Lost Secrets

Chapter 2: The Hunt

Summary: Hermione remembers a few of the ruins from the arch the Veil was placed in and searching through an Advanced Ancient Ruins book, she reveals a secret about the Veil no one knew of before. Might her discovery lead to Harry, Ron, and Hermione finding Sirius? Alive?

Disclamer: I only own the plot, everything else belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling

"Boy!" Aunt Petunia's shrill voice resounded up the stairs.

Harry quickly got up from his spot on his bed. Making his way down the steps, he hoped that it was Ron and Hermione, and to his great pleasure, he found that it was.

"Hey Harry." Ron and Hermione said in unison.

They stood in the doorway, looking somewhat putout at Petunia's reluctance to let them in. She kept glancing out the door in all directions, looking for any who may see what was transpiring.

Stopping at the bottom of the steps, he greeted them back, "Hey guys." He looked at his aunt and asked, "May they come in, we just need to talk for a few minutes."

Petunia looked horrorstruck at the idea of having any of his kind in to her home, but she quickly ushered them in when Harry added, "No one will be able to see them inside, but if we were outside, I'm sure people would notice us just standing outside you door."

Safely inside his bedroom with the door shut, he turned to see Ron and Hermione looking at him somewhat anxiously and making quick glances towards the window.

They were being watched again.

When they saw comprehension flit across his face, their own broke into broad smiles.

"What?" He questioned.

Hermione lifted her wand and cast a single spell, and in that instant, sparks of light and of a variety of colors burst into the air.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" She said happily, almost jumping up and down.

Ron grinned. "Yeah, Happy Birthday, mate. If you're noticing a lack in the department of presentland, I'll have you know we're taking you to Diagon Alley so you can pick out what you might want since neither of us really know what to get you. Sound good?"

"Sounds wicked!" He exclaimed. "Your parents are letting you both out to go to Diagon Alley? By yourselves?" Harry added, playing along.

"Well," Hermione started, "they were really nervous about it and at first they refused point blank, but then we mentioned how we were adults and they couldn't stop us so they just asked, or more like in Mrs. Weasely's case, begged us to let some extra friends tag along. Ron and I both agreed that since it was your birthday we wanted to take you by ourselves since we are your closest friends."

"Thanks you two."

"Sure thing, mate. Say, you can do magic now, haven't you used any yet?"

"No, haven't thought about it really. Want me to have a go?"

Ron nodded in encouragement and Harry cast the silencing spell on the room under his breath, still unable to get the knack of nonverbal spells.

"There now, no one will be the wiser of our discussions. Nice one Harry. But you still need to practice saying your spells nonverbally. I can guarantee you it'll come in use in the future."

"I know, but right now, I'm fine with not saying them nonverbally."

Hermione sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, but you'd do well with knowing them sooner rather than later. Honestly."

Ron sniggered and Hermione ignored him.

Remembering what they were really here for and what they had to get he asked, "So do tell me Hermione, what is so important about this book."

Hermione's eyes shifted uncertainly to Ron who shrugged and said, "Don't look at me. You're the one who knows the whole story, not me. Therefore, you need to be the one to talk."

She nodded but still looked uncertain.

"Well Harry, I suppose it'd be best to just plow right in to the thick of it instead of dancing around the subject so here goes. You remember that room, in the Department of Mysteries, the one that had the Veil?"

Keeping his face and voice expressionless even as his mind screamed at the memory, he said, "Yes."

"Well, you remember the, uh… archway that the Veil was in?"

He nodded again.

"Well, there were Ruins on it. Lot's of them. I didn't understand the majority of them, didn't even recall seeing most of them, but there was one Ruin that stuck out, multiple times in fact, that one Ruin and its meaning was why I was so keen on us leaving that room. Plus the simple fact you and Luna were hearing voices coming from the Veil wasn't a good thing."

"I don't remember seeing Ruins. I think I'd remember it if I did."

"Well that's the thing see? You didn't notice it because you were, the first time, focused on the Veil itself, your eyes never left it, and the second time we were busy fighting the Death Eaters and it was obviously not a time to notice something so slight as that while you were in the middle of a fight where you could be killed any second." Hermione flinched, knowing she shouldn't have mentioned that last bit.

Noticing her flinch, Harry encouraged her, somewhat interested and unfazed at what she had said, "What did the Ruin mean?"

