The Empath

Harry woke up the next morning hoping that it was all a dream. That Dumbledore didn't just tell him last night that he is the only one who could kill Voldemort. But he knew that it wasn't a dream. It was real, it had happened, and there was nothing that he could do about it. He was going to have to face Voldemort and kill him or be killed himself. It was all up to him. The fate of the wizarding world was on his shoulders.

He reached over and put on his glasses. Ron looked up at him grimly from his bed. Harry had told Ginny, Ron, and Hermione about the whole thing last night.

He had questioned if he should or not, but Lily told him that he shouldn't have to deal with it alone, and that if his friends knew about it, they could help him through it.

Harry had felt a lot better telling them. Telling them all of it also meant that he had to tell them about the prophecy. None of them had really said anything, but then again what are you suppose to say when someone tells you something like that?

He and Ron got up and got dressed without saying a word. They walked out of their room and went to see if the girls had gotten up yet. Ron lightly knocked on the door.

"Come in," they heard someone say, and they opened the door and walked in the room.

"We just wanted to see if you were up yet," Ron told Hermione who was on her bed reading.

"Well I'm up," Hermione said looking up from her book.

Ron walked over to her bed, sat down next to her, and kissed her cheek. Harry looked over at the other two beds and saw that Ginny and Lily were still asleep. He smiled at Lily and wondered if there was ever a time when she wasn't beautiful.

"W-What's going o-on?" Lily said yawning, and she sat up slightly on her bed and looked around the room.

"Ron and Harry came to see if we were awake," Hermione answered her.

"Oh, good morning, Harry," she said smiling brightly up at him.

Every worry that he had been feeling when he woke up had disappeared as their eyes locked for a moment. He thought it was amazing how she could make him feel to happy when he had felt so sad just seconds before.

"Good morning, Lily," Harry replied.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" she question Hermione.

"I thought you might want your beauty sleep," she said looking back at her book and snuggling closer to Ron.

"Yes, well we can't all be naturally as gorgeous as you are. Some of us need a little extra help," she said smiling at her. Hermione looked up at her and rolled her eyes.

"She's right, you know," Ron said looking down at her, making her blush.

"So who's going to wake up sleeping beauty over there? I'm hungry," Lily asked and slammed herself back on her pillow.

"I wouldn't wake her up if I were you. She'll put a hex on you!" Ron warned.

"You sound like you speak from personal experience," she said, and Ron nodded.

Lily rolled her eyes and sat up. She looked over at Ginny to make sure she was asleep. She picked up her pillow and threw it as hard as she could at Ginny's head. Ginny woke up with a start.

"Whatcha do that for?" she moaned.

She quickly stood up, picked up the pillow, threw it back at Lily, and fell back on her bed.

"Ginny, Get up! I'm hungry!" Lily demanded.

"Food? Oh, okay," Ginny said sleepily as she sat up and noticed the boys in their room. "What are you guys in here for?" she asked.

"We came to see if you were awake," Harry answered her.

"Ginny, how came every time I wake you up you put a hex on me, but you didn't do anything to Lily?" Ron complained to her.

"Well, because," she answered him.

"Because why?"

"Because Lily is my friend and you are my brother," she said, throwing her pillow at Ron who caught it.

"Oh okay." Ron rolled his eyes.

~ ~ ~

The boys waited outside of the room to let the girls get dressed, and when they came out, they all walked down to the kitchen. When they got to the kitchen, they saw Madam Maxime talking vividly with Professor Dumbledore.

"I swear I didn't do anything!" Lily said shakily looking wide eyed at her old headmistress.

"What makes you zink zat I'm here for you Miz Black?" Madam Maxime asked her.

"Nothing ma'am. I just - um - why are you here?" Lily questioned.

"Not zat it's any of your business, Miz Black. But I am a member of ze Order," she said matter-of-factly.

"Oh," Lily said nervously, and she went to take her seat next to her father.

