A/N: Thank you so much for reviewing ! Don't worry, the story *will* get finished and I *will* be updating on a regular basis. I might not always be able to give you weekly updates, but I'll certainly try.


HARRY POTTER AND THE MARK OF GRYFFINDOR

By Geena

Chapter 12: The Mark

Harry sank down on the couch and was vaguely aware of Remus and Sirius leaving, the latter changing back into dog form.

He noticed Professor Palmer was incredibly nervous. She kept wringing her hands and her cheeks had attained an unnatural but quite becoming pink blush. She bit her lip, brushed her hair behind her ears and glanced at him from under her eyelashes.

"I guess I should just jump in." She started. "You see, my name isn't Palmer."

"I know." Harry said.

"Yes, of course, Remus told you as much. What he didn't tell you was the reason for this deception, nor what my real name is."

She stood up again and began pacing around the room, her eyes fixed on the ceiling as if she was expecting some kind of divine intervention.

"It's Potter. My name is Jessica Potter. James was my brother."

She looked expectantly at Harry as if she was bracing herself for his reaction, but all Harry could manage was a baffled "Oh". Thoughts spun around inside his head, not quite capable of processing the impact of what his professor, no, aunt had just told him. He realised she needed some kind of feedback from him and indeed, there were many things he wanted to ask and say, but the only thing that came out was a heartfelt: "Why didn't Dumbledore take me to you ?"

He saw the surprise on her face. Of all the things he could have said, and this had been the first thing on his mind. If he did have family after all, then why the hell did he have to spend a miserable childhood in the care of the Dursleys ? Even if it meant he had to grow up with Snape, it would still have been preferable.

Jessica Potter sat down again, taking his hands in hers.

"It's not that we wouldn't want you with us Harry, please believe that. It's just that there were things preventing us to raise you, so Dumbledore chose the Dursleys instead."

"What things ?" Harry asked, knowing there had to be more surprises coming.

She shifted uncomfortably. For a moment she seemed lost in thought, probably thinking of the best way to go about this.

"Harry, have you ever heard of the Mark of Gryffindor ?"

He shook his head. No, he didn't know of any Mark. He did of course know the Sword of Godric Gryffindor, but he guessed this Mark would be something entirely different. He waited for her to tell him all about it and was slightly startled when she raised her left arm and held her wrist before him. She removed her bracelet and Harry let out a gasp. The creamy white skin was blemished with a large birthmark in the shape of a lion. The Gryffindor lion.

"That's the Mark ?" He asked her.

"Yes. I believe you have one too, only not so big."

Harry frowned, thinking he had never seen a birthmark in the shape of a lion on his body. Then again, there were certain parts he hadn't exactly been able to see for himself. She must have picked up on his confusion, because she leaned towards him, bent his head forward and pulled his left ear slightly down.

"Here it is. James had his at the exact same place. Behind his left ear." She smiled.

"Does … does this mean Godric Gryffindor is one of my ancestors ?" Harry asked in awe.

"Yes. We Potters descent from Gryffindor. Actually, if you were to trace our lineage back to his time, you would find we originated from a liaison between Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw."

"Waw." Harry was duly impressed. But what had that got to do with his aunt not being able to take him in after his parents died ? Again she was one step ahead of him.

"The Mark and what it represents is fairly well known in the wizarding world. I bet your friend Ron Weasley and even Hermione Granger could tell you all there is to know about it, except for the names of the current bearers, because they are kept a secret. For safety reasons. You see, every descendant of Gryffindor bears the Mark. Usually it is only a means of identification and relatively small in size, however once in a while a larger Mark appears. It is always a female who bears this large Mark and it is an indication she will give birth to a very powerful wizard. Only one child will be born from her. This only happens about once in two or three hundred years."

"Your child will be that wizard ? How powerful ? As powerful as Dumbledore ?"

"About ten times as powerful I should think." She smiled at his shock.

"Then … then …"

"Then you can understand why this information would be interesting to a Dark Wizard like Voldemort."

"Is that why he killed my parents ? I don't understand."

"Maybe things will get clear for you if I say that the Potter family is the last remaining link to Gryffindor. This means the lineage could only continue through myself or James and you of course. Did you never wonder why Voldemort himself went to Godrics Hollow to perform the Avada Kedavra when he usually leaves his dirty work to his minions ? He personally wanted to see to it that the lineage was terminated and prevent any powerful wizard from being born. In order to do so he had to eliminate whoever was bearing the Mark."

"Especially you."

"Right."

"But … if the names of the ones bearing the Mark are kept secret, how come Voldemort knew who to kill ?" Harry suddenly realised this.

His new found aunt sighed deeply.

