Chapter 13: Secret less Night.
The sun had now set on Hogwarts school of witchcraft and wizardry. The common rooms of the four houses were packed with students. By the time the professors had been able to reassure the students that all was well and that the school was safe once again it was already past curfew and all students had to at least been in the common room by that time. When Harry and his friends finally found their way back to the Gryffindor common room they were bombarded with questions about the encounter. It was nearly impossible to say nothing about it because everyone knew about it and wanted to know the fine details regarding an attack by Voldemort. Finally Harry managed to break away from the interrogation session and rush to his dormitory room. Dominic soon followed as did Ron and Neville. Harry lay in his bed staring at the ceiling as they entered. Dominic walked to the window beside his bed and looked out at the yard. The spot where the attack had happened could be seen from this window and so could Dumbledore and Hagrid out along the forest edge. He tapped his finger steadily on the window sill as anger grew more and more in him. He could feel what seemed like eyes in his mind and turned quickly to Harry.
"Harry, please don't" Dominic asked as he looked over at Harry.
"I'm sorry I was just wondering if you knew why the attack was directed at your mom or not," Harry said pulling away.
"I thought I did, but I'm not sure anymore," Dominic said blankly, "to many secrets."
"Yeah," Harry sighed, "sadly that's always the way at Hogwarts."
"Not just at Hogwarts!" Dominic sighed, "my own mother. She's always kept secrets and now it seems like that are more important than she has always lead us to believe!"
"At least you have one," Harry sighed, "I'm sure if you talk to her she'll tell you all you want to know. I mean you are really involved now you have the right to know."
"I can only hope," Dominic said, "she has changed a lot already from what she was."
"That wont change the fact that she is your mum," Harry said rasing his eyes to the ceiling.
"That's true," Dominic said as he crossed back to his bed.
"Hey," Ron called out from the other side of the room, "I just thought of something. How weird would it be if Snape was like your father!"
"Don't even say that!" Dominic yelled with a disgusted look on his face.
"Little Snape's running around is a very frightening thought!" Neville said quietly as he climbed into bed.
"No kidding!" Harry laughed, "but maybe he'd chill out a little."
"That would never happen with that man!" Ron laughed, "if Snape was your dad Dominic you would be just like Draco Malfoy!"
"Yup!" Harry laughed, "and then we would hate you!"
"I thank all that is good that I am not a little Snapeling!" Dominic laughed and threw a pillow at Ron, "and I would thank you greatly if you never thought of that again! It is just wrong!"
"But funny!" Harry said as he ducked a bunch of flying 'every flavor beans'.
"Dominic Snape!" Ron said as he ducked another flying pillow, "it has a nice little ring to it!"
That night Harry found it really hard to sleep. He laid awake most of the night just thinking about what had happened. It was so vivid in his mind and he could not shake the feeling that it really meant something bigger than people had thought. He also worried about Belinda, he knew that she had said she wasn't safe but he didn't understand why and maybe the secret she was keeping was to keep her children safe as well. Her family was dead by Voldemort hands. He could tell that was something more but even her own children didn't know what was wrong.
"I know you are awake Harry," Harry heard just behind his eyes just before his ears.
"Dominic," Harry reached out into the voided room as he sat up in bed.
"Man you are getting better!" Dominic thought as he too sat up in bed.
"I guess, at least we wont wake everyone else up!" Harry smiled.
Dominic walked across the room with a blanket wrapped over his shoulders, bright silver moonlight slipped in threw a crack in the closed drapes as his bare feet echoed on the floor. He walked up to Harry's bed and sat down on the end, "I can't sleep either," he thought looking at Harry. Harry put on his glasses and listened, "there are just to many questions that I need to know answers too, some of which you can give me." he thought looking very intensely threw the darkness into Harry's mind.
"Do you want to look for your answers?" Harry thought, sitting just as still and just as silent as Dominic, "my mind isn't as protected as yours."
"No," Dominic said, "I want you to tell me. To trust me enough to let me listen to your thoughts. I want you to know that I am your friend. You can trust me. Weather my mum likes it or not I am involved now. "
"Then you have to trust me too," Harry said to Dominic, "there are questions I need answers too as well. Trust is very hard to find in this place."
