CHAPTER 16:

SECRETS REVEALED

The Fidelius was cast, with Harry as the Secret Keeper, and he promptly told Dani and the Duke. He would have to tell Alcina and Heisenberg at a later date, and possibly the other two Dimitrescu daughters. But he did this also partly because he could tell others he could trust.

At Hogwarts, he felt like there were only four such people he could trust: the Weasley Twins, Hermione, and Lupin, who was still recovering from his latest transformation. True, his trust in Hermione had taken something of a hit thanks to her going behind his back, but they had reconciled, and she had confessed her misgivings about Spencer. Which helped, given how wary he was of him.

Luring Lupin was, in the end, rather simple. He just said he wished to show him the Chamber of Secrets, as well as discuss his mother. Hermione was a little trickier, but he promised her she could use her Time-Turner afterwards so she would not miss out on study. The thought of entering the Chamber of Secrets, especially with the Basilisk now dead, did appeal to her. The Weasley twins took little persuasion either.

"So, why us four?" Hermione asked.

"Simply put, you're the four people I trust most in this castle," Harry said as he opened the entrance to the Chamber proper. "Just about every other teacher is beholden to Dumbledore, and there are few students I would trust with this."

The quartet accompanying him gawked as they saw the makeshift but well-stocked and equipped laboratory. Lupin frowned at Harry's words, though. "But what of me, Harry? Dumbledore gave me this job as a favour."

"True, but you knew my parents. I learned more about them from you than I did from anyone. You may not have come to raise me, but…I can understand it, given your condition. Plus, you were one of the Marauders."

The Twins turned to gape at Lupin, who grimaced a little. "You just had to say it in front of these two, didn't you?"

"Believe me, Professor, once this is over, them learning you are Moony will be the least of the revelations today."

Hermione, meanwhile, had hurried over to the laboratory bench. Thankfully, she was only looking at the apparatuses on display, not touching. "…Is this what you've been doing, Harry? But…this is…how…?"

"We're getting to that, Hermione," Harry said. "But I need you to know…this is something you can't tell anyone. Not Ron, not Dumbledore or McGonagall. I brought the four of you here because I trust you above everyone else in this castle…despite a blip." He looked pointedly at Hermione, who looked abashed.

"…But…you've created what seems like a microbiology laboratory beneath Hogwarts!" Hermione said. "Improvised, yes, but…you're not creating bioweapons, Harry? I mean, I think the equipment is wrong, but…"

"Hermione, why would you leap to the conclusion that I would make a bioweapon?"

"Because, I daresay, it's what her godfather is possibly up to."

This came from the Duke, who had emerged from the Vanishing Cabinet stealthily, despite his girth. Hermione leapt into the air, and whirled around. "What the…?!"

"Forgive me…I am the Duke. Professor Lupin knows me."

Lupin nodded grimly. "An infamous black marketeer, albeit infamous only in certain circles. He helped me find work for a time. But what did you mean by that?"

"Only what rumour and hearsay claim," the Duke said. "Ozwell Spencer has been beset by rumours that the Umbrella Corporation is a front, allowing him to develop bioweapons of most extraordinary power. Rumours that young Miss Granger has no doubt heard. Forgive me for relating that, my dear young lady." He gave her a bow from his seat.

"…No, it's fine," a despondent Hermione said quietly. "I've heard it before. So, if you're not creating bioweapons, what are you creating?"

"New medicines, as well as researching a particular strain of fungus. A fungus that, surprisingly, may have spawned the Dementors, amongst other things."

"Well, Gred," George said to his twin, "it seems Harry here is a fun-guy."

Fred grimaced in mock disgust. "Knock it off, Forge, that joke's so old that mould is growing all over it."

"Anyway," Harry said, "I brought you down here to bring something up. I only want you to listen until the end. This is something that has been put under the Fidelius. That's how important it is. Do you understand?"

All four of them nodded. Even the Twins, for all their earlier joviality, could understand the gravity of the situation. Harry then looked to Hermione. "Remember how you thought I was becoming a different person, Hermione? You weren't wrong. It's related to how my mother saved my life, or at least that's what I believe." He gathered himself, before he changed into his form as Henric Stan. As they recoiled, not sure whether to treat him as an impostor, he said, "Before I was Harry Potter, I was Doctor Henric Stan, a Romanian physician and mycologist. Betrayed and murdered by Gellert Grindlewald in 1944 when he stole many things of considerable value to me."

Hermione seemed disturbed, almost about to flee. The Twins were more bemused than anything. Lupin, however, seemed thoughtful. Disturbed, yes, but thoughtful. "Reincarnation?"

"Via mycology. Mycoreincarnation as it were. The fungus I am working on, the Mutamycete, has the ability to store memory and personality. After Grindlewald killed me in my first life, my consciousness slumbered within a sample of the Mutamycete organism he stole, the Cadou."

