Chapter 51
When Harry left the great hall, he immediately proceeded toward the rooms he shared with Sirius. Without saying anything other than the password to the painting guarding the entrance, he practically ran into the room and with a wave of his hand, the portrait slammed closed behind him, the sound echoing around the entire corridor.
"HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID?!" he exclaimed as he slammed his fist into the wall next to him, oblivious to the pain that snaked up his arm as he did so and the dent he left in the wall "Why can't anything ever work like it is supposed to?" he moaned in a quieter voice as he leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, shaking his head and too lost in his own misery and to even notice the arrival of Remus, Sirius, Snape, and Dumbledore several minutes later.
"Harry" said Sirius gently as he knelt down in front of his godson, but Harry didn't even seem to see or hear him "Harry, look at me" he tried again, but was just as unsuccessful as the first time and he turned to look at the three men behind him in bewilderment and worry "Albus, what's wrong with him?" he asked the headmaster
"I don't know, but this must all be a bit of a shock for him, it will just take time for it all to sink in" said the old man and the other three all nodded in agreement, Remus and Snape having been told about Harry and Sirius going to the past in search of Voldemort's daughter and the spell that he had placed to bring her to Hogwarts.
"He never thought he would have to face James and Lily again, and then they turn up a dinner" said Sirius heavily as he settled himself on the floor in a more comfortable position so he could wait for Harry to snap out of whatever world he was in.
Harry, meanwhile, had the same string of thoughts running circles around his mind. 'How could this have happened? I am supposed to be the most powerful wizard of all time, and I can't even cast a simple spell right, I have to go and mess up the only way we have to kill Voldemort for good, and now he's won and there's nothing I can do to stop it. We can't go back again, it wouldn't work, and now I somehow blew our only chance of getting this girl. I am such a bloody idiot, I just condemned the world to certain death, I have as good as already killed everyone, including Ginny, and when they do die, it will all be my fault because I wasn't powerful enough to cast the spell right. It's all going to be my fault' he thought miserably, over and over again, and the only thing he had to be thankful for was that Voldemort was keeping his mouth shut, apparently he was discouraging himself enough without the evil wizards help. He continued his self berating for over an hour while the four professors sat in silence around the room, Sirius stationed on the floor next to him. Suddenly, though, Snape jumped to his feet with a hiss of pain, his eyes wide and his right hand clasped over his left forearm.
"Severus, what is it?" asked Dumbledore in concern as he too got to his feet
"Voldemort" was all the black haired man had to say before the others were put on the alert and they all drew their wands and aimed them directly at the boy who was still sitting perfectly still on the floor. Cautiously, Sirius leaned toward Harry and picked up his left arm and turned it over as he rolled up the sleeve of his robes and cloak, allowing Sherlock to slither away before the dark mark was revealed, and it confirmed what they all feared. It was blacker than they had ever seen it before, and the edges were beginning to weep dark red blood. Frightened, Sirius dropped the arm and looked at his godson's face, and was even more frightened to see that blood red eyes were looking right back at him. He scrambled backward until his back hit the wall, and he aimed his wand right at his godson's body, the promise he had made to Harry ringing in his ears and causing his wand arm to shake.
Harry's face broke into a maniacal grin before he began to speak in a bone chilling tone "Don't worry, my time has not yet come, the foolish boy hasn't given up fully, yet, but he will, sooner than you think, and when he does, this school will be the first to submit to me, and you will be the first to fall. There is nothing you can do to stop me, I will have control, and I will win, sooner than you think. Potter is not strong enough to resist me for much longer" and with that, Harry shook his head and emerald green eyes were looking straight at Sirius. "This can't be good" he said in a conversational tone before getting to his feet and sitting heavily in one of the large arm chairs in front of the fire.
"Um, Harry, are you ok?" asked Sirius after several silent minutes had passed and no one but Harry himself had moved from their previous spots, in fact, the four men still had their wands in their hands.
"Huh? Oh, Yeah, Sirius, I'm fine" said Harry absentmindedly as he turned his attention back to the fire. After several more minutes, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, and Snape finally joined Harry in front of the fire and looked to him in concern.
"Harry?" said Dumbledore, trying to get the eighteen year old wizards attention, and he was rewarded when he was fixed with a emerald green gaze
"I think I know what happened" said Harry without preamble or explanation "When I cast the spell while we were in the past, I used the staff to identify Voldemort's magical signature, but something must have happened and it identified mine as well, and brought my parents here" he said as he looked to each of the professors in turn
"Are you sure that is what happened, Harry?" asked Dumbledore and he was met with confused looks from all the others in the room
"Of course, sir, it's the only way the spell could have brought them here" said Harry with confidence
"What are you thinking, Albus?" asked Snape when he saw the contemplating look on the headmasters face
"Oh, nothing, just thinking about all the other possibilities, but perhaps I would be more convinced if we were to speak to the students" he said with a small smile "Harry, could you please go get them, I believe that they are in Gryffindor tower with Ginny" he said, and Harry, although irritated about having to leave, obediently left the quarters. He made his way to the tower quickly, and once he had arrived, he gave the password and scrambled in and was not surprised to see that the only people still awake were the four he was looking for and Ginny.
"The headmaster wants to speak with you" he said shortly before sending Ginny a longing smile and leaving the tower with the four students from the past on his heels.
"So, Harry, how have you been since you left?" asked Lily after several minutes of silent walking.
"Busy, you?" asked Harry without turning his head to look at her
"Fine" answered Lily, but before she could say anymore, James interrupted her
"So, have you figured out why or how we got here?" he asked
"I know how, but I don't know why" answered Harry
"Well, how did we get here?" asked Sirius when it became obvious that Harry wasn't going to elaborate on his own
"I will tell you later, but right now we need to figure out how to get you home" said Harry, not really wanting to get onto the subject of how terribly he had apparently screwed up.
When they reached the stone gargoyle, Harry tapped it lightly with his staff and it immediately sprang aside, allowing the five students in. Once they had ridden the staircase to the top, Harry knocked on the large wooden door and they heard someone from inside call for them to enter.
"Ah, Harry, I have been expecting you" said the headmaster when the black haired boy walked in
"I brought the others, sir, what did you want to talk about?" asked Harry once he had taken a seat across from the aged man.
"Yes, well, I think it is only right that we tell our friends just how they were brought here" said Dumbledore while looking at Harry unblinking
"Do they really need to know how they got here?" asked Harry dejectedly
"Yes, they do, and perhaps they could tell us just what they were doing when they were brought to us" he answered
"Fine" mumbled Harry, sounding remarkably like a five year old "But why don't we listen to what they know first" he suggested, hoping to delay the inevitable for as long as possible
"Very well" said the headmaster with an amused twinkle in his eye "James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, which of you would like to explain what you were doing when you were brought here?" he asked the four students, who, up until now had remained silent as they watched the exchange between Harry and Dumbledore in amazement, not believing that anyone could know and be known so well by the respected and famous man, and be able to talk to him like he was just any other person and not the most powerful man in the world.
