Harry comes to terms with his role in the prophecy.

Chapter Rating: General Audiences

Content Warning: Self Harm (mentioned only), Major Character Death(s)

Word Count: 2019

Hello! Bonjour! Etc. It is I, someone who is not Lissy. Because Lissy is not here. Never fear, it is I! Addison! Who does not have a broken computer. That is what is currently plaguing Lissy. Be sure to post in the comments that ADDISON IS SUPER AWESOME AND HER DOG GENE IS THE BEST EVER! If you do that, great things will happen. I promise. I hope you all have wonderful days. I have not read this story, but it's probably amazing. Because Lissy is amazing. [insert great Irish history pun] DFTBA, MES AMIS!

And all the characters are owned by JK Rowling, or Rick Riordan.

Credits at the end.

____________________HARRY____________________

The last horcrux... it's a living thing... it has to consent to die... it's Harry... Harry Potter...

Those words rang through Harry's head over and over again, on a loop like nothing else ever had. This was worse than finding out how Sirius knew his parents, worse than being chosen by the Goblet of Fire, worse than facing Voldemort last June.

Harry didn't know if he was afraid to die. He'd never thought of death before; even when facing Voldemort, it always seemed like some far-off idea. He'd acted, never thought. Instinct.

No one ran after him. He would return to them to talk about what he'd overheard, but he needed to be by himself; they knew that. He never wanted to be famous. He never wanted to be a hero.

Sirius had asked him what he wanted? He wanted to get out. He wanted to go where he wasn't defined by his birth. Away from the Dursleys, who tortured him because he was a wizard, dumped on them when they never wanted him. Away from the Wizarding World, which bounced between "the boy who lived" and "the liar who wants attention." Away from Hogwarts, where Riddle always came after him. Away, away, away.

Where was Hermione's Time Turner now? To go back and kill Riddle as he planned the murder of his parents... that's what Harry wanted. He wanted James and Lily Potter to be more than a name and a face that promised a life they'd never given him.

He wanted to take a polyjuice potion of some random muggle in a huge city like London or New York, so anonymous to muggles and unworthy of a second glance to wizards. He wanted to change his name and his face, to make Sirius do the same, and run to the depths of South America, the fantastical land Harry imagined when his godfather's letters were delivered by those bright, exotic birds.

He found himself standing outside the gargoyles of Dumbledore's office. He could guess the password; why not seek out his favorite professor's advice? Where to go, what to do...

"There isn't a choice," the chiding voice of Dumbledore came from inside his head. "No matter where you run, the Greek gods have influence. Hades will find you--will you be safe once he knows the mistakes you made with his son?"

"But Nico's forgiven me," Harry pleaded. "He said in his letter, Percy said so. Wouldn't Hades have better things to worry about?"

"An immortal god? And a vengeful one? This entire situation came from a millennia-old grudge, did it not?"

"But I'll live," Harry whispered between sobs. "I'll be happy, won't I? Even if it's only a day?"

"And the Wizarding World will fall," Dumbledore's voice answered. "Your friends will die, your classmates will die, this school will die. No more Muggle-borns will learn, and centuries of advancements in magic will be lost. A Dark Age, is that worth your happiness? One boy? Will you not die anyway, if you refuse to accept your fate?"

The question hung in Harry's mind. Why was he still debating this? As he stood there, outside Dumbledore's office, he remembered what Sirius said to him ten days prior.

"Not lied, but... omitted parts, until you were old enough to understand what happened and could choose for yourself whether to let the world know... I just... think Dumbledore is out of line here... he's using you as a weapon of a sort.. I know Dumbledore's on our side... but children have no place in war."

"Sirius?I think I'd have liked to have been your son."

Sirius put his arm around Harry's back, leaned over, and kissed the top of his head.

"If you and I survive until next year... maybe we can see what it takes to make that happen."

Harry collapsed on the ground, shaking with violent sobs. He wanted it, he wanted it, he wanted it, he wanted it. But that was a fantasy, as glorious and fake as a life with his parents, or in South America.

"Children have no place in war."

"But I haven't been a child for a long time, Sirius."

"You know Dumbledore's manipulating you."

"Like you said: a lot of powerful wizards have gotten themselves in trouble by repeating "greater good" in their heads. Doesn't mean his use of me as a weapon isn't the best thing for the Wizarding World. Doesn't mean it isn't right."

"It's not right, Harry."

"I'm sorry. I love you."

Harry never went into the office; instead, he searched for Myrtle's bathroom. There was only one way she'd both be able to help Nico and say with confidence that Harry would never find him: if Nico was hiding out in the Chamber of Secrets.

"Open. " The word came in a series of hisses.

The journey underground felt like more of a death march than when he rescued Ginny three years earlier. But Harry wasn't afraid, he was numb. He was a weapon against Voldemort, nothing less, nothing more.

Harry's first glimpse of Nico di Angelo left him speechless in a mix of fear and awe. He had heard Percy and Annabeth refer to Nico as "the Ghost King" in passing, but, now, watching him spar with a boy Harry knew must be Alabaster C. Torrington, he saw where the nickname came from. This was the son of Lord Hades, a child of the underworld, the man who'd decide history with a snap of the fingers. Was it any wonder Tom Riddle wanted him as an ally? Or Hecate? Or Hades?

"Nico?" Harry called in a feeble voice. Both the boys turned, though Alabaster snarled and started to chant some incantation.

"Hold on, Al!" Nico ordered, putting a hand on his chest. "It's okay. Harry, come closer. I won't hurt you--as long as you don't hurt me."

"Wasn't planning on it," Harry replied in a weak, monotone voice. "You look... terrifying."

"Thank you." Nico smirked, and Harry once again saw the boy he'd followed on the Hogwarts Express. Had that only been four months ago? He looked years older now.

