The Secrets Within
By Lady Lupin
A/N: This chapter has driven me crazy. I am not happy with it, but I can't stand to rework it any longer. By the way people, keep in mind that this is fan fiction and it is therefore created by the author. My story is not going to be believable at all, so don't expect it to be, that will make it oh so much more fun. ;-)
Disclaimer: All that is from the Harry Potter world is JK's and I wouldn't dream of saying it was mine, Lenora, and Nyah, however are mine, and if you would like to use them please ask permission first.
Chapter Two: Witch or Muggle?
Harry awoke to sounds of screeching floating up from downstairs. Petunia was yelling because she'd just found Dudley's stash of doughnuts in the kitchen. He was on his second summer of dieting and needless to say, it wasn't going very well. Harry pulled on his over large t-shirt and huge shorts and trudged down the stairs. He grabbed a half of a bagel and began to eat it. They had begun to bring back semi regular foods as Vernon had insisted he was beginning to feel starved. After eating his bagel Harry went out side and took a walk, he ended up near Mrs. Figg's house. Harry could have sworn he had just heard what sounded like a phoenix song coming from the house. Harry stopped and listened again, but all was silent. He shook his head and headed back to the Dursley's feeling bored. He'd just gotten a letter from Sirius, saying he was going on a mission for Dumbledore, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to see him before school started. Since there was still about month before school started, Harry figured the mission was a long one. Ron was now currently at Hermione's, and Harry grinned as he imagined the time those two were having. Both crazy for each other and both too stubborn to admit it.
It was nice out and he was enjoying his walk. Until he was caught.
"You, boy what are you doing out walking around where people can see you!?" Get into the house before they notice you!" Uncle Vernon roared at him. Harry slipped in the house and went to his room. Hedwig was there, with a mouse she had caught in her beak. Harry stroked her head.
"Nice job Hedwig, at least you bring me things," Harry told her, then he thought of the presents he had received not too long ago. A service kit for his Invisibility Cloak from Hermione, lots of candy and a few of Fred and George's creations from Ron, and a large cake from Hagrid. Sirius had only sent a short letter though because of a mission, but in it he promised something really nice for Christmas. Then a large barn owl flew in with a letter. It dropped it on Harry's bed and flew out again.
"Wonder who this is from." Harry said, thinking out loud (A/N: You don't really think he'd talk to an owl, do you? Ok ok, he might). He tore open the letter and found it was from Dumbledore.
Dear Harry,
I bet you find this a surprise, getting a third owl from your Headmaster during the summer. The reason is that I've just received a letter from Snuffles and I want you to know that if you ever need to go to Professor Lupin's place, it is very easily reached by the Floo Network. His house is registered as the "Lupin Bin" and I understand that it was named by your father. You must ask Mr. Lupin about it when he returns from his mission with Snuffles. I would also like to remind you that you may not leave the Dursley's home until one and a half weeks before the new term begins. I gather you will be going to either Miss Granger's or Mr. Weasley's. Please give them both my regards. Have a good time the rest of your summer.
Sincerely,
Professor Albus Dumbledore
Harry looked up from the letter and frowned. My headmaster is quite odd, he thought.
"The Lupin Bin huh?" Harry sat down and wrote a letter to Ron, who was at Hermione's.
Dear Ron (and Hermione too I suppose)
This is the oddest summer ever. I get one letter from Snuffles and three from Dumbledore. I'll show them to you when I come to visit. And another thing, I could have swore I heard a phoenix song coming from one of the houses on this street. Old Mrs. Figg's in fact. I am so bored here. I wish I could leave but something horrible would probably happen and the world will end. Just joking, although people do act like that. I am so bored (I may have said this already). I bet you two are having a great time. Don't do too many fun things without me. And Hermione you will be happy to know that I did all my homework. It's not like there is anything else to do around here. Well I guess that's all. See you both soon. (If I don't die of boredom first)
Harry
PS: Did I mention I was bored?
