Disclaimer: I'm still just a visitor in the magical world of Harry Potter, borrowing the inspirations of JK Rowling!

Chapter 11

Plain Death

Harry soon learned that Malfoy, Goyle and a few other students were in the infirmary. Supposedly, the pains they suffered were so bad that they could barely move.

Ginny had never come to Great Hall for breakfast. Harry still wondered what her outburst had been all about.

McGonagall had visited their table with their schedules for the term. Harry had decided on taking 6 NEWTs, in Potions, DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures.

Hermione was taking 8 NEWTs, in DADA, Transfiguration, Charms, Arithmancy, Ancient Runes, Potions, Astrology and Herbology. Ron was still put out at being unable to take Potions, and had finally settled on 5 NEWTS, in DADA, Charms, Transfiguration, Herbology and Care of Magical Creatures.

Ron sighed. 'Well, at least I don't have to take Divination and History of Magic anymore. Doubt I would pass History without Hermione's notes anyway. And Divination was okay once Firenze taught it, but it's still a bit of a loopy subject, isn't it?

'Glad you're finally seeing the light, Ron,' Hermione said smugly. 'Don't sell yourself short on History though. I'm sure you'd do fine, as long as you applied yourself.'

'Really, Hermione, you seem to be the only person in the school who's able to escape hypnosis by Professor Binns.'

'Well, looks like we're still together in most of the classes, that's a plus,' said Harry in an attempt to cheer up Ron. 'Each NEWT course is 3 classes a week, each lasting for 2 hours. That's like having 3 double Potions classes a week, ugh! Still, doesn't look my amount of class hours has increased much.'

'I actually have less class hours than last year,' Ron said happily.

'So no reason to leave your homework for the last minute then,' said Hermione sweetly.

Ron moaned. 'Are you starting with me already? Classes haven't even started yet!'

'Well,' Hermione continued, obviously not wanting to get into a row, 'looks like my course load is about the same. I did drop quite some subjects though. I don't know how I would have managed if I had kept on History or Muggle Studies.'

When breakfast was finished they set of to their first collective class, Defense Against the Dark Arts. Settling into their seats, they soon discovered that there were only other Gryffindors present. Still, the class was a good as full.

'Good morning, and welcome to your first NEWT year,' Remus said. 'As you will have noticed, you'll only be studying this subject with your own House this year. The previous professor' he spat out the word 'didn't set any guidelines for the minimum required grade to be accepted into the course. And when taking into account the level of respectability of your teachers (present company excluded of course) the Headmaster decided to allow all students that are willing to learn something into the class. As a result of this, almost all students are taking this NEWT course, and combining the Houses caused the groups to be too large.

Then, my first request to you is to forget everything you learned in this class last year.'

The class cheered, even Hermione.

'There is no way a Death Eater or other Dark wizard will negotiate with you,' Remus continued. 'When you encounter one, their aim will be to kill, injure or capture you. Your aim will be to prevent this, and where possible, capture and incapacitate your opponent. However, there might be times when you face multiple opponents. You also need to be prepared for this. I understand that there are differences in your level of practical capability at the moment. If Harry would mind assisting me, I would like to demonstrate to you the level you should all have reached by the end of this year.'

Harry felt abashed, but at the same time eager to display some of the new spells he'd learned to his friends. He got up and walked towards the stage that had been erected in front of the class.

'Hermione, Ron, would you also care to join us for this demonstration?' said Remus.

'Of course, Professor Lupin,' Hermione jumped up excitedly.

Harry was wondering what in the world was going on.

'Now, Harry will need to defend himself from 3 different opponents; Hermione, Ron and myself,' said Remus. 'Don't worry, Harry, I'm sure you'll do fine,' he added in an undertone at seeing Harry's shocked expression.

Harry approached Remus and whispered 'But I've never put those spells in practice, remember? We only studied the theory.'

'Don't worry Harry,' said Remus again, 'you studied the theory for the whole length of the summer. I'm confident you'll be able to successfully cast all spells.' He added more loudly 'Now, if all duellers will please take their positions?'

Harry walked over to the left side of the stage, while Ron, Hermione and Lupin fanned out across the other end.