"Ok, well, we were on our way to dinner, and we decided to try and take a short cut down one of the side hallways" began James "And Lily's bag broke and her diary fell out. Sirius picked it up and started to run away with it and Remus tried to make him give it back. We all ended up trying to get it ourselves, each of us pulling on it, and then Sirius ended up with it and started to run towards the great hall. We all ran after him until we opened the doors, and then you know what happened" he said with a shrug of his shoulders as he looked to the others for conformation
"So, at one point, all four of you were holding onto the book?" asked Dumbledore with his brow furrowed
"Yes, why?" asked Sirius, but instead of answering his question, Dumbledore just asked another
"Had you ever gone down this particular hallway before?"
"Not since before Christmas" answered Lily, bewildered by his line of questions "What are you getting at, sir?" she asked
"Harry, why don't you tell them about the spell" suggested the older man after several silent moments
Harry, although unwillingly, obeyed and turned to face the other four "Well, if you remember, I told you that Sirius and I were looking for a girl to bring back with us, right?" he began, and when he was met with four nods, he continued "as it turns out, we never did find her, and our time was running out, so the headmaster told me about a spell that would recognize a certain persons magical signature. I cast the spell on one of the less used hallways and combined it with a spell to bring her to us in this time. Obviously, though, the spell didn't work the way it was supposed to, I must have set it to recognize my own magical signature instead, so it brought James and Lily here, and you must have walked through it while you were fighting over the diary so it brought Remus and Sirius here as well since you were all touching it, connecting the four of you in a way" he said and he turned back to the headmaster and was surprised to see his face still lined with thought "Sir, what's wrong?" he asked in concern
"Nothing, Harry, I was just trying to remember some things" he said tiredly before he looked directly to Harry with a sudden dawning "Harry, tell me, were you completely focused when you cast that spell?" he asked eagerly
"Yes sir, I think so, why?" asked Harry in confusion
"I thought as much, now be honest with me, have you ever cast a spell that didn't work properly while you were using your staff?" he asked quickly
"Other than this one, no" answered Harry skeptically after several moments of thought "Why?"
"Well, Harry, have you considered the idea that perhaps your spell did work properly?" he asked quietly, ignoring the other four students in the room and focusing solely on Harry.
Upon hearing his words, Harry jumped from his seat and a dark cloud of anger flashed across his face as his eyes almost turned to ice with defiance and his grip tightened on his staff before he spoke in a harsh and bone chillingly cold voice "I don't know what you are suggesting, sir, but I can assure you that you are mistaken" he said crisply as he sent the old man a piercing glare.
"Harry, calm down" said Dumbledore forcefully, not wanting a repeat of what had happened in the defense classroom several months before "I am just asking you to think about the possibility, nothing more" he said gently and was relieved when Harry took several deep breaths before relaxing slightly.
"Dumbledore, I refuse to consider such a thing and I don't see how you could even suggest it" he said once he had regained some composure
"Harry, I know you don't want to think about it, but it could help to explain some unanswered questions, just think about it, would you? And if you decide to, we could perform a spell to determine if it is true or if I am just being a foolhardy old man. Give yourself some time to think about it, and then come and let me know what you want to do" he said as he stood and placed a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder "Until then, they can stay with the Gryffindor students in the tower and attend classes with Ginny" he said, his attention once more going back to their four spectators
"Fine" spat out Harry "I'll think about it, but right now I need some air" and with that being said, he spun around and left the office with his cloak billowing out behind him, leaving Dumbledore and the three marauders and Lily in his wake.
"What was that all about, sir?" asked Remus
"Nothing for you to be concerned with, I assure you" he said kindly, but Lily spoke up anyways
"Professor, sir, who do you think I am?" she asked quietly and when the three boys looked to her in curiosity, she elaborated "You said that you were looking for a girl and that the spell was cast to bring her here, and you seem to think it worked right and seeing as I'm the only girl here, you must have been talking about me, so who do you think I am that Harry refuses to believe?" she asked again
"I will let Harry explain everything to you when he feels ready, but until then, perhaps you had better get back to the tower, you do have classes in the morning. The password is hinkypink" he said, signaling the end of the conversation.
Obediently, the four students left the office and made their way in silence toward Gryffindor tower, and Ginny noticing their dejected looking faces and the absence of Harry left immediately. They all settled around the window, not surprised to see in the distance a red haired girl walking out toward the far side of the lake where a solid black unicorn was sitting and starring at the stars, completely lost in thought, but when she arrived, he looked to her before molding smoothly into the form of Harry who quickly pulled her into his arms where she remained long after the four watching went off to bed.
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When Harry left Dumbledore's office, he practically fled into the forbidden forest, trying desperately to out run the words he had heard. There was no way he could be related to Voldemort, he just wouldn't accept that. He was not the grandson of the most evil wizard to ever live, no matter what others might think. With these thoughts in mind, he transformed into a black unicorn in mid stride and went galloping into the forest. He ran as hard as he could for several minutes before deciding to return to the lake.
Folding his legs beneath himself, he lay down on the far side of the lake from the castle and looked toward the stars while he considered the implications of just what Dumbledore had suggested, finally considering what it would mean if he were right.
True, it would mean that he was indeed related to Voldemort, but he wasn't like Voldemort, he kept telling himself, he would never be like him. It also meant that they had indeed found the girl they had been looking for, and that he could finally be rid of the dark lord once and for all, but there was more to it than that. It meant that Harry would be responsible for the death of one of his only remaining relatives, and the closest relation that was still living. He finally understood what Voldemort had meant when he had asked if Harry could kill a family member like he would be asking his mother to do if indeed she were Voldemort's daughter.
As he was thinking these thoughts, he heard the sound of leaves crunching beneath someone's feet as they made their way to the lake. Looking up, he saw the familiar silhouette of Ginny. He watched her as she approached him, her arms wrapped tightly around her thin frame and her head bowed against the fierce wind that was whipping her long auburn hair out behind her. Once she was within a meter of the black unicorn, she stopped and looked directly into his emerald eyes as he got to his feet and transformed into himself again before he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, not even wondering how she knew it had been him sitting out there. They remained in that position for a long time, neither wanting to let the other go, but finally, Harry broke the embrace and looked down at his girlfriend with his brow furrowed.
"Gin, what are you doing out here, it's freezing" he said as he pulled his own cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around her, the scarlet of the cloak making her red hair look even brighter.
"Well, when I saw the marauders and Lily coming back without you, I got worried. I figured I would find you out here though, so I came to see if you were all right" she said with a shrug of her shoulders as she pulled the cloak tighter around her shivering shoulders "What happened?" she finally asked as she looked up worriedly into Harry's eyes.
"You might want to sit down, this is going to be a long story" he said as he sat down himself on the hard ground and pulled her into his lap, trying to ignore the fierce cold that was eating into his own bones.
Once Ginny had settled herself comfortably onto his lap, he began his tale, leaving nothing out. He told her everything, beginning with the dream he had had about Voldemort talking about his daughter and the meeting with Dumbledore about being able to kill Voldemort's spirit for good if they found his daughter, and the trip into the past, and about meeting his parents and Voldemort taking his staff, and the battle between them, and his argument with Sirius and his modifying the memories of everyone involved. He then told her about the spell that he had set up to bring Voldemort's daughter to the present time. He then told her about the meeting he had just had with the headmaster and what he had suggested, but there, Ginny interrupted him.
