The Truth is Out There
By schizophrenic genius
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. It belongs to Joan Kathleen Rowling. I don't own Smallville. It belongs to Millar and Gough. And all of them partly belong to Warner Brothers. But none belong to me. Life can be like that sometimes… Well, maybe I own the plot, but still…
Author's Note: Thank you, once again, for your wonderful reviews. I know I'm being redundant saying this in every chapter, but hey, I'm just thankful I could say thanks. But for me to be able to thank you again, you've got to review. Thanks!
Chapter 10
Soul-searching
"Moony?" Hermione muttered in shock. The rest of them reciprocated similar reactions. What was he doing in the Forbidden Forest, of all places?
The man whom Hermione called was lying on the floor in extremely tattered robes, his skin rather clammy, and his hair drenched in sweat, as well as in the rain that was suddenly starting. Ron came up beside Hermione and muttered, "Ennervate!"
On command, Remus Lupin's eyes fluttered open. "Hermione, Ron, is that you? What's going on?" Quite suddenly, he sat up, clutching his head in pain and dawning comprehension. "Oh God…" he said in horror.
"It's alright, Professor Lupin. Ginny wasn't hurt," said Hermione, effectively empathizing with the werewolf, "Or was she?"
Harry carried Ginny near the clearing in which Remus sat. Using his x-ray vision, he scanned Ginny's body for signs of hemorrhages, wounds or worse, werewolf bites. To his relief she was in a good condition, save for a few scratches on her arms and legs, as well as her unconsciousness. "She'll be fine," Harry assured them.
"I'm sorry this happened," apologized Remus. "With Severus, well, gone, I had to make the Wolfsbane potion for myself, and it took a much longer time that when he did it. It's not yet ready, and when the full moon came, I decided to transform in the Forbidden Forest, so that the students would be safe. I should have taken more precaution."
"We're sorry too. We weren't supposed to be in the Forbidden Forest. We were just… er…" Harry mumbled.
"Just what?" Remus asked, amusement sparkling in his eyes. "I'm sure that you didn't all desire a little midnight stroll, did you?"
Harry decided to get on with it. "We were planning to become Animagi, and we found a way to become magical ones…"
"So you decided to get their DNA in here, is that it?" Remus completed for him. "Though I am quite amazed at how you found a way to become magical Animagi, I'm sure you can tell me later, at a more convenient time and place: maybe at the castle? I have a good feeling that with this heavy rain, the full moon will be quite hidden." With that, Remus stood up and set off in the direction of the school. The rest of the group followed and stood alongside him. "Oh, and by the way, may I ask who this young man in your company is?" Remus asked, pointing to Harry's doppelganger.
"Oh, sorry," Harry said, "Professor Lupin, this is Clark Kent, my cousin. Clark, this is Professor Lupin, he used to teach at Hogwarts."
"It's wonderful to meet you, Clark, though I must say you look quite a lot like Harry and his father. I assume you are related to James' side of the family?"
"Yes, sir. James Potter was my uncle," Clark replied flawlessly. "His sister lives in the United States. I just came to see Harry."
"That's great. Having you here will be good for Harry and everyone else. And for your information, I am still teaching at Hogwarts."
Ron excitedly asked, "Did you become the Defense teacher again?"
Remus smiled, "Oh no. Quite the contrary, Professor McGonagall has set up the curriculum to add Muggle Defense, a useful subject that will help the students if ever they are faced with a battle and their wand was lost. It is also optional, so that the parents may choose to send their children to the course I am teaching or not." He said the last part with a sort of melancholy. Harry understood why.
"So who is the Defense Teacher?" Hermione inquired.
"Oh, you know her very well," Remus replied. "It's none other than Nymphadora Tonks. It's a pity you aren't in Hogwarts now. She's a brilliant teacher. Which reminds me, why did you not go to Hogwarts this year? I can't blame you, really, with so few students enrolled nowadays because of the Minister, but I'd think at least Harry would go. Unless you all have an ulterior motive?"
