Disclaimer: Harry Potter is property of J. K. Rowling. All I own is this particular storyline.

A/N: Although I've written stories before, this is my first fanfiction so apologies if it's a little rough. Constructive criticism is welcome and appreciated. This will be an AU of the 5th book on but it may contain elements of HBP and DH. I know some of this stuff has been done before but I'm hoping to be at least a little original.

Cataclysm

-tadsfa-

Chapter 1: What You Never Knew, You Never Knew

A/N: Harry has already been attacked by dementors and been brought to Grimmauld Place. This story begins in the kitchen that first night.

15 days previously: August 3rd, 1995

"Sirius?" said Mundungus, who did not appear to have paid any attention to this conversation, but had been closely examining an empty goblet. "This solid silver, mate?"

"Yes," said Sirius, surveying it with distaste. "Finest fifteenth-century goblin-wrought silver, embossed with the Black family crest."

"That'd come off, though," muttered Mundungus, polishing it with his cuff.

(Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix: pg. 83)

"Speaking of family crests and silver," Sirius segued, casually turning back to Harry," I noticed you're not wearing the Potter family ring. Any particular reason?"

Harry's brow furrowed. "I dunno know what you're talking about. What family ring?"

Remus leaned over. "The ring the Head of a Noble wizarding family would wear. But Sirius," Remus looked above Harry's head, "he's too young. Wizarding majority isn't until seventeen."

"Not when you're the last of your line it's not," the Black lord informed him. "Then the goblins turn over Head right's on your fifteenth birthday. Which for you," he turned back to Harry, "was a few days ago. Are you sure you didn't receive any mail from Gringotts, official looking or otherwise?"

"Yes positive," Harry said, bewildered. Remus and Sirius frowned at each other.

"Strange," murmured Sirius. "Bill," he called to the tall red-head at the end of the table, "is it possible for Gringotts to forget to send a family ring to the new Head of a family?"

Bill shook his head, as the other occupants of the room looked from him to Sirius curiously. "Well, no not really. There are all kinds of wards and charms in place to make sure that those
who need to know are informed whenever a succession occurs." He shrugged, "Why?"

"Harry's fifteenth birthday was four days ago and he's the last Potter, but he claims to have never gotten the mail from Gringotts informing him of his change in status," Remus said.

"Well that's odd." Mr. Weasley blinked. "When my father's older brother died, my father received his ring the very next day. Are you sure it's not because of his age?"

"The last of a line receive the family ring on their fifteenth," Bill answered before Sirius. "The only reason I can think of for Harry not to have received the title of Head is because the current Head is still alive."

"Not possible," Sirius said. "We know for a fact that James and Lily are dead, as are James' parents. Mr. Potter didn't have any brothers and Daniel has been dead longer than James."

Harry, who wasn't familiar with any part of this entire conversation, asked a question whose answer he thought he'd be able to understand. "Daniel? Who's Daniel?"

Remus broke his gaze from a despondent Sirius to respond to Harry's question. "Daniel was James's much older brother. He vanished a week or so before your parents went into hiding. A month later Dumbledore brought word that he'd been killed by Voldemort." He paused for the inevitable flinching. "James was crushed, of course."

Hermione jumped in. "I didn't know James Potter had a brother. I always had the impression that he was an only child."

"Yeah, so did I," Harry agreed.

"Daniel wasn't as well known as James, mostly because of James' role in Voldemort's downfall." Remus gestured to Harry.

"It started before Voldemort fell though." Sirius took up the story. "When Remus said Dan was James's much older brother, he meant much older. Dan was in his sixth year when James
was born. He was a Ravenclaw, like his mother; Head Boy, Prefect. He was popular, but not overtly friendly. He went to work in the Department of Mysteries for some years after graduation, but just before James started school he quit and started traveling. He and James were close though. Every so often James would get a package from his brother containing some trinket from whatever country Daniel happened to be in at the time. In our forth year he got a necklace that had a charm on it that would let you be intangible for up to a full sixty seconds, although the charm had to recharge for two hours afterward. I remember James had gone home that Christmas and begged Dan to charm his invisibility cloak the same way. It didn't work but at least he tried."

