The Green Man and the Goddess

Silence filled the room and all that could be heard was the uneven sound of our breathing and the calm, steady breaths of Albus Dumbledore.

No one had said a word, so Dumbledore finally decided it was time to talk. 'You don't have to give your answer yet, I can tell you and if you refuse, your mind will be wiped of this conversation and you'll never remember that it happened. I think that would be the best way to go about this but I would prefer if you were to join me in my fight again Voldemort.'

He started the story much the same way as I started mine with Hermione. It too was about the Goddess and how she had created the world, and the Green Man, before sealing all her power into her box. Then she and the Green Man had left the world of man and settled in Sherwood Forest. In the middle of the forest, they had built a tower, the first tower to be erected in the world and underneath was a vast labyrinth that covered hundreds of kilometers under the earth. The maze was huge with only one entrance and in the middle of it was the box containing all her power.

They lived there for years, content with just each other seeing no one. But finally they became lonely and the Green Man wished to venture into the world of mortals. The Goddess didn't want him to go out into the world, so she went down into the maze and opened her box. Using her power, she put the Green Man asleep so that he would be safe. While he sleeped she induced dreams of the outside world but little did she know that instead of dreaming, the Green Man's soul had been taken from his body and born into a new one.

For years and years he slept on until one day, the Goddess too, got very lonely. Again she ventured down into the maze, running and running till she got to the source of her power. By this time she was desperate. She opened the box and grasped desperately at her power, trying to wake her lover but she could sense that he was not waking. She concentrated on him till she found his mind but instead of him being asleep in his own body, he was out in the world, an old man with a long white beard and gray eyes on his deathbed. The Goddess realised that she had made a mistake and she didn't think that even she could fix it. His soul would never be able to reside in its former body, so she made her decision.

That night the Goddess went to sleep next to her lover and in the morning she was reborn as a new person. She was no longer a goddess but a mortal with the memories and wisdom of the Goddess. She found her soulmate and defeated evil and the cycle went on as she was born over and over again with the Green Man at her side.

Years went by and in one of her lives the Goddess and the Green Man built a school over the chamber which housed the box with another witch and wizard. That school was named Hogwarts and although Helga Hufflepuff and Salazar Slytherin never knew it, Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor were not any normal witch or wizard but really godly beings.

After Rowena and Godric created Hogwarts there was relative peace for hundreds of years.

Then one day, less than twenty years ago the cycle was broken. The Goddess and her Green Man had been unable to destroy the evil that threatened the land. Lord Voldemort had been rising for sometime and it was supposed to be the last battle. Voldemort had been attacking Hogwarts, trying to get to the box filled with the Goddess's power. Jemma Weasley and her husband Joseph had been travelling to Hogwarts, trying to get to the box before Voldemort did. But they were no longer young but approaching their seventies and they were not as strong as they once were. They had finally caught up with Voldemort in the ante-chamber of the room where Pandora's Box was kept and there had been a huge battle.

Joseph had drawn his long sword and attacked Voldemort. Voldemort had just laughed and dodged his blows easily before throwing Joseph into a corner and sealing his fate with an "Avada Kedavra" and there was no more Joseph Weasley, just a empty shell. Jemma stared at her husband and soulmate before taking a step towards Voldemort, looking as menacing as her age would allow her.

Voldemort just laughed in her face. She was an old woman and he was definitely not scared of her. They had fought but Voldemort was stronger since Jemma was not as strong as she used to be and she didn't have her full powers since they were stored away. But unlike the fight with Joseph, Voldemort did not come out of the fight unharmed. Jemma had been able to injure him greatly before he put an end to her life as well.

Since Voldemort was so injured, he wasn't able to open the door to the chamber where the box was stored. He knew that if he was ever to rule he'd have to get the power stored inside the box but he believed that there was nothing to stop him then, so he foolishly left Hogwarts and went to gather his legions of Death Eaters till one night he found out that he was not invincible. He was following a lead on the next Green Man when it happened. The candidate's name was Harry Potter, a one year-old toddler living with his parents in Godric's Hollow.

'And of course you know what happened next...' Dumbledore said, leaving the sentence hanging. 'I've always found it funny that Voldemort was killed by the wrong baby,' he added laughing.