"I've noticed," Dominic thought, "you think you know people."
"You don't know the half of it," Harry frowned remembering his parents as the picture of them on his bed side table smiled and waved up to him.
"Can you tell me?" Dominic asked looking a bit concerned.
"You can't see it?" Harry asked amazed because it was something that he thought about constantly.
"No," Dominic said a little surprised, "I can see a lot in your mind but most of it is a dark void. You have it blocked. I could break down the wall and get in if I wanted to but because you have put in the effort to block it I will not invade."
"I do?" Harry asked feeling surprised himself.
"You didn't know?" Dominic laughed a little out loud and quickly covered his mouth as Ron stirred in bed.
Harry shook his head and tried not to laugh himself.
"That must be the reason Dumbledore feels you could handle this type of magic. You have some aspects of it naturally. The bad things, or the memories you don't want people to see or whatever it is that you hold close to you is already blocked. You are one of the very few wizards that could actually do this. Most wizards won't even try. The failure rate in most wizards that try Occlumency is something like ninety three percent in most magical people. Professor Snape was your first teacher, I can see that in you mind. Even he doesn't have it mastered. He is familiar with the art to the extent that most Occlumentic wizards can't break into his mind. But I can, and I have," Dominic said with a wink, "but you have many hidden talents Harry, that is obvious and I am certain that you can probably stop even Voldemort from getting into your mind."
"How?" Harry asked, "I mean I don't even know what I have done."
"It's very simple once you truly understand it," Dominic said, "look into my mind and I will show you what I can see in yours. Do you see the darkness?"
"Yes," Harry said, "it looks like the night sky in my head?"
"Yeah, kinda," Dominic laughed, "the darkness is the wall and the little bits of light you can see are the memories that shine threw. That is how you can tell there is a block. In most people that are familiar with the art that is what the block looks like generally. I say familiar because not many actually, truly master the art. This kind of block for most Occlumentic people is nearly impossible to break because that is the only capacity that they can grasp the art. Most wizards don't even see the cracks. I am guessing that even Voldemort is a partial Occlumentic like the grand majority of magical people. That's why he hasn't been able to grasp Snape's mind again."
"But you can break through this kind of block?" Harry asked feeling more amazement.
"Oh yes," Dominic said, "and so can Amelia. There are very few magical people that can truly master Occlumency. Amelia and I have because we were born with it and naturally we know and understand how it works within ourselves and each other. We can actually take that block that is in your mind and reenforce it. Watch."
Harry watched the block in Dominic's mind very closely. The bits of light were bright and the cracks in the block very visible. Suddenly all the light was gone and Harry could see nothing but blackness. It was as thought a wind has swept out all of the candles, "that's amazing. Its like there isn't anything there at all!"
"Exactly," Dominic said, "and I know you can do this to."
"How can you tell?" Harry asked.
"Because you could see the bits of light. The holes as it were in the block that I had put up," Dominic explained.
"Because you told me to look at it," Harry said feeling confused.
"But I didn't tell you to look at the lights. Just at the darkness. You saw the light on your own. The block that I but up was of the same strength as the one that naturally is in your mind and is as strong as most occlumentic witches and wizards can produce. Look back into your own mind and see the block. Can you see it?"
Harry closed his eyes and turned away from his memories. From his parents, from his friends and the love he had felt in his life. He turned away from his godfather, from Dumbledore and all the people that had, had a positive impact on him. He turned away from his achievements from the bad things he had seen. From all the death and all the battles, from the pain and the sorrow until he heard the last of the screaming and stood before a vast empty space. Soon all he saw was a dark black wall filled with cracks as if it were going to grumble, "yes I can see it," he said.
"It looks like it could fall apart, doesn't it?" Dominic asked.
"Oh yes," Harry said still concentrating greatly on the blackness in his mind.
"Well you have to patch those whole Harry," Dominic instructed.
"How?" Harry said reaching out his hand trying to touch it.
Dominic took his hand and pushed it back at him, "concentrate on the cracks and make them go away. Fill them in with your mind," he said.