"I think I remember meeting him: Daniel." Mr. Weasley was gazing at the fire in contemplation. He looked up to everyone's interested expressions. "Once, just once; in my first year. I got lost on my way to History and a prefect found me wandering around the Charms corridor and set me on the right path. He was a Ravenclaw, if I remember correctly: Tall, dark hair. Big."

"Everyone's big to a first year. But yeah, that sounds like him. And you're about the right age," Sirius said thoughtfully. "James looked like a Potter, through and through. Dan, though, took more after the Black side of the Potter family: blue-grey eyes and black hair that wasn't nearly as messy as James' was."

"Voldemort killed him?" Harry's question was wistful as he thought about another relative he would never see.

"Yeah," Sirius sighed heavily. "He tried recruiting him a couple of times; Dan was even friends with a couple of students who went on to become Death Eaters. He never joined though, openly despised the whole thing. However, even after Mr. and Mrs. Potter were killed during James' 7th year, he never truly fought against them either." He frowned in thought. "He and James actually had a falling out about the war, just after your parents wedding. They didn't really patch things up until you were born Harry."

A hush fell over the kitchen. Molly Weasley stood over the cauldron of soup, spoon in hand, listening with one ear as she checked the taste. Tonks was biting her lip as her gaze bounced from Sirius, to Remus, to Harry and back. Mad-Eye was shifting uneasily in his seat. Hermione had fixed Sirius with a look, apparently as fascinated with this unveiling of Harry's past as the boy himself.

Harry leaned forward with a breath. Why had no one ever told him things like this before? This was his family. He should already know these things. But it wasn't just him, he realized. Everyone that didn't know him personally had apparently thought James Potter was an only child. Why? There had to be more to it than a simple case of an anti-social personality. What was the big secret?

He opened his mouth to ask the inevitable lead-up to Sirius's announcement when a strange sensation closed in on him. The question was important; he knew it. He just didn't know how he knew. He felt, not for the first time, as though he'd stumbled onto something bigger than expected and the feeling made him hesitate; it usually meant nothing good. But it had to be asked.

A curious mixture of trepidation and curiosity muddled his words. "Why'd they fight about the war?"

Remus, showing none of Harry's anxiety, readily responded to his query. "Daniel neither liked, nor trusted Dumbledore and made no secret of it. He was fiercely unhappy when he heard that James had joined the Order after he graduated. I wasn't there for their fight, so I don't know why precisely he was so vehemently opposed to it or the exact words spoken, but
James was torn up about it for months afterward."

"I was there," Sirius's voice chimed in abruptly. "A week or so after James' wedding; I was visiting for the day. I'd gone to the loo, come back and saw the two of them arguing in the kitchen. They were both so into it they didn't even notice me, so I sort of hung around just outside the doorway. James was mentioning his parent's murder, talking about revenge, justice and the good of the world. All the stuff Gryffindors are made of. Dan was pleading with him; said that Dumbledore was wrong and that following him would get them killed. He said that he understood James' desire for justice but that he was more likely to lose his life than find what he was looking for in the Order." A jaded smile. "Turns out he was mostly right."

"Dumbledore did offer to be their Secret Keeper as you know Sirius. It wasn't his fault that James and Lily put their trust in the wrong person." Remus' thoughts were far away. "It wasn't James or Lily's fault either. Peter betrayed us all."

"I know, I know. Bastard." Sirius stared down at his clenched fists, eyes flaming.

"What happened after the fight?" Harry was eager to keep this conversation going. It was a rare treat for him to hear about his family. Beyond comments about how much he looked like his father or his mother's skill in charms his parents were almost never talked about, let alone any other members of his father's family. Everyone treated the subject as if it was taboo; the people who knew the Potters best were usually the ones that clammed up the fastest. It was like a conspiracy of silence.

