Harry Potter and the Forbidden Passage
by Cendrillon

Disclaimer: The wonderful world of Harry Potter is entirely the property of the incredible J.K. Rowling, and I am, unfortunately, not her, nor am I benefitting from any monetary compensation for this story.

Chapter 6: Property of Lily Evans


Harry held the small book delicately as he stared at the white lily on the cover. He opened it slowly, hardly daring to think and yet hoping that he would find some evidence that it was what he thought it might be.

He found what he was looking for immediately on the inside of the front cover. There, written in tiny perfect script, he read, "Property of Lily Evans." Below it was scrawled in the same feminine handwriting, "PETUNIA, KEEP OUT!" This confirmed his suspicions - it was his mother's diary. Harry flipped through the pages again more slowly, looking carefully at every page. But it was no use, the book was entirely blank except for the cover.

Harry quickly threw open his trunk and removed a quill and ink. He sat down at the desk and opened the book to the first page. Dipping his quill in the ink, he poised it over the page. He decided to write the same words he first wrote in Tom Riddle's diary.

"My name is Harry Potter," Harry scribbled on the first page.

The ink absorbed into the paper but did not vanish as it did with Riddle's diary. Harry waited five full minutes, but no new words ever appeared.

Ten more minutes and still the only words on the page were the ones he had written.

"Lily?" Harry wrote.

Once again, no response.

"Mum, please talk to me!" he scrawled hastily.

Nothing - no perfect tiny script replied, "Hello, Harry!" or "Harry, I'm here."

Perhaps the diary was blank after all. Perhaps it was rubbish, Harry thought bitterly. Even worse, perhaps this was all some very nasty joke from the Dursleys. If so, they had never been more cruel, even when they starved him or hit him or locked him in the cupboard under the stairs.

* * * * *

The next morning, Harry awoke in a very bad mood with his head down on the book and the quill still in his hand. He had filled five pages of the diary, begging for a response, before finally collapsing from exhaustion and frustration.

He reluctantly got dressed and went downstairs to join everyone for breakfast. He didn't really want to face anyone right now, but he knew they would come to find him if he did not make an appearance and that would be much worse.

"Morning," Harry called as he entered the dining room. Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Remus were already seated around the table and eating breakfast.

"Good morning, Harry," Remus greeted him warmly. "Happy Birthday."

"Yeah, Happy Birthday, Harry!" Ron said, with Hermione and Ginny joining in.

"Dobby prepared quite a feast for you this morning," Remus said as he served Harry a plate full of food. There were eggs benedict, thick sausages, exotic fruits, and warm raisin and cinnamon scones with fresh Devonshire cream.

Along with the food came a mug full of rich hot chocolate and a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. It was an incredible spread and it smelled delicious, but Harry could do little more than pick at it. He just didn't have any appetite this morning.

"Are you all right, Harry?" Hermione asked with concern. "You look like you didn't get very much sleep. Is something wrong?"

"No," Harry said flatly, not leaving room for discussion.

"Well, Harry, is there anything you'd like to do today?" Remus asked.

Harry shrugged and continued picking at his food. What he really felt like doing, he couldn't do here and it certainly didn't involve other people. Right now, he would have liked nothing better than to be completely alone watching a television program that would drown out his every thought and concern. After all, it worked for Dudley, perhaps it would work for him.

"There you go again," Ginny said with annoyance as she dropped her fork loudly on her plate.

"What?" Harry asked defensively.

"Blocking us out, just like you did last Christmas."

"She's right, Harry," Hermione said, "You are doing it again. Just tell us what's going on. It will help to talk about it, I promise."

"There's nothing wrong," Harry snapped.

"Harry!" Hermione said angrily, standing up with her hands on her hips. She had the determination and fire in her eyes that Harry knew from experience to take as an immediate warning signal.

"All right, all right, so maybe there is something wrong," he muttered.

"Go on," Hermione said.

"Well, after Ron and Ginny left last night, I opened my gift from the Dursleys."

"Oh, they didn't give you a tissue again, did they?" Ron asked. "Don't let the Muggles get you down, Harry."

"Is that the type of gift they usually give you, Harry? If I had known, I would never have given it to you," Remus said apologetically.

"No. No, you don't understand, it isn't like that this time. It isn't trash. Or maybe it is. I justI just don't know," Harry said in frustration. He pushed his food aside, then put his head on the table, resting on his crossed arms, so he wouldn't have to look at anyone.