'Prepare and take out your wands,' Remus said loudly. 'Don't bother bowing, because no Dark Wizard will bow to you before Avadra Kedavra-ing your sorry ass.'

Shocked murmurs and gasps could be heard from the other students, but Harry just smiled. It was nice to see that Remus was regaining some of his sense of humour.

'Ready? And… START!' Remus shouted.

Harry dropped to the floor immediately, and felt several spells flying over his head while he rolled across the stage. While rolling he was aiming spells at his three opponents. He managed to hit Ron with the Tickling Charm, but Hermione quickly relieved him off that. Noticing that her mind was preoccupied with rescuing Ron from the terrible tickles, Harry quickly fired two spells at her. First, he shouted 'Blubberius', and took great interest in the effect the spell had when it hit her square in the chest. It looked like Hermione was melting, and soon she resembled nothing more than a puddle of Hermione of the floor. He put her in a full body bind, just in case, and turned his attention to his remaining two opponents.

He was able to cast a Shield Charm just before a pink coloured streak of light that had come from Remus' wand hit him. The jet of light ricocheted off his shield with great force, and bounced through the classroom before hitting Parvati Patil. While deflecting other spells and curses he noticed Parvati's bum and belly quickly swelling to the size of large skippy balls.

He laughed at Remus and said 'Oh, a vanity spot Engorgio! You want to play it like that then?'

He jumped up when Ron aimed a Tarantagrella as his feet. Unfortunately for Hermione the spell ricocheted across the floor to hit the puddle that she now was, causing it to wobble and tremble like pudding.

Being distracted by the odd sight of the wobbly Hermione puddle he never noticed the quiet disarming spell Ron cast, and he felt his wand flying out of his hand.

'Bugger!' he yelled, before starting to cartwheel around the stage. He had to keep moving fast, now that he had no real means to protect himself from the spells that were flying around him. Dropping to the ground he felt something in his pocket. Of course! One of the boxes of Pointing Pixies! He taken it with him to see if he could give Snape a little surprise during the day. He felt a sharp pain stab at his head, but he ignored it and threw the box at Ron's feet. It burst open, and hundreds of giggling and pointing Pixies erupted from it, flying quickly around Ron's head. He dove at Ron, who was flailing his arms wildly, knocking him off his feet. He grabbed his wand back, and took Ron's wand as well. He rolled away again, noticing a spell from Remus hitting the place where he had just been leaving some small holes in the stage.

'Darnit Harry!' Remus called. 'I would've loved to see what kind of Swiss cheese you'd make!'

Harry put Ron in a full body bind as well, before turning his full attention to Remus. The next few minutes were spent in an exhausting one-on-one duel, and Harry had exhausted most of the pranking spells he had learned. He had even used some of the more advanced defense spells. The advance attack spells he had learned couldn't be used, because they could do quite some physical damage. Remus and Harry had now both taken to conjuring objects to take cover behind. Harry was thinking frantically about how he could take out Remus, while hiding behind his conjured boulder. Surely he couldn't…? Or could he…? It was worth a try in any case. Pointing his wand over the boulder in the direction of Remus he shot out a quick volley of bat-bogey hexes, babbling curses, silencing charms, tickling charms and freezing charms. That should keep Remus busy long enough.

Breathing deeply, he tried to focus all of his magic. It was not an easy spell that he would be using. He saw the walls of the classroom shimmer a bright blue, before he felt a big surge of power. Then, he pointed his wand at the boulder and whispered 'Anima'. The boulder started rolling towards Remus with amazing speed. Remus, who had been busy with undoing a freezing charm that had hit his shoulder, never even saw the boulder coming until it hit his legs. He was knocked of his feet, and his wand flew out of his hand. Harry caught it and, pointing his wand at Remus, said 'incarcerous'. Ropes appeared out of thin air, tightly binding Remus.

He walked over towards his favourite Professor, smiled down at him and said 'Do you surrender?'.

'I do,' said Remus. 'Please untie me now, if you will?'

Harry relieved the spell effects from Remus and Ron. Hermione was just coming out of the effects of the Jelly Charm, but she was still shaking uncontrollably. Harry pointed his wand at her as well, and said 'Finite Incantatem'.