"Daniel stormed out. Disappeared right up until a James contacted him, about a week before you were born. He showed up at your parent's house just two hours before Lily went into labor. He and James made up at Saint Mungos." Sirius laughed. "Dan brought a couple of bottles of firewhiskey for us and we all got a little tipsy. Lily would have been pissed except James was just so happy to be a father and to see his brother that she couldn't quite manage it." He and Remus smiled fondly in remembrance.

Remus took over. "After that things were back to normal between them. Daniel was usually around, though he still made disapproving noises whenever Dumbledore or the Order were mentioned. Every so often he'd leave to do stuff, never really said what, and a week before your first birthday was one of those times." He heaved a sigh. "Unfortunately this time he didn't come back and your parents went into hiding. A month later we were told he'd been killed though not when it had happened. You know the rest."

As everyone sat in thoughtful silence, Mrs. Weasley began to dish out dinner. Slowly a light chatter started up. Tonks and Ginny began a conversation about the Weird Sisters. The Weasley parents were discussing the Burrow while Fred and George teased Bill about his relationship with Fleur. Harry watched the fire as he ate, contemplating everything he'd just been
told.

Alright so I have an uncle, Daniel, who doesn't like Dumbledore or Voldemort and refuses to join either. My grandparents are killed during my dad's last year of school and just after he and mum
get married they join the Order which makes Daniel mad and he leaves. He comes back when I'm born and he and dad make up but he still leaves off and on to do mysterious things he wouldn't talk about. He vanishes before my birthday. My parents go into hiding and a month later Dumbledore informs them that Daniel was killed by Voldemort. Harry sat up. There was something there.

A tentative thought formed and he went with it.

"Sirius?"

"Hmm?" Sirius looked up from his bowl.

"How did Dumbledore know?"

"You're going to have to be more specific than that Harry."

"About my uncle I mean. How did Dumbledore know that Daniel had been killed by Voldemort? Did Voldemort tell him? Was there a body, a letter?" Hermione was listening in and as her eyes flickered to meet his, Harry got the impression that they were on the same page. She nudged Ron so he would hear Sirius' answer.

"I don't know what to tell you Harry; I wasn't there when James got the news, though Dumbledore did announce it to the Order at large later. He just said that he'd received information that Daniel had been killed by Voldemort. He never said how. At the time it didn't seem to matter all that much. Besides, it was Dumbledore; he pretty much knows something about everything." He gave Ron and Hermione a fleeting look before meeting Harry's eyes. "Why'd you want to know?"

Harry felt a flicker of something stirring in the back of his mind. There was something wrong with what Sirius had said and how it fit with the story of his parent's death and the rest of his life. Desperately he tried to hold on to it but it was like grabbing smoke and the thought slipped away. He glanced at his friends. Ron had gone back to his food but Hermione looked just as confused as he was. She looked back at him and shook her head before shrugging and also turning back to her meal. Harry sighed. "No reason Sirius." He cast about for a way to lighten the conversation. "So, if I get these Head rights does that mean I get to do magic outside of school?"

The thought Harry couldn't grasp while he was awake found root in his subconscious while he was asleep and Harry's nightmares took on a whole new dimension that night. He woke up frightened in a way he'd never been before; his fear was unfamiliar and therefore all the more terrifying. The monster in his dream wasn't the one who haunted him in his daylight hours; his mind had conjured up a whole new demon and the person chosen to play the part was the source of his dread. His mind latched onto the idea he hadn't managed to articulate to Sirius the night before and his brain made the leap from it to his nightmare. He felt the shock and implications to his core and rebelled. It couldn't be true. Because if it was…

When Ron woke up he noticed Harry's horrified profile and asked him if he'd had another You-Know-Who induced nightmare. Harry gave a non-committal answer. How could he have responded? How was he supposed to tell his best friend that the monster of his nightmare was their Headmaster?

