Chapter 3: Explanations

In the years to come, Harry would think back on this night and remember that he thought Albus Dumbledore looked like the stereotypical wizard that children everywhere dreamt up. He was something straight out of a fairytale with his long wizard beard, gray hair and pointy hat. This is perhaps why Harry liked him from the very first moment he spotted the old Headmaster at his Uncle's house, even before he introduced himself. It occurred quite effortlessly to Harry that this man could provide comfort, answers and some semblance of control in this chaotic situation. And maybe it was simply because Dumbledore had sought Harry out, as if he were special and wanted.

"May we come in?" he had asked Uncle Vernon politely.

"Absolutely not! I will have none of this - nonsense - in my house! Now out, all of you!" It was sort of reaction that Harry had expected, and it confirmed something that had been mulling about in the back of Harry's mind like some sort of inevitable revelation. The Dursleys hated wizards, Harry was a wizard, and that's why they hated Harry. Up until now, it had never really been clear to Harry why his relatives had treated him so horribly and refused to accept his explanations when strange things just happened for no good reason. Harry wondered at that moment, in the midst of all that was going on, if his cousin knew what he was.

When Uncle Vernon yelled at the gray haired man in front of him, Harry noticed the second person standing on the porch look sideways at his elder. It gave Harry the impression that people didn't speak that way to Albus Dumbledore very often. This other man was dressed all in black with a cloak of some kind over top in the same manner that certain people dressed up like vampires because they thought it meaningful in an artful way.

"I certainly do not mind discussing our business outside; it is a rather nice evening wouldn't you agree Severus?"

"Indeed," replied the other man curtly.

"However, Mr. Dursley, I don't think it wise to have this discussion outside in plain sight, do you?"

Harry watched in silence as Uncle Vernon was painfully weighing his options, neither of which seemed acceptable to him. He could either invite yet more wizards into his home, or let them carry on their unacceptable business outside where the neighbors could see. With a small growl, he stepped aside and let the two men in.

"Hello, Hermione, Ron," a large smile broke out on Albus Dumbledore's face "and Harry. It is very nice to meet you."

He stepped forward and shook Harry's hand firmly while introducing himself. Harry couldn't remember a time when he felt so excited to meet someone, and although he had no idea who the man was, it seemed clear that it was someone worth meeting. Even Ron and Hermione seemed moved by the moment.

"And this is Severus Snape," Dumbledore said as he gestured in the other man's direction. Snape didn't offer a handshake however; he merely nodded his head and grunted. Harry got the impression that he wasn't pleased to be there.

"Headmaster, we cannot afford to doddle," he said in a low voice.

"Quite right. Ron, Hermione, I thank you for what you've done this evening. You should return home now, however, and we will take Harry."

"Take me where?" he asked quickly before Hermione could say anything; Harry could tell she was on the verge of protesting. He clutched the box in his arms to his chest as if to mimic the thoughts in his mind; was he about to be deprived again of answers?

"Somewhere safe," Dumbledore said kindly in a reassuring voice.

Harry looked at his two new friends for answers but they looked just as confused as he.

"Safe from what?"

Severus Snape began to look more impatient. "We don't have time for this."

"I will explain everything, I promise," Dumbledore said. He then turned to Snape and nodded.

Before Harry could even contemplate what the head nod meant, Snape had pulled something out of his pocket and shoved it in Harry's free hand. A moment later, they were, for lack of a better term, somewhere else. It was like standing in a wind tunnel and Harry felt something pulling at his stomach. Everything around him was dark and the only thing visible was Snape, standing (was it even standing?) in front of him clutching the same object Harry was. In another moment, Harry found himself crashing hard into the ground and the stench of warm earth rose into his nostrils.

A small pop several seconds later made him jump slightly and he looked up to see Albus Dumbledore profiled against a row of dark trees. Harry turned to see what else was around him, and over his shoulder he spotted the most beautiful thing he had ever seen before. Perched atop a cliff and overlooking a lake, on which the moon was reflected, was a castle. And it wasn't just any castle, it was one illuminated by hundreds of warm yellow lights bursting from the insides. The towers and turrets were clearly visible even in the nighttime, carefully outlined in the pale moon light. Harry sat on the ground for a moment and took in the beauty of it.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Potter." The voice was callous and cold and its owner sped off towards the castle hastily.