"So you 'ave transferred to 'ogwarts 'ave you?" Madam Maxime asked her even though she knew the answer.

"I have," Lily said, not looking up from the breakfast she had just started to eat.

"Well, Dumbledore, I must warn you about zis one zan," she said nodding in Lily's direction. "She is quite the handful. She'll be in your office often. In just 'er first year, she blew up ze potions class room."

"It's not my fault! I told Professor Lemonte that for the memory potion the snake fangs didn't need to be crushed. She yelled at me and told me that she was the professor and she knew what she was talking about," Lily explained as she rolled her eyes.

Harry had to bite his lip in fear that he would start cracking up laughing from the thought of Lily correcting a teacher, and how angry Snape would be should he every do the same.

"And what about during your zird year? You knocked Flour Delecour off her broom, fifty feet in ze air."

"I barley touched her!" Lily argued.

"She broke her arm!"

"It was a Quidditch match. What was I supposed to do, politely ask her to move out of my way?"

"Just last year you turned John Declair into a pig, and didn't tell anyone for zree days! It wasn't until ze came to my office and squealed madly zat I figured out who 'e was and transformed him back!" Madam Maxime said hotly.

"He cornered me into a wall, had his hands all over me, and then he tried to kiss me! What did you expect me to turn him into? I thought a pig suited him!" Lily protested.

"You didn't 'ave to turn 'im into anyzing."

"Yes I did."

Sirius started to laugh uncontrollably and was joined by Lupin who was standing in the doorway listening to the two of them. Lupin entered the room and sat opposite of Harry.

"Well, Dumbledore does she remind you of anyone?" Lupin asked him.

"Yes, indeed she does," he confirmed.

"What are you talking about?" Lily asked them confused and slightly annoyed.

"Your argument was just identical to the ones I had many times in my office with a certain young man, many years ago," Dumbledore informed her.

"It wasn't that many years ago, Dumbledore," Sirius protested.

"No, no, not that many years ago, but certainly a few," he said grinning back at Sirius.

"It's good zan, Dumbledore, zat you'll be able to control her," Madam Maxime added hastily.

"Well, not exactly. Of course the young man I speak of was Sirius and I could never control him, so I probably won't be able to control his daughter, but I'm sure that Lily will do just fine at Hogwarts," Dumbledore said smiling down at Lily.

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore," Lily smiled back up at him.

"Well, I must be going now," Madam Maxime said as she stood up. Dumbledore stood up as well.

"If you must," he said as he shook her hand.

Madam Maxime left the room just as Professor McGonagall entered it carrying an old looking hat and a four-legged stool.

"I got what you asked for Albus. I assumed why you wanted it, but may I ask as to why she won't be sorted at the Sorting Ceremony with the others?" Professor McGonagall asked Dumbledore.

"Well, in all my years of working at the school, we only had one other student transfer from another school, and I must say he looked rather odd up there with the first years. I thought that Lily might not want to stand out more than she already will," he informed her.

"In other words it would be too much for me because of my Empathy?" Lily added grinning.

"Yes, there is that." He nodded.

"Well, I must say I'm rather curious as to what house she'll be placed in," Professor McGonagall said beaming down at Lily. "Shall we?" she asked Dumbledore.

"Yes, we shall," he said gesturing his hand at an empty place in the corner.

Professor McGonagall went over and set down the stool. Lily felt slightly nervous, but still excited.

"Lily dear you can come over here and have a seat. It will only take a moment," Professor McGonagall said, acting as a grandmother would with her favorite grandchild.

"Okay," Lily said before getting up, walking over to the stool, and sitting down.

"If you don't get sorted into Gryffindor none of us are ever going to talk to you ever again. You know that right?" Ginny teased.

"Miss. Weasley, that was very rude!" Professor McGonagall said sternly.

