Familiar Faces

The morning sun had barely crested the horizon when Harry stepped through the Floo into McGonagall's office, Chrysa padding behind him. His heart beat faster than expected - he'd imagined this moment dozens of times during his travels, but reality felt different.

McGonagall wrapped him in a tight hug before he could even dust off the soot. Harry hugged back fiercely, surprised by how many feelings hit him at once. He'd loved his time with the Flamels, but he'd missed his Aunt Min's hugs, her stern looks that hid warmth, and how she always knew exactly what to say.

"Welcome home, little eagle," McGonagall whispered. The familiar nickname made his chest tight.

"I missed you," Harry mumbled into her robes. He wanted to tell her about… everything, but found himself just holding on instead. Her hands trembled slightly against his back.

"And I you," McGonagall pulled back, brushing at her eyes before straightening his collar. The gesture made the months apart feel both longer and shorter somehow. "Though I see the Flamels have been taking good care of you."

"They did," Harry nodded quickly. "But it wasn't the same. I kept wanting to show you things right when they happened, not just write about them."

McGonagall blinked rapidly. "Well then," she said, not quite able to hide her emotions, "you'll just have to show me everything now that you're back." After taking a moment to compose herself, she suggested, "Shall we head down to breakfast? I believe the others are quite eager to see you."

Harry nodded enthusiastically, but paused at the door. "Aunt Min?" When she turned back, he hugged her again. "I really did miss you so much. Letters and pictures aren't the same."

McGonagall's eyes seemed suspiciously bright as she returned the hug. "No, they certainly aren't."

Walking into the Great Hall felt like coming home, even with the early hour meaning only staff were present. The enchanted ceiling showed a beautiful sunrise, and Harry found himself automatically looking up to check for good flying weather - a habit he hadn't realized he'd missed.

"Harry!" Flitwick's voice squeaked with excitement. The tiny professor actually hopped off his chair to hurry over, giving Harry a quick hug. "My boy, you must tell me about this lightning art I've been seeing so much of in the Daily Prophet!"

"Uncle Filius!" Harry beamed. "I brought some crystals to show you! And I think I finally figured out how to-"

"After breakfast," McGonagall interrupted fondly, guiding Harry toward his usual seat at the staff table. Various professors called out greetings as they approached, with Sprout immediately starting to pile food onto Harry's plate.

"You're still too skinny," she declared, adding another sausage. "Though that magnificent creature with you looks well-fed enough!"

Chrysa, meanwhile, had discovered a new source of entertainment. To everyone's amazement and several poorly hidden snickers, the Nemean Lion cub had settled next to Snape's chair and was purring loudly while rubbing against his legs.

"Potter," Snape said stiffly, trying to subtly edge away from the affectionate cub, "control your... pet."

"She's not a pet, Professor," Harry replied innocently, though his eyes sparkled with mischief. "She's a magical familiar of legendary status. It would be wrong to restrict her natural behaviors."

Chrysa, as if understanding perfectly, increased her purring and flopped over to expose her belly right next to Snape's feet.

Professor Sprout couldn't contain her laughter any longer. "Oh, she's delightful! Though I do hope she won't be hunting in my greenhouses?"

"No, no," Harry assured her quickly. "She only eats what I give her. Though..." he glanced at Snape with barely concealed amusement, "she does seem to really like people who pretend not to like her."

Snape's expression suggested he was seriously reconsidering several life choices.

oo0ooOoo0oo

Harry was in the middle of showing Professor Sprout some preserved crystal artworks of magical plants he'd seen in Brazil when very familiar voices echoed across the courtyard.

"HARRY!"

He barely had time to turn before being engulfed in a group hug. Charlotte reached him first, scarred hand gripping his sleeve a bit too tightly. Penny's blonde braids tickled his face as she joined in.

Tonks, trying to join the hug, tripped over her own feet and turned it into a dogpile, her hair cycling through happy colors even as she muttered, "Stupid feet, ruining the moment."

Harry hugged back fiercely, but noticed how Charlotte flinched slightly when his arm brushed against her back - a new reaction he didn't remember from before. Penny kept touching his face and arms as if checking he was really there, while Tonks was being unusually quiet despite her colorful hair.

"I'll leave you to your reunion," Professor Sprout said warmly, patting Harry's shoulder. "Do stop by the greenhouses later - I want to hear more about those Brazilian fire-flowers you mentioned."