He wasn't helping, Hermione still didn't continue until Ron put a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up at Ron and smiled in thanks at the un-Ron-like gesture. He nodded and she continued, "The one root Ruin word that was repeated multiple times throughout the one face of the archway was… 'Death'. That's probably how the room got the name it has, but anyway, there were other's which I picked out, one was 'forever', which was probably what made those who have studied it think that it was a one-way sort of thing, another was 'Doorway', which is how it's described in all the books as, and another I recognized was… um… 'Pain'. The rest I couldn't really decipher at all. Some were so complex, which makes me assume that they've become… for lack of a better word, compounded. Multiple Ruins put together to form a new Ruin and a new meaning. It's probably what has those who study it stumped. I know it certainly has me as such."

"So," began Harry, "why can't you just look up in any old Ruins book what it could mean?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Because, the object itself is a very old, very dangerous, very dark, object. The Ruins themselves could no longer be even in existence. The only book that may have it is the only one of it's kind and it's multiple millennia old. The only reason it's survived is probably because who every created it put very powerful preservation charms on it. Only thing I can think of. The charm would have had to have been woven all throughout the binding, the pages, the…"

"All right already, I think we've got it Hermione. Now do stop before my headache becomes worse." Said Ron, slowly rubbing his temple.

She shot him a glare. "Fine then, I was just trying to say that basically, this book might hold the secrets to the Veil."

"If that's so, why haven't any Ministry members picked it up?" Questioned Harry.

"It is my belief that the book has been kept in secret. I don't think many people even know about the book. I wouldn't be surprised if Voldemort himself didn't know about it. And you know how he wants to know anything and every ting dark magic."

"Which brings up the question I've wanted to know but you've refused to answer, how the bloody hell do you know about this book that even you-know-who doesn't know about?"

Sending scathing looks in Ron's direction, it didn't hide the sudden blush that crept up her cheeks.

"Come on Hermione. Please will you tell us?"

Ron looked at her with puppy dog eyes and his lips in a pout, trying his hardest to shake Hermione enough into surrendering.

It worked.

"Fine," she sighed and turned and even brighter pink, "I was in the books store nearly a year ago, right after, you know, Sirius died." Harry's whole body froze but he managed to keep his face blank. "Ever since I saw the Ruins, I've looked through every book containing Ancient Runes that I could find. I even sent Dumbledore a letter asking him if I could visit the school's library in search of a book. He granted my request of course and took me to school where while he was in his office, I practically tore apart the library in search of every book that contained Runes. Thank goodness Madam Pince wasn't there. She'd've banned me from the library."

"Oh the horror." Ron muttered under his breath, just loud enough for Harry, who he was sitting next to on Harry's bed, could hear. Hermione did hear however, and so she shot a stinging hex his way. To slow to react in time to the unexpected hex, it hit his left arm and shot a flurry of stinging tendrils up and down his arm. He hissed at Hermione and she merely smiled smugly back at him.

"Continuing, I went to the book store in Diagon Alley and, um," Her cheeks suddenly turned bright red, altogether skipping pink since they'd settled back to their normal color, "I told the book store owner that, Madam Pince… that she sort of wanted a book, from the dangerous section of the store, for research… and that… she sent me to pick the one I thought would help her the most."

She lowered her head in embarrassment while Ron, nursing his still stinging arm, clapped, followed by a somewhat quite Harry.

"See! I told you! Corrupted her we have! I knew it!"

Harry came to her rescue again by asking, "Weren't you caught?"

She looked up, "Yes, he hadn't believed me for a second but he let me through anyway. After I had gone in search of the Ancient Runes books' he had apparently flooed Madam Pince and she said that no, she hadn't sent me. But anyway, I was able to find a book just in time, I saw the title and it's reference to another book whose title I didn't manage to find. The book contained some information about dark objects that had Runes on them and just some un-common Runes themselves. I don't think that book itself will have the information we need, but hopefully, the other book I saw referenced in their will still be… in existence. If not… there's no hope."

Harry, who had refrained from saying anything other than to aid Hermione occasionally, now spoke up. "So this book, it's supposed to what? Contain knowledge on how exactly the Veil works, or what exactly the Veil is?"

"Yes, in short that is what it may say."

"So, if we find the right book, we may… we might…" he sighed and rested his arms on his legs, "Sirius could still be alive?"

He looked at Hermione who looked back through eyes, which were getting red and glazed looked rather quickly, "Yes, he very well might be."

Harry took in a sharp breath. "Well then. I think we should be going then. Don't you?"

His voice was strained. He could hear it and he knew that they could as well.

