"And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,

Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born"

William Butler Yeats

"The Second Coming"

Chapter 1: Homecoming

Time has a way of passing quickly when you are not paying attention to it. For Harry Potter, time seemed to have slipped by him in the blink of an eye. It seemed like only the previous day that he had seen Ginny off for her last year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and now it was May again and he was expected at the school to take part in a ceremony to remember Tom's defeat and those that had fallen to ensure that defeat.

Dressed in his finest dress robes, jet-black with emerald green trim, Harry felt torn concerning his expected presence at the ceremony. On the one hand it would give him a chance to spend some time with Ginny Weasley, the love of his life, something he had looked forward to for days. On the other hand, it would put him once more in the public eye which, was something Harry had done his best to avoid at all cost over the last year. Harry supposed that he could not blame the magical community for wanting to know all about his life, but he also felt that he should be allowed some privacy.

"Oi! You done primping yet?" Ron Weasley, Harry's best mate and flat mate, bellowed from the ground floor.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley," Hermione Granger screamed down at her boyfriend, "if you yell at me like that again, you'll be sleeping in your own room for the next month."

"I was talking to Harry," Ron bellowed right back.

"Oh," Hermione said in a pleasant tone as she walked past Harry's room. "Well that's different then."

"How about you both bloody well shut it," Lavender Brown said with a laugh as she joined Hermione on her way downstairs.

Originally Lavender was only going to be a temporary houseguest but over time she had become like part of the family. Her boyfriend, Neville Longbottom, spent almost as much time at 12 Grimmauld Place as he did at Hogwarts where he worked with Professor Sprout. Harry rather liked having his home filled with so many friends and he hoped to add one more just as soon as Ginny finished school.

Walking out of his room, Harry could not help but get into the act as he yelled down the stairs, "how about all three of you pucker up and kiss my arse?"

"I'd take you up on that, Harry," Lavender said with a giggle, "but Ginny would kill me."

"You would be the lucky one," Hermione said to Lavender. "What she would do to Harry would make a troll look tame."

Glancing at his watch, Harry saw that they still had plenty of time to get to Hogwarts for the ceremony. They were Apparating directly to the front gates of Hogwarts where a special area had been set aside for what the Ministry of Magic considered to be VIPs. Harry felt the whole thing to be rather silly but as the Minister of Magic, Kingsley Shacklebolt, had said the day before, "sometimes you have to put on a little show even if you would rather not." Harry understood what Kingsley had meant but that did not mean he did not feel it was still rather silly.

The fact that there were other darker reasons for the tightened security had not slipped Harry's mind. Several months back Harry had been warned, by Draco Malfoy of all people, that a group of Tom's old supporters were working very hard to destabilize the Ministry of Magic. Since that warning, Draco had gone into hiding and many strange things had been reported by the Ministry's sources in the wizarding criminal underground. Now the Ministry was doing its best to discover who the members of this new group were but so far they had met with very little success.

Harry listened to his friends talking, occasionally he would join in but his thoughts were more on his gut telling him to bring along his Invisibility Cloak and a spare wand. Harry did not really need a wand to perform magic anymore, not since Tom's defeat. Since then, Harry's powers had been growing steadily. The healers at St. Mungo's said it would eventually stop, but they had been saying that for a year now and Harry's abilities were still getting stronger as the days passed. That did not stop him from carrying his holly and phoenix feather wand along with the wand he had won from Draco the previous year.

A sudden feathery black shadow landed on Harry's shoulder and he turned to look into the golden eyes of his owl, Wulfric. Harry had purchased the beautiful black owl on a whim right after his eighteenth birthday but he could honestly say that he had never been sorry that he had. Wulfric was an incredibly smart owl, almost spooky smart as Ron often described it. He was also the fastest owl anyone had ever seen before. Deliveries that took a normal owl several hours seemed to only take a few minutes for Wulfric. Harry had his suspicions about Wulfric, but he was content to let the mysterious black bird keep his secrets so long as they caused no harm to anyone.

"Did you need something, Wulfric?" Harry asked the bird conversationally.

Seeing an owl shake his head in negation would normally come as a shock to anyone else but the residents of Grimmauld Place, who had grown used to the owl's unusual behavior.

"Oh, just wanted to say goodbye?"

