Concealed

Chapter 3: Welcome Home

By: Someone2

You see you've love to run home

But you know you ain't got one

And you're livin' in a world

That you're best forgotten around here

And when you're thinkin' you're a joke

And nobody's gonna listen

To the one small point

I know they been missin' round here

~ "Broadway" By

The Goo Goo Dolls

     Harry looked around at all the robed figures in the Great Hall. The Sorting had just taken place and Dumbledore was talking. Harry felt a pair of eyes on him. He turned and looked around the room until he locked eyes with the girl that had been staring at him. He grinned and stuck out his tongue while making a face. The girl stifled a laugh as Ginny hit Harry upside the head. Harry winked at the girl and turned to face Ginny.

     "What the heck did you do that for?" he murmured to her.

     Ginny didn't even turn to face him as she answered. "You shouldn't be egging on the students while Dumbledore is speaking."

     "But I wasn't egging on the students," he whined playfully, "She was staring at me."

     "Excuses, excuses," she whispered with a grin playing at the corners of her mouth.

     Dumbledore finished talking and had sat down to eat. Harry scooped some potatoes on his plate. "I have a question for you three," the three looked wearily at him. He laughed. "Nothing about Mr. Popular, that's for later. My question is about your occupation. Are you three professors or something?"

     "No, we're not professors," Ron answered for the three of them, "We work for Dumbledore. We are a special type of Aurors, so to speak."

     Harry nodded. "Sounds like what I do. Only I can't tell you what I do." He winked at Ginny and continued, "But that doesn't really explain why so many people know you."

     Ginny smiled. "We are here all the time, and, besides, it hasn't been that long since we were here. We haven't changed that much."

     Harry grinned and mumbled to himself. "They don't seem to recognize me…"

     As dinner progressed and Harry was talking animatedly to Ron, Ginny snuck a glance at him from the corners of her eyes. The man reminded her of someone. Someone she must have known when she was younger and had grown up. But the question was who? Who did this man remind her of? Ginny knew she didn't know a James Black before this. Harry smiled while he was talking and she mentally grinned. 'It was as though Harry was sitting next to her,' was a thought that rolled absently across her mind. She chuckled softly and mentally shook her head. That was impossible. The man didn't look a thing like Harry… Or did he?

     He definitely acted like Harry. Well, how Harry had acted during his seventh year, anyway. Except this man had more of a backbone—didn't seem to take any bull from anyone. And that history… It was almost uncanny to Harry's.

      He had the same profile as Harry did. It was a little more pronounced, but that was to be expected. It was the same though, she should know—she had spent many years studying it. If he were Harry that would explain the hair. It was probably the only way for it to stay flat. And you can definitely tell if a person is a Potter by the hair. However, this left many questions unanswered. Where is his scar? Why are his eyes blue? And the most important question of them all—why did he leave?

     Harry felt a pair of eyes on him. He had developed a talent of being able to tell if someone was looking at him, and that was happening now. He turned to see Ginny staring at him. He wouldn't have been able to tell if he hadn't known what to look for. He gave a cocky grin and wave her way. She literally jumped and blushed. She waved back. But something was different. Harry smiled to himself. 'I guess Hermione has some competition these days,' he thought, 'in the form of Ginny. I wonder if she suspects or is certain yet. I think she just suspects, it is a little odd for her to know so soon. Though I have been dropping hints quite thickly—'

     "James! Earth to James!" a voice startled him away from his thoughts. He turned to look at Ron.

     Ron smirked. "If you are going to stare at my little sister, could you please wait until I am out of the room? I just ate and I really don't want to be sick."

     Harry just laughed. His face loosened up and became more beautiful than it was. It showed that he was human. It showed what he could have been. Ginny's jaw literally dropped open and her eyes opened wide. For that split second it was Harry, the part of him that never changed. No matter how much he had to grow up, those moments when he just let everything go showed who he really was.

