Harry Potter, Lone Traveler, currently known as Marek Ilumian considered what was happening.
For the last thousands of visits, for the most part he had been being moved from place to place by the Creator directly (uncommon) or (more common) by the entities that God used to primarily create the entire multiverse: The beings who exuded the forces of Order and Chaos.
However, he was a god of knowledge and, through observation, he learned much.
He knew that he was effectively immortal until he willed himself to a state where he would no longer be a part of the web of existence. And yet, like his boss, still he would abide – even if he no longer "looked out."
Many Gods in the history of, well, everything had willed themselves to disconnect. They had become content, tired, obsolete, uninterested, and many other things. Sometimes they attached themselves to certain locations which would leave an echo within a particular world or set of worlds. It created many sites that were considered holy. Or damned.
It was a both a happy and sad fact that evil was as much a part of the multiverse as good.
Forces were in balance. For every electron created, a positron. For every negatron, a proton. For every joy, a sorrow. For every pain, a pleasure. Matter and anti-matter. Good and evil. Free will and predestination. There was always a balance.
Harry, by his very nature, wished to increase the good. He knew that meant that in other places and times, evil would also increase. And for anyone who perceived this less perfectly, this might lock them into indecision and an unwillingness to act. Why increase the good when evil was increased just as much?
And yet, he also could see that all of creation actually existed within a very, very small bias: The Creator's nature leaned ever so slightly in one direction. That presented itself in various small ways – or profound, depending on viewpoint.
It meant that creation was ever so slightly balanced toward existence than non-existence, good was ever so slightly more than evil. Order was ever so slightly more effective than Chaos. Some mortal scientists had found this in their calculations. For every billion particles of anti-matter that were created, there were a billion and one particles of matter.
And thus the whole of experienced things existed. With God being ever so slightly balanced toward existence than non-existence, he would be perceived as an infinite creator. With God balanced every so slightly toward good rather than evil, mortals would perceive him as an infinite good.
And as far as what mortals could perceive, even as far as most gods and immortals could perceive, He was. Ever so slight in the Creator of All could only be perceived as infinitely such. If God moved in one direction, the whole of existence had no choice but to follow. And so he knew if he was considerate and respectful of the rules, good could always be increased more than evil.
Harry could also perceive that other gods had previously seen what he could see, known what he knew. And as a result many of these gods started moving onto higher levels of creation, trying to increase good, existence, joy, pleasure on grand scales.
Harry disagreed with that approach. Even the smallest level of good made a difference. And so why would he need to separate himself from the level of mortal interaction to "increase Good on a grand scale"?
His current assignment would take a while. While he had made a difference, he knew the final steps were months off. He knew that involving himself too much would defeat the purpose for which he was here: Ensure the locals learned for themselves how to continue on into the future under their own free will. His direct involvement would decrease free will.
And so Harry was bored.
And, as such, he decided that he would go out into the multiverse and exercise his abilities in a way that actually had tangible effects on individual lives. He didn't need to concentrate on the big things – the little things were just as important.
And so, after one more good look around to ensure that things were moving along, he willed himself away. He concentrated on finding someone who was deeply conflicted and teetering toward a direction of pain. He disappeared from his current location of Epsilon 3 in a show of light.
Tony DiNozzo was in the room with the woman he loved. He had spent weeks tracking her down.
He was hunkered down next to her and, guessing where her pain came from, said, "You had to kill Ari. One person loving him can't change that."
"But I loved him too! Just as I loved my father and my mother and Tali! How can I not think that for every man I've killed, there is not someone out there, crying for him?"
Tony said somewhat more stoically, "It's a part of the job. You've gotta to leave it at that."
"Deena blamed me." She said. However, before she could finish her statement, something quite unexpected occurred.
Both of them noticed immediately the light that seemed to hit the face of the other. Both of them turned, their heart rates increasing as both knew that someone was after them, focusing more on Ziva than Tony at the moment.
And yet, they did not reach for their weapons because what they saw was something that was outside of their experiences and didn't seem to be signaling an attack.
In the middle of the room, a human-shaped light had appeared. It seemed to be wreathed in blue fire, like no other fire that they had ever seen (both had seen a lot of fires in their life).
They watched as the light coalesced into a tangible form and there was actually a man (or what looked like one) within the fire. And then the fire winked out.
The man looked at the two with a smile.
In Hebrew, in the dialect of Ziva's childhood, the man spoke, "Hello, Ziva Miriam David." He looked at Tony and said, "Hello, Anthony Domani DiNozzo, Junior."
Ziva was under a lot of stress and so it could be forgiven that she was a bit short. "Who are you?"
