A/N: sorry this took so long to get out, but I just couldn't get it to feel
right. Just so you know, this chapter may be confusing if you haven't read
the prequel, actually, I know it will. I warned you, now read and enjoy,
and I apologize in advance because I'm leaving to go to a family vacation
for a week and won't be able to post, sorry, but I will as soon as I get
back, probably a couple of days before the book is released. Thanks for
your reviews!
Chapter 4-Research
The next week passed quickly, and the following Saturday found a group of students and professors outside the castle, James and Lily had spent the past several hours on the quidditch pitch with Jasmine and Dylan, all four friends laughing and joking with each other and just plain enjoying the sunshine, oblivious to the five people sitting in the stands watching them while talking quietly among themselves.
"Any word from Harry?" asked Sirius as he turned to Ginny
"None, I'm really starting to get worried, usually he at least writes every couple of days" she answered with her brow furrowed "Have you heard anything from Ron, Hermione?" she asked in hope
"Nothing" she responded with a heavy sigh "I just wish we knew what's going on" she added to no one in particular
"No kidding" answered Ginny as she watched her children fly
"Albus hasn't heard anything either, but at least he hasn't gotten any more letters" said Snape from his place behind the two women
"Good, I hope Harry finds this madman and hits him where it hurts" said Sirius, causing the others just to roll their eyes in response "What?!" he demanded
"Black, the eternal juvenile" answered Snape, causing laughter to break out among the friends, especially when Sirius didn't protest
After several minutes though, the somber mood overtook them again "I just wish we knew something" said Remus, and the others all nodded in silent agreement.
Finally, the sun was beginning to set and the professors called the four students down from their game, and the group retreated into the warmth of the castle and into the great hall for dinner. Once the meal was over, Ginny and Hermione both said goodnight to their children and Dylan before they left in the direction of their respective dorms.
Lily remained up late into the night, trying to finish her potions essay that was due Monday morning, while Jasmine worked on her charms homework, and it was nearly midnight before they sleepily made their way to their dormitories and into bed.
As soon as Lily fell asleep though, she was pulled into the strangest dream she had ever had. She was standing in a stone room, void of any windows or even a door, and not a second later, she heard a low pop and spun around to see her brother standing beside her.
"James?" she asked in shock at the same moment he said her name, and both nodded with wide eyes as they looked at their twin. They were both wearing black robes, similar to their school robes but without the house patches, despite the fact that they had both been wearing their night cloths.
"What's going on?" asked James finally
"I'm not sure, but this is really strange" answered Lily in a whisper, but before he had a chance to respond, another pop was heard and a tall man, wearing black robes as well, was standing before them. He was rather plain looking, with no distinct characteristics whatsoever, a shaggy mop of shoulder length hair, dark brown in color, and eyes that were a muddy brown as well. In fact, he was the type of person you wouldn't give a second glance to if you were to pass him on the street, but they weren't on a street, they were trapped in a strange sort of dream and forced to observe him carefully as he strode toward the two thirteen year olds, his robes fanning out behind him.
"Ah, at last, I have the honor of meeting the children of the famous Harry Potter. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Iniquitous" he said as an evil smile crossed his thin lips.
"Who?" asked James with his brow furrowed and his hand going for his robe pocket where he always kept his wand. Even though this was just a dream, he didn't like the feeling of it, it was all just too strange, and Lily had to agree with him as she made the same motion, but then they turned to look to each other in horror as they realized that they were unarmed.
"Tsk, tsk, did you really believe that I would allow you to come here with your wands? You may not realize it, but you are both quite powerful, or will be given time, and with your combined powers, you could destroy me, even here and I can't risk that, now can I?" he asked with a smirk
"What do you want?" asked Lily with far more braveness than she felt at the moment
"Do not worry, girl, I didn't bring you here to hurt you, just to talk to you, and show you some things that have been kept from you for the entirety of your lives" he said as he snapped his fingers and three chairs appeared out of nowhere "Why don't you take a seat and we can begin" he said as he sat himself
James and Lily looked to one another quickly and mutely decided to just comply and see what this was all about, after all, what other choice did they have at the moment?
"Fine, talk" said James once he had sat stiffly in the chair, ready to jump to his feet if the need arose
"Not one for pleasantries, are you? I would have thought that your parents would have raised you better, but given their histories, especially that of your father, I can't say I am to terribly surprised" he said with another cold smile crossing his lips
"What are you on about?" asked Lily in true confusion "What history, our patents are both good and well respected people" she said by way of defense and James nodded in agreement.
