Chapter 3 – The Story

A/N: Thanks to MuggleBuddy again for his/her review! How STUPID of me to forget The Three Broomsticks is in Hogsmeade. Sorry! I have since edited Chapter 2. And Gilderoy Lockhart was there, erm, mainly for show. He'll not appear that quickly, but he will in this story. Because this was an AU, I thought maybe I didn't have to follow the books religiously. Sorry for any confusion caused!

And also, I mixed up Authur Weasley with Arnold Weasley. I'm not really sure which one is the correct one (this started after Rita Skeeter), and hence the name in the second chapter may be wrong. Sorreh.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Harry Potter; only the storyline and Ki are mine.

After taking the Portkey, Harry and Lupin ended up in Harry's room, and was shocked to see that all his school supplies are there already. A bell rang in the distance; dinner must be ready. "Come, Uncle Lupin, let's go for dinner. Uncle Dumbledore must be waiting for us," Harry quipped, eager to get it over and done with. After dinner, Uncle Dumbledore had promised, the truth…

Dinner was a silent affair. Dumbledore, as always (when he dined with Harry), sat at the very end of a long table. Harry sat on his left, and Lupin on his right. After the sumptuous dinner, Dumbledore led Harry and Lupin to his office. There, he motioned Harry and Lupin to sit down while he took his seat behind the desk.

"Harry, I have to tell you first and foremost that this story of yours isn't a pleasant one. Not many eleven year olds or even a hundred year olds have a story as sad as yours. I will begin from the very beginning, and I do hope that you'd stop me when you feel too terrible to go on. Remember, this is not a sign of weakness, because not many people can come to terms with a tragedy as large as yours. And I also ask that you do not interrupt me when I begin. It only makes it more difficult to start again. OK?"

Harry nodded.

"To fully understand why you are in the situation you are in now, you have to dive into the history of a person, Tom Marvolo Riddle, a.k.a. Voldemort. He was a half-blood wizard who came to Hogwarts a long time ago. Especially talented wizard he was, often topping his year in many subjects. He misused his talent when he graduated and became a fully qualified wizard though; he got himself interested in the Dark Arts, and got too deep to come back to the Light. Hence, he decided to style himself as Voldemort, and was the most feared wizard in a century.

"Why had he want to torture you and your parents? Simply because power had gotten to him. He did not want to give up his power, give up the fear he had had in the people's hearts. Before you were born in July, there was a prophecy made. And it went thus:

"'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches… born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies… and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not… and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives… the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies…'

"There were two children who fulfill the terms in the prophecy. One, of course, is you, and the other is someone who will be coming to Hogwarts come September first. I shan't tell you who, but his parents have also been tortured into insanity by Voldemort's followers, or Death Eaters.

"However, why was it you that I have specifically brought here? For the simple reason that it was Voldemort himself who had went to your house to find you. Note that in the prophecy, it says that the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal. By going to your house to get at your personally has made you his equal, and hence, you hold the power to destroy Voldemort."

Harry had been sitting quietly throughout the whole story. He could not believe his ears. Voldemort – his equal – his parents – either must die at the hand of the other­ – neither can live while the other survives – he was to be murderer, or murdered.

"And – and what had it got to do with my parents?"

"After the prophecy was made, I immediately saw you and the other boy in question in serious danger. Without any hesitation, I told your parents and his parents about the peril you are in, and they, trusting me, left both of you in my care. I continued to keep watch over the houses they lived in without their knowing, and you were kept somewhere they didn't know. Hence, when Voldemort went to your house, and his Death Eaters to the other one, they couldn't find you. Because of their ties to me, they immediately guessed that they know about the prophecy, and have kept you and the other boy somewhere. Hence, they repeatedly used curses against them to try to force out the truth.

"However, the brain, which can be likened to a piece of string, has a certain point where it will break. I guess that, as Voldemort and his Death Eaters did the curses repeatedly on your parents and his, their brains could not withstand it anymore, and hence –"

"Stop, Uncle Dumbledore, I can't…"

Lupin put his hand on Harry's shoulder, squeezing them.

"I will stop here, Harry. As I have said, this is too much for anyone to bear. You will go to sleep after you drink the potion beside your bed, and Uncle Lupin will stay here. You want to know more about your parents don't you? Uncle Lupin will tell you more over breakfast tomorrow, and after that, if you feel up to it, we can talk about this again."

"O- Ok, Uncle Dumbledore. Good night, Uncle Dumbledore, Uncle Lupin."

Lupin brought Harry to his bedside. Quietly, he told Harry, "Listen, your parents are just one of the many wizards and witches who have died under Voldemort, directly or indirectly. Come on, drink the potion up; it'll give you a dreamless sleep."

Harry stared into Lupin's eyes. "Uncle Lupin, promise to tell me more tomorrow morning?"

"Sure, Harry. Now, go to sleep."

Harry drank the bittersweet potion. He immediately felt sleepy, though he wasn't before. He frantically tried to hear what Uncle Lupin was saying, but then he fell asleep.

When Harry next awoke it was day, and the bright summer sun shone into his room. His thoughts immediately went to Lupin's promise. Quickly, he made himself ready for breakfast, and went into the dining area, and to his surprise, saw both Lupin and Dumbledore talking. Lupin seemed to sense his arrival, and turned to look at him, cutting off his reply to Dumbledore with a quick "Good morning, Harry."

