Harry Potter and the Path of War

Harry Potter and the path of war

Chapter 3: The time ahead and the time just behind

There was blackness in front of Harry's eyes, and it was all he could see. He could hear distant voices, frantic, fast-talking voices. Another voice entered the fray, this one seeming closer to him, a calm, soothing voice that was calling his name.

"Harry? Can you hear me Harry? Wake up Harry, wake up. . ."

He felt a hand squeeze his shoulder, and he groaned, and with a great effort opened his eyes, causing the blackness that was enveloping him to lift. He was laying in a massive four poster bed, in a room that he did not recognise. The window directly in front of him showed him that it was night, and to his left he could see people silhouetted against the entrance to the room, talking very quickly. Looking to his right, he saw the tired face of Remus Lupin smiling down at him, looking immensely relieved. There were black and purple bags under his eyes, and he looked to Harry like he hadn't slept in days.

"Where am I?" Harry asked Remus, sitting up. He felt as if he had been asleep for years, and had a splitting headache.

"You're in Arabella's house Harry, try not to move so quickly now, everything's fine. How are you feeling?"

"I'm all right, just got a bit of a headache. How long have I been out? The last thing I remember was that vision thing. . .Voldemort sent a killing curse at me, but that wasn't real, was it? Did I survive the killing curse again? Does that mean that what happened to Voldemort when I was one has happened again? Is he dead?" Harry asked hopefully.

Remus put his hand in the air to stop Harry's questioning, and said calmly, "no Harry, I am sorry to say that Voldemort is not dead, but he is injured. I'll tell you everything later. You're in no fit state to listen to any long explanations at the moment."

"He's injured?" Harry said quickly. "Why?" What had happened in the time he had been unconscious? Harry wondered. How long had it been?

Remus did not answer his question. Instead he was reaching for a glass bottle full of a luminous yellow liquid from the small table beside the bed Harry was in. He unscrewed the top and poured some of the substance into the hollow of the lid, handing it carefully to Harry. Harry took it cautiously.

"Harry, all your questions will be answered soon." Remus finally said. "I know you don't like things being kept from you, but as I have already said, you are in no state to listen to any long explanations at the moment. Drink this, it's a healing potion laced with dreamless sleep potion, it'll get rid of your headache, and when you wake up we'll talk, I promise."

Harry nodded, wondering if Remus was just saying that to get him to drink the potion. He drank it anyway, and soon had no suspicions at all, as he quickly fell into a deep sleep.

* * * * * * * *

When Harry awoke, he found that his splitting headache had gone and that the room was bathed in sunlight, making it look much bigger than when Harry had first seen it, at night. Harry looked curiously around; it seemed to him a perfectly normal, plain room, white walls, a small window, and a door, the door that Harry had seen people talking at last night. Who were they? Harry wondered. Had they been talking about him?

A loud grunt startled Harry out of his confused thoughts, and looking to his right, he saw Remus in the same chair he had been in the last time Harry had been awake. He was slouched down in it and was snoring loudly.

Harry started to laugh, but tried to control it by sticking his fist in his mouth so he wouldn't wake Remus up. As much as he wanted to talk to Remus and find out what had happened, he did not want to wake him up to do so. He had seemed very tired to Harry when he had last woke up, and he was not about to begrudge him this sleep that he so obviously needed.

He battled with his laughter for a while, but when Remus mumbled something about pies and socks Harry let out a loud snort, and Remus's eyes snapped open, his hand immediately reaching for his wand. When he saw it was just Harry laughing, he relaxed and smiled tiredly.

"Feeling better then?" Remus asked groggily, sitting up straight and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Harry nodded quickly, and Remus continued, "headache gone? Don't feel sick at all?"

Harry shook his head, feeling a slight sense of foreboding come over him. "Completely cured. Can we talk now then?"

Remus laughed sleepily, and said, "Harry, you are the most inquisitive person I have ever met, and one of the most impatient," he added mischievously, smiling. "Very well then, what do you want to know?"

"What's happened to Voldemort, Remus? Why is he injured, what injured him? Is it because of that vision thing? Why am I here? How long have I been out? What's happened since I have been?" Remus sighed.

"Slow down Harry, okay? I think it will probaly be easier if I just tell you everything from the beginning, rather than telling you just what you ask. Does that sound easier?" Harry nodded his head quickly, and impatiently. "Okay then, let's start. First off, you have been unconscious since yesterday evening, ever since you collapsed in Arabella's kitchen. Now, I assume that you know that this, ah, vision that occured was Voldemort penetrating and attacking your mind? You do? Brilliant, that will make this explanation a bit shorter.

