The Phoenix's Prophecy
by Daphne Li
Chapter 21.
~*~*~*~
".....impossible....."
".....were dead, I saw it....."
".....students.....panic if they knew....."
".....possible?....."
".....I can't say. When they wake up....."
"If they wake up, you mean....."
"*When*. Look."
Harry opened his eyes slowly, as conscious finally returned to him. Blurry figures crowded around his bed, seeming to almost close in on him. Pain pounded in his head, and when he opened his mouth to ask what in Merlin's name they were staring at him for, a moan emitted instead.
"Here, Harry."
A cool hand was placed over his forehead, and he felt the headache immediately lessen. Another hand gently put on his glasses and he was finally able to discern who was standing over him. And just how many there were.
First was Dumbledore, standing close to his head on the left. Then came Remus Lupin, looking pale and gaunt. Next to him stood the DADA teacher, Professor Sheryl Hendreckson, who was supporting Remus with an arm around his waist. Charlie Weasley was next, with Tonks right next to him, and Bill on her other side. Arthur Weasley stood at the base of the bed on the other side, looking tired, and his wife was next to him, tears trickling slowly down her cheeks. Madam Pomfrey, with a bottle of.....something in her hand, was looking down at him with a relieved look, and Professor McGonagall was next to her, looking anxious. Then came Snape, who was looking rather stricken himself, standing near Harry's head on the right.
"Professor.....I had two dreams....." Harry tried to begin, but his voice broke off weakly, at odd times. The group around him looked at each other fearfully, then most looked away from him.
"Oh Harry, love......those weren't dreams." Molly whispered, stroking a lock of his hair back from his forehead. Harry jolted and then was still.
"What happened? Did I really attack Professor Dumbledore? Did Rose really die? Is she dead? Where's Sirius? Tell me! Tell me now!" Harry's voice rose with every word, and panic filled his veins. It took both Snape and Dumbledore to hold him down, as the others looked on in distress.
"Calm yourself, dear boy. We will tell you." Dumbledore murmured in a calming voice. Harry stopped struggling and fell back against his pillows, spent. He realized now that he must be in the hospital wing.
"What happened?" Harry managed. Madam Pomfrey looked worried.
"Albus, maybe we should wait until he is well again, to tell him. He needs food and rest....."
"NO! Now!" Harry demanded, attempting to sit back up. He was pushed back down again and Dumbledore raised his other hand to quiet everyone.
"No. He needs to know now." He stated. Then he turned to look at Harry, his eyes glittering strangely. Harry recognized at once that this old professor was holding back tears.
"Those were no dreams you had, Harry, if I miss my guess. You will have to tell me about them to confirm it, but I think that Voldemort had taken over your body, even then." Dumbledore said softly. Harry felt pain in his chest.
"Why my body? Why not my mind?" He choked out.
"Because you had blocked that means of controlling you. But he still has your blood. And that was all he needed to control your body, though how he managed it I can't guess." Dumbledore sighed, sitting on the bed next to him. Harry's eyes widened.
"What did I.....Voldemort do?" He asked hesitantly.
"He tried to attack Dumbledore through you." At Dumbledore's words, Harry choked on a lump of guilt in his throat, and felt tears stinging behind his eyes.
"It was like you were in a trance. You just walked through the door during our Order meeting (which we were having in Snape's dungeons), marched up the isle, and then....." McGonagall shuddered and stopped talking.
"I did the Avada Kedavra curse." Harry whispered in a strangled voice, burying his head in his hands.
"No, Voldemort did. It was like time had slowed down, though. You started shaking violently, and then you began to scream at Voldemort. It was then that we realized what must have happened. But no one realized it before Rose McBride. She came running into the room and was jumping in front of Dumbledore before anyone could do much of anything but scream. We didn't know how she found out about where we were, or how she got there so fast, but she was there." Professor Hendreckson filled in, her voice shaking. Harry's mind filtered back to that musical cry and the flash of red and gold that had blocked Dumbledore. If he didn't know better, he would have said that it looked almost like a phoenix in flight.....
"The curse hit her, green light blinded everyone, and when we were finally able to see, you both had disappeared. We were so afraid that you had been taken by Voldemort....." McGonagall whispered.
"Then Madam Pomfrey came down the stairs screaming that you had just apperated into the hospital wing, both of you dead." Snape added in a voice unlike his own. It sounded almost strangled, like he was trying to keep emotion from entering it.
