A/N: If you recognize it, it's not mine.

Chapter Two: Reality Sinks In

The next morning, Lindsey woke up to find that she was the only one left in the room. She sat up and looked at the clock across the room; it was already eleven o'clock. She got up, went down the hall and the stairs, and made her way to the kitchen, hoping there was some food left.

"Good morning, Lindsey!" Mrs. Weasley said as Lindsey walked into the kitchen. "What would you like for breakfast?"

"Just some toast and jam," Lindsey answered as she sat down at the table with everyone else. The she added as an afterthought, "And some orange juice."

Lindsey looked up to see Harry sitting across from her, staring into space. He had a longing look in his eyes and hadn't noticed her joining them. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were looking at Lindsey and her brother with a mix of fear and apprehension. Lindsey's mind had just began to wander, trying to figure out what was going on, when Mrs. Weasley placed her breakfast in front of her.

"Thank you," she said, as she snapped back to reality.

She began to eat her breakfast, trying to ignore the stares from Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. She was almost finished when she realized Harry had barely touched his breakfast. He was still staring at nothing, lost in thought. The longing was still in his eyes, but there was also a hint of sadness mixed in. It looked as if he was staring at the pantry, so Lindsey looked at it also to try and figure out what had captured Harry's attention. She contemplated what could possibly be causing him to be so quiet She picked up her glass of orange juice and continued to let her mind wander.

Lindsey vaguely noticed Ron, Hermione, and Ginny staring intently at her and her brother. She was about to ask what was bothering them when she froze, her glass halfway to her mouth.

We're at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place...Number Twelve Grimmauld Place...Lindsey thought to herself, finally realizing what must be going through Harry's mind at this very moment. The last time we were here, Sirius was too...The last time we were here, Sirius was alive… She was beyond tears for the moment; she was in shock. She felt like she would never be happy again. How could they bring us back here? These thoughts plagued her for another twenty minutes as she stared into nothingness, sadness now in her eyes, missing her godfather more than ever, until she was snapped back to reality as Lupin entered the room.

"Wow," Lupin said, an amazed look on his face. "For a second, I swore I was looking at Lily and James."

"I know," Mrs. Weasley agreed. "It's amazing how much they look like their parents. Every time I see them they look more and more like Lily and James. Someday, we may not be able to tell the difference."

"The only difference is their eyes. Harry has Lily's eyes." Lupin was telling the truth, of course. Harry had his father's untidy, spiky, jet-black hair, plus his looks, height, and build. They could have been clones, except Harry had his mother's striking, emerald green eyes.

"And Lindsey has the same hazel eyes as James." Mrs. Weasley's description was right on the money. Lindsey's long, flowing, red hair was identical to her mother's, along with her figure, stature, and appearance. In fact, she was identical to her mother, except for her large, hazel eyes she had inherited from her father.

Lindsey barely took any notice to their conversation. This wasn't the first time someone had mentioned how much she and Harry looked like their parents, whom they hadn't seen since that fateful night fifteen years ago. Damn Voldemort... she thought to herself angrily, but before she could finish her train of thought, Lupin addressed her and her brother.

"I see you two are finally up," Lupin said, causing Harry to finally break away from his train of thought.

Mrs. Weasley started for the door, sensing the need for privacy. "I'll leave you three alone," she said. "Hermione, Ron, Ginny, could you help me upstairs?"

"Ok."

"Yeah."

"Sure."

Mrs. Weasley quickly left the room, followed reluctantly by Hermione, Ginny, and Ron. Lupin joined Lindsey and Harry at the table. He could tell by the looks in their eyes that it was beginning to sink in exactly where they were.

"I know how depressing it is for the two of you to be back in this house," Lupin said, getting little response from the gloomy twins. "I can barely stand to be in this house myself. Sirius was the last of my old school friends left, and now he's gone."

Lindsey had forgotten how close Lupin and Sirius had become this past year. She felt a little guilty when she realized that she and Harry were not the only ones greatly affected by Sirius' death.

"I can't possibly know how the two of you are feeling," Lupin continued, "having to deal with so much loss in your young lives, but I'll always be there for you."

"Thanks," Harry mumbled, looking past Lupin.

"Thank you, Professor Lupin," Lindsey said.

"I haven't been your professor for years," Lupin told them. "And call me Remus, I am your godfather now."

That got Harry and Lindsey's attention. They looked at Lupin with disbelief and exclaimed, "You're our what?"

"I'm your godfather now."

The twins sat there, staring at Lupin, trying to make sense of this new information. Lupin...I mean, Remus, is our godfather now...This all seems so surreal...This is definitely what Sirius would of wanted...

