Deadly Secrets
Chapter Five
Threats from a Well Known Stranger
The summer flew by too quickly for Harry. Hermione was planning lessons, James studying and training for Quidditch. Harry watched them prepare for the year ahead at Hogwarts. No one from the Ministry called him and he was bored out of his mind. Nothing from Voldemort. Why was he so quiet? He must be planning something terrible, Harry thought.
And then the train for Hogwarts came. Hermione was already at the school; she didn't want to embarrass James in front of his friends, and especially his enemies. That would give them bait that nobody wanted them to have. It was just Harry and James in the car driving to King Cross Station that day.
The car was quiet, an eerie silence that made the spine tingle. Harry had to break it.
"Excited?" he asked James. James looked at him, breaking his steady gaze out the window.
"Er…I guess," James shrugged. Harry could tell that he wasn't excited at all.
"Hey, cheer up. You'll get to play Quidditch and see all of your friends again. I bet Jayson Weasley is excited." Jayson was Percy and Penelopy's boy, Ron's nephew. He was James's best friend and had been for a long time. He was a Chaser on the Gryffindor team. Jayson, though, didn't have anything in common with his father. To Percy's disliking, Jayson was like his uncles; Fred and George, even a bit like Ron. On the other hand, Fred and George loved that and brought it up to Percy whenever they could. They now ran a joke shop in Hogsmade that outsells Zonkos even.
"Yeah right," James said, looking back out the window yet again.
"When I was a boy, I was excited to go to school," Harry commented.
"However, you lived with muggles who hated you. I live with a wizard and a witch, who by the way teaches Transfiguration," James said back to him.
"I know what your mum does for a living," Harry said, "But you do have a point. So, would you rather stay home with your boring old dad?"
"You have a point." The car once again grew silent. Harry hated it for two reasons. The first was that it made him nervous and the second was that it meant that James either didn't want to talk to him or that they had nothing to talk about.
Harry pulled up to the King Cross Station. He parked the car close to platforms nine and ten. James grabbed his things and Harry helped him with his school trunk.
"I'll walk you to the platform," Harry said, and that wasn't a suggestion either, but James didn't mind.
"Dad," James said, still standing by the car.
"What is it?"
"Er…you know that conversation you had with mum?" he asked.
"Well, that's a good question, I have a lot of talks with your mother," Harry said. He wondered what James wanted to tell him.
"Never mind," James said as he started to walk toward platform nine. Looks like Harry would never know what James wanted to say. Probably wasn't that important anyway.
"Oooh! Mum, look! It's Harry Potter!"
Harry turned to see a girl pointing at him. She probably was a first year.
"It's rude to point!" the mother scolded. Now, every witch and wizard in the station looked at him and at James. Harry was used to people gawking at him by now, but the attention annoyed him.
They walked to Platform 9 ¾ silently. James met Jayson there and they both vanished. Just like that, Harry was alone. Hermione and James were both gone at Hogwarts, which meant they were safe. Good, he thought. Now, he only had to worry about himself getting hurt by Voldemort. He had done it before, but not for a long time.
Harry walked back to the car, people still watching him, waving, smiling.
"Didn't he defeat He Who Must Not Be Named?" he heard people asking. If they only knew that he was a fraud, what would they think? Oh, look, there goes that no good Harry Potter. Yeah, wasn't he the one who lied to the people all those years back? Harry could just see it now. Hated, that's what he'd be. Hated, and then killed by Voldemort, who the unsuspecting people thought he had killed.
Why did he feel like he was being watched?
Harry had the whole two-story house with a basement to himself. He watched the television muggle news for a while. It was the same depressing story, someone stole this, and two people murdered there, nothing exciting. Then he had some tea and went outside to get a bit of fresh air. He had quite a boring life when he wasn't working, but when he was, it was both stupid and pointless or a bit too dangerous for Hermione and his liking.
Harry sat there, literally staring into space. The stars were brightly shining that night and the moon was full. The whole world was quiet, no animals moving and not even a light breeze to set motion to the scene.
Harry suddenly heard a twig snap and then the crunch of a footfall. He bolted up and then stood, drawing his wand and pointing it toward the blackness of the forest that he lived right next to. Someone was out there and he knew it. Whoever it was, he knew they shouldn't be there.
Where are they, he thought. He looked around the backyard, but there wasn't any motion. Maybe they had an invisibility cloak, or maybe he was delusional, but, Harry kept his guard.
Then, his shoulder suddenly felt a sharp and piercing pain. Harry felt the blade slide deep into his shoulder. He turned around quickly to see a person wearing a mask and black robes. Harry cursed in pain as he took a step backward. The man raised a wand and pointed it right at Harry's head.
"Crucio," he said. A jet of red light issued from the, what Harry suspected, Death Eater's wand. It struck Harry in the side of his head, because he had tried to dodge the attack.
Harry fell to the ground in immense pain from his whole body. He must be screaming loudly. Someone might hear. They had to, just had to. Harry knew that he was going to die, that Death Eater would kill him or take him to Voldemort. He felt the hilt of the knife collide with his head, and everything turned to blackness.
