Disclaimer: "I am JK Rowling! I am JK Rowling! I know I am!" This is what
Psych students call mental simulations or visualization. That doesn't mean
that it is true though. Anyways, anything that you don't recognize is my
own.
AN: Thank you for all my wonderful reviews. I am always happy to hear what you guys have to say. Unless it is a flame. Because school is starting up again, I will be trying my hardest to write at least once a week. That is the plan. Hopefully, it will be 2-3 times a week, but that is called wishful thinking. I really will try though. If I will be taking anymore long breaks, I will let you know through the AN at the beginning of the chapter. Also, please read and review my poem, The Alter. Thanks! Luv ya lots!
Moony
PS- If any of you are interested in discussing Harry Potter topics (such as relationships, rumours, and theories) or life in general, my email is LaVieBoheme14@excite.com.
Chapter 8:
As Neville had finished saying this, Ron turned slightly pink and pulled him off to the side of the room. "What do you think you're doing, Neville? I didn't know we were telling the entire world about what happened," said Ron angrily.
"I didn't tell the entire world. I just told Dean and Seamus. The wanted to know what happened. I mean, Dumbledore didn't exactly tell us all what happened. Just like after what happened during the Third Task. We didn't know what happened and then we were all at each other's throats," exclaimed Neville, surprising everyone with this outburst.
"You are absolutely right Neville," said a quiet Harry.
"If you aren't ready to tell us, you don't have to, Harry," chimed in Dean. Seamus just sat there and remained silent.
Harry was still going over everything in his head trying to figure out what he wanted to do. So much had happened last year and he still hadn't told Ron, Hermione, and Ginny about what Dumbledore had told him in the office. They all thought that the prophecy had been smashed. They would be mad when they found out that he had excluded them from being privy to this information. What would they say? Would they be horrified? Or angry? Hopeful? Hopeless? Would they be scared? He knew that he had felt all of these emotions at one time or another over the summer. What if they didn't understand his reasons? Sirius would have. Sirius always understood.
"Harry?" came Ron's voice from off to the side, "Harry? Are you okay? Listen, mate, you don't have to say anything tonight. Not if you don't want to."
"It started in third year," Harry said, his voice almost inaudible. The other's leaned in to listen intently. "It all started when Sirius Black had escaped and came to Hogwarts. Everyone thought that he was there to kill me, but it turned out that the entire wizarding world was wrong. He was my Mum and Dad's best friend and to protect my family from Voldemort, my parents made him their secret keeper and had Dumbledore perform the Fidelus Charm. It made it so that only Sirius could tell others where we were hidden. Voldemort could have been looking through my front window and he wouldn't have seen us. Well according to the story, Sirius told Voldemort where my parents were hiding and sold us out. This is where the Ministry made a giant foul up. My parents didn't choose Sirius. They didn't because they thought that that choice would have been obvious. They actually chose Peter Pettigrew."
At this, Dean went to say something, but thought better of it and remained silent.
"The day after my parents were murdered, Pettigrew confronted Sirius on a busy muggle street and accused him of murdering my Mum and Dad. Sirius accepted the responsibility because he was the one who persuaded them to choose Peter over himself. When Pettigrew cornered Sirius, he held his wand behind his back and blew up the street. He escaped by transforming himself into a rat and slipped down into the sewer."
"So, Sirius Black was innocent?" asked a shocked Dean.
"Yeah," said Ron, "We stayed in touch with him after that. Harry and Hermione helped him escape even."
"So, what does this have to do with what happened last year?" asked Dean.
"Well, he played a big part in what happened," Harry continued, "He wasn't just my parents' best friend he was also my Godfather. We had a special bond going. He was the closest thing to a father figure for me. Almost like a mix between a Dad and a brother. He was the only real family I had left. Last year, I started to have these dreams. Do you remember the times when I woke up screaming and sick?"
They all nodded.
