Truths
By Neurotica
Thirteen
Sirius and Remus watched as Harry played with a set of magical building blocks. The blocks were charmed not to fall over, no matter how high the stack became.
Remus sighed. "We need to do this," he said to himself as well as Sirius.
Sirius nodded. "I know." He took a deep breath, readying himself for the task at hand. "Okay, let's get it over with."
Sirius stood from his chair in the kitchen and slowly walked into the living room where Harry was playing. Remus followed. Harry smiled as his new guardians sat on either side of him on the floor in front of the fireplace. The two wizards smiled back weakly as Sirius cleared his throat.
"Er, Harry, Remus and I need to discuss a few things with you," Sirius began lamely. When Harry looked at Sirius with a curious expression, Sirius lost his nerve and sent Remus a begging look.
Start from the beginning, I suppose... Remus thought. "Harry," he began hesitantly, "do you know how your mum and dad... died?" He whispered the last part—it was still difficult to admit.
Harry looked surprised at the question, but answered it quickly, as if he'd heard it several times. "Yes, my Aunt Petunia told me they died in a car crash."
Remus would have produced a succession of swear words that would make a professional Quidditch player blush if Sirius hadn't beaten him to it.
They had suspected the Dursleys had not been entirely truthful to Harry when it came to the deaths of Lily and James Potter, but this—it would have been better for Petunia not to have told him anything at all. Saying Lily and James Potter were killed in a Muggle car crash was an insult to their memories.
Once Sirius concluded his rant of curses and hexes he would most like to use on Petunia and Vernon Dursley, he composed himself—still very red in his pale face—and asked Harry in a strangled controlled voice, "What else did they tell you about your parents?"
Harry looked fearfully at Sirius—his outburst had understandably shocked the child—and said, "Th-they told me t-that my dad was a drunk and never had a job. And my mum was a worthless freak."
The tone in which he used to describe what he had been told about his parents suggested that the Dursleys had told him this on more than one occasion. The hatred that Sirius and Remus felt for the Dursleys before this was nothing compared to what they were feeling at the moment.
Remus expected another outburst from Sirius, but the room remained in shocked, horrified silence. Sirius stared at Harry as if he was seeing his godson for the first time ever and was wondering how Harry had appeared before him.
Remus was completely void of all emotion—he had gone numb once more. Not only did Harry know nothing of his world—the world in which he was born, the world to which he belonged—but he'd been told disgusting lies about his parents. What kind of people would lie to a child in such a way?
"First of all, Harry," Sirius spoke in a choked, hushed voice, "your father... James was the best damn Auror of our time. He did have a job, Harry; the Ministry was knocking down his door to get him after we graduated. And he was not a drunk. He never was." Sirius paused. "Your dad was the most amazing man I ever met in my entire life."
Remus continued—Sirius was becoming a bit emotional, "And your mum was most certainly not a 'worthless freak,' Harry. She was a beautiful woman—inside and out. Talented like you wouldn't believe; Lily caught onto things quicker than anyone else in our year, especially when it came to Charms and Potions. She was brilliant, to say the very least, kind, funny... Your parents were remarkable, Harry." I wish you had gotten to know them as we did, he thought to himself.
Sirius picked up the conversation once more. "Second of all, they were not killed in a car crash," he said through gritted teeth. He was still planning the best way to hex Petunia and Vernon—Dudley, too, if he could catch the little pig.
At this, Harry snapped his head to Sirius from where he had been staring at a red block so fast his neck cracked. "They weren't?" he asked.
"No. They were murdered by Lord Voldemort," Sirius replied in a firm voice. Harry looked at him, confusion written all over his face, but before he could ask, Sirius continued. "When the four of us—your parents, Remus, and I—started Hogwarts, there was a bad wizard. At first, people just thought he was nothing important, that he just had a grudge against Muggles and wanted a bit of power. They thought he would be taken care of in a few years. But those few years went by, and disappearances and deaths became more and more frequent. By the time we finished Hogwarts, people were afraid to even speak his name. They thought that saying his name would bring death to their doorsteps. But you should never fear saying Lord Voldemort, Harry; it's pointless to live in fear of a name. Never refer to him as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named or even worse, You-Know-Who." Sirius paused to collect his thoughts before continuing.
"Professor Dumbledore formed a group of witches and wizards to try and stop Voldemort's rise to power. But by that time, Voldemort had supporters and spies everywhere; it was hard to tell who was on his side—willingly or unwillingly." Remus and Sirius exchanged a glance. "They were all over the place.
"We were invited to join Professor Dumbledore's group—the Order of the Phoenix—and we did." Sirius paused again, collecting his thoughts to decide how best to phrase the next part without the elaborate use of swears words. "There used to be a fourth Marauder. In school, he was always the oddball in the group, but we accepted him and loved him as we did each other. His nickname was Wormtail, and he became an Animagus when James and I did. His form was always a—"
"—rat," Harry finished quietly, looking at the floor.
Sirius glanced at Remus, expecting to see the same shock he felt, but Remus looked back calmly and mouthed, Tell you later.