Harry woke up in a hospital. He was lying in a bed facing a television that was on. The muggle news, he thought. But wait, his picture was flashing on the screen. He tried to make the words under it, but he didn't have his glasses on, so he just listened.
"…victim of a near fatal attack, the man, now identified as Mr. Harry Potter. He was found at about 12:00 last night." The reporter was a woman and she definitely was not a witch. He could tell because she said his name like he was just an ordinary person.
"We're here with on of his close friends, a Mr. Ron Weasley. Ron, who do you think could have done this?"
Sure enough, to Harry's surprise, Ron was standing there talking to the reporter women. He smiled and said, "It wasn't me."
Harry laughed. What did he think he was doing? Oh well, it was highly amusing.
"Of course, but do you have any ideas who it was?"
"No, Harry didn't have any enemies," Ron said. Lie, Harry thought. Harry had a lot of enemies. The interview went on until Ron finally backed out, saying he wanted to see Harry.
A nurse walked in and saw that he was awake. She was very shocked.
"M-mr. Potter! You are awake!" she exclaimed. She looked friendly enough. He sat up, but she shook her head. "You should rest Mr. Potter. Your friend is coming to see you, a Mr. Ron Weasley."
The door opened. Ron fell into the room, and Harry saw reporters trying to make their way in to see him also. Ron shut the door with some struggle. Then, he turned to look at him.
"I didn't do it, Harry, honest," Ron said, walking toward him and smiling.
"You are such a liar, Ron, and no shit you didn't do it," Harry said, laughing at him. "Sit down." Ron did as he was told. He sat to the left of Harry's hospital bed.
"Harry, are you okay? How could you let some Death Ea…" Ron started. Harry quickly jerked his head toward the nurse, who was carrying a small box over to the bed.
"Mr. Potter, here are the things that we found on you," she said. The nurse set the box on Harry's chest and then walked off. He then took the box and looked inside.
There were some galleons, sickles and knuts, his wand, which Harry wondered what the muggles thought of that one, and then he saw a rolled up piece of parchment inside. Harry picked it up, unrolled it and read to himself. Ron looked over his shoulder and also read.
Next time, it will be James. Watch your back, Potter, for someone lurking close to your family may be against you.
There wasn't a signature. But, some of Harry's blood was on various parts of the parchment. Ron's mouth dropped in horror. Harry looked up to see the nurse looking at them curiously. James, next? And who was the traitor?
Meanwhile, James was having a great time at school.
Chapter Five
Threats from a Well Known Stranger
The summer flew by too quickly for Harry. Hermione was planning lessons, James studying and training for Quidditch. Harry watched them prepare for the year ahead at Hogwarts. No one from the Ministry called him and he was bored out of his mind. Nothing from Voldemort. Why was he so quiet? He must be planning something terrible, Harry thought.
And then the train for Hogwarts came. Hermione was already at the school; she didn't want to embarrass James in front of his friends, and especially his enemies. That would give them bait that nobody wanted them to have. It was just Harry and James in the car driving to King Cross Station that day.
The car was quiet, an eerie silence that made the spine tingle. Harry had to break it.
"Excited?" he asked James. James looked at him, breaking his steady gaze out the window.
"Er…I guess," James shrugged. Harry could tell that he wasn't excited at all.
"Hey, cheer up. You'll get to play Quidditch and see all of your friends again. I bet Jayson Weasley is excited." Jayson was Percy and Penelopy's boy, Ron's nephew. He was James's best friend and had been for a long time. He was a Chaser on the Gryffindor team. Jayson, though, didn't have anything in common with his father. To Percy's disliking, Jayson was like his uncles; Fred and George, even a bit like Ron. On the other hand, Fred and George loved that and brought it up to Percy whenever they could. They now ran a joke shop in Hogsmade that outsells Zonkos even.
"Yeah right," James said, looking back out the window yet again.
"When I was a boy, I was excited to go to school," Harry commented.
"However, you lived with muggles who hated you. I live with a wizard and a witch, who by the way teaches Transfiguration," James said back to him.
"I know what your mum does for a living," Harry said, "But you do have a point. So, would you rather stay home with your boring old dad?"
"You have a point." The car once again grew silent. Harry hated it for two reasons. The first was that it made him nervous and the second was that it meant that James either didn't want to talk to him or that they had nothing to talk about.
Harry pulled up to the King Cross Station. He parked the car close to platforms nine and ten. James grabbed his things and Harry helped him with his school trunk.
"I'll walk you to the platform," Harry said, and that wasn't a suggestion either, but James didn't mind.
"Dad," James said, still standing by the car.
"What is it?"
"Er…you know that conversation you had with mum?" he asked.
"Well, that's a good question, I have a lot of talks with your mother," Harry said. He wondered what James wanted to tell him.
"Never mind," James said as he started to walk toward platform nine. Looks like Harry would never know what James wanted to say. Probably wasn't that important anyway.
"Oooh! Mum, look! It's Harry Potter!"