"He thinks that your mother is Voldemort's daughter?" she breathed quietly
"Yes, that's what he said, but I don't know if I believe him or not" admitted Harry
"Why?" she asked in curiosity
"Well, on the one hand, I don't want to even think that I have anything at all in common with that monster, and I don't see how I could be even distantly related to someone that evil, but on the other hand, he could be right" he said quietly as he looked out over the lake towards the sleeping castle
"Why do you say that?" asked Ginny
"Well, it would explain a few things, like why my mother looked nothing like my aunt, and how she was so powerful for being a muggle born witch. It also explains how I got to be so powerful, Dumbledore even said that I could only get so much magical strength from my father's family, and that he didn't even know where the rest came from, and it also explains why the sorting hat wanted to place me in Slytherin" he admitted "This at least would answer those questions for me"
"Yes, but do you really think that it could be possible?" she asked hesitantly
"The more I think about it, the more likely it is" he said slowly as he looked at her, his expression looking almost ashamed "I just don't know what to think if it is true"
"Harry, if it is true, it won't change anything, you will still be the same person, no matter who you are related to" she said, trying to reassure him
"But, what will everyone think, Gin? How can I face anyone knowing that my grandfather was responsible for killing so many people? What would I say to them?" he asked almost desperately
"Harry, what he has done has nothing to do with you. The things he did were terrible, but I know that if you could have stopped him, you would have" she said confidently
"Are you sure, Gin? Now that I know the truth, I don't know if I would have been able to. How could I kill my grandfather, the closest relative I have?" he asked her in a voice barley above a whisper
"Because, Harry, you have always put everyone else above yourself, no matter what the consequences" she said
"But can I do the same this time?" he asked her in worry "Can I be responsible for killing my grandfather? Or asking my mother to kill her father?"
"I don't know Harry, but I do know that you will do what is right. He may be your grandfather, but I can assure you that he doesn't consider you his grandson, just look at what he has done to you throughout the years. It may be hard, but you will do what is right" she said in confidence as she leaned over and gave him a soft kiss.
"Thanks, Gin" he said after several silent moments "Maybe we should get back inside before someone starts to worry about us" he suggested
"Sounds good" she said as she crawled off his lap and stood before holding out her hand to help him up as well, but she drew back when he tool hold of her hand "Harry, why didn't you tell me you were so cold? I would have given you back your cloak" she scolded as she pulled the cloak from her own shoulder and handed it to him and he gratefully wrapped himself in it again.
"Sorry, Gin, but I didn't think it was important. Besides, you were cold too, coming out here in just your robes" he reminded her with a wary smile "Come on, let's get back to the castle and go to bed" he said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and set off toward the castle.
Both were oblivious to the eyes that were watching them as they left from the edge of the forest, which had overheard the entire conversation. "Well, Potter, this is an interesting development indeed. Who would have thought that you were the one to be holding our master's spirit? Just you wait, we will free him, no matter what it takes" said a deep voice confidently before the sound of rustling leaves could be heard as the person left and a few seconds later there was a faint pop as they disappeared from the school grounds.
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Once Harry and Ginny entered the castle, they made their way toward the marble staircase, but before they had even reached it, Harry was knocked to the ground when he ran headfirst into something invisible, and since he still had his arm around Ginny, she was pulled down as well, both landing in an unceremonious heap on the marble floor.
"Oomph" said Ginny as she fell on top of Harry
"Who's there?" demanded Harry, but he was met with only silence "You had better show yourselves at once, or you will regret it" he warned, but still there was silence meeting their ears "Fine, you asked for it" he said as he untangled one arm from Ginny and stretched it out in front of himself, and a moment later, he was holding an invisibility cloak in his hand and three marauders and a very embarrassed Lily were looking at him. "What are you four up to?" he asked when he realized that there was no danger.
"Well, we saw Ginny leave the castle, and go down to the lake to see you, so we went to bed, but Lily came to get us a couple of minutes ago and said that you were still not back. We got curious and decided to come and see what you were up to" said Sirius with a shrug of his shoulders "So, what were you up to?" he asked with a mischievous grin on his face which caused all of the others to groan loudly.
"Nothing like that, I can assure you, Sirius. We were just talking" said Harry as he got to his feet and recovered his staff before helping Ginny off the floor as well.
"Oh, sure" said Sirius with a smirk "That's what James and Lily always say too" he added with a sideways look to his friends who both shot him death glares.
"Well, now that you found us, you had better head back to Gryffindor tower before you get caught" said Harry, but just as he said the words, another voice spoke up from behind him.
"Too late, Harry, they have already been caught" said the oily voice of Snape. Upon hearing the voice, all six students turned around to see him, and the four from the past felt their jaws drop in shock and horror.
"Snape?!" they all exclaimed at once, not believing their eyes, and Harry was forced to control the laughter he was feeling at seeing their expressions.
"Professor Snape, to you" growled the potions master as he came to a stop next to the group and surveyed James and Lily for a moment.
"You're a professor? Of what?" demanded Sirius
"Potions, for your information" he said crisply "And I will be seeing the four of you in detention tonight at midnight for being out in the halls after curfew" he added with a smirk
"What!? You can't give us detention!" exclaimed James
"Oh yes I can, and I just did" he said "Remember, midnight tonight in the potions classroom, I trust you remember where it is?" he asked, but instead of waiting for an answer, he turned to face Harry who was still trying hard not to laugh "Harry, I was asked to find you and bring you to the headmaster. He wishes to speak to all of us about what happened this evening. Miss Weasley, would you please escort your housemates back to their dormitories?" he asked, being almost kind to the red head.
"Sire, sir, come on guys, night Harry" she said as she squeezed his hand before letting go and led the four still shocked students up the stairs, amazed herself at how nice Snape had been to herself and Harry since the beginning of the previous term, especially compared to how terribly he still treated the rest of the Gryffindor students.
Once the others had made their way up the stairs and were out of earshot, Harry turned to the man standing beside him with his brow furrowed "Who else is coming to meet with us?" he asked, though he was fairly certain of the answer already
"Lupin, Black, Weasley, Granger, Malfoy, and Poppy" he answered as he turned and began to make his way in the direction of the headmasters office "Apparently he wants to bring everyone else who knows about what is going on up to speed, so to say, and he informed Poppy about everything this evening so that she can be present when you take the potion and when the spell is cast" he answered without turning to Harry
"So, I guess he is certain now that Voldemort's daughter was my mother then" said Harry glumly
"Apparently so, he was able to obtain her birth certificate from a muggle hospital, stating her mothers name as Susan Evans Riddle, and Tom Marvolo Riddle as her father, though she was given her mothers maiden name as her own last name" he explained and Harry felt as though a tight constriction was around his heart and that his stomach had turned to ice.
"So, it's true then, he is my grandfather" he admitted quietly
"Yes, it is, but I can assure you that just because you may be his blood, you are not destined to become like him. My entire family have been dark wizards, for as far back as we know, but I decided not to follow that path and instead became a spy for the light side. You are the one who decides what to make of yourself, not who you are related to" he finished, and Harry could do nothing but stare at the black haired man in shock. Who would have thought that the greasy old potions master had a heart and was capable of reassuring anyone, especially a Gryffindor?
