We had taken the Portkey that Albus had given us to a dungy looking
building. The brinks were black with age, and the door looked like it was
going to fall off its hinges. Windows were broken, and glass lay around the
base of the house. The earth around the house was parched and brown from
lack of watering. There was not a sign of life inside or out of the house.
To me, it seems too convenient, to open. Even Grimmwauld Place had been
concealed in magic, but this looked as if muggles had abandoned it a
century ago. Maybe that's why Albus had chosen it as a place for the
meetings, but either way, it still seemed more dangerous having the Order
Meetings here rather than somewhere else.
Hermione and I had made a stop prior to taking the Portkey. We were both worried about the safety of Elvira and Nina, and so we set them up in Hermione's flat in London, hoping to keep them safe until we could return. I know that Nina will keep Elvira as safe as she can for a squib, but I was still worried. If a Death Eater had truly seen us in Diagon Alley, then my daughter was definitely in trouble. Though it was probably wise for me to take her and go into hiding as my parents had once done, I some how don't see that helping any. It didn't help my parents stay alive. My parents had used a Secret Keeper in hopes that they would be safe, but there was no guarantee that a Secret Keeper would be my best option. I had spent four years hiding, I wasn't about to spend anymore time hiding. I had a job to do, and that was protecting Elvira from harm; hiding from it wouldn't do anything.
Stopping, I looked at Hermione, and then to the building. It was different going to see Albus, and finding Ginny there, but I knew that inside that building I would face a number of my peers, and worse – the rest of the Weasley family. Seeing all of the Weasleys in one place at the same time had scared me half to death. It was worse than getting on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, or even trying to figure out what the Sorting Ceremony held. This was – terrifying. This was actually facing what I had done four years ago. What's worse is I knew Snape was going to be there, and I know he would have read or heard my last journal entry. I might have hated the man, but I still held a certain level of respect for him. Then there was facing Remus. When we should have been there for one another, I left. I hid away from the British Wizarding world.
Suddenly, I felt ashamed of my choice to leave. At the time, it was the only thing I could think of; and in a way it helped me become the man I am today. If it wasn't for finding a place where I could just be normal, I think my life would have had a different outcome. Finding out about the prophecy had only been part of the problem. Add that to losing my parents, Cedric, Sirius; living with the Dursleys, and it was enough to drive one to the brink of insanity. I knew, then, that I needed to get away from life as 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' and find the real Harry Potter.
Mexico had helped me do just that. Alone, in a culture that knew nothing of Voldemort, or me for that matter, gave me a chance at being normal. There, they saw me as a young boy, forced to leave his home for unknown circumstances. Maria was the first person to find out anything about my life back at Hogwarts, or the Wizarding world. I could still remember the look on her face when she found out. Horror, replaced by shock, soon faded to love. I knew she didn't want to believe it. That, that Harry Potter could not have been the Harry Potter she had fallen in love with. Even when she finally accepted that I was this 'saviour' of the Wizarding world, there was no sympathy in her eyes, only love. She loved me for me, and if I had to go back to England, then she would have respected that choice. Best of all, she would have waited for me to return home.
Now I was back. Standing here, I knew what I had to do. I had to tell the Order of the Phoenix exactly what I knew of this evil that killed Ron. Hermione, Ginny, nor Albus knew that I knew exactly what had come from Mexico. Unfortunately, I had no idea when Ron was killed, and that left me with trying to fill in the gap of when he got here. If I knew more around Ron's death, I could figure it out. If I knew if more people had died the same way that Ron and Maria had died, then I would know more about what his plans were. Most of all, I – no, we, needed to know if he would, or has, joined up with Voldemort. That Snape would have to answer – if Snape is still a spy for Dumbledore that is.
Following Hermione, we entered the building. There were voices coming from a doorway in front of us. I guess people were just giving their condolences to the Weasley family, or discussing why there was a meeting called. Whatever it was, I knew that walking through that door would cause some discussion and quite possibly some yelling. To be honest, I expect to be yelled at.
