Chapter 9: More Revelations
Harry rolled over sluggishly and looked at his clock which read 10:48am. "So much for breakfast." he said quietly and his stomach grumbled in response. He sat up in his bed and silently chided himself for falling asleep in his costume. Not only was it now wrinkled beyond comprehension, but he must have looked like a fool when the others and gotten up and gone to breakfast. Thank God Malfoy wasn't around to see that, he thought. He fumbled around in his bed until he found his glasses. He then splashed some cold water on his face, which left him feeling refreshed and awake. His thoughts drifted back to the previous night and he began to wonder about Selene. He wanted to see her again and ask her some of the questions that lingered in his mind. He pulled on a clean set of clothes and was on his way out of the Gryffindor common room when he ran into Ron and Hermione.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "I see you decided to rejoin the living."
"Good Morning to you too." Harry said with a smile.
"Good Morning?" Ron asked, "How about good afternoon?"
"Very funny." Harry said. "What happened to you?" he asked pointing at Ron's very purple cheek.
"Oh that?" Ron asked trying to hide his bruise, "Malfoy and I has a minor disagreement last night."
"What about?" Harry asked.
Hermione and Ron glanced quickly at each other and Harry could have sworn that they both blushed.
"Draco made a comment about my date." Ron said and put his arm around Hermione "What did he say?" Harry asked.
Ron started to say, but Hermione cut him off, "It's not important." she said.
"What IS important is that I got the opportunity to beat up Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed and threw a few phantom punches.
Harry laughed at Ron's imaginary sparring. "I'm sure Draco didn't know what hit him." he said.
"Yes he did!" Ron shouted. "I don't think he'll ever forget that a Weasley gave him a black eye."
"Why? Because you'll be there to remind him?" Harry asked.
"Damn right." Ron said and they both started laughing.
Hermione wasn't laughing, "You think its funny now Ron, but you won't later tonight."
"Did you have to ruin my day by reminding me?" Ron asked.
"What's tonight?" Harry asked.
"Ron has to go to detention with Draco tonight. Tonight and the nights after for two weeks." Hermione said.
"That's rough." Harry said.
"I know." Ron said, "I guess I'll have to console myself by looking at Malfoy's big black eye." Ron and Harry started laughing again and even Hermione let herself smile.
After the laughter had died down, Ron brought out some fruit and bread that he had snuck out from breakfast for Harry and they sat down in the common room and watched Harry eat.
"What happened to you last night?" Hermione said.
"Yeah. One second you were there and the next you were gone. We were getting worried until we talked to Dumbledore and you had been with him and that everything was okay." Ron said.
"We wanted to see you but Dumbledore said you were busy. It was all very weird." Hermione added.
"So what happened?" Ron asked stealing a grape from Harry.
Harry sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. "It was about Selene." Harry said and watched as Hermione and Ron exchanged glances.
"About her death?" Ron asked.
"No, about it about her being alive." Harry said and then told them about the events that happened the previous night. He told them everything that he remembered, from her entrance at the Costume Ball, to her leaving him at the steps to Gryffindor tower. It felt good to tell someone else about what had happen and he desperately wanted his friends' advice about what to do next. When he had finished his story the three sat in the room staring at each other, not knowing exactly what to say or do next.
"Sirius actually wanted to kill her?" Ron asked dumbfounded.
"Yes." Harry said.
"So she was under the Totale Rhumital curse the entire time?" Hermione asked.
"Yes." Harry answered.
"She is really a magmanos?" Ron asked.
"Yes." Harry said. "What to you think about all this?" he asked them both.
"Wow." Ron said and sat back in his chair.
Harry turned to Hermione. "And you?" he asked.
"Wow." she said.
"What are you going to do now?" Ron asked Harry.
"I'm not sure." he said, "I want to talk to Selene, but I don't know quite what to say to her. I have so many questions."
"Harry, are you absolutely sure that Selene is who she claims to be?" Hermione asked.
"Sure enough that he froze Sirius." Ron said and Hermione jabbed him his ribs with her elbow.
Harry ignored him, "I've never been more sure about anything else in my life." he said.
"Then I suggest you go talk to her." she said and then added, "and to Sirius."
