Books of Truth

by DramaticClimax

Stuck in a room with no way of escaping except to read the books laid before them, fate grants one boy a chance at living a life he had wished for, with the one person he had been drawn to, time and time again. SLASH

1. BOOKS OF TRUTH CHAPTER ONE

Pre-Story Information

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So, I got a review from Dedication to Runic Healing saying that it was against the rules to have a non-story entry. Okay, merging this and chapter one together then. Gives me a chance to fix that line breaker thing problem (I have such a way with words)! Thank you (for like the third time) for pointing that out!

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READ THIS PAGE BEFORE YOU READ THE STORY. I have put all legal information for this story into this bit and you will not see it again in the story. IF you do not read this beginning bit and you find something that you deem unsavory, I will not be held accountable for you not reading the information that has been laid out here.

Name of Story: Books of Truth

Rating: M/Mature/Adult

Number of Chapters: 17

Summary: Stuck in a room with no way of escaping except to read the books laid before them, fate grants one boy a chance at living a life he had wished for, with the one person he had been drawn to, time and time again.

Disclaimer: I do not and will not ever own any faction of the Harry Potter franchise. I am not writing this to mock or belittle Rowling's work, in truth, I am rather fond of the canon story (minus the Harry/Ginny bit). I am writing this for my own enjoyment and posting it for your entertainment. I am not making money off of this, nor do I plan on doing so ever.

Main Characters: Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley, George Weasley, Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, Narcissa Malfoy, Draco Malfoy, Voldemort, Remus Lupin, Sirius Black, Nymphadora Tonks, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood

There will be character bashing. It will include the Weasleys (minus the ones listed above, Charlie and Bill), Hermione Granger, Albus Dumbledore and the Ministry for Magic.

Pairings: I am open to pairing suggestions. I am willing to write almost any pairing…to an extent.

Here is a list of pairings I WILL NOT ever even contemplate writing:

Dumbledore/Anyone or thing (ew. Ewno. You cannot make me.)

Filch/Anyone or thing (though I might throw in a couple scenes implying Filch/Mrs. Norris, because I know everyone has thought about it at some point in the series)

Hagrid/Anyone or thing (Minus Madame Maxine. They're just way too adorable)

I think you get my point, right? If you physically shudder at the thought of them together, please don't suggest it. I'd like to keep my meals in my stomach, where they belong…well, until I digest them at least.

Warnings: Abuse, Neglect, Violence, Slash, Character Death, Language, Adult Situations, Sexual Themes, Morbid Thinking

If you feel like I forgot to add a warning, please tell me and I will edit this information page as promptly as possible.

Other Notes: I know I just reeled you all in with that pooping joke up there. I can feel you all swarming…anyway…

This will be a very dark story. I have a…slightly twisted sense of humor, but I'm sure you all will get used to it.

I'm very pro-Slytherin and it will leak into this story. The only people who I have ever successfully written with only a tiny smidge of Slytherin tendencies is Ron and that's just because it's rather easy to write him as the oaf he is.

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Chapter One

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Harry Potter sat next to his friend, Ronald Weasley, rubbing his temples, trying to stave off a newly emerging headache caused by their incessant bickering. 'I wish they would just bugger each other already and shut the bloody hell up…' He thought morosely, stabbing at his eggs with a fork. He felt the air shift around him and he looked up to see Luna gliding toward him.

"Hello Harry." She said quietly, looking intently up at the windows that the owls usually flew into. "I can smell change in the air. It's very pungent, almost overwhelmingly so." Her voice came out a little edgier then normal, causing Harry to be on guard. He peered around the hall, catching eyes with a few select people before gesturing discretely, but pointedly at Luna, before staring up at the owl entrances.

Not even five minutes after, there was a flurry of wings as the owls swooped in. Eight people around the hall vanished in thin air the moment their hands touched the parchment of the letters, leaving chaos in their wake.

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At the exact moment the people in Hogwarts received their letters, seven other people in various locations also vanished, no matter what they were doing, leaving no trace of them ever being there at all.

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Back at Hogwarts, Headmaster Dumbledore strode quickly over to the spot his weapon was once sitting.

Untying the letter from a now distinctly ruffled looking owl, he unfurled it. As he read what the letter stated, color slowly drained out of his face.

You have tempted thee fates for thee last time, Albus. Now you shall get yours.

Rushing from the Great Hall, the old man frantically raced up to his office, hoping beyond hope that the boy wonder would not see through his carefully constructed charade.

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In a dark, dank cave, fifteen people popped in, each looking as ruffled as the next, many cursing the fates and any god that may have possibly been listening. Harry slowly cracked his eyes open, only to slam them shut with a groan. "Well, well. Fancy seeing you here, Potter." Climbing up cautiously, Harry grabbed for his wand, only to hit air. "The fuck?" He cried out, digging deeper into his pocket. He quickly scanned the room, only to find that the occupants were in the same predicament as him, except for Luna, but he was mildly aware that she probably already knew. Walking over to her, he stared at her for only a moment, before she turned her head to the center of the room.

"We shan't keep thy lady waiting, Korakas. She seems rather anxious for the truth to be revealed." Harry nodded slowly, heading over to the center of the room, where a small group of chairs sat, looking quite out of place in the drippy cave. As he drew closer, a small table appeared in the center of the group of chairs, on top of which was a stack of books and a note. Walking cautiously to the note, he tentatively reached out and touched the parchment, letting out a deep sigh of relief when nothing untoward happened to him.

Picking up the letter, he pivoted on his heel, staring at the scene behind him with mild amusement. On one side of the room, stood Lucius, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy, along with Severus Snape and Voldemort himself, on the other was Ginny, George, Fred, Neville, Sirius, Remus and Tonks, both sides glaring at the other. He glanced over to Luna, who was also glancing between them with very thinly veiled amusement, only just hidden by her normal dreamy façade. "Right…what say you and I read this letter while the children play their games?" Holding the letter tightly in his hands, he skimmed the contents.

Hello, Korakas.

I'm sure you and the occupants of the room, minus your Ravenclaw, are wondering why you are here. I have grown weary of watching the events of your life and not doing much of anything to change the course of things.

You must understand, I'm doing this for you. Not for the 'greater good' as Albus Dumbledore calls it. You have already seen through that man's half-truths, you have already started doubting him.

Please call the people in the room to sit in the chairs. I have no doubt that they will become one by the end of this.

"Erm…" He started, faltering when he noticed that the two sides seemed to be almost ready to come to blows. He sighed softly and took a deep breath, before yelling, "FREDDRICK WEASLEY. Come here, this instant!" Fred, who had been in a deep glaring match with Severus, looked up quickly, "Yes, mu- HARRY…" He whined, trotting over to the boy, conveniently breaking the death glare match between all of the occupants. "I really…REALLY hate when you do that. You impersonate mum's voice so well, it's almost creepy." Harry cocked an eyebrow, smirking at Fred. "One of my many talents, Dolos." Turning to face the rest of the occupants, he announced, "If you are quite finished…I believe we should sit and figure out a way to get out of this mess. Don't you agree, Deimos?" George nodded, trudging over to Harry. "Now, come! And don't even start with me, I know all of you want to figure a way out of this mess as much as I do and Merlin forbid that we have to get along for long enough to do so." He stated blandly, rolling his eyes.

When only the Gryffindors moved, he groaned in frustration. "Honestly, where is the Slytherin self-preservation? Are you all going to cower against the wall or are you going to get your arses over here and help us get out of this?" He asked snidely, his lip curling. "Careful there, Korakas, your snake side is showing." Neville deadpanned as he plopped down into a chair, causing Harry to cough in amusement. "I'll show you a fucking snake." He growled under his breath. Hearing a snarl, he turned back to the people who were still standing, getting the full brunt of very evil looks. He snorted softly, shrugging his shoulders. "Okay, you can stay standing, I don't give a fuck."

"Language, Mr. Potter." Severus growled out lowly, gritting his teeth. "English, Severus." Harry jibbed, grinning lopsidedly. Sirius howled out in laughter, catching the attention of the Slytherins in the room. Draco's face drained of color and his back pressed further into the wall. Harry blinked before turning to face the people who were sitting. "Right, so this letter basically says that all of this…" he motioned around the room with the hand holding the letter. "Is for me. That it was time for the Sheepherder's half-truths and lies to come out." He giggled softly, before looking down at the letter again, reading out where he had left off.

Let this be known, the books situated on the table in the center must be read before any of you can leave. I must tell you that there is something Dumbledore has not told you, there is something he has done that is unforgivable, you see Korakas, there is a prophecy, one made for you and Tom Riddle.

Harry tilted his head at that and then stiffened when he heard footsteps from behind him. Peering over his shoulder, he saw Voldemort walking slowly over to the rows of chairs, staring at the letter intently, closely followed by Severus, who looked slightly paler then normal.

