Bad Faith's Secrets

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to Ms. Rowling.

Feedback: Please! Review or send an e-mail to ai_chan_no_hana@hotmail.com. No Flames!!

YES, this is a Ron/Hermione romance, although sometimes it may not look like it. Not much R/HR this chapter. They'll be back in the next.

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Are you always this stupid or are you making a special effort today?"

Chatroom Anonymity

by Silent Stalker

Chapter 2:

The Grim, The Old Lady and The Boy Who Lived

It had started as a normal summer day for Harry. Wake up, remember how miserable life can be, say hello to Edwiges, look at the piece of parchment with the number of days until September 1st., go downstairs to breakfast, eat rabbit food (Dudley was still on a diet), go back upstairs and then eat some real food. For someone that had spent the last year not knowing if he would be alive at the next day, life couldn't be more different. And to make that day even more perfect (as perfect as a Double-Potions Class with Slytherin followed by Divination) his aunt an uncle would be going to an important business dinner and Harry would have to go to Mrs. Figg's house. Not that he didn't liked the old lady, but he admitted it had been wonderful not having to see those cat photographs for the last three summers.

After eating a piece of chocolate cake Sirius had sent to his birthday, Harry had to listen to an insufferable speech about what sort of horrible things would happened to him if he dared to mention his abnormality in front of the old neighbor. After lunch he had received a letter from Ron. His handwriting (that was normally horrible) was almost unreadable. Hermione's parents had died in a car accident. Wonderful day indeed.

Near seven o'clock the Dursleys had let him in front of Mrs. Figg's house. The old lady had welcomed him as usual. She offered to show him her new cat photos but he declined saying he still had some homework to do. Mrs. Figg looked a little disappointed but went to the kitchen to make some tea.

Harry had picked History of Magic because it was the easiest one to disguise. He could tell Mrs. Figg it was just a fantasy book they had to read for English Class. Harry sighted before starting his homework.

They were still talking about Goblin Rebellions. His essay was almost finished, he had just three more inches to write and a question to answer. He was looking for it in the book when Mrs. Figg arrived with the tea.

"Do you need help with your homework?" she asked seeming interested in the strange tick black book.

"Thank you Mrs. Figg." Harry replied politely. "But that's not necessary." and he added in a lower tone. "Unless you know what happened after the Goblin rebellion in Hogsmeade was stopped."

"They started to allow students to visit the village when they reached third year. Not that they didn't before, but now it was official. That's why they opened Honeydunkes there."

Harry's ink bottle spilled over the table. He stared at her, his mouth wide opened.

"It's written in Hogwarts, a History." Mrs. Figg added with a smile that somehow made her look years younger. She acted as if it was the most obvious thing in the whole world.

"Ho... How...?" he asked still shocked. How could Mrs. Figg know so much? Unless of course... But that was impossible!

"I just got this letter." she answered smiling. "I think you should read it."

Arabella,

All the precautions were made. Arthur and Molly already know that you are Harry's secret keeper. Would you please take Harry to them? Stay there for a while, there are some things that need to be discussed. I'm sure you can take care of the Dursleys later, a simple memory charm will do. (Don't exaggerate!)

My best regards,

Albus Dumbledore

"Secret keeper? You are... You are my secret keeper?"

"Yes, I am. Professor Dumbledore though it would be better if you had some sort of magical protection, even if Voldemort had disappeared. I offered to take care of you, but Dumbledore said it would be better if you didn't know about me."

"Why are you here?"

"To protect you. I didn't do a good job, did I? You escaped twice and... Let's just say I don't like the Dursleys very much. I wish we could have talked before... Really talked, you know? But I couldn't. I'm sorry about the cat's photographs and all that."

"I... Look at me, I'm acting just like the day Hagrid told me I am a Wizard. It's just..."

"Imagining old crazy Mrs. Figg as a witch is difficult isn't it?"

"Yes." he said without realizing what he had called her.

"So you do think I'm old and crazy."

"Ye... I mean, no! You are not old and crazy!" Harry answered felling really embarrassed.

Mrs. Figg laughed.

"Don't worry about that. Why don't you pick your stuff and put in your trunk so we can go to the Weasleys?"

"My trunk isn't..." he started to say when he saw it near Mrs. Figg's feet. Edwiges was there too, sleeping inside her cage.

"Is everything here?"

"Yes it is."

"I was thinking about going by Floo Powder, but I suppose you don't like it, do you?"

"Not very much." he admitted. "How do you know?"

"Your mother hated Floo Powder."

"Did you..."

"Yes, I knew your mother. She was a wonderful person. You have..."

"Her eyes." they both said at the same time.

"And not only you look, but you act just like your father."

Harry tried to hide a smile. "We can go by Floo Powder."

"All right. Here." she gave him some. "Incendio!" she said to the fireplace. "You go first. Can you take your trunk? I'll take your owl."

"Sure." he said tossing the powder in the flames.

With another movement of her wand (Harry had no idea how it had appeared) she picked his trunk and put in the fireplace, were Harry was waiting.

"The Burrow!" he screamed, remembering to take off his glasses first.

Not even ten seconds later he was standing in the Weasley's kitchen.

"Hello Harry, dear." Mrs. Weasley greeted him. "We were expecting you."