Hermione looked positively exhausted, as well as put out at the fact that she had been taken out of the duel so fast. 'That's the last time I'll ever help you again, Ron!' Hermione scowled.

But Ron was too busy with the pixies to even hear or see her. 'Thanks a lot, Harry,' he muttered. 'You knew these things will hang around for a couple of hours.'

'Sorry, mate,' Harry replied. 'But you'd taken my wand, and it was the only thing I could think of doing at the time.'

'I believe our willing volunteers deserve an applause, don't you think, class?' Remus said.

It was only then that Harry remembered there had been people watching, and he turned his attention at his classmates. They were all staring at Harry open-mouthed. Harry had managed to take out the smartest witch of the year, one (maybe not so brilliant but still quite) good wizard and their teacher! It was only when the first person started clapping that the rest snapped out of their amazement. The only people not clapping were Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. Parvati was unable to sit because of her oversized bum, and she was sobbing quietly in a corner of the classroom. Lavender was softly rubbing her back.

Remus quickly pointed his wand at Parvati and returned her bum and belly to its regular size. 'I'm sorry about that, Miss Patil,' he said solemnly. But unless Harry was much mistaken, there was just a tiny hint of amusement in his voice as well. Harry himself found it quite funny as well. The Vanity Engorgement would cause the areas of the body that the person who is hit with the spell is most vain about, to swell up. Harry didn't even want to think what would have happened if he had been hit with the spell.

'Harry, Ron, Hermione, you can sit down again,' Remus continued.

Hermione was still walking a bit shakily. She had been hit with two spells that take a lot out of a person.

'All right class, what you witnessed just now was a good example of a multiple-opponent duel. It is not really representative for a duel with a Dark wizard, as they will obviously use much more dangerous spells. I am glad to announce that the Ministry has finally come to acknowledge that as well, and I have been given permission to teach you some of the more dangerous offensive spells. The core of this class is still defense, and some of the spells you will be taught should only be used in the direst of situations. I will get back to this later on in the term.'

The class continued with a lecture of the importance of being able to think on your feet, not panicking if you lose your wand and the use of conjuring objects. Before the class ended, Remus made a last announcement.

'No doubt you most of you are aware of some new regulations. Because of these regulations, I will be unavailable for classes 3 days each month.' He paused as Lavender let out a small yelp of pain.

'Do you have a problem with that, Miss Brown?' said Remus sweetly.

Lavender turned crimson, shook her head and whispered 'No, sir. I apologize, sir.'

'Okay then. During these days you will be attending guest lectures. Some of these will also be held when I am present. The guest lectures will be taught by Aurors Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Honorary Professor Tonks will teach you the basics of personal camouflage and appearance adaptation. This is extremely valuable in combat, especially for those who are not taking NEWT Configuration. Honorary Professor Shacklebolt will be teaching you about the art of warfare and fighting strategies of Death Eaters and other Dark wizards. Yes, Mr Finnigan?'

Harry looked around to see that Seamus had raised his hand hesitantly.

'Excuse me, sir, but it seems like you expect us to be in a war with Dark wizards any day now. We're just students, aren't we? What do we have to do with fighting Death Eaters?'

'We are at war, whether anyone likes it or not. Voldemort's power increases every day.' He scowled at the gasps and shrieks that were let out on hearing that name.

'This should stop right now,' said Remus exasperatedly. 'I understand it is difficult for you to hear or say that name, because you have been brought up fearing it. However, a wise person once told me that fear of a name only increases the fear of the thing itself. Fear Voldemort's actions, past and present, but do not fear his name. It does nothing, besides mess with the calm of a classroom. Your homework will be to practice saying his name. It will not cause him to jump out of the shadows, you have my guarantee on that.'

Harry felt Ron stiffen beside him, and Remus seemed to have noticed it too.

'Mr Weasley, you are excused from this particular assignment, at least for now,' said Remus. 'And no, I will not explain to all of you why that is, nor will I get into a discussion on the fairness of this decision. Further on in the term you might get an explanation. Now, practice saying Voldemort. If you can't do it by next class, you are banned from all DADA classes until you can. This might sound harsh, but I refuse to let perfectly good lectures be punctuated by pauses because some of you feel the need to shriek or gasp. Now, I would like to continue answering Mr Finnigan's question.' Remus sounded quite annoyed, but Harry felt like applauding him. For years he had failed to understand why no one would say the name of Voldemort, and now, finally, something might be done about it.