They all looked at each other. Harry sighed. It wouldn't hurt to tell Remus anyway. "Remus, do you know what Horcruxes are?" Remus eyes went wide as saucers. "I'll take that as a yes. We're after Voldemort's Horcruxes. Dumbledore told me that it's most probable he's got seven. We have destroyed two, but we still need to find something of Gryffindor's or Ravenclaw's, Hufflepuff's cup, the snake he has called Nagini, and a locket which Dumbledore and I tried to get but couldn't. So far, all the clues we have is that someone called R.A.B. took the locket, and we have to find out who that man is before we go off to the other Horcruxes."
"R.A.B., you say? Let me think. I'm sure I've heard of someone with the initials R.A.B," Lupin said. He bit his lip. "The only person I can think of is Regulus Black. I am not sure if his middle name is starts with an 'A', though."
'Him? Isn't that Sirius' brother who joined the Death-Eaters, backed out and got killed?" Ron asked.
"So I have heard, but maybe it isn't really the story. Maybe he joined the Death-Eaters as a cover or something," Remus speculated.
"So what do we do?" asked Hermione.
"We check Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place."
//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\
The following morning, Harry, Ron, Clark, Hermione and Ginny Apparated to Grimmauld Place. Remus was already there, and gave them a slip of paper with a familiar stiff script saying what a loopy script used to say to those about to see the Headquarters. The Order of the Phoenix rebuilt the wards that Dumbledore made, and changed its Secret Keeper to that of Professor McGonagall, who was currently acting as Head.
When they entered, the place was a little cleaner than Harry remembered, though it was still gloomy from the many reminders of the death of Sirius Black. There was no one inside, for the meeting wasn't for another few days. Kreacher was still at Hogwarts, thankfully, and there was no one to bother them. They came to the large tapestry, still hung to the wall, its faded golden thread saying:
The Noble and Most Ancient House of Black
"Toujours Pur"
Harry's eyes swiveled down to the name REGULUS BLACK. He traced it up to the name VEGA AQUILA, the mother of Sirius and Regulus. Apparently, R.A.B. fits Regulus Aquila Black with no problem. It was actually rather easy. Way too easy.
"So now we have confirmed that R.A.B. is Regulus Black. Now what? Where's the locket Horcrux?" Ginny asked.
"Well, it can be anywhere in the house, unless it's destroyed, though I highly doubt that, given what the other one did to Dumbledore's hand last year," Hermione responded.
"I think I remember a locket in one of the shelves over there. We couldn't open it, and it was really heavy too," said Ron.
"But we threw that away two years ago along with most of the silverware," Hermione pointed out.
"Maybe it's still somewhere in the house? Where did Sirius throw away all the junk?" asked Remus.
"No idea," muttered Harry. "Unless… KREACHER!"
With a loud pop, Kreacher, the senile and demented house-elf, at least according to everyone's opinion save for Hermione's, appeared within the room, covered in a loincloth and holding a tea tray obviously from Hogwarts. Apparently, the creature was still alive.
"And the half-blood calls Kreacher like he was the master of the house… Oh my poor mistress, the half-blood's blood traitor friends took the last of her and all the treasures of the Blacks down… If they only knew…" Kreacher muttered to himself in a malicious undertone.
"Knew what, Kreacher?" Harry snapped.
"Kreacher is delighted to see Master Potter again," said Kreacher, immediately snapping to an oily tone.
"Kreacher, do you know where the locket is? The one that was thrown away two years ago?" Harry asked urgently.
The house-elf's expression became shocked. His knowledge of the locket's significance couldn't have been more obvious. "It is here, Master Potter," Kreacher said with pure venom.
"And where exactly is here?" asked Ginny with equal venom.
"In my home, Mistress Weasley."
"Bring it, then," said Harry. Kreacher Disapparated, and after waiting for five more minutes, he reappeared. Kreacher reluctantly brought out the silver locket, and when Hermione asked to take it, she could hardly get it from the house-elf's grip.
The locket was indeed heavy, as if the piece of soul within it was being pulled down by gravity. Intricate engravings covered its oval face. "So how do we destroy it?" Clark asked, finally speaking up after observing everything in the house.
"No idea," Harry muttered, "I stuck the Basilisk fang in Riddle's diary, but I'm not sure if we can just get a fang and stick it in the locket or something."