Lindsey was brought out of this daze when Lupin added, "Now on to more important matters. Since his attack on the Ministry of Magic a couple months ago, Voldemort has done nothing to warrant our attention. Even the Death Eaters have been unusually quiet. The Order is quite sure he is planning something, something big, but we have no idea what this could be. We are constantly on the lookout for anything that might point us in the right direction."

"Is there anything we need to worry about?" Harry asked.

"No more than the usual. Just promise me you will both stay out of trouble and not wander the grounds late at night," Lupin added.

"We promise," Lindsey said.

"Yeah, we'll try," Harry added.

"As you may or may not of heard, Arthur Weasley is the new Minister of Magic. Fudge resigned shortly after Voldemort's last attack."

"Really?" the twins chorused, looks of astonishment plastered on both of their faces.

"Yes, really. I'm surprised Ron or Ginny hadn't told you already. They were probably just too excited to see you two," Lupin answered, standing up. "Well, right now I have to be going. But before I go, I just wanted to tell both of you that I know how much you cared for Sirius, and I will always be here for you. Just send me an owl if you need me."

Lupin walked over to Harry and Lindsey and hugged them. It was a very fatherly hug. Within seconds, Lindsey was in tears, finally processing everything that had been said. She hugged her new godfather tighter and whispered, "I miss him, I miss him so much."

"I do too," Lupin whispered back, "I do too."

After a minute or two more of silence, Lupin broke off the hug, said goodbye to the twins, and then left. Harry and Lindsey went upstairs to think about the conversation they just had, both wishing they had a pensive.

Weeks passed with nothing out of the ordinary happening. Everything was fine, except for the fact that Lindsey and Harry were unusually quiet, which bothered Ron, Hermione, and Ginny. They figured it had to do with Sirius' death, but wished their friends would talk about it. Their wish soon came true.

Two weeks before they would all be going back to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harry and Lindsey finally opened up to their friends.

After lunch, the five of them went up to Ron and Harry's room to play a few rounds of Exploding Snap. Before long, Lindsey became bored with the game. She retired to looking out the window at the bright blue sky, and was soon lost in thought.

Before she could stop herself, she found herself saying to no one in particular, "Why did we have to lose him, too?"

Everyone turned around to look at her as she said this. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny looked surprised, while Harry just looked mournful.

"Lose who, Lindsey?" Hermione asked, already knowing the answer, but wanting to hear her friend actually say it.

"Sirius," Harry and Lindsey said dejectedly together.

"I'm so sorry you guys," Ginny said.

"Yeah, I know how much he meant to both of you," Ron added.

"It's just not fair!" Lindsey exclaimed, raising her voice a little. She brought her knees up to her chest, wrapped her arms around them, and continued to stare out the window. "First we grow up without our parents, and then we get Sirius taken away."

"It's all my fault," Harry said guiltily. "If I had tried harder to master Occlumency, we would of never gone to the Department of Mysteries, and Sirius would still be alive."

"It's not your fault," Hermione said.

"It's Bellatrix Lestrange's fault," Ron told them.

"It's You-know-who's fault," Ginny added.

"You have no reason to blame yourselves, either of you," Hermione said sternly.

They were silent for a while, wondering what to say.

"I wish I could of caused Bellatrix more pain, make her feel an ounce of the pain we've gone through," Harry said suddenly, a vengeful look in his eye.

"What do you mean?" Ron asked timidly.

"Well...um..." Harry started, looking anywhere but at their prying eyes. "I used the Cruciatus Curse on her, but it wasn't very strong." He hung his head once he had finished, avoiding their stunned faces.

"You used an Unforgivable Curse?" Hermione asked, her voice full of fear. "But it's illegal!"

"Why wasn't it strong?" Ginny asked, her curiosity getting the best of her. "You're one of the strongest wizards our age."

"It wasn't strong because I didn't enjoy causing the pain," he told them.

"Did you at least cause her some pain?" Lindsey asked maliciously. "Because she deserved it."

"Yes, it caused her pain, but only for a second. It was barely enough to knock her off of her feet," he answered.

"What were you thinking, using an Unforgivable Curse? You could go to Azkaban for that!" Hermione exclaimed, the fear in her voice becoming more pronounced.

"I DON'T CARE!" Harry yelled. "SHE KILLED SIRIUS - SHE DESERVED IT!"

Ron, Ginny, and Hermione looked fearfully at Harry, clearly remembering his ranting last summer. Lindsey, on the other hand, just nodded in agreement.

"I just wish I could of KILLED HER!" Harry bellowed, furiously.

"Killing her won't do anything," Ginny said quietly.

"Sirius wouldn't want you to become a murderer," Hermione said, a pleading look in her eyes.

"That won't matter in the end," Harry muttered to himself.

