The Chamber of Secrets ft Andrew Black

Hello! One and all! Welcome to the second story in my Andrew Black series. As most of you will have already done, I would recommend reading my version Philosopher's Stone before reading this. So it's been a while but I'm getting back into the swing of writing Harry Potter fan fictions.

This is only the first chapter, so I'm hoping it will improve as the chapters progress.

For now, I hope you al enjoy!

Chapter 1

One day Andy would look back to the night where he sat at the kitchen table with Andromeda and Dora, Ted standing besides the window. The man, Remus John Lupin drank heavily from the mug of tea they had made for him. Meda and Ted seemed to know who he was, but one look from Dora told him that he wasn't alone in not knowing who this man is.

Lupin placed his mug back on the table with a warm smile at Andy, who watched the man carefully. He had never heard of this man before nor seen him

"Who exactly are you?" Andy caught himself saying aloud at the man as he sat at the table, wringing his hands beneath the wooden slab.

"Andy!" Andromeda scolded him.

"What? I'm not being rude! I just don't know exactly who you are." Andy turned back to look at Mr. Lupin and saw a small smile on his face.

"He's here because...because I asked him to come." Andromeda said and Ted's head snapped around.

"Meda? Is this what I think it is about? He's not -" Ted started but Andy cut him off.

"I'm right here! Stop talking as if I'm not." He grumbled and he noticed Mr. Lupin was yet to stop staring at him.

"Ted – he's not a child anymore. Well, he is," Andy glared at his Aunt for this, "...but he has to know." Ted hid his face in his hands and sighed heavily before looking at Andy.

"Fine. But just know I'm not happy about this. Dora, out." Ted said.

"What? I'm nineteen, Dad! I'm-" One look from Ted caused Dora to scowl and eave the table in a huff. It would have been effective had she not tripped over the suitcase Mr. Lupin had placed safely up against the wall. Dora pulled herself up with her nose in the air and left, slamming the kitchen door loudly and her feet stamped up stairs as if she were her old stroppy fourteen year old self.

"Okay, will someone now tell me what's going on?" Andy asked as Andromeda left the table to make sure Dora had one upstairs and wasn't listening. Dora was the one who normally sat in the midst of an adult conversation, not him. It was a strange experience.

"Andy," Mr. Lupin started. "Andromeda asked me to come because, well, I as friends with your parents in Hogwarts." The man had said this already, but it was as if the twelve year old boy was hearing this for the first time.

"Really?" Andy asked, his eyes narrowed slightly. "You knew them? Before..."

"I met your father in my first year, on the train journey there to be precise. I had heard of your mother before hand but was never introduced to her until our fourth year."

Andy leaned forward of the table as he listened intently.

"So you came to tell me about them?" He asked.

"Well, Andromeda said you had...heard plenty of your family during your first year and had questions. That you had met…."

"That I met...Voldemort." It took a lot to repress his shudder at the name. Horror stories of the war and terrible things that dark wizard had done, he had grown up on. The very name was enough to instil fear into the most hardened of wizards and witches. Ted developed a sudden cough at the name and Mr. Lupin closed his eyes briefly.

"Yes...well, they thought you ought to know about them, as you'll have questions they cannot answer."

"Meda agreed to this, not me." Ted said as he sat in his wife's vacant seat. Andy turned to look at him. "I didn't want you to hear any more that what you already had. At least, not yet." Ted clapped a hand on Andy's shoulder as Mr. Lupin continued.

"Well, your father was actually one of my best friends, We went through a lot together. I had been pretty alone in my childhood. He was one of my best friends, along with two others named...Peter Pettigrew and James Potter, -"

"Wait? Isn't that Harry's dad?" Andy asked and the little colour in Lupin's pale face drained away.

"Harry? Harry Potter? You...you know him?"

"Yeah! He's one of my best friends!" Andy felt himself smile, wanting to immediately write a letter to Harry and explain that he had met of his father's friends. "Harry could come here, and you could tell him about his dad! He'd love to -"

"No, I'm afraid I can't talk to Harry, not just yet." Mr. Lupin paused for a moment to take another sip of his tea. "Andy, I wanted mostly to speak to you about your father." The happiness that had been spreading in Andy slowly drained away and he sat back in his seat.

