Author's Notes – Yeah I'm finished at last, I have finished School for ever - author leaps up and runs around the room screaming loudly- rather I finished writing my exams on Wednesday, I finished school about five weeks ago but I didn't post last night because well I went out to party! Ended up going to see the Village, which is a good movie and you should go and see it!

Back to the Story. A couple of people said they were confused after the last chapter. I'm not sure why, but I'll do my best to clear up any confusion. There is a bit at the end of the chapter if you are still confused!

Thank you to all those people who have reviewed and a special thanks to my beta reader, the-dreamer4.

-Chapter Eighteen-

Hope

In the absence of light, darkness prevails.
Hellboy

"Your mother was the first I had suspected for a long time. I suspected even more so when I saw you for the first time. I still didn't know; I wasn't sure. But now-" Dumbledore held his hands up, palms to the ceiling, "I know."

"Professor, what makes you so sure? It just might be coincidence," Harry said, although he thought he already knew the answer.

"A number of reasons: you pulled Gryffindor's sword out of the sorting hat for one. Even then I still wasn't sure. However, only an Heir of one of the founders can Apparate or Disapparate inside this castle, which means that you are the Heir of one of the founders."

Harry did not know how to begin to feel or look, he just gaped at Dumbledore. 'What about Dudley, my aunt?' a small voice inside his head said.

"Don't you just mean descendant, and not Heir? What about my cousin and aunt?" he managed to say at length.

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said, looking positively delighted. "That is where your eyes become significant. Only one person per generation has had Gryffindor's eyes. Your cousin and aunt are descendants of Gryffindor, however you are his Heir. You are probably tired of hearing this, but you have your mother's eyes."

It took Harry a long time to walk back to Gryffindor Tower. He hardly noticed where his feet were carrying him. He was unexpectedly brought back to reality by Peeves.

"What's Potter wee Potter doing walkings around all on his lonesomes?"

Harry spun around to see Peeves floating alone behind him.

"Go away Peeves," he said before turning around and carrying on walking.

"Oh, are you hearing voices?" Something hit Harry hard in the back, but he kept on walking, although he could barely contain his anger.

Something else hit his back. "Attacking students again is we?" Peeves continued floating in midair just behind him.

Harry clenched his fist. It was ridiculous that he was so angry. Peeves had always done this. But it wasn't just Peeves that made him angry. Yet again he was not normal. Now, on top of being the-boy-who-lived, and the one the prophecy spoke of who was meant to defeat Voldemort, he was the bloody Heir of Gryffindor.

Again something hit his back, Peeves was laughing gleefully, "Or seeing visions?"

That was it. Something inside him snapped.

He spun around on his heel, and although he had no idea what he was doing, he flicked his right hand at Peeves as if to backhand him, although he was too far away to make contact. Peeves flew violently backwards into a suit of armour. The laughter died on his lips.

Harry turned again in the silence that had descended, and continued walking. He soon realised that he was nowhere near Gryffindor Tower. He was instead standing outside the Room of Requirement. This puzzled him for a good few minutes, and he had actually turned around and begun the walk back to the common room before he remembered about the Slytherins he was supposed to be meeting after the DA meeting had finished.

Laughing at the fact that his feet had more idea about where he wanted to go than he did, he pushed open the door and went inside.

Cressida Moon was standing staring unseeingly out of a window; Blaise Zabini was pacing up and down the length of the room. Both looked around when he walked in.

Cressida Moon was outraged, "You tell us to come back when the meeting is over, and then you're not here!"

She was waiting for an explanation, or perhaps even an apology.

"The meeting didn't finish, it was, er, interrupted," Harry supplied lamely. "Anyway I'm here now."

Blaise Zabini was eyeing him suspiciously, "What do you mean interrupted?"

Harry sighed deeply, but figured they were bound to hear about it somehow, and he had rather they hear the truth, or as much of the truth as he could tell them. Therefore, he told them what Dumbledore had told Ron and the others.

When he had finished Cressida Moon said, "But the wards-"

"Were down, but are back up now," Harry said realising just how many times he was going to have to explain this!

