Hidden Truths

As he focussed on his surroundings he realised they were still walking, with Hermione holding his arm close to her body, guiding him. He glanced around again, the smaller Corridor they were in seemed to be unaffected by the battle. Before he knew it they were in front of the Painting of Fruit, she tickled the pear and they entered the Kitchens to find only half the usual number of elves bustling around doing this and that. Only half!? The two stood in the doorway, taken aback by such an unfamiliar scene until an elf appeared at Harry's side.

"Mast-Harry, sir." greeted Kreacher with his usual bullfrog-like croak.

Hermione answered for Harry, "Hello Kreacher, we were just looking for some lunch."

"Of course, please sit." The elf gave a stiff nod at her then motioned to one of the tables that mirrored the ones above. Hermione tried guide Harry once again but the Wizard remained unresponsive.

"Lets go Harry." She said softly trying once again to pull him over to the table. He remained rooted to the spot, staring at the Elves going about their business.

"How many fell?" He wondered out loud.

"The ones that survived the battle are being tended by other elves." Said Kreacher as he turned toward the Wizard, a curious expression written across his wrinkles. Ok so not as many as I thought. Harry's expression relaxed and she could finally guide him over to the table where they sat facing one another. He didn't even flinch as a ham sandwich appeared in front of him, after a second he started to eat, slowly considering how hungry he was. Hermione didn't move to eat the one that was in front of her but watched him instead. It was a subdued meal as he slowly finished his share, but when he looked up, he found her pushing her share to him. He gave her a look that plainly stated that she should eat as well and not to take pity on him. She pursed her lips and leant back from the table crossing her arms, knowing that look well Harry sighed and started to eat the extra food.

Hermione broke the silence. "You know I haven't been dead to the world for the last couple days, lunch was two hours ago, I'm fine." He grunted with a mouth full of sandwich as she looked away to watch the elves at work. He was in the middle of wondering why she would give her share to him when she started to explain, as she looked away he pondered again. That's just her thing I suppose, she been helping me for years. Then it hit him mid-chew. That's just it, she's always helping me. Ever since we saved her from the troll she was always by my side. First year, The Devils Snare, the Potion-Logic Puzzle. Second year, the Polyjuice Potion, the information about the Basilisk. Third year, stepping in front of me to protect me from Sirius, then saving Sirius with me. Fourth year, standing by my side when the whole school (including Ron) hated my guts, helping me learn new spells for the Tournament. Fifth year, leading the DA with me, following me to the Department of Mysteries (nearly dying in the process). Sixth year, dealing with me being better than her at potions. He grinned a little at that thought. And battling the Deatheaters when Dumbledore and I were away. And this year? Again, being my rock even when we were starving and living in constant fear, saving us many times over, becoming Bellatrix even after being tortured by her. Visiting my parents graves with me and... dancing with me? It didn't feel weird at the time but why does it feel weird now? I just wanted her to be happy, didn't I?

He went to take another bite of his sandwich but there was none left, and as there was none left he ended up biting his own fingers. The pain broke him from his ponderings, so did her laugh. Quite a nice laugh to be honest.

She giggled at him. "Harry you're even more scatter-brained than when you're writing an essay for Binns! What's up?"

"I was not! It's not my fault that his essays were more snooze-worthy than his classes! I'll never know how you stayed awake every class."

She scoffed at him "it's because I actually tried, unlike you. Try properly next year please?"

"So you are coming back next year?"

"Well yes I'd still like to get my NEWTS thank you very much." She paused, "are you?

He thought over his answer before replying, "I really don't know. I mean, I'm not sure if I could come back next year with the thought of all the people that should be there, but aren't. And you know, being the saviour of the wizarding world-" he winked at her and continued as she huffed in reply, "No one is going leave me alone, it'll be worse than fourth and fifth year combined."

"Ron and I will be there for you."

He grinned at her, "I know but it will still be hard. And I'm seventeen so I suppose I could go on a holiday.

Hermione spluttered at this, "A holiday? You still need to study to become an auror! You can have a holiday after you graduate!"

"Well one, I've never had a holiday before, well one that's just for me, and I don't know if I want to be an auror anymore..." he trailed off as she digested this information.

"But what about all those summers at the Weasley's?"

Harry leaned back, a thoughtful look on his face, "You know I had no choice about going there. Sure, it was great to get away from the Dursley's and I love them all but I never got to go where I wanted or to see new places."