'Mr Finnigan,' Remus continued, 'it is too true that you are just students. However, in a few years you will be out on your own, and you need to have thorough understanding of the threats that you might face. At the moment, life is more dangerous than it has been for quite some years. Crawling into a hole and denying that truth will not ensure your survival. Nothing will, but knowing how to defend yourself does contribute to that survival. We do not expect you to be attacked at this school, but you can't stay here forever. We want to make sure that you have the means to defend yourself when you are not as well protected as you are here. If you cannot or will not see the use of that, then I wonder what you are doing in this class.'

Seamus looked abashed and murmured something.

'What was that, Mr Finnigan?' Remus asked sweetly.

'No…no… I see the use of it,' Seamus said quietly.

Then, the bell rang, and everyone gathered up their things and made their way to the exit. Harry was following Ron and Hermione outside when Remus stopped him.

'Harry, could I just talk to you for one second?' he said.

'Well, sure,' said Harry. He had a feeling he knew what Remus wanted to talk about. 'It's about my animating that boulder, isn't it?'

'That's right, Harry. I don't remember studying that spell with you over the summer.'

Harry shrugged. 'I came across it in one of the books, and thought it might be useful. I didn't know if I'd be able to do it, though, as the book said that the spell was quite advanced. But I figured that making a boulder roll would be easier than for example bring statues to life, like Dumbedore did last year.'

'You're actually wrong there, Harry. Once you have grasped the basics, you'll be able to animate any inanimate object to do what you want it to do. And it is very advanced magic indeed, I don't know of anyone who was able to do the spell without a lot of practice.' Remus looked slightly concerned.

'Well, I don't really know what enabled me to cast it. I just focused, and it sort of worked. I did see the walls shimmer for a minute, but I figured it was just part of the spell I was about to use.'

Remus seemed lost in thought for a moment. 'Somehow, I don't think it is. I will discuss this with the Headmaster. I'm quite sure it can only be good though, nothing to worry about,' he added reassuringly.

'Okay, if that was all, I need to go on to my next class.'

The next few days were spent in a haze of classes, warnings to all the students to apply themselves to their studies, and homework. Harry had discussed his use of the Animation spell with Hermione and Ron, and had been astonished to find out that Hermione had never managed to master the spell.

'Well, of course it is an advanced level spell, so we're not really expected to have mastered it yet. But that doesn't mean I haven't been playing around with it a bit,' said Hermione. 'I haven't even been able to animate a quill yet though, so I do wonder why you were able to do it on your first try.' She looked at Harry curiously.

'I don't know either,' said Harry. 'Remus said he'd talk it over with Dumbledore though, maybe he has an explanation.'

Harry thought Ginny had been avoiding them. She hadn't been in the Hall for most of the meals, and she seemed to spend all of her free time either in her dorm, or on the castle ground. He still hadn't figured out why she was behaving so oddly. He did have to admit to himself that he missed having her around. She always seemed to lighten his spirits, and take his mind of all things that were troubling him.

Wednesday evening arrived, and Harry made his way to the Headmaster's office. Tonight he would have to go through the rituals that made him the new owner of Grimmauld Place, as well as those that would protect its location from outsiders.

He knocked on the door of the office, and entered on Dumbledore's invitation. He was astonished to see the office area transformed. It had been cleared from desk and chairs, and the room was filled with candles and strange looking objects. On the floor was a drawing of something that looked like a flower with eight petals. In its centre was a circle with a question mark.

'Please, Harry,' Dumbledore said, 'come on in.'

Harry walked towards the corner of the room where Dumbledore was standing.

'We don't have much time between you assuming ownership of the house, and the finalisation of the Secret Keeper ritual,' said Dumbledore. 'First, you'll need to sign the deed of the house, and then we'll proceed to the ritual. I'll say the Fidelius Charm, then you'll ask me officially to be Secret Keeper for you and the Order, and I will promise that I'll keep it safe. Are you ready to do this?'