"But how did you-" Cressida Moon looked slightly embarrassed, "I mean you're not of age, and don't you live with Muggles?"

"I don't see what that's got to do with anything," Harry said slightly defensively.

"I don't mean like that," Cressida Moon cried impatiently. "I meant, how did you learn to Apparate?"

Harry paused before asking, not sure what to say. "I didn't, it just kind've happened."

Blaise Zabini was still shooting suspicious looks at him. "Well, are you going to let us join or not?" he said after a long pause.

"I still don't really understand why you're here," Harry said slowly.

"We've already told you," Cressida Moon hissed angrily. "We want to join."

"But why?" Harry said. "I mean, why would you? I'm a Gryffindor."

"So you're saying because we're Slytherins we can't join?" Blaise Zabini said heatedly

"No, I didn't say that," said Harry. "Why do you want to join the DA when I'm a Gryffindor and not a pureblood?"

"Neither are we," Cressida Moon said quietly. "Purebloods I mean; my mum was Muggleborn."

"My dad was too," stated Blaise Zabini looking at the floor, as if this was something shameful.

"What's that got to- oh," Harry had just realised the implications of having a Muggleborn parent and being a Slytherin. Blaise Zabini shifted uncomfortably.

"But I just don't know why you want to join. So you're a half-blood, so am I, so's Voldemort." Both Cressida Moon and Blaise Zabini flinched horribly when he said Voldemort's name. "So's half the school," Harry said feeling rather irritated, "but that still isn't a reason."

Neither Cressida Moon nor Blaise Zabini said anything. They were both staring at Harry like he was mad. Finally Cressida Moon broke the tense silence. "How do you know?" she said in barely a whisper.

"Because being a half-blood just isn't a reason," Harry said gritting his teeth. "Lots of the people in the DA are Muggleborn, others are half-bloods and others are pureblood. It doesn't matter. It's not important. Look, are you going to give me the real reason, or should I just leave?"

"No, I mean yes," Cressida Moon said quickly.

Blaise Zabini clarified, "We've already said we would like to join so that we will be able to defend ourselves against the Dark Lord and his supporters."

"Because we're half-bloods," continued Cressida Moon in a whisper, "and we don't agree with their opinions."

There was no need to ask who 'they' were, that was only too clear. Harry considered this, rolling options around. "I'll have to think about this, and talk to the others, before I get back to you," he said.

Cressida Moon smiled; clearly, this was more than she had dared to hope for. Blaise Zabini, on the other hand, frowned.

"Great, just great," he sneered. "So you're going to leave our fate up to the likes of Weasley?"

"Oi, Ron happens to be my friend," Harry said sharply. He had a funny feeling that something very significant had just been revealed but he could not quite see it. "I can't do anything without talking to the others. It wouldn't be fair to them."

"Come on Cressida. If Weasley has a say in whether we join or not, we might as well not have bothered," Blaise Zabini said, starting towards the door. "Let's go."

"No," insisted Cressida Moon shaking her head so her curls fell in her face. "How can you give up so easily? Haven't we talked about this for long enough?" She reached out and took hold of his arm. "If we leave now, there will be no coming back, no second choices, or chances. Please, please-"

She sounded as if she might burst into tears at any moment, as she shook his arm roughly.

"It's alright for you," Blaise Zabini said heatedly. "You don't have to, not yet anyway, but I do. I turn seventeen before Christmas, and you know what that means! It was a stupid idea even coming here. If they ever find out, and they will if Weasley has anything to do with it, then it's over. We should just leave now, before it gets any worse."

Harry stood transfixed, unable for the moment to understand half of what was being said.

"It's not over," Cressida Moon said. She was crying now. "It's not. Not if we do this, this is our one chance, don't you see that? If Potter-"

"Yeah, but it's not only Potter is it?" said Blaise Zabini. "It's people like Weasley, Longbottom, and Finnegan. Do you really think that they will allow us to join, that they will be able to see past the length of their own noses, let alone past us being Slytherins, and let Potter let us join?"

Harry just started to say something very angry in defence of his friends, but Cressida Moon beat him to it.