Harry swallowed hard. He knew that eventually he would have to face his godfather, but he wasn't eager to do it. What if Sirius was really angry about what Harry did? What if Sirius didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore? Harry was glad to have a living relative, but he didn't think that trading one guardian for another was really a fair trade. "You're right Herm." he said finally.
Hermione seemed to sense his uneasiness, "We will go with you if you want."
Harry smiled and nodded. He finished the last of his fruit and together he, Hermione, and Ron went in search of Dumbledore.
************************
It took Harry, Hermione, and Ron a good hour to track down Dumbledore to ask him where Selene was. They found him staring at the Quidditch trophies in the hall. He turned his head when he saw the three approach.
"Hello Harry. We missed you at breakfast." the headmaster said.
"Sorry about that." Harry said, "I had a late night."
"I suppose so." Dumbledore said.
"You know?" Harry asked surprised.
"Of course." he said with a smile, "Selene told me about your little excursion last night."
"What exactly did she tell you?" Harry asked.
"Everything." he replied.
"Everything?" Harry asked.
"Well as much as I'm sure you have told Ron and Hermione. Don't you think that she would want someone to confide in as well?"
Harry hadn't thought about that. "Could you tell me where she is?" he asked.
"She's sleeping." Dumbledore replied and then asked, "Can I speak to you, alone?"
If it had been anyone but Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione would have protested. However, they knew that if Dumbledore wanted to speak to Harry alone, it was for a good reason and they nodded to Harry to go with Dumbledore.
Harry and the headmaster walked down the hall away from Ron and Hermione. Both were silent for a few minutes. Finally Dumbledore said, "I understand why you would want to tell Ron and Hermione about Selene, but I must ask you not to tell anyone else. It is still quite dangerous for anyone know that she is here."
Harry nodded.
Dumbledore continued, "I believe you can understand the danger of a Death Eater recognizing the fact that we have someone such as Selene at Hogwarts. I know that she has shown you some of magic, but that is really only a small sample of what she can do."
They stopped by an empty classroom and Dumbledore motioned for Harry to enter. Harry sat in one of the desks and Dumbledore sat in a chair facing Harry. "This piece of information I don't want you to tell anyone, even Ron and Hermione. Can you promise me that?"
Harry nodded again, Dumbledore studied his face for a moment and then continued, "Crouch's old office was broken into two nights ago. Everything was torn to shreds and whoever did it was very obviously looking for something in particular. No one is quite sure what the intruders were looking for."
"But you are." Harry said.
Dumbledore smiled, "You are very observant Mr. Potter. Yes I do believe I know what they were searching for. They were searching for Selene."
"How can that be?" Harry asked. "I thought everyone that knew about Selene thought she was dead, except for Crouch and, well, he IS dead."
"Apparently a Death Eater found out about her, perhaps even Voldemort knew that she was alive. I only came to this conclusion when I remembered that about a year ago a book was stolen from the Ministry. This book had been taken from a Death Eater who was found out not long after your parents' death. This book contained, among a great many other things, how to manipulate the power of a magmanos."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Although the magmani magic is a part of a person such as Selene, it is also a separate entity. The book which was stolen would allow someone to play with that power and the magmanos would not be able to control or contain his or her own magic."
"So someone could make Selene do something that she didn't want to do?" Harry asked.
"Yes. But there is something else. There is one spell in the book that is so complicated and dangerous that only a few wizards could master it. This spell enables the caster to coax the magic out of a magmanos and into himself. Voldemort is the only wizard of the Death Eaters that has the ability to perform this spell, and if he was able to get his hands on the power that Selene has, it would be a great evil to us."
"What would happen to Selene?" Harry asked.
"Although the magic of the magmani can be separated from their bodies, magmani cannot live without it. If Voldemort was able to do this to Selene it would kill her."
"Is this why Selene came to Hogwarts?"
"No." Dumbledore said, "She came here to see you. She doesn't know about the book being stolen or the break in at the Ministry. I haven't told her yet, there's enough on her mind."
Harry nodded, "When can I see her?" he asked.
"I'll let you know when she wakes up. Until then don't linger on this. I assure you Hogwarts is protected and so is Selene."
Harry got up and walked towards the door.
"Remember that this is our secret." Dumbledore called after him.
