Chapter 25

September 1992

Ginny Weasley frowned thoughtfully and while casting a quick glance at Hermione who was going alongside her, she said,

"But Hermione. Why should they lie to us?"

"I don't know, Ginny. It's only everything so strange. Sirius has never mentioned a brother before and I've seen pictures of his family. A brother I have never seen on them. And then Caro's remark that they were forced to hide. How then Draco fits in the picture? They know each other; that is obvious. Did they have to hide together? Why didn't they come to Hogwarts one year ago? And Caro is already thirteen. No, something is wrong there."

Hermione opened the door to her room and stepped to the big bulky cupboard which was standing in one of the corners.

Ginny set down on Hermione's bed.

"Couldn't you have packed yesterday already?"

"No, I couldn't. I had to look after Jamie, Lizzie and Emily's children. Later was then the Sorting feast and today we had already lessons. So I hadn't any time so far," Hermione replied, slightly irritated.

"It looks like that Caro also hadn't time to bring her things to Slytherin so far," Ginny remarked and pointed with her head to the second bed on which a book was lying.

Hermione shrugged with her shoulders.

„ Sirius wasn't happy at all that Caro, Harry and Draco were all put into Slytherin. As I wanted to say Jamie goodnight yesterday I've heard him talking to Charlotte."

"Well, he won't be able to change it," Ginny said, stood up and looked down at Caro's book.

"The Standard Book of Spells, grade 3," she mumbled.

"Shall we bring it her?"

Without waiting for an answer, she picked it up and just wanted to turn as she halted. Something was lying under the pillow. Curiously she pushed it aside. It was a photograph. A black-haired man with laughing dark eyes was facing her. If it wouldn't have been for the terrible scar on his left cheek, he would have been rather handsome.

"That must be Caro's and Harry's father, "Ginny said and held the picture towards Hermione who had stepped closer.

Hermione took it. Nearly immediately her eyes widened. Her face lost all colour and while her hands clung to the photo, she sank on the bed.

"Hermione! What's wrong?" Ginny exclaimed.

Hermione slowly turned her head around and stared at her with strange lifeless eyes. Ginny sat next to Hermione, laid an arm around her shoulders and asked gently,

"Hermione, what's wrong? Do you know this man?"

"He has murdered my father." In the first moment Ginny was only relieved that Hermione had spoken but as she understood the sense of what had been said she froze.

"What?" she asked confused.

Her friend looked at her. Tears were shimmering in her brown eyes.

"I've seen it, Ginny and I've never forgotten it. I'm sure. He has murdered my Dad. He is a Death Eater," she said in a cracking voice and dropped the picture. She trembled. As a week ago in the library Hermione was caught up by her past. She saw the blinding green light, saw first her father, then her mother falling to the ground, saw….

"Hermione! Hermione!"

Ginny shook her.

„Shall I fetch Charlotte?" she asked.

Charlotte, Hermione thought, had she known? Had she known that Sirius' brother had murdered her father? Was it that why that he had never been mentioned before? Because Sirius' brother was a Death Eater?

"No," she said slowly.

"Ginny, please let me alone for one moment. I…have to think."

But Ginny didn't move.

"Charlotte surely did not know it, Hermione."

Hermione shook her head.

"But they have withheld the truth from us. And perhaps Sirius' brother doesn't exist as well and Harry, Draco and Caro were captured. I don't know it!"

Casting an imploring glance at Ginny, she said,

"Please! Let me alone for a while."

Ginny hesitated but to Hermione's relief she finally went out of the room. The door had hardly closed after Ginny, as Hermione curled herself up and began to sob.

Harry cursed as he found himself in an empty classroom. In this room the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets was definitely not located. Disappointed he turned around. Not for the first time he cursed the fact that though his adoptive father had told him that such a chamber existed which only those could open who spoke Parsel, he had never described the exact way. Slytherin's chamber would have been ideal of course.

