Chapter 7 – Secrets Revealed Part 1

Disclaimer: You know by now. I don't own them ;;

A/N: If there is someone that is patient enough, could you please beta my story? (I'm a little desperate here… lol)

It was a beautiful Sunday morning at Hogwarts; many of the students were sleeping in but few were up and about the castle and Harry was one of those few students who were. He had decided to go to one of the many gardens of the castle and look through his family photo album to guess how Mathilych fit into the picture with his parents, Remus and his godfather. He found a secluded tree with some shade and sat underneath it. Harry opened it up to see many pictures of him as a baby with his parents and friends of the family. Around the middle of the album, he started to see more pictures of family friends. Harry examined each picture carefully to see how each person in each picture interacted with each other. The one that had caught his attention the most was a picture of Mathiylch and all her friends looking up at him waving and grinning madly. After Harry looked through the whole album, he started to think to himself, 'It hurts to think about what might've been... Damn you Voldemort... Why did you go after so many people? When did you decide to turn evil? Why turn evil in the first place?'

Harry heard approaching footsteps and looked up to see Mathilych and Severus walking towards him. Mathilych noticed that he had his photo album and asked if she could look at it. "Potter where are Miss Granger and Mr. Weasely?"

"They're sleeping in sir." Harry replied. Harry felt a little uncomfortable being around Severus and Mathiylch after what had happened the night before, and was hoping that his friends were already awake and were in the process of finding him. Much to his relief, Hermione and Ron had seen him and walked towards the group. They sat down next to Harry, who sat across Severus and Mathilych. Mathilych was finished going through the album, and as she handed it back to him she said, "Harry, I have some pictures I want to put into this, may I borrow it to do so?"

Harry replied, "Sure you can borrow it. Erm... Quidditch tryouts aren't until much later in the afternoon, do you mind if we could do that now? I would like to see the pictures you have."

Mathilych smiled and said that of course they could do it now and that his friends could come along if they wanted to. They made their way to her room and they sat at a table waiting for her to find the pictures. She found the pictures she wanted and showed them to Harry. "I made copies of the originals and I have them in my own photo album. I think you'll like these ones."

Harry looked the first picture and saw all of the people that Mathilych was friends with all laughing and having fun. Then he saw a picture that shocked him. It was the same as the memory that he had seen, and Mathilych figured out quickly why he didn't move on to next picture and said, "Yes, that is the memory you saw. Those two are my godsons... I want you to meet one of them, actually, I'd like for the three of you to meet him. I think you all are quite acquainted with him. This reminds me... I have to write him a letter telling him to come by."

They decided to stay and wait to meet this godson that she had mentioned. In a little while, they heard the door open and heard Draco say, "Ms. Chiba, what have you called me here for? You know I have to be careful about what I do... Moreover, you have to be careful too... After all, you are my godmother and father wants to get a hold of you."

When Draco saw the golden trio, he looked confused. Turning to Mathilych, he asked, "What are they doing here?"

Mathilych looked a little disappointed and said, "Well, there's no surprise now... Harry, do you remember how you saw two children? Draco is one of them, the other one is well... you. Every single birthday, and holiday, I sent you both presents. What I want to know from both of you is how many did you get..."

They both looked at her with confused looks and said, "We never got any presents from you..."

Mathiylch shook her head and sighed, "Just as I thought... Lucius and Petunia took them away... Look, I have many things to say to you both right now, and I know that you both might end up angry with me, but all I ask is that some point of time to forgive me for saying these things... However, I'm sure what I say will affect Harry more. I would've liked to stay here in the UK while Voldemort was still in power and still alive, I could've taken you in when you were in trouble and in danger, but I couldn't..."

As Harry heard this, he started to get angry, and when he had heard that Mathilych could've taken him in when Sirius couldn't, he started to yell, "Why? Why couldn't you have taken me in? Sirius couldn't, you probably knew damn well that he was in Azkaban after Mum and Dad died! You also probably knew that he was on the run from the bloody Ministry! Remus told me that he would've taken me in if he had the chance! But since he's a werewolf, he can't!"

