Standard Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; they all belong to JK Rowlings. This is a work of fan fiction, produced solely for enjoyment. No infringement of rights is intended.

– CHAPTER ELEVEN –

Letters from the Past

He had to pause and wipe the oncoming tears from his eyes, which were threatening to build up and overflow. Looking down at the parchment, he started again.

Dear Harry,

This is the hardest letter that I've ever had to write. If you are reading this, it means that your father and I are dead. It also means that you, by some miracle, survived. As I'm writing this, we are going into hiding. I don't know if you know why, but if you are reading this, you are already an adult, so I'll tell you just in case.

A prophecy, a terrible prophecy, was made just a few months before you were born. I won't go into the specifics of the circumstances, but Albus Dumbledore (I expect you know of him) heard a Seer foretell that a boy would be born at the end of July who would have the power to defeat Lord Voldemort (I know that you will have heard of him). She said that he would mark the boy as his equal and that he would have power that Lord Voldemort doesn't know. The last thing she predicted was that one had to kill the other, for neither could live while the other survived.

Harry, the problem is, is that this prophesy applies to two people; you, and Frank and Alice Longbottom's son, Neville. Albus told me that a Death Eater overheard part of it, but refused to tell me who or under what circumstances. He only said that it was imperative that we hide you, because Lord Voldemort knew part of the prophesy and would try and kill both of you. No one knows which of you was designated by the prophesy, so Albus thinks that it would be safer if both families went into hiding; we're both going tomorrow.

Harry my darling, if you're reading this, it means that you must be the one meant by the prophesy. We are so very sorry that we couldn't be there for you, to protect you and see you grow up. We will miss you terribly, my darling, but you cannot look back.

A terrible weight has been placed on your young shoulders, and your father and I were torn apart when we heard of it, but you cannot escape it. You must defeat Lord Voldemort, and I am sure that you will, because you have something that he doesn't have. Everything else can be learned, but you have an inherent power which will let you triumph, not something that you can read in a book.

We have every confidence that you will succeed, and that when you do, you will be able to live a full and happy life, with nothing to worry about. We want you to be happy, however you choose to live, just remember that we will love you whatever you choose to do. We're so very proud of you.

I hope that you know that you were a beautiful baby; you're sitting right next to me as I write this, and you're not making a single noise. You've already started doing some accidental magic, I've never heard of anyone doing it so young. Just the other day, you were watching your toy broom fly in front of you and tried to catch it. It flew out of reach, so you got angry, and suddenly it flew straight into your hand. I think we can expect great things of you Harry, if you're able to summon a toy when you're only one.

Sirius just says you're practising summoning it for when you start falling off it like your dad. Don't believe him though, you're father is a great flier, and I think you'll take after him. I'm sure you've heard a lot from people about Sirius, and Remus and Peter, you might even know them. They are your father's best friends, and were quite a lot of trouble at school, and haven't really grown up yet, apart from maybe Remus, but I'm trying to train your father.

There's so much I want to say to you Harry, as I fear that I will never get to see you grow up into a handsome man. I fear that I won't get a chance to see the woman you bring home, or the grandchildren you will give me, but I don't have the luxury of time. We need to prepare to go into hiding, so all I will say is that I hope you never have to read this.

If you do though, don't mourn us, we probably died fighting for your life, and we wouldn't have wanted to go any other way, if it gave you a chance to live your life. We love you with all our hearts my darling, there is nothing you could ever do which could anger us, just remember that. We hope this letter never reaches you,

Love,

Mum and Dad

By the time Harry had finished reading this, his face was red, tears were running down his face, unchecked. He put the letter down delicately, and rolled up into a foetus position, sobbing. He stayed like this for several hours, and didn't bother making himself dinner.

Hedwig flew back in around sunset, and seeing Harry's state, tried to pull him out of this stupor. She hooted at him, beat her wings in his face and even nipped his fingers, but was unable to attract his attention. Hooting angry, she flew out into the night sky, but Harry didn't notice. He stayed like this through the night, and didn't sleep. A few hours after sunrise; there was a loud knock on his door.

He didn't notice it and kept on keening for his parents. There was a loud huff from outside, and suddenly Hermione appeared with a quiet pop. She was about to say something reproachful, but seeing Harry's state, she rushed over to him, fear in her eyes, her anger forgotten.

'Harry, what's wrong?' She cried. 'What happened?' But Harry didn't reply, his eyes were glazed over, and he didn't react to her sudden appearance. She looked at the pile of envelopes next to him, and seeing the opened letter, picked it up. Scanning through it quickly, her mouth opened in horror.

'Harry, this is from your parents. They wrote you a letter before …' she faltered, 'before they … died. Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry, that's just awful.' She sat down next to him, and pulled him into a fierce hug, but he barely noticed and didn't move to help her move him. She crooned softly in his ear for a bit, then noticing his rumpled clothes, looked at him in shock.

'Harry, have you been here all night?' He didn't respond, but she'd already got up, and pulled him to his feet. Stumbling, he fell to the floor.

