A/N: Hello! I am back with a new story for the first time in two years! Sorry it has taken me so long. My original break from writing turned into something much longer than I expected after one of my children was diagnosed with cancer. While he is still battling it, he is doing well and our lives are not as hectic as when he was first diagnosed, allowing me to find the time to write.

This story has been adopted and adapted from Yandrak's The Forgotten Wizard, with their full permission. The changes I have made have been based on my own personal preferences. It is a WBWL story, but the original twist from the story I adapted was what caught my attention. I can't guarantee when there will be updates, hopefully every few weeks, so please be patient.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own, nor have I ever owned Harry Potter.

EDIT: 29/8/19

HP&GW

July 2002…

Sir,

I suspect you are already aware of what I am about to tell you, but I felt it necessary to confirm to you that LV has regained his body once more.

It is time to recall your bird group and army to make them aware and to be certain they are on their guard. You also know what else it is time for you to do now.

We shall be arriving back in England within the next few days, at which point we will arrange a meeting between us and yourself.

DO NOT FORGET LILY'S WORDS!

HP

*HP&GW*

Albus Dumbledore placed the letter down on his desk and, pushing his glasses up, rubbed the bridge of his nose. He had read the letter three times since it had been delivered to him by a house-elf, and it had only left him with many decisions to make and quickly.

He wasn't surprised that the informant knew that he was already aware of Lord Voldemort's return. His Potions Master, and spy for the Order of the Phoenix, had notified him promptly when the Dark Mark had burned black for the first time in five years. Thanks to Severus Snape, Albus was already aware of the ritual that had been used and the state that Voldemort had been left in following him regaining his body. However, he had been taken aback by the fact that the writer had been aware that he had yet to recall the Order. He hadn't informed anyone of Voldemort's return, knowing just how badly that had gone the last time he had regained his body. If everything went roughly to plan, though, Voldemort would be vanquished for good before the Ministry were even truly made aware of his latest return, let alone even willing to accept it as fact.

The reason he had so far stalled was not because he had been waiting on this letter, something he knew would come, but because he was avoiding what he, and the writer, knew needed to be done. Albus had been keeping the truth secret for five years now and with every additional day that passed, it became harder for him to reveal it. Admittedly, he had been shocked when he had been informed, and yet it had made so much sense and had explained much of his own misunderstandings and mistakes. However, while he knew most people would react similar to him when he finally revealed the truth, he knew two people who would more than likely refuse to accept it and that was his main reason for avoiding doing what needed to be done, despite the fact he had been asked to reveal it when the time came.

Lily's words.

Albus sighed in resignation as the words of his late student crossed his mind. He had to finish fixing the mistakes he'd made and revealing the truth would hopefully fix the biggest one of them all. He could no longer avoid it, no matter how much he wanted to, it needed to be done.

He lifted his wand and summoned a small box from the shelf, next to where the Sorting Hat sat. Catching it, he placed it on his desk and opened it to reveal a gold Galleon. Inspired by the ingenious use of the Protean Charm by Dumbledore's Army, he had arranged for all members of the Order and Dumbledore's Army to be in possession of one. He had charmed each coin with a variation of the Protean Charm, that he had personally created, so that the messages would disappear when the owner's thumb brushed over it. He had done this to minimise the risk of the messages being seen, while also allowing for more variety in messages to be sent. Concentrating hard, as the charm required, he sent the most basic message he could, while still revealing what needed to be said – HE RETURNS.

Knowing a full meeting of both groups would happen once his informant and friends had arrived back in the country, he set about arranging a meeting for a select group of people to make a start towards fixing the worst of his mistakes. Albus quickly penned a note requesting their presence, plus an additional one to the owner of Headquarters to request its use once more, and duplicated it the necessary number of times, before calling on Fawkes, his loyal phoenix, to deliver each message directly to the recipients. Even if Voldemort had yet to make a move, he would not take any chances with the delivery of the message.

As Fawkes flamed away, Albus leaned back in his chair and decided that, once this whole mess was finally over, it was time to retire and enjoy the little of his life that he had left.