Walking to the door, I put my hand on the knob and slowly began to turn it when the door swung open. Ginny stood there shocked to see us standing there.
"I was just coming to find you two," she said, though I could tell it was still hard for her to look at me without wanting to yell at me some more. I don't blame her. If I lost my brother because his best friend took off, I'd hate them too. I guess, in a sense, I was lucky to not know what it was like to lose a sibling. What I did know was what it was like to lose friends and parents; something that, even now, seems to have been forgotten.
"We're here not Ginny," Hermione stated, as we followed Ginny into the room.
Everything fell quiet as the Order Members turned to start at us in the doorway. Obviously no one had told them that I had returned; which was good. I didn't want the whole world knowing I had come back. In time, it would be in the Daily Prophet, and then I would have to deal with that. Until then, I would deal with the mix of emotions that were plastered on the faces of those who stood before me.
Before anyone could say anything, Albus appeared and motioned for everyone to take a seat. We joined the table, me beside Hermione and Mr. Weasley. That terrified feeling I had before coming inside had grown and now was making me sick to my stomach.
"Welcome," Albus began, and we all sat waiting to hear what he was going to say, "as you are all very aware, more of our members are being tortured and killed. The problem that we have now, is finding the Dark Wizard who is doing this to them. A number of us have found the bodies of loved ones and friends twisted and mangled. We know this is different than the typical killings that Voldemort does." He turned his attention to Severus Snape, who was sitting a few seats down from him and a few seats up and across from me. "Severus, is there anything you can tell us?"
"This is definitely not the Dark Lord," Severus replied simply, and said nothing further. Obviously, I was the only one that knew what was going on.
"That's because this guy is not from around here. In fact, no one that comes across him survive," I began. I was certain that some people wouldn't want to hear from me, and I knew it wasn't my turn to talk, but I knew more about this guy than anyone else did, and I should have the chance to tell them without having to wait while they speculated at it. "He was believed to be one of the Aztec Gods. He was locked away in a sacred vase hidden in a Temple that his priests had built. Five months before my wife's death, we took the fifth year students on a field trip to the Temple.
"While we were there one of the students stumbled upon a chamber that wasn't on the tour. Maria followed him into the room; it resulted in the release of this 'Aztec God'. Anyone who had been in the room that day ended up dead five months later, Maria being one of them.
"Now we've done research on him. His name is Tezcatlipoca, and what his motives are, we haven't yet found out. What we do know is that he will leave his victims mutilated, twisted in horror. The most distinctive feature is what comes of the victims' eyes. The pupil expands and takes over. One of the investigators into Maria's death had described it as being able to see twilight in the eyes of the dead.
"When I returned to London, I had not imagined that Tezcatlipoca had followed me here. It wasn't until this morning, when I learned of Ron's death, that I had found out he was here." I finished up my story and waited to figure out what we were going to do about him. Even I didn't know how to kill Tezcatlipoca, especially if he was a God, like the legends in the Temple had stated. I trusted Albus to figure out what was going to happen and how we would go about killing him.
"Your wife released this thing onto the world?" Minerva questioned sharply. I didn't blame her for her reaction. In fact, if it had been I, then I would have joined Maria's fate.
"Things happen that we cannot control. Maria had no idea that when she followed Antonio into that chamber an evil far older than Voldemort would be released. You cannot blame Maria for the hand that fate dealt her. If you blame anyone, blame me. I was the one that arranged the trip." I know becoming defensive wasn't going to help the situation any, and, in the end, it would result in my getting angry. I just couldn't help it. Maria was my love, and I wouldn't have anyone blaming her for something we could not have controlled.
"If you had not have been in Mexico none of this would have happened!" Ginny yelled at me. I knew she was still angry with the fact that Ron had died trying to be brave. I knew she hated me because I left, and, in doing so, forced Ron to make a choice that ended his life.