She walked away, and Chiara approached more cautiously, hanging back slightly from the group. Harry immediately noticed and broke away from the others to give her a gentle hug. "I missed you too," he whispered. Her answering smile was bright enough to rival the morning sun.

"You've grown so much!" Penny exclaimed, wiping her eyes quickly when she thought no one was looking.

"Galloping Gorgons, you almost look like you could pass for a second-year now!" Tonks gasped, covering her mouth with her left hand in shock.

Charlotte was looking him over with a more critical eye. "You seem different... more graceful somehow." She tilted her head, trying to smile normally but not quite managing it. "And is that a Brazilian accent I heard just now?"

Harry blushed, suddenly feeling like he'd been on holiday while his friends fought a war. "Just a little. My guardians said it should fade-"

A loud purr interrupted him as Chrysa decided she'd waited long enough for introductions. The golden-furred cub padded forward regally, head held high as she inspected Harry's friends.

"Everyone, this is Chrysa," Harry said proudly. "She's a Nemean Lion cub. We met in Greece."

"A Nemean Lion?" Bill's voice came from behind the group, sounding impressed. "They're supposed to be impossible to tame."

"She's not tamed," Harry corrected automatically. "We're friends. She chose to stay with me."

As if to prove his point, Chrysa promptly flopped onto her back, paws in the air, looking expectantly at the group.

"Oh, she wants belly rubs!" Harry laughed. "Don't worry, she's very gentle. She can crush stone with her paws but she's never even scratched me."

Penny was the first to kneel down and tentatively pet the cub. Chrysa's purrs intensified, and soon all of Harry's friends were cooing over her.

"She's amazing," Charlotte said softly, scratching behind Chrysa's ears. "But not as amazing as how much you've changed, Harry. You seem... older somehow. Not just physically."

Harry met her eyes, noting the new shadows there. "You've changed too. I heard about the Forest Vault..."

The mood shifted slightly, but before it could become awkward, Tonks brightened. "Oh! You have to see what I learned to do with my metamorphmagus abilities! I can make my nose look like a dogs nose now!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh, the tension breaking. "Actually, I have something to show you all too."

He led them to a clear space in the courtyard. "Some… magizoologists in Brazil helped me understand something new about working with energy…"

Harry closed his eyes briefly, activating his Inner Eye. When he opened them again, he could see the potential paths of lightning hanging in the air the moment he started moving his chi. Carefully, he began placing points of chi in mid-air, creating attraction points where he knew the lightning would want to flow.

The first bolt jumped between his fingers, following exactly the path he'd seen a moment before. Working quickly, Harry released more bolts and made use of his Inner Eye to predict each path one second before the lightning was released.

"It's like painting," he explained as he worked, "but instead of controlling the strokes directly, I have to see where the lightning wants to go and give it paths to follow."

The lightning struck through the air, forming a living portrait of his friends. Each bolt sought its natural path, guided by Harry's carefully placed chi points, creating brief but incredibly detailed arrangements of light. He added his azure flames to complement the lightning, the two energies working together to capture not just their appearances but their essence - Tonks' playful energy, Penny's warm presence, Charlotte's quiet strength, Chiara's gentle grace, and Bill's protective nature.

"Merlin's beard," Bill whispered, watching the portrait take shape. "That's not just impressive magic, that's real art."

oo0ooOoo0oo

Harry's room had changed significantly during his absence. The walls were now lined with specially crafted shelves, perfect for displaying his crystal collection. Chrysa immediately claimed her new bed near the window - a raised platform with a perfect view of both the room and the grounds below.

"This one's from the Amazon," Harry explained, placing a crystal sphere on one of the shelves. Inside, magical hummingbirds made of lightning darted between flame-painted flowers.

His friends were scattered around his room, looking at his growing collection with varying degrees of amazement.

"The detail is incredible," Penny said as she held up a crystal containing an African market scene where flame-painted merchants haggled over lightning-sketched wares. "You can almost hear them talking."

"You really have been everywhere, haven't you?" Charlotte said softly, picking up a crystal showing the Temple of Apollo at sunset. Her tone made Harry turn to look at her properly.

"I heard bits about what happened with the Forest Vault," he said carefully. "But... I feel like I missed so much. The entire thing started on the day I left, didn't it?"

Charlotte set down the crystal, settling cross-legged on the floor. The others grew quiet, gathering around as she began to speak.

