Harry Potter and the Secret Keeper

Disclaimer: J.K Rowling owns everything, please don't sue!

The Secret Keeper

Chapter One: Calm before the Storm

"There he is again, Moony. I'm telling you, he knows something's going on".

"Shhh, Padfoot. Can you forget your godson for one second and help me hide this?"

Sirius Black reluctantly drew his eyes from the forlorn figure of his godson standing at a window in number four Privet Drive to help Remus Lupin conceal a small glass sphere in a hedge. The two wizards raised their wands and uttered a simultaneous, "Invisio", smiling at their handiwork as the orb vanished from sight.

"I'd like to see a Death Eater get in here now", growled Sirius.

Remus sighed in response. The day before, the protections surrounding Privet Drive had been breached, only for a minute, but breached nonetheless. Dumbledore had dispatched Sirius and Remus to install a watcher orb, which would repel unwanted intruders, much like an electrified fence. This had been the latest in a series of attempts to undermine the protections surrounding Harry's house. Luckily, nobody had been home at the time. The Dursleys were gone shopping and Harry had been left with his neighbour Mrs. Figg, an old and rather accident-prone lady. The intruder had had only one minute in Number 4 before a team of ministry wizards had arrived. Privet Drive and its environs had been thoroughly searched but the intruder had eluded them and seemingly escaped.

"Come on Padfoot, we have to go", said Remus.

"I want to see him first", replied Sirius.

"Sirius, you know what Dumbledore said. It's too dangerous. What if the Dursleys see us? Come on, you can owl him later".

"I hate just leaving him like this. He'll be dying to see a friendly face after all that's happened. He must be terrified, whatever Dumbledore tells him about the house being protected- ".

"It is protected", Lupin interjected.

"But he doesn't know that. And if anything does happen, he'll be completely defenceless-you know they don't let him have his wand".

"Look, Padfoot. I know it's tough on him, and on you, but we have to trust Dumbledore. Harry will be fine, and I'm sure even a letter from you will cheer him up. Besides you'll be seeing him soon enough-"

"Yeah, he'll be amazed. I'll make it his best birthday ever".

"Exactly. Now we'd better go before we're seen".

Sirius glanced back up at Harry's window. His godson was still stood there, gazing at the night sky, oblivious to the fact that his godfather was barely twenty feet away. Sirius wondered what Harry was thinking about, probably Cedric again. The boy's death had hit Harry very hard. Feeling Moony's hand on his shoulder, Sirius reluctantly turned away, and with a pop, the two wizards disapparated.

***

Harry Potter gazed out at the night sky, letting the cool air soothe the sting of yet more tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. If only he hadn't asked Cedric to take the cup with him. If he'd taken it on his own, this would be another awful summer, but awful for him alone. Cedric would be alive, Mr. and Mrs. Diggory would still be glowing with pride for their son instead of mourning him, and Cho Chang wouldn't hate him for killing her boyfriend. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Harry couldn't understand how it had all gone wrong. He'd faced Voldemort so many times, but never with such tragic results. Why had this year been different? What should he have done differently? Clearly, it was somebody's fault. Perhaps he hadn't paid enough attention to advice from his friends and teachers. It must be my fault, Harry thought bitterly, how could I have been so stupid? I let my pride and arrogance at the thought of winning the damn tournament blind me from the warning signs. I should have sensed something…I would have, if I hadn't been so greedy to win. Harry tried to force all thoughts from his mind. It was too much to take in.

Harry turned from his window and returned to bed for the third time that night. He was aware of his scar aching dully as it had for the last week. The stillness reminded him of the terrifying moment after the portkey had transported him and Cedric to the graveyard near Little Hangleton. For what had seemed an eternity, Harry and Cedric had stood uncertainly as Wormtail approached bearing his master Lord Voldemort. No, stop thinking about it. Just go to sleep.

Harry lay still in bed and closed his eyes. Thinking about Cedric's death made him feel almost paralysed with fear, like a child convinced of the presence of the bogey man in their bedroom. He listened intently to the sounds of the night, but all was silent, not even Uncle Vernon's snores penetrated the vacuum. This is silly. Some brave Gryffindor I am. What would Ginny think of the "hero who conquered the Dark Lord", if she could see him now? Harry sat up, thinking how ridiculous he was being. He was perfectly safe at the Dursleys, afterall, even Voldemort had said he couldn't hurt him there. Yet, Harry couldn't help feeling that something terrible was going to happen. Why was his scar hurting? He considered writing to Sirius, but almost immediately reproved himself for causing his godfather any more worry. No, it was definitely time for bed- 02.45. Just one more look outside, then I'll sleep. Cautiously, Harry stood up and walked back to the window. Nothing. Harry sighed and went back to bed. This was going to be a long night.

