understanding.

"Must be to avoid the confusion of having two professors with the same name." Blake mused.

"I was hoping that they'd be teaching some nonsense class like Divination or Care of Magical Creatures." Harry groaned. "I didn't want to have to deal with them as of yet, but now I'll be seeing at least one of them every day."

Ginny put her hand on Donovan' shoulder in a comforting manner and their other two friends gave him sympathetic smiles.

"That is a tough break mate, but don't worry too much, we'll be with you." Blake tried to reassure.

Harry gave a feeble smile back. He really didn't like this.

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After breakfast the group headed to their first class—Potions. They easily found the classroom down in the dungeons, as they had already discovered it while exploring. No other students had arrived yet and the professor was missing as well, but the class room was open so the quartet went in and assumed seats in the back of the class.

After about five minutes passed, students began filtering noisily into the room. Hermione took a seat near the front of the room, though it seemed that everyone else, other than the Slytherins, was avoiding sitting anywhere near the front. Within minutes the class was full and the professor had yet to appear.

The division of the houses was clearly shown as the room was quickly separated into four sections. With the exception of Hermione and one or two others, the seventh years had grouped together by house. Harry and his friends were in the Gryffindor section, which seemed to cover most of the back of the room, without even realizing it at first.

Josh, Ron, and Dean took the seats in the row in front of the four new students. Seamus and Neville didn't appear to be in the class. As he sat down, Josh waved briefly to Harry and Blake and shot Ginny and Mizuki a charming smile. Harry narrowed his eyes at the back of his brother's head.

The talking in the room came to a sudden halt as the potions professor swept into the room, his black robes billowing behind him. He was a tall, pale man with a hooked nose, greasy black hair, and glaring black eyes that swept over the room quickly.

"Welcome to NEWT level potions." The Professor said in an icy voice that wasn't very welcoming at all. "This will be one of, if not _the_, hardest class you have ever taken in your entire school career." He gave a quick glare to his assembled students.

"As you can see, not all of your year mates were qualified to take this course. You lot are apparently the best in the school." Here he looked around disdainfully, as though the 'best in the school' were actually quite lacking in his opinion. "We shall find out the validity of that by the end of the year. I accept nothing less than the hardest work and the very best results from this class, so if any of you feel that this will be too much for you I suggest that you leave now." He slowly looked around the room, an icy glare of challenge given to every student his eyes turned to.

The class was completely silent. No one moved even an inch as everyone stared apprehensively at the Potions Master. Harry, unseen, raised an eyebrow at the professor and turned to his friends. Ginny and Mizuki both had small smirks on their faces and Blake a determined look on his. Harry rolled his eyes at the younger boy, knowing that each of them could probably pass this curriculum in their sleep.

Turning back to the front of the room Harry saw that the other students had relaxed a little but there was still a great amount of tension in the room. Professor Snape turned to the board waving his wand and instructions appeared indicating the assignment. It seemed that they were to get right into brewing on the first day. The assembled students sat staring at the board until the Professor once again glared at them. "Well?" He said coldly. This seemed to wake the class up as students quickly began setting up cauldrons and rushing to the cupboard at the front of the room for ingredients. Harry shook his head in mirth before setting up his own station.

An hour later, class had ended and many of the students looked quite pale and shaken. Professor Snape had stalked through the rows throughout class, commenting on several people's potions as he went along. He would always take the opportunity to embarrass and take points away from anyone who was brewing the potion incorrectly, or being what he deemed a distraction to the class—this did not include the Slytherins. If someone in any of the other three houses was doing the potion right, he would simply sneer and walk past, not saying a word.

When the Professor reached Josh, he immediately started crossly commenting on the boy's potion brewing skill. The young Gryffindor said nothing, only nodding his head in response to the professor's comments, and Snape quickly took fifteen points for 'blatantly ignoring a professor.' Harry had a feeling that _had_ Josh responded to the remarks, he still would have been punished. Snape had glared and quietly stalked to the next row upon coming to Harry and his friends. They had each done their potions perfectly.

Now, most of the same group from the Potions lesson was heading toward the fourth floor for Defense Against the Dark Arts. Harry held an apprehensive look as he walked toward the class that was to be taught by the man he once called father.

As the four were walking, Josh, Ron, and the other three Gryffindor boys from Harry's dorm came up beside them.

"Hey mates." Josh smiled at them all in turn. "Sorry your first class here had to be potions." He grimaced slightly. "Snape has a reputation for being the most hated professor in the school…Well except for by the Slytherins of course, seeing as he's their head of house."

"He's a dirty old bat, that's what he is." Ron interjected. Harry gave a slight smile at Ron's comment as others laughed lightly at their professor's expense. Harry subtly looked toward Ginny. She had a slightly guarded look in her eyes as she observed her brother. Harry knew that she missed her family and wanted to see them, but didn't know what her immediate reaction would be to her youngest brother, considering their relationship before she left. She now seemed to be avoiding getting close, observing him from a distance and gauging how she should deal with him.