"When Voldemort first began to attack your mind, you behaved very strangely. At first you just fell to the floor, screaming and clutching your scar, but after around twenty seconds, you stopped screaming and just lay there. We all thought you'd passed out, and I was about to revive you when you started talking." Remus paused. "I'm not entirely sure if this corresponds with what happened in your vision, but it seems that we were hearing what you were saying to Voldemort, who was undoubtedly present in this vision. From what I have gathered, it appears that he was trying to manipulate you into killing yourself. Am I right?"

Harry nodded, and fleetingly told Remus of what had happened in the vision, not wanting to relive it again. Once he had finished telling it, Remus continued.

"Hmmm, so we could hear what you were saying in the vision, but not what Voldemort was saying?

Interesting. . .so, after you told him that you would not kill yourself, he hit you with the killing curse? Yes, that makes sense from what I saw as well. A few seconds after you said that you started shaking, it looked like you were having some sort of siezure. Then you just passed out, unconscious. That's when everything went insane. Arabella started screaming for someone to get Professor Dumbledore, all her cats started screeching because she was screaming, Tonks tried to revive you but I stopped her, she started screaming at me, then. ."

"Why wouldn't you let Tonks revive me?" Harry interrupted, a little angrily. Had Remus been thinking that Voldemort had possessed his body again? Harry wondered. Did he not think that Harry was capable of fighting off Voldemort from his mind? After all, he thought, I did it at the Ministry, all I had to do was think of Sirius. . . Dumbledore had hinted that it was because of his love. . .but what did that mean? He wondered curiously. Why was he able to fight Voldemort off with his emotions? He thought frustratedly. His musings were interrupted by Remus sighing, wearily.

"I wouldn't let Tonks revive you, Harry, because you'd obviously just had a very serious magical attack inflicted on you, and I was afraid that any more magic performed on you could be very dangerous. So, I picked you up and put you on Arabella's sofa, then calmed Tonks down and sent her to get Professor Dumbledore.

"When he arrived, he seemed to already know exactly what was going on. He put you into a magical coma, so Voldemort could not continue to attack your mind, and levitated you up to this room. Then, as I was telling him what I had witnessed of your vision, there was a firecall from Severus."

"Snape?" Harry said quickly. "What did he want?"

"Severus, along with the other remaining Death Eaters, was with Voldemort at the time he mentally attacked you. Apparantly Voldemort wanted to make a big show of demonstrating that he was capable of killing you, which he was convinced he could do by means of this vision, even if he was not actually physically killing you himself, just making you do it yourself. I don't fully understand this; why would he be proud of manipulating you into committing suicide? It does not show his power at all. Nevertheless, that is what the purpose of the Death Eaters being present seems to be.

"According to Severus's account, he and the other Death Eaters experienced an enhanced version of what I, Arabella and Tonks experienced of the vision; they heard what you were saying as well as what Voldemort was saying. They heard you taunt Voldemort and Voldemort say the killing curse, although he only said it out loud and did not physically perform it. Apparantly a second after he said it, a bright white light surrounded him and left the Death Eaters unable to see, and when the light faded, Voldemort was laying on the floor, not moving."

"But he's not dead, is he?" Harry asked, his breathing fast. "You said he wasn't dead, just injured." Remus nodded grimly.

"Unfortunately Harry you are right, he is not dead, he is still very much alive, but he is not fully functional. The killing curse he sent at you backfired at him, similar to the way it did when he gave you that scar. However, the potion he used last year when he rose again has given him more strength than he had that time, and the curse was much less powerful than usual, being performed in a mental eviornment rather than the usual physical one, and Voldemort was not ripped from his body this time, You will also notice the absence of another scar on your forehead! He has however been weakened considerably, and from what Severus says he is now unable to even walk around by himself, let alone attack your mind again or perform any other type of magic. It's going to take him quite a while to return to full health."

"But why would he risk trying to kill me like that, when he knows how dangerous it could be?" Harry wondered. How could Voldemort be so stupid? He thought incredulously. Remus smiled.

"According to Severus, it was because of his out of control emotions, and from what you have told me of this vision, I have to say I agree. Your taunting words, combined with the anger he must have felt with being spoken to like that and the embrassment he must have felt at being mocked in front of his Death Eaters, must have sent him over the top. Severus says that towards the end of the vision, he could see Voldemort getting angrier and angrier, and just before he said the killing curse he looked angrier than Severus had ever seen him before, and judging by the other Death Eater's reactions, they seemed to think so as well."

