Disclaimer: I still do not own Harry Potter.

Hey all! Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad most of you love S.A.N.E!

As to my one reviewer, as for the speech the students gave the Slytherins, I didn't mean for that to come off condescending. I have the rest of the story planned, and I plan for their efforts in helping the Slytherins to really work.

As for Harry and Ron, I know that Harry is making other friends outside of Gryffindor, but if you were in Harry's position, are you sure you'd find it that easy to give up your very first friend? Harry had no friends at the Dursleys, and Ron was his very first introduction to friendship. No matter how much of a prat Ron is, and I totally agree that he can act like a major one sometimes, I don't think Harry would give him up that quickly.

Hope you enjoy this chappie!

Chapter 27: Revelations

A few days later, Harry was sitting in his therapy session with Sirius and Remus. The last few days had been pretty interesting. Poor Theodore Nott had had a very rough time of it; some Slytherins, especially Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson, had picked on him nonstop. Crabbe and Goyle had also come very close to beating him up. He'd had such a difficult time that Dumbledore had even arranged for him to change dormitories; now he slept with the Slytherin first-year boys. Luckily, he'd settled in rather well there, and they were being very understanding towards him. Harry, Cedric, Cho, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny had seen him several times and attempted to talk to him. Nott always pushed them away, but they kept trying. "You did the right thing, Theodore," they always said, and they hoped that Nott would soon come to believe it. Dumbledore had also been in touch with his aunt, and she'd agreed to take him in upon summer vacation.

So now, Harry was sitting in his session, telling his two guardians everything. Remus and Sirius were extremely proud of him. "I can't believe what a wonderful godson you are," beamed Sirius. "I would have never thought to do such a thing. You see, when I lived with my family, I did everything I could to try to get away from Slytherins. I bought into the stereotype that they were sneaky, slimy, manipulative, robe-kissing cowards. But the fact that you're trying to prevent them from joining Voldemort is a wonderful thing, Harry. I'm learning a lot from you."

Harry blushed. "Thanks," he said.

"It's true," Remus said. "You see, James, Sirius, and Peter were always picking on the Slytherins when we were in school. Unfortunately, many of them did grow up to be Death Eaters."

"I always wondered whether part of that was due to our always picking on them," Sirius sighed. "You remember Shacklebolt and I telling you about Dennis Booth, right? That was the Death Eater your father accidentally struck down. If we'd been like you, perhaps Booth wouldn't have become what he was. James believed this more firmly than I did, but I now see where he was coming from."

"Perhaps Nott is a lot like Booth," Remus said thoughtfully. "His peers and parents want him to join the Death Eaters, but in his heart he doesn't want to."

"I just think, the less supporters Voldemort has, the better," Harry said.

"That's good thinking, pup," Sirius said. His and Remus's faces suddenly grew somber. "Listen, we have to tell you something, Harry, and you're not going to like it," he said. He took Harry's hand and held it in his, Remus doing the same on the other side of him.

Harry's stomach filled with dread. He had a horrible, sinking feeling he knew what this was about. With everything going on at school, he'd tried to prevent his mind from wandering to this train of thought, but he couldn't help thinking about it now. "What?" he whispered.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt was in contact with us yesterday," Remus told him softly. "Your uncle's trial date has been set. It all happened very quickly. I'm afraid it's going to be on December 16."

"S-so soon?" Harry stuttered, numbness filling every pore of his body. He felt like he'd just been dipped in freezing water.

"Yes, kiddo, it's in a few weeks," Sirius admitted. "Next week during our session, Kingsley's going to come here. He'll again go over exactly what's going to happen."

"Do I have to talk at the trial?" Harry said, looking pleadingly at his guardians.

"I'm sorry, cub, but it'll be best if you do," Remus said gently. "You're the only person, besides us, who can give a true testimony. Both of us are also going to explain what happened. There's also something else that you're not at all going to like," he said, trying to prepare his adopted son for more bad news. "Shacklebolt told us we have to present the memory of what we saw you going through as testimony."

Harry jumped up from the couch. "No!" he screamed. "You can't! Everyone will see what my uncle did to me, and it'll be all over the papers before you know it! Rita Skeeter will sure get a juicy story out of it!"