"I will." Harry said and walked out the door.
***************************
Although Harry tried not to think about Selene during the rest of the day, he found it impossible not to. In fact, the harder he tried not to think about Selene the more he found himself thinking about her.
Hermione and Ron realized that there was something Dumbledore had told Harry that had upset him, but they decided not to ask him about it. "If he wants to tell us, he will." was what Ron had said and Hermione had agreed. They tried their best to keep whatever was bugging Harry off his mind, but nothing seem to work.
After the fourth game of wizard's chess (which Harry had lost miserably), Hermione finally asked Harry something that had been bugging her for hours, "Harry?" she asked, "Which way did Selene go when she left you last night?"
Harry looked up from the chessboard, "I'm not sure, I was really tired, but I think she went right."
"Right? Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure."
"Was it your right or her right?"
"What does it matter?" Ron asked.
Hermione ignored him. "Harry?"
"It was my right, when she left she went back the way we came."
"Back towards Hogsmeade." Hermione said.
"She went back to see Sirius." Harry said finally understanding.
"Well, it couldn't have gone too badly." Ron said
Hermione and Harry gave him a questioning look.
"Well she isn't dead." Ron said.
"He's right." Hermione said. "He could have phrased it better, but he's right."
"Do you think Sirius believes her?" Harry asked.
"Maybe." Hermione said.
"You should--" Ron started to say something but was cut off by a knock on the door.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked over to the door and opened it. Selene was standing outside, the Pink Lady was lecturing her about passwords. Harry opened the door wider so Selene could come in.
Selene took Ron's big fluffy chair by the fire and Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat on the couch facing her.
"How are you?" Harry asked.
"I'm much better, sleep does wonders for the soul."
An awkward pause followed. The three on the couch wanted to ask about Selene's second visit with Sirius, but none of them was sure how to ask her about it.
After another moment Selene smiled, "I assume you want to ask me about what happened last night after I left Harry."
The three nodded.
"Don't look so embarrassed." she said, "That is the reason I came up here. I knew that one of you would figure out that I went back, and I wanted to tell you what happened."
"How did you know?" Harry asked.
"I've watched you three long enough to realize that much doesn't get past you three. Harry, I made a mistake last night by not telling you how Sirius might react to me, and I don't want to leave you in the dark again."
"Ron, we should leave." Hermione said.
"No. Please stay." Selene said, "I'm sure Harry wants you here, and besides he'd tell you anyway." she added with a smile.
Selene focused her attention back on Harry, "Harry, Sirius and I were married before your parents' death."
Harry was aware that his mouth had dropped, as well as those of Ron and Hermione. "You two are married?" Ron asked.
"We kept it a secret from everyone, only James and Lily knew. We knew that someone had found out that I was a magmanos and we had to be careful. It was difficult for the both of us. I wasn't able to adopt his name, we couldn't wear our rings in public or even live in the same house. Yet at the time, we were happy. We knew that we were married and that we loved each other and that was all that mattered. But that is all different now."
"Different how?" Harry asked.
"Last night I proved to Sirius that I was Selene. I had hoped that he would have believed it was me, without me having to use my magic, but he is as stubborn as ever."
"So if he knows it is you, what does that mean? Are you two back together?" Ron asked.
"Sirius' time in Azkaban has left an ugly mark on him. Everything he loved he lost and is scared to death to loose it again. That's why he has a hard time with people now, and even with you Harry. He is afraid of getting close to anyone, because he could loose them."
"What are you going to do?" Harry asked, "Are you going to see him again?"
"No." Selene said sadly. "Although I love him and he is still my husband, I will not go see him again."
"Is that the end of you two then?" Harry asked annoyed, "Are you two just going to give up?"
"Let me finish." Selene said. "I will not go see Sirius, until he is ready. When he is able to accept the fact that he can't go through life without caring about anyone, then I will go and see him again."
"What if he doesn't" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. I just hope he does." she said.
Another silence followed, and all were aware that the conversation about Selene and Sirius was finished. Finally Hermione broke the silence,
"Can I ask you a question?" she asked Selene.
"Yes."
"You said that you had watched us enough to know that were could figure things out. What did you mean by that."