Remus paused again, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "What I believe happened," he began slowly, "is that when you laughed at Voldemort and taunted him for not killing you himself, he lost his control and let his anger take over. I do not believe that that he had any intention at all of harming you himself within the vision, knowing how dangerous it could potentially be because of your connection, but you rose his anger and fury to an unbearable level for him, and he lost all sense of reason by trying to kill you. What this shows, Harry, is that Voldemort does not just think of you as a simple child, if he thought that of you then you would have been unable to rile him up like you did, because he would think that your words were of little importance. No, Voldemort must either fear you, or think of you as a worthy opponent, to let your words get to him like they did."

"So what does all this mean?" Harry said, confused. His brain felt like it was about to explode with all the new information he was being told. Remus frowned.

"It means that Voldemort, when he is returned to full health, will increase his efforts to kill you. From what the results of this vision have shown, and from what Severus has observed of him, Voldemort sees you as a growing threat and wants you out of the way as quickly as he can. The fact that you and your friends fought off ten of his best Death Eaters at the Ministry in June has left it's mark on him; he no longer thinks of you as a tedious pest, but as a growing challenge to his power. He knows that there is something powerful about you, and that the longer you stay alive the more powerful you will become; he does not want to take the risk of letting you live, when you could potentially be dangerous to him in the future.

"It will be a while, however, before he is returned to his full health, but when he does, I believe that is when the real war will begin. This is a good thing," Remus hastened to add, at Harry's downcast look at the mention of an impending war, "it gives us a chance to gain more support, to organize and prepare the Order, so that when it happens we are prepared for anything he can throw at us. We will win this war Harry, no matter what it takes."

Harry nodded his head sadly, thinking of the darkness ahead of them all, but then a new thought came into his head, a way that the war could be avoided entirely. . .

"I need to talk to Dumbledore." Remus frowned.

"You need to talk to Professor Dumbledore?" He said slowly, and slightly suspiciously. "Why so suddenly?"

"I just do, is he here at the moment?"

"No, but he is due to be here at six o'clock tonight. Shall I tell him you need to talk to him?" Harry nodded. Remus looked at him sympathetically, and said, "I realise this is a lot of information to absorb Harry, and you have handled it very well. Personally I think that you've handled it better than what I would have done, had I been in your shoes. Now then!" He said suddenly, clapping his hands together loudly. "What do you want to do now then? Do you want some breakfast, some toast or something?"

He said yes, and Remus went off to make him some toast and a cup of tea. Harry lay back in the bed, and began to plan and work out his idea that, if it worked, would destroy Voldemort and his forces, and stop the war before it even began.

* * * * * * * *

Harry spent the remainder of the day taking various potions that helped to strengthen his mind back to it's original state, working out and planning his idea that could prevent the war, and talking to Remus. Following a discussion about what the consequences of Voldemort's failed killing curse meant, and why it had happened in the first place, Remus looked sternly at Harry.

"You are aware then Harry, how close this connection between the two of you is?" Harry nodded, still feeling disgusted at the thought of this close connection between himself and Voldemort. Remus nodded approvingly at him, and continued.

"Good, you will need to be fully aware of how close this connection is in order to successfully block it through Occlumency. This is an urgent matter now Harry, it is vitally important that you master Occlumency as perfectly as you can, as quick as you can. Doing this will give Voldemort less of an oppurtunity to attack you, and will ensure that he does not have an advantage over you by being able to see your thoughts and attack you through your mind. And, regardless of what you think of Severus, he is your teacher and a superb Occlumens, and you must listen to him to get through this and learn everything you need to. There is no longer enough time to take you slowly through this, you need to succeed in blocking Voldemort by the end of the summer at the latest, which we believe is when he will be restored to full health."

"It's going to take him until the end of the summer to recover?" Harry asked hopefully. That will give me more time, if it dosen't work the first time round, he thought determidly. Remus nodded.

"From what we know, yes Harry, it's going to be a while before he's active again. However, that won't stop his Death Eaters from wreaking havoc. We just have to hope that Voldemort will keep them quiet until he's back to full health, we really need this time to prepare and organize ourselves."

