Truths, Secrets, and Lies
Disclaimer:
Aside from the plot (and future characters), everything belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.
Summary:
Throughout his fifth year at Hogwarts, Harry discovers a paradox that could quite possibly upturn his life.
A/N:
This story was formerly called 'Harry Potter and the Lost Year,' however, an alteration in storyline called for a new (better) name. 'Truths, Secrets, and Lies,' however, is going to be extremely different from the 'Lost Year,' especially in later chapters.
Second A/N:
I didn't post a 'thank you' section (which is at the bottom) until this chapter because I basically posted all of these at once… Yes, I *know* that isn't a good reason to do such a thing, but until such a time that someone creates a better one for me, that's what I'm sticking to!
Chapter 4
The face of the wanted "murderer," and Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, appeared in the fireplace of the Weasley's kitchen.
"Happy birthday, Harry," Sirius said, smiling.
"Sirius, it's great to see you… but… how are you…?"
Finishing his sentence, Sirius said, "How am I able to be using a wizard's fireplace? Dumbledore arranged it for me—right now I'm at Arabella Figg's house on—er—business. She's being gracious enough to let me use her fireplace. Unfortunately, I won't be able to talk with you very long…
"Did you get my package?"
Harry glanced at Mrs. Weasley, who answered, "Yes, Sirius. Hedwig arrived quite early this morning—"
"Hedwig's back?" Harry broke in. "Er—sorry. I've just been worried about her…"
"That's fine, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, smiling kindly at Harry. "I put Hedwig in her cage and gave her food and water."
"Thanks, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said, feeling overwhelmingly appreciative of her generosity. He then spoke to Sirius, trying to make light conversation, "So, Sirius, how have you been this summer?"
Despite the nonchalant manner in which the question had been asked, Harry received a wholly honest answer from Sirius. His face turning deadly serious, Sirius answered, "Not so good, Harry. As you know, I'm doing a bit of—ah—recruiting for Dumbledore, but it's not going so well. Some of the witches and wizards are a little more skeptical of the idea since the Death Eaters and Dementors escaped Azkaban."
Harry's hopes plummeted. Though he didn't know all the details concerning Sirius' task, he had enough sense to know that Dumbledore had been planning something to counter the Dark Lord. Such an undertaking would be difficult with Voldemort's scant support, but add his most loyal followers to the equation? A grim situation had just been made even more daunting; Harry could understand the fear the witches and wizards felt. "What about Lupin?" Harry asked. "Is he going to help?"
Remus Lupin had been Harry's Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher during his third year. He had, by far, been the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher he had ever had. Lupin had also helped Harry in ways that showed that Lupin took his job above and beyond the requirements usually in place for teachers. Sirius, who also happened to be Lupin's friend since their days at Hogwarts, knew and understood Harry's bond with Lupin.
Sirius smiled as he answered, "Yes, it took little argument from my side to convince him to help. He's always been firmly against Voldemort and his ways, and was all too eager to take part in Dumbledore's mission."
Harry nodded to show his understanding before asking an inevitable question, "Sirius, do you think I'm in danger?"
The expression on his face showed Harry everything he needed to know. Sirius seemed torn between telling Harry the truth and telling him what he wanted to hear. Eventually, Sirius was compelled to tell Harry the truth. "Yes, Harry. I hate to tell you this, but I fear you are in danger." He smiled sheepishly as he continued, "In fact, that was one of my ulterior motives for wishing you 'happy birthday' in person—I needed to see you. The sad truth is that I don't know whom to trust anymore. I fear we will revert to the days over fifteen years ago and the terror that forever lay coiled inside every man, woman, and child. Hard times are upon us, Harry," Sirius finished, with a look of solemnity upon his face that Harry had never seen before. "I'm sorry I can't stay longer, but I must be going. Arabella and I have business to attend to. Don't hesitate to write me when anything peculiar happens, Harry. Goodbye," he said as his face faded from the fire.
"'Bye, Sirius," Harry said gloomily.
Harry had forgotten Mrs. Weasley was still standing alongside him until she leaned over and gave Harry an encouraging squeeze. "Don't worry, dear. Not today. Today is a day for celebration—it's your fifteenth birthday!"