'Well,' thought Harry to himself 'Just another item to add to my list of weird things that have happened today' he thought with a smirk on his face
'Well, boy, how do you fell now that you know the truth?' asked Voldemort suddenly, causing Harry to falter in his step, earning a concerned look from the potions master 'Do you honestly think that my daughter will be able to kill her own father? Will you be able to murder your own grandfather?' he asked smugly, but Harry would have none of his arrogant and traitorous words tonight. No matter how bad things had seemed a few hours ago, they were looking much better now. They had finally found Voldemort's daughter and the means to destroy him for good were within their grasp. Harry would win this battle, the final one in the war between himself and the dark lord that had been going on for far too long. He may be related to the evil wizard, but he would never be like him, never. He would win, and when he did, things would finally be starting to go right and there would be nothing Voldemort could do to change that, nothing.
'Well boy, why won't you answer me? Are you frightened of your own grandfather?' he asked with a hint of cockiness lacing his words, but Harry could only think of one response that was fitting.
'Shut the bloody hell up, would you' he thought and he felt the corners of his mouth turn up in a smirk by the silence that met his mind as he entered the headmasters office.
"Good evening, Harry, Severus" said the headmaster kindly as Harry and Snape entered the office, the last in the meeting to arrive "I trust you have had time to think about what we spoke of earlier?" he asked almost hesitantly once the two had taken their seats, Harry between Sirius and Hermione and Snape at the other end of the room, though he couldn't resist sending Sirius and Remus smug looks, which they were confused and a little frightened of.
"Good evening, sir, and yes, I have thought about what you said earlier this evening" he said with a reassuring smile on his face which the older man was more than willing to return ten fold.
"Excellent!" he exclaimed "Now we can get to work and finish this once and for all" he said happily as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"Excuse me, Albus, but what are you two talking about?" asked Remus in confusion
"Ah, yes, that is what we have called you here to discuss. Please forgive the lateness or earliness as it might be, of this meeting, but we really must get started on this immediately. Harry, would you like to fill them in on what we have found out so far? I trust Severus has informed you about what I discovered at the hospital earlier?" he asked as he looked to Harry over his half moon spectacles
"Yes sir, he did" assured Harry
"Good then, you may begin" said the old man, looking far too happy for a man his age
Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart before he began in a steady and calm voice, finally able to accept the truth himself and hoping his friends would be able to do the same. "Well, I guess first I need to tell you about where Sirius and I were for the end of the last term and the summer holidays" he began "During the first month, while I was at the Dursley's, I had a dream about Voldemort, it was a conversation I had overheard between Lucius Malfoy and himself. He was talking about a woman named Susan that he had married, and she was a muggle" he ignored the shocked gasps that came from many occupants of the room and continued "Well, the two of them had a daughter, but her mother gave the child her own last name instead of Riddle, for the first two years of her life, the child was raised by her parents, but one day Tom came home and his daughter was being scolded by her mother for using magic. He was angry and cast the cruciatus curse on his wife before he left. She took their daughter and left him, running away out of fear of her husband. She knew that her daughter would not be safe and that he would come after her, so she left the girl at her brother's house, whom Tom didn't know, before disappearing. When he found his wife, he killed her, and then went looking for his child, and when his wives parents couldn't tell him where she was, he killed them as well. He never did find his daughter, and after a while, gave up. He said he had seen her during her Hogwarts years, but he never spoke to her, and later, he killed her when he attacked her family. She never knew the truth about who she was, and he never told her. He said that she was too influenced by the light side to be turned. Well, as you know, we discovered a way to destroy Voldemort, but it requires a relative of myself and a relative of him to make a potion and cast a spell. Voldemort has no living relatives, so we went to the past in hopes of finding his daughter to bring her back here to help. We knew nothing about her other than that she was in the same year as my parents, and we were guessing that she was pretty powerful. Well, we never did find her while we were there, so I cast a spell to recognize the magical signature of Voldemort and bring anyone who resembled it to us so that we could do the spell and potion. When we got back here, we knew that it was just a matter of time before the spell was activated, and tonight it was. The spell I cast brought Voldemort's daughter to Hogwarts" he finished, looking around to see the reactions of those in the room.
Sirius and Remus both looked shocked and horrified beyond words, and neither was moving at all, just starring at Harry with slack jaws and wide eyes. Hermione, Ron, and Draco were looking back and forth between Harry, Dumbledore, and Snape, not wanting to believe that such a thing could be true. Snape, Dumbledore, and Poppy all had closed expressions on their faces, waiting for the outbursts that they knew were about to come, and come they did.
"WHAT!?" exclaimed Sirius finally and Harry just closed his eyes and shook his head before looking back to his godfather.
"Yes, Sirius, it's true. Dumbledore even found my mum's birth certificate. Tom Riddle was her father" he said quietly
"Are you sure, Harry? Couldn't the spell have just messed up or something?" asked Ron, but Hermione was the one to answer him.
"I doubt it, Ron. I don't think Harry is capable of messing up any spell when he is using his staff" she said confidently "You were using the staff, weren't you?" she asked as she looked to her best friend, who nodded in acknowledgement.
"I can't believe it" muttered Sirius under his breath "Lily was really his daughter, but she was the complete opposite of him? And so is Harry? How is that possible?" he asked as he looked to the headmaster.
"Because, Sirius, our blood doesn't decide what we will become, our actions and values do, and you know as well as I that Harry and Lily have very strong values" he said with a small smile on his wrinkled face.
"The question now is what do we do?" asked Remus.
"We ask my mother to help kill the father she has never known" said Harry quietly.
"And we will ask your father to help her. Like I told Sirius, the closer the relation to yourself, the more likely the spell and potion are to bee completely successful, and you couldn't get any closer that a parent" said Dumbledore "Now, we will finish this in the morning. Why don't you all get back to bed, we will meet again after the dueling club meeting tomorrow night, and we will ask our four time travelers to accompany us" he said, and the others all wearily got to their feet and set off in the directions of their own respective rooms and to bed, something Harry desperately needed after the stressful day he had just had.
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A/N: All right, the next chapter is finally done and posted! Well, thanks for all the reviews on the last one, and I hope you enjoy this one as well, if not, at least it explains a lot of things. Anyways, who guessed right that Lily was his daughter? Well, I don't know when the next one will be up, but hopefully by Monday or Tuesday. I know I am not posting nearly as often as I was at first, but I do have good reasons. First, as some of you know, I just transferred to a new University, and I am swamped with learning my way around. My last school had 5,000 students and was pretty small, this one has 47,000 students and is huge! We have to ride busses to all of our classes, and now I have to find a job here, and I am having absolutely no luck at all. If any of you know of anyone around Texas A&M who is hiring, let me know! (Go Aggies!) Well, enough rambling, hope you enjoy this and please review, I really appreciate your comments!
When Harry left the great hall, he immediately proceeded toward the rooms he shared with Sirius. Without saying anything other than the password to the painting guarding the entrance, he practically ran into the room and with a wave of his hand, the portrait slammed closed behind him, the sound echoing around the entire corridor.