***

Harry woke suddenly, squinting in the morning sun, and looked around in a daze to see what had woken him up. There was an insistent tapping on the window. Hedwig! Harry jumped up and opened the window as a beautiful snowy owl swooped into his bedroom bearing a letter. A glance at the clock showed it was 6.40 in the morning. Sirius must have had a late night to return Hedwig at this time of the morning, Harry thought, as he excitedly opened his letter. It read:

Dear Harry,

Stop worrying! I told you you'd see me soon and I mean' t it, but I've seen you, haha! I can't tell you when, of course, as my work is top secret! I'll just say that Moony and I have been busy with various projects for Dumbledore. And now the comes the serious part (I solemnly swear there is no pun intended). Try to be careful and don't leave the house unless you absolutely have to. No running away to catch the Knight bus, no escaping in flying cars etc. You must believe me that Privet Drive is the safest place for you to be right now, so please stay there. I know it's hard putting up with the Dursleys, but they have their uses. Tell me if you notice anything strange or if your scar hurts again. Take care,

Padfoot.

Harry smiled as he read Sirius' letter, but wondered why he was so insistent on his staying in the house. Sirius wasn't usually that specific in his pleas for Harry to be careful. He also wondered what Sirius could bave mean't by saying that he had already seen him, as he hadn't left the house, except to go to Mrs. Figg's, a journey lasting all of three minutes. Sirius must have been to Privet Drive. Harry felt a little hurt that his godfather had been on the street but hadn't called to see him. He supposed Sirius was guarding the house in case the Death Eaters tried to recapture him, but wished he wouldn't risk his life in the process.

Harry could understand Sirius' reasons for wanting to protect him from Voldemort, but still couldn't fathom why the rest of the wizarding community felt so strongly about it. Dumbledore had always hinted that there was something special about Harry, but had never told him the reason Voldemort wanted to kill him as a baby. He had simply told him that he would know the truth when he was ready, but Harry was getting tired of waiting. It seemed like all these great important wizards like Albus Dumbledore and Cornelius Fudge were trying to keep him young, ignorant, helpless and dependent on others for as long as possible, but Harry didn't feel young anymore. He desperately wanted to know the truth, but there was no chance of finding it while stuck in Privet Drive. He would have to wait till his return to Hogwarts, assuming he survived the summer. Sirius's concerns didn't fill him with confidence that he would survive that long, however.

Harry hastily stuffed the letter under a broken floorboard and was about to go down and make a start on his daily chores, when a tiny brown owl came hurtling through his window. It was Ron's owl Pigwidgeon. Harry tried to calm down Ron's hyper pet with some treats and hastily removed his letter. For Ron, it was surprisingly serious:

Hey Harry,

Weird stuff has been happening here. Yesterday Dad came home with at least a dozen witches and wizards and, you won't believe this, Professor Lupin and Dumbledore came too. I think Lupin must be working for the ministry, though probably unofficially. Anyway, they stayed here all night and didn't leave till yesterday evening. They were doing all sorts of spells on the house, and even on us, but they wouldn't say what it was all about. Percy knows, of course, and now he's walking around like he's the Minister of Magic or something. Dumbledore kept asking questions about you, about whether your scar was hurting again and what you were saying in your letters. It's not hurting you, is it? It's all really weird. Have you any idea what's going on? Well, write soon, and don't let the muggles get you down,

Ron

Harry read and re-read Ron's letter. It was indeed very strange and Harry could think of no explanation for the witches and wizards going to the Burrow. He was fairly certain, however, that it had something to do with him, since Dumbledore had asked about him. It was terrible being isolated in the muggle world. Harry felt completely helpless, as usual. Harry would have to write back and say he hadn't a clue what was going on. But should I say anything about my scar? It's not really hurting, just aching, and that doesn't really count….there's no point in worrying anyone until it really hurts, and if Sirius hears from Lupin that it hurts, he'll come straight back here and risk getting caught. No. I'll say nothing. His mind made up, Harry gave Hedwig some treats, and reluctantly went downstairs. First job of the day: to fry Dudley's bacon. As he entered the kitchen, Harry looked up from another read of Ron's letter and blinked as a sudden flash of light caught him unawares. What the…Suddenly the room was illuminated by a burst of green light. Terrified he ran to the window. His worst fears were confirmed.

A/N: So there it is, the first fiction I've written in six long years. Hope you enjoyed part one. I'll try and get these up quickly. Please, review if you're good enough to read J

Pleiades.