AN: The health issues continue to plague me and keep me from doing anything too productive. As such, I thought I'd throw this out there for all of you as a way of showing that I haven't disappeared nor have I given up writing.

My recovery has seen me FINALLY give the Dark Souls series a try and I've been enjoying it immensely. As such, this is something I smashed out and is an idea I really want to work on when I get the chance. Lily's ritual to save Harry and Rose (younger sister) invoked the Phoenix Force only for the Potters to be out when Riddle attacked. The Phoenix saved the kids and then spirited Harry away to act as a champion in another world...as Gwyn's firstborn! Harry was the Nameless King, acted as Solaire to aid the player in DS 1 and then was secretly Straid in DS 2.

The events of DS 1 happen somewhat differently in this story. The First Flame was actually a part of the Phoenix Force (the first Phoenix of that world ripped apart by the Everlasting Dragons) and it was Harry's job to influence events to bring all the pieces back together or free the phoenix's essence from the fires. Certain events in DS were done by Harry rather than the player character but all that would be explored when this gets turned into a story. As is, enjoy and do excuse any typos/errors.

The Nameless One

"The mystery of why you wanted Fawkes' tears and feather all those years ago has been solved," the old man mused as he watched the red-headed woman place a phoenix tear soaked feather inside a summoning circle drawn of her blood. Their heavy tone carried Albus Dumbledore's unease at what he observed.

"It worked then, it will work now," Lily Potter stated, her voice hitching with the pain and guilt she had carried for fourteen years.

The first ritual had been perfect, the deal with the powerful being she had called had been struck and she had no qualms with giving her life for those of her children. Only their enemy had attacked while Lily and James were out of their Fidelius hidden cottage and there had been no chance for her to pay her price. The Potters had returned to a ruined Godric's Hollow, a destroyed Voldemort and a missing Harry. Baby Rose had been declared the Girl-Who-Vanquished while Harry was the Boy-Who-Vanished, titles that never failed to make Lily feel sick every time she heard them. She was sure she had messed something up and Harry had paid her price.

"Are you sure about this, Lils?" James asked for the umpteenth time and Lily gritted her teeth to keep from snapping at him. She had never been surer of anything in her life.

"To be fair," Remus Lupin answered for her, standing next to the other Marauder Sirius Black. "I don't think Fawkes would have consented if this was anything Dark."

The phoenix in question trilled an agreement. The ritual was being performed on the grounds of Potter Manor and the magical bird was perched on a nearby table. It had almost eagerly given away its tears and feather when Lily had asked and then decided to bring the Sorting Hat to watch with neither giving any satisfactory answer as to why.

"Not everything dangerous is Dark," James muttered as his wife finished the last touches. It was two days after their daughter had participated in the final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament as a fourth, unwilling, competitor. Two days since she had been forced to watch her boyfriend Cedric Diggory die at the wand of Alecto Carrow before then being used in a ritual to give Voldemort a new body. Rose was still in Hogwarts' Hospital Wing recovering and he was secretly glad she wasn't there to witness her mother's insanity.

Lily sent them all a scathing look that reminded the men of the woman she used to be before her heart was crushed by Harry's disappearance. She turned back to the ritual circle and began a strangely melodious chanting. Those listening almost instantly forgot the words, but they would forever remember the tune they were sung in. It was a tune that strengthened the heart but chilled the mind as though the person hearing it was experiencing both birth and death at the same time. The air thickened, growing warmer until sweat beaded on temples and feet were nervously shuffled. Fawkes suddenly trilled, adding his own music to the ritual and then there was a roar of flames inside the circle. The fire seemed to shift form, sometimes taking that of a woman who could have been Lily's twin, other times being a giant bird of flames from legend.

You Call Us Again.

The voice was both male and female, old and young, and sounded like that of a lifelong best friend and a most hated rival all at once. The Marauders were dumbfounded at what they were watching while Dumbledore's jaw had actually dropped at seeing the long-forgotten ritual actually being used.

"Please," Lily begged, repeating words she had spoken to the being. "My daughter is in danger. The danger is back, and I don't know how to protect her. I'll do anything to keep her safe!"

James shifted as though to move towards his wife, no liking the desperation he was hearing in her voice, only to feel an iron grip on his arm keeping him in place. He turned to see the steel-blue eyes of Dumbledore staring back. The serious gaze told him beyond words just how much of a Bad Idea it was to interrupt what was happening.

The Price Was Paid. We Give Back What Was Taken. The Nameless Protector Did His Duty. Blood For Blood. Life For Life. The Circle Closes.

The living flame flared, and Lily cried out as she stumbled back into James' strong arms. For a brief moment it seemed as though the very sun had landed in front of them as the light and heat grew only to cut out before it became too painful. The group blinked wildly and more than one wondered if the light had somehow caused them to hallucinate.