- - -

A half hour later, Harry found himself standing in a warm office surrounded by more moving pictures like the ones he had seen at dinner and silver gadgets of all kinds that had no apparent use, but were very interesting to look at. The walk to this place had only brought more questions to mind. Was that a ghost that he had seen? Who were those people at the entrance to the castle, and why were they standing there waiting? Who took care to light all the torches in the castle? Harry wished above all things that he had his journal to jot notes in.

Dumbledore handed him a cup of tea and gestured for him to sit down as he himself took a seat behind the claw footed desk in the center of the room.

"I have answers, Harry; in fact far more answers than you have questions."

"Why did you bring me here?" Harry asked, taking the opportunity to heart. But before Dumbledore could answer, the door to his office burst open with a loud bang and a man slightly taller than Harry rushed in looking quite frazzled. He had dark shoulder length hair, pale eyes, and to Harry's surprise, was not really dressed like a wizard at all; he was wearing faded jeans and a black tee shirt. The ensemble was topped off with a cloak, though, that the stranger took off immediately and flung over the back of a chair.

"Thank god, where did you find him?" he asked hastily of Dumbledore.

"In Surrey with his aunt and uncle. Severus and I fetched him. Harry, this is Sirius Black."

Harry stood and Sirius walked to him quickly but instead of taking the hand Harry had offered, he embraced him in a tight hug. Not used to displays off affection (as the Dursleys had never given him any) Harry simply stood there in awe with his hands at his side. Dumbledore must have read the confusion on Harry's face because he cleared his throat and with a wave of his wand prepared a cup of tea for the new comer. Sirius took a seat opposite of Harry and studied him intently. It was clear that whatever Dumbledore had to say the stranger was going to be here for it. Harry felt slightly uncomfortable about that, but was afraid that saying anything to that affect might result in him not learning why he was here.

"As to why you're here, Harry, I believe some background information about your parents is required. Unfortunately, I'm not sure of how much you already know."

"I know that my parents were wizards and that they didn't die in a car crash," he paused momentarily when he saw the look on Sirius's face. "That's what my aunt and uncle have always told me. I know now that they were murdered by Vol-something... I forget his name," he said weakly.

"Voldemort, Harry. His name was Voldemort," Dumbledore replied.

"And Voldemort tried to kill me, but couldn't. That's all I know." Dumbledore nodded his head.

"What you don't know Harry, is that your parents knew that Voldemort was seeking them out and in order to protect them, a group of people went to great lengths to ensure they wouldn't be harmed." At this Dumbledore waved vaguely to Sirius and himself. "Unfortunately one of those individuals was working for Voldemort; someone who was a good friend to your parents. That someone betrayed their location the night they died."

"But why did Voldemort want my parents dead?" Harry asked, ignoring for now the questions he had in his mind about this friend.

Dumbledore and Sirius looked at one another gravely. "That's a story for another time, Harry, when you and I have a chance to talk alone," Sirius said. Harry got the impression that Sirius knew more than the average person did about this situation.

"When Voldemort was destroyed by the curse that backfired, he retreated into seclusion," Dumbledore said quickly as an obvious diversion.

"You mean he's not dead?"

"Quite the contrary, and this is where it becomes complicated. You see, Harry, Voldemort was not always the wizard that we in the wizarding world think of today. Few know that he was once, like you, young, vibrant and -- human. In fact he excelled in normal society; he was Head Boy here at Hogwarts in his day and is noted as probably one of the most brilliant minds we have ever had the honor to teach. Tom Riddle, as he was known in those days, was heavily into the Dark Arts - a branch of magic that deals with the darker side of our world -- death, cruelty, torture, and the like. When he was at school here he constructed a number of crafty plots and since his downfall, faithful followers have carried out those plots.

"One such plot brought to life his sixteen year old self about five years ago."

Harry felt his jaw drop.

"How?"

"Very powerful dark magic. We're not even entirely sure how it happened. There are rumors that he had enchanted a diary and that it fell into the hands of a young girl. Her name was Ginny Weasley, you met her brother Ron today." Dumbledore went very quiet for a moment as he sipped on his tea pensively.