Harry gave a nod of assent, glancing for what felt like the seventy-fifth time at the clock on the wall across from his room. Half-past five. Dumbledore will be here soon, Harry thought, and then I can tell him my plan. Remus left the room, presumably to help Mrs Figg with the dinner, and Harry lay back in his bed. In what seemed to him like hours later, he sat up again and looked again at the clock. Quarter to six. Come on! Harry thought impatiently. An odd feeling of urgency was beginning to rise inside of him, and the wait for six o'clock was becoming unbearable.

Finally, at six o'clock exactly, the door to Harry's room opened and Albus Dumbledore walked in, moving quickly towards Harry and placing himself in the chair beside Harry's bed. He looked at Harry worriedly and opened his mouth to speak, but Harry cut him off.

"Professor Dumbledore! I've got a plan, if it works then Voldemort will be dead and this war won't even properly get going, but we need to organize it, it will be too late otherwise!"

Dumbledore looked at Harry searchingly, but Harry did not think he was reading his mind. He sighed.

"Very well then Harry, what is your plan?" He seemed weary, and Harry suddenly realized what Dumbledore was thinking.

"Professor, I know what you're thinking, that this plan is just some hot-headed, spur of the moment thing that I came up with in two seconds flat, but it's not. I've been planning this all day, and I know what the risks will be if it is used. I. . I learned my lesson in June, I'm not going to make the same mistake twice," he said, his mouth going dry as the words spilled out of him. Dumbledore's expression softened, and there was renewed respect in his eyes as he looked at Harry over the top of his half-moon glasses.

"I realize that Harry, I am glad that you have chosen not to ignore that lesson. So then, what is your plan?" He said, looking at Harry interestedly. Harry swallowed.

"Voldemort's injured at the moment, he's not at full health, is he? Remus says he can't even walk around by himself, let alone perform any type of magic." Dumbledore nodded.

"Yes, that is true," he said slowly, "but what do you propose we do with this information?" Harry swallowed again, and took a deep breath.

"Well, I'm not injured, am I? And I'm the only one who can defeat him, according to the prophecy. I know that normally I wouldn't stand a chance against him, but if he can't perform magic, I could easily kill him, I just have to learn the killing curse. Snape knows where he is, so if I went there with some of the Order, they could get the Death Eaters who are probaly guarding him out of the way, and I could get a clear shot at Voldemort. I don't want to bring other people into this, especially people from the Order who I know, but I can't do this on my own, I know that much. Does this seem realistic?"

Dumbledore stared impassively at him, seemingly thinking hard. This was tortue for Harry, the amount of time he had spent perfecting his plan had given him a sense of urgency for the plan to be put into action immediately. Finally, Dumbledore spoke.

"Harry, this plan is very well thought out, and it is clear that you have spent a long time on it, and I applaud you for having the ability to come up with it. However, there are a few details that you are not aware of that would make this plan impossible to put into action.

"Firstly, Voldemort's location is unknown to us. Severus cannot tell us where he is, Voldemort has performed a dark spell on his followers that prevents them from doing so; it controls the mind to an extent, to stop the location being told. I cannot even obtain it through Legilimency, and there is no counter-curse for the spell. Secondly, it would take much more than all of the Order's forces to invade wherever it is that he has set up headquarters; he may not be able to perform magic at the moment, but I am sure he has used it before this incident occured to set up dark wards and barriers to protect his location. He may be running low on loyal Death Eaters at the moment, but he still has many other forces in his service already, including werewolves, vampires, trolls and giants. The Order is not as strong as you clearly think it is Harry, it will need to grow much more in order to be capable of combating Voldemort's forces, and it is certainly not strong enough yet to invade Voldemort's headquarters. Thirdly Harry, do you really believe that it will be that simple for you to learn the killing curse?"

"What do you mean?" Harry said quickly, narrowing his eyes and feeling slightly insulted. Dumbledore held his hand up apologetically.

"You misunderstand me Harry. I am not questioning your magical ability, but your personality, and your beliefs. You are one of the most noble and merciful people I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. You have proven this time and time again, not least with your decision to not have Peter Pettigrew executed in the Shrieking Shack in your third year. I am sure that because of this mercifulness, this belief that death is not the right answer, the idea of killing someone yourself must seem to you to be brutal and monstrous. Am I right?"

Harry did not answer. Was he capable of killing someone? He wondered. . . he had wanted to kill Sirius when he had first met him in his third year, and he had hit Bellatrix Lestrange with the Cruciatus Curse in the Ministry in June. . .did he have the nerve to kill Voldemort, when the oppurtunity came? He wondered. Could he actually fulfill the prophecy?