The man chuckled. "I am a friend." He motioned to Tony and said, "Tony, please sit down. We should talk."
Tony, who was just as worried but more rational, did as asked.
The man motioned and created a chair very much in the same style as the others in the room. And then he sat down in it and looked at the two.
"So, Ziva. You have decided that your childhood friend was right and that all of this, all of the sorrows and pains that you have seen, experienced, and even given out are all your fault. That sorrow and pain are the only things that your very life creates?"
Ziva was taken aback. "It is what I see."
"And so you feel that you must pay penance by experiencing the pain of separating from those who have chosen to love you. How very … Dominican of you." He looked over at Tony.
"Tell her, Tony. Tell her what Deena said to you when you confronted her in the hospital." Tony looked at Ziva for a moment, hesitating. "Yes, it will create pain for her. But it is necessary."
Tony sighed and, looking at Ziva, "She said that if any other agent had shown up asking questions that she would not have lied. She asked why Ziva should get the man she loves if it was denied to her?"
With that Ziva tried to hide the tears that were building up. She tried to hide it behind her Mossad mask. But Tony could see and he hated that he was giving the woman he loved more pain.
The man looked at Ziva and said, "I see within your mind that you have decided that you must pay for your sins. You must pay for the pain and the sorrow and the destruction that you have seen and done. You will give up your badge and gun and pay a penance to Heaven by removing yourself from that world." Ziva nodded ever so briefly, her resolve solidifying.
He looked at Tony and said, "And she is right. There is a penance to be paid. Heaven requires her to give up her badge and gun. Heaven requires that she no longer take a life that is not directly and immediately threatening her or one she loves. She will no longer be a part of the forces that fight."
Ziva felt both sorrow at that, as well as some vindication. She knew that she deserved it. Tony felt immediate betrayal on her behalf. Why should she suffer?
Harry willed the phoenix fire within him to become visible to mortal eyes. He was surrounded by light and both could see it as he stood up, the chair disappearing. "Instead Heaven has a new job for you. Will you accept it?"
Ziva stood and bowed her head. Tony stood with her, wanting to cry foul. But he knew that he could not protest. Ziva said, "I will accept whatever penance I am assigned."
Harry stood before her and took on a stern tone – nothing else would get through to this woman in pain. "You will live a life where you will increase the joy in the world, the joy of others … and your own."
Ziva looked up sharply at that into the smile which did not match the tone of this visitor's voice.
"Even now, you hold within you the developing form of the next generation, growing, becoming stronger, becoming a new life within the world." Ziva gasped and put her arm in front of her belly protectively – a common reaction for women. "You will give birth to her, and care for her, and provide comfort for her – and for any other that might follow. You will teach them of the world, of right and wrong, and what makes a person good or evil. You will be a mother. And to those whom you love you will be a friend, and even family. Perhaps even a lover and wife – but that is your choice to make. Heaven charges you with increasing the joy within the world."
He looked at Tony. "And you will be a father. You will work to protect her, and her child, and – perhaps if you are persuasive – any other children she might be willing to let you get on her. You will protect others. For a time longer you will carry a badge and a gun and protect the world. But your first duty is to this woman and the next generation. And when it comes time to choose, you will choose the future over the past."
He looked at them and said, "Come and stand before me."
Both stepped forward until they were within reach.
Harry willed his eyes to produce tears, two from each eye. They dropped onto his hand.
"Tears of sorrow," he said as the first two fell. "Tears of joy," he said as the next two dropped.
He allowed them to mix and captured half on one finger. He reached out with this finger and rubbed it against Ziva's forhead, willing the phoenix tears to absorb through her skin. He then took the other half and rubbed them into Tony's forehead.
He looked at them and said, "I think that in the future, you both should remember something: God is a part of every single thing within the world." With that he nodded and turned away. At one point he paused and looked back. "You should also remember that you exist within the world as well." With that he winked at them and disappeared into his customary ball of light and disappeared.
With that Tony and Ziva looked at where the being had disappeared from and then they looked at each other. Tony wanted to show her what he wanted and so he reached out to gather her in an embrace. And although she hesitated for just a very, very brief moment, she did relax into it and allowed herself the comfort of it, and even the offered love.
And although they had to discuss it, Tony finally convinced her to marry him. And as they returned to the states, Tony back to NCIS and Ziva to a life away from that, they both noticed that they were much healthier than they had a right to expect. Tony's lungs and knee, while still carrying scar tissue, were much improved. And many of the hurts that Ziva had experienced and had remnants of disappeared.
It would not be a perfect life – but it would be joyful.