'Harry, come on, I'm taking you to the Burrow. I can't help you alone, you need Mrs. Weasley. Hold on, I'll get some clothes for you and then we'll go.' Rushing to his bedroom, she pulled out some changes of clothing, packed then in a bag, and ran back to find Harry, curled up on the floor. Pulling him up, and as an afterthought grabbing the envelopes still on the sofa, she apparated them to the Burrow.

Landing in the living room, she lay Harry down delicately on a sofa and called for Mrs. Weasley, who came running in from the kitchen two seconds later.

'Hermione, what happened, is Harry alright?' Seeing him on the sofa, she cried out in anguish, and ran to his side. 'What happened to him Hermione; was he attacked?' Hermione shook her head, and whispered that he needed a Sleeping Draught. Nodding grimly, Mrs. Weasley rushed to the kitchen, and returned a few seconds later with a corked bottle of Dreamless Sleep Potion.

Hermione gently held Harry's mouth open, and Mrs. Weasley poured the contents into his mouth. He gulped to avoid chocking, and closing his eyes, collapsed in Hermione's arms, sound asleep.

When he awoke, he was lying in a bed. He opened his eyes slowly and squinted, rubbing his eyes in a vain attempt to see clearly. He sat up, and looked around, making out three blurred shapes. Realising that someone had removed his glasses, he reached over to the side of the bed. He rummaged around few a few seconds before finding them, put them back on. He was back in the twins' room at the Burrow; it was dark outside.

Hermione, Ginny and Ron were sitting at the foot of the bed, sound asleep. Not wanting to wake them, he tried to wiggle out from under the sheet quietly, but the mattress squeaked loudly as soon as he shifted his body weight. Ron jerked up instantly, hand reaching for his wand.

'Whoa Ron!' Harry exclaimed, 'It's me, Harry, put the wand away.' Ron looked at Harry for a couple of seconds, and then put his wand back in his back pocket. Harry smirked, 'You know Moody would have a fit if he saw you put your wand there?'

'Oh sod off Harry; I'm not going to blow my butt off!' Harry sniggered quietly, not wanting to wake the girls. 'So,' Ron started uncomfortably, shifting his weight a bit, 'are you okay? Hermione said something about you getting a letter from your parents, put wouldn't say anything else about it all day. You want to talk about it?'

'Ron, I know you're my best mate, but I'm fine really. Anyway,' He grinned, 'you're not exactly the most sensitive person; I think a bullfrog would have more of a clue than you!' Ron blushed to the tip of his roots.

'I know I don't understand all that mushy stuff like Hermione does Harry, but I figure I know you better than anyone. And I know you don't like to open up or anything, but I can help you, you know. I can listen and stuff -' He finished uncomfortably. Harry sat up, and reached out to grip Ron's shoulder, and looking him straight in the eye, said.

'Ron, I'm fine; really I am. I've dealt with a lot worse over the years; I guess I was just a bit tired, and emotionally vulnerable from hearing his will, and then getting the keys to their vaults. It just caught up with me all of a sudden, honestly, I'm fine now. Being here with all of you would be reason enough.' Harry smiled warmly, trying to appease Ron, who'd evidently been thinking of little else since Hermione had brought him here; he looked very agitated.

Ron smiled weakly, and they chatted for a bit, until Harry's stomach rumbled loudly, and they both laughed, forgetting that the girls were asleep. Hermione and Ginny both woke up instantly, and after being told what had woken them up, Hermione grumbled about being woken up by Harry's appetite.

They all laughed at this, and then Ginny mentioned that at least it wasn't Ron's – again. Ron's ears went red, but the others sniggered, until Harry's stomach growled again, and while everyone else laughed, he decided to get something to eat. He walked out onto the landing, and descending the stairs, heard muffled voices coming from downstairs. Padding down the steps quietly, he heard Mr and Mrs Weasley talking animatedly, and was about to turn around, when he heard his name. Silently, he crept down to the bottom of the staircase, and listened.

'… he's an adult now, we can't tell him what to do. Anyway, we're not his guardians; we have no right to stop him doing what he wants.' Mr. Weasley said exasperatedly. 'Anyway Molly, he'll probably go back to Hogwarts with Ron and -'

'Arthur, stop being so ridiculous!' Mrs. Weasley cried out shrilly. 'Hermione told me what he did after leaving them. He bought a flat for heaven's sake; he's not intending to return to Hogwarts. If he had been, he would have just come here for the summer; it's probably something to do with whatever he was up to with Dumbledore the night he -' she faltered. Harry heard a quick shuffling of feet, and a quiet sob.

'We all miss him dear.' He heard Mr. Weasley say. Harry was really tempted to turn back now, but he was terribly hungry, and wanted to know what Mrs. Weasley was planning to do about him, so he waited.

