Chapter Ten: A secret revealed

Harry sat in a large padded armchair in his room, trying to find the potion Professor Snape had assigned them to create and write about. It wasn't in his Potions textbook, and its ingredients were not mentioned in A Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi. Harry sighed in frustration. Maybe Kit knew what the potion, one that made you extremely flexible, did or how to make it.

Just then Harry heard the sounds of a tiny bell ringing.

He glanced at his watch, a gift from Sirius. It was a blue-ish green color, with Harry's name inscribed on the center, with a long brown wand underneath. Every half an hour gold stars would explode from the wand's tip, and it would make a sound. One could never guarantee what sound it would make though, and it did have some rather unpleasant ones. The watch read twelve thirty.

Harry sighed and made up his mind. Grabbing his textbook, he headed next door.

"Hey Kit!" Harry called, knocking on the door.

'What?" came the groggy reply. Harry guessed she'd be asleep. Carefully he opened the door. Kit was curled in her bed, a thick book lying next to her. Her eyes were half-open and her hair was slightly mussed. Harry grinned and walked over to her.

"Do you know what an arcromatic potion is?" he asked.

"Hmmmnot off the top of my head. But there's a book I know that can probably help you," she replied, getting out of bed and trotting over to the bookshelf. "Now where is it? Ah, here we go. " She pulled an old, battered book off the shelf. "It was my mothers," she explained, handing it carefully to him. "Be careful with it okay?"

Harry nodded his thanks and left the room. He slipped into the chair he'd been in, the book in his lap. All of the sudden a great, powerful wind started up, and the book flew open, flipping through the pages. Harry covered his eyes as things began to fly around the room crazily.

Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, the wind stopped. Objects clattered to the floor. Harry looked around, and then turned his gaze back onto the book. The page it was on had been book-marked with a thin, fragile piece of paper, or what Harry interpreted to be a piece of paper. When he picked it up, however, he found that it was instead a photograph, small enough to fit in his hand, which Harry knew was taken by a magical camera, since the people in it were moving. It seemed to have been taken years ago.

Harry peered closer at it. A young woman with dark hair stood with her arm wrapped around a small, doll-like baby; which Harry decided was a girl because of the way the black curls were styled. A teenage boy had a littler kid on his shoulders. A tall, gruff man stood nearby, a five-year-old wrapped around his knees. A youthful man was beaming next to him with his hand on a younger boy's shoulder, and as Harry looked at the picture harder, he saw that it was a young Sirius and most likely, judging by the tousled hair, the younger boy was Alex.

This meant that the others in the picture were members of the family as well. The baby would be Kit, Harry decided, and the kid on the teen's shoulders was most likely Kevin. The boy wrapped around the older man's knees was probably Jon. The boy that held Kevin had to be Terenceand the adultsthe adults were Sirius' father and stepmotherKit's parents. Everyone was smiling, and looked happy and serene. They waved cheerily up at him.

Harry examined the parents in the family closely. Kit's mother had dark hair and beautiful green eyes that had a certain, unforgettable sparkle to them. Her skin was pure white, and her fangs gleamed in her smile. Kit's father was tall and dignified; black hair with a tint of green and silver fell into his deep, brown-almost-golden eyes. His features were sharply chiseled and firm. His smile was a happy one though; Harry had no doubt of this.

And there was something in the picture's background that Harry couldn't quite make out. The, quite suddenly, two gleaming, evil red eyes peered out of the darkness. Harry felt a dull pain in his head. He closed his eyes quickly and took several deep breaths. When he looked at the picture again, the eyes had vanished.

Harry calmed himself down, telling himself that it was just an apparition, that there really hadn't been eyes looking at him. But there were, and Harry felt he couldn't ignore them.

He looked up the potion quickly, scribbled down a hurried composition about it, and then closed the book thoughtfully, deciding to create the potion itself later.

Why had the picture been stuck in the book, of all places? Why was there a pair of haunted red eyes staring up at him? Where had the photo been taken? A voice startled Harry out of his thoughts.

"Hey buddy, it's lunchtime. You can continue homework later," it was Sirius. Harry nodded, thrust the picture into his jeans, and hurried off downstairs behind his godfather.

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The rest of the time Harry was to spend with the Blacks passed swiftly. Kit had enjoyed every minute of it; from the water fights, to the dragon taming, to swimming in the huge, ice cold lake with the merpeople, to studying together, and last, just having someone her age to fool around with.

At the current moment, Kit, Kevin, Harry and Alex were all in a frenzy of packing. Alex had applied for the Defense Against the Dark Arts job at Hogwarts, and had been accepted. This meant that the three younger companions, Harry, Kit and Kev were to move to England a week and half before scheduled. The flat had already been rented; their furniture had been bought. Now all they needed to do was to finish packing. Kit sighed. Tomorrow they would leave her newly beloved homeland into a country that had never really gotten along with her or her family. The ministry over there was still trying to find Sirius.