He couldn't help but smile. Mrs. Weasley had been like the mother he had never known to Harry. She comforted and encouraged him as though he had been her own son. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley. I think I'm going to try to find Ron and Hermione."
"Off you go, then, dear."
*~*~*
Harry found Ron and Hermione sitting beneath a tree in the back yard, bickering playfully. They stopped, however, when the saw Harry's subdued expression.
"What's wrong, Harry?" Ron asked, jumping to his feet.
Hermione used her eyes to implore Harry to explain his unhappy demeanor.
Harry looked from Hermione to Ron, and licked his lips before explaining his conversation with Sirius.
Ron's brow was furrowed by the time Harry had finished, and Hermione said nervously, "He must be really nervous, Harry, if he came to see you at the Burrow."
Trying desperately to make light of the situation, Harry explained, "Well, he didn't actually come to the Burrow… He just came in the fire. He came to wish me Happy Birthday…"
Both Ron and Hermione still looked skeptical, but decided not to comment on Harry's statement. Instead Ron motioned Harry inside so he could open his gifts. He first opened his gift from Ron, which ended up being a Chuddley Cannon poster.
"Wow," Harry breathed as he watched the team zoom through the picture. "Thanks Ron!"
"No problem, mate. It's about time I recruited you to become a Cannon fan," Ron said grinning. Harry couldn't help but grin back.
From Hermione, he received a handsome leather-bound book encrusted with several semi-precious stones. The title read, Charming the Auror, a Beginner's Guide to Charms Against the Dark Arts.
Before Harry could even express his thanks, Hermione said, "I just thought this book sounded marvelous, Harry." her cheeks had a slight tinge of pink as she continued, "I knew last year you were pretty interested in Aurors, and thought this might be a helpful book for you…"
"It's great, Hermione." Lightly, he added, "I've read Quidditch Through the Ages too many times anyway."
She beamed at him.
Hagrid's package contained several photographs of his parents ('to add to yer photo album I gave yeh yer firs' year') and several kind of candy. He had also included a letter that explained his and Madame Maximes' attempts to recruit the giants to oppose Lord Voldemort. Nonchalantly, Harry slipped the letter to Ron and Hermione, and Harry watched relief wash over their faces as they read the positive letter from their friend and teacher.
Finally, Harry opened the gift from Sirius. What he saw laying in the small box left him stunned for several moments. Lying delicately in the soft box were two rings. Harry knew without reading Sirius' letter that he was looking at the wedding bands of his mother and father. Nevertheless, Harry opened the letter with shaking hands.
"Dear Harry,
Happy Birthday! I hope to see you on your birthday (though not actually in person)," Harry smiled, and continued. "I have been holding these rings in my Gringotts vault since the night I saw the ruins of your home fourteen years ago. The bands were made of a magical substance, and were not destroyed that fateful night. Your mother believed these bands held a certain power, but I cannot be sure of such a claim.
Dumbledore has seen that I be well protected. Please write when you can!
Sirius"
Harry neatly folded the letter before gazing fondly again at the two rings. Deciding that there would be few things that meant more to him than his parents' wedding rings, Harry smiled, feeling completely content for the first time since his last encounter with Voldemort.
*~*~*
The next weeks at the Burrow passed without incident. The four Weasleys attending Hogwarts, plus Harry and Hermione, ventured to Diagon Alley to purchase their school supplies, and Fred and George began scouting for a location for their future business, Weasley Wizard Wheezes. No matter how much Harry had begun to enjoy his holiday, September first crept ever nearer.
The night before the start of the term was chaotic, to say the least. When she had been packing extra socks in Fred and George's trunks, Mrs. Weasley discovered a Weasley Wizard Wheezes product, and had unleashed a stream of fury the likes of which Harry had never seen. However, she calmed down when she finished searching every conceivable area for more tricks, but could find nothing but one Ton Tongue Taffy. Harry had wondered absently to himself where the duo had stashed their jokes and tricks.
"I do not want to receive one single letter about your antics," Mrs. Weasley had fumed. "If you get into trouble just one time don't you dare expect me to pity you and help you worm your way out of expulsion. This is your final year of Hogwarts. There is absolutely no excuse for your behavior. Now, before you finish packing, I want the garden to be de-gnomed."