"Ah, that is what they would like you to think, but several things have been kept from the two of you, and from the rest of the wizarding world, things that you have a right to know, and since it is obvious that no one else will tell you these things, I will take it upon myself to do so, but first, you must tell me all you know about your father" he said as he settled back into his own chair, meeting two very confused pairs of brilliant green eyes.
"All right" said James slowly after looking to his sister for a moment "Where do you want us to start?" he asked hesitantly
"Well, the beginning is as good of place as any" said the man with a shrug of his shoulders
"Ok, his name is Harry James Potter, he was born of July 31, 1980 to Lily and James Potter in Godric's Hollow" said Lily and from here, her brother took over
"His parents were killed by Voldemort on Halloween when he was a year old, and when he tried to kill dad, the spell rebounded back onto him and killed his body and freed his spirit, and all that dad got was a scar on his forehead.
After his parents died, he was sent to live with his mothers sister, Petunia, and her husband Vernon, and he didn't even know he was a wizard until he got his letter from Hogwarts. His best friends in school were Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and during his fifth year, he started to date mum. During his sixth year, Voldemort attacked Hogwarts and after a battle, dad was taken prisoner by the death eaters and not seen for three months, and everyone thought he was dead, but he came back. Things got back to normal as much as possible, and dad left the school during his last year to get private lessons, and he returned the year after he graduated.
On Christmas of that year, mum and several other people who were close to dad were taken by death eaters and when he went after them, everyone thought he had died, but a few days later, he came walking into the great hall, very much alive. At mum's graduation, he proposed to her and then they got married and shortly after, we were born. Now he is the head of the Ministry of Magic's defense department and teaches Defense against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Everyone knows this, it's in all of the books about dad and Voldemort" concluded James with a shrug of his shoulders and Lily nodded in agreement.
Iniquitous sat in silence for several moments as he surveyed the children in front of him. Suddenly, his eyes met both of theirs and he said in a steady voice "What would you say if I told you that the majority of what you know of your father is a lie, fabricated by himself, Dumbledore, and the rest of their select group to explain the strange occurrences of your fathers life" he said smoothly with his lips upturned in a small smile.
"Never, our father would never lie to us" said Lily firmly
"I'm afraid it is true, the man you know as your father is nothing but a façade designed to keep you in the dark about the working of reality" he said confidently
"Why would he do that? He has nothing to hide" said James with a vigorous shake of his head
"Alas, child, you are wrong, Harry Potter has much to hide, allow me to show you" he said, and he raised his hands and the room of nothingness began to fade from view and they found themselves standing in the kitchen of an obviously muggle home, looking right at a young boy with messy black hair and black rimmed glasses and a very beefy looking man with no neck, who was currently looking quite furious about something. Both people were standing frozen, allowing them to get a look at the pair.
"What is this? Where are we?" asked Lily as she spun around to look at Iniquitous, but before he could answer, James spoke up.
"Is that dad?" he asked as he turned to face the man as well, and Lily turned her wide eyes to look at the boy before they grew even wider and dawned in comprehension
"It is dad, isn't it? I mean, it looks just like him, well kind of" she said as she squinted and looked closer at him
"Yes, that is your father, or more correctly, it was your father just before his eleventh birthday, and the man standing in front of him is his Uncle Vernon. Now, this particular event takes place just after a trip to the zoo in which a Burmese python got loose and chased his cousin and a friend. Now, watch" he commanded, and immediately, the scene came to life.
"How did that happen, boy? What did you do?" he demanded to the boy who was cowering before him "Where did the glass go, boy?"
"I didn't do it, Uncle Vernon, I swear, I don't know what happened!" he said in a desperate attempt to convince the large man "On minute the glass was there, the next, it was gone, it was like magic"
"There is no such thing as magic, boy, and you were not talking to that snake! Go to your cupboard, now, and you will get no meals for a week!" he yelled furiously as he grabbed the scruff of the boy's shirt and threw him harshly into the small space and the scene ended abruptly and they found themselves back in the white space again, but this time with no furniture.