"Blaise, it's the only chance we've got," Cressida Moon was crying even more heavily. "You haven't got much time. I'm sure they're not as bad as you're always saying. If we don't, we might as well be dead. Maybe you've changed, but I could never… never do-"

"So what must I have changed?" Blaise Zabini said quietly, his voice bursting with suppressed anger. "Just because I am realistic enough to see the truth, you think that I'd ever consider doing that. I'd rather die first!"

"Then why does it make any difference? Why not do it? This is our only chance to live, don't you understand that?" Cressida Moon said as the tears streamed down her face. "Please?"

Blaise Zabini sighed, looked down at her tear-stained face and nodded. Cressida Moon smiled and hugged him. Harry stood and looked on, feeling confused. He realised that something of epic proportion had just happened, but he had no idea as to what it was or what it meant.

"I take that to mean I should speak to the others about you two joining the DA?" Harry said uncertainly.

Cressida Moon, who had released Blaise, looked at him, and he nodded at Harry. "Yeah, you might as well."

When Harry entered the common room later, he was pleased to see it empty apart from Ron, Hermione, Neville and Ginny, who were sitting by the dying fire speaking in quiet voices. They turned as one when the portrait swung open.

Harry sunk down gratefully in a chair next to Neville, sighed and closed his eyes. His head was aching even more than it had been when he had left Dumbledore's office.

"Well, are you going to tell us how it happened?" Ginny said into the silence.

Harry sighed again, but did not open his eyes. "You were there, you saw what happened."

Someone, he presumed it was Hermione, cleared her throat. "But how did you do it? Apparate I mean?"

He opened his eyes at that; he didn't think he was ready to tell them that just yet. "Dumbledore told you about the wards-"

"No, not that," Hermione said forcefully. "We know about that part."

"When did you learn how to Apparate? Is that what Dumbledore was talking to you about after we left?" Ron asked quickly.

"Er, yeah, but I didn't actually learn. I don't think I could do it again if I wanted to," he said slowly.

"But then how?" Neville sounded incredulous.

"I think I've done it before," Harry said slowly, "before I knew I was a wizard."

He told them about Dudley's gang chasing him, and about ending up on the kitchen roof.

"What was that?" Ginny said, sitting up quickly.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"That sound, didn't you hear it?" Ginny looked towards the boys' stairs.

No one said anything for a moment.

Hermione got up and disappeared up the stairs; Ron too stood up. Harry was too tired to do anything but sit there. There was silence in the common room, until they heard footsteps coming quietly down the stairs. Hermione appeared a few seconds later.

"There's nothing there," she said as she sat down again.

"I still don't understand where you've been all this time," Ginny said slowly looking at Harry. "We left ages ago, and from what you've said, it doesn't sound like Dumbledore said much. So where've you been?"

Harry sighed, before answering, "I went back to the Room of Requirement."

"Why?" Ron said bluntly.

"Well, you remember those Slytherins who came in at the start of the meeting? Well, I went back to talk to them."

"What?" Ron said looking furious. "Whatever for?"

"They want to join the DA, but I don't think we should talk about that now. I'm really tired and I want to go to bed, not fight about Slytherins."

They did, however, stay up a long time talking, trying to make sense of the Apparation. Harry did not, however, tell them about being the Heir of Gryffindor. He wasn't ready to tell them that yet, nor would he tell them any more about the Slytherins. He did make them promise not to mention it again until they had talked about it. though he knew this would be useless he did not however. When the fire had really died, they did get up and slowly went to bed.

It was not long before Ron had brought up the Slytherins again, at breakfast the following morning.

"Not now Ron, later I promise," Harry said. He was for the moment much more interested in a letter, which a barn owl had just delivered to him. He did not recognise the owl, or the handwriting on the envelope.

Harry Potter
Gryffindor Table
Great Hall
Hogwarts School

Was what it proudly proclaimed, in dark blue ink. He flipped it over. There was no seal and there was nothing unusual about the heavy parchment envelope that most of the Wizarding World used.

"What's the matter, Harry?" Hermione asked, as she read the Daily Prophet, a piece of toast in one hand.

"Nothing, I was just wondering who this was from," he said waving the letter at her.