The group finally reached the classroom and filed in behind other students making their way to their seats. Unlike in their potions class, everyone seemed to crowd more toward the front. There were also a lot more people in the class. Hannah and Ernie waved at Mizuki as the quartet passed, while Ginny noticed some of the Slytherins sending her icy looks.

Josh, Ron, and their other friends all picked seats near the front row, with Seamus and Neville joining them. Josh had turned to motion the four new students to sit up with him and his friends, but Harry and the others pretended they didn't see and headed toward the back. Josh frowned a little but then shook it off and sat.

James Potter entered the room with a broad grin just after the last few students had taken their seats. "Morning all, and welcome to seventh year Defense." He said jovially.

The professor's eyes roamed the room until he came upon the back row where Harry and his friends were sitting. "Ah, if it isn't our newest additions to the school. Welcome to Hogwarts," he said by way of greeting. "I hope that you'll enjoy your stay here, and that you can leave with a greater knowledge of how to defend yourself after taking this class." He gave the four a smile then turned back to the rest of the class.

Harry couldn't properly identify what he was feeling at that moment. It was the first time he had been so near his first father since he was six years old. Seeing the older man smiling and talking to him so easily was almost more than Harry could bear. James Potter didn't know that it was his oldest son who sat before him of course, but Harry still felt that the man had no right to smile so freely at him.

Before Harry could fall deeper into his thoughts he felt Ginny give his hand a light squeeze underneath the table. He looked at her and saw her give him a small smile and reassuring look. Harry smiled back lovingly at her. He truly didn't know what he would do without her.

As Harry turned back to the front of the class he caught the rest of Professor Potter's introduction speech. The man briefly outlined what they would be doing that semester and how, like in Professor Snape's class, they would be doing much harder work and much more of it. The rest of the class was spent briefly reviewing what they had done in previous years and explaining how they would expand their theories on these things and learn more advanced defense.

After class was lunch. The Troublesome Foursome quickly left the class ahead of the other students and headed down to the Great Hall.

"Well that was interesting." Mizuki commented with a sly grin.

"Yeah, _loads_ of fun." Harry replied with sarcasm. Mizuki merely laughed at him.

"Don't worry Don, I think this will be better than you think. You just have to be optimistic about it." Blake said to his friend. "Professor Potter actually seems sort of nice." Harry sent a steely glare to the younger boy, who paled a little. "Or not…" Blake quickly replied.

Ginny lightly slapped Harry on the arm. "Stop that." She told him. "Blake's right." Harry now looked at her disbelievingly.

"Right?! bu-" Harry started but was cut off by Ginny putting a finger to his lips to silence him.

"I'm not saying that you should just forget everything that happened before and look past it right away, but you should act in a more reasonable manner. You can't go around glaring at the Potters every time you're near them or else people will start to notice and bring too much attention our way. You know how protective everyone is of them, so for now, you need to put on a happy face and play nice."

Harry put on a sour expression and mumbled to himself. "I do not glare at them every time I'm near them."

"Oh please Donovan" Ginny responded having heard him. "I saw the way you looked at Josh earlier when he smiled at Mizuki and me. And the way you would narrow your eyes in Defense almost every time the professor would smile or make a joke."

"Whatever." Harry responded childishly. "Well what about you then? I also saw how you were looking at Ron earlier. It feels just as odd for you to be back here as it does for me." He said defensively.

Ginny rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "Alright." She conceded. "How about this—we'll both try our best to act perfectly normal around the people we used to know. No odd looks or acting like anything other than new students who just met them for the first time when we are around them ok?"

The group had reached the Great Hall by now and had taken their seats at the end of the Gryffindor table once more. Harry looked like he was contemplating Ginny's terms for a second before responding. "OK" he said simply before digging into his food.

Ginny and Mizuki shared a look and simultaneously rolled their eyes. "Boys." They both sighed heavily.

"Hey! I resent that!" Blake replied indignantly, shooting glares at the two girls. The two just rolled their eyes and laughed. Harry just ignored them and continued with his meal.

It was harder for Harry to ignore his agreement with Ginny as the group headed off to Charms.

"What kind of sick person made it so that I have their class's one right after the other? Is this meant to torture me?!" Harry whined on the way. Ginny shot him a look. "I know, I know." He replied. "Perfectly normal new students, blah blah blah." The other's just shook their heads at him and continued on their way.

Charms class was much more difficult for Harry. He didn't know why, but for some reason, he felt more on edge when he was around his former mother. He felt as though he wanted to reach out to her and push her away at the same time.

His group had once again sat in the back, again ignoring Josh's beckon for them to sit up near the front. When Lily Potter, or Professor Evans as she was known, entered, she had greeted the class with a small smile. She, like her husband, had stopped for a moment to greet and welcome the four new students, but her eyes had lingered on Harry for a second longer than the others and he saw a strange look of familiarity pass across her face quickly before disappearing back into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

The rest of the class passed much like the last, and the whole time Harry felt at odds with himself. He knew that there was no possible way that Professor Evans could know who he really was, but that one moment when their eyes had met disconcerted him a great deal. He didn't know that being around the woman who had birthed him would fluster him this much. He expected to be angry yes, but now he was becoming more confused than anything. The Potter's just weren't what he expected them to be so far, especially Lily.