"By the time we got up here, you were both breathing again, but you were unconscious and looked like you had been through a war. And how Miss McBride survived I will never know." Dumbledore finished. Harry just shook his head, unable to say anything.
"No one blames you, Harry. They saw the pain you were in. They saw you struggling. They heard Voldemort themselves." Dumbledore murmured. Harry's shoulders shook as he tried to hold back his tears.
"Oh, Harry. My poor little boy." Molly whispered, sitting on Harry's other side and putting her arms around him. Harry heard her words and he lost it. Loud, uncontrolled sobs wracked his body as he hugged her for dear life, burying his face in her neck as he cried.
"She was.....dead. Then we both bled.....and she came back. And.....Sirius.....he was there too. Where is he? We.....brought him with us." Harry wailed between sobs. He didn't see the startled looks that were exchanged by everyone but Mrs. Weasley. It took quite some time for Harry to finally calm down, and Mrs. Weasley held him the entire time, tears raining down her own cheeks all the while.
"Harry, what do you mean, Sirius came with you?" Dumbledore asked in a soft voice, when Harry's sobs had turned into hiccups and a few tears. Harry released his hold on Mrs. Weasley, but didn't let go of the hand she offered as he leaned back against his pillows.
Slowly, he retold everything that had happened, from the first dream clear till when he, Rose, and Sirius linked hands, and had left the room. By the end, the people around him were giving him looks of horror, shock, and slight fear. Molly clutched his hand tighter, stroking it gently in a comforting way.
"Sirius came.....back through the veil?" Remus finally stammered. Harry nodded tiredly.
"But how could Rose have been dead if she was in that room with you? I mean, you were both obviously dead when you appeared in here, but didn't the dream Sirius tell you it was a waiting-room? Why didn't you just go through the veil, if you were dead?" Tonks asked logically.
"I think I understand. Harry, you didn't go through the veil because you weren't meant to die yet. Rose wasn't all the way through, because she wasn't all the way dead, yet, no matter how impossible that sounds. And Sirius.....that, I don't understand." Arthur spoke, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Maybe.....it's because he fell through the veil without having died *first*. The spell Bellatrix shot at him wasn't the killing curse, I think it was a stunning one. What if the stun part of it only wore off as we arrived there, giving him the chance to cross back through because he *wasn't* dead?" Harry asked, his eyes drooping. Exhaustion was seeping through his muscles, causing his want for sleep to double. Everyone looked thoughtful at this revelation.
"But why isn't he here, then?" Bill finally spoke up. Harry sighed and shrugged, to tired to do anything else.
"Here, Potter. I think enough is enough. You need your sleep." Madame Pomfrey shoved a glass of sleeping potion at Molly, who took it.
"Wait! Where's Rose?" Harry asked weakly. The group parted slightly, so Harry could see the screened-in bed next to him. Pomfrey parted the screen slightly, so he could see his sister's pale face, then moved it back into place.
"Satisfied?" She snapped, looking annoyed. Harry nodded.
"Very." He whispered, as he willingly took the potion that Molly poured between his lips. Just before everything faded, Harry whispered his last words for a while.
"I love you, sis."
He was already too deep into sleep to notice the startled looks they shot at him and at each other.
~*~*~*~
When Harry next awoke, sunlight was pouring into the Hospital wing, temporarily blinding him. When he finally managed to see, he immediately noticed that the screens around his sister's bed were gone, and she was lying in plain view. Her long hair spilled over her pillow like water, and her lily-white skin shone with the sunlight that fell across it.
"Rose." He whispered. He also noticed that her attire had changed once more. She was now wearing a white sleeping shift, that left her arms bare. He could see the new scar (lightening shaped) on her left wrist, where their blood had mingled during that horrible night. He shuddered at the memory.
"Harry?"
Harry came out of his thoughts at the wonderful sound of Rose's voice. Her emerald eyes were open, and staring at him with a happy light glinting in them.
"I was wondering when you'd wake up." She trilled, smiling. Harry sat up, and stared at her.
"We're alive. We shouldn't be alive, you know." Was the first thing that left his mouth. She raised an eyebrow.
"I know. But I think I know how we survived." She murmured hesitantly. He motioned her to continue.