August 4th -11th , 1995

The week leading up to the trial had been one of the worst in Harry's life. On top of having to deal with the fear that he might soon be expelled he was now paranoid about the man who was supposed to protect them all from the worst Dark Lord to come along in a century.

Ron must have told most everyone that he was having nightmares because the occupants of the house had seemed to come to some sort of understanding and had taken it in turns to shadow him wherever he went when he wasn't cleaning. Harry had made several attempts to slip away out from under their watchful eyes but was thwarted time and again by various friends. Frustrated by his inability to find time alone during the daylight hours, he'd taken to wandering the house at night, usually finding himself in the drawing room or library.

While this gave him solace from his nightmares and overly helpful friends, it wore him down quickly and everyone noticed his increased sluggishness. However they all put it down to nightmares and worries over his upcoming trail and, because he always made sure to be back in bed before Mrs. Weasley woke up, no one was any the wiser to his true nighttime activities. Harry weighed the pros and cons and eventually decided that the privacy the night afforded him was worth the lethargy he would feel in the day: his midnight doings continued.

He put the extra time to good use. Sirius had answered his throwaway question in the positive: Heads of family were allowed to use magic outside of school, regardless of age. However, when Harry had asked if that gave him an argument for his trial and a reason to dismiss the charges, the answer had been negative. For whatever reason, Harry hadn't received the letter from Gringotts transferring Head status over to him; despite the fact that everyone would know that he should be the Head it wasn't official until he signed the papers and received his ring. Bill had promised to look into the matter as soon as he could and get back to him.

While the thought of using magic whenever the urge struck filled him with an indescribable joy, Harry wasn't naïve enough to believe that would be the only aspect of his change in status. He began to devote much of his midnight hours into studying the duties of a Head of family; that meant browsing through old and dusty tomes, most guaranteed to put even a hardy scholar to sleep. But he persevered: Hermione would have been so proud, if only she'd known. And for the most part his dedication paid off. He discovered that Heads had the ability to make or break betrothals for underage members of their family. They also had the ability to dissolve existing marriages but there were a lot of stipulations involved in doing so. He also learned that despite his age he could vote in Ministerial elections and apply for his Apparition license. The Head of the Potter family also had the privilege of sitting in on Wizengamot meetings and speaking for or against all proposals put forth, but was not an actual member and was unable to vote on said proposals. He was also obligated to pay taxes but he found an archaic rule in an ancient book that seemed to imply that because of his age he could defer tax payments until he was out of school. He wasn't sure that this was still valid but if it was he intended to make full use of it.

He also learned plenty of useless information while trying to find the worthwhile stuff. He probably could have gotten answers quicker by asking Hermione, Sirius, or even Mr. Weasley, but felt this was something for him alone. And if anyone wondered about his seemingly nonexistent interest in this new facet of his life, they kept their comments to themselves.

What he was visibly interested in was his Uncle Daniel and the unacknowledged mystery that surrounded him. He questioned Sirius relentlessly but eventually gave in to the fact that there was only so much the man could tell him. Daniel was born on the 16th of January, 1944. He liked white wine but would drink burgundy, his favorite color was blue, and he had a muggle driver's license. He was also, Sirius informed Harry, a raccoon animagus. It was where James got the idea for them all to become animagi after learning about Remus. All this information, while interesting, wasn't helpful. Other members of the Order proved just as incapable of revealing what he truly wanted to know. Discouraged, he gave up. At least for the moment. He had a feeling he and his Headmaster would be having a long conversation next they met.

August 12th , 1995

Harry, followed by Mr. Weasley, stomped into the kitchen, swearing violently. Everyone's gaze fell on the doorway.

"Harry James! Language!" Mrs. Weasley glowered at him in disapproval. The rest eyed him in equal measures of interest and concern. Mostly. Ginny and the twins were grinning.