"Nothing slips by you, does it?" Selene smiled as Hermione blushed at the compliment. "Well when I first came to Hogwarts I was afraid to see you Harry. I knew that you wouldn't remember me, and I didn't know if my presence in your life would do you more harm than good. So I watched you, Hermione, and Ron through a disguise."
"What kind of disguise?" Harry asked.
"A very good one." she answered "One that would not be recognized by anyone looking for a magmanos…"
"Or a woman." Hermione finished.
"Exactly." Selene said.
"What? I'm confused." Harry said.
"She's a…" Hermione said.
"Animagus." Ron finished.
Of course! Harry thought. Of course Selene would be an animagus, someone with as much magic as Selene could have easily developed the ability and it would come in handy for one who always had to hide from people.
"That's how you got in to Hogwarts without being noticed." Harry said.
Selene nodded.
"What animal are you?" Ron asked.
Selene stood up and the three on the couch watched as her slender frame shortened and her arms became wings. Shortly where Selene had been standing, there was now a small bird. The bird was about the size of two fists and was a brilliant red all over, except for the tips of her wings which were a flaming orange colour. Selene flew from the chair over to Harry and perched on his leg. She was absolutely the most beautiful bird that Harry had ever seen. Selene left Harry's knee and flew to Hermione's shoulder and then landed on Ron's head. The three giggled, and Selene returned to her chair and was herself once again.
The atmosphere had lightened immensely and even Selene giggled as Ron tried to rearrange his hair.
"I have another question." Harry asked. "Is Sirius upset about the Petrificus Totalus curse?
"No. He isn't upset. I think he understands why you did it."
Harry felt like a great weight had been lifted it from him.
Hermione spoke next, "Harry said that you didn't seem to be affected by the cold at Hogsmeade last night, all the things that I have read about magmani have said that they are extremely sensitive to the cold."
"You are correct, Hermione, I am sensitive to the cold."
"Then why weren't you affected?"
"That's an interesting story." Selene said. "It began when-----"
She never finished, as the four were silenced by screams coming from downstairs.
Harry rolled over sluggishly and looked at his clock which read 10:48am. "So much for breakfast." he said quietly and his stomach grumbled in response. He sat up in his bed and silently chided himself for falling asleep in his costume. Not only was it now wrinkled beyond comprehension, but he must have looked like a fool when the others and gotten up and gone to breakfast. Thank God Malfoy wasn't around to see that, he thought. He fumbled around in his bed until he found his glasses. He then splashed some cold water on his face, which left him feeling refreshed and awake. His thoughts drifted back to the previous night and he began to wonder about Selene. He wanted to see her again and ask her some of the questions that lingered in his mind. He pulled on a clean set of clothes and was on his way out of the Gryffindor common room when he ran into Ron and Hermione.
"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed. "I see you decided to rejoin the living."
"Good Morning to you too." Harry said with a smile.
"Good Morning?" Ron asked, "How about good afternoon?"
"Very funny." Harry said. "What happened to you?" he asked pointing at Ron's very purple cheek.
"Oh that?" Ron asked trying to hide his bruise, "Malfoy and I has a minor disagreement last night."
"What about?" Harry asked.
Hermione and Ron glanced quickly at each other and Harry could have sworn that they both blushed.
"Draco made a comment about my date." Ron said and put his arm around Hermione "What did he say?" Harry asked.
Ron started to say, but Hermione cut him off, "It's not important." she said.
"What IS important is that I got the opportunity to beat up Malfoy!" Ron exclaimed and threw a few phantom punches.
Harry laughed at Ron's imaginary sparring. "I'm sure Draco didn't know what hit him." he said.
"Yes he did!" Ron shouted. "I don't think he'll ever forget that a Weasley gave him a black eye."
"Why? Because you'll be there to remind him?" Harry asked.
"Damn right." Ron said and they both started laughing.
Hermione wasn't laughing, "You think its funny now Ron, but you won't later tonight."
"Did you have to ruin my day by reminding me?" Ron asked.
"What's tonight?" Harry asked.
"Ron has to go to detention with Draco tonight. Tonight and the nights after for two weeks." Hermione said.
"That's rough." Harry said.