The grass was complete burnt away, taking the ritual circle with it, and in the group stared in shock at the sight before them. A grey-blue dragon-like creature, larger than the Hungarian Horntail that Rose had been forced to face in the tournament, stared at them with far too much intelligence in its dark eyes. It had a skinny body and its front limbs had what appeared to be feathers in its wings rather than the leather bands of skin they were used to seeing. The great beast released thick fog from the two nostrils on its beaked snout and more seemed to gather at its back claws.

Yet despite the fear that the unusual creature caused, it was nothing to the puzzling sight of a man appearing kneeling within the protected cocoon of the beat's body. Lightening danced over the man's body and strange clothing and along the large and deadly looking blade that was buried into the ground. The blade was huge, matching the size of a great sword, yet the hilt was as long as a person's arm. To Lily, the weapon appeared to be a deadly mix of spear and sword.

The man's head was hidden by a huge mop of ash hair. His back was heavy as though the means of appearing had taken great effort and it gave them a chance to take in the strange clothing he wore. It appeared to be a mix of cloth, scales, and metal and both it and the weapon appeared to have seen a lot of use despite their polished and clean surfaces. Lily tried to pull herself out of the painful grip of James' arms, but he wasn't willing to let her go with the dangerous creature mere feet from them. The shuffling of their struggle somehow caught the new arrival's attention and his head shot up, revealing the fact that the ash hair seemed to be part of a crown with giant points. But the group didn't register this once they saw the intense gaze glaring at them. A gaze from eyes the same colour as Lily's.

The newcomer moved faster than any of them had ever seen, ripping his weapon from the ground, and pointing it at them in a defensive position. The lightening increased, running across his body and the weapon, and even jumped to the dragon-like creature who shifted as though preparing to attack. The movement had the right wing shift enough to reveal a huge grey wolf whose teeth were revealed in a vicious snarl and looked ready to lunge.

The man barked something in an unknown language. The Marauders had the wands ready and Sirius was just about to let loose a spell when Fawkes released a powerful song that shattered the tense atmosphere. The warrior turned to the bird and instantly settled, lowering his large sword as the song washed through them. His shift in posture instantly settled both the strange dragon and the dire-wolf sized canine. The shocks kept coming when the warrior next spoke in melodic tones that mimicked Fawkes' trills.

The group stood dumbfounded as the two engaged in a strange conversation and could only watch on as the warrior appeared to become more at ease the longer it went on. The tones he produced moved from demanding to puzzlement and finally to curiosity, allowing them to follow the mood of what was being said if not the actual meaning. It took a handful of minutes before the warrior finally nodded and stabbed the weapon back into the ground before raising a cloth-wrapped hand to his head to remove the large crown. Thick black hair tumbled down around his sharp features as his other hand pulled down the thick cloth that covered the lower part of his face. The man revealed sent even more shock through the group at the obvious similarities between himself and the Potters.

"Harry?" Husband and wife whispered together. The man glazed at them with a puzzled expression before sending another melody at Fawkes whose reply seemed to be the cue for the Sorting Hat to wake up.

"My turn now eh, Sparky?" The headpiece chuckled, causing the phoenix to give a quick squawk of annoyance. The man chuckled as though understanding the byplay and held out a hand. The Hat vanished in a flash of sparks and appeared in his palm. It chuckled until the warrior placed it upon his head. "Oh dear, dear, dear. No wonder I was asked to help. Far too much going on here, far too much time unneeded. No this won't do at all. Not for someone who has the loyalty of Helga, the brilliance of Rowena, Sal's talents and bravery enough to make Godric weep."

"Hat?" Albus croaked and no one thought to laugh at the strangled voice the old wizard produced after everything that had occurred.

"Hm? What is it Headmaster? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Yes Hat, but what exactly are you doing?"

"Teaching Harry here to speak English and catching him up on the history of our world," the Hat snarked. "What else would I be doing on his head? He's a bit too old to be Sorted even if he would have been the greatest student to walk the halls."

Harry said something in his strange language that caught the Hat's attention and its tip bent so it could look down at him. "Are you sure you want to remember that? I don't mind helping to dull the edges."

"No…" Harry said, obviously struggling to use the English he was being taught through the Hat's magic. "It needed…to be done. Smough had to be put down and that other…that was my brother's illusion, not the man I trained."

"What about?"

"Leave it. Please. My Father was a good man once."

"I understand," Hat replied, its voice heavy with emotions that confused the others.

Lily had managed to free herself from James' arms and slowly edged her way closer, practically ignoring the large dragon and wolf who watched her approach. The latter growled once only to be silenced by a strange word.

"Sif."

He watched her carefully, green eyes staring into green eyes. Lily's hand raised, trembling as it reached out to touch someone she had lost all hope of ever seeing again. "Harry?"

"Hey mum."