Sirius leapt to his feet. "Harry! What happened? Is everything alright? The trial-"

"Relax Sirius, the trial went fine. Sort of. I was cleared at any rate." Cheers erupted which made Harry smile briefly before his face fell. "Dumbledore swooped in to save the day." Harry tensed. "He wouldn't talk to me though; wouldn't even look at me! Throughout the whole trial he pretty much pretended I didn't exist."

Sirius glanced at Mr. Weasley who correctly interpreted his look. "I wasn't at the trial so I wouldn't be able to say. I did see Dumbledore afterwards. He said he was in a bit of a hurry and rushed off before I could ask him about the verdict. Harry came out just after him."

"Well I'm sure it's nothing to worry about," said Hermione in a transparent attempt at mollifying Harry's visible ire. "The Headmaster is a busy man. I expect you'll talk with him plenty once school begins."

"Yeah I suppose. Still common courtesy to talk to your students for a least a minute isn't it? Even if it's just to tell them to bugger off?"

"Harry!"

"Sorry."

Fred and George snickered.

"The Headmasters business is the Headmaster's business," said Mrs. Weasley loftily after giving Harry one last admonishing look for his cursing. "What matters is that the charges were dropped and Harry is free to attended school." There was another scattering of cheers and a mini war chant from the twins that was reminiscent of their first years catcalling 'we got Potter!'

"Right…so…" Sirius floundered. "You've been cleared. That's great. Congratulations."

Harry eyed him. "Try to contain your enthusiasm. Wouldn't want you acting like that." He gestured to the twins who had been joined by Ginny and apparently added a dance routine to their mantra.

Sirius said, "No, no. Honestly." He gave Harry a genuine, if strained, smile. "I'm happy for you. It's just…" He trailed off. "Never mind." Harry hesitated but eventually turned away, missing Sirius's brief grimace. Remus however didn't and frowned at his old friend.

August 18th 1995

Breakfast that morning was hurried. Mr. Weasley, Tonks, and Kingsley had only stayed long enough for a quick bite, before rushing off to the Ministry. They had only been gone for a few minutes when the morning meal was once again interrupted, this time by a trio of owls: one with a letter for Harry, one for Hermione, and the last carried four letters for the Weasley siblings.

"Finally," Ron said in exasperation, removing the Weasley letters and passing them out. "They usually come earlier than this."

"Well," Said Ginny reasonably, taking her letter from Ron, "Harry might have been expelled. They were probably waiting to see the outcome of his trial. That way they'd know whether or not to send him a letter."

"Still, that was days ago. You think they would have them sent out sooner than this. Or they could have mailed ours and given Harry his after the trial. You said Dumbledore was there right?" He looked at Harry.

"Yeah but like I said, he didn't even look at me. If he was trying that hard to avoid me I doubt he'd break just to give me a letter." Frustration leaked into his voice. The owl bearing his letter gave an irritated hoot. Harry clumsily untied his letter.

Hermione shook her head in exasperation. "Harry we talked about this. I'm sure the Headmaster was just busy. It probably had nothing to do with you." She also untied her letter and gave the owl a quick pat, before the trio flew off.

"'Probably' isn't very reassuring Hermione."

Hermione's response was lost with the arrival of Mrs. Weasley and a platter of bread.

"Freshly toasted, dears," she announced cheerily, setting the plate down. Then she caught sight of the letters Fred and George were smacking each other with. "Oh goodness, your letters are here. Well, open them up," she said to everyones stares. They complied and for a minute the only sound was the rustling of parchment. Suddenly Hermione's scream of triumph broke the stillness.

"Yes! Oh, yes! Prefect! I made prefect!" She did an undignified little dance in her excitement, a golden badge clutched in her fist. Harry turned to Ron, ready to trade tolerant expressions, only to be stopped by the strangled noise coming from Ron's throat. He was staring fixedly down at the letter in his hand, a look of stunned disbelief frozen on his face. Ginny paused her letter opening to give Ron a look of concern. She glanced over his shoulder and choked backed laughter. Never one to be left out on a joke, George yanked Ron's letter out of his hands. Something gold tumbled out onto the floor and Fred dove under the table after it. He came up with a whoop, waving the item in the air.