There they would be undisturbed and no one would be able to find them. Somewhere the entrance had to be. After all they hadn't had much time to search so far. Perhaps Caro and Draco would be successful. They had immediately agreed to split up. The greatest difficulty was however that they didn't know exactly after what they were searching. He turned around a corner and headed towards the staircase which, he knew, led to the Great Hall. Great, he thought, now I've run in circles. He had put his foot already on the uppermost step, as his eyes fell on a large picture which hung on the wall next to the stairs.

The picture was rather in the shade but he was sure that he had seen a snake. Had that been pure chance or did it have a meaning? He stepped closer and saw that it was not only one snake but very many. They all curled around a tremendous tree. Even between the green leaves snakes peeped out. It was a strange picture and while he was staring at it, some snake seemed to raise their heads.

"I don't reckon that you could tell me where the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is?"

"You have to go through."

Harry blinked.

"To go through?" he hissed and regarded the picture attentively.

Before he could decide however if he should follow the snake's instruction or not, a faint noise caused him to whirl around. Ginny Weasley was staring at him with a shocked expression in her dark-brown eyes. She had of course listened to his rather unusual conversation. She swallowed and met his eyes. One moment she seemed to hesitate but then she asked,

"Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Though Harry was surprised, he didn't show it while pondering what reason Ginny could have for wanting to talk with him. They hardly knew each other after all.

" Sure," he replied.

Turning around, she said,

„But not here. Can we go to the lake?"

While walking next to each other, Ginny was silent and looked straight ahead. Harry's thoughts were occupied with the picture in the meantime. Was it really the entrance to the chamber? Hopefully the conversation with Ginny wouldn't take so long, he thought annoyed. What did she want from him anyway? As they reached the Hogwarts Lake a little while later, he asked impatiently,

"So what is it?"

Ginny didn't answer him. Instead she held him a picture under his nose.

"Where do you have it from?"

"We've found it in Hermione's room – on Caro's bed. Hermione recognized him. He is the murderer of her father. Your parents were Death Eaters and all the lies that Sirius is your uncle are because of it, aren't they?"

Her eyes glowed angrily at him.

Harry looked down at Ginny and took the photo out of her hand. Dumbledore's and Sirius' plan to keep their identity secret would certainly turn out to be much more difficult than they had imagined.

"Did the Order take you prisoner?"

Harry raised one eyebrow and laughed softly.

"No. We grew up in Voldemort's headquarter. But since we didn't feel particularly inclined to learn how to torture and kill most effectively, we've fled to Hogwarts. The Order of the Phoenix is only afraid that Voldemort could attack Hogwarts if he should discover that we are here so that Dumbledore thought it better to keep our real names secret."

„Why should he attack Hogwarts for three children and put so much at risk?" Ginny asked sceptically.

"Do you know who the Malfoys and Lestranges are?"

"Yes, it's said that they are his closest confidents. But what this have…"

Ginny broke up.

„Are they your parents?

„ Draco's parents are the Malfoys and Caro is a Lestrange. And I am Voldemort's adoptive son. Do you know understand why the thought isn't so far stretched that my adoptive father could attack Hogwarts, should he find out that we are here?"

Ginny stared at him unbelievingly and stepped a step back.

"His adoptive son?"

Caro hurried in a bad mood back to the common room of the Slytherins. For the time being she had enough to search after something of which she hadn't the slightest clue how it looked like.

Perhaps only those were able to find the chamber who had the gift of speaking the language of the snakes. In this case it was a completely waste of time anyway if she searched after the chamber. Running upstairs, she turned around a corner and found herself unexpectedly face to face with a red-haired young wizard.

Since she wanted to avoid him, she stepped aside. But as he did the same, she stepped in the other direction and stormed forwards. Immediately she ran into his arms as he did once again the same as she.

"Sorry," he said and Caro looked up. In the moment she saw in his laughing dark eyes, she forgot everything around her.

"What?" she stammered, realizing that he had spoken something of which she hadn't understood anything.

He gave her his hand.

"I'm Charlie Weasley. And you?"

„Carolina Les…Black, but my friends call me Caro," she said as soon as she had herself under control again.

"Yes, right. Sirius Blacks niece, isn't it? Ginny has told me about you and the others. Can it be that you have got lost? You're rather far away from the Slytherins common room. Or did you wanted to go somewhere else?"