"We should just make sure that we don't get a shriveled arm after this," Ron replied.
"There are many possibilities. Dip it in poison, burn it, melt it down, hammer it, use a Severing Charm, use a bomb…" enumerated Hermione.
"A bomb?" asked Ron.
"If a bomb were used on you, imagine flying in the air, scattering yourself in a hundred tiny pieces while screaming at the top of your lungs," Clark said dryly.
"Oh." Seconds ticked by but the silence was thick. Everyone was thinking what to say next – scratch that – what to do next.
"You know what? Maybe we should try melting it first. I mean, it's the most practical, and the most probable," said Ginny.
"Okay, but we don't know what might happen. I think half of us should do shield charms while the other half use Incendio," suggested Remus. So they did. Harry, Ginny and Clark fired red beams of light at the locket. It formed a glowing white shield, which directly deflected the rays. Luckily, with Remus, Hermione and Ron's yells of the Shield Charm, the spells dissolved.
"Great, that worked," said Ginny, slightly annoyed.
"We just need more firepower," said Hermione. Once again, they fired their spells, shouting them now, but it ricocheted against the shield, which seemed to be glowing brighter than ever. Everyone squinted and shielded their eyes from the white lights and bouncing spells, while Harry and Clark nodded to each other, taking the opportunity to use their heat vision. Maybe, just maybe, their powers would be enough to break through the shield. So it did, and the rays of extreme heat penetrated the white shield. Slowly but surely, the locket began to melt, seeping the silver away. Before it completely melted, an echoing sound of pain reverberated through Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, and a pair of glowing red eyes, in their anguish, showed up and disappeared.
"Wow. Just like that?" sighed Ron.
"Yup, Ron, just like that," said Remus.
//\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\//\\
Harry, Clark, Ron, Ginny, Hermione and Remus all went back to Hogwarts after their little excursion. Remus invited them to stay the night, and being former Hogwarts students, save for Clark, who still wanted to see the place, they couldn't refuse. It was wonderful to be in the familiar castle again, they thought, while Clark marveled at the ghosts, talking suits of armor, numerous moving portraits and staircases. They walked through the marble halls towards what was now McGonagall's office, deciding to give her a visit. After going up the revolving staircase and knocking on the door, McGonagall's crisp voice said, "Come in."
They entered the Headmistress' office. The late Professor Dumbledore's whirring silvery gadgets were still there in a neater order, though there was definitely more books put in place, as well as more drapery and rugs. Pictures of the present Headmistress' family were put in neat gold-colored frames, while a violin lay in a corner. Still, the Sorting Hat and Gryffindor's sword still lay where they used to be. In the center of the room, Professor McGonagall was doing her paperwork, and looked up in surprise. "Dear me, what a pleasant surprise, Mr. Potter, Mr. and Ms. Weasley, Ms. Granger, and…"
"Mr. Kent, Professor," supplied Clark for her. "I'm Harry's cousin."
"Great to meet you, Mr. Kent," said McGonagall curtly.
"I have to admit, Hogwarts has missed you. There has been neither disregard of much school rules, nor discovery of ancient secrets, I believe," the Headmistress said with a ghost of a smile.
"We had to do some things that Dumbledore assigned me to," said Harry.
"About Voldemort?" she asked.
"Yes. As much as I'd like to tell you, I can't. Let's just say we had to do a little soul-searching," replied Harry cryptically.
"Alright, Harry, I respect that. However, you are welcome to stay here at Hogwarts anytime you all want. You can even get into the classes as long as you can all catch up. It's still October," she suggested.
Not this question again, Harry thought. "I'm sorry, Professor, but we really can't stay."
"I'm sure Hogwarts can do a little something for this 'soul-searching' of yours. After all, you have been here for six years. You know all of its resources," McGonagall persuaded. Besides Harry, his friends seemed eager to take up on what McGonagall said.
"Can you please excuse us for a minute?" Harry asked McGonagall. At her nod, they put their heads together.
"She does have a point there, Harry," Hermione whispered to him. "The library is an excellent resource, and what better place to find the items from the Founders of Hogwarts than Hogwarts itself?"
"And all the lessons wouldn't hurt," said Ginny.