"We all make choices in our life Ginny. I chose to leave London and try and make sense of my life. If, in the process, an evil far worse than we have seen was released, then that is what fate had in store for us. If I had of stayed, then who knows what would have happened. But we are not here to discuss my leaving, nor Ron's death." I turned to look to Albus. "What do you think we should do?"
Hermione and I had made a stop prior to taking the Portkey. We were both worried about the safety of Elvira and Nina, and so we set them up in Hermione's flat in London, hoping to keep them safe until we could return. I know that Nina will keep Elvira as safe as she can for a squib, but I was still worried. If a Death Eater had truly seen us in Diagon Alley, then my daughter was definitely in trouble. Though it was probably wise for me to take her and go into hiding as my parents had once done, I some how don't see that helping any. It didn't help my parents stay alive. My parents had used a Secret Keeper in hopes that they would be safe, but there was no guarantee that a Secret Keeper would be my best option. I had spent four years hiding, I wasn't about to spend anymore time hiding. I had a job to do, and that was protecting Elvira from harm; hiding from it wouldn't do anything.
Stopping, I looked at Hermione, and then to the building. It was different going to see Albus, and finding Ginny there, but I knew that inside that building I would face a number of my peers, and worse – the rest of the Weasley family. Seeing all of the Weasleys in one place at the same time had scared me half to death. It was worse than getting on the Hogwarts Express for the first time, or even trying to figure out what the Sorting Ceremony held. This was – terrifying. This was actually facing what I had done four years ago. What's worse is I knew Snape was going to be there, and I know he would have read or heard my last journal entry. I might have hated the man, but I still held a certain level of respect for him. Then there was facing Remus. When we should have been there for one another, I left. I hid away from the British Wizarding world.
Suddenly, I felt ashamed of my choice to leave. At the time, it was the only thing I could think of; and in a way it helped me become the man I am today. If it wasn't for finding a place where I could just be normal, I think my life would have had a different outcome. Finding out about the prophecy had only been part of the problem. Add that to losing my parents, Cedric, Sirius; living with the Dursleys, and it was enough to drive one to the brink of insanity. I knew, then, that I needed to get away from life as 'The-Boy-Who-Lived' and find the real Harry Potter.
Mexico had helped me do just that. Alone, in a culture that knew nothing of Voldemort, or me for that matter, gave me a chance at being normal. There, they saw me as a young boy, forced to leave his home for unknown circumstances. Maria was the first person to find out anything about my life back at Hogwarts, or the Wizarding world. I could still remember the look on her face when she found out. Horror, replaced by shock, soon faded to love. I knew she didn't want to believe it. That, that Harry Potter could not have been the Harry Potter she had fallen in love with. Even when she finally accepted that I was this 'saviour' of the Wizarding world, there was no sympathy in her eyes, only love. She loved me for me, and if I had to go back to England, then she would have respected that choice. Best of all, she would have waited for me to return home.
Now I was back. Standing here, I knew what I had to do. I had to tell the Order of the Phoenix exactly what I knew of this evil that killed Ron. Hermione, Ginny, nor Albus knew that I knew exactly what had come from Mexico. Unfortunately, I had no idea when Ron was killed, and that left me with trying to fill in the gap of when he got here. If I knew more around Ron's death, I could figure it out. If I knew if more people had died the same way that Ron and Maria had died, then I would know more about what his plans were. Most of all, I – no, we, needed to know if he would, or has, joined up with Voldemort. That Snape would have to answer – if Snape is still a spy for Dumbledore that is.
Following Hermione, we entered the building. There were voices coming from a doorway in front of us. I guess people were just giving their condolences to the Weasley family, or discussing why there was a meeting called. Whatever it was, I knew that walking through that door would cause some discussion and quite possibly some yelling. To be honest, I expect to be yelled at.
Walking to the door, I put my hand on the knob and slowly began to turn it when the door swung open. Ginny stood there shocked to see us standing there.