"Our blood. It mingled with each other, right?"
"Yeah."
"I read somewhere, that there used to be a ceremony that the ancient witches and wizards would do. Family members would cut themselves, and then touch their wounds together so that their blood mingled. It was supposed to strengthen family ties. But they stopped doing it when they realized that besides just strengthening ties, it also tied them together in ways that were not so good." She paused here, looked into his eyes, and continued.
"If one person was hurt with a Cruciatus curse, the other person or people felt it and/or got the effects of it as well. It didn't go to extremes, like if you get a paper cut, the other person would get one or something like that, but it did enough to frighten them into not doing it anymore. I think that's why I survived. We shared blood. Yours was not dying, therefore, I didn't die."
"So.....this means that you die when I die?" He asked, feeling worry enter him. She smirked.
"Not necessarily, unless I wanted too. I could still die, and you would live. I think it is more like a lifesaving tactic. Because you weren't dying, and we had just shared blood, I couldn't die that one instance. That doesn't mean that nothing's stopping me from dying some other time." She murmured. Harry pondered this for a moment.
"What was it called?"
"Blood Bonding. We're blood-bonded now. If you're in trouble, I will know it without having to have a vision, and vice versa. If I'm frightened, you'll know. Things like that." She explained. Harry grinned.
"If you're getting too close to Neville, I will be able to stop it!" He chuckled. She growled and knocked him in the head.
"You'd better not! Besides! The bond doesn't work that way." She snapped, eyes flaring much like her mother's once had. He grinned.
"That is a very good theory, Miss McBride. But you've forgotten one small detail. That only works with family members." Came Dumbledore's voice from the doorway. The two guilty parties yelped in surprise, and turned to see him smiling down at them. Harry felt his heart sink, and he felt Rose's distress. Were they ready for everyone to know their secret? The secret that could save or kill both of them?
"Actually, Professor.....we'd like to clear up that one little detail....." Rose trailed off, unable to continue. She looked at Harry in desperation, but he was at a loss as well.
"I can help you there." Came another voice. They all looked up to see May come into the room, looking frightened but determined.
"Professor Dumbledore.....I have not told the complete truth about how I came to adopt Rose." She said, moving to put a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"You see, I didn't find her in America, nor is she a genuine American. In fact, she was actually born in London, and I took her away only a few hours after her birth. She went with Jackson and I to America, to wait until Sirius had a stable job that would support us." May paused here, her voice trembling.
"She is Lily's daughter, Albus. James's daughter." She stopped as Dumbledore shot her a stunned look, then motioned for her to continue, obviously unable to speak.
"They gave her to me so Voldemort would never know of another child, and Rose would have a chance at a normal childhood. They couldn't do it for Harry, but since no one but I knew about Rose's birth, they knew that she would at least have a chance. No one but the three of us ever knew that the Potter's had a second child. And no one was ever to know until Rose herself was ready to for it to be revealed."
"Then you knew?" Dumbledore asked softly, gazing into Rose's eyes, so much like Lily's that it made him stop and look again.
"Yes. I've known since I was eight." She admitted.
"How?" His voice was sharper here. Rose sighed.
"I'm a Seer, Professor Dumbledore. I can only see things that have happened in the past, or are happening in the present. That is up until a few days ago....." She trailed off, and she and Harry shared a knowing look.
"And you've known?" Dumbledore questioned Harry. He nodded.
"Since she came to stay with the Dursley's last summer." He affirmed. Dumbledore sighed and took a seat on Harry's bed.
"You two have a lot to explain. You too, May." He warned. May was about to answer when a sharp bark erupted in the hallway outside the Hospital wing, and then the door slammed open, allowing a huge mass of black fur to barge through the door and throw itself at Harry.
"SIRIUS!!!" Harry shouted, a happiness beyond any he had ever felt, seeping into his body. The dog immediately changed back into Sirius Black, who held Harry tightly.
"You're alive! I'm alive! We're all alive!" The older man yelped, holding his godson tightly. Sirius looked no worse for the wear as he pulled back and studied Harry, but a thump from behind them told them that one person had not taken this return of Sirius's very well.....
"May?! Love, are you alright?"
~*~*~*~
"I think I understand, now." Dumbledore said slowly, later that day. They had spent the entire morning and afternoon talking about what had happened, while May and Sirius sat close by, watching on and occasionally falling into their own conversations about what had happened.
