Shadowed Truth

Author's Note: English is not my mother tongue so be warned. I don't know where this story is going but I just couldn't not write this. The idea kinda stuck in my head. I don't have a beta reader so bear with me on this account. Well, enough with this. On with the story.

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is not mine. Everything belongs to JKR and I only do this for my enjoyment and not for any profit or money.

Chapter 1- Let the games begin

The last day of school was always hectic. Students were running around and packing, while some were just relieved that they could finally go home. Therefore it was probably the strangest thing that the library, at this time of the year usually completely empty, wasn't abandoned. At a lonely table, in one of the farthest corners, sat one Harry James Potter, current Gryffindor and bane of Voldemort's existence. Of course, the fact that the resident know-it-all and best friend of Harry Potter Hermione Granger was not there, hovering over him, was something that would make everyone curious.

Yes, it was very unusual to see Harry so interested in a book or so serious. It was a big book and most likely not used often. The dust on the cover showed that quite clearly.

Nevertheless, the young Gryffindor was reading it with uttermost care and muttering from time to time while waving his wand.

Arcane Artifacts- How to find them and not get yourself killed was written on the cover in bold, golden letters.

A sudden smile lit up his face as he closed the book. With his black robes billowing behind him, he strode out of the library. In his haste to leave, he didn't notice the shadow lurking behind the bookshelves.


"But Albus…" Minerva McGonagall was a formidable woman. She had always been independent and stubborn, which was one of the reasons why the sorting hat had placed her into Gryffindor. Many men had covered before her, students and adults alike were hesitant to cross her, if they ever dared, but one man had always been able to convince her: Albus Dumbledore. She cursed again, angry at herself that he had been able to do it again. No matter what she did, he always won in the end.

"You know, my dear, that I only want the best for you. You are not in the condition to go on active missions like these." Albus said calmly but firmly. His hands settled on her shoulders, his eyes meeting hers. "Do not argue with me, Minerva. We've already been through this and before you say anything else, I have another very important mission for you."

Minerva raised her eyebrows. This, she hadn't expected.

"I'm worried about Harry. You know how he's been lately and it concerns me. I know that his life at the Dursley's is not all sunshine and roses and that they treat him not how relatives should treat their kin." His face reflected the guilt he felt. He probably wouldn't forgive himself for doing this to the poor boy but it was necessary to preserve the wards. "Although Alastor and the rest of the order are threatening Harry's family at the moment, I will not take the risk of him being mistreated. Harry's already in a delicate condition because of Sirius' death. I will not repeat such a mistake again."

Minerva's face softened. She knew how much grief it cost Albus to leave Harry with them. Every single year he blamed himself, sometimes going even as far as crying himself to sleep in her arms. She hugged him without the slightest hesitation.

"So, I guess you're asking me to look after him in cat form?" She smiled as Albus nodded. Yes, it would be a good thing.

"You're as always too perceptive, my dear. Yes, that's what I want you to do. I know that he needs some time to deal with his emotions and I do not think he'd want to have someone following him. As a cat, your presence wouldn't be too oppressive. Here, wear this amulet. It will mask your magical signature and hide you from detectors, as well as magical sense. It is automatically a portkey to Hogwarts, as well as a recording and communicative device. You should be safe and if something happens, alert the rest of the order at once. Your health is very important to me and the rest of us, so don't overdo it." His voice turned stern but the usual twinkle returned to his eyes.

Together they walked out of his office, the calming song of Fawkes drifting around them and giving them new hope.


"Crucio!" His nerves were burning and his body screaming. In his mind, he cursed repeatedly the day he took the dark mark. Severus Snape wasn't a very nice person. Well, not to many people anyway and no one could deny the fact that he favored Slytherins, although few knew that most of his favoritism and greasy git attitude was only a façade to help him spy. But one thing that those who knew him could say with absolute certainty was that he had always been and would always be loyal to the end and too stubborn for his own good. It was remarkable that he spied on the evilest Dark Lord in existence and it was even more remarkable that he succeeded.

Voldemort cancelled the spell. Apparently, he was not yet willing to make his potion master insane.

"Next time you should bring me better results, Sssseverus. It is obvious that the old fool has been giving Potter occlumency lessons and you didn't inform me of that. I can't enter his mind anymore. You are worthless to me if you do not bring me valuable information." He whispered menacingly.

"Yes, my lord. I will not disappoint you." Severus' voice was steady, even though he was barely able to stand. He stepped back into the inner circle.

"Luciusss!" The shout resonated in the dark throne room, while the shadows danced as the flames on the candles moved.

The blond man glided forward and dropped to one knee, bowing to the snakelike creature in front of him. Voldemort petted the hissing Nagini, who slithered to his side.

"Have you made any progress?" He was, obviously, very interested in this information and Severus filed that for later consideration.

"Yes, master. I have found some of the artifacts on the black wizard market. It shouldn't be a problem to buy them, as most of the sellers are eager to help you in achieving your goal. But there seems to be another party that is interested in these artifacts. I do not yet know who that is but I will find out."

The Dark Lord looked to be in deep thought but no one dared to break the silence.

"How… interesting. Find out who wants them and why. Do not kill them, …yet. They may be of use to me." With a wave of his hand he dismissed the death eaters who left as fast as was humanly possible.

This was very informative. He decided that Albus had to know. Whatever these artifacts were, if Voldemort wanted them then nothing good could come out of it. With a silent pop he apparated away.