Sirius nodded dumbly and continued. "Right. Well, anyway, after we graduated Wormtail became one of Voldemort's supporters—they're called Death Eaters. But none of us knew until it was too late. Your mum and dad were forced into hiding when you were just over a year old. They were going to use a charm to hide your house. The person who performed this charm was called a Secret-Keeper. That person was the only one who could tell anybody where you were." Sirius sighed sadly and angrily. "At first, I was going to be the Secret-Keeper. But at the last moment, I talked your parents into switching to Wormtail."
"But, I thought—" Harry began.
Remus cut him off quietly. "We didn't know Wormtail was a Death Eater, Harry. Not then, anyway."
Sirius nodded miserably. "Right. So Wormtail became Secret-Keeper. On Halloween night, five years ago this year, Wormtail betrayed you and your parents to Voldemort. He told Voldemort where to find you. Voldemort came. H-he killed your parents, and then he t-tried to kill you..."
"He tried to kill me?" Harry asked in a frightened whisper.
Remus continued for Sirius. "Yes, but instead of doing that, Harry, something happened... The curse meant to kill you backfired on Voldemort. Nobody knows for sure what happened that night—why didn't the curse work? Nobody has ever survived that curse, and here we have a fifteen-month-old baby who lived."
"What happened to Vold-Vol—"
"Voldemort." Harry nodded. "Nobody is sure about that, either. Many think he died, that when the curse backfired it killed him instead of you. But those who are intelligent enough not to believe such things believe that he is still out there somewhere. His powers gone, he's too weak to continue. Now he is less than nothing. That night, Harry, you did something that the entire wizarding community had prayed for for ten years: you rid us of Lord Voldemort."
Harry was stunned. He stared at Remus with wide eyes and gaping mouth. "I-I did?"
Remus nodded. "Yes. That scar on your forehead," he gestured to the lightning bolt shape hidden by Harry's hair, "that's where Voldemort tried to curse you."
Harry ran his fingers across the scar with a new understanding, and a sudden flash of memories. "There was a green light, then someone laughed..." he trailed off, staring at nothing.
Sirius looked at Remus, startled, but Remus looked determinedly at Harry. Must have been that night, he thought sadly.
Harry turned his head slowly to Sirius and whispered, "What happened then?" as if he somehow knew the next part was Sirius'.
Sirius looked down at his hands and slowly began. "I went to your house and found it destroyed. I found your dad, then your mum, and then you. I wanted to take you away from there, to keep you safe, but Hagrid showed up and said Dumbledore wanted you to go to your aunt and uncle's house. I argued a bit, but I had no choice in the end," he looked at Harry with wet eyes, "I had to let him take you, Harry. I'm so sorry. I should have taken you and ran the second I found you."
Harry crawled into Sirius' lap and hugged him tightly. Sirius returned it, sobbing quietly into Harry's messy hair. Remus wiped tears away from his own face silently.
After a few moments, Harry pulled away from Sirius slightly, and wiped a tear from his godfather's face with a small finger. "What then?" he asked.
Sirius smiled faintly before continuing. "Then I went to find Wormtail. I found him in Muggle London. But before I could do anything to him, he yelled to the street that I had betrayed Lily and James. He cut off his right index finger, blew up the street, killed twelve innocent Muggles, transformed into the rat, and disappeared into the sewers. Shortly after, the Ministry arrived. They arrested me for what Wormtail did, not believing I was innocent. I was in prison until eleven days ago."
"What happened eleven days ago?" Harry asked quietly.
Sirius looked at Remus with a slight smile. "Remus found out the truth. He and Dumbledore came and freed me." Remus tried to smile, but only managed to make the corner of his mouth twitch slightly. "Then we came and got you, and now here we are."
Harry nodded. "So that's what those people were talking about?" he asked, remembering Diagon Alley.
Sirius nodded. "They still think I did those things I was arrested for. Even though a lot of people told them I didn't."
Harry nodded again.
Remus cleared his throat and spoke for the first time in many minutes. "Is there anything you would like to ask us, Harry?"
Harry thought for a moment. "Why did Vol-Vold-''
"Voldemort," Remus said for him.
Harry nodded. "Why did he want to kill us?"
Remus looked at Sirius, wondering if he was going to tell Harry of the prophecy. Personally, he didn't think it the best idea at the moment. Sirius seemed to be thinking the same.
"I think we should save that for another time, Harry. Is that okay?" Sirius asked. He didn't want to lie to Harry by telling him his parents were killed because they were in the Order or something, though that was probably part of the reason. Sirius wanted to tell Harry the complete truth, but he felt that there was enough for Harry to think about at the moment.
Harry looked up from where he was still sitting quite comfortably in Sirius' lap and nodded.
"Okay," Sirius said in a final tone.
For long moments, the three sat in silence, each going over what had just been discussed. Remus thought they had done a decent job explaining everything to Harry. It was a hard subject to talk about, especially with someone as young as Harry. But they had decided the best way to do it was not to sugarcoat it, just come out and say it. Sometimes being blunt had its advantages.
