Harry woke the morning after the blow out in the Great Hall in a warm bed inside the cottage the magical holodeck had provided. The last thing he remembered was curling up to sleep on a large oak branch after exhausting himself in the forest. He'd hunted down a small dear and shared it with some of the small forest predators like he'd done before Hogwarts. He didn't know if these were real animals or some type of magical constructs but it felt right to him. He'd felt content when he'd gone to sleep.
Waking up in a bed was a surprise. Waking up to the smell of bacon and eggs was an even bigger surprise. Assuming it was Dobby; Harry pulled on a shirt and trousers from his trunk and walked out of his room.
What he found wasn't Dobby. It was a woman in her late twenties or early thirties with long dark hair done up in a single braid that flowed down her back. Her clothing looked like something from a renaissance faire or a Shakespearean play.
"Come in, my Harry," the woman said without turning. "Breakfast shall be ready presently."
Harry stepped slowly into the room. He didn't feel threatened but he still was cautious. "Who are you?" he asked.
The woman turned and smiled at Harry. She was classically pretty with an aristocratic look with a narrow nose and high cheekbones. But when she smiled Harry saw a hint of dimples.
"You could say I am your fairy godmother," the woman said. "Of course fairies are not, what is your modern term - ah, politically correct right now, are they? Now, sit and eat." The woman placed a plate full of eggs and bacon on the table directly in front of Harry.
Harry made no move to sit. "Who are you?" he asked again although a bit more forcefully.
"You may call me Aunt Rachael, Harry," the woman said as she sat down with her own plate across from Harry. "I have watched you for a very long time. It wasn't until your wonderful little friend Dobby brought you here that I could talk to you."
"Aunt Rachael?" Harry repeated.
"Oh, not biologically or anything," Rachael demurred. "Please sit. We can talk while we eat. So much more civilized."
Harry sat down and received a gracious smile as a reward. The food smelled wonderful and caused Harry's stomach to rumble.
"Please eat," Rachael said making a gesture with her fork. Harry picked up his fork and tried a bit. It was wonderful but he was still cautious.
"Oh, for the Creator's sake, Harry nothing here will harm you in the least. It is all safe. I give you my magical oath on it. I am here to help you, not hurt you."
Harry recognized the magical oath as valid from the reaction of magic around him even though she held no wand. "Sorry," he said as he took another bite.
"Oh, child, it is I who should be sorry. You have suffered so for Magic's sake! You were a beautiful innocent and the Dark One took that from you. Your parents were wonderful people. James was a bit of an imp but Lily quickly became one of my favourites. She had this inner radiance about her that I so loved. You have much of her in you.
"Fate needed a champion and you stepped forward. The cost to you and your loved ones have been great and you have so much further to go. I wanted to take this chance to talk with you."
"What do you mean I stepped forward?" Harry demanded.
Rachael sighed. "Harry, Fate does not select her Champions; they identify themselves. She made Her needs known and your soul responded before you were even born." Harry wound up to speak, but Rachael stopped him with a raised hand.
"Before you respond let me ask you a single question. You know something now of the problems this land now faces. I may not speak of it but the Dark One and the return of the Fae are but the tip of a much larger emergence. Someone must deal with it. A Champion must lead. Who else would you trust to play that role?"
The simple question brought Harry up short. If he could pass it to someone else who would it be? Images of his friends passed his mind's eye but they were quickly dismissed. Maybe it was the Alpha in him - or maybe what made him an Alpha - but he couldn't honestly see who else he would trust to see things through. Dumbledore maybe but he was getting old and something told Harry Dumbledore had indeed stepped forward as a Champion in his own time. Sirius? Remus? Padma? Ron? Hermione? No, he couldn't do that to them.
Rachael smiled as Harry stared as some vacant point on the wall. Harry seemed to come to some conclusion and turned to speak but Rachael spoke before he could. "That heroic refusal to quit or back down when people are in trouble - your saving people thing - is what made you step forward and accept this destiny as your own. Strip away the magical powers and other gifts and at the core you are still Harry James Potter. In the end, it is always the soul that matters."