Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

:: Chapter Three ::
Bittersweet Memories


"Ah, here we are... home sweet home," Mrs. Figg muttered with her toothy smile as she pushed the door of her home open and led Harry inside. She closed the door slowly, put the trunk aside, and turned her gaze towards the couch where the young wizard sat, his gaze wandering around curiously. "I don't remember when you were here last, but I suppose that was before I did the restructuring. Well, Harry, just sit down and relax while I prepare breakfast. I promise it'll be delicious."

"Thank you, Mrs. Figg."

She could not help but laugh at the boy's politeness. "You're welcome dear, you're very welcome. You're just like your father, yes... very much like James, alright," she said before she proceeded to the kitchen, humming a song to herself.

Harry followed her silently with his green eyes, a thought entering his mind. She was hiding something, although he could not tell what it was. At that, he sighed, for he was certain she'd tell him about it, eventually. He usually found out secrets that way, not out of clues or hints like his classmate Hermione Granger, by far the cleverest witch of their generation, but because those who were keeping those secrets chose to tell him about them.

He shifted his position into a more comfortable one when he spotted a photograph beside the nightlamp on the table next to the couch. He picked it up and was quite startled, as the people in it were moving. His gaze shifted to the passageway that lead to the kitchen --- Mrs. Figg left a souvenir of the wizarding world on a place like that, without taking any precautionary measures, whatsoever? What if she had Muggle guests, and they saw the photograph? They would have been scared out of their wits, as most Muggles were apprehensive of anything magical.

His emerald eyes narrowed significantly as he attempted to identify the faces in the photograph, for they were, to his surprise, blurry. He knew there were four men and three women in the picture, but he could not tell what they looked like and all. Sighing, he flipped the picture around to look at what was written at the back portion --- and his jaw dropped in complete surprise. Written in thick, curly letters, obviously done by a girl, were the words:

The Gryffindor 'Hunks and Babes,' Class 1978

(front row, left to right) Remus Lupin, Selena Svetlana, Peter Pettigrew
(back row, left to right) Sirius Black, James Potter, Lily Evans, Arabella Figg

"We solemnly swear that we are up to no good."

"Harry, time for break--- oh," Mrs. Figg's voice dropped as she saw what Harry was holding. He was looking at her with eyes that were full of questions, and knowing she had no choice, she sighed and sat down beside the young wizard. She took the photograph from him, and pulled her wand out of her robe, and with a wave, muttered, "Clarus."

The photograph was then very clear, as if it was on live television. The picture was then handed back to Harry, and he could clearly see the grins on the faces of the Gryffindor graduates, which made him smile as well. He also noticed a few other things that made the smile on his face grow larger as he ran his fingers through the photograph --- how romantic his parents were as they stood in the midst of the crowd and ignored everyone else who surrounded them; how smug his former professor looked, a badge which contained the words Head Boy pinned to his robe; and how his godfather bickered and annoyed the girl who stood beside his mother...

"You're right, Harry. That's me, indeed... and I haven't been completely honest with you, you know."

Harry looked up, startled at how the other sounded, for her voice was then nowhere near old. Then, he noticed that she didn't look old either --- not anymore, for that matter. She had thick, rich auburn hair which cascaded past her shoulders in a wave-like manner, and a pair of olive eyes that glistened like those of the woman in the photograph. "Mrs. Figg, is that---"

She sighed, a heavy one at that. "I've been living like this for the past fifteen years, when Dumbledore refused my offer to raise you. I... I was one of your mother's best friends, you see, and well..." She paused to smile, and Harry saw that she did not have a single Muggle-made tooth at all. "I was in the same year and in the same house with Sirius, Remus, Peter, and your parents, and that was how it all began --- with us being friends. James established a gang not long after he got admitted in Hogwarts, a quartett with an odd combination of wits, talent, attitude, and well... mischief. Those were what the people knew, though... they didn't know that the three females who were occasionally seen with them were their female counterparts, with Lily Evans --- model student, prefect, Head Girl --- as the ringleader.

"Your mother was a very nice, very sweet woman --- she had a lot of friends and admirers, mind you. Of that circle of hers, Selena Svetlana and I were the closest... but there's bound to be one bestest best friend, and that was me. So it was natural that I was the maid of honor at their wedding, just as Sirius was the best man, and then... they named me your godmother." Then she shook her head ruefully, her voice strained. "Although I'm a very bad godmother, as I haven't been around for you."

"Don't worry," Harry assured, swallowing, as he was uncertain on how to deal with her. "Sirius hasn't been around for me either."