She paused in thought then replied, "Well I suppose you could go on one before we go back to school." Her eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement, "We could go to France! It was always amazing every time I went with mum and dad." She gasped and stared blankly in shock. Harry, noticing her distress got up and rounded the table and hugged her from behind like in the common room.

He whispered into her ear, "First thing we'll do is get them back Hermione, promise." Did she just shudder? And did she say we?

After a minute the witch shook her head slightly and prised the arms wrapped around her as it seemed he was lost in thought and stood up. Harry, after dealing with the fact that Hermione actually wanted to go on a holiday with him, started pondering on the logistics of such an idea. If he was traveling via Magical or Muggle means, they would still need Passports he assumed. He never had one of his own as the Dursley's never took him anywhere. I'll just have to ask Hermione I suppose. He had just reached this conclusion when he was jostled out of the way by a certain witch making to stand. He decide to get straight down to business. "Hermione?"

She leant against the table, "mhmm?"

"Wouldn't I need a passport or something for a holiday? And how would I take money overseas?"

She answered faster than he anticipated. "Well yes, but the Ministry can take care of the travel documents and you do know that nearly every country in the world has a Gringotts branch?"

He blushed slightly at the last point. "No I didn't, well I suppose we can visit the bank after everything is sorted at the ministry."

"You might have to go to Gringotts first, you haven't been since Sirius died..." She grinned guilty at him. "And seeing as we did break into the bank and escaped on one of their security dragons, I think they might want to see us about payment for repairs."

Harry started and instantly started to panic. "Oh shit! How much money will they need? Will I have enough? Are they even going to let me in?"

She shook him by the shoulder. "HARRY! You got rid of Voldemort, I'm sure they will be a bit frosty but you ultimately did them a service. They will want to see you. And you do realise that you are the heir of a noble wizarding family, I'm sure you will have enough to cover damages."

He looked blankly at her. "Noble Wizarding Family?"

Once again annoyance crossed her features. "Yes, Noble Wizarding Family Harry. You are a descendant of an Ancient Family, the Peveralls. Did you learn anything from six years of HOM classes?"

The memory of the Mirror of Erised flashed in Harry's mind. "Of course!" seeing the question on he face he quickly continued. "When I looked into the Mirror of Erised in my first year I saw my family, there was so many people in it. It makes sense now!"

"The Mirror of Erised was at Hogwarts?

"Did I not tell you? You know about it?

She looked at him softy. "I've read about it. You saw your family in it?

"Yeah! It looked like my entire family." He looked at her. "What would you see if you looked into it?"

She looked away. "I really don't know."

He was just about to apologise for asking when Minerva McGonagall entered the kitchens. "Ah there you two are, I assumed you two would eat in the Great Hall."

Hermione answered for him. "It was cosier in here than there."

The new Headmistress smiled down at her favourite student. "It is at that, and seeing as you two are the only students left in the Castle, you've earned the right to eat wherever you like." Her face turned solemn. "I have a message from the acting Minister of Magic, Kingsley would like to meet the two of you to discuss your future." They both looked at her blankly. "I can only guess, but I would say that he would like to thank you personally for your role in defeating Voldemort. In whichever way the Ministry can thank you for your service."

She smirked at the sight of Hermione's face, the gears visibly turning in her head. "Also, I have come to collect you." Harry looked at her quizzically. "Dumbledore would like a word with you."

...

The three of them walked past the great hall on their way up to the Headmistress's office. When Harry brought up something he had been thinking on their way through the castle to the kitchens. "How will the castle be fixed?"

McGonagall glanced at the damage. "A team from the Ministry will be in. When they finish rooting out hidden Deatheaters, though that could take a while."

"I'll help."

The older lady laughed. "I appreciate the gesture Harry but it would take a team of a hundred a month to fix this mess."

He grimaced and looked away. The Elder Wand fixed my wand, maybe? Could it?

After a longer trip than usual, dodging debris and taking alternative routes through the castle to avoid the more serious damage. They arrived at the stone gargoyles that guarded the highest office in the castle.

"Ginger Snap" was apparently the password as the revolving staircase came into view. As they entered the office, the portraits all burst into applause. But Harry only had eyes for two of them, Snape's nodded at him them looked away. Dumbledore's beamed at him, "Harry my boy! Well done!"

The wizard in question, grinned shyly but his features soon changed as questions that he hadn't thought of previously sprang to his mind. "I left the stone in the forest, hopefully no one will find it?"

"I daresay they shouldn't, even the centaurs would avoid it."

Harry continued. "I'll keep Ignotus's around though, the wand though I'm not so sure. Either I place it back in your tomb or I snap it."