Harry nodded, and tears swam in his eyes as he saw Dumbledore wave his wand over the parchment that read 'Deed to Grimmauld Place 12, London'. Sirius' signature, at the bottom of the page, disappeared, and Harry was handed a quill. He quickly signed the deed, avoiding looking at it too much.

'Now then Harry, please join me over here.' Dumbledore was standing in the question mark circle. Harry quickly walked over. He heard the incantation 'Fidele Secretum. Secretum Transferum' and saw Dumbledore nodding at him.

Harry took a deep breath. 'Professor Albus Dumbledore, hereby I ask you to be the Secret Keeper for the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix: Number 12 Grimmauld Place, which is located in London and owned by Harry James Potter.'

Dumbledore smiled before saying, 'I understand this request and promise to be the Secret Keeper you require.'

There was a blinding flash of light before the room went completely dark. Harry and Dumbledore were both knocked off their feet. Sitting on opposite ends of the room they just looked at each other for a while. Dumbledore was the first to speak again.

'Harry, where are the Headquarters of the Order located?'

'Number 12 Grimmauld Place, of course,' Harry said, confused at such an obvious question.

'Could you please write down the following text: The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix are located at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.' A quill and parchment appeared in front of Harry.

He started writing, but as he reached 'are located at' he felt his hand stop. He couldn't write down the location.

'Good,' Dumbledore smiled. 'I think the ritual went as –.' He broke off as the fireplace glowed bright green, and Hestia Jones stepped out of it. She looked bewildered.

'Albus? What is going on? I was going to Headquarters when suddenly I couldn't remember where it was!'

'Oh my,' said Dumbledore, 'the transference must have caused the previous Fidelius to be negated. I'm sorry, Harry, but I will need to go visit every Order member right now to make sure they know where to go.'

'I understand,' said Harry. 'But sir, before you go, Neville is feeling really left out, but I don't know what I'm allowed to tell him.'

'Of course, of course,' Dumbledore said absentmindedly. 'Send Mr Longbottom to my office tomorrow night, if you will. Oh, and there is someone who wants to talk to you. Just go through that door,' he pointed to the far end of the room 'and you'll see.' And with that, he grapped a pinch of floo powder, stepped into the fireplace and called 'Numer 12 Grimmauld Place'. When Hestia Jones had followed him, Harry made his way towards the door. He had never been through there before, and he wondered who wanted to talk to him.

Stepping through, he saw an immense sitting room. A cosy fire was crackling in the fireplace, some squashy armchairs surrounding it. In one of them was sitting a short, pale woman.

The woman stood up. 'Ah, you must be Harry. My name is Elizabeth Atrill,' she said while extending her hand. 'I work in the Department of Mysteries.'

Harry was flabbergasted. 'I… I hadn't expected you so soon,' Harry stammered. 'Professor Dumbledore said he'd set up a meeting, but I thought he meant in a week or two.'

'That was the plan,' said Elizabeth, 'but when I learned why you wanted to speak to me I thought it was important I'd meet with you as soon as possible. I am sorry about your godfather, Harry,' she said sincerely. 'Professor Dumbledore wouldn't tell me who he was, but he did say you cared about him a great deal.'

'I did,' Harry said, tearing slightly up again. He still hadn't gotten used to anyone mentioning Sirius, and he sure wasn't used to condolences.

'I am going to explain to you what is in that room, but I really do not like being interrupted. So would you mind terribly to save any questions for when I've finished?'

'No, that's fine,' said Harry. He just wanted to know what had happened to Sirius.

'First, I have to remind you again that the revelation of Mystery knowledge is punishable by 10 years in Azkaban and banishment from the magical community. Do you understand this?' said Elizabeth.

'I do,' Harry said solemnly. If he'd ever have any problems with keeping secret what he would learn tonight, the banishment threat was all the motivation he needed.

'Let's get on with it, then,' said Elizabeth. 'The veil that is in the Death Chamber has been used throughout the centuries for multiple purposes, but 2 of these are most important. The first purpose was for death sentences. Like in civilized Muggle countries, death sentences were abolished in the last century. But before they were, there were several executions annually. The convicts were forced to step through the veil. I understand you already know that death is what is beyond it?' she looked at Harry.