The golden eyed bird nodded and affectionately brushed his head against Harry's ear before taking off and returning to his perch in Harry's room. To his surprise, Harry saw that his Invisibility Cloak was hanging next to his traveling cloak. It seemed that Wulfric had wanted to do more than to say goodbye since Harry was sure he had left his Invisibility Cloak hanging in his wardrobe. Realizing that the others had not noticed the Invisibility Cloak yet, Harry reached for his traveling cloak and quickly stuffed the Invisibility Cloak into the special pocket he had sewn into it just for that purpose.

"Leave it to you to collect the most unique owls possible," Ron chuckled as he handed Hermione and Lavender their traveling cloaks. "I just get a hyperactive feather duster while you get a genius bird that treats you like his chick."

"What can I say," Harry said fastening his cloak around his neck, "I got lucky."

Still laughing, all four of them Apparated to the designated Apparition site just outside the gates of Hogwarts. They were greeted by an elderly ministry official who directed them towards the gates and told Harry that a certain young witch had left instructions that Harry should make his way up to the castle as quickly as possible upon his arrival or she would be most displeased with him. Harry grinned and told his friends he would meet them at the ceremony after he did as he had been instructed.

It had not been that long since Harry's last visit to Hogwarts but even still, he felt like it had been a lifetime. He was always surprised at how clean and crisp the air was here. In London the air was tinged with the scents of car exhausts and the waste of human habitation. Here at Hogwarts Harry could only smell the clean air with its traces of freshly trimmed grass and the smell of leaves from the Forbidden Forrest. Hogwarts had been his first true home and returning to it always made him feel as if he was coming home. Even now that he had a home of his own, Hogwarts still held a special place in Harry's heart, and probably always would.

As he approached the main doors to the castle Harry saw a sight that made his heart beat faster and his steps seem lighter. Waiting for him on the front steps of the castle was the most beautiful woman in the world. Her waist length, brilliant red hair hung loosely and the gentle breeze caused it to ripple out behind her. It was her eyes, those warm and inviting brown eyes, which truly made Harry go weak at the knees as they looked at him lovingly. This was his Ginny, in all her glory.

"Hello, Mr. Potter," Ginny said stepping into the arms that he held open for her. "I've missed you, you beautiful man."

"Hello, Ms. Weasley," he said wrapping his arms around her tightly and kissing her upturned lips. "I've missed you as well."

Harry often wondered if Ginny knew just how much he relied on her. She was so much more than just his girlfriend and fiancée; she was his best friend and confidant. There was so much more to it than that however. Harry would be hard pressed to put in to words just how important Ginny was to him but if he had to try and sum up their relationship he would have had to say that she was his other half.

"You look beautiful, Gin," Harry said admiring her emerald green dress robes.

"You look pretty good yourself," Ginny said with a playful grin. "Maybe before you leave me again tonight we can spend some time admiring each other in more detail."

"You have a deal," Harry said kissing her lovingly.

"Public displays of affection are not allowed here at Hogwarts," said a woman's stern voice from behind them.

Looking up with a smile at Professor McGonagall, Harry let go of Ginny almost automatically. It was all for show though as he walked up to the Headmistress of Hogwarts, and taking her hand in his, kissed the back of it with a formal bow that he had been forced to learn before meeting the Queen earlier that year. His old Transfiguration teacher looked stunned for a moment before she finally started laughing.

"You think flattering an old woman will get you out of trouble, Potter," she said trying to regain her composure.

"It's always worth a try, Professor," Harry said with a grin as he offered one arm to Ginny and the other to the Professor. "How have you been, Professor?"

Ginny and McGonagall each took an arm and the three of them walked out towards the monument that stood near the lake.

"I have been just fine, Harry," McGonagall said with a rueful smile. "Some days I have to wonder how Albus managed to keep track of all the comings and goings here at the school, I find it a very unique challenge."

"He had wonderful teachers to help him," Ginny said smiling over at her teacher. "So do you but, if you don't mind my saying so, you try to do too much by yourself."

"You may be right, Ms. Weasley," McGonagall said smiling at Ginny. "I find that in my old age I am set in my ways however."

"You're not that old, Professor," Harry said sincerely. "Professor Dumbledore was far older then you are and he was able to manage the school just fine."

"That was because he was a truly gifted teacher and wizard," McGonagall said with a note of sadness in her voice.

"So are you, Professor," said Ginny suddenly. "When you offered me the chance to take my N.E.W.T. practical exams I seriously wanted to but after I got to Hogwarts and saw you in action, I just knew I had to stay."