Sirius and Remus jumped up as well. "Listen, Harry, we have something to tell you about Skeeter," Sirius said, laying a hand on Harry's shaking shoulder. "She's not going to be writing anything any time soon."

"Some people at the Ministry, especially Shacklebolt, were always wondering where she got her information from," Remus said. "He had a theory. He told the Head of the Aurors, Rufus Scrimgeour, about it."

"So Scrimgeour let him go to the offices of the editors of the Daily Prophet," said Sirius. "He borrowed Scrimgeour's invisibility cloak and followed Skeeter around. At one point, he saw her concentrating very hard, and then she was shrinking. And then suddenly, she was a beetle."

"An unregistered Animagus," said Remus. "She's an unregistered Animagus. The Ministry's got her in a holding cell now. I'm surprised you didn't hear about it."

"Well, it did just happen yesterday," said Sirius. "It was in the Prophet today."

"Oh," said Harry slowly. "I overslept and was late for breakfast this morning, and I haven't seen Hermione yet. That's probably why I didn't know. But I still don't want people to see the memory!"

"We know," Sirius said, putting his arms around him while Remus began to stroke his hair. "But it's the best evidence. Your uncle will be in prison for many, many years if we supply the memory."

"We know you might feel betrayed by us because we're doing this," said Remus. "But your uncle might be acquitted and found not guilty if we don't show the memory. We're not trying to hurt you, we're trying to help. And the jury is bound by magical oath not to say anything. Vernon Dursley is being tried in wizarding court. Since Shacklebolt is experienced in Muggle law, and since wizarding law is very similar to it, he knows what he's doing."

"If the jury tries to say anything," said Sirius, "there will be unforseen consequences. You see, Shacklebolt will put an unknown hex on each of them. No one but he will know what the hex does. It won't do anything too horrible, but the jury will know better than to tell anyone if they don't want to find out what it does."

Harry collapsed back on to the couch, tears beginning to stream down his face. He understood what his guardians were saying, but he didn't want Shacklebolt or any other person to see the horrible memories. Then he remembered something else. "W-won't you get in trouble?" he said between sobs. "Y-you used magic on Uncle Vernon, S-Sirius."

"Dumbledore already sorted that out, pup," Sirius soothed. "I was fined for it, but nothing too drastic. Since it was a crime the Muggle was committing when I did magic on him, the consequences weren't too dire. But I was still given a warning never to do magic on a Muggle again, no matter how angry I get."

Harry was slightly relieved. "Oh," he said, burrowing into his guardians' arms as they did their best to comfort him.

They spent the rest of the session talking about the trial, and Harry was exhausted by the time it was over. His heart was feeling very heavy, and he felt numb inside. He couldn't stand the thought of any other people knowing about what happened to him, but he couldn't be angry with his guardians, no matter how much he wanted to be. It would be better in the long run if his uncle was put away. But the dread and fear he felt was unimaginable.

He didn't know how he'd get through the next few weeks. He hardly showed his face the rest of the day, spending the afternoon and some of the evening in the Room of Requirement.

xxx

It was about eleven o'clock in the evening, and Cedric Diggory had just finished his prefect patrol. He was walking along with his best friend Cho Chang, and they were making their way to the Astronomy Tower. Many nights after prefect patrol, the two loved to go there just to talk and gaze out at the stars. Cedric had always loved the spectacular sight, and Cho had also always taken comfort in it.

Cedric hoped, in the coming months, he could do more than just talk to Cho on the tower. The fact was, he was falling in love with the beautiful Ravenclaw. She was such a gentle person, inside and out, and she never ceased to make him smile. The smiles she always gave him made his heart feel light, and he dearly hoped she felt the same way. Over the months, their friendship had blossomed into something much, much deeper. He didn't know how to tell her how he felt; the thought made him extremely nervous. This was the first time he'd truly known what falling in love felt like. He hoped that a chance would come where he could tell her his feelings.

When they got to the tower, they realized they weren't alone. Harry Potter was sitting there, and as they ascended, they noticed that his eyes were closed. He had obviously fallen asleep up here. As Cedric and Cho took a closer look at him, they realized that there were tear tracks on Harry's cheeks. They immediately felt worry; what had Harry been upset about?

