After Harry left Xavier's office Dr. Strange pushed himself into a fully standing position without any external support.
"I'm glad that's finished" he said, "there are not many beings that can be classified as pure evil. Even the Dread Dormammu has a moral code of sorts though it's not one that humans would recognize. Voldemort, however, seems to have none."
"Indeed he doesn't" said Dumbledore, "I'm not sure that he ever did. If he was willing to make multiple horcruxes it just proves that even more. The question now is how many did he make and where are they all?"
"That matter will have to be researched" said Dr. Strange as he took the box from Dumbledore and held it up, "it's possible that this soul shard can be used to find the others. I will have to look into the matter."
"Are you sure about this Stephen?" asked Dumbledore, "this hasn't been your concern before."
"I wasn't Sorcerer Supreme when Voldemort fell" was the answer, "and although I normally wouldn't interfere in a matter like this while it's still a local affair Charles asked me to look into Harry's scar and what's more he told me you were thinking of doing the same. Now that I've stepped in and removed the soul piece from Harry's scar it has become my affair as well as yours."
"I certainly welcome your help" said Dumbledore, "and I will support anything that will give Harry a better chance against Voldemort in the end." Xavier gave Dumbledore a sharp look at this but said nothing just then.
"I'll let you know" said Dr. Strange, "now I must return to my sanctum as I too am weary and must rest."
"Get home safely Stephen" said Xavier, "and thank you."
"Yes, thank you" said Dumbledore.
"You're welcome gentlemen" said Dr. Strange as he summoned his power and made a portal. He stepped through it and the portal closed behind him.
"Well thank goodness that's over" said Dumbledore.
"I agree" said Xavier, "will you be returning to Hogwarts now? Or can you stay for a while?"
"I have no plans for the rest of the day" said Dumbledore, "I would be glad to visit with you."
Xavier mentioned going down to the kitchen to get some lunch and Dumbledore agreed. They made their way downstairs where they found Scott, Bobby, and Warren all eating their own lunches. They all looked at Dumbledore in surprise and he looked at them in some surprise of his own as Warren's wings were visible and Bobby's right hand was covered in ice although being magical and living in the magical world he wasn't as surprised as a normal person would have been upon seeing Warren and Bobby for the first time. Xavier introduced them all.
"How do you do headmaster?" said Scott shaking the headmaster's hand, "Harry's told us about you. It's a pleasure to meet you."
"The pleasure's all mine my boy" said Dumbledore, "I'm happy to meet some of Harry's fellow mutants and I hope you and he are friends."
"We are" said Warren, "Harry told us that you helped put him in touch with the professor."
"That's right" said Dumbledore.
"I'm trying to decide if you look more like Merlin or Gandalf" said Bobby with a grin.
"I've been called both" Dumbledore said smiling himself, "I take it as a compliment when people associate me with such famous people and characters."
The conversation over lunch remained light in tone as Dumbledore became acquainted with Harry's new friends. He was favorably impressed by them and was glad Harry had met them. When lunch was over the three students went off to do other things while Xavier and Dumbledore returned to the office where Dumbledore conjured a tea service and served tea for the both of them as they talked.
They spoke of familiar matters for the most part. As longtime friends they reminisced about incidents from their pasts and discussed how things were with each other now. Xavier told Dumbledore how he had found each of his other students while Dumbledore regaled Xavier with amusing incidents from recent Hogwarts history. It was mid-afternoon when the conversation turned more serious.
"Albus" said Xavier, "I want to ask you about what you said to Dr. Strange before he left."
"And what would that be?"
"You said that you would support anything that gives Harry a better chance against Voldemort in the end" said Xavier.
"I remember" said Dumbledore.
"Are you absolutely certain that in the end Harry must face Voldemort?" asked Xavier.
"Unfortunately yes" said Dumbledore, "I have several reasons for thinking that but even if none of them were valid the fact is that if Voldemort returns to power he will never stop coming after Harry, if only to get revenge for his defeat."
"In that case" said Xavier as he nodded his head, "I have something to propose to you."
"I'm listening."
"I propose that Harry stay here" said Xavier. He quickly raised a hand to stop Dumbledore from speaking.
"Let me explain myself please" he said, "if Harry is fated to battle Voldemort than he needs to learn how to fight, really fight, and not just with magic. Is that something he can get at Hogwarts?"
"Not at this time" Dumbledore conceded, "the upper years can study battle magic and dueling but that's strictly at NEWT level which Harry won't reach for another three years."
"If Harry stays here and fully enrolls in my school" said Xavier, "he will get much more training to be able to defend himself. He will get trained in physical defense and in using his mutant powers as effectively as possible. He's a powerful mutant. I would like him to join my other students as part of my main project."
"And what is that?" asked Dumbledore, "if it comes from you, Charles, I can expect it to be good."
"My school," said Xavier, "like yours trains my students in the use of their powers to benefit humanity. But not all mutants are good just as not all wizards are good. My students are also being trained to protect the world from evil mutants."
"Much like the aurors defend the wizarding world from dark wizards" said Dumbledore,
"Yes" said Xavier nodding his head, "my students all have extra powers normal humans don't have so I call them X-Men for EX-tra powers. Or if you prefer to be more technical then look at it as a matter of genetics. We know that magic is passed down genetically. Let's call the gene that gives a person magic the 'M-Gene' and let's say that it can exist in both an active and an inactive state."
"Which easily explains the births of squibs" agreed Dumbledore, "their M-gene is inactive hence they cannot do magic."
