Disclaimer: A lot of this chapter is summary of JK Rowling's work. I don't own any of Harry's summarized past
Albus examined his father's hard face not believing how easy it was to get him to start talking. His father didn't look right though. He usually was a very happy person who joked around a lot. Now he seemed hard and distant. Pain registered on his face on many levels as the man reflected on his past. Nothing about this manner was familiar to Albus, not that he was surprised if his father was able to hide his entire past from Albus he would have no trouble hiding this other grieving side of him.
"I'll start at the beginning when I was eleven," he started, "I was living with my Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon at the time. You three have never met them. They were never very kind to me. Their son though is Uncle Dudley, the muggle remember him?"
"The big one that writes all the time using the muggle mail system?" James asked. Albus thought back, he knew the Uncle Dudley that they got letters from but he couldn't recall the face that went with the signature on the parchment they received bimonthly.
Harry nodded, "Yes that's him. I was living with them because my parents had died when I was a baby from what they said was a car crash. They said I was there and that that was how I got my scar." Harry tapped his forehead running his fingers over a pink lightning bolt shaped line, "As you know when you are eleven you get your letter from Hogwarts. My Aunt and Uncle knew I was a wizard, of course and when I started getting mail from strange school I'd never heard of, they flipped out. I wasn't allowed to read the letters and eventually Hagrid had to come give me my letter in person. He is the one who first told me how my parents died."
"How?" Albus asked interrupting Harry. This was the moment he had waited for, the moment he was going to get answers.
Instead of answering Harry responded with another question, "Rose can you tell me what the three unforgivable curses are?"
"Yes the first is the Imperious curse, it is used to control another's mind. The user of the curse has complete control of the victim. The second is the Cruciartus curse it is used to torcher the victim. The third is the Killing curse it is quite self-explanatory and kills the victim on contact," Rose responded from memory.
Harry smiled grimly, "Yes, they say that it is impossible to survive the Killing Curse. That is the curse that killed my parents. They died trying to protect me from a man named Lord Voldemort, the Dark Lord. He was a leader of a type of cult and he started a war that later came to be known as the first great wizarding war. Voldemort was the leader of this cult. His goal was to rid the world of all beings that he deemed unpure. That means muggles, and the muggle born wizards."
Albus saw Uncle Ron clench his fist clearly upset about this Lord Voldemort's ambitions. That made sense he guessed because Aunt Hermione was a muggle born, "Why? There is nothing wrong with muggles," Rose asked in a demanding way, obviously defending her mother.
"He was a misguided man, deluded with power. He was unstoppable at the time and half of the wizarding world followed him out of fear. They called his die hard followers death eaters. The ones closest to him had a mark on their left arm called a dark mark. Looking back now I truly believe that he would have won the war if he had not come after me that night," Harry said.
"Why? I thought he just killed your parents. What did you have to do with any of it?," James asked.
Harry shook his head," He had come that night to kill me. There was a prophecy that said I was going to be the one to finally defeat him. I was a baby at the time and so he came to kill me before I aged into a threat. He came to my house killed my father than came upstairs to kill me. My mother was in that room and she gave her life for me. That was what stopped him that night, by sacrificing herself for me she gave me the ultimate protection, love. It is very old magic but it is some of the most powerful. When Voldemort turned to kill me with the Killing Curse it reflected off the protection my mother had given me and he was crippled. I am the only known person who survived the killing curse, the boy who lived people used to call me. That kind a magic leaves its mark though."
Harry tapped his forehead again. Albus stared at the scar as if seeing it for the first time. His father was incredible even before he could talk, it was kind of bizarre. He'd never looked at Harry as particularly talented wizard. He was just dad and he was like all the other dads, nothing extraordinary or anything.
"So all those people on our wall died in the war before you were alive?" Lily asked disbelievingly. Lily took after Rose and Aunt Hermione in that way, always thinking logically, not to the extent that Rose did though. Now that it was brought to his attention though, it did seem strange to Albus that they had a shrine for a bunch of strangers.
Harry shook his head grimly, "I said that he was crippled not that he died. The world did think that he died though. The death eaters were rounded up and put in jail and people went back to living their lives for the next eleven years. Voldemort in the meantime lingered in a form that was not quite alive but not quite dead. His next reappearance was when I was eleven. I went to school and met Ron and Hermione there. We were the biggest bunch of misfits."
"I don't know what you are talking about. I was the most popular kid in that school," Uncle Ron replied. Aunt Hermione hit him upside the head.