Harry thought hard about the cracks in his mind. He saw them all and the bits of light coming through them. He didn't want anyone to see them and he was afraid that his good memories, the ones of his mother and father would be stolen away from him. A flash of blue light erupted in the corner of his mind and a blue flame appeared in the crack. It moved along slowly and a black tar like substance followed behind it filling the cracks and cutting off all the light. A great blue flash filled his mind and when the light was gone all that was left was pure darkness. All the wholes were gone.
"You did it Harry!" Dominic smiled as Harry opened his eyes again, "no one can break down that wall. Not me or Amelia only you can lower it! I knew you had it in you!"
"That wasn't even very hard," Harry smiled happily at his achievements.
"It's because naturally you have an occlumentic thread. You can block your entire mind like that," Dominic said, "you should try it on Amelia," He laughed, "she'll freak out knowing you can actually do that! We've never met anyone else with this extent of occlumentic powers except ourselves."
"But it wasn't even hard!" Harry said still amazed, "I mean Snape always made this out to be so difficult and treated me like I could never get it right."
"Its because Snape has much anger against your father," Dominic said, "I read that when I broke into his mind."
"I know," Harry sighed, "he sees so much of my father in me and I have seen some of his memories as well. The things my father and his friends did to Snape were shameful and I can understand his anger but why he hates me so I don't know why."
"Its because he blames your father for my mother leaving him," Dominic said, "he joined the dark sides to gain revenge against you father and his friends and it was the dark side that chased away my mother."
"But why blame me?" Harry asked, "because I look like him? Because I lived through the Dark Lords attacks, because I am a seeker like my father? Why?"
"Because anger can be the most dangerous thing in all the world," Dominic sighed.
"But your mother doesn't blame me does she?" Harry asked.
"No," Dominic said, "my mother feels sorry for you, because you lost everything as she did. She knows that your father and his friends were not the kindest people to Snape but she also knows that they were brave people that fought with her parents. I think Snape just doesn't know how to deal with the anger he had against Potter, Lupin and Black. Those were the names in his mind. Do you know the other two people?"
"Yes," Harry said, "Black was my godfather, he is dead and I watched him die because of the death eaters."
"You saw him die?" Dominic asked sadly, "and what happened to the other?"
"Lupin was a professor here, taught defense against the dark arts and was probably the best teacher I had ever had," Harry sighed, "but word got out that he was a werewolf and he has long disappeared. They were two of the nicest most kind hearted people that you could have ever met," Harry said as he cast the images of Black and Lupin into Dominic's mind catching him off guard.
"Woah!" Dominic said and he jumped at the images, "you do know more about occlumency than people give you credit."
"Thanks," Harry said softly.
"Harry do you remember you mum?" Dominic asked after a long silence, "like what was she like?"
"I remember her eyes very vividly as one of my earliest memories," Harry thought and pasted the picture from his bed side table to Dominic, "she had very gentle, tearful eyes that were a light jade in colour. People say aside from my eyes I look exactly like my dad. Other than that, no." Harry thought, "I have seen pictures and I have been told stories and sometimes I can remember her voice but otherwise I was to young and I don't remember her."
"What about your dad?" Dominic asked.
"Nothing really, only stories," Harry thought, "they were both very busy fighting with the order of the phoenix. It is why Voldemort killed them. Like he killed many others. I don't really think they were marked as truly dangerous people for any better reason than that they were fighting against him and not with him."
"My dad was never around either," Dominic thought, "but I saw him die. He didn't like magic himself and it was forbidden by him. Him and mum didn't get along well at all and he didn't know of the darkness the surrounded her. He worked to much and she really wasn't happy at all in the muggle world but she did it to protect herself."
"Why, what was she hiding from?" Harry thought.
"Well at first she told us it was a friend from school, later as we grew up it became about that same friend whom she loved more than anyone in her entire world and yet he betrayed her trust. But there is something more to it I think." Dominic said searching deep into himself for more.
"Obviously we know it had something to do with Voldemort." Harry thought.
"Yes, it had something to do with the dark lord but she always told us it was because of her parents and what they did. I am guessing they fought with your parents or before your parents. They were among some of the first members of the order of the phoenix, and were killed by the dark lord but that's all we were ever told."