"Right" said Xavier, "but they can pass the gene on to their children, and then to their grandchildren, and so on. Eventually, under circumstances that are not yet clear, the gene can reactivate in a child which is how you get those first generation magic users your world refers to as 'muggleborns.'
"For mutants there is a different gene. Let's call it the 'X-Gene.' If someone has this gene they are a mutant. What determines their powers is still unknown but science is ever growing. Harry has shown that it's possible to have both an M-gene and an X-gene though I know of no other cases of this so far. There will probably be others as time passes but it would appear right now that he's the first.
"Now the X-Men will be a team of mutants that I'm training that will have the mission of protecting humanity from evil mutants. If he consents I would like Harry to become one of my X-Men. That way not only will he learn to control his powers but he will also get the training and experience he needs to eventually face Voldemort."
"He certainly is no stranger to danger" Dumbledore said before giving a rueful grin at the rhyme, "and there's no doubt that Voldemort will continue to come after him. You're right that he'll need training to meet that threat."
Dumbledore pondered Xavier's words for several moments.
"You know" he said slowly, "this might actually work. Do you believe in prophecy Charles?"
"I know that there are such things as true prophecies" said Xavier, "although they happen a lot less often than people think."
"That's true" said Dumbledore, "furthermore there's no guarantee that a prophecy will come true. Some things, however, can make them more likely to happen than others. By itself belief in a prophecy can do a lot toward fulfilling it. I say this to you because there's a prophecy that has affected Harry's life and continues to do so."
"Oh?" said Xavier leaning forward, "what is it?"
"I'll tell you" said Dumbledore, "it was made to me and I've never told anyone the full contents of it. Voldemort learned the first part because there was an eavesdropper when the prophecy was made but thankfully he doesn't know the whole thing. You'll be the first one besides me to learn the whole prophecy. Several months before Harry was born I was interviewing a candidate to teach divination at Hogwarts when she went into a trance and said the following:
"The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives... The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies." (from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix)
"When the prophecy was first made we didn't know who it referred to. It was only after Harry was born that he became a possibility. There was also a second possibility of who it could have been.
"Voldemort himself is the one who determined that Harry was the child of the prophecy when he attacked Harry's family and was defeated leaving Harry with his famous scar. That, I believe, is how he 'marked him as his equal.' If Voldemort had not decided to go after Harry or the other candidate that wouldn't have happened.
"Despite there being a prophecy none of the first part had to happen, and the remainder of it doesn't have to happen either. If Harry and Voldemort were to agree to walk away from each other and never meet again then there's no reason for the rest of the prophecy to be fulfilled. I can easily see Harry agreeing to that but not Voldemort. He believes in the prophecy. That's why he went after Harry in the first place and why he'll keep coming after Harry regardless of any other options he might have. That traps Harry in the prophecy whether he believes in it or not.
"But this is where we have an opportunity. Remember the line about the 'power the Dark Lord knows not?' I always assumed that power was love which is something Voldemort doesn't understand. I still think that love will have an important part to play however I also think it's extremely unlikely that Voldemort has ever heard of mutants. He despises anything and everything that isn't magical. Mutants are not magical though they might seem like it, therefore they're beneath his notice. He certainly won't expect Harry to be one.
"Your idea is a good one" Dumbledore finished up, "Harry should stay here. He should become one of your X-Men. I can also make arrangements for him to continue his magical education here in the U. S. since he'll still need that – if, that is, he agrees with this proposal and chooses to stay here."
"Yes" said Xavier, "we'll leave the final decision to him. I'll call him here now and we'll both speak to him about it. I also think you should tell him the prophecy."
"I will" said Dumbledore with nod, "it's pretty clear that keeping it from him now would be counterproductive and he does have a right to know it. I haven't told it to him so far because I felt he was too young but I think the time has now come to tell him."
Harry woke up from his nap when he felt Professor Xavier calling him. He sat up on his bed and remembered everything that had happened earlier that day. As he stood up he realized that he felt really good. The weariness was gone and he felt better than he had in a very long time, maybe ever. He opened his closet and looked in the mirror at his scar. It was still there but he thought there was something fundamentally different about it. The removal of Voldemort's soul piece seemed to have changed its very nature. Before it was where a parasite had been leeching off of him, now it was just a scar. It would never go away but at least it wouldn't be a possible magical hindrance anymore. He shut his closet and left his room to see what the professor wanted now.
A short time later he knocked on Xavier's office door. After Xavier told him to come in Harry entered the room.
"You wanted to see me professor? He began before seeing Dumbledore, "oh Professor Dumbledore, I didn't know you were still here."
"But as you can see I am" said Dumbledore with his usual twinkle, "Charles and I have been having a most stimulating conversation but we'll get to that. I trust that you are none the worse for wear after your ordeal earlier today?"
"I'm fine" said Harry.
"Madame Pomfrey says that you always say you're fine" said Dumbledore, "but I understand. I was much the same way when I was your age. I must say that you look good, better, in fact than you did earlier today."
"It's as if a weight I didn't know I had has been removed" said Harry, "I feel lighter, stronger even."
"And you may find that you are now that the parasite has been removed" said Xavier, "but don't overdo it the next time you exercise."
"I'll try not to sir" said Harry.
"I'm glad that you're feeling so well" said Dumbledore, "I've met your fellow students here and they seem like good kids."
"I think they are" said Harry.
"Would it be safe to say" asked Dumbledore, " that you've been enjoying your summer here?"
"Yes sir, a lot" said Harry, "I'll be sorry when it comes time to leave."
"Ah" said Dumbledore, "that's actually what we want to talk to you about..."