"What should we do?" Cho asked. "Should we tell someone he's here?"

"He seems to be sleeping too peacefully for us to bother him," said Cedric. "He looks like he's been really upset. Usually we have to tell if we see someone out-of-bounds, but I can see that something's really wrong here."

"Okay. We'll just make sure he's all right then," said Cho. "We'll wake him up when we leave." She and Cedric sat next to the sleeping Harry, looking out at the stars.

"I see Sirius, the Dog Star," Cedric said. "I wonder if Harry knows there's such a star. I bet Sirius Black was named after it. I really worry about Harry, you know."

"I know you do," whispered Cho, being careful not to wake the sleeping boy. "You've been so kind to him through this whole tournament fiasco."

"Well, he's like my little brother. I wish Dad would stop going on and on at me to do better than him. He's been through so much. He was forced into this tournament, and it isn't fair. I always wondered what happened to him last summer, too. When I saw him at his birthday party, he looked ... I don't really know how to describe it. Haunted, I guess. I know Sirius and Remus didn't hurt him, but ..." He went quiet, a thoughtful expression coming over his face.

"I always wondered what his life was like with his Muggle relatives," Cho said. "I saw them at King's Cross station with him once. They were a rotten-looking bunch of people."

"They'd better not have hurt him," growled Cedric, protectiveness sweeping over him again. "If they did, I'll show them what happens to anyone who hurts my brother. No-one hurts Harry and gets away with it. And I still wonder who the hell put his name into that Goblet."

"I don't know," Cho said. "Whoever did really underestimated him, though."

At that moment, Harry began to writhe frantically on the ground. He curled into a ball, trying to protect himself. He began to whimper, and Cedric and Cho glanced at each other, fear coloring their faces. "What's happening to him?" Cho whispered.

"He must be having a nightmare," Cedric answered. "We have to try to wake him up."

"No!" Harry suddenly cried. "No, Uncle Vernon, stop! Don't kill Hedwig! Please, no!"

Their faces filled with horror. "Oh shit." Cedric said. Cho nodded in agreement. Oh shit, indeed.

"Please, no, Uncle Vernon! Sirius! Remus! Help!"

Cedric and Cho frantically shook Harry's shoulders. "Harry, wake up!" Cedric called. "It's all right, it was only a dream!"

But Harry still writhed around on the ground, unable to shake his dream. Tears were streaming down his face and his expression was one of terror. "Oh Merlin, Harry, what did that bastard do to you?" Cedric cried. "He's hurt you, hasn't he? And who's Hedwig? Harry, wake up!"

Finally, Harry gasped and his eyes flew open. He gazed around him at the two people who were sitting on the tower, and he couldn't help it; tears continued to stream down his face, he was so relieved that he was not on Privet Drive, being hurt by his uncle again. He tried desperately to stop crying; this was Cedric and Cho he was doing this in front of, two of his friends. He didn't want them to know what was going on. He didn't want them to know about the horrors he'd been through.

Cedric took the younger teen into his arms and hugged him, whispering soothing words into his little brother's ear. Cho joined him, stroking his messy hair. "Harry, what's the matter?" Cedric whispered to him. "What's wrong?"

But Harry was crying too hard to speak; he clung on to his friends like an anchor, the comforting touches making the tears come even faster.

When his sobs finally began to slow, Cedric whispered, "Harry, what did your Uncle Vernon do to you? He hurt you, didn't he?"

Numbness, shock, and terror stole over Harry's face. How did they find out? This was the last thing he wanted to happen! "How did you ... how did you know?" he choked out.

"You were talking in your sleep," Cho said gently.

"Oh Merlin, no," Harry cried. "I didn't mean to fall asleep! I was just up here, thinking, and then ... I'm going to get into trouble!"

"No, you're not," Cedric said soothingly. "If a teacher sees you out here, we'll tell them we were with you. I'm a prefect, and so is Cho. Now listen, Harry, we know your uncle hurt you. We're not going to make you talk about it if you don't want to, but we're very concerned. What did he do to you?"