"HOW COULD I HAVE BEEN SO STUPID?!" he exclaimed as he slammed his fist into the wall next to him, oblivious to the pain that snaked up his arm as he did so and the dent he left in the wall "Why can't anything ever work like it is supposed to?" he moaned in a quieter voice as he leaned against the wall and sank to the floor, shaking his head and too lost in his own misery and to even notice the arrival of Remus, Sirius, Snape, and Dumbledore several minutes later.
"Harry" said Sirius gently as he knelt down in front of his godson, but Harry didn't even seem to see or hear him "Harry, look at me" he tried again, but was just as unsuccessful as the first time and he turned to look at the three men behind him in bewilderment and worry "Albus, what's wrong with him?" he asked the headmaster
"I don't know, but this must all be a bit of a shock for him, it will just take time for it all to sink in" said the old man and the other three all nodded in agreement, Remus and Snape having been told about Harry and Sirius going to the past in search of Voldemort's daughter and the spell that he had placed to bring her to Hogwarts.
"He never thought he would have to face James and Lily again, and then they turn up a dinner" said Sirius heavily as he settled himself on the floor in a more comfortable position so he could wait for Harry to snap out of whatever world he was in.
Harry, meanwhile, had the same string of thoughts running circles around his mind. 'How could this have happened? I am supposed to be the most powerful wizard of all time, and I can't even cast a simple spell right, I have to go and mess up the only way we have to kill Voldemort for good, and now he's won and there's nothing I can do to stop it. We can't go back again, it wouldn't work, and now I somehow blew our only chance of getting this girl. I am such a bloody idiot, I just condemned the world to certain death, I have as good as already killed everyone, including Ginny, and when they do die, it will all be my fault because I wasn't powerful enough to cast the spell right. It's all going to be my fault' he thought miserably, over and over again, and the only thing he had to be thankful for was that Voldemort was keeping his mouth shut, apparently he was discouraging himself enough without the evil wizards help. He continued his self berating for over an hour while the four professors sat in silence around the room, Sirius stationed on the floor next to him. Suddenly, though, Snape jumped to his feet with a hiss of pain, his eyes wide and his right hand clasped over his left forearm.
"Severus, what is it?" asked Dumbledore in concern as he too got to his feet
"Voldemort" was all the black haired man had to say before the others were put on the alert and they all drew their wands and aimed them directly at the boy who was still sitting perfectly still on the floor. Cautiously, Sirius leaned toward Harry and picked up his left arm and turned it over as he rolled up the sleeve of his robes and cloak, allowing Sherlock to slither away before the dark mark was revealed, and it confirmed what they all feared. It was blacker than they had ever seen it before, and the edges were beginning to weep dark red blood. Frightened, Sirius dropped the arm and looked at his godson's face, and was even more frightened to see that blood red eyes were looking right back at him. He scrambled backward until his back hit the wall, and he aimed his wand right at his godson's body, the promise he had made to Harry ringing in his ears and causing his wand arm to shake.
Harry's face broke into a maniacal grin before he began to speak in a bone chilling tone "Don't worry, my time has not yet come, the foolish boy hasn't given up fully, yet, but he will, sooner than you think, and when he does, this school will be the first to submit to me, and you will be the first to fall. There is nothing you can do to stop me, I will have control, and I will win, sooner than you think. Potter is not strong enough to resist me for much longer" and with that, Harry shook his head and emerald green eyes were looking straight at Sirius. "This can't be good" he said in a conversational tone before getting to his feet and sitting heavily in one of the large arm chairs in front of the fire.
"Um, Harry, are you ok?" asked Sirius after several silent minutes had passed and no one but Harry himself had moved from their previous spots, in fact, the four men still had their wands in their hands.
"Huh? Oh, Yeah, Sirius, I'm fine" said Harry absentmindedly as he turned his attention back to the fire. After several more minutes, Sirius, Remus, Dumbledore, and Snape finally joined Harry in front of the fire and looked to him in concern.
"Harry?" said Dumbledore, trying to get the eighteen year old wizards attention, and he was rewarded when he was fixed with a emerald green gaze
"I think I know what happened" said Harry without preamble or explanation "When I cast the spell while we were in the past, I used the staff to identify Voldemort's magical signature, but something must have happened and it identified mine as well, and brought my parents here" he said as he looked to each of the professors in turn
"Are you sure that is what happened, Harry?" asked Dumbledore and he was met with confused looks from all the others in the room
"Of course, sir, it's the only way the spell could have brought them here" said Harry with confidence
"What are you thinking, Albus?" asked Snape when he saw the contemplating look on the headmasters face
"Oh, nothing, just thinking about all the other possibilities, but perhaps I would be more convinced if we were to speak to the students" he said with a small smile "Harry, could you please go get them, I believe that they are in Gryffindor tower with Ginny" he said, and Harry, although irritated about having to leave, obediently left the quarters. He made his way to the tower quickly, and once he had arrived, he gave the password and scrambled in and was not surprised to see that the only people still awake were the four he was looking for and Ginny.
"The headmaster wants to speak with you" he said shortly before sending Ginny a longing smile and leaving the tower with the four students from the past on his heels.
"So, Harry, how have you been since you left?" asked Lily after several minutes of silent walking.
"Busy, you?" asked Harry without turning his head to look at her
"Fine" answered Lily, but before she could say anymore, James interrupted her
"So, have you figured out why or how we got here?" he asked
"I know how, but I don't know why" answered Harry
"Well, how did we get here?" asked Sirius when it became obvious that Harry wasn't going to elaborate on his own
"I will tell you later, but right now we need to figure out how to get you home" said Harry, not really wanting to get onto the subject of how terribly he had apparently screwed up.
When they reached the stone gargoyle, Harry tapped it lightly with his staff and it immediately sprang aside, allowing the five students in. Once they had ridden the staircase to the top, Harry knocked on the large wooden door and they heard someone from inside call for them to enter.
"Ah, Harry, I have been expecting you" said the headmaster when the black haired boy walked in
"I brought the others, sir, what did you want to talk about?" asked Harry once he had taken a seat across from the aged man.
"Yes, well, I think it is only right that we tell our friends just how they were brought here" said Dumbledore while looking at Harry unblinking
"Do they really need to know how they got here?" asked Harry dejectedly
"Yes, they do, and perhaps they could tell us just what they were doing when they were brought to us" he answered
"Fine" mumbled Harry, sounding remarkably like a five year old "But why don't we listen to what they know first" he suggested, hoping to delay the inevitable for as long as possible
"Very well" said the headmaster with an amused twinkle in his eye "James, Sirius, Remus, Lily, which of you would like to explain what you were doing when you were brought here?" he asked the four students, who, up until now had remained silent as they watched the exchange between Harry and Dumbledore in amazement, not believing that anyone could know and be known so well by the respected and famous man, and be able to talk to him like he was just any other person and not the most powerful man in the world.