"Good. Because I'm getting sick of explaining." Harry groaned, falling back against his pillows. All the strength he had had this morning was long gone, and now he was running on sheer will. Rose smiled weakly from her position cuddled up in May's arms. She had long ago stopped talking, too tired to comment.
"You're right. How about a good meal, then bed?" Dumbledore suggested, looking at Madame Pomfrey who had been watching the touching scene all day. She seemed in a much better mood and obediently went to fetch them some dinner.
"Now, I am needed down in the Great Hall, I believe. And no, I have told no one about what has happened, except for the obvious, so they are all quite worried about your disappearance. We've made up a story about why you are up here, so no one is particularly worried, but your friends and significant others will be quite eager to see you tomorrow morning, I suspect." Dumbledore chuckled, before leaving the room.
"Sirius.....where have you been?" Harry asked finally, after the old professor had disappeared. Sirius grinned.
"Right where you left me. Inside the Ministry, outside of the Veil. I'll tell you, I had a really hard time sneaking past those Ministry workers to get here....." Sirius chuckled, pulling his wife close in his arms. Rose smiled, then paled.
"Does Jackson know about....." She trailed off as her adoptive parents shook their heads.
"We decided it would be best to tell him after he sees for himself that you're alright. I don't think he would be able to handle two shocks at once." May told them softly. The two younger people nodded in understanding, and then in unison, yawned.
"Look, love! They're already doing things at the same time, and they're not even twins!" Sirius teased. Harry shot him a weak glare, while Rose hit him lightly in the arm before collapsing back against her pillows.
"I think that I'll skip the dinner, thanks. I just want to sleep." Harry moaned, rolling over and covering himself with the blankets. Rose immediately agreed and the older two decided not to push things.
"All right. We're not hungry, so we will be going to bed too, I think. Goodnight, you two. Sweet dreams." May called, as Sirius led her away.
"Rose? Harry? Thank you." Sirius murmured just before he shut the door behind them. Harry and Rose managed to smile at each other before their eyes fell closed. They both knew why he was thanking them.
He had gotten another chance at life.
Just like they had.
~*~*~*~
by Daphne Li
Chapter 21.
~*~*~*~
".....impossible....."
".....were dead, I saw it....."
".....students.....panic if they knew....."
".....possible?....."
".....I can't say. When they wake up....."
"If they wake up, you mean....."
"*When*. Look."
Harry opened his eyes slowly, as conscious finally returned to him. Blurry figures crowded around his bed, seeming to almost close in on him. Pain pounded in his head, and when he opened his mouth to ask what in Merlin's name they were staring at him for, a moan emitted instead.
"Here, Harry."
A cool hand was placed over his forehead, and he felt the headache immediately lessen. Another hand gently put on his glasses and he was finally able to discern who was standing over him. And just how many there were.
First was Dumbledore, standing close to his head on the left. Then came Remus Lupin, looking pale and gaunt. Next to him stood the DADA teacher, Professor Sheryl Hendreckson, who was supporting Remus with an arm around his waist. Charlie Weasley was next, with Tonks right next to him, and Bill on her other side. Arthur Weasley stood at the base of the bed on the other side, looking tired, and his wife was next to him, tears trickling slowly down her cheeks. Madam Pomfrey, with a bottle of.....something in her hand, was looking down at him with a relieved look, and Professor McGonagall was next to her, looking anxious. Then came Snape, who was looking rather stricken himself, standing near Harry's head on the right.
"Professor.....I had two dreams....." Harry tried to begin, but his voice broke off weakly, at odd times. The group around him looked at each other fearfully, then most looked away from him.
"Oh Harry, love......those weren't dreams." Molly whispered, stroking a lock of his hair back from his forehead. Harry jolted and then was still.
"What happened? Did I really attack Professor Dumbledore? Did Rose really die? Is she dead? Where's Sirius? Tell me! Tell me now!" Harry's voice rose with every word, and panic filled his veins. It took both Snape and Dumbledore to hold him down, as the others looked on in distress.
"Calm yourself, dear boy. We will tell you." Dumbledore murmured in a calming voice. Harry stopped struggling and fell back against his pillows, spent. He realized now that he must be in the hospital wing.
"What happened?" Harry managed. Madam Pomfrey looked worried.