"Especially without Snape or Malfoy, we'll all be at peace," said Ron.
"I could get used to this place too," Clark put in.
"Wait 'til you see the Room of Requirement. It's-" Ron said excitedly.
"Later, Ronald. We have to decide if we're staying or not," Hermione interjected. They all looked at Harry.
"Alright, guys. I give. I'm staying too," Harry fake-sighed. He was outnumbered, but he was glad. He really missed Hogwarts, and now he had an excuse to go back. They finally faced their teacher.
"Okay," Harry said to McGonagall. "We'll stay." He flicked his wand, and all the desired things that he needed that were in Godric's Hollow appeared. Everyone else did the same.
A smile crept up her face. "I'm glad you have made that decision. I suppose you will want to stay in the Gryffindor dormitories. And as for Mr. Kent here, I would like to know your background, so I may sign you up, if you please?"
Clark, having practiced this loads of times, said, "I am Harry Potter's cousin from James Potter, whose sister is my mother. My parents are Jonathan and Martha Kent. I live in Smallville, Kansas, but now I'm staying in the property Harry and I inherited: Godric's Hollow. I was home-schooled because there has been no magic school near our area. I have enough magical knowledge for to pass seventh year, even if I was not able to take up a few minor topics."
"Very well. If you pass the transferee entrance exam, then you will be able to take on the seventh year level," McGonagall said. Surprisingly, she only asked him to demonstrate a few sixth year spells, knowing that if he knew those, then he could catch up on anything quite easily. He succeeded well enough, thanks to Harry's knowledge transfer. "Wonderful," she said, "I'm sure you'll want to get sorted, then?"
"Sure," Clark said, though he was a little nervous. He knew that all of his friends were in Gryffindor. And if he ended up somewhere else, especially Slytherin…
"Ah, what have we here?" the hat asked. Clark almost jumped. "A little different from your typical wizard, eh? And a tougher nut to crack." Clark was worried. He knew instantly that the hat knew who he was. "Do not worry, Kal-El, your secret's safe with me. I see your brother is none other than Harry Potter, so I assume you'd be just as difficult to sort. You obviously have a lot of brains, with a higher brainwave curve than most humans, and you enjoy learning. You're a loyal friend. You never let anyone get hurt. You're pretty darn brave too, risking your life on a daily basis and as stubborn as the jinx on the Defense position. But then again, you are pretty wily so that you can do what you should, even with a certain disregard for rules, so you can prove yourself. But where to put you?"
"Not Slytherin, please? Come on, not Slytherin," Clark pleaded.
"Knew you'd say that. You and your brother are like two peas in a pod. I can see that he's made progress in his house. But you're different, aren't you?" the hat said.
"Not Slytherin. I still need to be there for my friends…" Clark could almost feel the hat roll its eyes.
"You may be different, but you still have that hero complex. You'll thrive in… GRYFFINDOR!"
Clark sighed in relief as he took off the hat. Ron let out a hoot, forgetting that McGonagall was there, while the rest of them clapped.
"I suppose you'll want to get in bed now," said McGonagall. "You may all stay in your former dormitories. Since Seamus Finnegan was not able to go to Hogwarts this year, you may use his bed, Clark." Everyone trudged up to the Gryffindor tower where they went up to their dorms. The other occupants were asleep in their beds, so they had no trouble falling asleep themselves.
The following morning, somebody was poking and prodding Harry away from his dreams of walking on the beach with Ginny. "Five more minutes, 'Mione," he mumbled. A snigger sounded from his bedside. Turning to see who was waking him, he saw Neville Longbottom's face swim into view.
"Neville! What am I doing here?" Harry said, sitting bolt upright.
"I was about to ask you the same thing, Harry," Neville replied.
"Wha- oh! We got back to Hogwarts last night," Harry answered, the events of the previous day coming back to him.
"'We' as in you, Ron, and whoever this one on Seamus' bed is?" Neville asked. Harry glanced on the bed. Clark was fast asleep lying on his back with his legs crossed.
"Oh, that's Clark Kent, he's my br-cousin. He's an exchange student from Kansas." Whoops, Harry, he said to himself. That was close.
"Really? So he's a Yankee?" Neville said excitedly.