But, I shan't tell you about this until after you have read these books. More incentive to read these, correct? We shall only be going through the first four years of one Harry Potter's schooling, as anything more would either be confusing or showing a glimpse of the future that you were all on before starting this, which even I am not allowed to show.

I believe you will find that all basic needs will be seen to, just ask when needed and they will be provided.

Neville sat forward and announced, "I really need to use the restroom, may this be seen to?" There was a sudden shift in the ground as four walls sprung up around the boy. Everything was silent for a minute or two, before the walls came down again, with Neville standing in front of the chair. "Well. That is rather useful. It turns into a fully functional and stocked bathroom." Neville murmured as he sat back down in his chair. "Though it is really disconcerting when the chair suddenly turns into a loo underneath you." Harry coughed into his hand and peered around at the rest of the group. "Anyone else need anything?" Ginny jumped up and stated, "I need food! You took us out during breakfast." She stated to the ceiling crossly. There were murmurs of agreement from the people there. Tables appeared in front of everyone, each covered with a different meal. Ginny squealed happily and dug in.

"I think the room provides us with whatever our favorites are, mixed with whatever we're cravings." Harry murmured offhandedly, tucking into his meal as well. "Oh, Harry, that reminds me, why does it seem that the only meat you eat is chicken and fish?" Neville asked, staring down at the plate of food in front of the boy, which was currently devoid of any meat. Harry shrugged, "I don't really know. I just seem to never eat them. Never thought about it." He stared down at his plate. "Eh, now that I think about it, stuff like that has always grossed me out. Probably because that's all my uncle and cousin ate and they're…" He wrinkled his nose, looking over to the twins, who had seen them personally. They both shuddered, "We see-"

"-what you mean, Kor." Harry snorted, glaring at George. "Why in Merlin's name did you decide to shorten my nickname?" George shrugged, grinning widely. Harry stared at him for a moment longer, before turning back to his food. "…Anyway. I guess we should start reading the books. The rest of the note basically just reiterates that we won't be able to leave until we finished reading and states that we should get our wands back when we can leave and that they are safe for the moment. On top of that, if one tries to resort to physical violence, all pain they inflict on their target will be brought back upon him or her tenfold." He finished with a slight shrug.

"That was a brilliant speech Harry." Fred started.

"The shrug at the end-"

"-really brought the whole thing together."

Both twins grinned at Harry, who merely sent them the one finger salute. "Ginny, could you do the honors?" Harry murmured over to Ginny, as she was already done, her table sinking down into the floor. "Right-o!" She giggled out, reaching forward to grab a book. Reading the title, she burst out laughing, clutching her stomach. "Oh Merlin, Kor, just…" She fell into another peal of laughter. Her brothers stood and walked over to the book, reading the title, before they two joined their sister. "What? What is the title?" Gasping for air, Ginny choked out, "The t-title is…" she took a deep breath and grinned at Harry wickedly, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Harry groaned and hit his head against the table, glaring at the Gryffindors, all of whom were laughing at his expense. "Oh, laugh it up. Just have a big old laugh at Harry bloody Potter." He half growled, half murmured, wishing for the floor to eat him up.

He glanced over at the Slytherins, noting that Draco looked like he was just barely holding in his laughter, while the others looked aloof or mildly disgusted. Harry sighed and ran a hand over his face. "Okay, who is going to read first?" Harry asked, looking around. Ginny sighed contently and opened the book, announcing, "I'll go first. We'll pass the book counter-clockwise, everyone should read at least once." Harry nodded, thinking along the same lines. Everyone else made noises of agreement, though many of the Slytherins, minus Narcissa, who looked extremely interested in the books, had a reluctant look on their face.

"So…the first chapter is…The Boy Who Lived"

Harry groaned louder, rubbing his head against the table, listening to the crunching noises his nose was making when he pushed it against the table. "Fucking name follows me. Like a bloody ghost. Or Voldemort," The man smirked when he saw almost everyone in the room jerk or shudder at his name, "here." Harry sighed, rolling his head so he could stare at Ginny.

"Wait, I just have one question. Why is Black here? And why are none of you upset that he's here?" Harry glanced at Lucius, giving him a look that clearly said, 'Are you fucking kidding me?' Then glanced at Voldemort, before rolling his eyes. "If my assumptions are correct, that this is a book for every year of school, then you'll probably find out in the third book."

Ginny cleared her throat and stated loudly, "Moving on!" and so, the reading began.

Mr. and Mrs. Dursley,-

"WHAT?" Okay, the reading only somewhat began. Ginny glared at Harry for interrupting her. "I'm sorry, but what? Why are they in the story? I thought this was just going to be about school!" Harry asked, frantically trying to grab for the book, only to find himself stuck to the chair. "Who are the Dursleys?" Draco asked, his head cocked in curiosity. George sighed and stated sullenly, "They're Harry's family. Sadly." He peered over at Harry who was intermittently growling at the book and sneering at his chair. "KORAKAS!" Harry started, staring wide-eyed at his brother. "Calm down. I know the room can probably provide us with potions, but I'd really rather not have to force-feed a calming draught down your throat. Need I remind you what happened to me and Dolos the last time?" Harry sighed and nodded, peering guiltily through his fringe. "Oh Kor, we don't like this anymore then you do, but there's no other way of getting out of this, we checked." George held up his hand when Severus started to say something, his face twisted into a sneer.

"We can't tell you how we checked. Not yet anyway. I'm sure you'll find out soon enough." Was the only answer they got to a question unasked.

-of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense.

"That's just boring." Ginny murmured. Harry nodded sagely, giggling softly. "You have no idea."

Mr. Dursley was the director of a firm called Grunnings, which made drills.

"What are drills?" Came the question from Draco. Harry faltered, not expecting that question. Furrowing his brow, he thought of the best way to answer. "Er…well…they're…like wands, I guess you could say. Except they only have one purpose, which is to make holes in something, it helps muggles build things, since they very well can't use magic to hold houses together." He stated with a shrug, before adding as an afterthought, "They run on something called Electricity. That in itself is rather hard to explain, but I guess you could call it the muggle version of magic…its what they use to power all of their things." He scratched the back of his head, staring over at his family. "If you're looking for a better explanation, then you should probably look it up in a muggle studies book."

Ginny snickered softly before turning back to the book.

He was a big, beefy man with hardly any neck, although he did have a very large mustache. Mrs. Dursley was thin and blonde and had nearly twice the usual amount of neck, which came in very useful as she spent so much of her time craning over garden fences, spying on the neighbors.

Severus narrowed his eyes, getting a sinking feeling in his stomach. That description sounded oddly familiar.

The Dursleys had a small son called Dudley and in their opinion there was no finer boy anywhere.

All of the Gryffindors snorted, "You know, I think your relative's views are slightly skewed." Ginny stated dryly. Harry chuckled softly, shrugging his shoulders.

The Dursleys had everything they wanted, but they also had a secret, and their greatest fear was that somebody would discover it. They didn't think they could bear it if anyone found out about the Potters.

"And why is that?" Narcissa asked softly, furrowing her brow. "I remember Lily. Even though she was Muggleborn, she was still an amazing witch and was always nice to us Slytherins." She sighed, "I do miss her." She peered over at Severus, who seemed to have a pained look on his face. "Many of us do." Harry shrugged, looking sullen. "You'll probably find out soon enough."

Mrs. Potter was Mrs. Dursley's sister,-

Severus jumped up, snarling, "That man! When I get my hands on Dumbledore…" He took a deep breath, looking mildly embarrassed as he attempted to keep up his mask. Harry stared at him, his eyebrows in his hairline. "Is there something wrong, Professor?" Ginny coughed out something that sounded roughly like, 'Stupid Question' but was otherwise silent.

The man sighed, turning to look at Harry. "Did you ever look at your parents' will?" Harry's eyes widened as he sat forward. "My parents had a will?" There was a sharp intake of breath from Lucius, "Of course they had a will! They knew there was a possibility that they would die, so they took every necessary precaution to make sure you lived a happy life, even if they weren't there to raise you themselves. I had always wondered why I had never seen the will, but now that I think about it, there is a clause that says that the child of the person or persons in the will must read the will first before anyone else may." Running his hand through his hair, the man stalked back to his seat, resting his head in his hands. "Oh, Albus…you stupid old fool." Harry, mildly confused, asked, "What does any of this have to do with my relatives?"

His head still in his hands, the man gave a slightly muffled reply, "One thing I do know about the will is that it states that under any circumstances, you are never to go to live with your mother's sister. Anyone who knew Lily, knew how much her sister hated magic. How jealous she was of Lily for having magic. If that Mr. Dursley person is anything like her, I can't even imagine…" Harry heard the man's voice catch at the end. Looking over to his friends, who looked just as amazed at the man's ability to show emotions, he gathered his courage and stood up, walking over to the distraught man. Taking his face into his hands, he stared into the man's eyes, slightly startled when he noticed that there were tears gathered in them. "Sir…I don't know how much my mum meant to you, though if your reaction is anything to go by, she certainly meant a lot not only to you, but to many people. Let me just make one thing clear. No matter what you did, no matter your hand in this, you have no blame in me being put with the Dursleys." Lucius noticed that the boy spat the name out like it was poison.