"Sorry Professor, I was just trying to make her nervous. I mean, we all had to be Sorted in front of the entire school. It was completely nerve wrecking. I was just trying to help her get the full experience of it, that's all," Ginny explained.

"Yes, well, it was still rude," Professor McGonagall retorted.

"Wait, wait, I have to say something," Sirius said jumping to his feet and walking over to Lily. "When I was sorted into Gryffindor, I received a Howler from just about every single member of my family the day after the Sorting Ceremony. My parents were so disappointed that they told me that I was a blemish on the family name. And when I came home for the Christmas holidays they locked me up in the dungeon for three days," Sirius said smiling brightly at her.

"Father, I know that Ginny wanted me to get the full experience, but really, I am quite nervous already," Lily said looking slightly frightened.

"No, no, that's not what I mean. I mean, I hated them for what they did to me just because I wasn't Sorted into Slytherin. What I'm trying to say is what I've always wanted to tell my child one day. Lily, it doesn't matter what house you're sorted into. I'll still love you no matter what," Sirius finished and hugged his slightly surprised daughter. "Okay, you may commence with the Sorting."

Sirius sat back down as Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat on her head. Harry wondered why it didn't go over her eyes, like it did when it was placed on his head, but then he remembered that his head was probably much smaller then Lily's is now when he wore the hat.

Lily thought it a little strange that the fate of where she would be at school rested solely on an old hat, but Snape had told her about it before, and she knew that it could read minds. She didn't want to be rude or interrupt it, so (as hard as it was) she tried not to think as the Hat started to talk to her in her mind.

Lily took the hat off (after thinking a quick thank you) and gave it to Professor McGonagall. Sirius ran over to her, picked her up from under her arms, and spun her around in a circle.

"Hufflepuff!" he said happily as he let her down and hugged her. "Just like your mother!"

Harry couldn't help but feel slightly let down at the fact that she wasn't in Gryffindor with him, but he was happy for her anyway. Mrs. Weasley and Mad Eye Moody quickly walked in.

"What's all the noise about?" Mrs. Weasley asked them.

"No need to worry, Molly. Lily was just sorted into Hufflepuff," Professor McGonagall told her proudly. "I'm sure Professor Sprout will be pleased."

~ ~ ~

A week had passed, and Harry found it incredibly easy to talk to Lily who in turn enjoyed talking to him as well.

Harry let Ron borrow his invisibility cloak so that he and Hermione could find a private place to "talk" as Ron so elegantly put it.

Harry didn't mind because he got the room to himself to spend time with Lily. They talked for hours on end about everything, the prophecy, Voldemort, the Ministry, but not just that.

They talked about him, the real him, not The-Boy-Who-Lived and everything linked with it, but him. They talked about what he wanted to do with his future. They talked about his parents, how he hated to dance, and about Quidditch.

Harry loved just sitting there and talking to her. He also learned a lot about her. They talked about what it was like to be raised by Snape, Beauxbatons, life in France, and then more about Quidditch.

Talking to Lily wasn't like talking to Ron or Hermione (though he did enjoy talking to them). Talking to Lily just seemed to come second nature.

It wasn't like talking with Cho Chang either. When he talked to Cho, he always felt like he needed to impress her. He never knew what to say, and he was always nervous when he was around her.

But Lily, Lily was different. He felt like he didn't need to be anyone else, but himself. Lily seemed to like him being himself too. And it was okay if he didn't know what to say because the silence was comfortable as well. He wasn't nervous when he was around her anymore either, just really happy.

He felt like she was just a big part of him that he had been missing for a long time, but now felt complete. He found himself wanting to be closer to her. All he wanted to do was to grab her, hold her in his arms, and never let go.

He had a feeling that she felt the same way because she started to sit closer to him and hold his hand as they were talking.

"Lily, can I ask you something?" Harry asked Lily while they were talking one night.

"Yes, of course you can. You can ask me anything you like," Lily replied simply.