"I've got lost,"she said and it was true. She had indeed only a vague imagination where she currently was.

"Then come, I'll bring you."

While following Charlie, she curiously asked if he was still going to school. Charlie shook his head.

"I've finished this summer. Now I want to become an Auror. I must help to eliminate the Dark Side."

In the meantime they had reached the Great Hall and Caro said coldly,

"Thanks. But from here I find the way alone," and left Charlie behind with a perplex expression on his face.

Hurrying the corridor along, she quickened her pace while asking herself why it was bothering her that Charlie Weasley wanted to become an Auror. On her account he could become whatever he wanted. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she also had to get lost on her remaining way to the common room on.

Cursing she choose the left branch after short thinking. Her eyes swept over a silver suit of armour, which was standing in one corner and abruptly she stopped in her tracks. She stared at the old sword which was stuck in the metallic hand of the knight. She reached out with her hand and touched the razor-sharp blade. Blood gushed out from her fingertip. Blind with tears she ran her finger across the engraved letters and the coat of arms. She didn't need to see it to know that it was her father's sword.

As she imagined how the murderers of her father also stole his sword – as if murdering him wasn't already enough – Caro's tears dried quickly. An icy coldness was left in her grey ease. She took her wand and shortly afterwards she found the right way back. In her hand she held tightly the now tiny sword. Stepping in her dormitory, she was relieved to see that it was deserted. She sat down on her bed and sighed. Since she had come to Hogwarts she couldn't stop thinking about her father. It was time to take action. Regarding the little sword she began to ponder how she could find out who had murdered her Dad.

It would be difficult, that she knew but she wouldn't give up. There had to be documents somewhere about the single attacks and raids. The followers of the Dark Lord kept also an exact record of the fights and Caro knew as well whom she would ask for help. She hadn't given Nell her freedom without any ulterior motive. That she had found the sword seemed to her like a sigh of destiny, too. But still she hesitated.

Why, she thought angrily, did Harry have to mean so much to her? Her feelings towards him would not bring her to break her oath however which she had taken shortly after the death of her father. She would find out who the murderer had been and then she would take revenge. Caro looked to the bedside locker and wanted to reach for the photo of her father. At the same moment she saw that the picture wasn't on her little table, she remembered that she had to have forgotten it in Hermione's room. Jumping up, she ran out of the dormitory.

As she reached the chambers of the Blacks without breath, she found the doors locked. But Caro hadn't listened to her mother or Draco's parents for nothing and those charms were not a big problem for her. To her surprise she saw Hermione lying on her bed. Thinking that she was sleeping, Caro began to search for her photo.

"Your photo isn't here."

Caro spun around. The brown eyes of Hermione started at her hostilely.

"Where is it?"

Hermione didn't answer so that Caro made a step towards Hermione and repeated her question. There was now a threatening undertone in her voice.

"Your father murdered mine," Hermione said full of hatred.

"What did you do with my picture?" Caro hissed and pointed her wand at Hermione.

"Harry has your photo," a voice rang out from the door and Ginny entered the room.

"I wanted to bring it to you."

Caro lowered her wand, turned around wordlessly and went out with long strides. At Hermione and Ginny she didn't deign to look.

In contrast to Sirius who had set off to go for a walk with Remus after supper, Charlotte hadn't missed Hermione's low spirits so that she, after bringing Jamie to bed and asking the first best who went past her door to look shortly after Jamie, she set off to the dormitory of the Gryffindors where Hermione would mainly spend her time in the future, at least as long as school was. Soon afterwards Charlotte crawled into Hermione's comfortable four-poster bed, hugged the surprised girl and whispered,

"Hermione, dear, what is wrong?"

Hermione shook her head.

„Nothing, it's nothing," she said flatly and avoided it to look Charlotte in the eyes.

"No one will hear us. I've charmed the curtians. Hermione, I'm seeing after all that something is wrong. Perhaps I can help you," Charlotte tried to bring Hermione once more to talk to her.

As Hermione lifted her head, Charlotte flinched back from the pain in her brown eyes. They seemed to reproach Charlotte silently.