"Well, that happened because Voldemort kept playing with my mind. He kept trying to find things that he could use against me. People that I love. People that love me. Things like that. He kept luring me into this place during my dreams that I now know is the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. Then, during our History of Magic exam, I fell asleep and saw a vision of Sirius being held captive in the Department of Mysteries. He was being tortured, so I needed to get to him and save him." Harry's voice was beginning to shake and his eyes began to well up with tears, but still he continued on with his story. "That night, a few of us created a diversion for me to get into Umbridge's office so that I could try and contact him via the floo network. Unfortunately, we were caught. Hermione managed to lure her out into the forest and we left her there. When we got back onto school grounds, we found out that the others had escaped from her office too. We managed to find some thestrals and we rode them to the Ministry of Magic in London. When we got there, we didn't find Sirius, but we found several Death Eaters. They surrounded us, but thanks to all the hard work that we did in the DA, we put up a good fight. When all hope seemed lost for our group, a few of our friends showed up -Professor Lupin and Sirius, as well as their friends. Sirius began a duel with Bellatrix Lestrange. She caught him unawares with a stupefy and he fell beyond this veil."
"Beyond the veil where the souls are kept?" asked Dean.
"Yeah. Have you heard of it?" replied Harry.
"Yeah. A few times. I read about it somewhere," he replied
"Well, at first I thought that he could come back, but you can't. Professor Lupin explained that to me. Anyway, I went after Lestrange and I tried to kill her. It didn't work. She just laughed at me. I hate that woman so much. She has caused so many people so much pain." Harry quickly glanced over at Neville, who nodded in response to this, and then continued. "Then Voldemort showed up. He tried to kill me, but Dumbledore saved me. He cast this shield around me and kept me safe from harm. Voldemort disappeared though. So did Lestrange. They got away. That's when the ministry officials showed up and we were all sent back to school. So, basically, that's what happened."
They all just sat in silence when he finished his story. Finally, Dean crawled underneath his covers and said goodnight to his roommates and closed his curtains. Following his actions, Ron and Neville did the same. That just left Seamus and Harry.
"Listen Harry, I was wondering if I could talk to you," started Seamus.
"Sure. What is it?"
"Well, I just wanted to apologise for everything that happened last year. I was rude and ignorant. You were honest with us and told us about the return of You-Know-Who, and I behaved like the world's biggest prat," he said, bowing his head in shame.
"Seamus-," Harry began.
"I said some things that I shouldn't have said, even if I did believe the Daily Prophet. I hope that you forgive me for that. I was always taught that it was okay if you made a mistake, it was okay. You had to remember to fix the problem though, so I hope you forgive me. If you don't, then that is okay too. I completely understand if you hate me. I also know that I apologised last year, but I wanted to tell you one more time."
"I have already-" Harry began again, but Seamus held up a hand and stopped him from continuing.
"Let me just finish this," he said as Harry stopped speaking and nodded. "What you did last year, giving the interview, that took a lot of bravery. Umbridge was ready to kill you, but you still managed to stand up to her and win. I was impressed that you didn't even worry about the consequences of your actions. Now, after hearing both your story and Neville's story, and believe me when I say that he played up the hero part for you as much as you downplayed it, I must say that your act of bravery against that old hag was nothing compared to your courage when you faced Voldemort and his Death Eaters. You are truly the noblest person that I have ever met. You really live up to the name of Gryffindor. It's no surprise that you are in this house. That old hat knows what it is doing."
"It wasn't noble or courageous though. It was stupidity taking over. I decided to play hero again and this time someone died. It is all my fault that he is gone," replied Harry sadly.
"As stupid as it seems to you, I'm glad to have a friend like you. I'm glad that you are someone who would go to such lengths and make sure that all his friends and loved ones are safe. I'd follow you into any battle. You really are a hero to me."
"Thanks Seamus. Well, I think that I am going to go to sleep now. I am so tired after today," he said as a large yawn escaped him.
"Good night Harry." Seamus then turned around, got into bed and pulled his curtains shut.
Harry then put his pyjamas on and got into bed. As he pulled his covers snugly around him, he thought of what he had left out of the story. 'I will have to tell Ron and Hermione, and Ginny all about what happened in Dumbledore's office eventually,' he thought. 'Let's think about how they will react though. Ron will fly off the handle and want to protect me from every little thing. Hermione will either want to research it and think of logical explanations for it or will scoff at the idea of believing in prophecies. Ginny-what would Ginny do? She would probably listen to me. At least that's what she said she would do.' Her name brought a small smile to his lips. 'Maybe I will talk to her first. Then she can help me tackle the others. She'll help them understand.' This was his last thought as he finally lay back on his pillow and drifted off to sleep.