"I know." Ron said, "I guess I'll have to console myself by looking at Malfoy's big black eye." Ron and Harry started laughing again and even Hermione let herself smile.
After the laughter had died down, Ron brought out some fruit and bread that he had snuck out from breakfast for Harry and they sat down in the common room and watched Harry eat.
"What happened to you last night?" Hermione said.
"Yeah. One second you were there and the next you were gone. We were getting worried until we talked to Dumbledore and you had been with him and that everything was okay." Ron said.
"We wanted to see you but Dumbledore said you were busy. It was all very weird." Hermione added.
"So what happened?" Ron asked stealing a grape from Harry.
Harry sat back in his chair and took a deep breath. "It was about Selene." Harry said and watched as Hermione and Ron exchanged glances.
"About her death?" Ron asked.
"No, about it about her being alive." Harry said and then told them about the events that happened the previous night. He told them everything that he remembered, from her entrance at the Costume Ball, to her leaving him at the steps to Gryffindor tower. It felt good to tell someone else about what had happen and he desperately wanted his friends' advice about what to do next. When he had finished his story the three sat in the room staring at each other, not knowing exactly what to say or do next.
"Sirius actually wanted to kill her?" Ron asked dumbfounded.
"Yes." Harry said.
"So she was under the Totale Rhumital curse the entire time?" Hermione asked.
"Yes." Harry answered.
"She is really a magmanos?" Ron asked.
"Yes." Harry said. "What to you think about all this?" he asked them both.
"Wow." Ron said and sat back in his chair.
Harry turned to Hermione. "And you?" he asked.
"Wow." she said.
"What are you going to do now?" Ron asked Harry.
"I'm not sure." he said, "I want to talk to Selene, but I don't know quite what to say to her. I have so many questions."
"Harry, are you absolutely sure that Selene is who she claims to be?" Hermione asked.
"Sure enough that he froze Sirius." Ron said and Hermione jabbed him his ribs with her elbow.
Harry ignored him, "I've never been more sure about anything else in my life." he said.
"Then I suggest you go talk to her." she said and then added, "and to Sirius."
Harry swallowed hard. He knew that eventually he would have to face his godfather, but he wasn't eager to do it. What if Sirius was really angry about what Harry did? What if Sirius didn't want to have anything to do with him anymore? Harry was glad to have a living relative, but he didn't think that trading one guardian for another was really a fair trade. "You're right Herm." he said finally.
Hermione seemed to sense his uneasiness, "We will go with you if you want."
Harry smiled and nodded. He finished the last of his fruit and together he, Hermione, and Ron went in search of Dumbledore.
************************
It took Harry, Hermione, and Ron a good hour to track down Dumbledore to ask him where Selene was. They found him staring at the Quidditch trophies in the hall. He turned his head when he saw the three approach.
"Hello Harry. We missed you at breakfast." the headmaster said.
"Sorry about that." Harry said, "I had a late night."
"I suppose so." Dumbledore said.
"You know?" Harry asked surprised.
"Of course." he said with a smile, "Selene told me about your little excursion last night."
"What exactly did she tell you?" Harry asked.
"Everything." he replied.
"Everything?" Harry asked.
"Well as much as I'm sure you have told Ron and Hermione. Don't you think that she would want someone to confide in as well?"
Harry hadn't thought about that. "Could you tell me where she is?" he asked.
"She's sleeping." Dumbledore replied and then asked, "Can I speak to you, alone?"
If it had been anyone but Dumbledore, Ron and Hermione would have protested. However, they knew that if Dumbledore wanted to speak to Harry alone, it was for a good reason and they nodded to Harry to go with Dumbledore.
Harry and the headmaster walked down the hall away from Ron and Hermione. Both were silent for a few minutes. Finally Dumbledore said, "I understand why you would want to tell Ron and Hermione about Selene, but I must ask you not to tell anyone else. It is still quite dangerous for anyone know that she is here."
Harry nodded.
Dumbledore continued, "I believe you can understand the danger of a Death Eater recognizing the fact that we have someone such as Selene at Hogwarts. I know that she has shown you some of magic, but that is really only a small sample of what she can do."
They stopped by an empty classroom and Dumbledore motioned for Harry to enter. Harry sat in one of the desks and Dumbledore sat in a chair facing Harry. "This piece of information I don't want you to tell anyone, even Ron and Hermione. Can you promise me that?"