'I know, I just can't help worry for the rest of us. He was the only one You-Know-Who feared, without him, how are we to resist Him? I mean, Moody is a powerful Auror, but he's no match for You-Know-Who; we're fighting a losing battle, even with the Ministry taking an active part.' There was an uncomfortable silence, before Mrs. Weasley started talking again. 'But I'm really worried about Harry, if he'd bought a flat, he's clearly not going to go back to Hogwarts, and if I know him, he'll go after You-Know-Who.' 'Well that was a pretty close guess.' Harry thought grimly. 'It's just in his nature, he probably feels responsible for all the attacks we've had and wants to end it; but if he does that now, he'll die, we have to talk reason into him Arthur.'

Harry waited anxiously, wanting to know what Mr. Weasley had decided to do. He didn't have to wait long.

'I'll see what I can do Molly. I'll talk to him, but I can't promise anything; you know how determined he can get. Remember the year Sirius escaped?' Harry's heart tightened at this, 'Well, I talked to him just before they left for school; I told him not to go looking for Sirius. He told me he wouldn't but that didn't stop him, you remember the fiasco with Sirius' escape.' Harry's lips curled in a smile, remembering Snape's look of absolute hysteria when he learnt that Sirius had escaped. 'He does as he wants, and he's an adult now, he doesn't need to take advice from us anymore, much less listen – though that has no effect anyway -' He trailed off, sounding exhausted. 'Now, I'm going to bed, I haven't had a full night's sleep in longer than I care to remember. By the way, are all the children still with Harry?'

'Yes dear, they all fell asleep watching over him. I'm so glad that he hasn't pushed them away, especially after what happened yesterday and today. He's having a nervous breakdown from all the pressure; to be honest though, I'm surprised that he lasted so long. I wouldn't have lasted five minutes in his situation. He just closes himself off at the slightest mention of his parents or Sirius,' she said sadly, 'yesterday was the first time I've ever heard him talk about it. He shouldn't keep all those emotions locked up though, he needs to talk about it; maybe Ginny can help him, they seemed to have grown closer this year.' She mused.

Clearly, Ginny hadn't told her parents that she and Harry had been going out during the last few weeks of term. 'Maybe it's too hard for her to talk about it,' he thought, 'I know how that feels.' He looked down at his hands sadly, still not knowing how to feel about leaving her. He knew that going out with her would put her in danger, and knew he couldn't live with himself if she was hurt; but at the same time, he couldn't care less, not wanting to live another second without her at his side. He knew he was being selfish and hated himself for it, but couldn't drive the desire from his thoughts.

He missed the time they spent together, with her he could be just Harry, not the Boy-Who-Lived. He missed her warmth and her intimate smiles, and kicked himself mentally for taking so long to realise that he liked her. He was rudely shaken from his thoughts when he heard Mr. Weasley starting towards the stairs, and climbing the stairs silently, stopped on the first landing, hiding in the shadows. He held his breath as Mr. Weasley walked past him, too tired to notice Harry, who was standing barely five feet from him.

Giving him a few seconds to climb up to the next floor, Harry hurried back downstairs, and seeing Mrs. Weasley at the kitchen counter drinking a mug of tea, said.

'Hi Mrs. Weasley, I'm sorry for this morning. I was just a bit shaken up and it had been a long day. I guess it just all caught up with me when I read their letter.' He looked down, embarrassed at his lack of self-control. Mrs. Weasley looked at him piercingly, trying to work out if he'd heard her conversation with Mr. Weasley.

Finally, she replied. 'It's quite all right Harry, it happens to the best of us. Now why are you out of bed at this time?' She asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. Harry gulped, though he didn't know why, after all, he had just come down to eat.

'Um, well, the thing is,' he hesitated, 'I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon, and I was wondering if I could get something to eat. I woke up pretty hungry.' Almost in confirmation, his stomach growled again. Mrs. Weasley smiled warmly.

'Of course you can have something dear, let me cook you something quickly. How about scrambled eggs?' Harry nodded eagerly, and thanked her profusely. To be honest, he would have been content with just about anything, but he was glad that she was making him something hot.

He waited for a few minutes in silence, reflecting on his earlier thoughts, and started thinking about where to start looking for the missing Horcruxes. He really had no idea where to start, but guessed that he would need to do some research into R.A.B.'s identity.

Maybe if (s)he was still alive – though that was doubtful by the sound of the note – they could join forces to find and destroy the rest of them. Anyway, he had to find out if they'd managed to destroy the locket, and if they had, how, because Harry really had no idea.

While he mused over how to destroy the soul of the most feared wizard in a century, Mrs. Weasley bustled around the kitchen, and soon returned with a generous helping of scrambled eggs on toast. Harry thanked her again, and she left to go to bed, leaving him to eat in silence. He wolfed down the eggs, and taking them to the sink, muttered 'Scourgify', cleaning the plate and cutlery instantly. He lay them down next to the sink, and returned to the twins' room silently, to find his friends all asleep again.

He slid under the covers, trying not to wake them, and quickly drifted off to sleep. He mused about how lucky he was to have such loyal friends, and decided that he wouldn't trade their friendships for all the power and gold in the world. With these happy thoughts, he slipped into the first peaceful sleep he'd had in a very long time.