"Er, pretty much," said Harry.
"Cool. So where have you been all this time?"
"A little soul-searching," Harry responded cryptically.
"Okay," Neville said, not really knowing what else to say.
Ron broke the uncomfortable silence by mumbling in his sleep, "Not corned beef… Cannons hate it… Need Mr. Schnooples…" Harry and Neville broke out in chuckles, effectively waking the three other boys.
"Whoa, Harry, that you?" asked Dean blearily.
"Yeah," Harry said. He repeated the story he told Neville earlier. "Oh, this is Clark Kent," Harry said, while Clark shook their hands as lightly as he could in his sleepy state. "Clark, meet Dean Thomas and Neville Longbottom."
"It's nice to meet you," Clark said.
"Same here," they replied.
Dean asked, "Say, are you our age, 'cause you look a bit older."
"I'm a year older, actually, since I started home-schooling late," Clark answered.
They continued the conversation as they prepared for school in the morning. Luckily, since they already bought their supplies, they were ready, but they still needed a lot of catching up to do. Harry explained things like the teaching system, the House rivalries, while Clark shifted, uncomfortable with the Hogwarts robes that he bought a few months ago.
They went down to the common room waiting for Ginny and Hermione. Ginny was catching up with some of her friends, telling the same story as the boys did. Hermione went down with Lavender Brown, who was sticking with her since she wanted to find some gossip, and with Parvati pulled out by her parents, she was alone. She also had a full summer to get over Ron and start moving on.
"Who's the new hottie? Wasn't he the one in Harry's party at the Weasleys?" said Lavender.
"He's Clark Kent, Harry's cousin. He's an kind of like an exchange student from Kansas," said Hermione.
"Is he single?" Lavender asked boldly.
"I don't know. You better ask him," Hermione said, as if challenging her. Personally, she didn't think that Clark would go for the flirty airhead girls, and thought that there was already someone else back in the town where he came from, Smallville. Then again, he never really talked much about his love life.
"Alright, then, I will." Lavender walked over to where Harry and Clark were standing, Hermione watching her. "Hello, Harry," Lavender said perkily, then turning to Clark. "I don't believe we've met. My name's Lavender Brown, and you are?"
Clark visibly stiffened while Harry struggled to contain his laughter at Clark's demise. "Clark Kent," he said with a forced smile, his voice strangely changing to a slightly higher pitch.
"Welcome to Hogwarts, Clark. I hope you find it wonderful here," she said, going from perky, to flirty. She tossed her hair and bit her lip on the side. "So, are you single?"
Man, this girl was forward. "Uh… yea-no. I have a girlfriend back in Smallville" He wasn't being exactly honest there. At the moment, he was single and to be truthful, it was sort of a relief. Maybe, he'll get a girl when he was ready for another relationship but definitely not with Lavender Brown. Heck, he'd date Lois Lane before Lavender, and that was saying something.
"Oh," was all that Lavender said, as she tried to hide her disappointment. "Right. Catch you later, Clark." She left after that.
"You should have seen your face, Clark. It said 'Holy Shit! I'm trapped by an evil monster!'" Harry sniggered. "Now you know the feeling of being chased around by Romilda Vane."
Lavender bumped into none other than Ron. "Oh, sorry," she said nonchalantly, as Ron stiffened. Apparently her new tactic was to ignore him. Ron breathed when she left.
"Looks like Lav-lav's trying out a new battle strategy," Ginny said. She saw it all from the staircase.
"And it looks pretty good for you too. No need to duck behind gargoyles to avoid her," said Hermione.
"Oh really? At least I don't have to be her advisor. It looks like you're stuck with her and her girlfriends for the rest of the year, planning how to hit on me," Ron teased.
"What? Where the bloody hell did you get that idea? Just because she was stupid enough to be attracted to you once doesn't mean the whole female population has that eye sickness," Hermione rejoined.
"Well, sorry, your Highness. I did not mean to offend your indisputable ego!" retorted Ron.
"Er, guys? Breakfast is about to end in ten minutes…" Harry muttered. Ron glanced with a shocked look at his watch, and bolted down straight to the Great Hall before anyone could say "food."