Harry was broken from his troubled thoughts by an old, wrinkled hand coming to rest on his shoulder. Harry looked up quickly, alarmed by this sudden contact, and into the face of Albus Dumbledore, looking down on him sadly.

"It is not time. You are not ready to defeat Voldemort yet Harry, you must grow and mature first, into a man who is capable of killing. This must seem sickening to you, and believe me when I say that I myself don't exactly relish the thought that it is your destiny to become a murderer. However, you have asked for the truth from me, and I am giving it you. It may seem harsh, but it is the truth; it is your choice if you wish to accept it or not."

Harry nodded, and Dumbledore stood up, taking his wrinkled hand from Harry's shoulder. He walked towards the exit to the room, and when he reached the door, he turned around to look at Harry. There was a deep empathy in his eyes as he spoke. "You are a strong willed young man Harry. The years ahead will be hard for you, and you will experience much loss and tragedy, but I have confidence that you will make it through. I believe in you."

And with that, Dumbledore exited the room, the door shutting by itself quietly behind him. Harry lay back in the comfortable bed, trying to make sense of all the new information he had just recieved, and tried to make some room for it in his already jumbled and confused thoughts.

* * * * * * * *

An hour later, Harry was walked by Remus back to number four Privet Drive, and after a few quick memory charms, the Dursley's were none the wiser that Harry had not spent the night there. They apparantly had not even realised that he was not there anyway, but Remus had said that it was better to be on the safe side. Harry said goodbye to Remus and retreated to his room, grateful when he reached it and could forget the outside world for at least a while.

Ten minutes later however, his blissful ignorance of the world was destroyed when Hedwig flew in through the open window, bearing two letters. Harry took them from her, and stroked her feathers lightly. Judging by the dead mouse in her beak, she had been out hunting. He mused on whether she had wondered why he wasn't in his room last night; he had left the window open when he had left in the morning, so she hadn't been locked out. Probaly out hunting all night, Harry thought, otherwise she would have come to find me.

He opened the first letter and saw, judging by the neat, precise handwriting, that it was from Hermione.

Dear Harry,

How are you? How's your summer going? I do hope you're all right, your last letter seemed OK, but you never can tell with you. I hope that the Dursley's are treating you okay.

I'm fine, it's a bit hectic here at the moment, my Mum and Dad's dentist surgery has been shut down temporarily, so they've decided to re-decorate the entire house. In fact, 'a bit hectic' is an understatement, it's like a mad house in here. My room's being done at the moment, on the plans I set out of course, so I'm sleeping in the spare room, which is horrible. Nobody ever uses it, so it's a complete mess. I think I saw a cockroach in here last night, it's really terrible. Some of Them are checking in on me every few days to check if I'm okay, and they told me about this programme you've started. I think it's a fantastic idea! I wish I was doing it, you have to tell me everything when I see you. They said that they'll tell you if anything bad happens to me, which I suppose is good. I don't like worrying you though.

Have you heard from Ron lately? He owled me yesterday, and said that he was going to owl you after he'd owled me. As usual he was moaning (but don't tell him I said that!) about something, he said that Percy had come round to pick up the rest of his belongings, and Mrs Weasley had welcomed him back. Percy refused and left, but Ron was annoyed with his mum. He says that they shouldn't forgive him, because he's "been a huge, selfish prat", but I think that if he ever gets the courage to swallow his pride and apologise, he's learned his lesson and should be forgiven. I don't think that Ron agrees with me though. You'll forgive him, won't you Harry? I'm sure he didn't mean all those horrible things he said about you, I think he was just convinced that it was the truth because he was so devoted to Fudge. I do hope you forgive him, he'll eventually realise he was wrong and apologise.

I'm not sure if we're going to The Place this summer, Ron said something about it, but I doubt we are, They say it's too busy at the moment to have us staying there.

I do hope you're all right, what with everything that happened at the end of the year, remember that you're not alone, and that everyone's thinking of you, so don't do anything stupid if you don't hear from anyone for a while.

Write back as soon as you can.

Love from

Hermione.

Harry set the letter down, feeling drowned in new information, a feeling that was starting to become all too familiar with him. The letter was probaly the longest one Hermione had ever wrote him, and even though it was filled with encouraging and relieving information, it was not exactly what he needed at the moment, having absorbed so much new information already in the day. Setting Hermione's letter aside, Harry picked up and ripped open the envelope containing Ron's letter, relying on him to lighten his mood with a relaxed letter.