"Good morning, Uncle Lupin, Uncle Dumbledore."

"Good day ahead too, I presume. Sit down Harry, and listen well. I have to go back on my promise. I can't tell you more about anything until later in the day, because of some meeting I have to go to. Meanwhile, you are free to stay here, or go to any of the Professors in the school to, ah, get some headstart. I personally recommend Aunt McGonagall for Transfiguration, or Uncle Snape for Potions, though I don't think he'll be particularly interested to."

"Ok, Uncle Dumbledore, but can I ask Uncle Lupin to accompany me? I don't want to get lost again." The last time Harry had been allowed out of Dumbledore's office himself he had got lost, and if Dumbledore didn't find him quick enough, he'd have been killed by the three-headed dog in the forbidden third floor corridor.

"Yes, you may. Oh yeah, and I nearly forgot. Yesterday was your birthday, and we had been too busy to celebrate it properly. Here." Dumbledore waved his wand and conjured up a birthday cake with eleven candles glowing brightly on it. He waved his wand again, and the light in the room seemed to be dimmed. After a quick birthday song and wish ("I wish that my parents will get well again."), Harry, Dumbledore and Lupin ate the cake.

"Ok, Harry, I've got to go now. Enjoy your breakfast, and I'll tell you the last of the story tonight. If you are ready."

"Bye, Uncle Dumbledore."

Over a light breakfast Lupin told some stories of his own when he was a teenager in Hogwarts. He was clearly best friends with James Potter, and had helped him out of some sticky situations. James had also helped him in some cases, which Lupin was unwilling to tell of.

After breakfast, Harry asked Lupin to bring him to the Transfiguration Professor to learn a bit about the theory of Transfiguration.

"Simply put, Transfiguration is the art of switching something to another. For example, I have in my left hand, a unicorn horn, but what I really need now is a fish. Hence –" Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and the unicorn horn changed into a fish, which flopped out of her hand.

Professor McGonagall then went on to tell Harry more about Transfiguration, but forbid him to do any Transfiguration now ("You are not allowed to yet. You still know too little."). After spending the morning and some of the afternoon there, Harry decided to do some Charms instead of Potions. He was scared of the Potions Master.

"Charms, Charms, Charms," quipped little Professor Flitwick. "Charms is the art of doing something to help yourself. Imagine, that you have a quill which is out of your reach, but that you are too lazy to walk to it. Hence, you use a Summoning Charm to get it. And, if you want to make something shrink for easy keeping, you can use a Shrinking Hex."

Uncle Flitwick went on to talk about more on his subject, and only stopped when the dinner bell rang.

"You have to go back now, Harry, the bell has rung."

"Ok, see you again, Uncle Flitwick."

Lupin and Harry made their way back to Dumbledore's office, Harry feeling more knowledgeable. Lupin told Harry, "Don't think you have learnt a lot already. The thing is, magic is a very deep subject, and Transfiguration and Charms are but only two methods of magic. There are many others, and what you have learnt today is only but the tip of the iceberg."

Harry looked disgruntled at this.

After dinner, Harry and Lupin made their way to Dumbledore's office again.

"Hello, Harry. I trust that your appearance here means that you are once again ready to learn more about the prophecy and how it has changed your life.

"Recall that the prophecy states that you, Harry, will be the only one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. This means that your seven years of education here in Hogwarts might be more fast-paced then you'd think. While in Hogwarts you are safe from Voldemort, but I cannot expect you to stay here for good. After you graduate, you are free to come back, but only as a guest, because then, it'll be time for you to go out and stop Voldemort from his evil ways.

"In these seven years, you will learn most of the magical knowledge you will need to fight Voldemort. There will be special lessons for you which are held at night to train you in wizard's dueling, advanced Defence against the Dark Arts and so on. All this will tax you out a lot, and thus you are, most of the time, exempted from completing any of the homework any of your teachers set. Also bear in mind that no one should know that this is happening. You are to say that you are down for remedial, be it for Potions, Charms, or DADA.

"Tomorrow morning, you will be Portkeyed to the train station where you will board the train with your fellow schoolmates. You will be sorted, then you will live in one of the House Towers. Remember that under no circumstance are you to call any of your professors using Uncle or Aunt. They are only your uncles and aunts during the summer holidays."

"Ok, Uncle Dumbledore."

"Remember Harry, you are a one of a kind literally. None other has power you possess except Voldemort; none other possess you tragic past. Your parents have been recovering gradually over the last few years, and it is my belief that they will only be able to regain total sanity after Voldemort is destroyed.

"Go and sleep now, Harry. Tomorrow will mean the start of your education at Hogwarts. And you have to be up early for the Portkey. Go."

Harry went to his room. Tomorrow, he would join many others in his quest for knowledge. But no one could join him in his fight for peace, for tranquility, for his parent's sanity.

A/N: That's the third chapter, folks. And, as always,

What will happen in Chapter 4: The Journey

- Harry travels to Hogwarts
- Something happens on the train, and he meets…

One more thing, I will not be able to update religiously from now on, because I've to prepare for school already. But I'll still try to update as much as possible. )

Till then, please R/R. I need the comments and reviews to improve!