"Prefect! Ickle Ronnie is a prefect." He and George collapsed on each other in a fit of laughter. Ron tugged his badge out of Fred's hand, the tips of his ears flaming red. Mrs. Weasley uttered a little cry of joy and gave Ron a smothering hug. Hermione and Harry stared at one another. Ron?

"Oh we must celebrate. Ron and Hermione, Gryffindors two new prefects! Oh how wonderful!" Mrs. Weasley fussed over her son for a few minutes, oblivious to his struggling. Finally she stepped back and wiped her eyes. "Well, we can't put off going to Diagon Ally any longer now that your lists are here. I've been meaning to pick up a few things anyway. Ron what would you like?"

"What?" Ron gave her a hopeful look.

"You deserve a reward for being made prefect sweetheart. What will it be?"

"Mum," said Ron hopefully, "can I have a new broom?"

Mrs. Weasley's face fell slightly; broomsticks were expensive.

"Not a really good one!" Ron hastened to add, "Just-just a new one for a change…"

Mrs. Weasley hesitated then smiled.

"Of course you can…Well, I'd better be going if I've got a broom to buy too. I'll see you all later…Little Ronnie, a prefect! Oh, I'm all of a dither!"

(Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix: pg. 164)

"Hold on Mum," Bill pushed his chair out. "I'll go with you. I've been meaning to check into Harry's Head status and find out what the holdup is but I've never had the time. But now's as good as anytime. Besides, safety in numbers."

"Oh well, alright. Hurry up, then. Well be back later on," Mrs. Weasley said to the others. She collected the supply lists from the children and she and Bill left. A heavy sort of silence fell. Ron was looking at the floor in apparent fascination. Hermione's eyes were flicking between Harry and Ron with an incredulous expression, similar to the one's worn by the twins. Ginny busied herself with her plate of pancakes.

Harry, for his part, warred with the feelings of amusement and surprise. It wasn't that he particularly wanted the responsibilities of being a prefect, but honestly who actually thought Ron would be a better choice than him? Ron, who had the temper of a blast-ended skewert. Dean would have been a better choice than Ron. Dean knew how to hold his temper and his grades were pretty even to Ron's, though Harry thought Dean might be just a tad better in charms. Still, as arrogant as it sounded, Harry knew he was the obvious choice. And judging from the expressions on the faces of the occupants of the kitchen, they knew it too. Hermione looked like she was seconds away from pointing out this fact and Harry sighed in frustration. He knew that it would be up to him to soothe Ron's insecurities and his jealousies if Hermione went through with it. Luckily an interruption arrived in the form of the last Marauders. Sirius had been scarce since Harry's vindication at the Ministry. Though he had at first professed cheer for Harry's return to Hogwarts, his mood had steadily darkened as that moment drew closer. Thinking back to his return from the Ministry and his godfather's false joy at the news that he'd been cleared, Harry was unpleasantly aware that seeing the schools letters was going to drag Sirius's mood down even further. Sure enough, as he and Lupin rounded the kitchen door, and he caught sight of the badge and letter Hermione was still holding, he paused and a shutter flickered over his eyes, the careless grin he'd been wearing bleeding away. Lupin, sidestepping from behind him, was oblivious to his old friend's bleak expression.

"I see you've all got your letters," he said cheerfully. "And Hermione, prefect? The obvious choice, but still, excellent show!"The werewolf turned to Harry, a happily expectant look on his face. There was a telling pause.

"Erm…" Ron, his face a faint pink, held up his badge. "Hermione wasn't the only one." Lupin blinked in shock. Even Sirius was surprised enough out of his gloom to quirk an eyebrow at Harry in question, to which the boy gave a slight nod. Sirius rolled his eyes.