"There has to be something more," Harry thought.
"Yeah that's what I am thinking now," Dominic sighed, "please can you tell me anything that might help us understand?"
"I don't know," Harry thought and he proceeded to tell Dominic everything he knew about his involvement with Voldemort and everything that he had seen in his six years and thus far in his seventh at Hogwarts.
"So Fawkes is the same phoenix that gave the feathers for your wand and Voldemort?" Dominic asked getting stuck on the idea.
"Yeah but I don't see how that matters," Harry thought, "sister wands can't be used against each other. It doesn't work."
"They are very mysterious birds, mum specializes in them, well she did. It just seems kinda odd that Dumbledore's bird would be the bird that started all of this. I mean a phoenix will live forever, and so Dumbledore wouldn't have always had that bird..." Dominic trailed off.
"You think your mom has a connection with the bird?" Harry asked.
"Probably not," Dominic thought unconvincingly, "its gotta be something else... it can't be something that important... could it?"
"I don't know," Harry thought, "you'll have to ask her."
"That is something that she would tell us... I think," Dominic said again feeling off about the idea, "why would she hide something so important like that?"
"Maybe to keep you safe?" Harry said, "telling you and Amelia about an involvement that deep might be dangerous to you. Don't you think?"
"I'd rather it be me than her," Dominic thought, "besides we are in danger just being in her family by the sounds of things."
"And she is your mother, and her maternal instinct is to protect you," Harry said sadly, "mothers do that. They'll die for their children."
Dominic looked sadly at Harry and could see the resistance to go any further in his eyes, "I'm sorry to have pushed you this far tonight," Dominic thought, "I know your parents is a touchy subject."
"As it is with you I can see," Harry thought, "maybe it would be best if we continued this another night."
"Yeah," Dominic thought and jumped down from Harry's bed, "you really are getting good at this no matter what anyone else thinks," he thought with a smile.
"I guess you are just a better teacher than Snape was!" Harry smiled.
"Don't start with the Snape jokes again!" Dominic though as he read Harry's next thought before he could say it.
"You're too good!" Harry laughed a little out loud and laid back down in bed.
The rest of the night was short. Once sleep set in for Harry everything seemed to pass so quickly. He didn't dream at all that night and his head was clear and at peace. When he woke up the shies were blue the birds outside the castle sang and the flags from the Quiddich pitch danced in the slight breeze. He felt well rested and ready for his day. His head was clear and he was generally happy. He was looking forward to today more than anything. Almost all of the darkness that surrounded him the previous day was gone but not forgotten. His hands and knees were scrapped and bruised and the cut across Ron's cheek was still red and visible but that wasn't going to ruin his day. He was going to work very hard at keeping his head clear today and not let anything take his mind off Quiddich. If he could keep the block up for the day then he was determined he could keep it longer and that also made Harry very happy. He was advancing finally in his Occlumency and he could really see the difference in the help Amelia and Dominic had been giving him. Harry dressed quickly and prepared all his equipment for Quiddich that afternoon. His class schedule for the day was also one that made him happy. His first defense against the dark arts class was today and he looked forward to seeing who the prof was. He rushed down the stairs to the common room and took a quick peek at the Quiddich try out sheet. It was filled completely with names. Amelia jumped out of a seat by the fire when she noticed Harry and walked over to him nervously.
"Harry," She said softly, " how are you feeling?"
"I feel great!" Harry smiled excitedly, "look at all the names! Its going to be a good try out today!"
"Yeah it looks like it," she said nervously.
"What's wrong," He asked noticing her turn away and sit down again.
"I don't know if I want to do this," she said as she looked at her hands.
"Do what?" Harry asked walking over to her, "the quiddich tryouts?"
"Yes," she sighed, "there are so many people on that list and all of them have years more than I have flying. I don't know if I should even waste your time by coming out."
"You're a good flyer," Harry said confidently, "you had put in a lot of work and even if you don't make the team I would be disappointed with all the work we put in at the burrow if you didn't even come out and give it a shot. Besides some of the Gryffindors on that list aren't good flyers at all... and I would know I am in their flying class and I have seen them fly, but they want to come out and at least try."