"What do you think of me? I mean, what do you really think of me?" Harry questioned her nervously.

"I think your a very kind, thoughtful man, that just seems to never gets the chance to relax and be himself," she said smiling up at him.

"Oh," he sighed.

"I like you too, Harry," she said. Seeing the confused look on his face, she quickly added, "I'm an Empath remember?"

"So, you mean - you - you've know how I feel about you all along?" he said sounding very embarrassed.

"Ever since Father gave me the potion to help me control my empathy and not take it away completely, I've been able to sense all of the strong feelings that anyone has had around me. So yes, to answer your question."

"Why didn't you say anything?" he asked her.

"Well, I thought that since the feeling was mutual, I didn't need to. I thought that it would just happen naturally," she said and then leaned into him so closely Harry could feel her warm breath on his face. Just then they heard a loud crack, and after seeing who it was, Lily quickly pulled back.

"Lily, my love you're cheating on us?" Fred said astounded.

"And to think we gave you the best few weeks of our lives!" George added, pretending to start weeping.

"It's okay George, there, there. It's alright," Fred said, patting George on the back. "We don't need to take this. Let's go."

"Yeah I'm sure we'll find someone, someday, who can appreciate us and not just cast us aside like we're nothing," George told him wiping the fake tears from his eyes.

"Before we go, here, you can have this. To remember us by." Fred sighed and handed her a fairly heavy box.

There was another loud crack and Fred and George were gone. Harry and Lily exchanged looks of confusion and laughter as the door opened and closed with no one in sight.

"What's that?" They heard Hermione ask them just before Ron pulled the invisibility cloak off of them and gave it back to Harry.

"I don't know, but I think I just called off my engagement with Fred and George," Lily answered her and smiled at Harry who blushed brightly.

"Fred and George were here?" Ron asked.

"Yeah, they gave me this to remember them by," Lily said as she opened the box.

There were two books that looked like journals and a few smaller ones. They were blue with silver embroidery on the right hand corner, each of them saying Lillian Black, with a small lily next to her name.

"What would Fred and George give you a bunch of journals for?" Ron asked her.

"I don't know," she replied.

"I don't think those are normal journals, Lily," Harry told her, getting up and getting ink and a quill. "Can I see one?" he asked her and she handed him one of the journals.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Lily asked him.

"Do you remember when I told about Tom Riddle's diary?" Harry asked her.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" she questioned him.

"WHAT'S GOING ON IN HERE?" Someone shouted from the door making them all jump and the girls scream. "Did I scare you?" Sirius asked them grinning widely and then started cracking up laughing at the looks on their faces.

"WHAT'S GOING ON DOWN THERE?" They heard Mrs. Weasley shout from her room.

"NOTHING MOLLY. IT'S JUST ME SCARING THE KIDS," Sirius shouted back.

"SIRIUS IT'S LATE!" Mrs. Weasley shouted back angrily.

"I KNOW, I KNOW, I WAS JUST HAVING A BIT OF FUN. I'M GOING TO BED NOW," Sirius shouted sounding annoyed. "She's no fun. What you got there?" he said looking at the books in Lily's hands.

"It's just a few journals Fred and George gave me," Lily answered him.

"What would Fred and George give you journals for?" Sirius asked her and she shrugged.

"I don't think they're normal journals," Harry said as he started to write in the one that Lily gave him.

He waited and nothing happened. Looking confused, he reached for his wand and pointed it at the journal.

"I solemnly swear, I'm up to no good," he said and the words disappeared. He waited again and still nothing happened. "What?"

"Can I see one?" Hermione asked and Lily handed her one. She took out her wand and put it on the journal. "I solemnly swear, I'm up to no good," she said as words appeared on the journal.

My name is Harry Potter

"Harry you were right, look!" Hermione said happily and handed Harry the journal.

"They're so you can send secrete messages to whoever has the other ones," Harry said handing one of them to Lily.