Turning to Severus, he started to yell at him too, "You... You knew that Sirius died, you could've told her! If you had told her when he died, I could've avoided going back to my relatives! They despise me! They hate it when anything magical drops into their lives! My uncle throttled me when they found out even though Voldemort died; I still had to go back there!"

Severus shuddered when he heard the Dark Lord's name and Mathilych interrupted Harry from his yelling, "Harry, what the hell are you talking about? What do you mean, Vernon throttled you?"

Harry angrily replied, "Every time something related to magic happens, they blame me, and Dudley and Uncle Vernon always beat me up!"

Mathilych's facial expression changed to anger, and she resolved to talk to Albus and the Dursleys about the matter of Harry's abuse. "I told Albus that would be a bad idea. However, did he listen to me? Noooo, he didn't. I told him that it would be a good idea to let you come with me, but then he started to talk about how the bloody Dark Lord would come after me and how Lucius and him would attack us both in one sitting... Moreover, Albus started to talk about how you would probably feel in the future never been able to meet your muggle relatives... Hah! As if, Petunia hated Lily. Did he honestly think that when she died, those feelings would go away? Petunia probably hates the idea of how her nephew is more famous that her own son... Nevertheless, what made me drop the whole idea is that he told me to think about what I would do and somehow managed to have you stay with them... I can't believe I let my guard down and said that I'd leave you with muggles that I trust… Tomorrow after your classes, you're coming with me to the Headmaster's office and we're dragging the senile old fool to your relatives' house. Is that clear? We are going to clear up this little issue. Severus, you're coming along too, as well as Minerva."

Harry saw his godmother in a different perspective when she was angry, and he definitely knew that along with Molly Weasely, he wouldn't want to get her angry. He sighed and said. "Mathilych, I'm sorry for yelling at you, but I am little angry about the fact that you couldn't take me in, even if Professor Dumbledore had something else in mind for me."

Mathilych looked around her room and said, "Well now, this is awkward… After that issue is taken care of, I want to find out what happened to those presents that I got for the both of you. Draco, do you remember what happened to the present I sent you for your seventeenth birthday?"

Draco stared at his godmother and said, "Father locked it up in some cupboard in the main hallway of the manor, like all the other presents I got from you. At first, I didn't know who it was, but Mother told me it was from you. I couldn't get to them at all…"

Turning to Harry, she asked what happened to his and Harry replied, "What present? Aunt Petunia did lock something up in my old cupboard though…"

Mathliych snapped her head up from her brooding and said in a low voice, "What do you mean your old cupboard? I won't guarantee that your relatives will make it out alive after I talk to them..."

Harry was feeling quite nervous seeing Mathilych get so angry, he was starting to wonder how his parents could ever be friends with her. "Well... Until I was 11, they made me sleep under the cupboard underneath the stairs. After my first year at Hogwarts, they gave me the spare room that held Dudley's broken toys and things he didn't want any more..."

Mathilych was holding the newspaper and ripped it in half, shrieking and screaming, "That damn brat was too spoiled! I bet the kid's still spoiled... They probably think they're still better than we in terms of humanity... I'll show those bastards not to mess with me anymore! I told them to treat you right! I told them that if I ever get wind of them mistreating you I'd personally hunt them down and send them straight to hell! That is it! Screw visiting them tomorrow! We're visiting your relatives Harry and we're sorting this out! That old fool's coming along too whether he wants to or not... This is the last time the muggle world will be seeing that sad excuse of a family..."