Harry had to know; he had to understand what he was facing in the world. But if he didn't, Sirius and Remus would always be there to help him understand and to explain it better.
Sirius had left out details of his time in Azkaban purposefully. He was not yet prepared to delve into the subject of dementors and insane fellow prisoners. Not to Harry, not to Remus, not to anybody. He didn't want to even think about Azkaban; dreaming was more than enough. Perhaps he should start studying Occlumency.
"Sirius?" Remus said, breaking into Sirius' thoughts.
Sirius looked questioningly to his friend and realized that Harry had left his spot in Sirius' lap, and had resumed play with his blocks. Sirius smiled softly. He was pleased that Harry could continue on after the conversation they had just had, though Sirius knew that Harry was still thinking about it.
Sirius stood and attempted his mischievous grin. It worked to some effect: Remus' eyes went wide. "I believe I promised a surprise for the two of you at breakfast."
Harry dropped his block and looked up at Sirius in curiosity and excitement. Remus looked... scared?
Sirius laughed and said, "Be right back."
Without another word, he ran to his bedroom, and emerged seconds later. Again, he didn't seem to be carrying anything.
"Close your eyes," he instructed to Remus and Harry. The latter obeyed, but Remus looked skeptical. "It's nothing bad, Remus," Sirius insisted.
Remus hesitated, but closed his eyes nonetheless. He heard Sirius mutter, "Engorgio" three times before Sirius told them they could open their eyes once more. Remus did so and saw before him a widely grinning Sirius Black standing next to three brand new, shining broomsticks.
Upon seeing Remus' confused, questioning look, Sirius said happily, "Nimbus 950s! Just came out this month! Beautiful, aren't they?"
Neither Harry nor Remus had the reactions Sirius had been expecting. Harry looked perfectly perplexed and Remus looked back with raised eyebrows.
"What?" Sirius asked. "I thought we could teach Harry to fly, and you can't very well do that on the ancient piece of rubbish you've been riding since second year." Remus still had his eyebrows raised. "Okay, okay. I know it was your dad's, but, Moony, you need a new broom." Remus hadn't shifted a bit. Sirius rolled his eyes. "Okay, lower those damn eyebrows or they're going to be a part of your hairline soon. I haven't been able to buy you or Harry anything in five years. Just let me do this for you, okay?"
Remus' expression softened a bit and Sirius saw a ghost of a smile. If Sirius wanted to buy his friends shiny new brooms, who was Remus to stop him? Besides, they were rather nice...
"I get to fly?" Harry asked excitedly, examining one of the broomsticks with curiosity.
"Yep! Just as soon as we get Remus up and outside, we can start teaching you to fly."
Harry ran to where Remus sat and tugged on Remus' arm. "C'mon, Remus! We're going to fly!" the boy said breathlessly.
Remus raised his eyebrows at the small boy; he was barely able to lift Remus' arm. He pulled Harry to him with a squeal of laughter and tickled him.
"Remus!" Harry cried through his laughter. "Stop! Please!"
"Okay, okay," Remus said, releasing Harry with a grin. "Well, what are you two waiting for? If we're going to fly, we need to do it before it gets dark!"
Sirius grinned and threw a broomstick to Remus as he stood. "Last one outside's a Slytherin!" he cried running through the kitchen.
Remus and Harry looked at each other, planning revenge, and headed outside to commence in Harry's first ever flying lesson.
Location Unknown…
Once again, Wormtail was traveling. This time was different, however; this time he wasn't going after Harry Potter…
He had arrived at the home of Lucius Malfoy in the wee hours of the morning after leaving Surrey. Lucius, to say the least, was not thrilled to see his fellow Death Eater on his doorstep. In fact, Lucius had pulled Wormtail over the threshold of Malfoy Manor by his neck, threw him against a wall, and pointed his wand at Wormtail's heart, demanding to know why he was bothering Lucius and his family.
Wormtail stuttered and stammered through the entire story of the past five years—how he had framed Sirius, hidden in a wizarding home, gone after Harry Potter, how Remus and Sirius had beaten him to it.
Lucius was rather impatient as Wormtail explained his newest plan. But Wormtail knew that Lucius was the only Death Eater who would be cunning enough to pull it off—not to mention, Lucius Malfoy was filthy rich…
In the end, after a great deal of stuttering from Wormtail and looks of disgust from Lucius, Lucius agreed. Now Wormtail was on a new mission. This one could possibly mean a huge surprise for the wizarding world. But Wormtail was determined to right his wrongs from five years ago. And now that Sirius was free once more, he needed something big to happen.
He didn't know where he was headed, but he had once again enlisted the help of a few rats. All he knew was that he was deep inside a very dark forest. Silence surrounded him—the rats refused to accompany him. Apparently, all small animals avoided this place for fear of being eaten by the "shadows."
Out of the corner of his eye, Wormtail spotted something slithering between the trees, across the black ground.
At that very moment, phase one of Wormtail's mission was complete.