"I'm afraid that's not a happy story, but I suppose it has to be told. I'll start at the beginning, it will be easier for you to understand if I tell you my story chronologically."

Harry nodded and sat up straight, getting more curious by the minute.

"James was one year older than me and so naturally I was around him and his friends often while we were at Hogwarts. They were a lively bunch, those Marauders. Lily and I usually tried to escape them and studied in the Library, a place they wouldn't have been seen dead." A soft smile played around her lips and Harry knew she was lost in thoughts.

"That's where I got to know Severus. He was there even more than we were and on occasion he would clarify something for me, especially when it considered Potions or Dark Arts. I knew James didn't like him much, but the hostilities weren't going anything further than the usual House-rivalry at that point. Anyway, some time during my third year I discovered Remus was a werewolf. I had always liked Remus very much, he was a bit more sensible than Sirius and James, and so I wanted to know everything there was to know about his condition and a possible cure. This lead me into the Restricted Section of the library, where once again Severus kept me company. We often got into discussions and after many months of following his lead I finally managed to stun him with my knowledge. I guess the basis for our relationship formed there. By the time I got to fourth year, James spoke to me about my tendency to involve myself in the Dark Arts. I didn't want him to know it was because of Remus, but James jumped to a conclusion of his own and his aversion towards Severus grew."

There she paused for a while and Harry was beginning to guess where the story would lead to. She swallowed and looked a bit apologetic at him.

"I'm afraid it's going downhill from now on, Harry."

Harry nodded in understanding and gave her a weak smile. He needed to hear it. All of it.

"When I was a third year James made Sirius ask me to go with him to the Yule Ball, that way I wouldn't feel left out. I honestly think there wasn't one girl in the entire school who wasn't jealous of me. Sirius was quite the handsome young man at the time. As a result, I went with Sirius again in fourth year. But as I grew older, I spent more and more time with Severus and as much as I enjoyed being with Sirius and being envied by most, my feelings for Severus were developing and I wanted to go with him. I had never seen Severus at the Yule Ball and I knew he would never ask me, so after a few long talks with Lily I decided to ask him myself."

Harry noticed the sad, melancholic expression on her face and knew there wasn't a happy end coming.

"At first Lily thought it might be unwise of me to go with Severus, with all those rumours about him being too much into the Dark Arts, but I knew Severus quite well and I knew some things about him nobody else knew, except for Dumbledore, so I didn't let anyone change my mind. Severus was hesitant, but as I had turned sixteen shortly before I asked him, there wasn't really anything anyone could do to prevent me from going with him. Of course James flew off the handle once he heard about it. He dragged Sirius into the argument, convincing him Severus was bad for me and ever since that day the mutual hostility turned into blatant hate."

"Did you go with him ?" Harry was hooked to the story. Though he already suspected the outcome of it, he still wanted to hear it from her, knowing there was a dramatic turn of events lurking around the corner.

"Yes I did. One week later Sirius sent Severus after Remus. I think you know the result of that." She looked extremely sad and Harry swallowed painfully, realising Sirius had indeed tricked his Potions Master on purpose.

"Afterwards James cooled down a bit, also due to Lily's threats, but the damage had been done. Severus kept away from me. He felt totally betrayed by me. After all, he had his suspicions about Remus though he didn't know what exactly was wrong with him. He had asked me on several occasions and I always assured him I didn't know. He was right in assuming my interest in Dark Arts was due to Remus and so he concluded I had lied to him while he had told me his secrets. I felt terrible and desperately tried to make amends. Lily was the only one I confided in and she was the one who eventually brought us back together. My relationship with James was at his worst in the summer after my sixth year, when Severus left school and we kept in touch by owl. It was truly sad, even more so because before things got out of hand with Severus, James and I were really close."

"What happened next ?"

"I started my last year at Hogwarts and didn't get to see either Severus nor James, though I did corresponded with Severus. Both my parents died that year, at the hands of Voldemort, and at the funeral James accused Severus of being a Death Eater. Of course I knew Severus was one."

"You knew ?" Harry's eyes grew wide.

"Yes. He was a spy."

Harry gasped.

"I thought Dumbledore had told you as much ?" She asked when she saw his astonishment.

"Yes, but I didn't know he became a spy so soon." Harry said.

"Oh yes. In fact, Severus never has been a true Death Eater. He joined them with the intention of being a spy. That was his big secret. The one only a few people knew about."

"Oh."

"So you see it was very difficult for me to hear Severus get slandered that way, knowing what sacrifices he made day by day. Anyway, I stayed away from James until the wedding. Lily explicitly invited me and it actually was a very joyful day. James temporarily forgot our differences and I was only too happy to have my brother back, so I played along. When you were born they asked me to be your godmother and I gladly accepted."