*HP&GW*

Following in behind his fellow professors, Minerva McGonagall and Severus Snape, Albus Dumbledore entered the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix, for the first time in five years. He immediately allowed his eyes to sweep the room as he noted how everyone he had written to had attended the meeting as requested.

His eyes landed on James Potter, a man who had changed immensely following the death of his wife and being left to raise two boys by himself. The man had fallen into old habits when one of his sons had been declared as the Boy Who Lived by The Daily Prophet, though he had not fallen so far that he had allowed the fame to go to his head. He had been protective of his sons but had allowed himself to become consumed by the need to train one son to the point of forgetting the needs of the other. They had not had much contact in the last couple of years, so he was unaware of how he would react to the news that they had all been wrong about so much of the past twenty years. Though, his sources had told him that the head of the Potter family had begun to mellow in the last couple of years, Albus strongly suspected, though, that James would still lose his temper when the truth came out.

His eyes shifted to Matt Potter, the oldest of the two Potter boys and the wizard who was known as the Boy Who Lived. He was sitting chatting happily with his two best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, a trio of friends who had been through so many adventures together that it had bonded them deeply. He was grateful for the presence for Matt's closest friends as they were able to keep him grounded in a way that James's friends had never been able to do throughout their time at Hogwarts. That was not to say, however, that he didn't have his moments of arrogance, but it was usually reserved for the Slytherins, most specifically Draco Malfoy. Reports from Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody - both of whom were present at tonight's meeting - noted that Matt was doing well within the Auror Department, accepting his place within the hierarchy and working hard to improve his skills and close cases. If anything, Matt was more likely to accept what was needed to be said without argument, though not without questions.

Taking one last look around the room, and allowing himself to subtly nod his head in thanks to Sirius Black as he did so, Albus stepped up to head of the table and called for quiet.

"My apologies for the urgency and short notice of this meeting," he began, "but, as you have been made aware by your Galleons, Lord Voldemort has regained his body once again."

Thankfully, the room did not erupt in shock or anger, allowing Albus to continue moving the meeting forward. However, before he was able to, he was unsurprisingly interrupted.

"Where did you receive this information from?" James Potter asked, his question silencing everyone. "From what I can gather, there has been no unexplained activity or disappearances that could even be connected to him."

"Like you, James, I have my sources," Albus replied politely. "The confirmation of his return, however, came from two sources. The first of them is in this room – Severus, would you please show the room the proof of Voldemort's return?"

Snape stood up from his chair at the back room and pulled up his left sleeve. There, as clear as day, was the Dark Mark for all to see. No one could deny that it was definitive proof that Voldemort had returned yet again.

"Thank you, Severus," Albus said.

Snape immediately put down his sleeve and retook his seat at the table.

"Severus came to me several days ago, just minutes after the Dark Mark had burned black to signify Voldemort regaining his body," Albus explained to the group. "We have no reason to believe that anyone else, bar his followers and my other source, are currently aware of his return. Severus, if you may?"

"Certainly, Headmaster," Snape responded as he stood to address the Order. "As the headmaster has already stated, the Dark Mark burned black a few days ago. I notified Professor Dumbledore of this development before returning to the Dark Lord's side. As expected, only those who escaped custody after the battle at Hogwarts remain in service currently. I suspect there will be an attempt, at some point, to break out those in Azkaban."

"We'll increase security, noting an anonymous source," Moody stated, looking to Kingsley Shacklebolt to make sure he agreed and would make it a priority.

"You should have time to make the necessary improvements," Snape responded. "It appears that the ritual used to return the Dark Lord to his body went wrong somehow."

Most were confused by this turn of events, though others either looked to Dumbledore or Snape in hope that this could be used to their advantage.

"Severus, what does this mean for us?" Remus Lupin asked, who was sitting between Matt and James. "Will this allow us to prevent him moving forward from his plans?"

Severus sighed, "I don't know."

"What do you mean, you don't know?" James snapped at his long-term rival.

"Exactly that, Potter!" Severus immediately bit back. "I don't know what this means for us or for him. The Dark Lord is refusing to admit to any weaknesses or any potential thoughts he has on why the ritual went wrong. Despite our forward planning, he was still able to obtain everything he needed for the same ritual he used previously. Wormtail performed the ritual exactly as he did previously, but he, too, refuses to speak of what could have possibly gone wrong. Until I know what he did wrong, I cannot possibly figure out what it means for anyone in the long term."