Harry smiled and continued, "I met Albus Dumbledore there, the headmaster of Hogwarts at the time. Severus Snape was my potions teacher. To say it bluntly that year there was a stone that was at Hogwarts that could have revived Voldemort. I stopped him though with Ron and Hermione of course. He didn't have a body that year he was living on the back of my Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher's head.
In my second year at Hogwarts I met that house elf that you were talking about earlier, Dobby. His previous owner was Lucius Malfoy, Scorpious' grandfather. Lucius was a death eater in the first war and we didn't get along that well. His son Draco was my worst enemy during those years and I don't think that our relationship had changed much. That year Lucius Malfoy slipped a diary into your mother's cauldron. That diary was the first of Voldemort's horocruxs."
"Whats a horocrux?" Hugo asked.
"It is something caused by very dark magic. When a wizard murders someone their soul gets split in half. The wizard can then take part of his split soul and seal it into an object. It is a way that one can prevent death. Voldemort had made seven. That meant that to kill him all seven had to be destroyed first. This diary was the first that I encountered. The diary opened something called the chamber of secrets that year. That is a secret chamber that Salazar Slytherin made when Hogwarts was built. It had a giant snake in it called a basilisk. That year the basilisk almost killed a lot of people at Hogwarts but it never did more than petrify them. Eventually the diary tried to turn back into Voldemort in all his glory. To do this he tried to kill Ginny; however, I stopped him again that year. I killed the basilisk with a sword and then stabbed the diary with a basilisk fang effectively destroying the horocrux. Later I also tricked Lucius Malfoy into setting Dobby free. My third year at Hogwarts was the year I met Remus Lupin."
Albus saw Teddy sit a little straighter at the sound of his father's name. His face was filled with the same sad pride that Harry wore when he talked about his own father dying. Victorie, who was sitting beside Teddy, put her hand on his shoulder. Remus Lupin was probably the one person on the wall that Albus' had heard the most about. He knew that his father was close with the man and that he trusted Harry as the god-father of Teddy. He also knew that both Remus Lupin and Nymphadora Tonks were killed at some point. They didn't talk about it much but on occasion when Teddy had asked, Harry had answered. Harry continued his tale, "He was my defense against the dark arts teacher and also a werewolf. That year Sirius Black had escaped from Azkaban. He had been convicted wrongly for being an accessory in my parents murder. When my father was a kid he had been friends with three other boys, Sirius, Remus, and a man named Peter Pettigrew. Peter Pettigrew was the one who should have been in prison not Sirius. Pettigrew was an animagous though and had been living as Ron's rat for a long time. Sirius had come to back to kill him and was unsuccessful. He escaped and rejoined Voldemort that year. Sirius had to go into hiding and Remus had to resign from his teaching post because he was a werewolf. Sirius was my godfather and we kept in touch though."
Albus looked around the table examining each family member. Everyone younger than Victorie was watching Harry attentively like he was telling the best story known to man. Everyone else wore hard faces. It was clear that the story was starting to get to the part where people started to get hurt, the part where the deaths from the wall in the hall started to be explained
"My fourth year at Hogwarts they held something called the tri-wizard cup. It is a wizarding competition between three schools for wizards and witches, Hogwarts, Drumstrang, and Beauxbaton. Traditionally there are three competitors from each school that year however the thing was rigged and Hogwarts got two, me and a boy named Cedric Digory. The Drumstrang competitor was Victor Krum, and you're the Beauxbaton competitor was your Aunt Fleur. The last round of the tri wizard tortament was a race to see who could get to the tri wizard cup first. Digory and me grabbed to goblet at the same time. It was a port key and we got shipped to a graveyard were Voldemort was finally revived. He killed Cedric while we were there and I couldn't save him. I escaped though and returned to Hogwarts."