"You have to kill me," Harry said.

Nico opened his mouth and closed it again. "Al?" He turned to his friends on his right. "Go to Dumbledore and let him know we expect Voldemort tomorrow--" He double checked the time with his iPod; it didn't look like it had been used in weeks. "--well, tonight..." he waited for the number to change. "Now. Gather some teachers to help cast protective spells--if Umbridge or the Ministry gives you a hard time, just transport them to Ogygia. Calypso won't mind--she hates that place, hasn't visited since Leo rescued her."

Alabaster looked like he wanted to argue, but gave a stiff nod instead. He sprinted from the cavern, turning invisible just before turning the corner.

"He won't eavesdrop on us," Nico assured Harry, walking towards the Basilisk skeleton and settling on one of its ribs. "Even if he did, I'd know. I can sense him, or his shadow, anyway." He paused, staring at Harry. His eyes carried a glint of challenge and a whole lot of attitude, but both masked some other emotion Harry couldn't put his finger on. "You coming?"

"Mm-hmm." Harry jogged down to the Basilisk and sat beside Nico on one of its ribs. "You don't hate me?"

"No," Nico said in an indifferent tone. "Do I like you? No... but I never hated you. Gotten into too much trouble, hating essential strangers over stupid misunderstandings and one, big mistake."

"That's... specific."

"No, that's how Percy and I met."

"Oh."

"Look," Nico continued in a pointed manner, "I need you. 'The friend is an enemy,'--I take it you know the prophecy--'and the enemy a friend.' It's about Hades and Hecate--my dad's enemy is my friend, and who I thought was my friend--my father--is an enemy... but prophecies often have double meanings. Even though I love Alabaster, he--or Teddy, when I met him--was kind of an enemy. Through no fault of his own, but, I mean, his secrecy and mistakes were a major part in bringing this whole thing about. And you... our feud came from how I react to horcruxes--they make me feel this kind of unnaturalness that I sometimes mistake as anger. But from what Percy tells me, you and your friends have been a real help. And I can't defeat Riddle without your cooperation."

"You mean consent."

"I'm sorry, are we having sex? Because I have a..."

Nico forced himself to take a few deep breaths. He reached for a marker and started drawing on an already inky forearm.

"You stopped cutting," Harry noticed.

"Yeah... it's not that good of a way to deal with emotional stress."

It was Harry's turn to take a deep breath. "I'm sorry for what I did. It was out of ignorance and hatred, and I have no excuse. I've been throwing myself into the fight and things as a kind of repentance--"

"I'm cutting you off right there--pun intended, I guess. No, Harry. I don't forgive. You drove me to a suicide attempt. I'm not mad, I don't hate you, but-- yeah, I'm actually still pretty freaking angry. That isn't something I'm strong enough to forgive and forget, no matter what you do. And I won't apologize for saying that."

"So... you're just going to be passive aggressive to me forevermore?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Okay. Got it. No different than usual. I knew there was a minuscule chance of you forgiving me. I just wanted you to know how guilty I feel."

"Yeah, I don't care."

"I know... now..."

They both sat there for a moment in silence. Even though Nico hadn't forgiven him, Harry felt the weight of their complicated history fall off his shoulders, and he knew Nico did too. It was all out in the open now, for all to see.

"I tracked down your prophecy, the one that gave you that scar. Hecate's prophecies work in a different way than the Oracle's, but since Riddle set it in motion fifteen years ago, it does tell the future. And it makes one thing clear--you can't be alive if Riddle is to die. And due to the love shield your mother put on you in your infancy, you can't die unless you let me kill you."

Harry stood from the rib and took a few steps forward. His back was to Nico. "I killed this thing, you know. Twelve. The first time I really battled Riddle--wasn't acting through anyone else... just him. I thought I was going to die here." He turned back to Nico. "And I was right."

He heard Nico stand, but he didn't turn around to face him. "I made a vow never to kill mortals a long ago," Nico told him. "My sister Bianca died, and I felt grief I'd never felt before. My mom and my grandfather too--I'm an orphan, just like you. Ripped from a time and a life I wanted so much." He paused, and when he continued, it was in a soft and fretful whisper. "And I miss them. Every time I close my eyes, I see one of their faces. I thought I had no fatal flaw... but I was wrong. Everything I've ever done... it's to be with them again, in mind or spirit or... reality."

"Your true self," Harry answered, and it wasn't a question.

"My true self," Nico repeated. "The terrified Lost Boy. Except my Neverland is a living nightmare."

Harry turned to him, giving him his final smile, and saying his final words. "You'll overcome that, I know you will. And when you do... power is nothing more than taking a person's fears and showing it to them. Nothing more."

Nico met his brave eye with a terrified one, clutching his staff so hard his knuckles turned white.

"I'll make sure you spend eternity with your parents in Elysium, Harry."

One final breath of fresh air.

One final glance at the world.

One final tear down his cheek.

"Damn to Hades!"

Fade to black.

Lissy will be back tomorrow. Direct all angry comments to the Tsar. As long as he stays far away from me.

This week's beta commentary:

STORY: With some spellotape

GIULIA: Ron has attempted to mend far too many things with spellotape hahaha

LISSY: Lol yeah

SARA: Aesthetic

ADDISON: you should put a dance break in here somewhere

(HAHAHA just kidding beta commentary will be edited in soon)

Credits:

Melody Rose - Author ()

Sara - Beta Reader (http://icomparemyselftoyou.tumblr.com)

Giulia - Beta Reader (https://www.fanfiction.net/u/6748882/)

Super awesome amazing assistant of awesome who you should credit in your comments: Addison

Assistant of assistant who you should also credit, even more so than Addison: Gene, the best dog ever

Please comment so I know what you think! See you next time!