     Ginny quickly stood up with the shocked expression still on her face and walked out of the Great Hall. Hermione's confused face quickly sobered Ron and Harry. She started to get up and go after Ginny when a hand on her arm restrained her. She looked over to Harry. He had a soft smile playing on his lips, as he looked at where Ginny left. He turned his head to face Hermione.

     "Let me go after her," he said gently, "I think I know what's wrong."

     Hermione's face changed from confusion to anger. "How could you know what's wrong, you don't even know her."

     "Trust me," was all he said as he stood up and started walking. The way he walked was odd though. He walked straight backed and proud. He also walked with determination, like he knew where he was going and nothing could stop him. The glazed look in his eyes didn't help matters much. It was as though a shadow of who this man was had decided to speak. He quickly disappeared from sight.

     Hermione went to go after him but Ron gently held her arm keeping her down. He brushed a strand of her hair from her face and leaned over to whisper in her ear. "Trust him," was all he said, "I do." He softly kissed her cheek and leaned back in his chair as he started to eat again. Hermione stole one last glance at where the two had gone before she sighed and started to eat again.

     One thought lingered though. 'Why, Ron? Why do you trust him?'

     Harry walked calmly out to the quidditch pitch. He looked at the highest row of seats and saw a small figure looking up into space. He walked over and sat down.

     "What's wrong, Gin?" he said after a moment of silence.

     She stiffened up. "You're Harry, aren't you?"

     Harry just sat, still staring up into the heavens. A small smile was on his face. "Yes, I am."

     She turned to face him, eyes wide with shock. "Then why, Harry? Why did you leave?"

     Harry closed his eyes. "I was sick of it, Ginny. So sick of it. Sick of being singled out. Sick of not being told anything. But most of all, sick of being protected. The protection that killed so many people. I couldn't handle it. I wanted to fight what they had been protecting me from. If you ask Dumbledore he'll say that they had been receiving anonymous information for a year after I left. They also knew it was from me."

     "What?" she said shocked, "He has never told us that. We could have tracked you from the owls."

     Harry grinned wirily as he turned to look at her. "No, you couldn't have. Dumbledore knew that."

     "What do you mean?"

     "I am not stupid, Gin. I always went to a different place after I sent one."

     "You really thought it through, didn't you?"

     Harry sighed. "I had to. I couldn't risk anyone finding me. They probably would have tied me up and locked me in a closet until I turned 21. Now I have a reason as to why Voldemort wants me. Do you want to know the sad part, Ginny?" she nodded. "It took me 10 years to find out."

     "Are you serious? No one ever told you?" she thought for a moment. "That explains something though. It explains why you won't find 'him' until you know why he is so important." She pointer a finger at him accusingly, "You don't want to come out of hiding unless you have a good reason to."

     Harry laughed. "You figured me out. But seriously now, if you think about it, once I tell them who I am my freedom is gone."

     Ginny looked at him. "What do you mean?"

     Harry smiled a sad smile. "Do you honestly think they are even going to let me out of their sight after I got away once? I'll be lucky if they let me go to the bathroom alone."

     Ginny frowned. "You know, I wish I could laugh, but what you said is true. You went into hiding—"

     "That's not true," interrupted Harry.

     Ginny glanced at him. "What?"

     "I never went into hiding, I just fought under a different name. I was getting nowhere and everywhere being Harry Potter. I learned a lot when I was myself, but I was only able to put it into action when I was James Black. Going into hiding requires not doing anything and I was doing everything but that."

     Ginny sighed. "Fine, then. When you went away, we never imagined that you did it on purpose and we never thought as to what we would do with you if we found you."

     "Ginny, stop it," Harry said in a cold voice that shocked her. She turned to find him glaring at her.

     "Stop what?" she asked, confused.

     "Stop treating me as though I am a bloody possession. You are not my keeper so stop acting like you are. I am a big boy, I can take care of myself," he said all of this sharply, enunciating every syllable.

      Her mouth fell open. She closed it. "When I thought it looked like you had gotten more of a backbone, I never suspected…"

     "What?" he said laughing sharply. "That I might actually stick up for myself?"