"Ok, well, we were on our way to dinner, and we decided to try and take a short cut down one of the side hallways" began James "And Lily's bag broke and her diary fell out. Sirius picked it up and started to run away with it and Remus tried to make him give it back. We all ended up trying to get it ourselves, each of us pulling on it, and then Sirius ended up with it and started to run towards the great hall. We all ran after him until we opened the doors, and then you know what happened" he said with a shrug of his shoulders as he looked to the others for conformation
"So, at one point, all four of you were holding onto the book?" asked Dumbledore with his brow furrowed
"Yes, why?" asked Sirius, but instead of answering his question, Dumbledore just asked another
"Had you ever gone down this particular hallway before?"
"Not since before Christmas" answered Lily, bewildered by his line of questions "What are you getting at, sir?" she asked
"Harry, why don't you tell them about the spell" suggested the older man after several silent moments
Harry, although unwillingly, obeyed and turned to face the other four "Well, if you remember, I told you that Sirius and I were looking for a girl to bring back with us, right?" he began, and when he was met with four nods, he continued "as it turns out, we never did find her, and our time was running out, so the headmaster told me about a spell that would recognize a certain persons magical signature. I cast the spell on one of the less used hallways and combined it with a spell to bring her to us in this time. Obviously, though, the spell didn't work the way it was supposed to, I must have set it to recognize my own magical signature instead, so it brought James and Lily here, and you must have walked through it while you were fighting over the diary so it brought Remus and Sirius here as well since you were all touching it, connecting the four of you in a way" he said and he turned back to the headmaster and was surprised to see his face still lined with thought "Sir, what's wrong?" he asked in concern
"Nothing, Harry, I was just trying to remember some things" he said tiredly before he looked directly to Harry with a sudden dawning "Harry, tell me, were you completely focused when you cast that spell?" he asked eagerly
"Yes sir, I think so, why?" asked Harry in confusion
"I thought as much, now be honest with me, have you ever cast a spell that didn't work properly while you were using your staff?" he asked quickly
"Other than this one, no" answered Harry skeptically after several moments of thought "Why?"
"Well, Harry, have you considered the idea that perhaps your spell did work properly?" he asked quietly, ignoring the other four students in the room and focusing solely on Harry.
Upon hearing his words, Harry jumped from his seat and a dark cloud of anger flashed across his face as his eyes almost turned to ice with defiance and his grip tightened on his staff before he spoke in a harsh and bone chillingly cold voice "I don't know what you are suggesting, sir, but I can assure you that you are mistaken" he said crisply as he sent the old man a piercing glare.
"Harry, calm down" said Dumbledore forcefully, not wanting a repeat of what had happened in the defense classroom several months before "I am just asking you to think about the possibility, nothing more" he said gently and was relieved when Harry took several deep breaths before relaxing slightly.
"Dumbledore, I refuse to consider such a thing and I don't see how you could even suggest it" he said once he had regained some composure
"Harry, I know you don't want to think about it, but it could help to explain some unanswered questions, just think about it, would you? And if you decide to, we could perform a spell to determine if it is true or if I am just being a foolhardy old man. Give yourself some time to think about it, and then come and let me know what you want to do" he said as he stood and placed a reassuring hand on Harry's shoulder "Until then, they can stay with the Gryffindor students in the tower and attend classes with Ginny" he said, his attention once more going back to their four spectators
"Fine" spat out Harry "I'll think about it, but right now I need some air" and with that being said, he spun around and left the office with his cloak billowing out behind him, leaving Dumbledore and the three marauders and Lily in his wake.
"What was that all about, sir?" asked Remus
"Nothing for you to be concerned with, I assure you" he said kindly, but Lily spoke up anyways
"Professor, sir, who do you think I am?" she asked quietly and when the three boys looked to her in curiosity, she elaborated "You said that you were looking for a girl and that the spell was cast to bring her here, and you seem to think it worked right and seeing as I'm the only girl here, you must have been talking about me, so who do you think I am that Harry refuses to believe?" she asked again
"I will let Harry explain everything to you when he feels ready, but until then, perhaps you had better get back to the tower, you do have classes in the morning. The password is hinkypink" he said, signaling the end of the conversation.
Obediently, the four students left the office and made their way in silence toward Gryffindor tower, and Ginny noticing their dejected looking faces and the absence of Harry left immediately. They all settled around the window, not surprised to see in the distance a red haired girl walking out toward the far side of the lake where a solid black unicorn was sitting and starring at the stars, completely lost in thought, but when she arrived, he looked to her before molding smoothly into the form of Harry who quickly pulled her into his arms where she remained long after the four watching went off to bed.
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When Harry left Dumbledore's office, he practically fled into the forbidden forest, trying desperately to out run the words he had heard. There was no way he could be related to Voldemort, he just wouldn't accept that. He was not the grandson of the most evil wizard to ever live, no matter what others might think. With these thoughts in mind, he transformed into a black unicorn in mid stride and went galloping into the forest. He ran as hard as he could for several minutes before deciding to return to the lake.
Folding his legs beneath himself, he lay down on the far side of the lake from the castle and looked toward the stars while he considered the implications of just what Dumbledore had suggested, finally considering what it would mean if he were right.
True, it would mean that he was indeed related to Voldemort, but he wasn't like Voldemort, he kept telling himself, he would never be like him. It also meant that they had indeed found the girl they had been looking for, and that he could finally be rid of the dark lord once and for all, but there was more to it than that. It meant that Harry would be responsible for the death of one of his only remaining relatives, and the closest relation that was still living. He finally understood what Voldemort had meant when he had asked if Harry could kill a family member like he would be asking his mother to do if indeed she were Voldemort's daughter.
As he was thinking these thoughts, he heard the sound of leaves crunching beneath someone's feet as they made their way to the lake. Looking up, he saw the familiar silhouette of Ginny. He watched her as she approached him, her arms wrapped tightly around her thin frame and her head bowed against the fierce wind that was whipping her long auburn hair out behind her. Once she was within a meter of the black unicorn, she stopped and looked directly into his emerald eyes as he got to his feet and transformed into himself again before he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly, not even wondering how she knew it had been him sitting out there. They remained in that position for a long time, neither wanting to let the other go, but finally, Harry broke the embrace and looked down at his girlfriend with his brow furrowed.
"Gin, what are you doing out here, it's freezing" he said as he pulled his own cloak from his shoulders and wrapped it around her, the scarlet of the cloak making her red hair look even brighter.
"Well, when I saw the marauders and Lily coming back without you, I got worried. I figured I would find you out here though, so I came to see if you were all right" she said with a shrug of her shoulders as she pulled the cloak tighter around her shivering shoulders "What happened?" she finally asked as she looked up worriedly into Harry's eyes.
"You might want to sit down, this is going to be a long story" he said as he sat down himself on the hard ground and pulled her into his lap, trying to ignore the fierce cold that was eating into his own bones.
Once Ginny had settled herself comfortably onto his lap, he began his tale, leaving nothing out. He told her everything, beginning with the dream he had had about Voldemort talking about his daughter and the meeting with Dumbledore about being able to kill Voldemort's spirit for good if they found his daughter, and the trip into the past, and about meeting his parents and Voldemort taking his staff, and the battle between them, and his argument with Sirius and his modifying the memories of everyone involved. He then told her about the spell that he had set up to bring Voldemort's daughter to the present time. He then told her about the meeting he had just had with the headmaster and what he had suggested, but there, Ginny interrupted him.