"I don't really understand why you are this upset with this, nor am I asking you to explain it." He released the man's face. "At least not yet." He slipped back to his chair, his hands folded under his chin. "I think Professor Snape needs a moment to regroup himself." The rest of the Gryffindors nodded before covering their eyes with their hands, giggling like mad.

The Slytherins stared at them, before Draco started to chuckle softly, hiding his smile behind his hand. Harry gasped, peeking out from between his fingers. "Hell hath frozen over! Draco Malfoy is not only smiling, note smiling, not smirking, but laughing!" Harry announced loudly, causing all of the Gryffindors to drop their hands to watch Draco. "Such an amazing sight! The Draco Malfoy relaxed in an unnatural habitat for it!" Ginny stage whispered, causing the other Gryffindors to keel over with laughter. Severus coughed into his hand, remembering the muggle animal shows that he and Lily used to watch.

It took ten minutes for them to calm down and thirty more minutes to explain what had been so funny about Ginny's statement. Soon, with a pouting Draco Malfoy, his parents just barely hiding their amusement and both Voldemort and Severus hiding their faces somehow ("I didn't know that Voldemort could laugh, either…") with just their hands, the Gryffindors all peered at the book, in favor of patting themselves on the back for a mission accomplished, while Luna stared on dreamily, secretly rejoicing that Fate's plan already seemed to be in motion.

-but they hadn't met for several years; in fact, Mrs. Dursley pretended she didn't have a sister,-

"And Lily pretended she didn't have a sister as well." Severus murmured softly.

-because her sister and her good-for-nothing husband-

Sirius and surprisingly Remus let out loud growls at the book, Remus' eyes flashing Amber.

-were as unDursleyish-

"That is not a word!" Came the indignant cry from Voldemort. "Stupid muggles."

-as it was possible to be. The Dursleys shuddered to think what the neighbors would say if the Potters arrived in the street.

"Which is rather funny, seeing as the neighbors really never had anything nice to say about the Dursleys." Harry stated softly, mildly amused.

The Dursleys knew that the Potters had a small son, too, but they had never even seen him. This boy was another good reason for keeping the Potters away; they didn't want Dudley mixing with a child like that.

"A child like what, Harry?" Sirius asked, peering over at Harry, who just shook his head quickly, curling his legs up into his chest, wrapping his arms around them.

When Mr. and Mrs. Dursley woke up on the dull, gray Tuesday our story starts, there was nothing about the cloudy sky outside to suggest that strange and mysterious things would soon be happening all over the country. Mr. Dursley hummed as he picked out his most boring tie for work,-

"All of his ties were boring. I wonder how he managed to find one that was more boring then the next." Harry mused, a smirk stretching across his face as he remembered what he had done to one of Vernon's ties.

-and Mrs. Dursley gossiped away happily as she wrestled a screaming Dudley into his high chair.

"That sounds absolutely lovely." Narcissa said sarcastically, staring at the book in disdain.

None of them noticed a large, tawny owl flutter past the window.

"Why was an owl flying in a muggle neighborhood in broad daylight?" Sirius asked to himself, a small tingling of dread creeping into his stomach. No owls had ever acted like that until…that…day.

At half past eight, Mr. Dursley picked up his briefcase, pecked Mrs. Dursley on the cheek, and tried to kiss Dudley good-bye but missed, because Dudley was now having a tantrum and throwing his cereal at the walls.

"How awful! What an absolutely horrid child." Narcissa muttered, gripping the arms of her chair. For any other child to be raised around that boy…She glanced over at Harry, who was staring into space as he listened to Ginevra read.

"Little tyke," chortled Mr. Dursley as he left the house. He got into his car and backed out of number four's drive.

It was on the corner of the street that he noticed the first sign of something peculiar — a cat reading a map.

Harry snorted, "That's gotta be Professor McGonagall." The other people in the room, minus Voldemort, nodded in Amusement. Voldemort looked on in confusion, but didn't voice his question.

For a second, Mr. Dursley didn't realize what he had seen - then he jerked his head around to look again. There was a tabby cat standing on the corner of Privet Drive, but there wasn't a map in sight. What could he have been thinking of? It must have been a trick of the light.

"A trick of light? He cannot be that stupid." Lucius pondered in bemusement, his eyebrow cocked slightly. "Oh, I assure you," Harry started, shaking his head, "there are no limits to stupidity when it comes to the Dursleys."

Mr. Dursley blinked and stared at the cat. It stared back. As Mr. Dursley drove around the corner and up the road, he watched the cat in his mirror. It was now reading the sign that said Privet Drive - no, looking at the sign; cats couldn't read maps or signs. Mr. Dursley gave himself a little shake and put the cat out of his mind. As he drove toward town he thought of nothing except a large order of drills he was hoping to get that day.

"I wonder if he got that order of drills." Harry wondered, tilting his head slightly. "He was always in a good mood when he got a shipment of drills." He stated offhandedly when he noticed the looks he was receiving.

But on the edge of town, drills were driven out of his mind by something else. As he sat in the usual morning traffic jam, he couldn't help noticing that there seemed to be a lot of strangely dressed people about. People in cloaks.

"How is that strange?" Lucius asked, his lip slightly curled. Harry glanced over at the man and asked, "Does muggle clothing seem strange to you?" At Lucius' nod, he continued, "Then isn't is safe to assume that clothing of the Wizarding World would seem strange to muggles?" The man thought for a moment, before nodding slowly. "I guess I never looked at it that way, Mr. Potter. I take it that that is why we wizards wear muggle styles when we go into a place that is densely packed with muggles." Harry made a noncommittal sound. "I believe that is more because of the Statute of Secrecy, Mr. Malfoy. I really do believe that wizards should pay more attention to that. It is also why I don't particularly agree with your," he stared pointedly at Voldemort, "methods. I agree with your cause, but not the means you take to achieve the ends." He tilted his head, "Muggles are…dangerous." He heard Draco snort, "How could they be dangerous, Potter?"

Harry sighed, running his fingers through his hair, "Just because the wizarding world has stayed predominantly the same through the years, doesn't mean the muggle world has as well. Most Purebloods and some Halfbloods have a shaky understanding of the dangers of muggles, at best. Though most, like you, generally think the need to separate muggles from wizards is because they are, quote, unquote, beneath you," Harry sneered at Draco, "if anything, muggles are stronger then us, because they, unlike wizards, must adapt to their surroundings, adapt to life without magic. And they do, they do so rather easily."

"But I guess that doesn't explain why muggles are dangerous…okay, you all know about the witch hunts, yes? That they found a way past being burnt at the stake, right?" The purebloods nodded, Sirius sat up in his chair, this being the first time he had ever heard Harry's point of view on the war. "Well, they don't burn people at the stake anymore. You'd be lucky to get that. Muggles can do so much now. I'm sure you've all heard about guns, right? Maybe not what they do, but what they are." When he received the expected nods, he paused, thinking over how to best explain it, suddenly getting an idea, he asked the room, "If I were to harm someone for a demonstration, would you heal them before anything too bad happened to them?" A note appeared on his table as he asked. Picking it up, he read, only if you explain it to them, childe. Harry nodded and stated, "Of course." Standing up, he took off his school robe and walked over to where everyone had dropped his or her bags, sifting through the contents of his own.

He pulled out something metal, walking back over to the chairs, he held it up saying, "This…is a gun." The Slytherins stared on, unimpressed. "Now, I need whoever has the highest levels of magic to come stand here." He said, pointing at the spot in front of him. Voldemort stood, walking over to stand in front of Harry. "Okay…well, first, I really want to know why my scar isn't hurting, I've actually been wondering that since I realized it wasn't…though, I guess it probably has something to do with this room…anyway…" He rubbed his scar in frustration, before drawing himself up. "Okay, walk that way about ten steps." The older man nodded, slowly walking the required amount. "Now, bring up a basic shield, one any normal wizard would use. I know you can do basic shield spells without a wand, because I can, so c'mon."

Voldemort sneered, but did what the boy said, letting the shield shimmer, showing that it was the same shield that was taught in DADA. "Right. Now, this…will hurt. Quite a bit, actually, but the room has assured me that it will heal you, most likely just this once, so I would suggest not moving." He flipped the safety off of the gun and raised it, pointing it at a non-lethal point of the body and pulling the trigger. Lowering the gun, he watched as the bullet broke through the shield and entered into the body, making the man crumple forward. "Before you get healed, I'd like for everyone to see the damage done by the bullet. So…" He walked over to the man, hesitating for only a moment, before pulling him up slowly and walking him over to the center, where the table and books had once stood. "Do you have anything on under those robes?" Harry asked casually, staring at the man who was in obvious pain.