"Why don't you open it and then you'll know," Ron said slightly grumpily.

"Thanks Ron, you know I would never have thought of doing that on my own," Harry said. "What would I do without you? I just haven't had any post at school since Snuffles died."

Harry did not notice the looks of amazement that the others gave him. It was the first time he had mentioned Sirius' death without someone else bringing it up first, and without stumbling over the words. In all truth seeing the Veil again and understanding how, or some of how, Sirius had died had helped him. It had unblocked him. He still felt guilty about it, but he felt something else now too: hope.

(Author's Notes – I so nearly left it there, but that would be mean. However it really is a great place to end a chapter, but for the fact that it makes the letter too big! So I didn't.)

Harry opened the letter to see the same blue ink spelling out these words:

Hi Harry

I guess you thought you'd never get a letter from us, but you were wrong! Fred and I were having a disagreement about what sort of wand you've got. I say you've got a unicorn and holly wand, and Fred says you've got a unicorn and oak wand. We even asked Tonks about it, but she says she doesn't know. So if you could just let us know, it would once and for all prove that I am right!

Could you please ask Ron and Ginny if Percy also sent them letters? And if he did, tell them that they are on no account to forgive him. Thanks

George Weasley

Harry laughed hard when he read this; it was so typical of the twins to be having a disagreement about what sort of wand he had. He handed the letter to Ron, who frowned at the last bit.

"I wondered if Percy had sent them letters as well," Ron said sighing. Hermione took the letter as Ron handed it to her.

"But you are going to forgive him, aren't you?" she asked.

"No, I'm not," Ron said flatly. "Why should I? And don't start on about how he's my brother and how I should give him a second chance-"

"But you should, he's clearly sorry for what he did," Hermione said handing the letter back to Harry.

"Why? Don't say because he's my brother?" Ron said angrily. "I can't, not after all those things he said about Harry."

"He said he was sorry, didn't he? What more do you want?" Hermione said picking up her paper again. Harry was doing his best not to listen to them as they continued to argue, and pulling a quill from his bag, he quickly wrote a short reply to George.

Ron and Hermione continued to bicker all the way through Care of Magical Creatures. Harry tried his best to ignore them, but it was made harder by the fact that they both continually asked him to support their side.

"Ron can make up his own mind," Harry told Hermione for what felt like the tenth time, after she had asked him to tell Ron to forgive Percy. "It's up to you," he would tell Ron, when Ron asked him to do the opposite.

During Transfiguration, Hermione tried to get Harry on her side without Ron being there. He spent most of the lesson with her hissing in his ear. It came as a relief to him when McGonagall asked him to remain behind after class. Thinking it had something to do with the fact that he had been distracted during class, Hermione went on to lunch without him.

"Well, Potter, there no need to look so nervous. You haven't done anything wrong for once," McGonagall said. "I just need you to write out a statement about Umbridge's detentions last year and then sign it."

"Just about the detentions?" Harry asked.

"Yes, just the detentions," she said, and then frowned. "There wasn't anything else, was there?"

"Er, no there wasn't." he said quickly.

McGonagall was still frowning at him. Harry had the distinct impression that she did not believe him. "Very well, Potter."

Author's Notes – So here's an overview of the last couple of chapters. Harry is the Heir of Gryffindor, and yes you've all heard that before, but on his mother's side this time. The trademark of the Heirs are their eyes, emerald green, and as everyone has said about a million times, Harry has his mother's eyes. Dumbledore's reasoning is like this. Only an Heir of one of the four founders can Apparate inside Hogwarts. Therefore Harry is the Heir of one of the founders. He can't be Slytherin's Heir, since the only one is Voldemort. The Heir of Gryffindor has emerald green eyes, and I'm sorry but that's not that common. Harry, and Harry's mother had emerald green eyes, therefore Harry is the Heir of Gryffindor! QED

I hope that clarifies that! Let me know if you're still confused, and I'll try to explain it more clearly. I've only just realised that I have expressed my opinion about the gender of Blaise Zabini, oh well only time will tell! The next chapter (or chapters, as the case may be) will be up within the next couple of days.