Every one looked at each other and saw each other's worried faces. The Golden Trio and Draco were worried the most, they wondered if her threats were empty ones. Severus knew that she was dead serious and said, "Now, now Kaori… Let's not scare the others. I know you are serious about doing something now to make up for what you couldn't do in the past, but let's not go with such drastic measures…"

"Aghh… Let's go to the Headmaster. Let's show the old coot what the by-product of his 'master plan' is. The senile fool probably knows I'm already on my way…"

Mathilych marched down to the Headmaster's office with the group following her. Hermione heard Severus grumbling, "Great, just great, when I thought she wasn't going to stir up trouble here, she does! I'm always the one who has to make sure she doesn't do anything stupid… That girl is going to get in to a lot of trouble some day... Miss. Granger, yes do you have a question? I see you staring at me for some reason…"

Hermione timidly asked him about Mathilych's temper and he replied, "Yes, she's a little hot-headed, but if it is something that hits close to home, she can be very irrational."

Soon, they arrived at the Headmaster's office and Mathiylch barged in and glared at the girls that were currently talking to him about Moaning Myrtle haunting the other bathrooms other than her own. She said, "Dumbledore, we've got to talk now. It's very important and it can't wait."

Dumbledore looked at the girls and said, "I'll see what I can do about it, you can go now."

Mathilych's voice took an authoritative tone and said, "Look here old man, you probably know what I'm here for… So let's cut to the chase. Do you know that the Dursleys were being negligent to my godson? Do you know that they were being abusive? I hope you damn well didn't… The idea of you knowing just makes my blood boil… We're going down to the Dursley's house and we're fixing this situation up, and by 'we're', you are included."

Dumbledore looked surprised and the usual twinkle in his eyes was gone. He sighed and said, "I assure you Mathilych, I did not know. It was an honest mistake. I am human after all… Let's go because Severus and I know that if we don't go now, the more likely you are bound make it worse for them…"

"Let's go, I don't have time to waste. We've got to go and teach them a lesson!" Mathilych created a Floo Connection to the Dursley's house and they all appeared in the living room giving Petunia quite a scare. Petunia screamed loudly, Vernon and Dudley came rushing into the room, and upon entering, they saw the group of witches and wizards that came to visit them. "What the bloody hell are you doing here? I thought I told you not to come during the year! Who the hell are those three?" Vernon yelled when he saw the magical group in his house.

"What Vernon? You don't remember me? I'm disappointed; because once I'm through with you I'm pretty sure you'll remember me…" Vernon's eyes bulged as he heard the familiar voice and said, "No… It can't be, because you're supposed to be in Canada, staying away from us!"

Mathilych, Severus, and Vernon broke out into a loud argument. Once they calmed down, everyone seated themselves on the couches in the living room. Mathilych glared at the Dursley family and said, "You probably don't know why I'm here, but I'll assure you this isn't a social visit. I'm here because I heard from Harry here that you've kept him a cupboard underneath the stairs for fifteen years of his life, and that Vernon here has been throttling him every time something magical appears in this house… Anybody have a good explanation for that?"

"I sure do," replied Vernon angrily, "That freakish boy ought to have the magic stamped out of him. We've been trying for the past eighteen years, and it still hasn't worked. We've been praying for some way for him to get out of our lives, but that Voldy-wart… whoever he is, hasn't killed him off! Instead, we find out that Harry's still alive! That freak show has been nothing but trouble to us! All these freaks keep on sending us mail by owl and we get weird stares from the neighbours each time, and you people keep on popping in our fireplace and messing up the house! We…"

As Mathilych heard Vernon's excuses, she became more and more enraged. Finally, she interrupted him by roaring, "That's not a good explanation of why you've been neglecting to take care of this boy for that last eighteen years! You've been physically abusing and emotionally abusing my godson! How can you people live like this knowing that you are hurting someone else, let alone your only family? Petunia, you've been keeping the magical part of himself out of his life for as long as he can remember…And right now, I want you to open that cupboard and give him all the presents I've been sending him since day one. At least that'll make me feel less inclined to blast you all to smithereens right now…"