AN: Thank you for all my wonderful reviews. I am always happy to hear what you guys have to say. Unless it is a flame. Because school is starting up again, I will be trying my hardest to write at least once a week. That is the plan. Hopefully, it will be 2-3 times a week, but that is called wishful thinking. I really will try though. If I will be taking anymore long breaks, I will let you know through the AN at the beginning of the chapter. Also, please read and review my poem, The Alter. Thanks! Luv ya lots!
Moony
PS- If any of you are interested in discussing Harry Potter topics (such as relationships, rumours, and theories) or life in general, my email is LaVieBoheme14@excite.com.
Chapter 8:
As Neville had finished saying this, Ron turned slightly pink and pulled him off to the side of the room. "What do you think you're doing, Neville? I didn't know we were telling the entire world about what happened," said Ron angrily.
"I didn't tell the entire world. I just told Dean and Seamus. The wanted to know what happened. I mean, Dumbledore didn't exactly tell us all what happened. Just like after what happened during the Third Task. We didn't know what happened and then we were all at each other's throats," exclaimed Neville, surprising everyone with this outburst.
"You are absolutely right Neville," said a quiet Harry.
"If you aren't ready to tell us, you don't have to, Harry," chimed in Dean. Seamus just sat there and remained silent.
Harry was still going over everything in his head trying to figure out what he wanted to do. So much had happened last year and he still hadn't told Ron, Hermione, and Ginny about what Dumbledore had told him in the office. They all thought that the prophecy had been smashed. They would be mad when they found out that he had excluded them from being privy to this information. What would they say? Would they be horrified? Or angry? Hopeful? Hopeless? Would they be scared? He knew that he had felt all of these emotions at one time or another over the summer. What if they didn't understand his reasons? Sirius would have. Sirius always understood.
"Harry?" came Ron's voice from off to the side, "Harry? Are you okay? Listen, mate, you don't have to say anything tonight. Not if you don't want to."
"It started in third year," Harry said, his voice almost inaudible. The other's leaned in to listen intently. "It all started when Sirius Black had escaped and came to Hogwarts. Everyone thought that he was there to kill me, but it turned out that the entire wizarding world was wrong. He was my Mum and Dad's best friend and to protect my family from Voldemort, my parents made him their secret keeper and had Dumbledore perform the Fidelus Charm. It made it so that only Sirius could tell others where we were hidden. Voldemort could have been looking through my front window and he wouldn't have seen us. Well according to the story, Sirius told Voldemort where my parents were hiding and sold us out. This is where the Ministry made a giant foul up. My parents didn't choose Sirius. They didn't because they thought that that choice would have been obvious. They actually chose Peter Pettigrew."
At this, Dean went to say something, but thought better of it and remained silent.
"The day after my parents were murdered, Pettigrew confronted Sirius on a busy muggle street and accused him of murdering my Mum and Dad. Sirius accepted the responsibility because he was the one who persuaded them to choose Peter over himself. When Pettigrew cornered Sirius, he held his wand behind his back and blew up the street. He escaped by transforming himself into a rat and slipped down into the sewer."
"So, Sirius Black was innocent?" asked a shocked Dean.
"Yeah," said Ron, "We stayed in touch with him after that. Harry and Hermione helped him escape even."
"So, what does this have to do with what happened last year?" asked Dean.
"Well, he played a big part in what happened," Harry continued, "He wasn't just my parents' best friend he was also my Godfather. We had a special bond going. He was the closest thing to a father figure for me. Almost like a mix between a Dad and a brother. He was the only real family I had left. Last year, I started to have these dreams. Do you remember the times when I woke up screaming and sick?"
They all nodded.