"Why did you lie to us all? Why didn't you say us that Harry's, Caro's and Draco's parents are Death Eaters?"

Hermione stared at her and her voice broke, as she continued to speak,

"Caro's father murdered mine. I've recognized him today on one of her pictures."

As Charlotte realized what Hermione had just said, she closed her eyes for a moment. Then she embraced the girl tightly and ran a hand over Hermione's brown curls.

"I'm so sorry, Hermione. The Order thought it for the better to keep their true identities secret because…"

"….the Dark Lord could attack the castle otherwise. I know, Ginny told me that Harry is his adoptive son. What I don't understand is why Sirius is so happy since Harry and the others have come to Hogwarts."

Charlotte sighed and pushing aside the question wherefrom Ginny had such knowledge she said,

"You do know who James and Lily Potter were, don't you? And what happened to them? Everyone thought that their son was killed as well then. But a short time ago it turned out that he has survived. That's why Sirius is so happy because he has found his godson again."

Hermione's eyes widened and realization was mirrored on her face.

Albus' eyebrows smoothed out as he heard the familiar singing of Fawkes. The long absence of his phoenix had already worried him. Looking over to the open window he awaited every moment that Fawkes would come flying in. And indeed he didn't need to be patient for long. The unique fact that Fawkes wasn't flying alone into his office, surprised him however. A deep black, in the light of the magic candles, slightly golden- green shimmering phoenix was hovering next to Fawkes whose lovely singing now mixes with Fawkes.

Albus, who was absorbed in regarding the magical birds, remembered that Harry Potter had got such a phoenix.

His thoughts wandered to Harry and he sighed. To convince some of the Order members that Harry and his friends didn't present any danger for the Order had been hard work. But it wasn't this that gave the old wizard quite a headache. It was Harry. He had tried to talk with the boy who had Lily's emerald eyes and looked so similar to James, had wanted to hear if he was following the Dark Side. He had to admit however that he had failed miserably.

Though Harry had listened to him with rigid face, Albus was sure that he could have talked to a wall just as well and of his own accord the boy actually had said nothing so that Albus hadn't discovered anything worth mentioning. It was worrying him also that Harry and his friends had all got into Slytherin. Had Tom's influence been stronger than Albus wanted to believe? But if it was so then why had they escaped?

Why Harry had been so magically overexerted as they had arrived here about nearly two weeks ago? Albus supported his chin with his hands, riveted his eyes absentmindedly on the phoenixes which had cuddled up to each other and he scolded himself. Harry was in Hogwarts and thus he was out of reach for Tom Riddle's influence and wouldn't fight against them in the future. He should be optimistic and happy. Perhaps Harry only needed time to settle in, Albus thought. Confidently Albus said to himself that some day he would win Harry's trust. Leaning back, he closed his eyes and listened to the singing of the phoenixes.

It was late in the evening as Harry, together with Caro and Draco, sneaked to the picture which hid the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets as Harry suspected. He stared at the many snakes and hissed,

"So we only have to go through?"

As one of the reptiles nodded, Harry shrugged his shoulders, took a deep breath, reached with one hand for Caro's and with the other for Draco's hand and stepped forwards. One moment later they found themselves in complete darkness. Harry's magic let the darkness retreat and a staircase which wound itselt to dizzying depths became visible. Caro looked down and swallowed nervously.

"Well, let's go," Harryfinally said and put his foot on the first step. The single steps were so narrow that they had to hold onto the banisters and all of them avoided looking down. It took them long until they finally reached the bottom of the stairs. After they had caught their breath again they saw that they were standing in a tremendous stony chamber. Harry's light fell onto high columns which soared upwards to the ceiling.

"Slytherin's chamber," Draco whispered awed. Going to the opposite wall their steeps echoed through the long hall.

"Here we will be undisturbed at least." Harry remarked satisfied. Reaching the other end, they saw two branching corridors. Curiously where they would lead to Harry and Caro took the right one and Draco the left branch. While Caro and Harry walked along the narrow passage way, Caro suddenly stopped, turned to Harry and looked at him.

"Harry, I want you to help me finding the murderer of my father," she said.