"Albus, maybe we should wait until he is well again, to tell him. He needs food and rest....."
"NO! Now!" Harry demanded, attempting to sit back up. He was pushed back down again and Dumbledore raised his other hand to quiet everyone.
"No. He needs to know now." He stated. Then he turned to look at Harry, his eyes glittering strangely. Harry recognized at once that this old professor was holding back tears.
"Those were no dreams you had, Harry, if I miss my guess. You will have to tell me about them to confirm it, but I think that Voldemort had taken over your body, even then." Dumbledore said softly. Harry felt pain in his chest.
"Why my body? Why not my mind?" He choked out.
"Because you had blocked that means of controlling you. But he still has your blood. And that was all he needed to control your body, though how he managed it I can't guess." Dumbledore sighed, sitting on the bed next to him. Harry's eyes widened.
"What did I.....Voldemort do?" He asked hesitantly.
"He tried to attack Dumbledore through you." At Dumbledore's words, Harry choked on a lump of guilt in his throat, and felt tears stinging behind his eyes.
"It was like you were in a trance. You just walked through the door during our Order meeting (which we were having in Snape's dungeons), marched up the isle, and then....." McGonagall shuddered and stopped talking.
"I did the Avada Kedavra curse." Harry whispered in a strangled voice, burying his head in his hands.
"No, Voldemort did. It was like time had slowed down, though. You started shaking violently, and then you began to scream at Voldemort. It was then that we realized what must have happened. But no one realized it before Rose McBride. She came running into the room and was jumping in front of Dumbledore before anyone could do much of anything but scream. We didn't know how she found out about where we were, or how she got there so fast, but she was there." Professor Hendreckson filled in, her voice shaking. Harry's mind filtered back to that musical cry and the flash of red and gold that had blocked Dumbledore. If he didn't know better, he would have said that it looked almost like a phoenix in flight.....
"The curse hit her, green light blinded everyone, and when we were finally able to see, you both had disappeared. We were so afraid that you had been taken by Voldemort....." McGonagall whispered.
"Then Madam Pomfrey came down the stairs screaming that you had just apperated into the hospital wing, both of you dead." Snape added in a voice unlike his own. It sounded almost strangled, like he was trying to keep emotion from entering it.
"By the time we got up here, you were both breathing again, but you were unconscious and looked like you had been through a war. And how Miss McBride survived I will never know." Dumbledore finished. Harry just shook his head, unable to say anything.
"No one blames you, Harry. They saw the pain you were in. They saw you struggling. They heard Voldemort themselves." Dumbledore murmured. Harry's shoulders shook as he tried to hold back his tears.
"Oh, Harry. My poor little boy." Molly whispered, sitting on Harry's other side and putting her arms around him. Harry heard her words and he lost it. Loud, uncontrolled sobs wracked his body as he hugged her for dear life, burying his face in her neck as he cried.
"She was.....dead. Then we both bled.....and she came back. And.....Sirius.....he was there too. Where is he? We.....brought him with us." Harry wailed between sobs. He didn't see the startled looks that were exchanged by everyone but Mrs. Weasley. It took quite some time for Harry to finally calm down, and Mrs. Weasley held him the entire time, tears raining down her own cheeks all the while.
"Harry, what do you mean, Sirius came with you?" Dumbledore asked in a soft voice, when Harry's sobs had turned into hiccups and a few tears. Harry released his hold on Mrs. Weasley, but didn't let go of the hand she offered as he leaned back against his pillows.
Slowly, he retold everything that had happened, from the first dream clear till when he, Rose, and Sirius linked hands, and had left the room. By the end, the people around him were giving him looks of horror, shock, and slight fear. Molly clutched his hand tighter, stroking it gently in a comforting way.
"Sirius came.....back through the veil?" Remus finally stammered. Harry nodded tiredly.
"But how could Rose have been dead if she was in that room with you? I mean, you were both obviously dead when you appeared in here, but didn't the dream Sirius tell you it was a waiting-room? Why didn't you just go through the veil, if you were dead?" Tonks asked logically.