     She nodded and then gave him a hug. "Let's forget about that for now. I want to know more about this. Like, why your hair is so long, and why on earth are your eyes blue? And where is your scar?"

      Harry laughed. "Okay, hair first. This is the only way it stays flat. I would love to cut it short again but if I did that everyone would suspect me to be… Well, myself. As for my eyes being blue… That is because of a potion I found while I was 'away'. It works like this: If you have a family member, any type of relation, with a different eye color then you also have that eye color. Well you could have possibly had it. It has something to do with muggle genetics and things like that. It brings out a certain something, in this case eye color, that you could have been born with and makes it temporarily your real feature. That way even Moody's magical eye can't even tell the difference. Which makes it safe to use."

     "Wow," Ginny said, awed. "So how long does the potion last?"

     "About three months. My eyes should be gradually getting greener in about a month and a half. It should be completely gone in two months, right around Halloween. I figure if Ron and Hermione don't figure it out by then, I'll tell them as soon as my eyes go totally green. But I don't want to be a sitting duck until then, Ginny, I'll need your help." He looked at he with his eyes wide and his lower lip stuck out in a slight pout.

     Ginny laughed as she reached over and patted his cheek. "If you are asking me to help you train your powers, I would be happy to. But you owe me one thing…"

     "What's that?"

     "You have to tell me where your scar is," she said with a grin.

     Harry chuckled. "I was going to tell you that anyway, you know. But since you are so patient—" the sarcasm dripped from his voice and he winked "—I will tell you now. Another potion, I'm afraid. It, how do I put this? This is really hard to explain," He was talking more to himself than he was to her. "Okay, it gives the appearance that something has healed. If you were trained to look for slight imperfections in the skin and potions used to cover them up, you would be able to see my scar. In fact you can probably see it now if you look hard enough. It is still there, lighter of course, but the potion, in a way, draws your attention away from it. It makes it seem like it was never there. It will also wear off in two months."

     She reached and brushed his hair away from where his scar would be. She looked and could faintly make out a lightning bolt pattern. She gasped. You could barely even see it. You had to be within half a foot of him to even begin to make it out and even then you could barely see it. In fact, Ginny wasn't even sure if she was seeing it.

      Ginny sat back and frowned. "Harry," she said looking at the man sitting next to her, "What happened to you a year after you disappeared?"

     Harry smiled at her and put his arm around her. "That, Miss Weasley, is another story, for another day. I think we had better go in now; I really don't want Hermione breathing down my neck for being out here so long. Though you have to promise me one thing before we go in."

     She looked at him when his teasing tone went serious. "And what is that?" she said lightly, hoping to lighten the mood.

     Harry didn't take the bait. "You have to promise me you will not tell anyone, and I mean anyone, about me. If you don't, I swear I will go away again."

     She sighed dejectedly. "Of course I won't tell anyone. However… Am I allowed to give hints?"

     Harry grinned wickedly. "Not very obvious ones and only when I can hear you, okay?"

    She punched him in the shoulder even though his arm was still around her. "Fine. So, Mr. Pot—ahem, sorry, Mr. Black," she grinned wickedly, "shall we go inside?"

     "We shall." And they went walking into the Great Hall laughing, Harry's arm still around Ginny.

     Hermione's eyes widen as two figures came into the Great Hall. She smacked Ron on the arm and pointed at the two. He looked up and frowned. Hermione's eyes lit up. "See, Ron, see?" she whispered. "How can you trust him now? He is hitting on your sister!"

     Ron shook his head. "No, no, I don't think that is the case. I'll have to talk to him about her, but it surprises me more that they are acting like old friends." He turned to face her. "Did she ever say anything about him to you?"

     Hermione sighed. "No, she didn't. All she said was that she thought he was cute, though he does need a hair cut…"

     Ron laughed and put his arm around her. "One day we might have a kid and all you will be doing is telling the thing that it needs a hair cut." Hermione laughed as the other two approached.

     Harry looked at Ginny. "Gee, Gin, do you think we did something funny?"

    She giggled. "For you, James, I don't think it was intentional."

    "Oh, shut up," he said chuckling.