"He thinks that your mother is Voldemort's daughter?" she breathed quietly
"Yes, that's what he said, but I don't know if I believe him or not" admitted Harry
"Why?" she asked in curiosity
"Well, on the one hand, I don't want to even think that I have anything at all in common with that monster, and I don't see how I could be even distantly related to someone that evil, but on the other hand, he could be right" he said quietly as he looked out over the lake towards the sleeping castle
"Why do you say that?" asked Ginny
"Well, it would explain a few things, like why my mother looked nothing like my aunt, and how she was so powerful for being a muggle born witch. It also explains how I got to be so powerful, Dumbledore even said that I could only get so much magical strength from my father's family, and that he didn't even know where the rest came from, and it also explains why the sorting hat wanted to place me in Slytherin" he admitted "This at least would answer those questions for me"
"Yes, but do you really think that it could be possible?" she asked hesitantly
"The more I think about it, the more likely it is" he said slowly as he looked at her, his expression looking almost ashamed "I just don't know what to think if it is true"
"Harry, if it is true, it won't change anything, you will still be the same person, no matter who you are related to" she said, trying to reassure him
"But, what will everyone think, Gin? How can I face anyone knowing that my grandfather was responsible for killing so many people? What would I say to them?" he asked almost desperately
"Harry, what he has done has nothing to do with you. The things he did were terrible, but I know that if you could have stopped him, you would have" she said confidently
"Are you sure, Gin? Now that I know the truth, I don't know if I would have been able to. How could I kill my grandfather, the closest relative I have?" he asked her in a voice barley above a whisper
"Because, Harry, you have always put everyone else above yourself, no matter what the consequences" she said
"But can I do the same this time?" he asked her in worry "Can I be responsible for killing my grandfather? Or asking my mother to kill her father?"
"I don't know Harry, but I do know that you will do what is right. He may be your grandfather, but I can assure you that he doesn't consider you his grandson, just look at what he has done to you throughout the years. It may be hard, but you will do what is right" she said in confidence as she leaned over and gave him a soft kiss.
"Thanks, Gin" he said after several silent moments "Maybe we should get back inside before someone starts to worry about us" he suggested
"Sounds good" she said as she crawled off his lap and stood before holding out her hand to help him up as well, but she drew back when he tool hold of her hand "Harry, why didn't you tell me you were so cold? I would have given you back your cloak" she scolded as she pulled the cloak from her own shoulder and handed it to him and he gratefully wrapped himself in it again.
"Sorry, Gin, but I didn't think it was important. Besides, you were cold too, coming out here in just your robes" he reminded her with a wary smile "Come on, let's get back to the castle and go to bed" he said as he wrapped an arm around her waist and set off toward the castle.
Both were oblivious to the eyes that were watching them as they left from the edge of the forest, which had overheard the entire conversation. "Well, Potter, this is an interesting development indeed. Who would have thought that you were the one to be holding our master's spirit? Just you wait, we will free him, no matter what it takes" said a deep voice confidently before the sound of rustling leaves could be heard as the person left and a few seconds later there was a faint pop as they disappeared from the school grounds.
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Once Harry and Ginny entered the castle, they made their way toward the marble staircase, but before they had even reached it, Harry was knocked to the ground when he ran headfirst into something invisible, and since he still had his arm around Ginny, she was pulled down as well, both landing in an unceremonious heap on the marble floor.
"Oomph" said Ginny as she fell on top of Harry
"Who's there?" demanded Harry, but he was met with only silence "You had better show yourselves at once, or you will regret it" he warned, but still there was silence meeting their ears "Fine, you asked for it" he said as he untangled one arm from Ginny and stretched it out in front of himself, and a moment later, he was holding an invisibility cloak in his hand and three marauders and a very embarrassed Lily were looking at him. "What are you four up to?" he asked when he realized that there was no danger.
"Well, we saw Ginny leave the castle, and go down to the lake to see you, so we went to bed, but Lily came to get us a couple of minutes ago and said that you were still not back. We got curious and decided to come and see what you were up to" said Sirius with a shrug of his shoulders "So, what were you up to?" he asked with a mischievous grin on his face which caused all of the others to groan loudly.
"Nothing like that, I can assure you, Sirius. We were just talking" said Harry as he got to his feet and recovered his staff before helping Ginny off the floor as well.
"Oh, sure" said Sirius with a smirk "That's what James and Lily always say too" he added with a sideways look to his friends who both shot him death glares.
"Well, now that you found us, you had better head back to Gryffindor tower before you get caught" said Harry, but just as he said the words, another voice spoke up from behind him.
"Too late, Harry, they have already been caught" said the oily voice of Snape. Upon hearing the voice, all six students turned around to see him, and the four from the past felt their jaws drop in shock and horror.
"Snape?!" they all exclaimed at once, not believing their eyes, and Harry was forced to control the laughter he was feeling at seeing their expressions.
"Professor Snape, to you" growled the potions master as he came to a stop next to the group and surveyed James and Lily for a moment.
"You're a professor? Of what?" demanded Sirius
"Potions, for your information" he said crisply "And I will be seeing the four of you in detention tonight at midnight for being out in the halls after curfew" he added with a smirk
"What!? You can't give us detention!" exclaimed James
"Oh yes I can, and I just did" he said "Remember, midnight tonight in the potions classroom, I trust you remember where it is?" he asked, but instead of waiting for an answer, he turned to face Harry who was still trying hard not to laugh "Harry, I was asked to find you and bring you to the headmaster. He wishes to speak to all of us about what happened this evening. Miss Weasley, would you please escort your housemates back to their dormitories?" he asked, being almost kind to the red head.
"Sire, sir, come on guys, night Harry" she said as she squeezed his hand before letting go and led the four still shocked students up the stairs, amazed herself at how nice Snape had been to herself and Harry since the beginning of the previous term, especially compared to how terribly he still treated the rest of the Gryffindor students.
Once the others had made their way up the stairs and were out of earshot, Harry turned to the man standing beside him with his brow furrowed "Who else is coming to meet with us?" he asked, though he was fairly certain of the answer already
"Lupin, Black, Weasley, Granger, Malfoy, and Poppy" he answered as he turned and began to make his way in the direction of the headmasters office "Apparently he wants to bring everyone else who knows about what is going on up to speed, so to say, and he informed Poppy about everything this evening so that she can be present when you take the potion and when the spell is cast" he answered without turning to Harry
"So, I guess he is certain now that Voldemort's daughter was my mother then" said Harry glumly
"Apparently so, he was able to obtain her birth certificate from a muggle hospital, stating her mothers name as Susan Evans Riddle, and Tom Marvolo Riddle as her father, though she was given her mothers maiden name as her own last name" he explained and Harry felt as though a tight constriction was around his heart and that his stomach had turned to ice.