Harry sent the letter off with Hedwig and looked at the piece of paper on his wall that counted down the days. Another week and a half before he was able to leave. He knew it would seem like an eternity. He sat on his bed and thought about possible things to do. So far his choices were very limited. Sighing he took out the album Hagrid had given him at the end of first year. He turned to the first page and looked at it carefully. It appeared like they were at the Three Broomsticks. James was sitting at a table, his arm around Lily. Next to them was Pettigrew. Across the table from them were two couples. Sirius and Remus each had a girl sitting next to them. The girl next to Remus resembled Sirius so much that it was uncanny. At the moment both he and Remus were tickling this girl, and she was laughing and trying to bash them on the head at the same time. The girl on the other side of Sirius was tall, had shoulder length brown hair and light brown eyes. In the picture she was laughing hysterically along with Lily, James and Pettigrew. As Harry watched, Sirius glanced at the brown haired girl, and then looked at Pettigrew. They had an understanding and Pettigrew snuck around the table and grabbed the brown haired girl, and sat her down on the bench next to the other girl. Then Sirius, Remus and Pettigrew proceeded to tickle the two girls mercilessly. James looked at Lily and began tickling her as well. This lasted for a few minutes until one of the girls managed to get free. She then took out her wand and began throwing curses at the boys. They looked at each other and nodded, running outside of the picture's border. Lily and the black haired girl, and the brown haired girl took their wands out and guarded the borders, and every second or so sparks could be seen coming out of the ends of their wands. Harry grinned. He had never seen the girls before but they were obviously good friends with his father and mother. He flipped through the book looking for more pictures of them, but mostly they were of his parents, who were occasionally with Sirius. On the last page was the wedding picture, which he had studied a lot before. But as he looked again he seemed to see new people, who before had been a bit blurry. It was the two women, on the other side of Lily, looking a bit older, but still there. And now Harry could see Remus and Pettigrew on Sirius' other side. Harry lay back on his bed, and stared at the picture. I wonder, he thought, if these women are alive, and if they could tell me anything about my parents, and my mum especially. Harry stared at the pictures, until a familiar screech floated upstairs, telling him dinner was ready.
~~~~~~~~~~
Harry sat there at the table trying to finish his strawberries before Dudley could begin a tantrum. He had been refused ice ream again and looked very unhappy to say the least. Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia kept sharing uneasy glances, and by the end of dessert Harry was fairly sure something was up. Just as Harry was about to head back to his room, Uncle Vernon spoke.
"I have an announcement to make. So listen up." He said to the family quite gruffly. "Tomorrow Petunia, Dudley and I will be going on vacation to Majorca. For two weeks." He turned to Harry. "And you, boy, will be staying here. I've paid old Mrs. Figg to come over and stay with you during the day, to make sure you don't ruin the house. So you better watch yourself, and no funny business what so ever! You got that?" He said pointing a pudgy finger in Harry's face. Harry couldn't help grinning.
"Of course. If you hadn't noticed, I don't do anything that makes others suspicious, just you all. And it's not as if Mrs. Figg hasn't watched me before. She's used to me." Harry said confidently. The Dursley's still spoke the same way to him, but Harry knew they really couldn't act the same, for fear of Sirius. All three glared at him but made no reply. Uncle Vernon turned to Aunt Petunia.
"Petunia, dear, why don't you go up and pack our things? That way we can leave bright and early tomorrow." He said pleasantly. She smiled sweetly.
"Of course, Vernon dear." She turned to Dudley. "Alright Dudders, come help mummy pack." Petunia said to the over-large boy. He grunted and followed her out of the room. Harry got up as well and started towards the hall, but Vernon stopped him.
"I'm warning you boy, don't do anything abnormal. I don't want any neighbors suspicious. You hear me?" he asked menacingly. Harry rolled his eyes but nodded. Again Vernon glared, but Harry ignored him and headed up to his room, for once quite happy.
~~~~~~~~~~
Harry woke up late the next morning to the annoying sound of the doorbell. He looked at the clock next to his bed and found it was eleven in the morning. He sighed. He pulled a tee shirt on and trudged downstairs. The bell was still ringing constantly. It was beginning to drive him nuts. He went to the door, unbolted it and swung it open.
