Chapter 5: Number 12 Grimmauld Place
...He closed the album and set off downstairs...
When Harry got downstairs, the three girls were sitting on the couch and whispering amongst themselves. But when Harry entered, they stopped immediately. Knowing they were talking about him, Harry walked over to the kitchen to get his trunk, and he took hold of it. He then looked at Luna, who looked very comfortable, sitting with girls whom she can talk about Harry to.
"Well? What are you waiting for? We've got to go." Harry said with tiredness in his voice.
"Go? Go where Harry?" Luna asked, who apparently forgot that they were supposed to go to Diagon Alley and get help.
"To...To Lower London? Remember? To...to..." Harry tried to explain, but not knowing if these girls were his kind, he failed to do so and he just sighed angrily and said," Just come on!"
Luna got up and walked over to Harry and whispered, "Harry? Where are we supposed to...Oh!" Luna seemed to remember where they were supposed to go. "But Harry? They've got a place for us here. They've got enough food and we can go another day...please? Why now? When we're so tired and weak?"
Harry got mad at that last statement she made and angrily whispered," You're the one who's weak. Not me. If you want to stay, then stay. I'm going. And if I have to go alone, then I will. I'm not afraid."
"I...I'm sorry Harry. I am afraid. More afraid than what happened last year. You know I got to thinking about it, and the reason I was acting really calm last year was because I wanted you to see that I was brave. That I wasn't a scared little girl. But when I got home last month, I really thought about it, and it was then that I realized that I could have been killed. I could...I could be dead right now." The last part of her speech, her voice cracked as if she wanted to cry.
Harry felt sympathetic towards her, but he still wanted to get help.
"Look Luna, if you want to come, you can come. But if you don't, then I'm sorry. I'm not going to stay behind just because a person is scared. You know how many times I was scared and nobody cared? Nobody froze time just for a scared little boy. And I'm not about to freeze it for you. I've got to go. Are you coming?"
Luna really looked as if she wanted to cry, but she shed no tears. Instead, she looked Harry straight in his eyes and shook her head no.
"I'm sorry Harry, but I'm too scared."
Harry tore his eyes away from her and started walking towards the door. One of the twins asked where he was going.
"I'm going somewhere, to get help..." He looked at Luna," I'll send someone to pick you up. Goodbye."
And he walked out the door.
He heard a noise somewhere to his right. He turned to his right with his wand in front of him and something collided with him hard, which made him and the thing or person collapse to the ground.
"What the...Who's there?" Harry said as he got up from the ground. He shone the light on the person who was lying on the ground. He sighed with relief as he saw who the person was.
"What happened?" Harry asked, while helping Luna Lovegood to her feet. "I thought you were going to stay with the Frosts'."
"Well...I thought about what you said, and...well...I kinda...I kinda agree with you. If I were you right now, I'd probably wouldn't be taking any BS from anyone. Especially from some little annoying girl who doesn't know anything about...being you." Luna muttered the last part with her head down, trying to be interested in a crack on the ground.
Harry took his hand and tilted her face upwards so that he can talk to her clearly. And it was that moment when clouds started forming. Forming something weird...
"Look Luna, if I got you mad or...or scared, then I'm sorry. I was just caught up in the moment of leaving and getting help. I...I wasn't thinking about your feelings. And..." Harry started, but Luna interrupted tensely.
"And this is not the place to be spilling out your apologies to me, Harry. We've got to go, now!" Luna screamed as the clouds formed the word revenge, and as the temperature suddenly dropped about 50 degrees.
Harry and Luna started running wildly, leaving they're trunks behind. Harry felt the coldness creeping up on him, but he did not stop. He kept on running, the thought of what might be following them intensifying his speed. But the coldness came to a point where he couldn't move.
All motion ceased. Harry was frozen to the spot. Then, he heard it. Faint at first, was a woman screaming to a laughing man. Then, as the noise became louder, Harry noticed that the woman was not only screaming, but she was pleading for forgiveness. He recognized the voice as his mother's. And the other's, he knew immediately, was Voldemort's. He expected it to be his mother begging Voldemort not to kill Harry, but it was different this time. Very different.