"Kit? It's dinnertime sunshine. You can finish packing later." Terence' s voice sounded through the halls.

"One second, I've only got to throw this last thing in my trunk." Kit called back. They had decided to buy her and Kevin new robes once in England. They again needed dress robes, so both Kit and Kev would get those with their new ones.

"Kit!" came an urgent call from Kevin. "Come on! I'm hungry!" Quickly Kit ran to the bathroom to wash her hands. Not bothering to use the towels, she wiped her wet hands on her capris and headed downstairs.

Dinner was just as usual. The amount of talking, laughter, joking, and who knows what else, hadn't changed, and Kit hoped that with their absence, it wouldn't.

Alex was downing one beer after another. Terence was reprimanding his drinking. Remus was talking to Jon. Sirius and Kevin were discussing new pranks to be pulled during Kev's stay at Hogwarts. Only Harry and Kit herself were silent, each wrapped up in their own thoughts.

After dinner the entire family and Harry sat round the large family room. Alex, usually so vivacious, had taken one to many beers, and was currently fast asleep on the sofa.

Terence had finally shut up, only to start on Harry and Kevin about making sure they didn't get into trouble at Hogwarts. When Terry wasn't looking, Kit saw Sirius pass some things to Harry. Hopefully whatever it was would not get them expelled.

Jon, sitting next to her, had his head buried in his book, The Completed Guide to Foreign Languages. Quickly Kit reached over and plucked the book from his grasp. Glancing at the author, she barely had time to register that it was not by a wizard or witch before Jon had taken it back. Kit stuck her tongue out at him. To her immense surprise, her older brother stuck his out at her, and added onto that, he put the book down and made a very grotesque face. Kit giggled and made one back at him. Two seconds later they were in a full out face war. The other people in the room could only laugh as they watched the two siblings try to freak the other out.

For Kit, it was a change. Usually it was she and Alex who did stuff like this. Jon was always to busy.

After an hour more of talking, joking, etc, everyone except Harry, Kit and Alex headed off to bed. The two (Alex was still asleep) stayed up talking till about midnight, before they finally decided to wake Alex and get to bed.

This was easier said than done. For one, Alex was a very heavy sleeper. Two, when woken up, he often hit the people nearest him. Kit got a black eye and Harry got a bloody nose from Alex's insane punches. Finally they got him up, Alex's arms supported over Kit and Harry's shoulders.

Kit walked up the stairs with Harry, helping support her drunken older brother, who was singing odd bits of different songs at the top of his lungs.

"I'll be the one Oops I did it againI'm a genie in a bottleMy heart will go on"Alex yelled.

"Is he always like this?" asked Harry.

"To legit, to legit to quit hey" warbled Alex.

"Ah, no." Kit replied.

"Help me hear the music of my heartForever youngI will always love youI do cherish youAnd then a hero comes along" screeched Alex.

"A hero better come along soon, cause if you don't stop singing, you're gonna be dead," Terence had appeared out of nowhere.

"It's gonna be me!" sang Alex drunkenly.

"Yes it is, in five, four, three, two" Terence' s countdown was cut off by a "Celebrate good times come on!" outburst.

"That's it man. You two, this may not be suited for younger children." Said Terry, grabbing his younger brother and shoving him into the wall.

"Violence is not good," said Alex, who was hanging a good four inches off of the ground. Swiftly Terence grabbed his wand, and magicked a nail out of the wall. Taking Alex's shirt collar, he loped it over the nail and let his little brother hang there.

"You'd better not be thinking of leaving him there," came a soft voice. Jon stood at the foot of the stairs in a bathrobe and his pajamas. "Kit, Harry, get to bed. It will be your first time on a flight tomorrow, and you'll need you rest. Terence, you'd better go back upstairs before you murder someone. Alex, come down to the kitchen with me for a hangover cure, as that's what you're going to have in the morning." Good old Jon was once again the peacemaker.

"Goodnight Terence. Night Jon. Night Harry. See you in the morning Alex," exhausted, Kit climbed into bed, glanced over to her trunk, empty Jarvey carrier (Draco had decided to come along though he didn't want to sleep in the carrier overnight), and other luggage by the door, smiled once, and fell into a deep sleep.

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The next morning dawned cold and cloudy, looking almost as if it would rain. This, of course, made no difference towards the young travelers, excluding Alex, who still had one massive hangover, despite Jon's many healing charms.