"I think I understand. Harry, you didn't go through the veil because you weren't meant to die yet. Rose wasn't all the way through, because she wasn't all the way dead, yet, no matter how impossible that sounds. And Sirius.....that, I don't understand." Arthur spoke, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Maybe.....it's because he fell through the veil without having died *first*. The spell Bellatrix shot at him wasn't the killing curse, I think it was a stunning one. What if the stun part of it only wore off as we arrived there, giving him the chance to cross back through because he *wasn't* dead?" Harry asked, his eyes drooping. Exhaustion was seeping through his muscles, causing his want for sleep to double. Everyone looked thoughtful at this revelation.
"But why isn't he here, then?" Bill finally spoke up. Harry sighed and shrugged, to tired to do anything else.
"Here, Potter. I think enough is enough. You need your sleep." Madame Pomfrey shoved a glass of sleeping potion at Molly, who took it.
"Wait! Where's Rose?" Harry asked weakly. The group parted slightly, so Harry could see the screened-in bed next to him. Pomfrey parted the screen slightly, so he could see his sister's pale face, then moved it back into place.
"Satisfied?" She snapped, looking annoyed. Harry nodded.
"Very." He whispered, as he willingly took the potion that Molly poured between his lips. Just before everything faded, Harry whispered his last words for a while.
"I love you, sis."
He was already too deep into sleep to notice the startled looks they shot at him and at each other.
~*~*~*~
When Harry next awoke, sunlight was pouring into the Hospital wing, temporarily blinding him. When he finally managed to see, he immediately noticed that the screens around his sister's bed were gone, and she was lying in plain view. Her long hair spilled over her pillow like water, and her lily-white skin shone with the sunlight that fell across it.
"Rose." He whispered. He also noticed that her attire had changed once more. She was now wearing a white sleeping shift, that left her arms bare. He could see the new scar (lightening shaped) on her left wrist, where their blood had mingled during that horrible night. He shuddered at the memory.
"Harry?"
Harry came out of his thoughts at the wonderful sound of Rose's voice. Her emerald eyes were open, and staring at him with a happy light glinting in them.
"I was wondering when you'd wake up." She trilled, smiling. Harry sat up, and stared at her.
"We're alive. We shouldn't be alive, you know." Was the first thing that left his mouth. She raised an eyebrow.
"I know. But I think I know how we survived." She murmured hesitantly. He motioned her to continue.
"Our blood. It mingled with each other, right?"
"Yeah."
"I read somewhere, that there used to be a ceremony that the ancient witches and wizards would do. Family members would cut themselves, and then touch their wounds together so that their blood mingled. It was supposed to strengthen family ties. But they stopped doing it when they realized that besides just strengthening ties, it also tied them together in ways that were not so good." She paused here, looked into his eyes, and continued.
"If one person was hurt with a Cruciatus curse, the other person or people felt it and/or got the effects of it as well. It didn't go to extremes, like if you get a paper cut, the other person would get one or something like that, but it did enough to frighten them into not doing it anymore. I think that's why I survived. We shared blood. Yours was not dying, therefore, I didn't die."
"So.....this means that you die when I die?" He asked, feeling worry enter him. She smirked.
"Not necessarily, unless I wanted too. I could still die, and you would live. I think it is more like a lifesaving tactic. Because you weren't dying, and we had just shared blood, I couldn't die that one instance. That doesn't mean that nothing's stopping me from dying some other time." She murmured. Harry pondered this for a moment.
"What was it called?"
"Blood Bonding. We're blood-bonded now. If you're in trouble, I will know it without having to have a vision, and vice versa. If I'm frightened, you'll know. Things like that." She explained. Harry grinned.
"If you're getting too close to Neville, I will be able to stop it!" He chuckled. She growled and knocked him in the head.
"You'd better not! Besides! The bond doesn't work that way." She snapped, eyes flaring much like her mother's once had. He grinned.
"That is a very good theory, Miss McBride. But you've forgotten one small detail. That only works with family members." Came Dumbledore's voice from the doorway. The two guilty parties yelped in surprise, and turned to see him smiling down at them. Harry felt his heart sink, and he felt Rose's distress. Were they ready for everyone to know their secret? The secret that could save or kill both of them?
"Actually, Professor.....we'd like to clear up that one little detail....." Rose trailed off, unable to continue. She looked at Harry in desperation, but he was at a loss as well.
"I can help you there." Came another voice. They all looked up to see May come into the room, looking frightened but determined.
"Professor Dumbledore.....I have not told the complete truth about how I came to adopt Rose." She said, moving to put a hand on her daughter's shoulder.