Harry's face looked sad and grief stricken. It sounded like he was the only one at the table who really knew this Digory boy and something about that death really struck him in a bad way. Albus' father glanced down at him and must have seen that his son was concerned, because he put his arm around Albus and squeezed him tight in a reassuring way. "Dumbledore and I tried to tell everyone about Voldemort's return but the minister of magic didn't want it to be true. He told everyone that we were lying. He allowed Voldemort to regain his followers as we sat and did nothing. Dumbledore brought the Order of the Pheonix back together that year. Almost everyone on the wall was part of the order. That year the ministry stationed a women named Dolores Umbridge at Hogwarts. She started to take over and by the end of the year she had run Dumbledore out and had taken over as headmistress. That year I also discovered that when Voldemort tried to kill me he somehow connected our minds. To put it short I could sometimes see into his and he could see into mine. He planted a scene into my mind that Sirius was in trouble. I tried to be a hero and save him. It was a trap though. They had a horde of death eaters waiting for me and a few other people that I brought. It was stupid and I could've gotten a lot of people killed. We got lucky though and the order showed up last minute Sirius included. There was a battle and a death eater named Bellatrix Lestrange killed him that night." Harry's voice cracked and he looked like he was fighting back tears. Ginny had her hand on his back, looking concerned.
"Wasn't your fault mate," Uncle Ron muttered to Harry. Albus glanced over at James. He looked proud of his middle name at that moment.
Harry nodded forcing himself to continue, "Voldemort showed up eventually and Dumbledore fought him. The minister saw him that night and so they believed us then. They had Umbrige removed from Hogwarts and things went back to normal. Or as normal as things could be. Dumbledore explained horocruxs to me in my sixth year. He had found one on his own and destroyed it. He said he thought that there were seven of them, the diary, the ring that he destroyed, a necklace from Slytherin, something from ravenclaw, something from Hufflepuff, the snake he constantly kept with him, and something else. At the end of the year he said he knew where the necklace was . I went with him to get it. He drank this potion while there and was extremely weak. When we got back we found that Death Eaters were attacking Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy had been tasked with killing Dumbledore and he brought reinforcements. When it came down to it though he couldn't kill him. Instead Severus Snape showed up and did it."
"What I thought he was a good guy!" Albus exclaimed, "You named me after him."
Everyone was staring at him now giving him dirty looks for interrupting. Grandma had a tear running down her face as Harry recounted Dumbledore's death.
"I'll get there," Harry replied ruffling Albus' hair and giving him a weak smile, "That night was the night Uncle Bill got attacked by Fenir Greyback and got his scars and acquired his abnormal taste for raw meat," Harry said trying to lighten the mood with something less depressing (They always teased his Uncle about how stakes are not meant to be eaten raw), "We went to Dumbledore's funeral that year and me, your Aunt Hermione, and Uncle Ron decided not to go back because we needed to be out hunting horocruxes. I went back to Aunt Petunia's and Uncle Vernon's that summer one last time. When they tried to remove me from that house again another member of the Order died, Alister Moody. I also learned that Remus and Tonks got married around that time. At the wedding we found out that the ministry had officially been taken over by Voldemort. We spent the majority of the rest of the year hunting horocruxes. We broke into the ministry and robbed gringotts. We got caught at one point and taken to the Malfoy mannor. Dobby the house elf was the one who saved us. He died though in the process, killed by Bellatrix Lestrange, the same woman who killed Sirius. I buried him at Uncle Bill and Aunt Fluer's house. I buried him properly digging his grave with my own two hands." Harry's voice cracked and he paused for a minute as he regained his composure. This confused Albus a little, he didn't know many people who even considered house elves people and here was his father almost reduced to tears over the death of one. This Dobby must have been one incredible elf.
Harry took a deep breath and continued, "We got all of them except for the ravenclaw item, the snake, and the final unknown thing. We went to Hogwarts then. Snape had been put as the death eater headmaster to replace Dumbledore. McGonagall fought Snape and he left. A battle started and there was a lot of fighting and destruction. I went off and found Ravenclaw's diadem which was one of the last two horocruxes. When we were in the process of destroying it Draco Malfoy attacked us. He set a room on fire and I saved his life."
"Lord knows why," Uncle Ron murmured under his breath.
"All that we thought was left at that point was the snake. We had to find the snake. The battle was still going on of coarse. Fred your namesake, Georges twin, we saw him die as we made our way to the snake."
Uncle George had a tear streaming down his face as Aunt Angelina tried to comfort him. Uncle Percy also looked like he was in agony. Albus was starting to see that not telling this story was more than just protecting himself, James, Lily, and his other younger cousins. This war had left his family scared and every time this story was told they had to relive it all. "I thought you said that there was a seventh horocrux. The snake would only make six?" Lily asked again showing her love for logical reasoning.