"Thank you, Severus," Albus said before anyone else could respond. "I believe my other source may know the reasoning behind why the ritual went wrong. Once they have returned to England, I will have them speak with you about it."

Severus nodded in response and immediately took his seat without argument.

"Due to the fact that we have very little knowledge, I am requesting that everyone remains vigilant while keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity or disappearances," Albus continued. "Once more information becomes available to us, we will then make a plan on how to proceed. I will also not be informing the Ministry of his return due to the lack of belief in his original return. I highly doubt they would believe us now, even with the change in Ministry personnel."

When no one refuted his suggestions, Albus continued, "For now, I will answer any questions or queries anyone has."

"Why did Voldemort not use me again for the ritual, Professor?" Matt Potter asked before anyone else could speak up.

Albus froze for a second, knowing that the time was fast approaching when he would have to reveal the truth he had been hiding from the young man for the past five years. He knew he would not be able to stall as he would be called out by the only other person in the room who knew the full extent of what he needed to admit to. However, he knew making sure Matt understood as much as he could was key to him accepting the coming turn of events.

"My source informed me that it was, in fact, your twin brother, Harry, who was used for the ritual," Albus finally answered. "I cannot say why he chose Harry over yourself, because either of you would have been preferable to anyone else as you both carry the protection from your mother's sacrifice that night. I believe that he felt you would have been better protected by those around you this time round and Harry was easily accessible due to his travelling through the continent."

"Did he…?" Matt gulped, scared to ask the question whose answer he feared. "Did Harry escape? Was he unharmed?"

"Unharmed, no," Albus confirmed, "but alive nonetheless."

Matt sighed in relief, genuinely concerned for his brother despite the breakdown of their relationship once they had begun attending Hogwarts. However, something about his former Headmaster's words stuck with him, reminding him of Voldemort's previous return.

"Sir, is Harry your other source?"

Silence hung in the air at Matt's question, before several gasps broke it as the realisation hit many of those in attendance that what Matt had asked made the most sense.

"Well, is it true, Dumbledore?" James angrily asked, having spent years trying to keep at least one of his sons away from the war between themselves and Voldemort. "Have you managed to drag the one child I have protected from all this into this godforsaken mess?"

"Tell them," a voice came, from the last person anyone could have expected. "Tell them or I will."

James' eyes flickered across to stare at his best friend, shocked and confused at the threat Sirius had just made.

"Yes," Albus sighed in defeat, "Harry is my source. He has been involved in this 'godforsaken mess', as you so eloquently put it, James, for many more years than most people realise. He notified me of Voldemort's return at the first moment he was able to, having needed the time to recover from his injuries and exhaustion."

The room remained silent, shocked by the Headmaster's revelation, not knowing there was more to come. Only three people, besides Albus, showed no reaction – Sirius, Arthur and Molly – all three having been notified by Harry, himself, about Voldemort's return on the same day he had notified the headmaster. However, no one seemed to notice their lack of reaction as they all tried to piece together what is was Albus was trying to say.

James, in his anger at Albus, seemed to forget for the moment that his best friend seemed to be aware of this little fact and had not felt the need to inform him. He instead chose to end the silence that seemed to continue to drag on.

"Why hide this?" he demanded to know. "Why drag him into all of this when you knew I wanted him kept away from it? I do not need to be worrying about him when Matt needs to restart his training to finish off Voldemort once and for all."

"Matt will not be training for anything," Albus stated clearly without argument. "There is a rough plan in place for Voldemort's final defeat and for it to be done quickly and quietly. Once I have all the necessary information from Harry and Severus, it will be finalised."