Harry gave her a radiant smile. Now he had two godparents instead of being a lonely orphan. But he couldn't let his joy lead him astray for now, his godmother had yet to continue her story.

"I was a frequent guest at Godrics Hollow and though I never grew as close to James as before, we managed to be in the same room without raising our voices. Only, things couldn't stay that way. Very soon after you were born, Severus proposed to me. First I only told Lily and she was truly delighted. Together we worked out a strategy to tell James, but no matter how gently we broke the news to him, he was bound to get upset about it."

"He didn't take it well ?" Harry's heart went out to his godmother when he saw tears well up in those beautiful eyes.

"You could say that. Lily and I chose to tell him in a public place, thinking he would remain calm there. We were enjoying a meal in The Leaky Cauldron when I showed him my engagement ring. James turned extremely pale, stood up from his chair, motioned at Lily to do the same and said icily 'You are no longer my sister', thereby casting me out of the family."

Harry put his hand in front of his mouth to stifle his cry.

"Lily tried to reason with him, but it was no use. I pleaded and pleaded and I almost betrayed Severus' secret, but even then I knew nothing could have changed James' mind. At one point I was so lost I put my hand on his arm, trying to hold onto the brother I was loosing. That's when he slapped my hand away from him, sending my bracelet across the room, my Mark uncovered for anyone to see."

Harry closed his eyes, trying to contain the tears he felt stinging. His godmother let her own tears run freely.

"How I wished I had told him in private, but it could not be undone. Before I was able to flee to Snape Mansion some Death Eaters captured me and brought me before Voldemort. Ironically Severus had been given the assignment to guard me. He blew his cover by rescuing me and to this day Voldemort still doesn't know where I am."

Something dawned at the back of Harry's mind.

"When Voldemort said Snape had stolen something from him … he meant YOU !" He exclaimed.

"It would be just like Voldemort to talk about me as if I were one of his possessions, yes, I think you are correct Harry."

"But why does he think you are his ?"

She smiled wryly. "That's easy enough. Because he believes I will bear him the most powerful Dark Wizard, that's why."

"Oh my God."

Harry now fully realised why Snape had wanted to shield his wife from the outside world. He understood why the Snapes couldn't have taken him in, he would have drawn too much attention to them. But most of all, he understood now why Snape hated his father so much. It had nothing to do with the Shrieking Shack incident. Hell, he would even hate his father for doing such a thing. As it was, he was very confused about all of it. He always thought of James Potter as the friendly, courageous Gryffindor who wouldn't hurt a fly and now it seemed he had to adjust this image a little. Again his godmother interrupted his thoughts.

"Harry, you mustn't blame James. I have long ago forgiven him. He suffered as well you know. By exposing my Mark he signed his own death sentence, along with your mother's. As far as I'm concerned he paid his debt, more than he had to in my honest opinion."

"I don't know if I would have been able to forgive." Harry said slowly.

"Oh Harry. I really loved James and I know that deep down he loved me too. But we cannot always control ourselves and sometimes our emotions get the better of us. In case of James it was merely a bad judgement that led to a catastrophe, but he didn't do it on purpose."

"He could have trusted Snape." Harry retorted.

"That would have prevented a lot of grief, indeed. But it's not that simple. And I'm not entirely without fault either. I could have told James about Severus' role in the fight against Voldemort, but I listened to Severus and remained silent, against my better judgement."

"It still is very disappointing to hear this." Harry sighed.

"I know."

She held out her arms and Harry snuggled into her warm embrace, for the first time feeling loved by a member of his family, not really sure who was comforting who exactly.

When they had sat like that for a few minutes Sirius and Remus got back. Harry still had a lot of questions, but for tonight he had heard enough to keep his mind by until Easter at least. Jessica said goodbye to Remus and Sirius, giving Harry some time to spend with his godfather. She also gave him a note with permission to be out after curfew, 'In case you should run into your uncle Severus' She winked.

Harry immediately felt a bit queasy, but then Sirius hugged him and he felt much better.

"Will you be alright ?" Sirius asked concerned.

"I think so. It's a sad story."

"Yes it is. I'm afraid nobody came out unscathed and we were all at least partly to blame. But what's done is done and now we have to gather our strengths and be happy with what we have got." Sirius said.

"You know Sirius, you are absolutely right." Harry gave him another hug.

"Now Harry, you said earlier you came to talk to me. What did you want to talk about ?" Sirius asked.

"Oh, nothing that can't wait. I just want to spend some time with you right now, I don't think I'd be able to sleep if I went back to Gryffindor Tower.

Harry reckoned he now had heavier stuff on his mind than his confusing feelings for Hermione. He would first try to work through the things he learned this evening and sort the other ones out when they presented themselves.

TBC