"That's brilliant. Wouldn't you say, Father?" Lily asked Sirius.

"Yeah it really is," Sirius said sounding intrigued.

They opened the other, smaller journals and did the same as Hermione and the words My name is Harry Potter were written on all of them except for Harry's and after a few seconds the words disappeared. Hermione took the quill from Harry and wrote on hers

The words only appeared on Lily's journal only. Lily smiled and took the quill from Hermione and wrote

Both of the girls smiled and started to giggle uncontrollably at the confused looks on the boys' faces.

"Let me see the quill and ink, I want to try!" Sirius said eagerly.

"We should get to bed before Mrs. Weasley comes down to check on us," Hermione told them all.

"Oh, I guess your right, tomorrow then?" Sirius asked Lily sounding disappointedly.

"Yeah, tomorrow," Lily replied.

"Okay come on let's go," Sirius ground. Hermione and Lily said goodnight to the boys as Sirius ushered them out of the room. "You know Hermione, you're almost as fun as Molly."

~ ~ ~

"Good morning, Young Mistress," said a high squeaky voice standing next to Lily's bed.

"Quincy!" Lily cried and quickly got up and hugged the small old house elf.

"How is Young Mistress this fine morning?" Quincy asked her.

"I'm fine, and you Quincy?"

"Quincy is doing alright, miss. Now that she is with her young mistress again," she replied.

"That's good," Lily told her.

"Quincy has packed all of Young Mistress' things, so you are ready for the train, Miss. Quincy got here very early this morning, so she also packed Young Mistress' friends' things. Quincy also saw M - M," she stopped and started to sob.

"Quincy what is it?" Lily asked her.

"It's nothing, Young Mistress. Don't you worry about a thing, miss," Quincy told her.

"What's going on?" Hermione said, emerging from her blankets. "Who's that?"

"Hermione, I would like you to meet my house elf Quincy. Quincy, meet my friend Hermione Granger," Lily introduced them.

"It's very nice to meet you," Hermione said politely.

"Who are we meeting?" asked Ginny rolling over on her side and sitting up. "Oh, hello, my name's Ginny."

"Quincy is very please to meet both of you and hopes that she did not wake Young Mistress' friends," she said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"No, no, of course not, we were just about to get up anyway," Hermione told her quickly and Ginny nodded in agreement.

"Now, what was bothering you before?" Lily asked her.

"It's just that, well, Quincy saw M - M," tears started to stream down her face.

"You saw Father?" Lily questioned and Quincy nodded.

"Yes, miss. Quincy thought she would never see M - Master Black again after the night, Young Master Devin took our Mistress Hannah away from him." Quincy wiped the tears from her eyes again.

"It's alright, Quincy. Did you see Dobby?" Lily asked her.

"Yes, Young Mistress. Quincy told him to pack Young Master Harry Potter and his Weasley's things without waking them," she told Lily.

"Quincy, Dobby doesn't have to do that! The boys can do it themselves!" Hermione said, getting up, walking over to them, and sitting on Lily's bed.

"Why would you like Dobby to do something else, Miss?" Quincy asked.

"No, no, I just meant that he didn't have to do anything," Hermione told her.

"Quincy already packed Young Mistress, Miss Ginny, and Miss Hermione's things. Dobby is packing the boy's things. Is that not what house elves are for?" Quincy asked her.

"No, it's not. You have just as much right to sit around and do nothing as wizards do. And if you do work, you should be paid for your work," Hermione said sternly.

"Quincy is sorry, but house elves are not as lazy as wizards. All wizards are like house elves' children. Does Young Miss Hermione pay her mother for taking care of Miss Hermione? Does Mistress Granger sit around and do nothing?" Hermione looked at her confused. "Just as I thought. Now, it's time for you to get dressed and come down to the kitchen for breakfast. It pleases Quincy very much to see that Young Mistress is well." Quincy left the room, leaving a very bewildered Hermione.

