I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter Two — Finding the Truth

Harry woke up dazed and confused; he had no idea where he was. Harry was in so much pain he refused to open his eyes. He heard two men talking over him. He couldn't recognize either one of them.

"Remus, are you sure you want to do this? You know that the Ministry won't approve of you taking in a child, especially Harry."

"I don't care what the Ministry says, Albus. Harry needs me right now. If we send him to another family, they will want to know why he can't stay at the Dursleys' anymore. We can't let this be exposed to the public. No one can know where he is. Why do you think I brought him here instead of St. Mungos?"

"I know, Remus. Did you tell him yet?" Remus shook his head. "He needs to know. If he shows up at school not knowing he'll be confused as to why all his classmates stare at him."

"I'll tell him when I take him home; before we go to Diagon Alley. I knew that it would hard to reunite with him I just never thought that I would have to him the truth. After all these years I still try not to think about it."

"I know; it still hurts me too. I have to go, good luck and good-bye."

Harry was even more confused as he opened his eyes. He sat up as he saw an old man in long midnight blue robes disappear with a small pop. Harry smiled when he saw Remus. He wasn't about to tell him what he over heard. He however was very curious. He wanted to know what the huge secret that everyone was keeping from him.

"Who was that, Remus? He looked so familiar, but I don't remember him at all."

"That was Albus Dumbledore; your headmaster. He was the one that decided that you should stay at the Dursleys' house. Many consider him to the greatest wizard in the world. He is very powerful and very wise. And I think he regrets that he sent you to the Dursleys' because he knew that your Mum and her sister didn't get along. Harry I'm going to tell the nurse that you are awake. Do you think you will be strong enough to talk to police later?" Harry nodded his head.

Harry and Remus made small talk until a police officer showed up an hour after Harry woke up.

"Hello Mr. Potter I am Officer Abel. I want you to know that I will keep you safe from your uncle in any why possible. If you are up to it, can you tell me what happened to you when you were in your uncle's care?"

"Alright I'll tell but it will be hard."

"First, has your uncle hit you before? Have you ever woken up not remembering going to sleep?"

"Yes, my uncle hits me all the time. It was only a few times that I wake up in the cupboard not knowing how I got there. But last night was the worst. Remus came over for the first time to tell me about a school I could go to and talk to me about my parents. I told him about how my aunt and uncle treated me. He left to send a letter. When he left Uncle Vernon picked me up by my neck and slapped me hard with the back of his hand then he dropped to the floor. I was barely conscious but I felt him pick me up and throw me into the door of the cupboard my head hit the doorknob and I fell unconscious to the floor. When I woke up I was here."

"Can you tell the first time you remember your uncle hitting you?"

"It was a few weeks after first grade had ended. Uncle Vernon was angry because I got better marks than his son did. He then put me into the cupboard for almost two days and he didn't give me anything to eat except water. I know that was a long time ago but I have a very good memory." At that, he had a flashback of himself as a baby with his parents and two other men; one was Remus and the other was a man with long black hair and ice-blue eyes that sparkled with happiness. "If it's all right I want to get some sleep."

"Certainly, Mr. Potter. I have no more questions. You have a court date on August 14th at 10:30. I'll see you then." When he left, Remus gave Harry a curious glance. He knew that Harry was lying.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing. Alright, just don't laugh. For a while now, I have been having flashbacks from when I was a baby. They all seem to have the same five people in them and a black dog: me, Mum, Dad, you, a dark haired man, and a man who looked like a rat. But most of them were without the rat man."

"Those were your Dad's best friends. The other two were Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew. I miss them all very much. The four of us were inseparable. We even had nicknames for each other: Wormtail, Moony, Padfoot, and Prongs. Your Dad was Prongs and I am Moony. Sirius is Padfoot and Peter was Wormtail. We were consider the greatest pranksters to have ever walked through Hogwarts. You, Cub, have a name to keep up."