"Cadou…that's Romanian for gift," Hermione said, seemingly trying to get a handle on the moment.

Harry chuckled mirthlessly as he changed back. "My aunt in that life certainly thought it was. In truth, it turned people into monsters. But it has the potential for so much more…"


So he explained his life to them, that as Henric Stan, nephew to Miranda. He could have opted out of discussing his renewed friendship with Daniela Dimitrescu and her adoptive mother, but he decided qualified frankness was better. The Duke helped vouch for him.

At the end of it, Lupin was rubbing his forehead. "…This explains so much," he muttered. "I did hear rumours that someone had cursed Lily while she was pregnant with you. She was desperate for a long time…she might have used the Cadou to save you and herself."

"…But Harry…if you're helping those Dimitrescus…" Hermione began, only for Harry to hold up a hand.

"I know. Knowing what they did to innocent people hasn't helped. But I want them to be better than that. Dani certainly regrets what she did, and Alcina…if I can perfect this blood substitute, there won't be any need for them to feed on humans, and even if they did, the Duke can help me procure some criminals. It's what I did when Alcina first became what she did. I am well aware that I am something of a hypocrite. I've killed people, experimented on them, even if they were the worst kind of human being. Hell, my Hippocratic Oath isn't worth shit now. But…"

"…But you have a saving people thing," Hermione said quietly, cutting across his babble. "If you are telling the truth…then it means you still want to help people regardless."

"…You're taking this well, Hermione."

"…Harry…you and Ron saved me from that Troll. You came down here, to kill the Basilisk of Salazar Slytherin himself, partly because I was petrified by it. You reached out to me in concern about the Time-Turner. And you trusted me enough to reveal…all this. Even after I told Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. No, I'm not taking this well, but we're still friends, Harry, and I appreciate you showing me this trust. But why not tell the Headmaster?"

"I don't trust him. He insists that I live in an abusive household, one where I was treated as a servant. My bedroom, Hermione, was a boot cupboard underneath the stairs until my eleventh birthday came around, and as Fred and George will attest, thanks to a certain House Elf, the Dursleys locked and barred me into my new bedroom." Hermione turned to them, and they nodded solemnly. "In addition, he allows Snape to get away with whatever he wishes. Remember our first lesson this year, Hermione, when he took points off you for supposedly helping Neville with his potion? And he lets Malfoy get away with everything, or any Slytherin. And of course, there was railroading that DADA lesson. I don't consider Snape worthy of any respect, other than purely for his intellect. He is an appalling teacher and an even worse human being. If it weren't for her deference to Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall would be here too."

"And yet, I'm here?"

"Hermione, while you have some authority worship, I trusted that you'd value our friendship over that. That, and learning something novel. I wish to use the Mutamycete to help humanity. My aunt was singularly obsessed with reviving her daughter, my cousin, so much that there was no line she wouldn't cross in pursuit of that goal. I think you could help me attain my goals. You are one of the smartest students outside of Ravenclaw. And given your association with Spencer, I'm sure you already have a good grounding in microbiology. I'm still catching up on advances in cell and molecular biology. I died before Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA from Rosalind Franklin's work in X-ray crystallography. But knowing you, you probably already have a passing knowledge of that at least. I need someone with fresh eyes to look at my work."

"…Really?"

"Hermione, I believe that, with the right training, you can surpass me, quite readily. Of course, given your schedule…"

"Well, we'll have to work something out," the bushy-haired witch said. "And to think, my godfather knew of such a miraculous organism in Romania this whole time…"

George cleared his throat. "Well, my less handsome brother and I are grateful you let us in on this, Harry."

"But why bring us in?" Fred finished.

Harry shrugged. "Fred, George…as long as you don't screw with my experiments, you're welcome to come here."

"Except you need to be a Parselmouth to open this place up," the Duke pointed out.

"Well, actually, we do need somewhere to store our goods," one twin began.

"…And both Filch and Snape have a bad habit of confiscating our stuff," the other concluded.

"So if we could store our things here, we'd be grateful," they chorused.

"We're hoping to open our own prank store one day," Fred said.

"Oh-hoh?" the Duke said with a smile, interrupting their spiel. "Do my ears deceive me? Do I hear a couple of fledgling entrepreneurial neophytes? Well then, as a veteran businessman, I would be more than willing to give you some pointers, perhaps even help act as part of a distribution network."

The twins hurried over, and they began discussing something with the obese merchant in hushed tones. "Oh, no," Hermione groaned. "Did you need to encourage them, Harry?"

"Why not? The Duke might send some prank items over for Heisenberg to use on Miranda," Harry said. He fixed her with a look. "I am no saint, but I can at least claim to hold the moral high ground over Miranda. Pranks are the least of what she deserves."