    His face turned serious as he sat down, Ginny sat in the seat next to him. Harry had just opened his mouth to say something when Dumbledore approached. The man faced Ron. "We can talk in my office. Why don't you go up there? I will be there shortly. The password is 'Fawkes' Phoenix Feathers'" Harry stifled a laugh at that and Dumbledore turned to look at him. His blue eyes twinkled, still not showing his age.

     Ron nodded and gestured for the three others to follow him. It didn't take long for them to reach that familiar stone gargoyle. Harry smiled faintly and Ginny winked. When they were sitting comfortably in Dumbledore's office, Fawkes flew over to Harry and settled himself on his knee. Harry whistled the phoenix song lightly and the beautiful bird joined in. It had taken Harry ages to perfect the song but while he had been along he had needed something to comfort him. The song was just the thing. The three companions who were also in the room looked on in awe, but Ginny was the only one who had her eyes slightly narrowed. The bird nuzzled its scarlet head in Harry's palm as if to say 'I missed you'. Harry smiled and continued whistling.

      "That is the oddest thing I have ever seen," said an old weathered voice causing Harry to jump and stop whistling. He glanced over at the mage who had sat behind his desk. "I have never known anyone who was able to imitate that song so well." Dumbledore smiled. "James Black, it is a pleasure to meet you at last. I am—"

     "You are Albus Dumbledore," interrupted Harry. "And it is a pleasure to see you again."

     "Again? I don't believe I remember meeting you before."

     Harry's eyes twinkled. "I never said anything about meeting you, I just said it was a pleasure to see you again. I remember seeing you before at the MoM. If I remember right, you and a certain minister were not getting along too well."

     Ginny snorted, knowing this was a half-truth. Harry turned to face her and winked. "Though," he said, all business, "Can we cut to the case? I want to know why you are so keen to find 'the boy who lived', when he obviously does not wish to be found."

     Dumbledore sighed rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I have allowed him to run free for this many years. Now is the time for him to come back and face reality. He needs to be trained with his growing powers to defeat Voldemort." With every word that Dumbledore had said, Harry's pleasant expression had been wiped from his face. He was all but glaring at him by the time that he had finished talking.

     "I am sorry if I am mistaken, but do you own him? Is he your house elf that is willing to serve your every whim? Because from what I am hearing, I am wondering if this boy has ever done anything for himself. Also, you have allowed him to run free? If you have allowed him to go, then why am I here? Because you obviously know where he is, since you allowed—" his voice was sharp and his gaze locked with everyone else in the room "—him to go. Or was he actually smart and got out while he could? Because I believe you have absolutely no idea where he is, do you? And unless you want me to call it quits and not find him, I suggest you treat him like a human being that was thrown into the middle of things without his permission."

     Harry was fuming. Dumbledore looked at him in surprise. This was the first person that actually thought that Harry went out there on his own and he was actually standing up for the boy. Harry's eyes locked with Dumbledore's. Dumbledore blinked in surprise, he was sure he had just seen that boy's eye color change. But it had happened so quickly…

      "Never mind. Just tell me about his special 'powers'."

      Hermione started to speak up. "Umm, sir? I thought we decided not to tell Mr. Black the circumstances under which we need to find Harry."

      Harry turned and glared at her. "I will not find him unless I know why you want me to disrupt his privacy and screw his life some more."

      Ginny giggled at that, quickly turning it into a cough when Ron looked at her.

      Dumbledore held up his hand. "Now Hermione, I believe we have to tell him, since he is so adamant about it. Now, James, Harry is a very special person. His history is amazing. He has overcome things that people like us, well maybe excluding you, would need to go to St. Mungdo's for. But what really makes him special are the powers that he receives at the age of 21—the age at which he is currently at. He is now able to do magic without a wand and without saying anything. All he has to do is think something, or even want something, and he is able to get it or make it happen. What makes that even more special is that all the spells in the world are in his head, along with descriptions of each. He is, with certain training, the most powerful thing in the world—even more than any creature. That is why we need to find him. He is dangerous without training and, not only that, but numerous people, also, seek him. He needs to defeat Voldemort as soon as he can."