Harry nodded again, Dumbledore studied his face for a moment and then continued, "Crouch's old office was broken into two nights ago. Everything was torn to shreds and whoever did it was very obviously looking for something in particular. No one is quite sure what the intruders were looking for."
"But you are." Harry said.
Dumbledore smiled, "You are very observant Mr. Potter. Yes I do believe I know what they were searching for. They were searching for Selene."
"How can that be?" Harry asked. "I thought everyone that knew about Selene thought she was dead, except for Crouch and, well, he IS dead."
"Apparently a Death Eater found out about her, perhaps even Voldemort knew that she was alive. I only came to this conclusion when I remembered that about a year ago a book was stolen from the Ministry. This book had been taken from a Death Eater who was found out not long after your parents' death. This book contained, among a great many other things, how to manipulate the power of a magmanos."
"What do you mean?" Harry asked.
"Although the magmani magic is a part of a person such as Selene, it is also a separate entity. The book which was stolen would allow someone to play with that power and the magmanos would not be able to control or contain his or her own magic."
"So someone could make Selene do something that she didn't want to do?" Harry asked.
"Yes. But there is something else. There is one spell in the book that is so complicated and dangerous that only a few wizards could master it. This spell enables the caster to coax the magic out of a magmanos and into himself. Voldemort is the only wizard of the Death Eaters that has the ability to perform this spell, and if he was able to get his hands on the power that Selene has, it would be a great evil to us."
"What would happen to Selene?" Harry asked.
"Although the magic of the magmani can be separated from their bodies, magmani cannot live without it. If Voldemort was able to do this to Selene it would kill her."
"Is this why Selene came to Hogwarts?"
"No." Dumbledore said, "She came here to see you. She doesn't know about the book being stolen or the break in at the Ministry. I haven't told her yet, there's enough on her mind."
Harry nodded, "When can I see her?" he asked.
"I'll let you know when she wakes up. Until then don't linger on this. I assure you Hogwarts is protected and so is Selene."
Harry got up and walked towards the door.
"Remember that this is our secret." Dumbledore called after him.
"I will." Harry said and walked out the door.
***************************
Although Harry tried not to think about Selene during the rest of the day, he found it impossible not to. In fact, the harder he tried not to think about Selene the more he found himself thinking about her.
Hermione and Ron realized that there was something Dumbledore had told Harry that had upset him, but they decided not to ask him about it. "If he wants to tell us, he will." was what Ron had said and Hermione had agreed. They tried their best to keep whatever was bugging Harry off his mind, but nothing seem to work.
After the fourth game of wizard's chess (which Harry had lost miserably), Hermione finally asked Harry something that had been bugging her for hours, "Harry?" she asked, "Which way did Selene go when she left you last night?"
Harry looked up from the chessboard, "I'm not sure, I was really tired, but I think she went right."
"Right? Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure."
"Was it your right or her right?"
"What does it matter?" Ron asked.
Hermione ignored him. "Harry?"
"It was my right, when she left she went back the way we came."
"Back towards Hogsmeade." Hermione said.
"She went back to see Sirius." Harry said finally understanding.
"Well, it couldn't have gone too badly." Ron said
Hermione and Harry gave him a questioning look.
"Well she isn't dead." Ron said.
"He's right." Hermione said. "He could have phrased it better, but he's right."
"Do you think Sirius believes her?" Harry asked.
"Maybe." Hermione said.
"You should--" Ron started to say something but was cut off by a knock on the door.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione walked over to the door and opened it. Selene was standing outside, the Pink Lady was lecturing her about passwords. Harry opened the door wider so Selene could come in.
Selene took Ron's big fluffy chair by the fire and Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat on the couch facing her.
"How are you?" Harry asked.
"I'm much better, sleep does wonders for the soul."
An awkward pause followed. The three on the couch wanted to ask about Selene's second visit with Sirius, but none of them was sure how to ask her about it.
After another moment Selene smiled, "I assume you want to ask me about what happened last night after I left Harry."
The three nodded.
"Don't look so embarrassed." she said, "That is the reason I came up here. I knew that one of you would figure out that I went back, and I wanted to tell you what happened."