"All right! That's enough! I get the picture…." Harry started and then trailed off. Standing there was old Mrs. Figg. She smiled at him.
"Harry dear, how good to see you. I'm sorry for waking you, as I gather you don't get as much sleep as you should, but I did promise that old fool I would check on you. Though I'm sure you can take care of yourself." She told him, stepping through the door, and setting down her purse.
"Sorry, for snapping at you Mrs. Figg." Harry said nervously. She shook her head.
"Not a problem my boy. I knew it would annoy you, but I did want to make sure you were alive in there." She joked. Mrs. Figg seemed different somehow and Harry couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew it was there.
"So, Harry, have a good year at school?" She asked with a humorous look in her eye that was very much akin to the one Dumbledore always seemed to posses.
"Yes, it was very eventful," Harry said carefully. She sat down on the couch and raised an eyebrow at him.
"Yes, so I've heard." She murmured. Harry looked at her, startled. Then a few things clicked in his mind. The phoenix song yesterday, him being protected at the Dursley's, and most of all, Professor Dumbledore mentioning Arabella Figg to Sirius when telling him to gather the old crowd. He only needed a small confirmation.
"Mrs. Figg, is your first name Arabella?" Harry asked apprehensively. The old woman smiled widely.
"Well finally! I wondered how long it would take you. You are very bright, much like your mother and father were." She said approvingly. Harry stared at her.
"You really are a witch?" He asked, happy he had guessed right.
"Yes, yes, my boy, I was appointed by Dumbledore to be here to keep an eye on you." She said, grinning. Harry smiled; it was nice to be in the presence of a witch during the summer.
"You said I was bright like my parents, does that mean that you knew them?" He asked hopefully. She snorted.
"Well I should hope so, as I taught Defense Against the Dark Arts to them for two and a half years. Always getting into trouble, your parents. Especially your father. Lily was just as devious, but was much better at not getting caught. Of course, she wasn't interested in having the record number of detentions like your father and his friends were. Such a pair." She said, gazing off, remembering the old days. Harry frowned thinking to the photo album. He jumped up without warning and ran up the stairs.
"Where are you going boy?" She called after him, puzzled. He didn't answer and came back down almost immediately, with the photo album.
"I have this album, with pictures of my parents. There are a few people in here that I do not recognize, and I thought maybe you could tell me who they are." He explained. She smiled.
"I'll do my best. I should be able to recognize most of the people, if they were your parents age," She granted. He sat down next to her and opened to the first page, and the picture of the Three Broomsticks. Once again the three girls were being tickled. Mrs. Figg drew in a sharp breath. "My God, I haven't seen a picture of these people in ages. There are your parents, as you must know, and Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. And Peter Pettigrew."
"Yes, I know all that, but I want to know who these women are." Harry said, pointing to the now laughing girls. The old woman sighed.
"I might have known you did. Very well. This is Nyah Hunt." She said, pointing to the tall brown haired woman. "And this is Lenora Black." Pointing to the woman who looked eerily like Sirius. Harry raised his head sharply.
"Is she-" Harry began, but Mrs. Figg interrupted him.
"Yes, that is Sirius' twin sister. Very much alike those two were, and loved each other and their family fiercely." She told him somewhat sadly.
"Could you tell me about them?" He asked hopefully. She looked at him steadily for a moment and then nodded.
"Lenora and Nyah were best friends with your mother. Also very good friends with Sirius, James, Remus and Peter. From what I gather they were friends since their first year. They were all very close, because during that time there were many killings, and each of them lost their parents. As they got older, the friendships grew into love. Your father and mother began to date, as did Lenora and Remus. Sirius and Nyah however were a little complicated. From what I can recall, they played games with each other and often hurt each other. When they graduated your father and mother were married almost immediately. Remus proposed to Lenora at their wedding, and the two were married two months after your parents. At their wedding Sirius and Nyah had a large fight, and it looked quite bad for them, and then Sirius, totally out of character, sang to Nyah and promised to try harder. It was awfully sweet. And so things were fairly content, and then you were born, and everyone was quite happy. Then not long after, Remus and Lenora had a child. Anastasia, was her name." She explained their past slowly, and Harry jerked as he heard this.