Hermione smiled slightly. "Yes, but first I need to go over how exactly everything needs to play out."

And with that, Hermione began to go over the plans for their trip to Diagon Alley, with a very anxious Harry listening for any possible way the mission may fail.

Crack

The sound of Hermione apparating with two 'passengers' resounded throughout the long forgotten cottage.

Harry looked around at his surroundings. "Where are we?"

"It was my great-grandparent's cottage before they died. Their only daughter, my grandmother, didn't want anything to do with it since it harbored so many memories of her parent's from when she was a child. So the house was left empty and was forgotten until I asked my grandmother, just before she died, where exactly her parent's had lived. You see she had refrained from speaking of it and no one knew exactly where it was since the trail had long since disappeared and her parent's were private people and never invited anyone over. So on her deathbed, she told me the location of this house. She knew she was going to die and she knew that for my entire life, the mystery of the cottage always was lurking in my mind. I asked her every time I saw her where it was but she never told me. I was only 8 when she passed, and I soon forgot afterwards about the cottage, but with the need of a place to apparate to where no one knew of the location, I remembered her telling me of it. So a few weeks ago I went to the closest town, and followed her directions here. Anyway, I found it. So here we are. No one knows of it except for us. Come, we need to put the glamour's on. Since there are no mirrors we need to do each other's."

Ten minutes later, the trio looked nothing like themselves. Harry had medium brown hair that was cropped short to his head. His nose had become slightly longer, eyes rounder and now a very light gray, and his lips thinner. Ron now had light brown hair with natural blond highlights that was long enough to fall thoroughly into his eyes, which were still their natural brown, his nose became thinner and shorter and his lips became wider. Hermione had nearly black hair with Hazel colored eyes. Her nose became quite thin and her lips became quite full.

Harry took one look at Hermione and gave a shudder. "You look like Bellatrix Lestrange when she was 17. I remember seeing a picture of her at Sirius'."

Hermione stared at him for a few seconds before changing her eye color to a light brown. "Better?"

"A little bit."

"Oh well, it'll have to do. Remember what I said Harry? Ron and I will go first. You are to follow us exactly five minutes after we leave. You got that?"

Harry nodded.

"Okay, we still need to change. I brought a set of really nice robes that I haven't worn yet. I also bought Ron a nice new set along with other attire to wear underneath," Ron grumbled at having to be bought new robes by Hermione, "And here is yours Harry. They are all nice robes. Their nothing like school robes so we probably won't be mistaken for students."

Finding their own individual rooms to change in, they quickly exchanged the clothes they were wearing for the new robes and other attire to wear underneath. Once finished, they all met back up in what Harry assumed was the living room.

"Ready Ron?"

"Yeah."

"Remember the plan, Harry."

Ron grabbed Hermione's arm and with a final nod from her, they disapparated.

Harry, feeling quite along, sought out some place in which he could sit. Finding none other than the floor, he walked over to the window and looked out upon the open sunny meadow. He glanced at his watch every few seconds, but the sixth time he became distracted. He squinted against the sun poring into the cottage and was able to make out a dark black shape bounding its way across the meadow. Harry's heart gave a giant tug when the shape stopped, looked at Harry, and barked.

Tears spilt down Harry's cheeks as the dog slowly turned and bounded back towards the forest from wence it came.

"Don't worry Sirius," he said to no one in particular, "I'll find you."

Harry emerged from the bathroom at the Leaky Cauldron with a new glamour in place. His hair was now a very dark brown and his eyes were almost black. He wandered outside of the Leaky Cauldron and into Diagon Alley, oblivious to the mutterings in the Leaky Cauldron of his dark complex.

Wandering down Diagon Alley, he made his way into Gringott's and proceeded to a counter.

"I'd like to make a withdrawal."

He handed over his key to the goblin and followed him into the cart.

Ron and Hermione had told him that they would pay for the book, but he'd have none of it. The book, if it was as old and rare as Hermione said it was, would probably be worth a fortune and there was no way he was making Ron pay with as little as he had or Hermione since he knew she may not have it difficult like Ron, but she needed to save her money as well. So Harry, now traveling on the roller coaster like cart, would be the one who would buy it. He collected his money from his account once the cart stopped and his vault opened, made his way back into the cart and headed back to the surface.

He exited Gringott's, his bottomless money bag now full of nearly a thousand Galleons, and made his way to the book store where he found Ron who know had black hair as well, startlingly blue eyes, somewhat full lips and a sharp chin and cheek bones and Hermione who now was a dark blonde, still full lips and a thin nose but hazel eyes that were set just so to give a kind look to her face.