"So, it's true then, he is my grandfather" he admitted quietly
"Yes, it is, but I can assure you that just because you may be his blood, you are not destined to become like him. My entire family have been dark wizards, for as far back as we know, but I decided not to follow that path and instead became a spy for the light side. You are the one who decides what to make of yourself, not who you are related to" he finished, and Harry could do nothing but stare at the black haired man in shock. Who would have thought that the greasy old potions master had a heart and was capable of reassuring anyone, especially a Gryffindor?
'Well,' thought Harry to himself 'Just another item to add to my list of weird things that have happened today' he thought with a smirk on his face
'Well, boy, how do you fell now that you know the truth?' asked Voldemort suddenly, causing Harry to falter in his step, earning a concerned look from the potions master 'Do you honestly think that my daughter will be able to kill her own father? Will you be able to murder your own grandfather?' he asked smugly, but Harry would have none of his arrogant and traitorous words tonight. No matter how bad things had seemed a few hours ago, they were looking much better now. They had finally found Voldemort's daughter and the means to destroy him for good were within their grasp. Harry would win this battle, the final one in the war between himself and the dark lord that had been going on for far too long. He may be related to the evil wizard, but he would never be like him, never. He would win, and when he did, things would finally be starting to go right and there would be nothing Voldemort could do to change that, nothing.
'Well boy, why won't you answer me? Are you frightened of your own grandfather?' he asked with a hint of cockiness lacing his words, but Harry could only think of one response that was fitting.
'Shut the bloody hell up, would you' he thought and he felt the corners of his mouth turn up in a smirk by the silence that met his mind as he entered the headmasters office.
"Good evening, Harry, Severus" said the headmaster kindly as Harry and Snape entered the office, the last in the meeting to arrive "I trust you have had time to think about what we spoke of earlier?" he asked almost hesitantly once the two had taken their seats, Harry between Sirius and Hermione and Snape at the other end of the room, though he couldn't resist sending Sirius and Remus smug looks, which they were confused and a little frightened of.
"Good evening, sir, and yes, I have thought about what you said earlier this evening" he said with a reassuring smile on his face which the older man was more than willing to return ten fold.
"Excellent!" he exclaimed "Now we can get to work and finish this once and for all" he said happily as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation.
"Excuse me, Albus, but what are you two talking about?" asked Remus in confusion
"Ah, yes, that is what we have called you here to discuss. Please forgive the lateness or earliness as it might be, of this meeting, but we really must get started on this immediately. Harry, would you like to fill them in on what we have found out so far? I trust Severus has informed you about what I discovered at the hospital earlier?" he asked as he looked to Harry over his half moon spectacles
"Yes sir, he did" assured Harry
"Good then, you may begin" said the old man, looking far too happy for a man his age
Harry took a deep breath and tried to calm his rapidly beating heart before he began in a steady and calm voice, finally able to accept the truth himself and hoping his friends would be able to do the same. "Well, I guess first I need to tell you about where Sirius and I were for the end of the last term and the summer holidays" he began "During the first month, while I was at the Dursley's, I had a dream about Voldemort, it was a conversation I had overheard between Lucius Malfoy and himself. He was talking about a woman named Susan that he had married, and she was a muggle" he ignored the shocked gasps that came from many occupants of the room and continued "Well, the two of them had a daughter, but her mother gave the child her own last name instead of Riddle, for the first two years of her life, the child was raised by her parents, but one day Tom came home and his daughter was being scolded by her mother for using magic. He was angry and cast the cruciatus curse on his wife before he left. She took their daughter and left him, running away out of fear of her husband. She knew that her daughter would not be safe and that he would come after her, so she left the girl at her brother's house, whom Tom didn't know, before disappearing. When he found his wife, he killed her, and then went looking for his child, and when his wives parents couldn't tell him where she was, he killed them as well. He never did find his daughter, and after a while, gave up. He said he had seen her during her Hogwarts years, but he never spoke to her, and later, he killed her when he attacked her family. She never knew the truth about who she was, and he never told her. He said that she was too influenced by the light side to be turned. Well, as you know, we discovered a way to destroy Voldemort, but it requires a relative of myself and a relative of him to make a potion and cast a spell. Voldemort has no living relatives, so we went to the past in hopes of finding his daughter to bring her back here to help. We knew nothing about her other than that she was in the same year as my parents, and we were guessing that she was pretty powerful. Well, we never did find her while we were there, so I cast a spell to recognize the magical signature of Voldemort and bring anyone who resembled it to us so that we could do the spell and potion. When we got back here, we knew that it was just a matter of time before the spell was activated, and tonight it was. The spell I cast brought Voldemort's daughter to Hogwarts" he finished, looking around to see the reactions of those in the room.
Sirius and Remus both looked shocked and horrified beyond words, and neither was moving at all, just starring at Harry with slack jaws and wide eyes. Hermione, Ron, and Draco were looking back and forth between Harry, Dumbledore, and Snape, not wanting to believe that such a thing could be true. Snape, Dumbledore, and Poppy all had closed expressions on their faces, waiting for the outbursts that they knew were about to come, and come they did.
"WHAT!?" exclaimed Sirius finally and Harry just closed his eyes and shook his head before looking back to his godfather.
"Yes, Sirius, it's true. Dumbledore even found my mum's birth certificate. Tom Riddle was her father" he said quietly
"Are you sure, Harry? Couldn't the spell have just messed up or something?" asked Ron, but Hermione was the one to answer him.
"I doubt it, Ron. I don't think Harry is capable of messing up any spell when he is using his staff" she said confidently "You were using the staff, weren't you?" she asked as she looked to her best friend, who nodded in acknowledgement.
"I can't believe it" muttered Sirius under his breath "Lily was really his daughter, but she was the complete opposite of him? And so is Harry? How is that possible?" he asked as he looked to the headmaster.
"Because, Sirius, our blood doesn't decide what we will become, our actions and values do, and you know as well as I that Harry and Lily have very strong values" he said with a small smile on his wrinkled face.
"The question now is what do we do?" asked Remus.
"We ask my mother to help kill the father she has never known" said Harry quietly.
"And we will ask your father to help her. Like I told Sirius, the closer the relation to yourself, the more likely the spell and potion are to bee completely successful, and you couldn't get any closer that a parent" said Dumbledore "Now, we will finish this in the morning. Why don't you all get back to bed, we will meet again after the dueling club meeting tomorrow night, and we will ask our four time travelers to accompany us" he said, and the others all wearily got to their feet and set off in the directions of their own respective rooms and to bed, something Harry desperately needed after the stressful day he had just had.
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A/N: All right, the next chapter is finally done and posted! Well, thanks for all the reviews on the last one, and I hope you enjoy this one as well, if not, at least it explains a lot of things. Anyways, who guessed right that Lily was his daughter? Well, I don't know when the next one will be up, but hopefully by Monday or Tuesday. I know I am not posting nearly as often as I was at first, but I do have good reasons. First, as some of you know, I just transferred to a new University, and I am swamped with learning my way around. My last school had 5,000 students and was pretty small, this one has 47,000 students and is huge! We have to ride busses to all of our classes, and now I have to find a job here, and I am having absolutely no luck at all. If any of you know of anyone around Texas A&M who is hiring, let me know! (Go Aggies!) Well, enough rambling, hope you enjoy this and please review, I really appreciate your comments!