"And plus, Voldemort is the reason all of this happened! Voldemort put that vision in your head!" Lindsey exclaimed. "Voldemort is the one to blame for Sirius' death! If I ever face him, I will kill him!"

"No you won't," Harry said quietly. He was no longer angry; he sounded depressed.

"What do you mean, no I won't?" she snapped at him.

"I meant exactly what I said, you won't kill him. Why? Because I'm the only one who can!" Harry shot back angrily, although the anger didn't reach to his saddened eyes.

"What?" Lindsey and Ron asked in disbelief, while Ginny stared at him open-mouthed and Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle the gasp that has escaped.

"Dumbledore told me about a prophecy made by Professor Trelawney..."

Hermione snorted, and Harry glared at her before continuing.

"This prophecy was the one the Death Eaters were after at the Department of Mysteries. It said: 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..." Harry recited from memory the prophecy that had played itself over and over in his mind all summer. After a couple minutes of silence he added, "The strange part is, this could of applied to either me or Neville, but Voldemort chose me and marked me as his equal."

They all stared at Harry in disbelief. Finally, Ron asked what they were all dying to know. "So what exactly does it mean?"

"It means that either I kill Voldemort or Voldemort kills me."

Everyone was quiet again, lost in thought. I Whoa, /I Lindsey thought to herself, I can't believe this. Harry is the only one that can defeat Voldemort. And if Harry is killed, there will be no one to stop him. This is a lot to take in. No wonder Harry's been so distant this summer...

Lindsey was pulled out of thought when Hermione broke the silence. "What is the power you have that Voldemort doesn't know about?"

"I don't know," Harry answered. "Dumbledore didn't give me a straight answer. He just told me that the power saved me when Voldemort possessed me, because he couldn't bear to possess a body so full of the force he detests, whatever it may be."

"So let me get this straight, you are the only one who will be able to defeat Voldemort?" Lindsey asked.

"Yes," Harry said, his words laced with sorrow and frustration.

"I'm so sorry," Ginny said, putting her hands on his.

Hermione couldn't help herself anymore, she had to know. "Professor Trelawney made that prophecy? How can you be sure it's true?"

"It is one of two real predictions she has actually made. She made the other the night we went to the Shrieking Shack and Wormtail escaped."

"How do you know there predictions are true?" Hermione asked, still skeptical.

"Well, when I witnessed her prediction about Wormtail returning to Voldemort, she went kind of rigid, her voice was harsh, and she didn't remember what she had said afterwards," Harry explained. This seemed to be enough proof for Hermione, because she didn't push the subject any further.

The room soon fell silent again, all five of them going over the conversation that had taken up most of the afternoon in their minds. Lindsey was soon oblivious to her surroundings, so many thoughts running wild though her head. Soon her thoughts were back on Sirius. She stared around the room, once again remembering exactly where she was.

Before she could stop herself, she whispered, "I miss him so much!" Then yelled, "And I hate being in this bloody house!"

Harry just nodded his head in agreement and continued to stare at the corner of the room, letting his thoughts take over again. Ron, Hermione, and Ginny looked at Lindsey sympathetically, not knowing what to say.

After a little while longer, the silence was broken again, this time by Mrs. Weasley, who had appeared at the door. "Dinner will be ready shortly. Why don't you all wash up and come downstairs to the kitchen?" With that, she turned around and headed back to the kitchen.

Five minutes later, all five of them went downstairs for dinner, being very careful not to wake the dreadful portrait of Mrs. Black. No one wanted to hear her tirade on mudbloods and blood-traitors. They entered the kitchen to find that besides the Weasleys, Lupin and Tonks would be eating with them also.

The meal went by mostly in silence. Mrs. Weasley's attempt to start a nice conversation was no more successful than Tonks' crazy changes in appearance. Finally, near the end of the meal, a conversation actually started.

"Ginny, congratulations on becoming a prefect," Lupin told here. "Your mother told me earlier."

Ginny blushed a little and mumbled a thank you. She was almost as embarrassed as Ron had been last summer, when he had found out that he had been made a prefect.

"Congratulations!" Tonks, Harry, Lindsey, and Hermione said together. It seemed as if Ginny had only told her family about becoming a prefect.

"So Ginny, what would you like for becoming a prefect?" Mrs. Weasley asked matter-of-factly.

Ginny blushed again. "Well, I'd like a new broomstick," she told her mother, "but it doesn't have to be anything fancy."

"I'll see what I can do," Mrs. Weasley told her only daughter. "Maybe you can come with me to pick it out when we go to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

Once everyone had finished their dinner and the table had been cleared, they went upstairs to their bedrooms to go to sleep. They all knew Mrs. Weasley would be waking them up early the next morning to go to Diagon Alley.

A/N: Please review. It only takes a minutes.

silentalibis