"Hello Mrs. Weasley." he looked around the kitchen. "Do you know something about Hermione?"

"She's staying with us. Poor thing, she's so sad... Ron tried to cheer her but it was useless."

Mrs. Figg appeared a second later.

"Hello Molly." she said putting Edwige's cage on the table.

"Hello Arabella." said Mrs. Weasley, sounding a little... amused?

"How are your kids? I heard one of them is working in the Ministry."

"That's Percy. Bill and Charlie are here, You've meet them before, I think. Bill works for Gringotts in Egypt and Charlie works with Dragons in Romania. The other four are still in school. Why don't you go look for Ron, Harry I think he's in his bedroom. Don't worry about your trunk."

Picking Edwiges cage Harry climbed the stairs to Ron's room.

***

Half an hour later he was playing Exploding Snap with Ron and the Twins. Ginny was watching the game, blushing every time Harry looked at her. Hermione was there too, but wasn't paying attention to the game. That didn't bothered Harry, of course. But the fact that she was simply staring the orange ceiling scared him. He would understand if she was crying or reading and studding to distract herself. That's what she always did. But she was sitting there, not moving at all, looking so... lifeless. Harry noticed that Ron was watching her as much as Ginny was watching him. But he didn't have that dreamy expression his sister had. He was worried too.

Mrs. Weasley called them to dinner. Mrs. Figg was still there, talking with Mr. Weasley and Percy. They were eating outside. Although Mrs. Weasley's food was wonderful as always, Harry noticed that Hermione hadn't eat a bit and Ron was too busy looking at her to eat. He tried to distract himself looking around the garden. And them him saw it.

Dark eyes in the night. Familiar eyes looking at him. Slowly, the eyes disappeared and in their place appeared a huge black dog.

"A Grim!" Percy shouted jumping.

But before any of them could do a thing the Grim disappeared reveling the bony and tired face of Sirius Black.

"Black!" shouted the Weasleys (excluding Mrs. Weasley and Ron and Ginny that was too shocked to do something) picking their wands (even the Twins, although they were some of their false ones).

"Sirius!" shouted Harry running and hugging his godfather. "Are you crazy? What if someone... The Ministry is still after you! What if they catch you? What if the dementors catch you? What if..."

"Harry, don't worry. My, you're starting to sound just like..."

"His mother?"

"Yeah, exactly like Lil... Arabella?" Sirius looked at the witch impressed. "What are you doing here?"

"Waiting." Mrs. Figg said getting up. "For you."

"Professor Dumbledore explained all to you, didn't he? I never betrayed them! I would die first, you know how..."

SLAP!

Eleven pairs of eyes (including Hermione's) stared at the old lady who had just slapped a man two feet taller than her.

"Do you have an idea of how worried I was about you Sirius?! Twelve years in Azkaban because of a crime I know you didn't commit and then running away Godric knows how?" she hugged him fiercely. "If you ever scare me that way again, you bet you will regret for the rest of your life."

"Hnn... Arabella?" Sirius seemed slightly uncomfortable.

"Sorry." she said releasing him. "Was I hurting you?"

"No, it's just... You know I hate this..." he waved his finger at her. "You look like grandma!"

"Oh! I forgot that." she said picking her wand. A second later old Mrs. Figg had disappeared and a young looking woman was in her place, long black hair covering half of her face. "I do hope you're talking about our grandma, because Mrs. Black was scary, even if she was a Muggle."

Everyone around the table (except Mrs. Weasley that was shaking her head and laughing) was looking extremely confused.

"Okay!" yelled Percy, to everyone's surprise. "Can anyone tell me what the hell is going on here?!"

***

Much later, when all the explanations were given (and Percy still refused to believe Mr. Crouch could have been unfair), they were eating the delicious dessert Mrs. Weasley had prepared. Sirius had eaten as much as the other gests together. Harry was listening to all the things his godfather was saying, most of them about the war that had started.

"But I have great news!" Sirius said don't even bothering to stop eating. "Since Fudge don't want to fight with Dumbledore, the Headmaster decided to do things his way."

"He always did." Ron pointed out.

"Really? Maybe you guys aren't so interest. I mean, it's just Moony coming back to teach..."

"Professor Lupin is coming back?" Harry asked, his spoon dropping in the bowl. "That's awesome!"

"Wait a second!" George interrupted.

"You mean Moony as in the Marauder's Moony?" Fred asked.

"Of course!" Sirius said with a huge grin on his face. "The Marauders... Those were the days! I can still the first time we got our nicknames..."

"You sound like an old man Padfoot." Arabella said chuckling.

The twins gasped.

"Your godfather is one of the Marauders?!" they asked Harry.

"We were the best! Pulling pranks and fighting the Slytherins" He had a sad smile on his face. "And now we are fighting together again, like in the old time, right Arabella?"

"Yes..." said Arabella. "Like in the old times indeed..." And her fingers traced the scar that marked the right side of her face, but it was in her eyes that you could see the pain.

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Sorry about the week it took to post. The next chapters will be more easy to write. Professor Lupin will be in the first one and we'll find out something about Hermione!

My Thanks to everyone that reviewed the story and even added it to their favorite's list.