Harry nodded.

'During the course of the centuries, the veil was also a tool in the study of what death is. This question is as old as mankind. It is of no importance how we discovered what we did. More important are the general conclusions we have been able to draw up until this date. The main conclusion is that death consists of three plains. The first plain of death is denial. This is the plain on which ghosts exist. The people on this plain were unable to come to terms with the fact that they were dead. We believe that this plain is permanent.

The third plain is a bigger mystery. It is also permanent, and we believe it is where the spirits of people who have lived their lives to the full extent of their capabilities go. Upon entering the third plain, the spirits are judged. Those who are deemed to have lived a good life can stay on the plain. This is why we believe that the third plain is a good place to be. Those who are deemed to have lived a bad life are sent back to the mortal world. I don't know if you know anything about reincarnation?' she looked at Harry again, who shook his head.

'Some Eastern Muggle societies believe that spirits are sent back to the mortal world again and again until they reach enlightenment. Depending on how good their lives were they are sent back as different creatures. A bad person will return as something like a dung beetle, or even an amoeba. They will have to live their lives as different creatures, higher and higher on the ladder of the food circle and intelligence. Then, when they once again become a human, they will get a chance to redeem themselves. Someone who never reached enlightenment, but still had a generally good life, will return as a human immediately.'

'We have found that this does happen. People who did not live a good life will be sent back to the mortal world. Most often as a human, but sometimes as an animal. They will obviously have no recollection of the life, or lives, that led before. I can see you are quite shocked.'

She was right. Harry's mind was racing. So if everyone got another chance, then…

'No, Harry. Those people that led atrocious lived, those that murdered, raped and tortured will have their spirits destroyed. They will simply stop existing. We believe Lord Voldemort also knows this, though we don't know how, and believe that this is the reason why he is so afraid of death.

Unfortunately, we do not yet know what constitutes a good life. We believe many of the Muggle religions have it right though. Treating your fellow creatures like you would like to be treated yourself and loving others are probably the core of what makes a good life.'

Harry was impressed, to say the least. He wondered how they had managed to find all this stuff out.

'And now then for the second plain. This plain is actually the entrance plain to death, that is, if people don't go into denial straight away. On this plain it seems that spirits are given a choice. From this plain the spirits can still see what goes on in the mortal world, though they really can't do much about it. I say that they can't do much about it for a reason, I will get to that. Once they enter the third plain, they are cut off from the mortal world. Even the ones that are judged positively, and stay there, can't observe the goings on in the other world or the other plains anymore. Most spirits are afraid of moving on by themselves. Many of them choose to wait until a certain loved one joins them. There is a catch to that though. If they wait, their fates will be tied to the person they are waiting for. If this person strays in any way, and is sent back to the mortal world after having died and being judged, they will have to join them. Even if they had led a good life. Spirits that wait also have an ability to help out the person they are waiting for. Sometimes they are able to send a message, or a warning, and there have been instances where they managed to intervene in an important event. There was one case where a person in the mortal world wanted to take the life of another wizard. This wizard had accidentally killed the wife of the first person. The person had planned to pay a visit to his wife's murdered on a certain morning, but found that he had woken up a day later. Next to his bed were some of his wife's belongings, spelling out the word "Don't". How all of this works is still a mystery to us as well. We believe that these things can only be prevented if the event isn't fate, so to say. The man who had lost his wife would probably never have wanted to murder anyone if his wife hadn't died, and she was probably able to stop him because of this.'

Harry smiled. So Luna had been right. They were just waiting there, lurking out of sight. 'Can I ask something now?' he said timidly.

'Why, yes, I think you can,' said Elizabeth. 'What is it you want to know?'

'Can more that one… spirit… wait for the same person?'

'I expected that question,' said Elizabeth, smiling. 'We're not sure, but we think that is possible, yes. I'm sure you hope there are some… loved ones… looking over you?'

Harry blushed. 'I do. I never really dared to believe it, but I really hope they are there. Not all the time though…' he added thoughfully, thinking back to his wet, awkward kiss with Cho.