They arrived just in time to hear McGonagall announce their presence and the circumstances by which Clark had come. They dug in as quickly as possible so that they would not be late for class, which happened to be Potions.
Professor Slughorn welcomed his class with a cheerful smile. "Ah, here's Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, Ms. Granger, and… Mr. Kent. I heard you would be joining the class today, and I'm very glad to have you here. Now… I would like to tell you that we are doing an experiment today. It is something not yet proven by scientists, muggle or magical. This came from the 1954 meteor shower in England. It has several unknown properties that until today are not defined. Some say that it has caused a few strange occurrences, similar to that of the 1982 meteor shower in Smallville, which is a heavier version of our meteor shower. So today, I would like you to find out what happens if this meteorite is submerged in a Strengthening Solution for over twenty minutes then administered to the white rats in that cage."
Harry and Clark immediately looked sick to their stomachs, once they saw the Kryptonite. "Are you alright, Harry?" Hermione asked in concern, her eyes furrowed.
"I'm fine, 'Mione. I probably didn't sleep that well or something," Harry excused.
"If you're sure… You and Clark don't look so good," she muttered.
"We'll be fine, Hermione," Clark assured, his smile forced.
"Maybe you should go to the hospital wing," Hermione urged. "Come on." They had no choice but to follow her out as she excused the two of them and sent them to the hospital wing. After leaving a good distance from the classroom, the two Kryptonians immediately felt better, but they went along with Hermione. She pushed them through the doors of the hospital wing and closed them. Madame Pomfrey immediately spotted them.
"Hello, Mr. Potter, Mr. Kent. As much as I am happy to see you, I am not happy to find you in the hospital wing. What has happened this time, Harry?" she asked sternly.
"Nothing. Hermione's just being a bit protective, that's all. We just felt a little dizzy," Harry replied.
"Ms. Granger must have a reason to bring you two to me. You take a rest for the morning and you may go to class in the afternoon," said the nurse, who surprised them. She was actually being lenient this time.
"Great, it's my first day at school and I already get to miss classes," Clark grumbled.
Hours after waiting in the hospital wing in boredom, it was finally lunchtime. Ginny, after hearing the news from Ron went off to the hospital wing to see them. "You two okay?" she asked them.
"Yeah, Gin. Never better," replied Harry.
"But what brought you here this time?" she asked.
"Really, Ginny. It was nothing. I just got a little dizzy," he said.
"It's not… your scar, is it?"
"Oh, no. I don't think it will be hurting anytime soon. Voldemort is using Occlumency now."
"Then what happened, Harry? You don't go dizzy just like that."
At this moment, Clark was putting himself as far away as possible from the arguing couple. It reminded him of when he and Lana fought about keeping secrets.
"I understand that you're concerned, Ginny, but this is nothing to worry about," said Harry, starting to get agitated.
"Look, Harry. I want us to be honest with each other. What really happened that made Hermione put you two here? Do you remember what happened in Godric's Hollow? What happened in there that made you double up like that? If it's repetitive, then we have to find the cause, and I won't accept some excuse like you two being struck by a random heat wave."
"I appreciate it, Ginny, but I'd rather that I handle it myself. It's not your–. It's nothing," Harry nearly snapped,
Ginny's eyes held hurt, but she remained strong, closing her eyes from a moment before opening them with a sigh. She said, her words slow, "Very well, then, Harry. If that's what you want, then I'll stay out of it. It's not like it's any of my business anyway," With that, she turned on her heel and walked away.
"Whoa, did I miss anything?" Hermione asked from the door. "Ginny just… oh. Well, Harry, Clark, I brought you your potions homework. Here's the meteorite, but you've got to make the Strengthening Solution yourself somewhere, then submit it to Slughorn tomorrow." She laid the Kryptonite on the table. Upon seeing the two boys looking sick once again, she said, "It's happening again, isn't it?" The two guys nodded. "On second thought, I'll just bring this up to the common room for you. You two don't look so good."
She went off, her hands twirling the mysterious rock, inspecting it as the eerie glow diminished while she walked further away from the hospital wing.
"And this day just keeps getting better and better, huh?" Harry asked.
"Damn right," Clark replied.