When the class ended and he was heading out he looked back slightly to see that Lily was looking at him once more. Upon meeting his gaze looking back at hers, Lily did not turn but held it for a moment, that look of familiarity passing across her face once more before she shook herself and turned away.

Harry too turned away and continued on with his friends without saying a word. The others felt his frustration and confusion and silently agreed that they wouldn't bother him and just wait for him to speak when he was ready. Ginny grabbed his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze without looking up at him. Harry looked sideways at her and allowed a small smile to tug the corners of his mouth. They walked on hand in hand, Blake and Mizuki on either side of them, in companionable silence.

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The rest of the day was uneventful. The quartet had gone to Ancient Runes after Charms and then had the rest of the day free until dinner. They had gone to the Room of Requirement to train for a while and then gone to dinner. They sat in their same spot from earlier and conversed lightly with some of the people around them.

When the time came for them to head to their separate dormitories, they said goodbye to each other and planned to meet in the Room of Requirement for their morning training. Harry left Ginny with a kiss before making his way up to Gryffindor tower.

When he got to the common room Dean and Ron waved him over to where they were sitting with a Neville and a couple of girls Harry had yet to officially meet. Figuring he ought to start making some headway in getting to know these people, he made his way over. It would be an added bonus to get to know his girlfriend's brother a little more as well.

"Hey Donovan," Dean greeted him "We were just thinking of getting some exploding snap going. You in?"

Harry shrugged. "Sure, I guess. I've never really played before though." At this, the three boys gave him weird looks, and the two unknown girls giggled as if scandalized. Harry suppressed a frown.

"You've never played exploding snap?!" Ron sounded almost offended.

"What's that?" A voice said from behind. Harry turned to see Josh and Seamus heading over to join the group.

Ron pointed an accusing finger in Harry's direction. "Don here has **never** played exploding snap!" Harry was almost concerned with how important this game seemed to be to the red head. He shook his head and shrugged again.

"We had different games where I grew up." He stated simply. Ron just continued to stare disbelievingly at him.

Josh chuckled at his friends antics and smiled up at Harry. "Well why don't we teach you? It's a pretty fun game." Harry had to try hard to suppress the glare of disdain he wanted to give his brother for bestowing him with such an easy going, charming attitude. Remembering his discussion with Ginny and his promise to try to act normal, he took a seat amongst the others.

"I'm Lavender by the way." The blond girl giggled at him. The darker girl beside her was giggling as well, before she introduced herself as Pavarti. Harry couldn't help but wonder what in the world could be so funny.

"Donovan. Nice to meet you." Harry responded, smiling to each of them in turn, setting the girls off into a new set of giggles. Harry could see Seamus frowning slightly at this, and he spotted Hermione at a table across the room look over briefly and roll her eyes. He suppressed a grin, sure that any such move on his part would cause the girls to go into some kind of fit.

The others taught him how to play exploding snap and they played a few games before eventually heading to bed. Harry had to admit, he had had some fun hanging out with the group. Josh didn't seem to be the stuck up show off Harry remembered, and Ron—though certainly somewhat obnoxious at face value—actually seemed to be a pretty funny and laid back guy. Dean was good for a laugh and Neville was a kind guy overall.

Harry could certainly have done without Lavendar and Pavarti's constant giggling and Seamus' needless glares in his direction, but other than those couple problems, the night hadn't been too bad.

As Harry lay in bed with his curtains drawn he thought about his first day back. It had been odd interacting with his old family. He really couldn't gauge what kind of people they had become yet. He expected Josh to be just as stuck up and attention hungry as ever, but so far, the red head had been acting very kind and humble. Harry couldn't believe for one second that his brother had changed that much. Harry decided he would continue to watch him closely.

James and Lily Potter were also an enigma. He couldn't decide what he really felt toward his former parents just yet. His interaction with Lily was an especially complicated matter. He had caught her looking at him for a moment at dinner and he was getting worried by it. The two times that their eyes had met made Harry feel as though the woman was looking right into his very soul and could see who he really was. He knew that it was ridiculous to think that she could know who he really was, but those looks were very disconcerting.

Harry rolled over in bed. The Elder had arranged everything so that Harry and the others could get into Hogwarts without trouble and get closer to the heart of the war. Harry knew that this would involve getting near Josh, since he was thought to be the Boy Who Lived, but nothing was going as Harry thought it would as far as his old family was involved. He decided that one day was just not enough time to really find out what these people were like, and that he needed more time to think on it.

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POSTED: 11/16/2012

A/N: Thank you all for sticking with me so far. I really appreciate all of your feedback and reviews. Your support has been really great. I will see you next chapter.


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