"Of course I do, Potter! Now hurry up." Voldemort gritted out. He undid the man's robes snaking his arm under them, he pulled them off, letting them drop to the floor, showing a basic button up shirt and black slacks with a black pair of loafers. The shirt was slowly turning red as the wound in his stomach bled more. Harry then moved to the buttons of the man's shirt, blushing slightly, he unbuttoned only enough so that the people would be able to see the entry wound. "Now, you see here," he pointed at the wound, "this is in a very neutral spot. Meaning that while it is still painful, it is not as bad as other spots and isn't lethal if seen to. If I had…shot him here," He pointed a bloodied hand to between the man's eyes, "He would have been dead the moment the bullet went into his brain." He sat the Dark Lord in his chair, stating to the room that it was okay to heal him now, he continued, "the only shields that protect against bullets take more power then an average wizard can create, not only that, but they usually require blood from the caster. Furthermore, when it comes to guns, no one gun is the same. This gun," He waved his around, checking to make sure his safety was back on, "is a simple handgun."

"A shot gun has bullets that implode on impact, causing a wider range of damage and guns really are the cleanest weapon at a muggle's disposal." He said calmly as he walked back to his bag, tucking the gun back inside. "Potter…why exactly do you have that in your school bag?" Harry snorted, cocking his eyebrow, "I have an evil madman after me, some insane shit happens to me every year, I've almost died more times then I can count and that's not even counting Hagrid's choice of pets." He finished with a shudder. "Really, I thought it would've been obvious." Harry leaned back, watching Voldemort compose himself. "Well, wouldn't that be an even greater reason to rid the world of muggles?" Harry shook his head at Draco's question, "No. There is no real way to get rid of all muggles, it is said that a new muggle is born every three seconds. There are over 5 billion people in the world and wizards make up about 10% of that, maybe less. There is no real way to be rid of them. We can separate ourselves from them, but it is rather asinine to think that we wizards can be rid of all of them." The Purebloods and Voldemort all looked mildly disturbed at this, not thinking about it in that sense. "But, I believe we can continue this discussion later." Peering over at Ginny, who nodded and began to read again.

Mr. Dursley couldn't bear people who dressed in funny clothes –

"He seems to forget that his clothes look like a circus tent." George muttered, causing Fred to choke on the drink that had appeared for him.

-the getups you saw on young people! He supposed this was some stupid new fashion. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and his eyes fell on a huddle of these weirdos standing quite close by. They were whispering excitedly together. Mr. Dursley was enraged to see that a couple of them weren't young at all; why, that man had to be older than he was, and wearing an emerald-green cloak! The nerve of him!

"Seems rather silly to become that upset over clothes that he deems as abnormal." Narcissa said absently, still mulling over the information that Harry had given them. Harry glanced over at her and said, "Many of the things that sent him into a rage are rather stupid. You get used to it."

But then it struck Mr. Dursley that this was probably some silly stunt - these people were obviously collecting for something…yes, that would be it. The traffic moved on and a few minutes later, Mr. Dursley arrived in the Grunnings parking lot, his mind back on drills.

"How simple minded." This came from Tonks, whose hair had been shifting colors constantly. "You know, Tonks," Harry started, a sly grin slipping onto his face, "Your hair is the perfect mood ring." Tonks giggled, her hair changing to a light pink. Both of them ignoring the bemused looks coming from everyone else.

Mr. Dursley always sat with his back to the window in his office on the ninth floor. If he hadn't, he might have found it harder to concentrate on drills that morning. He didn't see the owls swooping past in broad daylight, though people down in the street did; they pointed and gazed open-mouthed as owl after owl sped overhead. Most of them had never seen an owl even at nighttime.

"Really? How do they send mail, then?" Lucius asked, his voice tinted with intrigue. "There are muggles who are paid to deliver mail to other muggles, usually sending it once a day." Harry answered, shifting in his seat to lay his legs out over the arms.

Mr. Dursley, however, had a perfectly normal, owl-free morning. He yelled at five different people. He made several important telephone calls and shouted a bit more.

"And that…" Harry stated loudly, "Is the summary of the life of a one Vernon Dursley." Fred and George chuckled and added, "Unless me and Dolos come through their chimney." Harry snorted, thinking back to the Ton-Tongue Toffee. "The fat lard learned to not eat anything and everything laying around. We did his flabby arse a favor." Harry giggled softly, then sighed, "It would've been better if your dad hadn't fixed it, though. Could you imagine? The fat fuck dying from eating." Harry, Fred and George all sighed and snuggled into their seats, oblivious to their surroundings for the moment.

He was in a very good mood until lunchtime, when he thought he'd stretch his legs and walk across the road to buy himself a bun from the bakery.

"Wow. I didn't know he could walk that far." Harry mused. Fred and George shook their heads in disbelief. "I wonder if he had to stop on the way there." Harry giggled and replied, "Probably more then once."

He'd forgotten all about the people in cloaks until he passed a group of them next to the baker's. He eyed them angrily as he passed. He didn't know why, but they made him uneasy. This bunch were whispering excitedly, too, and he couldn't see a single collecting tin. It was on his way back past them, clutching a large doughnut in a bag, that he caught a few words of what they were saying.

"The Potters, that's right, that's what I heard —"

"— yes, their son, Harry —"

There were a couple gasps in the room as it dawned on the people just what day this was. Sirius and Remus bowed their heads in remembrance, Sirius letting out a low whine in the back of his throat.

Mr. Dursley stopped dead.

"Too bad he didn't really." Harry sneered. Fred and George glanced at each other, and then stared at Harry.

"Dear Brother…"

"That can certainly be arranged." George finished with an evil grin. Harry smirked at them and replied, "As long as I can come along." Giggling sadistically, he turned back to Ginny, who was smothering her laughter with the back of her hand.

"My brothers. I do believe you have scared the Slytherins and adults." Luna stated offhandedly, sitting cross-legged in her chair. Glancing over at them, Harry just murmured, "You'll find out soon enough, I dare say."

Fear flooded him. He looked back at the whisperers as if he wanted to say something to them, but thought better of it.

He dashed back across the road, hurried up to his office, snapped at his secretary not to disturb him, seized his telephone, and had almost finished dialing his home number when he changed his mind. He put the receiver back down and stroked his mustache, thinking…no, he was being stupid. Potter wasn't such an unusual name.

Lucius scoffed. "Maybe not in the muggle world, but in the wizarding world there is only one line of Potters."

He was sure there were lots of people called Potter who had a son called Harry. Come to think of it, he wasn't even sure his nephew was called Harry.

"I'm not really sure he knows my name even now. No doubt he's been told numerous times, but I think he's just too stupid for such things." Harry tilted his head, tapping his bottom lip.

He'd never even seen the boy. It might have been Harvey. Or Harold. There was no point in worrying Mrs. Dursley; she always got so upset at any mention of her sister. He didn't blame her - if he'd hada sister like that…

"Like what?" Narcissa asked, curious. Biting his lip, Harry peered at the woman through his fringe. "People like us, Ma'am." He said softly with a shrug.

-but all the same, those people in cloaks …

He found it a lot harder to concentrate on drills that afternoon and when he left the building at five o'clock, he was still so worried that he walked straight into someone just outside the door.

"Sorry," he grunted, as the tiny old man stumbled and almost fell. It was a few seconds before Mr. Dursley realized that the man was wearing a violet cloak. He didn't seem at all upset at being almost knocked to the ground. On the contrary, his face split into a wide smile and he said in a squeaky voice that made passersby stare, "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like yourself should be celebrating, this happy, happy day!"

Harry giggled, causing more then one person in the room to start. "That has got to be Diggle or Professor Flitwick. Only they could get that excited over anything. Granted, Diggle only has a high pitched voice…but still." Lucius stared at Harry, his brow furrowed, "How do you know Dedalus?" Harry snorted, shaking his head. "I met him once when I was six or seven, he came up to me and shook my hand and then again when I was eleven. Those two times were more then enough for me for one lifetime, thank you very much. That man reminds me of an adult version of Creevy." Harry shuddered, grimacing. "That kid is nice and all, but Merlin, he scares me at the best of times. Hey Deimos, remember that one time?" He peered over at George, "You mean the one…" Harry nodded, causing both Fred and George to shudder. "I doubt that centaur will ever be fully healed from that." Draco stared openly at them, before stating loudly, "I don't think I even wish to know." Which was wholeheartedly agreed with by the rest of the people in the room.

And the old man hugged Mr. Dursley around the middle and walked off.

Ginny paused for a moment. "I highly doubt anyone could wrap their arms all the way around that fat fuck's middle." She murmured, her eyebrows up in her hairline. Some of the Gryffindors snickered. "I'm still trying to figure out how he finds clothes that fit."

Mr. Dursley stood rooted to the spot. He had been hugged by a complete stranger. He also thought he had been called a Muggle, whatever that was.

"That would be what you are, Mr. Dursley." Severus stated to the book, forgetting that the man couldn't actually hear him.

He was rattled. He hurried to his car and set off for home, hoping he was imagining things, which he had never hoped before, because he didn't approve of imagination.