Watching as they looked through the bookshelf, not really searching for anything, he quickly cleared his throat and gave them the 'okay' hand signal. They looked up, nodded, and walked over to him as he made his way to the counter where a mid-twenties fellow was looking through a book behind it.

"Hello." Harry said in a somewhat lower voice.

The fellow gave a jump but quickly righted himself and stood up. "How do you do?"

"Fine thanks. We are looking for a… rare book."

"Well, do you know the title, sir?"

"Yes," Hermione interjected and walked forward, "It's called Ancient Runes and Ancient Items."

The man narrowed his eyes at them. "I'll have you know that that book is not allowed to be purchased by any who aren't of legal age. It is full of Dark things and shouldn't be used for idle reasons."

Ron stepped forward and stood to his full height. "Do we look like children to you?" He said sneering. "We know exactly how it should be handled."

The man stepped back a little bit, somewhat unnerved by Ron. "W-well the price… I doubt…"

"Leave the price to me. We know it is for sale here, so why don't you go and fetch it for us. We'll be waiting."

"Y-yes S-sir's and Miss."

The salesclerk scrambled around his desk and headed to a closed off room to the left, opened the door, and disappeared behind it.

"Ronald! We were meant to get a book! Not to scare him senseless! We'll be lucky if he hasn't gone off to alert the Auror's!"

"Calm down Hermione. It was all in good fun eh Harry?"

He jokingly jabbed Harry in the ribs.

"Yeah, it was a bit funny. But you need to restrain yourself. Just seem intimidating, not threatening. He needs to know we mean business, not that if he doesn't get the damn book we'll kill him." Harry said heatedly.

"Sorry mate. Just having some fun." Ron said, eyes downcast.

"Yes well you need to learn when the time for fun is and when the time for acting you age is! This is supposed to have been an easy 1-2-3, instead the guy is probably hyperventilating back there, afraid that we're Death Eaters!"

Ron nodded, eyes downcast, "Sorry," he mumbled.

Harry turned away from him. Hermione had remained quiet, looking at Harry curiously. He had taken a very big interest in this and Hermione hoped that she wouldn't let him down by the book not having anything of importance in it.

The man stumbled from the back room, sweat easily apparent on his face.

"Here's the book you wanted. It's 300 galleons."

The man refused to look up at them and Harry stepped forward slowly and said, "Sorry if we scared you a bit. We're just in a hurry and we are in fact of age and it gets annoying when people keep calling us kids. You must have been there once upon a time as well. Certainly you understand our annoyance at being called kids?"

The salesclerk looked up and gave a small feeble smile. "Yes, I suppose I can understand. These times, they leave us all room to be quite a bit jumpy. Entering, and speaking as you have, it'll unnerve the best of us."

Harry nodded. He looked at the book then at Ron and Hermione. He needed to get the price down incase they needed to buy another book.

"How about 100 Galleons for it. I know… we know that it's been here for decades if not longer and it still hasn't been sold. Plus, look at its condition. It's quite tattered. I'd never pay 300 Galleons for it."

The salesclerk didn't know what to say, he never had someone want to barter with him before, but then again he was quite new and most of his customers had bought the basic books that were fairly cheap.

"250 Galleons."

Harry thought for a second and scratched his chin, he only wanted to pay 200 Galleons.

"160 Galleons."

"No, I need at least 225 Galleons for this book. After all it is rare and is said to be the only copy in existence. Plus it comes from the B.C. times."

Harry sighed. "All right. You have me, 225 Galleons it is."

Despite Ron and Hermione's outbursts at him paying that much for a book, he magically counted 225 Galleons and placed them on the counter.

"There you go."

He quickly grabbed the book from the stunned salesclerk and opened it up.

Whispering to Hermione he asked, "What page was that other reference on?"

"I don't know." She whispered back. "Should be right about he-here!" She jabbed a finger at a familiar picture.

"The Veil." He stated.

"Yes, here's the referenced book below it." She quickly scanned the title and date it was made. "Well be hard pressed to find it, even if it exists. I've never even heard of it. Plus it says that its already a thousand years old."

"How the bloody hell can you read that? That… that's Latin that is!"

"Honestly! I've been taking lessons in Latin during the summer for the past two years. Mum and Dad bought me a few books on how to teach yourself Latin and so I'm doing exactly that. I'm a bit rough when it comes to it, but I've got enough to read a sentence or two without stumbling." She looked up at the still awestruck salesclerk. "Excuse me, Sir?"