Remus recovered valiantly. "That's wonderful, Ron. Congratulations, both of you! Well done!" If the former Defense professor was disappointed by Harry's non-appointment to the position of prefect as it had seemed, he did an admirable job of hiding it. Sirius just looked as if the entire system was a waste of time.

However, it did look as if he'd found a light in the debacle of Hogwarts letters. He grinned at the twins who were closest to himself. "So you've all got your letters now, eh? No putting off going to the Ally any longer. Wonder how many Order members can be scrounged up before Dumbledore deems a trip for all of us to Diagon 'safe' enough. Of course, yours truly would be happy to volunteer my services in keeping the future of the wizarding world safe from harm." He struck a pose, which made Ginny giggle, before glancing at Remus for agreement.

"Actually," Hermione said, "Mrs. Weasley already collected our supply lists and left for Diagon with Bill about a half hour ago. We were never going to go"

There was a second of dark silence from Harry's godfather. "Of course not," Sirius rumbled in disgust. "We shouldn't think to risk our lives in the open when Voldemort, who has all but buried himself in the sand to avoid being revealed, might decide to break his enforced silence and engage in open warfare in the middle of London. How silly of me ."

"Now Sirius," Remus began, "you know it's for the best. Someone sent those dementors after Harry and they almost got him. It's not safe to tempt that sort of luck on nothing more than a guess at Voldemort's plans, for nothing more than a lark. Safety is paramount."

As quickly as it had come, the fight left Sirius, and the Black Lord dropped heavily into a chair. The Hogwarts students shifted uneasily in their seats at the tense atmosphere. Remus waited a moment to be sure his friend wasn't going to start up again before turning to the teenagers.

"Now before we got sidetracked, Sirius and I had come here with a purpose. Dumbledore is thinking about inducting a few more members into the Order and we need some more rooms upstairs cleaned, just in case. Preferably by tonight. So if you're all done with breakfast, we should probably get started." Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys clambered to their feet. They trooped out the kitchen door, grumbling, with Lupin bringing up the rear. Before the door shut, Harry glanced back to see Sirius, unmoving in his seat, gaze fixed on the grimy window.

Harry had a notion that there was something to be said for physical labor erasing thought and making time pass by more quickly. By the time Mrs. Weasley and Bill arrived back from Diagon, the teenagers had cleared three rooms upstairs and had two completely cleaned and ready for use. Remus was pleased.

"Doubt we'll need them tonight, but no reason not to have them ready," he said to the kids as they traipsed downstairs to Mrs. Weasley's calls. "Dumbledore did say there was an off chance they might be needed."

As they stepped into the kitchen they were struck with a somber ambiance. Bill was speaking in hushed tones with Sirius and Mad-Eye, while nearby Molly Weasley chopped vegetables with a worried air. They all turned at the sound of the cleaning party's arrival.

"What's going on?" Hermione, as always, was the first to realize that something may be wrong. Sirius and Bill gave each other significant looks at Hermione's question. Sirius, Harry noted, looked as if he'd been given news that was unhappily impossible and yet terrifying. It was an interesting expression.

Finally Bill turned to the door. He looked as if he didn't know who to face. He settled on Lupin and took a breath. "Well I talked to the goblins about the Potter family Head rights. At first they were very unhelpful, since I've only just begun working at the actual bank. Curse breakers are mostly field agents and we don't deal with actual customers, so I really had no reason to be asking questions about stuff like that. But, after being given the runaround, I finally managed to get the name of the Potter family vault manager, a goblin by the name of Goldblood. He wanted to know why I was going around asking so many questions about the Potter family. I told him I was a family friend sent by Harry James Potter to check on his family's state of affairs. I mentioned that Harry had turned fifteen recently and, as the last of his family, was wondering about his Head status."

Here Bill hesitated and Sirius, who had been agitatedly striding back and forth behind him, jumped in. "They told him Harry couldn't be the family Head because he wasn't the last Potter." Sirius's face was filled with fierce wonder and his voice was strained with a wild hope. "Remus, they said Daniel is alive."