"I'll get there," Harry replied, "I used the connection that our minds had to find him. He was in the shrieking shack with Lucius Malfoy telling him to bring Severus to him. When we got there Snape had already arrived. Nagini, Voldemort's snake had attacked him and he was dying. His last request was to look into my eyes one last time. It seemed strange to me at first but before he went he gave me his memories. When I watched them in Dumbledore's pensive I learned that Snape loved my mother when he was a boy and it was solely because Voldemort killed her that Snape swapped sides. He spent every day since her death trying to protect me. He killed Dumbledore because Dumbledore knew Malfoy was after him. He didn't want Malfoy's soul split from murder and he wanted Snape to be the one to kill him. He then spent his days as head master trying to protect the students from within Voldemort's ranks. I also learned that I was the last horocrux. When Voldemort tried to kill me he accidentally created the seventh horocrux in me. I needed to die for the war to end. Conveniently he then withdrew all of his troops and told me that if I came to him no one else had to die. That is exactly what I did I went to him and he used the killing on me a second time. I didn't die when he did it though. He used the curse and inadvertedly killed his own horocrux. They carried my supposedly dead body back to the castle to show everyone else. They said it was over that the fighting should stop. Neville made a brilliant speech then and killed the Nagini with the sword I used to kill the basilisk with in my second year. Another battle started then and in the end I killed Voldemort. Fred, Tonks, Lupin, a friend named Colin Creevy, Snape, and fifty other wizards that I didn't know died during that battle. I ended it that day but I also lost more than I ever knew that I had."
No one spoke. Everyone seemed like they were in a trance every eye dazed remembering their own experience from this second wizarding war. Albus was speechless too but not because he was grieving for some lost friend. His father must be one of the most famous wizards on the planet and he never knew. It was incredible. He understood everyone's shock now when he was placed. Everyone knew who his father was and who would think that such a brave man would produce anything other than a Gryffindor.
Albus looked up at his father trying to think of something to say. The great Harry Potter didn't look too proud of his achievements. He looked guilty. His mother was whispering something into her husband's ear.
"It wasn't your fault hun. They died fighting for what they believed in you didn't cause that. It was Voldemort. It was always Voldemort, you can't blame yourself for his actions. It wasn't your fault," she was saying. He was nodding emptily to her clearly not taking in anything he was saying. It made Albus mad, of all people his father deserved to be happy. He didn't deserve to be permanently burdened with the deaths of all these people especially because he never really caused any of them.
Uncle George was the first to break the prolonged silence, "You know Fred you are just like my brother. I swear if only you were a bit paler and had orange hair I would get you confused with him."
Fred smiled proudly. Uncle Ron looked over at his brother, "I remember the time you and Fred broke into the O.W.L exams in our fifth year. Lit the whole room up with your wiz bangs. The look on Umbridges face when they started flying around was priceless. You two brought new meaning to the words out with a bang."
George smiled at the memory, "James I think you are the exact replica of both your grandfather and Sirius Black. Those two couldn't stay out of trouble either when they were in school. I was at Hogwarts before them of course but the stories I heard from some of my friends younger siblings. You know they almost set a five hundred year old tree on fire in their first year, "Grandpa said. Everyone seemed interested in his story because he and Albus' grandmother were the only ones at the table who knew the two when they were still in school.
"Teddy you remind me of your mother more than your father. She was just as colorful as you are and I can't really remember a time when she wasn't cheerful and positive. Your facial features kind of look like Remus though," Grandma said.
"Albus you seem to be a lot like Snape. He was great at potions too and of course was a Slytherin. Your personality isn't really like him though He was a bit of an introvert and kind of menacing," Ginny remarked looking proudly at her son.
"Lily you're a lot like the original Lily too. You act just like her, never saying a bad word about anyone," Grandma said.
Uncle Charlie let out a haughty laugh, "I don't think anyone here is really much like Dumbledore. He was his own man." Several people smiled at that, even Albus' father couldn't hold back a smile. He looked like he was feeling a bit better returning to the present and reflecting on the happy times rather than the bad.
Uncle George grinned at Uncle Charlie, "Him and Mad-eye both."
Aunt Hermione smiled, "I don't think I've yet met anyone who dressed quite like Dobby," she said.
James shot a worried look at Albus and his green sweater, "I don't think that I believe that."
Now everyone was smiling and laughing the mood returning to the appropriate level of holiday cheer. In the hour that that conversation took place nothing really had changed. Albus' father had always carried this burden of guilt on his back. Harry had always been the man who killed Voldemort, ending the second wizarding war. The people on the wall were just as dead now as they were ten minutes ago. The only difference now was that Albus knew, and that changed everything completely.