Harry was a bit shocked by this news. Ginny had never mentioned that the Professor had made her an offer to skip her final year at Hogwarts. He had wanted Ginny to return to school but at the same time, he would have loved having her with him as much as possible during the last few months. She had of course made the right decision but he was going to tease her mercilessly for not telling about this sooner.

"Well don't pack my bags yet, you two," McGonagall said with a smile. "I have no intention of retiring yet. I have a new professor to break in first."

Harry looked curiously at his former teacher before asking, "What new professor?"

"It seems that Professor Sprout has decided to retire after this year," said McGonagall with a grin. "She has recommended Mr. Longbottom to take her place."

"Good for him," said Harry with a wide grin.

"That would be perfect for him," Ginny agreed.

"I am rather pleased with the situation myself," said Professor McGonagall. "Next to Professor Sprout, he is the most qualified person for the position that I have met in years."

Smiling at the Professor Harry asked, "Have you told him yet?"

"I intended to mention it to him this evening," she said with a smile.

"He's going to be so happy, Professor," Ginny said excitedly.

How will Lavender take it though, Harry thought to himself before saying out loud, "I know he will say yes."

Their conversation was interrupted at that point by the sudden appearance of Percy Weasley.

"There you are, Harry," Percy said breathlessly. "The Minister needs to talk to you immediately."

"Well hello to you, too," Ginny said sticking her tongue out at her brother.

"Sorry, Ginevra," Percy said looking genuinely sorry. "I can't explain right now but this is very important."

Harry saw the look in Percy's eyes that told him it was time to be serious. As Ron was fond of saying when they were on training assignments for their Auror training, "Playtime is over."

"Where is he, Percy," Harry said in an all business tone as Percy pointed towards the rear of the large monument. "Sorry, Ginny. Sorry, Professor. I must go see what Kingsley needs."

He took only long enough to give Ginny a quick kiss before making his way over to the Minister of Magic. In less than a year, Harry and Ron had completed two years of the difficult Auror training. Their time searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes had taught them many of the skills that they would later need to become Aurors. Now they spent most of their time on training exercises and in advanced offensive and defensive classes that were aimed at honing their skills till their instincts were razor sharp and ready for anything. Right now Harry's instincts, and his intuition, were telling him something was very wrong. The look on Kingsley's face when he saw Harry only confirmed what the young wizard suspected.

"We have a problem, Harry," Kingsley said in his deep booming voice by way of a greeting.

"What's going on, sir?"

Kingsley shook his head sadly before he answered, "There was an attack on Diagon Alley last night. Several stores were damaged and a few people injured, although thankfully no one was killed."

"Who did it?" Harry asked feeling a bit of the old anger surging in him.

"We are not sure at this point," said Kingsley as he looked up at the large memorial. "The victims were taken to St. Mungo's for treatment and we have several people taking statements right now. However, I feel confident in saying that this is the work of our new friends."

Harry sighed and felt his anger ebb away. It had been several weeks since the last attack by this new group of Dark wizards. He had almost hoped that they had given up on their attempts to cause chaos for the Ministry. The wizarding world had just stepped out of one war and suddenly it seemed that another group was more than willing to plunge them into another one.

"What can I do to help, Minister?" said Harry finally.

"First of all," Kingsley said with an attempt at remaining serious, "stop calling me Minister. It's bad enough that Percy is always calling me that but it makes me feel so bloody old."

"Someday you're going to have to get used to it," Harry said with a smile to his friend and superior.

"Well not today," said the Minister of Magic with a wink. "Back to business though. I'm calling an emergency cabinet meeting after the ceremony. I realize that Ms. Weasley will probably try to hex me for taking you away from her but I don't think we can wait."

"I'll will do my duty and keep you safe from her," Harry said with a mischievous grin. "You do realize however that I'm putting my own life on the line."

Kingsley just looked at his young friend for a moment before he could no longer hold in the deep booming laughter he had been trying to hold in.

"Yes, I will have to award you a medal or something for your sacrifice," he said to Harry with a wink. "As I see the young lady in question walking this way with a very dangerous look on her face, allow me to keep you safe for once, Harry."

Looking over his shoulder at Ginny as she approached, Harry thought Kingsley must be the bravest man he knew. If Ginny were looking at him the way she was looking at the Minister right now, Harry would be running for the hills and praying for his life. He was going to hate breaking his word to her that they would have some time together that afternoon but he knew she would understand his reasons. She wanted to live in a safe and peaceful world just as much as he did, and they were both willing to fight for it if they had to.