      Ginny had to hand it to Harry—he was an excellent actor. He did not even look a little shocked. He frowned and looked everyone in the eyes, consecutively. "I need to think this over. Is it possible for someone to show me to where I will be staying?"

     Ginny stood up. "I'll take you, James. Follow me please."

     Harry stood up and gave a short nod to everyone as he walked out of the door. 

     Ginny turned on him as soon as they were a safe distance from Dumbledore's office. "How are you going to do this, Harry?"

     Harry held a finger to his lips and looked around. "Careful, Ginny, the walls have ears and those who don't have ghosts."

     Ginny chuckled as Harry answered her question. "I'll pretend to look for him for the two months I have left. I might go back to my home for a bit, but I have to pretend to look for him." Harry grinned wickedly, "I have a feeling I need to look in the U.S., want to come with?"

      She laughed. "Maybe. So when do you want to start training?"

      "Do you know how to teach me?"

      "I was the one that was going to teach you anyway."

     "Oh. So can we start tonight?"

     Ginny smiled. "Sounds good to me."

     It was an empty potions room. One that looked like a potion had exploded in it and they had decided to move to a different room rather than clean this one. Harry scrunched his nose. The smell was intoxicating. Roses and all, but it was strong. Ginny told him to stand in the middle of the room and she faced him.  She smiled at him.

     "Okay, stand with your feet shoulder width apart and put your right hand in front of you." She demonstrated, putting her hand straight out in front of her as if to ward someone off. Harry copied her, feeling foolish.

      "Now relax completely, once you get the hang of not using your wand you won't need to focus as hard. But relax. Breath in and out, close your eyes." Her voice was soft and smooth; it made Harry feel like he was floating. Ginny smiled. "Now bring your arm down to your side. Remember to stay relaxed as you bring your arm down."

     As Harry did as she said, something amazing happened. Something that, to which the extent, amazed even Ginny. As his arm lowered his feet left the ground, but not even that. Ginny started to float also. She laughed, delighted. "Harry, I want you to open your eyes. You won't believe what you see!"

     Harry opened his eyes and then laughed. He did a little jig as Ginny clapped.

     "Wow, this is awesome!  But it's missing one thing…" trailed Harry, with twinkling eyes.

    "What's that?"

    "Music," and with a clap of his hands music came on. Ginny giggled.

    "You catch on quickly," she said with a hand at her mouth.

     "I have a good teacher…" He floated over to her and bowed. He held out his hand. "May I have this dance?"

     Ginny curtsied as she put her hand in his. "You may."

     Harry laughed as he pulled Ginny closer, putting one arm around her waist and leaving one hand in hers. He twirled her as the music got louder. They just danced, full out danced. There was no frightened dancing, no dancing where the dancers were afraid of dancing. They danced on the ceiling, Harry laughing and pulling Ginny into dips and twirls, elaborate dancing—you name it, they most likely danced it. They were laughing as Harry slowly floated them down. He had an ear-to-ear smile on his face.

     "That was the most fun I've had in ages!"

     Ginny nodded in agreement. "No kidding! Where did you learn to dance like that, Harry?"

     Harry grimaced. "Etiquette class. It was required for my job. In fact, I believe they said something like 'you need to know how to look decent in social situations'."

     Ginny laughed. "Well, it certainly came in handy. Come on, I'll show you to your room."

     "Where is it?" he asked as they started walking down the hall. He looked over at Ginny. The sweat on her skin was making it glow, giving it a translucent feeling. He gulped. Her red hair curled softly around her face, falling from the band in her hair. He smiled. She was beautiful—there was no doubt about that. She looked over at him and mumbled slightly.

      "Hmm?" he said leaning toward her, "I didn't hear you. What did you say?"

      She bit her lip before she answered. "I was wondering what you would look like if you had a hair cut. I'll give you one?"

      Harry sighed, "But then everyone will know it's me, I can't let that happen."

      Ginny grinned mischievously. "Not if I cut it."

