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Disclaimer: I don't have any rights to Harry Potter and his world which was created by J.K. Rowling.
Spoilers: This story follows Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; it is about two weeks into the summer holiday. It also takes into account everything that has happened in books 1-5 but not the sixth or seventh books.
Hidden Truth's
Chapter 1
Harry Potter lay alone on his bed, staring at the ceiling. He was awake, but in a trance. His eyes were glassy, and every muscle in his body was relaxed. It was the 30th July and 5 minutes to midnight.
His room was disgustingly messy, dust lines every surface and a jumble of possessions obscured the floor from view. His trunk lay open at the foot of his unmade yet occupied bed, it was virtually empty, most of his belongings were either on the ground or strewn randomly around the room.
His wand lay abandoned upon the chest of drawers where Hedwig's cage rested. Hedwig was perched gracefully inside the cage, sleeping with her head under her left wing, her breathing slow and rhythmic.
A loud buzzing sound filled the room, waking Hedwig up. She gave a high-pitched screech and ruffled her snowy feathers indignantly.
Harry woke suddenly from a stupor and looked at the face of his luminous alarm clock, bleary eyed, it showed 24:00. He reached out and hit the stop button, sending his alarm clock crashing to the floor with a loud thud that was inappropriate for its size.
At exactly that moment Harry heard the doorbell chime downstairs, followed by a bout of his uncles red-faced cursing. "That ruddy doorbell's playing up again Petunia, either that or Dudley's lost his keys again, the little tyke, or…" Vernon Dursley's speech came to an abrupt halt as he opened the door, Harry edged closer to his bedroom door, trying to decipher the identity of the visitor.
He jumped back in shock upon hearing the wise old voice of his current headmaster, hitting the back of his head on the wall as he landed in a heap on his unmade bed. He leapt to his feet rubbing the rear end of his skull and snatching his wand from his chest of drawers.
He sent a cleaning charm in all directions and marveled at the widespread effects of the spell. Hedwig's cage was tidied up, most of the feathers and bird droppings were removed and replaced with dry, clean sawdust. Her water tray was filled and some owl treats were added to her food bowl from the box on the window sill.
All of his belongings were thrown into his trunk, but landed neatly, stacking themselves in alphabetical order. The dust that topped every surface was swept away, leaving nothing but shiny wood beneath it. His pillow rose into the air and was plumped by invisible hands. His duvet was repositioned so it lay over the bed, not one crease adorned it.
Harry smiled to himself and bounced out of his newly clean bedroom, catching a glimpse of his appearance in the ornate brass mirror which hung upon the wall opposite his bedroom door.
He doubled back and studied his image in the mirror, the cleaning charm had affected him too, his hair was dark and shiny, it had been combed neatly to one side.
Harry wrinkled his nose in distaste and raked a hand through his hair, messing it up again. His emerald eyes were free from sleep and the dark circles beneath them were gone. His clothes were smooth and free from crinkles and also four sizes smaller than they had been five minutes previously.
Harry was utterly perplexed at the complexity of the cleaning charm he had produced; he had never cast one so powerful before. He looked for a reason why it may have occurred, hundreds of possibilities rushed through his mind, and Harry reviewed each one and discarded it almost immediately. He eventually came to the decision that he was growing more powerful and that his magic was finally starting to reflect that.
Harry cleared his mind and walked over to the top of the stairs, taking a deep breath, he started to pad down the steps barefoot.
When Harry reached the bottom of the stairs, he could hear Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia sniffing uncomfortably at random intervals. He smiled to himself; anything that caused the Dursley's discomfort was fine with him.
He breezed into the living room; Dumbledore was sipping tea casually from a mug that was clearly of wizard origin. It refilled itself every time a sip was taken. Bubbling anger rose up through his gullet at the sight of the ancient wizard sitting calmly in his presence. He took a deep breath and absorbed the appearance of the rest of the room.
The Dursley's were sitting with their backs to Harry on the salmon pink sofa. Dudley was nowhere to be seen, but if he had been present, he would have his hands clamped over his abnormally large bottom, as was his custom, every time wizards came to visit.
Harry wandered over to the only empty seat, swinging his arms freely, before collapsing into the high-backed leather chair.
Dumbledore studied Harry intently, "Are you well, Harry? You look tired and thin". He added as an afterthought. Harry found a spot on the wall just three inches above Dumbledore's head which he concentrated on. "I'm not tired or thin" He said begrudgingly.