"I was just coming to find you two," she said, though I could tell it was still hard for her to look at me without wanting to yell at me some more. I don't blame her. If I lost my brother because his best friend took off, I'd hate them too. I guess, in a sense, I was lucky to not know what it was like to lose a sibling. What I did know was what it was like to lose friends and parents; something that, even now, seems to have been forgotten.
"We're here not Ginny," Hermione stated, as we followed Ginny into the room.
Everything fell quiet as the Order Members turned to start at us in the doorway. Obviously no one had told them that I had returned; which was good. I didn't want the whole world knowing I had come back. In time, it would be in the Daily Prophet, and then I would have to deal with that. Until then, I would deal with the mix of emotions that were plastered on the faces of those who stood before me.
Before anyone could say anything, Albus appeared and motioned for everyone to take a seat. We joined the table, me beside Hermione and Mr. Weasley. That terrified feeling I had before coming inside had grown and now was making me sick to my stomach.
"Welcome," Albus began, and we all sat waiting to hear what he was going to say, "as you are all very aware, more of our members are being tortured and killed. The problem that we have now, is finding the Dark Wizard who is doing this to them. A number of us have found the bodies of loved ones and friends twisted and mangled. We know this is different than the typical killings that Voldemort does." He turned his attention to Severus Snape, who was sitting a few seats down from him and a few seats up and across from me. "Severus, is there anything you can tell us?"
"This is definitely not the Dark Lord," Severus replied simply, and said nothing further. Obviously, I was the only one that knew what was going on.
"That's because this guy is not from around here. In fact, no one that comes across him survive," I began. I was certain that some people wouldn't want to hear from me, and I knew it wasn't my turn to talk, but I knew more about this guy than anyone else did, and I should have the chance to tell them without having to wait while they speculated at it. "He was believed to be one of the Aztec Gods. He was locked away in a sacred vase hidden in a Temple that his priests had built. Five months before my wife's death, we took the fifth year students on a field trip to the Temple.
"While we were there one of the students stumbled upon a chamber that wasn't on the tour. Maria followed him into the room; it resulted in the release of this 'Aztec God'. Anyone who had been in the room that day ended up dead five months later, Maria being one of them.
"Now we've done research on him. His name is Tezcatlipoca, and what his motives are, we haven't yet found out. What we do know is that he will leave his victims mutilated, twisted in horror. The most distinctive feature is what comes of the victims' eyes. The pupil expands and takes over. One of the investigators into Maria's death had described it as being able to see twilight in the eyes of the dead.
"When I returned to London, I had not imagined that Tezcatlipoca had followed me here. It wasn't until this morning, when I learned of Ron's death, that I had found out he was here." I finished up my story and waited to figure out what we were going to do about him. Even I didn't know how to kill Tezcatlipoca, especially if he was a God, like the legends in the Temple had stated. I trusted Albus to figure out what was going to happen and how we would go about killing him.
"Your wife released this thing onto the world?" Minerva questioned sharply. I didn't blame her for her reaction. In fact, if it had been I, then I would have joined Maria's fate.
"Things happen that we cannot control. Maria had no idea that when she followed Antonio into that chamber an evil far older than Voldemort would be released. You cannot blame Maria for the hand that fate dealt her. If you blame anyone, blame me. I was the one that arranged the trip." I know becoming defensive wasn't going to help the situation any, and, in the end, it would result in my getting angry. I just couldn't help it. Maria was my love, and I wouldn't have anyone blaming her for something we could not have controlled.
"If you had not have been in Mexico none of this would have happened!" Ginny yelled at me. I knew she was still angry with the fact that Ron had died trying to be brave. I knew she hated me because I left, and, in doing so, forced Ron to make a choice that ended his life.
"We all make choices in our life Ginny. I chose to leave London and try and make sense of my life. If, in the process, an evil far worse than we have seen was released, then that is what fate had in store for us. If I had of stayed, then who knows what would have happened. But we are not here to discuss my leaving, nor Ron's death." I turned to look to Albus. "What do you think we should do?"