Everyone was just sitting there silent, taking everything in that they had just been told.

'What do you mean, the wrong baby?' Harry asked, breaking the silence.

Dumbledore turned and looked at him. 'You didn't think that you were actually the Green Man, did you? Well you're not. He had always been under Voldemort's nose but his arrogance wouldn't let him see it, now would he Draco?'

Draco looked up from where he was staring down at his face and cleared his throat. 'I've never met him, so I don't think I was ever 'right under his nose' as you put it.'

'Of course but Voldemort never considered that a child of one of his Death Eaters was the Green Man. Did you know that you two boys have the same birthday? He knew the birthday but even so, he would never have suspected Lucius Malfoy's son."

'Good to know,' Draco muttered sullenly besides me.

'Now, I wish to know if you're in or if you're out?'

Hermione stood up and said, 'I'm in. Of course I'm in.'

'Me too,' Ron added.

I snaked my hand into Draco's and entwined my fingers with his. 'Are you in?' I whispered.

'Only if you are,' he answered.

'Of course.'

'We're in then,' Draco said loudly.

Ron's head shot around and stared at us. 'Wait a second! Ginny, I don't want you in this.'

'You don't understand. I have to be in this. I'm the Goddess.'

'Wow,' Ron whispered and starred at the ground, his face red. Hermione rubbed her hand along his back. He was breathing quickly, he seemed in shock. 'So I guess you two won't be breaking up any time soon,' he muttered unhappily.

'Nope.'

Then Hermione turned to Harry, 'You're in right?' she asked.

He looked at her, then at Draco and I, and finally at Dumbledore.

'No, I am not in. Wipe my fucking memory because I don't want to know that my whole life is a lie. I'm not special, I shouldn't be famous. I'm just lucky.'

'Well Potter,' Draco drawled, 'Most people aren't special. Welcome to the real world.'

Harry glared at Draco and I elbowed Draco in the ribs and whispered, 'Don't be an ass.'

He turned to me and whined, 'But it was the ultimate burn!'

'Shh!'

Dumbledore sighed and then got up and knocked on the door out of his office before opening it and motioning someone behind it to come in.

Minerva McGonagall entered the room, wand in hand.

Dumbledore motioned to Harry. 'He doesn't want to be a part of this.'

McGonagall looked at Harry shocked, before taking his hand and leading him out, telling him that he wouldn't remember any of this in the morning and this was his last chance to change his mind. He couldn't have any regrets. Harry just told her to get on with it and then the door shut and I had lost faith in Harry Potter.

We sat around a round table. Draco, Ron, Hermione and I. In the middle was a key. The key opened the door to the room with the box. Inscribed on the key was a map through the maze. Dumbledore had left it there for me, saying that if I decided to go and find my power, I would need it to get into the chamber.

Draco stared at me earnestly, wanting to know what I was going to do. 'You should claim your power Gin,' he told me. 'I've been training since I was eleven years old. You haven't trained at all.'

I took a deep breath and slowly reached out my hand so that it hovered right above the key. I could feel the coolness of the key even though my hand was touching it. I closed my eyes and slowly lowered my hand till it touched the key and carefully wrapped my fingers around it, one finger at a time. Suddenly the key came to life, warming my hand and flashing visions in my head. The map was fake, the real one was inprinted into my head.

I looked at the others around the table, my eyes meeting each peron in turn. First Hermione, she looked excited, then Ron who looked worried. I doubt that he wanted me to go after my power. He would probably prefer if I was as far away from here as possible... somewhere safe. Turning away from Ron, I met Draco's eyes. He looked worried like Ron but I could tell he only wanted what was best for me. He wasn't going to grab me and send me to a far off land for protection like I'm sure Ron wanted to do.

I extended my hand towards Draco, still holding the key. He reached out and took my hand in his, key and all and started to lead me to the entrance of the maze. We descended stairs, going deeper and deeper into the dungeons. The farther we went, the colder it got and I started to shiver. Draco slid an arm around my waist and I rested my head against his shoulder as we walked.

Finally we came to an old door carved out of stone. It was covered with cobwebs and placed in a dark corner. We would have walked past it if I had not known it was there.

We then entered the maze.