Disclaimer-- All of the characters you recognize have been, uh... borrowed from the books written by J.K. Rowling. I'm not making any money from this.

A/N: Thank you so much to herm, chickensoup4soul, Lily Evans, me, Lady Norbert, and Lady Kay for your kind reviews. And if there are other people out there reading this, thank you for staying with me so long! We're almost done, only two chapters and they will be out soon, I promise. Enough of my babble... on to the story!

Chapter Eight-- Revelations

"Hello," said Ginny, plopping down on the sofa next to Brynna, Hermione, and Ron, who were playing a game of Exploding Snap. "Have you guys seen Harry?"

They all shook their heads in the negative and the small redhead sighed. "I haven't seen him all day. He didn't even come down for breakfast. He's been spending so much time in his room. This isn't healthy."

"He's just up there, going through his parents' stuff." Ron shrugged. "I don't think it's a big deal."

"You are such a guy. So insensitive," huffed Ginny.

"He has been spending a lot of time alone lately," commented Brynna.

"Ron, why don't you go up and bring him down here, see if he wants to play a game," suggested Hermione.

"Please, Ron?" Ginny implored.

He sighed. "Ok."

As soon as he had left in the direction of the dorms, Hermione broke into a huge grin. "I have a huge, huge secret, you guys."

"What is it?" Brynna and Ginny asked in unison.

"You can't tell anyone, especially not the guys. Ok?"

"Sure," agreed Brynna. "It'll be just between us girls."

"Ginny?" Hermione prompted.

"I promise. I won't tell Harry or Ron."

"Ok." said Hermione, apparently satisfied. She looked around to make sure they wouldn't be overheard. "I have a boyfriend."

"Oooh!" squealed Brynna.

"Aww," said Ginny. "Who?"

"Well, that's the part that you cannot, absolutely never ever, ever tell Harry or Ron."

"We promise," chorused the two younger girls.

"Do we know him?" asked Brynna.

"Yes."

"Is he in your grade?"

"Yes."

"Is he a Gryffindor?" asked Ginny.

"No," Hermione smiled again.

"Hufflepuff?" asked Brynna.

"Ravenclaw?" asked Ginny.

"No, and no." said Hermione.

Both girls gasped. "A Slytherin!"

"Oh, that's not the worst of it," said Hermione. "It's Draco."

"Malfoy?" squeaked Ginny.

"Wow." Brynna left her mouth hanging open. "Harry would flip."

Hermione sighed. "I know. What am I going to do? I really really like him."

"You should tell him," offered Ginny.

"Look who's talking, Ms. I'm-going-to-wait-until-Yule-Ball!" interjected Brynna. She turned back to her brown-haired friend. "You should feel him out first. He and Malfoy haven't been so at each other's throats lately. Just break the news gently. I guess you could wait a little while. I mean, see if you're still going out in a week or so, and if you're still that serious, then tell him."

"It's been about a month."

"A month!" said Ginny. "And you didn't tell us?"

"Ginny...." said Hermione sternly.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"Ron and Harry are coming. Remember... not a word!"

Ron sat down heavily. "Ok. I've delivered. I couldn't tear him away completely, though." He gestured to the books under Harry's arm.

"I was reading these," said Harry defensively.

"Charms for Beginners by Daedalus Icary," said Hermione doubtfully, reading the title of the book on top of the stack. "Need a refresher in Flitwick's class?"

"No. It was my mum's. She wrote a whole bunch of notes in the margin." Harry held up the book, open, in front of her face. "Look at how tiny and perfect her handwriting is."

"It looks a lot like Hermione's," Ginny observed.

Brynna was browsing through the other books Harry had set on the table. "Wow, this journal is gorgeous."

"Yeah, but I can't figure out how to open it," said Harry. "Do you know any spells for it, Mione?"

"It's simple," said Brynna. "My oldest sister had one of these. A later version of course, but I'll bet it works the same way."

"You can open it for me?" asked Harry eagerly.

"Sure. I found the instructions after she threw them away. The whole time, I don't think she ever knew I figured out how to open her diary. I know all of her secrets." Brynna laughed.

"So? How do you do it?" asked Ron curiously.

"Well, you just whisper that you love 'insert name of secret crush here'. We all know who your mom loved, Harry, so let's see..." she held the book close to her face. "Lily Potter loves James Potter." She frowned when there was no reaction. "Maybe it's different with the older version, but I don't know."

"It wouldn't have been Lily Potter when she was in Hogwarts," pointed out Hermione. "Harry, what was your mum's maiden name?"

"Evans."

"Right," said Brynna, blushing. "Ok. Lily Evans loves James Potter." There was a soft click, and then a whir of pages, and the journal fell open. She handed it to Harry.

"Thank you," he said, intent on the tiny scrawl across several hundred pages. He turned it to the first page. "It starts on the first day of her third year at Hogwarts, and goes until..." he flipped to the back. "the June before... you know. Before my first birthday. He read the last entry out loud.

Dear Diary,

We will soon be going away from our lovely home. Most of our possessions, including you, will go to Mooney. He will keep them for us until it is safe for us to return. I cannot tell the details, but I feel as though I owe you some explanation.

James, Harry, and I are moving to a secret location. We will be under the Fidelius Charm. James wanted to use Padfoot as our Secret-Keeper, but I have convinced James not to use him, as he is the obvious choice. Instead, we will use Wormtail. There, don't you feel special? Even if you don't know where we will be going, nobody else knows who our Secret-Keeper is.

Now I must go. It is time to pack you in the trunk, with the rest of my school books. Hopefully, I will be writing to you again soon.

Your friend, Lily

Harry looked up. "That's it."

Ron stared at him, his mouth wide open. "That's it? Harry, are you mad? That's everything!"

"What?" asked Harry in confusion.

"Don't you see?" said Hermione excitedly. "We have proof! Proof that Peter was your parents' Secret-Keeper!"

It dawned on Harry. "That means..."

"Sirius will be free!" finished Ron.

Harry stood up. "I've got to go see Dumbledore." He ran out through the portrait hole, taking the journal with him.