"Just how many things did that man not approve of?" was the question that came from Remus. "Oh, I have no idea, Moony. Not even the foggiest, really. I think it would be easier to list the things he does approve of." Harry answered dryly, causing people around him to snort in amusement.

"Goodness. How did you survive with people like that?" asked Draco. Harry stilled, worrying his lip. "Well, like with many questions, I'm sure you will find out soon enough."

As he pulled into the driveway of number four, the first thing he saw - and it didn't improve his mood - was the tabby cat he'd spotted that morning. It was now sitting on his garden wall. He was sure it was the same one; it had the same markings around its eyes.

"Shoo!" said Mr. Dursley loudly.

The cat didn't move. It just gave him a stern look.

"Yup. Definitely McGonagall." Chortled Fred.

Was this normal cat behavior? Mr. Dursley wondered. Trying to pull himself together, he let himself into the house. He was still determined not to mention anything to his wife.

Mrs. Dursley had had a nice, normal day. She told him over dinner all about Mrs. Next Door's problems with her daughter and how Dudley had learned a new word ("Won't!").

"Wow, I thought that would've been his first word." George wondered, his eyes wide. Harry shook his head and stated, "No, I think his first word was fuck." Fred choked on the drink he had been sipping, coughing and laughing at the same time. After he had recovered, he glared over at Harry, "I swear you wait to say things like that for when I'm drinking something." Harry looked over at him, batting his eyes innocently. "What? Me? Never!" Ginny giggled, her face pressed into the book before composing herself and continuing on.

Mr. Dursley tried to act normally. When Dudley had been put to bed, he went into the living room in time to catch the last report on the evening news:

"And finally, bird-watchers everywhere have reported that the nation's owls have been behaving very unusually today. Although owls normally hunt at night and are hardly ever seen in daylight, there have been hundreds of sightings of these birds flying in every direction since sunrise. Experts are unable to explain why the owls have suddenly changed their sleeping pattern." The newscaster allowed himself a grin. "Most mysterious. And now, over to Jim McGuffin with the weather. Going to be any more showers of owls tonight, Jim?"

"Well, Ted," said the weatherman, "I don't know about that, but it's not only the owls that have been acting oddly today. Viewers as far apart as Kent, Yorkshire, and Dundee have been phoning in to tell me that instead of the rain I promised yesterday, they've had a downpour of shooting stars! Perhaps people have been celebrating Bonfire Night early — it's not until next week, folks! But I can promise a wet night tonight."

Harry hummed.

Mr. Dursley sat frozen in his armchair. Shooting stars all over Britain? Owls flying by daylight? Mysterious people in cloaks all over the place? And a whisper, a whisper about the Potters…

Mrs. Dursley came into the living room carrying two cups of tea. It was no good. He'd have to say something to her. He cleared his throat nervously. "Er — Petunia, dear — you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"

As he had expected, Mrs. Dursley looked shocked and angry. After all, they normally pretended she didn't have a sister.

"No," she said sharply. "Why?"

"Funny stuff on the news," Mr. Dursley mumbled. "Owls … shooting stars … and there were a lot of funny-looking people in town today…"

"So?" snapped Mrs. Dursley.

"Well, I just thought…maybe…it was something to do with…you know…her crowd."

Mrs. Dursley sipped her tea through pursed lips.

Ginny faltered, gaping at the book. "Is that even possible?" She asked, blinking in shock. Harry, who was shifting around to sit upside down, answered, "Dunno, I think I've seen Granger do it a couple times." Draco sat up, staring at Harry hard. "Why did you call her Granger? Aren't you and the Weasel all best friends or something?" Harry snorted. "Or something. Dumbledore pays them to keep tabs on me." He said, shrugging lightly. "Both me and them understand that it isn't real friendship, even if they don't know that I know." The rest of the children, minus Draco, nodded their heads. Sirius shot up, "Harry…" He growled softly, staring at him, "just how much of your life has that old goat orchestrated?"

Harry tapped his lips in thought before answering, "Almost all of it. He can't control my thoughts and conceptions anymore, spells and potions only work for so long." He tilted his head, "They only worked for half of my first year and they didn't work that well. If anyone has heard the rumors, I can throw off an Imperio. If I can throw that off, mind altering potions and spells are like child's play, no matter how much power is put into them." Harry chuckled softly. "It's just easier to act like the golden boy people want me to be, though, I found a way around being that way all the time in second year."

He finished that sentence with a meaningful glance to Lucius, who sunk down in his seat. "Going by your reactions, you haven't told him, is that correct." The man stilled, and then gave a sharp nod. Harry grinned maliciously, before a smug look pulled across his face. "Don't worry, Lucius, I won't tell him, I'll let the book do the talking for me." He giggled, turning his head to Ginny. "Though, I really do have to thank you. You unlocked a very special part of my sister with that. Before that, she had been just an annoying little sister from a family under Dumbledore's thumb, but really, it's amazing what a little possession can do for a person's personality." The Gryffindor children all laughed, while Luna's dreamy smile stretched that much wider.

"Potter, what are you getting at?" Came from Voldemort, sounding slightly impatient. "Oh don't worry, you'll find out when we read the second book. If you really want to find out, I suggest we get back to reading." When Voldemort motioned for them to do so, Ginny brought the book back up and started where she had left off.

Mr. Dursley wondered whether he dared tell her he'd heard the name "Potter." He decided he didn't dare. Instead he said, as casually as he could, "Their son - he'd be about Dudley's age now, wouldn't he?"

"No, me and him were just born in the same year." Harry muttered sardonically.

"I suppose so," said Mrs. Dursley stiffly.

"What's his name again? Howard, isn't it?"

"Harry. Nasty, common name, if you ask me."

"I have to agree with that. It is rather odd that the heir of a Pureblood family was named something as common as my name." Harry murmured. "Well, it was your grandfather's name." Harry nodded, replying, "See? Why would they name their child Harry? He was purely Pureblood, so I don't see why." The adults in the room couldn't help but admit that it was a tad bit strange.

"Oh, yes," said Mr. Dursley, his heart sinking horribly. "Yes, I quite agree."

He didn't say another word on the subject as they went upstairs to bed. While Mrs. Dursley was in the bathroom, Mr. Dursley crept-

"I've seen that man trying to be sneaky. Let me tell you, it's no where near as effective as it is funny." Harry grinned, thinking back to all the times when his uncle had tried to sneak around.

-to the bedroom window and peered down into the front garden. The cat was still there. It was staring down Privet Drive as though it were waiting for something.

"It probably was." Severus said, thinking back to Minerva. That woman could stay in one place for days if she was waiting for something, only moving for basic needs.

Was he imagining things? Could all this have anything to do with the Potters? If it did…if it got out that they were related to a pair of - well, he didn't think he could bear it.

Lucius sneered at the book, "I'm really starting to dislike your relatives, Potter." Harry blinked, glancing over at him. "Join the club." Was the chorused reply.

The Dursleys got into bed. Mrs. Dursley fell asleep quickly but Mr. Dursley lay awake, turning it all over in his mind. His last, comforting thought before he fell asleep was that even if the Potters were involved, there was no reason for them to come near him and Mrs. Dursley.

"That would be the basis of a very false assumption." Came the sneering observation from Harry.

The Potters knew very well what he and Petunia thought about them and their kind…He couldn't see how he and Petunia could get mixed up in anything that might be going on - he yawned and turned over - it couldn't affect them…

How very wrong he was.

Harry giggled, "Very wrong indeeeeed."

Mr. Dursley might have been drifting into an uneasy sleep, but the cat on the wall outside was showing no sign of sleepiness. It was sitting as still as a statue, its eyes fixed unblinkingly on the far corner of Privet Drive. It didn't so much as quiver when a car door slammed on the next street, nor when two owls swooped overhead. In fact, it was nearly midnight before the cat moved at all.

A man appeared on the corner the cat had been watching, appeared so suddenly and silently you'd have thought he'd just popped out of the ground. The cat's tail twitched and its eyes narrowed.

Severus started to get a sinking feeling of suspicion, gripping the arms of his chair, he leaned forward slightly, glaring at the book.

Nothing like this man had ever been seen on Privet Drive. He was tall, thin, and very old, judging by the silver of his hair and beard, which were both long enough to tuck into his belt. He was wearing long robes, a purple cloak that swept the ground, and high-heeled, buckled boots. His blue eyes were light, bright, and sparkling behind half-moon spectacles and his nose was very long and crooked, as though it had been broken at least twice. This man's name was Albus Dumbledore.

"That stupid old bastard!" Snape raged. "That manipulative old coot…" He panted hard, trying to get his temper in check.

"Wait, his nose is crooked?" Ginny asked, her eyes wide. Harry nodded, "I noticed it the first time I saw him. It's rather prominent, if you ask me." George looked over at Harry, "Always looking for weaknesses in a person, eh, Kor?" Harry shrugged and nodded. "Noses that have been broken and not set correctly break easiest. It's the easiest way to bring someone down if you cannot rely on magic."