      Harry smiled, still high on life. "Sure, why not? As long as you can cut it so it doesn't scream my name."

      "I knew you'd see it my way! Trust me, I know just the thing for you!"

      Harry whistled for a bit as they walked. "So where is my room?"

     "Oh, it's right across from mine and mine is close to the Gryffindor common room. In fact, here it is!" She stopped in front of a portrait. Harry blinked in surprise, the oddity of it all. The picture was a painting of him with Hermione and Ron. The picture didn't move. Wait, the picture did move! The mini-Harry on the wall turned and winked at Harry. "Password, please, Ginny."

      "Chocolate Truffles," she said, watching the shocked expression on the real Harry's face. The portrait opened to reveal a hallway with two doors. Ginny pointed to the one on the right. "That's my room. The one on the left is yours."

     They walked down the hallway and Ginny opened the door for Harry. She didn't allow him to see the rich emerald green and gold that made up his room. The bed that was placed in the corner, with a desk on the opposite wall… The wood was oak and the walls were green with shimmering gold stripes. She grabbed his wrist and led him straight to the bathroom that was connected to his room. That too was furnished in green and gold. Harry sat on the edge of the toilet seat while Ginny transfigured something into scissors. Ginny stood in front of him and reached over his head to cut the ponytail off. She lifted the hair up in front of her face disgustedly before throwing it into the garbage. She knelt down to eye his hair. Harry shut his eyes as he felt his head get lighter. A rush of coldness hit him as Ginny made his hair damp. He heard her mumble something about being sorry… A lock of hair hit his cheekbone… and another… The nape of his neck felt air next… Now the other side… He could feel her breathe on his face… She ran her hand through his hair to mess it up. She stood up and smiled satisfactorily. She nudged him with her knee. Harry opened his eyes and stood up to look in the mirror. His mouth dropped open in amazement. His hair was still long—strands resting below his eyes, along his cheekbone, leading to just under his ears. It wasn't all that messy. It flared slightly at the ends, curling around his face. It was a little grungy—looking messed up. Harry reached up and ran a hand through his thick hair. 'Wow,' was all he could think. He turned to face Ginny. He threw all formalities away and just hugged her as he said thank you over and over again. Ginny looked up with a critical eye. She ran a hand through his hair and watched it fall back down.

     "It looks good on you, and you don't even look a bit like you used to," she teased.

     Harry mock punched her and they laughed. The two walked into his room. As Ginny was at the door and was about to go to her room, she turned and ran to him, giving him a hug.

     "I've missed you so much," she mumbled into his chest. Harry wrapped his arms around her.

     "I've missed you, too. Though, I have been keeping tabs on you guys. I have always been looking out for you. I will never let anything bad happen to you, just you remember that."

      After standing like that for a long time, Ginny finally pulled herself away and walked out the door. She paused before turning around. "Good night, Harry," she said before closing the door.

     "Good night, Ginny," he said from perched on the edge of his bed. He was looking at the door, knowing that she hadn't heard him.     

     He turned around, fingered his hair, and got into bed. "That was one interesting day," he mumbled before falling asleep.

     In the next room, Ginny stood with her arms around her, one hand touching her lips. 'It is good to have him back,' she thought before getting ready to go to bed.

The end… Well of this chapter.

A/N: I hope you liked this! I have one thing to say to all of you. If you want me to notify you when I update a story (or even write a new one…), tell me so in a review (or email me and tell me), and please put your email in the review also. This goes for both my stories. J Thanks to everyone, you people are awesome! I am glad that so many of you like my stories.

Thanks to Pumpkin Hatching, Krazy Kris, and Katrina Skyfrost, they are my wonderful betas, and I must say they do a wonderful job.

I am sorry to keep you waiting so long. Please forgive me.  J

Please remember to review and you people are amazing!!

I'll try to update soon, but real life gets in the way of many things.

Someone2

Post A/N: I am sorry about the reload. Somebody informed me of a mistake and I felt I needed to fix it as soon as I could. Sorry about any confusion!