"Harry," Hermione said tentatively as she touched his arm. "Harry, look at me. You can tell us anything, I hope you know that by now. Tell me, what did they give you?"

"It'sit's a book."

"And?" Hermione prodded.

"Andthere was a lily on the front and the inside cover says it was the property of my mother, but the pages are blank," Harry said in a rush of words. "I just thoughtI thought that maybe-"

"You thought it was a diary like his, like Tom Riddle's, didn't you?" Ginny said quietly.

"Yes," Harry confessed miserably, slumping back in his chair.

"I take it writing in the book did nothing, then?" Ginny asked.

"No, there was no response. Now I'm wondering if it was all just one big cruel joke from the Dursleys. It sounds like something Dudley would do if he had any idea how much something like that would mean to me."

"No, I don't think it was a joke, Harry," Remus said, frowning. "MaybeI hate to tell you this, but maybe it is just an empty book. Perhaps they thought you could use it at school."

"Maybe," Harry replied glumly.

"Harry?" Hermione asked tentatively. "You did check for simple charms and invisible ink first, didn't you?" She laughed slightly, "Oh, I'm being silly, of course you did. I mean you wouldn't write in the diary without doing that first."

Harry felt like his heart had stopped beating. His face blanched and his eyes grew wide. "Nokind of didn't."

"What!? You have to be kidding me. Your mother probably was just trying to hide the text, she wouldn't need a spell as complex as Riddle's," Hermione said, exasperated. "All right, bring it down here. Let's see what we can do."

Harry immediately got up and ran to collect the book.

By the time he returned, Hermione already had a Revealer, which looked like a large red eraser, in her hand. As Harry handed her the book, everyone moved in to get a closer look.

"Well, it does look like a diary, Harry," Ginny commented.

Hermione opened the book to the first page. "See the note she left for your aunt, Harry. I bet she was just trying to hide the writing from her sister. Since she was Muggleborn, she wouldn't need a complex spell to make the writing invisible if she was hiding it from her family."

"I guess that makes sense," Harry said. "Aunt Petunia is a great snoop, she spends her days spying on the neighbors. I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to read Mum's diary when they were younger."

Hermione had turned her attention to Harry's writings on the first page and paused with the Revealer in hand over the page.

"What are you waiting for, Hermione? Try the Revealer," Harry said anxiously.

"Well, I can't do it here. Harry, you filled the whole page! If anything does appear, it's going to be difficult to read," Hermione commented as she flipped to the next page and the next. "You filled five pages? I wish you had come to me sooner."

"Well, it's too late now isn't it?" Harry spat. "Now use the Revealer or give it to me."

"Fine, fine, don't get upset," Hermione said as she flipped to a blank page and started to rub the page with the red eraser.

Nothing appeared. Harry sighed.

"Don't get discouraged yet," Hermione said, "Let's try another page." Another page was rubbed, but still no writing appeared.

"Sorry, mate," Ron said sympathetically to Harry, "Looks like it's blank after all."

"Hold on," Hermione said, "That was just to see if she used invisible ink. We don't know if there's a charm on it yet."

"Professor Lupin, try the Aparecius spell," Hermione suggested.

Lupin gave her a look of amusement. "Believe it or not, Hermione, I am aware of a few spells for this situation."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said, blushing, "I didn't mean...oh, just try it, please?"

"Aparecium!" Remus said after he tapped the book three times. Black spots slowly appeared on the page gradually spreading to form letters. Within seconds, the page was filled with the same feminine script that appeared on the cover.

Hermione smiled with triumph as she handed the book back to Harry.

"I can't believe it. You did it!" Harry said with astonishment.

"It wasn't that difficult really. She chose a fairly basic concealing charm."

"This is amazing," Harry said as he flipped through the now filled pages. He turned to the first page and started trying to read in between his own handwriting, but became suddenly aware of all the people standing behind him. He snapped the book shut and turned around.

"I would sort of like tobe alone when I read this. I'll tell you about it later, of course, but-"

"Oh, right, of course, Harry," Remus said immediately. "I have to go back to Diagon Alley anyway. Why don't you three join me?"

Hermione, Ron, and Ginny agreed and soon thereafter, Harry was left in complete solitude.

He went up to his bedroom and closed the door, determined not to be bothered by anyone who might stop by, when he read his mother's diary. He settled himself down on the bed and turned back to the first page. It wasn't that hard to distinguish her handwriting from his after all since they had used different colors of ink and his handwriting was so much larger than hers. He started to read the first entry.