"Well, that happened because Voldemort kept playing with my mind. He kept trying to find things that he could use against me. People that I love. People that love me. Things like that. He kept luring me into this place during my dreams that I now know is the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry of Magic. Then, during our History of Magic exam, I fell asleep and saw a vision of Sirius being held captive in the Department of Mysteries. He was being tortured, so I needed to get to him and save him." Harry's voice was beginning to shake and his eyes began to well up with tears, but still he continued on with his story. "That night, a few of us created a diversion for me to get into Umbridge's office so that I could try and contact him via the floo network. Unfortunately, we were caught. Hermione managed to lure her out into the forest and we left her there. When we got back onto school grounds, we found out that the others had escaped from her office too. We managed to find some thestrals and we rode them to the Ministry of Magic in London. When we got there, we didn't find Sirius, but we found several Death Eaters. They surrounded us, but thanks to all the hard work that we did in the DA, we put up a good fight. When all hope seemed lost for our group, a few of our friends showed up -Professor Lupin and Sirius, as well as their friends. Sirius began a duel with Bellatrix Lestrange. She caught him unawares with a stupefy and he fell beyond this veil."
"Beyond the veil where the souls are kept?" asked Dean.
"Yeah. Have you heard of it?" replied Harry.
"Yeah. A few times. I read about it somewhere," he replied
"Well, at first I thought that he could come back, but you can't. Professor Lupin explained that to me. Anyway, I went after Lestrange and I tried to kill her. It didn't work. She just laughed at me. I hate that woman so much. She has caused so many people so much pain." Harry quickly glanced over at Neville, who nodded in response to this, and then continued. "Then Voldemort showed up. He tried to kill me, but Dumbledore saved me. He cast this shield around me and kept me safe from harm. Voldemort disappeared though. So did Lestrange. They got away. That's when the ministry officials showed up and we were all sent back to school. So, basically, that's what happened."
They all just sat in silence when he finished his story. Finally, Dean crawled underneath his covers and said goodnight to his roommates and closed his curtains. Following his actions, Ron and Neville did the same. That just left Seamus and Harry.
"Listen Harry, I was wondering if I could talk to you," started Seamus.
"Sure. What is it?"
"Well, I just wanted to apologise for everything that happened last year. I was rude and ignorant. You were honest with us and told us about the return of You-Know-Who, and I behaved like the world's biggest prat," he said, bowing his head in shame.
"Seamus-," Harry began.
"I said some things that I shouldn't have said, even if I did believe the Daily Prophet. I hope that you forgive me for that. I was always taught that it was okay if you made a mistake, it was okay. You had to remember to fix the problem though, so I hope you forgive me. If you don't, then that is okay too. I completely understand if you hate me. I also know that I apologised last year, but I wanted to tell you one more time."
"I have already-" Harry began again, but Seamus held up a hand and stopped him from continuing.
"Let me just finish this," he said as Harry stopped speaking and nodded. "What you did last year, giving the interview, that took a lot of bravery. Umbridge was ready to kill you, but you still managed to stand up to her and win. I was impressed that you didn't even worry about the consequences of your actions. Now, after hearing both your story and Neville's story, and believe me when I say that he played up the hero part for you as much as you downplayed it, I must say that your act of bravery against that old hag was nothing compared to your courage when you faced Voldemort and his Death Eaters. You are truly the noblest person that I have ever met. You really live up to the name of Gryffindor. It's no surprise that you are in this house. That old hat knows what it is doing."
"It wasn't noble or courageous though. It was stupidity taking over. I decided to play hero again and this time someone died. It is all my fault that he is gone," replied Harry sadly.
"As stupid as it seems to you, I'm glad to have a friend like you. I'm glad that you are someone who would go to such lengths and make sure that all his friends and loved ones are safe. I'd follow you into any battle. You really are a hero to me."
"Thanks Seamus. Well, I think that I am going to go to sleep now. I am so tired after today," he said as a large yawn escaped him.
"Good night Harry." Seamus then turned around, got into bed and pulled his curtains shut.
Harry then put his pyjamas on and got into bed. As he pulled his covers snugly around him, he thought of what he had left out of the story. 'I will have to tell Ron and Hermione, and Ginny all about what happened in Dumbledore's office eventually,' he thought. 'Let's think about how they will react though. Ron will fly off the handle and want to protect me from every little thing. Hermione will either want to research it and think of logical explanations for it or will scoff at the idea of believing in prophecies. Ginny-what would Ginny do? She would probably listen to me. At least that's what she said she would do.' Her name brought a small smile to his lips. 'Maybe I will talk to her first. Then she can help me tackle the others. She'll help them understand.' This was his last thought as he finally lay back on his pillow and drifted off to sleep.