Harry's lip started trembling again. He felt extremely frightened, but what had his guardians told him? They'd always held on to the notion that it was better to talk about things, to get them out in the open rather than bottle them all up. But he didn't want to lose his two new friends! Would they be disgusted with him if he told them what he'd let his uncle do? Would they be revolted if he told them what he'd let his uncle do to his beloved owl?

"It's all right, Harry," Cho said quietly. "We're not going to leave you, no matter what you tell us."

"And brothers look out for one another," Cedric promised. "If your uncle hurt you, it wasn't your fault."

"But I let him do it!" Harry cried, not being able to hold it in anymore. "You don't understand, he was so strong!"

"How did he hurt you?" Cedric asked, gently wiping the tears from Harry's face.

"Y-you don't want to know," Harry said. He had the kind of look in his eyes that immediately got Cho and Cedric to guess how he'd been hurt. They immediately felt unbelievable anger sweep over them, anger at the monster that was Vernon. Harry saw the expressions on their faces and recoiled.

"No, no, Harry, you've got it wrong," Cedric said immediately. "We're not angry with you, we're angry at Vernon! We're so sorry, Harry, we should have controlled how we felt. I had no idea that had happened to you. But Cho and I will make sure that nothing like that ever happens again. Listen, my friend, who's ... who's Hedwig?"

"My owl," Harry said, defeated. "Did I mention her in my sleep too?"

"Yeah." Cho said softly. "What happened to her, Harry?"

"Uncle ... Uncle Vernon killed her," Harry muttered, intense pain filling his heart.

"Oh Merlin," Cedric said softly, fighting back his own tears. Next to him, he saw Cho doing the same. "Do Sirius and Remus know?" he asked gently.

"Y-yes," Harry sniffled. "And Professor Dumbledore. I'm having therapy sessions with Sirius and Remus every week. My uncle's t-trial is happening in a couple of weeks, and I have to talk at it, and Remus and Sirius have to show the memory! You s-see, they got to the house just as it was h-happening, so they s-saw the whole thing!"

"Oh God," Cho said, horrified. "Who else knows? Do any of your other friends know?"

"Ginny knows," said Harry, but he wouldn't dare tell about Ginny's situation; he would never betray her like that. "But that's it."

"Are you going to tell them?" Cedric asked gently.

Harry's face filled with dread again. "I suppose I'll have to," he said, resigning himself to that fate.

"They'll understand, Harry," Cho told him at once. "People who have had that done to them shouldn't feel ashamed."

Harry once again felt tears spring into his eyes, but he did his best to hide them. But Cedric and Cho saw, and immediately put their arms around him again. "Just cry, Harry," Cho soothed softly. "Sometimes it feels good just to let it all out. Go ahead, we'll be right here for you. Go ahead and just cry."

Those words caused the endless dam to break again within Harry, and he was sobbing on Cho and Cedric's shoulders. The couple was completely stricken at what had happened to their friend. No one deserved this, no one! Cedric always knew there was much more to Harry Potter, and by Merlin, was he right.

Harry finally stopped crying, and exhaustion overtook him once again. Cedric and Cho supported his weight as they left the Astronomy Tower and headed to Gryffindor. They told the almost sleeping boy that they would never tell anyone of what had transpired tonight. They also told him they'd walk back with him. "Do you want us to walk you inside?" Cedric asked softly.

"No, you don't have to," Harry mumbled.

"It's all right, we're going to make sure you get there safely," Cho told him. When they got to the Fat Lady, it was almost as if she knew not to ask any questions; Harry mumbled the password and he and Cedric walked in, leaving Cho at the entrance. "I'll just take Harry to his dormitory, I'll be right back," Cedric said.

"Good night, Harry," Cho said, giving Harry a gentle smile. Harry managed a weak one back at her. "G'night," he mumbled.

Harry quietly told Cedric where his dorm was, and when they got there, Cedric helped him get undressed. Harry looked terribly embarrassed, but Cedric just laughed softly and told him that was what brothers were for.

As Harry got into bed, Cedric helped pull the covers around him. "Good night, Harry. Sleep well, and don't worry about anything. I'm here for you," he whispered, giving Harry's hand a squeeze. As he looked at Harry's already sleeping face, he vowed to himself that now that he knew the truth about Harry Potter, he'd protect him more than ever.