"Mr. Potter…that is actually…amazing logic." Voldemort said, looking slightly pained. "Very Slytherin, in all honesty." Harry just grinned lazily. "You don't know the half of it, Tom Tom." Harry chuckled softly when the other man's face twisted into a sneer. "Oh, come off it, it's not that bad of a name. It's certainly better then Voldemort, I mean, do you know how many nicknames I've made from your pseudo name? Almost as many as I have from Dumbledore's name." Fred nodded, "Some of them are pretty offensive, if said to the person. OH! Deimos, dear brother, do you remember the time when…"

George nodded, while Harry chuckled even harder. "Oh merlin, I thought I would never see that old man flustered…" Ginny grinned at both of them before continuing with the story.

Albus Dumbledore didn't seem to realize that he had just arrived in a street where everything from his name to his boots was unwelcome.

Sneering, Lucius muttered, "His sense of style is unwelcome just about anywhere."

He was busy rummaging in his cloak, looking for something. But he did seem to realize he was being watched, because he looked up suddenly at the cat, which was still staring at him from the other end of the street. For some reason, the sight of the cat seemed to amuse him. He chuckled and muttered, "I should have known."

He found what he was looking for in his inside pocket. It seemed to be a silver cigarette lighter. He flicked it open, held it up in the air, and clicked it. The nearest street lamp went out with a little pop. He clicked it again - the next lamp flickered into darkness. Twelve times he clicked the Put-Outer, until the only lights left on the whole street were two tiny pinpricks in the distance, which were the eyes of the cat watching him.

"I always wondered how he did that. He could douse an entire room with darkness without wasting any of his magic." Came from Voldemort, looking slightly miffed. The Twins grinned.

"We can, too." The said at the same time. "Just a pinch of this," Fred pulled out a bag from his pocket.

"-and you're guaranteed a good five minutes of-"

"-complete darkness for everyone except you." The twins stated happily, Fred tucking the bag back in his pants. "Oh, but there is the small issue being that if you cast a Lumos directly in front of anyone whilst inside the dust powder, they seem to become blind for an upward of 4 hours." They said in unison with twin maniacal grins on their faces.

If anyone looked out of their window now, even beady-eyed Mrs. Dursley, they wouldn't be able to see anything that was happening down on the pavement. Dumbledore slipped the Put-Outer back inside his cloak and set off down the street toward number four, where he sat down on the wall next to the cat. He didn't look at it, but after a moment he spoke to it.

"Fancy seeing you here, Professor McGonagall."

He turned to smile at the tabby, but it had gone. Instead he was smiling at a rather severe-looking woman who was wearing square glasses exactly the shape of the markings the cat had had around its eyes. She, too, was wearing a cloak, an emerald one. Her black hair was drawn into a tight bun. She looked distinctly ruffled.

"She really should learn to be less obvious." Snape said, shaking his head. Harry snorted and replied, "Oh, but Professor, she wouldn't be the head of Gryffindor if she was any less obvious." He winked to his professor, who stared at his student, wondering just how he missed the subtle hints of Slytherin that seemed to scream throughout his personality.

"How did you know it was me?" she asked.

"My dear Professor, I've never seen a cat sit so stiffly."

"I've never seen a person sit as stiffly as she does, to be completely honest." Neville murmured, his eyebrows raised slightly.

"You'd be stiff if you'd been sitting on a brick wall all day," said Professor McGonagall.

"All day? When you could have been celebrating? I must have passed a dozen feasts and parties on my way here."

Professor McGonagall sniffed angrily.

"Just…how?" Draco asked, staring at the book. Harry shrugged, "We have yet to figure it out."

"Oh yes, everyone's celebrating, all right," she said impatiently. "You'd think they'd be a bit more careful, but no - even the Muggles have noticed something's going on. It was on their news." She jerked her head back at the Dursleys' dark living-room window. "I heard it. Flocks of owls…shooting stars…Well, they're not completely stupid. They were bound to notice something. Shooting stars down in Kent - I'll bet that was Dedalus Diggle. He never had much sense."

Lucius rolled his eyes, making a noise of agreement.

"You can't blame them," said Dumbledore gently. "We've had precious little to celebrate for eleven years."

"I know that," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "But that's no reason to lose our heads. People are being downright careless, out on the streets in broad daylight, not even dressed in Muggle clothes, swapping rumors."

She threw a sharp, sideways glance at Dumbledore here, as though hoping he was going to tell her something, but he didn't, so she went on. "A fine thing it would be if, on the very day You-Know-Who seems to have disappeared at last, the Muggles found out about us all. I suppose he really has gone, Dumbledore?"

All side conversations stilled at this point, everyone listening closely to the story.

"It certainly seems so," said Dumbledore. "We have much to be thankful for. Would you care for a lemon drop?"

Harry snorted, "Anyone else know that he spikes those things with a mild hallucinogen? Well, the ones he eats, at least. The ones he feeds people in his office are laced with truth serums and a potion that makes the person believe that everything he says while the potion is in effect is 100% correct." Many of the adults in the room looked a mix of dumbfounded and slightly green.

"How did you find out about that?" Severus asked. Harry shook his head slowly, "You'll find out soon enough, Professor."

"Why does he pick lemon flavor, though?" came from Draco, who got a swat on the back of his head from his godfather. "Think, Draconis. What are the strongest flavors you can think of?" Draco made a noise of revelation, so Severus continued. "Now, out of those, what has never reacted with any other ingredient in the potion, besides the flavor?" Draco merely smacked his hand against his forehead, before leaning back and berating himself for forgetting such an easily remembered thing.

"A what?"

"A lemon drop. They're a kind of Muggle sweet I'm rather fond of."

"No, thank you," said Professor McGonagall coldly, as though she didn't think this was the moment for lemon drops.

"It really isn't." Narcissa murmured.

"As I say, even if You-Know-Who has gone -"

"My dear Professor, surely a sensible person like yourself can call him by his name? All this 'You-Know-Who' nonsense - for eleven years I have been trying to persuade people to call him by his proper name: Voldemort."

The Gryffindors giggled at the preening look Voldemort gave when the people around him flinched violently.

Professor McGonagall flinched, but Dumbledore, who was unsticking two lemon drops, seemed not to notice. "It all gets so confusing if we keep saying 'You-Know-Who.' I have never seen any reason to be frightened of saying Voldemort's name."

Harry rolled his eyes. "Fighting a fear mongering tactic with a humble, but greater then thou tactic." Neville snorted, reaching over to grab Luna's hand, who smiled serenely at him. It was quiet for a moment, before Luna spoke up, "Better to rule the world with, my dear boy." Everyone stared at Luna for a moment, before the Gryffindor children keeled over with laughter, whose serene smile took a slightly smug quality to it.

Once everyone had calmed down, Harry tilted his head in thought and then leaned over to Fred, saying only loud enough for him to hear, "D'you think the book is gonna talk about our glamours?" Fred just shrugged and replied, "Most likely Kor. Though yours is probably going to be revealed before ours." Harry sighed and nodded sullenly.

"I know you haven't," said Professor McGonagall, sounding half exasperated, half admiring. "But you're different. Everyone knows you're the only one You-Know- oh, all right, Voldemort, was frightened of."

"What? I most certainly am not frightened of him!" Voldemort snarled, gripping his armrests. "Is that really what he says about me?" Everyone in the room nodded, Harry snickering behind his hand. "I don't see how anyone could be afraid of him. I mean, really, he may have been the most powerful wizard back in his prime, but he's 150-ish bloody years old." He sighed, shaking his head.

"You flatter me," said Dumbledore calmly. "Voldemort had powers I will never have."

Voldemort nodded. "Like wandless elemental magic." The Gryffindor children sat up and stared at the man. "You mean, he's not powerful enough to be an elemental?" Voldemort shook his head. All of the Gryffindor children were still for a moment before they all burst out in laughter. "Oh, that is just too rich!" Ginny squealed in delight. As soon as they had calmed down and waved off all questions, Ginny continued with the reading.

"Only because you're too - well - noble to use them."

Ginny paused, her brow furrowed. "Noble is not something that should be used for Dumbledore." This statement was met with a few murmurs of agreement before Ginny continued on.

"It's lucky its dark. I haven't blushed so much since Madam Pomfrey told me she liked my new earmuffs."

There was a mass shuddering that went throughout the room. "Never…" Fred murmured pausing for a moment, "Never in my life have I heard something quite as terrifying." Harry snorted and leaned over, whispering something in his ear. He sat ramrod straight and stared wide-eyed at the raven-haired boy. "I stand corrected."

Professor McGonagall shot a sharp look at Dumbledore and said, "The owls are nothing next to the rumors that are flying around. You know what everyone's saying? About why he's disappeared? About what finally stopped him?"

There was a pitiful moaning that came from one of the adult Gryffindors, but no one was really paying much attention.