"What was that?" asked James
"That was an event from your fathers past" explained Iniquitous patiently
"What are you talking about? How did you know this?" asked Lily, doubt evident in her voice
"I have many talents, one of which is to see the events that occurred in people's past" he said as though this were an every day occurrence
"What were they talking about? Did dad really talk to a snake? And why did his uncle throw him into a cupboard and tell him that he couldn't eat? And what did he think he was saying that there is no such thing as magic" said Lily very quickly and James could only nod, showing he wanted the answers as well
"First, yes, your father did talk to that snake, and as far as the cupboard, he lived there until he received his Hogwarts letter and his family used food as a punishment for any wrong he did, starving him on a regular basis, and they knew that magic was real, but they didn't want your father to know that, so they tried to convince him otherwise" he explained "Let me show you something else" he said and the room faded again and they found themselves tumbling through the events of their fathers first five years of school, being shocked time after time by the things that had been kept from them, the parseltongue, the chamber of secrets, the details of the third task, the deaths, the pain, the suffering, everything, and it left them both speechless, and then they found themselves in a memory about the attack on Hogwarts.
They witnessed the duel between Voldemort and their father, and heard the words exchanged, and finally, saw him vanish in a flash of light. Then they saw the torture he had endured during his imprisonment, saw him receive the dark mark, saw him kill Malfoy and saw the spirit of Voldemort enter their father before the scene changed again and flashed through the memories of the next months, the recovery, the reunions with friends and the return to normalcy, but then, they found themselves sitting in the great hall watching their father duel with another man. They saw him hit by the cruciatus curse and stabbed by the knife before he won the duel. They say the meeting with Dumbledore in which the truth came out and it became known that Harry and Voldemort were one.
Then they saw the events that occurred during the defense lesson, saw the man who had raised them curse his closest friends. They saw him return to the Dursley's, receive his staff, and go into the past with his godfather in search of Voldemort's daughter, saw everything that had occurred with the marauders until they returned to the present, without the girl. Then, they saw the four students arrive in their fathers time and learn the truth as well. They learned that their grandmother was his daughter. They saw the effects that the potion had, the kidnappings on that Christmas day, their father go in search of those closest to him. Saw him subjected to torture once again.
Saw him killed by his own family, one painful curse at a time. Then they saw the spell performed, and saw him come back to life. They then saw the disappearance of the dark mark to be replaced by the phoenix and the efforts of their father to remove the bands that showed him as the heir of Slytherin before he sent his parents back home. Then, the scenes faded one final time, leaving two very shocked, confused, and angry teenagers and one smirking man behind.
Chapter 4-Research
The next week passed quickly, and the following Saturday found a group of students and professors outside the castle, James and Lily had spent the past several hours on the quidditch pitch with Jasmine and Dylan, all four friends laughing and joking with each other and just plain enjoying the sunshine, oblivious to the five people sitting in the stands watching them while talking quietly among themselves.
"Any word from Harry?" asked Sirius as he turned to Ginny
"None, I'm really starting to get worried, usually he at least writes every couple of days" she answered with her brow furrowed "Have you heard anything from Ron, Hermione?" she asked in hope
"Nothing" she responded with a heavy sigh "I just wish we knew what's going on" she added to no one in particular
"No kidding" answered Ginny as she watched her children fly
"Albus hasn't heard anything either, but at least he hasn't gotten any more letters" said Snape from his place behind the two women
"Good, I hope Harry finds this madman and hits him where it hurts" said Sirius, causing the others just to roll their eyes in response "What?!" he demanded
"Black, the eternal juvenile" answered Snape, causing laughter to break out among the friends, especially when Sirius didn't protest
After several minutes though, the somber mood overtook them again "I just wish we knew something" said Remus, and the others all nodded in silent agreement.
Finally, the sun was beginning to set and the professors called the four students down from their game, and the group retreated into the warmth of the castle and into the great hall for dinner. Once the meal was over, Ginny and Hermione both said goodnight to their children and Dylan before they left in the direction of their respective dorms.
Lily remained up late into the night, trying to finish her potions essay that was due Monday morning, while Jasmine worked on her charms homework, and it was nearly midnight before they sleepily made their way to their dormitories and into bed.
As soon as Lily fell asleep though, she was pulled into the strangest dream she had ever had. She was standing in a stone room, void of any windows or even a door, and not a second later, she heard a low pop and spun around to see her brother standing beside her.
"James?" she asked in shock at the same moment he said her name, and both nodded with wide eyes as they looked at their twin. They were both wearing black robes, similar to their school robes but without the house patches, despite the fact that they had both been wearing their night cloths.