"Remus, when can I leave this place? I'm hate lying on my back. I am so bored here. I wish I had a book or something, not that I don't like having someone to talk to; I'm just not used to it. I never had a friend before."

"That reminds me; I bought this for you while you were still asleep." He handed him a wrapped book. Harry slowly opened it, he read on the cover Hogwarts: A History. "I know it's not much but this way you can learn about the world you were meant to grow up in. Just make sure none of the Muggles sees it. They might not like it if they see a book that has moving pictures."

"Remus, thanks, I love it. In my Muggle school, history was my favorite subject. I always wanted to do something in that field. But since I'm wizard I might have to rethink that."

"Your opinion on history classes might change after you meet the professor. He is the dullest ghost I have ever met. All he drones on about are giant wars and goblin riots. You would think they would be interesting but he speaks in the same monotone that he had when he was alive in my first year. Some say that he doesn't even know that he is dead."

Harry mind was reeling. He had no idea that there were giants and goblins let alone ghosts. But now that he thought about it, it made sense because a few days ago he thought magic was nonsense. Harry was still confused by what Remus was telling him.

"Remus, could you please back up? Are you saying that all those fairy tales and legends are true?"

"Some are and some aren't. Lots of them are embellishments. But right now, I think you need to get some sleep. Tomorrow you will be coming home with me and we need to get your school supplies. I need to go and prepare your room. So, good night and I'll see you in the morning. And don't you dare stay up reading that book for too long; what awaits you tomorrow will amaze you and I want you awake for it."

Harry pulled out the book and began reading the table of contents. The subjects enthralled him. He just flipped through the book and stared at the moving pictures until he fell asleep.

Harry awoke a few hours later hugging the book close to his chest. He saw that Remus was talking to a nurse about his release. They noticed that Harry was awake. They helped Harry out of the bed but soon found that he couldn't stand on his own. The nurse handed him a set of crutches. When they left the hospital, Remus looked around at his surroundings and picked Harry up and a second later, they appeared outside of an apartment building. Harry was a bit dazed from the feeling of being in one place one second then appearing again miles from their original location.

"Remus, what did we just do? The feeling was totally wicked, but in a good way."

"That, Cub, was Apparating. Even though I've been allowed to do it since I was seventeen, I have to agree with you.

"Harry, I have tell the about your parents deaths and that scar on your forehead. Years ago, a powerful wizard called Voldemort began to propaganda that only purebloods should be allowed to learn magic. He started to gather followers called Death Eaters. Voldemort and his Death Eaters killed many of those who had a percentage of Muggle-blood and those who are called Muggle-lovers, especially Muggle-borns. On Halloween, after your first birthday, Voldemort went to your house in Godric's Hollow. He killed your parents then turned his wand on you, he said the spell that killed so many others, but for some unknown reason the spell backfired onto him instead. But many believe that he is bidding his time before he goes after you again. Harry, because of this you are known as the boy-who-lived and are quite famous. When we go to Diagon Alley, I don't want you to be overwhelmed by all the staring and whispering. Do you have any questions?"

"Why did Voldemort choose me? Why did he want to kill me? How did I survive?"

"I'm sorry I don't know. Most people believe that Lily found an ancient charm of sacrifice that saved you if she died trying to protect you. Cub, I know that this is a lot to take in but you have to know."

"I remember a green light then a blinding white light. After that, I started to cry, there was such a horrible pain in my forehead. I could feel the blood dripping from my forehead, but no one there to make it stop. Then two men showed up; one was Sirius and the other was a very tall and very hairy man who was very gentle with me. Sirius was crying and was begging the big man to let him have me but he refused. Sirius gave up and gave the other man a flying motorcycle. Those tears were tears of remorse and pain. I could feel his pain so strongly. He was regretting something. He whispered something about killing Peter."

"Harry, are you going to be alright?" Harry only nodded. "Then take a nap then we can go shopping after, okay Cub?"

"Yeah, but I don't want to sleep too long. Maybe you can tell me more about Sirius and Peter."