Elizabeth laughed, like she knew what he was talking about. 'I'm hoping my mother is there,' she confided in him, 'but I hope she also knows when to look away. I kissed a lot of frogs before I found my husband, and I'd hate to think she was there to witness all that!'

Harry laughed as well. 'Yeah. Yeah. Hey!' he exclaimed. 'You said that it was possible to send messages from that second plain, didn't you?'

'I did,' Elizabeth said, eyeing Harry warily. 'Why?'

'Well… It's just… I have this book,' he said. 'And… ehm… when I read it, a message appeared. I asked a friend about it, and he thought that maybe it had been charmed, though he didn't know of any charm that could do what the book did.'

'Tell me what happened,' said Elizabeth, suddenly looking very interested.

'See, it was my mum's baby journal. I just got it this summer. I was reading it, and I had read it front to cover when a whole new page appeared. There was this bright of white light, and it was just… there. There was a photo, and… well. I'll show you.' Harry had carried the book around with him every day since he'd been back at school. He pulled it out of his back, and turned to the last page. There was the photo, and the writing underneath it. He pointed at the writing. 'That just appeared out of nowhere, like an invisible hand wrote it.'

Elizabeth gasped. 'Lily Potter's handwriting!'

'What!' Harry exclaimed. 'How'd you know that?'

'There was a reason why I was the one that wanted to talk to you, Harry. I was charged with the case of your family when your parents were murdered.'

'The case of my family,' Harry said loudly, 'they're no case! And why would an Unspeakable research them, or me, anyway? You all though Voldemort was dead.'

'No, we didn't, Harry,' she said reconcilingly. 'And of course your family is not a case. It's just that we talk about cases at work, it's a habit. The Department of Mysteries is a department that is part of the Ministry, but operates mostly separate from it. New ministers are elected every couple of years, and we don't want to share the knowledge we have with them. Some we want to have more knowledge than others. Minister Fudge was always irritated by the little information we gave him, for example. Interim Minister Weasley already know more than Fudge knew during his 14-year period in office.'

Harry chuckled. Served him right!

'Anyway, there were many mysteries surrounding your family, not the least being the fact that Voldemort had tried to kill you as an infant.'

'I know,' Harry said, 'he didn't usually do that, did he?'

'Very good, Harry,' Elizabeth continued, 'it is good to research history. It gives a better understanding of things that can happen to all of us. Now, we wanted to know what was so important about you, especially in the event when Voldemort would return, as he now has. I have to say that unfortunately, I have not gotten really far in discovering that. I know there was a prophecy, and think I know its contents, more or less. And if you do know the contents, you really needn't tell me,' she said at Harry's abashed looks.

'I spent some time looking over your family's history, and that is why I know your mother's handwriting so well. Her school records and assignments are in my files, along with copies of all photos that exist of her, you and your father. Although I have to say I thought I had all the photos, because I never saw this one before this day.' She shook her head.

'Neither did I!' Harry exclaimed. 'It is unlike any other photo I ever saw of them. They look different in it, somehow.'

'I agree, Harry. I don't want to cause too much of a fuss, but I think it might be possible that they managed to convey an image of themselves from the second plain. It's unlike anything I have ever seen before. I never heard of such a thing. I understand that you will want to keep this book close to you, especially considering you only got it this summer. But if you ever do feel like you'd want to contribute to the research of the second plain, and you wouldn't mind parting with the book for a few months, I am sure I'd have some very interested colleagues. Even if it's 50 years from now,' she added hastily, seeing the shocked look on Harry's face.

'Sure, I think about it,' Harry said, knowing full well that he'd never part with the book. It was the only tangible link he had to his mother. And you never know, if it really could convey a message from beyond the grave, who's to say it wouldn't do so again some day.

'So… do books often do this sort of stuff?' he asked.

'Not really books in particular,' said Elizabeth. 'It's usually objects that were given in love, or have a great deal of emotional associations.'

Harry suddenly had a thought that was so fantastic, he knew it couldn't possibly be true. Or could it? 'Can objects also convey a message, even if the person that didn't give it isn't dead yet?'

Elizabeth looked puzzled. 'I guess it could be possible. I don't know why it would though, as people that are alive can usually pass along any message anyway. I've never heard of it, but I think the possibility is there.'