"What about him?"

"Well, apparently you've been concerned on whether your mother knew what he was...and the circumstances of which your mother died..." Andy remained cool, but inside he felt every muscle tighten considerably.

"Yeah. I have..."

"Well, let me tell you now: your mother certainly had no idea as to what was going on." Mr. Lupin leaned forward in his seat and Andy stared back at the green eyes that were encased in a face that seemed much older that what he was. "None of us knew. I was friends with Sirius right up until we left Hogwarts. He joined the Auror department a year after leaving. Your mother, who wished to pursue a career in the Magical Law Enforcement also, couldn't. Because she was expecting you. Afterwards...she joined. She was successful. She out shined many. She was one of the few Muggle-borns at the time to go far, I-"

"She was Muggle Born?" Andy interrupted. "Sorry, Mr. Lupin. I just never knew." Mr. Lupin's eyes widened.

"Please, just Remus. But yes, she was a Muggle Born. There is a Wizarding family named Tugwood, as was she, but they are of no relation. I believe her father died when she was young. Her mother died just before you turned one." He paused for breath as he delve into his memories.

"She doted on you and your mother, but wasn't too keen on your father. Probably though Cordelia could do better. I recalled one time she hit your father over the head with a particularly heavy handbag as he was holding you up by your legs. You were fine, it had been just a game but Dolly Tugwood hadn't seen it that way."

"You okay kid?" Ted asked as Andy hid his face in the sleeve of his jumper for a moment too long.

"I've never heard any thing of my Mum before. Sorry." Ted wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

"No need to apologise." Mr. Lupin – Remus – said. "It must be a lot to take in. Towards the end...your mother was working hard to bring the war to an end along with many others. Unfortunately, she was part of the band of Auror's that had been tipped off to Death Eater activity. They had stormed the building but had gotten more than they bargained for. There had been no survivors. It was said that...that Voldemort had finished each of them off personally. Your mother was a pa rt of that."

"She never knew...she never knew that he was apart of them. How old was I when she died?"

"You were around fourteen months. Your father cared for you until you were nearly two years old. Before he was sentenced to Azkaban."

"I'm glad he's in there." And broke is momentary silence. Ted and Remus looked at him. "I hate him for it. For it all. For all that I care, he killed my mum. He can rot in there. He's not my dad. Your more that what he was," Andy looked up at Ted, the fair haired man gave him a wan smile and a hair ruffle.

"That you for telling me this, Mr. Lupin." Andy said, his voice quieting down. He felt a pair of eyes watching him from behind. He looked back to see Andromeda standing besides the warm fireplace. The flames were licking the brick work. Andy thought back to Christmas, to the letter that they had burnt. He was glad that had burnt. He didn't want to hear from that man every again.

"Mr. Lupin…?"

"Yes?"

"Was...was he involved with what happened to Harry's mum and dad?" Remus's face seemed to freeze into place. It was the lack of blinking that gave the stone features away.

"I-I can't really tell you anything on that, Andy." It occurred to the young boy that Mr. Lupin must have been really close to Harry's dad, his mum also. The memories were probably more painful for the man than they were for him.

"I think I'm going to go to bed now. Um, thank you, Mr. Lupin. Thanks for telling me all of this." Before they could protest he left the table and left the kitchen. The door swung shut behind him slowly and he heard Mr. Lupin speak softly: "He looks just like him."

Once the kitchen door shut fully and the adults began their conversation, Andy pounded up the stairs to his room.

"Hey, little cousin. How'd it all go?" Andromeda would have told Dora what the conversation would have been about, but he wasn't in the mood to talk. He simply closed the door on Dora. He didn't switch the lights on, instead stumbled through the dark to his bed, jumping over the trunk.

He didn't bother to change into his pyjamas. He collapsed on top of the bed sheets and pillow and closed his eyes. They stayed like they for a moment before he remembered. He grappled in the dark for the hinges of his trunk. He unlatched it and rummaged in the dark for the photograph that was buried beneath his clothes. He switched on the lamp besides his bed and stared at the moving image of the two seventh years. They were standing side by side, so it was easy to fold the paper in half. The occupants looked at him curiously as one was bent out of sight.

He placed the now bent photo in the edge of the family photo on the night stand. Now only his mother was visible. He switched off the lamp and closed his eyes again.