"But, MUM!" Fred and George retorted in unison.
"We have to pack for Hogwarts!" Fred said.
"You have to de-gnome the garden," Mrs. Weasley said, unrelenting.
"We need sleep! It's nearly dark now!" George argued.
"That's it," Mrs. Weasley said exasperatedly. "The puffapod plants are getting out of hand as well. Not only are you two going to de-gnome the garden, but you are going to pull every puffapod plant out of the ground, and don't you drop one seed—I don't want two hundred new puffapods out there! Now, scoot!"
Harry had the good sense to make himself scarce while Mrs. Weasley continued her tirade. He finished packing and sought out Ron and Hermione for a bit of companionship so he could enjoy his final day of the summer holidays.
This, however, proved more difficult that he had imagined. Ron and Hermione, most definitely, had intended not to be found—they were sitting on a blanket in the field they had played Quidditch so many times. They were also holding hands. Harry sighed. As he didn't wish to eavesdrop, he turned back around and walked to the Weasleys' crooked house.
Smiling, Harry ran his fingers through his messy black locks of hair, and gazed at the house. The Burrow had been the only true home he had ever known, even if he had only lived here a month out of the year. Still smiling, Harry resolved to find his Charming the Auror book in his trunk. However, his plans were altered as he noticed a petite, red-haired figure struggling with an enormous trunk.
"Oh!" Harry exclaimed, rushing to help Ginny. "Let me help you, Ginny," he said, grasping one end of the heavy trunk.
Ginny blushed deep scarlet, but accepted the offer of help graciously, "Thanks, I'm not sure I could have made it down the stairs in one piece…"
Harry grinned, and asked, "Where do you need to take this?"
Puzzled, Ginny looked around the small entry hall for a place to put the large trunk. Then, after blushing an even darker red, she sheepishly admitted, "Oh dear, there's no room down here! I guess it's going to have to go back upstairs…"
"No problem," Harry said as he began to lead the way up the stairs. "At least you don't have to climb as many stairs as Ron," he joked.
Ginny finally began to lose her timidity as she answered, "Yes, well, eventually we became annoyed by the sounds of him listening to Chuddley Cannon Quidditch matches on his obnoxious radio. Plus, we felt it would be for the best if he befriended the ghoul. Really, though, the only way we could keep our sanity was to stash him in the farthest corner of the house."
Harry laughed deeply and Ginny grinned at him. Immediately, however, she again became bashful. "Well, here we are," she said awkwardly. "Thanks for the help."
"Sure. Well, I'm going to go break up Ron and Hermione."
Ginny nodded knowingly. "Were they in the Quidditch field?"
"How'd you guess?" He answered her question with a question.
Shrugging, she replied vaguely, "Just a guess…"
'Thank You' To:
WhetherRose: I cannot thank you enough for you kind and helpful reviews! The help and encouragement you give me are invaluable. Whenever I post a new chapter, I always look forward to reading your reviews (or just re-reading your story :) ). Whenever I someone leaves such specific and genuine reviews to help me, I feel that my story/chapter is more worthwhile. I love that you appreciate my reviews as much as I do your. I can't wait to see that you've updated your story (you know, I think it should be illegal for great stories to have cliffhangers… Just kidding). Thank you a million times over!
Babyphatcat13: I believe you are my most supportive supporter (talk about redundant). Had it not been for you, I'm sure I would have abandoned the 'Harry's Revenge' project. The praise you give me has many-a-time lifted my spirits! Thank you so much!
T.H: Like WhetherRose, your reviews have proven very insightful. You notice things I try to discreetly emphasize (sure, that's something of an oxymoron, but, to me, it makes sense ;) ). You did a marvelous job reviewing the Tale of Tom Riddle. Thank you so much - your reviews are very appreciated more than you'll ever know!
Hollie: Thank you for the review – I can't wait until you update the 'Fire Hawk' again… I want my questions answered, so get a move on it (only joking, of course)!
Also, Thanks To: Lauren Graham, Sara Minks, Lauren, Oceansun, and VyingQuill! Your reviews are all greatly appreciated!