Even as protests came from many of those in attendance, with James, Remus and Ron being the loudest, Albus pushed on, knowing it was now time to reveal the truth, "I confess that I made a big mistake many years ago. In fact, we all did when we allowed ourselves to be convinced by the rumours that The Daily Prophet spread about Matt being the Boy Who Lived. That night, when I looked at their scars, I was not certain as to who had been the one to survive Voldemort's curse, but before I had the time to take a closer look at their scars, the story was already out there – Matt was considered to be the Boy Who Lived. It was only bolstered over the years by Matt's sense of adventure and how he was always caught up in much of the trouble that Voldemort caused. I made the mistake of allowing myself to believe the rumours to be true, that Matt was the child who survived Voldemort's cursed that night and was the one to cause his downfall…"

"…when, in fact, Harry was the Boy Who Lived," Hermione said, finishing Albus' confession for him. "He was the one named in the Prophecy. He was born as the seventh month dies, the youngest of the twins, but it was so easy to overlook him. He always kept to himself at Hogwarts and easily slipped into the background because he was so shy and quiet."

Hermione looked around the room, her gaze ending at her best friend. She knew that he did not feel like he was the one who had been named to defeat Voldemort, always feeling the pressure and the expectations around him to step up when it mattered. His fears and concerns had been right all along, and she feared what it might to do him, that he would make a drastic decision that would cause problems for everyone.

"She's right," Sirius quietly confirmed. "Both Harry and I have known the truth for years."

"No! No, no, no, NO!" James muttered before turning on Sirius. "I refuse to believe it! I refuse to believe you, or Harry, would keep something as important as this from me, from Matt! Anyway, there is no way we can be wrong. Matt has faced Voldemort three times and lived to tell the tale!"

The occupants of the room began to mutter amongst themselves, trying to figure out who was right or trying to understand how any of them could have made such a mistake. James continued to mutter to himself, refusing to accept the revelation, while Matt just stared straight ahead, not giving away how he was feeling. That was until someone smacking the table hard with two hands shocked them all.

"Harry has faced Voldemort as well!" Sirius snapped at James. "He has faced him multiple times and lived to tell the tale! He was the one to solve the riddle of the Chamber of Secrets and rescue little Ginny Weasley from certain death! He was the one who notified the Order, through me, when Arthur was attacked by Nagini! He was the one to notify the Order, once again, when Death Eaters appeared in the Department of Mysteries! And, he was the one who reduced Voldemort to a Wraith once again, when he and the Death Eaters infiltrated Hogwarts! So, you tell me, who really is the Boy Who Lived? Matt or Harry?"

James was too shocked to respond. No one responded as all of them could sense this was something Sirius had been holding in for years and he needed to get it off his chest. Even as Tonks turned to plead with Albus to stop Sirius from going too far, it was obvious that Sirius was going to continue now he had their attention.

"Let's make this clear now, James, so you know just how much you seemed to have overlooked when it comes to Harry: it was ME, not you, who raised him! It was ME who was there for him when he needed advice! It was ME he turned to when he realised the truth about who he was and what his scar might mean! It was ME, NOT YOU!"

Sirius paused and took a deep breath, knowing he needed to keep going and make sure James understood the consequences of the decisions he made over the years.

"Despite how much you tried to protect him, to keep him away from all of this, Harry was deeply entrenched in it all from the moment Voldemort decided to attack you and Lily! The moment that curse rebounded onto Voldemort sealed Harry's fate! Harry has worked tirelessly, and continues to do so, to do what needed to be done, going as far to sacrifice himself because he knew it needed to be done if he was going to protect the people he loved. And yet, Harry went and survived the Killing Curse again!"

"I don't understand," James muttered into response to all the information Sirius had just unloaded on him. No one else, not even Matt, made to intervene between the two old friends. "Have I failed Harry? Why didn't he tell me?"

Sirius looked around the room, not responding to James' questions, noting the shock and confusion on all but Molly, Arthur and Albus's faces. He was disgusted that all of them, but especially James and Matt, could overlook someone as special as his godson. He stood from his seat, no long feeling comfortable in the house he owned, and walked towards the door to leave. As he reached it, he stopped and turned, looking directly at James.

"Harry deserved so much better from you, James, and from you, Matt. You two, of all people, were the people he should have been able to rely on, to trust to be there for him, but you failed him! Lily would be so disappointed in the both of you!"

And with that, Sirius left behind a room full of shocked and confused occupants.