At dinner, that evening, Harry sat with Ron and Hermione and they discussed what the conditions would be like for the next Quidditch Match, which would be on the following Saturday against Ravenclaw. Harry hadn't told either of them about the chest, he felt that first he had to look at it himself; Sirius had left it to him after all.
"There's something different about you tonight, Harry." Ron said, grinning at him strangely. Harry grinned too, and laughed.
"You seem much more.much more." Hermione touched his hand warmly, and he looked up at her. She was smiling.
"Happy." She finished Ron's sentence for him. Harry looked at her for a moment, and then she took her hand away, still smiling. He looked from one to the other and smiled; yes, he was happier, a lot happier. He looked up at the staff table and Dumbledore was looking at him, Harry nodded his head and grinned, remembering Dumbledore's words: "Keep smiling and you'll feel much better." He was right.
Harry made his way up to the Gryffindor Common Room alone that night, after a long pep talk from Angelina Johnson about the forthcoming Quidditch match. He had left Ron when Angelina had said she needed to have a quick chat about his goal keeping tactics. Harry and Ron both knew that a "quick chat" in Angela's words, was always a long lecture. Ron had groaned and said Harry could go on up. Harry was quite grateful to Angelina; it meant that he could have a look in the chest before Ron came up to bed.
The dormitory was empty; nearly everyone was in the Common Room, playing Exploding Snap, or talking and laughing with friends. Harry walked swiftly over to his bed and knelt down beside it. There it was. Its smooth willow frame with the pretty patterns was clearer close up, and they gleamed in the lamp light magnificently. Harry pulled it from beneath his bed swiftly, and laid it on the bed. With trembling fingers he undid the latches and then opened the chest, revealing the objects inside. There were his father and godfather, smiling and waving at him, no older than twenty. Harry took the picture and looked at it; he looked at it for a long time. He let his finger run over the smooth bit of photo where his father's face was and he recognised the likeness between his father and himself. He put the photo down next to him, and looked at the rest of the objects.
At the side of the box he noticed a mirror. Harry pulled it out and recognised it as the twin of the mirror he had given Harry when he returned to Hogwarts in his fifth year. Harry turned it over, and over, wondering if he still had the pieces of his own, and then put it with the photo. Next, he picked up a small leather pouch and undid the strings around the neck. He tipped it upside down and about a dozen small, glinting objects fell onto the bed. Harry looked closer and saw, with surprise that they were rings. He picked up one and saw a shining emerald gleaming in the centre, and an incredibly detailed snake curling around it. Harry recognised these rings as the rings Sirius had found in number twelve, Grimmauld Place when he was sorting through all of the things in his old family home. Harry thought Sirius had got rid of these rings, but as he looked at more of them, he saw some he didn't recognise, for example, one had Sirius' name engraved on the side; a very handsome ring, with small rubies spread over it.
There were other small objects like a handsome eagle feathered quill, a photo album half-full, a piece of parchment with an account number on it; Harry guessed that this was the number of Sirius' vault at Gringotts. He shifted a few things around and unearthed a dusty, thick envelope. He turned it over and saw the name Sirius written in scarlet ink on the front. Harry opened the envelope slowly, and felt inside. He felt something long and cold, and a piece of folded parchment; he pulled out the parchment and unfolded it. He read:

"Dear Sirius,
My dear brother, my time is short and I will not pretend that I do not fear the Dark Lord's wrath. I received certain information last month about a passage, an underground passage. Under our home, under 12, Grimmauld Place, there's a passage and it holds great things. I cannot say what, I do not know, but go there, Sirius, I have enclosed the key. It has something to do with Voldemort, and something to do with your side, wizards like you and James, Dumbledore knows what it is. Do not tell mother and father. If the Dark Lord finds these great things it could mean doom. I am scared Sirius. I wish I had never joined the Dark Order. But what's done is done, and I'm going to lay low for a while.
Farewell, and do not tell anyone.
Your brother,
Regulus Black."

Harry felt a surge of excitement run through him. Regulus Black; Sirius' brother. But he was dead; Sirius had told Harry last year, he had been killed by Voldemort. A secret passage, great things inside, and right under the Headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix! Harry reached once more into the envelope and pulled out a rusty, long key. He read and re-read the letter over and over again; had Sirius ever seen this letter? Had he ignored it? He had never shown any signs of liking his brother but surely he wouldn't have ignored him.
Harry put all of the things back into the chest and looked for a moment at the picture of his father and Sirius.
"Did you ever know?" he whispered to Sirius. But Sirius was silently levitating a bucket of water over James's head, winking at Harry. Harry sighed and put the photo back into the chest too. He put it back under his bed and fell back onto his pillows thinking of the mysterious key and the adventure he was going to have this year.

*

R/R please!! I would really appreciate it!!