"You see, I didn't find her in America, nor is she a genuine American. In fact, she was actually born in London, and I took her away only a few hours after her birth. She went with Jackson and I to America, to wait until Sirius had a stable job that would support us." May paused here, her voice trembling.
"She is Lily's daughter, Albus. James's daughter." She stopped as Dumbledore shot her a stunned look, then motioned for her to continue, obviously unable to speak.
"They gave her to me so Voldemort would never know of another child, and Rose would have a chance at a normal childhood. They couldn't do it for Harry, but since no one but I knew about Rose's birth, they knew that she would at least have a chance. No one but the three of us ever knew that the Potter's had a second child. And no one was ever to know until Rose herself was ready to for it to be revealed."
"Then you knew?" Dumbledore asked softly, gazing into Rose's eyes, so much like Lily's that it made him stop and look again.
"Yes. I've known since I was eight." She admitted.
"How?" His voice was sharper here. Rose sighed.
"I'm a Seer, Professor Dumbledore. I can only see things that have happened in the past, or are happening in the present. That is up until a few days ago....." She trailed off, and she and Harry shared a knowing look.
"And you've known?" Dumbledore questioned Harry. He nodded.
"Since she came to stay with the Dursley's last summer." He affirmed. Dumbledore sighed and took a seat on Harry's bed.
"You two have a lot to explain. You too, May." He warned. May was about to answer when a sharp bark erupted in the hallway outside the Hospital wing, and then the door slammed open, allowing a huge mass of black fur to barge through the door and throw itself at Harry.
"SIRIUS!!!" Harry shouted, a happiness beyond any he had ever felt, seeping into his body. The dog immediately changed back into Sirius Black, who held Harry tightly.
"You're alive! I'm alive! We're all alive!" The older man yelped, holding his godson tightly. Sirius looked no worse for the wear as he pulled back and studied Harry, but a thump from behind them told them that one person had not taken this return of Sirius's very well.....
"May?! Love, are you alright?"
~*~*~*~
"I think I understand, now." Dumbledore said slowly, later that day. They had spent the entire morning and afternoon talking about what had happened, while May and Sirius sat close by, watching on and occasionally falling into their own conversations about what had happened.
"Good. Because I'm getting sick of explaining." Harry groaned, falling back against his pillows. All the strength he had had this morning was long gone, and now he was running on sheer will. Rose smiled weakly from her position cuddled up in May's arms. She had long ago stopped talking, too tired to comment.
"You're right. How about a good meal, then bed?" Dumbledore suggested, looking at Madame Pomfrey who had been watching the touching scene all day. She seemed in a much better mood and obediently went to fetch them some dinner.
"Now, I am needed down in the Great Hall, I believe. And no, I have told no one about what has happened, except for the obvious, so they are all quite worried about your disappearance. We've made up a story about why you are up here, so no one is particularly worried, but your friends and significant others will be quite eager to see you tomorrow morning, I suspect." Dumbledore chuckled, before leaving the room.
"Sirius.....where have you been?" Harry asked finally, after the old professor had disappeared. Sirius grinned.
"Right where you left me. Inside the Ministry, outside of the Veil. I'll tell you, I had a really hard time sneaking past those Ministry workers to get here....." Sirius chuckled, pulling his wife close in his arms. Rose smiled, then paled.
"Does Jackson know about....." She trailed off as her adoptive parents shook their heads.
"We decided it would be best to tell him after he sees for himself that you're alright. I don't think he would be able to handle two shocks at once." May told them softly. The two younger people nodded in understanding, and then in unison, yawned.
"Look, love! They're already doing things at the same time, and they're not even twins!" Sirius teased. Harry shot him a weak glare, while Rose hit him lightly in the arm before collapsing back against her pillows.
"I think that I'll skip the dinner, thanks. I just want to sleep." Harry moaned, rolling over and covering himself with the blankets. Rose immediately agreed and the older two decided not to push things.
"All right. We're not hungry, so we will be going to bed too, I think. Goodnight, you two. Sweet dreams." May called, as Sirius led her away.
"Rose? Harry? Thank you." Sirius murmured just before he shut the door behind them. Harry and Rose managed to smile at each other before their eyes fell closed. They both knew why he was thanking them.
He had gotten another chance at life.
Just like they had.
~*~*~*~