"Let me get this straight. Professor Lupin is married, and has a child? And Sirius is seriously involved with someone? Why didn't they ever tell me?" Harry demanded. She sighed sadly.
"It's a bit more complicated than that. Eventually Sirius and Nyah also became engaged. But their plans were interrupted. Voldemort was targeting the Potters, and their friends. So everyone went into hiding. Sirius and Remus convinced Nyah and Lenora to take Anya and travel south. They left the night your parents died. And that same night, in a safe house in France, they were also killed." At that she paused. Harry looked at her in horror.
"They were killed?! Nyah, and Lenora and the baby? The same night?" He asked faintly. She nodded in sadness.
"Yes. Of all the group, only Remus survived, they all were lost. He was devastated, he lost his wife, his daughter, his best friends. He even lost you to the muggles." She sighed. "Albus has informed us that Sirius is innocent. It has made a change in Remus. Last time I saw him, he and Sirius were acting like they had in 7th year. That is about most of the story. A basic summary of it, you could say. How is it that you knew nothing about this, didn't Remus, or Sirius or even Albus tell you?"
"No one ever told me. I think they found the memories too painful; even Dumbledore. Although no one really has had the chance." Harry said thoughtfully. She smiled at him.
"Well I may have not been the best person to explain, but at least you know now." She said patting his back. Harry was struck with a sudden thought.
"Mrs. Figg, I'm visiting some friends in about a week and a half, do you know about it?" He asked. She nodded. "Well how am I supposed to get there?"
She laughed. "Harry that is a week and a half away. Don't worry about it, but I imagine we will find a way," The boy shrugged.
"Alright then, how about some lunch? It will be nice to eat as much as I like." He said grinning.
"Yes, I can imagine. She grinned a bit, "Sorry about all that talk about my cats when you were younger dear, but I had to keep my cover." She told him as they headed to the kitchen.
"It's alright, it was better than being here anyway." He told the old woman as he made lunch.
"That I don't doubt.." She said, shaking her head sadly. Harry looked at her curiously.
"How long did you teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Harry asked while they ate their lunch. She smiled.
"Well I came to teach halfway into your parents 5th year, and I didn't leave until they died and you came here." Mrs. Figg explained.
"Is that when the one year Defense professors began?" He asked curiously.
"Yes, I believe so," She agreed, laughing. She and Harry finished their lunch in silence, something Harry rarely got to enjoy anywhere, whether there, at the Burrow, or at Hogwarts. He rather liked it.
"Mrs. Figg?" He asked after a bit.
"Yes, dear?" She answered, looking up from the Daily Prophet, which she had brought with her.
"Can you tell me some things my parents and everyone did at school? I really know nothing about them, and I think it's too painful for Sirius or Professor Lupin." He asked slowly. She nodded.
"Well I can only tell you about things I know, remember, I missed many of their years." She reminded him. He nodded, indicating he wanted her to go on. "Well let's see. Your father was a wonderful chaser on the Gryffindor team. Lenora and Sirius were very good beaters. It always seems like sibling beaters are most effective. Lily was the keeper, and Remus was also a chaser. Peter and Nyah shared commentating. They made up most of the Quidditch team. Gryffindor lost only three games the whole time they were on the team. They were really quite exceptional. Although McGonagall took off almost as many points from Nyah and Peter swearing during their commentary, as Gryffindor won in the games." She told him smiling. Harry chuckled.
"Did they get into much trouble?" He inquired, grinning. The old woman snorted.
"Did they ever! There are some many things, that it would take me a very long time to tell you them all." She grinned.
"Well, then you better get started." He said, making himself comfortable.
"Alright then, but I warned you." She said shaking her head in amusement. They spent the rest of the day talking about the past. Harry learned more in one afternoon, than he did in 4 years worth of History of Magic.
A/N: All right, finally. I finished this stupid chapter (the authors gone slightly nuts). I really, REALLY don't like this chapter. Now I can get on to much more interesting things. Back to Hermione's *grins evilly* Review, and then check out my other stories, Great Times There and Coming Together, the prequel to this one…Please?