"It started with the sleepwalking incidents," Charlotte said, sitting cross-legged on the floor. "Not just Tulip - lots of students were affected. Then Rakepick showed up more often, watching everything."

"She wasn't the only one watching," Penny added, looking very unhappy. "Snape had Charlotte spying on Rakepick, while Rakepick knew about the spying all along. It was like this weird game of cat and mouse."

"And then there was Ben," Tonks said quietly, crossing her arms tightly. "He attacked us in the courtyard, wearing a mask and calling himself 'R's messenger'. When we finally caught him, he had no memory of it."

"The Forest Vault itself..." Charlotte paused, gathering her thoughts. "We needed Torvus's arrow - that's why we borrowed Rakepick's Niffler. But there was this Red Cap in the way, and we had to brew a Beautification Potion to distract it." She smiled slightly. "Snape caught us and broke our broom, but it was worth it."

"The actual vault was in an Acromantula's lair," Bill added, shuddering slightly. His hand unconsciously rubbed his forearm where Harry could see faint web-scarring. "Massive spider. When it trapped Charlie..." He swallowed hard, looking away. "I've never heard my little brother scream like that. Hagrid and Torvus too, all wrapped up in those webs, and Charlotte had to..." He trailed off, and Harry noticed how Charlotte's shoulders tensed at the memory.

"But the strangest part," Charlotte continued, meeting Harry's eyes, "was hearing Jacob's voice again. He said only the final vault was real, that he was trapped in the next one, and we couldn't let 'them' get there first. We found a dragon portrait and a sweater inside."

"And now Rakepick's going to be our Defense professor next year," Chiara mentioned softly. "She told Charlotte she's going to 'change the rules' to make searching for the vaults easier."

"So much happened... and I wasn't here to help." Harry's fingers traced the edge of a crystal containing one of his Brazilian lightning sculptures, the beauty of it suddenly feeling like an accusation. While he'd been creating art, his friends had been fighting for their lives.

"You were having your own adventures," Charlotte said gently, but her scarred hand trembled slightly as she reached for his. "And maybe... maybe that's good. You came back different, stronger." She paused, something vulnerable crossing her face. "We all changed. But at least your changes don't..."

"Speaking of adventures," Tonks said, clearly trying to lighten the mood, "you haven't told Harry about the party at The Burrow! Bill, remember when your mum found out?"

After the stories gradually wound down, his friends began to leave. Bill had prefect duties, Penny needed to check on a potion she was brewing, and Tonks had detention with Filch ("Don't ask," she groaned). Charlotte and Chiara lingered a bit longer, but eventually they too had to leave for their evening classes.

Once alone, Harry sat on his bed, scratching Chrysa's ears as he thought about everything he'd heard. The cub bumped her head against his hand, sensing his troubled thoughts.

"Want to play?" he asked, grabbing her enchanted yarn ball. They spent a while like that, Harry throwing the ball and Chrysa leaping after it. But he kept thinking back to what he'd learned.

Finally, he stood up. "I need to fly for a bit," he told Chrysa, who gave him an understanding purr. He transformed into his eagle form and soared out the window.

The wind beneath his wings was comforting as always as he circled the castle towers. How long had it been since he'd flown over Hogwarts? The grounds looked different now, touched by early spring. The Whomping Willow's branches were beginning to bud, and the Great Lake's surface sparkled in the afternoon sun. His keen eagle eyes caught sight of the Still Lake - the perfectly motionless body of water that had formed in the crater from his mist incident. Even now, months later, not a single ripple disturbed its mirror-like surface.

He couldn't help but once again think about his world tour with the Flamels and what his friends had faced here. While he'd been painting with lightning in Brazil and watching floating elephants in Africa, they'd been fighting Acromantulas and dealing with cursed students.

The contrast bothered him deeply until he remembered something Nicolas had taught him while discussing Greek philosophy. 'Time flows differently for each person,' the old alchemist had said. 'What matters is not that all streams flow the same way, but that they eventually join to form a greater river.'

Harry circled higher, letting the cool air calm him. He'd been sent away because he'd been reckless. If he'd been here during these events, would he have helped? Or would he have made things worse again?

He wasn't there then. He couldn't have helped. But he was here now, stronger and wiser than before. If another threat came to Hogwarts...

Harry banked sharply, turning back toward his tower. He would be responsible, and not risk his friends' lives for fun.