The comment, however, made Arabella upset more than ever. "Because he was in Azkaban for a crime he did not commit, because that idiot Peter betrayed them! But what about me?! I wasn't in Azkaban! I lived right next door, and yet I haven't been there for you!" she exclaimed in frustration, tears glistening in her beautiful eyes. "You lived with those stupid Muggles for years, and I was glad when you got the letter that informed of your admission to Hogwarts when you were eleven. But even in Hogwarts, you weren't given a break. Voldemort and his Death Eaters came for you one year after the other. If I was able to convince Dumbledore to let you live with me right from the start, at least you would've been spared from hardships in the first eleven years of your life, and the summers that followed!"

"Um... Mrs. Figg... er..."

"Arabella, dear, call me Arabella."

"Er... yes, Arabella..." Harry began uneasily, not used to the fact that the one he knew as Mrs. Figg was actually young, a witch, and a friend of her parents. "Please don't feel too bad about it. You've been a very good... er... next-door neighbor, and I've had loads of fun all those times when I was left in your care. You're a good godmother --- you just didn't have a lot of opportunities to show it."

She embraced him tightly. "Oh, Harry, Harry... my godson... thank you. I was afraid I was letting everyone down --- you, most especially," she sobbed. "There's also one more thing you need to know, Harry. One more thing about me that you need to know. I... I'm your Secret-Keeper."

Harry was astounded. "I have a Secret-Keeper?"

Arabella nodded as she pulled away from the embrace and wiped the tears off her eyes. "Dumbledore made me your Secret-Keeper, when I insisted to keep a close eye on you. You see, the first thing he did after your parents' death was to send you here in Privet Drive, to be with your relatives. Then, he sent me here to look out for you, and to use the Fidelius Charm to keep you safe, the very same charm that your parents used in hopes to conceal their whereabouts. I had to live as an ordinary Muggle from then on, so as not to attract attention from the wizarding world --- as I was, after all, Lily's best friend --- and I decided that to use the facade of an old widow would be the most effective."

"So the reason why I've been safe here in Privet Drive all these years... is because you're my Secret-Keeper?" the young wizard asked in amazement, and the woman nodded in affirmation. "And I will remain safe as long as you won't tell anyone where I am?"

"The Fidelius Charm really works, Harry. If Peter did not divulge the secret he was keeping, your parents would have been alive," she blurted out, and silence took over. She realized her mistake immediately, however, so she stood up and smiled as she glanced at the grandfather clock in the living room. "That was quite a long talk, I must say... blimey, the food must've gone cold now," she added hastily before she scurried to the kitchen to reheat what she had prepared.

He looked at the photograph once again, a thought crossing his mind. They looked so jovial, so cheerful --- like one big happy family --- but the fellowship they established was now broken, the bits and pieces scattered all over the Muggle and wizarding world. All because one of them turned out to be a bad egg.

If Peter did not divulge the secret he was keeping, your parents would have been alive...

The flame of anger in Harry's heart was ignited once again, now fiercer than ever before, as he stared at the carefree, innocent faces of his parents and their friends. His gaze rested on the shy, demure Peter Pettigrew --- who would've expected him to be the cause of their order's destruction? Who would've expected him to become Voldemort's spy, and one of the dark lord's most loyal servants?

And yet... it happened.

Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents. This cringing bit of fith would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family.

When Sirius said those words back when Harry was in his third year, the young man knew his godfather was telling the truth, and yet he forced himself to look into the bright side of things, to give Peter another chance, as he believed that there was something good within the rat, somewhere. But Peter's actions during the night Cedric died, the night Voldemort returned to power changed Harry's entire point of view about him, for it was proven that he would have seen Harry --- the son of his old friend, James --- die without turning a hair.

"Sirius... you were right. I should have let you kill him. I should have."

[Author's Note] I know that it's strange for me to have my rants after a chapter, but I did not want to give away anything with my apologies and all so I decided to have this here. Before I proceed, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed. You guys are great, and I sure am glad to have you around to inspire me and all that. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart.

First off, I know that the concept I used for Arabella is a common one, and it's more or less similar to the one by Shinigami-sama too. I apologize for that, but that's how I picture --- and hope --- her to be, so I pray that you don't mind. Don't worry, I'll do my best to be as original as possible from now on.

Second, about Remus being Head Boy. I know that more or less everyone pictures James as Head Boy, but I wanted to have something different. I don't remember it being mentioned that James was truly Head Boy, only that he was a Chaser, so I decided to tweak things up a little bit. Correct me if I'm wrong, though, so I can fix it up as soon as possible. I don't own any of the books, sadly, so I won't be able to check right now.

Lastly, the Svetlanas. There's nothing to worry, neither Selena nor Artemis will be Mary-Sues. They will be quite important in this fic, but not in the sense that the attention will be all on them. Minor yet significant appearances, that's just it.

That basically wraps up everything I wanted to say. Thank you very much for reading, and may the Force be with you! ^___^;;