It seemed that Professor McGonagall had reached the point she was most anxious to discuss, the real reason she had been waiting on a cold, hard wall all day, for neither as a cat nor as a woman had she fixed Dumbledore with such a piercing stare as she did now. It was plain that whatever "everyone" was saying, she was not going to believe it until Dumbledore told her it was true. Dumbledore, however, was choosing another lemon drop and did not answer.

"What they're saying,"she pressed on, "is that last night Voldemort turned up in Godric's Hollow. He went to find the Potters. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are - are - that they're - dead."

"And the winner for the person with the most tact goes to…" Harry murmured, curling his legs up against his chest.

Dumbledore bowed his head. Professor McGonagall gasped.

"Lily and James…I can't believe it…I didn't want to believe it…Oh, Albus…"

Dumbledore reached out and patted her on the shoulder. "I know…I know…" he said heavily.

Professor McGonagall's voice trembled as she went on. "That's not all. They're saying he tried to kill the Potters' son, Harry. But - he couldn't. He couldn't kill that little boy. No one knows why, or how, but they're saying that when he couldn't kill Harry Potter, Voldemort's power somehow broke - and that's why he's gone."

"Say, did anyone actually figure that out?" Harry nodded slowly. "I have, but I'm not saying anything, because it's really nothing more then a theory. You know what Dumbledore told me?" When he received a negative answer, he continued, "He told me that it was my mother's love and sacrifice that protected me. Now, I don't know how powerful my mother was, but I'm more then certain that if she was with my father, that she tended to stay away from dark arts, including blood rituals." Harry tilted his head. "So, there's no chance that that is what actually happened." He shrugged.

Dumbledore nodded glumly.

"It's - it's true?"faltered Professor McGonagall. "After all he's done…all the people he's killed…he couldn't kill a little boy? It's just astounding…of all the things to stop him…but how in the name of heaven did Harry survive?"

"We can only guess," said Dumbledore. "We may never know."

"Except if you're me." Harry deadpanned.

Professor McGonagall pulled out a lace handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes beneath her spectacles. Dumbledore gave a great sniff as he took a golden watch from his pocket and examined it. It was a very odd watch. It had twelve hands but no numbers; instead, little planets were moving around the edge. It must have made sense to Dumbledore, though, because he put it back in his pocket and said, "Hagrid's late. I suppose it was he who told you I'd be here, by the way?"

"Yes," said Professor McGonagall. "And I don't suppose you're going to tell me why you're here, of all places?"

"I've come to bring Harry to his aunt and uncle. They're the only family he has left now."

"You don't mean - you can't mean the people who live here?" cried Professor McGonagall, jumping to her feet and pointing at number four. "Dumbledore - you can't. I've been watching them all day. You couldn't find two people who are less like us. And they've got this son - I saw him kicking his mother all the way up the street, screaming for sweets. Harry Potter come and live here!"

Harry's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, someone actually fought for me?" Lucius started and stared at the boy. "Many people did. Even me and Cissa, though most of the people only wanted you for your fame. Dumbledore was actually the one that went through every family and denied each one."

Harry sighed, "Even if Sirius here had not gone to Azkaban, I'm sure I still would've been sent to the Dursleys. It's a good move, I'll admit." He then rest his head on his knee and motioned for Ginny to continue.

"It's the best place for him," said Dumbledore firmly. "His aunt and uncle will be able to explain everything to him when he's older. I've written them a letter."

The room was silent for a moment before Sirius started cursing under his breath. Ginny gaped at the man for a moment, before turning back to the book.

"A letter?" repeated Professor McGonagall faintly, sitting back down on the wall. "Really, Dumbledore, you think you can explain all this in a letter? These people will never understand him! He'll be famous - a legend - I wouldn't be surprised if today was known as Harry Potter Day in the future"

Harry's head shot up. "Please tell me there isn't. Oh please." He buried his face into his lap, while the people around the room snickered. "There was for a couple years, actually. But no one really knew what to do except drink or mourn the Potters, so it was disbanded." Harry snorted lightly and responded, "Thank Merlin for small miracles."

"there will be books written about Harry - every child in our world will know his name!"

"Unfortunatly."

"Exactly," said Dumbledore, looking very seriously over the top of his half-moon glasses. "It would be enough to turn any boy's head. Famous before he can walk and talk! Famous for something he won't even remember! Can't you see how much better off he'll be, growing up away from all that until he's ready to take it?"

Harry tilted his head, "I can see why he is so powerful amongst the wizarding kind. He says things in a way that brook absolutely no argument, with the backer of being wizened, therefor seen as knowledgeable beyond most other's years." He bounced his chin against his knee. He peered over at Voldemort. "You know, if seeing as my entire life is out on display, I'll just tell you this now. If you hadn't killed my parents, I'd probably be on your side." Choking sounds filled the room, Voldemort and his death eaters were doing an excellent impersonation of a fish. "What? Both you and Dumbledore seem to want to kill me, but you at least tell me beforehand." He said dryly. Once Voldemort had recovered, he said lightly, "I'm not going to apologize for killing them, as I'm now sure you don't want that anyway, but I will tell you, I did not wish to kill your mother." Harry nodded, running over his memory of that night. "You asked her twice to step aside, right?"

Voldemort nodded, causing a strangled sound to emit from Severus. He turned to Severus and stated, "Yes, I did indeed attempt to keep her from dying, but she was stubborn and I had only seen it as a means to an end at the time. No matter the outcome, I do keep promises that I make to my followers. Fear and power may be what draws them in at first, but I do have more tactics then that to get a person to stay by my side." Ginny, who had been neutral since she had been possessed by Tom, said, "We can discuss loyalties and other such matters after the reading of the books and finding out whatever secrets sent us here in the first place." With that, she continued on.

Professor McGonagall opened her mouth, changed her mind, swallowed, and then said, "Yes - yes, you're right, of course. But how is the boy getting here, Dumbledore?" She eyed his cloak suddenly as though she thought he might be hiding Harry underneath it.

Someone in the room snorted, but no one seemed to have a comment for that.

"Hagrid's bringing him."

"You think it - wise - to trust Hagrid with something as important as this?"

Narcissa gasped. "He actually sent that man to pick up a child?" Harry nodded, agreeing with the sentiment.

"I would trust Hagrid with my life," said Dumbledore.

"I'm not saying his heart isn't in the right place," said Professor McGonagall grudgingly, "but you can't pretend he's not careless. He does tend to - what was that?"

"Your last egg dropping from your ovaries." Ginny cracked, causing the Gryffindors and Severus to cover their faces in amusement.

"You know, when I was in first year, I always wondered how she sat so straight. I mean, her posture is almost unnatural…" Harry pondered, looking over at Ginny. "I came to the conclusion that she has a very long stick rammed up her arse, which would explain why she's such a stuck up bitch all the time." The adults and Draco gaped at Harry, never had they heard the supposed Golden Boy speak in such a way, especially against the Head of Gryffindor house.

A low rumbling sound had broken the silence around them. It grew steadily louder as they looked up and down the street for some sign of a headlight; it swelled to a roar as they both looked up at the sky - and a huge motorcycle fell out of the air and landed on the road in front of them.

"OH! I had totally forgotten about that! I should ask him what he did with that." Harry sent a smug smile over to the twins, who smothered their laughter with their hands. "What I want to know is why Gryffindors seem so bloody fascinated with flying motor vehicles." Harry stated dryly, ignoring the questioning glances.

If the motorcycle was huge, it was nothing to the man sitting astride it. He was almost twice as tall as a normal man and at least five times as wide. He looked simply too big to be allowed, and so wild - long tangles of bushy black hair and beard hid most of his face, he had hands the size of trash can lids, and his feet in their leather boots were like baby dolphins.

George chuckled, "I think this book is adapted to your thinking, Kor. It seems to explain things the way you do." There were sounds of amused agreement and Neville added, "It took me until halfway through second year to understand your explanations." Harry merely cracked a grin.

In his vast, muscular arms he was holding a bundle of blankets.

"Hey, its you! In bundle form." Harry smothered his giggles in his knees. "I'll show you bundle form." He rebutted, causing the Gryffindor children to snort in amusement.

"Hagrid," said Dumbledore, sounding relieved. "At last. And where did you get that motorcycle?"

"Borrowed it, Professor Dumbledore, sir," said the giant, climbing carefully off the motorcycle as he spoke. "Young Sirius Black lent it to me. I've got him, sir."

"YAY ME!" Sirius cried, leaping up, before blushing bright red and sitting back down quickly.

"No problems, were there?"

"No, sir — house was almost destroyed, but I got him out all right before the Muggles started swarmin' around. He fell asleep as we was flyin' over Bristol."

Ginny paused and then turned to Harry, "Which proves my point that you can fall asleep in even the weirdest of situations." Harry tossed his hands up in defeat, blushing softly.

Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall bent forward over the bundle of blankets. Inside, just visible, was a baby boy, fast asleep. Under a tuft of jet-black hair over his forehead they could see a curiously shaped cut, like a bolt of lightning.

Harry pulled a face and flattened his fringe against his scar. An action that wasn't missed by Severus.

"Is that where - ?" whispered Professor McGonagall.

"No, it's just a weird shaped scar that randomly appeared the day I rebounded the bloody killing curse. A fashion statement, you know? All babies should have a curse scar that gives them a bloody headache every bloody time an evil dark overlord gets pissed off." Harry groused, rubbing his scar.

Voldemort shot up and stared at the boys scar. "You said you can feel emotions through that?" Harry nodded, his eyebrow quirked, "Only really strong ones, though." The Dark Lord's brow furrowed as he stood up, walking over to the boy. "Okay…tell me what you feel." He then closed his eyes and seemed to go into a deep concentration. Harry gasped as a sharp pain laced through his body, followed by a deep sense of regret. Regret for killing one woman. Regret for killing his mother. Harry sucked in a deep, shuddering breath, "Regret. I feel regret." Voldemort nodded slowly. "I think…" He touched the boy's scar, feeling the boy shiver as the scar quivered under his touch. "Yes, that must be it…but how?" The man wondered out loud. He peered over at Severus, his eyes wide, who sat up. "You don't think…? But there has never been an animated Horcrux! Except Nagini, but…oh. She was an accident."

"Er…" Harry started, swallowing thickly, trying to ignore the older man's close proximity and the fact that said proximity didn't seem to cause him pain anymore, "What is a Horcrux, if you don't mind me asking?" Voldmort bit his non-lips in a surprisingly human gesture, contemplating on whether to tell the boy or not. He sighed and stated, "When a person kills another living being, especially if said living being is another person, their soul splits, as murder is the highest form of treason against nature. When said soul splits, there is a way that a piece of that soul can be transferred into another object, by ritual. This object that is used to contain the soul shard is called a Horcrux." Harry nodded slowly, piecing this bit of information together, adding it to what he already knew, "Okay…if a piece of said soul were to say…come in contact with a pure, virginal girl, what would happen?" Ginny made a noise of indignation, but was otherwise quiet.

"Well…as with all dark magic, the soul piece will begin to corrupt the pure being. If left to continue for a long enough time, part of the person's soul will be destroyed for the rest of their days." Ginny gaped at the man, before smiling. "Wicked!" She exclaimed, hugging herself proudly. Harry smirked amusedly at her, then peered over at Lucius, who looked to be having an internal struggle of sorts. "Oh, calm down, Mr. Malfoy. Really, I think she's happy for what you did. If you hadn't she might have been under Dumbledore's thumb for the rest of her life! So, don't throw a pity party just yet, Voldie here" He poked Voldemort who was looking rather scandalized, "hasn't even figured it out yet, so calm the fuck down before your knickers get twisted. And no, we're not telling you anything, because I want to see your reaction when you find out from the book." The last bit directed at Voldemort who had opened his mouth. The older man brushed himself off, slightly miffed and walked back over to his seat. Ginny noted the longing expression coming from Harry as the man left.

Glancing over to her brothers and sister, she knew she wasn't the only one. She leaned over to Neville, "I noticed this before, Harry has always been drawn to his power. I wonder…if we got them…you know…together, though, I'd really prefer possibly restoring Voldemort back to his former glory before doing so, but d'you think they'd be happy?" Neville pondered over that for a few moments, before nodding. Ginny sighed happily, snuggling back into her chair, before continuing on.

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "He'll have that scar forever."

"Couldn't you do something about it, Dumbledore?"

"Even if I could, I wouldn't. Scars can come in handy. I have one myself above my left knee that is a perfect map of the London Underground."

Even Voldemort shuddered at that.

"Well - give him here, Hagrid - we'd better get this over with."

Dumbledore took Harry in his arms and turned toward the Dursleys' house.

Harry sighed, "Thus damning the rest of my childhood." He murmured, almost inaudible to everyone, except for Voldemort, Lucius and Severus. Voldemort had asked the room mentally if there was a way only certain people could hear what Harry would say, even if only meant for himself. The fact that they could hear him made him think that there was. He leaned over to Severus, murmuring that in his ear, who nodded and did the same for Lucius.

"Could I — could I say good-bye to him, sir?" asked Hagrid. He bent his great, shaggy head over Harry and gave him what must have been a very scratchy, whiskery kiss. Then, suddenly, Hagrid let out a howl like a wounded dog.

Harry turned to Sirius, grinning slyly, who just chuckled and murmured, "Piss off, wanker." Harry chuckled softly, but decided not to reply.

"Shhh!" hissed Professor McGonagall, "you'll wake the Muggles!"

"Wait…she said nothing about the motorcycle, but freaks out about the crying?" asked Draco. Ginny shrugged, "No one ever said she was entirely sensible."

"S-s-sorry," sobbed Hagrid, taking out a large, spotted handkerchief and burying his face in it. "But I c-c-can't stand it - Lily an' James dead - an' poor little Harry off ter live with Muggles -"

Harry blinked slowly, staring at the book as if it were going to eat him. "Hagrid scares me more then Dementors sometimes. Just sometimes, but it's enough." Ginny giggles and nodded, "He scares me all of the time and it has nothing to do with that he's a half-giant."

"Yes, yes, its all very sad, but get a grip on yourself, Hagrid, or we'll be found," Professor McGonagall whispered, patting Hagrid gingerly on the arm as Dumbledore stepped over the low garden wall and walked to the front door. He laid Harry gently on the doorstep, took a letter out of his cloak, tucked it inside Harry's blankets, and then came back to the other two.

Narcissa gasped, "He left you…on a doorstep…on the night when pretty much every deatheater was hell bent on revenge…AND it was -9 degrees outside that night. When did your aunt and uncle find you?" Harry blushed and murmured, "The next morning, ma'am." Narcissa sighed, rubbing her delicate hand against her forehead. "When I get my hands on that man, he's going to wish it was my husband and not me." She growled lowly. Ginny cleared her throat, "Madam Malfoy, I'd suggest not getting too angry just yet. We haven't even gotten to Harry's childhood." Harry groaned and hit his head against his knees. "Way to lift my spirits, there." Ginny just shrugged and continued to read.

For a full minute the three of them stood and looked at the little bundle; Hagrid's shoulders shook, Professor McGonagall blinked furiously, and the twinkling light that usually shone from Dumbledore's eyes seemed to have gone out.

Harry gaped at Voldemort. "You…you did what I've been trying to do since I first saw that twinkle. Maybe I should find a prophecy child to kill." He tapped his chin in mock thought. Ginny giggled. "That was a horrid joke, my dear brother." Harry merely stuck his tongue out at her, which she promptly leaned over and bit hard enough to make it bleed. "Don't stick your tongue out unless you're going to do fun things with it, Kor." Harry just cursed her under his breath, causing two of the men who were listening in to blush slightly. Draco was staring between Harry and Ginny like he wasn't quite sure what to do anymore. To think he had ruined his chance at having these people for friends…well, he would surely try to rectify that and soon.

"Well," said Dumbledore finally, "that's that. We've no business staying here. We may as well go and join the celebrations."

Narcissa huffed, but didn't comment.

"Yeah," said Hagrid in a very muffled voice, "I'd best get this bike away. G'night, Professor McGonagall - Professor Dumbledore, sir."

Wiping his streaming eyes on his jacket sleeve, Hagrid swung himself onto the motorcycle and kicked the engine into life; with a roar it rose into the air and off into the night.

"I shall see you soon, I expect, Professor McGonagall," said Dumbledore, nodding to her. Professor McGonagall blew her nose in reply.

Dumbledore turned and walked back down the street. On the corner he stopped and took out the silver Put-Outer. He clicked it once, and twelve balls of light sped back to their street lamps so that Privet Drive glowed suddenly orange and he could make out a tabby cat slinking around the corner at the other end of the street. He could just see the bundle of blankets on the step of number four.

"Good luck, Harry," he murmured. He turned on his heel and with a swish of his cloak, he was gone.

The twins toned in, "You're going to need it."

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles,"

"What a lovely way to wake up." Neville said, his eyebrows in his hairline. Harry grinned, but shrugged. "You get used to it."

"nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley…He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter - the boy who lived!"

"TO THE BOY WHO DIDN'T DIE!" Cried Ginny, tossing the book into the air happily. "That was the end of chapter one. Neville is up next." Neville just rolled his eyes and went to go pick up the book. Voldemort peered on in curiosity. "You know, none of you seem very surprised by all of this." Harry tilted his head, "These people here," He motioned to the Gryffindor children, "are my closest friends. I've told them things no one else knows. Now, because of these books, though, I'm sure you will as well."

Neville cleared his throat after sitting back down. "The second chapter is…"

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

This section under the story is if I get complaints that I'm just copying the book and adding small comments in between paragraphs.

Number of words copied from the book word for word/Number of words in the chapter

4,615/14,368 words