"How did you know?" Harry asked.
"I've watched you three long enough to realize that much doesn't get past you three. Harry, I made a mistake last night by not telling you how Sirius might react to me, and I don't want to leave you in the dark again."
"Ron, we should leave." Hermione said.
"No. Please stay." Selene said, "I'm sure Harry wants you here, and besides he'd tell you anyway." she added with a smile.
Selene focused her attention back on Harry, "Harry, Sirius and I were married before your parents' death."
Harry was aware that his mouth had dropped, as well as those of Ron and Hermione. "You two are married?" Ron asked.
"We kept it a secret from everyone, only James and Lily knew. We knew that someone had found out that I was a magmanos and we had to be careful. It was difficult for the both of us. I wasn't able to adopt his name, we couldn't wear our rings in public or even live in the same house. Yet at the time, we were happy. We knew that we were married and that we loved each other and that was all that mattered. But that is all different now."
"Different how?" Harry asked.
"Last night I proved to Sirius that I was Selene. I had hoped that he would have believed it was me, without me having to use my magic, but he is as stubborn as ever."
"So if he knows it is you, what does that mean? Are you two back together?" Ron asked.
"Sirius' time in Azkaban has left an ugly mark on him. Everything he loved he lost and is scared to death to loose it again. That's why he has a hard time with people now, and even with you Harry. He is afraid of getting close to anyone, because he could loose them."
"What are you going to do?" Harry asked, "Are you going to see him again?"
"No." Selene said sadly. "Although I love him and he is still my husband, I will not go see him again."
"Is that the end of you two then?" Harry asked annoyed, "Are you two just going to give up?"
"Let me finish." Selene said. "I will not go see Sirius, until he is ready. When he is able to accept the fact that he can't go through life without caring about anyone, then I will go and see him again."
"What if he doesn't" Hermione asked.
"I don't know. I just hope he does." she said.
Another silence followed, and all were aware that the conversation about Selene and Sirius was finished. Finally Hermione broke the silence,
"Can I ask you a question?" she asked Selene.
"Yes."
"You said that you had watched us enough to know that were could figure things out. What did you mean by that."
"Nothing slips by you, does it?" Selene smiled as Hermione blushed at the compliment. "Well when I first came to Hogwarts I was afraid to see you Harry. I knew that you wouldn't remember me, and I didn't know if my presence in your life would do you more harm than good. So I watched you, Hermione, and Ron through a disguise."
"What kind of disguise?" Harry asked.
"A very good one." she answered "One that would not be recognized by anyone looking for a magmanos…"
"Or a woman." Hermione finished.
"Exactly." Selene said.
"What? I'm confused." Harry said.
"She's a…" Hermione said.
"Animagus." Ron finished.
Of course! Harry thought. Of course Selene would be an animagus, someone with as much magic as Selene could have easily developed the ability and it would come in handy for one who always had to hide from people.
"That's how you got in to Hogwarts without being noticed." Harry said.
Selene nodded.
"What animal are you?" Ron asked.
Selene stood up and the three on the couch watched as her slender frame shortened and her arms became wings. Shortly where Selene had been standing, there was now a small bird. The bird was about the size of two fists and was a brilliant red all over, except for the tips of her wings which were a flaming orange colour. Selene flew from the chair over to Harry and perched on his leg. She was absolutely the most beautiful bird that Harry had ever seen. Selene left Harry's knee and flew to Hermione's shoulder and then landed on Ron's head. The three giggled, and Selene returned to her chair and was herself once again.
The atmosphere had lightened immensely and even Selene giggled as Ron tried to rearrange his hair.
"I have another question." Harry asked. "Is Sirius upset about the Petrificus Totalus curse?
"No. He isn't upset. I think he understands why you did it."
Harry felt like a great weight had been lifted it from him.
Hermione spoke next, "Harry said that you didn't seem to be affected by the cold at Hogsmeade last night, all the things that I have read about magmani have said that they are extremely sensitive to the cold."
"You are correct, Hermione, I am sensitive to the cold."
"Then why weren't you affected?"
"That's an interesting story." Selene said. "It began when-----"
She never finished, as the four were silenced by screams coming from downstairs.