"Ginny, and many others, died during the event." Harry immediately felt sorry for his new friend, Ron.

"And because of this diary, Tom Riddle was... reborn, or something? That can happen?"

"Yes." Harry sat and thought on this a moment. It was all completely nonsensical to him, this discussion of enchanted diaries and people being brought back to life. Contemplating on it all was enough to give him a headache, so he forced himself to drink more tea and pretend he was simply thinking through a fantasy novel, the way he had when he was a child. He put down all his barriers between fantasy and reality and tried to think imaginatively about the situation.

"Then there are two of them," he said quickly, realizing what this had meant. Dumbledore beamed at him.

"There are two of them."

"Thankfully, they don't like each other very much," Sirius added with a small smile on his face. "Tom Riddle, once he had seen what had become of himself, went sort of mad, you might say. He denounced all of Voldemort's followers, including the ones that brought him back. Now, he is attempting to seek to his original goals through political means rather than by picking up on his old antics."

"Goals?"

"The exclusion of Muggle-borns from wizarding society." Sirius wasn't making a lot of sense.

"Sorry, what does that mean?"

"Muggle-borns are people born with magical powers, but who have no magical parents. People like Tom Riddle, and Voldemort, don't feel that people without magical parents deserve to be taught magic or to live in our society. It's a load of rubbish," Sirius explained.

"That was his original goal? But Voldemort, I mean the Voldemort that killed my parents, doesn't want that anymore?"

"Eventually," Sirius said solemnly. "But Voldemort wants only one thing now, and that is to see you dead." Harry felt himself go pale.

"You destroyed Voldemort, and even I am puzzled as to how, Harry. He has sought you out as best he can in his present state. Unfortunately he is weak, physically and his younger self is keeping him from finding followers who would help restore him to health and power," Dumbledore said.

"Tom Riddle, on the other hand, seems quite amused that you're living as a Muggle and is happy to see you doing just that. He has spies that watch you to make sure you stay in their world and the moment he sees you associating with us, he'll probably make a move to eliminate you. It would look like a move on your part to destroy him. But as long as you're not in the wizarding world, he wouldn't see you as a threat," Sirius added.

Harry suddenly realized the gravity of it all. Now that he knew he was a wizard, Voldemort, or rather Tom Riddle, would want him dead. The thought of spies watching him sent a chill through his spine, it was just as he had fantasized about it. Only now it was real and real people wanted him dead.

"That's why you came to get me after Ron and Hermione found me. So he wouldn't first?"

"Yes," Sirius answered. "I would never forgive myself if anything happened to you. And neither would your parents." For reasons unknown to him, Harry warmed instantly to Sirius at that moment. He had never had anyone who unquestioningly cared about him on that level. Sure, Sarah had always been there for him when he needed a shoulder to cry on or someone to talk with, but she never expressed this sort of undying care for him. Sarah, his best friend who went with him everywhere and Sarah, his friend...

"He wouldn't go after my friends would he?"

"As a means to get to you? He might."

"Sarah! I have to tell her," Harry said instantly as he rose from the chair, still clutching the box to his chest, and made for the door. "How can I get back to London?" Dumbledore and Sirius were sitting, looking somewhat puzzled now.

- - -

A half hour later Harry found himself standing beside Sirius at the door to Sarah's flat. He was having a hard time finding the courage to knock and the other man seemed to sense this.

"Waiting for an invitation are we?"

"I just don't know what I'm going to say her. She's not the kind of girl that you can just ask to pick up and leave. She'll want and explanation and I'll have to tell her the truth, and... I'm not at all used to it myself, you know."

"I won't pretend to know how you're feeling Harry. The truth may not be necessary now, you know. You could just tell her you got into some trouble with the wrong sort of Muggles. Muggles do get into this sort of trouble don't they?"

Harry thought Sirius was kidding, but the look on his face said otherwise.

"I guess," Harry knocked three times. "Just go along with whatever I do. And be prepared to protect yourself. She's fierce when angry."

"Why should she be angry? It's not like you knew."