Harry shivered. Even though the threat of Moody seemed to be working for now, he was not sure how long his luck would hold. The Dursley's were, unfortunately, a family that, while believing in everything normal, had no idea what rational thought meant. Not in the long run, at least. While the fear towards his friends out weighted Vernon's hate for him for now, no one could predict what would happen tomorrow. Harry shivered again as he remembered the endless beatings and abuse he received at the hands of his so called relatives. It never had been easy to escape the Dursley's but somehow he always managed to stay as far away as possible from them. He loved to run in the middle of the night and no one had discovered his secrets or his passion for this thrill. After he entered the wizarding world everything seemed to have gotten a lot more complicated, but he still somehow managed to escape on some nights.

He sighed as he realized that he wouldn't have that much time now that he had a task to do. The tense silence in the car continued to hold and he wished as he had done many times before to be at Hogwarts.

Fate doesn't like me.

He didn't know how right he was.


Number twelve, Grimmauld Place was as uninviting as always. The décor was done in dark colors and gave the whole place a depressive and friendless atmophere. The portrait of Mrs. Black still hung in the entrance hall and from time to time one could hear her screaming obscenities at the visitors. It was in these halls that the Order of the Phoenix met and had their headquarters. Old and young, human and non-human, everyone here was fighting the evil known as Voldemort. The Order was an organization that had been founded during the 1920's when the world was under threat by Grindelwald. Since that moment the Order rose time after time to fight against the evil machinations of wizards who wanted to harm the people. Many heroic deeds had been committed in the name of the Order and many of them had been kept secret, never seeing the daylight. Their leader had always been secretive about certain things, so it was not really surprising that only few knew about the prophecy or its contents. Therefore the order members were only aware that Harry Potter was crucial to the war effort but not why.

The meeting room of the Order of the Phoenix was decorated in pleasant gold and blue tones. The statue of a golden phoenix was standing at the far wall of the room and the big mahogany table had beautiful engravings of fallen comrades and their deeds.

The inner circle or circum fides, as it was known by most, sat at the table, each member one of the most trusted by Albus Dumbledore. Dumbledore stood up and smiled, his eyes twinkling madly.

"Good afternoon, my friends. I hope you are all well?" He received nods from almost everyone. "Good, good. Then let's begin. Severus, have you some news?"

His twinkle dimmed. Like with the situation with Harry, he couldn't change anything about Severus' position but he couldn't help but blame himself for placing him into this mortal peril. Severus Snape was one of his closest friends, someone he considered to be the son he never had. The potion's master nodded.

"The Dark Lord was, as always, not in a happy mood." Some people flinched, but Snape ignored them and went on. "He is displeased with his inability to enter Potter's mind and the fact that I didn't inform him about this situation." He wanted to continue but was interrupted by Lupin.

"I thought the occlumency lessons were cancelled? So how is it possible that he can't enter his mind? You said that Harry was completely incompetent when it comes to occlumency." Lupin shot him a glare as a murmured And everything else. reached his ears.

"That's what I said and what I will continue to say. Potter is utterly incompetent in regards to occlumency. I don't know how the brat managed that. Probably another one of his irrational and dangerous plans. Just like his father." He sneered.

The tension thickened as the werewolf and the potion's master shot glares at each other. Everything would have escalated if Dumbledore had not stepped between the murderous rivals.

"Now, now, gentlemen. There is no need for this. We are all friends." The headmaster turned to Snape. "So you say that he cannot enter Harry's mind anymore?" The spy nodded.

"Yes, he was quite furious. He spoke to Lucius. It seems that he's after some artifacts. Lucius apparently knows where some of them are but there is another buyer. I do not know if he's fighting for our cause but this is not a coincidence." It worried him greatly that there was something so important that there was a need to have Lucius, his right hand, buy these artifacts. "It must be important."

Dumbledore nodded before turning to Mundungus. His clothes were dirty and one could mistake him for a street rat if one did not know who he really was.

"Look around and see if there are artifacts that might be particularly interesting for someone like Voldemort."

"No problem, boss." He gave Dumbledore a grin.

"Does anyone else have something to say?"

There was a moment of hesitation but Molly Weasley spoke nonetheless. Everyone knew that she loved her children and considered Harry one of her own, so there was no real surprise when she voiced her concerns.

"Albus, do you think it is wise to let Harry stay alone at the Dursley's. You know how they treat him! And after everything that has happened with Sirius he must be very depressed. It is not good for him to stay with these… monsters!" Her voice was getting louder and at the end of her speech she was shrieking. Poor Arthur Weasley was trying to get her to calm down but nothing seemed to help the hysterical woman.

"You know that there is a good reason for his stay at Privet Drive." He held up a hand before she could begin to speak again. "I will remove him from there as soon as possible and do not worry about him being safe. I've placed a very good guard on him." She was still looking like she wanted to protest but did not speak again.

"Good. Now that everything is done we should head to dinner. You know what to do. Fighting against dark forces is better done with a full stomach." His eyes twinkled even as almost all of the inner circle rolled their eyes. It was always the same.


He was flying, jumping and twisting in the air, feeling the freedom to be himself. The wind blew in his face as he made a somersault, his hair shining in the moonlight and a happy if somewhat dangerous smirk on his face. This was freedom. This was escape. With catlike elegance he continued his way towards London. Let the games begin.

What is dream and what reality?

In the end it is always the people and their believe,

that makes reality real and through what

dreams remain dreams.