Petunia stared at Mathilych in shock, sat dumbly in her seat for a few seconds. Mathilych became impatient and then snapped at her, "Go on! What the bloody hell are you waiting for? Are you waiting for me to take you by the hand to the cupboard? Get that boy of yours to help you out, I know for a fact that I sent quite a bit of things to Harry…"

Petunia and Dudley rushed to the cupboard and got all the things that Mathilych sent to Harry over the years. As the group watched them get the items, Harry's eyes grew and he felt less bitter about the memories of Dudley always having more than he did. He wanted to open the gifts at that very moment, but he knew that Mathilych was in the process of telling off his relatives. "Harry I know you want to open them but I assure you that you can open them when we get back, but I've got to ask your relatives questions about some things. Petunia, why did you do this when you know very well the method you tried over and over again didn't work?"

"My freakish bratty sister always got what she wanted. My parents didn't care about the stares that we got during the time that my sister went to that… that school! The neighbours thought that my sister was a troubled kid, and she was! She brought you home to visit as well as that boy! As soon as he appeared on our doorstep, Vernon decided that if he was going to live here, he would become as normal as possible. I agreed because to it because I don't want my poor Duddy-kins to have to go through what I went through…"

"Oh dear… Don't tell me that you forgot that favour that Albus did for you, Petunia… "

Vernon turned to Petunia and asked her what Mathilych meant, and Petunia replied, "Albus saved me. My parents and I visited my sister at that school, and I got curious about what happened there. I followed her and her friends to one of their classes. What I didn't know was that it was a class where they'd be using spells… I think it was called 'Defence of the Dark Arts'.

Petunia walked after her sister into the Defence of the Dark Arts classroom, and Lily noticed that she was there. Before she could get to her sister, a fight had broken out. It was between Mathilych and Sirius. There were spells flying everywhere and suddenly Mathilych fell to her knees and began sending energy bolts. Every one began panicking and ran to the door. Then Albus hurried into the classroom and found that Mathilych was floating mid air semi-unconscious with blank eyes. As soon as Albus saw this, he realized she was being controlled by some one. Mathilych turned to Albus and said in a grating voice, "Well Albus, you've come to protect your filthy mudbloods… Let's see what happens if I use one of your precious students… Knowing you, you won't hurt her, will you?"

Then Matchilych's hands rose and a green ball of energy formed between her hands, "AVADA KEVADRA!"

Just in time, Albus levitated a desk to shield Petunia from the attack. Soon a battle started. Spells of dangerous degrees were being cast and soon a spell hit Petunia. It was the Cruciatus curse, and Mathilych smiled, as Petunia was on her knees and gasping. Petunia was crying loudly and Albus whispered, "Forgive me Kaori, but I must do this. Ex fostis obscurus fistis obscurum."

Mathilych fell to the ground and Albus asked James get Lily and Petunia's parents. They rushed Petunia and Mathilych to the infirmary, where all of Mathilych's friends were and the parents. They asked what happened and Albus said, "I feared this would happen…. That Lord Voldemort would control Mathilych's body to do his bidding. I suppose, this happened at the last Death Eater meeting. Mr and Mrs. Evans, your daughter will have to stay here for the night or the next few days, depending on the damage that your daughter received. Please do not be upset with Mathilych."

"Oh don't worry, we aren't. We know that she's been without parents all her life and was raised by that maniac. Lily and her friends told us all of this." Mrs. Evans replied.

"Mathilych will not be able to attend classes for the next week or so because the damage she received is very great. Lily, when your sister regains consciousness, I want you to explain Mathilych's situation to her and help her out around here. "

Petunia looked at Mathilych and said, "I'll never forget that day. On that day, I vowed to have normal children. Instead, I had to get my freakish nephew…"

Mathilych said, "But you went through the bond of blood. That can only happen if the members of the family love each other. There must've been something to make you do that. The least you could have done was honour the old man's wish…."