Harry went to knock again when he heard the chain slide on the door and the two locks unclick. Sarah was wearing a bathrobe and white fuzzy socks. Her short blond hair was tousled and tucked behind her ears. She had obviously been sleeping when they called.

"Harry! It's the middle of the night! What's the matter? Is everything all right?"

"Not really, can we come in and talk?"

Sarah realized at that moment that he was with someone; she looked Sirius up and down cautiously.

"It's ok; he's a friend of mine."

She opened the door and they came in. Sirius began looking around for signs of trouble, or at least that's what Harry thought he was doing, until he walked over to the television and began to inspect it mysteriously. He knew this explanation would have to come fast.

"Sit down," he told Sarah as he dragged her into the kitchen. "I have something really important to say. I'm not sure how to say it, so just hear me out." It was a good thing, Harry thought, that Sarah was still slightly groggy. Normally there was no way she'd ever take an order from Harry. She slumped into one of her kitchen chairs and Harry took one opposite of her.

"You remember the two people that came in the shop today?" he began.

"The two weird ones who waited around all day and asked you to go out for a bite? Yeah I remember them."

"Well they told me why people recognize me, and they told me all about my parents."

Sarah's face lit up. Harry felt somewhat relieved as he thought the rest of this might go much easier if she understood what it meant to him.

"Well, my parents weren't exactly... normal. They were... well to put it bluntly, they were wizards."

He held his breath waiting for her to reply. A look of concern and then sadness came across her face.

"Oh Harry. Are you honestly going to believe two complete strangers? I know you've been looking for answers for so long, but don't just settle for the first thing someone tells you. I can't imagine you believing that your parents were just part of some entertainment act."

A loud crash from the other room startled them and they heard a muted 'Sorry' from Sirius. Sarah became distracted.

"It's not a lie," he replied impatiently. "And I don't mean wizard in the circus sense of the word. I mean it in the real sense, as in magic."

Sarah looked at him as though he were insane. There was only one way to cure her doubt, and Harry knew it.

"Sirius, uh... can you come here for a moment?

Sirius walked around the corner into Sarah's small kitchen area. He looked strangely foreboding as he towered over them.

"Um. We need a demonstration or something." Sirius raised his eyebrows questionably. "You know, hocus pocus," Harry waved his arms around the way he'd seen Dumbledore do earlier.

Sirius pulled his wand out of a pocket that must have been on his backside somewhere and cleared his throat. He pointed it at the sugar bowl on the table and muttered Wingardium Leviosa. The sugar bowl floated in midair for a few seconds, spun around like a ballerina and then rested gently back on the table. Harry looked at Sarah for her reaction. She was furious, which is not what he had expected.

"I don't believe you woke me up in the middle of the night for this nonsense," she said firmly as she stood up. "Where did you meet him, Harry? Is there a circus in town? Don't you see that he's playing a trick on you! Snap out of it Potter!" She reached across the table and slapped Harry firmly across the face. He felt his head turn sharply and the sting of female fingers on his cheeks resonated for several seconds.

Sirius caught her wrist as she retracted.

"Say what you want about our kind, but don't you dare hit my godson like that again. Do you hear me?"

Godson? Harry looked up at Sirius, who was now very flushed and angry.

"I'm your godson?" he asked, forgetting the reason they were here.

"Yes." Sirius was still looking at Sarah, who under his hateful gaze was shirking away. "Now listen here young lady. He came here to tell you this because you're in danger and because he's a gentleman. I would expect that as his friend you'd show him the same kind of respect."

Sarah slumped into her seat as Sirius let go of her wrist. Harry thought she might cry. Never before had he seen her so sullen.

"Now let's get this straight. I'm a wizard, Harry's parents were wizards and so is he. You want undeniable proof?" Sarah nodded her head timidly. The next thing Harry knew, he was staring at a big black dog. Both Harry and Sarah gasped and rose from the table to get away from it. Seconds later, it had turned back into Sirius Black.

"All right. Wizard. I get it." Sarah muttered to herself between gasps of breath.



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by: ezzie - read/review.

A note or two on this one. I had written it before OoTP so it's been slightly modified, but not by much. I hope it makes sense to everyone =)