Author's Note: Thank you so much for the reviews so far! I really hope you'll like the story, it will hopefully be getting much better!
Chapter 3:
Harry gaped at Lupin. "What was that?" he asked, dumbfounded.
"Well," said Lupin, "Dumbledore was planning on telling you, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt." He looked each of the people in the room into the eye. "Nobody can ever tell anyone this; if Voldemort finds out, it could be disastrous. Agreed?" Everyone nodded solemnly and Ron muttered something. "What was that, Ron?" asked Lupin.
"Don't say his na- oh, never mind. I should be used to it." He smiled wanly. "Sorry. Go on."
Lupin was about to do just that when, suddenly, Mrs. Weasley barged into the room muttering about wedding flowers. Suddenly she stopped. "Oh! Harry! How wonderful to see you've arrived! How are you, dear?" She hugged Harry tightly.
"I'm fine, thanks, Mrs. Weasley."
"Uh…Molly," said Lupin casually. "We were just explaining something to Harry about his…Ahh…lineage." Comprehension suddenly dawned on her face.
"OH! I see, then. Fred, George, you already know about the situation, come help me find the order forms for the wedding flowers. They've gone and lost the order, and Bill, poor dear, has no idea how many people will be attending and such!"
"Mum, you could order them from Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes!" said George, grinning.
"Yeah," said Fred happily. "We promise they won't be the exploding type…"
"Or biting type."
"Or even the kind that acts as a Muggle car alarm!" finished Fred, crossing his fingers behind his back.
"I think not, dears," said Mrs. Weasley, smiling. "Come, now. Oh, and Mad-Eye, Mundungus would like a word with you, he's upstairs in the Guard Office right now." Then she added darkly, "Probably asking if he can store some illegal Class-A nontradable substance of some sort."
"Well, bye all," said George, winking, as he and Fred left the room behind Moody and Mrs. Weasley.
"I'd better be going upstairs as well," said Tonks, brushing a hand through her hair, which was, today, long, red and curly and looked a lot like Ginny's. "Bye, everyone. Bye, Remus," she added, smiling at him and changing her hair pink as she left the room.
"Show-off," Lupin muttered, smiling.
"She likes you," said Lenore immediately, smiling. Lupin flushed slightly.
"Well. Yes. She has mentioned something…" his voice trailed off for a few moments. Hermione, Ginny, and Lenore exchanged knowing looks and Harry and Ron shrugged at each other. "Anyway, Harry…you too, Lenore. Well, about ten years before Tom Riddle was born-" At that name, Ginny shuddered. She seemed more affected by the name 'Tom Riddle' than by Voldemort.
"-His mother had an affair with another Muggle, Adam Moresby. They had a daughter, a squib, and after the two broke up, they decided it was best if Adam took the baby, Irina. So he did, and he moved to America and married again, and his daughter had two children, Mary and Matthew. Well, Mary, at a young age, fell in love with a man named Timothy Evans, on a visit to England, and they married and had two daughters. Matthew married an American, Sally Johnston, and they had a daughter as well. Now keep in mind that so far, all of these people had either been Muggles or squibs. Mary's daughter, Lily, showed magic ability, though Petunia did not, and Matthew's daughter, Eliza did as well. However, the cousins went to separate schools, in different countries, and they never met. Eliza married a wizard named Mark and they had a daughter, Lenore. Lily married James Potter and had Harry. Harry and Lenore, you were born on the same day. Lily and James, well, we all know how they died. Mark, Lenore's father died the same day Lily and James did. He was an auror in America. Eliza was an auror as well, and she died last month, but before she did, she sent a letter to me.
"She and Lily had met several times, and she had met James, Sirius, Peter, Lissa, and I as well on all of those occasions. She and I as teenagers had briefly…dated and had stayed friends and so she wrote me a letter. Eliza knew that she would be attacked that night and wanted Lenore to meet Lily's son, the closest family she had left." Harry stole a glance at Lenore, who seemed to be resolutely fighting off tears. "She asked if Lenore could come here to live and go to Hogwarts, and I agreed.
"So, here we are. You are related to each other and to Voldemort." Ron shuddered at the name.
"Wow," muttered Harry. He looked at Lenore. She must've been told already, for she hadn't a trace of surprise etched onto her face. She unconsciously pulled back her chestnut hair in nervousness and smiled at Harry. Harry smiled back, ruffling a hand through his black hair. Harry then turned to Lupin, frowning. "How did you figure this out, Moony?"
"We have our ways, Harry. We have our ways." He sighed. "Come, now, let's all go upstairs into the kitchen, I expect everyone will want to see you Harry. A lot of the Order's coming tonight for a meeting, and tomorrow the whole Order will be coming."
"All right, then," said Harry, still in shock. He couldn't believe he was related to Voldemort. He involuntarily shuddered. Harry then moved into step with his peers, behind Lupin.
"So how have you lot been so far this summer?" asked Harry.
"Pretty good," said Ron. "Only we're still not allowed to join the Order, Mrs. Black won't shut up, and Mum's going crazy about the wedding next week. She can't believe it's on such short notice, she nearly had a fit when they told her."
"Oh, yeah!" said Harry. "Who's getting married? Anyone I know?"
"Yeah," said Ginny, grinning prettily. "Bill and-"
Suddenly Mrs. Black, Mrs. Weasley, Tonks, and Mundungus were all shouting at the top of their lungs.
"FILTHY MUDBLOODS, BLOOD-TRAITORS, HALF-BREEDS, FILTH-"
"HOW COULD YOU BRING IN A LIVE GRIFFIN! FOR MERLIN'S SAKE, MUNDUNGUS! DUMBLEDORE WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS, MARK MY WORDS"
"SHUT UP, YOU OLD HAG! DON'T YOU CALL ME A BLOOD TRAITOR! DON'T EVER CALL ME NYMPHADORA AGAIN!"
"I HAD A GOOD DEAL, IT'LL BE OUT OF HERE BY TOMORROW, IT'S JUST FOR ONE NIGHT, MOLLY, WHAT 'ARM COULD 'E DO?"
"ABOMINATION OF MY FLESH, SCUM, HOW DARE YOU-"
"ALMOST AS BAD AS THE TIME YOU PUT CHICKEN EGGS AND TOADS IN THE SAME BOX, WE NEARLY HAD A BASILISK HATCH THAT TIME, WE DID- GET OUT!"
"SHUT UP!"
"GET OUT OF THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK!"
"GET OUT!"