Harry turned to see a girl pointing at him. She probably was a first year.
"It's rude to point!" the mother scolded. Now, every witch and wizard in the station looked at him and at James. Harry was used to people gawking at him by now, but the attention annoyed him.
They walked to Platform 9 ¾ silently. James met Jayson there and they both vanished. Just like that, Harry was alone. Hermione and James were both gone at Hogwarts, which meant they were safe. Good, he thought. Now, he only had to worry about himself getting hurt by Voldemort. He had done it before, but not for a long time.
Harry walked back to the car, people still watching him, waving, smiling.
"Didn't he defeat He Who Must Not Be Named?" he heard people asking. If they only knew that he was a fraud, what would they think? Oh, look, there goes that no good Harry Potter. Yeah, wasn't he the one who lied to the people all those years back? Harry could just see it now. Hated, that's what he'd be. Hated, and then killed by Voldemort, who the unsuspecting people thought he had killed.
Why did he feel like he was being watched?
Harry had the whole two-story house with a basement to himself. He watched the television muggle news for a while. It was the same depressing story, someone stole this, and two people murdered there, nothing exciting. Then he had some tea and went outside to get a bit of fresh air. He had quite a boring life when he wasn't working, but when he was, it was both stupid and pointless or a bit too dangerous for Hermione and his liking.
Harry sat there, literally staring into space. The stars were brightly shining that night and the moon was full. The whole world was quiet, no animals moving and not even a light breeze to set motion to the scene.
Harry suddenly heard a twig snap and then the crunch of a footfall. He bolted up and then stood, drawing his wand and pointing it toward the blackness of the forest that he lived right next to. Someone was out there and he knew it. Whoever it was, he knew they shouldn't be there.
Where are they, he thought. He looked around the backyard, but there wasn't any motion. Maybe they had an invisibility cloak, or maybe he was delusional, but, Harry kept his guard.
Then, his shoulder suddenly felt a sharp and piercing pain. Harry felt the blade slide deep into his shoulder. He turned around quickly to see a person wearing a mask and black robes. Harry cursed in pain as he took a step backward. The man raised a wand and pointed it right at Harry's head.
"Crucio," he said. A jet of red light issued from the, what Harry suspected, Death Eater's wand. It struck Harry in the side of his head, because he had tried to dodge the attack.
Harry fell to the ground in immense pain from his whole body. He must be screaming loudly. Someone might hear. They had to, just had to. Harry knew that he was going to die, that Death Eater would kill him or take him to Voldemort. He felt the hilt of the knife collide with his head, and everything turned to blackness.
Harry woke up in a hospital. He was lying in a bed facing a television that was on. The muggle news, he thought. But wait, his picture was flashing on the screen. He tried to make the words under it, but he didn't have his glasses on, so he just listened.
"…victim of a near fatal attack, the man, now identified as Mr. Harry Potter. He was found at about 12:00 last night." The reporter was a woman and she definitely was not a witch. He could tell because she said his name like he was just an ordinary person.
"We're here with on of his close friends, a Mr. Ron Weasley. Ron, who do you think could have done this?"
Sure enough, to Harry's surprise, Ron was standing there talking to the reporter women. He smiled and said, "It wasn't me."
Harry laughed. What did he think he was doing? Oh well, it was highly amusing.
"Of course, but do you have any ideas who it was?"
"No, Harry didn't have any enemies," Ron said. Lie, Harry thought. Harry had a lot of enemies. The interview went on until Ron finally backed out, saying he wanted to see Harry.
A nurse walked in and saw that he was awake. She was very shocked.
"M-mr. Potter! You are awake!" she exclaimed. She looked friendly enough. He sat up, but she shook her head. "You should rest Mr. Potter. Your friend is coming to see you, a Mr. Ron Weasley."
The door opened. Ron fell into the room, and Harry saw reporters trying to make their way in to see him also. Ron shut the door with some struggle. Then, he turned to look at him.
"I didn't do it, Harry, honest," Ron said, walking toward him and smiling.
"You are such a liar, Ron, and no shit you didn't do it," Harry said, laughing at him. "Sit down." Ron did as he was told. He sat to the left of Harry's hospital bed.
"Harry, are you okay? How could you let some Death Ea…" Ron started. Harry quickly jerked his head toward the nurse, who was carrying a small box over to the bed.
"Mr. Potter, here are the things that we found on you," she said. The nurse set the box on Harry's chest and then walked off. He then took the box and looked inside.
There were some galleons, sickles and knuts, his wand, which Harry wondered what the muggles thought of that one, and then he saw a rolled up piece of parchment inside. Harry picked it up, unrolled it and read to himself. Ron looked over his shoulder and also read.
Next time, it will be James. Watch your back, Potter, for someone lurking close to your family may be against you.
There wasn't a signature. But, some of Harry's blood was on various parts of the parchment. Ron's mouth dropped in horror. Harry looked up to see the nurse looking at them curiously. James, next? And who was the traitor?
Meanwhile, James was having a great time at school.