Startled, he looked up and acknowledged her, "Yes?"

Hermione walked forward, placed the book on the counter, and pointed towards the referenced book name. "Do you have this or know of anyone who might?"

The salesclerks' eyes squinted at the text before he said; "We don't have it here, no. The date it's described as being written in signifies that it's even more rare than this, and seeing as this is a dark object, the only place I can think of that may have it is a store or two in Knockturn Alley. You could probably find it in either Borgin and Burkes or in Books Will Equal Your Success. Either store carries dangerous items; some items are even more dangerous than the owners. If you go, be careful. I know I can't deter you, so at least tread carefully down there."

Hermione shut the book with a snap, thanked him and pulled out her wand. She quickly shrunk the book, pocketed it, and then pointed her wand at the salesclerk.

"Sorry I have to do this."

The salesclerks' eyes widened and his mouth formed a small 'o' in horror, probably thinking he was about to be killed.

"Obliviate!" Hermione cried.

The man flew backwards hit the wall, and slumped the floor unconscious. Harry, Ron, and Hermione quickly left the store and headed towards Knockturn Alley. Just outside the entrance to the alley, Harry stopped them.

"If anything happens, to any of us, the ones still capable of leaving are to do so. Disapparate immediately if one of us is captured or cornered, don't play the hero all right?"

Ron and Hermione looked at each other and immediately began to argue, "Enough!" Harry said quite loudly, "Ron! Hermione! Either you do as I say or we are going back now. I'll not have your deaths on my head as well. Am I understood?"

At the furious glare Harry gave them, they consented.

Slowly and catiously they made their way to Borgin and Burkes but once inside, their hopes at finding the book were dashed when Borgin said he had never even heard of it. Their next attempt at Books Will Equal Your Success was more fruitful. The second they mentioned the books title, the owner of the store went into a fit of whooping laughter. She had obviously had the book for a long time.

"Here you are good Sirs and Miss. Is there anything else I can interest you in?"

"No. This is it." Harry said trying to sound intimidating since there were at least two other figures in the store with their hoods pulled up. Their identities unknown.

"Very well, since I've this book has been here for the better part of a century, I'll cut down the price to only 500 Galleons."

Ron gaped, "You're cutting the price down? What the bloody hell was it before?"

The owner looked at Ron, "I normally would have sold it for a thousand Galleons, but like I said, it's been in here for the better part of a century and no one has even looked at it before so far as I know. Do we have a deal Mr…?"

"Yes we do." Harry ignored her request for his name and magically pulled out 500 Galleons. Ron's eyes were as big as dinner plates by the time the last Galleon was on the counter. "There you go."

He grabbed the book and shrunk it and placed it in his pocket. He nodded to Ron and Hermione and they left the store at a brisk pace.

"Why are we walking so quickly?" Ron questioned Harry.

Harry threw an almost imperceptible glance over his shoulder and saw that what he feared was indeed happening. The other customers at the bookshop were following them.

"Were being followed. By the other two hooded people in the store. Don't let them know we're on to them. Keep walking."

Harry continued on the alley, "We're going the right way aren't we?" He questioned Hermione.

"I believe so. Unless we were supposed to turn back there… oh know… I think we were."

They all stopped and turned around in an attempt to go back the way they came, but upon turning, they came face to face with two Death Eaters. Harry looked back at the way they were going and saw another three Death Eaters appear.

"Well hello Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley, and Miss. Granger. Nice day isn't it?" Drawled the all too familiar voice of Lucius Malfoy.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione all gasped.

"What do you want?" Harry asked, voice steady and icy cold.

"Why you of course. The Dark Lord will be pleased that we have managed to capture you, along with you Blood Traitor friend and the Mudblood. He'll enjoy torturing them, but he'll enjoy even more killing you."

Lucius Malfoy laughed, a cold mirthless laugh. He then slowly raised his wand and pointed it at Harry's heart, "Stupefy!"

AN: There you go. Second chapter. Terribly sorry if there are a mass amount of gramatical and spelling errors. Just typed the whole thing up not to long ago and only proof read it once seeing as I was trying to get it up here before the book came out. Sorry for the cliffie, I know how everyone hates them, but hey what can I say, I couldn't resist. xD. Hope you enjoyed, as always, and if you have a minute to spare, drop me a review. I'd be forever greatful.