Harry,

how you doing mate? The muggle's treating you okay? They should be, after old Mad-Eye scared them to death at Kings Cross, that was brilliant! Almost as good as when Malfoy got turned into a ferret, but not as good, it's going to take something huge to top that!

I'm doing allright, bit bored though. I'm stuck at home, Fred and George have buggered off to live in London while their shop gets completely on it's feet, Bill's back in Egypt till halfway through August, Charlie's working with Them at all hours, it's basically just me and Ginny, and she's not really much fun, spends most of her time shouting at me. We're not allowed out to the Paddock to play Quidditch anymore, you know, "increased security" and all that, so there's hardly anything to do, not even any homework.

Did you hear about Umbridge? I can't believe that Fudge got her off like that, it's the most stupid decision Fudge ever made, I can't believe people are actually going along with it! He really needs a good kicking, and we really need a new Minister of Magic, someone who can actually do the job properly.

Harry stopped reading for a moment to let the sudden feeling of irritation and anger inside him die down. He had read about Umbridge; she had gone on trial on charges of violently endangering Hogwart's students, and threatening to perform an unforgivable curse on Harry, and she had gotten off on grounds of "an unstable mental state." Fudge had claimed that she had previous problems with a mental condition, and that this was the reason why she had made such disgraceful decisions, and was thus saved rom any criminal charges. She had, however, been sacked from her job at the Ministry, Fudge being unable to justify the Ministry employing a supposedly mentally damaged person, but in Harry's opinion she had deserved a lot more than that, time in Azkaban at the least. Where is the justice? Harry thought bitterly. He shook the feeling off with difficulty and continued reading.

Anyway, has Hermione owled you and told you about Percy yet? What a complete prat! He came here to get some clothes or something, and Mum told him that she'd forgiven him, and he just ran out without a word to her. She was in a right state I tell you, wouldn't stop crying for hours. What a git! I tell you, if I ever see him when my Mum and Dad aren't around, he's gonna wish he was never born. He's upset my Mum, he's totally cut off his whole bloody family, he's insulted you, and he's on Fudge's side! If he wasn't my brother, I'd kill him!

But anyway, enough about Percy, you're doing allright aren't you? I mean, seriously, you're doing okay, aren't you? You know, what with what happened in June? Just remember you're not alone with all this, don't think you've got to deal with this all by yourself, allright? I know I said all this in the last letter I wrote, and the letter before that, but you have to say something about five times to make it stick in that thick head of yours, so you can be guaranteed I'll say all this again in the next few letters I send you. Just remember you don't have to deal with this alone, and you don't have to fight you-know-who by yourself, allright? Good.

I'll owl you soon, when we get our OWL results. Don't let the Muggles get you down, before you know it you'll be back at Hogwarts.

See you when I see you,

Ron.

Harry placed Ron's letter on top of Hermione's and left them on his desk, walking to his window and resting his arms on the windowsill. A light, cool summer breeze drifted around him as he gazed out of the open window and on to the street below.

"You don't have to fight you-know-who by yourself."

Ron's words had got to Harry. Despite what Ron said, Harry knew that ultimately, he would have to fight Voldemort by himself, no matter how much help anyone else gave him. They could fight and help in the war, they could destroy Voldemort's forces, but they could not help Harry fight Voldemort himself. Harry would have to fight that fight alone, in order to stop the war.

War. A real war would be starting soon, and Harry would have to fight in it at some point, whether he liked it or not. He knew that he would not have to fight yet, but eventually, the time would come when he would have to fight, and kill, in battle, in war.

"You are not ready to defeat Voldemort yet Harry, you must grow and mature first, into a man who is capable of killing."

Dumbledore's words, however terrible they sounded to Harry's ears, were true. Harry would have to kill at some point in his life, or he would be murdered himself; he would have to kill or be killed.

Harry opened his window to it's full length and looked directly into the setting sun, making a promise to himself and the world. He vowed to prepare himself as fully as he could for the impending war; he vowed to protect his friends as much as he could, to prevent them from suffering and even death; he vowed to avenge the deaths of the people who had already died at Voldemort's hand, especially his parent's, Cedric Diggory, and Sirius. He vowed to kill Voldemort, whatever it took, and to win the war that was coming. He was right, and he would end this war.

The setting sun sunk below the rooftops of Privet Drive, and as Harry looked down onto the darkening street, one thought remained fixed in his head, the focus and motivation which he hoped would get him through the darkness of the coming years:

He would win this war, no matter what it took.