"But that's so many people," Amelia said a hint of fear in her voice.
"Only people that matter are Professor McGonagall and me. You have no need to be scared. You proved your bravery yesterday," Harry smiled, "please come try."
"Ok," Amelia said, "but if I am so nervous that I fall off my broom you better catch me Harry Potter or I will be very angry!"
"I'll catcher you," Harry laughed, "I am the fastest flyer on the team. I mean how else would I catch the golden snitch. If I can catch that I am sure I could catch you!"
"Ok I'll come," Amelia smiled.
"IT'S QUIDDICH DAY!" Dominic and Ron yelled as they came into the common room.
"Harry you feeling ready to go this afternoon?" Ron asked.
"Yeah you gonna be ok to take Amelia and I on?" Dominic asked excitedly.
"You guys we still have a full day of classes to get threw first!" Amelia said as she rolled her eyes.
"Ah boo to class!" Dominic said as he ran up behind her and hugged her, "Quiddich is gonna be so much fun! I'm just super excited to get out on the pitch!"
"Dom you haven't even made the team yet!" Amelia laughed.
"Stop spoiling my fun!" Dominic whined, "let me have my moment of excitement."
"I thought you would be most excited about defense against the dark arts today," Amelia said breaking free of her brother.
"Yeah that's all good and will make the day even better but I'm going out to the tryouts today and I am going to be the best chaser Gryffindor has seen! Its gonna be great! I'll fly circles around you Ron. You'll never see me comin!" Dominic stated excitedly.
"Hold up there," Ron laughed, "you'll never get past me!"
"Wanna bet!" Dominic said with a sly smirk, "its totally on now!"
"Alright, alright! That's enough out of all of you!" Hermione said as she came down with Ginny, "food now, then class then quiddich got it? Lets go!" she said pushing Dominic and Ron out the common room door.
"Yes mother!" they both said together and started to run as Hermione gave them a really 'don't mess with me' kinda look.
"Oh they are totally gonna get it!" Amelia laughed as she followed Hermione out of the common room.
"Yeah they'll have two broken legs each and wont be able to even play today when Hermione is done with them!" Harry laughed.
"They deserve it!" Hermione said as she watched them continue their sprint down the hall.
By the afternoon buzz about the oncoming tryouts could be heard throughout classes. Harry's last class that afternoon was defense against the dark arts and the class was filling fast. All of his friends managed to join him in the class as they took their seats near the back of the room still waiting for the unknown professor. The time the class should have started came and passed and the class sat around anxiously waiting to see what would happen. Soon Professor Dumbledore arrived at the door to the class and walked to the front. Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged strange looks and returned their stares to Dumbledore.
"I suppose it would seem odd that I would be here," Dumbledore said finally, "but as this position is believe to be cursed we could not find another Professor to teach it and so I am here to break the cures!" he smiled waved his wand in the air and purple smoked billowed from the end, "there the curse is broken!" he stated.
The students looked at him strangely and at the purple smoked that began to disperse itself all throughout the class room. Slight coughing pursued the smoke to the back of the class and finally Dumbledore spoke again, "welcome to advanced Defense Against the Dark Arts, year seven. This year we will be concluding your education to the best of our abilities in defense charms and counter spell." he said and thus was started the Defense against the dark arts class.
Dominic and Harry watched Dumbledore very attentively as he demonstrated some advanced defense arts. Hermione and Amelia took very detailed notes as Ron still squinted up at Dumbledore.
"Hermione," he whispered over to her, "don't you think it's a bit odd to have Dumbledore actually teaching?" he asked.
"Who better to teach us than Dumbledore himself" Hermione asked, "he is the only wizard that Voldemort is afraid of and one of the most powerful wizards alive. I'm very happy with learning from him and you should be too. Now pay attention !" she said and went back to her notes.
"I never would have expected this," Ron sighed and returned to his text book.
"Its been seven years at Hogwarts," Harry laughed a little, "you have to expect everything here!"
Ron rolled his eyes and returned his attention to the lessons at hand.