Harry was excited. He didn't know if it would work, but it might… It just might…

'Thank you so much for your time, Ms Atrill,' Harry said. He wanted to be alone with the book, and think about everything Elizabeth had just told him.

'Please,' she said, 'call me Elizabeth. It feels like I've known you for such a long time already. And if you have any questions about your family, you can always talk to me.'

'Thanks,' said Harry. He got up, and opened up the door. 'Well, bye then.'

'Goodnight Harry,' Elizabeth said happily.

When Harry got out of the office he rounded the first corner of the corridor and sat down on the ground. He still had 40 minutes before he needed to be back in the Common Room. Sighing, he opened the book to the last page, and touched his mother face. 'Mom. Dad. Can you hear me? Can you see me? You can, can't you?' His talk with Elizabeth had strengthened his hopes that there was more to the page that had appeared over the summer. He didn't know how long he'd sat on the ground, musing and pleading with his parents to send another message, when he heard footsteps approaching. He snapped the books shut just before Ginny walked around the corner. On seeing him, she quickly turned on her heel and started walking in the other direction. Harry jumped up and ran after her.

'Not so fast, Ginny! I want to know what in the world I've done wrong. You're coming with me, and we're going to sit here and talk about it.' He grabbed he arm, and started walking to the spot where he'd been sitting before.

'Not now, Harry,' Ginny sighed.

'When then?' he said. 'You forced me to talk to you over the summer, and now it's my turn to make you talk. Sit!' He pointed to the floor, but his tone quickly softened when he saw Ginny had tears in her eyes.

'Please, Ginny, sit,' he said. 'I just want to talk. What are you so afraid of?'

Ginny gave a tearful sigh, and sank down. 'I don't know,' she said softly. 'It's all just so confusing. I have a lot of things to think about. I won't go back to that place.'

Harry was confused. 'What place? Ginny, what's wrong?'

'Nothing is wrong, really. It's just… personal. Please, I promise I will talk to you, when I have some more clarity myself. Please, please, can we not do this just now?'

Harry conceded. He didn't want to push her to do or say anything she didn't want.

Ginny smiled. 'Okay then. What were you doing here anyway? What's that book?'

For a minute, Harry felt like giving her a piece of her own medicine, telling her he wasn't ready to talk about it. But he found that he couldn't. It was like he was incapable of it. He wanted to share the book with someone. He shared it with Remus, but he wasn't here. And somehow, Ginny seemed the right person.

He told her the story of how he'd gotten the book, what he had read in it, and he talked about the page that had appeared. He didn't tell her about where he thought the page had come from, because obviously he couldn't.

'Can I see it?' said Ginny timidly.

'I guess so,' Harry shrugged.

He turned to the last page, and watched Ginny's face as she looked at it. 'Wow,' Ginny said. 'Your mum really was pretty, wasn't she?' She smiled.

Harry smiled too. 'Yes, she was.'

Simultaneously, they both moved their index fingers to touch the photo, and they briefly touched each other. Suddenly, Harry felt very light in the head, and thought he was fainting.

Author's Notes:

Yes, according to me, civilized countries do not have death penalties. You may agree with me, and you may disagree. I respect all opinions. However, if you feel personally slighted by this statement I will not force you to read on.

I'm sorry to leave you with a bit of a cliffhanger, and a bit of a short-ish chapter. It's the best moment for a new chapter however, so sorry. The next chapter is already finished, but I'll wait a bit to soften you up. I'll leave you with a taste though…

And in case you feel Ginny is acting frustrating, so do I! It's the way she wants to be written though, can't really do much about it. The next chapter will throw a bit more light on her behaviour.

Please read and review, you know how I love that. Also, if you like this fic, spread the word! I'm always looking for more readers. (Yes, I am fully aware that I am pimping my own story!)

Next Chapter: Proposals and Blossoming Love

"There's no need to worry about that, Red,' James said. Harry felt slightly abashed when he saw his father leaning over to kiss his mum. Obviously they weren't his parents yet, but it still felt strange. Then Ginny grabbed his shoulder, and he felt an odd explosion in his stomach.

'Look at that,' she whispered, 'they look great together, don't they?"