"…And what of Alcina Dimitrescu? You told me she was like Elizabeth Bathory reborn."

"…I know. I know, and it hurts me to see a woman I considered both a good friend, and as close I would have to an actual aunt figure without being related, sink so low, becoming a monster in mind as well as body. But my rebirth might change her, and for the better. Unlike Miranda, I think there is some hope for her, and even if my blood substitute doesn't sate her, at the very least, I can get her criminals to feast on. It makes me a hypocrite, I know, but you can't just dismiss those kinds of feelings, Hermione, not so easily. I can't forgive her for what she did, nobody should do so, nor should I forget her victims. But there is a difference between forgiveness and redemption. I will try to redeem her. She deserves that chance. You don't know what she went through. My death was just the last straw in turning her into a monster. Don't get me wrong…if she continues that way…I will deal with her."

"You mean kill her," Lupin said.

"…There are many ways to help people. Sometimes, you heal sick people. Other times, you kill dangerous people…"


Some time in the future, a spindly alien with large black eyes, a broken horn, and wrinkled orange skin sneezed, and frowned. "Hmm. Not catching cold, no known signs of any allergies. Is human myth about sneezing when spoken of behind your back true? Need more data," he muttered in a rapid-fire, high-pitched voice…


"…But I believe I can help her without doing that. I believe I can help others. I've put a lot of trust in you by revealing who…and what I am, and I am also taking a huge risk. I'm still Harry Potter, I'm just…more than the Boy Who Lived. And I want to make the world a better place. You said it yourself, I have a saving people thing. I just try to save people whom some would consider beyond saving. But I am willing to kill if need be. That is who I am."

Lupin, who had been looking thoughtful after a certain point, asked, "…Would you ever be able to cure lycanthropy? Not the sort caused by the Mutamycete you mentioned, but…my version?"

"Given time, I could potentially cure it, or at least ensure you retain your sanity while transformed," Harry said with a shrug, though inwardly, he was actually intrigued by the prospect of studying this more common lycanthropy. He was kicking himself for not offering such a thing to Lupin earlier. "I'd need blood samples to try and find out what sort of pathogen causes this form of lycanthropy. Lycans back home are little more than rabid, permanently transformed humans, and curing them would be a mite difficult. But you are stable and lucid, save for whenever you are exposed to the full moon. I can't guarantee a cure or a treatment, but I'll give it a damned good try."

"You would do such a thing?"

"Professor Lupin…while I'm still a little miffed that you did not try to contact me, I do believe that you're a good person suffering from an unfortunate condition. The populace at large looks at the disease, not the person. I'm sure both of you remember how many early victims of AIDS were treated. It was originally named GRID, or Gay-Related Immunodeficiency. I remember my uncle sneering at them as poofters and faggots getting what they deserved, even though AIDS has spread beyond the gay community. Even in my first life, I cared little about sexual preferences in others, as long as it was between consenting adults. Indeed, curing or at least treating HIV is another ambition of mine. While I am sure there are many werewolves who fit the reputation, even when untransformed, you haven't given me cause to believe you are one of them, or indeed that you are in the minority in the way you act."

Lupin looked touched, and Hermione, after a moment, drew Harry into a hug. "…And now I know you're still the Harry I knew. Changed, yes, but…like I said, you have a saving people thing. If I have time, I might come here to discuss your research. But…"

Whatever Hermione was going to say was interrupted when the Vanishing Cabinet opened, and a familiar swarm of insects entered the Chamber, coalescing into a certain redhead. "I am ready to make science, iubit!" Daniela said, before pausing, noticing the newcomers (to her). "Oh? Have we got visitors?"

"Yes, Daniela, and play nice," Harry said. Well, he reflected, this just got awkward real fast…

CHAPTER 16 ANNOTATIONS:

So, Hermione, Lupin and the Weasley Twins have learned the truth. And now they've met Daniela. This can only end well.

Review-answering time! edboy4926: No, I haven't, and I'm not sure whether I want to. Then again, I have fond memories of the first two of the Paul Anderson films. Those two were at least enjoyable, but I kinda stopped watching after that due to the BS factor getting a bit too high.

Loamy Coffee: I have no idea, and it would certainly explain a lot. But I reckoned that the Weasleys thought that his lifespan was extended by having some magic in him. I'm not sure exactly when Pettigrew fell in with the Weasleys, though…

Sammy9992: The non-magical people who know about magic's existence are those who have either had experience with it themselves (Mother Miranda and the Four Lord having encountered Grindlewald) or have enough money, resources and connections to know about it (Spencer and his underlings). The wizards are idiots who leak secrets like sieves, and I'm honestly surprised the Statute is even holding up in canon, given their activities…

No numbered annotations this time.