"Please! Please Master! I'm sorry! I'm so very sorry! Don't me mad! I tried! I really tried! I'll...I'll try again! And this time...I Will SUCCEED!!!!!" The woman shrieked.
"Silence you foolish woman! Do you think, after all that you cost me, that I will let you live!? Hahaha! You must be off your rocker then Evan's, because I will not let you live. Not this time and not ever. Crucio!"
The woman, who had no wand, helplessly let the spell hit her. She twitched and yelled on the ground, all the while, Voldemort was laughing.
Voldemort's laugh abruptly stopped when the door banged open and a man walked in, wand pointed at Voldemort...
Harry did not see who that person was, for he fainted. But before he fainted, he saw a faint grey figure of a woman...no a girl with long hair, charge towards about 3 hooded figures, and drive them away. He then heard someone scream next to him. Then he heard or saw no more.Harry awoke to a jumble of voices.
"What happened? How did he end up like this? Where have you two been?"
"Remus, this is not a time to be asking questions. They are very, very fragile! Now if you just leave and let me tend to them, then when you come back-"
"There's no time Tonks! Look, there's something out there and if we don't act fast, then-"
"Silence both of you. There is no time for arguing. Besides, mister Potter has just awoken."
Harry opened his eyes and looked around. He was in a brick room with a lot of people in it.
"Harry!" Harry looked to his left and saw Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred, George, and Mrs.Weasley.
"Welcome back Mister Potter." Harry looked to his right and saw Tonks right next to him, Lupin next to Tonks, Mr. Weasley next to Lupin, Luna lying in another bed, and Dumbledore getting up from a poofy chair in the corner.
At that moment, there was a lot of movement around the room. Mostly happening because people wanted to get near him. But Tonks got to him first.
"Are you alright? Do your bones feel weak? Do you think a bit of chocolate will make you feel a bit better?" Tonks asked while checking his forehead and then breaking off a piece of chocolate from a big chunk that was on the night table.
Harry looked around again and stopped at Lupin.
"Did you get Sirius's will?" He couldn't stop the words from coming from his mouth. Lupin looked at him and shook his head no.
"You didn't? Well, then I have got to show you. It says something about you being my-"
"Harry, we can talk about this privately. For now, you have some questions to answer." Lupin looked at Dumbledore.
"Thank you Remus. Now, Harry, we've been trying to figure out what happened out there from Ms. Luna, but she's obviously still shaken. So now your awake Mister Potter, and now you can tell us what's been happening since your aunt let you go." Dumbledore looked at Harry with intense curiosity, as like the rest of the people who were in the room.
Harry looked around again, and then his eyes stopped at Luna. Then, all the things that happened that evening came spilling out as if he were reading from a journal.
When he was done, Dumbledore and Lupin were pacing around the large room. Hermione asked Dumbledore if they can talk to him, but Dumbledore said no.
"I think that Remus and Harry need to have a few minutes alone?" He looked at Harry.
"Yeah. Lupin, I have to talk to you privately. If...If we could be alone, then..." Harry broke off looking at Hermione and the rest of the people in the room.
"Well. I guess we're all going to have to leave then. Come on everyone. You too Ron. Harry will speak with you later I suppose." Dumbledore left the room with a wink at Harry and closed the door with a click.
Lupin walked over to the bed that Harry was lying in.
"What's the matter? What were you saying about Sirius making me your what?" Lupin asked with worry in his voice.
"Legal guardian." Harry finished the sentence he started saying about half an hour ago.
Lupin just looked at Harry with wide eyes for like 2 minutes. Then he started pacing around the room, muttering to himself.
"Look, if you don't believe me, just go in my trunk and-"
"You didn't have your trunk when we found you. You and Luna was just lying on the ground with only your wands. But don't worry Harry, I believe you. Sirius always said that if anything happened to him, he would leave me to take care of you. I always thought he was bluffing because I never thought anything would happen to him..." Lupin trailed of looking at one of the portraits on the wall. Harry suddenly wanted to know where he was.
"Where am I?" He asked Lupin.
"Can't you recognize it? Well, probably not. Seeing, as you've never been in this room before. Your in Grimmauld Place Harry."