August 23, 1975

A brand new diary is such a lovely thing. A blank book to fill with all my hopes, dreams, and emotions. Hopefully, Petunia won't steal this one like the others. Even if she does, she won't be able to read it at least. I finally decided to put a charm on it. Sometimes it pays to be the only witch in the family.

My Hogwarts letter came today with the seventh year book list and great news - I'm HEAD GIRL! Mum and Dad were so proud they bought me an owl. It's very cute, like a little brown ball of fluff. I named him Frodo after a character in this book I read over the summer. It seems to fit him.

Petunia is pea green with envy as usual. Mum and Dad aren't so pleased with her right now because she didn't pass her entrance exams for university. Ever since I was accepted to Hogwarts, she's been impossible to live with. She always puts me down and tells me I'll go to Hell for being a witch, but I think the truth is she really wishes she had some magical abilities. Who wouldn't, right? One time I caught her trying to use my wand, she kept shaking it and saying nonsense words. She was so angry when nothing happened. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen!

But then again, maybe she should be thankful she isn't a witch, at least a Muggleborn one anyway. It's pretty frightening being a Muggleborn witch right now with You-Know-Who out there and all. It's hard to believe I might be facing him myself shortly, after I start Auror training next year. Maybe someday I'll be known as the famous Lily Evans, the girl who defeated the Dark Lord. Or maybe I'll just be another nameless Mudblood victim of You-Know-Who, but I'd prefer to think the former.

Oh, I forgot to mention the bad news of the day - Potter is Head Boy this year. Why Dumbledore would make that asinine jerk Head Boy is beyond me. Why wasn't Remus made Head Boy? He's been Prefect for the last two years, not Potter. And just when I was hoping to get to know Remus better. But nooo, Potter has to step in. Must be because of that incident with Snape last year. No one would tell us what happened, but suddenly Potter is Dumbledore's golden boy.

Making matters worse, in our new duties, Potter and I will have to meet regularly to discuss school issues. I can just imagine what will take place:

Me: So what activities should we plan for the Halloween Feast?
James: How about feasting with me, Evans?
Me: In your dreams, Potter!

I can't even begin to fathom why the boy keeps asking me out, despite the fact that I've turned him down at least three times a day for the last four years. You'd think that at least would have deflated his head a bit by now.

I don't know why the other girls find him so attractive. I mean he's good looking and athletic and smart I suppose, but what good are those when he behaves like an immature prat. A handsome face and great Quidditch skills can't make up for a bad personality in my opinion. I could never go out with someone who would play such cruel pranks, even if they are usually played on a complete slimeball like Snape. I'd even take that little rat, Pettigrew, over Potter...


Harry slammed the book shut. He couldn't take anymore, not yet. He couldn't bear to read another disparaging word that his mother had written about his father. She had hated him. She had truly and utterly hated him. Why had she married him? Why had she ever even agreed to go out with him in the first place? It just didn't make sense.

* * * * *

As Harry went to bed that night, he was still haunted by the diary. The image of his mother yelling at his father in Snape's memory kept replaying in his head as he drifted off to sleep.

"I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," Lily spat at James.

"You will go out with me, Evans," James threatened darkly, "unless you'd like to turn out like Snivellus here." James directed his wand at Snape who was hovering upside down in mid-air behind him. Pink soap bubbles poured out of Snape's mouth every time he tried to speak. Then the bubbles stopped and Snape's body revolved until he was right side up. He appeared to be screaming, though no sound issued from his mouth. It was as though someone had taken his voice away. Snape looked terrified as James aimed his wand at him.

James looked back at Lily. He smiled sinisterly before turning back to Snape and yelling, "Crucio!"

Snape screamed, his voice returning at full strength. He shook with the pain until James finally lowered his wand. Snape collapsed at his feet.

"Someday, Evans, you will be where he is. On the ground, bowing to me," James said triumphantly. He began to laugh horribly and uncontrollably. He doubled up with the laughter and when he raised his head again, it was no longer James Potter who looked up, but Voldemort.

Author's Notes:|

Many thanks to my beta-reader, Ozma, and to everyone who has reviewed.

I have a deleted scene from this chapter that is posted as a separate story under the title "HP and the Forbidden Passage Chaper 6 Deleted Scene". This is a much lighter scene I created to balance out the angst in this chapter, but it didn't seem to quite fit with the flow and it's not Rowlingesque enough to include here. But it's fun, especially for H/G and R/H fans. The deleted scene covers the rest of the day after the time Harry stops reading the diary.