Terry and Jon were helping Sirius to load up the SUV with Harry, Kit, and Kev's school trunks. Kit, dressed in black cotton bellbottoms and a T-shirt, was brewing up the fastest hangover potion one could conjure in the living room for Alex. Harry, dressed in jeans and a shirt, was in the corner talking with Remus about vacation arrangements. Kevin was in the other room, coaxing the assortment of pet animals into their carriers.

Half and hour later the entire family stood at a crowded airport gate, ready for the last good-byes.

Jon was the first to begin. "Katrina, I'll miss you little girl. Take pride in what you do and don't settle for less than your best. Kevin, do your best to stay out of trouble. Don't go around looking for pranks to pull, no matter what Sirius and Rem have told you. Alex," Jon's voice turned pleading "Try not to get too wild when we're not around. It could end up very nasty. Harry take care of yourself little man. You'll always be my bro." Finished with his little "speech" Jon, swiftly walked away.

Sirius was next, beginning in a far more fatherly way than usual. "Kevin, I expect no letters from Dumbledore saying you've pulled one of your massive pranks. Do NOT go looking for trouble. Katrina, don't let anyone drag you down. Keep moving up, and remember we'll always love you. Harry, I value the times we spend together. I hope we won't start to grow apart again. Keep in touch. Alexbe responsible. I do not want to see you back here until summertime, understand?" Alex nodded. Sirius gave them all a smile and headed over to Jon.

Terence came next. "Now, I want you all to be good. Do not get into trouble. You can do anything you put your minds to. Respect others, keep your family close at heart. God bless." Turning, he followed his other brothers.

Remus cleared his throat. "My turn already? All right then my little ones, listen closely. The world may have been cruel to you. They may have turned you away, not listened to what you had to say. They may have laughed in your faces, not believed in the truth. That is no excuse to do the same to others. I expect you already know how to behave, so I won't bore you into stupidity with another long speech. I will say this however. Remember what you were taught this summer. Keep it in your minds, in your hearts. Do not let anything come between you four. You are now a family. I love you all."

Just then the announcer's voiced blared out across the airport. "Flight 2045, headed for England, is ready for boarding. 2045 ready for boarding." The other Blacks returned over to the gate.

"Good luck," Sirius said, giving his siblings hugs.

"Love ya," said Terence simply.

"Behave," said Jon sternly.

"Miss you already," Remus said.

Turning and beginning to walk up the ramp to the plane, Harry felt something within him begin to tug at his eyes. Biting his lip hard, he willed himself not to cry. You'll see them again Potter, Harry told himself. Just wait till summer.

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The plane ride was long. And boring. Kit didn't mind though. She and Harry had already been to the cockpit twice, watching the pilots as they flew the huge airship. Now it was around eleven, and they were still above the Atlantic Ocean. Kevin and Alex were sitting two seats and a row across from Harry and Kit, both fast asleep.

Kit sighed and stared out the window.

"What's the matter?" asked Harry, taking two sodas from the passing flight attendant and passing one to Kit. She opened, taking a sip.

"Nothing. I was just thinking," she replied.

"Oh. In that case, have you ever noticed that soda tastes far different when in the air than it does while you're down on the ground? It'ssort of flat, but not really. Know what I mean?" Harry was fascinated with everything on the plane. He kept dragging Kit back to the bathroom to show her something new he'd found. Kit smiled, remembering the look on Harry's face as they watched their mini TV's. It was his first plane ride.

Kit had been on a plane three times before. The first was when they flew from England to the US. The second and third trips had been when she and Kevin had flown back to England to get Remus, their godfather, to come live with them.

"Hey Kit. Let's do something," Harry said excitedly.

"It's almost midnight Harry. Everyone's asleep. There's nothing to do." Kit replied. As they were still on American time, she was still wide-awake, and knew that neither of them would fall asleep any time soon.

"That's why it will be fun," said Harry, unbuckling and grabbing Kit arm, trying to pull her up. "Come on!"

"Can I at least get unbuckled first?" asked Kit, try to free her arm and get the seat-buckle undone.

"Hurry!" said Harry acting like this was the most fun he'd ever had. Kit shook her head, pushed her long braid out of her face and followed the other fifteen-year-old down the aisle.

"Where are we going?" asked Kit.

"I dunno. Wherever this trail takes us!" Harry replied.

"To the back of the plane ya idiot. Can we go back to our seats now?"

"Fine," grumbled Harry, turning around. "Where's your sense of adventure?"

"In the middle of the night, it's on sleep mode. Come on. Let's try to get some rest." The two headed back and once again took their seats.

Kit fell asleep fairly quickly after that, though Harry woke her up so much she pulled out her wand and cast a sleeping spell on him.

Three hours later, the 2045 plane, headed to London International Airport, landed in England.