Harry closed his eyes and opened them again. This time when he looked around the room, it looked very familiar. Harry suddenly got up and walked around to the other side of the room. He looked at the portrait that Lupin was looking at before, and saw that it was Phineas Niggles. And he wasn't looking so good like last time Harry saw him. Of course, that was when his great-great-grandson was alive and well.
Phineas looked at Harry and huffed and puffed and walked out of his portrait.
"We have to find my trunk. There are too many things in there to leave lying about. If anyone, I mean anyone finds that trunk then..." Harry trailed off looking at Lupin.
"Harry Dumbledore, Tonks and I will look for your trunk while you stay here and rest. Don't give me that look Harry. You have got to rest. If you go and...and do something to take all of your energy away, then...then..."
"Then what Lupin! I'm sorry if I don't have a fear of loosing my energy or...or probably even dying! That's just me Lupin! I've seen so many people that I love die since I was what, one! And I'm not...I'm not about to lay low now and let everyone else that I have around me die! So...So...Just leave me alone!" Harry walked over to the bed, sat down and buried his face in his hands and started crying embarrassedly in front of Lupin, who had tears in his eyes too.
Lupin walked over to Harry and made a gesture to hug him, but thought better of it and just put his hand on Harry's shoulder, which was shaking with his sobs.
"Look Harry. I know how it feels loosing people you love. You see I loved Sirius very much. And the same goes for your father. They were like brothers to me."
Harry looked up," And what about my mother. Were you two best friends like Sirius and my father?"
Lupin looked again at the portrait, which was now empty, with dreamy eyes that Harry had never seen his with before in his life.
"Your mother was different. She was like the only girl in the group. And the only mature one. She...she was always the one who would knock reality into us when we would think of something fun, but dangerous to do when we were bored. Like one day, we were all thinking of seeing Pettigrew for like a "friends" reunion. It would have been fine, but we were thinking of going as our animal forms. As soon as Lily got word of it, she told us off for thinking of doing something so stupid and dangerous. She mostly use to scold me because out of your father, Sirius, and me, I was the most mature one and she expected me to be the one to stand up to them and tell them no. But I was too afraid to tell them no because I thought that our friendship wouldn't last if I started refusing to do things with them. But in the end, our friendship started to fall apart because I didn't tell them no. We started doing stupid things and not listening to Lily. Then, that's when all hell broke loose..." Lupin broke off, looking at Harry with a mixture of hatred, dreaminess, and stupidity.
Harry decided to change the subject.
"Who was it that saved me and Luna from the dementors?"
"Me and Dumbledore. We were there when we saw you kneeling on the ground and a dementor was kneeling over Luna. We thought we had lost her. But I did the Expecto Patronum spell and-"
"You did that spell? Who was that girl that came charging at the dementors?"
"It's...It's not important. What's important is what you were seeing in your mind. We heard you in your sleep saying 'Who was he? Who was he?" Who was who Harry? What did you see?
Harry had only just remembered what he had seen when the dementors got near him. He started breathing fast and he told Lupin what he had seen. When he finished, Lupin was again, pacing around the room.
"What is it? Lupin...Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you know anything about if my mother was supporting Voldemort?" Harry said sternly to Lupin.
Lupin sharply turned around and walked towards Harry.
"Listen Harry...the information I'm about to tell you, you cannot tell anyone else. Not even Dumbledore knows about it. You have to keep it a secret. The only reason I'm telling you this now is because you're bound to find all the clues and work it out..."
"What? What is it Lupin? Tell me!" Harry was anxious to know this about his mother.
If she was supporting Voldemort, then...then I dunno what I might do. But it's impossible. It couldn't have been her. It was probably one of her sisters or family members....
Harry's thoughts were interrupted when Lupin said with a voice hardly above a whisper," Your mother, Harry, was a Death Eater."
A/N: Hello there again! Sorry I took sooooooo long writing this chapter, but it's the last two weeks of school and they're teaching us advanced stuff for next year so it's been very hectic! AHHHHH! LOL. So I hope you liked this chapter and if you have any comments or you want to tell me some things that are wrong like names or concepts, then post them in your reviews! And if there are a lot of spelling/grammar mistakes then sorry! I haven't had time to spell check after I wrote this so...R&R if you want to read more. Thanx! Krystina