"What's going on?" asked James finally
"I'm not sure, but this is really strange" answered Lily in a whisper, but before he had a chance to respond, another pop was heard and a tall man, wearing black robes as well, was standing before them. He was rather plain looking, with no distinct characteristics whatsoever, a shaggy mop of shoulder length hair, dark brown in color, and eyes that were a muddy brown as well. In fact, he was the type of person you wouldn't give a second glance to if you were to pass him on the street, but they weren't on a street, they were trapped in a strange sort of dream and forced to observe him carefully as he strode toward the two thirteen year olds, his robes fanning out behind him.
"Ah, at last, I have the honor of meeting the children of the famous Harry Potter. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Iniquitous" he said as an evil smile crossed his thin lips.
"Who?" asked James with his brow furrowed and his hand going for his robe pocket where he always kept his wand. Even though this was just a dream, he didn't like the feeling of it, it was all just too strange, and Lily had to agree with him as she made the same motion, but then they turned to look to each other in horror as they realized that they were unarmed.
"Tsk, tsk, did you really believe that I would allow you to come here with your wands? You may not realize it, but you are both quite powerful, or will be given time, and with your combined powers, you could destroy me, even here and I can't risk that, now can I?" he asked with a smirk
"What do you want?" asked Lily with far more braveness than she felt at the moment
"Do not worry, girl, I didn't bring you here to hurt you, just to talk to you, and show you some things that have been kept from you for the entirety of your lives" he said as he snapped his fingers and three chairs appeared out of nowhere "Why don't you take a seat and we can begin" he said as he sat himself
James and Lily looked to one another quickly and mutely decided to just comply and see what this was all about, after all, what other choice did they have at the moment?
"Fine, talk" said James once he had sat stiffly in the chair, ready to jump to his feet if the need arose
"Not one for pleasantries, are you? I would have thought that your parents would have raised you better, but given their histories, especially that of your father, I can't say I am to terribly surprised" he said with another cold smile crossing his lips
"What are you on about?" asked Lily in true confusion "What history, our patents are both good and well respected people" she said by way of defense and James nodded in agreement.
"Ah, that is what they would like you to think, but several things have been kept from the two of you, and from the rest of the wizarding world, things that you have a right to know, and since it is obvious that no one else will tell you these things, I will take it upon myself to do so, but first, you must tell me all you know about your father" he said as he settled back into his own chair, meeting two very confused pairs of brilliant green eyes.
"All right" said James slowly after looking to his sister for a moment "Where do you want us to start?" he asked hesitantly
"Well, the beginning is as good of place as any" said the man with a shrug of his shoulders
"Ok, his name is Harry James Potter, he was born of July 31, 1980 to Lily and James Potter in Godric's Hollow" said Lily and from here, her brother took over
"His parents were killed by Voldemort on Halloween when he was a year old, and when he tried to kill dad, the spell rebounded back onto him and killed his body and freed his spirit, and all that dad got was a scar on his forehead.
After his parents died, he was sent to live with his mothers sister, Petunia, and her husband Vernon, and he didn't even know he was a wizard until he got his letter from Hogwarts. His best friends in school were Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and during his fifth year, he started to date mum. During his sixth year, Voldemort attacked Hogwarts and after a battle, dad was taken prisoner by the death eaters and not seen for three months, and everyone thought he was dead, but he came back. Things got back to normal as much as possible, and dad left the school during his last year to get private lessons, and he returned the year after he graduated.
On Christmas of that year, mum and several other people who were close to dad were taken by death eaters and when he went after them, everyone thought he had died, but a few days later, he came walking into the great hall, very much alive. At mum's graduation, he proposed to her and then they got married and shortly after, we were born. Now he is the head of the Ministry of Magic's defense department and teaches Defense against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts. Everyone knows this, it's in all of the books about dad and Voldemort" concluded James with a shrug of his shoulders and Lily nodded in agreement.
Iniquitous sat in silence for several moments as he surveyed the children in front of him. Suddenly, his eyes met both of theirs and he said in a steady voice "What would you say if I told you that the majority of what you know of your father is a lie, fabricated by himself, Dumbledore, and the rest of their select group to explain the strange occurrences of your fathers life" he said smoothly with his lips upturned in a small smile.