Harry looked straight into Dumbledore's eyes "Happy?" he asked.
Dumbledore looked at Harry sadly, and then shook his head slowly. "You need to look after yourself Harry, you know what happened last year, and you need to be prepared, I don't think my office could take another of your beatings."
Harry snorted quietly and in disbelief. "What do you care if I look after myself As far as you're concerned I'm just your little puppet who you can control and force to kill voldemort. Have you ever considered the fact that I might actually want a life and a family, rather than just fighting all the frickin' time?" Harry finished angrily.
Dumbledore stood neatly, stepping over to Harry who was standing now, having leapt to his feet at the beginning of his outburst. He placed a calming hand on Harry's shoulder, but he shrugged it off, turning away. "Harry" Dumbledore began "you will have a life and a family, but unless you would like Voldemort to bring death upon your family, then this has to be dealt with first."
Harry's breathing slowed, he still had his back to Dumbledore but he nodded "I know"
Dumbledore smiled weakly but gladly, the twinkle reappearing in his eyes, and returned to the armchair he had vacated. Harry heard him sit down and followed suit, returning to his seat.
The Dursley's had paid close attention to the interaction between headmaster and student and were now shaking in fear. Harry snorted and turned to Dumbledore, "What are you doing here anyway?" he mumbled tonelessly, not looking into his eyes.
"Ah I was wondering when it might come to that. The order and I have decided that you are to be removed from your current place of residence earlier than usual. There is a choice as to where you can go, and we have added every possible ward and safety precaution to each order safe house although some of them gave been temporarily vacated due to the fact that Voldemort knows where they are and who resides there."
Harry stared at his headmaster "Since when do you let me pick and choose where I go and what I do?" he questioned with hope in his emerald eyes, and thoughts of the Burrow in his mind.
Dumbledore saw the longing that has spread across his face and shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid the Burrow is one of the places that has been briefly deserted. However, you could go to Headquarters, Hogwarts or my own home when I do not inhabit the school; Dumbledore Manor. Whichever place you choose to stay, you will be joined by the Weasley's, Miss Granger and a number of inner circle order members."
Harry stared at Dumbledore, his mouth hanging open somewhat, yet rage and resentment boiled up inside him. "I won't be trapped at Headquarters like Sirius was" He scowled, with a glare in Dumbledore's direction.
He bowed his head regretfully "I expected as much, Harry."
Harry sneered "and I don't much like the idea of starting school before term even begins either." Dumbledore smiled, his crystal blue eyes twinkling "So I can book you a room in Dumbledore Manor then, yes?"
Harry nodded once and shrugged his shoulders defensively "I guess so."
"Good, well it may surprise you, but I do have some other reasons for being here this evening. Firstly Remus and Nymphadora have procured some clothes that should be appropriate for the rest of the summer, as well as some that may be suitable for the winter months."
Harry nodded, silently thanking Lupin and Tonks for saving him from humiliation.
Dumbledore continued, pleased with Harry's reaction, "since Sirius passed, his will was released by the Ministry and everything he owned prior to his death has been transferred to you, including Headquarters, Kreacher, a considerable amount of gold and all of his personal belonging's. Buckbeak was also in Sirius' care, but has now been relocated to Hogwarts, where Hagrid is taking care of him."
Harry's brain was still digesting the information, but his mouth sped ahead and he blurted "I don't want his stuff, I want him!"
Dumbledore inclined his head. "I understand Harry, but you have to face it sometime." Harry gulped, trying to calm himself down. "I know, but not now, well, not all of it now."
"You wish to make some arrangements now?" Harry nodded "Yeah." He paused, "is that okay?"
"Of course Harry." Harry thought for a minute, his eyes glazed over, finally, he came to his senses and started "Buckbeak can stay with Hagrid, you can keep using headquarters as headquarters if you want, Kreacher can go work at Hogwarts and I'll deal with the rest some other time."
"Okay Harry."
Harry breathed out and bowed his head quickly. "Is that it then? Can we go?"
"Not exactly Harry, there is one more thing I have to tell you, and I advise you stay seated." Dumbledore paused whilst Harry made himself more comfortable.
He continued. "Harry, James isn't your father and you aren't an only child, you have a sister."
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