"I can't believe that you have an house elf!" Hermione told Lily sounding like she was disappointed in her.

"Why not? Quincy's been in my family for years," Lily said confused.

"House elves are extremely mistreated, and they deserve to be treated as more than just servants. They should be able to make their own choices and have just as many rights as wizards do! You should give her clothes and set her free to live her own life!" Hermione protested.

"Okay Hermione, you need to calm down! First of all not all house elves are mistreated. Secondly, house elves wouldn't know what to do with themselves if they were all set free and had as many rights as wizards do. It's not like taking an innocent person and making them a slave. House elves are supposed to assist the families that they serve. That's what they're here for. That's their purpose. And thirdly, Quincy raised my mother from a baby and did the same for me. I will never give her clothes! It would be too painful for the both of us. She has been the closest thing that I've ever had to a mother," Lily said teary eyed.

"I'm sorry, Lily. Maybe Quincy isn't mistreated, but a lot of house elves are and something needs to be done about it!" Hermione explained.

"Nothing can be done about it. House elves enjoy what they do and before you go and try to ruin it for them, you should talk to them and find out what they think," Lily told her before getting up and getting dressed.

~ ~ ~

After breakfast Mrs. Weasley told them to start to get ready to leave. They didn't have to get their trucks because Dobby and Quincy had already brought them down stairs.

"Father, it's not too late to change your mind you know?" Lily said tearfully as Sirius walked her to the door.

"I know, but I must be a good father and make sure that my daughter is well educated," Sirius told her.

"Okay," Lily said trying to avoid Sirius' eyes.

"Make your mother and I proud! And owl me every chance you get," Sirius told her and pulled her into a hug. "I love you, Lily."

"I love you too, Father," she said when they pulled away. Both of them had tears streaming down their cheeks.

"Harry you watch out for her, will you?" Sirius asked him.

"Of course I will, Sirius," Harry told him.

"Thank you," Sirius said putting his hand on Harry's shoulder appreciatively. "Have a good term, Harry."

After Sirius gave Lily another hug and Quincy told her that she would see her at Hogwarts when she got to her dormitory, they all left with Lupin and Tonks at Harry and Lily's sides.

Lily could hardly believe it. Most of her life she had lived in France, she'd never met her father, and for the last five years she had gone to Beauxbatons. Now, she lived in England (not to mention the same house she lived in the first five years of her life), not only did she meet her father, but she had lived with him, and she was going to Hogwarts. If you would have told her even just a few months ago that all of this would happen, she'd think you had lost your mind completely.

But it was happening! She was on her way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the same school that her parents had gone to.

With everything that was happening, she knew that she should be a lot happier than she was. She just couldn't help but feel as if she was leaving half of her behind. And indeed she was, but she knew that she had to go to school.

She wiped the tears from her eyes as they boarded the Knight Bus. Lily didn't even notice when the other people on the bus went flying off their seats when the Knight Bus started to go down the street at break neck speed. She had really good reflexes, so she herself stayed in her seat.

She stared out the window and couldn't help but feel extremely vulnerable. She was going to a new school and she knew that she would have to leave her new friends that she had met at 12 Grimmauld Place because they were all in Gryffindor and she would have to stay with the Hufflepuff House.

Just as she started to feel completely overwhelmed, she felt a warm hand grasp hers.

"It's going to okay, Lily," Harry whispered to her. "I'll personally make sure of it."

Her worries instantly left her as she smiled up at him. Somehow she believed him and felt a lot more secure knowing that he would be there to watch over her and protect her. She also couldn't help but notice how much she had fallen in love with him.

Harry didn't know what had happened to make him feel the way he was feeling. He just somehow knew that it was his job to protect her and make sure that nothing came in the way of her happiness.

The minute he took her hand, he knew that he was in love with her and swore to himself that as long as he still had air in his lungs, he wouldn't let anything ever hurt her.