"Never, our father would never lie to us" said Lily firmly
"I'm afraid it is true, the man you know as your father is nothing but a façade designed to keep you in the dark about the working of reality" he said confidently
"Why would he do that? He has nothing to hide" said James with a vigorous shake of his head
"Alas, child, you are wrong, Harry Potter has much to hide, allow me to show you" he said, and he raised his hands and the room of nothingness began to fade from view and they found themselves standing in the kitchen of an obviously muggle home, looking right at a young boy with messy black hair and black rimmed glasses and a very beefy looking man with no neck, who was currently looking quite furious about something. Both people were standing frozen, allowing them to get a look at the pair.
"What is this? Where are we?" asked Lily as she spun around to look at Iniquitous, but before he could answer, James spoke up.
"Is that dad?" he asked as he turned to face the man as well, and Lily turned her wide eyes to look at the boy before they grew even wider and dawned in comprehension
"It is dad, isn't it? I mean, it looks just like him, well kind of" she said as she squinted and looked closer at him
"Yes, that is your father, or more correctly, it was your father just before his eleventh birthday, and the man standing in front of him is his Uncle Vernon. Now, this particular event takes place just after a trip to the zoo in which a Burmese python got loose and chased his cousin and a friend. Now, watch" he commanded, and immediately, the scene came to life.
"How did that happen, boy? What did you do?" he demanded to the boy who was cowering before him "Where did the glass go, boy?"
"I didn't do it, Uncle Vernon, I swear, I don't know what happened!" he said in a desperate attempt to convince the large man "On minute the glass was there, the next, it was gone, it was like magic"
"There is no such thing as magic, boy, and you were not talking to that snake! Go to your cupboard, now, and you will get no meals for a week!" he yelled furiously as he grabbed the scruff of the boy's shirt and threw him harshly into the small space and the scene ended abruptly and they found themselves back in the white space again, but this time with no furniture.
"What was that?" asked James
"That was an event from your fathers past" explained Iniquitous patiently
"What are you talking about? How did you know this?" asked Lily, doubt evident in her voice
"I have many talents, one of which is to see the events that occurred in people's past" he said as though this were an every day occurrence
"What were they talking about? Did dad really talk to a snake? And why did his uncle throw him into a cupboard and tell him that he couldn't eat? And what did he think he was saying that there is no such thing as magic" said Lily very quickly and James could only nod, showing he wanted the answers as well
"First, yes, your father did talk to that snake, and as far as the cupboard, he lived there until he received his Hogwarts letter and his family used food as a punishment for any wrong he did, starving him on a regular basis, and they knew that magic was real, but they didn't want your father to know that, so they tried to convince him otherwise" he explained "Let me show you something else" he said and the room faded again and they found themselves tumbling through the events of their fathers first five years of school, being shocked time after time by the things that had been kept from them, the parseltongue, the chamber of secrets, the details of the third task, the deaths, the pain, the suffering, everything, and it left them both speechless, and then they found themselves in a memory about the attack on Hogwarts.
They witnessed the duel between Voldemort and their father, and heard the words exchanged, and finally, saw him vanish in a flash of light. Then they saw the torture he had endured during his imprisonment, saw him receive the dark mark, saw him kill Malfoy and saw the spirit of Voldemort enter their father before the scene changed again and flashed through the memories of the next months, the recovery, the reunions with friends and the return to normalcy, but then, they found themselves sitting in the great hall watching their father duel with another man. They saw him hit by the cruciatus curse and stabbed by the knife before he won the duel. They say the meeting with Dumbledore in which the truth came out and it became known that Harry and Voldemort were one.
Then they saw the events that occurred during the defense lesson, saw the man who had raised them curse his closest friends. They saw him return to the Dursley's, receive his staff, and go into the past with his godfather in search of Voldemort's daughter, saw everything that had occurred with the marauders until they returned to the present, without the girl. Then, they saw the four students arrive in their fathers time and learn the truth as well. They learned that their grandmother was his daughter. They saw the effects that the potion had, the kidnappings on that Christmas day, their father go in search of those closest to him. Saw him subjected to torture once again.
Saw him killed by his own family, one painful curse at a time. Then they saw the spell performed, and saw him come back to life. They then saw the disappearance of the dark mark to be replaced by the phoenix and the efforts of their father to remove the bands that showed him as the heir of Slytherin before he sent his parents back home. Then, the scenes faded one final time, leaving two very shocked, confused, and angry teenagers and one smirking man behind.