Dumbledore's face pained at the latter suggestion. "I can't stop you but I'm glad I can't, even I couldn't handle the temptation of the power it held. You're the better man, you must decide."

Harry's voice turned cold. "That much is obvious now, Rita's book made that clear."

The old man's face fell. "Ah yes, Severus did mention something about her latest project."

Harry shot him a hard look. "But is it true? What you did when you were friends with Grindelwald? Your brother mentioned a few things."

The old man was silent for a moment, then he began. "Great men are not always great humans Harry, I fully regret the actions of my younger self and have worked, until my death, to right the wrongs of my adolescence. You will never understand my motivations because you cannot, you grew into a far better man than I ever dreamed."

Harry figured he better just drop the subject if Dumbledore wouldn't give him an answer. "Ever since I woke up after meeting you in that... place, I feel... weird, lighter. Why?"

"I'm assuming you met me in the halfway place?" Harry nodded. "I can only guess, but I'm sure Voldemort's soul fragment weighed upon you as you grew up. There's no recordings of what a Human Horcrux goes through but it would draw upon your magic to sustain itself. As such, without it you should be more powerful now than ever. As for clearer?" He paused. "I cannot be sure, the fragment, though weaker than your intact soul, would have drained you and influenced your emotions in the certain ways. Dealing with it since you were a baby you no doubt grew used to it, it became your normal. This only underlines some of your feats of magic, which you would have performed in a weakened state. Your third year patronus for example."

Harry remembered the locket and how it affected them in the tent, and nodded.

"Now to what I wish to talk to you about."

Harry frowned up at the portrait and waited for him to continue.

"I feel that now I should answer some of the questions you will no doubt ponder now you have the time to. You came to realise my plan during the battle. If you do not hate me after that then you will after I divulge the whole truth." Dumbledore paused, then continued. "On that Halloween night all those years ago. I made a decision, to protect you by any means necessary. I knew Tom would return and you needed to be ready, you had to be... conditioned to fulfil the prophecy." Hermione and McGonagall stared at the portrait. "The blood magic your mother invoked to save your life was probably the safest place to hide you from the remnants of Tom's followers. Minerva warned me of your relatives but I had to put you in their care. See, with Sirius being your godfather he would normally have been the one to take you in but I couldn't let that happen. Going after Peter was foolhardy but should not have cost him twelve years in Azkaban." He sighed. "But if he did not go to Azkaban he would have taken you in, where you would be less safe." Hermione spelled it out while Harry stared blankly at Dumbledore.

"You let him go to prison, without a trial."

The old wizard looked at her, eyes twinkling but sad all the same. "Yes, Crouch made the decision but I made no effort to prevent it. There was no evidence but the public was still scared. It was for the greater good."

Harry stayed silent during this pronouncement. As those three words rang in his head. The greater good. He wanted to believe that Rita's book was all lies, but here was the evidence of the old man's treachery. Evidence that he never really changed. The reason he had to survive through beatings, going hungry, being lonely. The reason the closest thing he had to family, was locked away from him for twelve years and was dead. A fury simmered within him.

Minerva was staring in shock at the old man, she turned to look at Harry and what she saw shook her. Pure hatred was evident on his features as her stared daggers at the portrait, his skin prickled with magic, the hair on his head was moving, waving slightly as if in a breeze. His hands were in fists as slowly, wind swirled around him. His normally green eyes, grew hard but shone brighter. Hermione whirled at the source of the disturbance and was shocked when she saw a dim glow on his skin as it rippled. She touched his arm "Harry?"

The blind rage building up in him slowly faded away as his surroundings flooded back to his senses. The looks on the faces of the room's other occupants came into view. Hermione's filled with concern and confusion, McGonagall's the epitome of shock and Dumbledore with a cynical smile that didn't reach his eyes. Harry looked down and without a word, turned and walked briskly out of the office, down the stairs and along the corridor, blindly putting one foot in front of the other. His body filled with numbness as he strode through the castle, he barely registered the humidity of the air that bathed his skin as his feet took him out the front doors of the castle.

His feet didn't stop there, but kept walking, Until he tripped. Stumbling he whirled round to glare at his assailant, a root that stuck out of the ground in a half loop. Broken from his trance he took in his surroundings. He found himself at the edge of the lake underneath a large tree, the tree looked comfortable enough for him to sit against. So he did, Staring out at the never-ending ripples on the water, mind buzzing at what he had just learned...

Until he fell asleep.