*****HP*****

Summer was a beautiful time of year. The skies were blue and whenever Dora was at the ministry for her training or lessons, Andy spent his days wandering the moors surrounding their cottage. He sometimes strayed into Muggle village from time to time. Ted Tonks may have been Muggle Born, but there wasn't a lot of Muggle influence about the house. Ted played some records from his youth and had read Muggle stories to him and Dora when younger, but the village was still rather alien.

He spent some days watching the screens in the front of the Television store, or wandered around the streets. He used Dora's owl Loki to send letters to Ron and Hermione. Hermione was currently about to go abroad with her parents, and had already finished her summer homework. Andy drafted his next letter to Hermione on the moors not far from home.

Dear Hermione,

How could you have finished your work already? It's summer! We're meant to be on a break! Anyways, I hope you have a great time on holiday. It's pretty quiet out here: Dora is training most days. I played Quidditch with Ted yesterday and we used a real Bludger. I now have a lump the size of an apple on my head. It's even hurting right now.

I've spoken to Ron a lot, but Harry never replies. Why is that? Has he not replied to you, or is it just me? He isn't replying to Ron either. I really want to go to his Aunt and Uncles house and knock on their front door to see him, but that's a long way away and I'm not too sure in what direction, either. He'd probably get into trouble anyways. I''ll try writing to him again. I'm going to Ron's tomorrow for the rest of the summer so send your owls there.

Also, if you have done the potions work like you said, could you help me with it? I'm stuck on...well everything. I think Snape is doing this deliberately, the git. Sorry.

Anyways, see you soon, have a great time.

Andy

He placed his quill down and folded the letter in half and slotted it inside an envelope, before being stuffed into the pocket of his jacket and mounted his broom. The Shoot Star was old and close to breaking after years of abuse. He shouldn't be out here on it, either. What if some Muggles were hiking out here and saw him? They'd have Ministry officials swooping down on them.

The broom shot off across the grassy picture, staying low enough for his fingers to trace each blade as he shot past, low enough for no Muggles atop the moors to see him. He skimmed a small lake nestled between two ridges and shot upwards against the hillside. He manoeuvred the broom across the landscape in the direction of the Tonks household.

The house was quiet. Ted would be at work, as he worked for the department of Magical Transport. Andromeda would either be in the kitchen or in the local Muggle village if they were low on certain foods that didn't grow in their garden.

Andy left the broom in the shed and raced through the back door and up to Dora's room, where her black owl Loki was sleeping, his head under his wing.

"Wakey wakey." Andy only gently prodded the owl awake, but the owl had collected one trait from his owner – and that was that he was a drama queen. The owl screeched before settling it's amber eyes on Andy wearily.

"Oh give over. Here," Loki begrudgingly lifted his leg and let him tie the letter addressed to Hermione to his leg. "If I'm not here, try the Burrow, okay?" Andy said and the owl looked for a moment as if he were to roll his eyes before swooshing out of the open window of Dora's room.

"Strange owl." Andy muttered before pounding back down the stairs for a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Could you go any faster?" Andromeda said as he entered the kitchen. She was knee deep in flour as she moulded the dough for bread. Andy smiled and sipped, grateful for the icy drink.

"Mrs. Weasley just sent me a letter. Everything's okay for tomorrow. Ted will drop you off at about noon." Andy nodded and sat at the kitchen table with his drink, listening to the Wizarding Wireless on the kitchen counter. He pulled out a sheet of parchment from the draw and began to write out his letter to Harry. It was strange that he hadn't replied. Ron had asked him to stop at the same time as Andy. He wounded if maybe Hedwig had injured her wing and couldn't deliver his messages, but surely the owl would have been better by now?

The skies were blue and Andy daydreamed for most the day before packing his trunk to go to the Weasleys the next day. He was rapidly approaching the start of September, marking his journey into the second year of Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

And he had no idea that this year would be more eventful than the last.

And done! So there it is, chapter one of the CHAMBER OF SECRETS. FINALLY! I've wanted to start writing this for ages, but writers block is an utter b*tch. So I hope you all enjoyed that. Please leave me a review if you did like it, or didn't and why. Until the next chapter,

Don't let the Muggles get you down!